said, that on rising to move an Address to the Prince Regent, on the occasion of his most gracious Speech, he had to regret that the undertaking had not fallen upon a person more capable of doing justice to so important a subject; at the same time, he should make his observations with a full reliance on the known liberality and indulgence of the House. He should proceed to take notice of the different topics contained in the Speech of his Royal Highness, and he trusted the House would listen to him with attention. With respect to one part of the Speech, he was convinced that every member in the House would regret as deeply as he did, to learn that his Majesty's lamented illness still continued; and that, after the lapse of another year, there should be such little prospect of his recovery. He should not occupy the time of the House, by taking a retrospect of the great political affairs which had occurred since the commencement of the last session, except so far as to contrast the present situation of the country with that in which it stood twelve months ago. Events had occurred since that time which were greater than the most sanguine imagination could have anticipated. Certainly, at that time affairs had begun to assume a brighter aspect; but no doubt could be entertained that, had England stood alone and unsupported in the contest, she could not have subdued the gigantic power of France. But, on the other hand, it was equally certain, that without her pecuniary aid and her judicious counsels, the allies could not have succeeded in their grand and magnanimous career. Our successes had been attributed to the insatiable ambition of Buonaparté; but the praise for the conduct of the war which had so happily terminated, was most justly due to the Prince Repent and the Allied Sovereigns. Our cabinet council of that time were most truly conspicuous for their temper, their firmness, and decision; and the House must see, with the highest satisfaction, that to such temper, such firmness, and such decision, were they indebted for the present situation of the country. If we took a view of our actual condition at home, we found ourselves at peace with all the world, with the exception of America. Who could have anticipated, at this time last year, such glorious successes, such unparalleled events? They were, indeed, beyond all human expectancy and calculation.

The next topic in the Speech to which he should allude, was the present war with America. He could not but lament, as the whole country must lament the continuance of hostilities with the people of the United States; but it was highly consoling to know that the Prince Regent had assured the House, that nothing should be left unattempted which might bring this contest to a speedy termination. It was America who stood as the unprincipled aggressor in this contest; but we might reflect with pride that our successes hitherto had been unvaried. He could not but congratulate the House on these successes; for they proved that our navy and army, when united, were capable of performing prodigies of valour. Yet when had they been so united—when had they found scope for their bravery and enterprize—without performing such prodigies? Their achievements in America were worthy of the great character. The Americans had now to lament the destruction of their flotilla in the Patuxent; and the defeat of their army, which allowed a mere detachment of British troops to take the capital of their States. Yet those brave troops had been basely calumniated by Madison and his adherents, who had charged them with the plundering of private property. But never was a charge more groundless. Undoubtedly the stores and ammunition were destroyed; and if we did also destroy the public buildings of Washington, it was in retaliation for the atrocities committed and repeated by by them in Upper Canada. He had also to congratulate the House on the successes of his Majesty's arms in the more northern parts of the United States, where they had gained an extent of territory to the east of the Penobscot; an acquisition which could not fail to be of considerable importance. He could not help viewing it in the most favourable light, as one more proof to the Americans of the hopelessness, on their part, of a continuance of the contest. But while we had ground to rejoice at the victories of our arms on every part of the American shores, our triumph was damped by having to lament the fall of an officer of the highest talents and the brighest promise. In the death of this gallant commander our country had sustained no common loss. He felt that no eulogy could do justice to his distinguished merits. He could say much more on this affecting topic: but he was aware that whatever he might add, could but ill describe the sensations of himself, the House, or the country. After enumerating all the signal achievements, all the glorious deeds of his Majesty's arms, in the contest with America, it was not without regret that he must notice our late reported disaster on Lake Champlain. Much had been said on the misunderstanding which had prevailed in that quarter; and he could only wish that cause might not have existed to merit such animadversions. But although we had sustained some loss in this scite of our operations, might we not recover it? Yes, from the known bravery of the troops which would be ready to take part in the next campaign, there was no doubt in his own, or, he should think, in any mind, that we should gain the most signal advantages. A great portion of our forces were, it was well known, dispatched as soon as possible from Spain; yet they did not, from unavoidable causes, arrive in time to give that preponderance to our efforts which their earlier arrival would not have failed to produce.

His Royal Highness had informed the House that the opening of the Congress at Vienna had been unavoidably retarded. The day which had been fixed for the meeting was indeed now past; but even the delay might be productive of ultimate benefit to Europe, not only from the united deliberations of the members of that body, but from the known abilities and tried talents of the noble lord who, on the part of this country, took his share in the discussions; might we not have the best grounded hopes that the glorious peace would be so consolidated as to give a lasting state of tranquillity to all Europe? His Royal Highness had directed the estimates for the ensuing year to be laid before the House. At the same time that we were called upon to make the most vigorous exertions in the prosecution of the contest with America, we had the important satisfaction of learning that the revenue and commerce of the country were in the most flourishing condition, and in a state of evident improvement: and when it was considered that a long protracted war in Europe, in which this nation bore so distinguished a part, had but lately been brought to a glorious issue, and that hostilities with America still continued, there could not be a man in the House or the country but must feel the highest satisfaction on learning that the revenue, in one branch of the taxes alone, had increased within the year, 2,600,000l. Was not this, indeed, a subject for exultation?

On adverting to the conclusion of his Royal Highness's Speech he could not but observe, that the war which had just been terminated had this peculiar character, that it had affected the interests of all the countries engaged in it. But this had ever been the natural consequence of all wars, and it must therefore be expected that the state and claims of those countries would require the utmost attention. This it was certain they would receive, under the combined wisdom and unanimity of the Congress; and he trusted that meanwhile the House would be convinced of the necessity of adopting those measures which would be most conducive to the public welfare. His lordship then added, that he was aware that he had failed in doing justice to the important task which he had undertaken: he was aware that he had not merited that great attention with which he had been heard; but, deeply impressed with the partiality of the House, he would conclude with moving,

"That an humble Address be presented to his royal highness the Prince Regent, to thank his Royal Highness for his most gracious Speech:

"To express our lively participation in the deep regret of his Royal Highness at the continuance of his Majesty's lamented indisposition.

"To assure his Royal Highness, that, while we lament that his Royal Highness is not hitherto enabled to announce the termination of the war between this country and the United States of America, and although we are satisfied that this war originated in the most unprovoked aggression on the part of the government of the United States, and was calculated to promote the designs of the common enemy of Europe against the rights and independence of all other nations, we gratefully receive the assurance of the sincere desire which his Royal Highness has never ceased to entertain to bring it to a conclusion on just and honourable terms:

"To thank his Royal Highness for the information that he is still engaged in negociations for this purpose, the success of which, we are sensible, must depend on his Royal Highness's disposition being met with corresponding sentiments on the part of the enemy:

"To congratulate his Royal Highness on the brilliant and successful results which have attended the operations of his Majesty's forces by sea and land in the Chesapeake:

"That we have learned, with the most lively satisfaction, the destruction of the enemy's flotilla in the Patuxent, and the signal defeat of their land forces, by which a detachment of his Majesty's army was enabled to take possession of the city of Washington; and that the spirit of enter-prize which has characterized all the movements in that quarter, has produced on the inhabitants a deep and sensible impression of the calamities of a war in which they have been so wantonly involved:

"That we cordially participate in the pleasure expressed by his Royal Highness at the equally satisfactory termination of the expedition directed from Halifax to the northern coast of the United States, the successful course of which has been followed by the immediate submission to his Majesty's arms of the extensive and important district east of the Penobscot river:

"To assure his Royal Highness that we cannot advert to these events without rendering full justice to the valour and discipline which have distinguished his Majesty's land and sea forces; and that we join with his Royal Highness in regretting the severe loss which the country has sustained in the fall of the gallant commander of his Majesty's troops in the advance upon Baltimore:

"To express our satisfaction in learning that his Royal Highness availed himself of the earliest opportunity afforded by the state of affairs in Europe, to detach a considerable military force to the river St. Lawrence; and that, notwithstanding the reverse which appears to have occurred on Lake Champlain, his Royal Highness still feels a confident expectation, as well from the amount as from the description of the British force now serving in Canada, that the ascendancy of his Majesty's arms throughout that part of North America will be effectually established:

"To return our thanks to his Royal Highness, for informing us that the opening of the Congress at Vienna has been unavoidably retarded; and to express our firm reliance on the earnest endeavours of his Royal Highness in the negociations which are now in progress, to promote such arrangements as may appear to be calculated to consolidate that peace which, in conjunction with his Majesty's allies, his Royal Highness has had the happiness of concluding; and to re-establish that just equilibrium amongst the different powers, which will afford the best prospect of permanent tranquillity to Europe:

"To return our humble thanks to his Royal Highness, for having directed the estimates for the ensuing year to be laid before this House:

"To congratulate his Royal Highness, on the flourishing condition of the revenue and commerce of the united kingdom:

"To assure his Royal Highness, that, while we regret the necessity of a large expenditure, we are sensible that the circumstances under which the long and arduous contest in Europe had been carried on and concluded, have unavoidably led to arrears, for which this House cannot but see the necessity of providing, as well as for the continuance of those exertions which the war still subsisting with America renders indispensable:

"That we are aware that the peculiar character of the late war, as well as the extraordinary length of its duration, must have materially affected both the internal situation of all the countries engaged in it, and the commercial regulations which formerly subsisted between them:

"That, under these circumstances, we shall not fail to proceed with due caution in the adoption of such regulations as may be necessary for the purpose of extending our trade and securing our advantages; relying, with perfect confidence, on the cordial co-operation and assistance of his Royal Highness, in every measure which is calculated to contribute to the prosperity and welfare of his Majesty's dominions."

rose, and addressed the House, in a maiden speech, to the following purport:—Sir; in offering myself to your notice, for the purpose of seconding the motion for an Address to his Royal Highness, I feel it as a satisfaction that the several topics contained in it have already been fully laid before the House by the noble lord who has preceded me; for although, on that very account, it may be the more difficult (particularly for one totally unpractised in public speaking like myself, and feeling, as I do, a considerable degree of embarrassment) to offer any observations that may prove worthy of your attention, yet I shall receive this important benefit, that the House being fairly in possession of the subject, whatever imperfection may attach to my remarks, they will at least have the advantage of being understood. In alluding to the first topic of his Royal Highness's Speech, I am sure there is no person in this House whose feelings did not beat in unison with those of the noble lord, when he expressed sentiments of regret at the continuation of his Majesty's illness; but, Sir, we have at least the consolation of reflecting, that, if it were permitted him by Providence to behold what was now going on, those measures which he had always pursued, to oppose the encroaching power of France, and to restore the balance of Europe, had been pursued by his successor, and had finally brought about those objects which he had always held nearest his heart. These measures have produced peace in Europe, honourable to ourselves and the world—a peace which has rescued whole nations from the grasp of oppression, and restored them to security and independence.

