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fpeech made on a fimilar occafion that was more lucid in its matter, or more regular in its order, than the speech of the noble Lord who had fpoken firft in the debate. There were many topics touched upon in it, which however he could have wifhed to have heard difcuffed to greater length, and certain allufions made at the prefent and probable future state of this country, and its relations with the reft of Europe, which would have gratified him much more had they come to him from an official origin. The noble Lord had dwelt with great exultation on the memorable nava! victory atchieved at the Mouth of the Nile, and certainly every man mult own that this brilliant atchievement of our navy entitled our officers and feamen to every poffible applaufe; but he must be permitted to fay, that whether it benefited the country or not, would wholly depend on the wifdom or want of wisdom of Minifters. From his Majefty's fpeech, little elfe was to be collected on this fubject, than that our victories were to be regarded as the fignals of new expeditions, and the elements of new burdens to be raifed on the people. It did not appear from it, that the benefit the country was to derive from naval victories would be peace, and yet peace was what the country above all things moft required. It was to be apprehended from the fpeech, that the victory of Admiral Nelfon would produce an union of ftates that, before that event, were adverfe to each other, and enable us to preferve the balance of Europe. He could cheerfully confent to our joining with the Powers of Europe to obtain peace, but if, on the contrary, the Minifters merely fought to inftigate the country to continue the war without an object, he fhould confider the victory not as the forerunner of profperity, but as the forerunner of calamity. In his Majefty's fpecch, there was a studied ambiguity of expreffion, and it was, therefore impoffible to difcover what would be the measures of Minifters; what the line of policy they would henceforth purfue; what the facrifices the country would be required to make to advance future meatures of ambition or of fecurity. There was not one word in the fpeech about our mighty Allies; nothing of the zealous and auguft Emperor of Germany, of the faithful and gallant King of Pruffia; inftead of thefe we had panegyrics pronounced to us on the wisdom and magnanimity of the Emperor of Ruffia, and the prompt decifion of the Ottoman Poite. But before he could confent to the Minister's plans for the extenfion of cur commerce, and for increafing our profperity, he must know what were the objects of the conteft. It was not difficult to fwell periods with commerce and profperity," but the man who hould not be acquainted with the immedate

immediate views of the Right Hon, Gentleman, would but ill difcharge his duty to his conftituents by implicitly confiding to him the prefervation of the one, or the application of means to increase the other. His attention had been particularly fixed upon that part of the fpeech, that holds out the promise, not that we shall be able to procure peace, but that we shall accomplish the deliverance of Europe. To him thefe words were not intelligible. Would it be to reftore Belgium to the Emperor that the country would again be made to empty its coffers into the pockets of that Prince? Or, as the noble Lord had faid, to reftore Italy to its ancient ftate, from the domination of France;-[Here Lord Grenville Levifon faid that he had merely meant that it might ultimately be among the beneficial effects of increased and perfevering exertions on the part of this country and the other flates of Europe, to arreft Italy from the domination of France.] Sir Francis, in resuming his fpeech, wifhed to be diftinctly told what were the objects of Minifters. He thought that all coalitions, if they did not fucceed at first, would not fucceed afterwards; and the wife of all ages had been accustomed to regard with much jealoufy the recoalition of states that, engaged in the fame conteft, had one after the other receded whenever its intereft and advantage confifted in the making peace with the common enemy. He wished to know, whether new coalitions could be expected to fucceed against France in the plenitude of her strength, when no infurrection diftracts her interior, with a difciplined army not more inured to active and fatiguing fervice than to victory, with immenfe extended territory, and allies who must be de pendent upon in every war? She undertakes and fights her battles, when in her diftracted ftate, in the infancy of her powers, without armies, her ancient territory not at every point well fecured or fkilfully fortified; without allies; ftanding naked and alone; the prize for which coalefced Europe was to contend with all its might, with as difciplined troops and the refources of England pledged for their fupply-if when thus difordered, poor, and deferted, France could not be conquered; if the Emperor, the Kings of Pruffia, Spain, and Portugal, could not make any impreffion on her, he would be glad to know whether it could now be with any colour of reason expected that the war of a new coalition, rifing out of the ruins of the old, can be carried on with fuccefs? But that House had been told that the fituation of Ireland was lefs diftracted, and that the internal affairs of this country profper much. He fhould not on that occafion take up the time of Hon. Gentlemen on the last of these curious topics; and of the improved VOL. I. 1798. ftate

