rose and said, he held in his hand a Petition from persons confined for debt in the King's-Bench prison, to the number of 367, many of whom had families. He had intended to submit some observations to the house on the unprecedented number of persons at present confined for debt in the different gaols of the kingdom, and the hardships which were produced by the present system of confinement for debt; but as the subject had been taken up by a noble lord in another house, he should at present content himself with moving for leave to present this Petition.—Mr. Whit-bread, seeing a right hon. gent. in his place, wished to ask, what was the nature of the Overture which it was said sir James Saumarez had made, on the part of his majesty, to the emperor of Russia? Mr. Sec. Canning replied, that the Paper alluded to was nothing more than a letter written by that gallant officer to the Emperor, filled with merely general assurances of the pacific inclinations of his majesty; but containing no direct proposal from his majesty's government, nor written under any authority whatever from that government.—Mr. Sec. Canning said, that in consequence of the question put by a noble lord yesterday, relative to the appointment of an hon. member of that house to the Consul-Generalship of Portugal, he had endeavoured to make himself more competent to satisfy the noble lord, than either he or his right hon. friend was yesterday. The appointment had taken place, and he imagined that the gentleman in question had, by that time, arrived at his destination. Lord Folkestone then gave notice, that he would to-morrow move for a new Writ for Poole.

began by observing, that before he would call the attention of the house to the detail of the splendid services, which they were that night to be called upon to recognise, he could not help remarking, that there seldom occurred an occasion when parliament was so called upon, in which the joy so natural on the event of a glorious victory, was mingled with sensations of deeper and more profound concern than that, which, in bringing to their attention a topic of great national triumph, brought along with it the remembrance of a national loss in the death of a great and invaluable officer, While the country had to deplore so serious a disaster, in being so soon deprived of one of her ablest generals—possessing in an eminent degree every valuable quality that can dignify the man, and enhance the superiority of the soldier; at once in the prime of life, and the prime of professional desert—giving in the evidence of his past life, the best assurance of what might be expected from his zeal, intrepidity, and talents; it was yet matter of grateful consolation, that there were circumstances attending the fatality they deplored, which would in a great degree alleviate the national affliction. Though wounded at an early period of the action of the 10th by a cannon ball, the gallant officer continued in the field, and it w ill be grateful to every man who can enter into the feeling of an intrepid soldier at such a moment, with whom life was but a secondary, a trifling object of consideration; it cannot but be grateful to such men to know, that he continued in the field till he saw success confirm the well-judged dispositions and admirable arrangements, he had previously prepared to secure it, in the event of a contest. He brought with him out of the field not only that consciousness, of which no defeat could have deprived him, that of having done his best for his country; but, that also of having been the means of asserting the military superiority of the British arms, in one of the most splendid and signal instances of unconquerable valour to be found among the annals of our national achievements; it would be further matter of grateful consolation to learn, that this great commander, to the very moment approaching his dissolution, retained the full possession of his faculties, that his mind did not droop with the faintness of his body, but seemed to derive new and increased vigour from the scene, as if the approach of death was forgotten in the approach of victory. (Hear! hear!) The house would know how to appreciate the generous principle, that in such an hour made death indifferent, when the sole and anxious wish of his departing moments was—that his country would think well of him, and do justice to his memory, and that whatever was the sentiment of the country with regard to him, that it would not fail to be marked at the present crisis. All that he regretted was, that he had not been able to fulfil all the duties imposed upon him, and finally to rescue from the tyranny of France, the gallant but oppressed nation, in whose cause he bled. He did think that the house was called upon to give some lasting and distinguished proof of the country's gratitude, for the high and eminent services of this lamented officer, nor should he think it necessary to qualify what he had said, nor should he even rest the pretensions of that great officer upon his services during the late campaign in Spain; for however that expedition had failed in its ultimate object, whatever disappointment or losses might have occurred with respect to it, there could be no doubt whatever, that the failure was not at all attributable to sir John Moore. (Loud cries of hear! hear! from the Opposition benches.) If by that outcry, gentlemen would be understood to mean that the blame devolved elsewhere, and that his majesty's ministers were culpable (hear! hear!)—those gentlemen would have an opportunity of bringing that question to an issue, when without mixing the venom of party-feeling with sentiments more suited to the present solemn occasion, they could enter at once into the inquiry with somewhat less reserve, and certainly mere decency—(loud cries of hear! hear! from the Ministerial benches)—and strong as he felt himself in the cause of that great officer's fame and character, he was bold to say, that he felt himself equally strong in the case his majesty's government had to make out to the country with respect to the conduct of that campaign. It was far from his intention to enter into any detail of the many and signal services performed by sir John Moore, in the course of a life, though short, most active, because he felt that the faint picture his humble abilities enabled him to draw would fall infinitely short of the merits he designed to celebrate. They were sufficiently fresh in the remembrance of the house, and he should rather weaken than strengthen their claims on public gratitude, by dwelling upon them. Still, however, there were one or two points which it would be a failure in gratitude to pass by without particular notice. The first point to which he would call the attention of the House, was the condition of the army on its arrival at Salamanca, after its march from Lisbon—a march which, whether they considered the extent of the country, the unusual inclemency of the season, or the arrangements necessarily resorted to, was difficult beyond description, and imposed upon sir J. Moore as arduous a task as could possibly devolve upon any commanding officer; and yet, owing to his admirable management, never did an army appear in a state of more perfect discipline, of more complete equipment, in higher military condition, and more competent in every respect (with the exception of numbers) to meet and encounter an enemy, than did that army on its arrival, after a severe and fatiguing march, at Salamanca. The march by land was the option of sir John Moore, not from any deficiency of transports, but from the then efficient state of the army, and he (lord C.) did consider it a most judicious preference on the part of sir John Moore; as he did not think, that an army assembled at that period in Gallicia, if conveyed by transports to the northern extremity of Spain, would have had as good an opportunity for co-operation with the natives, as it might have had on its arrival in a more central part of Spain, after its march through Portugal.—The next circumstance he should advert to was, the diversion effected by sir John Moore's retreat in favour of the Spaniards, and never was there in the military history of any country a more complete diversion; for he had completely succeeded in drawing to the northern extremities of the peninsula the efforts of the French forces from the track of the Spanish armies: in effecting this great diversion, sir John Moore had secured an object of not less importance, by asserting the national honour in the brilliant result of the action with Marshal Sotlt's army. The more the circumstances of that action were examined into, the more illustrious an instance would it appear of the matchless gallantry of British troops, after suffering all the hardships of a march of unexampled severity, pressed upon continually by an army of considerably superior force, amid the rigours of a season peculiarly inclement, where human strength was exhausted by the rapidity of their movements, the consequence of forced marches, so that none but the choice troops of each army, who had surmounted all these difficulties, remained to be oppos- ed to each other; notwithstanding all these circumstances to fight a battle, and not only obtain a victory, but obtain it in a way so decisive, that they had leisure to embark every individual of their forces in the presence of a superior army, whom they had beaten the day before, and did not leave a single wounded soldier, nor one solitary piece of artillery behind them, which French artifice could convert into the slightest pretence of national exultation.—He was unwilling to add any other to the splendid instance just mentioned of what British valour could do when properly conducted. It behoved the country to mark, with extraordinary distinction, such extraordinary services. He should move for a Monument to the memory of sir John Moore, as an effectual incitement to those who survived him to merit the same great distinction, by imitating the example he had bequeathed them.—The noble lord then concluded with moving, "That an humble Address be presented to his majesty, That his majesty would be graciously pleased to direct that a Monument be erected in the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul's London, to the memory of lieut.-general sir John Moore, knight of the Bath, late Commander of his majesty's forces in Spain, who after an honourable and meritorious life in the service of his country, which deeply laments his loss, was killed by a cannon bail in the battle of Corunna on the 16th of Jan. 1809, where, by his judicious disposition and successful commencement of the engagement, he secured the complete repulse and signal defeat of the enemy, and the safe and unmolested embarkation of his majesty's Army in the face of a French Army of superior force; and to assure his majesty that this House will make good the expence attending the same."—On the question being put from the chair,