But, Sir, though we have restored peace in Europe, the flame of war still rages in America—a war into which the desperate ambition of the American government has unfortunately hurried us. In vain, Sir, were all our efforts to avoid this alternative—vain was our forbearance for several years, to all the aggressions of that country. But, Sir, I hope that the negociations at Ghent may be able to bring that government back to a just way of thinking, and that the spirit of conciliation which we have uniformly set an example of, will be imitated by them. But if these negociations should fail, which I hope to God they will not; but if they should unhappily fail, we shall then return to the contest with the pleasing conviction of having used our efforts to avert the calamities of war, and put a stop to the outrages on humanity. And, Sir, in confirmation of our spirit of conciliation, I appeal to the whole of our correspondence with America, I appeal to the unanswerable declaration of his Royal Highness at the commencement of the war; nay, Sir, I appeal to the violent proclamations of the president, and to the time at which he chose to declare war against us. When the late ruler of France, actuated by the most inveterate hatred against this country, was meditating a deadly blow at our maritime superiority, by the invasion of Russia, when surrounding nations stood astonished and dismayed at the immensity of his preparations, and already beheld in idea the subjugation of that vast empire; nay, Sir, when many persons, even in this country, thought her resistance was impossible; then was the time that the government of America, like the assassin who steps forth only in the darkness of the night, insisted upon claims and pretensions, which, at any other time, she dared not even to have whispered; expecting that this country, encumbered by the weight of the continental war, and almost struggling for her existence, must necessarily consent to all her conditions.

But, thank God, Sir, the firmness of his Royal Highness's ministers delivered us from that necessity: they would not desert those principles which had raised this country to such a pre-eminence: to those principles they adhered, and by means of those principles they had the satisfaction, not only of having saved their own country, but of having restored liberty to Europe. But what, Sir, could have been the object of the American government at that time? By what spirit could it have been actuated? For the position of America, remote from the seat of contest, unmixed with continental politics, would have enabled her to have profited by those peaceful arts which would soon have raised her to high rank and consequence among the nations of the world. But the crooked policy of her government, instigated by the superior cunning of Buonaparté, ungenerously taking advantage of the difficulties of Great Britain, endeavoured to wrest Louisiana from her allies, with the further hope of adding Canada to a territory already, perhaps, too extensive, made her desert those principles which her interests, and almost her very existence demanded. But, Sir, the mere envy of our maritime superiority caused her to desert the only principles which could have insured prosperity to her states. And is it possible that the American government could be so regardless of the interests of its country—so blind to her future prospects—as to wish to break down the only barrier which protected her from the power of France?

But the president of the United States hoped to build his greatness on the ruin of Great Britain. He expected to succeed to her superiority—a superiority which has been only exercised for the defence of the liberties of mankind; but he might have seen that the ruin of this country would only have been the immediate precursor of his own, so immediate, that he would not have had the time to indulge in those vain dreams of conquest which seem so much to have dazzled his imagination. From these dreams he did not awake, till our successes in the Chesapeake, and the victory at Bladensburgh, roused him to a dreadful reality; he awoke but to behold the ruin into which his fatal measures had precipitated his country, and see his capital abandoned to the mercy of the conqueror. And I cannot conceive any thing more dreadful than the feelings of that man, when he beheld the triumphs of that country which he had been endeavouring to degrade; when he beheld his boasted battalions, which were to have covered him with glory, flying before inferior numbers, and leaving the boasted seat of his empire to all the horrors of devastation. But, Sir, though he who ought to have protected and defended his capital, had deserted it in the hour of danger, yet the conqueror, indulging those feelings which are ever inseparable from true valour, checked the fury of his troops, though still eager for the battle, and glorying in the heat of victory; thus affording a memorable example of British discipline and British humanity. For this victory was not sullied by any of those ordinary, snd sometimes almost unavoidable excesses attendant upon war; but it was distinguished by a spirit of forbearance and humanity, so conspicuous as to draw forth the applause of the enemy himself. I allude to the dispatch of commodore Tingey; and I have the greater satisfaction in doing this, from having observed the attempts of the president to inflame the minds of his countrymen, by representations of an opposite tendency, in a style the most unwarrantable and most unjustifiable. The sensation created through the country by the capture of Washington, the towering hopes of the government turned into dismay, his efforts paralyzed, and his further operations rendered vacillating and feeble, are glorious testimonies to the success of this well planned and ably executed expedition.

But, Sir, it is not only in this quarter that the enemy has felt the effect of our operations; in a most important expedition we have acquired in another part of America, a security to our possessions, and a sufficient barrier against any future aggressions of the Americans: I allude, Sir, to the conquest of the territory between the rivers Penobscot and Passamaquaddy; an accession of territory in every point of view most important to Great Britain, both as a military frontier to Canada, and a powerful naval station, which will enable us to maintain a superiority in the American seas, necessary for the protection of our possessions in that quarter of the globe. And here, Sir, in contemplating these operations, we cannot but be struck with admiration at the zeal and valour of his Majesty's troops, and the activity, enter-prize, and knowledge displayed by their leaders; and however I may be deficient in doing justice to their merits, yet I am confident that this House and the country will never be forgetful of services of such importance and of such an arduous nature, and which have carried the fame of their country to a height unparalleled in the annals of warfare. Your eloquent language, Sir, has taught us to look forward to the day of battle as to the day of victory. But in the fatality of human occurrences, our congratulations are occasionally chequered with regrets at accompanying events; and if at any time we may be allowed to mingle feelings of sorrow with those of triumph, it is when the successful career of early ability is prematurely arrested in its progress—when we have to lament the fall of him, whose early exertions in the service of his country, whose valour, zeal, and ability had endeared him to his troops—instructing them, to use your eloquent expression, to look forward to the day of battle as to the day of victory. But his name will be enrolled amongst those heroes who have ornamented the page of our history, though he fell at a distance from his native country, unwept by those who loved him; yet the most precious tears are those with which heaven bedews the unburied head of a soldier.

Sir, there is another topic in his Royal Highness's Speech which it is impossible to overlook, and difficult to pass over in silence. I mean, Sir, the allusion to the reverses which we are stated to have suffered on Lake Champlain; and we have been so long accustomed to the full tide of victory, and so unused to any thing like check in our military operations, that the report of these reverses has caused a greater sensation of surprise throughout the country than at any other time could have happened. But, Sir, as yet we have no information of the particulars, and I cannot give implicit confidence to the statements of the American government, which, naturally anxious to wipe away the disgrace they have received at Washington, would magnify any little advantage into an affair of the highest importance. But we may feel confident, however they may boast of a partial success, that the troops now sent out will retrieve any loss we may have sustained, and prove that those laurels which have been so nobly acquired in France, will not wither in America. We can only lament that, from the late political circumstances in Europe, those victorious troops could not sooner have been detached to give a favourable turn to the campaign in Upper Canada; but I appeal to those momentous events then transacting in France, so material to the vital interests of Europe, whether it would have been prudent or safe to have withdrawn them before the signature of peace had released us from the necessity of maintaining our positions in that country.

In the general review of the course of political events of Europe, one of the most interesting to this country, is the meeting of the Congress at Vienna, for the arrangement of affairs, and the settlement of the respective claims or pretensions of the different powers of Europe. The ever-varying circumstances of the world, after a warfare of twenty years duration, distinguished as it was by such violent and flagrant acts of dismemberment and usurpation, must necessarily require a deliberation, a firmness, and an intelligence to establish that balance of power so necessary to the tranquillity of Europe. And if there are any persons in this House who, from an over-anxiety to terminate the calamities of war, could have wished this arrangement to have been settled at the signing of the treaty of Paris, I will beg them to reflect for a moment, whether the period when the minds of men were still inflamed by animosities, was the proper one to proceed to a discussion of the several interests and several different powers; whether they could then have established all their arrangements on a permanent basis, in a period so short, and with means of information so inadequate as they would then have been supplied with? But, Sir, now that animosities are forgotten, and a true cordiality has arisen in the breasts of all the powers, we may look forward with confidence to a full, fair, and impartial consideration of the important interests of Europe; we may repose satisfied in the result of their deliberations, as arising from the dictates of reason, and not the offspring of hurry and precipitancy. With regard to the internal situation of the country, I cannot but agree with the noble lord in congratulating the House upon that part of his Royal Highness's Speech which alludes to the increase of the revenues.

Sir, as the great power of all countries necessarily arises from the extent of their resources, I cannot but join the noble lord in congratulating the House on the augmentation of the revenues—a circumstance which reflects the highest credit on the order, regularity, arrangement, and the excellent management of every department of that complicated system. That arrears of great extent should exist after a war of such unprecedented duration, attended with such an enormous expenditure, cannot but be a matter of surprise to any one; but it must be a subject of congratulation, that the faith of government has always been thought inviolable with the public creditor; that the resources of the country have not only equalled its exigencies, but likewise have enabled the government to stretch forth a protecting hand in assisting the nations of the continent to successfully oppose the gigantic power which threatened the peace, the liberties, and the independence of Europe. And if we look around us, and compare our revenues with those of the other nations of Europe, we shall be perfectly satisfied that we owe our superiority, in a great measure, to the freedom of our government and the blessings of our constitution. As the resources of the king- dom originate, in a great degree, from our commerce, its commercial prosperity and regulations should be a subject of serious deliberation and great importance. The various fluctuations to which the vicissitudes of the times have subjected all commercial affairs, during a war particularly levelled at our commercial prosperity, must necessarily have created difficulties in all our establishments, and occasional interruptions in all our manufactories. The difficulties, however, are gradually subsiding, and commerce has once more begun to resume its former importance. Those monuments of ability which exist in all our manufactories, and those combinations of science, capital, and industry, which have rendered our commerce the envy and admiration of the world, are established on a basis too permanent not to insure their prosperity with the increasing tranquillity of Europe.

After a short pause, the Speaker was proceeding to put the question, when

rose and said, that as no other member seemed disposed to make any remarks on the Address which had just been moved by the noble lord, he felt it incumbent on him to trouble the House with some observations on the Address; and as preliminary to doing so, to express his surprize that neither from any thing in the Speech itself, nor from the mouths of any of his Majesty's ministers who were members of that House, had they learnt the reason for calling parliament together at so early a period. The House had, indeed, been told of the necessity of making great exertions, as well as of providing for the arrears of our military expenditure on the continent: but these were circumstances which could not have been unknown to the directors of our finances at the end of the last session; they could not have been unknown to the right hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer; they could not have been unknown to the noble lord at the head of the Treasury. For one, he did conceive that parliament, during the last session, in contemplating both the necessary expenses of the country and the payment of those arrears which every child must have known had accumulated, had provided for a period far extending beyond the present. At least, therefore, it was to be supposed that the right hon. gentleman and his colleagues would have recommended the insertion in the Speech of some paragraph explaining the cause of the failure of their financial expectations. It was true, that rumour had loudly announced the blunders of the right hon. gentleman in finance. The funds had experienced a depression, from the public expectation that the necessity for a new loan would be announced on the meeting of parliament; but during the whole of the past time, and up to the present period, no explicit declaration had been made on the subject; and it might be that even the humble individual who was then speaking, would be unable to extract from the right hon. gentleman, or from his new assistants, or from his old colleagues, any satisfactory information with respect to it. Unquestionably, the anticipations of the public as to the financial projects of the right hon. gentleman were any thing but exhilarating; and it was expected that it would be announced what money considerations (for notwithstanding the silence of the Speech, he was convinced that money considerations were the real cause of their assembling) had occasioned the convening of parliament at so early a period. Before they parted, however, that evening, he did hope that the decorum due towards that assembly by which the money of the people was voted, would induce the right hon. gentleman to say if money was actually wanted, and if so, for what purpose?

