It is visible, likewise, to any man who considers the situation of
Britain, that there is no nation by which our trade can in time of war
be so much obstructed as by France, of which the coasts are opposite
to ours, and which can send out small vessels, and seize our merchants
in the mouths of our harbours, or in the Channel of which we boast the
sovereignty: and all those who have heard or read of the last war, in
which we gained so much honour, and so little advantage, know that the
privateers of France injured us more than its navies or its armies;
and that a thousand victories on the continent, where we were only
contending for the rights of others, were a very small recompense for
the obstruction of our commerce; nor can he feel much tenderness for
mankind, who would purchase by the ruin and distress of a thousand
families, industrious and innocent, the momentary festivity of a
triumph, or the idle glare of an illumination.
Yet, my lords, this nation, however zealous for its commerce, is about
to engage in a war, in a war with the only state by which our commerce
can be impaired; it is about to support new armies on the continent
without allies, and without treasure.
Pages:
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445