doubt for an instant the respect, attachment, and veneration I enterrain for the virtues and public spirit of that illustrious personage; but I am not to be tutored or schooled by any man as to the way in which I should manifest my feelings and discharge my duty towards his R. Highness. I am not to be told, that unless the offer, which has done him the highest honour, shall be treated in a manner satisfactory to my hon. friend and me, I shall decline to support his Majesty's government on this trying occasion. Of my respect and regard for his Royal Highness as a Prince, and as a man, I should think my hon. friend himself is fully aware. It is not necessary for me to make any parade or profession of my zealous wishes for his interest or character. It is justly due to that character, to state that which must constitute its highest praise, that he has offered, in the noblest manner, to stand forward for the nations defence; and I am fully persuaded that that offer was not less graciously received by the persons to whom it was made, than it is felt with gratitude by the country at large. I am, however, confident, that whatever might have been the effect of that offer, H. R. H. would not be friendly to any observations calculated to excite pubdie discontent, or to disturb public unanimity; on the contrary, I am fully persuaded, that, according to the sentiment of his dig. nified friend, Lord Moira, bis R. Highness would rather enter as a private in the ranks of his armed countrymen, than countenance any discussion which could tend to divide the feelings of the people. With respect to the remarks of the hon. officer, upon the manner in which military lectures are received in this House, I must set the hon. gent right, if he alluded to me. I beg him to understand that I never did say that this House was not a proper place for military men to state their opinion; but I did say this, that as a member of Parliament I would not abandon my opinion in compliment to the assertions of military authority, for which generally speaking, I profess not to entertain a very profound respect, at least so far as it is displayed in this House; and indeed it would be rather surprising, if from the manner pursued such authority should be much respected. I can collect no information from it. One officer rises and lays down a certain plan, another proposes one of quite a different nature, but neither follows up his ideas. There is a kind of confusion and irregularity in their movements. They do not march close upon each other with the lock step, but they run about and scramble in such a way as to be scarcely intelligible, and when intelligible of very little use, and not

at all tending to elucidate the subject, or to enlighten the House. The hon. officer to whom I refer tells, to be sure, some military anecdotes, with which any man that has read some very well known books cannot be unacquainted; and another hon. officer at times entertains us in the same way. But of what value to the House is the repetition of those matters of fact? If these gallant officers can tell us nothing more than what can be seen in Plutarch's Lives, Caesar's Commentaries, or Vauban, or how such a division moved at Malplaquet or Blenheim, they can render very little service to the country. Indeed, for the credit of these officers themselves, I deprecate such discussions, and would advise them to abstain from such statements. But, as to the motion before the House, the hon, colonel asks, why thank the volunteers for merely doing their duty.? His new acquaintance and right hon. friend below him ought, however, to be the last to oppose a motion of thanks to them for doing their duty; he who has been so long and so loudly lamenting the base spirit which, according to his description, existed in the country, in consequence of the treaty of Amiens and the character of the present ministers. If the right hon. gent. did really wish to remove that lowness of mind which he so often deplored, his language this night was strange indeed; but if he regretted to find his opinion mistaken, it is of course quite consistent to resist the expression of our gratitude to the band of patriots who have broken through that slumber of apathy, and shook off that shade of despondency which he has so frequently pictured to the House, but which in reality never existed. The hon. colonel has described the motives which ought to actuate the people of this country to take up arms at present, and he contends that their having obeyed these motives, namely, the defence of their own families and the call of public duty, does not entitle them to the gratitude of Parliament, I regret that the hon. colonel has in the course of his observations entered into any contrast between the volunteers and any other description of the public force. Such comparisons are invidious at any time, and particularly imprudent at present; I can see no good purpose that it can answer. Although the wisdom of the hon. colonel's right hon friend (Mr. W.) has given the sanction of his authority to the practice, I did flatter myself that in the observations with which I prefaced this motion I had abstained from every topic that was likely to provoke debate or dissension, and that was my wish. I declined to say one word as to the conduct of ministers, because I knew, from

