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SPEECHES

OF THE IATE

Rfgfrt honourable
RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN.

(SEVERAL CORRECTED BY HIMSELF.)

EDITED BY

A CONSTITUTIONAL FRIEND.

VOL. V.

Honoon:
PRINTED FOR PATRICK MARTIN, CORNER OF OBCHAR».
STREET, OXFORD-STREET. 1816.

PRINTED BT W. SMITH AND CO. KINO STREET, SEVEN DIAL*.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

VOLUME V.

1798. Page
April 26. — Bill for Suspending for a limited time the
operation of the Habeas Corpus Act  1
MAY. fr — South wark Association  5
June 19.— State of Ireland • •  -  12
1799. JAN. 23. — Union of Ireland with Great Britain  24
31 — Ditto ditto  42
Feb. 7. — Ditto ditto  61
11.— Ditto ditto  76
12.— Ditto ditto  90
May 21.— Cold Bath Fields Prison— Col. Despard • • 93
IfcOO.  ' ' l
Feb. 10.— Helder Expedition  103

SPEECHES

RIGHT HONOURABLE

RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN.

April 26, 1798.

BILL FOR SUSPENDING- FOE A LIMITED TIME
THE OPERATION OF THE H AREAS-CORPUS
ACT.
jyi.R. Sheridan expressed his entire disapproba
tion of the bill, and his wish that it had not been
urged with such violent rapidity as marked its mo
tion through the other house, and which he antici
pated would also become its career through this
house. The last great and best privilege was trial
by jury : any efForte of any administration that
checked its attributes, or diminished its virtues, was
a death-blow to the vitality of constitutional liberty.
This was a privilege which, of all others, he was
most tenacious of, and which, of all others, was most -
valuable to the political eminence of Englishmen.
He could not then permit the bill now proposed to
pass through the house, without thus, in the most
rigid, decided, and unqualified manner, giving it
his most positive negative. He could not, when he
lent his warmest aid in approbation of every mea
sure to be adopted to resist the common enemy, at
YOL. V. B

2 [APRIL 2<5,
the same time, and the very same instant, give his
approbation of a measure, the operation of which
would retard, check, and damp that vigor requisite
to meet and confound that common enemy. To
resist with effect the common enemy, there must be
unanimity : but the effect of this would be to sow
discord, to excite murmurs, and to feed discontent.
When a measure similar to this, on a former occa
sion, was introduced, he used the same arguments
that he should apply now. He desired to have evi
dence before the house of the existence of treason,
and of traitorous conspiracies, before he gave a
ready acquiescence to that which in its operation
involved so many. The measure introduced now
required still more urgently the application of the
same arguments. He, therefore, again required
evidence of conspiring traitors, of treasonable cor
respondence, of seditious societies ; until these were
adduced, he would never give his consent to the bill
then before the house. He should consider himself
performing but a lukewarm duty to his conscience,
or to his country, if he did not express himself to
this effect ; but he should do a violence to both, if
he did not resist it with every faculty which God
and nature gave him to enjoy.
The right honorable gentleman opposite to him
seemed to welcome his co-operation in the general
system of national welfare, and to infer from thence,
that he was to expect his support, thick and thin,
of all his measures ; but he took occasion to remark,
that as, in the general principle of united opposition
to foreign invasion, he entertained but one and the
same wish with that right honorable gentleman and
the rest of his colleagues ; yet, in the specific trans
action of his ministerial conduct, he never coincided
with him, and never would. This he desired might
be universally understood. He took occasion to re
mark, that the period when this measure was before
introduced, was when a set of persons were ready
to be put upon their trial; the same was precisely

1798.] 8
the case now. But even at that period there was
more abundant reason for the house to adopt such
a measure than at the present ; for at that time
there was such evidence for their guide as the secret
committees of the two houses of parliament ; but
now even that pretext is not forthcoming, nor a sha
dow of proof offered, that any kind of treason ex
isted that could warrant the adoption of so violent
a means to restrict the liberty of Englishmen. — '
There was nothing good, nothing wise, nothing just
or prudential in it, and nothing that could sanction
for it his support. The right honorable gentleman,
then, failing to adduce any evidence to authorize
the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, either at
the former period to which he alluded ; or now, it
remained for him to inquire, whether there existed
any proof, or any demonstration, sufficient to super
sede the necessity of suspending it at this time.
He thought he could produce argument to such an
effect ; and for that purpose he had only to submit
to the house the very reasoning used this day by
that right honorable gentleman. He stated, in
very glowing language, " the prevalent spirit of
opposition that reigned among the people of this
country to French principles, their unanimity to re
sist French arms, and the universality of both oppo
sition and resistance in maintaining against all in
vaders the inviolability of their constitution, their
liberty, and laws." He, therefore, confessed, when
he heard such assertions issue from that right ho
norable gentleman, he could not but conceive and
believe, that such a measure as that submitted to the
house was, if not nugatory, at least unnecessary.
He desired to know, where was the necessity of
oppressing a willing people ? By the declarations
of the right honorable gentleman himself, unanimity
prevailed ; one sentiment, one spirit, one soul, seemed
to actuate the people (and he believed it). Then
where exists the necessity of imposing upon them a
law, which, if not oppressive, must be useless and
B 2

4 [APRIL 26,
unnecessary ? For his part, as -he could observe no
proofs of its necessity, as he could find no reason
for its utility, and until he saw either, or both, it
should have in every stage his negative.
Mr. Pitt having replied,
Mr. Sheridan said, he wished to act on principle,
and not on confidence ; the minister said, he knew
the existence of a conspiracy, and admitted that he
(Mr. Sheridan) did not know it ; how then could
he vote for this measure otherwise than upon con
fidence ? He was told, indeed, that the French
themselves had published their intention of invading
this country, and that they trusted to the aid of
traitors here; he did not think that much credit
was due to that assertion ; for the French them
selves had stated, that they would be joined in this
country by all the friends to parliamentary reform.
Taking that as a specimen, either of their judgment
or veracity, there did not seem to him to be much
reliance due to either. Indeed, he thought the
Chancellor of the Exchequer expected too much,
in expecting him to have no will of his own, after
he had assented to the motion for the address this
day. He was most clearly of opinion, that this
country ought to be well prepared to meet the
enemy — it ought also to convince the enemy it is
prepared. That could be done only by raising the.
spirit of the British people, to shew their dignity.
In his opinion, to deprive them of so material a
bulwark, as the Habeas Corpus Act, was not the
way to do either ; for such a measure would only
spread discontent among themselves, damp their
spirits, and lessen their dignity, in the view of fo
reign nations.
The question was put that the bill be read a firtt time. — Ay a
183 ; noes 5.

1798.]

May 8.
SOUTHWARK ASSOCIATION.
Mr.Tierney moved, " That this house will, upon this day se'nnight,
resolve itself into a committee of the whole house, to take into consi
deration the manner in which the ' Act to enable His Majesty more
effectually to provide for the defence and security of the realm during
the present war, and for indemnifying persons wlw may suffer in
their property by such measures as may be necessary for that pur
pose,' has been carried into effect in the county of Surrey."
Mr. Dundas spoke in opposition to the motion.
Mr. Sheridan said, it had a little excited his
surprize to hear the right honorable gentleman ac
knowledge the importance of the present question,
and yet treat it as if it was of no importance at all.
In my mind (said Mr. Sheridan), in point of real
importance, as it connects itself with the best inte
rests of the country, in a crisis avowedly of real
danger, than the present, there could not have been
brought forward a question more entitled to the
candid, full, and deliberate consideration of this
house. Yet so satisfied am I with the statements
made by my honorable friend, and so ably has he
supported those statements by his arguments — ar
guments which have scarce been combated, but
certainly not refuted, that I should not have troubled
the house at all but from one observation made by
the right honorable gentleman in the course of his
speech. Sir, the right honorable gentleman has this
evening told us, nay, he has asserted it broadly as
a proposition, which, indeed, he has offered to main
tain, that there are in this country great numbers
of seditious persons, who have formed themselves
into societies under the specious title of Reformers, but
whose real object is to overturn the constitution by
assisting the French, should they ever land in this
country. This, Sir, is in truth, a very broad pro
position ; and, without intending any thing ludicrous,
I must confess its capacity was not a little enlarged
by the tone and gesture in which it was delivered.

6 .[MAYS,
But the right honorable gentleman cannot wonder
if 1 deny assertions so generally made, and propo
sitions so wide and unlimited in their scope. I am
now told there are every where insidious lurking
persons, who cherish sentiments hostile to the go
vernment. This is an accusation by no means n^w.
It is, however, much too loose and vague to be
regarded with complacency. I will admit that
there may be in this country, as there ever will be
in every country, a few, who, urged by I know not
what spirit, & love of change — a passion probably
once cherished by the right honorable gentleman
himself — or from worse motives, desire the over
throw of the government. But while I am far
from doubting that there may be bad men, I hope
and believe they are few. It is with them, per
haps, as with the grasshopper — they will make a
noise, but have too much timidity ever to be seen.
Only alarmists could apprehend danger from such
men. But we have often before now heard it stated
in language not less confident, than in every corner
of the kingdom sedition and treason in some degree
exist. This, Sir, is a little unaccountable. If His
Majesty's ministers have not been all along deceiv
ing us, it is not easy to imagine how, in this crisis
of their mighty power, a few obscure individuals
could have become so formidable. Really there is
in these matters something of the mysterious. A
short time back, so much of the constitution was
taken away to defend the rest; and for this pro
ceeding the reason stated by ministers were chiefly,
that the societies were every day growing dangerous;
that principles hostile to good order and morality
were hourly gaining strength, and rapidly gaining
on the individual mind. Strong measures were
accordingly adopted; and, until of late, we have
been uniformly told, that the memorable treason and
sedition bills had succeeded in effectually suppres
sing whatever of either existed in the country. —
But this night we are told, that not only has the

1798.] 7
distemper re-appeared, but treason and sedition
are denounced to you : and the right honorable
gentleman has declared that they exist in a de
gree to damp the spirit, and repress the ardor of
the country,
Here Mr. Dundas said, he must have been muck misunderstood.
What he said was, that in consequence of many improper persons
having made offers 4o serve, and the appearance of a seditious j action,
the spirits of the people, and of the associations, would be damped if
lords lieutenanants of the counties, or if His Majesty's ministers,
accepted of such offers of service.
Mr. Sheridan then said — We have now had the
right honorable gentleman's explanation ; and, I
must say, that if the people, if the martial spirit of
the associations, shall be damped by so small a num
ber as the troop of seditionists is said to consist of,
the country is, indeed, in danger, and our situation
is bad beyond example. There is that, however, in
the declared zeal and patriotism of the great body
of the people, which must quiet every rational mind,
and make the general scrutiny depend, as it ought,
on the courage, the perseverance, the resources, and
the unincumbered strength of the country. Thus
much I have endeavored to obviate the effect of that
discouraging proposition — that there exist at this
moment vast and formidable bodies of men hostile
to government, and united to accelerate its fall. —
But there is one expression, which it is impossible
I should be able to contemplate without anxiety, or
bring forward to the recollection of the honorable
gentleman without regret. The right honorable Se
cretary has told us that he regrets the circumstances
which have obliged the officers of the crown to put
off the state trials ; and do but attend to the very
mischievous reason he has assigned for his regret —
that he could not lay before this house the proofs
of the guilt , of particular bodies, and of the exist
ence of multiplied conspiracies. Sir, I am not one
who has ever been unwilling to pay the tribute of
applause justly due to an English jury ? but if ever

8 [MAY 8,
any thing could tend to influence a jury, it must be
such an assertion as that of the right honorable gen
tleman. In the critical and awful situation of the
persons in confinement at Maidstone, nothing can
fee more unkind, to say the least, than the using
expressions towards them which may have a ten
dency to impress individual minds with an unfavor
able opinion of their conduct. That principle of
the law of England which holds a man to be inno
cent until he is found guilty by a jury of his peers,
to my mind conveys as sound and wise a maxim as
ever was inculcated. Sir, it requires of us cauti
ously to avoid all occasions of expressing hastily, or
in warmth, even doubts of the innocem e ot persons
¦who may unfortunately stand accused of enormous
crimes. It the right honorable gentleman ha.<; but
given that principle of our law its full weight in
his deliberations, if he had regarded any thing that
he owes to justice, he would not have made such a
speech. But, Sir, I can remtmber a period in our
annals, characterized by circumstances not a little
similar, and conduct very much like that of the pre
sent evening. The memorable epoch of the state
trials is fresh in the recollection of gentlemen. To
this I particularly allude. At that period, eventful
enough, God knows, we were assured by the right
honorable gentleman, and his friends near him, that
the whole country was menaced, and in danger of
being over-run by French principles, and the emis
saries of the Corresponding Societies. I remember
the proceedings of parliament in the committees
that were held on this occasion. Then, Sir, there
were tremendous reports, whispers of dark and in
sidious conspiracies, of treason, and every other
monstrous crime that could interest or disquiet the
mind. We were then presented with profiles, and
drawings of pikes, and of male and female screws.
It was then the general boast of ministers, that they
possessed proofs of existing conspiracies ; but they,
at the same time, modestly told us, as has been insi-

1798.] 9
nuated this evening, they regretted, that while the
trials were depending, they could not bring forward
the proofs of existing conspiracies, of the treason
able mind within, and the corresponding danger
from without. Happily, however, these auguries
soon proved ill founded, and the verdict of an
English jury declared the innocence of the accused.
I do not say that the right honorable gentleman
opposite to me thinks much of the verdict of a
jury ; but it is no unimportant fact, that the Judge
who presided on that occasion, congratulated the
jury on their verdict, and on the proofs that had
been exhibited of those conspiracies, which once so
much alarmed the public mind, being wholly with
out foundation, or only the chimerical offspring of a
faction ; men without arms, ammunition, or means
of any kind, and even without zeal. Sir, 1 must
think we are on the present occasion as little in
danger of being overwhelmed with conspirators as
we were then. But, though I think thus, the in
ference from the right honorable gentleman's obser
vation must be ol^vious. It must be felt, that in
substance the right honorable gentleman had insi
nuated that the prisoners are guilty. 1 have no
knowledge of any of the prisoners except Mr.
O'Connor; but I, Sir, regret that the trial at Maid
stone was put off. I regret it for reasons very
different, with feelings the reverse of those which
appear to actuate the right honorable gentleman. I
regret it, Sir, because I am conviuced Mr. Arthur
O'Connor is not a traitor, and is incapable of acting
hostilely against this country or its constitution. —
Having said this, I shall now take the liberty of
making some observations on the question imme
diately before the house. The right honorable gen
tleman has assumed, as a general proposition, the
discretion vested in lords lieutenants ; but all ser
vants are responsible for their conduct. The whole
question is, therefore, this—" Has my honorable
friend made out such a case as ought to induce this

10 [MAY 8,
house 'to enter into the proposed inquiry, and as re
quires a justification of the conduct of my Lord Ons
low?" I think this case has been made out; but
so far from the right honorable gentleman meeting
the question fairly, he has not in any one instance
attempted to discuss it. Instead of this, a great
deal of the right honorable gentleman's speech was
occupied with efforts to throw odium on the resolu
tions of the borough of Southwark, which all comes
to this—" It is fit to tell the French, that England
is not what England was ?" But, Sir, it was not
necessary that these resolutions should ever have
been passed, to give the French all the information
on this subject they can desire. They cannot think
it necessary to refer to the borough of Southwark to
inform them, that we entered into the present war
strengthened by an alliance with almost every power
in Europe, that we have lost our allies one by one,
that Belgium is annexed to their republic, and that
we have sustained great and grievous losses in the
West Indies. It is complained of, that these reso
lutions have become too public, and they would find
their way to France. Sir, I do not know that this
will be the case ; but I do know, that if the declara
tions of the Borough Association reached France, no
candid or intelligent Frenchman will doubt the de
termination of that portion of His Majesty's subjects
to defend their country, and assert their rights
against invaders, of whatever description.
But it appears to me, that language such as that
held by the right honorable gentleman, is every
way unworthy of himself. At one time the thirst
was after unanimity ; now we are threatened with
schisms ; and if ever any thing serious to this coun
try should be the effect of party animosity, that
right honorable gentleman, and those who like to
vex and wound the spirit of individuals, will be
alone to blame. It, indeed, is pretty evident, that
no offer of service, no declared intention to support
the executive government in the hour of peril, no

1798.] 11
oblivion of political enmity, will do, unless we come
forward to declare the present war just and neces
sary, although we had, in its commencement, and
have uniformly since, opposed it as unjust and un-
nessary ; that we must deny all our cherished and
oldest principles ; acknowledge those ministers to
have capacity, whose incapacity we always have
deplored ; in fine, unless we bring along with us a
certificate of our capacity, it appears to be the de
termination of His Majesty's ministers that we shall
not serve our country, or be found in its ranks, fight
ing its battles in the hour of danger. I do not state
this on light grounds. In my neighbourhood, in
stances have occurred of conduct on the part of
ministers that warrant my conclusions. An honor
able gentleman, a member of this house, than whom
there is not a more loyal, gallant person in it, has
made an offer of his services, but no notice has been
taken of that offer. The whole of his political pro
scription can, therefore, only mean, that certain
persons shall not be trusted with arms because they
have opposed ministers. The right honorable gen
tleman says, that the resolutions of the inhabitants
of the borough of Southwark tend only to invite the
French to come and give them the fraternal hug.
But so little do they express a desire to receive the
fraternal kiss, that the resolutions breathe a true
English spirit; they contain expressions of undis-
sembled love of their country, and tell the French,
" if you come, we are determined to repel you with
all our might." The right honorable gentleman
has asserted with great boldness (I need not expect
candor on that side of the house), that the motives
of many persons who had offered their services.were
very questionable, and that the resolutions passed in
the borough had not a tendency to produce unani
mity. With respect to the last, the contrary of this
is evident. And to hear men who have never been
supported but from parsimonious motives, who have
been buying at their price all that have ever es-

12 [JUNE 19,
poused their cause — to hear these men question the
purity of motives is surprising. They habitually, if
not naturally, ascribe those qualities to others which
they know they inherit themselves. With respect
to the tendency of the resolutions, I shall say once
for all, that if 1 was an inhabitant of the Borough,
attending at the meeting in which those resolutions
were adopted, and there should come into the room
a man who should state, that it had been said in the
house of commons, that all reformers were friends to
the French, and regarded as such by that people,
the determination to resist them, expressed in one of
their resolutions, would be to me the best proof that
no such intention as that of assisting the French
was ever entertained by the inhabitants of the bo
rough of Southwark. From all these considera
tions, Sir, I must say, I think it not candid or
prudent in ministers to shrink from this discussion,
and refuse inquiry. I think they owe it to them
selves ; I know they owe it to their country. — Mr.
Sheridan concluded with saying he heartily ap
proved of the present motion, and would cordially
vote for it.
On a division there appeared— for the motion 22 ; against it 141.

June 19.
STATE OF IRELAND.

A message from His Majesty was delivered on the 18th, and this
day Mr. Dundas moved, " That an humble address be presented to
His Majesty, to return His Majesty the thanks of this house for his
most gracious message : To assure His Majesty, that, while we deeply
regret that the machinations cf wicked men have induced any of His
Majesty's subjects to commit acts of rebellion against His Majesty's
government, we at the same time feel the highest satisfaction that this
occasion has afforded afresh proof of the zeal and ardor for the ser
vice of their country which has ever distinguished the militia of this
kingdom: That, conceiving it may be of the utmost importance, for
the protection of His Majesty's loyal subjects in Ireland, for the
speedy and effectual suppression of the present rebellion, and for the
general defence of the British empire, that His Majesty should avail

1798.] 13
himself of the voluntary offers of service which have been made by se
veral regiments of militia, we will immediately enter into the const-
deration of such provisions as may be necessary for enabling His Ma
jesty, for a lime, and to an extent, to be limited, to accept the ser
vices of such militia regiments as may wish to be employed at this
important conjuncture."
Mr. Banks moved an amendment. That the latter part of the ad
dress, giving the consemt of the house to the militia being sent to Ire
land, be left out.
Mr. Sheridan — The motion which has to-night
been submitted to the house is the most extraordi
nary in its nature that ever was heard within these
walls ; and the manner in which it has been brought
forward, is to the full as extraordinary. Long as
the house has been inured to be treated with con
tempt by the King's ministers, the mode in which
they have been treated on the present occasion, is
even more insulting than any thing they have yet
experienced. The right honorable gentleman who
moved the address, seems to have considered the
measure proposed as one to which no objection could
possibly be framed; and he introduced it as one
which demanded neither apology nor explanation.
I confess, that the subject should be viewed so much
as a matter of course by that right honorable gen
tleman, does likewise a little surprise me. We can
not forget how lately the right honorable gentle
man came down to this house, and stated the coun
try to be in a state of imminent danger, which re
quired the exertion of every heart and hand for its
defence. It is, indeed, extraordinary, then, that
after telling us of the danger of the crisis, after all
the regular troops are sent out of the kingdom, and
when twelve hundred more cannot be found, he
should call upon the house to give their consent to
strip the country of the militia forces on which it
relies for its defence. We have not been told how
this drain is to be supplied, what new securities are
to be provided. All this the right honorable gentle
man considers as a matter of course, which he is nei
ther called upon to reconcile to former statement,

14 [JUNE 19,
nor to defend upon any ground of constitutional
principle, or sound policy.
The right honorable gentleman who followed
upon the other Side, was at no greater pains in his
short speech, to give any argument in support of the
measure proposed. And what is this extraordinary
measure intended to gain ? From the lords' bill it
appears, that the militia force which it is thus in
tended to send to Ireland is only twelve hundred —
[Here Mr. Sheridan was informed that the number
was to be twelve thousand.] — But if such an addi
tional force is wanted, why not send all the regular
troops which are to be found, before the constitu
tional principle is violated? Why not send the
two thousand of the guards in town, and, instead of
twelve thousand, send only ten thousand ? And if
these twelve thousand are sent, are you sure that this
will do ? Will you continue to send more of the mi
litia to Ireland, without any assurance that the dan
ger, late so alarming, is removed ; or without being
informed where you are to look for defence?
The right honorable gentleman who spoke last,
began his speech with saying, that nothing like an
argument had been advanced on this side of the
house worthy of serious confutation ; and the right
honorable gentleman, however, continued to make a
pretty long and warm reply to these no-arguments.
It has been asked, what would have been thought
of ministers if they had concealed the offer made by
the militia? If ministers could have done what
they now propose without consulting the house, I
will venture to say, that we should have heard no
thing of this offer. Just as they have continued to
send all the regular force to Ireland upon the King's
prerogative, without ever acquainting the house of
the object, or asking its advice with regard to the
measures which it was necessary to pursue, they
would have acted. The advice of parliament would
have been despised, and ministers would have
proceeded upon thei* own discretion. Although

1798.] 15
they may hold in contempt the advice of this house,
they were not quite bold enough to act in violation
of the law, which they are afraid, and which I hope
will still be found too powerful for them. They
required the consent of the house, and it was neces
sary f o apply for its sanction. Never was there a
word of rebellion in Ireland mentioned ; never was
the least communication made, on which the house
could offer its advice, till its consent must be ob
tained to one of the most unconstitutional measures
that ever was brought forward in parliament.
The right honorable gentleman who spoke last,
in replying to the no-arguments which had been
used on this side of the house, fastened on an ex
pression of my honorable friend, that he would not
vote a single shilling, nor agree to send a single
man to Ireland, for the purpose of subjugating the
oppressed people of that country. Is it then uncon
stitutional ? Is it unparliamentary language for a,
member of this house to say, that he cannot give his
aid to any system of the executive government, till
he has examined and approved of the grounds oiv
which they are justified ? Does the right honorable
gentleman remember what Mr. Burke said in his
letter to Sir Hercules Langrishe ? — and I hope the
authority of Mr. Burke will not be less in his esti
mation than when he was confirmed by his senti
ments, and animated by his example. In the letter
to which I allude, Mr. Burke says, that the house of
commons will never enter into a war for the con
quest of Ireland without knowing the grounds of the
quarrel. This, then, is what my honorable friend
requires. He desires to know the ground of the
quarrel, and this he thinks an essential inquiry be
fore the house ought, either directly or indirectly, to
give its sanction to any system of measures, or con
tribute its support to carry them into effect. The
right honorable gentleman expresses a doubt, whe
ther at all we are willing to give our support to
extinguish rebellion in Ireland. I am aware that

16 [JUNE 19,
the right honorable gentleman is desirous to lead us
into slippery ground. He shall not, however, be
tray me to be guilty of any indiscretion. When he
accuses us of being desirous to withhold our aid in
the extinction of that rebellion, I would ask him,
whether he means to say, that in every case this
house is bound to side with a king of Ireland, and
an Irish house of commons, against the people of
Ireland ? Will he maintain that proposition gene
rally ? Will he, without directly apostatizing
from every opinion he ever held, deny that cases
may occur in which it would be impossible for this
house to give their support on that side ? Suppose,
that the Irish parliament were to re-enact all those
horrible statutes by which the people were oppressed,
and absolutely reduced to the condition of brutes,
would this house be bound to support the Irish legis
lature against the people in such a quarrel ? If the
parliament of Ireland were to enact torture by law,
if it were to state as necessary, and establish in prac
tice, bastiles, arbitrary imprisonments, ignominious
punishment without conviction, transportation with
out trial, and a series of oppression too degrading,
too tyrannical for human nature to endure, would
the British house of commons be bound to support
the Irish legislature against the resentment which
such proceedings had provoked ? Merely because
the men who resist such oppression are called rebels,
and those who oppose them are called the king's
troops, must this house, at all hazards, support the
Irish legislature ? Unless the right honorable gen
tleman is prepared to retract every opinion, which
he ever entertained upon similar subjects, he cannot
affirm that this house, in such a state of things, has
but one line of conduct to pursue. This house is
not bound to sanction the injustice, and to strengthen
the oppression which the legislature of the sister
kingdom, however independent, might be pleased
to inflict. This much I say generally, because I
am unwilling to refer to the particular events of the

1798.] 17
present time. I think, however, I have said enough
to shew that it becomes this house gravely to inquire
what is the nature of the quarrel in which it is called
upon to engage, and what the grounds on which its
support is demanded. I am ready to declare that
every effort ought to be exerted to prevent Ireland
from falling under the power of France ; but this is
a point totally different from the merit of the struggle
to which we are required to become parties. One
honorable gentleman has thought proper to assert,
that the rebellion in Ireland is not only unprece
dented in its nature, but he has stiled it wholly un
provoked, and ventured to affirm that every mea
sure of conciliation was employed to avert it. It
was, indeed, with the utmost wonder and surprise
that I heard this assertion advanced. What, when
conciliation was held out to the people of Ireland,
was there any discontent ? When the government
of Ireland was agreeable to the wishes of the people,
was there any discontent ? After the prospect of
that conciliation was taken away — after Lord Fitz-
william was recalled — after the hopes which had
been raised were blasted — when the spirit of the
people was beaten down, insulted, despised, I will
ask any gentleman to point out a single act of con
ciliation which has emanated from the government
of Ireland ? On the contrary, has not that country
exhibited one continual scene of the most grievous
oppression, of the most vexatious proceedings ; ar
bitrary punishments inflicted ; torture declared ne
cessary by the highest authority in the sister king
dom next to that of the legislature ? And do gen
tlemen say that the indignant spirit which is roused
by such exercise of government is unprovoked ? Is
this conciliation ? is this lenity ? Has every thing
been done to avert the evils of rebellion ? It is the
fashion to say, and the address holds the same lan
guage, that the rebellion which now rages in the
sister kingdom has been owing to the machinations
of " wicked men." Agreeing to the amendment
VOL. V. C

18 [JUNE 19,
proposed, it was my first intention to move that
these words should be omitted. But no, Sir, the
fact they assert is true. It is, indeed, to the mea
sures of wicked men that the 'deplorable state of
Ireland is to be imputed. It is to those wicked mi
nisters who have broken the promises they held out ;
who betrayed the party they seduced into their views,
to be the instruments of the foulest treachery that
ever was practised against any people. It is to
those wicked ministers who have gi\en up that de
voted country to plunder ; resigned it a prey to this
faction, by which it has so long been trampled
upon, and abandoned it to every species of insult and
oppression by which a country was ever over
whelmed, or the spirit of a people insulted, that we
owe the miseries into which Ireland is plunged, and
the dangers by which England is threatened.
These evils are the doings of wicked ministers, and
applied to them, the language of the address records
a fatal and melancholy truth.
But if gentlemen are not disposed to take these
words as understood by me, let them look back at
the circumstances, and see whether they can dis
cover any cause adequate to the effects which we
behold. Let gentlemen look back to the period
when a whole people, under the government of
Lord Fitzwilliam, exhibited the most fervent and
sincere loyalty, and say whether they can discover
any cause for the change which has taken place.
After being betrayed, duped, insulted, fooled, dis
appointed in their dearest hopes, and deprived of
the government on which they could confide, and
again thrown into the hands of the rulers they de
tested and despised, was it impossible that they
should feel emotion of indignation and discontent ?
Every man in the house too well recollects the sub
scription set on foot in London, under the auspices,
I believe, of Mr. Angersteih, in order to collect
money fpr the support of industrious manufactu
rers in Ireland, wholly Without employment, and

1798.] 19
destitute of the means of subsistence. Of thii de
scription there were from thirty to forty thousand
men in Ireland. By the produce of charita'ble sub
scription, twenty-five' thousand a week were, by the
scantiest benefactions, prevented from being fa
mished1. Such was the situation of so m'any un
happy individuals ; arid when charity was wearied
out, unable ahy longer to Supply their wants, it was
not the p6is6ri of French principles1,' but the want of
bread that seduced them. ,liwa's^nbt their desire
to rye Frenchified, but their reluctance fo' be fa'-
mi'shea,' that wrought u'pbh themJ to make new
attempts to' escape from" their misery. This was the
true cause that made fh'em a prey to seduction;
and with one so satisfactory before our eyes, why
need we seek to impute their eomtfu'ct t!6 th'e poison
of French prin cities, a cause so inadequate W the
effect ?
This1 much I nave thought it right to say in de
fence of those who thin! it necessary" to inquire into
the grounds of the quarrel' betWeeri' the government
and people 6f the sister kingdom. I riOw return to
the measure before the house'. The right honorable
gehtlem'a'n denies that the milWia could be intended
m aWy shape as a Counterbalance to a Standing a¥my,
becatfse it! is the prerogative of th'e crown' t6 reduce
the militia af pleasure. I Sn6uld really have ex
pected ,; that upbti' such a question, the right honor
able gentleman would have argued on some infor
mation1 upon tne subject. The right honorable gen-
tlean lias proved himself completely ignorant of the
constitutibri 6f the militia. The King can neither
increase ribtf diminish the number of the militia.
Each- couhliy supplies a certain number, and can
neither have more nor1 less than its quota. It has
been' said ftia't the service1 is voluntary, but I cod tend
that iV is not. The case of the fericibleS is men-
tibriea as in point, but nothing can be more diffe
rent. The' fencibles are raised on certain conditions
between' the individuals authorized by ministers and
C 2

20 [JUNE 19,
the men who enlist; nor is it surprising that these
engagements should be violated by those who have
shewn themselves incapable of adhering to any
contract, or being faithful to any engagements.
The militia, however, was on a different footing.
The militia was raised, not by a contract between
individuals, but on a compact of law. It is in vain
to talk of a thing being voluntary where no real opi
nion is left. The case of the worthy baronet (Sir
L. Palk) isa proof of this. He finds himself in the
whimsical situation of being a volunteer without
knowing it. It reminds me of the story of the peo-
.ple who were dragging a man along, and on being
asked the reason, gave for answer, that it was a
volunteer they were carrying along with them. It
had been said, that the resolution of the honorable
gentleman and the worthy baronet, who have ex
pressed their determination to follow their corps
wherever they go, is a proof that they are not com
pelled. The motive from which they act, however,
is submission, not consent. They go, not for the
reason given by the right honorable gentleman, but
for the reason assigned by themselves, that they
would not desert the brave men with whom they
served. What, indeed, is the mode employed to
collect the disposition of a regiment respecting its
going to Ireland ? They are called out on the pa
rade. Every man watches the looks of his neigh
bour ; he is afraid to refuse assent at a moment
when suspicion is so ready to fasten on the most in
different things. With aching hearts, with reluc
tant minds, without any thing of sound will and real
consent, they are dragged into the consent, which
is falsely called voluntary ; and these are the men
who are considered as fit corps for resisting rebel
lion in Ireland. The comparison of the voluntary
contributions was perfectly exact. To the measure
of voluntary contributions I was friendly, and I was
sorry to see it assume, in any degree, the appear
ance of compulsion. I did not like to hear of regi-

1798.] 21
ments called out to be asked whether they would
give up a week's pay, and of ships' companies
brought on deck to subscribe their contribution.
The mischiefs of a deliberate army have already
been forcibly represented; a deliberate army may
become an addressing army ; and an addressing
army a dictating army. When the principle is
once violated, there are no mischiefs to which it may
not extend.
We are now called upon for our last military
stake, the militia ; and it is natural to ask where we
are to look for defence ? Is the danger to which the
public attention was so forcibly directed, less now
than it was ? Before the trials at Maidstone took
place, we were informed by a right honorable gen
tleman opposite (Mr. Dundas) that dangers of the
utmost magnitude existed. The promised commu
nications on the subject, however, have not yet been
received. Are we to understand, then, that the
Habeas Corpus was suspended without any suffi
cient cause ; or do the danger which then existed
still threaten to assail us ? Have ministers fairly
and impartially weighed our situation, and know
ing, as all the world must have known, the state of
Ireland — the number of troops in that quarter, and
the probable demand for new reinforcements, have
they taken the precautions for supplying the drain
of men, and providing such means of defence as our
situation afforded ? This they have not done. They
called upon the spirit and the exertion of the coun
try ; they called upon men to forget their political
divisions, and to unite in the great object of the
national defence. Many of those who had been in
the habit of opposing ministers shewed a zealous
disposition to support the great object of national
defence. In many cases this spirit had been
answered by a behaviour highly discreditable to
ministers. Under symptoms of apostacy from every
principle men had previously entertained, their
services were rejected. To the signs of dissent

22 [JUNE 19,
which the right honorable gentleman exhibits, I say
that the association formed in the borough of
Southwark, is a proof of this assertion. For ano
ther proof of it, J have only to look at an honor
able friend of mine beside me (General Tarjetpn) .
It would be superfluous in me to say any thing in
praise of his courage and military talents. This
country, all Europe and America, can bear testimony
to his merit. My honorable friend candidly and
manfully offered his services wherever they could be
employed. They were rejected, however, with
contempt. And dpes any person suppose, that if
my honorable friend had been in the habjt of cring
ing to ministers, he would have remained unem
ployed ? Indeed, to the surprise of the enemy, and
to the astonishment of the country, his services have
been rejected, merely because he remained faithful
to the political sentiments he has entertained. Re
ligious distinctions, too, have been kept up, distinc
tions which, when the situation of the Pope is con
sidered, any belief in his supremacy would not have
rendered very formidable. Some tjme ago, when
I proposed that a certain oath, required to be taken
by those who serve His Majesty in a military capacity,
should be omitted in favour of Roman Catholics, the
motion wa? rejected. Brought fprward partially op
another bill by an honorable gentleman (Mr- Wjl-
berf'orce) it succeeded ; and was rejected pn another
attempt to extend it to dissenters. Another instance
of this spirit occurred in the behaviour of ministers
to Lord Petre. That nobleman had been at the
trouble and expense of raising a corps of Essex
Rangers. The commission, by which this corps
was to be commanded by Lord Petre's son, was
refused to be signed, because that gentleman was a
member of the Whig Club. Perhaps this offer
may have since been accepted, and the circumstance
of difficulty cleared up. Tfcere are pther instances,
however, in which the same spirit has been displayed
by ministers. A noble duke (Bedford), of great

1798.] 23
character and influence, desjrpus tp exert that in
fluence in such a manner as might strengthen the
country at the present difficult crisis, had, upon the
most liberal terms, under the sanction of the Lord
Lieutenant, raised a corps of four hundred and fifty
volunteers at Tavistock, in Devonshire, which was
to be united to a corps of ope hundred and fifty
which previously existed. These men were to be
cloathed and paid at the noble dnke's own expense,
and the men were raised, and every thing ar
ranged. Every thing was prepared— when at a
ipeeting pf the Whig Club, the noble duke having
said, that an honorable friend of his, not now pre
sent, was more meritorious from the animosity which
ministers had testified against him ; from a news
paper report of this speech, the services of the noble
duke were rejected. A letter was sent by. the right
honorable gentleman opposite (Mr. Dundas), com
menting upon that sentence, in the speech, and ar
guing that a person who held such language was
unfit to be entrusted with any command. Upon
this pretext the services of the noble duke were
rejected. Surely ministers, while they act in this
manner, check the spirit of coming forward in the
defence of the country, and deprive it of thp assist
ance of many who are zealous in its cause, and
neglect those precautions of security which the drain
of troops tp Ireland has rendered necessary. To
keep jrelapd against the will of the people is a vain
expectation. With eighty thousand troops with
arms and discipline, against an unarmed and un
disciplined multitude ' • I? i* n°t clear that the con
test lies between the government and the people ?
Without reversing the system, therefore, Ireland, as
the phrase is, cannot be saved. The struggle is
one, pot pf local djscpntent and partial disaffection,
bpt it is a contest between the people and the go-
verpmentr In such a state of things, without en
tering intp a particular enquiry, the fair presump-

24 [JAN. 23,
tion is, that the government is to blame. He con
cluded with concurring in the amendment.
The house divided ; for the amendment 47 ; against it 118. The
original address was then put and carried.

January 23, 1799.
UNION OF IRELAND WITH GREAT BRITAIN.
On the 22d of January the following message was delivered lo the
house : — " His Majesty is persuaded that the unremitting ii dustry
with which our enemies persevere in their avowed design of affecting
the separation of Ireland from this kingdom, cannot fail to engage
the particular attention of parliament ; and His Majesty recommends
it to this house to consider of the most effectual means of counteract
ing, and finally defeating, this design ; and he trusts that a review
of all the circumstances which have recently occurred (joined to the
sentiment of mutual affection and common interest) will dispose the
parliaments of both kingdoms to provide in the manner which they
shall judge most expedient, for settling such a complete and final
adjustment as may best tend to improve and perpetual t a connection
essential for their common security, and to augment and consolidate
the strength, power, and resources of the British empire." On this
day Mr. Dundas moved the usual address.
Mr. Sheridan rose and said, Sir, I must frankly
declare that I am not of the same opinion with the
right honorable gentleman, who thinks that there is
nothing more necessary on the part of His Majesty's
ministers than to move a mere address, returning
the thanks of this house for His Majesty's most gra
cious communication. The subject is too important
lightly to be passed over in any stage of its progress,
and the interests that will naturally come into dis
cussion too vast to be bounded over with an unre
flecting rapidity. Not one man in the country
would be free from reproach, if he could rrgard
with apathy, or with an ease of temper approaching
to indifference, a question that atonce involves every
thing dear to Irishmen, and which ought to be dear
to every subject of the British empire. As I cannot
view these matters wholly with unconcern, I must
think that more is necessary on the part of His Ma
jesty's ministers than merely to move an address of

1799.] 25
thanks. I say, Sir, I cannot be of this opinion,
because when I found it stated that it is the prin
cipal object of the message from the crown to invite
the commons of Great Britain to the consideration
of means of finally adjusting the interests in common
between Great Britain and Ireland, I am naturally
led to enquire how the terms of the final adjust
ment made and agreed to by the parliaments of the
two countries, in 1782, came to fail of their object.
In that year there was an adjustment ; and no man
acquainted with the history of that period, no man
whose study has not been confined to mere local
occurrences, can have forgotten in what kind of
circumstances that adjustment arose, and under
what kind of auspices it was made final. Nothing
can be more obvious than the propriety of inquiring
at this time how tliat adjustment failed of its object.
The right honorable gentleman, adopting the lan
guage of the message, has assumed that the house
is already in possession of the facts and arguments
on which are to be founded the policy, justice, and
expediency of agitating at this time such a discus
sion ; in this way telling the whole world that the*
final adjustment ratified in 1782 was not a final ad
justment in point of fact, but an adjustment to be
held final at the pleasure of the English government.
But there are no such things in the possession of the
house as the materials from whence to reason that
it is now either politic, expedient, or just, to come
to the discussion of this question of final adjustment.
Hence before ministers recommended to the house
of commons to take measures that lead inevitably to
the discussion of some plan of union, it was incum
bent upon them to have shewn us that the last pledge
of the English parliament to the people of Ireland,
by which their independence was recognized and
their rights acknowledged, has not produced that
unanimity, that concord of sentiment, and earnest
exertion to promote their own welfare, while they
cordially and sincerely manifested their zeal for the

26 [JAN. 23,
happiness and prosperity pf this country, which that
people were expected to display, and which the par
liaments pf the two countries sought to cherisp. —
B,ut more than the effect immediately upop the peo
ple, it is fit to inquire whether the final adjustmept
led to the measures of mutual confidence, and pro
duced that unanimity of sentiment and object in the
two parliaments, which, for the happiness and honor
of both kingdoms, every man wished might be its
permanent effect. Sir, I think it impossible for
any man clearly to shew that there has been any
want of* this unanimity on any important occasion.
I am the more strongly impressed with this belief,
because a solemn declaration of the Irish parlia
ment, sanctioned by all Ireland, is now on record,
wherein we have it emphatically stated that the in
dependence of Irelapd will be asserted by the people
of Ireland, and that their parliament is an inde
pendent legislature. The recollection of this de
claration brings tp my mind the strong apprehension
of the danger, the peril of agitating anew the ques
tion of Irish independence. What has that decla-
ration stated? Sir, it is a manly, firm, and honor
able testimony to all time, of the proud, noble spirit
of a nation rising into distinction and mounting up
to freedom. They there say, that -" there is no power
whatever competent to make laws for Jxeland but the
parliament of Ireland;" and aniong other things
equally strong and just, we fipd them assert this as
their birthright, and which they are determined in
every situation to defend and maintain against what
ever kind of enenay. When I find this declaratipp
of the Irish parliament, and acquiesced in by tb,e
English, that they did come to a final adjustmept
is obvious; yet the words " a solid, permanent
basis," convey some reflections on the proceedings
of the parliament since that period, and it might
fairly be supposed, that only its delinquency would
have instigated His Majesty's ministers to adopt a
course pf conduct, by which, if they spcceed in the

J 799.] 27
enterprise, they shall accomplish for ever the sub
jugation of Ireland, and tfie slavery of its inhabi
tants. BpJ;, Sir, I piust think the people in that
country, who really cherish a love of rational liberty,
Who have dwelt with delight on the recollection of
that, till now, apspicipus period, when independence
came upon theip 3$ it were by surprize, when the
Genips of Freedom rested upon their island — the
whole people, in short, will come to this second
adjustment with a temper which I am afraid, Sir,
will augur not tranquillity but disquietude ; not prosr
perjty but cakunity ; npt the suppression of treason
but the extension and increase of plo^s to multiply
apd ensanguine its horrors. Nevertheless, I must
own that there is something informal in this way of
treating the question immediately before the house.
But mpch as I respect your forms, Sir, I own to
ypu thpsp are things, and this is a question, which J
cannot permit myself lightly to discuss, and which
ought not to be shrunk froni on light grounds. I
am aware that the grounds I stand on are at once
ticklish and dapgerous ; that my motives are liable
both to misrepresentation and misapprehepsion ; that
a licentious few, and an ignorant many, will distort
or npt perceive the grpunds of my arguments, and
the use I am desirous to make of them. But there
are topics, on the discussion of which a man must
not wholly consult, the degree of safety to his repu
tation among the unreflecting portions of mapkind
— on which he ippst fprget wha| he owes tp his own
dignity, if fearfpl of the insidious piisinterpretation
of fiis sentiments, or the more insidious misrepre
sentation of his motives, he shrink from the subject,
and fail r° ^° that which 1S peremptorily his duty.
I feel that tp be silent on the present occasion were
tp act from, terror in a way unworthy of the majesty
of ti'pth ; upbecomipg a man ena,piored of free dis-
cussiop ; unlike ftie friend and supporter of general
liberty, \ cannot: do this- My cpuntry has claims-
ppon p}e which I am ^ot more proud to ackpow-

