to be blackened in this country; had he betrayed his trust, deceived his master; and, finally, imbrued his hands in the blood of his sovereign, then he would have been reclaimed by the French government; then the princes of Europe, trembling at the command of the directory, would have ordered the doors of his prison to be thrown open, and General La Fayette might even have been a member of that directory, with which they were now obliged to treat. If the court of Vienna was mean enough to take advantage of his helpless situation, Mr. Sheridan hoped that the French government, overlooking the past, would reclaim La Fayette and his fellow-sufferers, as French citizens. How well such conduct would suit the generosity and magnanimity of the French republic! and what a contrast it would be of republican resentment to monarchical gratitude, that, from this atheistical government, we should learn the principle of the forgiveness of injuries, and lessons of eternal vengeance only from the regular Christian governments of kings!

Mr. Sheridan concluded by repeating an observation which he had made last year, and which appeared to be something like a paradox, namely, that there never was a country in which there was more private worth or more public depravity than in this; and in expressing his firm conviction that, were the present question to be decided by private feeling, the minister would be left in a minority as small as the number of the speakers.

General Fitzpatrick having acquiesced in the amendment, the house divided thereon-ayes 50; noes 132. The question was then efore negatived.

DECEMBER 17.

On the 17th the following message was brought from his Majesty :

"GEORGE R.

"His Majesty thinks proper to acquaint the house of commons, that he is at present engaged in concerting measures with his allies, in order to be fully prepared for the vigorous and effectual prosecution of the war, if the failure of his Majesty's earnest endeavours to effect a general peace, on secure and honourable terms, should unfortunately render another campaign unavoidable: and his Majesty will not fail to take the first opportunity to communicate the result of these discussions to the house. In the interval his Majesty conceives, that it may be of the greatest importance to the common cause, that his Majesty should be enabled to continue such temporary advances for the service of the emperor as may be indispensably necessary, with a view to military operations being prosecuted with vigour and effect at an early period; and his Majesty recommends it to the house

to consider of making such provision as may appear to them to be most expedient for this purpose. "G. R." On the 19th the message was taken into consideration, and Mr. Pitt moved the address-as usual, an echo of the message.

MR. SHERIDAN wished to ask the minister two questionsthe one a matter of fact, the other a matter of opinion. Whether the whole amount of the money advanced to the emperor (excepting a small sum which was retained out of the last payment to his imperial Majesty) is not now due to this country? And while this sum is four millions and a half, and the emperor is applying for another loan, if that sum should be doubled, what security have we that any punctuality will be observed by the emperor in his future payments?

Mr. Sheridan again rose, and, after a short introduction, proposed the following amendment at the end of the address:

"Your Majesty's faithful commons having thus manifested their determination to enable your Majesty to give such assistance to your Majesty's ally, the emperor, as may be indispensably necessary in the unfortunate event of an unfavourable issue to the present negotiations for peace, cannot omit this occasion of expressing their deep regret that your Majesty's ministers should, in recent instances, have presumed to issue similar assistances to the emperor without any previous application to parliament so to do; thereby acting, as your Majesty's gracious message appears in a great measure to admit, in defiance of the established practice, and in violation of the constitutional privileges of this house."

Negatived without a division.

The house then resolved itself into a committee of supply, when the following resolution was moved :

"

That a sum not exceeding £500,000 be given to his Majesty to be applied to the service of the emperor, to be issued at such times and in such a manner as his Majesty may see most proper."

Mr. Sheridan observed, the minister was powerful in speech, and seemed to have had a patent for putting words together; yet he had discretion enough to be silent on proper occasions, as was then the case with respect to one point. On a former night he had stated the necessity of concealing from the public the knowledge of the money sent to the continent; therefore, it was impossible that a fair account could have been given to the house. There were other gentlemen who stood in a situation of respon

sibility, besides the minister, and he wished to hear from them some information on the subject. He wished to know accurately, whether any interest had been paid for the money already borrowed by the emperor; or whether deductions had been made for that purpose out of the instalments advanced to his Imperial Majesty? It was material that the house know this, or know whether the emperor would have sent the interest, provided no advances had been made from this country, in order that they might judge of his future punctuality. The British parliament must expect the punctuality of a merchant, and not depend on the gallantry of a hero, for the payment of these sums. He would, therefore, add, as an amendment to the resolution, "That £500,000 should be granted to the emperor when his engagements upon the last loan are fulfilled, or satisfactory reasons given for the failure.”

Mr. Sheridan contended that the guarantee for the payment of the interest of the loan, and the sinking fund for the redemption of the principal, stood upon the same ground, and that the creditors of the emperor in each case look to the public as their guarantee. He doubted whether, without advancing fresh sums to the emperor, he could have paid the interest of the former sums borrowed, and thought this held out but poor encouragement to expect the repayment of the principal sums advanced. He wished to know also whether the actions of the emperor's Austrian dominions were deposited in the Bank of England as a security? Whether the £5000 monthly, or £60,000 annually, had been paid according to the treaty, and had been applied towards the buying up of the bonds at the market price, and for the purpose of a sinking fund for the redemption of the capital of the loan? In short, Mr. Sheridan insisted, that there was a failure on the emperor's side of every part of the treaty, and that the £500,000 now proposed to be advanced, was to enable him to fulfil his former engagement with the British public.