the experience of a former evening, that any thing from me in commendation of ministers would be a pretext to the right hon. gent. to fall foul of them. Recurring to the comparison of the hon. col. between the volunteers and the regulars, 1 cannot help saying that he has not taken a course very likely to reflect honour on his favourite force. The hon. col. has adinitted that the volunteers have done their duty, but that they are not on that account entiled to the proposed vote, while the distinguished services of the regular army are overlooked. In proof of their services, however, the hon. col. states this, that at the time of the mutiny in the fleet, the jacobins sent circular letters to the several regiments of the army, inviting them to mutiny, which invitations they refused to comply with. Then the hon. gentleman's argument stands thus, that we should refuse our thanks to the volunteers, whose merit is that they have done their duty, but that we should grant this honour to the regular army, whose merit is, according to his statement, that they rejected a propostion to mutiny; that they declined to violate their oaths to abandon every sense of duty and honour. Such is the substance of the panegyric which this regular colonel has pronounced upon the regular army. If he can say nothing more in their favour, I think the army would be much obliged to him to with hold his praise. The hon. col. has, in his compliments to his right hon. friend, thought proper to say that it would be for my interest to preserve my hands as clean from the imputation of unworthy motives in my opposition to ministers as his right hon. friend has done and continues to do. If the hon. col. has been acquainted with the views and proceedings of the old opposition, he would have declined that remark; but I will refer him for information upon this point to his right hon. friend, and I would call with confidence upon that right hon. gent. myself, to state the course which the old opposition took when he acted with them. Were not the grounds upon which they rested their conduct materially different from those upon which he and his colleagues now act? When they condemned ministers they pointed at the particular acts which justified that condemnation. They never pronounced loose and general censures. They never told the country that the ministers they opposed were not entitled to confidence without proving it; but the right hon gent, never does meet the ministers fairly, never opposes them front to front; his mode of discipline seems best to qualify him for squibs and skirmishes; his favourite plan of attack is on the flanks and rear of his adver

sary. Is this the system of tactics which the hon. col. would approve? I would call upon the right hon. gent. to make his approaches more manfully. If he would consult the precedent of the old opposition, he would alter his present course for one better adapted to recommend himself to the favour of the country, and the deference of Parliament. I am glad, however, to perceive, from the reference he has made to the old opposition, that he is refreshing his memory; that he is furbishing his arms, no doubt from an expectation, in which I hope he will not be disappointed, that he will have to stand a very long campaign in opposition. If in this campaign he will endeavour to imitate the party I have alluded to, he will protect himself and his friends from the charge of faction; he will not oppose mea, sures because they come from a certain set of men, and although the same measures from other men would meet his most cordial concurrence; he will not act upon such motives, and if not, his opinion and oppo. sition will become respectable, and may have some pretension to a comparison with the old opposition, from which the right hon. gent, may perhaps think I have now a furlough; but as to the comparison of the two oppositions under the present circum stances, it strikes me that the old opposition might address that of the right hon. gent. in the same terms as those used by the landlord who kept the sign of the two Magpies at Hounslow, in his dispute with another landlord who thought proper to put up the same sign-" We are the real old Magpies, and you have set up your new opposition through spite:" (a general laugh.] The hon. col. in his affection and deference for the Prince of Wales, recommended that his Royal Highness should be appointed to the command of the levy en masse, as a place suited to his rank and consequence. would beg the House to recollect that this is the army which the hon, officer advised ministers to distribute into scouting parties, or to stay in their respective districts, to keep up a kind of irregular attack upon the enemy-to fire from behind hedges or wallsfrom out of houses, &c. Now mark the station the hon. col. would assign the illustrious personage I have mentioned-he would send his Royal Highness to take his place behind a tree, to watch and direct flying shooters, to conduct a mode of warfare that would resemble something like boar hunting, This is a part which I hope will never be assigned to the Prince of Wales; that we shall not call on him to stand behind a tree, or throw himself into a ditch when the enemy approaches. An hon. friend of

