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INTERESTS OF GREAT BRITAIN. 489than wound his conscience., the minister showed no less tenderness for the dictates of his, by quitting office, when hislmeasures were no longer approved:though poor and in debt,notwithstanding the treasures of the world had passed throughhis hands, he preferred retiring from the glory of supremepower into private life. 2 The peace of Amiens, however,mayin some measure be considered as his peace, inasmuchas it was not concluded without his approbation and advice.His successor was not his opponent, but the friend of hisyouth the ex-minister did not take his ; seat, as was usuallythe case, on the opposition bench, but on the right-hand side,on which for so long a series of years he had directed anddetermined the destinies of Great Britain, and not unfrequentlyof Europe.By virtue of the peace of Amiens, Great Britain ceded allher conquestsin the colonies, together with Malta, to theirformer possessors, with the exception only of Trinidad andCeylon, which Spain and the Batavian republic were obligedto cede to her ; very dear conquests in return for a debt of300 millions sterling,which the war had cost! 3 But whowill take so narrow a view of We this peace ? have alreadyon another occasion given our opinion of the criterion bywhich the value of this peace should be estimated ; namely,how far the object for which the war had been commencedand carried on was attained by it. This was not merely theconquest of a few islands but two;objects of a much highercharacter ;the maintenance of the constitution and independence of Great Britain, and the freedom and independence of Europe against the encroachments of France.1That this was the real cause, there is not a shadow of doubt. The veryexpressions of the great statesman on the subject, with the tenderest forbearance to his sovereign, may be seen in the speech of May 13, 1S05. Speeches,Hi. 420, sq.2 Feb. 9, 1801.3 That portion of these sums which went abroad consisted partly of loanswhich England guaranteed capital as well as interest, and which, until theirreimbursement, make up a part of the national debt ; partly in subsidies, thatis, sums granted by virtue of compact for certain services, which cannottherefore be reclaimed. Only two loans were advanced during the two administrations of Pitt to Austria, in 1795, to the amount of 4,600,000; andin 1797, to the amount of 1,620,000. The loan to Portugal, amounting to600,000, was first made in 1809. Hamilton, National Debt, p. 133. Thewhole amount of the subsidies and loans, which flowed to the continent onaccount of the government, is computed at 45,800,000. Nelenius on PublicCredit, in German, sect. 13, note. I know not from what data ;and I question whether the amount of the subsidies admits of being so accurately determined, since it cannot be known in what instalments they were really paid.