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all defcriptions, and on the unha ken loyalty and voluntary exertions of my faithful fubjects in both kingdoms.

Its ultimate fecurity can alone be enfured by its intimate and entire union with Great Britain; and I am happy to obferve that the fentiments manifefted by numerous and refpectable defcriptions of my Irish fubjects juftify the hope that the accomplifiment of this great and falutary work will be proved to be as much the joint with, as it unquestionably is the common intereft, of both my kingdoms.

The provifions which you have made for fuppreffing thofe dangerous and feditious focieties, which had been formed for the purpose of dif feminating the deftructive principles of the French revolution, are peculiarly adapted to the circumftances of the times, and have furnifhed additional fecurity to the established constitution.

Gentlemen of the house of commons,

The unufual facrifices which you have made in the prefent moment, on behalf of my fubjects, are wifely calculated to meet effectually the exigencies of this great crifis. They have, at the fame time, given additional fecurity to public credit, by eftablishing a fyftem of finance, beneficial alike to yourfelves and to pofterity; and the cheerfulness with which thefe heavy burdens are fupported evinces at once the good fenfe, the loyalty, and the public Spirit of my people.

My lords and gentlemen,

It is impoffible to compare the events of the present yeaf with the fiate and profpects of Europe at the diftance of but a few months, without acknowledging, in humble

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thankfulness, the visible interpofi tion of Divine Providence, in avert ing thofe dangers which fo long

threatened the overthrow of all the establishments of the civilized world, It may be permitted to us to hope that the fame protecting Providence will continue to us its guidance through the remainder of this eventful conteft; and will conduct it fin ally to fuch an iffue as fall transmit to future ages a memorable example of the inftability of all power founded on injuftice, ufurpation, and impiety; and fhall prove the impoffibility of ultimately diffolving the connection between public profperity and public virtue.

His Majesty's Speech to both Houses at the Meeting of Parliament, 24th September.

I

My lords and gentlemen, HAVE called you together at this unusual season, in order to recommend it to you to confider of the propriety of enabling me, without delay, to avail myself, to a farther extent, of the voluntary fervices of the militia, at a moment when the increafe of our active force abroad may be productive of the most important and beneficial confequences.

We have seen the happy effects of the meafure which you adopted on this fubject in the laft feffion; and the forces which I was thereby enabled to employ, have already dif played, in the face of the enemy, a courage, difcipline, and fteadiness, worthy of the character of British foldiers.

In the short interval fince the clofe of the last feffion our fituation and profpects have, under the bleffing of Providence, improved beyond the

moft fanguine expectation. The abilities and valour of the commanders and troops of the combined imperial armies have continued to be eminently displayed. The deliverance of Italy may now be confidered as fecured by the refult of a campaign, equal in fplendour and fuccefs to any of the moft brilliant recorded in hiftory; and I have had the heart-felt fatisfaction of feeing the valour of my fleets and armies fuccefsfully employed to the affiftance of my allies, to the fupport of our juft caufe, and to the advancement of the most important interefts of the British empire.

The kingdom of Naples has been refcued from the French yoke, and reftored to the dominion of its lawful fovereign, and my former connections with that power have been renewed.

The French expedition to Egypt has continued to be productive of calamity and difgrace to our enemies, while its ultimate views againft our eaftern poffeffions have been utterly confounded. The defperate attempt which they have lately made to extricate themselves from their difficulties has been defeated by the courage of the Turkish forces, directed by the kill, and animated by the heroifm, of a British officer, with a fmall portion of my naval force under his command; and the overthrow of that restless and perfidious power, who, inftigated by the artifices, and deluded by the promifes of the French, had entered into their ambitious and deftructive projets in India, has placed the British interefts in that quarter in a ftate of folid and permanent fecu

rity.

The vigilance, decifion, and wifdom of the governor-general in counVOL. XLI.

cil on this great and important occafion, and the tried abilities and valour of the commanders, officers, and troops employed under his direction, are entitled to my highest praile..