I

mine has stated in the course of his objections to the motion before the House, that ⚫ while the volunteers were drilling, they were laughed at by idle worthless spectators. This appears to me to be a very strong reason in favour of this motion, for if the volunteers are laughed at by the profligate, let them have this honourable mark of your approbation to gratify their pride, to raise them above such sneers. The late Secretary at War has maintained, in the course of this debate, and on other occasions, that our situation was by no means so dangerous, at any period of the late war, as it is at present, To this assertion the noble Secretary of State has so ably answered, that I think it unnecessary to say much, but I insist that the perils of the country in the year 1798 were much superior to those by which we are now menaeed; for at that time Ireland was actually invaded, a formidable insurrection prevailed, and had the whole of the French force, which was sent to Ireland, been able to effect a landing, or rather, perhaps, were it not for the treachery of Hoche, that country would have been subdued. Then I contend that Ireland was saved by an accident; and if the 40,000 men which were permitted to go to Egypt had bent their course to Ireland, what, I would ask, could have been the fate of that country? In such a state of things, I maintain that ministers are justified in charging the right hon. gent. with neglecting to resort to such measures of vigour as he ought to have employed, and such as have been on the present occasion adopted. The right hon. gent. will not deny that he felt the extre mity of panic at the state of the nation in 1798, insomuch that he was heard to complain of the apathy of his colleagues; that they were not forward to adopt measures sufficiently suited to the crisis. They were, to be sure, persuaded to propose a bill, which was passed, in the preamble of which the alarming state of the country was acknowledged, and several military prepara tions prescribed, which however were never executed, nor was the act in any of its provisions acted upon; but yet it was remarkable, that though clumsy and ineffectual it contained the same principle and nearly the same clauses, which the right hon. gent. has objected to in the act for raising the mass of the people. Why did the right hon. gent. approve of a proposition then which he abuses now: There are indeed many other measures of the late ministry which the right hon. gent. professes to condemn. He has said, among others, that VOL. IV.

| the provisional cavalry was a foolish measure-how then can he account for the support he gave it as a minister? I do appeal to him or any other man who has a spark of frankness, whether such conduct is excusable! That of a right hon. gent., who lays claim to a character of candour, sincerity, openness, and independence of mind, who continued in this House to plead for proceedings, of which, as a cabinet minister, he strongly disapproved, was certainly not quite consistent. The hon. Colonel says, that Austria was not sincerely desirous to preserve the peace of Campo Formio. I remember when we stated the same thing in this House we were opposed by the late Sec. at War and his friends, and the fact was positively denied. The Ex-Sec. at War considered the assertion mere nonsense→→ indeed, that right hon. gent., whether in or out of office, has always been in the habit of treating the assertions or arguments of his adversaries, with an appearance of indifference, if not contempt, that was not becoming in any man. No doubt, if great talents would justify a man in looking down upon the arguments of his adversary, the hon. gent. was fully qualified to do so-but no degree or description of talents could excuse such conduct. The argument of every man is, if at all attended to, entitled to respectful attention. With regard to the conduct of the right hon. gent. since he be came an ex-minister, I do contend, that its uniform tenor has been to invite and encourage the enemy, and to depress and discourage our own people. He has invited the enemy to provoke the war, by the description he always gave of the character of ministers-and since the war he has invited an attack upon our country, by the statements he has made of the situation of the public mind, the disorganised state of our army, and the aukward manner in which our defensive force was to be constructed. By this kind of invitation he has brought Buonaparté into a scrape, and he certainly is in a much worse scrape than this country; all his misfortunes may be attributed to the reliance he placed on the words of the right hon. gent., when he reported the ministers to be a set of shabby, pusillanimous, incapable fellows, who knew nothing, who would bear any thing, who would submit to any injury, or endure any insult. In short, that the peace of Amiens was a curse, and that, bad as the ministers were, this treaty had rendered the people still worse. He always stated that ministers were only anxious for the safe tenure of their places, and that as * Ee

