84 PROCEEDINGS of the POLITICAL CLUB, &c. Jan. B of the Romans fhould ever be chosen C When this will happen, Sir, I do not know, and as little do I know what the Hon. gentleman means by E faying he trufts-it will happen next fummer. I with as much as he can do, that it may, but I do not fo much as hope that it will; and this I will fay, that if we, by granting fubfidies to (which will be called bribing) a majority of the electors, F fhould procure a king of the Romans to be chofen, whilft fome of the chief electors and most of the great princes of the empire think that there is no prefent neceffity for any fuch choice, we fhall, I fear, be fowing the feeds of a civil war in Germany, G and a very general one in Europe, instead of taking proper measures to prevent either the one or the other. Therefore, the procuring or haftening the election of a king of the Romans could be no good argument Are we to fuppofe, Sir, that any for any mercenary confideration; This 1753. 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This argument therefore, Sir, proves nothing, or it proves too much; for if we should refuse to grant any fubfidies in time of peace, the princes of the empire would retrench their expence, unless they are entirely abandoned; and if they be A entirely abandoned, they will certainly fell themselves to the highest bidder, in which France and Spain will certainly get the better of us; for whatever we may be in fighting, this nation alone is not equal to the power of those two monarchies in B giving; and the Dutch, I fear, are unable to contribute any share: Nay, I am afraid, that even as to the expence of this treaty, we muft, fome way or other, pay their fhare as well as our own; for, I believe, they are not able to pay it without making a reduction of their army; and if any troops are to be reduced, it is certainly more for our intereft, as well as the general intereft of Europe, that fome of the princes of the empire fhould be obliged, than that the Dutch fhould be obliged D to reduce the number of their regular troops. Having thus, Sir, given my opinion very fully, and very freely, of the treaty now under our confideration, I fhall conclude with declaring, that notwithstanding what I have faid against the treaty itself, I fhall concur with my Hon. friend in his motion. Gentlemen, I fee, are furprized at this declaration; but they have not fo much reason, as they may perhaps imagine. Care will be taken, I hope, that the treaty fhall not produce any ill effect; and tho' the expence be, in my opinion, unneceffary, yet fince his majesty has been advised to engage in it, I fhall be for enabling him to make it good, because our refufal would derogate fo much from his majefty's credit and influence abroad, that it might be attended with confequences much more pernicious than any that can enfue from our complying with fuch C 15. a trifle of expence; and whoever Upon this Quintus Mucius ftood up, A LTHO' I highly approve of what the Hon. gentleman who fpoke laft, was pleafed to conclude with, yet as I have an opinion of the treaty itself very different from what he feems to entertain, I fhall beg leave to give fome of the reasons for the opinion I have formed. I muft confefs, it is with great diffidence, that I differ from him in any opinion, but especially in an opinion relating to any foreign treaty, which is a fubject he has been fo long conversant in, and in which he has done fuch eminent service to his country. As I am thus diffident, Sir, it will oblige me to be the more methodical in what I am to offer in favour of this treaty; and for this purpose I fhall confider the object, the view, and the principle of the treaty before us. As to the object, it is the E election of a king of the Romans, in order to prevent any vacancy of the Imperial throne upon the death of the present emperor, whofe life I fhall grant may in all human appearance be, and I hope will be of long continuance; but this no man F can be fure of: He may, to the misfortune of Europe, and of this nation in particular, be fuddenly cut off in the prime of his age, and this misfortune would be highly exaggerated, fhould he die before any election of a king of the Romans; for G will any one fay, that the Germanick body can act with fuch vigour, either in defending itself, or affitting its allies, when it is without any head, W. M. 2414 16 PROCEEDINGS of the POLITICAL CLUB, &c. head, as when it is firmly united un- Jan. long interval which might happen before even a majority of the electors could be got to agree upon the choice of an emperor; for we may learn from the hiftories of that country, that they were once