of this country, to its glory, to its safety, and to its existence as a nation, whose malignity is directed to the honour and even existence of our navy, who carry on their diabolical artifice by misrepresentation of facts, to pervert the dispositions and change the principles of the seamen, by instilling into their minds false alarms and apprehensions, and prevail upon them to do acts contrary to their instinct, and that too when they are called upon to contend with an enemy,-I trust, I say, that if there be among us such foes, they may be detected and dealt with as they deserve. Our indignation should be more active against the seducers than the seduced and misguided. Whether, according to the existing law against the open attempts that we have seen made upon another branch of his Majesty's service to shake its loyalty, but which, to the honour of that body, remains unmoved, and I trust is immoveable, we possess power enough to punish, as they deserve, such wicked offenders, may be a matter perhaps of doubt. I shall, however, instantly proceed to that part of the recommendation in his Majesty's message, and to state my ideas upon the law against persons who shall excite his Majesty's forces to mutiny or disobedience. It is not necessary for me to enter now into particulars upon that subject; but I feel it my duty to declare, that if the address which I shall propose shall meet, as I hope and confidently trust it will, the unanimous sense of the house, I shall immediately move for leave to bring in a bill for the better prevention of the crime I have already stated. There is, I am persuaded, in this house, but one sense of the great guilt of this offence, of the notoriety of its practice, and of the danger of its consequences; in short, there exists every ground upon which penal law can be applied to any offence, viz. the mischief of the act itself, and the frequency of its commission. The remedy which I mean to propose for the consideration of parlia ment, will, I trust, be sufficiently efficacious to attain its object, without o'erstepping the moral guilt and real malignity of the crime. While, however, we all feel it to be our duty to enter on the consideration of such legislative provision, while parlia ment is not wanting in its duty at such a crisis of public affairs, I trust also that we shall not be disappointed in our expectation of the spirit of the public collectively or individually; that they will not be wanting in their exertions in such a crisis; that they will be animated, collectively and individually, with a spirit that will give energy and effect to their exertions; that every man who boasts, and is worthy of the name of an Englishman, will stand forth in the metropolis, and in every part of the kingdom, to maintain the authority of the laws, and enforce obedience to them, to oppose and counteract the machinations of the disaffected, and to preserve a due principle of submission to legal authority. I trust that all the inhabitants of the kingdom will unite in one common defence against internal enemies, to maintain the general security of the kingdom, by providing for the local security of each particular district; that we shall all remember, that by so doing we shall give the fullest scope to his Majesty's forces against foreign enemies, and also the fullest scope to the known valour and unshaken fidelity of the military force of the kingdom against those who shall endeavour to disturb its internal tranquillity. Such are the principles which I feel, and upon which I shall act for myself, and such are the principles, and will be the conduct, I hope, of every man in this house and out of it; such are the sentiments that are implanted in us all; such the feelings that are inherent in the breast of every Englishman. I should insult the house by shewing that I distrusted its character, and the character of the country, if I said more, and I should have neglected my duty if I had said less. I now move, Sir, "That an humble address be presented to his Majesty to return his Majesty the thanks of this house for his most gracious message. "To express to his Majesty the concern and indignation which we must feel in common with his Majesty, at the heinous and criminal conduct of the crews of some of his Majesty's ships, notwithstanding the offer so repeatedly made to them of his Majesty's most gracious pardon, and the proofs of the paternal regard of his Majesty, and of the liberality of parliament, which they have received in common with the rest of his Majesty's fleet. : "To assure his Majesty, that we are ready and determined to afford to his Majesty our utmost assistance in repressing such dangerous and criminal proceedings, and to adopt every measure which can tend, at this conjuncture, to provide for the public security with this view we shall proceed, without delay, in pursuance of the recommendation of his Majesty, to consider of such further provision as it may be necessary to make, for the more effectual prevention and punishment of all traiterous attempts to excite mutiny in any part of his Majesty's forces, or to withdraw them from their duty and allegiance, and from that obedience and discipline which are so important to the prosperity and the safety of the British empire: "That we have