28 [JAN. 23,
ledge than ready to liquidate, to the full measure of
my ability. Is there any man who can wish to do
less— or have the whole system of human connection
and the economy of human passions been changed
and perverted with those changes in the political
world, from which some derive rank and emolu
ment by the prostitution of integrity and all the vir
tues? But, Sir, there was a time when I should
have been told that to agitate any question in this
house relative to the affairs of Ireland, were to re
trench upon the rights of the Irish parliament. That
the independence of one legislature was not to be
infringed upon by the discussion of questions which
belonged to it exclusively to discuss upon and de
cide. That we could not agitate the affairs of Ire
land in any manner without grossly insulting the
dignity, and making a question of the constitutional
competence of the parliament of that country to le
gislate for themselves. That, in short, it would be
to arouse and inflame that quick spirit of inde
pendence, which the sister kingdom knew how to
express, and had ever appeared both able and ready
to infuse into a system of ardent, intrepid opposition
to every kind of ulterior domination. But, surely,
when now the question is the independence of the
parliament of Ireland, when it is attempted to intro
duce measures which have in their issues not merely
the independence but the existence of this parlia
ment, honorable gentlemen will not resort to that
argument. Probably I shall be told, that I ought
not to draw into discussion topics that in their very
nature tend to excite discontent, by being closely
interwoven with the events of a recent period of
distraction and danger : that I cannot dwell long on
these topics without relapsing into warmth ; that I
am liable to use inflammatory language ; that, in
particular, I ought to consider the present state of
Ireland before I essay the discussion of such intri
cate and delicate interests as embraced by the King's
message. The right honorable gentleman opposite

1799.] 29
me, ought to have done all this, he ought to have
considered the state of Ireland before he introduced
in this house, as the chief servant of the crown, a
subject that, to be met fairly at any time requires
much previous preparation, and which at this mo
ment is to put every thing to hazard. Sir, I can
see the possible danger of adding to the discontents
of the people of Ireland. An intriguing, ambitious
enemy, may take advantage of the crisis, and des
perate factious spirits at home may seize upon it as
an opportunity favorable to the success of their wild
and visionary projects. But these dangers are only
to be apprehended from the innovation of the rights
of the people of Ireland, as forming an independent
nation ; and he who merely seeks to arrest the arm
of the invader, to check his spirit of aggression and
usurpation, so far from justly incurring reproach, is
in fairness entitled to the praise of honorable and
virtuous enterprize. I shall speak out manfully
on an occasion which eminently invites every friend
to constitutional liberty to the utmost exertion of his
powers. The present moment is our's, the next may
be the enemy's. I am perfectly ready, however, to
give credit to ministers for purity of intention. On
my word, I think they would not propose, here a
measure which they believed would ultimately cause
a separation of this country from Ireland. With
them, I say, it is necessary to the happiness of the
empire, that it is essentially a source of wealth and
power to continue that connection with Ireland. It
is a connection which as much as any man I wish
ever to preserve, and I do not think it necessary to
claim the indulgence of the right honorable gentle
man and the house, when I declare I believe I am
equally averse as they are to sedition and revolt
adopted in the sister kingdom ; that I equally ab
hor and detest the conduct of an ambitious and ra
pacious foe in the whole career of his acts of unjust
and unprovoked aggression of the rights of the
weak or unsuspecting, or indolent states. But am

30 [JAN. 23,
,erefore, to vote for measures which but too
^ngly express the character of that system which
^is enemy had so wickedly and flagrantly pursued ?
/God forbid! Perhaps we are to be told, that the
' enemy Still perseveres in his intention of invading
Ireland ; and, if that were possible, to sever from
the empire one of its most useful and ornamental
branches. That he lays in Wait for an opportunity
to carry decisively into effect these his ambitious
views. I do not, Sir, at all doubt that France now
anxiously looks on, eager to come in for a share 6f
the plunder of the liberties of Ireland. The ene
my with whom we have to contend, is as vigilant
as dextrous, and it is in the constitution of his sys
tem of universal pillage, and the indiscriminate
abuse of every maxim of honorable policy, on all
occasions to profit by the distressfes or the agitations
of other powers. To invite and encourage Fiance,
it was ehotfgh that rfis Majesty's* ministers should
have brought forward the present measure. There
have been nations, who after asserting by their arms
theif independence, have, by their improvident use
of victory, sown the seeds of future degradation
and ruin too deep and too diffusive ever to be able
again to1 resist their enemies. So true is it, that
external dangers will unite communities, while the
moment of triumph ushers1 in all those recollections
of jealousy, of distrUSt, of uneasiness at the mea
sures of a government of a minister, which had laid
dormant in the hour of united exertion. I have told
you, Sir, that I do not doubt but that FrartCe waits
with impatience for an1 opportunity effectually to
strike her long-meditated blow against Ireland. She
has manifested this spirit from time to time, and I
must assume it as a fair ground of argutaeWt
against the present- measure, that its tendency is rather
to encourage the' enemy than drive them from their
settled purpose. Not only do I believe, that they
have agreed Upon some new expedition and attack,
but have increased their exertions from the time the

1798.] 31
Scheme of union was first agitated by ministers. But
I shall be told, this measure will have the effect of
defeating the enemy, by shewing them how vain it
will be in future to attempt anything against united
Ireland. Now I hoped that our splendid naval vic
tories, that the discovery of the plots, the possession
of the papersjthe discomfiture of the projects of the
internal and external enemies of Ireland, would have
satisfied the minds of all, that no new project of in
vasion can be Carried into effect. Sir, I do say, it
is the conduct of ministers towards the Irish nation
from which only we can have any reason to appre
hend danger. By dividing the native and constitu
tional defenders of Ireland, they sow among them
the seeds of treason, and encourage the attempts of
the enemy on that unfortunate country. The right
honorable gentleman (Mr. Pitt) told us yesterday,
that, without hearing the notice I then gave, he could
not have expected such an opposition as the pi'e-
seht to the motion, because the word Union Was
not to be found in the message. That I ought
to have known that the described object was
adjustment, not union. But I must take it for
granted, the right honorable gentleman will not fly
to such a subterfuge on so important a question. In
deed, 1 persuade myself he will admit at ortce, that
it is a question of terms and not of fact. If, how
ever, it should be contended, that I am borne out in
the inference by the message, look to Ireland. The
recent changes in that country, the dismissals of
some Very respectable characters from office, dis
tinctly points to the Union. I grieve to see such a
name as that of Lord Cornwalhs to such letters and
papers as have within these few weeks been pub
lished at the castle. It is painful to read in a letter
from this man the dismissal from office df such a
character as Sir J. Parnell. With these facts be
fore us, it is perfectly fair to assume, that union is
the object, and it being no longer a question of
terms, I kpow I am perfectly in order in arguing

32 [JAN. X6,
against the measure. I will not now enter into a
detailed view of the subject; but I am glad the
right honorable gentleman has given us an opportu
nity to know when we may regularly expect to
meet it in that way. Neither do 1 mean to say any
thing of the advantages of the measure. I can ad
mit that this is a fair discussion always, and may at
this moment safely go forward to the public. But
I do uot know how to admit, that not to adopt an
Union, were to invite the separation of the two coun
tries by a French force. Nay, my opinion is di
rectly the reverse of this ; and I must say, that situ
ated as Ireland is, without having in one instance
manifested a wish to unite, but, on the contrary,
having unequivocally declared herself hostile to the
proposition of a union, that if it be effected, it will be
a union accomplished by surprise, fraud, and corrup
tion ; and which must place the people of Ireland in a
worse situation than they were before. I think
there are two propositions which I have now estab
lished : the first, that it is decidedly an infraction
and violation of her acknowledged right of inde
pendent legislation ; aud second, that union cannot
prevent the separation of Ireland from this Country
by France. The third proposition I have to offer to
the consideration of the house is, that it is not pos
sible that, in the present state of Ireland, the people
can declare and act upon their genuine sentiments ;
and let any man who has a head to conceive, and a
heart to feel for the miseries of Ireland, put this me
morable question to himself — Is it possible that the
free, fair, and unbiassed sense of the people of Ire
land, can be collected at this time on this question ?
The English force in that country is at once an an
swer to this question. I am not to be told, that if
even the people should be cheated and tricked into
union, and out of independence, it is of no conse
quence, as the measure is intended solely for their
good, and that we ought to adopt it now, and con
vince them afterwards. This will not be, argued by

1799. J 33
any man ; or if it is, let gentlemen look to union un
der all its circumstances, and strange indeed must
be their mode of reasoning, if they do not agree
with me, that in the present conjuncture of affairs,
union will lead to separate and not to perpetuate
the connection. If any man should say, " Yes,
we have a force in Ireland; there may be an
opposition there to union, but now is our time
to play their own game of 1782 back upon
themselves;" if there be a man in this house ca
pable of such mean and contemptible conduct, I
leave it to gentlemen to consider what will be the
effect of such an example. With respect to the
conspiracies, which happily have been defeated, I
own they were such as ought to be carefully guarded
against ; and I deplore as much as many, that the
means of combining insurrection were so various and
melancholy. There might have been much of the
cause of revolt concealed under the measures of the
government ; but if the Irish should at any future
period awake from the slumbers of that sloth which
the slavery of union is to occasion, how are they to
be replied to if they should say, " You offered to us
your assistance against domestic and foreign ene
mies, we accepted of it, and gave you affection and
gratitude, and the irreproachable pledge of all the
support in our power in return. But having ena
bled us to repel invasion and suppress rebellion, you
took from us our parliament with your forty thou
sand soldiers, and dissipating our independence,
you inflicted oh us a union, to which our fellow sub
jects famished and fled, could give no opposition,
and this not by force, but by an act of negative inti
midation." Said Mr. Sheridan, those who under
stand what it is to acquire negative successes, will
be at no loss to comprehend what I mean by nega
tive intimidation — " If the people of Ireland should
say, that by your forces you deprived them of the
means of defending themselves ; that you wrung
from their independence, what influenced the par-
VOL. V. D

34 [JAN. 23,
liament not to return to them, the people, the right
of suffrage, but to give the Irish people up to fo
reign domination ?" — Consider, I conjure you,
these matters, and ask yourselves what would be the
character of any future insurrection ? I will not
say, that in all its great and interesting features it
would be quite different from that recently sub
dued, and there would be nothing in it of which
they need be ashamed. They need not skulk from
the question, for the struggle would be to resent the
plunder of their rights, and not the differences sub
sisting between Protestant and Catholic, not for
schemes of wild and foolish republicanism, not from
ill-humor towards one set of men, or one set of mea
sures. Instead of an union of sentiment, I main
tain, that if you adopt the measure unfolded by the
message, you would create an union of dissatisfac
tion. It is impossible to conceive that the measure
is palatable in Ireland, unless we can suppose, that
having for three hundred years endured the most
inhuman insults, that at last, when they had wrung
from this country that which it was a shame to have
deprived them of, they would freely, and without
bias, give it up sixteen years afterwards ; that they
would surrender their rights, because it was the
pleasure of a British minister to propose, that the
Irish parliament should no longer exist. This isa
proposition which cannot be entertained. Un
doubtedly, if I had been told that the whole peo
ple of Ireland had declared that they would shake
off all allegiance ; that the parliament had violated
the rights of the people ; that the country did not
prosper under its constitution ; I see strong reasons
for agreeing to the proposition of union. But on
the contrary, we have been told upon high authority
that the comforts of the people, that the prosperity
of Ireland have progressively increased with time
ever since the independence of her parliament was
recognized. TheTrish commons have been thanked in speeches

1799.] 35
from the throne for their patriotic vigilance in de
feating the internal enemies of the country : and
are the people of Ireland now to be told, that on
the eve of new insurrections, the parliament of Great
Britain, sitting in Westminster, can better provide
means of security and defence for Ireland, than
could the parliament of Ireland sitting in Dublin ?
After the example we have had of the great wisdom
and profound powers of minute research of our own
parliament on a memorable occasion, after the re
port of the celebrated committee of conspiracy,
whose reports stand contradicted by the verdicts of
British juries, and whose accusations have been fal
sified by verdicts of acquittal — (A cry of " Hear !
Hear!") — Gentlemen may, if they please, deny me
this conclusion from the premises, but I perempto
rily repeat it — they may talk as disrespectfully as
they please of English juries, but I maintain, that
the juries of Ireland, to say the least, have returned
verdicts of conviction more contrary to justice, and
much more dishonorable to them as men, than those
acquittals of the juries of England could possibly
be. But to return to the question : are we to be
told that the measure of an union will not wholly
dissolve the legislature of Ireland ; that indepen
dence will survive union, though in a modified state ;
that parliament will be left to judge of the local
affairs of Ireland ? Really, Sir, this seems almost
too much for men's feelings — a parliament ! — a sort
of national vestry for the Parish of Ireland sitting in
a kind of mock legislative capacity, after being
ignobly degraded from the rank of representatives
of an independent people ; and deprived of the
functions of an inquisitorial power, exercising and
enjoying the greatest authority that any parliament
can possess. From these propositions, and having
merits to plead, the presumption fairly is, that it is
impossible the members of the Irish parliament, no
more than their constituents, can come to the ques
tion of union with unbiassed minds, or agree to it
D 2

36 [JAN. 23,
r any other circumstance except of great force.
consider the question in another point of view.
" Is the parliament of England competent to legis
late for the parliament of Ireland?" Impossible.
E\ery advantage of situation favors the one, the
other is unfitted for governing, or giving law, by
every disadvantage of situation, and every dissimi
larity ot temper "and habit. An high authority of
the sister nation, no less an authority than the Lord
Chancellor Clare, has said, that the English parlia
ment is less acquainted with the state of Ireland than
any other body of men in the world. How can it
be, that in this state of recorded ignorance, the par
liament of England is better fitted to legislate for
Iiishmen, than that of Ireland with its experience?
To assume this, were to advance the most mon
strous and preposterous proposition that ever fell
from man. Or is the system of ministers to be, to
embody their hoards, and after new plots are hatched,
to read the riot act to the parliament of Ireland ?
With respect to intimidation, would it not be to in
timidate the Irish, were they told England would
not in future be induced to send troops, or furnish
money to Ireland, and that they would be left in a
state of nakedness and poverty, at the mercy of
those who once distracted the country ? It would
be enough to arouse their indignation, that these
hints would be conveyed to them by a secretary or a
clerk, and some men who are disgusted with acts of
Irish government, would, perhaps, give up parlia
ment in their heart, whilst others, who will view
the question with more calmness, but not more ho
nesty, will infer from the dismissal of such great
characters as 1 have mentioned, that the government
of this country will intimidate those whom they can
not persuade. They will see to what extent the
same system must be carried in the military, and
every other department. And can they, after this,
be expected to say, that the fair opinion of the peo
ple of Ireland was collected on this subject ?

1799.] 37
Under all these circumstances, I think, Sir, I
may assume that I have made out my proposition,
that if you effect an union now, no man can say
that Ireland was a party to it ; if so, ultimate sepa
ration must follow. Were it of consequence to
speak of this measure in another manner, I would
ask, what would the honorable gentleman opposite
to me say if Frapce acted in a similar manner, and
this not a country in alliance with her, — not so to a
mere neutral country, but to a country dear to her
on every account, to that country whose sons were
fighting her battles in every quarter of the globe?
What would they say, if after all, France annexed
the territory of her friend and sister to France as
one and indivisible, with forty thousand French de
fenders at their gates, &c. ? Would it not be said,
that it was the greatest perfidy ? The King of Sar
dinia gave his consent that the French should take
possession of his capital and territory, but it was
the effect of force. And now we were to adopt a
similar system in Ireland. I hear much of French
principles, but I wish gentlemen would not so closely
follow French practices. Let us abstain from
French corruption, French usurpation, French per
fidy. Let us leave no ground for saying, that we
have made use of corruption to acquire ascendancy
or subjugate the rights of any people. Let our
union be a union of mind and spirit, as well as of in
terest and power — not that sort of marriage in
which fraud is the suitor, and force the ratifier of
the solemn contract. Let me conjure you not to
commit a violent rape on your sister Ireland; for
you may, by well-timed overtures, get her as a com
fort at your side, full of love, full of fidelity, and
full of confidence. You must be convinced, that she
will be in a deplorable situation indeed, if the bans
are to be published from the trumpets of forty thou
sand British troops.
I think, Sir, I have endeavoured to shew — I may
say, without vanity, 1 have shewn, that there would

38 [JAN. 23,
be great danger even if you carry the measure ; and
1 should like to know what are the dangers of delay,
and what the necessity for dispatch. I did expect
that ministers would set out by shewing us this ; bpt
probably they have reserved themselves for a farther
opportunity — (Here Mr. Sheridan apologized for
any warmth he might have displayed in the course
of his speech, and observed, that if the question had
been fairly taken up, instead of by intimidation and
corruption, the house might have expected to have
seen less warmth of manner.) — The only arguments
I have seen for the measure that I can suppose come
from ministers, are those contained in a book written,
as I understand, by two gentlemen in office in Ire
land, and which contains a statement that is now cir
culated as the terms of the Union. A more offen
sive or more flimsy production I have never read. In
this pamphlet I find some arguments for dispatch,
and those tremendous arguments are the dread of
the power of the Pope, and the English opposition ;
the probability that the parliaments of the two coun
tries may alter their opinions by change of minis
ters ; and lastly, one that is highly indecent, the
supposition that we may lose our virtuous Sovereign
— (Here Mr. Sheridan commented on those diffe
rent points, and said he thought it a strange way of
counteracting the inflammatory effect of the speeches
of the English opposition on the proceedings of the
English parliament to bring a batch of Irish mem
bers into that house to partake of the sedition of the
minority. But it is imputed to opposition that they
are liable to change their opinions; now the only
example of this is the regency, when the parliament
of Ireland agreed with a great minority in the Eng
lish parliament in the principle, objecting merely to
the powers to be given to the regent.) — But, Sir, I
wish ministers to give fair play to Ireland. I have
stated three of the arguments for dispatch ; and the
fourth for the measure is one that must every where
excite indignation. This is, that the Irish took

1799.] 39
advantage in 1782 of the war, and that therefore
England may now take advantage of the force of
the country for the extinction of the independence
of Ireland. This is the creed of the castle ; but the
English are not to be insulted in this way, nor their
character traduced. Having in a general way thus
combated the arguments of that pamphlet, Mr.
Sheridan next took a view of the subject as a
constitutional question, and contended, that as well
might the English parliament vote the crown abso
lute, perpetuate a power in the King to control the
grants of parliaments, and give to this parliament a
right to exercise a vigor beyond the law, and vote
itself not at all responsible to the people. It is no
light matter even to have one hundred members
coming here from Ireland without the means of
being regularly instructed by their constituents;
but, perhaps, I am to be told, as I understand has
been asserted by an honorable gentleman opposite
to me, that when once the parliament meets, the
people have no right to hear of what their represen
tatives are about; and that, therefore, it is not merely
dangerous, but unconstitutional, to publish an ac
count of their proceedings. Sir, I must suppose
the right honorable gentleman to whom this doc
trine is imputed, never used it in argument; for
certainly if I found such doctrine urged in a pam
phlet, I should think it my duty to move, that the
house might instruct the Attorney General to pro
secute the author, and that the book should be burnt
by the common hangman. I once recommended a
prosecution in this house, and once only in my life ;
it was against the author of a book, where it had
been stated, that the tree might remain, sound even
though the branches were lopped off. Now I think
the same effect would follow, were that measure of
restraint adopted by the house. But if it is said
that the principle of Union was adopted by parlia
ment in the instance of Scotland, I cannot admit
that the existence of one bad precedent is any argu-

40 [JAN. 23,
ment for adopting a second. With respect to the
power of the Irish parliament to agree to the mea
sure, I will say, that I think no power on earth has
a right to proscribe the independence of the people.
I have heard a vigorous statesman (Lord Grenville)
use an argument that enforces this : he said, that to
alter the chartered rights of any company, would
be to change the power and prerogative of the
crown, and that His Majesty could not assent to a
bill for such a purpose, though it should even pass
the two houses of parliament.
With respect to the enemies of the British govern
ment, it had two enemies in Ireland, " Poverty and
Ignorance ;" and unless it can be shewn that the
pi'esent measure will remove these' — will prevent
the repetition of those scenes of distress which
passed in Ireland when there were in the city of
Dublin alone 12,000 labourers, &c. out of employ
ment, living on raspings of bread, or starving with
their families — unless these evils can be ameliorated,
if not wholly corrected by a Union. I must be un
friendly to the measure. If the people of Ireland
be active and industrious in every country but their
own, it must be the effect of their government.
First remove the causes of their misery, and then
invite them, if you will, to a closer union. Mr.
Arthur Young has attributed the growth of the evils
that render miserable the poor of Ireland to the
progress of French principles, but I am quite con
vinced the misery of that unfortunate class has had
its origin and continues to increase with the exac
tions and imposts of their overgrown lords. [Here
Mr. Sheridan resumed the arguments and com
ments on the argument in the pamphlet above al
luded to, which relates to opposition ; observing
that no apprehensions of mischief need surely be
entertained from it, especially if a noble marquis in
another place was right in saying that opposition is
no more.] Sir, I must say I think that noble per
son might as well have spared our feelings, and not

1799.] 41
have cut his clumsy capers on our grave. He has
said he is no party man. Sir, I blame no man for
not being a party man, but I respect too well the
memory of a Marquis of Rockingham ; I respect too
well ,the memory of a Mr. Burke ; I also respect
too well the memory of those principles which
some of the present members of administration
once were proud to avow — I think I ought to re
spect myself, though not of much importance ; but
particularly the great and virtuous characters with
whom I have the honour to be connected ; I ought
to respect all those, and each of them, too much to
join with the noble marquis in his death song over
the manes of party. And, Sir, I hope, though at
present the banners of opposition be furled in se
cession, they will again be displayed, and that its
members will come forward and rally round the
constitution when danger menaces its sacred foun
dations ; that they will prove worthy of their prin
ciples, and of that liberty they value dear, by assert
ing and defending the independence of every legi
timate, constitutional parliament, and the rights and
liberties of every people. He concluded with
moving the following amendment :
" At the same time to express the surprise and
deep regret with which this house now, for the
first time, learns from His Majesty, that the final
adjustment which, upon His Majesty's gracious re
commendation, took place between the two king
doms in the year 1782, and which, by the declara
tion of the parliaments of both countries, placed the
connection between them upon a solid and perma
nent basis, has not produced the effects expected
from that solemn settlement; and farther, humbly
to express to His Majesty, that His Majesty's faith
ful commons having strong reason to believe that it
is in the contemplation of His Majesty's ministers
to propose a union of the legislatures of the two king
doms, notwithstanding the said final and solemn
adjustment, feel it to be their bounden duty, im-

42 [JAN. 31,
pressed as they are with the most serious appre
hensions of the consequences of such a proceeding
at this time, to take the earliest opportunity humbly
to implore His Majesty not to listen to the counsel
of those who shall advise or promote such a measure
at the present crisis, and under the present circum
stances of the empire."
Mr. Sheridan afterwards withdrew his amendment, and the ori
ginal motion was put and carried.

January 31.
UNION OE GREAT BRITAIN WITH IRELAND.
Mr. Pitt moved the following resolutions: — First, That in order
to promote and secure the essential interests of Great Britain and
Ireland, and to consolidate the strength, power, and resources of the
British empire, it will be advisable to concur in such measures a*
may best tend to unite the two kingdoms of Great Britain and Ire
land into one kingdom, in such manner, and on such terms and con
ditions as may be established by acts of the respective parliaments of
His Majesty's said kingdoms.
" Second, That it appears to this committee that it would befit to
propose as the first article to serve as a basis of the said Union, that
the said kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland shall, upon a day
to be agreed upon, be united into one kingdom, by the name of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. ^
" Third, That for the same purpose it appears also to this commit
tee, that it would befit to propose that the succession lo the monarchy
and the imperial crown of the said united kingdoms shall continue
limited and settled, in the same manner as the imperial crown of the
said kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland now stands limited and
settled, according to the existing laws, and to-the terms of the Union
between England and Scotland.
" Fourth, That for the same purpose it appears also to this com
mittee, that it would be fit to propose that the said united kingdom
be presented in one and the same parliament, lo be stilcd the Parlia
ment of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and
that such a number of lords spiritual and temporal, and such a num
ber of members of the house of commons as shall be hereafter agreed
upon by acts of the respective parliaments as aforesaid, shall sit and
vote in the said parliament on the part of Ireland, and shall be sum
moned, chosen, and returned, in such manner as shall be fixed by an
act of the parliament of Ireland previous to the said Union ; and that
every member hereafter to sit and vote in the said parliament of the
United Kingdom shall, until the said parliament shall otherwise
provide, take, and subscribe the same oaths, and make the same de-

1799.] 43
claration as are by law required to be taken, subscribed, and made,
by the members of the parliaments of Great Britain and Ireland.
" Fifth, That for the same purpose it appears also to this com
mittee, that it ivould befit to propose that the churches of England
and Ireland, and the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government
thereof, shall be preserved as now by law established.
" Sixth, That for the same purpose it appears also to this com*
mittee, that it would befit to propose that Hti Majesty's subjects in
Ireland shall at all times hereafter be entitled to the same privileges,
and be on the same footing in respect of trade and navigation, in all
ports and places belonging to Great Britain, and in all cases with
respect to which treaties shall be made by His Majesty, his heirs or
successors, icith any foreign powet, as His Majesty's subjects in
Great Britain ; that no duty shall be imposed on the import or ex
port between Great Britain and Ireland of any articles now duty
free ; and that on other articles there shall be established, for a time
to be limited, such a moderate rate of equal duties as shall, previous
to the Union, be agreed upon and approved by the respective parlia
ments, subject, after the expiration of such limited time, to be di
minished equally with respect to both kingdoms, but in no case to
be increased ; that all articles which may at any time hereafter be
imported into Great Britain from foreign parts, shall be importable
through either kingdom into the other, subject to the like duties and
regulations as if the same were imported directly from foregn parts ;
that where any articles, the growth, produce, or manufacture of
either kingdom, are sulrject. to any internal duty in one kingdom,
such countervailing duties (over and above any duties on import to
be fixed as aforesaid) shall be imposed as shall be necessary to pre
vent any inequality in that respect : and that all other matters of
trade and commerce other than the foregoing, and than such others
as may before the Union be specially agreed upon for the due encou
ragement of the agriculture and manufactures of the respective king
doms, shell remain to be regulated from time to time by the united
parliament. " Seventh, That for the like purpose it would be fit to propose,
that the charge arising from the payment of the interest or sinking
fund for the reduction oj the principal of the debt incurred in either
kingdom before the Union, shall continue to be separately defrayed
by Great Britain and Ireland respectively. That for a number of
years to be limited, the future ordinary expenses of the United King
dom, in peace or tear, shall be defrayed by Great Britain and Ire
land jointly, according to such propositions as shall be established by
the respective parliaments previous to the Union ; and that after the
expiration of the time to be so limited, the proportions shall not be
liable to be varied, except according to such rates and principles as
shall be in like manner agreed upon previous to the Union.
Eighth, That for the like purpose it would befit to propose,
that all laws in force at the time of the Union, and that all the courts
of civil or ecclesiastical jurisdiction within the respective kingdoms,
shall remain as now by law established within the same, subject

44 [jan. 31,
onty to such alterations or regulations from lime to time as circum
stances may appear to the parliament of the United Kingdom to
require. " That the foregoing resolutions be laid before His Majesty,
with an humble address, assuring His Majesty that we have pro
ceeded with the utmost attention to the consideration of the im
portant objects recommended to us in His Majesty's gracious
message. " T/iat we entertain a firm persuasion that a complete and en
tire Union between Great Britain and Ireland, founded on equal and
liberal principles, on the similarity of laws, constitution, and govern
ment, and on a sense of mutual interests and affections, by promoting
the security, wealth, and commerce of the respective kingdoms, and
by allaying the distractions which have unhappily prevailed in Ire
land, must afford fresh means of opposing at all times an effectual
resistance to the destructive projects of our foreign and domestic
enemies, and must tend to confirm and augment the stability, power,
and resources of the empire.
" Impressed with these considerations, ice feel it our duty humbly
to lat/ before His Majesty such propositions as appear to us best
calculated to form the basis of such a settlement, leaving it to His
Majesty's wisdom, at such time and in such manner as His Majesty,
in his parental solicitude for the happiness of his people, shall judge
fit, to communicate those propositions to his parliament of Ireland,
with whom we shall be at all times ready to concur in all such mea
sures as may be found most conducive to the accomplishment of this
great and salutary work. And we trust that, after full and mature
consideration, such a settlement may be framed and established, by
the deliberative consent of the parliaments of both kingdoms, as
may be conformable to the sinliments, wishes, and real interests
of His Majesty's faithful subjects of Great Britain and Ireland,
and may unite them inseparably in the full enjoyment of the bles
sings of our free and invaluable constitution, in the support of the
honor and dignity of His Majesty's crown, and in the preservation
and advancement of the welfare and prosperity of the whole British
empire." Mr. Sheridan rose, and spoke to the following
effect: — Sir, I know how difficult it always is to
make any impression on men's minds, even by ar
gument and obvious fact, if the imagination has
been dwelling with delight on great or difficult sub
jects, or the attention detained by animated and
flowery declamation. The right honorable gentle
man, who has just sat down, with a great display of
eloquence, introduced this question, and only talents
great as his own could be expected to produce that
effect in their exertion, which it is to be apprehended

1799.] 45
the speech the house has just heard very generally
produced. It is, however, easy on some questions
to arouse those feelings, in the fullness of which the
most vigilant may be deceived, and the most cau
tious misled. But much as I admire the right ho
norable gentleman's talents in debate — indeed, in
the same proportion that I do admire those talents,
I must critically pursue him in the mazes of his
dextrous declamation ; I must narrowly watch him
from the avenues to national prejudice, up to the
source and fountain of national passion. The right
honorable gentleman yields to no man in charms of
diction, and as beauty captivates sometimes to such
a degree that reason is superseded, and the sober
calculations of prudence abandoned for the more
dazzling, though airy, speculations of a romantic,
but fertile, fancy. Thus the power of his mind in
the selection and application of epithets fascinate
the thoughtless, and may seduce the unsuspecting.
There are some questions, on the discussion of which
it becomes the members of this house to be suspi
cious of talents and eloquence, whatever may be the
weight of phrase in which declarations of rectitude
of intention may be conceived, and in spite of every
appearance of honesty of purpose. I hope, Sir, the
house will not be led away by the seductions of elo
quence and the attractive force of talent ; but that
every man who hears me, every man who cherishes
in sincerity a love of freedom, and a genuine respect
for the principles of that constitution which in
the purity of its operations is freedom, that every
well-wisher of the British empire, that those who
entertain not enmity but friendship towards Ire
land, will this night distinguish between the flowing
and rapid elocution of an admired orator, and the
steady and well-tempered voice of unaffected reason.
The whole world knows that never was there a
period when fine speeches more powerfully affected
the public; and never a time when, from fancied
security or habitual indifference, the public appeared

46 [JAN. 31,
less eager profoundly to examine any question. —
Those who cannot be hurried along with the torrent
of that impetuous declamation, which more or less
excites the astonishment of us all, will, however,
pause to recollect the arguments, and pursue the
speech of the right honorable gentleman in its ela
borate detail. But, conceiving as I do, that the
house is not free from the influence ever attained
over easy tempers, by bold and ingenious sophistry,
apprehensive that we are in the situation of men
who just begin to free themselves, by a collected
vigorous effort, from the chains imposed by beauty,
or the seductive allurements of an amorous sportive
imagination, I must adjure the house not to dispose
of a question that is, perhaps, to decide for ever
whether a great and generous nation is to retain
its independence, and by implication, to determine
whether a set of representatives, chosen by a free
people, must vote themselves out of existence, and
give up the liberties, the property, the acknowledged
constitutional rights of their constituents, to the do
mination of a power, that, under the mask of friend
ship, has introduced among them a force, originally
said to be intended solely for their defence against
a daring insidious enemy, whom all deprecate, but
who is not more' to be detested than the pretended
friend, who assists only that he may acquire confi
dence enough to delude, and "strength enough to de
stroy. I must think the house has been hurried along
by the right honorable gentleman from one degree
of transport to another, until, in the groves of the
elysium, they have been elated with scenes of gran
deur, and fatigued with that variety, or enfeebled
with that richness of prospect, which is to render
inquiry loathsome, and which will inevitably pre
pare the human mind for the reception of any doc
trines, however wild ; and any assurance of future
advantage, however illusory. I took an opportu
nity last week of opposing the measure of Legisla
tive Union with Ireland, in the first stage of the

1799.J 47
discussion ; which, as matter of course, was to lead
to that question. I did so then, as well from a
conviction that measures of such magnitude and of
such novelty should always be opposed in the infancy
of their progress, as in the contemplation of what
I naturally anticipated would be the effect of the
eloquence of the right honorable gentleman. I
then said, what I am at this moment prepared to
repeat, after much considering the subject, that
under the present circumstances of Ireland, in this
crisis of her convulsed and necessarily disordered
system of policy and general government, it is not
only impolitic, but unsafe to urge, nay, even to
agitate, the discussion of topics, in the issues of
which are to be seen developing themselves, the
poison and the horrors which are to lay the most
hardy and stout of heart prostrate at the feet of a
British minister — that are to intimidate and appal
the most heroic spirits. Ireland,, in her present
temper, must be beaten into this measure, and that
minister who shall make the bold experiment of
flogging a whole nation into stupid beings, insen
sible alike to the duty she may owe to herself, in
sensible to the rights of the present generation, and
the interests of the race yet unborn, as much as to
the arrogance and cupidity of those *who shall in
flict the blow, or direct the torture — such a minister
may have secured his minions, but it may not be
altogether unbecoming him, if he be desirous ulti
mately to prevail, to measure his power by the force
of his antagonists, and in the estimation of his
means of victory, to seek an antidote against na
tional pride and local attachments. It was after
very solemnly and very fully considering these,
and matters such as these, that I opposed on the
evening to which I have alluded, the measure at
present under discussion ; but the right honorable
gentleman, and a few who sit near him, I scarce
suppose there are many persons in the country, I
hope but very few members in this house, who have

48 [JAN. 31,
not seen good reason within this day or two, entirely
to change their opinions of this great constitutional
question. Seeing the manner in which the subject
was brought forward in Ireland, and in the recol
lection of the fate of the question in parliament of
that kingdom, it might be doubted whether the
right honorable gentleman would persevere in the
measure; .but when we consider how solemnly he
has pledged himself that it should be the favorite
object of the remainder of his political life to effect
a legislative union of the two kingdoms, that no
weight of personal labour, that no loss of popu
larity, that no opposition of friends, and no clamor
of opponents on this, or on the other side of the
water, should deter him from pursuing that object,
from doing that which he held to be necessary to the
preservation of Ireland; necessary, indeed, to the
existence of the two countries ; we are not to won
der if to this hour he continues to set all experi
ence at defiance; and, in the face of the Irish
nation, to spurn the assertion of her rights, to fawn
and flatter her guileless mind, and by seeming to
respect her declared, unequivocal opinion, to lull '
her into activity, the more successfully to en
slave her for ever. But let not the right
honorable gentleman deceive himself, whilst he
is exerting his ingenuity to deceive Ireland. Let
him remember, Sir, that some plots have been
so closely wrought, some measures of surprise and
delusion so intricately planned, and attempted to
be carried into effect with such novelty of means,
that the authors, the actors, even the subordinate
characters in the drama, have been themselves en
tangled in the mazes they have contrived for inno
cence, and overwhelmed under the ruins of that fa
bric, which they have erected to overawe the inde
pendent. The right honorable gentleman has this
day not quite given us the same strong pledge of
his determination to persevere in the present mea
sure, which on a former day the house received

1799.] 49
from him. We are even now to take for granted
that he will persist in it ; but although he may per
severe, thank God the house has not given a pledge
to support him ; and I hope and trust they will not
entertain it at all. Sir, the right honorable gentleman
has set England and Ireland in a perilous situation.
He assumes in argument, and we are to infer thathe
thinks so in fact, that his power must be committed
against the force of opinion in Ireland, and that the
existence of Ireland as an independent nation is in
compatible with his existence as a minister. I hope
the house will check his rashness: I hope. we are
not to be precipitated into a war against the feel
ings, the prejudices, the passions, and against the
Security of the people of Ireland ! The right honor
able gentleman has sown already the most fright
ful dissentions in that unfortunate country. He has
divided its parliament against itself. He has held
it up to scorn by libelling its measures and tradu
cing its wisdom, and he has yet to array the British
parliament against it with all that pertinacity
which distinguishes ignorance, and with the fierce
ness of men who are to be told that a country
struggling for its liberties, only wages the war of
faction, only wields the weapons of disaffection
and treason. I now come to that part of the right
honorable gentleman's speech, in which he has
commented with such freedom of manner, has com
bated with such asperity of tone, a speech made
some time or other by a right honorable person of
the sister kingdom — Mr. Foster. And, Sir, if,
without breach of order, I could suppose that there
is in our gallery a stranger, whb has been a member
of the legislature of Ireland, or in the habits of
hearing its debates, I am persuaded he would at
once imagine the right honorable gentleman (Mr.
Pitt) has detained you and the house almost half
an hour to hear him in reply to the speech of that
gentleman. Now, Sir, I think I can shew you,
VOL. V. K

50 [JAN. 31,
that the arguments drawn by the right honorable
gentleman opposite to me, from the topics in the
speech of the honorable member of the sister
kingdom, do not in any one tittle apply to the pre
sent question. He has attempted, indeed, to shew
the inconsistency of sentiment by which he teljs us
the conduct of Mr. Foster is to be distinguished.
Mr. Foster's opinion was, that the adoption of the
commercial propositions was necessary to the ex
istence of Ireland, and that they could not be re
jected without incurring the certain risk of sowing
dissentions, and of exciting commercial jealousies.
This, according to the right honorable gentleman,
was that statesman's opinion in 1785, and the in
consistency consists, as he has this night told us, in
his having insisted in his published letters, that
the adjustment in 1782 was final. Now, Sir, the
right honorable gentleman himself entertained the
same opinion at the period alluded to, and instead
of the tame language of Mr. Foster, that the re
jection of those propositions would lead to commer
cial jealousies — we then had the dashing periods of
the Chancellor of the Exchequer of Great Britain
ringing in our ears — that if those propositions were
not adopted, he could not continue to hold his situ
ation. Yet neither had any ill consequences arisen
to Ireland from the rejection of them, nor had that,
which would have been a still greater calamity,
befallen the country — the resignation of the right
honorable gentleman. Now, how does the argu
ment stand as it really affects Mr. Foster? Why,
he imagined that the commercial prosperity of
Ireland would be advantaged, if those propositions
were adopted ; and certainly there was no incon
sistency of sentiment in this present opposition to
legislative union, because the question of the pro
positions was purely commercial, whilst that of the
present period is one which is to decide the indepen
dence of the Irish parliament. But, Sir, the prin-

1799.] 51
cipal reason why I take up this question now is,
that the right honorable gentleman has this evening
developed his plan of intimidation and corruption.
He says, that the commercial advantages derived
by Ireland from her connection with this country,
are necessary to her existence; and since, in the
same breath, he adds, that to have those advantages
continued to her, union is indispensible : the infe
rence obviously is, that she must abandon all her
commercial advantages, if she reject the proffered
alliance with Great Britain. Hence I do contend,
Sir, that the people of Ireland cannot come with
unbiassed minds to this discussion ; and it is impos
sible to suppose that a free choice is left to the par
liament of that country. If we wanted additional
corroboration of the evidence, that such is his
system, we had it amply afforded us in those parts
of his detail which followed. He tells you Ireland
ought to consent to a Union, because she is inca
pable of defending herself against her internal and
external enemies without the assistance of her
powerful neighbour — [Aery of " Hear! hear!"] —
Mr. Sheridan insisted that the inference was irre
sistible—that unless she consented to a Union, - Ire
land was to be deprived of all her commercial ad
vantages — Is this generous : is it fit to hold out such
language to Ireland ; is it wise to press the discus
sion at this moment, and force all Ireland loudly to
ask, not indeed free from anger, Why have not we
had those advantages yielded to us, on which, ac
cording to the opinion of the British minister, our
prosperity depends? We mpst owe it to the inju
rious policy of Great Britain, exercised in various
acts of restraint and privation these three hundred
years past, that we have been deprived of those
advantages which God and Nature so eminently
adapts our country to afford us. But, Sir, let His
Majesty's ministers grant to Ireland those aclvan-
lages of which they hoast — they may be conceded
E2

52 [JAN 31,
to her without union, they can be improved by her
without abjectly surrendering her independence.
Thus much with regard to her means of acquiring
distinction as a commercial nation. And as to her
power of defending herself, does not the right
honorable gentleman know that her volunteers have
defended Ireland ? And what they were equal to
in a period of considerable danger, during the
American war, when the enemy rode triumphant
on their coasts, and in our channel, surely they are
at present as capable of achieving in the zenith of
our envied superiority as a naval power. It is a
most cruel taunt uttered in the face of the whole
people of Ireland, to say, that while you have
forty thousand British troop's in the heart of their
country, you will awe them by the presence of such a
force ; reproach them with weakness, notwithstand
ing that you have had two hundred thousand of her
best inhabitants to support you in the present war,
while one hundred thousand fighting men of their
nation have fallen in your battles in the West
Indies and elsewhere. What is this but to say, it is
true you have assisted us ; but you are now naked ;
you are ignorant; you are uncivilized; you are
weak ; and if you do not accept from us the benefits
we offer you, we will proceed to confer themupop
you by force. Look to what the right honorable
gentleman says, when he tells you he will leave it
to the unbiassed judgment of the Irish people and
the independent discretion of the Irish Parliament
finally to decide on the present question. Are the
recent dismissals from office in that kingdom the
proofs he would exhibit to us of his settled purpose
to leave it to that parliament to adopt or reject the
measure ? It is truly a mockery to tell the parlia
ment this : parliament must see that what has been
done in the case of individuals may also be acted
over again in the instance of the legislature ; and
that the same power which effected the dismissal of

1799.] 68
Sir John Parnell, may be successfully employed to
dissolve the parliament. Will gentlemen only be
so kind to themselves as to reflect for a moment
on the tendency of such proceedings? If in the,
parliament pf the sister kingdom those measures
are tp'be adopted, the same and a worse tyranny
may be acted in our own. Sir, I am afraid the
political creed pf the adherents of the minister in
Ireland has been adopted by his supporters in the
British senate. I do sincerely believe, that if any
one person who now supports His Majesty's mi
nisters were to vote with me this night, he would
be dismissed to-morrow from all his places. We
are to reflect on thesp things, Sir, while we carry
along our minds to that part of the right honour
able gentleman's speech, where he peremptorily
says, " I do think the measure good for Ireland and
good for this country, but time shall be given to
the people to examine it, time shall be given for
their heats to subside, time shall be given to the
parliament of the two countries fully and delibe
rately to discuss it."
Now, Sir, what do these fine limbs of a sentence
collectively mean ? Why that time is to be given
for the operation of corruption, time to intimidate
the people of Ireland, time for the peremptory dis
missal 0^ the opposers of the measures, time for the
dissolution of parliament. But the right honorable
gentleman, in order to conciliate our assent, assures
ps, that sufficient time shall be allowed to examine
his proposals with cool and dispassionate judgment,
and that the farther discussion of it in Ireland will
not be enforced until the heats and animosities, to
which it has already given rise, shall have com
pletely subsided ; but what is this in reality but to
give more time for the renewed operation of cor
ruption, and for a more general display of intimi
dating measures in the form of new dismissals,
against which the Irish Parliament may protest in
vain? Nor was it the right honorable gentleman

54 [JAN. 31,
alone who attempted to justify these measures. I
have heard them also justified by an honorable
friend (Mr. Canning), and never did I hear any
thing with more poignant regret ; for what sensa
tion but that of sorrow and regret could arise in my
mind, when I heard that honorable friend plead
the cause of bold and barefaced corruption, and
thus cloud and contaminate with its foul fog
and baneful breath the pure and early morning
of his political life ? Would he now tell us that the
right honorable gentleman had given a determined
pledge, and could not now recede ? Why did he ?
Who called upon him to speak ? Was it to encou
rage his friends in Ireland by a display of his reso
lution ? But that was unavailing, as the discussion
and decision took place there before that encourage
ment could reach them ; but as to the charge of
urging intimidation, neither the right honorable
gentleman nor his honorable friend, who answered
me on a former occasion, had thought proper to say
a word. His honorable friend (Mr. Canning),
from his parliamentary standing, could not, indeed,
have taken any part in the violation of the compact
in 1782; and therefore his right honorable friend
stepped generously forward and claimed all the
shame, guilt, and treachery of it to himself. Like
another Nisus he threw his broad shield over his
beloved Euryclus to protect him from the vengeful
resentment of the Irish nation, calling out to them
Me, me, I, I am the man ; wreak all your vengeance
upon me 
Me, me, adsum qui feci, in me convertite ferrum,
O Rutuli; mea from omnis; nihil iste nee ausus,
Nee potuit  : —
My honorable friend's abilities might, however
prove that potuit ; and as to his courage, he was
satisfied the House had no reason to call in question.
The generous ardour of the right honorable gentle-

1799.] 55
man to protect his honorable friend, was therefore
only the impulse of affection.
Tantum infelicem nimium diletjt amicum.
But the right honorable gentleman again repeats^
that a union is the only remedy that can heal the
evils that afflict Ireland, or that can secure the sal
vation of both countries. He must, therefore, per
sist in it, and call on parliament to assist him in
the execution of the measure; he is willing, how
ever, to wait for a more favorable opportunity, and
until the Irish parliament is convinced of its neces
sity. And what is that opportunity he pretends to
wait for? Is it not the day and hour when Ireland
shall be in a greater degree of weakness? Does he
wait until he can again reproach her with her ina
bility to defend herself, and threaten her with with
drawing those commercial favors she receives from
England, and from which, he contends, are derived
all the sources from which her prosperity arises ?
Alas ! it is but too much in his power to create that
moment !
Mr. Sheridan then recalled to the recollection of
the house the shameful manner in which Lord
Fitzwilliam was recalled from Ireland ata moment
when he was supposed to have been sent over to
grant to the Roman Catholics the rights and privi
leges which they claimed. The cup of concession
was just presented to their lips, but instead of per
mitting them to taste of it, it was dashed in their
faces. Was this the proof of a sincere desire to re
concile the Roman Catholic body? And if he is ac
quainted, as surely he is, with the workings of the
human heart, must he not be well aware of what
men will do when provoked ? We all agree, con
tinued Mr. Sheridan, respecting the necessity of
a connection between the two countries, and that
nothing could be more fatal to either than that Ire
land should be possessed by the French. Should we

56 [JAN. 31,
not then seriously consider how far the enforcing of
this measure may tend to favor what the right honor
able gentleman calls the favorite object of the
enemy, and which I really believe to be their earnest
wish, namely, the invasion of Ireland. Seeing it,
as I do, in this light, have I not every reason and
motive for imploring the house not to give it any
farther countenance ? Indeed, in every view I can
take of it, it appears to me not only to be dangerous,
but as childish a scheme as that which the right
honorable gentleman has chosen to stigmatize so
frequently with that epithet.
Mr. Sheridan then proceeded to vindicate Mr.
Fox from the accusation of not having followed up
the resolution of 1782. He shewed that that honor
able gentleman remained but two months after in
office, and therefore could give it no effect ; but did
the right honorable gentleman himself, when he
came afterwards into power, attempt to bring for
ward the objections which he had this night so
triumphantly urged ? Had he not now been fifteen
years a minister without ever endeavouring to do
that which from the first he deemed to be indispen
sably necessary ?
He also affirmed, that an equal proportion of the
Irish house of commons, a large majority of the
Irish peers, and an equally large proportion of the
people out of doors, were friendly to the measures
of a union ; but if he would but look of what that
division against it in the commons was composed
he would discover that it contained almost all the
country gentlemen; while, if he examined who
composed that on the other side of the question
they would be almost all found to be under the in
fluence of the crown : if, besides this, the dismissals
that had taken place in spite of the fair character of
those who were removed, thus unjustly removed
from office, it was a shame to speak of any thing'
like an equality between those who opposed and
those who supported the proposed union. Now as

1799.] 57
to the large proportion of the people out of doors,
who are said to be favorable to it, where were they
to be found ? He knew of no place but Cork that
expressed any thing like approbation of it, and,
perhaps, Limerick also — but was there not a lure
thrown out to the former, that they should have a dock
yard built there ? And,, on the other hand, was not
the linen trade menaced with heing deprived of some
of the means that tended to encourage it ? Thus, to
gain his ends, he held out a bribe to the South, and
threw out a threat against the North — some induce
ments are also held out to the Roman Catholics ; a
diminution pf titties, and an establishment for their
clergy. But what prevents these promises from
being now realized ? If it, be right to do it, ought it not
tto be done whether a union is to take place or not,
and parliament be enabled, instead pf holding out
bribes and barter, to win by these concessions the
affections and confidence of the Irish people ? Ano
ther argument strongly urged in favour of the
uniop, is the prosperity which Scotland] is said to
have enjoyed since it has been united with England :
but might not Scotland have attained this increase
of wealth and prosperity merely by the dint of her
own industry ? Besides, Scotland cannot be wel)
compared with Ireland. In Scotland the gentle
men of property are fond to reside, and to encou
rage trade, &c. ; in Ireland it is the reverse. It is
also said, that two independent legislatures may
seldom agree ; and from this want of concurrence
and co-operation, the most serious calamities may
arise : as well say that two independent houses of
parliament may not co-operate ; because the lords,
for example, may throw out a money bill sent from
the commons, or the commons may refuse to concur
in the amendments made by the lords. The whole
of these objections are completely refuted by expe
rience ; and to insist upon such objections, would
be a libel on the constitution. French principles
and jacobinism were, as usual, introduced in the

58 [JAN. 31,
debate, and made the subject of splendid invective.
But what was jacobinism ? Was it not jacobinism
that pretended to make other states more free, in
dependent, and prosperous, than it found them?
Was it not jacobinism that called on other countries
to resign their freedom, their independence, and
their constitutions, with a promise to substitute some
thing better'in their place ? If so, was not the right
honorable gentleman, in proposing the present mea
sure, acting the part of an Arch-Jacobin ?
It is not my intention, Sir, to oppose going into
a committee, but I shall certainly object to your
leaving the chair, for the purpose of moving two re
solutions, which I shall, in case the propositions
should be carried, wish to have placed before them,
for the purpose of taking off, in some degree, that
jealousy which the Irish parliament, I am afraid,
will be apt to entertain of their passing this house,
after the measure of Union having been so decid
edly rejected in the house of commons of Ireland.
Mr. Sheridan then read the following resolutions :
" That no measures can have a tendency to im
prove and perpetuate the ties of amity and connec
tion now existing between Great Britain and Ire
land, which have not for their basis the manifest,
fair, and free consent and approbation of the par
liaments of the two countries.
" That whoever shall endeavour to obtain the
appearance of such consent and approbation in
either country, by employing the influence of go
vernment for the purposes of corruption or intimi
dation, is an enemy to His Majesty and to the con
stitution." The house divided on the question of the Speaker's leaving the
chair; ayes 140 ; noes 15. The resolutions were afterwards read in
committee.