for at least 15 years before they could agree upon the choice of any emperor ; and we are told, that during all that time, the whole empire, in Italy as well as Germany, was in the utmost diforder and confusion. The object of this treaty is there- events we have the more reason to I come, in the laft place, to the principle upon which this treaty is founded, and that evidently appears to 1753. PROCEEDINGS of the POLITICAL CLUB, &c. A B to be the preservation of peace and 17 of, which to me feem to be incon- Thus, Sir, I have fhewn that the object of this treaty is of the utmost F importance even to us, that the view or design of it is univerfally approved, and that the principle upon which it is founded is not only juft, but fuch a one as we must for our own fafety, as well as the fafety of Europe, neceffarily purfue. Can G we then difapprove of the treaty itfelf? This really feems to be a fort of paradox; and to fupport this paradox, two arguments are made ufe January, 1753. 18 PROCEEDINGS of the POLITICAL CLUB, &t. Jan. can induce any prince in Germany to accept of any fubfidy from us; and if any gentleman thought otherwife, he fhould be cautious of expreffing his fentiments, or rather fufpicions, in this houfe; for he fhould confider, that there are always many strangers in our gallery. But gentlemen feem to be confcious, Sir, that this charge of ve.. nality against the princes of Germany can gain no credit, therefore they fhift the fcene, and then thofe princes are reprefented as perfons acted only by a true publick fpirit; from whence it is inferred, that if an immediate election of a king of the Romans be neceffary for the fafety of the empire, thofe princes would proceed to it directly, and agree in it unanimoufly, with out any fubfidy from us; and particularly with refpect to the king of Poland it is faid, that not only his regard to the true intereft of Germany, but his regard to his own intereft, must prevail with him to concur in chufing the archduke Jofeph king of the Romans as foon as poffible, because he cannot other, wife fecure the crown of Poland to himself and his fon after him. Now, Sir, as to the general argument I must obferve, that it seems to be the opinion of every gentleman in this houfe, not only that the archduke Jofeph should be chofen king of the Romans, but that he fhould be chofen as soon as may be. This, I fay, feems to be the unanimous opinion here, but this, it is plain, is not the unanimous opinion of the electors and princes of Germany, otherwife the election would already have been inade. I am far trom uppofing that we can, by a fubfidy, induce any of thole princes to be of our opinion: No, Sir; this mult be done by negotia tion and argument; and when we have fo far fucceeded in this way, as to bring any one over to our apition, is it not prudent in us, B is it not our intereft to ftrengthen his hands as much as we can, by granting him a fubfidy, efpecially as we know, that France is doing the fame with respect to all thofe who are at prefent of the fame A fentiments with her? For I have fo good an opinion of the king of Pruffia and the electors Palatine and Cologne as to think, that it is not the fubfidies they have from France, that makes them refufe to concur in the election of a king of the Romans, but because they are not yet convinced of its being neceffary for the fafety of the empire; and as France is thus ftrengthning the hands of all thofe that are of the fame fentiments with her, I shall freely own, that if it were in our C power, I fhould be for our being equal with her in this refpect; but as this is not in our power, we must truft to the justice of our caufe more than to the weight of our purfe ; yet I cannot think, we ought to truft entirely to the juftice of our caufe, for if we neglect any means we have in our power, we fhall deferve to be neglected by Providence. D E F G Then, Sir, with regard to the particular argument relating to the king of Poland, confidering his conduct in the late war, I am furprised any one fhould think him fo much attached to the houfe of Auftria, as that no confideration can separate him from the intereft of that houfe.» Did he not foon after the beginning of the late war join in the confederacy against that houfe? Did he not continue to exert his utmostftrength in favour of that confederacy until he found himself forfaken by the Pruffians, and the French as well as the Bavarians unable to give him any affistance? Therefore the gaining of him, who is one of the vicars, and the only indifputed vicar in the empire, muft be allowed to be a new, and a very confiderable acquifition to the common cause ; and |