the fullest reliance, that all his Majesty's faithful subjects, from sentiments of loyalty and attachment to his Majesty, and a just anxiety for their dearest interests, will be eager to manifest, at so important a crisis, a full determination to contribute, on every occasion, their utmost exertions for the support of legal authority, the maintenance of peace and order, and the general protection and defence of his Majesty's kingdoms." A general sentiment of unanimity appearing through the House, That in expressing his anxiety for unanimity in voting the proposed address, he was influenced indeed by the most important considerations. He wished for such an unanimity as would lay a just foundation for future prosperity, for one on which he placed the most favourable augury, the unanimity of the nation at large-an unanimity not in support of administration, but in support of the constitution itself, and of all those laws by which it VOL. III, was guarded. The country was called upon to be unanimous in a contest which embraced every thing that was most valuable to its dearest interests. Whatever difference of opinion might prevail in the minds of gentlemen on former points, there could not exist a shadow of doubt with respect to the present question. It was now indispensably necessary for them to unite in one common cause; it was incumbent on them to consolidate their efforts, to reconcile their different views, to concentrate their individual exertions, and to give energy and vigour to the the laws, without which it was impossible there could be any solid happiness. It was not merely by declarations that they were bound to proceed, but by a spirit and promptitude of action, and a firm resolution and readiness to support the execution of the laws by military subordination and legal obediencé. It became their duty to give a resistless efficacy to that conduct through every corner of the metropolis, and through every part of the kingdom. By such measures they could alone disappoint the dark and malignant efforts of the enemy; and he was proud to say that to so glorious an unanimity there was nothing that he would not chearfully sacrifice. He therefore hoped that nothing would in fact be found in the latter part of the address, that could in the slightest degree tend to destroy the unanimity of the house in agreeing to it. When he came to consider the nature and the terms of it, he was completely at a loss to find one word that could appear objectionable. The house could not be supposed to pledge themselves particularly to agree to the bill which was about to be brought in. They merely pledged themselves to this; that, in pursuance of his Majesty's recommendation to parliament to make more effectual provision, for the purpose of strengthening the present laws which related to military obedience and discipline, they would consider of the propriety of those measures which might be deemed necessary for that specific object. The house, therefore, in voting for the address, went no farther than to declare, that they would act in compliance with his Majesty's recommendation, but did not preclude themselves from taking into their mature consideration the nature of the bill, nor did they, by such a vote, debar themselves from witholding their assent to any matter that might appear objectionable in it. But though he was so partiticularly anxious to secure unanimity in passing the address, he did not, with a view of obtaining that desirable measure, wish to conceal or protract the delivery of his sentiments on any part of it. His conviction of the propriety of the bill was formed on the ground of the greatest necessity, and strongly impressed with the idea that it was absolutely requisite to give dispatch to the operation of it, he should move, the moment the address was carried, for leave to present the bill, and if it was then agreed to, he should also propose the second reading of it to take place the next day. He also thought it necessary to premise, that the further discussion of the bill would be carried on as speedily as possible. An honourable gentleman,* who had spoken against the latter part of the address, declared, that he reserved to himself the liberty of opposing the bill. A declaration of that nature was by no means necessary, because no gentleman could be supposed to pledge himself to measures which he had in all instances the freedom of discussing and disagreeing with. He would not undertake to convince the scruples of the honourable gentleman on every point which was contained in the latter part of the address, but he entertained an opinion that he was competent to do so on some points which appeared peculiarly satisfactory to himself. The provisions of the bill did not go beyond the necessity of the case, and this statement he would undertake in the most direct and positive manner to support; but if the honourable gentleman meant, that it was requisite to prove the existence of particular acts on board each of his Majesty's ships which were then in a state of mutiny, he should freely declare that he would undertake no such thing. He took the ground of proceeding with the bill to be derived from a plain and fair opinion, on which the public mind and parliament might be fully satisfied as in Mr. Hobhouse. |