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THE

Of POSITION

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Late Minister Vindlic^tecf.

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THE

' T:

OP p o s I r I o N

To the Late

MINISTER

V IN DI GATED

From the Afperfions ofaPAMPHLET,

intitled,

CONSIDERATIONS

ON THE PRESENT

Dangerous Crisis.

. LONDON:

i^ ' Printed for W. B a t h o e near Exeter-Change
n S^ in the Strand.

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MDCCLXIII.

» y

THE

OPPOSITION

T O T H E

Late Minister Vindicated.

WHY the prefeht Miniftry, who have
not yet been oppofed, fhould de-
clare War againft the Oppofition
to the late Minifter, is a Queftion not eafily
anfwered, without fuppofing the prefent to
be a Continuation of the late Miniftry. Some
Endeavours are ufed, in the Pamphlet be-
fore us, to difguife fo invidious an Ap-
pearance. There is an AfFedlation of Can-

A 3 dour

[ 6 ] -

dour and Impartiallity, in alfowing all the
material Things that have ever been objedled
to the noble Lord. One would imagine
the Writer had his Lordfhip's Confent to do
it; for he makes him ample Reparation, by
afcribing them to great and amiable Caufes.
His very Oratory, which, of all Parts of his
Charadler, a prudent Apologift fhould have
left untouched, is called fpeaking fortiter in
re. The Pride and Arrogance imputed to
him, are faid to flow from the Delicacy of
a feeling Mind; and a long Lift of good
Qualities, of which a Writer on the other
Side would deny his Lordfliip the Property,
is balanced againft the confejjed Want of good
Humour, Patienccy Moderation, Affability,
Complacency, and Forbearance,

But with all this Affedation of Candour,
this ingenious Writer flips into Partiality, in
the Character he gives of Mr. Pitt. As
he endeavours to make Lord Bute\ Charadter
amiable, notwithftanding the Vices and Fol-
lies he admits in it, fo he labours to make

Mr.

[7]

Mr. Pitt's odious, notwithftanding the Vir-
tues he allows him, and the immenfe Ser-
vices which the State has received from hi9
Adminiftration,

It is in vain to enter into a Controverfy
about Charadters, with which the Public is
perfedly well acquainted. The Author of
the Confiderations cannot give the People a
better Opinion of Lord Bute, than has been
formed from his Adminiflration j and no
Advocate of Mr. Pitt\ can eftablifh a better
Opinion of him, than he himfelf has long
lince eftablifhed throughout the Kingdom.
If this were the whole of the Pamphlet, fo
illiberal a way of recommending and accuf^
ing Men to the People would hardly merit
Attention. But the Writer having ventured
to defend the Meafures of the late Minifter,
with a View to difcredit the Oppofition to
him, the Diligence' with which this Piece
has been circulated, extorts an Anfwer.

A 4

The

[8]

The oppofing Party are called malicious
ind unjufif for impeaching the Treaty of
iPcace, and the new Excife upon Cyder.

They are faid to have condemned the
Peace, before they were acquainted with a
finglc Article of the Treaty. If the Writer
means, before a (ingle Article was delivered
out by Authority, it may be true j but if the
Articles, which they condemned, proved
afterwards to be the genuine ones, the Mz-
Jice and Injujiice of their Cenfure {liould be
proved, not from the Date of it, but from
the Wifdom and Redlitude of thofe Ar-
ticles.

The Treaty is concluded, and the Nation,
it is to be hoped, will acquiefce in it, with
all due Refpe(fl to Government. Why then
IS the Subject revived by Men, who would
better confult their Intereft and their Peace
of Mind, in having it forgot ? Is there not
room to fufpedl, that they themfelves difcern
the Force of the Objedions made to the

Peace 5

[9]

Peace 5 and from thence very rightly con-
clude, that the Oppofition to it was merito-
rious; and has left an ImpreiHon upon the
People ?

Ar-

The firft Rumours of a Negotiation, it is
confefTed, were received with fome Preju-
dice, from an Opinion, not ill founded, that
the Minifter had an Intereft in bringing about
a Peace. His Friends were too happy in the
Profpecl of it, to keep the Secret even with
political Decency ; for every material Article,
and many Circumftances of the Negotiation
were publickly known, fome Time before
they were authenticated. This being unu-
fual, they muft have tranfpired inadvertently;
and it is not unfair to fuppofe, that fuch In-
advertency W5S the Refult of an overflowing
Joy. The Situation of the late Minifter was
evidently hazarded by the uncertain Events
of War; and, if it had been poffible to
eftablifh him, a Peace would have done it.

There

[ '° ]

There was likewife abundant Joy in France,
The BrifiJJ: Minifter and the French Nation
appeared on this Occafion to be fo united in
Heart and Mind, that it was difficult to de-
termine, from which Side of the Water the
Offer of Peace was firft made.

The EngUJh Nation was, of Courfe, in-
flamed at this Appearance of Things. They
could not but apprehend, that the French
Miniftry would difcern the Motives which
muft neceffarily in fome degree influence the
Condudl of the Britijh Minifl:er. Was there
any Reafon to think Lord B, more honed
than other Men, circumfl:anced in all Re-
fpeds like him, would have been ? Had he
not the difficult Task upon his Hands, of
fnpporting himfelf againfl: a Free People, by
the mere Favour of the King ? And being fo'
circumfl:anced, what could he do better for
himfelf y than make a Peace upon any Terms.

