61 can many opinions, and I own I have not been without forming ajudgment upon it. There is one circumftance, which it will be obferved, is peculiar to our navy. We are a great commercial nation, and the manning of the navy must greatly interfere with our trade. A failor's life is a profeffion, and therefore it is not fo eafy to procure failors as marines and Tearn their bufinefs in a fhort time. So foldiers, who early as the first week in Auguft, the marines were reduced; but ftill there was a large eftablishment of them. The army was alfo confiderably reduced; yet ftill on the 8th of March, it was in as good a flate as in the time of any preceding war. Now let us fee what was the conduct of Minifters at this time. Upon the 17th October, they fent out orders to retain the Cape. This was done in confequence of the conduct of France towards Switzerland; and though, I confefs, in the November following, another order was fent out for its evacuation, yet what does this conduct thew? Was it not faying to France we are not afraid of you; you must conduct yourfelves as you ought, or dread our refiftance? For, my Lords, we must defpife the boat that England, finglehanded, is not able to contend with France. England, in fact, never beat France to fo much advantage, as when the fought her fingle-handed.-[Cheering.]-The man who fays otherwife must know himfelf in his heart to be a liar, or he must be grofsly deficient in hiftorical information. Now coupling his Majefty's fpeech with the date of the order, I think it a fair policy to fay to France, as they imply, we are ready to meet you; but at the fame time, you fee in us our ardent and fincere difpofition for peace. On thefe grounds, therefore, I did feel myfelf difpofed to negative the propofition of the noble Earl. I do not think that the prefent Minifters, who came into power under fuch difficulties, deferve cenfure. As far as I have had yet an opportunity of judging of their conduct it has not deferved cenfure. I think the noble Earl is perfectly confiftent in making the motion, but it has the objection of being very like the propofition which was made a few nights fince, and was fupported by thofe very men who brought us into our prefent fituation by their grofs and fhameful mifconduct. God forbid they thould ever come again into his Majefty's Councils! Under thefe circumfiances, I with to negative the motion of the noble Earl. Lord Coventry faid a few words in favour of Adminiftra tion. tion. He faid, that they had a third enemy to contend with, and that was lukewarm friends, which were excellently de scribed in those fine lines of Pope applied to Addison, beginning 66 Willing to wound, and yet afraid to strike, ** Who but muft laugh if fuch a man there be? Who would not weep, if Atticus were he!" Lord Minto began an able speech with declaring, that he did not confider the peace a hollow truce, as fome were pleafed to call it, nor an armistice, but a continuation of the war. He thought, however, that the change that had taken place was placed upon too narrow a ground. He did not, however, mean to fay that Malta, the ground on which it was fo placed, was fo narrow as not to admit the conclufion that was drawn from it in favour of war. He only meant to say that it was not abfolutely necessary to restrict it to that ground, the principle of the ftipulations of the Treaty of Amiens to fecure the independence of Malta, and to prevent its reoccupation by France. Thefe ftipulations, however, became impracticable, and in that fituation of things, what courfe we should purfue became a question. A noble Lord, actuat❤ ed by a liberal policy, had recommended the next best fecurity that could be devised; but the advice was irreducible to practice; for in effect there was no approximation of terms, there was no fubftitute that could be adopted in lieu of the original ftipulations, except its occupation by the troops of England. The troops of no friendly power could answer the purpofe; for there was no friendly power on the continent fufficiently free from French influence, or force, or that would undertake the task, upon whom we could rely. But this was not the only objection. France had acquired an im menfe acceffion of power, which entirely changed the relative fituation of the two countries fince the time of the rati fication of the Treaty of Amiens; and, therefore, had the terms been even practicable, we would be juftified in infifting upon even a better fecurity for the independence of Malta than that ftipulated by the Treaty, if fuch could be obtained. With this acceffion of power on the part of France, and her hoftile defigns openly avowed and confeffed, it furely would not 64 not be contended that we were bound to remain fatisfied with the fecurity which might have been held fufficient before France had obtained fo great an acceffion of power Of the importance of the island of Malta, he thought it unneceffary to fay much. If ever it was of importance it might be peculiarly To now, when fo many of the holile objects of France re within the Mediterranean, and her influence fo great over the powers thar border upon that fea. To defeat her views in the Mediterranean we must have a fuperior fleet in it, but that could not be done without the poffeffion of Malta. Formerly we had the ports of Leghorn or Naples open to us, but that was an accommodation upon which we could not in future rely. Without therefore fome fuch place as Malta for fafety, thelter, and refitting, even a victory must prove fatal, as it was not to be expected that our fhips could triumph without fuffering fome injury, and confequently wanting repairs. A war for Malta he therefore confidered a war of policy and juftice, but he could not be content to leave it there. He fhould place it upon a higher ground; he meant the enormous aggrandifement of France In that interval the had 'acfince the Treaty of Amiens. quired Elba, Parma, Placentia, and Switzerland. The former were all great acquifitions, but he admitted they were nothing compared with that of Switzerland, and this not merely on account of the population of that country, but its ftrength and pofition. By this poffeffion, and the Italian