pon the sinking
fund, as founded and regulated by Pitt. The debates on this complicated
question, in which Huskisson and Tierney stoutly combated Vansittart's
proposal, belong rather to financial history. What strikes a modern
student of politics as strange is that Vansittart, tory as he was,
should have advocated the relief of living and suffering taxpayers, upon
the principle, then undefined, of leaving money "to fructify in the
pockets of the people"; while the whig economists of the day stickled
for the policy of piling up new debts, if need be, rather than break in
upon an empirical scheme for the gradual extinction of old debts.

FOOTNOTES:

[41] For the whole crisis see Walpole, _Life of Perceval_, ii., 157-96,
and for Sheridan's share in the transactions, Moore, _Life of Sheridan_,
ii., 382-409.

CHAPTER V.

THE PENINSULAR WAR.

Reference has already been made to the conflict maintained for six years
by Great Britain against France for the liberation of Spain and
Portugal, which has since been known in history as the Peninsular war.
It had its origin in two events which occurred during the autumn of 1807
and the spring of 1808. The first was the secret treaty of Fontainebleau
concluded between France and Spain at the end of October, 1807; the
second was the outbreak of revolutionary movements at Madrid, followed
by the intervention of Napoleon in March, April, and May, 1808. The
treaty of Fontainebleau was a sequel of the vast combination against
Great Britain completed by the peace of Tilsit, under which the
continental system was to be enforced over all Europe. Portugal, the
ally of this country and an emporium of British commerce, was to be
partitioned into principalities allotted by Napoleon, the house of
Braganza was to be exiled, and its transmarine possessions were to be
divided between France and Spain, then ruled by the worthless Godoy in
the name of King Charles IV. Whether or not the subjugation of the whole
peninsula was already designed by Napoleon, his troops, ostensibly
despatched for the conquest of Portugal under the provisions of the
treaty, had treacherously occupied commanding positions in Spain, when
the populace of Madrid rose in revolt, and, thronging the little town of
Aranjuez, where the court resided, frightened the king into abdication.
His unprincipled son, Ferdinand, was proclaimed in March, 1808, but
Murat, who now