•1799.] 59
February 7.
UNION OF GREAT BRITAIN WITH IRELAND.
Mr. Pitt moved the order of the day for the house to resolve itself
into a committee, in order to take into farther consideration His Ma
jesty's most gracious message respecting the proposed Union with
Ireland. ,
Mr. Sheridan observed, that according to the
rules and ordinary proceedings of the house, the
right honorable gentleman most undoubtedly could
claim the privilege of moving the order of the day,
before he (Mr. Sheridan) could attempt to move
the resolutions of which he had thrown out an idea,
and his intention of moving them, upon a former
occasion; if, therefore, that privilege was insisted
on, he must postpone his motion for the present.
Mr. Pitt said, that though he had waited some time in expecta
tion of the honorable gentleman's expected motion, he was nevertheless
ready to wave his privilege, and to give the precedence to the honor
able gentleman.
Mr. Sheridan then proceeded : — Having on the
two former occasions, in which the present subject
was under discussion, trespassed a good deal on the
attention of the house, I feel it incumbent upon me
to take up as little of their time as possible now. I
shall therefore only urge a few of the many reasons
which might be advanced in support of the resolu
tions I intended to move. Indeed I think it the
more incumbent on me to say less at. present than I
otherwise should, because, though at the commence
ment of the debates on this measure I had the sin
gularity of standing alone in opposition to the right
honorable gentleman's project, yet several gentle
men, knowing what the state of Ireland now is — ¦
knowing the irritation produced in the public mind
by the agitation of this question — and knowing the
marked disapprobation the mere suggestion of the
measure has received from the Irish parliament,
are now as much convinced as I am of the impro
priety of continuing to discuss it here. This consi
deration I should have hoped would have had some

60 [rosa. 7,
weight with the right honorable gentleman, and have
taught him not to persist in that pledge which he
so boldly gave in the course of the first debate on
this subject. The right honprable gentleman had
declared, that to accomplish a union of the two
kingdoms shall be the object of his life ; npt hjs
political life, as on former occasions he has pledged,
but his natural life. Happily, however, this house
was as yet pledged to nothing, and I trust they will
not join the right honorable gentleman in this. They
cannot be mistaken with regard to his object, fop
he has fairly and candidly acknowledged it. The
house will, however, do well to pause before they
advance farther. As yet they have done no. more
than to refer to a committee on His Majesty's mes
sage, recommending it to the house to consider of
the means of strengthening the connection between
the two countries. The resolutions which the right
honorable gentleman have moved are not yet or
dered to be printed. Here the house have it in
their power to stop : but the case is different if they
proceed farther. The question now before ps is,
whether we are willipg tP second the pledge which
the right honorable geptlepiap has given of devpting
his life to carry this favorite project ; a pledge, as I
have already observed, not of bis political, but of
his natural life.T-?(Here Mr. fitt smilpd) — Yes, the
right honorable gentlepian niay sniije at bis pledges !
Does he smile that they should be thought sincere ?
I know that he has before now pledged himself to
perform many things which he has pot yet found it
convenient to accomplish. When the Irish proppsj-
tipns were brought forward, the right hoporabje
gentleman declared, that unless they were agreed
to, he could not continue in office, because he could
no longer be an useful minister. These proposi
tions were, however, rejected, apd the right hopor-
able geptlepiap smiled at the pledge. He still re
mained in office, and had pf course discovered that
there was no necessity for keeping hi8 pledge, sjnce

1799.] 8l
he could be an useful minister without the Irish pro
positions. I know not hPw he means to dispose of
his present pledge. He may smile at it if he please ;
but will the people of Ireland smiles With him ? The
right honorable gentleman has before now often
duped the people With his pledges, and he may,
perhaps, think proper at last 'to abandon this : be
this as it may, however, nothing c^PPld have worse
consequences, nothing could so much 'tend to in
crease the evils which at presept exist in Ireland, as
this house sanctioning the present pledge of the right
honorable gentleman. The effect of the pledge
which the right honorable getitleman has giveh,
imist, however, be considerable On the people of
Ireland. It Will produce much irritation, and in
flame all those discontents which have already oc
casioned so much misery in that cPPntry. Were it
adopted by this house, the mischief would still be
greater. It is, indeed, very difficult to conceive
what object he proposes to himself by proceed
ing in this measure. What advantage will his
argument of the necessity of a Union receive from
the house joining in his pledge, when the Irish house
of commons has already decided against it? If
the house sanctions the project of the right honor
able gentleman, the two houses of commons of Great
Britain and Ireland will be placed in opposition to
each other, and the situation of these nations will be
more* alarming and frightful than that in which any
two countries, professing amity for each other, ever
before stood.
Does the right honorable gentleman not know,
that while he declares his determination to persist
in this measure, the Irish pebple will fancy they can
easily penetrate the means to whidh he will resort
to carry it ? On this point, indeed, they cannot be
easily deceived. The fight honorable gentleman
has declared himself openly, and the measures to
which he has already had recoPrse so plainly indi
cate his intentions, that there is little! room for doubt

62 [FEB. 7,
or mistake on this head. If he do not succeed on
the present occasion, the people of Ireland must be
convinced that he only waits for a more favorable
opportunity : they must know that he only waits
for a moment when Ireland shall be more weak to
carry his favorite project, and that intimidation and
corruption are the engines he proposes to use. The
means to which he would resort niust be known the
moment that he declares he will persevere. But it
ought to be recollected, that the Irish parliament do
not look upon their connection with us as a boon —
they claim to be independent. If, then, the right
honorable gentleman has sincerely pledged himself,
there is no other course left for Ireland to take, but
to guard against the influence and the power of the
British parliament. It has been observed, that Ire
land cannot exist without the support of this coun
try ; and a noble friend of the right honorable gen
tleman has held out a threat of withdrawing from
Ireland that protection to which she is indebted for
her safety, and without which she neither could de
fend herself against a foreign enemy, nor survive
intestine warfare. Thus the people of Ireland were
plainly told what was to be the consequence of their
refusing to surrender their independent legislature.
The house then were to put the two countries in this
situation, the most perilous and frightful in which it
is possible they could be placed ! Such, however,
must be the consequence of the house joining in the
pledge of the right honorable gentleman.
It is curious to observe the arguments which the
right honorable gentleman and his friends have on
this occasion used in support of the measure they
wish to carFy into effect. One would be tempted
to think, that the right honorable gentleman had
formed a coalition with the party he has long been
accustomed to reprobate ; a party which lately at
tempted to accomplish, by the force of arms, what
is now endeavored to be brought about by intrigue 
I mean the United Irishmen, with whom the right

i/yy.j vjo
honorable gentleman seems to be perfectly agreed in
five or six of their leading principles. The United
Irishmen wished to destroy the present constitution
of Ireland ; this is also the object of the right ho
norable gentleman. The United Irishmen declared
the parliament of Ireland to be the cause of all the
evils and of all the miseries with which that country
had been afflicted. The right honorable gentleman
has brought forward the same accusation against
them. The United Irishmen charged the legisla
ture of their country with being the dupe of the
English party : the right honorable gentleman, fol
lowing their example on this point, also ascribes
every misrule, every error of government, all the
distractions, and all the misfortunes of Ireland, to
the influence of a British faction over the parlia
ment of Ireland. It is not, indeed, to the faction
which he heads there, he ascribes this influence;
but he has asserted, that it was exerted by one, at
the head of which the Duke of Portland stood, and
of which his honorable friend (Mr. Windham) near
him was a member. He has told us, that that fac
tion made a tool of the Irish parliament to answer
its own purposes; and the United Irishmen have
repeatedly made the same assertion : thus they are
agreed as to the evil. They are agreed as to the
remedy, for they both prescribe a revolution — .
Delanda est Carthago is the maxim of both. The
Irish parliament, they agree, must be destroved,
and this is made the grand cure. The United
Irishmen and the right honorable gentleman have
proposed to apply their remedy, however, in some
what a different manner. He would incorporate a
few of the representatives of the people of Ireland
in the British parliament. With respect to the
means by which these measures were to be carried
into effect, they are also very much alike. The
United Irishmen said, they knew better what was
good for Ireland than all the rest of the people of
Ireland did : the right honorable gentleman has

64 [FEB. 7,
said the same thing of himself: like him too, the
United Irishmen did not scruple to make use of
corruption to gain their object ; they resorted to
force and intimidation ; the right honorable gentle
man has done the same. The only difference be
tween the two was, that the United Irishmen con
ceiving their parliament to be the mere tools of
England, were for deposing it, and setting up a
republican form of government with foreign assist
ance; while the right honorable gentleman was for
merging down the Irish representation irito that of
England. His plan, as well as their's, proposes the
extinguishing the parliament of Ireland, and the
means he uses to insure himself success, are the
same as those to which they resorted. The question,
then, which we have now to consider is, whether a
British parliament will second the right honorable
gentleman in his project, and sanction this similarity
between him and the leaders of that rebellion, which
the house lately so much deplored.
It was once observed by an honorable friend of
mine, in speaking of an honorable gentleman in
this house, that he had a temper so pugnacious and
so obstinate, that if he saw two persons fighting in
the streets he would never think of separating them,
but would rather insist that they should go on and
fight it out. This was said by an amateur of the art
of pugilism, at a time when that honorable science
was held in greater repute than it is now. But with
whatever truth it may have been said, I should hope
that no Secretary at War would wish to see a legis
lative battle of the kind, with which we are now
threatened, but that he would rather wish to sepa
rate the combatants when he should know that they
were the Irish parliament and the British Chancellor
of the Exchequer. Let the battle, however, be
fought when it may, it will not be uninteresting.
Each party is well seconded. The Chancellor of
the Exchequer has two allies — corruption and inti
midation. The people of Ireland has two allies

1799.] 65
also — honor and resolution — honor to resist the cor
ruption, and resolution to laugh at the intimidation
of the right honorable gentleman.
We have been told, that the existence of Ireland
depends upon this project being carried. This I
certainly do deny. The proposition has not, and
never can be made out ; but it isa melancholy con
sideration that the right hon. gentleman should still
obstinately persist in his scheme, after the solemn
manner in which it has been rejected by the parlia
ment of Ireland; and after he knows in what detes
tation it has been held by the great majority of the
people of that country. If the right hon. gentleman
continue still in the same temper, and if this house
adopt his plan, the people of Ireland may naturally
be expected to resort, and they ought to resort to
every method of precaution, calculated to defeat
the right honorable gentleman's scheme, and to
oppose the influence which he would exercise over
them by the weight and example of the British
parliament. Much has been said upon the corruption and mis-
government of the Irish parliament ; and it is not a
little extraordinary that these imputations, so con
genial to the sentiments of United, Irishmen, should
come from those mouths which not long since poured
forth eulogiums on that very parliament, which they
how so grossly libel. I am far from pretending
that the Irish parliament is free from all blame. I
do not mean to say that it has never neglected its
duty, nor over-stretched its power. I ascribe to it
no infallibility j but when the right honorable gen
tleman has so lately pronounced that parliament he
now censures the saviour of Ireland — when he has,
through the medium of the Viceroy, congratulated
them on the suppression of an insurrection, and on
the defeat of an invading enemy, I may be allowed
to state it as an argument against the right honor
able gentleman, that, after giving the parliament of
Ireland credit for doing so much good to the country,
VOL. V. E

66 [FEB. 7,
he has no right, and indeed he cannot with consis
tency, charge them with corruption and misrule,
and pretend that this new charge of his shews the
necessity of the measure he wishes the house to
agree to. I must say, however, that were I asked
whether the parliament of Ireland may not some
times have fallen into errors ; whether many of the
evils which exist in the present situation of Ireland,
and much of the distress of the people, might not
have been remedied by them ? these are proposi
tions which I perhaps should not be inclined to
deny ; but I shall always contend, that a union is
not the cure for the evils that are complained of,
and that a British legislature can never correct the
political defects, or remove the distresses of Ire
land, so well and so effectually as its own legislature.
To maintain his position, the right honorable gen-.
tleman is condemned to shew that the state of Ire
land would have this day been better than it now is,
if a union had taken place at a former period : he
must prove to us, that the adoption of his measure
would have prevented insurrection, silenced all dis
contents, united all the discordant interests, and
conciliated all the exasperated feelings and irritable
passions of the country ; unless he do this, his case
is not made out, and upon this ground, I am willing
to rest the merits of the discussion.
Doubtless there is much to be done in the way of
reform and improvement in Ireland ; but to do this
it surely is not necessary to pull down the credit
and authority of parliament. I should not have
expected this conduct from the right honorable
gentleman, whom I have so often heard declaim
against all hasty alterations in forms of govern
ment, and that spirit of innovation which is proved
to overthrow instead of propping and repairing
ancient institutions : I should not have expected
that he would be the first to lay violent hands upon
the Irish parliament. Bad as he has represented
that parliament, and however blameable it may

1799.] 67
have been, it has certainly recovered much of its
credit and character by the noble stand it has made
in the defence of the liberties and independence of
the country.
The argument that the right honorable gentle
man and his friend used when they asserted that a
union was indispensable to the continuation of the
connection between the two countries, I cannot
admit. I deny what has been so positively as
serted, that we have no alternative but division and
separation, or union. The real alternative is, that
the Irish government should no longer continue to
be a corrupt English job. Is it meant to be asserted
that there is some innate depravity in the Irish cha
racter which renders them Unfit to have a parlia
ment of their own? No, the cause of the corrup
tion which has been complained of is obvious — The
government of Ireland has been made a job for
the advantage of English ministers ; this is the cor
ruption — this is the will that has pervaded it from
first to last; but before Ireland be required to sur
render her independence, let at least a trial be made
of what can be done by an honest Irish parliament;
— by a parliament uninfluenced by a British minis
ter, by a parliament having the iriterest and the hap
piness of Ireland for its object; and looking to
Irish prosperity, and Irish gratitude for its reward.
Let it not be a parliament looking to St. James's
only, but one that shall have the advantage of the coun
try constantly in view. Let this experiment at least
be tried before the annihilation of the Irish parlia
ment be proposed. I am certain that nothing can
be done in this way which would not tend to
strengthen the bonds that unite the two countries :
and I deny that we are driven to the alternatives
stated by the right honorable gentleman. In the
Sosition in which the two countries are now impfu-
ently-' placed, if there were a disposition to separa
tion, that disposition must be greatly increased. The
right honorable gentleman holds out that Ireland it
f2

68 [FEB. 7,
helpless and dependent : he threatens the country
with a measure it detests, and drives the people to
take every precaution against the corruption and the
intimidation with which he menaces them. The
right honorable gentleman has displayed much elo
quence in desc.ibing the political defects of the go
vernment of Ireland, but he will not succeed in per
suading the people that all the advantages he pro
mises them from a union cannot be as fully enjoyed
under a parliament in their own country. It seems
to be a favorite maxim with the right honorable
gentleman and his friends, that it is not possible there
can be a good government in Ireland. The absur
dity of this assertion is too obvious to require any re
futation. On a former occasion, I observed that
the character and habits of the people of Ireland were
such as would render the removal of their legisla
ture fatal to their industry and ruinous to the nation.
Indeed, it is my confirmed opinion, that if ever
there was a country in which a tangible, visible, and
resident government was necessary, that country is
Ireland. The right honorable gentleman has told
us, that Ireland will obtain great commercial ad
vantages in consequence of a union — Why not give
Ireland these advantages without a union? He has
told us that the situation of the catholics and the
dissenters will be improved ; but he has not said
why these ameliorations must not take place with
out a union. If, indeed, Ireland is to be regarded
as a conquered country, then there is an end to all
arguments of this kind. If gentlemen proceed
upon this principle, they should come boldly forward
and state it.
I have already said so much on this subject, that
it is not necessary for me now to detain the house by
any farther argument against the project of the right
honorable gentleman ; but I cannot help noticing a
very singular answer which was given to one of the**
most important objections against a union. It is
generally admitted that the distress and poverty of

1799.] «9
the lower orders in Ireland is in a great measure
Owing to the number of absentees. This evil, it
was observed, would be increased by a union. A
noble lord has, however, asserted that a union would
not increase the number of absentees, but that, on
the contrary, it would make them reside more on
their estates than they now do. He contends that
the importance of a seat in the imperial legislature
will make the Irish landlords anxious to cultivate
the affections of their tenants. This, instead of
conciliating, seems rather calculated to insult the
feelings of the people. They were to be told when
the absentee came to canvas, that he was not now
soliciting a seat in the puny and miserable house of
commons of their own country, but in the imperial
legislature : this is, however, a very singular argu
ment, since the object of it is to prove, that men be
come kinder landlords in proportion as their legis
lative duty places them at a greater distance from
their tenants; that they will be better neighbours,
in consequence of only visiting their estates once in
twelve months, and that they will all at once be
come humane, generous and benevolent, from the
worst of motives. It is surely no great compliment
to the gentlemen of Ireland, to state that they are
only likely to do good from motives such as these.
The noble lord must certainly have a very high idea
of the impression that will be made upon the Irish
members when they enter this Imperial house. He,
perhaps, pictures to himself, the hundred Irish
knights struck dumb with astonishment and awe :
he, doubtless, imagines that they will ali possess the
kind of diffidence which used to distinguish the for
mer speakers of this house, who were always forced
into the chair, until you, Sir, set another example.
The noble lord possibly expects that it will be ne
cessary to order the Serjeant at Arms to force the
Irish members into the imperial house, and that they
will be confounded, that they will actually crawl in
upon all fours ; and all this the noble lord tells us

70 [FEB. 7,
will make them kinder landlords and better neigh
bours. This sort of argument is not very well cal
culated to conciliate the good will of the Irish; it
would rather irritate and provoke them ; but it is
needless to dwell longer on this, the Irish are not so
dull and stupid a race as not to see its tendency,
although it were not pointed out to them. 1 shall
therefore take up the time of the house no longer,
hut proceed to make the motion of which I have
given notice. I believe there are few that will not
agree to the first part of the resolution. It contains
a truism, which, if the right honorable gentleman
had not already declared he would oppose, I should
not have expected to have been objected to by any
one, whether their sentiments be for or against the
measure. The right honorable gentleman has ob
served, that the resolution was unnecessary ; I
trust the house will be of a different opinion. The
right honorable gentleman cannot but know, that it
has always been the practice of parliament, when
they expected any infraction of the constitution, to
mark by a solemn resolution their disapprobation of
the attempt, following up the resolution with a
pledge, tbat if the attempt should be persisted in,
punishment would be inflicted on those who should
be found guilty.
Mr. Sheridan then moved the following resolu
tion : —
" That no measures can have a tendency to im
prove and perpetuate the ties of amity and connec
tion now existing between Great Britain and Ire
land, which have not for their basis the manifest,
fair, and free consent of the two countries.
" That whoever shall endeavor to obtain the ap
pearance of such consent and approbation in either
country, by employing the influence of government,
for the purposes of corruption and intimidation, is
an enemy to His Majesty and the constitution."
Mr. Pitt moved the previous question, and upon which the house
divided; ayeslil; noes 25.

1799.] 71
A debate then followed on a motion for the Speaker having the
thair. Mr. Sheridan said, that after having resumed the
question at so great a length in the former part of
this evening, it was not his intention to have trou
bled them again ; but that some parts of the right
honorable gentleman's speech, in answer to his ho
norable friend (Mr. Grey), required that he should
request the attention of the house to their fallacy, as
well as the failure of the right honorable gentle
man's promises respecting them. He then shewed
that the right honorable gentleman had pledged
himself to answer Mr. Grey's speech, and had but
slightly touched on any part of it — had charged
him with uttering inconsistencies, not one of which
he had been able to point out. Mr. Sheridan then
proceeded to take some parts of the right honor
able gentleman's speech which struck him as very
extraordinary ; and he would begin by alluding to
the latter part of his speech first. The right honor
able gentleman had laid great stress on the neces
sity of the Union, from the determination of the
French to use their utmost exertions for the separa
tion of the1 two countries; but he denied that the
measure could have the desired effect, or in the
least to cause the French to desist or relax in their
designs, because he contended that the French had
never built their hopes in the smallest degree, on
the separation of the two legislatures, as had been
inferred by the right honorable gentleman ; but, on
the contrary, had all along rested their hopes on the
desires and discontents of the great body of the
people. If, therefore, these resolutions, by being
pushed forward at the present moment, contrary to
the sense of the Irish parliament, as well as to that
of the people, the French would have greater cause
than ever to resume and redouble their exertions,
and to irritate farther the minds of the Irish nation,
as well as the parliament, on the subject to which
tbey were so feelingly alive, must, he feared, be at-

72 [FEB. 7,
ended with the most mischievous consequences.
The right honorable gentleman, he said, had built
his argument very much on the discontents in Ire
land being founded on the excluded situation of the
Catholics, and had held it out by the way of lure,
that if Ireland came under the regulation of an in
corporated and imperial parliament, their situation
might be altered for the better. But unfortunately
for the right honorable gentleman's argument,
another part of his speech proved how little they
had to expect on that head ; for he had shewn, that
the British parliament had, without the same excuse
of that body in England, forming three fourths of
the community ; and therefore, without the dread
of their participation of equal privileges with the
Protestants, being attended with that danger to the
supremacy of the Protestant interest, had acted far
more illiberally towards the Catholics than the par
liament of Ireland, under all the inequalities attend
ing their members had ever done. He then asked
to what cause was this to be attributed ? To the
influence, said he, of the English councils — can it
be attributed to the Irish parliament ? He denied
that it could ; for it was evident, during the vice-
royalty of Lord Fitzwilliam, that the measure had
been announced as intended to be carried into effect,
and that the Irish parliament had never shewn or
expressed any alarm at it, nor any intention of
opposing it ; and he had no doubt, had not
that noble personage been so abruptly and unac
countably recalled, the measure would have passed
the Irish parliament. The right honorable gen
tleman (Mr. Dundas) had said, that all he wished
for was time ; and on some expression of counte
nance or motion of body which had been made
by him, the right honorable gentleman had in
ferred that he meant to gain time for the purposes
of corruption or intimidation. He confessed the
right honorable gentleman was right in his conjec
ture ; he did mean so ; — be did intend to signify by

.1799.] 73
the shrug, or whatever other gesture he used, that
the time wished for by the right honorable gentle
man, was meant to be used for the same ends and
purposes as had been effected with the Duke of
Hamilton, when he was brought off from his oppo
sition, without which the Scotch Union would not
have taken place. The right honorable gentleman
had said, he wished to treat with Ireland on equal
terms ; but he (Mr. Sheridan) denied that that was
possible, in the present situation of Ireland — for,
surrounded as they were with English troops, which
were said to be necessary for their defence ; and
depending, as it had been said, on the British Par
liament for the continuance of their commercial ad
vantages, they could not be in a situation to give a
free assent. The right honorable gentleman had
said, he made no reflection on the Irish Parliament,
but he had certainly described them in a most con
fined and pitiful point of view. The right honor
able gentleman had, however, discovered one pecu
liar privilege with which Ireland had been gifted by
nature, and that was, she was surrounded by the
sea. With this extraordinary advantage, however,
he would advise the Irish parliament to give up the
narrow and contracted sphere in which they exer
cised their independence, in order to expand their
views and enlarge their consequence by transplant
ing themselves into the Imperial parliament, where
they would derive so many advantages. Yes, Sirs,
said he, where they will derive the advantage of
quitting the parliament, where their Chancellor of
the Exchequer was turned out of his place for acting
according to the dictates of his conscience, and
what he deemed the interests of his country, and be
transplanted to the Imperial parliament, where they
will behold a Chancellor of the Exchequer, whom
no human power is likely to turn out of his situation.
They might, perhaps, have the farther advantage of
being transplanted into the Imperial parliament, of
coming into an equal participation of the share in

74 [FEB. 7,
four hundred millions of debt owing by this coun
try — [Here a cry of " No, no."] Mr. Sheridan
then said, that after what he had many times heard
of the competence and omnipotence of parliament,
there was no safeguard that he knew of, after the
lengths the argument had been carried, that could
be depended upon against their breaking or annul
ling any compact they might at any time choose to
enter into on that or any other subject. The right
honorable gentleman had been very diffuse in de
scribing the benefits which Scotland had derived
from the Union ; and, indeed, on a measure which
professed to have for its object the effecting the
peace and tranquillity of a nation, the speech of the
right honorable gentleman had one very eligible
feature, as it was fraught with a considerable degree
of pleasantry and good humour. But this good hu
mour and pleasantry might be assumed, for the pur
pose of deceiving the house into an opinion that the
question was not of that serious and important
nature, which it ought, in his opinion, to be viewed
in. The right honorable gentleman had very face
tiously, in leaning over the table, favored the house
with the recitals of several predictions of a Lord
Belhaven, in one of which he says, that Mother Ca
ledonia was stabbed by Julius C«sar. Now, said
he, Lord Belhaven might have remembered that
Julius Caesar was stabbed by Brutus : and supposing
that Mother Caledonia was about to be stabbed by
her sons, he might have confined her assassination
to the stabbing of J ulius Caesar ; but that he could
predict that Mother Caledonia would be stabbed
by Julius Caesar, was truly preposterous. From
this inaccuracy, he thought he might fairly infer,
that there was not much truth in the statements
of the right honorable gentleman, relative to the
manifesto of the Pretender. The right honorable
gentleman had said, that he had been obliged to
strike out a part of it, which promised a repeal of
the Union. On his asking him across the table, if it

1799.] 75
was true ? The right honorable gentleman had an
swered, he had read it somewhere. Now, said Mr.
Sheridan, I have been frequently credibly in
formed, that the fact was exactly the reverse. How
ever, be this as it may, said he, Ireland may receive
all these benefits without a union ; and to prove
this, he had only to appeal to the rapid and incal
culable growth of the prosperity of the Irish com
merce she had gained her political independence.
The rigfyt honorable gentleman had asserted, that
the majority of the Irish parliament was trifling, as
it amounted only to five; but he contended that
when the nature of that majority, consisting of the
men it was composed of, contrasted with the mino
rity, composed of placemen, it was a prodigious and
weighty majority indeed. He then proceeded to
notice what had fallen from Mr. Dundas, relative to
the motion made by Mr. George Ponsonby, and de
nied the right honorable gentleman's inference,
that it was rejected. He contended that it was
only withdrawn, and that upon the argument of,
" Why press it at this moment, when it may be
entirely useless ? The English minister will never
think of pressing this business, after he knows the
decision of the Irish parliament; for the present,
therefore, do not urge the question." On this, said
Mr. Sheridan, the motion was withdrawn ; but
when the intention of the minister comes to be
known, I have no doubt but it will be immediately
resumed. 1 now come, said Mr. Sheridan, to a
point which I cannot avoid taking notice of on the
present occasion — I mean the competency of the
Irish parliament to discuss the matters The right
honorable gentleman opposite to me has talked of
M a sovereignty in abeyance in the people," and de
nied it on the ground that, if it was allowed, all the
acts passed by the parliament, such as the Septen
nial Act, the Act of Union, &c. &c. are nullities —
that you, Sir, sitting in that chair, are a usurper ;
that we are all usurpers who hold seats in this house.

76 [FEB. 11,
Sir, I deny this doctrine; I say there is a sove
reignty in abeyance in the people; and if there is
not, I contend that the present family on the throne
are usurpers — the practice of the revolution clearly
shows the force of the argument. When King
James the Second abdicated the crown, the parlia
ment did not proceed to do any act of itself for set
tling the crown, but expressly called a con \ention,
which the Lord Mayor of London and fifty com
moners were invited to attend. All the members
who had sat in the parliament of Charles the Se
cond were also summoned ; and every step which
could be taken in the then pressing exigency of
affairs, was actually taken to shew that the appoint
ment to the crown was in the people, and in them
only. Mr. Sheridan urged his part of the argument
with great force and ability in several points of
view, which the lateness of the hour, abridged by
the length of the former part of the debate, will not
allow us to touch upon. He concluded by moving
.his hearty negative to the Speaker's leaving the
chair. What we have already given is, indeed a
mere abridged outline.
The house divided; for the Speaker's leaving the chair 149 ;
against it 24.

February 11.
UNION OF GREAT BRITAIN WITH IRELAND.
Mr. Pitt moved the order of the day for the house going into a
committee for the farther consideration of His Majesty's message,
which being read, and the Speaker having moved that the same be
taken into consideration,
Mr. Sheridan rose. He said, it was not his
intention at present to oppose the Speaker's leaving
the chair, for the purpose of preventing the house
from resuming the consideration of His Majesty's
message. He did, indeed, understand that an ho-

1799.J / ;
norable friend of his, now in the country, had an
intention of coming down to the house for that pur
pose. The severity of the weather had, however,
probably prevented him from executing that inten
tion. Had that honorable friend been present, he
should certainly have thought it incumbent upon him
to give him all the support in his power; because,
from every account that had come lo his knowledge
of the temper and proceedings of the people and
parliament of Ireland since the subject of union
had been first agitated, he felt a sincere conviction
that the most beneficial service he could perform
for both countries would be to throw every possible
obstacle in the way of the resolutions which had been
brought forward by the right honorable gentleman.
But having already, on several occasions, argued at
considerable length against the principle of the mea
sure ; it certainly was not his intention, in the ab
sence of his honorable friend, to oppose the house
going into a committee. He only rose at present
to move an instruction to the committee, which he
conceived to be strictly, consistent with the object of
His Majesty's message, and likely to accomplish
that object in a more effectual mode than that of a
union. He was apprized that it was in his power
to suggest in the committee any other plan for con
solidating the interest of the British empire, and
healing the distractions of Ireland, than that which
had been avowed by the minister; for, though the
house had twice decided that the Speaker should
leave the chair upon the question of going into the
committee, the project of union had not yet been
sanctioned by either the committee or the house.
But it was on this very account that he chose the
present time for bringing it forward, as it might
-have the effect of preventing the farther discussion
of a project which every consideration of sound po
licy induced him to deprecate. As the right honor
able gentleman, however, was, by the forms of the
house, entitled to a pre-audience, he would not now

78 [FEB. 11,
go into any detail of argument to prove that the
instruction he intended to move was such as the
house ought to adopt, but would merely state it as
a proposition which was fairly entitled to the consi
deration of the committee. This proposition was
no less than that all the advantages which were pro
fessed to be expected from a union, would be more
certainly attained by the parliament of Great Bri
tain setting the example of abolishing all civil inca
pacities on account of religious distinctions. He
did not mean that any should be taken for that pur^
pose, which should have the least appearance of
trenching upon the independence of the Irish parlia
ment ; on the contrary, he had taken care to word
his motion so, as to avoid any such construction^
He intended that its Operation should be left entirely
to the force of example, which, aided by the stronger
necessity that existed for its application in the un
happy circumstances of the sister kingdom, would,
he had no doubt, speedily incline the independent
legislature of that country to its spontaneous adop
tion. He did not conceive that the right honorable
gentleman, upon an impartial view of all these cir
cumstances, would contend that the time was im
proper for such a measure. Whether its fitness at
the present crisis would or would not be disputed,
it possessed this recommendation at least, that it
was considered by His Majesty's ministers, in 1795,
to be a measure of prudence, safety, and indispens
able necessity. To anticipate any general objection
that might be made to it, he would beg leave to
quote the declaration of a noble Earl, as expressed
in a passage or two of a publication which he had
in his hand, and the whole contents of which that
noble Earl offered to prove in the house of lords.— -
[Here Mr. Sheridan read an extract from Earl
Fitzwilliam's letter to Lord Carlisle, stating the
agreement of the Duke of Portland and Mr. Pitt
in the opinion that the emancipation of the Catholics
was necessary for the preservation of Ireland j and

179W.J vy
that though it was thought more advisable to delay
the measure until a period of greater tranquillity,
yet that, if brought forward, he was authorized to
give it a handsome support on the part of govern
ment.] — Thus the measure which he wished to be
given in instruction to the committee was then con
sidered by the gentlemen opposite to him to be con
sonant to the principles of sound policy and justice ;
and, if pressed by the Catholics, was to receive the
handsome support of the government of Ireland.
He would be glad to know, whether the events
which had since happened in that distracted coun
try, and all of which had been predicted by Earl
Fitzwilliam, were not such as to induce the right
honorable gentleman to regret, from the bottom of
his heart, that he had not permitted the measure to
be brought forward at that time. If he should say,
after witnessing the melancholy and alarming con
sequences of the recal of that nobleman, that he
still felt ho regret at the proceeding of the British
cabinet, the house and the whole country would
certainly hear that avowal with astonishment. Con
siderations of much weightier importance than any
that could arise from mere curiosity, required that
the right honorable gentleman should explain the
motives of that sudden change in his sentiments. If
he eould judge by his present gestures, indeed, he
seemed to indicate that there had been no change.
The natural inference then was, that when he ap
peared to countenance the scheme of emancipation,
he never entertained any idea of carrying it into
execution, and that he sent over Lord Fitzwilliam
merely to dupe the Irish Catholics for a time, to
suit his own purpose. To this conclusion, however,
it was not very probable that the right honorable
gentleman would accede, for it would incur a much
stronger imputation on his character than an ac
knowledgment that he had changed his mind Upon
the question of emancipation, in consequence of un
fitness of time, or change of circumstances. But

80 [FEB. 11,
either he must submit to that imputation, or it
would be incumbent on him to show very strong
reasons for suddenly abandoning a measure, which,
on the same noble authority, he was stated to have
admitted to be of more service to the British empire
than any thing that could happen short of union.
This, by the way, was the first occasion upon which
union was hinted at, as preferable to Catholic eman
cipation; and shewed how long the present project
had been floating in his mind, though he had not
till now found what he conceived to be a fit oppor
tunity for urging it. Had the right honorable gen
tleman attempted to prove that all the efforts of the
Irish parliament would be ineffectual to the extinc
tion of religious feuds and political discontents ; had
he shown that the parliament itself was hostile to its
proposal, or that the opposition to it among the
Protestant classes of Ireland was so general, as, if it.
were persisted in, to produce those very evils which
it was intended to prevent ; then would it be
thought no ways surprising that he had changed his
opinion, nor would he have any reason to disavow the
change. But it was not probable that he would use
any such arguments as these, in opposition to the
strong, evidence of facts. The primary object of
Lord Fitzwilliam's administration was, from the
first moment of his landing in Ireland, avowed- to
be the complete emancipation of the Catholics. It
was known by every member of the Irish Parlia
ment, and to every man in the country ; it was
equally well known that it constituted the avowed
ground of Lord Fitzwilliam's recal; and yet so far
was it from exciting their displeasure, that there
never was a Lord Lieutenant who left Ireland ac
companied with testimonies of more general regret
for his departure than Lord Fitzwilliam. The
right honorable gentleman had broadly stated, that
it was frivolous to assert that the settlement of 1782
was final, or to suppose that it was then intended
that the connection between the two countries should

1799.] 81 -
be entirely left Upon that footing, that the evils
which had since arisen could be no otherwise radi
cally cured than by a union, and that this remedy, if
not adopted now, might be put off ad Greecas
kalendas. Was it to be inferred from this, that
abandoning all idea of the' necessity of the free con
sent of the Irish nation, and considering their repre
sentatives as worthy of being put in strait waistcoats,
he would proceed at once to cram it down their
throats? He had said, that he wished to wait for a
moment of calm, when the irritation occasioned by
the first view of the measure should subside, and its
many advantages could be impartially considered :
yet his conduct was in direct Contradiction to this
principle, for he loudly talked of the necessity of
an immediate remedy. There was an opposition
between his professions and proceedings which was
apparently inexplicable. If the right honorable
gentleman would avow that he designed to carry it
by coercion, his anxiety to have his resolutions
carried would then excite no surprise. But if it
was his real intention to wait for the result of calm
and temperate discussion in the Irish parliament,
what security could he give that the adoption of it
would not equally be put off ad Grtscas kalendas ?
The remedy of an union was then contingent and
precarious, if, indeed, there remained any hope of
its being adopted. But that which his motion con
tained was of present use, and whether applied by
the British parliament or the Irish parliament, in
the first instance, would be productive of the most
beneficial effects. The right honorable gentleman
expressed a hope, that the Irish house of commons
would resume the consideration of the measure, in
a calm and dispassionate temper. He likewise en
tertained the same expectation. It was not very
likely, indeed, that they would take it up again
with much favor, when they reflected upon the
strange terms that had been used in that house as
applicable to their proceedings, such as intoxication,
VOI.. V. G

82 [FEB. 11
wolves, &c. &c. But he hoped they would re-con
sider those prejudices which led them to reject the
claims of the Catholics, and generously admit them
to a share of the little they had it in their power to
give. He hoped they would reflect, that Catholic
exclusion was the cause of their own weakness, and
had been made a reason of wresting from their in
dependence Such were his expectations from the
fair and manly manner in which Mr. Barrington
and several other members had confessed ther former
errors. — The right honorable gentleman might
well seem surprised at this public confession of error ;
for certainly it could not be laid to his charge, that
he had ever made any recantation in words, how
ever frequently he had done so in deeds. He hoped
the Irish parliament would reflect upon how little
they could impart to the Catholic, which was no
more than the power of sitting with themselves,
and being admitted to a share of a few offices ; and
to this would join the reflection that Britain and
Ireland were now almost the only countries in Eu
rope where civil exclusion was still maintained on
account of religious distinctions. They would re
flect, that if the Irish Catholic acquired the pos
session of property, it must be through the medium,
of that industry which would civilize his habits, and
fit him for becoming a peaceful and valuable mem
ber of the community. When they dispassionately
viewed the effects that had arisen in many parts of
the continent from the abolition of religious feuds ;
when they reflected, that in some of them the two
great sects of Protestants and Catholics harmonised
so far as to have a regular interchange of worship,
and that in all questions of civil policy their inte
rests were invariably united, he hoped they would
cast off those absurd prejudices which induced them
to consider their Catholic brethren as the advocates
of foreign supremacy in their civil as well as reli
gious concerns. They would particularly see the
absurdity of entertaining any fears from what a

1799.] 83
pope could do at this time of day. Wretched and
abandoned as was the present situation of that old
man, he was convinced, that if any person were to
inform him that in any land in the Atlantic Ocean
the dread of his authority had been made the pre
text for excluding more than three millions of men
from the most valuable privileges of civil existence,
he would feel some consolation that the misery to
which himself was now reduced deprived their op
pressors of that argument. He had no doubt that
they would re-consider the question, but he had as
little doubt that the effect would not be favorable to
a union. He had no doubt that they would see
they were now brought to the alternative of sacri
ficing either their independence, or their prejudices,
that they must make either a union of affection and
interest with the Catholics, or enter into a false and
hollow union with England. He hoped the time
was now come when, forgetful of their party dif
ferences, the seeds of animosity would be for ever
extirpated from the bosoms of both parties, and
when the protestant would stretch forth the hand of
reconciliation,' dry up the tears, and pour balm into
the wounds of his bleeding Catholic brother. He
felt a firm conviction that a union like this, while it
rung the departing knell of religious discord and
religious broil, would at the same time, if cherished
and matured by a wise co-operation, tend more > to
strengthen the connection between Great Britain
and Ireland than any mother that could be suggested.
He would not trouble the house with any farther
arguments, but would conclude with moving,
" That it be an instruction to the committee to
consider how far it would be consistent with justice
and policy, and conducive to the general interests,
and especially to the consolidation of the strength
of the British empire, were civil incapacities, on
account of religious distinction, to be done away
throughout His Majesty's dominions."
e3

