ber, &c. because there was then a great number of jacobins in the country. Thus, Sir, said Mr. S. though we did not know it before, and I am afraid the doctrine will not find many adherents among us even now, the jacobins are the greatest supporters of the splendor of the Royal Family; and as we are told in the fable of the two owls perched on a ruin, who said to each other when the tyrant who caused the devastation passed by-" Long live King Massand, for while he reigns we shall have plenty of ruined villages;" so our royal family should say, "Heaven send us plenty of jacobins, for they are the best support of our rank, and state, and dignity!" An honorable gentleman opposite (Mr. Cartwright), and the worthy baronet near him (Sir Robert Buxton), said that trappings were of no importance, that virtue was every thing, and they deprecated the assumption of state and rank accordingly. He had no objection to this doctrine, if the system, so early established, so invariably maintained, and handed down to us by our ancestors, was proved to be foolish. But let the rule be general, let not the splendor of one be curtailed, while that of another is extended. If, as a great man in this country (the late Earl of Chatham) had said, “ Every feather of the royal bird aid his flight;" though he should not go to the length that noble lord did, in saying, "that when they drooped, or were shed, the bird would fall to the ground;" yet all should be cautiously preserved. In order to bring this contending system home to gentlemen's minds, let it be applied to the house-let it be supposed that the Speaker possessed sufficient dignity, and commanded sufficient respect by those virtues which it was acknowledged he possessed; let the chair be removed, let the other badges be stripped off, let that bauble (the mace) be taken away, let the fine house that was building for him, in which he hoped he would soon entertain the members with his accustomed hospitality and splendor, be demolished;

pro

let the state coach be laid down, and instead of ceeding in it to St. James's, attended by a grand procession of members in their private coaches, let him go on foot with the addresses, covered with a warm surtout, and honored with the privilege of an umbrella in case of rain-(loud bursts of laughter). Let the judges be conducted by no sheriffs, or sheriffs attendants, to the assize towns; let the chief justice go down in the mail coach, and the puisne judges content themselves with the travelling as outside passengers—(A loud laugh ). Let the Lord Mayor, instead of coming to Westminster-hall in the state-barge, accompanied by the several companies in their state-barges,-let him come in a plain wherry, without any attendants, and instead of going back to feast on turtle at Guildhall, with the great officers of state and foreign ambassadors, let him content himself with stopping on his way back, and taking a beef steak at Dolly's chop house (loud laughing).--It was not easy to have done without citing instances in which the abridgement of their happiness, which foreigners admire, but which, according to these gentlemen, are quite simple and unnecessary in the Prince of Wales, may be effected with great saving to the public. The Prince of Wales was not indifferent to the resumption of his rank; he should be sorry he was, as he should not then have the high opinion of him that he had. The house may, therefore, well go a step beyond ministers. It was no consideration that ministers had done what they had, nor even that the Prince had abandoned his claims on the revenues of Cornwall in consequence. Let the house make its grant for the attainment of the object desired without reference to any of these things. The debts contracted since 1795 might, it was true, be brought forward as debts which the Prince of Wales ought to acknowledge, but which he should be sorry to make known. There would be that difference between money voted for these debts, and that voted on former occasions,

that no person would claim it-(a laugh). There was the Landgrave's debt also, unless it could be supposed that he, like those creditors, contrary to law, would fly from payment, except it was clandestine-(a laugh). It would surely have been much better for the commissioners, in the first instance, to have come to parliament for an additional grant, when the original sum was found insufficient, rather than strike off 10 per cent. indiscriminately. It could hardly be surprising that his Royal Highness should now wish to make amends for their inconsiderate deduction. He would hardly be suspected of having any interested view in supporting this motion; and certainly he would not be suspected by those who recollect the declaration he made at that time. But he thought it a weak thing, after we had voted away 250,000,000l. for the support of the thrones of Europe, an object in which we failed, we should not give 100,000l. to maintain the dignity of our own, an object which we could not fail to accomplish.

Sir Robert Buxton moved the previous question, upon which the house divided; for the previous question 184; against it 139.

AUGUST 4.

DEFENCE AMENDMENT BILL.

Mr. SHERIDAN ridiculed the honorable gentleman's (Mr. Windham) sarcasm on the public prints, observing, that in compliment to his friend (Mr. Cobbett) he probably preferred the weekly to the diurnal publications. He praised the readiness, zeal, and alacrity of the volunteer corps, and remarked, that, with the exception of the regulars, there was not a corps in the kingdom on which the late secretary at war had not cast some degree of odium. He approved of this bill, because it encouraged volunteer exertions, and pointed out the station in which every man in the country ought to

place himself. It had been stated by the right honorable gentleman, with respect to the general defence bill, that its object ought to have been to march companies to the army, and that their first destination was to be that of filling up the regiments of the line. He had spoken to gentlemen upon that subject, who thought that a nobleman, gentleman, tradesman, or farmer, all of whom were liable to the operation of the act, if they did not volunteer, would be very much surprised to find themselves, perhaps in the course of a month, in a private regi ment, and liable to be tied up to the halberts. It was impossible for any man to make a comparison between the volunteers and those who were drilled on compulsion. Could the latter be compared with those patriotic volunteers, who were sacrificing their time in perfecting themselves in their exercise? Look at the St. George's and the Westminster volunteers, who most likely might, at this moment, be seen exercising in the hall. But the honorable gentleman had said, he disliked, that superiority and spirit of aristocracy in towns and villages which it was the tendency of the bill to introduce. He denied that it would have any such effect. The only effect of the bill was that of allowing persons to volunteer instead of being compelled to serve. They were not obliged to wear an uniform. If in villages they voluntarily came forward without uniform, they were exempted from the operation of the general defence bill, In large towns such as Birmingham, Sheffield, and Nottingham, he should prefer associations of the higher classes, and in the country and villages those of the lower. He was satisfied with the power this bill gave His Majesty, with regard to the acceptance of volunteer services. We ought not to stop while any thing was left to be. done. We should look forward to the possibility of the most disastrous calamities, and disgraceful events again occurring. The state of Ireland was

such, that although every man must rejoice at its present security, we ought not to calculate on its remaining free from disturbance. It was absolutely necessary that Ireland should not be separated from this country. It might, perhaps, be necessary that the whole of our disposable force should be employed for the purpose of retaining Ireland. Upon the whole, he saw no objections to the alterations proposed by this bill, but, on the contrary, thought it a proper extension of the system of volunteer service. (Mr. Sheridan delivered his speech from the Treasury Bench.)

Mr. Windham answered Mr. Sheridan.

Mr. Sheridan, in reply to the observations that he was a new convert, asked the honorable gentleman whether it was a new situation for him to come forward and state his opinion when the country was in danger? Did he call out like the honorable gentleman, "restore me and my friends to power, or the country cannot be saved?" Was it new to him to be an advocate in the cause of the country? The honorable gentleman had accused him of firing his musquet too soon; he had, however, returned the fire. He ought to apologise to His Majesty's ministers for the danger into which he had brought them; but happily the honorable gentleman had fired his musket, but had forgot to put ball in it. The honorable gentleman commanded a fine piece of artillery, which was formidable whenever he had recourse to it; but he was so fond of squibs and crackers, that he seldom did any execution. It was not long since the honorable gentleman had stated, that there was no spirit in the country, and that journals lagged in rousing its energies. Would he have had these bills brought in at that time? He had said, the people of England were a degraded, base, and lost people. Was that the time for bringing forward such a measure? No, it was more