There were, he said, other questions of a public nature, which every observer of passing events must see the necessity on the part of his Majesty's ministers of answering: there were topics in the Speech and in the Address, to which, notwithstanding the moderation of the noble lord who had moved, and of the hon. gentleman who had seconded the Address, it was impossible for him to agree. Brought back to the ancient discussion, whether or not the provocation to war had been given to this country by America, parliament were now called upon to vote that the whole evil of the present contest was attributable to that country; and that Great Britain had no blame whatever in originating a destructive war, which pressed hard upon our finances, which invaded the sacred rights of humanity, and which filled with sorrow all the lovers of freedom, who saw two free nations thus committed to implacable hostility. He would not repeat all he had so often asserted in parliament on that subject; but he would say, that his opinion remained unchanged with respect to the cause which had produced the rupture, and he must therefore protest against that clause of the Address in which the supposed cause was described. The real cause of the commencement of the war with America wag to be found in the weak councils of this country.

But, setting this aside, it was material to consider what was the situation of this country with respect to America at the present moment. The noble lord and the hon. gentleman must excuse him, if he could not subscribe to the justice of all they had asserted on this subject. They had brought before the House the conduct of the contest with America: the noble lord in particular had assured the House (how he had obtained his information, or how he was authorized to give the assurance, he (Mr. W.), would not enquire, not wishing to press hardly upon the noble lord, who had shewn so much modesty), that nothing had been left undone by his royal highness the Prince Regent, and his Majesty's ministers, to bring the contest with America to a successful termination. He would inquire of the noble lord, he would inquire of any of his Majesty's ministers who were in that House, what was the grand difficulty at present in the way of accommodation? What was the present cause of the contest? Before paying the price of the battle, it was fitting that the country should know for what it was fought. Adverting to the Declaration issued at the commencement of the contest, without renewing any discussion of the character of that Declaration, he would ask, if the causes therein stated for the war were the causes which at present existed? Were we at war for a boundary? Were we at war for the impressment of seamen? Were we at war for any of our maritime rights which America would not acknowledge? If the last, had those rights been distinctly defined at the congress at Ghent, and had we expressed a disposition to treat with America on that subject, as we were disposed to treat with the powers of Europe?

The noble lord had referred to the whole of the correspondence which had taken place, before the commencement of the war, between our foreign office and the American minister, for proof of the pacific disposition of Great Britain towards America. In that part of the correspondence which had been carried on by a right hon. gentleman, whom he was astonished not to see in his place in that House (Mr. Canning), so far from there being any thing of a pacific tendency, it appeared to him, as he had often told that right hon. gentleman to his face (he wished he could do so again that evening), that it was any thing but pacific. He repeated his astonishment, that the right hon. gentleman to whom he had just alluded, was not in his place on the present occasion. Nothing that took place in life ought to excite amazement—much less that took place in political life. But certainly it did require, in the first place, the evidence of the Gazette, announcing the appointment of the right hon. gentleman by the Prince Regent, and in the second place (for the Gazette alone would have been insufficient for his conviction) his personal observation on Friday last, that the top-sail of the Leviathan was loose, the Blue Peter flying at her mast, and his own personal knowledge of the fact, that the ambassador and his suite were actually at Portsmouth ready to embark, to convince him that it was possible the right hon. gentleman would be absent from the House on that evening. It was true that the right hon. gentleman had made most honourable amends to his former colleagues: he had condescended to take a situation under those with whom he had formerly declared, on account of their insufficiency, that he did not think fit to act. If he admired the honourable amends which the right hon. gentleman his excellency the ambassador to the court of Portugal had thus made to his old co-adjutors, he no less admired the selection of the place, by the acceptance of which that object was effected. Had the right hon. gentleman relieved a noble lord at Vienna, one of the number whom the right hon. gentleman had denounced as incapable, and thus enabled that noble lord to return to the defence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer in parliament, he should very much have regretted the circumstance, as he still held the opinion he had always entertained of the right hon. gentleman's diplomatic talents. Had the right hon. gentleman been deputed to the Congress at Ghent, the mission would have been equally unsatisfactory to him, for the same reason. But to send the right hon. gentleman to the court of Portugal, where there was nothing to be done, and where, therefore, he could do no harm, was in his opinion one of the happiest thoughts that ever occurred to any government (a laugh). The right hon. gentleman would enjoy abundant leisure. It was probable that the Prince Regent of Portugal would not return from the Brazils for many months, (perhaps it might be years). The right hon. gentleman might employ himself in revising his early productions in the Antijacobin, or in producing a poem which should rival the celebrated work of Camoens, or in compiling the memoirs of his day, after the fashion of Buonaparté or Bubb Doddington (a laugh). But he was bound to inquire wherefore it was necessary to have an ambassador at the court of Portugal? No ambassador had been sent thither for a century. As he had been told, the right hon. gentleman himself, when in office, had declared, on a similar proposition having been made, that such would be an improper appointment. But it would not at all have displeased him that the former colleagues of the right hon. gentleman should give him all the stipend that he desired, were it not that it was to come out of the pockets of the public. To all the honours and distinction which could be lavished upon him, he would freely consent; nay, he hoped the report was true, that the Red Ribbond was to be given to the ambassador; it was a pity the ministers should not adorn the victim who had so gratuitously offered himself at their shrine. Thus tempted, the right hon. gentleman had quitted the country, leaving all the great questions in which he had so deeply interested himself, to hands to whom he supposed they could be safely confided. The bullion question, he presumed, the right hon. gentleman consigned to the Chancellor of the Exchequer; the Catholic question to the earl of Liverpool; and all the minor questions to his ancient and respected friends composing the Sidmouth part of the administration.

The noble lord and the hon. gentleman who moved and seconded the Address, had dwelt with much satisfaction on the conduct of the war in America, and with a very proper feeling had lamented the death of the hero whom we had there lost. There was not a man in the empire who must not deeply lament the fate of the gallant Ross—not, indeed, for his own sake, for he died heroically; but for the sake of his country, who had lost an intrepid hero; and for his family, who were thereby bereft of the dearest object of their affections. But his was not the only grave over which our tears must be shed: we had also to regret the loss of a Drummond, and of a Parker, who died cheering and animating his men to the advance, even after a mortal wound had arrested the ardent spirit of his heroism, (hear, hear). But if those who thought the war in America had been ably conducted lamented these occurrences, how much more poignant must be the grief of those who thought, with him, that the conduct of the administration, and particularly of the Admiralty, with respect to the war, appeared prima facie to be such as to demand the most serious investigation! In common with the whole commercial world, he arraigned the conduct of the naval war in America. He wished that any of the lords of the Admiralty who had seats in that House, or the hon. Secretary of the Admiralty, who represented them all, or any other person, would explain how it happened, that with so many British pennants floating in every sea, so little protection was afforded to British trade; and that with a blockade which had been proclaimed to be so strict, shoals of American privateers were enabled to come from every port, and to rifle the ocean unchastised? Had our navy become so debased, so powerless, that having all other occupation off their hands—having nothing else to do in the north, in the south, in the east, in the west, they were unable to cope with an American flotilla? Not only had we lost our ships of war, but thousands of our vesels of commerce. Remonstrance upon remonstrance had been made to the Admiralty by the merchants on the subject, and nothing had been returned but the cold, dry answer, that the protection afforded was sufficient! The conduct of the naval administration with respect to the lakes, required a full explanation. How was it that they had not provided a force capable of coping with the enemy? Had they been so childish (as it was reported) as to send out a frigate in disjointed frames to Quebec, with the expectation that it might be transmitted with facility up the Rapid, to aid our naval exertions on the lakes? But they were liable to a graver charge—to the charge of having exposed a gallant officer, destitute of the proper means of effecting his object, to the necessity of making a desperate effort with the flotilla under his command, which that destitution rendered abortive. In the general indisposition to attend to American news (although unfortunately that news began to be but too obtrusive) it might not be generally known, that in February last a court-martial sat on captain Barclay, in consequence of a letter from sir James Yeo, which court-martial determined that captain Barclay was perfectly justified in the attack which he had made, and which had failed from the want of a sufficient force both in ships and in crews, and fully and honourably acquitted captain Barclay. Now, either sir James Yeo was to blame for not affording those succours to captain Barclay, which were necessary for the success of his enter prize, or those were to blame who had neglected to supply sir James Yeo with the means which would have enabled him to afford captain Barclay those succours. The court-martial sat in February last. Had any steps been taken to obtain from sir James Yeo an explanation of his conduct? If not, was it not a tacit acknowledgement on the part of the naval administration of the country, that the blame rested with themselves?