There is, I truft, every reason to expect that the effort which I am making, for the deliverance of the United Provinces, will prove fuccefsful. The British arms have rescued from the poffeffion of the enemy the principal port and naval arsenal of the Dutch republic; and although we have to regret the lofs of many brave men in a fubfequent attack against the enemy, whofe pofition enabled them to obftruct our progrefs, I have the ftrongeft ground to expect that the fkill of my generals, and the determined refolution and intrepidity of my troops, and of those of my allies, will foon furmount every obftacle; and that the fleet which, under the ufurped dominion of France, was deftined to co-operate in the invafion of these islands, may fpeedily, I truft, under its ancient ftandard, partake in the glory of restoring the religion, liberty, and independence of thofe provinces, fo long in intimate union and alliance with this country.

While you rejoice with me in the events which add so much luftre to the British character, you will, I am perfuaded, as cordially join in the fentiments fo juftly due to the conduct of my good and faithful ally the emperor of Ruffia; to his magnanimity and wildom directing to fo many quarters of Europe the force of his extenfive and powerful empire, we are, in a great degree, indebted for the fuccefs of our own efforts, as well as for the rapid and favourable change in the general fituation of affairs. I have directed copies to be laid before you of thofe engage

P

ments,

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Extenfion Bill.

ments, which have confolidated and Protest against the Militia Service eemented a connection fe confonant to the permanent interefts of my empire, and fo important at the pre

Diffentient,

DECAUSE, by this bill, and

fent moment to every part of the 1ft, by the recited act of the laft

civilized world.

Gentlemen of the houfe of

commons,

The ample fupplies which you have granted to me in the courfe of the laft feffion, will, I truft, fo nearly provide for the exigencies of the public fervice, even on the extenfive fcale wifich our present operations require, as to enable me, without farther aid, to continue thofe exertions to the clofe of the prefent year :--but in order to afford you the convenience of a longer recefs, I recommend it to you to confider of providing for the expenfe which will be neceffary in the early part of the enfuing year; and with this view I have ordered the proper estimates to be laid before you.

My lords and gentlemen, In purfuance of your recommendation, I judged it proper to communicate to my two houfes of parliament in Ireland, at the clofe of their laft feffion, the fentiment which you had expressed to me refpecting an incorporating union with that kingdom. The experience of every day confirms me in the perfuafion that fignal benefit would be derived to both countries from that important measure; and I truft that the difpotition of my parliament there will be found to correfpond with that which you have manifefted for the accompliment of a work, which would tend fo much to add to the fecurity and happiness of all my Irish fubjects, and to confolidate the ftrength and profperity of the empire.

feffion, whofe powers are by this bill aggravated and extended, the conftitutional purpofes of the militia eftablishment are totally and finally fubverted.

2dly, Because all the purposes of procuring men for the army might have been easily obtained, by dif banding the fupplementary war militia (which by its extraordinary increafe had confeffedly occafioned a fcarcity of men), without reducing the permanent militia establishiment to a fervice, in which no gentleman could hereafter hope that his patriotic and difinterested induftry would enable him to form his county regi ment to a continued state of difcipline, at the head of which he might, with credit and honour to himfelf, anfwer the purpofe of its inftitution in the defence of his country against invafion.

3dly, Because, by this measure, all that fyftem and arrangement which nourished the zeal of independent country gentlemen is irrecoverably done away in the existing preffure of a formidable and alarming war, and the peace-eftablishment of the militia (if, mangled as it is by this bill, it can furvive the war) will neceffarily be reduced to a mere ftanding army of the worst fort: independent of an annual vote of parliament-deprived of all its former conftitutional advantages-connected with the people by nothing but the unequal and oppreffive burdens it impofes on them, and commanded by fuch perfons as may be procured to be regulating of

heers to a mere drill of army re

cruits.

Declaration between the King of Great Britain and the Emperor of Ruffia, in Addition to the Treaty of December, 1798.

4thly, Because the landed intereft of England and Wales, already fo heavily burdened, is moît materially affected by this total revolution Y the provisional treaty, conBcluded between his majefty,

in the militia fyftem; inasmuch as the peculiar expenfes of a militia, originally formed for our unalienable domeftic defence and infular garrifon, are unjustly continued on the oppreffed owners and occupiers of land in England and Wales, when they are by this meafure deprived of the advantages which they had purchased; namely, thole of fecurity, refulting from a permanent domeftic protection for their wives and children, which, under the faith of parliament, was held out to them as the valuable confideration for heavy taxes impofed folely on them.

