ave, indeed, sir, with great copiousness of language, and great
fertility of imagination, shown the weakness of supposing this inquiry
impossible; they have proposed a method of performing it, which they
hope will at once confute and irritate their opponents; but all their
raillery and all their arguments have in reality been thrown away upon
an attempt to confute what never was advanced. They have first mistaken
the assertion which they oppose, and then exposed its absurdity; they
have introduced a bugbear, and then attempted to signalize their courage
and their abilities, by showing that it cannot fright them.

The honourable gentleman, sir, who first mentioned to you the
impossibility of this inquiry, spoke only according to the common
acceptation of words, and was far from intending to imply natural and
philosophical impossibility. He was far from intending to insinuate,
that to examine any series of transactions, or peruse any number of
papers, implied an absurdity, or contrariety to the established order of
nature; he did not intend to rank this design with those of building in
the air, or pumping out the ocean; he intended only to assert a moral or
popular impossibility, to show that the scheme was not practicable but
by greater numbers than could be conveniently employed upon it, or in a
longer space of time than it was rational to assign to it; as we say it
is impossible to raise groves upon rocks, or build cities in deserts; by
which we mean only to imply, that there is no proportion between the
importance of the effect, and the force of the causes which must operate
to produce it; that the toil will be great, and the advantage little.

In this sense, sir, and nothing but malice or perverseness could have
discovered any other, the motion may be truly said to be impossible; but
its impossibility ought to be rather the care of those who make, than of
those that oppose it; and, therefore, I shall lay before the house other
reasons, which, unless they can be answered, will determine me to vote
against it.

It cannot be doubted, but the papers which must on this occasion be
examined, contain a great number of private transactions, which the
interest of the nation, and the honour of our sovereign require to be
concealed. The system of policy which the French have, within the last
century, introduced into the world, has made negotiation more necessary
than in any preceding time. What was formerly performed by fleets