Page:Paul Samuel Reinsch - Secret Diplomacy, How Far Can It Be Eliminated? - 1922.djvu/167



He asked how could members of the House of Commons judge of the estimates to be laid before them as a provision for national safety if they did not know by what danger the nation was con- fronted. The motion, however, was rejected.

When Pelham was criticized in the House for not having informed Parliament of the prelimina- ries of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle he argued: "If Parliament should encroach upon the pre- rogative of the Crown, by assuming a right to make peace or war, and to inquire into foreign transactions under negotiation, our affairs will be reduced to a dangerous predicament; for no for- eign State will negotiate with our ministers, or conclude any treaty with them, either political or commercial. " This is an argument often made in the eighteenth century to show the unwisdom of Parliamentary control. The change of min- isters following party changes in the House, and the fact that the Foreign Minister would not by his own word be able to give complete assurances to foreign governments, were considered to put the British Government under a disadvantage in negotiations. It was therefore considered unde- sirable that negotiations should be submitted to the^ control and sanction of Parliament. Walpole had stated the matter in the following words : "