84 [FEB. 11,
Mr. Pitt replied. — T/te Speaker observed, that if the house were
of opinion, that the tenor of His Majesty's message did not war
rant the introduction of the motion, to discuss it at present was
certainly irregular. If on the other hand it did come within the
power of the committee, it was not regular as at present worded.
It was necessary that some such words as, " that it be an inslruc*
tion to the committee in the first instance," fyc.
Mr. Sheridan said, he had not the least objection
to withdraw his motion for the present, but he would
assent to the proposed amendment, for the purpose
of having it in his power to make some comments
on what had fallen from the right honorable gen
tleman opposite. He thought it very strange lan
guage to tell a member of that house, that he was
not serious in the arguments which he pressed upon
its attention. But probably the right honorable
gentleman only ascribed to him what he felt to be
too much the habit of his own mind, and what he
thought to be more general than he would find upon
candid examination. Nothing could be more silly
than to say that he attacked the independence of
the Irish parliament. This was a very strange
comment upon his motion, by a man who had him
self brought forward resolutions tending to procure
a total surrender of that independence. He had
argued that it was unsafe to grant Catholic emanci
pation without union. He would then ask, why
he had authorized Lord Fitzwilliam to promise it 
why he had raised that expectation in the minds of
the Catholics, of the fallacy of which he had since
endeavored to convince them by a system of cruel
massacre and torture of every denomination ?-—
(Here a cry of " hear ! hear ! ")— He would repeat
it, that he considered the right honorable gentle
man, and those who had supported him with a mer
cenary confidence, as the authors of all the calami
ties which had befallen that unhappy country —
(" Hear! hear!")--The house in adopting his mo
tion would only repeat the sentiments of His Ma
jesty's ministers in 1795, and give greater effect to the
pledge which they had then given. He concluded

1799.] 85
with saying, that it was not his intention at present
to take the sense of the house upon the subject,
though he should think it incumbent upom him to
bring it forward in some other way.
Mr. Sheridan's motion was put and negatived without a division.
Mr. Pitt next moved, that the Speaker leave the chair, — A de
bate ensued.
Mr. Sheridan said, he was suprised to see so much
pains employed to prove that there existed a pledge
to do something farther in consequence of the ad
justment of 1782, as he could not discover that mi
nisters could derive any aid to their argument by
fixing such a ^pledge on the parliament of either
country. It appeared to him rather to be a disad
vantage to the argument they maintained, as parlia
ment would not be so free to act as if there had been
no pledge. This house had recognised Ireland to
be independent by an act as solemn as the bill of
rights; the Irish address entered upon the Journals
of the house, declared, that their separate legislature
was essential to their liberties ; and was it con
sistent then to enter on the journals a set of resolu
tions directly contrary to the privileges which the
Irish parliament, in its former resolution, declares
its determination to maintain. It appeared, that
ministers themselves had not thought any thing of
the kind now represented as necessary to be done.
When an unforeseen case did occur in a cause in the
Court of King's Bench, for which provision was
made, and the bill brought in for the purpose, shewed
the understanding on the subject, for it was a bill to
settle such points as have arisen or may arise to
points of legislation and judicature, why did not
the right hpnorable gentleman say then that he
thought so much necessary to complete what was
done in 1782 ? In 1785, when the commercial
propositions were brought forward, nothing was re
presented as necessary but commercial regulations.
When told that the fourth proposition did affect the
independence of Ireland, he denied that such was

86 [FEB. 11,
its nature, and even added, that it could be liable to-
such a construction, he rather would abandon the
plan and its advantages than raise a doubt upon
that subject. Now, however, he had discovered a
necessity for something more, which for sixteen
years he had overlooked, though repeated occasions
had occurred to draw forth his opinions. He found
now, indeed, that Ireland was in his power, and
the time favorable for his scheme. Notwithstand
ing the fine words of the right honorable gentle
man, the time chosen for the attempt, justified the
comparison which had been made to the proceed
ings of France. The right honorable gentleman,
indeed, had found out, that those who opposed him
laboured under a charge which had never before
been deemed serious. Those who differed from him
were disreputable for the mere circumstance of
being out of office. It seems they ought to throw a
veil over every part of life but that which had been
spent in office. The right honorable gentleman,
and his friends about him, would no doubt approach
their latter end with complacency in the recollect
tion of a well -spent life, in which there were so few
blots and stains of opposition ; but they ought to be
content to enjoy this happiness without reproaching
others with their misfortune in being excluded from
the satisfaction of an official career. The right ho
norable gentleman was offended with the compari
son to the conduct of France with regard to Swit
zerland ; but in the odium of that comparison, he
begged leave to share with his honorable friend, for
in principle the conduct of the right honorable gen
tleman was the same as the most Jacobinical pro
ceedings of the Directory. He was not awed
by the foundling eloquence of the right honor
able gentleman, as he had so often found, that in
proportion as his argument was weak, he endea
vored to cover its defects by lofty words. What
was the case ? Were a French declaimer, with an
hundredth part of the right honorable gentleman's

1799.] 87
powers, to review the history of Ireland, might he
not plausibly represent, that after two hundred years
oppression the independence of Ireland is at last
recognised in 1782 ; that under the advice of British
ministers its affairs has been so conducted, that in
sixteen years it was left in such a condition as to be
unable, as was represented, to protect itself either
against foreign force or domestic disaffection ; the
minister then sends 40,000 troops to her aid, which
she receives with gratitude, till at last Ireland is
told that she must incorporate with Great Britain !
Would not this be represented as a fraud to abuse
the weakness of Ireland for the destruction of her
independence? It was said, indeed, that no force
was to be used ; that her free consent would be re
quired. This country, however, was to claim the
privilege of judging when Ireland was free to judge
for herself; she was to be considered as mad and
intoxicated till she acceded to the proposition which
we resolve it necessary for her interests. In prin
ciple, this was the same as the conduct of France,
so much reprobated. It was nothing to say that it
was for the good of Ireland, if that good was thrust
upon her by compulsion — intimidation of every kind
was used to effect the object. Every placeman who
dared to vote according to his own judgment was
deprived of his place, and degraded still farther,
as the right honorable gentleman represented, by
being turned out of office. When such motives
were addressed to men's minds to induce them to
submit to the views of the minister, it was a mockery
to say that no corruption and intimidation were
used. An honorable gentleman took offence at the
supposition of a mercenary support ; but without
ascribing motives to the conduct of members of
parliament, it so happened, that many of those who
joined, the minister for the support of the war, had
got their job, their place, or pension. He did not
say that these were the motives, they might be the
consequences of a conduct ; but it might have been

88 ' FffEB. 1?*
better if many had not given such suspicion of their
sincerity when they spoke so much of the magnitude
of the crisis, and the disinterestedness of their sup-
Eort of the minister. The case' of Mr. Burke losing
is election for Bristol, in consequence of voting
for allowing certain commercial advantages tP Ire
land, was represented by an honorable gentleman
(Mr. Ryder) as a proof of the liberality of the par
liament of this country, because the advantages in
question were granted by a British parliament ; but
when the circnmstances of the times and the con
duct of the volunteers of Ireland were considered,
perhaps there would not be so much reason tp ex
tol the generosity of this country on that occasion.
In reply to what was said of the piischievous conse
quences of retracting the pledge given to the Ca
tholics in Ireland, allusion had been made to the,
confessions of the conspirators in that country* and
of a person in particular, described as his (Mr-
Sheridan's) friend, and a reference to the testimo
nies at Maidstone. This was a subject, the discus
sion of which he was desirous rather to take up than
avoid. He had seen many attempts made out pf
doors at least to implicate those who gave evidence
at Maidstone in the guilt of Mr. O'Connor. Had
those, who are supposed to influence the minister
rial press in this country, been distinguished by the
least candor, they would have drawn a quite <iifT
ferent inference from that occurrence from that
which they had laboured to enforce. It was evi
dent from the very paper, a connection with which
was the guilt imputed to Mr. O'Connor at Maid
stone, that the persons who gave evidence to his
character, were those least likely to favor the de
signs of France, and who had the least to expect
had their projects succeeded. It proved, that there
was one spirit and one feeling in the country to
resist the attempts of the enemy. Spch was the
comment which that event naturally suggested;
but a quite different construction had been studipusly

1799.] 89
given to it. He should confine himself to the evi
dence he himself had given on O'Connor's trial.
He did not retract that evidence, and he called
upon a learned gentleman who had been present at
the trial, to point out any inconsistency in his con
duct. He knew that Mr. O'Connor always spoke
in st-rpng terms of any interference of foreign force
in the affairs of England, and his mind seemed so
much impressed with the superior grievances of Ire
land, that he would not admit that on the compari
son England had any cause whatever to complain.
He might have differed from Mr. O'Connor re
specting the remedy that was to be applied to the
situation of Ireland; but upon that point he was
not called upon to say any thing. The learned
gentlemen, the Attorney and Solicitor General, both
as lawyers and as gentlemen, had forborne to put to
him any question respecting that point, because it
had nothing to do with the particular charge at
Maidstone, and because they were not disposed
to perplex him by any irrelevant question. Mr.
O'Connor never had made him his confidant. He
knew too well his opinion respecting foreign inter
ference to give any reason to suppose that it was a
thing which he (Mr. O'Connor) could encourage.
With respect to the provocation of Ireland to
pursue any particular mode of resistance, he should
say nothing; it was enough to say, that he never
could permit Ireland to be seized on as a post from
which this country copld be attacked. He might
pity the hardships of Ireland, but as an English
man he could never suffer the enemy to obtain such
a favourable point from which to direct their attack
against our existence as a nation. Such was his
answer to the insinuations thrown out, and which,
from the manner and tone, he had reason to sup
pose, were in a particular manner levelled against
himself. To return to the subject then — to the fatal
policy which, dictated the recal of Earl Fitzwilliam,
was to be attributed the calamities by which Ireland

90 [FEB. 12,
had been distracted. It was a matter of no light
importance. Those who advised .that fatal step
were responsible for its consequences. The retrac
tion of that concession which Earl Fitzwilliam was
authorised to support, had prepared the Catholics
for the share they had taken in the late disturbances.
Ministers had been challenged by the noble Earl to
deny that the point was arranged, and that he went
over with conciliation to the Catholics as a leading
object of his policy. But, it was said, that the
emancipation of the Catholics was not the object of
the conspiration; but could it be denied that the
discontents of the Catholics was the instrument by
which the conspirators promoted their own pur
poses ? The conspirators had shewn, that they
feared concession as likely to frustrate their hopes,
and rejoiced in the irritation which the disappoint
ment had produced. They were apprehensive of
the return of Earl Fitzwilliam, as calculated to give
that satisfaction to the Catholics as would disappoint
their views. He concluded with urging the danger
of continuing the agitation of the question at the
present moment.
Tlit house divided ; for the Speaker leaving the chair 131 ;
against it 19.

February 12.

UNION BETWEEN IRELAND AND GREAT
BRITAIN.
The order of the day for the house to go into a committee upon
His Majesty's message respecting the Union with Ireland.
Mr. Sheridan. — Sir, I certainly do not rise for
the purpose of detaining the house any length of time,
but I cannot agree with the honorable baronet that
there was an understanding on the part of gentle
men on this side of the house, that they were not at
full liberty to oppose your leaving the chair. There
was, indeed, an exhortation from the right honor-

1799.] 91
able gentleman (Mr. Pitt) opposite, not to give that
opposition, but I should not have spspected the ho
norable baronet of*being very desirous to obey that
exhortation. The manner, too, in which the right
honorable gentleman put that point, conveyed a sort
of whimsical compliment. He stated, that many
gentlemen had not yet spoken who might be de-
sirious of delivering their sentiments, but he strictly
charged his friends and supports not to reply to any
thing they might urge. Why should they not reply ?
It is but an ill complimept to them to suppose they
could not say any thing deserving a reply, nor is it
much better to his own friends. I suppose, how
ever, the right honorable gentleman will adhere to
his own compact; and though he has thus muzzled
his majority, yet I shall not be surprized if some of
them should exert an independent spirit of loquacity
in the teeth of his restraint. But, Sir, I merely rise
to say a single word to two points which have been
subject to discussion in the course of the measure
before us. I do it before the house goes into the
committee, otherwise 1 shall have no opportunity,
for the moment you leave the chair I shall leave
the house, and leave the gentlemen to adjust the
details of the measure just as they please and judge
proper. The first point, Sir, is this — It has been
asserted that, during the whole course of debate
upon this subject, no one member has asserted that
union, abstractedly considered, may not be good for
Ireland, if it could at any future period be carried
with mutual harmony and good intent. Sir, I rise
most decidedly to contradict that, and to state it as
my opinion, though now the attempt would be at
tended with multiplied dangers ; yet, at no time, it
would be a desirable measure. That it must endan
ger the separation of the kingdoms, and not increase
the happiness of either, and in the end must be
attended with dangers to the constitutioanal liberties
of both. The other point, Sir, upon which I wish
to explain my sentiments is this: an honorable gen-

92 [FEB. 12,
tleman has assumed that no one has ventured di
rectly to assert in this house, that parliament was
not competent to give sanction to a Legislative
Union. Sir, 1 have hitherto most cautiously avoided
going into that topic, but at the same time 1 have
formed the most decided opinion upon it. Not
withstanding all that has been said to the contrary,
I maintain that there is a broad and visible dis
tinction in the cases of two parliaments ; the one
incorporating, and the other surrendering its inde
pendence. I have no hesitation in saying, that I
think parliament is not competent to surrender an
independent legislature ; and I now publicly avow
my opinion, or hereafter it may be urged upon as a
thing universally admitted, when the question may
be the surrender of some of our own dearest and most
valuable privileges. It may be brought as an argu
ment hereafter, when such admissions may be of
dangerous tendency. I, therefore, now, do not he
sitate to say, that the parliament of Ireland have not
and cannot have the right to surrender their inde
pendence. They cannot do it consistent with their
duty to their constituents. It is not reconcileable
to" the trust upon which they hold their places.
With respect to the precedent of Scotland, which
has been urged as conclusive, it has a most distin
guishing feature; they were summoned for the
purpose expressly of considering and debating the
specific question of Union. I, however, will not
give my assent to add a' second bad precedent, be
cause there is one already existing. But, Sir, the
question may be put in a stronger way, in which it
will come more home to the bosoms and feelings of
Englishmen. Suppose the question was, that we
should be called upon to surrender our independence,
and be united to another kingdom. What would
our feelings in that case be ? Suppose George,
Prince of Denmark, had succeeded to that king
dom, or that Philip had succeeded [to the crown of
Spain during his connection with Mary — if at either

1799.] 93
of these times it had been in question at Madrid
or Copenhagen to unite this kingdom with either
of them, what would the people of this country have
said? Unquestionably they would, without hesi
tation, have told their parliament that they had no
right to surrender them and their independence.
Sir, I shall add no more, but I thought it proper to
say thus much, that my opinions might not he mis
taken. One word more, Sir, and I have done ; I
think all civil incapacitations on account of religious
distinctions ought to be done away, and on some
future day I shall submit that proposition to the
house.

May 21.
COLD-BATH-FIELDS PRISON. — COL. DESPARD.
Sir Francis Burdett moved, " That the report on the state of the
Cold- Bath-Fields prison be re-committed." Mr. Sheridan seconded
the motion. — Mr. Wilberforce Bird, Sir William Young, Mr. Bux
ton, and Colonel Elf ord followed.
Mr. Sheridan observed, that the honorable gen
tleman who spoke second in the debate, in the early
part of his speech said, if the house would look at
the report, it would be seen immediately that the
resolutions it contained were so founded upon evi
dence, that it ought to be adopted in every one of
the resolutions ; before he sat down he gave up the
detail in that respect, and alleged what could not
be admitted, that there were others more able than
himself to execute the task. He had listened, he
said, with great attention to three honorable gentle
men, all of whom were of the committee, whose
report was now before the house ; but he was bound
to say, that what they advanced, instead of support
ing the report, and satisfying the house that it ought
to be adopted, they satisfied him that the report
ought to be rejected by the house, and that a farther
inquiry ought to be entered into.
It was a little aukward, he said, for those who
complained of him for not always attending the

94 [may 21,
house upon the discussion of public business, to con
duct themselves as they did towards him. If it was
a fault in him for being absent in general, some per
sons might think it was an amendment in him to
attend ; but nothing would satisfy these gentlemen
with regard to him ; they blamed him for absenting
himself, and took care never to bid him welcome
when he came. The honorable gentleman had said
of him (Mr. Sheridan) that he came at no important
period, or on a point of moment, to support his
friend. He considered the question extremely im
portant and highly interesting to the people of this
country ; and whenever he saw public principle
abandoned, or humanity outraged, and especially
when he saw iniquity protected by the names and
authority of members of that house, and the house
itself called upon to give its sanction to such con
duct, he should think the state of things critical ;
and, whether he neglected his duty in some other
particulars or not, he should not neglect it upon this,
but would come forward, and he was proud to say,
he would support his honorable and worthy friend,
whose motion was now before the house.
The honorable gentleman went very little into the
report, although he complained of the honorable
baronet for passing it by ; there was more excuse
for the one than there was for the other. The ho
norable baronet wanted the report to be re-com
mitted, taking it to be defective, and, therefore,
passed it by without much notice ; but the honor
able gentleman who censured him for so doing, and
who relied so much upon the report, had no such
excuse. The one desired the house to enter into
another inquiry, and, therefore, was not elaborate
upon what was before the house; the other relied
upon what was before the house, called upon them
to adopt it, and yet took but little notice of it.
Now he would assert, that if the whole evidence
was perfectly satisfactory to him, that the house
could not agree to the resolutions of the committee ;

1799. J] vo
but, first, he would say a word or two on the general
principles of evidence stated by an honorable ba
ronet who had spoken in this debate. He stated,
not only from his own authority, which was of great
weight, but from the authority of the philosophers of
ancient and modern times, of Locke and other
authors of justly-esteemed character, and also from
Lord Chief Baron Gilbert, whose work he quoted,
that in no case was a man to be examined as a wit
ness here where he had signed his name to a peti
tion — No, not so much as a turnpike committee
would allow him to be examined in the case wherein
he was a petitioner. By this rule of evidence a
man was to be told, if he had petitioned against any
cruelty, he could not possibly be examined as a
witness ; that the only regular course of examina
tion that could possibly take place was that pf ask
ing those whom he accused of the cruelty, whether
there was any truth in the allegation or not. This
was the rule of philosophy by which we were to be
guided. If Coloriel Despard had stated in his pe
tition that he had lost the use of any of his limbs,
deprived of his arm, or that his hand was taken off,
the house, by this rule of evidence, was to say — O,
no ; we will not hear Colonel Despard himself, for
he is a petitioner — we must follow the rule of the
turnpike committee — we will examine the surgeon
and other persons who were concerned in the taking
off his hand; the man himself is an incompetent
witness ; he must lie under some mistake. — What
was the result of this doctrine ? Why truly
this — if the whole of the body of those who were
confined in this Bastile, as it was called by
some, not that he knew that to be an appro
priate appellation to it, although appellations
were not always, perhaps not very often given
without reason ; if these prisoners should be thus
treated, and they should happen to have pre
sented a petition upon the state of their case, they
must not be heard to substantiate their complaint ;

96 [MAY 21,
there would be an end of any prisoner's exhibit
ing a complaint, or, if he did exhibit, he could
never support his complaint. This was a thing too
monstrous lo be maintained for a single moment:
and the honorable baronet had confounded two
things that were essentially distinct : they were,
criminal complaint, and the pursuit of a civil benefit.
In the pursuit of a civil advantage the rule was not
to hear any man in evidence in support of his own
allegations, but it never had yet been heard of as a
rule of law adopted any where, as justice or equity,
or common sense, that a man's own evidence should
not be taken whenever he preferred a criminal com
plaint against another. Upon the subject of the
new crimes that have made their appearance of
late, the worthy baronet had used a great deal of
.declamation. He had said much in favor of the
present constitution, and that it was owing to the pre
sent times that many novel remedies must be pro
vided ; the case, he said, must be so, because the evils
were new.
Now he desired gentlemen who were fond of this
doctrine, to take the whole of the ground, and not
endeavour to torture the rules of law for particular
purposes under the pretence of treason. Let them
avow the whole of the ground, and confess at once
the times were such, that the ordinary rules of law
would not do for them, and that new rules must
be adopted. Let them, however, be aware of the
effect of such a doctrine; it leads directly, and
would lead inevitably, to torture, and the train of
horrors that accompanied such cruelties. We had
been made acquainted, in some degree, with the
fruits of such a system by what had taken place in
the sister kingdom, and he thought we had seen
enough upon that subject. He had heard it said,
that the noble Duke, (Portland,) whose name ap
peared at the head of these proceedings, and who
committed persons on suspicion of High Treason,
was too humane to assent to many of the cruelties

1799.] 97
of which some of the prisoners complained : he be
lieved that of the noble duke ; but, although the
Duke of Portland was unacquainted with many of
these cruelties, he did not believe all His Majesty's
ministers to be so. He might not know that when
a man was examined, and committed for farther ex
amination, he might be kept twelve hours without
food or any thing to comfort him, and tbat also,
for twenty-four hours after commitment to this pri
son, he has no food or any thing to comfort him;
that there was an instance of one person who was
convicted and executed, being forty-eight hours with
out any food. All this might be said to be just, if
men were guilty of the high crime of treason ; but
it was felt by those who were suspected, as
well as by those who were guilty. Persons thus
fasting and famishing for forty-eight hours, might,
perhaps, have their spirits broken ; and, although
they might have been surly at first, they might at
last give some information to government which
might be supposed to be useful for the public
welfare. This was the very thing he complained
of; for if the practice was recognized, and a place
like this kept up, there never would be- wanting
ministers who would have an apology for using this
power ; the plea would always be that it was for
the general good that such things should be allowed.
He thought so much otherwise, that he believed it
would have been better for society, if no such plan
as that of Mr. Howard's had ever been heard of;
not that he thought that Mr. Howard ever intended,
on the contrary, it was evident he did no such thing
as intend, the use tbat was made of his plan, and he
would have shuddered with horror, had he known
that any such use was piade of it. This was evi
dent from his letter of resignation to the King.
With regard to the opinion which the court of
King's Bench was supposed to have given on this
prison being a proper one for persons accused of
treason ; he had all the respect for that court that
VOL. V. H

98 [may 21,
was due to it, but he must beg leave to say that the
commons was not bound to adopt the opinion of
judges any more than of jailors, upon the question
before the house ; they had it in their power to go
into a grand committee upon courts of justice alto
gether, and had powers as Well as duties to exercise
ih that particular ; and, therefore, upon such a case
the authority of a judge would go but a little way
with him.
With regard to what had been said Upon the dry*
nes of the cells and the wholesomeness of them, he
had to observe, that those who chused to have light
in rainy weather, must be wet in these cells, for
there was no such thing as having light and dryness.
The choice was — dryness and darkness, or light and
wet. He had heard honorable gentlemen say a
good deal upon the comforts of this place. Some
gentlemen weighed the bread; others had tasted
the meat; every thing, according to them, was
very comfortable in this prison. He wished some
of the members of the house had tasted a night's
lodging there.
He then proceeded to take notice of the condition
of all other prisoners in comparison with that of
those who are charged with high treason, or rather
with the suspicion of it. If a person was charged
with any crime,' even murder, he had his accuser
brought before him, and, if not convicted, he had
his day of relief; but here there was no day of re
lief, and it was enough to be committed on suspicion
only. He declined entering into the question of the
suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, but now that
it was suspended he thought it behoved the house to
be more than usually jealous of the power of minis
ters, to see that they did not abuse the great power
that was put into their hands, to check which no
thing was so seasonable or proper as inquiry.
Here Mr. Sheridan took notice of the case of the
persons of Manchester, who had been charged, and
against whom there was not, he said, the least

1799.] 99
foundation of any crime, who had, however, it ap
peared, been kept three days in the week to be fed
on bread and water. He asked, whether this was
not most intolerable in a country calling itself free?
and all these accusations made, God only knew by
whom, not upon oath, nor under any sanction, ex
cept the will of ministers.
He could not agree to the resolutions, because
even upon the face of the report there was evidence
that neither the jailor, the magistrates, nor the
committee had done their duty. He hoped, how
ever, the house would. It was admitted that
the printed regulations had been hung up, and the
journal was not regularly kept. Here then, by the
omission of the first, the only regulation which
could insure justice or redress to the prisoners, was
taken away. Such was the vigilance of the magis
trates, that this regulation, So long neglected, they
never once thought it necessary to enforce ; and if
this was not imposition in the governor and negli
gence in the magistrates, he knew not what conduct
these descriptions would apply. The keeping of
the journal was wholly neglected. The clerk ex
amined on this point said, that material occurrences
only were inserted in it ; and it nevertheless ap
peared, that during the three months in which had
taken place the visits of Sir Francis Burdett, the
conspiracy to murder the governor, the telegraphic
communications, and all the enormities complained
of, none of these were deemed material occurrences
to be inserted in this journal or log-book. Was it
possible then to assent to a resolution which declared
the attention of the magistrates to be exemplary ?
As to the declaration of the Grand Jury, it was
ridiculous to consider it as decisive. Their visits
took place always at stated times, and then no doubt
care would be taken to have the bread weight, the
meat of the best, and the cells in good order, while
all those who could complain would be kept out of
the way, and thus the grand jury might pass
h 2

100 [MAY 21,
through these charnel-houses of misery without per
ceiving the corruption and the wretchedness they
contained. Such evidence as this would not satisfy
bis mind that all was well. It was in evidence that
Aris had borrowed money from prisoners. The
gross impropriety of this was reprobated iu the
strongest terms by an honorable baronet (Sir Wil
liam Young) and the oppressions to which it might
lead strongly represented : yet why did not the
committee itself bear witness to this crying abuse ?
Why was it left for individual members tardily to
express even their particular sentiments only on the
renewal of this discussion ? A practice of so dan
gerous a nature ought to have been stigmatised by
the committee, and the omission he could not but
consider as a culpable negligence. What horror
must be entertained of that power of injustice and
oppression, when men were compelled to offer their
money to appease its fury ? Forced loans had com
monly been understood to mean what was taken
from the lender against his consent ; but here, to
shield them from oppression, the lender was com
pelled to force the borrower to receive the loan.
After this instance of tyranny, even upon the mode
of inquiry prosecuted by the committee ; after this
suspicion, nay, this damning proof of mismanage
ment and corruption, was he not warranted in say
ing that the committee, in overlooking, or failing
to follow it out, had not done their duty ? As to
the first resolution — " That the situation of the
prison was airy and dry," he had no objection to
agree to it, and would likewise agree to testify that
it stood in the parish of Clerkenwell, but he was not
prepared to say that it fully answered the purposes
of its establishment. Mr. Howard's authority had
been quoted to justify its damp narrow cells, and its
solitary confinement. But Mr. Howard meant this
confinement to be limited only to persons whose
lives were forfeited to the laws, whose punishment
was commuted. Neither did Mr. Howard recom-

1799.] 101
mend that solitary confinement to be extended far
ther than what tended to reformation, and it was in
his plan to have the cells warmed with tubes passing
through them. What would he have thought, how
ever, to see persons on suspicion of high treason,
probably without information on oath, exposed to a
treatment like this, so nearly approaching to tor
ture ? It had been remarked that formerly, when
numbers of persons had been arrested at Sheffield
and elsewhere, the good treatment they experienced
had convinced them that the constitution which
practised such lenity could not be incurably defec
tive. But what would be the sentiment diffused
through the country, when the prisoner wrote to his
starving wife and family that he himself was ex
posed to sufferings still more rigorous than theirs.
He had one observation more to make, and it was
to submit to the Attorney General a question of
greatimportance. He contended that the warrants
under which many persons were arrested were ille
gal, and that ministers would be obliged to apply
for a bill of indemnity. What he wished to ask
was, whether the suspension of the Habeas-Corpus
gave a power to ministers to arrest persons whom ,
they would not previously have been entitled to
arrest? Without information on oath, were they
entitled to send men to prison, or were they merely
authorised to postpone the trials of men whom it
would be dangerous or inconvenient to bring to
trial within the ordinary time prescribed by law ?
If a bill of indemnity should be required, it would
be a strong argument against it, should ministers
have abused the power so obtained, by exercising
upon persons detained a rigour beyond the necessity
of the case, and foreign from the genius and spirit
of the laws of England. Upon the whole, he
thought that his honorable friend had brought for
ward charges which deserved inquiry, and the de
fects on the face of the report justified its recom
mitment.

102 [MAY 21,
Towards the close of the debate Mr. Sheridan rose again.
Mr. Sheridan hoped the house would permit him
to offer a few words in explanation of the question
which he had put to the learned gentleman (the
Attorney-General), as the learned gentleman had
most undoubtedly misunderstood him ; for he
ascribed to him a very improper question, in sup
posing that he meant to ask whether persons who
should have been thus imprisoned on suspicion of
treason, and thus cruelly treated during their im
prisonment, might not afterwards be entitled to
bring an action against His Majesty's Secretary of
State ? Such a question, indeed, would have been
improper and idle in the extreme ; for how could it be
supposed that a miserable wretch, who was both
himself and his family totally ruined, and who had
not a shilling remaining in the world, could be able
to institute such an action ? He never, surely, could
have dreamt of putting such a question. What he
asked was, whether, during the suspension of the
Habeas Corpus Act, and when that suspension had
armed ministers with farther powers for committing
persons to prison than they possessed before, they
ought not to be responsible and amenable for any
superfluous and unnecessary hardships which such
powers might enable them to inflict upon persons
who might be detained in prison in consequence of
the suspension of the Habeas Corpus ? This question
he had followed up with arguments and illustra
tions to support its propriety, and remarked how
seriously it behoved ministers to look to that, if they
had been armed with any extraordinary powers for
the security of the constitution and the country, no
one exertion of it 'should lead them to any, act of
unnecessary rigor in carrying into execution the
measures for which such powers had been intrusted
to their hands.
The house divided ; for the motion 6 ; against it 47.

J-799.] 103
February 10, 1800.
helder expedition.
Mr. Sheridan rose for the purpose of moving
fpr an inquiry into the causes of the failure of the
expedition against Holland ; and delivered himself
as follows :
" Sir, upon the extraordinary meeting of par
liament on the 24th pf September last, an opportu
nity occurred of discussing the propriety of reducing
the militia force of the country, by the introduc
tion of a bill to carry that measure farther than had
been done by the act of the preceding session. The
avowed purpose of that bill was, to enable ministers
to prosecute the expedition against Holland. Un
fortunately, I then differed from some of those gen
tlemen with whom I always feel it painful to dis
agree upon political questions. I did not think that,
in the peculiar circumstances in which we then were
placed, it was proper to oppose the measure. I will
repeat the reasons which then dictated my conduct.
I then disapproved, as much as I had ever done,
that bill, as a dangerous violation of our great con
stitutional defence, the militia system. When it
was proposed, however, to renew and extend the
act, there were inducements to a reluctant acqui
escence in its renewal, which did not exist upon its-
first adoption. The law had passed, and ministers
had availed themselves of its provisions to assemble
that army which was engaged in the Dutch expedi
tion. We had received accounts of the battle of the
19th of September at Bergen. Our troops were in
a critical situation ; and, seeing no other means by
which reinforcements could be procured, I was un
willing* that any thing should be done that could lead
our gallant army to think for a moment that they
were abandoned by a British parliament.
" Oh that occasion likewise I assumed, that mi
nisters, in prosecuting the attempt which they had
begpp, acted on the most authentic information of '

104 [FEB. 10,
the favorable dispositions of the Dutch people. I
stated, that the executive government, in relying
upon their knowledge, and proceeding upon their
intelligence, incurred a great responsibility. Hav
ing done so then, I should conceive, that I shrunk
from a sort of pledge that 1 had given, did 1 not
now endeavor to make ministers answer for the con
fidence which they had obtained, and for the course
which they had pursued. I was, indeed, inclined
to entertain no very sanguine hopes of ultimate suc
cess in the enterprise, after the experience we had
of its commencement. My apprehensions were
removed in some measure, when 1 heard it stated by
a right honorable gentleman opposite to me, that we
had the most unquestionable information of the
attachment of the Dutch to the cause we supported.
I was again damped in these agreeable expectations,
when I found that the right honorabe gentleman
(Mr. Pitt) shrunk from any declaration that minis
ters proceeded on such sure ground when he said,
that we were justified in the prosecution of the plan,
by a knowledge, not of the actual state and disposi
tion of the Dutch people, but by a knowledge of
human nature — a knowledge now recorded in cha
racters of blood and woe upon the coasts of Hol
land. When I heard this alleged as sufficient
foundation for our experiment, I again despaired of
a favorable result.
" As to the inquiry which I shall have the honor
to propose, few arguments, 1 should think, will be
necessary to prove, that it ought to be adopted.
When the news arrived of the total failure of the
expedition, a failure so disastrous, so disgracful, so
humiliating to those by whom it was planned, while
no blame can attach to the conduct of the gallant
officers and men, whose efforts were thus rendered
unprofitable, the universal cry was, that an inquiry
should be instituted by the house into the causes by
which so ignominious an event was occasioned.
Whether the public feeling of indignation has cooled

3800.] 105
in the ipterval that has elapsed or not, I will not
take upon me to say. The right honorable gentle
man, however, did every thing in his power to pre
vent any motion for inquiry while the disgrace was
yet recent, and the feeling of the country warm.
With the intelligence in his possession, of what
amounted to nothing less than the overthrow of all
our hopes of ultimate success, parliament was ad
journed; every attempt to investigate was ren
dered impossible ; and the resentment and mortifi
cation of the public were left to sink away of them
selves, or to be diverted by fresh occurrences.
" I profess, Sir, that in bringing this subject
before the house, I do not consider it as a party
question. It is one that can admit of no party feel
ing. It is a question that in the highest degree inte
rests every feeling for the glory of the country, every
sentiment of humanity for the loss our troops have
sustained, for the honor which they have to support.
As members of this house, we are called upon by
the sacred duty we owe to our constituents, to in
vestigate a transaction, which, on the face of it, pre
sents so much argument for inquiry ; and which, in
its consequences, has been attended with such a
waste of blood, and expense of treasure. In treat
ing of this question, I shall not proceed upon such
private information as every gentleman in this house
may have had an opportunity to obtain. I shall found
my arguments and conclusions upon the recorded
accounts of ministers themselves in their own ga
zettes, upon the information furnished by them in
their proclamations and treaties. I shall not consi
der the advantages of having obtained possession of
the Dutch fleet. That acquisition I view, perhaps,
as less important than others do, and I shall take an
opportunity of saying a few words respecting it.
Excepting the Dutch fleet, then, what have we ob
tained to compensate for 'the loss of men, for the
profusion of money, for the discredit we have in
curred ? I should be extremely glad to know what

106 [FEB. 10,
arguments will be employed to dissuade the house
from agreeing to an inquiry. I hope we shall to
night hear it urged against examining into the cau
ses of an expedition so wasteful irt its attempt, so
ignominious in its failure, that it might reveal what
is not proper to be known, that it will interrupt the
service, or produce those inconveniences which it
has been usual to object to. such a motion of inquiry.
Arguments like these, I have heard combated by
the right honorable gentleman during the American
war, and I hope he will not rely upon them now.
Indeed, they have not in this case the plausibility
they may have had in others. By investigating the
causes of the failure of the expedition to Holland,
what is there to reveal that can be prejudicial to
us in future ? What interruption can it give to any
part of the public service ? I certainly cannot sup
pose, that it will be contended that there has been
no failure. I cannot conceive, that the corrupt and
clandestine surrender of the Dutch fleet will be
viewed as the attainment of all our wishes, and the
success of all our views. Yet I see, that in the
speech of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, on open
ing the parliament of that country, something like
this is advanced. The Marquis Cornwallis tells the
Irish parliament, that the expedition to Holland has
been attended with such mighty advantages, that
it will prevent the invasion of Ireland, and so forth,
and merely speaks of it as having not quite suc
ceeded. He speaks as if the main object of our
policy, and of our efforts, was not the deliverance
of the Dutch from the ypke of France ; not the
restoration of the House of Orange to their rights ;
not the protection of religion, the defence of social
order ; but the capture of a few Dutch ships of war
had been the object of such expensive preparation
and extraordinary efforts ; as if for such an acqui
sition we have subsidized the mercenary magnani
mity of Russia, for this called into action our mili
tary strength, and strained our financial resources.

1800.] 107
What other advantage than this then, I ask, have
we obtained from this famed secret expedition?
Secret, indeed, it was called, till the term became
absolutely ridiculous. Never, indeed, was an un
dertaking conducted with such ostentatious mys
tery-— never did the object of a secret expedition
obtain such universal notoriety. The only thing se
cret in the expedition, was the favorable disposition
of the Dutch people to our cause ; a secret so well
kept to be sure, that to this hour it has never been
discovered. " But I see by the gestures of the right honor
able gentlemen opposite, that they are of opinion
that the Dutch fleet is not the only thing we have
gained. It may be so, to be sure, in a certain way.
It was an expedition of discovery, and not altoge
ther unsuccessful in that view. We have made
three notable discoveries : — we have, in the first
place, discovered that there is no reliance to be
placed in the Chancellor of the Exchequer's know
ledge of human nature ; we have discovered, that
Holland is a country intersected by dykes, ditches,
and canals ; and we have discovered, that the wea
ther there too, is not so good in October as it is in
June! The instruction which we have thus ob
tained, is doubtless very valuable : it is a good thing
to learn to distrust the knowledge of ministers in
human nature ; the topography and climate of a
country were good things also to be acquainted
with. This information, however, may be pur-
- chased too dear : if we consider the number of lives
which have been lost; if we reflect that the tenth of
every man's income has been squandered, that so
much of our best blood has been shed in vain, and
all by the misconduct of ministers, we shall have
little reason to boast that our discoveries have been
easily made, and our acquisitions cheaply pur
chased. " t have already alluded to the capture of the
Dutch fleet.— I must speak out fairly what I think.

108 [FEB. 10,
— I do not prize this acquisition at a very high rate.
When we are told that it has prevented the invasion
of Ireland, we are to consider on what terms this cap
ture was made : we took possession of the Dutch ships
in the name of the Stadtholder; are they to be
manned with the mutinous crews who surrendered
them, and employed in the name of the Stadthol
der? if so, they are no addition to our navy. But
it is said, if not an addition to our maritime strength,
they at least are a deduction from that of the
enemy. Yet, if they were to be manned by those
sailors who gave them up to England, they could
never have been formidable to us as enemies. This
boasted acquisition, then, in every view, appears to
be of very little importance. When I reflect, how
ever, upon the mode in which this acquisition was
gained, I not only think it of little value, but consi
der it as of the most perilous example j I could wish
we had won it in some other way, or not at all.
I do not regret that it was not obtained at the ex
pense of bloodshed, yet I tremble to see a delibera
ting navy in the face of the naval force of England;
I dread to behold the example of seamen deciding
upon the cause of their country, instead of fighting
its battles. I do not like to see mutiny recom
mended to our sailors by any example or any ap
probation. I hope there is nothing in the temper
of our navy to catch the infection: I like to see the
spirit of Blake prevail, who told his sailors, that it
was their duty to fight for their country, in what
ever hands the government might be : this is
sound reason ; these are the safest maxims. It is
not wise or politic to encourage any other. When
we consider how the fleet was surrendered, I doubt
much whether the conduct of the sailors afford any
proof of the disposition of the people. We know,
by fatal experience, that artifices may be success
fully employed to delude even our own navy into
a conduct which the nation universally disapproves.
What were the means employed to produce that

1800.] 109
temper in the Dutch navy to which we owe the
capture of the fleet? Were they such as can be
avowed and justified ? If ministers encouraged and
promoted a spirit of mutiny among the Dutch sai
lors, they ill understood the interests of their own
country : they have departed from a great principle
to serve a particular purpose. To gain a partial ad
vantage, they have introduced a most dangerous
precedent. Suppose that admiral Story had re
sisted the spirit of mutiny and disobedience; sup
pose he had done what De Ruyter would have done
in his situation, endeavoured to maintain his autho
rity and perished in the attempt, would you have
permitted your seamen to welcome the Dutch sailors,
besmeared with the blood of their admiral and offi
cers ? Would you have sanctioned such a deed ?
Would you have applauded the doers ? Would you
have allowed your seamen to become their allies
and associates ? Yet were it only the want of vi
gour in the officers that prevented this catastrophe,
the example is the same; and we all know how
dangerous such a violation is to the principle of dis
cipline. It is not easy to guard against the conta
gion : when speaking of the character of our navy,
and the necessity of preserving it, I cannot help
saying a word or two of practices that have long
been permitted to disgrace its character, and cor
rupt its spirit. Every body must have heard of the
system of sending united Irishmen on board the
fleet : culprits and vagabonds of every description,
worthless wretches of every kind are thought good
enough for His Majesty's service, and people speak
of putting them on board ship as the fittest place in
the world for their reception. Is it possible to con
ceive a more gross and palpable folly, a more shame
ful and dangerous abuse ? For God's sake dispose
of such people any where but in your navy ! Place
them in your public offices; send them to the Trea
sury, the Excise, the Customs — Provide for them in
the War-office ; feed theni with cheese parings, and

110 [FEB. 10,
candle ends, but do not convert your navy into a re
ceptacle for rogues and traitors. Do not dispose of
them in a way that makes them more dangerous
than they could be any where else. What should
you think, for instance, if your ships were to be
built in the same way they are manned? What
would you think if when a rotten beam were found
in any public office, it were to be said, O ! this won t
do for His Majesty's use, send it to the dock-yard?
Yet the absurdity would be no greater than that
which is practised every day in the manner I have
stated. As you build your ships of the soundest
wood, you should take no less care to man them
with the soundest hearts.
" Entertaining these sentiments respecting the
importance of preserving the spirit of your navy,
I can as little approve the mode in which the Dutch
fleet was gained, as I can enter into the views of
those who represent the acquisition as of so much
importance. Take into consideration the whole of
the case ; weigh what you have lost and what you
have gained, and you will find that there is a fearful
balance against you. The result of the late expedi
tion has thrown discredit on your councils ; it has
heaped dishonour on your operations. You cannot
again repeat the attempt of restoring the house of
Orange ; you have left the pretensions of that family
more desperate than ever. The confidence of their
enemies is confirmed ; the hopes of their partizans
are overthrown. After this review, I confess I
cannot conceive how any man can contend, that
the result of the expedition has in any degree repaid
our sacrifices, or realized our expectations.
" As to the object of the expedition, in so far as
it aimed at the rescue of Holland from the domi
nion of France, and the restoration of the house of
Orange, I" most readily agree, that in as far as it
could have been attempted with any hopes of suc
cess, and with any regard to the actual circumstances
of this country, it was as legitimate a British object

1800.] Ill
as can be imagined. I admit that it was, in prin
ciple, as sound policy to oppose the French domi
nion in Holland in 1799, as it was to prevent its
triumph in 1787. In proportion, however, as the
object was wise and good, must be the criminality
of those to whose misconduct its failure is to be at
tributed. If, by their gross negligence, their igno
rance, and their presumption, we have failed in an
undertaking so dear to every British heart, the
value of the prize for which we contended only
augments the mortification of our disappointment.
" That the house of Orange has strong claims
Upon the gratitude, nay, upon the justice of Great
Britain, I am sure I do not deny. They have well
deserved that hospitable asylum which they enjoy
in this country. They have ever been faithfully
attached to its cause. Their expulsion from their
hereditary authority in Holland, indeed, is in a
great measure to be ascribed to their deference to
British councils, perhaps their devotion to the views
of British ministers. The restoration of that family
to their fortunes and their rank, therefore, was in
itself an honorable motive for our interference. I
cannot at the same time agree in the opinion, tbat
we had any particular claim to the attachment of
the Dutch. I see it assumed in the proclamations
addressed to them, that they must be ours in their
hearts. I doubt the fact very much, and I am at
a loss to discover upon what ministers could have
formed this supposition. I cannot but wonder how
it Was imagined that our attempt was agreeable to
the general will of the people in Holland. When
the prospect of restoring the house of Bourbon in
France was under Consideration in this house, the
right honorable gentleman assured us, that such an
attempt could not be successful without the general
Consent of the people; nay, that it OUght not to
succeed. Why then did he not apply the same
reasoning to the case of Holland ? Why do minis*-
ters iii the note, in answer to the proposals from the

112 [FEB. 10,
French government, say, that His Majesty does not
claim to prescribe a government for France, if they
do not admit the weight of the maxim ? They surely
do not admit the principle in the case of France,
because she is strong, and deny it Holland because
she is weak ? What then had we to expect from the
concurrence of the Dutch? What influence ought
their character and dispositions to have had upon
the plan and conduct of the expedition ?
" It must be familiar to every gentleman who is
acquainted with the relative connection of this coun
try with Holland, that it is long since any cordiality
prevailed between the two countries. The French
faction had been increasing, and possessed a very
powerful interest in the United Provinces. In this
situation, grounds of dispute have arisen at no very
remote period. In the American war, the Dutch
complained bitterly of our aggressions. In answer
to their complaints, the Dutch were represented in
speeches and proclamations as a dull and stupid
people. A noble lord, then in administration, used
the extraordinary expression, that the Dutch must
" be stunned into their senses." By such treatment
the influence of France was increased in Holland.
Perhaps too, it is but fair to acknowledge, that the
Dutch, in the mere view of promoting their own
interests, might conceive the connection with France
more beneficial to them than that with England.
This led to the attempts which were made in 1787
to draw more close the connection with France.
This design was prevented by the interference of
this country, and by the efforts of a Prussian army.
But, was this triumph used in such a way as to con
ciliate the Dutch? At the breaking out of the
present war, the Dutch, against their own wishes,"
nay, against the remonstrances of many sincere
friends of the house of Orange, were compelled to
abandon their neutrality and to take a share in the
war. They were engaged in the contest by our
influence, but we were not able to protect them in

1800.] 113
the moment of difficulty. From being our allies
they became our enemies. But previous to this
change, what were the symptoms of cordiality and
good understanding when we were endeavoring to
defend Holland ? Did not our troops leave that
country, complaining of the people, irritated by
their reproaches ? After the success of the French
invasion, was our conduct calculated to increase the
number of our friends, and to diminish the number
of our enemies ? Was it right, after the Stadtholder
had taken refuge in this country, to consider him as
sovereign of Holland, which he never was, to require
his consent to the seizure of so much Dutch pro
perty ? Were such measures conciliatory ? Did
they tend to promote the interest of the Stadtholder ?
In the negotiation for peace at Lisle, what was the
conduct of ministers ? The negotiation was broken
off, because the French refused to allow us to retain,
as indemnification for their aggrandizement, the
conquests we had made at the expense of the
Dutch, who had been involved in the quarrel by
our obstinacy and violence. What were the Dutch
to think of this proceeding ? Smarting under the
losses they had sustained, must they not have con
sidered us as gross hypocrites when lately we affected
such a zeal for their interests, which, in the in
stances alluded to, we had rendered so much sub
servient to our own ? If formerly they saw us wil
ling to compensate the conquests of France by re
taining all their colonial possessions, could they be
lieve us more disinterested, after having subsidized
the forces of Russia, and increased our claims to in
demnification by so much additional expenditure ?
" These are circumstances which could not fail
to produce a powerful impression upon the cool and
calculating Dutchman. On entering upon the ex
pedition for the deliverance of Holland, what means
did we employ to efface the prejudice that must
have existed against our disinterestedness. Look at
the proclamations which were issued on our landing
VOL. V. I

114 [FEB. 1,
in Holland. Read that distributed by Sir Ralph
Abercrombie: it holds out to the Dutch, to be sure,
delightful visions of future happiness under their
ancient government ; but it says not a word of the
Cape of Good Hope, of Ceylon, of Trincomalee.
The gallant officer by whom it was issued I acquit
of any share in the composition. He is not answer
able for its policy. But what is its spirit ? We
address the Dutch, a people cold, cousiderate, phleg
matic, as if they were a nation of religious fanatics
or chivalrous warriors. Religion is dragged in
upon all occasions ; but why it is so I cannot un
derstand. The French did not interfere with the
religion of the Dutch. They do not seem, indeed,
to have prevented religious worship in any country
where their arms have prevailed ; but least of all,
had they any temptation to interfere with the poverty
aud simplicity of the religious institutions of the
Dutch ? What influence, then, could such topics
produce in Holland ? Every thing that could have
no effect was urged — every thing that might engage
them in our favour was omitted. We tell the Dutch
to " Forget and forgive the past." But, how will
they understand this advice r Will they not consi
der it as a recommendation to forget that they ever
had colonies, and to forgive us for taking them ? —
The minister seems to have understood very little of
Dutch human nature, if he expected such procla
mations to have any success among them. If, in
stead of all the fine reflections upon religion, social
order, and their former government, he had said we
will give you back all your colonies, the argument
would have been understood, and the effect might
have been favorable. Instead of this, what did we
tell them in other terms ? — Be a nation without
trade; take back your old government ; be a pro
vince dependent upon England through the Stadt
holder. These are the blessings which we promise
you, and which you must co-operate with us to
obtain.