rose and said; There can, sir, be but one sentiment in this house upon the present motion; nor is there, I am persuaded, an individual within its walls who does not feel that sentiment fully and forcibly. All minor considerations are forgotten in the involuntary tribute of national gratitude to the services that have added new splendour to the national character; and when such a subject is before us, it is well that no feeling arising out of any political differences be allowed for a moment to interfere with the nobler sympathy by which we are bound, in common, to acknowledge and commemorate distinguished service rendered to our common country. Sincere as was the pleasure I felt at hearing the motion of the noble lord, I experienced no less satisfaction in hearing the speech which prefaced it. I was glad to hear the noble lord do such justice to departed worth, and glad to perceive that he was so well inclined to do that justice. In all his sentiments relating to the merits and claims of the great man we have lost, I entirely concur, and join with him in the strong terms in which he has expressed them, as terms no less just than emphatic; and if I had had no other cause for rising than merely to express my satisfaction at the speech of the noble lord, I should have risen to have done so. But, sir, I cannot possibly stop here, injustice to the great man who was the object of the noble lord's culogium. I trust that his sentiments may go forth, that the public may know what he and his colleagues really think of the services we are now called upon to recompence; that they may be satisfied that the government of this country does know how to appreciate the value of one of her greatest ornaments, and that they may not be so far deceived by the obtrusive servility of a venal press as to conclude its sentiments on the merits of that admirable officer to be merely the echo of its masters. We are now assembled, with one accord, to do justice to the memory of a man whose loss has thrown a shade upon the splendour of victory; and while we are so employed; while we are paying the last pious tribute of our country to the sacred memory of her departed brave; while we are rearing lasting memorials at once of our gratitude and our glory—is it to go abroad that a part of that venal press, which would enlist itself into the service of the minister, was authorised to counteract the professions of ministers themselves, the sense of that house, and the wishes of the country, by assiduously circulating slanders, poisonous to the fair fame of that great character which is now peculiarly our own, and which our vote of this night will go to identify with the honour of the country? I would be far from imputing to the noble lord the having given the print in question any such authority. I have a right to conclude, that his opinion of the transcendant merit of the distinguished officer whose loss we have so much reason to deplore, is as high as any entertained by any member of this house [here lord Castlereagh signified his assent;] and when I allude to this pitiful attempt of a journalist to tear from a gallant soldier's grave the laurels his country's wishes have planted there for ever, it is merely that the attempt may be marked and exposed to merited reprobation—an attempt which, when once the sentiments avowed by the noble lord this night shall be made public, will never again be repeated: the editor will see his error, in his mistaken anticipation of the opinions of those he wishes to please, and desist from a repetition of his calumnies. It becomes us, however, as the guardians of the public honour, in vindication of our judgment in discriminating, and our sincerity in rewarding, while we are erecting a monument in commemoration of the great general who is gone, not to look with indifference at any base attack upon that less perishable memorial he has left us—his character—dearer to him than monuments, and more durable than marble. (Hear! hear!) In saying this, I would not be understood to insinuate, that though death canonized great men, it should yet be a shelter for misconduct. If there has been misconduct, trace it to its proper source; visit its consequences upon its proper authors; but let every vile attempt to transfer the blame from the guilty living to the blameless dead be scouted with a manly and an honest indignation. I am not for repressing useful investigation, but for restraining wanton calumny; and at least until those brave partners in his hardships and his glory are landed on our shores, who are the most competent evidences to his merit, it is not too much to expect, that till then, at least, the voice of censure be suspended.—The noble lord repeated his approbation of the motion, and sat down amid cries of Hear! hear! from all parts of the house.

then said, that as great part of the glory and splendour of the transaction was. owing to the spirit, activity, zeal, and enterprise of the navy, he was sure the house would most readily agree to bestow on the officers and men engaged in that part of our service the same distinguished mark of their approbation as they had just accorded to those of the army. He moved, therefore, the Thanks of the house to rear-admiral De Courcy and rear-admiral sir Samuel Hood, and the officers under their command, for their exertions in aiding the enterprize of our troops at Corunna. Also an acknowledgment to the non-commissioned officers and seamen, of the approbation of the house for their exertions, activity, and zeal on the same occasion.—Both the resolutions were put and agreed to nem, con.

