this communication was the destruction of our present form of
government. These worthy gentlemen, he said, had their agents throughout
the country, in order to disseminate their pamphlets; which, as these
agents were poor men, was at once a proof that there must be a society
somewhere who defrayed the expense. In adverting to France, Windham
said, he believed that the motives of the combined armies, that
had attempted to march to Paris were good; and he justified their
interference by demonstrating that France herself had intermeddled with
the affairs of neighbouring countries. The amendment was supported by
Mr. Grey, who said that he was no friend to Paine's doctrines; but he
would not be deterred by a name from acknowledging that he considered
the rights of man as the foundation of every government, and those who
opposed these said rights as traitors against the people. Dundas replied
to Grey, and justified the measures which government had adopted. A
universal and serious alarm, he said, pervaded the country gentlemen,
farmers, and others, and this had rendered some active steps absolutely
necessary on the part of government, in order to restore confidence.
Dundas remarked, that the national convention had been eager to
countenance every complaint of grievance from the factious and
discontented in this country; and in proof of it he read some of the
addresses which the convention had received with applause from the
political societies of England. He asked, "Was not this, on the part
of the French, an unjustifiable interference in the internal affairs
of another country? And had not the leading members of the convention
declared that they would not look to the sovereign, but to the people
of Great Britain; that they would appeal from the government to
the republicans of England." He maintained that, under all the
circumstances, government were fully justified in all they had done, and
would have merited impeachment if they had remained inactive at such a
critical juncture. Sheridan, in a flippant manner, endeavoured to show
that the alarm was ridiculous, and had been created by ministers for
their own selfish and wicked purposes. The republicans said to exist
in England, were, he said, men of buckram; and should any French army
attempt to invade England, with the idea of effecting any change in
our government, every hand and heart in the country would be united to
resist them. He condemned a war with France, and assert