18UU.J HO
° These considerations I have adduced to shew
that ministers had not truly calculated the temper
and views of the people of Holland ; that they had
no reason to flatter themselves with the support of
that country; and that they did not pursue the
course by which it was to be obtained. It Was, to
the last degree, arrogant and presumptuous to in
volve this nation in the expense of 'such an arma
ment as was employed in the late expedition, upon
vain speculations. The right honorable gentleman
should. not have put his theories of human nature to
such a costly experiment. He ought to have done
what every wise statesman should do — act only in
matters of such high moment and extensive concern,
upon authentic information and upon practical
grounds. " There is another very material point which I
cannot pass unnoticed. After submitting to the
sacrifice of so much blood, to such heavy burdens,
it is not too much to say that we are entitled to plain
dealing ; but if the plan proposed had been attended
with success, was it the intention of ministers to
establish the old government of Holland ? I con
fess I have doubts on this subject. It may be recol
lected, that a noble and vigorous statesman in an
other place, in arguing upon the Irish Union, re
presented the old government of Holland as feeble,
inefficient, incompetent to its own defence, and to
any useful exertion, from the want of unity in its
executive authority. Was it then for the re-esta
blishment of this piece of imbecility, this form of
government incapable of self-defence, incapable of
contributing any assistance to its allies, that our
blood and treasure was to be applied ? Or was it
intended to strengthen the government, to give it
the vigour of despotism for the purposes of self-de
fence and useful alliance ? If this was their inten
tion, they meant a usurpation ; and I trust that the
Stadtholder would have been an unwilling usurper.
Can we conceive that they concealed this design, if
12

116 [FEB. 10,
it was really entertained ; if they did not communi
cate the intention to the partizans of the House of
Orange, they were guilty of a shameful fraud in in
viting them to contribute to the restoration of the
antient government, while they were, in fact, to
risk their lives and fortunes for a new constitution.
If they did communicate their design to improve the
former government by an infusion of additional
strength, were they sure that the Dutch would agree
to changes which violated those principles and those
forms to which they were obstinately attached? —
After the differences, then, which subsisted between
this country and Holland during the American war ;
after the experience of the campaigns on the Conti
nent in which we were engaged along with them
against France ; after the known views of domestic
parties in Holland ; after we had forced Holland
into the war, and shewed, after all, a desire to in
demnify ourselves for the continental conquests, by
the possession of her colonies ; after the grounds of
suspicion which existed against our intentions, both
with regard to the commercial relations and the poli
tical establishments of Holland ; had we any rea
sons to infer a welcome reception, or a cordial co
operation ? If their consent made a necessary in
gredient in the expedition; had we such assurance
of their favourable disposition, as to justify an en
terprise, to the success of which it was essential ?
Ministers had no right to calculate upon the dispo
sitions of the Dutch. They are guilty, therefore,
of having squandered the blood and resources of
this country upon a plan, undertaken without
due examination, and concerted without a proper
attention to the circumstances on which its success
necessarily depended.
" Considering the scheme of this expedition, from
its first conception to the period of its execution,
we find it in such variation and uncertainty as to
preclude the supposition that it was embraced and
pursued upon any uniform views of policy. The

1800,] 117
powers of the Hereditary Prince of Orange, given
in his proclamation to the Dutch, are dated in Dec.
1798, from which a presumption arises that the plan
of the expedition was in agitation at the time of the
first treaty with Russia, which was concluded about
that period. The declaration of the Emperor Paul,
in his " zeal for the cause of Sovereigns," points at
this attempt for the deliverance of Holland. If it
was then planned and agreed that Russian troops
should be employed, what was the policy of minis
ters ? Though they had themselves admitted that
the scheme must be a coup de main, and that its
success depended upon surprise, the landing in Hol
land was not effected till the 27th of August, 1799 !
It appears that expectations had been formed of in-
ducingN Prussia to enter into the common cause
against France. In June, 1799, however, all hopes
of drawing Prussia from her neutrality were aban
doned. A treaty is concluded, in which, besides
the troops to be employed in other objects, 17,000
Russians are to be employed in the expedition
against Holland. The Emperor Paul too, with that
magnanimity which characterises all his transactions
with this country, agrees to employ some of his own
ships to transport the forces to England, upon con
dition of his being allowed ample indemnification
for fitting out the vessels in question for another ex
pedition. This seems to be the first specific arrange
ment of the plan, and the management of minis
ters in this is likewise singularly conspicuous ! At
the time when they expected the co-operation of
Prussia, no very precise resolution had been taken
respecting the Dutch expedition. The exertions of
the King of Prussia were solicited to promote ob
jects which, as the event shewed, would be attained
without his assistance ; that design, however, to
which he must have been well inclined, and for the
success of which his co-operation was essential, was
but faintly, if at all, brought into notice. After
his determination to remain neutral, ministers, as if

118 [FEB. 10,
to shew their resentment of his policy, then deter
mined to prosecute with the greatest vigour that
?lan to which, of all others, the concurrence of the
Russian Cabinet, and the co-operation of the Prus
sian forces, were necessary.
" The landing at Helder was at length effected. I
must do justice to the gallant officers employed in
the expedition. No blame whatever attaches to the
conduct of the Royal Commander in Chief, or of
those who served along with him. The expedition
was planned upon such sanguine calculations ot co
operation from the inhabitants, that the military
efforts were made dependent upon the political views
of its authors. The army was sent to Holland as
to a friendly country. Its supplies of every kind
were arranged upon this presumption. The Duke
of York himself, not a member of the Cabinet, had
no means of verifying the calculations upon which
the cabinet ministers had resolved upon the expedi
tion. I am aware, Sir, that parliament does not
know such a body as the cabinet council. I do not
criticise the selection which His Majesty has made
of that body, which may be considered as a com
mittee of that which the constitution recognizes,
the privy council. Still I cannot help thinking, that
at a moment so critical as the present, the Com
mander-in-Chief ought to have been a member of
the cabinet. The Duke of York was unacquainted
with the true state of Holland. His military plans
and military conduct must have been accommodated
to the political views and political representations of
ministers. In saying tbat the Duke of York was a
proper person to advise His Majesty, as a member
of the cabinet, upon every thing which such an ex
pedition might require ; I repeat only what the pub
lic voice has declared of his Royal Higbness's ho
norable, attentive, and meritorious government of
the army since he has possessed the chief command.
To his Royal Highness I impute no blame. He is
not responsible for the planning of the enterprise,

1800.] 119
which, framed as it was, must have influenced so
much the military execution. It is on the authors
of the scheme that we are to charge the faults of the
design and the disgrace of the catastrophe.
" The army then went to Holland as a friendly
country. A summons was sent by General Aber-
crombie to the Batavian commander, in a style of
haughty menace, which clearly proved that it was
not the production of that gallant and respectable
officer. The conduct of Sir Ralph Abercrombie, on
every occasion, his manly and upright proceedings
while in Ireland, prove him to be a man not likely
to be the author of a production such as that to
which I allude. The answer of the Batavian officer
was spirited. What a contrast, indeed, between the
presumptuous tone with which we addressed the
enemyat the beginning, and the ignominious escape
we were at length compelled to stipulate for at the
termination of the campaign. Ministers say that
they cannot make peace with the French govern
ment; that the latter never yet observed any ar
mistice that they concluded. In our own instance
we know, by fatal experience, that if we cannot
make peace with France, we can make a convention ;
know from the testimony of our own officers, that
the enemy can observe an armistice. But what
was the case when General Abercrombie landed ?
Did he find the Batavian troops disposed, like the
sailors, to surrender without a blow ? Did he not
meet with the most vigorous resistance, even before
any Frenchmen appeared in action, and our very
first success was purchased by the loss of a great
number of our brave countrymen? How did it
happen, that after the landing was effected, no at
tempt was made to follow up the first advantage ?
Was General Abercrombie prevented by his orders,
or by the want of necessaries, from advancing ? It
is a matter of less importance, indeed, but it tends
to explain the want of arrangement in the plan,
that the army was for some time destitute of

120 [FEB. 10,
the means of moving forward. It has been posi
tively asserted, that the army was left without
baggage-waggons ; that they were first cheered
with the hope that certain ships in sight contained
these waggons, and that afterwards their hopes were
damped on being told that the waggons were in
some ships, but the wheels were in others ? Was
it true also, that the want of other means of con
veying the bleeding troops from the field of battle
had obliged them to have recourse to Dutch schuy ts ?
Surely not one British soldier should have perished
through such negligence as this ! Was it true that
such ignorance prevailed of the roads of Holland,
that the waggons, which were afterwards employed,
proved useless? I say, Sir, that no personal con
sideration ought to shield from inquiry the persons
in various situations of contractors, purveyors, &c.
to whom these, and similar inconveniences, were
owing. " Between the first landing at the Helder, and
the arrival of the reinforcements under the Duke of
York, an opportunity had been given to ascertain
the determined resolution of the Batavian army to
resist our attempt. French troops were pouring
into Holland. Was it not known, likewise, that the
nature of the country afforded means of defence
almost insuperable ? Were not all the circumstances
which pointed out the certain conclusion, that the
expedition could not be ultimately successful, known
previous to the sailing of the Duke of York ? If
there was not a secret motive for persevering in the
expedition, which no common understanding can
suspect, why did not ministers profit by their expe
rience to avoid farther disaster ? If they did not
know all these circumstances, they must stand con
victed of a negligence no less criminal than the
presumption of persisting after so many warnings
to desist. On the 10th of September, the French
and Batavians, anxious to make an impression on
our troops before the arrival of the reinforcements,

1800.] 121
attacked Sir Ralph Abercrombie, but were repulsed
by the gallantry of our troops, and the strength of
their position. On the 13th, the Duke of York
arrived, and on the 19th, an attack was made upon
the enemy, which was successful in that part where
the British troops were engaged, and unsnccesful on
the part of the Russians. Of the behaviour of the
latter I shall say but little. If, however, the accounts
of their conduct in the villages where they came be
true, it would form the ground not merely of inquiry,
but of an address to His Majesty. The result of
this action was, that the British and Russian forces
retreated to their former position.
" Here I must beg the attention of the house to
what was passing at home. On the 24th, parliament
was to meet ; ministers had intelligence of this dis
astrous engagement ; they were apprized of the
resistance of the Dutch troops, and of the backward
ness of the inhabitants to assist our cause ; yet, with
all these facts in their possession, they made His
Majesty come down to parliament, and express his
sanguine hopes of the ultimate success of the expe
dition ! If, then, ministers were aware of the true
state of our affairs in Holland, a more gross con
tempt of truth, or more flagrant deception, of par
liament, never was practised by any administration.
" After the action of the 2d of October, the army
moved forward. This was represented as a great
victory ; there is every reason to believe, however,
that it was a drawn battle. Alkmaer was stated to
have opened its gates, as if this had been the act of
the inhabitants, and a proof of their friendly dispo
sition. The fact, however, was, that a lieutenant
and some troops having accidentally advanced near
the place, found that it was without means of de
fence, of which he immediately gave information,
and the town was occupied by our troops. In his
dispatches after the action, his Royal Highness
states that it had given him the command of an ex
tent of country, and that the inhabitants would have

122 [FEB. 10,
an opportunity to declare themselves. What was
the consequence ? The army attempted to advance ;
an engagement took place on the 6th, in which we
claimed the victory. But so little advantageous was
the success, that, on the 7th, in the evening, the
retreat was ordered ; the army returned to its old
position at Shagen Brug; and this retreat was con
ducted so precipitately, that 400 women and chil
dren were left behind. These the French treated
with great propriety ; nay, these cruel and perfidious
enemies actually clothed the children, and sent them
back with the women to the British head-quarters.
Thus, at length, instead of the deliverance of the
Dutch, the hopes of which we had so sanguinely
indulged, the army was compelled to enter into a
capitulation for its escape ! What a sad and mor
tifying termination of a plan in which so much ex
ertion had been employed, and so much of our hope
had been embarked! I do not censure those by
whom it was concluded. I believe, on the con
trary, that it was inevitable in the situation in
which the army was placed. Yet, how painful a
reflection ! to find that the inducement held out to
the enemy to agree to the convention, was a threat
to destroy for ever the means of trade and com
merce of that people whom we had gone to save !
I am sure that had circumstances made it necessary
to proceed to"so cruel an alternative, it would have
been employed with reluctance. It was a -humi
liating thing, after such proud expectations, to fail
in our design, and fail too amidst such an accumu
lation of disgrace. Our ?army left Holland with
sentiments of indignation against the Batavians, by
whom they conceived themselves injured and de
ceived; with detestation of their allies, to whose
misconduct they imputed the disastrous termination
of the campaign ; and with increased esteem for the
enemy whom they had been taught to abhor.
" Such is the transaction which the house is called
upon to investigate. Never was there a case which

1800.] 123
prima facie presented stronger grounds for enquiry.
There are moments when it becomes this house to
exercise a peculiar jealousy of its reputation : an
opinion has gone abroad, that this house has reposed
too blind a confidence in ministers : the rewards
which have followed this confidence, have thrown
more than a suspicion on the purity of the motive.
It is necessary, on an occasion like this, to watch
their conduct with more than ordinary attention.
The public interest which it has excited, the univer
sal regard which the decision of the house will at
tract, must render it the object of more than common
severity of revision. The suspicion that the minis
ter has nothing to fear from the controuling vigi
lance of parliament, must either be strongly con
firmed, or honorably removed. It is not a conse
quence which any member need fear from the re
sult of enquiry, that ministers will be obliged to
quit their places. It would be no advantage, doubt
less, to shew that the administration of this country
is in the hands of convicted incapacity; but still it
would be a far greater evil to prove that ministers
are too powerful for control; that error is exempted
from enquiry, and misconduct secure from censure.
The present case should afford a salutary caution to
the house, how they gave their confidence to minis
ters to pursue against France that system of ex
ploded impolicy which has producecTsuch fatal mis
chief and indelible disgrace. We are at war for
the restoration of Bourbons, and for nothing else.
All the qualifications with which this proposition is
limited are mere quibbles : this is the sine qua non
to immediate peace. It was stated in the answer
of Lord Grenville, that there was a possibility of
negociation with the. present government of France ;
but if it be true, that what is possible is quod potest
esse, there was no immediate alternative. We were
fighting for the restoration of the house of Bour
bon. The question resolves itself into three propo
sitions — the people of France must institute a go-

124 [FEB. 10,
vernment which His Majesty's ministers shall ap
prove, and then submit to prove its stability. In
the mean time, this stability is to be ascertained by
employing every hostile means to work its overthrow:
Buonaparte must show by the evidence of facts, that
he is sincere in his desire of peace; while it is the
policy of ministers to employ every effort to disturb
his authority, and every insult to provoke his resent
ment. The only alternative which ministers were
willing to accept as the price of peace, is the uncon
ditional restoration of the house of Bourbon. But if
no enlarged view of policy, no dictate of constitutional
jealousy can move a British house of commons to
institute the proposed enquiry, they owe it. to the
reputation of the army, whose conduct has never
been censured in this country, but whose honor
has been cruelly attacked abroad, to investigate the
transaction to the bottom, and lay the blame where
it ought to fall. Read the report which has been
published in the Petersburgh Gazette* of the dif-
* Petersburgh, Oct. 22. (From the Court Gazette). — Ma
jor General Hessen, from his head quarters at Zypser Schlusen : —
" I humbly acquaint your Imperial Majesty, that on the 4th of
September, I arrived from Yarmouth with the first division of
troops before the Texel. We disembarked immediately in row-
boats, and landed all our troops on the 6th at the Helder, 1 hough
in a violent gale of wind. General Herman had arrived before
me, and was at the distance of 35 werstes from the Helder, towards
Alkmaer. By his orders I joined him on the 7th ; and on the 8th
in the morning, at four o'clock, we proceeded in three columns,
and attacked the enemy with a bravery only characteristic to your
Majesty's subjects. We drove him from three strong entrenchments,
took ail the batteries with the bayonet, and entered three strong
villages, with the town of Bergen. We had already taken four
teen pieces of cannon, about 1000 prisoners, and killed upwards
of 2000 of the enemy. However, all our ammunition being ex
hausted, we could no longer carry on offensive operations against a
numerous enemy, who employed all his forces against us, who
forced the right wing of our allies, who intended to attack at the
same time, but who, from causes unknown to me, were two hours
too late, which considerably injured the victory which we had al
ready gained. Lieutenant General Herman was made prisoner.
I cannot conceal from you, most gracious Sovereign, that the
troops of your Majesty are in want of the most necessary articles :

1800. J 1*0
ferent actions in Holland, and say whether you are
not called upon to vindicate the character of the
British army ? Do you feel so little for the military
fame of your country, as to suffer your brave sol
diers to stand in the face of Europe branded with
such a stigma ? Do you esteem so little the reputa
tion of the gallant officers employed in Holland, the
Duke of York, Sir Ralph Abercrombie, Sir James
Pulteney, General Dundas, that excellent officer
General ^jVfoore, and those who served with him, as
to allow the aspersions cast upon their renown in the
libellous letter of General Hessen to remain uncon
tradicted? You owe it to the character of the
British nation, to the spirit of your troops, you owe
it to the honour of the living, to the memory of the
dead, to go into an enquiry, which will distinguish
those who have been guilty of misconduct and in
curred disgrace. I move " That the house resolve
itself into a committee of the whole house to en
quire into the causes of the failure of the late expe
dition to Holland."
Mr. Dundas, Mr. Perceval, and Mr. Addington spoke against
the motion — Mr. Bouverie, Mr. Tierney, and Mr. M. A. Taylor
in support of it.
I will not, however, pretend to say that this is owing to the want
of care of our allies, but rather to their late arrangements, when,
contrary to their first plan, they landed all the troops, their own
as well as ours, iu a croud, so that it was impossible the small
track of ground which we occupied, could furnish us with provi
sions,' and we are under the necessity to wait for supplies from
England. We were in want of sufficient artillery and horses, and
the troops were not yet recovered from a violent sea sickness. Our
ammunition being exhausted, we had no means of attack and de
fence but the bayonet; but through the extreme fatigue of our
troops, their retreat began in confusion. The Commander-in-
Chief being a prisoner, Lieutenant General Scherebzow killed, and
Major GeneraljSuthof wounded, the chief command devolved on me.
I strove to collect our troops, and retired to our first advantageous
position in such a manner, that the enemy found it impossible to
follow. Our whole loss in killed, wounded and prisoners, amounts
to about 3000 men ; but the enemy has lost many more ; the pri
soners taken by the English and ourselves amounting to above
3000 men," &c.

...~v I J? Xii*. J Vy
Mr. Sheridan said, that after having been in
dulged at such length, he should not trespass long
on the patience of the house. He was induced
principally to rise, from two allusions that had been
made to him ; one by an honorable gentleman near
him (Mr. M. A. Taylor), and one by an honorable
gentleman opposite (Mr. Addington). His honor
able friend had accused him of being mealy-
mouthed — an objection which was seldom made to
him ; for in general he was accused of being too
plain a speaker. But he accused him of having
taken a line of candor for which he ought to apolo
gize, in saying, that he did not wish to dispossess
ministers of their places, and that the country would
not desire to see them dispossessed, even though
they might disapprove of their conduct in this
expedition. He assured the honorable gentle
man that he blamed him without reason. He
had no such candor. He sincerely wished to see
ministers dispossessed for the good of the country ;
and if any thing that he could urge or say would bring
that event about, he would exert every effort in his
power. What he had said, was, that in his pre
sent motion, he was not prompted to this inquiry
merely to prove to the country, and to the world, the
incapacity of His Majesty's ministers ; for it could
not redound to national honor or to national benefit
to do that, if no other result was to come from it.
But the honorable gentleman said that he was con
fident the opinion of the country was against His
Majesty's ministers in this expedition, and he was
sincerely desirous of turning them out, and of see
ing the gentlemen on that side of the house pass
over to the other. In this, said Mr. Sheridan, it is
truly creditable to the honorable gentleman, that he
would not pass over with us : he would rest in the
mid-way; he would rest in that chair, which it
requires the greatest talents and the greatest respect
to fill. Now, as to the allusion from the honorable

lOUU.J •*<
gentleman on the other side, his chief objection to
the motion was, that it had not been made in Octo
ber last, before the failure of the expedition was
known, or after it was known, that he had not
made it after parliament was adjourned ! He had
given notice of his motion on the first day after the
meeting. It was for ministers to answer for its being
so long delayed ; since they, and not he, had made
the adjournment. It had been objected to him,
that he had made use of the word disgrace. Surely
in the use of this term he had expressed himself
clearly with regard to all the officers and men en
gaged in the execution of the enterprise, and had
limited the word to the planners only. Nothing
could be more clear than that the mere failure of a
military expedition was not in itself a disgrace : —
a town might be besieged and taken, though the
garrison had displayed the greatest courage and
perseverance. Circumstances might defeat the
most obstinate valor ; but what he thought necessa
rily brought disgrace along with it, was, when a
country was deluded by promises which were not kept
— when a people was tempted by offers of protection
to shew themselves, and to manifest their senti
ments; and when, instead of the protection held out
to them, the planners of an expedition were forced
to capitulate for their own retreat. This was what
he ascribed to the character of the late expedition.
They entered North Holland, holding out to the in
habitants offers of protection, and inviting them to
rise. It was true, indeed, that the people did not
obey the invitation ; but suppose they had, and that
trusting to the promise of Great Britain, they had
come forward, and that afterwards they had been
abandoned, would not the nation have been dis
graced ? Would it not have been responsible for all
the blood that must have flowed from such an issue ?
If France had invaded Ireland with forty-five thou
sand men, and had professed, as the British pro-

rzo LFEB. iu,
fessed to the Dutch, that they had come to rescue
them from oppression and tyranny — the mere sup
position gave rise to a melancholy sentiment ; for
they had seen, with all their pretended knowledge
of human nature, that forty-five thousand men had
not induced the Dutch to give up the horrors of
French fraternity, or to prefer the friendship of
Great Britain to the evils under which they groaned.
But would any man say, that if forty-five thousand
French had landed in Ireland during the late insur
rection there, British influence would have been as
great upon the people of Ireland, as French in
fluence, with all its iniquity, was upon the Dutch?
If forty-five thousand French had landed in Ireland,
had held out offers of protection to the people, and
had afterwards been forced to enter into a capitula
tion for their own escape, would any man say that
they would not have been disgraced, and they would
not have been answerable for all the horrors, the
whippings, the half-hangings, and the whole-hang
ings, that took place after the rebellion in that mise
rable country ? In like manner, he affixed the term
disgrace upon the men who, without the certainty
of keeping their word, boasted of their power, and
committed the nation by their folly and their capa
city. Much had been said about the diversion
which this made — and diversion was a favorite ex
pression of ministers. Three objects were stated to
have been in view in the expedition, two of which
were said to have been obtained — he denied this
fact. Two of the objects were incompatible — if it
was one of our objects to replace the Stadtholder, it
could not be our object to take their navy. But it
was a diversion : It forced the French to send their
troops into Holland, and thus we assisted the allies
in another quarter. What ! would not the French
have sent troops into Holland but for this expedi
tion !' Away then with French oppression ! They
could leave the Dutch then to themselves. But if

1800.] 129
the expedition was meant as a diversion, Holland,
of all other places, was the worst for a diversion ;
since by the nature of the country, a very inferior
body of troops could sucessfully resist a greatly su
perior force. He would agree that it was a fair
thing to call a descent diversion, where, landing on
"an enemie's shore, you drew great bodies of men
from other quarters, and kept them in play ; but it
was quite another thing, when, having landed with
the professed object of replacing an exiled authority,
and having failed, you came home and called it a
diversion. You had no right to call it by such a
name. But it was to be repeated! What, after
the trial which has been made ? and never was a trial
so completely niade of the dispositions of any peo
ple : could insanity itself think of repeating the ex
periment ? After having entered the country not
merely with a superior force, but with a force,
so greatly superior, that if the people were in
their hearts at all disposed to come over to the
British, they had every temptation — if not a
man was found disposed to trust us, could it be be
lieved, that after the experience they had had, they
would now come, if the experiment were to be re
peated? Mr. Sheridan concluded, by expressing
his surprise at the conduct of ministers upon this
occasion. He did expect thatthey would endea
vor to have made the inquiry nugatory ; but that
they would have colored their indisposition to enter
into the investigation with some plausible pretext.
He was disappointed. The house had seen the
ground they had taken, and the country would see
their motives. He lamented, for the sake of the
brave army, and for the honor of the nation, that
they thought it consistent with common decency to
get rid of the subject by such means.
The house divided ; ayes 45; noes 216.

VOL. V. . K

130 [FEB. 17,
February 17.
GRANT TO THE EJ1PEROR OF GERMANY, &C
FOR THE LOAN TO FOREIGN POWERS.
Mr. Pitt moved for a mm not exceeding 500,000/. to enable His
Majesty to make such advances as might be necessary for the purpose
of insuring, at an early period, a vigorous co-operation of the
Emperor of Germany, the Elector of Bavaria, fyc. in the ensuing
campaign against the common enemy.
Mr. Sheridan — " The honorable gentleman
(Mr. Wilberforce) who has just sat down, and said
he rose only to save himself from misinterpretation,
has declared, that he has no objection to peace.
Now I should expect a warmer declaration from
that honorable gentleman, when I recollect his con
duct on a former occasion. I recollect a time, when
he came to rebuke the violence of the minister.
[Mr. Sheridan read a motion made by Mr. Wilber
force, for an address to His Majesty, praying, that
the government of France might not be made an
obstacle to peace, when an opportunity should ar
rive.] Now, as the honorable gentleman is anxious
to escape from the charge of inconsistency, I should
expect he would state the reason for this difference
in his conduct now. Then the government was a
provisional government; a government from its na
ture not intended to stand ; a government of furi
ous jacobins ; and yet the honorable gentleman im
plored to supplicate His Majesty, that it might not
be suffered to stand in the way of peace ; but now,
when it is of a less objectionable description, he
justifies his friend from an arrogant, violent, incon
siderate, and I hope he will not find an unfortunate
note, refusing to accept peace from such a govern
ment. An honorable gentleman who has spoken in
the debate put a very just question, whether the
country will endure to be governed by words, and
not by facts ? I admit it right that it should not be
so governed, but I unfortunately have the authority
of the present government that it is. The honor-

1800.] 131
able gentleman spoke with great eloquence, I may
say irritation ; but never did I see eloquence so mis
applied. He has shewn his dexterity in driving the
subject from its proper basis ; he guides, urges, and
inflames the passions of his hearers on Jacobinical
principles ; but he does not shew how they bear on
the present question. He has not dared to say, that
so far as respects the restoration of the house of
Bourbon, we have suffered by the defection of
Bussia. What that power may still do with regard
to La Vendee, or reconciling the people of Ireland
to the Union, 1 do not inquire ; but with regard to
the great object, the restoration of monarchy- in
France, we are minus the Emperor of Russia ; that
power may be considered as extinct. Is it then to
be endured, that the minister shall come down and
ask for a subsidy under such circumstances ? Is it
to be eudured, that we shall be told we are at war
for the restoration of monarchy in France, that Rus
sia is pledged to the accomplishment of that pur
pose, that Russia is the rock on which we stand,
that the magnanipious Emperor of Russia, the gal
lantry of whose troops, and the skill of whose great
generals, place them above all the troops and gene
rals in Europe, is all we have to rest on ? Is it to
be endured, I say, that this rock should prove as
brittle as sand, and that those who held this language
should come down in a week after, and say, give us
two millions and a half to subsidize Germany, and
then we shall have a better army than we had with
Russia ? After such unqualified praise upon Rus
sia, and after her defection, is not such language,
I ask, inconsistent, absurd, and preposterous ? If
Germany possessed these wonderful forces before,
why were they not called into action ; and if not,
why are we to subsidize the posse comitalus, the
rabble of Germany ? But who is the person that
applies for this subsidy ? As to the Elector of Ba
varia, I leave him out of the question. It is the
Emperor of Germany. I* there any thing in his
K2

132 [FEB. 17,
conduct and character to incline us to listen to him.
I think not; and for these two reasons: first, he
applied once on a false pretence ; and, secondly, he
failed in performing his stipulated engagement.
What was his false pretence ? He said he could
not open the campaign without the pecuniary assis
tance of this country ; and yet he did do so, and
displayed more vigor, energy, and resources than
ever. Now, if to this we add experience, and the
evidence of facts, when he dared, though bound to
this country, to break faith with her, and make a
separate peace, does it not furnish a reasonable
cause for declining to grant a subsidy to such a
power ? The honorable gentleman is offended at
our connecting the situation of the country, and the
present scarcity with the question of war. I do not
know to what extent this principle is to be carried.
I see no more objection to state the pressure in this
particular from the continuance of the war, than
there would be to advance the increase of the
public debt, the situation of the finances or any
other of those reasons so often repeated without its
having been ever objected that they were of an im
proper kind, Sir, I say, there is no more impro
priety in urging this argument, than in urging mi
nisters not to press the people too far, but to appor
tion the burden to their strength to bear it. What
has my honorable friend said ? We see an opulent
commercial prosperity ; but iook over the country,
and we behold barracks and broth-houses, the cause
and the effect, the poverty and distress of the
country ; for surely it will not be contended, but that
among the calamities of war are to be reckoned
families left without support, and thrown upon
charity for subsistence. That the war is unneces
sary, as being useless, is self-evident, and nobody
can deny it. But, say they, Bonaparte has taken
us at an unguarded moment : we do not object to
peace, but we have a fear and jealousy of conclud
ing one, except with the house of Bourbon : in a

800.] 133
peace concluded with it we should have confidence,
but we can have none in the present government
of France. I say, were that event arrived, and the
house of Bourbon seated on the throne, the minister
should be impeached who would disband a single
soldier ; and that it would be equally criminal to
make peace under a new king as under a republican
government, unless her heart and mind were friendly
to it. France, as a republic, may be a bad neigh
bour ; but than monarchical France a more foul and
treacherous neighbour never was. Is it, then, suf
ficient to say, let monarchy be restored, and let
peace be given to all Europe ? I come now, Sir,
to the object of the war as expressed in the note. It
is there stated, that the restoration of monarchy is
the sine qua non of present negociation ; and then
it proceeds to say, that it is possible we may here
after treat with some other form of government,
after it shall be tried by experience and the evi
dence of facts. What length of time this trial may
require, is impossible to ascertain ; yet we have, I
acknowledge, something of experience here by which
we may form a kind of conjecture.
" At the time of the negociation at Lisle, the then
republican government had stood two years and a
half. Previous to that time, it had been declared
improper to enter into negociation with it; but, from
experience and the evidence of facts, ministers dis
covered that it was then become good and proper to
treat with; and yet so, it happened, that, immedi
ately after this judgment in its favor, it crumbled to
pieces. Here then we have a tolerable rule to judge
by, and may presume, on the authority of this case,
that something more than two years and a half must
expire before any new government will be pro
nounced stable. The note, Sir, then proceeds to pay
an handsome compliment to the line of princes who
maintained peace at home, and to round the period
handsomely, it should have added, tranquillity
abroad ; but instead of this are substituted respect

134 [FEB. 17,
and consideration, by which we are to understand
exactly what is meant by the consideration with
which the note is subscribed, being equivalent to
' I am, Sir, with the highest respect and sincerest
enmity, yours,' — for, Sir, this consideration which
the line of princes maintained, consisted in involving
all the powers within their reach and influence in
war and contentions. The note then proceeds to
state, that this restoration of monarchy would se
cure to France the uninterrupted possession of her
ancient territory; by which we are to understand,
I suppose, we would renounce our Quiberon expe
ditions. In this note, Sir, the gentlemen seem to
have clubbed their talents, one found grammar,
another logic, and a third some other ingredient;
but it is not strange, that they should all forget that
the house of Bourbon, instead of maintaining peace
and tranquillity in Europe, was always the disturber
of both ? In the very last transaction of monarchical
France, I mean her conduct in the American war,
His Majesty's speech begins thus :— ¦' France, the
disturber of the tranquillity of Europe.' — But were
a person to judge hereafter, from the history of the
present time, of the war we carried on, and the
millions we expended for the monarchy of France,
he would be led to conclude that it was our nearest
and dearest friend. Is there any thing then in the
knowledge of human nature, from which we can
infer, that with the restoration of monarchy in
France, a total change in the principles of the
people would take place ? or that Ministers of the
new king would renounce them ? What security
have we, that a change of principles will take
place in the restored monarch, and that he will not
act upon the principles cherished by his ancestors ?
But if this security is effected by maiming France,
does the right honorable gentleman think that the
people of France would submit to it ? Does he not
know that even the emigrants have that partiality
for the grandeur of their country, that even they

1800.] 135
cannot restrain their joy at Republican victories?
But with regard to the practicability of the course
to be pursued, the right honorable gentleman says,
he is looking forward to a time when there shall be
no dread of, jacobin principles. 1 ask whether he
does not think, from the fraud, oppression, tyranny,
and cruelty with which the conduct of France has
marked them, that they are not now nearly
dead, extinct, and detested? But who are the
Jacobins ? Is there a man in this country who
has at any time opposed ministers, who has re
sisted the waste of public money and the pros
titution of honors, that has not been branded with
the name? The Whig Club are jacobins (a dead
silence). Of this there can be no doubt, for a right
honorable gentleman (Mr. Windham) on that ac
count struck his name off the list. The friends of
the people are jacobins — (A cry of " Hear! Hear!").
I am one of the friends of the people, and conse
quently am a jacobin. The honorable gentleman
pledged himself never to treat with jacobin France
until we had Toto certatum est corpore regni.
Now he did treat with France at Lisle and Paris, but
perhaps there were not Jacobins in France at either
of these times. You then, the friends of the people,
are the jacobins. I do think, Sir, jacobin princi
ples never existed much in this country ; and even
admitting they had, I say they have been found so
hostile to true liberty, that in proportion as we love
it, and whatever may be said, I must s^ill consider
liberty an inestimable blessing), we must hate and
detest these principles. But more, I do not think
they even exist in France ; they have there died the
best of deaths ; a death I am more pleased to see
than if it had been effected by a foreign force ; they
have stung themselves to death, and died by their
own poison. But the honorable gentleman, arguing

136 [FEB. 17,
from experience of human nature, tells us that jaco
bin principles are such, that the mind that is once
infected with them, no quarantine, no cure can
cleanse. Now if this be the case, and that there
are, according to Mr. Burke's statement, eighty
thousand incorrigible Jacobins in England, we are
in a melancholy situation ; the right honorable gen
tleman must continue the war while one of the pre
sent generation remains, and consequently we can
not for that period expect those rights to be restored
to us, to the suspension and restrictions of which the
honorable gentleman attributes the suppression of
these principles. A pretty consolation this truly!
Now I contend, that they do not exist in France to
the same extent as before, or nearly. If this, then,
be the case, what danger can be apprehended?
But if this, then, be true, and that Bonaparte, the
child and champion of jacobin principles, as he is
called, be resolved to uphold them, upon what
ground does the honorable gentleman presume to
hope for the restoration of the house of Bourbon ?
So far I have argued on the probability of the ob
ject; but the honorable gentleman goes on, and says,
there is no wish to restore the monarchy without the
consent of the people. Now if this be the case, is
it not better to leave the people to themselves ; for
if armies are to interfere, how can we ascertain that
it is a legitimate government established with the
pure consent of the people. As to Buonaparte,
whose character has been represented as marked
with fraud and insincerity, has he not made treaties
with the emperor and observed them ? Is it not his
interest to make peace with us ? Do you not think
he feels it? And can you suppose, that if peace
were made, he has not power to make it be ob
served by the people of France ? And do not you
think that the people of France are aware that an
infraction of that peace would bring with it a new
order of things, and a renewal of those calamities
from which they are now desirous to escape ? But,

1800.] , 137
Sir, on the character of Buonaparte I have better
evidence than the intercepted letters. I appeal to
Garnot, whether the instructions given with respect
to the conduct to be observed to the emperor, were
not moderate, open, and magnanimous? — (Here
Mr. Sheridan read an extract from Carnot's pam
phlet, in support of his assertion.) — With regard to
the late note, in answer to his proposal to negociate,
it is foolish, insulting, and undignified. It is evi
dence to me, that the honorable gentlemen them
selves do not believe his character to be such as they
describe it ; for, if they did, they must know their
language would irritate such a mind ; the passions
will mix themselves with reason in the conduct of
men, and they cannot say that they will not yet be
obliged to treat with Buonaparte. I am warranted '
in saying this, for I do believe in my heart, that
since the defection of Russia, ministers have been
repenting of their answer ; I say so, because I do '
not consider them so obstinate and headstrong as to
persevere with as much ardour for the restoration
. of monarchy as when they were pledged with Rus
sia. There was not a nation in Europe which
ministers did not endeavour to draw into the war.
On what was such conduct founded, but on Jacobi
nical principles ? Indeed ministers, by negociating
at one time with a Jacobinical government in France,
plainly proved they were not so hostile to its prin
ciples as they would now wish to appear. Prussia
and Austria, as well as this country, have acted also
on Jacobinical principles. xThe conduct of this
country towards Ireland has been perfectly Jaco
binical. How, then, can we define these principles,
when persons who would not disavow them fall by
some fatality into an unavoidable acknowledgment
of them. The objections that have been raised to
peace have been entirely Jacobinical. If we seek
for peace, it must be done in the spirit of peace.
We are not to make it a question, who was the first
aggressor, or endeavour to throw the blame that may
attach to us on our enemy. Such circumstances

,' '. "X

138 [FEB. 17,
should be consigned to oblivion, as tending to no
one useful purpose. France, in the beginning of
the revolution, had conceived many romantic no
tions; she was to put an end to war, and produce,
by a pure form of government, a perfectibility of
mind which before had never been realised. The
monarchs of Europe, seeing the prevalence of these
new principles, trembled for their thrones. France,
also, perceiving the hostility of kings to her projects,
supposed she could not be a republic without the
overthrow of thrones. Such has been the regular
progress of cause and effect ; but who was the first
aggressor, with whom the jealousy first arose, need
not now be a matter of discussion. Both the re
public, and the monarchs who opposed her, acted on
the same principles : the latter said they must ex
terminate jacobins, and the former that they must
destroy monarchs. From this source have all the
calamities of Europe flowed ; and it is now a waste
of time and argument to inquire farther into the
subject. Now, Sir, let us come to matter of fact;
has not France renounced and reprobated those
jacobin principles, which created her so many ene
mies ? Are not all her violent invectives against
regular governments come into disesteem ? Has
not the Abbe Sicyes, who wrote in favor of mo
narchy, has not Buonaparte condemned the Jacobi
nical excesses of the revolution in the most pointed
manner; the very men who have had so large a
share in the formation of the present government ?
But I maintain that Buonaparte himself is also a
friend to peace. There is in his correspondence
with the ministers of this country a total renuncia
tion of Jacobinical principles. In the dread, there
fore, of these, I can see no argument for the con
tinuance of war. A man who is surprised at the
revolution of sentiment in individuals or nations
shews but little experience. Such instances occur
every day. Neither would a wise man always at
tach to principles the most serious consequences.

1800.] 139
Left to themselves, the absurd and dangerous would
soon disappear ; and wisdom establish herself only
the more secure on their ruins. I am a friend to
peace at this time, because I think Buonaparte
would be as good a friend and neighbour to this
country as ever were any of the Bourbons. I think
also that there can be no time when we can hope to
have better terms. If the King of Prussia should
join France, such an alliance would greatly change
the state of things ; and from her long and honor
able neutrality, in spite of the remonstrance and
entreaties of this country, an event of that kind is
by no means unlikely to happen. It must be con
sidered also, that the First Consul of France must
feel no little portion of resentment towards this
country, arising from the indignity with which his
overtures of negociation have been treated ; it is not
improbable that, to satisfy his revenge, he would
make large sacrifices to the house of Austria,
that he might contend more successfully against this
country. Such are my fears and opinions ; but I
am unhappily in the habit of being numbered with
the minority, and therefore their consequences are
considerably diminished. But there have been oc
casions when the sentiments of the minority of this
house have been those of the people at large : one,
for instance, when a war was prevented with Russia
concerning Oczakow. The minority told the mi
nister, that the sentiments of the country were con
trary to those of the majority : and the fact justified
them in the assertion ; the dispute was abandoned.
In the year 1797, the opinions of the minority on
peace were those of the people, and I believe the
same coincidence exists now upon the same sub-
ject. For the motion 162 ; against it 19.