rose, to make his motion for the Thanks of the house to sir Arthur Wellesley, and the officers and men under his command, for the brilliant victory they had obtained at the Battle of Vimiera. —Whatever differences of opinion might have taken place, or might at that moment exist, as to the various matters which had occurred since that brilliant achievement, he was sure there never was, at any period of our history, a stronger burst of national gratitude than that which was universally proclaimed by the people of this country on the receipt of the first intelligence of the gallant and glorious Victory of Vimiera. He was happy in being able to separate this short, but me- morable Campaign from any circumstances, not so favourable, which might subsequently have attached to it; and he had no doubt but the house would be ready to coincide and go along with him in opinion, that the success and glory attending the splendid event of the Battle of Vimiera, on the 21st of August last, deserved the highest admiration and the warmest thanks of that house and of the country. It was impossible to find in the military annals of G. Britain, a more glorious instance of the superiority of her arms, than had been given on that occasion. We had had our victories of Egypt and Maida; but however brilliant those of any former period, none had ever exceeded that of which he was then speaking, which had afforded us a further striking and unquestionable proof, that whenever or wherever we had brought our troops into action with the French, they had shewn themselves greatly superior in courage, hardihood, and discipline.— They proved, that meet where we would, under advantages or disadvantages, whether in infantry, in artillery, (as was shewn at Vimiera), or in cavalry, (as the late campaign in Spain most decidedly evinced), the British soldier could maintain the same superiority over our foes as the British sailor did, and that the only difference consisted in the limited scale on which the former were, from the nature of our situation, employed. It was a fallacious mode of reasoning, to consider G. Britain as capable of acting a principal military part on the continent; her share must necessarily be subordinate and auxiliary, but I these events showed, that if the cause of the world rested on the. British arms, it would rescue the world from the tyrant, under whose sway it now groaned.—He did not wish to enter into a circumstantial detail of the campaign in Portugal, but it would be unjust not to call the attention of the house to the splendid action performed on the I7th of Aug. which, though limited in character, and not equal in extent, did not yield in glory to the Battle of Vimiera itself. The enemy were driven from one of the strongest positions that a body of troops could occupy, and an earnest given of what was afterwards realized in the immortal Battle of the 21st. He was sure it was not from any partial feelings towards the illustrious general who commanded on these occasions that he spoke; for much as he esteemed and admired him, it was impossible that any private feeling could enhance, in his mind, the honours of an action which would for ever remain a most signal example of excellence in the military art. It was no mean triumph to overcome the best troops of France, in possession of a country and every thing necessary for the maintenance of the advantages they enjoyed, with a body of men who were only provided with what could be supplied in a short time, and so completely to overthrow them that one fourth of their force was destroyed, and of 21 pieces of artillery they could only bear eight from the field. If such distinguished results were attained without cavalry, what might not be expected from a British force, completely appointed. He understood it had been hinted in another place, that the Thanks of the house ought to be extended to another individual, who was an officer in high command on that occasion. And therefore the noble lord wished to be perfectly understood, in the motion he should have to submit, not to intend the slightest disrespect towards sir H. Burrard. No one was loss disposed than himself, to hurt the feelings of that officer, than whom he did not believe there was a more gallant, or one of a more enlarged soul, in the British empire. A proof of his generous and manly feeling had been given, in his refusal to take ally share in a transaction which redounded so much to the glory of sir A. Wellesley. When he had mentioned the matter to his majesty, of the intention to confer the Thanks of the country upon sir A. Wellesley, his majesty expressed his approbation of the liberality of sir H. Burrard in not taking the command on that day; and it would, in his opinion, be doing an injury to that gallant and meritorious officer, to mix him in that vote of Thanks. All the military merit of this campaign, was exclusively sir A Wellesley's, and this was not the first instance in which the house was called on to vote an approval of his gallant and distinguished conduct. He had commanded a largerarmy than that with which he conquered at Vimiera, and the battle of Assaye, with the uninterrupted display of the most excellent military talents throughout an Indian campaign, had qualified him, in an eminent degree, for the trust there reposed in him. Military experience had ensured him that success which ever accompanied his brilliant career, and carried with him the confidence of the house as well as the enthusiasm of the army.—From the moment sir A. Wellesley landed at Mondego Bay to the day of the glorious achievement which was then the object of frequent praise, his dispositions of the army were such, that there was not a man, from that distinguished officer. general Spencer, down to the lowest drummer in the army, who was not an enthusiast that would cheerfully follow sir A. Wellesley upon any service. —Having submitted these observations to the house, he felt that he had made out one of the strongest cases ever made out, to entitle a general to the honourable testimony of his valour and good conduct which was bestowed by the vote of parliament, and concluded by moving, "That the Thanks of this house be given to the right hon. lieut. general sir Arthur Wellesley, K. B, for the distinguished valour, ability and conduct displayed by him on the 17th and 21st of August last in Portugal, on the latter of which days he obtained at Vimiera over the army of the enemy a signal victory, honourable and glorious to the British arms."—On the Resolution being read,

urged his friendship for sir A. Wellesley as an excuse for pressing forward to second the motion. He ran no risk of weakening the ground upon which this motion stood, for if submitted to the whole nation, it would be carried by acclamation. He would abstain from trespassing on the indulgence of the house by following the noble lord minutely or offering any eulogium on the hon. general, his friend, because it was altogether unnecessary, and would be trespassing on the time of the house. Great actions spoke best for themselves; and the splendid deeds for which the house was called upon to vole its Thanks, far exceeded his powers of description. Sir A. Wellesley was at a time of life when much might still be expected, and the course of service so gloriously begun, and so brilliantly distinguished at Assaye, promised a harvest of laurels which would be reaped at the proper periods—whether he was to be employed as the avenger of our wrongs, or the protector of other countries from violence and oppression. With the experience which sir A. Wellesley had acquired, with the prompt courage and coolness for which he was distinguished, what might not be expected from that patriotic ardour, that firm decision, and that calm intrepidity, by which the gallant officer in question had ever been so eminently distinguished, when proper occasions offered for calling them forth? He hoped that no extraneous matter would be introduced into this discussion, however much it might be regretted that the expected consequences had not resulted from this victory.