He would next advert to our late serious failure on the lakes. He knew that great error was imputed to a gallant officer, sir George Prevost, on that occasion. But he would desire those who always expected miracles from our officers, because they had so frequently performed them, to suspend their judgment until it should be ascertained whether sir George Prevost had or had not done all that it was possible for him to do. The noble lord and hon. gentleman had congratulated the country on the glory and security involved in our acquisitions on the Penobscot. He could not see how these acquisitions facilitated the attainment of the objects of the war; he could not see how they rendered Canada more safe, or how they were calculated to hasten the termination of hostilities. As to the boundary alluded to by the noble lord, it was the watch-word for the firm co-operation of the United States against us; it ought not to be introduced into our negociation; and if introduced and persisted in, the prolongation of our hostilities with America might be indefinite. The noble lord and the hon. gentleman had also (echoing the Speech) told the House that the fate of the city of Washington would produce a strong impression on the people, favourable to the termination of hostilities. For himself, he could not but lament that the gallant Ross was obliged to concur in a transaction so discordant to every example of the civilized world, so abhorrent to every principle of legitimate warfare, so inconsistent with the free and generous nation, whose officers were the perpetrators of it, and so detested and abhorred by all who respected the character of their country and the civil rights of the world. A very strong impression it certainly had produced: it had conciliated to the American government those parts of the United States which were before hostile to it: it had put in motion battalions of militia which before were not allowed to march; it had put into the hands of Mr. Madison a weapon which he had not before possessed; it had annihilated all the rumours before in circulation of a disposition to separation on the part of some of the states—of an approaching internal convulsion, which would have prevented the. American government from continuing the war.—It had united all: it had made determined opposition to England a common interest. The evidence of these facts was before the world. It was to be found in all the public journals that came from that country; it was to be heard from every one who arrived from it. We had done what the Goths refused to do at Rome, when Belisarius represented to them, that to preserve works of elevated art was an act of wisdom, but that to destroy them was to erect a monument to the folly of the destroyers. It had been alleged as a justification of our conduct, that the Americans had previously been guilty of some wanton barbarities in a village belonging to us. Mr. Munro had, however, stated, that the perpetrators of those outrages had been called to account; that one of them had been dismissed from the American service without trial, on the mere notoriety of his misconduct on that occasion. But let that be as it might, was it worthy of a great nation to destroy the monuments of art—the houses of legislature in a rising capital—and, contrary to all the usages of war, the dwellings of private persons? To him it appeared that there was an extraordinary mystery connected with this affair. To general Ross he did not impute any thing; he merely executed the orders which he had received. But sir Alexander Cochrane had declared that, at the express request of sir George Prevost, and in aid of him, he was going to carry on a desolating war—that he was about to war against the inhabitants of the United States, in consequence of the atrocities which had been committed by the Americans in Canada. It behoved sir Alexander Cochrane to exhibit the orders to which he had alluded. If he did so, it would behove sir George Prevost to explain why he gave orders so abhorrent from the feelings of every honourable soldier; and why he required sir Alexander Cochrane to do that which, in his own declaration, he stated that it was his intention not to do. Mark the dates. On the 20th of August the correspondence took place between sir Alexander Cochrane and Mr. Munro. On the 30th of August general Brisbane passed the Canadian frontier, and issued a general order, enjoining the strictest discipline; forbidding any violation of public property, and telling the inhabitants that the war was directed, not against them, but against their government. With these orders he entered the enemy's territory. On the 2nd of September sir George Prevost issued a proclamation breathing exactly the same sentiments; assuring the Americans that, if they remained peaceably at home, they would not be molested; and that if any of the British soldiers should violate private property, they would be brought to condign punishment. Here was a contrast! sir George Prevost making war, as a great commander of a great nation: sir Alexander Cochrane (professing, nevertheless, to act under the orders of sir George Prevost) in the same month carrying fire, sword, and desolation into the heart of America. All this required to be unravelled. And, after sullying the British name by our conduct in America, what had we gained? We had burnt the capital, we had stolen the President's plate, we had run away with the tobacco from the merchants' warehouses. But were we nearer our object? if so, let it be shewn. In any case, the conduct of the war in America demanded serious investigation. He was far from thinking that our path in America was so smooth as the noble lord had represented it to be. The Admiralty had, in his opinion, been deeply culpable, both for the way in which they had deserted our trade, and for the way in which they had replied to the representations that had been made to them on the subject. But he understood, that, during the whole summer, the attention of the Admiralty had been engrossed by a question of deep import to the community—of a complex nature; a question partly civil and partly military. It appeared that a civil officer of the Admiralty had insisted on a salute from a sloop of war, which he obtained, upon his own personal indemnity. This grave business had occasioned much serious discussion: it had occupied the Admiralty for a considerable time. At length it was settled; and the hon. Secretary to the Admiralty (Mr. Croker) was directed to reprimand the naval officer for the salute which had been extorted from him. This affair, which he acknowledged to be of considerable magnitude, having been brought to a termination, he trusted the Admiralty would find time to attend to the inferior concerns of the war. If they should not do so, he trusted that parliament would take up the question, and determine, that those who appeared to have neglected their duty should be put on their trial for that neglect; for neither in their case, any more than in that of sir George Prevost, would he have guilt presumed, until ascertained by inquiry.

His Royal Highness's Speech next went on to notice the probable result of the Congress at Vienna. If the Speech had not mentioned that Congress, he did not know whether it would have been proper for him to animadvert on the affairs which were to be there considered. He was not, however, sorry, that an opportunity had been afforded to him to state, in his place, what he thought and felt upon certain points connected with that Congress—points which were palpable to all the world, and which must be of the utmost importance to every man who was anxious for the freedom of Europe, and who looked forward to see it secured and established by the wise policy of the powers assembled at Vienna. He did think, and he had so expressed himself, that, up to the conclusion of the peace of Paris, the noble lord who acted on the part of this country, except in one instance, had conducted himself so as to deserve the confidence of that House and of the country. He meant not to withdraw or to recede from that declaration now; but still he could not shut his eyes to what was at present passing in Europe. Before the Congress met—before the last session of parliament closed—he expressed his surprise, that the allies should do that which evidently ran counter to their own declarations. He expressed his astonishment, that Austria was allowed to annex some of the Italian states to her territory, and to declare, by her governors, that these were to be lasting annexations. He observed this, and other events of a similar description, occurring in Europe, which filled him with dissatisfaction; which made him augur an ill result to the proceedings in the Congress, and occasioned him to feel great appre- hensions for the peace of the continent. He wished the allies to have considered every country they had rescued from the dominion of the enemy as the property of the inhabitants, and not that of the family restored to the throne. He had hoped, that the misfortunes endured by those who, after a long lapse of time, had been recalled to the exercise of regal power, would have mollified their feelings as men (for, however elevated their situation, they were still men), and he could not help wondering, however incapable or obstinate they had been, that the school of misfortune had not taught them a lesson that would have rendered their providential restoration beneficial to the cause of humanity. But, if it were true that those who were termed ancient and legitimate rulers had attempted, when restored, to bear down and destroy the good which had grown up in their absence—if it were true that they exerted themselves to cramp and paralyse the arts and sciences—if it were true that they endeavoured to put out of the heads of their subjects all recollection that there was such a thing as freedom—was it not to be apprehended, that such measures would ultimately recoil either on themselves or on their children? What was to be expected from those who informed a set of deputies, dispatched from the republic to which they belonged, to make a representation of their situation, "that republics were no longer in fashion, and that room must be made for those annexations which the new state of things rendered necessary?" If such were the sentiments avowed on an occasion of that kind (and he believed it to be the fact), freedom must either be driven from the world altogether, or the people must determine to fight for it, and to drive into exile those who would trample on their rights and privileges. In confirmation of the truth of his position, he had adduced the conduct of Germany as an example. All the great powers of Europe ought to shun such an example; but, on the contrary, they seemed to applaud and to follow it. When he heard it asserted, that Saxony, in the most unfeeling and insulting manner, was to be divided—that a great portion of it was to be incorporated with Prussia—that such a power was no longer to be suffered to remain in Germany, or in Europe—he contemplated it as a grievous injury, not to the sovereign, for that was a secondary consideration; but to the people of a country, emphati- cally called the garden of Germany; not only in a physical, but in a moral sense; for it did not alone afford sustenance for the support of life—it was also the garden of the human mind. It was there that freedom of religion might be seen in its most attractive colours: there, the subjects were Catholics, and the sovereign a Protestant: there the offices of state were open to men of every persuasion, and the affairs of government were found not to be impeded by the adoption of this liberal principle. Saxony, on this point, shewed a bright example to states of greater magnitude; and it was melancholy to reflect, that they had not wisdom enough to pursue it. What, he would ask, had the Elector, or, according to the modern fashion, the King of Saxony done? And here it should be recollected, that others, who had, like him, been make Kings, had not given up their titles; but he, because he was the last who adhered to Buonaparté, was marked out for vengeance. Prussia and Austria had both marched with Buonaparté; they had assisted him in accomplishing his views, and did not quit him until his reverses took place. When they found he could not play a successful game, they left him. Bavaria and Wirtemburg remained true to him a little longer than the states he had just mentioned, and they still continued kingdoms. He doubted, however, whether the allies respected them the more for the part they had taken. They must all remember the speech of Philip, who declared, "That he loved the treason, but hated the traitor." Saxony, however, did not abandon Buonaparté till the last moment. Now, whatever opinions might be entertained of the course originally adopted by the elector, it was impossible not to feel a little for a man, who, in the latter part of the contest, could not help himself: it was not in his power to withdraw, as Austria and Prussia had done; for Buonaparté was not only in possession of his capital, but of his person. Yet it was on that ground, and that ground only, that the rights of the Saxon people were not to be attended to. He only spoke as he was informed; and he would boldly declare, in the British parliament, the only place, perhaps, in the world, if the coalesced powers continued their hostility to the promulgation of unfettered opinion, where public truths would ere long be spoken, that, if Saxony were treated in the manner he had described, and as was generally rumoured, it would be as unprincipled a partition as any the world ever saw: much so, indeed, as the partition of Poland. And again, let it be fully understood, that there were many persons who ardently wished for the restoration and freedom of Poland; not only as necessary to the preservation of the peace of Europe, but as a debt due to that much oppressed people. Neither should it be forgotten, that there was one monarch, whose interest it was, more than that of any other potentate, to keep Poland in a state of dependence; but that monarch had expressed himself willing that Poland should be restored—that it should be again erected into a kingdom, provided the other powers desisted from their schemes of aggrandizement in other quarters. They had often been told of monarchs, who attempted to be magnanimous at the expense of others; now they heard of the Emperor of Russia, who was ready to agree to the restoration of Poland, if Austria gave up her claims upon Italy, and Prussia abandoned her designs in Germany!

But an extraordinary fact had lately transpired, which he viewed with feelings of the deepest regret. It was an act, executed after the peace of Paris, by his royal highness the Prince Regent, in the name and on the behalf of his Majesty, which, in his opinion, augured an evil result to this country. He alluded to the erection of Hanover into a kingdom. The honourable gentleman who seconded the Address, had expatiated at some length on the pleasure which his Majesty would feel, were he restored to health, on finding that the counsels to which he had always adhered, had, during his illness, been scrupulously pursued. Now, on the contrary, it struck him, that, to have been made a king of Hanover, after the manner and style of Buonaparté, would be one of those things from which his Majesty, if he recovered, would not derive much pleasure; on the contrary, he thought it would be very apt to enrage him; for he believed that excellent person never had any thing more at heart than to keep out of the Buonaparté fashion; although he now was, by a summary process, created king of Hanover; and that by the Prince Regent in council. But it was said, all the other electorates are extinguished: this was the reason (and it was a most extraordinary one) given for the alteration. But how extinguished? By Buonaparté. By whom were they erected into kingdoms? By Buonaparté. When his power was overthrown, no proposition was made to the new kings, to give up their recently acquired dignities. None of them said, "now let us descend from this false mummery; let us become electors again. We ought to pride ourselves on the antiquity of the Houses of Brunswick-Lunenburgh and Hapsburgh, and keep in mind the glorious achievements of our ancestors." "No;" says the Prince Regent, "I won't do this; but I will dress up my father like one of these new-made monarchs; I will make him king of Hanover!" (a laugh.) He (Mr. Whitbread) certainly would not wish to dethrone his Majesty; but he was sure his Majesty would agree in opinion with him, that this dignity had better been spared. It was declared in the state document on this subject, that there would be what was called an "arrondissement" of Hanover. Now he felt convinced, that such a measure would be likely to produce more causes of war than they were before obnoxious to from that quarter; and many gentlemen were of opinion, that England had frequently been involved in disputes connected with the possession of Hanover. Looking at the subject with the utmost attention, he could not avoid thinking that this act of the Prince Regent, by which his father was made a king, and by which Hanover was to be aggrandized, would create many evil consequences to this country.

