Page:History of the Radical Party in Parliament.djvu/184

 170 History, of the Radical Party in Parliament. [1822- countries ? " The third question was as to the form of the effective assistance which the allies would give to France, in case active interference should, on her demand, become necessary. To these questions the three continental allies answered, on the 30th of October, that they would act as France should do in respect to their ministers in Spain, and would give to France every countenance and assistance she should require the cause for such assistance, and the period and the mode of giving it, being reserved to be specified in a treaty. The minister of Great Britain answered, that, having no knowledge of the cause of dispute, and not being able to form a judgment upon an hypothetical case, he could give no answer to any of the questions. France and Spain were both of opinion that this refusal of England prevented the combined inter- ference of the alliance, and practically reduced the difficulty from one involving the whole of Europe to one between the two neighbouring countries. This Canning declared was the first object which he had in view. "The immediate object of England," he said,* "was to hinder the impress of a joint character from being affixed to the war if war there must be with Spain ; to take care that the war should not grow out of an assumed jurisdiction of the congress ; to keep within reasonable grounds that predominating Areopagitical spirit which the memorandum of the British Cabinet of May, 1820, describes as beyond the sphere of the original concep- tion and understood principles of the alliance an alliance never intended as a union for the government of the world, or for the superintendence of the internal affairs of other states." Even with regard to France and Spain there was hope that war might be avoided, and negotiations proceeded during the remainder of 1822 and. into the spring of the following year, the good offices of England being sought by Spain and accepted by France. Parliament met on the 4th of February, 1823, whilst the dispute was going on, but before it had culminated
 * Speech in Parliament, 3Oth of April, 1823.