said, that disagreeable as the task was, he must dissent from the motion; and he would, as shortly as possible, explain his reasons for so doing. The noble lord had said he was not actuated by any partiality in bringing forward the motion; and he hoped it was unnecessary for him to add, that he was not moved by any feelings of hostility to the gallant general in question in making the objections to the motion to which his duty impelled him. It had, as he understood, always been held, that the thanks of that house should not be voted without the most striking proof of some superior valour and achievement, or that some good consequence highly beneficial to the interests of the country, had ensued. He was willing to admit all the merit of courage and gallantry which attached to the character of sir A. Wellesley, and also the enthusiasm of the army towards him: but he could not see that it had been productive of any such good consequences as, in his opinion, ought to have resulted from it. He admitted the truth of the noble lord's statement as to the enthusiasm of the country when the news first arrived; but he believed that enthusiasm had subsided, and a very different opinion had since become general as to the result of the battle alluded to. The noble lord had said the French were superior in numbers, but he was of a contrary opinion. It appeared from the dispatches, that the French army amounted to 12 or 14,000 men; the British army consisted of from 14 to 16,000 men, besides 1,200 Portuguese troops. By the report of the officers of the Court of Inquiry, which had sat on the results of that battle, it appeared that they could not blame sir H. Burrard for objecting to the advance of our forces. The immediate consequences of that objection were the Armistice and the Convention, of which or of some parts of which, the house had recently been informed, his majesty had expressed a formal disapprobation. Neither of the victories, therefore, appeared to him to deserve the thanks of the house.—Another objection in his mind was, that no mention was made in the vote of the name of sir H. Burrard, to whom he thought great praise was due for the partite had acted, and which it was owned by the noble lord he deserved, for his conduct on that occasion. From all these circumstances, he objected to the Vote of Thanks for the Battle of Vimiera, as he did not think it of that brilliant description to demand a Vote of Thanks, and it fell short of those good consequences which ought to have resulted from it; but on the contrary, the whole of the expedition had ended in a manner that was disgraceful to the country.

concurred in the motion. He gave the noble lord behind him credit when he said, that he had no personal hostility to sir A. Wellesley; but he differed from him widely in opinion on this subject; for he believed that this victory possessed all the ingredients which were calculated to do honour to the country, and to call for the unanimous Thanks of the house. He would not speak of the final result of the campaign; but as to this victory, and the course that led to it, there never was any thing more splendid and decisive, and the house would be wanting in the feelings that ought to distinguish the British parliament, unless they marked their sense of gratitude by the warmest thanks. Pie stated on public grounds, that from the landing at Mondego, to the victory of Vimiera, the whole proceeding formed a splendid monument of the military genius of sir A. Wellesley. But if he were to speak from private feeling he would say, that though from the commencement of his career sir A. Wellesley had deserved the highest applause of his country, there was no occasion when his military genius shone with greater lustre than the present. He agreed with the hon. gent. who spoke last but one, that from what the distinguished general in question had already done, we might form the most flattering hopes of what he would in future accomplish, in the honourable profession to which he was so splendid an ornament; and from the heavy loss we had so recently sustained among our generals, we ought carefully to nourish and encourage all those who had given such pre-eminent proofs of the vast superiority of their talents. He was happy to be able to concur so completely in this motion, from the judicious course which the noble lord had adopted, in confining it to the conduct of the general and the troops.

supported the motion, and expressed his extreme regret at the treatment his friend sir A. Wellesley received on his arrival in this country, after the brilliant and admirable manner in which lie had performed the service entrusted to his management. He had attacked and beaten, whatever might be said to the contrary, an enemy greatly superior to him in numbers; and if the noble lord would examine the documents, he would find it to be so. He was sorry, however, to say, that instead of being hailed as a conqueror by whom the military glory of Great Britain had been enhanced, he had been dragged as a culprit to answer to the charge of being a party to a transaction which he wished to prevent. The Report of that tribunal, before which he had been arraigned, had disappointed the hopes and expectations of the nation; because it spoke with equal praise of the man who won the battle, and of the man who checked the pursuit; of the man who conducted the disposition of the army, and of the man who when the victory was achieved, at case assumed the chief command. He was far however, from wishing to detract from the merits of the two other gallant generals, or to heighten those of his illustrious friend by a comparison with them; but, certainly, they had no share in the transaction; sir A. Wellesley had performed all the service; sir A. Wellesley was entitled to all the reward. The other officers might, if entrusted with the command from the beginning, have performed the service in the same gallant manner. But here he was not to look to what might have been done, but to what had been done. Sir Arthur had performed the service, and he was entitled to the thanks. The Court of Inquiry had given but cold praise, when they said that he had displayed unquestionable zeal and firmness. These were qualities which every general must possess, unless a traitor or a coward. The performance of a bare duty might screen from censure, but deserved very little praise. Sir Arthur had done more. The disasters of the campaign that was just concluded he thought were wholly owing to the superseding of sir A. Wellesley; for if he had continued in the command, the Convention of Cintra would never have taken place; but, on the contrary, instead of a fatiguing march through Gallicia, he firmly believed our troops would have been employed in driving the French over the Pyrennees. He had been a witness to the whole of the conduct of the distinguished general, to whom the thanks of the house were then proposed to be voted; and in his opinion it deserved every encomium which language could bestow on it. The hon. gent. then adverted to what sir Arthur had done in the East, and what he had done and might do in Europe, and called upon the house to acknowledge the merits of a general who had never been defeated. If, in the course of what he had said, any expression had fallen from him that might be offensive to the friends of the gallant officer who had superseded him, he could assure them, he did not mean to convey the smallest censure on any thing he had done, but merely to express his sentiments as to the conduct and gallantry of the distinguished general who so well had earned and deserved the high reward intended to be conferred on him by the thanks of the house.

observed, that he had not said that the British troops were superior in number to all the French in Portugal, but only to those in the engagement.

fully concurred in the merits of sir A. Wellesley: but it appeared that there had been a difference of opinion between sir A. Wellesley and sir H. Burrard at the close of the day. On that subject the Board of Inquiry had given no opinion, and as they had not done so, he thought it would be indecorous in the house to do any thing which might appear to decide that question. If he voted for the motion, it must be with a clear understanding that this point was left as before.

said that it was not his object to take the sense of the house, either directly or indirectly, on that question.

concurred in the motion, and thought the noble lord had taken the course which was most agreeable to sir H. Burrard himself. That officer would be more satisfied with the manner in which his merits had been allowed, and he was no stranger to the thanks of the house. It was with pride he would give his thanks in the manner proposed. He concluded with describing the actions of the 17th and 21st of August as of the most chivalrous nature, and worthy of being had in everlasting remembrance in the circle of the soldier, and by paying a warm tribute to the merit of sir A. Wellesley, who had conciliated the love and respect of the private soldier, deserved the most hearty applauses of his country, and proved himself a veteran in noble daring, a veteran in martial fame, a veteran in the love and admiration of the public.