5thly, Becaufe this bill operates with most unjustifiable partiality; it does not fairly and equally extend to Scotland; Scotland is ftill protected in the enjoyment of a conftitutional militia; neither reduced to the difgraceful condition of a drill for the army, nor liable to be employed in the defence of England: from its fervices (confined and limited folely to the boundaries of Scotland), England and Wales can derive no protection, whilft the reduced remnants of the militia of England and Wales may be removed from the defence of their own homes, to that of the most remote parts of Scotland.

Carnarvon.

Wentworth Fitzwilliam.

For all but the fecond reason.
Buckinghamshire.

the king of Great Britain, and his majefty, the emperor of all the Ruffias, the 29th (18th) of December, 1798, it is ftipulated, that the body of 45,000 men, furnished by his faid imperial majefty for the fupport of the common caufe, fhould be employed in co-operating with the troops of his Pruflian majefty, if that fovereign fhould be induced to join his forces to thofe of their majefties; but the endearial majefties have employed for vours which their royal and impethis purpofe having been unfuccefshis adherence to his fyftem of neuful, and that prince perfifting in trality, the two high contracting parties, in order to neglect nothing on their part, which may contribute to the fuccefs of the good caufe, have refolved, that the faid body of 45,000 men, originally deftined to fecond the hoftile demonftrations of Pruffia against France, fhall be equally employed againfi the common quarter their majefties may judge enemy, in whatever other common operations. to be moft advantageous to their

potentiaries of their 'faid royal For this purpose, the pleniand imperial majefties have figned the prefent declaration, which is to be confidered as forming ty above-mentioned, concluded a part of the provifional treabetween the two Courts the December,

29th

1798.

P2

(18th)

of

Done

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Convention between his Britannic Ma-
jefty, and the Emperor of all the
Rufias, figned at St. Petersburgh,
22d (11th) June, 1799.

In the name of the most holy
and indivifible Trinity.
YIS majefty, the king of Great

ror of all the Ruffias, the count. of Kotfchoubey, his vice-chancellor, actual privy counfellor, actual chamberlain, knight of the order of St. Alexander Newfky, commander of that of St. John of Je rufalem, and great crofs of the order of St. Vladimir of the fecond clats; and the count of Roftopfchin, his actual privy counsellor, member of the college of foreign affairs, director-general of the pofis, knight of the order of St. Alexander Newiky and of St. Anne of the firft clafs, great chancellor and

His off, the great crofs of that of St. John of

Jerufalem; who, after having reci procally communicated to each other their full powers, have agreed upon the following articles:

Article I. His majefty, the king of Great Britain, thinking that the object, above announced, cannot be better attained than by the aid of a body of Ruflian troops, his imperial majefty, notwithstanding the efforts which he has already made, and the difficulties of his employing an additional body of forces to act at a distance from his dominions, has, nevertheless, in confequence of his conftant folicitude in favour of the good cause, confented to furnish feventeen battalions of infantry, two companies' of artillery, one company of pioneers, and one fquadron of huffars, making, in all, 17,593 men, to be deftined for the faid expedition to Holland. But as that number of troops, according to the plan propofed by his Britannic majefty, is not fufficient, and as it has been

emperor of all the Ruffias, in con.fequence of the friendship and the .ties of intimate alliance which .exift between them, and of their common and fincere co-operation in the prefent war against the French, having conftantly in their view to ufe every means in their -power moft effectually to diftrefs the enemy, have judged that the expulfion of the French from the feven United Provinces, and the - deliverance of the latter from the yoke under which they have fo long groaned, were objects worthy of their particular confideration; and withing, at the fame time, to give effect, as far as poffible, to a defign of that importance, their faid majefties have refolved to conclude with each other a convention relative to this plan, and to the moft proper means of carrying it into the moft fpeedy execution. For this purpofe, they have named, as their plenipotentiaries, to wit, his majefty, the king of Great Britain, fir Charles Whitworth, his envoy ex-judged that 30,000 men would be traordinary and minifter plenipotentiary to the imperial court of Ruffia, knight of the order of the bath; and his majefty, the empe

neceffary for that purpose, his faid majefty will, on his fide, furnish 13,000 men of English troops, or at leaft 8,000 men, if that fmaller

number

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