there was nothing high-minded about them; they would make any sacrifice to that object, What was the natural tendency of such language? What impression was it likely to make on the mind of Buonaparté ? If he were told that it was all rant, the mere heated declamation of a discontented ex minister, he would, no doubt, answer, Noimpossible! Mr. Windham is a discreet statesman, and he knows the character of the English government, and of the English people, well; no man better. But Buonaparté was deceived, and was suffering much regret for his coufidence in the right hon. gent He knows now, that ministers are not quite so passive or so timid as the right hon. gent. would lead him to imagine; that they would go to war sooner than sacrifice the honour and interests of the country. There is a character in our great bard, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, to whom, though I cannot entirely compare the First Consul, I have no doubt that if he were to declare his sentiments on his present situation, he would say, in the language of the old knight,-" If I thought he'd been so valiant, I'd be damned ere I had challenged him."I am pretty certain that such is now the feeling of Buonaparté, and he has to thank the right hon. gent. for reducing him to that dilemma. I hope that ministers will place him in a still worse dilemma; if duly seconded by the people, upon which I confidently rely, I have no doubt that it is in their power to do so. In reply to the observations that have been made on the motion under consideration, on the ground that it is not necessary, I shall only say, that it must be useful; that it is dictated by justice and policy, and called for by the irresistible voice of gratitude; that the merit it is intended to distinguish is great and material to the public safety; and that to record such merit would excite the emulation of the people at large, if a stimulus were necessary, while it would form a monument honourable to our own charac

ter, grateful to the pride, and conducive, by the influence of example, to the best interests of posterity.-The question was put upon Mr. Sheridan's motion and carried

nom, con.

Mr. Sheridan next moved that the Speaker do signify to the lords lieutenants of counties, &c. the assent of the House to the above resolution. Agreed to nem. con.Mr. Sheridan finally moved that a return be made and entered upon the Journals of the names and numbers of the volunteer corps, who, from the present moment till the next meeting of Parliament, should enrol themselves and be accepted by his Majesty, in

order that their patriotic example may be handed down to animate our latest posterity. Agreed to, nem. con.

[STATE OF IRELAND.]-Mr. Hutchinson then rose to advert to the notice he had given of bringing forward a motion respecting the present state of Ireland. In his opinion it was then too late an hour (ten o'clock) to agitate a question of such delicacy and importance. He therefore wished, if such were the pleasure of the House, to defer his motion to the next day, if it was intended that the Honse should sit on that day, otherwise he should now submit to the House what observations he had to make upon that important question.

Lord Hawkesbury observed, that the House would meet the next day merely pro forma, and he hoped that the hon. gent, would not introduce a subject of such magnitude in a thin House, and when a full attendance might be productive of such personal inconvenience.

Mr. Windham contended, that after a sitting of five hours, the attention of the House could not be equal to the discussion of a subject so intricate and momentous.

General Maitland wished, as the attendance of members was now numerous, and as the hon. gent was aware when he gave his notice of the other business which had that night occupied the attention of the House, that the motion should be immediately submitted to discussion.

The Speaker intimated, that the hon. gent. had a right to defer his motion.

Mr. Hutchinson availed himself of that right, and his motion was deferred.

HOUSE OF LORDS.

Thursday, August 11.

[MINUTES.-The royal assent was given by commission to fifty-one public and private bills. Among those of the former description were the Income Tax Bill, the Vote of Credit, the Scotch Taxes Consolidation, the Vellum and Parchment Duties, the Orange Annuity, Tortola Free Port, the General Defence Amendment, the Substitutes Exemption, the Foreign Note Forgery, and the Scotch Army of Reserve Amendment Bills.-Lord Dundas was sworn, and took his seat.-The bills which remained upon the table were read a third time and passed. Among these were the Wines Prizeage, the Amherst Annuity, the Assessed Taxes Regulation, the Neutral Ships, the Countervailing, the Aliens' Regulation, the Seamens' Encouragement, and the Custom