The conduct of Austria, as it was whispered abroad, would probably raise up difficulties which involved the honour of this country. When the affairs of the allies were not in so prosperous a state as they afterwards assumed, they looked for assistance from every quarter. Bernadotte was allowed to share their councils, and to aid them with his forces; and another personage, whose connection with Buonaparté was more particular, was solicited for his co-operation. It was not only solicited, but he was credibly informed that there was at present, in the hands of Murat, a sort of guarantee for the preservation of his power, signed by a minister of this country—which, if violated, would be a blot on the honour of the nation. The nobleman who signed it, would not, he was assured, brook such a violation. But there might be reasons to induce some of the allied powers to oppose the agreement. Murat was a great military character, and had been the inti- mate friend of Buonaparté; but independent of these causes of dislike, there were others that might excite a desire to deprive him of his power. It was said, that, under his government, the arts were encouraged, a reformation of the laws had been effected, the abominable system of assassination had been put down, and a great degree of happiness had been introduced amongst the people. Such an enlightened principle of government must form a striking contrast with that darkness and ignorance in which some other monarchs wished to plunge their subjects; and, therefore, it might be deemed prudent, in order to prevent unpleasant comparisons, to remove him from the situation he now filled. It was, however, impossible for any power to pursue its own petty purposes in Italy, and at the same time to indulge a reasonable hope that others would not follow the same principle in the most convenient quarter. The conduct of those who looked for aggrandizement might indeed be such as to compel other powers to do that, which, but for the example, they would have considered mean and base. The event might finally be, that we should behold coming out of the Congress, an arrangement so formed as to provide an equipoise amongst the different powers; but one of so unequal a nature, as to induce France to make a struggle to regain the preponderance she had lost, and thus plunge this country into a war in a very short time. Unless the noble lord who appeared on behalf of this country could prevent such a termination of affairs at the Congress, all their exertions had been made to comparatively little purpose. They ought, therefore, to strengthen the hands of the noble lord as much as possible: they ought to declare distinctly that they abhorred those partitions and aggrandizements to which he had alluded. They ought to be equally unreserved with respect to another great question, the final extinction and abolition of the Slave Trade. In all his demands on that subject, the noble lord should be supported by the unanimous voice of parliament and the country. It ought not to escape their memory, that the emperor of Russia had declared the abolition might have been effected, had it been insisted on: and that he would have supported the demand with all his power and energy. Now, although, from a mistake at the time, the opinion of the emperor was not clearly known, or, if known, was not acted on, yet it was most satisfactory to learn, that a personage of his great consideration still retained the same sentiments on this most interesting subject.

He would now draw the attention of the House to another quarter of the world, lately the scene of a sanguinary struggle. After the treasure expended, the blood lavished, and the glory gained, in the cause of freedom on the peninsula, who could look towards Spain without feelings of melancholy regret? Could any man behold the attempts made by Ferdinand, to blind the eyes and stop the ears of his subjects—to degrade the best and bravest men in the country, whilst those traitors who had prostituted themselves before Buonaparté and his brother Joseph were honoured and rewarded—who could see and feel this, without wishing an end to it, and that government which endeavoured to inflict such misery on a people, by whose firmness and perseverance it had been re-established? He had heard it asserted, that, unless Ferdinand was supported by money from Great Britain, it was impossible for him to subjugate those subjects by whom he had been restored; and he recollected a very sensible man expressing a hope, that, if a civil war took place in Spain, the people of this country would not be called on to pay both sides, that the Spaniards would be left to fight for themselves, and that the Spanish government would not be armed with our money. He fervently joined in the wish. And he was quite sure, if, as had been said, the Spanish government was unpopular, and nothing but our money could keep it alive, that the people of this country would not consent to purchase any paltry advantage at the expense of the liberties of the people of Spain. They could never endure to see those patriots oppressed who had saved Spain, while those individuals were fostered and protected who had been her worst enemies. It was a most melancholy consideration that all those men were exiles, or languishing in prisons, who had fought for the liberty and independence of their country. O that this could reach Ferdinand's ears! O that he could know the detestation which his conduct had excited amongst all ranks of mankind! What was his treatment of the deputies of the Cortes? Merely because they had filled the situation of deputies, they were plunged into the dungeons of Madrid, or hurried to prisons in different parts of Spain, Ferdinand had then offered them pardon, if they would acknowledge crimes which they were accused of committing while protecting their native country. To their immortal honour and glory be it spoken, they refused the pardon thus offered—they were unconscious of crime, except it was criminal to oppose an invading enemy—and they threw it back to the monarch with indignation! Sooner would they permit the flesh to be torn from their limbs, than accept a pardon from Ferdinand, when they had committed no offence. God grant them courage to endure their sufferings! He knew not that any of them had been put to death, but it was hanging over them, and expected by them every moment. They were threatened, under the revived inquisition in Spain, with a cruel death, as the reward of their laborious services! One of these patriot deputies had expired, as the guards were removing him from his bed to a dungeon. He was an old and infirm man; and, before he could be hurried to a dungeon, God extended his mercy to him, and freed him from his persecutors! Another of these men, who had rendered his country signal benefits, was arrested in Paris; but, greatly to the honour of the French government, they directed him to be liberated; they ordered the Spanish commissioner, who occassoned the arrest, out of the country; and they dismissed from his situation, the officer of police who had obeyed the mandate of a foreigner. Some of those persons, the regenerators of Spain, the opposers of Buonaparté, had fled for refuge to this country: several of them had thrown themselves for protection on British hospitality. But what had the despotic government of Spain the courage and the impudence to do? They had absolutely made a demand through their diplomatic agent in this country, that those persons should be delivered up by this government. That demand, he was happy to understand, had been promptly and honourably rejected. But he had heard that a different course was pursued by the individual commanding in Gibraltar: two Spaniards, whose names were Corca and Puigsblanc, had taken refuge there. The crime of the one was, that he had written against the inquisition; but the crime of the other, who was a retired captain of infantry, was unknown to himself, and to every one else. A demand was made that these two men should be given up. A body of Spanish cavalry were placed near the lines—the gates were thrown open, the fugitives were obliged to depart, and were immediately made prisoners by the Spanish soldiery. One of them was now in prison; the other had been liberated. The circumstances were stated to him by an eye-witness. [The Chancellor of the Exchequer observed, he had never heard of the matter before.] If gentlemen opposite had not before heard of the transaction, he hoped, now it was stated to them, that they would inquire into it. He made the statement with confidence, fortified by the names of the parties, and with the assurance that full evidence of the facts could be adduced. If, on investigation, it appeared to be true, those who had conducted themselves in the way alleged ought to be severely punished; if the story was not founded in fact, they ought to be absolved from blame. Before he sat down, he wished to know distinctly, whether any pecuniary assistance, unknown to parliament, had been given by government to Ferdinand 7, to support him in those despotic efforts which he was hourly making? No person could travel over Spain, after the glorious struggle she had made, and not feel indignant at beholding the renewal of religious bigotry, and of civil fury. Who could contemplate the restoration of the inquisition, and the oppression exercised over the most patriotic characters, without the smallest expostulation from any neighbouring power, and not feel apprehensive that the result of the present Congress would not be exactly that which they had hoped? The observations which he had now delivered were called for by the language of the Address; and, as an independent member of parliament, he could not permit the first day of the session to pass over, without troubling the House with his sentiments.

, after some preliminary observations, stated, that he would afford some explanation in answer to the hon. gentleman with respect to the department with which he had the honour to be more immediately connected. The hon. gentleman had asked if any pecuniary assistance had been given to the king of Spain, to assist him in his despotic measures? He did not think it proper in him, by any epithet, to express his applause or condemnation of the measures of the Spanish government; but in answer to the question, he had to state, that no assistance had been given to that government beyond the subsidy which had been stipulated to be paid to it for the Spanish troops furnished in the late contest. Nothing beyond this had been paid. With respect to the two Spanish gentlemen who had been given up by the governor of Gibraltar, the matter would be inquired into and ascertained, he hoped, in a few days, when an explanation could be given. As to that part of the hon. gentleman's speech which related to the war with America, it was not his intention to enter at any length into the causes which had led to the war, as they had been repeatedly examined by the House, which had declared, that the war originated in a most unprovoked aggression on the part of America. The Address stated no more than what had been repeatedly declared by large majorities of that House. With respect to that part of the conduct of the war which had been stated to affect the honour of the country, and had even been termed by the hon gent. such as would be a disgrace to Goths and Vandals, it was painful to be obliged to defend measures which went beyond ordinary hostility; it was more painful for the gallant officers who had been under the necessity of carrying these measures into execution. It was no less true, however, that a necessity for such measures sometimes took place; that violence could only be repressed by violence, and severity put a stop to by corresponding severity. If the American armies, when they gained any advantage, had been guilty of cruelty, we were justified before God and man in the exercise of measures of retaliation. If the hon. gentleman had been aware of the measures which provoked the retaliation, he was convinced he would not have spoken of them in the terms made use of by him. He had contrasted the character of the American commanders and troops with that of our own, and endeavoured to show, that on the part of the Americans there was nothing more than the lawless excess of undisciplined troops, or of unauthorized commanders. But he would refer the hon. gentleman to the dispatch of the American commander himself, who had ordered the destruction of the town of Newark. General Green, writing an official letter to the secretary of war of America, after stating that though he had found himself in danger of being surrounded in Fort George, that a council of war had been held, and that in consequence he had determined on evacuating the fort, went on to say, that 'the village of Newark is now in flames; the few remaining inhabitants having received notice of our intention, previously left the place.' And he added, that this step had been taken by him in consequence of the views of his excellency disclosed to him in a previous communication. Some days afterwards he stated, that he had directed a colonel under his command to open a fire of hot shot upon the place, and that every house was reduced to ashes. The enemy, he added, were exasperated, and in their advance into the American territories would probably endeavour to retaliate. These things took place on the 10th and 13th of December, 1813, and the miserable inhabitants were driven out, without defence or shelter, exposed to all the horrors and severity of a Canadian winter. This was a most cruel and a most wanton destruction of private property. Surely it would not be said, that public property ought to be held more sacred by an enemy than private. Again, when the American army took possession of York, the capital of Upper Canada, in May, 1813, the proceedings adopted by them were these: major Allen stated in his dispatch, that after carrying off all the public stores, and effecting the destruction of the public buildings, the troops had embarked. Here they had destroyed a capital, for be it remembered that York was the capital of Upper Canada. Although a small town, it was a capital, and among other public and private buildings, the house of assembly and the house of the governor had been burnt to the ground. If any other example were wanting to shew the malicious spirit with which the war had been carried on by the Americans, he held in his hands an account of an instance, which he had no doubt would completely satisfy the House. If any establishment was less likely than another to provoke the ravages of war, it was the settlement of the Moravians, who were a body of men useful and inoffensive beyond all others, and who were employed solely in the conversion and civilization of the Indians, The 6th of October, they say, was to them a most painful day. The poor missionaries were deprived of their last morsel of bread; their potatoes and flour had all been taken from them, and partly set on fire, and the whole of their buildings consumed. Here was a most unjustifiable attack on useful and inoffensive men, whose conduct could not possibly have provoked any retaliation. After the documents which he had read to the House, they would not surely be surprised that sir George Prevost had called on sir Alexander Cochrane to aid him in carrying retaliatory measures into effect. Sir George Prevost, in his letter to sir Alexander Cochrane, which was dated the 3rd of August, 1814, stated these events to be so disgraceful to the American character, and to differ so completely from the example he had set them, as to call for a severe retaliation.—Having stated this much in vindication of the national honour, he felt it incumbent on him to observe, that he deprecated as much as any man the continuance of hostilities between the two countries, and especially their continuance in a spirit of savage exasperation. It was America, however, which had set the example. The Americans had themselves, in the case of the taking their capital, and on other occasions, acknowledged the lenity of our conduct to individuals; and that the only pillage which took place was by their own people. The hon. gentleman, with reference to the war in America, had attacked one branch, the board of Admiralty, in a particular manner. The hon. gentleman had stated, that there was no protection to the British flag; that the American privateers pursued their course undisturbed; and that the whole of our trade was destroyed. If the hon. gentleman had said that the whole of the American trade was ruined, he should have better understood him; but when he said that our own trade was destroyed, the hon. gentleman would have the inhabitants of this town to refuse to believe their own eyes. The result of an accurate inquiry into the subject was, that we had lost about 200 merchant ships in the course of the present year. Of these vessels so lost, not one had been taken under convoy; and all of them had either been forced to part by stress of weather, or had escaped from convoy for the sake of arriving earlier at market. But let us consider the loss of our merchants at present, and contrast it with what had taken place at a former period bearing a resemblance to it. If we selected one year under the administration of lord Chatham, the year 1761, when the French navy was totally destroyed and the Spanish was not employed against us, it would be found that in that one year the French privateers took 800 of our ships. The whole of our tonnage at that period only amounted to 626,000; whereas at present it exceeded 2,600,000. The depredations of France, at a period when no one thought of complaining, occasioned a loss to the country which, taking the comparative amount of tonnage into consideration, was equal to the capture of 3,200 ships at present. It had been said by the hon. gentleman, that the American privateers were unchastised. Now, what was the fact? There had been taken from the Americans in all 237 ships of war and privateers; of these 38 were government vessels, and 199 privateers, and above 1,000 merchantmen. We had, besides, made prisoners about 20,000 of their sailors. As the flourishing state of our revenue was mentioned both in the Speech and in the Address, it would no doubt be expected that he should give some statement to justify that assertion. He would do it, by giving a comparative view of the produce of the revenue in the two last years. In the quarter ending on the 10th of October, 1813, it had amounted to 18,531,218l. In the same quarter of the present year, to 19,036,985l. The revenue of the whole year ending in October, 1813, was 60,876,652l.: that of the present year, ending in October last, 63,461,864l. which proved an increase in the last year of two millions and about 600,000l. The receipts at the customs in 1813 were 10,157,221l.; in 1814, 10,213,174l. The excise in 1813 had produced 22,560,159l.; and in 1814, 24,154,549l. He would not trouble the House with other details of this nature on the present occasion, but would proceed to show the progress of our trade since the year 1812. The returns for the present year were not completely made out for every part of the country; he would, therefore, only notice those of the port of London, which were the most perfect. The value of the exports from that port to Europe for three quarters of a year were:—in 1812, 11,446,000l.; in 1813, 18,916,000l.; in 1814,26,828,000l. So that the year 1814 almost doubled the amount of exports in 1812. It might be said, why since the revenue was so flourishing, should money be wanted? It was natural to suppose that the want of money was one of the reasons that had occasioned the early meeting of parliament, and that want sprung from the arrears of 1813 and 1814, which remained to be paid. The necessity of providing for the liquidation of these had occurred at an earlier period than was expected. It chiefly proceeded from this, that circumstances had arisen which had led ministers to apply nearly the whole vote of credit intended for the army, to the service of the navy. This had been found necessary principally because the amount of wages due to seamen who had been prisoners and were now returned, had far exceeded the calculation that had been made. On that account, as well as the expence of our forces in the Netherlands, the army arrears were considerable.—He had only taken up the points which he thought required explanation at this period, and if the honourable gentleman was not satisfied, he really did not know what he could say more for his gratification The hon. gentleman, however, had commented on the proceedings of the Prince Regent in altering the title of elector of Hanover into that of king. For any proceedings of his Majesty as elector of Hanover, the British ministry could not be responsible, as the two governments were absolutely distinct and independent of each other. He was, however, bound to state, that it was not any vain wish to enjoy a higher title, or to encircle his brows with another crown, which had led the Prince Regent, acting on the behalf of the elector of Hanover, to assume the royal dignity. That step had been recommended and desired by the great power assembled at the Congress, as tending to perfect that system of internal government for Germany which they were desirous of establishing, in order to secure the peace and happiness of that country and of Europe. The electorate of Hanover had been the only one of the ancient electorates remaining, and when the empire ceased to be elective, the functions of the electors expired, and their title became unmeaning. Whether they should then take the name of king, of grand duke, or any other, depended only on themselves. The electorate would neither be increased nor curtailed in point of territory, in consequence of the alteration, and the assumption of an empty title could in no way affect this country.