could not give his vote this night without saying a few words. He bore testimony to the judicious, candid, and liberal manner in which the noble lord had brought the subject forward, both with respect to the operations in Spain and Portugal—in resting the whole matter on the real merits of the officers, without entering upon points in which they were not concerned. He would most cheerfully give his thanks for the actions of the 17th and 21st, and acknowledge the conduct, the prowess, the valour, and the gallantry of sir A. Wellesley and the army under his command, from their landing to the conclusion of the victory of Vimiera. But the moment the house was doing ample justice to both they ought to abstain from fixing a stigma on the conduct of another officer, especially after the loss which he had recently sustained. Sir H. Burrard was the commander of the army on the 21st, and from his judicious conduct had deserved the Thanks of that house; and he was sure that no jealousy could exist in the great mind of sir A. Wellesley on this subject. If sir H. Burrard was so modest as not to aspire to the honour which that house had it in its power to confer, sir A. Wellesley, on the other hand, was too generous to envy the thanks of the house to an officer who had not interrupted him in his career, as had been said by an hon. gent. on the floor (Mr. Blachford) but had refused to interfere with the triumphs of sir A. Wellesley, and while he took the responsibility on himself ascribed in his dispatch the merit to sir Arthur. Could the house depart from the established rule, and refuse to record their Thanks to sir H. Burrard, the Commander-in-Chief, as well as to sir A. Wellesley? He fully agreed in the caution of his hon. friend behind him (Mr. Lambe) not to blame sir H. Burrard, and the only way to prevent this was to introduce the name of sir Harry, which might be done without any injury whatever to sir A. Wellesley. If a Commander was responsible for what he committed to an inferior officer, why should he be deprived of the praise? Was sir Harry at a distance on the day of the battle? Had he not taken the command the day before? Sir Arthur came and took his orders from sir H. Burrard before, during, and after the battle. Sir H. Burrard considered the plan of sir Arthur, and held himself responsible for it. An hon. gent. on the other side had defied the opinion of the Court of Inquiry, and decided that sir H. Burrard had done wrong; but he, who did not think quite so lightly of the opinion of the Board, and especially of that of one noble lord who was a member, thought that, after the manner in which the subject appeared to have been considered by that Board, the house could not refuse its Thanks to sir H. Burrard without doing a gross injustice to that officer. In no Vote of Thanks had the Commander-in Chief been ever before left out. The conduct of sir Hyde Parker had been the subject of animadversion, who had entrusted the execution of the business at Copenhagen to lord Nelson; yet sir Hyde Parker was thanked by both houses. If the conduct of sir Arthur, instead of producing a brilliant result, had led to some disaster, sir H. Burrard would have been responsible, and it would have been no excuse that he had delegated the command to sir A. Wellesley. Under these circumstances, ought he not to be considered as sharing in the merits of the success? He had no knowledge of sir H. Burrard—he had never spoken to him in his life—but he thought it an act of duty to move that his name should be included. It was due to his merits, and might be some consolation under the afflicting calamity, of which intelligence had been received that day, and which deprived that gallant officer of a son, who might hereafter illustrate by his achievements the military glory of his country. An hon. gent. had adverted to the reception which sir A. Wellesley had met with. His reception, he believed, was marked with that applause which his distinguished merits deserved—but what had been the reception of sir H. Burrard and sir Hew Dalrymple? On the question between sir A. Wellesley and sir H. Burrard, the Court of Inquiry had given no opinion, and one noble lord had said that if he had been obliged to decide he would have inclined rather to the opinions of sir H. Burrard. The name of that officer, under all these circumstances, ought not to be omitted, and he therefore moved that it be inserted.

observing that the motion must, if pushed to a division, be put in another form, adverted to the merits of the case, and acknowledged, that if the matter were to be decided by personal feeling, one might be disposed to overlook the real nature of the question, in consideration of the calamity to which the hon. gent. had alluded. But it would not be doing justice to sir H. Burrard to thank him for a service, from which his great merit consisted in having separated himself. The course of proceeding which sir Harry adopted, proved that he did not wish to arrogate to himself any share of the merit which he had carefully consigned to its author. In his dispatch he stated that the plan was intirely sir A. Wellesley's, the execution was intirely sir A. Wellesley's, and the report of the battle intirely sir A. Wellesley's. Unquestionably, sir H. Burrard was intitled to great praise for his liberality, generosity, and forbearance; but it was not that description of merit which they were then considering. The only thing that could be recorded here was, that he did not mix himself with what belonged to another; and in doing so the house would be far from consulting his feelings. The hon. gent. would not suppose that he meant to ascribe to him any improper motive in this amendment. But with respect to the case of sir Hyde Parker at Copenhagen, the hon. gent. would recollect that sir Hyde Parker had been thanked for the disposition which he made; but sir H. Burrard laid claim neither to disposition nor execution, and therefore the principle could not apply. With regard to what had fallen from a noble lord under the gallery, it was not surprising, if his objections had induced others to wander in some measure from the question. The noble lord ought to remember, that though the British troops in the field were superior in number, yet, out of eight brigades of which the army consisted, only five had been engaged in the action. Three eighths of the British force remained without firing a musquet (hear, hear). He could not sit with patience, and hear the gallantry of our brave soldiers and the merits of a gallant and distinguished officer thus attempted to be frittered away upon fallacious grounds (loud cries of hear, hear, hear). The distinguished officer who was the subject of the motion before the house, had pursued a career of military glory, unexampled in this country. He had gained almost as many victories as he had been years in the service, and he trusted that the house, leaving all other considerations out of the question, would express their warm and decided approbation of his merits.

assured the house that no man could have a higher respect for sir H. Burrard than he had, but he could not help observing that it would be impossible for the hon. gent. to make the army understand, why sir H. Burrard was thanked, if he could carry his amendment. The private soldier who saw the activity of sir A. Wellesley, and knew that sir H. Burrard had done nothing more than come into the field, could not understand what the British parliament meant. He had not the good fortune to be present at the battle of Vimiera, but he arrived soon after, and observed the sentiment of enthusiasm in favour of sir A. Wellesley, that prevailed from the general to the drummer. It was impossible for him adequately to describe it; but he might use the emphatic language of an experienced general who had served in most of the armies on the continent, and was fully capable of judging of the question—he meant general Anstruther, an officer, for whom he had entertained the sincerest love and affection, who had promised to become one of the brightest ornaments of the British army, but who, unfortunately for his country, had died in consequence of the fatigue of the late retreat. That distinguished officer had stated to him that it was impossible to conceive anything more admirable than the conduct of sir A. Wellesley from the commencement of his operations to the result of the battle of Vimiera; that there was no difficulty which he did not contrive to obviate—that his mind was full of resources—that he managed the army like a machine, of the nature of which he was complete master— that he had every thing at his fingers ends, and that no officer that ever he saw, conducted the operations of an army with more distinguished ability. This service was that of sir A. Wellesley, and the army could never understand, why the thanks for it should be given to another, whose great merit was his generous and liberal refusal to share the honours which he conceived did not justly belong to him.