Mr. Sheridan wished to know whether ministers considered themselves authorised to take the Prince of Conde's army in British pay, and continuing such payments, without the previous consent and approbation of parliament? For this measure, he observed, was virtually the same as increasing the loan to the

emperor.

Mr. Sheridan's amendment was put and negatived without a division. The original address was then voted.

DECEMBER 22.

BILL FOR THE BETTER SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE OF THE

POOR.

Mr. Pitt moved for leave to bring in this bill, observing at the same time, that there was no subject which more deserved the attention of the house, or which required a more careful and deliberate consideration.

MR. SHERIDAN said, he certainly agreed that there was no subject which was more deserving of the attention of the house, or which more demanded their most diligent and serious investigation. He hoped, however, that the right hon. gentleman would persevere in maturing his system, as he had taken the subject out of the hands of an hon. friend of his (Mr. Whitbread), who would have prosecuted it, if not with equal ability, yet with equal zeal, and, perhaps, with a greater degree of industry. He wished that the right hon. gentleman had at least entered into a short explanation of the particulars of the plan which he now proposed to bring forward. When he talked of the approbation given to the objects of the bill, he ought to have recollected that sanction had been given in a former parliament. He would, however, when the subject was brought forward in detail, pay it the closest attention, and he trusted that it would be attended with the utmost advantage to that class of the community for whose interests it was professedly brought forward.

Mr. Pitt denied having taken the measure out of the hands of Mr. Whitbread ; on the contrary, the bill which he now proposed to be brought in was contrived on a much more enlarged scale, and which, when put in execution, would supersede the necessity of the other.

Mr. Sheridan reminded the right hon. gentleman that the bill which his hon. friend (Mr. Whitbread) moved for leave to bring in, referred not to a detached measure which he had in view, but was part of an extensive plan which he then had in agitation, if the house had permitted him to prosecute it.

FEBRUARY 27, 1797.

STOPPAGE OF CASH PAYMENTS AT THE BANK.

In January, 1795, the directors of the Bank of England informed the chancellor of the exchequer, that it was their wish "that he would arrange his finances for the year in such a manner as not to depend on any farther assistance from These remonstrances were renewed in April and July following; and on

them."

the 8th of October they sent a written paper to the minister, which concluded by stating, "the absolute necessity which they conceived to exist for diminishing the sum of their present advances to government, the last having been granted with great reluctance on their part, on his pressing solicitations.” In an interview with the chancellor of the exchequer, which took place on the 23rd of the same month, on the loans to the emperor being mentioned, the governor assured Mr. Pitt, "that another loan of that sort would go far to ruin the country;" and on the 9th of February, 1797, the directors ordered the governor to inform the minister," that under the present state of the bank's advances to government here, to agree with his request of making a farther advance of £1,500,000 as a loan to Ireland, would threaten ruin to the bank, and most probably bring the directors to shut up their doors." With this cause, another, springing out of the war, powerfully co-operated—this was, the dread of an invasion, which had induced the farmers and others, resident in the parts distant from the metropolis, to withdraw their money from the hands of those bankers with whom it was deposited. The run, therefore, commenced upon the country banks, and the demand for specie soon reached the metropolis. In this alarming state the ministry thought themselves compelled to interfere, and an order of the privy council was issued on the 26th of February, prohibiting the directors of the bank from “issuing any cash in payment till the sense of parliament could be taken on that subject, and the proper measures adopted thereupon for maintaining the means of circulation, and supporting the public and commercial credit of the kingdom at this important juncture." On the 27th the following message was delivered to the house of com

“His Majesty thinks it proper to communicate to the house of commons, without delay, the measure adopted to obviate the effects, which might be occasioned by the unusual demand of specie lately made, from different parts of the country, in the metropolis. The peculiar nature and exigency of the case appeared to require, in the first instance, the measure contained in the order of council which his Majesty has directed to be laid before the house. In recommending this important subject to the immediate and serious attention of the house of commons, his Majesty relies with the utmost confidence on the experienced wisdom and firmness of his parliament for taking such measures as may be best calculated to meet any temporary pressure, and to call forth, in the most effectual manner, the extensive resources of his kingdoms in support of their public and commercial credit, and in defence of their dearest interests. "G. R." Mr. Pitt moved, “That his Majesty's message be taken into consideration tomorrow."

MR. SHERIDAN rose, not to pursue the observations which had been made upon the present critical state of the country, but to express his surprise that the consideration of the order in council should be put off for a single day. In the first part of the order he found nothing but an opinion respecting the circumstances of the bank, as connected with the present state of public affairs ;