The right hon. gentleman then reverted to the contest in Canada, and expressed his hopes, that the House would wait for the justification of sir George Prevost's conduct before they pronounced a decided opinion. To judge him without other evidence than that now possessed, would be an unjust proceeding. The hon. gentleman who had taken up the matter had, however, done it in a manner that cast rather an unfair imputation on others. He had rightly stated the honourable acquittal of captain Barclay by the court-martial held upon him, but he ought not to have made it a ground for aspersing the character of another officer. On the subjects which he had mentioned, the hon. gentleman would be at liberty to bring forward on a future occasion any motion he pleased; the House was now only called upon to present to the Prince Regent those general professions of support which it had always been ready to give. The pre-eminence of the country would not be less displayed in yielding proper support to our just pretensions across the Atlantic, as we had done in Europe. We were now contending, not for our own exclusive rights, but for the restoration of the ancient laws of Europe and of nations: we laid claim to no right which we denied to others; but if America would not consent to do us and herself justice, he trusted that the House and the country would afford his Majesty's ministers their warm support, in order to enable them to close the war by an honourable peace.

claimed the indulgence of the House whilst he should endeavour to vindicate a right hon. friend of his (Mr. Canning) from the attacks of the hon. gentleman opposite. His object was to make some observations on two points of that hon. gentleman's speech, and he only undertook that duty because, though sensible how ill it became him to obtrude himself on the House, his personal acquaintance with his right hon. friend, now absent, induced him to think he could give a satisfactory explanation. The hon. gentleman had made two charges against his right hon. friend. The first was for neglect of his public duty to this House in accepting the embassy to Lisbon, and the other for having brought an unusual expense upon the country. To the first he would make a short, and, he trusted, not unsatisfactory answer. His right hon. friend's determination to repair to Lisbon had been taken long before he had the prospect of a public situation, under the heavy pressure of domestic affliction, and in the hope of saving the life of a beloved child. Whether such would be deemed worthy of being admitted as a sufficient excuse, he would leave the House to decide. As to his not having altered his determination, and delayed his departure at the approach of the opening of the session, he had not done it from any apprehension of facing the attacks that might be made upon him in that House: indeed, he did not expect that his absence, or the cause of it, would excite the hon. gentleman's attention and call for his reproof. As to his right hon. friend's accepting the situation of ambassador to Portugal, it was a point on which it would ill become him to say any thing. His right hon. friend's conduct, in that instance, must submit to be freely canvassed by that House and the public. But to be unusually severe upon it, might almost convey a notion of personal hostility. As to the increase of expense which it was stated his right hon. friend had occasioned to the country by accepting this situation, he trusted he should prove the charge unfounded. His right hon. friend had felt some reluctance to take upon himself the same credit and responsibility as sir Charles Stewart. He wished that those expenses which should be considered unavoidable, should be first submitted to those who had no interest in their being fixed too high, rather than left to him or the persons of his house. He also, perhaps, doubted whether the same forbearance should be shewn towards him as towards sir C. Stewart. He therefore required that the extraordinaries should be submitted to limitation, on retaining such an establishment as it would be proper for an English ambassador to maintain. How far that principle had been acted upon, he would not take upon himself to say: but that his right hon. friend had brought no increase of expense on the nation, a comparison of his allowance with that of sir C. Stewart and sir Henry Wellesley, would satisfactorily show. The former received last year 28,000l.; 5,000l. being his regular salary, and 23,000l. for extraordinaries; and the latter 27,000l.: 8,000l. as his salary, and 19,000l. for extraordinaries. Now, his right hon. friend's own salary was limited at 8,000l. a year, and 6,000l. for extraordinaries, forming a deduction of nearly one half what sir H. Wellesley had received; and exactly one half the salary of sir Charles Stewart. This, therefore, instead of being a ground for reproof, ought to produce no other feeling than that of satisfaction; as, instead of being augmented, the expense was in fact materially diminished. In saying this, he wished to be understood not to cast the slightest imputation on the expenditure either of sir Charles Stewart or sir H. Wellesley: for both of them he entertained the highest esteem, and he had no doubt of the money having been properly applied. He only meant to establish the fact that his right hon. friend's appointment was not extravagant, 8,000l. being the appointment of ambassadors on the lowest scale, and the 6,000l. for extraordinaries being given as a matter of experiment. He concluded by thanking the House for the attention shown him, and relying on their candour and liberality towards his right hon. friend, now absent.

rose and said: I hope the House will allow me to say a few words upon what has just fallen from the hon. gentleman. I give him great credit for his disinterested defence of his friend; but whatever impression it may have made upon others, I own that to me it appeared most unsatisfactory, more especially that part of it which related to the expenditure of the public money. Perhaps, of all men in the House, or in the country, I am most entitled to make remarks upon this subject; and if I shew little delicacy towards Mr. Canning, it will be remembered that I used the same freedom with regard to sir Charles Stewart. The hon. gentleman is incorrect when he asserts that, in the financial discussions of last session, nothing was said regarding the amount expended by sir C. Stewart; on the contrary, in the course of those debates I took occasion to animadvert upon the extravagant disbursements of foreign ministers and ambassadors, whose enormous bills were paid out of the civil list. I had hoped, in consequence of these remonstrances, that some steps would have been taken to remedy this great and growing evil; and having been disappointed in my expectations, I am the more unwilling to pass over the present opportunity of renewing my complaints. Undoubtedly, I and every man must feel pain at the cause which is said to have primarily suggested the residence of Mr. Canning at Lisbon; but did this, let me ask, require any additional expenditure of the public money? The hon. gentleman has also said a few words upon the reasons which induced Mr. Canning to accept an appointment under the present ministry. Every man has an unquestionable right to exercise his own judgment upon these points; he may be consistent or inconsistent, as he pleases; being always, however, responsible to public opinion. In this case it does not seem to me very extraordinary, that some severity should have been shewn in the animadversions made out of doors upon the acceptance of an appointment which placed Mr. Canning immediately under the direction and control of a noble lord (Castlereagh), whom, he had solemnly declared to be incompetent to the duties of his office. [Hear, hear!] I know very well that men do sometimes change their conduct and disposition. It might be said of me, perhaps, by some individual, that I was unfit for an office, because I was corrupt, and had been guilty of jobs. If I can prove the contrary, I shew my accuser that he is mistaken, and that I am fit for my office; but if I am told that I am, weak and deficient in my intellects, it is a misfortune I can never cure, and I can never make a consistent accuser believe that I am competent. [Hear, hear!] How was it with the noble lord? Mr. Canning declared that he was unfit, from want of ability, to hold the office in which he was placed, and that consequently he could not act under him; and yet now we see the same individual accepting a situation that is immediately subordinate to this very man whom he had declared to be deficient in understanding. [Hear, hear! and laughter.] I confess I should have been surprised if the good sense of the public had not seen through this gross piece of chicanery.