was particularly anxious to express his strong approbation of what had fallen from the hon. general respecting brigadier-general Anstruther. It was impossible to speak too highly of the military merit, the capacity, in all respects, and the excellent character of that officer, who, if his life had not been lost to his country by the fatigue of severe duty, would have been among the list of those this day to have received the thanks of his country. for his services at both battles. He was of opinion that the thanks of this house were? highly merited by sir A. Wellesley, for his conduct at Vimiera, and he was the more confirmed in that opinion from what general Anstruther had written to this country from the field of battle, which had made such a deep impression on his (Mr. Adam's) mind, that it was impossible for him to forget it; and it confirmed every thing that had been said of general Anstruther by the hon. general who had spoken last. He wrote from the field of battle, that such were the confidence which the army of Vimiera had in sir A. Wellesley, and such was his talents for command, that there was nothing that that army could not attempt under that commander, and few things that they would not achieve. Mr. Adam said, that these were with him sufficient reasons for thanking sir A. Wellesley, a sentiment in which the whole house agreed, with the exception of the noble lord under the gallery. It would be cruel indeed, because this great action, which had filled the country with universal joy when it was first known, had happened some months ago, and other events had since intervened, that therefore our gratitude or our thanks should be deadened to those who had achieved it. He then said, that he thought his hon. friend Mr. Whitbread, with whom he had the happiness to agree in general on public questions, would prejudge the matter by the Amendment which he had moved, as it regarded sir H. Burrard. As the motion now stood, and as it had been introduced and supported, he conceived himself and the house at perfect liberty to enter into every inquiry respecting the transactions in Portugal, and that whatever military merit might appear to be due to sir H. Burrard, or whatever political demerit might attach elsewhere, it was still open to the house; but, if the Amendment was persisted in, when the speeches of the day were forgotten, the Journals would exhibit to posterity what would be injurious to the character of sir H. Burrard, without the possibility of explaining it; he, therefore, requested his hon. friend to withdraw his Amendment, as, besides these disadvantages, it would preclude the free and unequivocal thanks of this house to the other officers, and to the army of Vimiera in general. He said it was impossible for him to speak on this question without considerable emotion, as thanks were to follow, among others, to a person in whom he felt the deepest in- terest, he meant genera! Ferguson, whom he considered not merely as a friend, but as a son, the companion and friend of his sons, who were fighting the battles of their country. He felt for him a truly parental affection; and he knew, from the best authority, that sir A. Wellesley had said, that the intrepid gallantry and conduct with which general Ferguson had led on his troops to the charge, was the finest thing he had ever seen in his military service. Mr. Adam added, that he could not help feeling most anxiously, on every account, that thanks, which comprised no opinion, and impeded no inquiry, and did not preclude future thanks to the services of sir H. Burrard, as the result of inquiry, should be voted without altering their original form; and that the country, the army, and the world, should feel, that the gratitude of this house was the constant and invariable reward of great military achievements.

had no hesitation in complying with the recommendation of his hon. friend, in withdrawing his Amendment. He remained, however, of the opinion he had already expressed, that sir H. Burrard was entitled to the thanks of the house; but as his hon. friend had stated that the vote of this night would not preclude him from afterwards receiving that testimony of approbation to which he (Mr. W.) contended his conduct entitled him, he should not press the introduction of it into the vote of this night. He agreed most cordially with his hon. friend in the sentiments he expressed in regard to general Ferguson. He was satisfied that sir A. Wellesley and general Ferguson must go down to posterity as the most distinguished heroes of Vimiera.—The Amendment was then withdrawn, when the Resolution for a vote of thanks to sir A. Wellesley was put, and carried, with the sole dissentient voice of lord Folkestone. The thanks of the house were next voted to major-generals Spencer, Hill, and Ferguson; and to brigadier-generals Ackland, Nightingale, Fane, and Bowes, and the officers under their command. A Resolution was then agreed to, expressive of the approbation of that house, of the conduct of the noncommissioned officers and privates.