140 [FEB. 19,
February 19.
SUSPENSION OF THE HABEAS CORPUS ACT.
The second reading of this bill was moved by the Attorney Ge~
neral.
Mr. Sheridan said, that he was more eager
on the opening of the debate for arguments in sup
port of the motion than he could be now, as it was
better to speak after strange arguments, such as he
had just heard, than after no arguments at all. He
listened with all respect and attention, as he was in
hopes to find from the declaration of a gentleman
(Mr. H. Lascelles) that the importance of this sub
ject would strike the house, and produce an ample
discussion. He observed that that gentleman just
after quitted the house. That honorable gentleman
expressed his satisfaction at the increasing loyalty
of the nation, and thought 1 hat much of that loy
alty was owing to the wise measures of adminis
tration. The inference from which, in his opinion,
was, that the greater the number of those men that
were free from jacobin principles, the more should
they be entitled to prosecution. He would not
wonder if on such reasoning it was said, that be
cause the minority of the house of commons was
inferior in number to the majority, the minority
should be gagged. " That honorable gentleman
strengthens his argument by adding, that because
the majority of the kingdom does not steal, he
would repeal the laws against stealing, and there
fore infers, that notwithstanding the loyalty of the
many, the suspension should not be repealed on
account of the few. On our part it is answered,
that if we wanted to repeal the sedition and treason
laws, such an argument would be good ; and I am
sure, from such arguments, that he could not give
the subject that full attention it required." He heard
an honorable gentleman (Mr. Sturges), whom he
hoped to hear often, argue the nature of French
principles, observing, that the French revolution

1800.] 141
was different from every other. He would remark,
in turn, that the example of those principles cannot
operate on the people of England. Their humane
minds were not susceptible of an infection so terrible
in its effects. And here was the whole bearing of
the question ; and on this consideration we were
called upon to suspend the Habeas Corpus act, to
remove the main-stay of the British constitution.
Though there might at one time have been a num
ber of men infected with jacobin principles, yet
gentlemen on the other side of the house would
admit, that the examples of perfidy, cruelty, and
atrocity on the part of France, might have since
brought those principles into hatred and detesta
tion. " But some honorable gentlemen are of
opinion, that jacobinism is of such a nature that it
cannot be changed. The practices of those very
gentlemen might inform them, that the practices
which are called Jacobinical are not altogether of
such an incorrigible kind. The right hon. the Chan
cellor of the Exchequer at one time was very eager in
Parliamentary Reform, and thought no good admini
stration could ever be formed without such a reform.
Yet now, as if he had performed quarantine, he
had changed his principles and opinions, and finds
a very good administration made up from such ma
terials. Another right honorable gentleman (Mr.
Windham), now on the right hand of his right ho
norable friend, once said of him, that all his robes
of state, and all his pomp of eloquence were not
sufficient to conceal his filthy dowlas, or render him
a fit ally for him ; he too has changed his princi
ples !" In reasoning on the principles of govern
ment, he did not think it fair to conclude, that be
cause a corrupt people, debased under a despotic
state, had broken and then dashed about the chains
that held them, the people of England, accustomed
to a mild and beneficent government, should be so
restrained that their liberties should be ripped up
and curtailed from mere unfounded suspicion. It

J 42 [FEB. 19,
could not be inferred, that because a wolf had com
mitted depredation on the fold, a man should take
down his dwelling, when the remedy would be to
chain up this animal : or because the fire had burnt
down a wooden bridge, that we should take down
one built of solid stone. Nor should it be inferred,
by parity of reasoning, that because the licentious
ness of France had demolished all that was excel
lent in human institutions, the freedom of English
men should do the same mischief ; for in all those
cases it was the same. He could not forget the
English constitution. The people of England were
not slaves broke loose from their chains, not rushing
from despotism into anarchy and disorder. Of the
votes of the commons he always had a respectful
and due opinion ; but with respect to committees
selected from the minister's friends, he could not
but observe, that with prejudices on their minds,
and a bias from their connections, it was hardly pos
sible that a just decision could be obtained ; and
such ever struck him on the' perusal of the reports of
those select committees. He had also the same
dislike to another report (in the lords), in which
were depicted pikes and such things as frightfully
fill the imagination with dread and horror. The
learned gentleman (the Attorney General) seemed
little disposed to pay any attention to the verdict of
a jury. This jury had negatived the report of a
select committee, and he preferred that verdict to
the reports.- The opinion of the judge (late Chief
Justice Eyre) said on that occasion, that this mighty
conspiracy turned out to be a conspiracy perfectly
insignificant, a conspiracy without men, money,
leaders, and even destitute of designs in their
schemes: their rendezvous a back- garret; their
arms a few muskets, and their exchequer about
10Z. 15*. Such was its formidable appearance, and
so inactive, that the learned judge said they even
wanted zeal in the undertaking. He then called
the attention of the house to the situation of those

1800.] 143
who were imprisoned under the act. And here he
would ask, whether the Attorney General, who was
versed in law and history, had ever read or heard of
sham-plots and conspiracies ; and if he had, was it
not possible for them to return again ? These were
the instruments by which ministers were enabled to
carry on the war, to exercise a corrupt influence,
and, by alarming the landed and monied interests
with risings of the people, to govern the country
with a system of terror. Let no gentleman then
ask, what motives can influence such measures, when
it is to such measures ministers owe all their power.
And is it not surprising to hear gentlemen talk of
liberty of speech remaining (in allusion to Mr. Wil-
berforce), when fifty persons cannot meet to talk
together? Whatever may be said in favour of our
remaining liberties, he would maintain that the act
of habeas corpus was the chief. A gentleman more
remarkable for the pith and vigor of his expres
sions than for the neatness of them, said, that " the
breath of the nostrils of administration lay in Mr.
Pitt's tongue ;" and he would say, that however the
muscle or sinew lay in other parts, the heart's blood
of the constitution lay in the act of habeas corpus.
" For if ministers can commit without any other
process than their own suspicion, this foul principle
may be pushed to the most dangerous extent; and
if a man is once considered as a leading man in
society of any kind, he may be exposed to attack
and arrest from suspicion alone. An honorable
gentleman (Mr. Sturges) has given a precedent
from the reign of King William, by no means appli
cable to the present period, and which, adopted as
such, must fall with a double edge." He was asto
nished to hear no difference made between the times.
The majority of the nation at that period were Jaco
bites. " Is there a man that will not confess the
jacobins are a contemptible minority ? The Jacobites
were composed of the nobility, the landed interest,
and were formidable in their principles and oppo-

141 [FEB. 19,
sition to King William, and many of them suffered
on the scaffold. The act made at the time of the
conspiracy on the life of the then monarch, was a
specific act to confine those whose moral guilt was
ascertained ; but this act shuts up every man upon
vague suspicion. The whole of the arguments of
administration rest upon the existence of jacobin
principles in France, and so long the act now pro
posed is to be continued." The absurdity of this
was equally astonishing and alarming ; it was a
satisfaction to him that it was not his. Mr. Sheridan
then -noticed the argument of Mr. Canning on a
former night, respecting the conduct of the nation in
the case of King James II. He here observed, that
the honorable gentleman did not reason correctly ;
for he assumed a fact,' where he (Mr. Sheridan)
only put a supposition. The repeal of this act was
impracticable in either case of sedition or tranquil
lity. In the former it would be urged, that it was
necessary to restore peace, and in the latter case it
will be always, as now demanded, would you re
move the means by which the country has so much
benefited ? Mr. Sheridan then reviewed the state
of Ireland under Lord Fitzwilliam, and said, the
outrages, cruelties, and atrocities, were not occa
sioned by French principles, but by the rooted ha
tred of the people to British councils. The effects
of such councils were predicted by Earl Fitzwil
liam ; all that rebellion which burst out in the small
space of twenty-four hours, like characters written
in lemon juice on a sheet of white paper, and held
to the fire, as described by the Secretary at War.
I might be permitted to ask— Heh, Mr. Secretary
at War, where did you come by those amorous-
mysteries ? for they belong not to your office,
though you are accustomed to read dispatches in
cypher. He shewed and proved before that the
discontents in Ireland were not the offspring of
French principles, but resentments strongly "en
graved on the hearts of the Irish against this coun-

1800.] 145
try. He then deprecated the minister from such
means of outrage to the loyalty of the nation, whose
security was not less lodged in the hearts than in
the arms of its volunteer corps. The country was
no less upon its guard in its mind than it was in
fact, and had little at any time to dread from a few
contemptible ruffians in a cellar, against the security
or laws of the country. This power in the hands of
ministers was absurd ; yet, he was sorry to see it
existing} as he would wish to guard against the
effects it might produce. He regretted to read the
reign of even Titus, and was sorry almost not to
see that reign a tissue of crimes; that despotism
might be discredited wherever it did exist. He
then entered on the abuse pf the power lodged in the
hands of ministers, evidenced in the case of Colonel
Despard, and the infamous conduct of Aris, the
keeper of the prison. Another abuse of power was
under the alien bill; this bill, said to be for political
purposes, was perverted into an instrument of family
protection, as persons who had paid their addresses
to the daughters of gentlemen were on that account
taken up under this bill, and sent out of the king
dom. He was ready to acquit the noble Duke
(Portland) at the head of that office, of being capa
ble, from his character or temper, of such a pro
ceeding ; but such, under him, was one of the abuses
made of it. He had to mention another abuse,
which, though difficult to relate without ridicule,
yet shewed the spirit of this power in the hands of
ministers. A man of the name of Patterson, who
had a shop at Manchester, kept a tilted cart, over
which he subscribed the names of Pitt and Patterson.
The man, who was known to have no partner in
his trade, was asked what he meant by the name of
Pitt on his cart, as he had no share in his business ?
" Ah," replied he, " if he has no share in the busi
ness, he has a large share in the profit of it." Oh
this he was taken up, committed to Cold-Bath-Fields
prison, but some time after liberated, with a strict
VOL. V. L

146 [JUNE 1.0»«
order not to go within thirty miles of Manchester.
Ridiculous as this appeared, it proved serious to
the man, and was the ruin of his business ! Oil all
the circumstances no new case had been made out
why this act should be continued, but many have
shewn that it should be repealed. Gentlemen should
at least defer the farther consideration for a few
days, uutil in decency they could make out some
means that would appear plausible, and give, at
least, a formal pretext for their proceedings.
Ayes 98 ; noes 12.

June 10.

BILL FOR PUNISHING AND PREVENTING
ADULTERY.
The Master of the Rolls moved the order of the day for the house-
going into a committee on an engrossed bill from the lords, for pu
nishing and preventing adultery.
Mr. Sheridan. — " There is no man, I am per
suaded, Sir, in this house who is not ready to agree
with me, that this is a subject which deserves to be
gravely and maturely considered. I am aware too,
that when professions are held out, that great' altera
tions may be made in a committee upon a bill ; it'
is not the most favorable time to rise in opposition1'
tb that bill before it goes into sucH committee; be
cause it may be said to those who so oppose it, tbat
the very points to which they object may be those'
which it is intended in the commitment to alter and'
amend. Sir, I shall very much regret if another
opportunity shall be afforded for going into the dis
cussion of such a bill as the present ; but if there'
should be, I shall certainly state my objections to
every part of it more at large than I shall think it
necessary to do at present. The question now be
fore us is, whether we shall go into a committee ?
To this proposition it is wished that the house should1
be induced to accede, by the hope that the alter
ations which may be made may renderthe bill more

18001] 147
acceptable and more moderate. Now, Sir, I take
upon me to assert, that no gentleman who has spoken
upbn the sPbject has held out any grounds at all
to make us believe that such can be the result. We
have hear'd from some, that the law is not to be as
it is ; from others we have heard' sketches' 6f Clauses ;
from others we have heard general outlines and
opinions ; but all who have spoken have shewn that
the bill cannot pass; in its present shape. Sir, that
the laws with respect to adultery' ought lio't to re
main as they atie, may be true. But what I contend
is this, that it has not been proved that any great or
general revievf of the subject can proceed from such
a bill as this. That, upon' maturer consideration
with the reverend prelates; sornething better' may
not be produced, I am not prepared to' deny. But
there appears to me tohave been ah evidePt impro
vidence, a shameful negligence, on the part of the
authors of this measure. It seems as if it had been
produced in scorii and conteoipt, aiid in defiance of
all knowledge and experience. It ill became the
authors of it to pass by that first aiid greatest autho
rity', of whbse assistance they ought to have availed
themselves: But the bill' comes to us in another
way. I know that it is not parliamentary to allude
to what passes in another house ; but I Shall contend
that the' bill which comes to uS by unanimous vote,
ot by a large majority in its' favor, would conie with
a greater \veighfr than one passed by a very small
majority. — Recollecting then all these things', We
cannot, I contend, be accused of impropriety or pre
sumption in saying we will pause where we are,
and Oppose going into a bill Which appears to us so
utterly incorrigible. But there are one or two
points upon yi^hich I wish to make' some observations.
When any; measure is proposed to a legislative as
sembly, there are three questions" which a prudent
legislator will ask himself. First, Whether the
measure is necessary? Second, Whether it is
Jikely to be efficacious? And; third, Whether it is
L2

148 [june 10,
likely to produce greater evils than those which it is
meant to remedy? I will pass by the two last, and
proceed to the first. Is the present measure neces
sary ? What! will you extend the penal code, and
not prove first that the crime which you propose to
punish' has increased ? Mischievous, indeed, must
be the consequence. But, Sir, in point of fact, and
in fairness of reasoning, the crime in the present
case, so far from having increased, has been proved
to have diminished. The learned gentleman oppo
site me, in going over a period of thirty years, tells
us, that in the first ten there were forty-four di^
vorces ; in the second ten twenty-three ; and in the
third ten fifty-two. But to form a right judgment,
we must compare the increased number of mar
riages, the increase of population, and, undoubtedly,
the increase in wealth of the country. The fair in
ference to be drawn from this comparison will then
be, that the crime has diminished. But, says an
honorable gentleman, it is not proper that the crime
should exist at all ; true : but what I demand from
those who argue in favor of the present bill is, to
shew me that what they propose to remove has not
operated as a check upon the commission of the
crime. This substituted law of honor, which in
duces the man to marry the woman he has seduced,
has been strongly inveighed against ; but I desire
those who so inveigh against it, to shew me whether
it has not been one of the causes of the crime having
diminished. Will the removal of this law decrease
it ? Sir, what I complain of most is, that what is
now proposed is all matter of experiment, and that
such a proposition, when the crime has been proved
to be diminishing, is, to say no more of it, extremely .
desperate. The honorable gentleman opposite me
think it an evil that men should set up this law of
honor, and he prefers open and avowed vice. Sir, I
should think strangely of the morality and honor 'of
that man who, having seduced a married woman,
should afterwards scoff at her credulity, leave her to

1800.] 149
shame and sorrow, send her out an exile and a wan
derer, and abandon her to all the horrors of mockery
and insult. I should say to him who prefers that
kind of morality, that he ought indeed to have a
great stock of religion in his heart to reconcile such
principles and practice to his conscience. I' should
say, that such conduct was a grosser violation of all
moral feeling, than the very act of adultery itself.
The honorable gentleman has urged, with great
truth, the obligations the country is under to certain
illustrious personages, for the example of domestic
virtues which they have uniformly afforded. Is it
not true too, I would ask, that the women of this
country were never more correct in their conduct
than at present ? Is there any man, I would also ask,
who, when it is attempted to be contended that the
days of Charles II. were purity to these, does not
know that assertion to be an untruth? If that be
the case, is it no slight thing to throw out this un
mannerly and unmanly slander upon the morality of
the country? Is it nothing to hold forth that the
example which the illustrious personages upon the
throne have for so long a period afforded has pro
duced no good effect ; and that, instead of having
been attended with any beneficial consequences, we
are forced, after a period of forty years, to make a
law to stop the progress of adultery ? The honor
able gentleman has described a husband treating
his Wife ill, and has added, that if a seducer had not
intervened, the wife, by her gentleness, her meek
ness, and her virtues, might at last have reclaimed
the husband. Sir, that there would be frequent
examples of this forbearance and perseverance on
the part of the wife, I am not yet prepared to admit.
But the honorable gentleman says, ought not the
seducer to be punished ? Yet he cannot be, if this
ill usage is' proved against the husband. Sir, I will
not answer, whether the seducer ought to be pu
nished, because I contend that he cannot be under
this bill. A learned gentleman has talked of ex-

150 [JUNE JO,
emplary damages been given. I do not pretend to
be much of a lawyer; but, in my opinion, talking
of exemplary damages in civil actions, is talking
exemplary nonsense. Who told juries that they
were to be the Custodies Morum ?—I will juot sur
mise who pressed this into the minds of juries, but
he who states this doctrine is responsible for the
effect it produces. Sir, I know it will be said that
these objectionable parts may he removed hi a com
mittee — and this is what I complain of, that these
bills come to us in a shape so little resembling that
in which they are to pass, that, like the crafty tyrant
in Shakespeare, they may say to us —
« Judge not by what I am, but what I shall become !'
Sir, a judge may think it proper to tell a jury, th^Jt
twenty thousand pounds, that a whole fortune is not
sufficient to repair the injury a husband has sus
tained. — A jury, however, may think otherwise;
and only give two. The same man may afterwards
by the present bill come under an indictment before
the same judge, who may deem it to be his duty to
make up for this supposed deficiency on the part of
the juries ; and this is one of the evils which this
bill may tend to produce. A learned friend of mine,
who has argued in fayor of the measure, has talked
of the harmonious whole — but what is the fact ? Is
there not this anomaly ? The seducer is only to be
prosecuted by one individual ; and who is this indi
vidual ? the husband, who, in other parts of the bill,
may be supposed to be in collusion. How many
years of solitary confinement the seducer is to be
punished with, we are not told; but, on his trial for
the misdemeanor, he calls in the husband to crossr
examine him with respect to his treatment of his
wife; to go over his whole life from the com
mencement of his marriage, to question him relative
to every part of his conduct. The result of this
will, I cpniend, be such a disinclination, that hyr
husbands will consent to put themselves in a sjipatiop

1S0O.] 151
to proceed to such indictments; of course then there-
can be no divorce : but if he does proceed to an in
dictment, and the seducer should make out that the
husband has afforded provocation to his wife; in
that case there can be no divorce. Here then will
be this strange icase. The public wrong will be
proved; the adultery will be proved ; the seducer,
however, will (not be punished ; the wife will not
be punished ; and where then will be the harmonious
whole ? Sir, my objection to the measure is, that it
is dashing rashly, and desperately at experiment ;
and is there any man, I would ask, who would con
sent to change the morals of our countrywomen for
those of the women of any other nation in the world ?
I say then, Sir, that the bill is unnecessary; I hope
it will not be suffered to proceed to another discus
sion ; but if it does, I shall go into it more at length,
and I pledge myself to shew that the principle of it
is bad ; that it will be unjust in its operation ; that
it is cruel, unchristian-like, and severe, and in an
inverse proportion to the degree of guilt ; that it is
hostile to the doctrines of the Protestant church;
and that it is calculated to increase that evil which
it proposes to remedy. For these reasons, Sir, I
give the bill my most hearty and decided oppo
sition." The house divided; for the chairman leaving the chair 104; against
it 143.

June 23.
MONASTIC INSTITUTION BILL.
Mr. Sheridan said, he had been listening with
great attention to every person who had spoken on
the subject now before the house, and particularly
to the two honorable and learned gentlemen who
had taken part in it. He should neither follow
them nor any other person in the detail of their
arguments, but endeavor to bring the question now

152 [JUNE 23,
before the house into as narrow a compass as the
thing was capable of. By the question, he meant
the substance of that on which the decision of the
house was to be taken. The honorable and learned
gentleman who had just sat down, had gone, he
apprehended, considerably beside the question,
which really was this : " Whether there does exist
at this moment, in the conduct of the Catholics in
this country, any ground to blame them ? Whether,
in a word, any body could fairly impute to any of
them any misconduct whatever?" — No gentleman
had yet met this question, and yet every gentleman
seemed to admit that this was the point for the dis
cussion of the house. One honorable member said,
the house should not proceed unless they saw actual
misconduct. On what ground was the house to
decide that this measure was necessary ? Were
they to proceed on general rumour or hear-say ?
Were they to proceed on a regulating bill, merely
upon confidence in those who said it was necessary ?
Or, would the advocates of the bill come at once to
that short issue, " was there any misconduct in the
Catholics that rendered this or any regulation ne
cessary ?" Whether monasteries should or should
not exist, he should not at present argue ; neither
should be now say any thing upon the question,
whether parliament should or should not at any time
prevent them. These were points that appeared
to him to be foreign to the question before the
house, because that was a question of regulation.
What he first should humbly insist upon was this :
that there ought to be made out a case shewing the
necessity of this measure, or of some measure, before
the house agreed to any alteration in the law upon
the subject. The learned gentleman who spoke
last, had called this an enabling bill ; he did not
think that learned gentleman had perused it very
accurately, nor very attentively examined what the
law was already upon this point ; if he had, he
would have found there was no necessity for this

1800.] 153
enabling bill. As to most of the objects of the bill,
or rather those which were supposed to be the objects
of it, and their residence, he must observe there was
no power to remove them, for they were natural-
born subjects of this realm, and for the same reason
they would not be put under the operation of the
alien act. But there was one great mistake which
the friends of the bill fell into, that of confounding
the idea of vows with legal obligations in these nun
neries, or monastic institutions ; whereas there was,
in this country, no such thing as a legal obligation
attached to a vow. There was no legal power of
attaching any civil punishment to those who broke
their vows in this country. Any number of ladies
might meet together, and make a vow that they
would die old maids ; but they could not be bound
by law to observe that vow. In other countries,
if a nun run away, or married, she was punishable
by the civil power ; but here there was no such law,
and therefore the idea was idle of making an altera
tion in the law upon that subject, because upon that
subject there was no law. Many compliments had
been paid to the honorable baronet who brought in
this bill. No man could think higher of his virtues
and talents than he did ; but on the present occa
sion he saw no room for compliments on the deli
cacy and forbearance of the framers of the bill ; for
sure he was that it was fraught with every thing
that must insult the pride and alarm the feelings of
the Roman Catholics of this Country, than which
description of the community none was more ex
emplary in their conduct as men and as subjects.
It was telling the Roman Catholic gentlemen, that
we understood their interests, and could direct their
feelings better than themselves, and that we knew
best how and where their children should be edu
cated. But, after all, in what does this delicacy, so
much panegyrized, consist? — in abstaining from
specifying particular places, or particular persons,
and from exposing those whom we have taken under

154 [JUNE 23,
our protection to popular indignation and rage.
This delicacy and forbearance would have no such
effect — on the contrary, he would contend that it
would expose both foreign and English Roman
Catholics to be victims of popular fury. The mea
sure must be felt as such by those who recollect the
horrors that disgraced the year 1780. Under the
pretext of religious alarm, what was then sought for
but plunder, massacre, and firings ? If once aroused,
who can control the savage madness of such a mob,
or prevent its running into a general undistinguish-
ing cry against the whole body of Roman Catho
lics? This reflection must make the promoters of
the measure shudder at the consequences which it is
more than possible it may produce. At least it
should induce the house to pause before they pro
ceeded too hastily to adopt it, or any measure that
might risk such horrible and incalculable mischief.
But it will still be said there is no harm, no mischief
to be dreaded from it. He would ask, where was
its necessity ? Without a necessity, a well-proved
necessity, no legislative act should be proceeded to.
But of late every gentleman has become a law
maker, whether new laws were called for or not. If
laws are enacted without the plea of necessity, or of
some evident good to be derived from it, the multi
plying of such laws is only spreading imbecility
over the rest of your statutes. Without a strong
case were previously made out, he must therefore
again entreat gentlemen not to lend their counte
nance to a measure which, if duly considered, may
be found pregnant with the most horrible mis
chiefs. When the mob in the year 1780 rose against
the Catholics, they had parliament against them;
for parliament was then employed in repealing laws
that bore hard upon the Roman Catholics ; at pre
sent they would find the house of commons, at
least, countenancing injurious suspicions of that class
of their fellow-subjects. He was induced to oppose
this bill, because he did not wish the Catholics to

1500.] 155
be exposed to popular indignation. Would any
lpan> WPP rememhered what happened in 1780, tell
hipi tfiere was no danger to he apprehended from
a furiqps, plundering, desolating and proscribing
mob, with the cry of " No popery ? " Would any
man tell him ,there was no probability that any de
signing, artfpl demagogue, should arise and pretend
that, the present high price of provisions was owing
to the C,a,thplics in this country? And who would
answer vfpr the copsequences ? It was not enough
to say .that the people were now more enlightened
than they were ; ,a mob, whenever they were put
in motion, had but one way of proceeding, and that
was tp take a catch-word, and, under it, to plunder
and destroy wherever they proceeded. All this he
saw ,at least as a possibility, by encouraging these
legislative provisions without necessity. It had
been said, that in the time of James II. there was
bpt ope Catholic in this country to an hundred Pro
testants, and that the number was the same, or
nearly the same, now; but did any man seriously
mean to say that the danger at this time from the
Catholic religion was the same as at that time ? He
had heard a good deal said in praise of toleration,
as it was called, in this country. He confessed
freely fie was almost induced to hate the word, be
cause it was but another name for mitigating perse
cution. The true sentence of justice was "Free,-
dom of worship." As to the provision in the bill
which authorises magistrates to visit and inspect the
Roman Catholic seminaries, he could think of no
thing that uiore rudely violated all decorum and de
licacy. Why not visit and inspect the places of edu
cation of other sects ; or why hold out the false
hood that the Catholics were more, to be feared ? It
was wonderful how the framers of the bill seemed
to be influenced only by shadows and alarms, and
never thought of any thing like proofs to justify the
necessity of the measure. How came it to pass that
on this occasion they were so regardless of the evi*

156 [JUNE 23,
dence of facts ? He had facts, however, to ad
duce, though he must beg pardon of those new
legislators for attempting to obtrude any, as they
seemed to them to be wholly unnecessary. Mr.
Sheridan then proceeded to read a number of docu
ments, by which it appeared that all mistresses of
the Roman Catholic boarding-schools had been asked
the question, whether they had any protestant young
ladies under their care, or whether they were in the
habit of admitting them as pupils? The uniform an
swer was, none ; none ; never. They were also
asked if they offered to educate, or did really educate
Protestant young women for nothing ? They were
all anxious to be exculpated from this charge of
charity : they never were guilty of such a thing, ex
cept in one, or perhaps two instances, and then the
young women were Catholics, not Protestants. A
foolish alarm had also been sent abroad respecting
the number of emigrant clergy now in this country ;
they were said to amount to five thousand ; and per
sons had even been absurd enough to say, that in
one country alone they had converted two thousand
housemaids. How this wonderful conversion was
brought about, he could not well conceive. The
emigrant priests spoke but little English, and our
housemaids, he believed, spoke as little French.
Besides, it was nothing to the purpose to bring in
the conduct of the emigrant priests on this occasion,
as the bill in question did not go to affect them in
the least. In no instance, indeed, had any argu
ment been urged to support the bill as it really
stood. The framers of.it, indeed, pretended that
it was " A bill to explain, amend, and render more
effectual the thirty-first of His Majesty ;" but when
examined it would rather appear to be " A bill to
confound, deform, and render nugatory that act."
The honorable gentleman next proceeded to shew
that, out of the seventeen convents that were now
established in this country, only nine of them took
in pupils. They were the only schools to which

1800.] T57
Roman Catholic gentlemen could send their children
to be educated, and was it not better that they should
be educated here, under the eyes of their parents,
and under the vigilant inspection of government,
than in France, or any other foreign country, where
their political as well as moral principles were sup
posed to run such risk of being corrupted ? He was
ready to confess that there was, in his opinion, a
great deal of prejudice in the minds of many well-
meaning persons in this country upon the subject ;
and that of supposing the Catholic to be a worse re
ligion than pthers to a state in the present state of
things, was only a political and moral falsehood.
Upon the subject of the supposed operation of the
funds of these monasteries being more than a match
for the church of England, he said that appeared to
him to be absolutely ridiculous. He said it should
seem as if these poor Catholics possessed all their
former wealth and splendour, and that all their
lands and goods had not been turned over with the
cathedrals to our church — as if Harry the Eighth
had never stripped them of any thing, whereas he
left them little but their vows to feed upon; nor
have they had any other food by the rules of law in
this country since the reformation : and therefore,
to suppose that a few obscure nuns, living in a
garret, could, by scattering their wealth in this
country, eclipse our established church in splen
dor, and thereby become dangerous, appeared to
him to be absolutely ridiculous. Indeed, it was
much to be apprehended, that this bill had its ori
gin in a mixture of other motives than those that
were merely religious ; or it might possibly arise
out of a controversial spirit. This spirit had lately
shewn itself, more particularly at Winchester, where
the emigrants were pot very popular, as perhaps it
was natural for the people to be somewhat angry at
seeing the king's castle there garrisoned only by
French priests. Mr. Sheridan then mentioned the
controversy that was now carried on between Dr.
Sturges and Mr. Milner, on both of whom he be-

158 [june 23,
stowed the praise of erudition and abilities. Dr.
Sturges, he was sure, did not Want parliamentary
assistance to aid him in refuting Mr. Milrter's doc
trines, though the latter indeed was rather a formi
dable antagonist. He next instanced the cruel
treatment received by M. l'Abbe Fleury in Hamp
shire, who had been torn from his home by an order
from the Secretary of State, though it was not yet
known what crime had been laid to his charge, and
the most respectable testimonies had been given to
his character by gentlemen who had an opportunity
of observing it for seven years. All these papers?
and documents he was ready to lay before the House>
and he hoped their justice and candour would not
think it too much, that this evidence should be in
quired into before the bill was farther proceeded on.
It was merely his wisfy that a committee might be
appointed to inspect them, and report whether they
saw any necessity for the measure. Npthing, in his
mind, could be more inauspicious than such a bill afj
this time, when we were about to receive into the
country a number of representatives from Irelahd',
upon an idea of an union of interest as well as po
litical shew, an Union with a country three-fourths
of whose inhabitants were Gatholicsi He concluded'
with observing, that this bill was not worthy of
being, as it were, the legacy of the last English par
liament to its successors ; that it was hurtful to the
feelings of the Catholics, incompatible with our pro
fessions of liberality, not countenanced by the spirit)
of our constitution, the basis of which was freedom}*
and possibly introductory of great public mischief;
as well as private vexation. Under these considei
rations he should end with a proposition, " That the
house do appoint a committee to enquire into the
state of these religious houses, &c. and proceed no
farther until it had some evidence upon the subject,
upon which to deliberate ;" for which purpose he
would move " that this examination be adjourned
to Monday next/'
For the Speaker leaving the chair 52 ; against it 24;

1800:] 159
June 27.
overtures from buonaparte for peace.
Mr. Sheridan — " Sir, I rise in pursuance of
the notice I had the honor of giving on Tuesday
last, in order to state the grouqds' on which I rest
my proposition; of the necessity of a call of the
house on Monday fortnight. I am aware how very
unpleasant and inconvenient a motion of this kind
is at all times; unless there exist very strong grounds
for it. When I mentioned my intention on Tues
day of bringing forward such a motion, it was ob
served, that the intelligence' recently arrived from
France, and on which I founded the necessity, was
nothing more than mere rumor. I might have been
disposed to Have admitted the justice of the objec
tion; but, Sir, it is with the deepest regret I inform
the house, that I now understand' government has
received1 the fullest and most authentic accounts of
the truth, in every particular, of that disastrous in
telligence. I find' that the events which before
existed only in rumor have taken place, and that
the alarming consequences of them appear in a
much stronger light than by the first doubtful state
ment of them. It is not my intention to take ad
vantage of the opportunity the: subject affords me,
by going much at large into general5 topics of argu
ment and observation, referring to the impropriety
and impolicy of carrying on the war with the Re
public of France, or of the necessity of an imme
diate peace and reconciliation with her present go
vernment; but I shall confine myself entirely to
those topics which will enable me to bring before the'
house the simple question, whether the present cir
cumstances of'the country, and the relative situation
in which it stands with regard to its allies, are not ma
terially altered' since we last discussed the subject,
and so much so as to call upon the house to review
the reasons on which it then decided ? and also to
inquire, whether it is fit apd proper to separate,

1G0 [june 27,
and enter upon a long recess, leaving the power of
war and peace in the hands of His Majesty's pre
sent ministers, of miriisters who have brought the
country to its present situation, and whose hopes,
promises, and predictions, with which they amused
us, have failed in every instance — whether it be
comes us to separate, without once more endeavor
ing to counsel His Majesty on this important,
and to us all, interesting subject? When last this
question was discussed, we were instructed by the
prophetic speech and warning voice of that great
man, whose absence the house, in common with
Piyself, must regret upon this occasion, as to the
utter impracticability of subduing the French Re
public by force of arms. At that period, it was
admitted, we were continuing the war for the pur-,
pose of restoring the house of Bourbon. Such was
confessedly the object of ministers. In order to
persuade the house to coincide with them, as to the
expediency of pursuing the war in order to restore.
the French monarchy, and supporting His Majesty's,
ministers in refusing every kind of negociation with
Buonaparte, six reasons were adduced. Now I
will put it to the plain understanding of every man
of common sense, whether we have not had the.
fullest experience, that every one of those six
grounds or reasons for continuing the war and re
fusing to negociate have not wholly and completely
failed ? I ask, whether there is a single fragment
of any one of them remaining ? To prove that there
is not, I will recapitulate them in their order. The
first reason was, that we ought to wait for a better.
and more perfect acquaintance with the character of
Buonaparte, and for some proof of the stability of
the government of which he was the head. Have
we not been enabled to form a sufficient estimate of
his character, and need we require any further
proofs of the stability of his power ? I think the
house and the country may be satisfied on these
points. The second reason was, the great expen-

1800.] 161
sive and persevering support that we should receive
from our powerful and magnanimous ally, the Em
peror of Russia ; and even should his ardor in the
cause relax, the assistance we were to expect from
the Elector of Bavaria and the princes of the Em
pire. We have had all the experience that was ne
cessary, and it has proved to demonstration, that
the hopes formed of assistance from those powers
have altogether failed. The third reason offered,
was a treaty with the emperor of Germany, by
which, it was to be stipulated, that neither Austria
nor England were to lay down their arms but with
the mutual consent of each Other. Has any one
heard of such a treaty having taken place ? I know
nothing of its having been concluded, nor indeed
does the fact of the existence of such a treaty at all
appear. The fourth and principal reason was to be
found in the repossession of Italy by the Emperor.
The recent failure of his arms in that quarter has
afforded us sufficient experience how premature
were the hopes founded on that circumstance. The
fifth reason was the increased spirit of the royalists
in France. It was said, they were certain of find
ing allies in the discontents of the jacobins ; that they
were to persevere till the family of Bourbon was
reseated on the throne of France ; and that the
divided state of that country furnisbed a ground of
hope, that with the assistance of this, we should see
the object for which the war was commenced and
carried on completely accomplished. Has not ex
perience shewn how rash and fallacious such hopes
were? has not the event proved that they were
formed without the least knowledge of human na
ture, about which ministers have talked so much ?
The sixth and last ground was the reduced and dis
organized state of the French army. It was stated
that such was the situation of the military power of
France, that it was physically impossible for them
to bring such a strength into the field as could pro
duce success, or any thing like it. How just such
VOL, V. v M

162 [june 27,
a conclusion was, the house, after the events of the
present campaign, are enabled to determine. Thus,
Sir, I have stated the six grounds that induced the
house, when the subject was last before it, to sup
port His Majesty's ministers in refusing what I
must call the moderate, respectful, and apparently
sincere overtures of Buonaparte.
Finding that every one of these grounds has
failed, surely, Sir, I shall not be deemed a very un
reasonable member of parliament, if I urge the
house, before it consents to continue the war, to
require at least six new reasons. The house will
not, it cannot carry on this war upon those six
grounds ; which I have clearly proved, by shew
ing that they have uniformly failed, must have been
made by ministers divested of all penetration, know
ledge of the resources of the enemy, and capacity
to conduct war with success, or make peace with
honor. I can fancy but one reason that can possibly
induce ministers to continue the war with France.
It may be, Sir, that after all the reasons they have
alleged as the basis of that support which they re
ceived from the house ; after all their vain boasts of
their own triumphs and success, and the defeat and
despair of the enemy ; after all those hopes of the
divisions in Fiance having prepared the way for the
restoration of its antient government, hopes which
they pledged themselves to realize ; after their un
founded, weak, and ridiculous assertions of the re
duced and ruined state of the French army ; and,
above all, after their violent and unqualified abuse
of that great man, for so he must be called, who is
at the head of the French Republic; I say, Sir,
after ministers have so unnecessarily and unadvisedly
committed themselves, it is natural to suppose they
would feel themselves in an awkward situation, if
obliged to treat with the man who has been the ob
ject of their virulent and ill-timed abuse. I am
sensible they would be placed in an awkward situa
tion in treating with him at present. But shall

1800.] ,163
their feelings be a ground for deferring the day of
negotiation ? Their wounded pride may make them
wish to continue a war, though they are forced to
abandon the grounds and principles on which they
have hitherto carried it on. Were I a political
friend of their's, I should say to them — " It is of
much more consequence to stop the effusion of hu
man hlood, and heal the wounds of afflicted man
kind, than to continue a war which desolates the
earth, merely because your feelings would be hurt
by entering upon a treaty for peace." But, "Sir,
ought the representatives of Great Britain to re
gard the pride or the -feelings of His Majesty's mi
nisters, when they cannot be gratified without doom
ing to misery and death thousands of our own fel
low-subjects, and thousands of our enemies ? Sir,
as to the character of Buonaparte, which, in my
opinion, forms so prominent an ingredient in the
present argument, though I shbuld certainly not have
referred to it had it not been so much the subject of
declamation on the other side of the house ; with
regard to his character and principles, I would put
it to the candor of ministers themselves ; if they
possess any, as well as to the house, whether, since
the period when they refused to negotiate with him,
every action by which he has distinguished himself
has not been eminently calculated to raise him in
the good opinion of every man who judges without
prejudice? That Buonaparte may justly be deno
minated an usurper, I admit ; that he is a self-
appointed dictator in France, I admit ; but it must
not be forgotten, that the situation of the country
required the vigorous had of such a dictator as he is.
That Buonaparte possesses more power than is com
patible with the liberties of France, I admit ; but
that he possesses more power than is necessary to
protect the Republic, and to enable it to resist those
enemies that seek to destroy it, is what I will not ad
mit. What has been the species of abuse with -
which his character has been attacked ? Not merely
M2

164 [june 27,
'that he is an hypocrite, that he is a man devoid of
principle, that he is not only divested of morality, but
religion, professing whatever mode of faith best
answers his purpose; his enemies have not been
content with these topics of censure, but his military
skill and reputation have been the subject of their
attack. It has been said, that the sailors on board
our vessels before Acre laughed at his want of skill
in war. But, Sir, we have seen religion obtain a to
lerant exemption in her favor under the governmentof
this atheist; we have seen the faith of treaties observed
under the government of this perfidious adventurer —
the arts and sciences find protection under the go
vernment of this plunderer; the sufferings of huma- "
manity have been alleviated under this ferocious
usurper ; the arms of France have been led to vic
tory by this Tyro in the art and practice of war ! —
Sir, I confess to you, I look back with astonishpient ,
to the period when that great general was so vilely
libelled. I was wont to expect more candor, more
elevation of sentiment, in an English gentleman.
But the war in which we are engaged has deadened,
every heroic feeling which once gave the tone to the
martial spirit of this abused country. Unfortunately
for us, the French general has fully proved his title
to heroic honors. Never since the days of Hannibal
have such splendid events opened on the world with
such decisive consequences. " Cujus adolescentia
ad scientiam rei militaris, non alienis preeceptis, sed
suis imperiis j non offensionibus belli, sed victoriis j
non stipendiis, sed triumphis, est traducta.^ Such
is the man who, even in his military character, we
had been taught to consider with contempt ! Such
is the man who, even in his military character, we
had been taught to consider with contempt ! Such
is the portrait of the man with whom His Majesty's
ministers have refused to treat. Sir, I should not
have mentioned this, if government had not made
his character a main question as to the continuance
of the war; and if His Majesty's ministers had

1800.] 165
not shewn us our hopes of peace must depend upon
their ideas concerning it. I do say, that, consider
ing the manner in which he has been treated by those
ministers, he has. acted with singular moderation,
humanity, and magnanimity ; and therefore we have
the evidence of facts as to his principles, and that
evidence removes the main ground of objection to
treating with him. There are moments in which it
may be necessary to do justice to the merits of an
enemy, but it never can be necessary to speak of an
enemy with rancor. I have stated, Sir, that Buo
naparte possesses much more power than is compa
tible with the liberty of France ; but having always
held the opinion that France ought to enjoy her
liberty, and being persuaded that the death of that
liberty would be effected by the combined powers
forcing a government upon the people, I cannot but
hope the time will arrive when France shall not only
possess that portion of true liberty she ought to have,
but that the government of this country will not
consider its own security and the liberty of France
inconsistent with each other. Sir, I may be cen
sured for applying Such a term as taste to a subject
of such importance ; but it does appear to me that
the changes produced in the feelings of men, with
respect to their admiration of exalted or distin
guished characters, in a great measure are to be at
tributed to the taste and fashion that prevail. These
are not times in which Kings have any reason to be
proud of their wealth or superior power. The ad
miration of mankind is not confined to the characters
of Kings alone ; the world has had a lesson of the
effects of their ambition. Buonaparte has shewn his
Country, that his object is to maintain the power he
has attained by the moderation of his government ;
and I must hope, that when he has achieved the
liberty of France, and his enemies have afforded
him the opportunity of turning his attention to its
internal regulations, he will, in giving it liberty,
impart to it all the blessings and happiness of civi-

166 [JUNE 27,
lized peace. It must be in the recollection of the
house, how much stress was laid on the conduct of
this man with regard to the success of any negotia
tions for terminating the war. Has he not suffi
ciently developed his character, and given proofs of
the security and permanence with which our go
vernment might conclude a treaty with him ? I
believe, Sir, it will not be denied for a moment,
that the general voice is for peace, immediate peace,
if possible ; the necessity of peace is felt throughout
the country, both in this house and out of it. But
I am sorry to say that there is a degree of careless
indolence and supineness that pervades all ranks of
the people, which to my mind is the worst symptom
of the declining liberty of a country. There is
scarcely a man whom you meet, who has known
the extent of the calamities of the present war, yet
in proportion to those calamities hus been a sup
porter of government in carrying it on, who has not
received the news of the victories over the Austrians,
our allies, with a smile ; they observe, that the vic
tories of Buonaparte will lead to peace. Look to
the universal sentiment those victories have pro
duced in the city : the funds have risen in conse*
quence of them ; the people feel that it is to the
defeat of our allies alone that they can look forward
for an alleviation of their calamities. If the people
have suffered by the continuation of the war, it is to
themselves they must look as the cause of their suf
ferings. They feel the distresses of the war ; they
will not say, " We will have peace," but are con
tent to receive it as a boon from the enemy, through
the disgrace of our allies. I know the people have
only to meet in a constitutional way, and express
their determination to have peace, in order to ob
tain it : but no ; they wait till they receive it by the
defeat and loss of honor of those with whom we are
allied in the prosecution of the war. It is this su
pineness that I consider as a symptom of the decay
of the spirit which once characterised the country.