It is granted, that the Terms were as good
as could be expeded from him^ and the

early

early Prejudice againft the Peace was founded
in a juft Opinion, that he could not obtain
fo good Terms as the Nation was intitled
to, nor fuch, as might at that Time have
been obtained' by the Minifter who con-
ducted the War. Our Author affirms, that
the Terms were better than had been offered
to that Minifter. This might be doubted,
for it has been denied in a great Affembly.
But, admitting it, how much better was our
Condition, than at the Time of thofe Offers?
We had more Conquefts in Hand ; Affairs
were mended in Germa?iy ; and the Enemy
was nearer Ruin at home, than we. Our
Debts and Difficulties are loudly talked of,
in Juftification of the Peace. They have
been magnified in a manner, which argues
but little of that national Pride which ani-
mated our Counftls and Arms during the
War. But admitting what might be very
true, that we were almofl exhaufted, the
Enemy outdid us in nothing but this, for
they were apparently quite exhaufted.

'•If

There

[ 12 ]

There was hardly a Perfon in the Oppo-
fition, who did not wifh for a Peace laft
Year. Some of the Perfons in Oppolition
knew the Condition of France as well as
Lord B, could be fuppofed to know it ; and,
fo far as appears from all they faid and did
on the Occafion, they were of Opinion, that
a Peace at that Time was deiirable j but that
a bettet Peace, more honourable and more
advantageous, might have been obtained.
Have not the Peace-makers themfelves given
fome Ground for the Opinion, by obtaining
better Terms in the Definitive Treaty, than
had been agreed to in the Preliminaries?
They deferve no Reproach for this ; but nei-
ther do they deferve any Thanks. The
Oppolition to the Peace neceflitated them to
produce to the World an Evidence, that the
French Miniftry were more tradable than
we had Reafon to be, and that fo material a
Truth was difcovered too late.

The Arguments againft the Terms of
Peace lie in a very fliort Compafs. The

primary,

['3 3

primary Objedt of the War had been in our
Hands three Years before the Peace was con-
cluded. The Enemy had obftinately pro-
traded an unfuccefsful War, at an amazing
Expence to us. Might we not equitably
hope to avail ourfelves of fome of the Sue-
cefles we have had (ince the Acquifition of
Canada, and to reimburfe ourfelves in part,
by retaining one of the valuable lilands, in-
ftead of rcimburfing the Enemy, by furren-
dering both, better conditioned than we
found them, and after the Subjedts of France
had enriched themlelves, by fharing in the
Benefits and Privileges belonging to the BrU
iijh Planters ? Was it the Objedl of our Coun-
fels, and an Employment fit for our Arms,
to conquer thofe Iflands, in order to take
the Subjedls of France into our Protedion,
and fecure their Trade againft the Britijh
Men of War and Privateers ?

It was a Queftion two or three Years be-
[fore, whether Canada or Guadalupe fhould
[be retained by us, and the Queftion was

thought

[ H ]

thought an embarraffing one. Was not that
Queftion changed by the State of the War,
as it ftood laft Summer ? Were all the fub-
fcquent Conquefts nothing ? and was it ma-
Ucious and unjuji in the wifeft Men of this
Nation, towards their Sovereign or their
Country, to expert, that fomething like an
Indemnity fhould arife from the Conquefts
made with fo much Blood and Treafure ?

The Account between us and our Enemies
was very {hort and intelligible. France took
Minorca ; Spain took nothing. I am not
difpofed to inflame my Countrymen, by re-
citing all that we have taken. Our national
Glory begins to be an obnoxious Subjedl at
home. The Friends of the Miniftry forbear
calling the laft A glorious War, which is
its true Defcription ; they chufe rather, in
Juftification of the Peace, to call it a bloody
and expenjive War, which is no more defcrip-
tive of this^ than of any the moft ignomini-
ous War.

The

' ['5]

The Treaty of Utrecht has been com-
plained of for many Years, and very juftly.
But what was the State of the Account be-
tween us and the French at the Time of that
Treaty, if compared with our late Supe-
riority over that broken, difgraced, difpirited
nation ? They could not have carried on the
War longer without extreme Difficulty 5 and
if they ftiould renew it fooner than their
Friend our late Minifter may exped, will it
not be with the Ammunition which they
have had the Dexterity to draw from this
Treaty of Peace ?

It is a poor Defence of the Meafure, to
charge the Oppofition to it with undue and
indiredl Motives, amidft fo many dire3i and
honourable Motives to influence the Oppofers.
Before the Matter was confidered in Parlia-
ment, the general Diflikc of it was imputed
to the private perfonal Intereft which fome
commercial Men had in the War, and which
would induce them to exclaim againft any
Peace. There might be fuch Men and fuch

Motives

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Motives. B|it were there not manj^js
who had a priyate perfonal Intereft ter^n
Support of the Minifter, and conJ(eq«e!ft$Iy-Ji|
^fijr Peace? And, after deducting the Met^
under each of thefe Defcriptiong, wa« there
Ijot a large* Numiber of difjnterefted Men tCt
roaining, who judged upon the plain. Stat^
of the Cafe between us and the SQemjl'> lh9t
the national Honour and Intercft iwerc not
iufficiently confulted in the Terms of Peace f

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L, When the Oppofition wajsmad^fciPwUai-
ftient, there being no Pretence ftr imputing
it to Motives of immediate Interefty other
Motives equally diflionourable were;affigiied»
^eft the Nation fliould form the obvious Jirf^
nient, that Men of the firft Rank, c^f th^B
greateft Underftanding, of independent
Weakh, and of known Attachtneftt ^t^ the
Family on thti Throne, as weH astotjieln-
•tereft of thdr Country, oppofed :tl}€t Pe^
ilipon right Motives.:;: h :i r- M libiof^;,..,,.

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