then rose and said, that in calling the attention of the house to the important motion of which he had given notice for that evening, he had the satisfaction of feeling, that although the subject was of the greatest magnitude, it would be necessary for him to trespass but very shortly on their time at the present period. The necessity for taking measures to encrease the regular and disposable force of the country without impairing the home defence, had been recommended to the consideration of Parliament in the gravest manner in the Speech from the throne, and he was convinced, that on no topic of that Speech was there a more general concurrence of sentiment in that house. It was unnecessary for him to point out to the. attention of the house the general circumstances of Europe, and the particular situation of Great Britain, which rendered it a paramount duty to provide a solid and efficient military establishment. It was evident that events might possibly occur which would make it absolutely necessary for the country to have a considerable military force at its disposal; and it was desirable that there should be a solid foundation of military strength at home, in order that the best interests of the country might not be sacrificed or endangered, while we were discharging the duty we owe to other nations, of succouring them as far as it shall be in our power. This principle would, he was sure, be admitted on both. sides of the house, and the only difference of opinion that he apprehended was, with respect to the best and most effectual means of procuring the increase that was necessary in our army. As he trusted the house would grant him leave to bring in his Bill, he should have opportunities hereafter to cuter more fully into a defence of the measure which he intended to propose. He did not wish, on the present occasion, to go into any general arguments, but merely to put the house in possession of the general outline of the plan he wished to submit to the consideration of parliament. He was enabled in submitting the measure he had now to propose, to relieve parliament from an anxiety they must naturally feel as to the success of every attempt of this kind, by showing them that they were proceeding not upon his judgment or opinions, nor upon the impressions of his majesty's ministers, but upon the result of experience, which had recently proved that the. principle, upon which it was founded, was the most effectual, and by far the most expeditious means of supplying a deficiency in the regular military force of the country. In 1807 the plan was adopted of allowing a certain number of men to volunteer from the Militia, into the regular Army, and it was attended with the most beneficial consequences. It was now perfectly ascertained, that there was no mode in which the disposable force of the country could so rapidly and easily be increased, as by availing ourselves of the zeal which the Militia uniformly displayed on every occasion, when the exigencies of the country rendered an appeal to them necessary. No measure had ever turned out so completely beneficial as that introduced in the year 1807, by which it proposed to increase the Army by encouraging transfers from the Militia, to the extent of 28,000 men. The addition which this, measure actually produced was upwards of 27,000 men within twelve months. Many of these had since fought at the glorious Battles of Vimiera and Corunna, and had been honoured with the thanks of their country for their services. He was convinced that a considerable portion of the existing militia panted for an opportunity of extending their services. As there was little doubt, therefore, of the efficiency of the measure which he meant to propose, so also he hoped that as little could be entertained of its policy. It would give the country in the least possible time the largest possible disposable force. It would throw the temporary weakness on the defensive army rather than on the disposable. The reverse would be the case were the Army of Reserve to he renewed, He allowed that the levy of Militia, in order to supply the place of 28,000, who, by the Bill of 1807, were permitted to volunteer into the line, pressed heavy on the country, but it showed what the country was capable of doing when called on for exertion. Parliament had demanded 45,000 militia men from Great Britain and Ireland; and (thanks to the zeal and activity of the different counties) within six months after that demand 41,500 joined their respective regiments. He was perfectly aware, however of the pressure of the measure, and that it ought only to be resorted to on a great emergency, as also that it was the bounden duty of government, if possible, to mitigate the evils of the ballot, and render it less onerous on the people. It was his intention in the Bill which he should submit to the house, to restrain the volunteering within the same limits as those within which it was formerly restrained. In other words to propose that no regiment should be reduced below three fifths of its full establishment. The last time, however, the legislature adopted this measure, they determined not only to replace by ballot, the loss sustained in the militia regiments, by the volunteering into the line, but to raise an excess; making in the whole three fourths of the full establishment, viz. 36,000 in England, and 9,000 in Ireland. Now, however, he thought it only necessary to propose to cover the transfer from the militia, for which purpose only half of the establishment would be required, viz. 24,000 men, instead of 36,000. He apprehended that it would be impossible to get rid of the ballot altogether; but still an effort might be made to obtain men by a milder process, and to relieve the counties from the great pressure which they had been exposed to formerly. For this purpose he should propose that a great part, if not the whole, of the expence of raising the men should be defrayed not by the counties, but by the public. He should propose that the public should pay the bounty for enlisting, not altogether as high a bounty as would be given for enlisting for more general service, but what he thought would be a sufficient bounty—about ten guineas. If the voluntary enlistment did not succeed, and the country should be compelled to have recourse to a ballot, it was his intention, in that case, to propose that the bounty of ten guineas should be given to the ballotted man as a bounty, if he should serve in person, or to assist him in procuring a substitute. When the country gentlemen and militia colonels should find that the expence was to fall upon the public, arid not upon the. counties, he had great hopes that their local exertions in support of the measure would be more effectual. He was very sanguine in believing, that by this means a sufficient number of men might be got without any material or very sensible pressure upon the country. If, however, his hope was disappointed, and a ballot should be absolutely necessary, even in that case the pressure of the ballot upon individuals would be much diminished by the assistance which they would receive from the public purse. —He was satisfied that this measure would not interfere in any material degree with the regular recruiting, as it was his intention to propose that the bounties to the Militia should be lower than those for the Line. He was also convinced, there was not a man in the country who would not cheerfully submit to the ballot, if the exigencies of the country required it. This was merely to repeat a measure which had already been tried with success; and that, too, under a qualification which must do away a great part of any objectionable feature for which it was before distinguished.—Having thus put the house in possession of the general outline of the plan which he intended to submit to the consideration of parliament, he concluded by moving for leave to bring in a Bill, to allow a certain proportion of the Militia of Great Britain to volunteer into the regular army.

saw no occasion for any increase of our force destined for foreign service, till the house should be informed what was the nature of the foreign service in which they might be employed. No case had been made out by the noble lord of any deficiency existing in the disposable force of the country, which rendered a measure such as that now proposed, necessary; and he conceived that before the house gave their consent to it, it was their duly to enquire what had become of the great force placed in the noble lord's hands two years ago, at which time he had himself declared that the country stood in a proud situation, and that its military strength was adequate to every exertion that could be required from it. What deficiency had arisen in that large disposable force the noble lord had himself termed sufficient, neither he (Mr. T.) nor any man in the house knew. Before he could consent to impose upon the people the additional burthen which this measure would create, he must be satisfied, not only that a further regular force was necessary, but that the hands into which the disposition of that force was to be entrusted were equal to the confidence reposed in them. At present, all he knew on the subject was, that the army had been most shamefully wasted by the noble lord. Without meaning to cast the slightest reflection on our gallant officers, whose skill and valour entitled them, on the contrary, to the highest praise, he was convinced that the house and the country must deeply feel that the military power of England under the auspices of the noble lord had experienced a more disgraceful discomfiture than any to which it had ever hitherto been exposed.—He made these observations on the present occasion at this early stage of the business, to guard himself from being supposed to assent to the proposition, that his majesty's ministers had a claim on the country to have a further force placed at their disposal, without having first accounted for the way in which they had employed that already entrusted to them.

thought our army had not been treated as it deserved, and he would not consent to the drawing of a single sixpence out of the pockets of his constituents for the purpose of adding to our disposable force, till he knew how the dispoable force we already possessed had been managed. Had they not last year voted 120,000 men for general disposable service? How galling, then, the reflection, that only 28,000 could be collected when we went to meet a numerous enemy in a country, which we were so much interested in defending! The army had unquestionably displayed its wonted valour, and would, he was sure, always do its duty; but it was a melancholy consideration that this valour had only been sufficient to secure a retreat, not to reap the. fruits of a victory. It did not appear, that more than 36,000 men had at any time been employed in Spain and Portugal; and he trusted that they should never again hear of an expedition of that description being sent to oppose the numerous armies of France. In every stage, therefore, of the present bill he should oppose it, and would not agree to any further increase of the army, until it should be shewn what had been done with the army voted lost session. Under this impression he had come down to the house to vote against the measure in the first instance.