But what the House ought principally to look to, is the extravagant appointment of Mr. Canning at the court of Lisbon. In the case of sir Charles Stewart I stated, that although the charges appeared enormous, yet I had no doubt that every farthing could be satisfactorily proved to have been expended; but I found fault with the nature of the allowance; I complained that the salary given was not to be the whole of the expense, but that there should be a contingent bill to any amount beyond the appointment given. The hon. gentleman treats this subject as if no person had been appointed minister at Lisbon between sir C. Stewart and Mr. Canning. He omits all notice of Mr. Sydenham. Did not he succeed sir C. Stewart? and I ask his Majesty's ministers whether, on the nomination of Mr. Sydenham, every thing that can now possibly occur respecting Portugal, was not then perfectly well known to them? Whether, on the removal of sir Charles Stewart to the Hague in July, they did not think there would be as important duties for the minister to discharge at that time, as on the appointment of Mr. Canning in October? Whether Mr. Canning will have any duties to fulfil that Mr. Sydenham was not quite as competent to execute? Was it ever proposed to have any ambassador at all at Lisbon, until Mr. Canning's intention of going abroad was known? Did ministers ever dream of such a thing? Have we had an ambassador there for the last hundred years? Is an ambassador in any way necessary to manage the interests of this country in Portugal? Let the right hon. gentlemen opposite answer these questions, if they can. It has been stated with perfect correctness, that sir Charles Stewart's appointment as minister plenipotentiary, was 5,000l. per annum; then why is Mr. Canning to have 8,000l. per annum, with 6,000l. a year contingent? What cause can be assigned for the additional 3,000l. a year? In short, why was he appointed—let them tell me that? Was it or was it not that Mr. Canning, finding it necessary to go to Lisbon, his journey was kindly converted into an embassy, and that such an embassy would never have been thought necessary if Mr. Canning could have remained in England? Unless ministers can give me satisfactory replies, I and the country at large must consider this unprecedented appointment as a scandalous waste of public money, and a most infamous and deliberate job. (Hear, hear!) I have no doubt that Mr. Canning will fulfil his duties well; but I complain that he has no duties to fulfil. The contrast is rather striking. Lord Castlereagh, one of his Majesty's principal secretaries of state, declared to be weak in his intellects, has passed over the continent to discharge most arduous and important functions at the Congress at Vienna. Mr. Canning, who so declared the noble lord to be weak, is gone to Lisbon to do nothing. I cannot understand why, in this state of things, lord Castlereagh should not remain quiet at home, while Mr. Canning was dispatched to the Congress. It is impossible to maintain that Mr. Canning would not be competent; the noble lord would not retaliate by such a declaration, although Mr. Canning thinks the noble lord so unfortunately weak in his capacity.

Setting aside this question of comparative ability or inability, still there is an additional burthen of 14,000l. a year laid upon the public, which I maintain is unnecessary. The hon. gentleman draws a comparison between Madrid and Lisbon, when, in fact, there is not the slightest resemblance between the situation of an ambassador at the one and at the other. I defy him or his friends to give any satisfactory explanation of this transaction. But let me ask one more question. Are his Majesty's ministers prepared to produce the correspondence which passed between them and Mr. Sydenham, on the appointment of that gentleman? Will they lay upon the table the instructions they gave Mr. Sydenham, regarding his expenses? If they do, they will have to encounter this difficulty: they will then have to give some satisfactory reason why, in the course of two months, they find it necessary to name an ambassador extraordinary, with an expenditure of double, nay almost treble the appointment of Mr. Sydenham. What events have occurred, or are likely to occur, to require such a diplomatic alteration? Mr. Sydenham was to confine himself to 4 or 5,000l.; I do not exactly know what the sum was, and Mr. Canning is to launch out to three times the amount. Now the question has been brought forward, is it not necessary that the right hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer should give some explanation? because in the last session he pledged himself to apply his attention to the expenses of foreign ministers, particularly to the enormous charges beyond the sum allowed in the appointment; and yet, on the very first day of the succeeding session, we see exposed one of the most outrageous jobs that was ever connived at by any ministers [hear, hear!] He will reply, that at most it is but 14,000l. a year, and you may think yourself well off that it is no more; but I do not think myself well off, and I call upon the right hon. gentleman to give some reason why Mr. Canning is to be allowed this annuity, when all the duties of the station could as satisfactorily be discharged by Mr. Sydenham, at only one-third of the charge upon the country? As the case at present stands, it can be looked upon only as a very convenient job for some parties, and as a very infamous job for others.

wished to say two or three words in explanation: first, with respect to the destruction of Washington he had intended to convey, that no atrocity on the part of our enemies could justify this country in retaliating by the commission of similar crimes: if we could be so justified, we ought to scalp all the Indian prisoners that fall into our hands. Secondly, with regard to the personal animosity that he had been accused of feeling towards Mr. Canning, he assured the hon. gentleman that he was mistaken: he had never felt personal animosity towards any man in the House. Political hostility was quite a different feeling. He had heard of the illness of a part of the family of Mr. Canning, and if that gentleman had gone to Lisbon as a private individual, he would never have made a remark upon the subject; but assuming, as he did, the character of ambassador extraordinary, and sailing as late as Friday last, when parliament was to meet on the Tuesday succeeding, formed a just subject for severe animadversion. Towards such an individual he felt no personal, but strong political hostility, and he feared that hostility was likely to be permanent. The principles on which they had acted throughout life had been perfectly distinct; and the occasion never had occurred, and probably never would, when Mr. Whitbread could call Mr. Canning his political friend.

observed, that he believed he had not employed the word 'personal' as applied to the hostility that subsisted between his right hon. friend and the hon. gentleman. He was in the judgment of the House; but if he had used the word, he intended only to allude to political animosities.

admitted that he might have mistaken the word: he was sure that the hon. gentleman had intended to allude only to political dissentions.

considering the length and extent of the war, and the energy with which it had been carried on, thought that the Address ought to contain some words of consolation to the people of England for the burthens which the country had borne, instead of presenting a prospect of their increase. He alluded to the magnanimous conduct of the emperor of Russia, and of other European sovereigns, who had disbanded a large proportion of their armies, put down the conscription, and already relieved their subjects of some of their most painful incumbrances. Instead of seeing the same line of conduct adopted in this country, we were now told that the most odious of all our burthens, the Income Tax, was to be continued. All this was probably to enable us to support the American war. He objected to the manner in which the latter had been carried on; at the same time he allowed that the necessity of retaliation to a certain degree had been established. Not to have retaliated would have more become the character of our country; but, at all events, the American government had no right to complain. He reproved, however, our setting up an island in the Chesapeake as a rendezvous for runaway negroes, who would afterwards return and murder their masters. Another part of our commander's conduct also deserved reprobation, he meant their attack on private property. The utmost extent of the right of captors only embraced property afloat. In the case of Alexandria, the capture of which, in another point of view, was one of the most brilliant exploits of the war, every individual had been forced to give up his goods and merchandize. This was not the first time that we had brought an army before a town, and ordered private property to be delivered. Our conduct, at former periods, had been the same at Genoa and St. Eustacia; nay, it had even been worse, for not only goods but bills had been directed to be transferred into our hands. This was not only disgraceful, but impolitic. In the present unbounded extent of our trade, no commercial town could be taken and plundered, without injuring a large quantity of British property. He, therefore, hoped ministers would adopt proper measures to check such conduct on the part of our commanders. He objected to the Address, because it echoed the sentiments expressed in the Speech, that the war had been conducted in a manner to do credit to our arms. Without discussing the merits of its origin, it ought to be the general wish that it should be carried on as Englishmen ought. The Chancellor of the Exchequer had given a list of the British merchant vessels taken by the French in one year of lord Chatham's administration, and compared it with our loss through the hostility of America; but the difference was considerable between the great nation with which we were then at war, and the petty power with whom we now contended. The conduct of the Admiralty in allowing American privateers to capture our ships in the very heart of the Channel, could not be suffered to pass without inquiry. Vigorous exertions at the commencement of the war, would have placed us in a much more commanding position than we now occupied. He admitted that in its origin the war had been one of aggression on the part of America; and from the period the orders in council had been repealed, he had never opened his mouth on the subject. It now appeared, however, that there had been, for the last two years, an American commission wandering in Europe to negociate for peace before Buonaparté had been overthrown, and therefore not in consequence of the deprivation of the support which the United States might expect to derive from him. The first proposals had been made under the proffered mediation of Russia, which our government had rejected: since that time we had shown little eagerness to treat for peace. When the next commission was sent to Ghent, at least three or four months elapsed before any negociators had been appointed on our part. The discussions were however now carried on; and on that ground ministers evaded giving any explanation of the topics which they embraced. He did not think that the main question with us was that of our maritime rights, but of boundaries, or in other words, of aggrandizement; and whether we should go on a crusade for the reconquest of America. If she rejected peace on the question of maritime rights, the war, hopeless as he thought it was in the mode in which it was conducted, could not unfortunately be abandoned: but if, on the contrary, the Americans gave up the question of rights, and we broke off the negociations on that of boundaries, which would be most absurd and impolitic, it would be impracticable to pursue it with any expectation of success; we should then be embarked in a mad crusade, and instigated by the vain dreams of dotards. Such a design was idle: 1st, because the additional territory, if gained, could be of no use to Great Britain; 2dly, because the object was unattainable; and 3dly, because a claim of territory would unite all parties against us, who, on other points, were disputing among themselves. Much of his information upon this subject was derived from personal inspection: he knew the tract of territory between the Penobscot and the Passamaquoddy to be a mere tract of snow, thinly peopled, there being only about 4,000 inhabitants in sixty square miles; and the attainment of, which had been boasted as a great achievement, was only the triumph of a regular force over a defenceless village, supplied only with two iron guns. In the Chesapeake we had been more successful, but we ought not much to plume ourselves upon what might with ease have been accomplished on the coast of France at any time during the late war: but we no sooner attempted something on a grander scale at Baltimore, which contained a mass of ships, of merchandize, and important magazines, than we had failed. On the Penobscot our operations had only gained us useless territory, whilst on Lake Champlain and at Fort Erie, an inconsiderable place, we had experienced serious disasters; having lost in the attack on the latter near 1,000 men. Besides all this, a great portion of Upper Canada was still in the hands of the enemy. Were these the triumphs that proved that the war had been skilfully managed? He did not conceive it practicable that a successful attack could be made on America. Particular, and even great cities might be burned, but no permanent effect produced. We could not retain possession of what we occupied, nor conciliate the minds of the people. Witness sir George Prevost, who, with a large army, had been compelled to retire; and at a former period, the failure of general Burgoyne, on the very same field of action. He admired the manner in which, for two years, and with inferior forces, sir George Prevost had protected Canada; and he thought that the correspondence of that officer gave little hope to government of a successful issue to the American war: to put an end to it, was the only cause consistent with the interests of the country. In times like the present, the country would be little satisfied with the mere flourish of a royal speech, where our commerce was stated to be almost incalculably augmented, and our finances in a state of rapid improvement; nor were the figures of the right hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer more satisfactory: all they proved was, that immediately after the conclusion of peace, our merchandize, which had before been locked up in our warehouses, had been sent in large quantities abroad; but it was not to be supposed that this great export would continue; or, if the right hon. gentleman did so imagine, he would find himself most grievously disappointed. It would require greater abilities than those of the present administration, to secure to us in future an exclusive superiority in the continental markets, while our rivals, particularly the Dutch, had all the advantages of colonies, of ships, and of neutrality, which lessened the rates, of freight, insurance, and other charges, Nor had we that pre-eminence of capital that some had vainly imagined. In Paris money was so plentiful, that the interest upon it was only 3 per cent.—The statement of the number of American merchantmen captured by our cruizers, he confessed, astonished him. He did not believe, that within the last two years, to the number of fifty American merchant ships could have been found at sea. The vessels alluded to in the statement of the right hon. gentleman, must have been seized in port. The American privateers, on the other hand, were to be seen lying off, and even looking into, our harbours; and when at any time they were pursued, the vessels employed in that service were either not light enough to come up with them, or if they did come up with them, were not able to take them. He submitted, therefore, that there must be an inquiry into the whole system of our naval service; and in particular it should be inquired into, how it was that we could not build ships equal both to overtake and to fight our enemies? He agreed that the peace had caused a momentary increase of trade, and of course a momentary increase of the revenue: but would this last? Could we go on, meeting the manufactures of other nations in foreign markets, on equal terms? No; it was impossible, unless our manufacturers and traders were relieved from the burthens under which they at present laboured. It was impossible our manufacturers could thrive under that oppressive and inquisitorial tax, the property tax. If we looked at France, we should see her public credit improved, her funds raised, and her expenditure decreased. The funds of this country, on the other hand, had fallen since the peace, while our excessive expenditure remained; and should we, in the course of a few years, be again involved in war, we should be found unprepared to meet the contest.