1800.] 167
There never was a period when there appeared so
little public virtue, so little independence of mind,
as at present ; it is to rescue it from such apathy
that I make this motion. Referring to what I pro
fessed at the outset of my observations, I shall not
further occupy the attention of the house ; but con
clude with the motion I proposed to make; observ
ing, at the same time, that no one can be more
sensible of the unpopularity of such a motion than I
am ; however, I do not know that there can be any
objection to it. I put it to ministers, whether they
ought not to give every member of this house an
opportunity of attending the discussion of so impor
tant a question as that of peace or war, previous to
the separation of parliament ? I shall now move,
Sir, " That this house may be called over this day
fortnight."
Mr. Pitt having replied,
Mr. Sheridan rose again. I have little inclina
tion, Sir, to trouble the house with any further re
marks. I trust every honorable gentleman must be
convinced of the propriety of my motion, from what
has been already said ; but there were some expres
sions which fell from the right honorable gentleman
who had just sat down, which I think it my duty to
observe upon. He says that I was intemperate in
my language. It might be so ; but certainly he has
by no means set me an example of moderation. I
can safely say that I never saw even him to lose his
temper so much. His faculties seem to have been
overwhelmed by his passions, for he communicated
nearly as few ideas as if he had risen and beat a
drum or sounded a trumpet. We had words in
abundance, and fine-sounding words ; but argu
ment we had none. He says, that I enumerated
the six reasons for carrying on the war without the
necessary qualifications, and that I omitted the
principal reason of all, viz. the deranged state of the
French finances. Sir, I can safely declare that I

168 [june 27,
am ignorant of the qualifications to which the right
honorable gentleman alludes, and that I left out
this mighty reason from my list because it was not
mentioned by him and his friends when they main
tained the propriety of persevering in the contest.
They had frequently foretold the bankruptcy of
France, and maintained that she was ready to sink
into the gulf, and as often found their predictions
erroneous and their assertions false. Afraid of again
subjecting themselves to the charge of ignorance
and temerity, or rather finding that the nation could
no longer be duped by their stale tricks, they ab
stained altogether from urging this argument against
listening to the overtures of Buonaparte. The right
honorable gentleman pleads in excuse for his con
duct, that he never promised us success. He says,
" We are good ministers, we have taken the most
likely steps to promote the welfare of the country ;
but we have been disappointed, and things have turned
out differently from what there was reason to ex
pect." When I have shewn that every ground on
which he has built has failed, and all his reasonings
and predictions were erroneous, what kind of lan
guage is it for a minister to talk of his promises?
When he whom he lately boasted of as being a
magnanimous and affectionate ally, has abandoned
our cause, and is on the brink of hostilities with us ;
when those troops which he said would do more than
supply the place of the Russians, are almost all cut
to pieces, and the dominions of their prince in the
power of the enemy; when the French armies,
which he represented as completely disorganized
and incapable of being recruited, are triumphing in
every direction, and presenting a most formidable
aspect to the whole of Europe ; when the Austrians
whose triumphs were so highly extolled ; who were
affirmed to be in a state to continue their victorious
career, and who were said to be unanimous with
ourselves, have lost the whole of Italy, tremble for
their capital, refuse to enter into a treaty with us

1800.] 169
and are probably at this moment treating with the
French ; when the royalists are all subdued and re
conciled to the republican government, who, the
right honorable gentleman assured us, were suffi
cient to restore royalty in France ; when that cha
racter which was abused and vilified, and loaded
with every epithet of reproach, has shone forth with
unexampled splendour, and given proofs of almost
every excellence; the right honorable gentleman
comes down with a puny, sorry, childish, pitiful
excuse, and says he made no promises. What ! is
he not to be blamed for having been deficient of in
telligence ; for having despised advice ; for having
acted without deliberation and foresight; for hav
ing persisted in a system unjustifiable, impolitic, and
ruinous, because he did not promise us success?
He stands convicted of complete inability or gross
misrepresentation. If he really believed what he
said, he is destitute of that penetration, sagacity,
and soundness of judgment which are indispensably
necessary to a minister. If he was conscious of the
real state of affairs, and foresaw the events which
were likely to happen, and yet talked with confi
dence of victory, and obstinately persisted in the
contest, no epithet of reproach and condemnation is
too strong to be applied to him. Sir, I thought it
my duty to move that the members of the house
should be called together before the recess, that
their opinions may be taken upon the present alarm
ing posture of affairs. My motion has no other ob
ject; and no imputation can be more false than im
puting to me a desire of dispiriting the country, or
encouraging our enemies. I do not despond ; and
I would rather shed the last drop of my blood, than
see my country dishonored, or lose its independ
ence. It would be unpardonable in any minister
to dare to prorogue parliament at a conjuncture like
the present, when every day may produce events
interesting to the existence of the State. I hope
that he will not think of proroguing parliament :

170 [june 27,
I am astonished that he even objects to a call of the
house — I have but a very few more words to address
to you. — I have proved that the six motives for car
rying on the war with France have failed every one
of them ; and though the onus probandi lay upon
the minister, he has not deigned to assign any new
ones. Does it not then follow, that the war should
be discontinued, or at least that a full attendance
should be procured, that the propriety of disconti
nuing it may be canvassed ? How great is the re
sponsibility that ministers thus incur ! If this system
is continued, ruin must ensue. If I were to say
that the French, having now a large body of troops
at their disposal, might fit out an armament at
Brest against our colonies, and send it to the West
Indies, the right honorable gentleman would insure
me that such a plan is impracticable, and that our
possessions in every quarter of the globe are in a
state of security. But after the fate of his predic
tions, would I, or would any one, give credit to
them ? Although he should, from his knowledge of
human nature, declare it to be impossible, may we
not, reflecting on the past, suppose that the Emperor
of Russia may be influenced by the French, and
declare war against his former allies ? If he were
to affirm that our commerce would continue to
flourish, and our finances to be prosperous, would it
be no answer to say, you have formerly been de
ceived ? It is strange, indeed, to observe the man
ner in which these gentlemen apply experience to
themselves and to others : they say that you should
put trust in no one till you are thoroughly ac
quainted with him, and that, if he has once acted
improperly, he should never be trusted more. But
they still claim confidence in themselves from all
the world, although they have been repeatedly con
victed of ignorance, incapacity, and presumption.
I thought it my duty, Sir, to bring forward this mo
tion, and now I leave it to its fate."
Ayes 27 ; noes 124.

1800.] 171
December 1.
negotiation with france.
Mr. Sheridan rose, and the clerk (at his re
quest) having read that part of His Majesty's
speech which refers to the late negotiations, spoke as,
follows : " Every one, Sir, who heard this speech de
livered frPm the throne, and every one who has read
the papers which were laid before the house, must ex
pect that we should take the subject into our solemn
consideration, and state our opinion upon it to His
Majesty in an humble address. This, Sir, is a step
which reason dictates, and it is strictly conformable
to parliamentary usage. Whenever any communi
cation of this nature has been made to the house,
the invariable practice has been, to canvas the con
duct of ministers in the affair to which it refers, and
to state the result of that enquiry to our Sovereign.
Ministers, however, seem to be of a different opi
nion ; and, for some reason or other, seem averse to
all investigation of their conduct : I, therefore,
thinking it of the utmost importance to the public
tbat it should be fully investigated, shall proceed to
state the result of my most serious and mature con
sideration. That result, I trust, will meet the sen
timents of the house, and the motion, which is
founded on it, be agreed to. Instead of entering
into the subject at large, as I once intended ; instead
of pointing out with minuteness where ministers
have been guilty of insincerity, where of1 prevarica
tion, where of weakness, where of hypocrisy — I
shall content myself with endeavoring to prove, from
the past conduct of our allies and their present
views,, that we ought to disentangle ourselves from
all continental connections as soon as possible ; and,
by entering into a separate negotiation, conclude a
separate peace : in doing this, I shall lay down two
propositions, and establish upon these, two separate
conclusions — The first is, that, from the commence-

172 [dec. 1,
ment of the confederacy, there has existed in the
different states who composed it, a mercenary spi
rit, a sole view to private aggrandisement, the
grossest and the most shameful insincerity. By
these its object has been defeated ; these now exist
in their full force ; and there is no prospect of its
object being attained. It will hence follow, that it
is our interest and our duty to withdraw from it, to
avoid the obstacles which it throws in the way of
peace, and no longer pledge ourselves to continue to
make war till those states which are called our
allies shall be completely exhausted. The next
proposition I shall lay down and support is this, that
there appears the strongest ground to suspect, that
in all the negotiations for peace which ministers
have carried on, although they may not have
thwarted their plenipotentiaries, although there may
have been conditions to which they would have ac
ceded, still that they have never sincerely wished
for peace, and never sincerely lamented the want
of it. The inference arising from this is plain;
since the same ministers remain in office, the interfer
ence of parliament is necessary ; that alone can
alter their intentions, counteract the mischiefs which
their views are calculated to produce, or afford the
least chance of salvation to the country.
" I take upon me then to say, Sir, that there is
no one power with whom we have been in alliance,
which has not deceived, defrauded, and deserted
us. It is melancholy, that while I am speaking,
additional arguments, and new proofs, should spring
up to strengthen my position. Not only has an em
bargo been laid upon all British vessels by our late
magnanimous ally, but it would seem that their cap
tains have all been thrown into prison. I hope
things will not turn out so ill as there is at present
reason to apprehend ; but, allowing that there have
been great exaggerations, there cannot be a doubt
that the boasted friendship of Russia is at an end,
and that by our vaunted ally we are forsaken, be-

1800.] 173
trayed, insulted, and outraged. For having said
that the Emperor Paul was insincere, and not to be
relied upon, a person was not long since fined and
imprisoned ; yet this same Emperor Paul has done
a most unjustifiable act, which shews that he was
undeserving of confidence. This embargo is not
all ; there is every reason to fear that almost every
port in the Elbe is shut against us ; that the King of
Prussia and the Duke of Brunswick have interfered,
and that, except by way of Mecklenberg, we can
neither draw supplies of grain from the continent,
nor send thither our manufactures. If these things
are true, it is surely time for the house to consider
whether this bar to negotiation should be allowed
to continue, whether ministers should be allowed to
keep possession of this pretext for carrying on the
war. The right honorable gentleman lately al
lowed that our allies- had treated us ill : he talked
of the dereliction of some, and the perfidy of
others ; to some he ascribed unaccountable fickle
ness, and to others shameless atrocity. But (said
he) who could have thought it ? We were not en
dowed with a faculty of certainly foreseeing future
events, and without that, no one could have sus-
pectedr"what has happened. Sir, this is not the lan
guage of an enlightened statesman, or of an upright
man. Did it require more than human prudence to
foresee that Prussia, after the first ebullition of her
resentment against the French ^revolution, would
soon perceive that it was not her interest to waste
her blood and her treasure for the aggrandizement
of Austria ; and that the best way to extinguish
jacobinism, and to check the spirit of innovation,
was to attend to internal regulations, to promote
industry, to secure plenty, and to alleviate the public
burthens? Did it require any great sagacity to
foresee that Spain, unable to withstand the shock
of republican arms, would, to save herself from
ruin, consent to any terms of accommodation ?
Could it not he suspected that the Emperor would

174 [dec. 1,
prefer his own interest to that of Great Britain, and
that he would not pay a very scrupulous regard to
any engagements which ought to have prevented
him from giving this preference ? Has it only been
discovered of late years, that the petty states of
Germany must all act in concert, either with the
Emperor, or the King of Prussia ? Was it a thing
very improbable that, when magnanimous Paul saw
all his allies fighting to promote their own interest,
and when he discovered that he himself could gain
nothing in the contest, his magnanimity should abate,
his ardor for martial glory should cool, and that
he should abandon the cause of morality, religion,
and social order ? But, Sir, they should surely
have been better able t© appreciate the operation of
this mercenary spirit, since it first animated their
own bosoms, and they infused it into the confederacy.
On what principles and pretences did they enter into
the war? We are severely censured for ascribing
various motives to them, and different one's to-day
from what we mentioned a few days before. But
the fault is their's; they change their language with
every change of circumstances, and make their in
ducements for performing past actions to depend
upon what happens years after they were performed.
I cannot forget that it was once said, we had gone
to war because France would not allow us to remain
at peace. This assertion is again repeated in Lord
Grenville' s letter ; and it is there positively asserted,
that our only reason for going to war was the un
provoked aggression of France. No sooner was
this language held at home, than another ground of
warfare was stated to the rest of Europe. The
enormities of the French were painted in glowing
colours ; the dangerous nature of their designs was
laid open ; the overthrow of all regular governments
was represented as inevitable if they should succeed ;
their private proceedings were represented as a suf
ficient reason for attempting to subdue them ; neu
trality was denounced as impolicy, as pusillanimity,

1800.] 175
as treason, against the human race. We declared
to Tuscany, we declared to Sardinia, we declared
to Switzerland, that they need not wait for aggres
sion, that all had already received sufficient provo
cation, who had any regard for domestic happiness,
for social comforts, or the consolations of religion.
Was there not here the grossest hypocrisy, and the
most shameful double-dealing ? Must not our allies
have been disgusted or corrupted by our bad ex
ample ? After all these protestations of respect for
the rights of humanity — after all these sentiments
of abhorrence for the regicide republic, ministers
were the first who neglected the professed object of
the war, and who consulted individual gain. While
they were calling upon all to join in a contest such
as never appeared before' — while they were main
taining that, to bring the awful and unprecedented
struggle to a happy termination, they thought they
must have an indemnity for their trouble — they
fitted out an expedition, and stole the West India
islands. This was the way in which we were to
destroy usurpation, and to set an awful example of
the punishment which' awaits disloyalty and irre-
ligion. In two right honorable gentlemen opposite
to me I think I see the true reasons for carrying on
the war personified, and their union is equally com
patible. The one (Mr. Pitt) says, I will admit that
the principle of the war is to suppress jacobinism,
and destroy its leaders, if I am not required to act
upon it. I will admit that our only object is to
establish the throne and the altar, provided I am
allowed to carry on my plans of aggrandizement.
This is the reason why our exertions have been so
ill directed, and why the means employed have been
so inadequate to the end proposed.
" From that moment all dignity forsook us; and
the variance between our professions and our prac
tice was by turns the subject of laughter, of censure,
and of reprobation to our allies. We were entitled
to salvage for the civilized world, a right honorable

176 [dec. 1,
gentleman (Mr. Dundas) I heard once say; but it
would have been time enough to be paid when the
work was accomplished ; when the job was done,
He first insists upon salvage, and then sets out in
pursuit of the vessel. Our example, Sir, had the
most deplorable effects. It infused a spirit of insin-^
cerity, and a desire of aggrandizement among all
the confederates, and they have ever since assisted
each other as long only, and to as great an extent,
as they thought would be productive of their own
individual advantage. Prussia soon after deserted
us, in a manner which I need not recal. The Em
peror's whole attention was turned to the acquisition
of a barrier, in place of the one which Joseph had
destroyed ; and his only object was to get possession
of Valenciennes, Quesnoy, and the other fortresses
of French Flanders. The fall of Dunkirk was
anxiously expected, that it might be delivered up to
Great Britain. This has been attempted to be de
nied; but it can be denied with no shadow of rea
son. Thus, though we did not absolutely break
faith with our allies, we introduced the principle
which led others to do so ; and we have no reason
whatever to reproach their misconduct.
" To apply what I have said to Russia. I never
was a friend to magnanimous Paul, and am so now
less than ever. — ' But I must render unto Caesar
the things that are Caesar's.' His mother, the Em
press Catherine, was very liberal of proclamations
and promises; but her magnanimous son declared
it to be his unalterable resolution not to sheath the
sword till he had restored the House of Bourbon.
He, in fact, sent numerous armies into the field,
and was prepared to make still greater exertions;
but he soon discovered that his allies were not
equally magnanimous with himself; that private
interest was their only guide ; and that, whilst his
forces were cut in pieces, and his resources ex
pended, he merely saw those made more powerful
who might one day become his enemies. He took

1800.] 177
upon himself the title of Grand Master of Malta, to
be sure (a most ridiculous step in every point of
view, particularly as he is a member of the Greek
church), but not an inch of the island does he pos
sess. Over this subject there hangs a considerable
degree of mystery, which I should like to see de
veloped. There are several circumstances which
look as if, though no absolute promise was made to
Paul, of the island, some hopes had been held out
to him, or at least he Was allowed, without being
uPdeceived, to cherish sanguine hopes of being pre
sented with it. It is not long since a fleet, with
troops on board, sailed from this country, for the
express purpose of taking possession of the place
when it should surrender, and to ensure its good
government. No remonstrances were made when
he assumed the title ; and, when he pretended to
make Captain Home Popbam a knight of that
order, his power to do so was recognised in the
London Gazette. There are, I think, strong rea
sons to suspect that his magnanimous mind was led
to believe he Would receive this as a reward for his
exertions in this magnanimous scramble.
" It is strange, Sir, that not a man on the con
tinent could be found who would take a part in a
cause of such a nature without being subsidized.
We have been obliged to bribe them to do their
duty, to protect their property, and to defend their
religion. We have been obliged to be the recruit-
ing-serjeants and paymasters-general to Europe.—^
The right honorable gentleman won't be pleased,
perhaps, if I find fault with the Emperor of Ger
many. He will allow me to abuse the Spaniards,
to complain of the versatility of Paul, and to apply
the epithets of perfidious and dishonorable to the
King of Prussia. [Mr. Pitt seemed to dissent.}
Perhaps, the right honorable gentleman has thoughts
of forming an alliance with that sovereign, by means
of a handsome subsidy, to make up for his northern
neighbour. I am at a loss to conceive on what
VOL. V. N

178 [DEC. I,
other account he can dislike to hear his name men
tioned with disrespect. But, to proceed to his Im
perial and Royal Majesty. It may appear odd in
me to use such liberties with crowned heads; but it
should be recollected, that when we speak of Kings
and Emperors, we mean only to speak of their mi
nisters. Sovereigns are all immaculate and infalli
ble, and their bad counsels are alone to be attributed
to those who surround them. Still it is an ungracious
task to expose the conduct of the cabinet of Vienna;
but at the call of duty I do not hesitate to perform it.
I set out then by declaring, in the most positive and
unequivocal manner, that the Emperor of Germany
has failed in his engagements with us more than any
ally that it has been our misfortune to be burthened
with, and that he is not now performing the con
tract which he lately subscribed. Ought I not then
to say what I feel, and to endeavor to impress it
upon the house? On one occasion he completely.
broke his faith : he entered into the preliminaries of
Leoben, and signed the peace of Campo Formio,
when he had promised not to treat but in conjunc
tion with us. I need not be told that he was com
pelled to do so ; aU that I say is, that he once broke
his engagements, and that what once happened
may happen again. (Mr. Pitt was here observed lo
whisper several of those sitting around him.) It
would be really much better, Sir, if the right ho
norable gentleman would answer me himself, than
now interrupt me by telling others how I may be
answered. But I do not urge so strongly against
him his conduct on that occasion, as the manner in
which he behaved when, after the breaking off of
the negociations at Rastadt, he again took the field.
The right honorable gentleman having then con
cluded a treaty with Russia, although the Emperor
of Germany refused to come under any engage
ments, boasted of the triple alliapce, and maintained
that France could not possibly withstand its efforts.
He continued to hold this language after he must

1800.] 179
have known that Paul I. was disgusted, and about
to withdraw his forces. When, that event at last
took place, as every one had long foreseen, he ap
plied in the most urgent manner to the Emperor of
Germany ; and, if he would enter into a new treaty
with him, offered him his own terms. The Em
peror was then undisputed Master of Italy, and vic
tory crowned his arms ; he turned a deaf ear to all
these solicitations. Would he have hesitated a mo
ment had he been zealous in the common cause, or
had taken the smallest interest in it? He wished
to carry on unmolested his own nefarious schemes,
by overturning independent states to enlarge his
dominions ; and to be able to make peace as soon
as he had acquired enough to satisfy his ambition;
he, therefore, kept aloof from the treasure which
was temptingly held out to his view. On the 13th
of February a message was brought down from His
Majesty, in which our Russian alliance, the advan
tages of which had been stated to be inconceivable,
was talked of in the highest manner. It was said,
that Bavaria and other German states, were about
to bring immense armies into the field, and that a
treaty was forming with the Emperor of Germany.
Now, Sir, His Majesty does not state that he will
propose an alliance with the Emperor, but that he
is actually treating with him. The Emperor was
still prosperous, and our two millions were despised.
At length, on the 20th of June, when the battle of
Marengo, which made such a melancholy reverse in
his history, had been fought on the 14th ; when he
found that Melas had been obliged to yield up the
greatest part of Italy, and that Moreau, having
gained three great pitched battles, was advancing
rapidly to Vienna, being in the extremity of distress,
and utterly unable, however well inclined, to pro
mote the common cause, he pledges himself to assist
us to the utmost, and unless in conjunction with us,
not to treat with the enemy. There is something
extremely injurious in the alliance itself, which
N2

180 [dec. 1,
ought to be pointed out and exposed. On the 20th
of June, it is agreed that his Majesty the Emperor
and King shall have 2,000,000 of money, to be
paid at three instalments, in July, September, and
December! For this, what was to be done ? He
was to carry on the campaign with all possible vi
gor, and not to treat except in conjunction with
His Britannic Majesty. But it has likewise a re
trospective operation, and was to take effect from
the beginning of March last. He thus pledges his
imperial word that he will exert every effort to an
noy the enemy for four months which are gone, and
that for the same period of past time, he will not
make a separate peace with the French Republic.
He received the first instalment for carrying on in
Italy his schemes of foul ambition and unprincipled
aggrandisement; the next, for making an armis
tice. This was using all his means, this was
struggling, as he promised, to the last gasp ! — But
he wishes to make amends; when the armistice is
near expiring, he leaves his capital, he springs fronl
the couch of ease, he repairs to the field, he is con
fident that he will be able to re-establish his affairsi'
Who would not second such an heroic prince?
Every subject in his dominions must flock to his
standard. But no sooner had he arrived at the
army with these magnanimous views, than his cou*
rage failed him, and he was seized with a most
magnanimous panic. There are some things which
one would think might as well be done by proxy,
and some prerogatives of sovereignty which it
must be pleasant for the sovereign to exercise by de
legation. But it would seem, on the other hand,
that there are degrees in all things in power, in ag
grandisement, in humility, in meanness; and that
he who has one in a super-eminent degree, is apt
to give proof of all the rest. Francis, therefore*
would not allow another to act now in his place;
hut, by signing, with his own hand, the coavenlioa

1800.] 181
of HohenlendeU, gave proof of the most super-im
perial pusillanimity.
" The next question is, whether he has since been
faithful to his engagements. The right honorable
gentleman says, he never has had the slightest idea
of entering into a separate negociation with France,
though to be sure it has been impossible for him
openly to carry on the war. I must use the liberty
to say, that that is impossible. I make no doubt
that ministers have been told so ; but they have not
been told the truth. I cannot but regret that the
fourteen documents which I moved for on a former
night were not laid before the house ; and I must
say, that ministers assigned no sufficient reason for
refusing to produce them. It was said, that Count
St. Julien had no credentials. I perceive it is as
serted in one of M. Otto's notes, that he carried
with him a letter from the Emperor to the Chief
Consul, and this assertion has never been contra
dicted. I may be told, that this could convey no
power to an ambassador ; as a sovereign, not respon
sible himself, must act by those who are. This is,
no doubt, a maxim of our constitution ; but in des
potic forms of government it is different ; and abso
lute kings not unfrequently conclude treaties, and
do other diplomatic acts, without the intervention
of any one. The preliminaries, no doubt, required
to be ratified ; but neither was our treaty with the
Emperor conclusive till it had been ratified ; yet no
one would, on that account, maintain, that Lord
Minto was completely unauthorised to sign it. Lord
Grenville says, he never heard of these pretended
negociations till they were mentioned by M. Otto.
Why not, then, produce the Emperor's disavowal
of St. Julien's proceedings, and clear up the mys
tery at once ? ' Take my word for it,' says the
minister, ' to produce the paper is unnecessary.'
When documents which might be made public are
kept back, I must suspect the account which is
„:,.  f.L.;  +.__ mL_ * 0f the Count de

182 [dec. 1,
Thugut to M. Talleyrand evidently does not con
tain a new proposal, but is an answer to a proposal
already made. The letter states that plenipoten
tiaries had been appointed, and rejoices that Great
Britain was to take a part in the negociations. If
there is sense in words, and if the writer of 'this
note understood the use of language, proposals for a
separate treaty had before been made and accepted.
It is as clear as day, that negociations had been ac
tually begun. Lord Minto thanks the Austrian
ministers for their obliging communications. Is
this the language of one who thinks that separate
overtures cannot possibly be entertained? From
the two circumstances, of the mission of St. Julien,
and the expressions in Thugut's and Lord Minto's
letters, I have not a doubt that the Emperor has de
ceived our ministers ; that he has been treating with
Buonaparte for a separate peace ; and that he has
once more been guilty of a gross breach of faith to
wards his ally.
" I shall now endeavor to prove, that ministers
never, at any period since the beginning of the war,
have sincerely wished for peace : and that as often
as they have made an attempt to promote peace,
they have rejoiced at its failure. Need I mention
more than their conduct to the Emperor ? When
they urged him to make a common cause with
England after it was impossible for him to be of the
least service to us, can it be doubted that their ob
ject was, that they might have a ready excuse for
refusing to negotiate ? After the negociation at
Paris, his Majesty declared in the most solemn man
ner, that he would omit no opportunity of putting
an end to the destructive contest, and that he would
willingly grant the conditions which he had before
offered. After the breaking off of the negociation
at Lisle, known by the name of the sincere treaty,
the same language was put into his Majesty's
mouth ; and on the 28th of October, it was de
clared, that the offers which had been reiected.

1800.] 183
would at any future period cheerfully be made.
The right honorable gentleman, I know, is always
sore about this sincere treaty, and does not like to
hear it mentioned. But he really need not be so
uneasy; I impute nothing to him of sincerity or
bad faith, There is great difference between say
ing that you will grant the enemyr certain condi
tions of peace, arid anxiously wishing them to be
acceded to ; and there is no inconsistence between
offering them sincerely, and rejoicing heartily that
they are rejected. A person in the country who
has quarrelled with one of his neighbourhood about
the inclosing of a common or the making of a high
way, rather than go to law, and thus incur the
odium of all his neighbours, will perhaps desire his
attorney to settle the dispute upon certain condi
tions. These conditions he would no doubt soon
afterwards fulfil ; but nevertheless he may wish
them to be rejected, and exult if they- are, for then
he will have public opinion on his side, and will
have better chance to have the common divided, or
the road turned as he wished it. Ministers, Sir,
did not try to conceal their exultation. They pub
licly thanked Providence for the dangers they had
escaped. It was rather a strange feeling to return
thanks to Heaven that all hopes of returning tran
quillity had vanished, and that thousands were about
to be slaughtered. Sir, the result may be reckoned
a punishment for such a presumption, and ought to
be an awful warning against such a display of insen
sibility, and such a mockery of religion.
" His Majesty had been made to say, that what
ever the government was which prevailed in
France, he would be ready to treat with it. How
was this promise kept ? An offer came from
Buonaparte of the most moderate kind. They
had treated with jacobins and regicides ; yet it
was contemptuously rejected. They did not say
they would not engage in any but a joint nej
gociatidn ; they urged none of their old preten-
----- .  ,::::i and boldly de-

184 [dec. 1,
manded experience and the evidence of facts of the
good dispositions of the government, and insisted
upon the restoration of the Bourbons. Here the
true cause of the war broke out, and fiction was
for a time laid aside. It was allowed that Buona
parte was sincere. He was descried in every figure
of speech, and every epithet of abuse was applied to
him. He was called cruel, profligate, unprincipled,
atheistical, an adventurer, an usurper, a renegado,
the child and champion of jacobinism ; but when it
was asked whether he was inclined to peace, it was
answered, ' Yes ; most sincerely. Peace is, neces
sary to him ; but should we allow him to obtain it,
and thus to establish his power ? Should we pro
long the reign of this unprincipled adventurer, of
this cruel usurper, of this atheistical renegado;
should we confer a favor upon jacobinism, by con
ferring a favor upon its child and its champion?'
" I now come to shew, that the events of the
last negociation support my position with equal
strength. They could no longer assign, as a pre
tence for their warlike disposition, the instability of
the power of Buonaparte ; they could not venture to
revile his character ; they durst not say he was void
of moderation, and an enemy to tranquillity and
social order. ' If he again proposes peace to us,
thought they, we are undone. We are at present
without a shield from censure ; our real dispositions
must be made public ; tve are without all means to
mislead the people. Could we only form an alli
ance with a foreign court, then the faith of treaties
would come in to our assistance.' The emperor was
reduced to difficulties, and in the hour of distress
they directed their ambassador to offer him two mil
lions of money if he would allow us to promise tbat
we would not enter into any treaty for peace without
him, and he would, for form sake, make a corres
ponding promise to us in return. This money was
squandered, not to promote a British object. It
was morally impossible that be could lend us the
least assistance; yet be wesM sIm ~~v ^4--r«-

1800.] 185
gociation, by rendering it necessary for him to be a
party to it. Are there two ends which could be
served by this step ? Does it not warrant me to con
clude, that they would reckon a successful treaty a
most lamentable event? I impute no bad motive to
them ; but merely assert, that they have a firm con
viction that peace with the French Republic is most
undesirable, and that every nerve should be strained
to widen the breach between the two countries, to
enflame the national prejudices of each of them,
and, while a guinea remains in the country, to per
severe in the desperate struggle.
" I shall be told, perhaps, that there is a part of
the negociations to which I have not alluded, and
which proves that ministers were willing to make
any sacrifice to put an end to the horrors of war. —
Sir* I give ministers no credit for this part of their
conduct. I condemn them for even once entertain
ing an overture for a maritime truce ; — a maritime
truce every Englishman must have abhorred. There
was nothing too exorbitant for the French to ask as
a compensation for suspending hostilities on the con
tinent ; but no consideration for our ally, no hope of
advantage to be derived from joint negociation,
should have induced the English government to
think for a moment of interrupting the course of
our naval triumphs. — This measure, Sir, would
have broken the heart of the navy, and would
have damped all its future exertions. How would
our gallant sailors have felt, when, chained to their
decks like galley slaves, they saw the enemy's ves
sels sailing under their bows in security, and pro
ceeding, without a possibility of being molested, to
revictual those places which had been so long block
aded, by their astonishing skill, perseverance, and
vajor? We never stood more in need of their ser
vices, and their feelings at no time deserved to be
more studiously consulted. The north of Europe
presents tp England a most awful and threatening
aspect. Without giving an opinion as to the origin

186 [dec. 1,
of these hostile dispositions, or pronouncing decidedly
whether they are wholly ill-founded, I hesitate not
to say, that if they have been excited because we
have insisted upon enforcing the old and established
maritime law of Europe, because we stood boldly
forth in defence of indisputable privileges, because
we have refused to abandon the source of our pros
perity, the pledge of our security, and the founda
tion of our naval greatness, they ought to be disre
garded or set at defiance. If we are threatened to
be deprived of that which is the charter of our ex
istence, which has procured us the commerce of
the world, and been the means of spreading our
glory over every land ; if the rights and honors of
our flag are to be called in question, every risk
should be run, and every danger braved. Then we
should have a legitimate cause of war — then the
heart of every Briton would burn with indignation,
and his hand be stretched forth in defence of his
country. If our flag is to be insulted, let us nail it
to the top-mast of the nation ; there let it fly while
we shed the last drop of our blood in protecting it,
and let it be degraded only when the nation itself is
overwhelmed. - " I come now, Sir, to that part of the correspon
dence which relates to Egypt. This is the strong
est charge against His Majesty's ministers : it is of
the more importance, because it is not to be endured
that imputations should be thrown in this house upon
officers employed in the service of their country
abroad. One of the greatest recompences that can
be bestowed upon an officer is the thanks of this
house. Letus take care, then, lest, by suffering in
sinuations to be thrown out against them, we at last
tend to lessen the value of those thanks. I say,
that that gallant officer Sir Sidney Smith had power
to treat. Ministers say, no. I demand then the
production of the instrucions to him. No, reply
HisMajesty's ministers, take our words. I contend,
that Sir Sidney Smith was sent out, that he had a

1800.] 187
distinct station, and that he could not have received
any instructions from Lord Keith in less than two
months. I say also, that he had powers to negoci-
ate the evacuation of Egypt almost upon any terms.
A proclamation was published at Constantinople,
and carried into Egypt ; it was at the close of Janu
ary, 1799. In the gallant and noble defence of
Acre, Sir Sidney Smith distributed this proclama
tion to the people ; and what did it contain ? Sir
Sidney, authorised by government, promises safe-
conduct and passports to all the French who will
leave the army and embark for France. At this
time then His Majesty's ministers must have been
apprised that Sir Sidney thought himself authorised
to act. Did you send out word that he was not so
authorised ? But then comes a parcel of correspon
dence seized about that time ; how garbled I know
not. You find a desponding account of the French
army, but nothing of the Grand Vizier's. Notice is
sent to General Kleber that the convention is not to
be respected. The General immediately renews
hostilities, and with a slaughter so immense as
scarcely to be credited. The effect of this measure,
I fear, is, that you have lost Egypt for ever. Surely
ministers ought to have known, that nothing but
the convention of El Arish saved Egypt. Surely
they ought to have known, that of two hundred
thousand of whom the grand Vizier's army con
sisted, one hundred thousand had deserted; that
the levies, raised as usual only for six months, were
raw, and could not be disciplined; that the Grand
Vizier was left with a miserable remnant; that
Ghezzar Pacha had risen in his rear; and that his
destruction must have been inevitable, but for the
masterly manner in which Sir Sidney Smith ma
naged his handful of sailors, and but for the consum
mate policy and abilities with which he acted with
respect to the convention of El Arish. The Chief
Consul says, the good genius of France has saved
TJV«r>* tn +hfi French. Sir. the good genius of

188 [dec. 1,
France has frequently been made up of the
improvidence and want of skill of His Majesty's
ministers. They ought to have known that the
Grand Vizier's army was in this wretched state,
and that Passwan Oglou harassed and distracted
the attention of the Porte with a powerful and tri
umphant force. But whether they knew these
things or not, I ask, on what principles did they act
towards Turkey their ally ? They say to the French
you shall not escape unless you consent to lay down
your arms. They say so to an enemy in an ally's
country, that ally having already entered into a
negociation, by which the enemy are to evacuate
the country. Now, Sir, we who talk of the con
duct of the French, what do we say to this? Sup
pose a party of French had landed in Ireland, and
that we had some Russian officers in our service in
that kingdom ; we agree with the French that they
shall evacuate it. No, say the Russians, they shall
stay where they are ; they shall not go till they have
laid down their arms. Would not the right honor
able gentleman reprobate such conduct in his loftiest
strain? Sir, I will not press this subject farther;
but I do hope and trust that it will again be taken
up separately and seriously.
" I recur now to the correspondence ; and I do it
in order to shew how hastily some gentlemen give
credit to His Majesty's ministers, when they tell us,
that Count St. Julien had no authority to treat, and
that Sir Sidney Smith had none. Let gentlemen
advert to this circumstance — let me ask them whe
ther any trust is to be given to that letter in the
correspondence which speaks of the letter of Gene
ral Kleber, and which characterises it as containing
an engagement to execute the convention of El Arish
as soon as the King's acquiescence in it should be
made known to him ? Let gentlemen refer to the
letter itself.
" Sir, I cannot but think I see, through the whole

1800.] 189
of the correspondence, the preparation for a rupture,
I «ee Captain George appointed, because the atten
tion of the public shall not be drawn to the commu
nications with M. Otto. This stiff-necked policy
shews insincerity. I see Mr. Nepean and Mr. Ham
mond also appointed to Confer with M. Otto, because
they are of the same rank. Is not this as absurd as
if Lord Whitworth were to be sent to Petersburgh,
and told, that he was not to treat but with some
gentleman of six feet high, and as handsome as
himself? Sir, I repeat that this is a stiff-necked
policy, when the lives of thousands are at stake.
Ministers seem to have an excellent knack at putting
papers together ; they have given us, before, pictures
of pikes and profiles of spears ; and until we sift
and compare things, many of us might be led to
suppose that they were seriously desirous of 'peace.
Lord Grenville says, ' If the situation of the French
army in that country were to become matter of
discussion between the two governments, His Ma
jesty and his allies have a right, on every principle
of good faith, as practised between civilised na
tions, to require that the French should evacuate
Egypt on the terms stipulated in the convention of
Arish, those stipulations having been ratified both
by the Turkish government and by the French com
manding officer, and His Majesty having also in
structed his admiral commanding in those seas to
accede to them as soon as they were known here.
This demand would be made with the more reason,
because even subsequent to the recommencement of
hostilities in Egypt (under circumstances to which
His Majesty forbears to advert), an official engage*-
ment was entered into by General Kleber iii his let
ter to the Kaimakan, dated the 10th April, 1800, by
which that general, then commanding ' in chief the
French army in Egypt, and consequently possessing
full powers to bind his government in this respect,
formally undertook that the convention of El Arish
should be executed so soon as the King's acquies-

190 [dec. 1,
cence in it should be notified to him.' What does
General Kleber say ? ' The Sublime Porte will still
find me disposed to deliver up to him the possession
of Egypt upon the conditions stipulated at El Arish,
with the exception of some modifications which the
existing circumstances have rendered necessary. Thus
all motive for a fresh effusion of blood would be ob
viated, and a regular negociation (the effect of
which would no longer be prevented by unforeseen
orders) would restore to the Ottoman Empire those
provinces of which it would be in vain to attempt to
deprive us by force of arms. If your excellency
shares these sentiments of peace and concord, you
will communicate them to his Majesty the Emperor
Selim the Second ; and, without doubt, you will ob
tain orders to resume, without delay, those confe
rences which would conduct us to the object which
we are equally desirous of attaining.'
" It thus appears that General Kleber calls for a
new negotiation, and desires to have fresh confer
ences. There is not a word in the letter which states
he will evacuate Egypt as soon as the King's ac
quiescence is known. A right honorable gentleman
attempted the other day to attach some importance
to the letter of an aid-de-camp, who was at Jaffa.
Where is the letter ? (D. in the Appendix to the
Correspondence). I always suspect something from
these gentlemen with respect to papers. Does Lord
Grenville say any thing of this letter ? No ; he only
refers to General Klebers. Sir, I dwell the more
upon this, in order to shew that we are not to take
it for granted that the character of the documents
referred to in the correspondence is a true one. I
have proved that the character given of General
Kleber's letter is in no part correct ; and I contend
I have a right to assume, that the description of
other papers is as little correct. Sir, I honestly
confess that I do not believe any thing would have
induced the Secretary at War to have put his name
to such a quibble.

1800.] - 191
" The object of the motion which it is my inten
tion to submit, is, to afford one step more towards
negotiation, and remove those impediments which
our connection with the Emperor of Germany has
thrown in the way of it. With respect to the war
itself, I do think it to have been a most unsuccess
ful, and (to ministers) a most disgraceful one. God
forbid that any man should, as some persons hinted
the other night, attack the exploits of our navy !
they have been most glorious and splendid ; but
when you talk of a successful war, you must mean
one that has accomplished the objects for which it
was undertaken. Have you deterred other coun
tries from aggrandisement and rapine ? Have you
restored the Bourbons ? No ; but you have taken
Trincomale. Have you re-established the noblesse
of France ? No ; but you have taken Ceylon. Have
you restored the orders of France? No; but you
have taken the Cape. But will you tell me, that if
you place these in one scale, and the two hundred
and seventy millions of debt in the other, the latter
will not overbalance your successes ? But this is
not the fair way. You must calculate what you will
keep ; you must calculate the seventeen millions im
posed by the war ; you must calculate their effect
upon the industry and impatience of the country.
Will any man tell me, that we should have con
sented to have made the purchase at such a price,
even without the loss of a single life? No, Sir; no.
This, then, I contend is an unsuccessful war. But
it is said we have annihilated the navy of the enemy.
Lst us recollect, however, the time when it was
said that nothing could compensate for leaving
Holland in the power of France, for suffering her
to possess the Netherlands, and for permitting her
to have such a long line of coast, from the Texel
almost to the Adriatic ? You may, it is true, leaves
the enemy crippled, but you leave them with the
power of raising themselves to as great a naval
height as they ever were in possession of before.

192 [dec. 1,
" But it is said, we have preserved our constitu
tion. How have we preserved it ? So careful have
ministers been of its preservation, that they are
afraid to give us the use of it. They have consi
dered it as some choice thing, which ought to be put
out of sight, and carefully locked up. I hope, Sir,
the constitution is only suspended, and that we shall
yet see it in all its splendor : but till that time comes
I can give no one any credit for his attentions to it.
Sir, peace must be concluded, or it must be proved
that the period of fraud, prevarication, and insince
rity is over, and that a new system of thing* is
about to commence. If I am asked, whether I ex
pect that ministers will ever make peace with sin
cerity ? I answer, No! In some circumstances I
can conceive that they may conclude a peace which
might be preferable to this destructive war ; and I
believe that they will> ere long, be compelled tp
conclude one of some kind or other. But that
they will ever be authors of a peace which will
heal the wounds the war haB inflicted, which will
sooth national animosity, which will justify a reduc
tion of our forces, which will render it possible to
lighten the oppressive load Of taxes—- that they will
make a peace of conciliation, I confess that 1 have
no hope. I do not say, that there is but one man in
the kingdom capable of making a solid peace. God
forbid ! 1 believe that there are many. But I do
not scruple to say that a solid peace can be con
cluded only upon the principles of that one man.—
Who that man is, it is needless for me to mention,
and his principles are equally well known. All
right to interfere with the internal concerns of other
nations, must be disclaimed ; and for commanding
due respect to the constitution, we must trust to the
good sense, and loyalty of the people, and disdain
the idea that jacobinism can make any impression'
upon England. That such a peace may produce
the blessings and benefits which peace is calculated
to confer, the rights of the people must be attended

1800.] 193
to, the constitution must be restored. Without na
tional liberty, national happiness can neither be
great in its degree, extensive in its sphere, or long
in its duration. Those bonds which now slavishly
bind down the inhabitants of this country, which
break the spirit of the people, which render impos
sible the expression of the public voice, must all be
completely removed. Till then, while war con
tinues, our sufferings must be aggravated, and they
will be but slightly alleviated even by the arrival of
peace." Mr. Sheridan concluded with moving, — " That
an humble address be presented to His Majesty,
humbly to assure him that we have taken into our
most serious consideration the papers relative to the
negotiation for peace with France, and that the re
sult of our reflections on this important subject,
founded as well on due examination of the docu
ments now referred to us, as on experience of the
past conduct of most of His Majesty's allies, is an
humble, but earnest desire, that His Majesty will
omit no proper opportunity which may arise, con
sistently with the good faith ever preserved on the
part of His Majesty, of entering into a separate ne
gotiation with the government of France for a speedy
and honourable peace ; and farther to implore His
Majesty, not to sanction any new engagements
which shall preclude such a mode of negotiation."
For the motion 35 ; against it 156.