observed, that it was now but seventeen months since the house had been discussing a measure similar to that proposed by the noble lord. He had the misfortune to differ from the noble lord at that time, and consistently, with the opinion he then entertained, he was bound to oppose the present measure. On the former occasion the noble lord expressly stated, that it was a measure only to be resorted to upon an extraordinary emergency, and not to be looked to as a general system for supplying the army. Now, it appeared that it was to be adopted as a regular system for supplying the army; and the principle upon which these bills went, was nothing less than raising the regular army by a conscription on the people of this country. He was glad to hear what had fallen from the hon. bart. upon the subject, because, certainly, the hon. bart. could not be actuated by any party feeling in his opposition to the measure.Af- ter the disasters which had been sustained, he asked, whether even the noble lord could mean to send another expedition to Spain to turn back the tide of success of Bonaparte's army? Or did he mean to send another expedition to Sweden, to return as the last did, the ridicule of the world? He hoped, however, that if another expedition was sent to Sweden, it would not be a hostile expedition against that country. He thought it absolutely necessary for that house, as representatives of the nation, to make a substantial inquiry into the conduct of the last campaign in Portugal, into the expedition to Sweden, and into the conduct of ministers with respect to Spain, before they should agree to the measure. He could not see why the noble lord wanted more disposable troops, or to what part of the world he could send them, with advantage to the country. He considered that in the present situation of affairs in Europe there was no point to which an expedition could be sent, and consequently that, instead of sending large armies to foreign countries, we ought to shut ourselves up within ourselves, and think of that description of force which would be most useful in the. defence of our own country. Such being his view of the true policy of the country, he felt it his duty to express his opinion upon the present occasion; and he could not consent to increase the burdens of the country, for the sake of putting a large disposable force in the hands of his majesty's present ministers.

rose merely to one point, and that he considered of so much importance that he should feel he had not done his duty if he omitted to mention the subject. He had listened with attention to the speech of the noble lord, and was sorry that a proposition which he had suggested in a former session, made no part of it. He was of opinion that greater reliance should be placed on the service of the militia for the defence of the country. The country treated them as well as the regular troops, and in some instances better, as it made a better allowance for their wives and children. The militia, therefore, owed a debt to the country of making their services as efficacious as possible. He wished that, instead of allowing the militia to enter into the regular army, they should be allowed to extend their services generally to every part of the United Kingdom Since the Union the militia laws appeared to him anomalous; and his conviction was, that the greatest advantage would result from making the force for home defence in both countries mutually applicable in any exigency. After enumerating some of the benefits that would flow from the adoption of his suggestion, and obviating some objections that might be made to it, the hon. gent. stated that the interchange of the militia of the two countries might be restricted, to avoid inconvenience, to cases of rebellion, or invasion, or upon addresses of both houses of parliament. Though aware of the little weight he possessed, yet if no other member should take the question up, he was determined in some stage of the bill to bring it under the consideration of the house.

desired that he might be included in the reservation of his right hon. friend, not to be construed as approving of any project of the noble lord, until the house should be made acquainted with the deficiency to be supplied, and the amount to which the noble lord meant to increase the army. Then they could call upon the noble lord, from authoritative documents, to shew what he had done with the deficiency. He felt great difficulty in intrusting the right hon. gentlemen on the opposite side, with the management of a stronger disposable force, until they should show what had been done with the very efficient force voted last session. This, no doubt, the noble, lord would do. In opening his measure to the house the noble lord had abstained from entering into details, and seemed to think it a matter of course to take 26,000 men from the defensive force of the country for the increase of the regular army. As this was a military subject, he wished to ask the secretary at war when the Army Estimates would be laid before the house, and hoped that they would be presented in such a form as that the house would not have to discuss the Army and Ordnance Estimates on the same night, as happened last session, when, after a long debate upon the Army Estimates, the house at two o'clock in the morning was called on to vote the Ordnance Estimates, exceeding four millions. He hoped, too, that the noble lord would have no objection to lay before the house an account of the effective strength of the army, before the second reading of the bill.

did not think this the proper time for discussing the merits of the measure, and hoped, that the debate would not be continued to any length. With respect to the question of the hon. member, he was sure that his right hon. friends could have no objection to the production of the fullest accounts that could be desired. But he apprehended, that it would not be necessary to delay, till they should be produced, the discussion of a measure for adding to the strength of the army. If the right hon. gent. really thought that the army had been wasted, shamefully wasted, as stated by him, surely he could not think this the moment, in such times, to delay measures for repairing that waste. It was to protest against this imputation of waste that he had risen; and whenever the question should be brought before the house, he was convinced that his noble friend could feel neither indisposition nor difficulty, to defend the application of the disposable force of the country. Whether it should be desirable or not to send out other assistance to Spain, or whether it would have been wise in his majesty's government to abstain from sending out assistance at any time to that country, were questions, which there would be after opportunities of discussing. But if ever the house or the public should decide in the negative, it would then be for the hon. gentlemen to shew that there had been mismanagement. of that assistance, or how it could have been better applied under their more able management. After the various plans the house had heard for the conduct of the campaign, he was sure that neither he nor his colleagues had any thing to fear from the comparison. He had an impatient anxiety to hear what plan the right hon. gent. could propose, but he suspected that if he could have made any improvement in the plans stated by his friends in a former debate, he would not have withheld the communication. As this was not a time for going into the merits of the measure in detail, he should not prolong the conversation. He, however, would add, that, whenever the merits of the campaign should come into discussion, he should be able to prove, that there had been neither waste from mismanagement, nor dishonour from misconduct during its continuance.

stated in explanation, that he had never said that assistance ought not to have been sent to Spain in the early moments of its national ebullition; neither had he said that the deficiencies of the army ought not to be repaired. What he had said, was, that he would not con- sent to the measure until he should be informed how the troops which had been placed at the disposal of the noble lord had been employed, and next, what the amount of the actual deficiencies in the army were.

expressed deep regret that the regular army should be kept up by these hackneyed expedients, which had the effect of breaking down the militia, and produced the increase of the army by means of a direct, and he must be permitted to say, a fraudulent system of taxation. He lamented the inroads which had been made upon the wise system of a right hon. friend of his (Mr. Windham) then absent from indisposition, but who, he trusted, would attend in his place on the second reading of the bill.