, while he thanked the hon. gentleman who spoke last for the admissions he had made, could not but think that the lamentations he had made on two subjects might have been spared. He first lamented that we still continued to keep up our forces to their present establishment; and then he lamented the continuance of the war with America. As to the first subject of lamentation, the hon. gentleman might have perceived that, independent of the war with America, troops were at present necessary in the Netherlands, over which country France had never ceased to have an ascendancy. Was not what we had gained there worth the keeping; and could the hon. gentleman object to the keeping up of an adequate force in that country, till such time as its independence was properly secured? a measure in which this country was so deeply interested. The other subject of lamentation urged by the hon. gentleman was the war with America; but when the hon. gentleman admitted that, since the repeal of the orders in council, not we, but the Americans, were to blame for the continuance of that war; when he also admitted, that the obstacle to a peace was our maintenance of our maritime rights; when he admitted these two things, and yet lamented the continuance of the war as attributable to this country, was not this assuming, without any evidence whatever of the fact, that we were doing something—an assumption which the hon. gentleman had no right to make. To say that we could not injure the Americans by the continuance of the war, was absurd. Indeed, the hon. genleman himself gave an answer to this assertion, by admitting, in another part of his speech, that the Americans had not a single vessel at sea. Was not that to shew that they were distressed, and that they had no trade? As to the conduct of the Admiralty, he had only to state, that all demands for supplies of the governor of Canada were not only complied with, but in many instances had been anticipated. As to the trade of the country, he needed only to refer to the statement of his right hon. friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which, to his mind, remained unanswered. If vessels would quit their convoy for the sake of some mercantile speculation which the owners might have in view, the Admiralty was not to blame, and it was impossible they could be adequately protected. The term boundary, to which the hon. gentleman so much objected, on the assumption that the fixing of a boundary was one of the things for which the war was now continued, he contended did not necessarily include the idea of an accession of territory:—it might mean a line of mutual security. But, at all events, this was merely an assumption of the hon. gentleman, which he had no right to make.

observed, that it would have been most satisfactory to have heard from ministers that the negotiations at Ghent were going on favourably. He could not approve of that part of the Address which promised further support in the prosecution of the war in America, inasmuch as the cause of the dispute had ceased since the general pacification on the continent. When we withdrew our orders in council, the Americans had rescinded their retaliative acts; so that the right of searching American ships for British seamen alone remained as a subject of controversy. When peace was established throughout Europe, we could not think of enforcing that right; so that this last point of contention fell to the ground naturally. The war must therefore be carried on for other reasons, for the sake of what might happen, and not for any present grievance. He thought the situation of the country did not warrant ministers in doing this. Were our finances so flourishing, was the property-tax a burthen so light and easy, that it mattered not what might be the amount of the annual national expenditure? There might be some pretext for ministers to keep on some of the war taxes after the country was placed on a peace establishment, provided there was an excess of expenditure, to make up any deficiency in balancing the account; but there was no pretext whatever for retaining such imposts for the prosecution of a war which appeared unnecessary. It appeared to him, that we feared the rising power of America, and wished to curtail it. This was an important feature in the war, for, if persevered in, we must be prepared completely to subjugate our enemy, or we should be in a worse state than we now were. We had tried to subdue America 30 years ago, and had failed, when she was nothing like so powerful as at present. We should recollect how we left France situated whilst engaged in this contest: she was at profound peace, recovering from her wounds; and if the war was protracted, she might join America, or attack us herself. A strange policy seemed to be pursued; whilst we were waging war in America to prevent her becoming a powerful naval power, close at home, in Flanders, we were creating one. Let us recal to mind the history of the reign of Charles 2, or, in later times, the politics of the Dutch cabinet previous to the engagement off the Dogger Bank in the year 1781; and the march of the Prussian army, under the late duke of Brunswick into Holland in 1787. Would any one, having a knowledge of these transactions, believe that our ministers would, in all times to come, be able to manage the Dutch cabinet, so to eradicate all French influence there, as that the power we were now raising might not, at no very distant time, become highly dangerous to the naval supremacy of this country. With respect to the conduct of the war, he did not wish now to enter upon it; he was against the war altogether. In these contests we must expect the alternate vicissitudes of fortune. He had always understood sir George Prevost to be both a brave and intelligent man, and had no doubt he had good reasons for the conduct he had pursued; in a country like America, after having lost the naval support, on which depended the provisioning the army and conveyance of military stores, with the remembrance of Sarratoga and of Hook Town, he must have been bold indeed, who would have placed himself, by advancing, in such a situation. Much had been said of the mortification felt by the troops which had been sent from Spain; he believed that if more was expected from their exertions than from the rest of the army, we should be disappointed. In the outset of the last American war, it was boasted here, that a battalion of the British troops would march across that continent. The flower of our army was afterwards sent, and commanded by officers who had served with reputation in the German war, under prince Ferdinand. The result was known; those troops, as brave as any in the world, were compelled, at two different epochs, to capitulate to the new-raised levies of America. The hon. baronet concluded, by declaring that he was decidedly against the continuance of the war.

expressed strong objections to what had fallen from the right hon. gentleman who spoke last but one, with respect to the British forces now maintained in the Low Countries, which he described as one of the causes of our present expenditure. He had indeed even asserted, that without that force, the treaty of peace which had been concluded, would be nothing but a bit of paper, totally void of all security, though the country had been stimulated and hallooed on, as it were, to rejoice in that treaty as the consummation of all its most ardent wishes. He lamented that the Speech from the throne they had heard that night was so unlike the one which had been delivered at the opening of the last session; its whole tenor was that of war, which added greatly to the gloom he felt upon the present condition of the country. The British force maintained in the Low Countries required, he thought, some explanation from ministers. It was, he contended, unconstitutional, and required to be regarded by parliament with peculiar jealousy. It had never been allowed that a British force should be maintained at British expense in a foreign country, without some communication upon the subject being made to parliament.

jun. observed, that he had always heard it was unconstitutional to attempt to introduce a foreign force into this country, without a previous communication to parliament; but this was the first time that he had ever heard it was unconstitutional to maintain a British force abroad without reference to parliament. He was sorry the Address which had been moved, did not unite all the feelings of that House, and lamented that there was any probability of an exception to the practice of latter years, that of carrying up an Address with unanimity to the throne. He delivered it as his opinion, that the war on the part of America was unprovoked by any conduct of ours; at the same time he was as anxious as any gentleman in that House, to see the war brought to an honourable conclusion by ministers. He confessed he saw no grounds for the gloom which some hon. members felt. He would not, however, enter into counter predictions, though he avowed himself to be one of those who did not despair of his country, but believed it to be possesed of sufficient strength and sufficient power, to wage this war to a successful issue.

inquired, if there was any treaty or convention existing, by which England was bound to maintain any description of force on the continent, in conjunction with Russia and Prussia?

replied, that the present was not the time for putting such a question. If any such treaty or convention did exist, it was competent to the right hon. gentleman, or any other hon. member, to move in the regular way for its production.

. That "if" of the right hon. gentleman requires some observation. I beg to know—

, I beg leave to remind the hon. member, that we have already had the pleasure of hearing him on the present question.

. If it be a pleasure, the right hon. gentleman shall hear me again upon the next question.

The question upon the Address was then put, and carried in the affirmative.

. I now rise to ask, whether the right hon. gentleman and his colleagues mean to disavow the noble lord, who, in the course of last session, stated that a treaty had been signed; and whether he means to deviate from the usual path of laying treaties, concluded with foreign powers, before parliament for its sanction?

. I am not at all desirous of disavowing that such a treaty was then proceeding.

, across the table, 'signed.'

. And when proper, the treaty will undoubtedly be laid before the House.

. The reason assigned by the noble lord, for not laying it before parliament at that time, was, that though it had been signed, for so it was positively stated, yet it had not been formally ratified, and therefore could not be submitted to the House. He lamented that it was so, and promised that if parliament should sit long enough, till the ratification arrived, it should be immediately laid before it; but if not, that it should be presented on the earliest occasion in the ensuing session. In reply to an hon. gentleman opposite, I admit that there is no reason why the King may not send troops to fight wherever he pleases; but will it be said, that British troops are to be placed under a foreigner, in a foreign country, and paid with British money, without some intimation being given to parliament?

. The troops are serving under an officer high in the British service, though, indeed, a foreigner by birth,

. This is a violation of the word of ministers; it is an unconstitutional proceeding, and an insult to parliament. The treaty was announced to parliament as signed; it has been acted upon; and British troops are still kept in foreign parts. It must not stop here. The right hon. gentleman has placed himself and his colleagues in an awkward predicament; and I will boldly affirm, that it is the first time any minister ever so con- ducted himself towards parliament. If he has fallen into a mistake and committed the noble lord, who, if he were present, would not deny what he had asserted, and would be above suffering the treaty to be thus silently refused, let him reconsider the subject. I trust, that whatever aspersions may be cast upon this House as now constituted, it will not patiently sit down under the indignity which it is now attempted to offer to it.

. All I contend for is, that the House has nothing to complain of this evening, but that the subject of the troops in the low countries was not introduced into the Speech. Whether government will or will not, at any future period, produce the treaty or convention alluded to, I do not pretend to affirm. All I can say is, that they have no intention at present to communicate it to parliament.

. We cannot help feeling a little compassion for their infirmities—[Order, order!]

Here the conversation dropped.

wished to know, whether the right hon. gentleman had any plans of finance, which he intended to submit, and how early it was probable he might be prepared to bring them forward?

stated, that the forms of the House would scarcely admit of an earlier day than Monday for the sitting of a committee of supply.

inquired what the right hon. gentleman meant to propose with regard to the Property Tax, during the present session? It would be of importance also to many members and the country at large, if he could name the probable period when he should be able to submit any measure upon that subject.

said, that as far as he could judge at present, he should not propose any plan before Christmas.