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ftate of Ireland; he thought Minifters had not much to boast. He thought the fyftem carrying on there wore, at the time he was fpeaking, a moft melancholy afpect, yet neither would he of this nor of the rumoured union, at that time fay one word. The laft was a measure that exclufively belonged to his Majefty's Minifters, and the progress of their system had indelibly impreffed every inch of ground over which it marched with its character. However, he could not but make fome comments on the latter part of the fpeech. He thought it the duty of every man to repel every attack on the laws, the liberties, and the conftitution of his country: and if every man had felt the force of this duty as early as he had felt it had as anxiously fought to preserve the whole body of our privileges untouched, undeformed and undiminished, he was certain the laws, the liberties, and the conftitution of the people of England had till then, and might have for ever remained what they were in the best times, and under the wifeft dominations. But they had been indeed attacked with violence; and the men who held the awful fituations of Confervators of the public fafety, who had the command of the veffel of the State, had criminally deserted their legal conftitutional pofts, and though favoured by profperous gales, they had thrown overboard the ballaft Conftitution, and difabled the national bark for ever. This attack on the laws of the Constitution; this abridgement of the privileges of Englifhmen was the work of his Majefty's Minifters, but could not have been fuccefsfully attempted by them, had every man , truly felt and manfully discharged his duty to himself and his obligations to his country. They could not have divided the nation against itfelf, have ufurped the jurifprudence of the country; the unjust encroachments of Executive Government on the Conftitution had been impracticable, and no Miniftry would have dared to deforin the face of the country with their Baftiles. Having had these grievances to complain of, he next thought it his duty to fay a few words on the part of the people. He believed the language of every true and horeft Englishman would be,"If Minifters really think it defirable to produce unanimity in the country, fo neceffary to its tranquillity and the general fafety of Europe, let us be reftored to our good old laws for our rule of action, let us fee the Baftiles deftroyed, the Conftitution restored to its priftine vigour, and a fair reprefentation of the people in their Parliament; for, without thefe, to call upon men for unconditional fupport, is only adding mockery and infult to injury and injuftice." He concluded with flating, that he had no amendment to propofe, but if any other hon. Gentleman had any to offer, he would fecend it.

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The Chancellor of the Exchequer faid, he did not rife to de tain the House a moment from the vote; he rose merely to give notice, that on Monday fe'nnight he should bring forward a very important propofition on finance.

The question was then put, and carried with one diffenting, voice only.

Mr. Secretary Dundas gave notice, that he fhould the next day move the thanks of the Houfe to Lord Nelfon, the Cap tains, &c. for the late glorious victory.-Adjourned.

HOUSE OF LORDS.

TUESDAY, Nov. 21.

The House met at half past one o'clock, and after prayers were read

The Marquis of Salisbury acquainted thei. Lordships that his Majefty would receive the Addrefs of their House at three o'clock that day.

Several Petitions in cafes of Appeal, and other Papers, having been presented, moved, read, and ordered to lie on the table, the order of the day was called for.

THANKS TO REAR ADMIRAL LORD NELSON.

The order for their Lordships being fummoned that day having been read,

Earl Spencer, as firft Lord of the Admiralty, rofe to move the thanks of the House to Rear Admiral Lord Nelfon, for his brilliant victory off the mouth of the Nile on the first of Auguft laft, which his Lordship reminded the Houfe had been the fubject of praife of the highest file in the fpeeches of almost every noble Lord who took part in the debate of the preceding evening. Whenever he had felt it his duty to move the Houfe on a fimilar occafion, his Lordship faid he had always declared, and truly declared, how inadequate he found himself to the welcome task of endeavouring to do juftice to the particular and extraordinary merits of the gallant officers in whofe behalf he called upon their Lordships to beftow their most honourable approbation. On the prefent occafion he felt his own inadequacy to fulfil his duty in a manner fatisfactorily to his feelings fill more, but fortunately for him, all that could be faid upon the fubject, was wholly unneceffary, as the glorious victory Lord Nelfon had atchieved on the first of Auguft carried with it its own eulogum, and spoke its praife not only to this country, but to the whole world, more forcibly than any the happieft frame of words could proclaim it. Whether confidered with regard to the promptitude and spirit with which the noble Ad

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miral proceeded to attack a French fleet greatly fuperior to his own, not only in number of fhips, but in number of men, weight of metal, and fitnefs of condition, or in the two other views, of the extent of the fuccefs, and the very important and wide variety of beneficial confequences that must neceffarily refult, and had indeed in a great meafure refulted from it, it muft be allowed on all hands to be as a noble Lord had pronounced it in the debate of the preceding evening, the most unparalleled and the most glorious proof of the fuperiority of the British navy that the hiftory of ages had been enabled to record. To enter into a detailed difcuffion of the nature of thofe beneficial confequences undoubtedly was not the fit business of that day's difcuffion, nor was it neceffary for him to enter upon any fuch detail, as the admiration of all Europe, and the general expreffion of exultation and joy which pervaded the whole kingdom when the news of the victory and its attendant circumstances first reached England, together with the fixed im preffion of its value, and the luftre and glory which it caft around Lord Nelfon and the arms of Great Britain, that fill remained not only on the minds of their Lordships but on those of all his Majefty's fubjects, fufficiently manifefted the deep fenfe univerfally entertained of its magnitude and importance. For his own part, his Lordship faid, the more he revolved the victory and reflected on its manner and the degree of its fuc cefs, the higher it rofe, and the greater it grew, in his opinion, and fwelled in confequence in his regard in proportion as the confiderations preffed upon him, that its immediate effect had fo efficiently added to the prefent fecurity of ftill undisturbed nations, and promifed ultimately to conduce to promote and maintain the general tranquillity of Europe. His Lordship purfued his theme of panegyrick in further terms of warm and cordial commendation, and concluded with ftating that nothing remained more proper for him to add than that he begged leave to move, "Tha the thanks of the House, be voted to Reai Admiral Lord velfon for his gallant conduct in atchieving the glorious victory on the first of Auguft laft, off the mouth of the Nile, and that the Lord Chancellor be requested to write a let ter fignifying the fame to his Lordship."

Lord Hood faid, "My Lords, I cannot content myself with giving a filent vote for the motion which the noble Earl at the head of the naval department has, with fuch attention to tranfcendent merit, made; the very eloquent and impreffive manher in which the noble Earl prefaced his motion, was equally honourable to the noble Earl as to the noble Lord, the gallant object of it, whofe victory, undoubtedly, My Lords, is the molt complete

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