Republic, France had extended herself beyond the Alps to the Adige on the one fide, and on the other to the naked frontier of Auftria, the old friend of England, and the rival of France He difapproved, therefore, of the Treaty of Amiens, becaufe, in the first place, it did not abridge her power. On the contrary, it confolidated and confirmed it, and threw into her already heavy fcale, thofe very poffeffions of which we had divested ourselves. In the fecond place it left her at liberty, to purfue the fyftem of aggrandifement in which the It enabled her to fet up has never relaxed for a moment. that ftrange new-fangled doctrine, that because this is a country furrounded by the fea and poffeffing a powerful fleet and flourishing commerce, it mult have no connection He confidered the with the terra firma of the continent. conduct of Minifters as a fanion for the political excommunication of the country from the nations of Europe. They figned the preliminaries at the very time he was acquir ing, and not with very great difpatch, the Italian Republic. They They did this, and yet we never heard of any remonftrance upon the fubject. But it must be confeffed they were not, totally paffive. They fent out Mr. Moore to Switzerland, upon a private miflion, which was the very line a timid and feeble state would adopt towards a powerful neighbour. Mr. Moore was an able and proper perfon; but he hoped his next miffion would be of a more honourable defcription. And what was the refult of the miffion? The fubjugation of Switzerland was complete before his arrival. As to the dif pofition of the Swifs, it was of little importance, unless Auftria could be induced to interfere; and furely Minifters. could not have been ignorant of the difpofition of Austria. It must be also admitted that they fent out orders to retain the Cape, but they were fecret orders. What good could refult from fuch orders he did not fee. If the war was produced by the conduct of France towards Switzerland, as was avowed, furely, the true courfe would have been to iffue public orders, and thew France the confequence of her daring to perfevere in her defigns upon Switzerland. Upon the whole then, he could not but confider the conduct of Minifters as timid and irrefolute, and as having, by the extent of their conceffions,, brought the country into fuch a ftate that nothing further could be conceded confiftent with its intereft and honour. He then faid, that though France were gorged with Germany, the must have the heart's blood of this country added to her acquifitions. He recollected a story of two knights, which was related by Chaucer. One of them, well fed, ftrong, and vigorous, found his enemy fhut up in a dungeon, emaciated by confinement and want; he liberated him, fed him, nourished him, till he had recovered his ftrength, and then supplied him with armour, that they might meet on equal terms. Precifely fuch had been the conduct of his Majefty's Minifters: they had acted most gloriously, most chivalrously, by the treaty of peace. He faid the Treaty of Amiens had now expired; it lived only in memory. He fhould be disappointed if all our efforts and exertions thould be only for the sake of one article in the treaty. He hoped there would be a negotiation as foon as a feasonable opportunity offered; but he hoped and trufted that it would not be upon the bafis of the Treaty of Amiens. 8 Lord Grofvenor faid, that in his opinion no war had ever been conducted with more fpirit and ability than the last. He was surprised the noble Earl fhould have again brought forward his motion, after noble Lords had fo decidedly exVOL. IV. 1802-3 K preffed preffed their opinions on the fame fubject on a former night. He faid, that fome noble Lords might have doubts refpe&ting the propriety of fome parts of the conduct of his Majesty's Minifters, though they might think the whole not reprehenfible: Now, if any of the particular points in the refolutions before their Lordships fhould be thofe on which any of their Lordships fhould doubt, upon the noble Earl's own views, he thought the motion not likely to answer his intention. He thought nothing of the kind fhould at the prefent time be urged, as it muft tend to cramp the exertions of Minifters. With refpect to the idea of a vote of thanks to Minifters, he thought they were fully fatisfied with what had, taken place-A cry of hear! from the ministerial bench. }— fuch a proceeding would, he thought, be unnecffary. Lord Bolton faid, he was among thofe perfons who did not: wholly approve of the conduct of Adminiftration. If a propofition had been made to enter into a Committee upon the ftate of the nation, he fhould have deprecated difcuffion, as likely to prevent that unanimity and temper which now prevails. In his opinion his Majefty's Minifters fhould be content with the vote ohtained on a former occafion; there were circumftances which precluded him from giving that total approbation which Government muft defire. He faid, at the time the Treaty of Amiens was made, there was a general with for a return of the bleffings of peace; so far the treaty was a gain; but even the failure of that treaty was a gain; for it had taught us that our own exertions were to be our guarantee; and he acquiefced with a noble Lord on the other fide, that upon them we fhould depend. He faid it had alfo taught a leffon to the other powers how they fuffered France to repofe in peace; and he had no doubt, that, from the attacks and fpoliations of that power, they could afcertain the confequences of fupporting this country, whenever an opening may prefent itfelf. He, for one, was glad France did not accept the propofitions, which it appeared our Government had made refpecting Malta. The Earl of Warwick took occafion to repeat his fentiments refpecting the Treaty of Amiens, which, inftead of its effecting a peace, he confidered merely as a truce, and as a meafure of experiment. With refpect to the question more immediately before the Houfe, though he agreed with many of the points advanced by the noble Earl, yei, under the prefent circumftances, he thought it would be advifeable to withdraw it. He was not aware what good effects could |