commerce. To what can we ascribe the confidence with which the
house of Bourbon threatens the ruin of a princess, who numbers among her
allies the emperour of Britain?

Nothing is more evident, my lords, than that the queen of Hungary has
been disappointed of the advantages which she expected from her
friendship with this nation, only by a degree of cowardice too
despicable to be mentioned without such terms, as the importance of this
debate, and the dignity of this assembly, do not admit; nor is it less
certain, from the conduct of her enemies, that they knew what would be
our measures, and confided for security in that cowardice which has
never yet deceived them.

It cannot, my lords, be asserted, that our ally, however distressed, has
yet received the least assistance from our arms; neither the justice of
our cause has yet been able to awaken our virtue, nor the inseparable
union of her interest with our own, to excite our vigilance.

But, perhaps, my lords, we have had no opportunity of exerting our
force; perhaps the situation both of our enemies and ally was such, that
neither the one could be protected, nor the other opposed, by a naval
power; and, therefore, our inactivity was the effect not of want of
courage, but want of opportunity.

Though our ministers, my lords, have hitherto given no eminent proofs of
geographical knowledge, or of very accurate acquaintance with the state
of foreign countries, yet there is reason to believe that they must at
some time have heard or read, that the house of Austria had territories
in Italy; they must have been informed, unless their disbursements for
secret service are bestowed with very little judgment, that against
these dominions an army has been raised by the Spaniards; and they must
have discovered, partly by the information of their correspondents,
partly by the inspection of a map, and partly by the sagacity which
distinguishes them from all past and present ministers, that this army
was to be transported by sea from the coast of Spain to that of Italy.

This knowledge, my lords, however attained, might have furnished minds,
which have always been found so fruitful of expedients, with a method of
hindering the descent of the Spanish troops, for which nothing more was
necessary than that they should have ordered admiral Haddock, instead of
retiring before the Spanish fleet of war, and watching them only that
they might escape, to lie still before Barcelona, where