May 14,1802.
DEFINITIVE TREATY.
Mr. Sheridan. — " Sir, at this late hour, (about
two o'clock), it is with extreme reluctance I rise to
address the house, and to trespass upon your time
and patience. I shall not be' singular to-night in
the professions I make you of avoiding details ; but,
VOL. V. O

194 tMAY H
Sir, in one respect my conduct will differ from any
other gentleman who has addressed you. I will
keep my word. (A laugh.) If 1 feel repugnance
to rise at so late an hour, I feel equally strange whh
respect to the unpopularity which I fear I must ex
perience. It is natural to every person to have plea
sure in voting in a majority, though to that pleasure,
I believe, I have long been a stranger. Among the
strange things we are continually witnessing, is the
strange division of parties at present in this house.
Sir, 1 have heard it said, that there are about twelve
or thirteen different parties among us ; nay, some
carry the number much farther. Now I scarcely
expect a single vote with me beyond that little cir
cle of a constitutional party, who have for the last
ten years been the objects of so" much unqualified
abuse ; but those men who have so often been held
up to public opprobrium, are the very same men
whose every prediction has been fulfilled, and every
fear realized. The discussion of this necessary, but
disgraceful treaty of peace to-night, is a confirma
tion of the propriety of their political conduct during
the whole course of the war. My friends must feel
poignant shame and deep humiliation at the situa
tion to which by these terms this country is reduced,
but which they have labored steadily to avert.
Those who oppose this peace have been arraigned by
the last speaker, as aiming at a censure on the issue
of the negotiations, and on the ministers themselves.
And certainly, Sir, their object is to condemn the
peace, and to cast a slur on the abilities of His Ma
jesty's ministers. But, in this conduct of theirs,
they have at least the merit of being consistent. I
support the peace, because I feel confident no bet
ter terms, considering all circumstances, could be
got. Their predecessors had taken care of that.
They had left them no choice, but between an ex
pensive, bloody, and fruitless war, and a perilous
and hollow peace. They have chosen the best of
the alternatives. Now, says the minister, they who

1802.] 193
oppose me, depress the country. I thank these nen>
oppositionists for their manly firmness in coming
forward, and opposing, upon their own principles,
this degrading treaty. Let the people of this coun
try be fully aware of all the circumstances of the
peace. .They have done their duty, then, in thus
publicly discussing them. But a right honorable
gentleman — not here this evening— an ex-minister
too— suspects something more. If he has not al
tered his opinion since the preceding day, he sus
pects their motives. They, says he, disapproved
the treaty, and attack administration, because they
wish to drive out ministers, and succeed to their
places, and for that purpose they have formed a con
federacy. Truly, Sir, a heavy charge ! But, I
must declare, that they have never veiled their opi
nions. Some of thern especially have been at all
times very open, and I conceive that it would be
high injustice to suspect them, upon slight grounds,
of a dirty cabal to turn out the present ministers;
Says the right honorable gentleman, upon their
principles, they would never have made peace.
Why so, we have always said ! It is now therefore
confirmed, that a leading part of the late ministry
acted upon such principles. But the right honor
able gentleman (Mr. Dundas) the preceding day
denounced their foul ambition, and their design to
trip up the heels of their successors ! Another great
discovery is now made — These persons' principles
were such as rendered a peace impossible, and yet
the very men who say so, have just been thanking
them all, as the Saviours of the country ! ! ! Can
the right honorable gentleman account for this in
consistency ? I should think not ; and yet he looks
so confidently, I almost think he could. He thought
I was cheering him as if I did not suppose him a
constant supporter of the war, and he assures the
house " he was a steady friend to it !" But he has
now found out that it was necessary to stop. Pray,
why not have stopped a little sooner ? Why not be-
O 2

196 [may 14
fore you were so much exhausted ? For instance,
when Buonaparte made you an offer ? Now, how
ever, he finds the necessity of peace. But is this
such a peace as will give us real repose? Consider
your debt and taxes, and the necessity which seems
to be at length coming upon us of keeping up a
peace establishment unknown in this country. It is
lamentable to see you all split into miserable parties,
when your great enemy is uniting every possible
means of extending his power ! You are squabbling
about the measuring of ribands and tapes, and "the
paltry revenues of Malta, when much greater ob
jects are before you ! The events of every day seem
to call more and more for the expression of that
public feeling, that the time will come when French
encroachments and oppression must cease, and when
the voice of this country must be clearly raised
against their atrocious and tyrannical conduct ! The
right honorable gentleman says " we have preserved
our honor /" Honor depends more on the manner
of doing a thing than on the thing itself. We had
a great armament at the time of negotiation, but I
don't hear that it carried any point, whatever ! This,
says he, is a peace in which we relinquish nothing,
and gain much ! Will any man of common sense
undertake to prove that ? I defy him to name the
single object, ever varying, ever shifting, unrelin
quished. What did we go to war for ? Why, to-
prevent French aggrandizement. Have we done
that ? No. Then we are to rescue Holland ! Is
that accomplished or relinquished ? No. Brabant
was a sine qua non ! Is it gained ? No. Then come
security and indemnity I Are they obtained ? No.
The late minister told us, that with the example of
a jacobin government in Europe, founded on the
ruins of the holy altar, and the tomb of a martyred
monarch, was a spectacle so dreadful and infectious
to Christendom, that we could never be safe while it
existed, and could do nothing short of our very last
effort for its destruction. Now, Sir, let us see what

1802.] 197
we have got. But what have we laid out for all
these fine words, which at last gave way to security
and indemnity? Why near 200,000 lives, and 300
millions of money ! And we have gotten Ceylon and
Trinidad. I should propose, that, as we have given
to our heroes titles from the places where their
laurels were won, our St. Vincents, Nelsons of the
Nile, &c. so we should name Ceylon Security Island
Isle of Indemnity ! ! ! Now, if we look at the state
of Europe, we find the noble lord opposite has a
most curious and convenient epithet, which he ap
plies to what is rather a disagreeable object to him
(Lord Hawkesbury !) He talks of its being in an
uncomfortable — Was it ?-— Oh no ! — unsatisfactory
state. Germany, Holland, Italy, they are ali in an
unsatisfactory state ; and so 1 suppose is Switzer
land, which now seems likely to undergo a division
among her powerful and generous neighbours.
That innocent and virtuous, suffering, venerable
country is now, I suppose, in an unsatisfac
tory state ! But Great Britain is all this time far
from languor. She is in a satisfactory state. How
ever, a grave and learned gentleman (Master of the
Rolls) tells us for our comfort, that, notwithstanding
all that has happened, here we all are debating and
doing business in all the old forms and customs of
the house } Pray now, could not this have happened,
supposing we had never gone to war ? I think he
should have made that out before he congratulated
us so warmly upon our present debate under all the
old forms of the house!" The minister, too, goes
on according- to old forms: he has his majorities,
according to custom. Prussia can go on too in its
old forms ! Is this armed repose, this hollow peace,
then, the fruit of our long and glorious war ! A
great deal too has been said to be gained by the
disposition of France to lay aside jacobinism. But
the grand consolation of all, is in looking to Buona
parte as the extirpator of jacobinism. The learned
gentleman, however, states to this house, that it is

198 [may 14,
the nature of jacobinism, if driven from any country,
always to look with pride and ambition to a settle
ment in the place where it had birth, and to fix it
self there. So now, this " child and champion of
jacobinism^ as he was styled, is to become a parri
cide. The child of sin is to destroy his mother ! As
this jacobinism is by the late minister stated to be a
vice never to be eradicated from the bosom when it
has once been implanted, all Europe will, doubtless,
look to this great consul for its destruction. In
deed, he seems very desirous of extending his care
to his neighbours! Suppose you make him King of
Europe at once, and he will soon extirpate all the
jacobinism that infests it! My alarms begin when
the alarms of some persons cease. The great ques
tion about the dangers of the French revolution were
always upon the degree of the danger to be appre
hended. Some danger was always allowed ; but
to suppose the people of this country so miserably
infatuated as to fall in love with dirt, and blood, and
guillotines, with all the atrocious deformities of the
system of Roberspierre, and that now when France
is " covered with glory" — though certainly without
liberty, or any thing that much resembles it — there
should be nothing to dazzle and captivate, is out of
my comprehension. If there be in this country men
of dangerous ambition, Buonaparte is the man to
hold out to them, by his ambitious and successful
conduct, an example ! — An example how much
stronger than any thing that could attract the people
in the exhibitions of riot and murder, unsociality and
ferocity of manners ! But they say, he has begged
pardon of God and man by his piety and penitence ! !
No; he has restored bishops with the salaries of
curates, and made them all spies and informers in
his favor by a solemn oath ! He has made his own
use of them all. How has he acted to Switzerland?
How to us ? Why, by condescending to receive our
humiliating submission of every thing you had ac
quired by the prowess of your army and navy ! I

1802.] 199
must trust to our valour to defend us against his
armies ; and I pray Heaven to protect us against
the effects of his penitence and piety ! I must con
fess that nothing has been stated against this peace
unaccompanied by proofs. I had rather given to
France Malta, and taken the Cape, than have made
this absurd arrangement. If the late Secretary for
the War Department were here — who is, perhaps,
(looking at Mr. Pitt) by proxy — he might have
made a whimsical charge agapist the present mi
nister. Re (Mr. Dundas) said, that " the minister
who should give up the Cape would deserve to lose
his head!!!" There sits the minister, however,
with his head safe upon bis shoulders. I have
almost a mind to attack him on the authority of
Mr. Dundas ! Malta would have been a great ac
quisition to us, and therein I agree with the War
Secretary. It would have stood, with the British
standard flying in the centre of the Mediterranean,
" like a great sea-mark saving those that eye it!"
Ministers say the Emperor of Russia would not take
care of Malta. If they will tell me so upon their
honor, I will believe them ; otherwise, upon my ho
nor, I won't believe any body that says so. That
did not appear to be Paul's idea of it. Perhaps he
was mad. There was, however, some method in his
madness j but, Sir, there's a message Buonaparte
has sent to his tribunate concerning some Russian
soldiers, who are to go and take good care of the
Republic of the Seven Islands, and they may pro
bably be intended for Alexandria, and may be con
nected with some plan against Turkey. Sir, if any
thing in the shape of a statesman will say in this
house, that he looks at tbat power, " at which the
world turns pale," without apprehension, as the mi
nister seems to tell us to-night, I must say he has a
prodigious stock of courage, or no skill at all in
politics! But let France have colonies ! Oh, yes !
Let her have a good trade, that she may be afraid
of war, says the learned member! that's the way

200 [may 14,
to make him love peace. He has had, to be sure,
a sort of military education ! He has been abroad,
and is rather rough company ; but if you put him
behind the counter a little, he will mend exceed
ingly ! . When I was reading the treaty, 1 thought
all the names of foreign places, viz. Pondicherry,
Chandenagore, Cochin, Martinico, &c. all cessions.
Not they : they are all so many traps and holes to
catch this silly fellow iu, and make a merchant
of him ! I really think the best way upon this
principle would be this : Let the merchants of Lon
don open a public subscription, and set him up at
once! I hear a great deal respecting a certain
statue about to be erected to the right honorable
gentleman (Mr. Pitt) now in my eye, at a great
expense. Send all that money over to the First
Consul, and give him what you talk of so much,
capital, to begin trade with. I hope the right
honorable gentleman over the way will, like the
First Consul, refuse a station for the present, and
postpone it as a work to posterity. There is no
harm, however, in marking out the place. The
right honorable gentleman is musing, perhaps, on
what square or place he will choose for its erection.
I recommend the Bank of England. Now for the
material. Not gold : No, no ! he has not left
enough of it. I should, however, propose papier
mache and old bank notes ! Ministers recommend
us to make France commercial, for the sake of
peaceful habits ; and then tell us how impossible
it is for her to increase in trade and commerce, for
want of the necessary trade and capital. There my
prospect was damped. I was going now to India,
but I remember I promised to avoid detail. I must
keep my word. There was some Northern logic
here last night — something specious — a kind of
Northern lights — pretty enough to look at, but not
very useful, about our possessions having a better
security in India without than with our enemy's
recognition of our rights. This, I confess, I cannot

1802.] 201
understand. The right honorable gentleman asks,
whether they would have been justified in breaking
off the. treaty ? That's a question between him and
those who like the preliminaries; but it is otherwise
with those who like neither. The Secretary at
War (Mr. Yorke) has said, Buonaparte will look at
us with " a soldier s eye." I think he will with
that of a statesman ! Now the City Militia, and
some other corps, are disbanded, it is not exactly
a spectacle for a soldier's eye. One cannot
walk along the streets without hearing doubts ex
pressed of the nature and security of the peace !
And the next great inquiry is, " Pray who is mi
nister now ?" Is there, then, an interior and an
exterior prime minister ? — one who appears to the
world, and another secret, irresponsible, directing
minister ? Certainly, in several respects I have
given my testimony in behalf of the present mi
nisters. In nothing more than for making the best
peace, perhaps, they could, after their predecessors
had left them in such a deplorable situation. But
the present ministers continue to identify themselves
with the former. They have ministerially sup
ported a refusal to inquire into the state of the
country; just as they were about to take the go
vernment they have passed an indemnity bill, and
since that a security bill, in a resolution of thanks;
and these are the only indemnity and security re
quired ! ! ! The ex-ministers are quite separate and
distinct, and yet they and the new ministers are all
honorable friends! What is the meaning of this
mysterious connection ? Why don't the minister
defend his peace as the only good grounds of de
fence ? Does he hold that situation only to make
peace, and leave it for his predecessor ? Do they
bargain for support 6a one side of talent, and on the
other of power ? No minister of this country ever
condescended to act under such an incomprehensible
connection, and to receive such equivocal support !
.Part of the case is clear. If the late minister

202 [mxy 14,
attacks the treaty, the present would turn round and
say — " You brought me into a situation of necessity
—You compelled me to sign a disgraceful treaty —
You had been arrogant, and I have put up with
indignity — Buonaparte, by his minister, Otto, would
laugh at me !— This work is your's — You placed us
in this sad dilemma ! The minister takes no strong
ground of defence : I won't say he dare not take
it. There he sits to receive the attack of the new
confederacy, who are not great in numbers, but in
talents. The ex-minister is mounted on a kind of
hill fort to fire down on the assailants, but the gar
rison is all manned with deserters from the prin
ciples of the war ! I should like to support the
present minister on fair ground ; but what is he ?
a sort of outside passenger — or rather a man leading
the horses round a corner, while reins, whip, and
all, are in the hands of the coachman on the box!
(looks at Mr. Pitt's elevated seat, three or four
benches above that of the Treasury). Why not
have an union of the two ministers, or, at least,
some intelligible connection? When the ex mi
nister quitted office, almost all the subordinate mi
nisters kept their places ! How was it that the
whole family did not move together? Had he
only one covered waggon to carry friends and goods 9
Or has he left directions behind him that they may
know where to call ? I remember a fable of irot
tophanes s : it is translated from Greek into decent
English. I mention this for the country-gentlemen*
It is of a man that sat so long on a seat (about as
long, perhaps, as the ex-minister did on the treasury-
bench) that he grew to it. When Hercules pulled
him off he left all the sitting part of the man behind
him ! The house can make the allusion. This is
not a noble, manly kind of coalition between these
gentlemen. Of that ex-minister I would just say,
that no man admires his splendid talents more than
I do. If ever there was a man formed and fitted
by nature to benefit his country, and to give it

1802.] 203
lustre, be is such a man. He has no low, little,
mean, petty vices. He has too much good sense,
taste, and talent to set his mind upon ribands, stars,
titles, and other appendages and idols of rank. He
is of a nature not at all suited to be the creature or
tool of any court. (Mr. Pitt bowed repeatedly.)
But while I thus say of him no more than I think
his character and great talents deserve, I must tell
him how grossly he has misapplied them in the
politics of this country; I must tell him again how
he has augmented our national debt, and of the
lives he lost in this war. I must tell him he has
done more against the privileges of the people,
increased more the power of the crown, and injured
more the constitution of his country than any mi
nister I can mention. Of the resignation of the late
ministry, I don't believe one word of what is said
about Catholic emancipation. I could as soon be
lieve it was because th,ey had discovered the lon
gitude. If they did go out on that ground, they
were certainly at liberty so to do. But after they
quitted their situations they circulated a paper in
Ireland, attributing the failure of an indispensible
measure to resistance in a certain quarter, and that
quarter was their Sovereign, and directing the Irish
Catholics to look to them for hope of relief. If this
was short of high treason, how far short of it I can
not define. If, however, that measure was neces
sary to carrying on hostilities, we have certainly
done right so far in making this peace.
Mr. Sheridan concluded with stating, that he con
sidered it fair to those who had entertained the sen
timents he did, of the rise and progress of the war,
to record the real grounds on which we approve of
a peace, the terms of which are so inadequate and
so insecure. Supposing that Mr. Windham's mo
tion would be rejected, he had framed his in such a
manner as to come as an amendment to Lord
Hawkesbury's; and, according to the precedent of
the other, might make it in the shape of a resolution,

204 [may 24,
by leaving out all the words of the address but that,
and then proceed :
" It is the opinion of this house, That the omission
of various opportunities of negotiating a peace with
advantage to this country; and more especially the
rejection of the overtures made by the Chief Consul
of France, in January, 1800, appears to this house
to have led to a state of affairs, which rendered
peace so necessary, as to justify the important and
painful sacrifices which His Majesty has been ad
vised to make for the attainment thereof."
Mr. Sheridan's amendment was negatived without a division.

May 24.
BULL BAITING.

Tlie second reading of the bill for abolishing Bull Baiting was
read.
Mr. Sheridan observed, that he should most
probably have given a silent vote, were it not for
some points in the speech of the honorable gentle
man who had just sat down (Mr. Frankland). He
had previously attended to the speech of the right
honorable gentleman who was so decided an oppo
nent of the measure, and he could not help ad
miring the ingenuity, talents, and address which he
had displayed in a speech which he thought well
calculated to produce an effect on the imagination ;
but, perhaps, of all the speeches he ever heard, it
was the least calculated to produce solid conviction.
With respect to the support he received from the
honorable gentleman who spoke last, he was at first
rather dubious of it, and were it not for the anima
tion of his manner, he really should have thought
that he intended to follow the ironical line adopted
by an honorable friend of his (Mr. S.) under the
gallery — a great deal of what had been said, might
be reduced to a short question, which, for the sake
of illustration, he would put in the metaphorical

1802.] 205
language of an honorable gentleman under the gal
lery, who said, as the higher orders of the people
had their Billington, the lower orders should have
their bull-baiting. Another member declared as an
argument against the bill, that through the means
of bull-baiting, he raised more men for His Majesty
in Lancashire, and also more subjects in the way of
increasing the population, than by any other means
he knew. This might be an admirable argument to
influence a recruiting serjeant, but that any one
should think, that it could have an effect on a grave
and deliberating assembly of legislators, more espe
cially, when it produced effects which involved con
siderations of vice and profligacy on the part of
women, was to him a little extraordinary. In some
countries the disgraceful practice in question did not
prevail, but that the measure could operate with
respect to the country to which that honorable gen
tleman referred, either in relati©»-to the excellent
breed of bulls^ or the sources of encreased popula
tion alluded to, was a little questionable. A few
of the topics in the right honorable gentleman's
(Mr. Windham) speech, however, he should have
occasion to allude to ; and first, with respect to the
idea, that such subjects were unworthy the atten
tion of the legislature. After warmly animadvert
ing on what he had said respecting the estimation
and progress of private bills in that house, Mr. She
ridan proceeded to express his surprise, lhat if the
right honorable gentleman thought the subject so
low, so trifling, as to be utterly unworthy of the in
terference of the legislature, he should have deemed
it necessary to oppose the bill in a very long and
elaborate speech, a speech which, in his mind, had
rather been prepared for the occasion ; in more
points than one of it, the lamp was to be smelt ; it
possessed a climax of quotation, from modern as
well as ancient authors. Xenophon, Virgil, Milton,
and other writers were copiously referred to. All
this matter too, was well arranged. If the right

206 LMAY 'z*t
honorable gentleman deemed the subject trifling,
and unworthy of attention, why take all that trouble
about it ? Or if the right honorable gentleman had
displayed so much ability and address, or made so
great a figure in eloquence, while decrying the de
finitive treaty, he should not, most probably, have
been in so small a minority. What, it was ex
claimed, would Europe say, if at such a juncture,
we occupied ourselves in such discussions ? With
respect to the right honorable gentleman's mode of
considering as well as treating this question, he felt
for him — he felt for the state of his mind, and for
that irritation of which it must be susceptible in con
templating the return of peace, and he must allow
for his feeling on the cessation of hostilities in every
part of Europe ; in which view it would appear, as
if he wished to make some compensation to himself,
in fomenting a war between the bulls and the dogs.
It was rather extraordinary, that though the right
honorable gentleman denied the subject to be of
importance, yet he considered the measure to pro
ceed from the combined effects of jacobinism and
methodism, to overturn the constitution of the coun
try ; and another gentleman seemed to be of opi
nion, that if the lower order of the people were not
indulged in the joyous and jovial practice of bull-
baiting, the constitution must eventually be over
turned. Another point respected the amusements
of the lower orders of the people. With respect to
these, nothing could give him greater pleasure, than
that they could be effectually revised and reduced to
a salutary system, founded on just and rational prin
ciples. He would bring to the right honorable gen
tleman's recollection a circumstance relative to this
point, namely, a society which was some time ago
established, in which an honorable general since dead
(Burgoyne) was a leading member, and in which
they both were concerned ; the object of which was
to revive the practice of the genuine old English
sports and amusements: in this plan, however, it

1802.] 207
was expressly set forth, that the barbarous practice
of bull-baiting was not to be included. In regard
to the argument held out, that if this custom was
suppressed, we should not know where to stop, and
that the amusements of hunting, shooting, and fish
ing, would become the next objects of suppression :
To this idea he could shortly answer, that these
amusements have no more analogy to the barbarous
practice in question, than any thing the most oppo
site in their natures could have : and he must ob
serve, with regard to the honorable gentleman who
had beheld those scenes over and over again, that
no man could advance such arguments or defend the
practice, who had not been inured to it. But that
gentleman said, the object was, not to torture the
animal, that cruelty was not inflicted for the sake of
cruelty ; where was the difference in the effect, or in
the tortures of the wretched animal, when the cruelty
proceeded only from sport? He could conceive
different sources of passion from which cruelty might
arise, as wrath, malice, fear, cowardice, and worse
than these was it when proceeding from beastly ap
petite, from the effect of gluttony; but certainly
worse than any, or than all put together, was the
nature of inflicting cruelty merely for sport. If the
house suffered the bill to goto a committee, they
could produce facts which must excite feelings of
horror and indignation. What the honorable gen
tleman said of our deriving useful instructions from
animals, was in a great degree well founded ; but
then it must be from animals in a free state of
nature ; in circumstances wherein, as the poet hap
pily expresses it, you may
" Learn from the little Nautilus to sail :"
but not from animals in a state of coercion or tor
ture. He expatiated with great feeling, animation,
and effect, on the barbarous custom of bull-baiting,
as not only producing the most inconceivable tor
tures to the wretched animal, and often to the in
struments of his torment, but tending to deaden the

208 [may 24,
feelings of humanity in, and to brutalize the minds
of the beholder, and at such sights women and chil
dren were often present : of this he stated some facts
in illustration ; among these, that of a brutal bull-
baiter, who possessing an old bull-bitch, that lately
had a large litter of puppies, was willing to show
the staunchness of her blood, and the extent of her
prowess ; he set the bitch at the bull, she pinned,
and fastened on him, and in that situation he literally
cut her to pieces, the animal still keeping her hold.
He then sold the puppies for five guineas a-piece ;
after this he took out his knife, and in a climax of
brutality, cut the bitch's throat. These facts shewed
the diabolical and malignant spirit with which such
sports were conducted, and encouraging those, in
stead of making a people manly and generous,
would, by inuring them to acts of cruelty, render
them base, and fit to submit to the yoke of tyranny,
and to bow to a vigor beyond the law ; and to en
courage them in such acts of barbarism would also
render the people barbarous and tyrannical in their
turn, teach them to oppress the weak, by rioting in
the blood and tortures of dumb and unoffending ani
mals, and on all occasions, as a sure result, to bow
the neck to the yoke of power. Such practices
surely called for the interference of the legislature;
they degraded the national character, as well as
brutalized the people, and had incontrovertibly ex
tended to the length of contra bonus mores. Un
doubtedly, as has been said, cruelties may be prac
tised upon animals, and of the most shocking kinds,
in circumstances which it was beyond the power, of
law to remedy. True, but if these practices were
exhibited openly, they would become nuisances, and
call for the interference of the legislature. Those
bold and bare-faced practices, which exhibit their
sanguinary details to the eye of day, should certainly
be put down : it was a question, whether the exist
ing laws may not be sufficient to remedy the evil,
by the interference of the magistrates. However

802.J 209
that might be, the old law seemed to be worn out;
its teeth could not be fixed upon the evil; it was
the object of the present bill to remedy this defect,
and to render the law efficacious.
General Gasceyne moved that the bill be read this day three months.
The house divided. For the amendment 64 ; against it 5.

December 8.
ARMY ESTIMATES — WAR WITH FRANCE.
Mr. Sheridan rose, and spoke to the following
effect : — " Sir, being in the situation alluded to by
the right honorable gentleman who had just sat
down, of not being able to agree precisely /with any
of those who have preceded me, yet of being, , at
the same time, unwilling to give a silent vote on
the present occasion, I rise with some sentiments of
reluctance. There is one thing, however, in which
we all coincide; it is, that the crisis in which we
are placed, is so big with tremendous importance,
so pregnant with mighty difficulties, so full of ap
prehensions and dangers, that the house and the
country have a right to know what are the inten
tions and the views of those by whose exertions we
may expect to be extricated from the complication
of embarrassments, and snatched from the very
brink of destruction. Sir, one of the circumstances
I most regret in this debate is, the references that
have been made to the characters and abilities of
persons supposed to be fit to fill particular offices.
I feel this as a subject of regret, and feeling so, I
am sorry that my honorable friend near me made
any allusion even to one man, whom of all men
upon earth I most love and respect, because I do
view the crisis to be one of such moment and peril,
and because, if ever there was a time in which we
should prove to the people of England that we
are above all party feelings, that we are above
all party distinctions, that we are superior to
any petty scramble for places and power, that
VOL. V. P

210 [DEC. 8,.
time is the present. — Sir, in speaking upon these
topics, I do find a disposition in some gentlemen to-
rebuke any man who shall deliver any opinion with
respect to the First Consnl of France. One honor
able gentleman, who rebuked an honorable general
that spoke before him, declared that he would not
give his opinion with respect to the conduct of
France to Switzerland; and what does his rebuke
amount to? He confesses that upon that subject
there can be but one opinion. Why then, Sir, he
either adopts the opinion ofs the honorable general
or not. If he does adopt it, he gives as strong an
opinion against the conduct of France as can pos
sibly be given. If he does not adopt it, why then
all we can say is, that there are two opinions. But
what, he asks, has Switzerland to do with the ques
tion ? It has this to do with it. The honorable
general introduced the subject in this way ; he con
tends that a power which is capable of such unpro
voked aggression, and such perfidy, is the power.
that ought to be watched. But the honorable gen
tleman goes on to assert, that we have nothing to
do with the case of Switzerland, nothipg to do with
France, nothing but with her power: — Nothing but
her power ! — as if that were little. He asks too
where is the great difference between France under
the Bourbons and under her present ruler ? Why,
Sir, the honorable general inferred, from the con
duct of France, that with her growing power she
had a growing disposition to mischief. But is that
power, demands the honorable gentleman, greater
now than it was last June? Perhaps it is not, Sir.
But her mischievous disposition is greater ; and if
I am asked to bring a proof of the truth of my as
sertion, 1 must bring the case of Switzerland. Sir,
if I see a purposed contempt of the independence of
a nation ; if I see a perfidious disregard of the faith
of treaties ; if I see a power withdraw her assistance,
only to return and entrap a country of freemen with
greater certainty ; why then I say there has been a

1802.] 2 11
change, and a great change too, and that such a
power we have a right to watch. But, says the
honorable gentleman, we have no right to make use
of invectives against the First Consul of France. I
will abstain if I can; I say if I can, because I feel
that even a 'simple narrative may be construed into
invective. With regard to the general question of
a disposition to peace or war, I for one declare,
that I am as strongly and as sincerely for the pre
servation of peace as any man, and that I do not
consider war as any remedy for the evils com
plained of. If a war spirit be springing up in this
country, if a chivalrous disposition be observable,
if a sentiment of indignation be rising upon the
subject of the treatment of Switzerland, I for one
shall contend that the treatment of Switzerland is no
cause of war. I would therefore say, preserve
peace^if possible : peace if possible, because the ef
fects of war, always calamitous, may be calamitous
indeed, buckling* as we should be forced to do,
all our sinews and strength to that power in a contest
with her upon such grounds. I repeat, therefore,
peace if possible ; but I add, resistance, prompt,
resolute, determined resistance to the first aggres
sion, be _the consequences what they .may. Influ
enced by these sentiments, I shall vote cordially
and cheerfully for 'this large peace establishment;
and it is because I shall vote for it that I think my
self bound to state my reasons. Sir, some gentlemen
seem to consider, what they advance as so many
axioms too clear to need explanation or to require
defence. But when I vote so large an establish
ment, I think myself not at libertyto bind such a
burthen upon my constituents, without -stating the
grounds upon which I act, and the principles by
which I am prompted. Sir, I ihave listened with
all the attention I am master of to the different ar
guments that have been advanced in the present de
bate. One -honorable gentleman Who spoke second,
appears to he^a decided enemy to a great establish-
P 2

212 [DEC. 8,
ment, and the reasons he gave for his opposition, I
confess, perfectly astonished me. Luckily he has
no rapid flippancy in his manner ; his sentiments
are delivered too soberly and sedately to be mis
taken. I am sure I mean nothing disrespectful to
that gentleman, who amply repays the attention
that is paid to him. But he says, if ministers had
only said to him that danger existed, he would, for
one have voted for the force proposed. Does he
doubt the danger ? He complains that His Ma
jesty's ministers do not state it precisely. But does
he pretend that he does not see and feel it ? Can
any one look at the map of Europe and be blind to
it ? Can any one have a heart to resist apprehended
injury, and say that we ought not to be prepared ?
But he asks, why raise only eleven hundred thousand
men ? You can never equal the military power
of France, and as you cannot, why stop at
eleven hundred thousand? Why not raise one
hundred and twenty, one hundred and thirty,
or one hundred and forty thousand? If thji
argument be worth any thing, it applies equally
to our raising only one thousand. Why, if
we can never be equal to France, raise a man?
Another gentleman, who spoke last, has alluded
to alliances, and I agree perfectly with him in
what he advanced against making any pledges.
He has alluded to the fate of the pledges made in
the war of the succession, in the war of 1741 ; but
if he meant to be impartial, he need not have gone
back so far ; he need not have travelled beyond the
last war; he might have mentioned the pledges
then given ; he might have recollected the pledge
of never giving up the Netherlands; he might have
recalled to our minds the pledge of obtaining in
demnity for the past, and security for the future;
he might have dwelt upon the pledge of exhausting
the last drop of our blood in the contest for religion,
order, and civilized society, the toto certatum cor
pore regni; he might have reminded us of all these

1802.] 213
pledges made, and of all of them having been
abandoned. He confesses his warmth of friendship
for the late minister, and he certainly never shewed
it more than in stopping so short with his historical
narrative of pledges. The next excellent reasoning
of the honorable gentleman who spoke second
against the proposed vote is, that the first year of
war there will be an immense army drawn upon the
opposite coast, and therefore, now it is not necessary
to be prepared. When the army is upon your shores,
when the trumpet of the enemy sounds at your gates,
then it is time to be prepared. Appearance of se
curity, he contends, gives, often, the effect of se
curity. If we have large armies, France will think
we raise them through fear ; if we do not have
them, she will think that we feel ourselves perfectly
secure. I have heard instances, Sir, where mount
ing wooden guns upon a fort has produced the same
security as if there had been real ones. But un
luckily in this instance for us, by our constitutional
form of proceeding, our whole force must be known :
we cannot pass upon an enemy wooden guns, and
an army at Brentford. If we vote no force, an
enemy will know we have none. But have no arms,
throw away your guns, is the advice of the honorable
gentleman. Sir, when every house in my neigh
bourhood has been attacked and robbed by a gang
of ruffians, how my having no arms is to save me
from a visit from them, I must leave the honorable
gentleman to explain. His next argument is, tbat
it is Unreasonable in us to believe that Buonaparte
wishes to be at war with us ; for he thinks the
French have nothing to gain by invasion. Nothing
to gain ? What else have they to lose but that of
which it has been said they have so much to spare,
and what have they not to gain ? Sir, I cannot but
think this as unbecoming a sentiment as ever was
uttered. But it is unreasonable to think that the
French wish to meddle with us. Why, I protest I
cannot explain. If, as has been said, they have
*~n  __ il„. —i— l__- l-— T-ery where else

214 [dec.8,
successful, cannot but view the only power whose
arms they have felt with feelings of warm resent
ment, and with sentiments of mortified pride. But
look at the map of Europe; there, where a great
man (who, however, was always wrong on this
subject) said he looked for France, and found no.
thing but a chasm. Look at that map now, and see
nothing but France. It is in our power to measure
her territory, to reckon her population, but it is
scarcely within the grasp of any man's mind to
measure the ambition of Buonaparte. Why, when
all Europe bows down before him — why, when he
has subdued the whole continent, he should feel such
great respect for us, T am at a loss to discover. ' If
then it be true, as I have stated, that his ambition
is of that immeasureable nature, there are abundant
and obvious reasons why it must be progressive-
reasons much stronger than any that could have been
used under the power of the Bourbons. They
were ambitious, but it was not so necessary for
them to feed their subjects with the spoils and plun
der of war; they had the attachment of a long
established family applied to them ; they had the
effect and advantage of hereditary succession. But
I see in the very situation and composition of the
power of Buonaparte a physical necessity for him to
go on in this barter with his subjects, and to promise
to make them the masters of the world if the^iwill
consent to be his slaves, I see then, I repeat^ this
strong reason for his pursuing this system of policy.
If that be the case, must not his most anxious looks- be
directed to Great Britain? Every thing else is petty
and contemptible compared with it. Russia, if not
in his power, is at least in his influence — Prussia is
at his back — Italy is his vassal — Holland is in his
grasp — Spain at his nod — Turkey in his toils — Por
tugal at his foot :— when I see this, can I hesitate in
stating my feelings, still less can I hesitate in
giving a vote that shall put upon our guard against
the machinations and workings of such an ambition?
But it has been said, that it is nnssihta hpmav mean

1802.] 215
nothing more than rivalry of commerce. Happy,
Sir, shall I be if such an idea enter into his head at
all, much more if it form part of his plans. But I
confess that 1 cannot see that it does. I mark him
taking positions calculated to destroy our commerce,
but I do not find him doing any thing for the mu
tual benefit of the trade of the two countries. I see
him anxious to take possession of Louisiana, and to
use the ports of St. Domingo to carry out West In
dia and Jamaica trade. I can conceive a possible
case, in which such positions might be taken as to
force us to surrender our commerce without a stroke.
An ignorant observer may see two armies, and
may say there is no war, because there is no'battle ;
yet one of them may make such movements as to
.-compel the other to surrender without striking a
blow. Of the commercial talents of Buonaparte, I can
be supposed to know but little ; but bred in camps,
4t cannot be imagined that his commercial know
ledge can be very great ; and, indeed, if I am
'rightly informed, he is proceeding in the old plan of
heavy duties and prohibitions. But he would go a
shorter way to work with us. The old country has
credit and capital, and commercial enterprise ; and
he may think, if he can subjugate us, that he can
carry them off to France like so many busts and
marbles. But he would find himself mistaken;
that credit would wither under the gripe of power ;
that capital would sink into the earth, if trodden
upon by the foot of a despot. That commercial
enterprise would, I believe lose all its vigour in the
presence of an arbitrary government. No, Sir, in
stead of putting his nation apprentice to commerce,
he has other ideas in his head. My humble appre
hension is, -that, though in the tablet and volume of
his mind there may he some marginal note about
cashiering the King of Etrnria; yet, that the whole
text is occupied with the destruction of this country.
This is the first vision that breaks upon him through

216 [dec. 8,
the gleam of the morning ; this is his last prayer at
night, to whatever Deity he addresses it, whether
to Jupiter or Mahomet ; to the Goddess of Battles,
or the Goddess of Reason. But, Sir, the only
consolation is, that he is a great philosopher and
philanthropist. I believe this hyper-philanthropy
has done more harm than ever it did good. He has
discovered that we all belong to the Western family.
Sir, I confess I feel a sentiment of deep indigna
tion, when I hear (I take it from report) that this
scrap of nonsense was uttered to one of the most en
lightened of the human race. To this family party
I do not wish to belong. He may invite persons,
if he please, to dinner, and, like Lord Peter, say,
that this tough crust is excellent mutton. He may
toss a sceptre to the King of Etruria to play with,
and keep a rod to scourge him in the corner; he
may have thought at first his Cisalpine Republic a
fine growing child, and may have found ita ricketty
bantling ; but I feel contempt for all this mockery.
Let us, Sir, abstain from invective, only let us speak
the truth. Why, Sir, what I have said is nothing
but the truth. Let us be visiting acquaintance, but
I do implore him not to consider us as one of the
family. Perhaps, Sir, it is unnecessary for me to
state any moie reasons for voting for this large
peace establishment. All I desire is, not to have it
understood that in stating my fears, I speak from a
well informed judgment. On that account it is that
I say do not go to war ; on that account it is that I
state my apprehensions as rational grounds for great
vigilance, and for strong preparation. Sir, there
are two other points pressed by several gentlemen,
to which I beg leave to refer. I mean the fitness of
the persons in power, and the spirit of the people.
The power of the country consists in its army, its
navy, and its finance, in the talent and integrity of
its ministers, and, above all, in the spirit of the
people. Upon this second branch of the question,
though I have said some things which may be con-

1802.] 217
sidered as grateful to that party which may be de
nominated the war party, yet I fear I shall be com
pelled to state by and by some circumstances that
may not be quite so agreeable to them. It is a mat
ter of no importance to the house perhaps to know
why I was absent on the two first days of the ses
sion. I am anxious to hear the part which men
would take, and I do confess I never felt so much
disgust at any circumstance, as to find on the first
day of the session, instead of an unanimous vote for
vigilance and preparation, a call from some to give
us back our places. The noble Lord's friends may
be divided into two classes ; those who call for a
change of ministers, and for war. And here I must
say, Sir, for one, that I thank them for their frank
ness in stating what they have done, because their
frankness is an antidote to the fury of their counsels.
The noble lord says, we don't want to go to war ;
we only wish to have other persons in power ; the
noble lord deals with the ingenuousness of youth, as
I say ; with the experience of youth, according to
others. But what should we get by this change ?
Would those persons he recommends have acted
differently from the present ministers ? Would they
have gone to war for any of the events that have oc
curred since the peace ? Would they have gone
to war for the annexing of Piedmont to France ? —
for the Cisalpine Republic? — for the invasion of
Switzerland ? No, for none of these. They would
have done as ministers have done, but more vigo
rously ; they would have shewn more grumbling
patience ; they would have made wry faces ; they
would not have stood with their hands before them ;
no, but with their arms akimbo. What would they
have got by this ? Would they have obtained any
thing more by all this grudging and wincing ? —
Would such a mode of conduct have become the
character and dignity of the country ? Sir, it is not
to be inferred, because the right honorable gentle
man opposite me did none of these things, that he

218 [dec. 8,
felt no indignation. I learn from His Majesty's
speech, every word of which I approve, that his
ministers are determined not to be shut out of the
continent. I say, Sir, I approve of the speech,
because it satisfied me that a sense of wrong, and a
resentment of injury, may live under moderate lan
guage. But these ministers, it seems, are the inca
pable gentlemen. Will gentlemen shew us any act
of base submission on their part ? If they can ; if
they prove that they did any act with respect to
Switzerland, and meanly retracted it afterwards, I
will be the first to inveigh against them. But these
gentlemen shew us no such acts ; they seem as if
they considered the ministers, now the drudgery of
signing the peace is done, as fundi offieiis, and as
if* they ought to go out ; as if one was a mere goose
quill, and the other a stick of sealing wax, which
are done with, and ought to be thrown under the
table. We know that t ouchsione says, as a good
ground of quarrel, " That he don't like the cut
of a certain courtier's beard." Perhaps this capri
cious dislike cannot be better exemplified than by
the sentiment expressed in the well known epigram
of Martial :—
Non amo te, Sabidi, nee possum dicere quare.
Hoc tantum possum dicere, non amo te !
The English parody may be more applicable to
these gentlemen : —
I do not like thee, Dr. Fell,
The reason why I cannot tell;
But tliis, I'm sure, I know full well,
I do not like tbee, Dr. Fell.
It is fair, Sir, to say, that this English parody,
«6 unfavourable to the Doctor, proceeds from the
mouth of a fair lady, who has privileges to like and
dislike, which would ill become a member of this
house. Sir, I contend that no solid reason has been
offered to be urged against these ministers. How,

1802.] 219
I would ask, has the right honorable gentleman
forfeited the confidence of the people ? And why
are we told that there, is but one man alone that
can save the cpuntry. But it seems, and I must
frankly confess, that I was utterly astonished when
I heard such an assertion . made use of, that His
Majesty's ministers assumed the reins of govern
ment at a most inviting period. Sir, I defy any
man to shew me a period of greater difficulty. The
right honorable gentleman who, in the chair of this
house, had so amply deserved and secured the re
spect of every member in it, could not but have
quitted it with feelings of regret. — But the expe
ditions to the Baltic and to Egypt were prepared :
true ; yet was success certain ? Was it not the act
of chance,, and, the great skill shewn by the noble
Admiral (Nelson) that brought the expedition to
the Baltic to a favorable issue ? Did the late mi
nisters conceal their fears with respect to the expe
dition to Egypt? That it was most glorious in its
event, and that the country ought to bind the brows*
of the meanest soldier engaged in it with laurels,
I am ready to allow. But it cannot be denied, that,,
after the expedition had been off the coast in Italy,
and was in Marmorice Bay, orders were sent to stop
theexpedition altogether. With respect to the nego
ciations for peace, their predecessors knew that the
present ministers would have to deal with men who,
it might be supposed, would be glad of an occasion
to retort the insolence of Lord Grenville's letter. If
the enemy had parodied their letter as their only
answer to us, if they had said we will wait for ex
perience and the evidence of facts, with respect to
the new ministry ; if they had said, restore that old
whig constitution which the former ministers have
so impaired, we might have thought such conduct.
trifling, and beneath them ; but we could not have
questioned its fairness. Sir, though His Majesty's
ministers must have been prepared to expect humi
liation, yet they made peace, I will venture to say,

220 [dec. 8,
on terms comparatively more advantageous to the
country than those that were offered at Lisle. Of
these ministers, Sir, I know also that they have not
renewed any of their predecessor's oppressive acts.
But this, some gentlemen will contend, is a proof
of their weakness and unfitness. Never too, Sir,
did the Treasury interfere so little in the general
election. This again may be advanced by some as
an instance of their incapacity. Nay, the North
was left almost to a member of the late adminis
tration. When, therefore, gentlemen talk in future
of Mr. Pitt's being the fittest person to save the
country, they ought to add also the name of Mr.
Dundas. But what did these gentlemen expect
from the present Chancellor of the Exchequer?
We treated him, when in the chair of this house,
with the respect he merited. He has, I believe,
Sir, over our present worthy Speaker, the advan
tage in attitude ; but did they expect that when he
was minister be was to stand up and call Europe
to order ? Was he to send Mr. Colnaan, the Ser
jeant at Arms, to the Baltic, and order the Northern
powers to the bar of the house ? Was he to see the
powers of Germany scrambling like members over
the benches, and say, Gentlemen must take their
places? Was he expected to cast his eye to the
Tuscan gallery, and exclaim, that strangers must
withdraw ? Was he to stand across the Rhine, and
say, the Germans to the right, and the French to
the left ? If he could have done all these things, I
for one should always vote, that the Speaker of the
house should be appointed the minister of the coun
try. But the right honorable gentleman has done
all that a reasonable man could expect him to do.
Sir, I confess, I wish to know what Mr. Pitt him
self thinks. I should be glad to hear what his senti
ments are of the call made for him, and loudly made
too, in another place by a vigorous statesman. I
well remember, Sir, and so do we all, the character
he gave of the present administration. The justice

1802.] 221
of his character of the First Lord of the Admiralty,
no man can question. Of the accuracy of his judg
ment, With respect to the present Chancellor of the
Exchequer, it does not become us to entertain a
doubt. The noble Secretary of State was better
qualified for the situation than any man in the
country, with an exception made, I believe, in favor
of my honorable friend (Mr. Fox) near me. Does .
Mr. Pitt mean to retract that character ? I cannot
suppose he does. I must believe that he left, in his
judgment, the best administration that could be left.
I have heard some gentlemen attach to the present
ministry the appellation of a mawkish mixture ; but
if I were to compare them to any thing, I should
«ay, that Mr. Pitt, and the Ex-Secretary of War,
acted as men fond of wine (which I certainly do
not mean to impute to them as a fault), and drink
ing a bottle of Tokay. Though you may take what
appears to be the best, and leave only what seems
,to be the lees, yet if you only pour a bottle of good
white wine upon them, you have as good a bottle
of Tokay as ever. Sir, I think the mixture as good
and as wholesome to the constitution as it could
have been. I am sure I hear with joy that it is not
on account of ill health that the right honorable gen
tleman to whom I have alluded is absent. I re
peat, Sir, when I see so many persons anxious about
that gentleman, I am glad to hear that his health
is re-established. But how, I would ask, can we,
with any consistency, turn out the man who made
the peace, to bring in the person who avowed his
approbation of it ? Sir, it is since that peace was
made that gentlemen had voted a statue to Mr. Pitt ;
but whenever they erect that statue, let them cover
it with laurels so as not to shew its nose ; yet still
a piece of the olive must go with it, for he ap
proved and supported the peace. Sir, I cannot
persuade myself to think he is playing a double
game, or that he has retracted the opinion he deli
vered in this house ; but every thing should stand

222 [DEC. 8,
plain, every thing should be explicit. I have heard
of one person playing two different games at chess,
for two different persons at the same time ; but I
never heard of a person playing one of his hands
against the other. I suspect, therefore, there has been
some mistake in the telegraphic communication;
that the political Philidor's game has been misun
derstood ; that his friends have displaced a knight
and a castle, when they should only have taken
two pawns ; that they have made an attempt to
checkmate the Kipg, when they had no instructions
for doing it. Sir, I cannot forget the period when
the august personage of the Sovereign j,was held up
as the only man who was against extending pri
vileges to the Catholics in Ireland; and I cannot,
therefore, brook the idea of calling that right ho
norable gentleman back to power, and forcing him
upon the crown. I expected when I came into this
house to hear much said against Buonaparte, but
I had not the slightest expectation of hearing any
thing against the prerogative of the crown. Mr.
Pitt the only man to save the country ! No single
man can save the country. If a nation depends
only upon one man, it cannot, and, I will add, it
does not deserve to be saved ; it can only be done
by the parliament and the people. Sir, I say, there
fore, I cannot believe that there is a back and a
fore door to this Egerian grotto. We have all
heard, I dare say, of a classical exhibition in this
town, The Invisible Girl. Here, however, I hope
we shall have no whisperings backwards and for
wards, no speaking through tubes, no invisible
agency. I hope, too, that we shall have it declared,
as it ought to be, that these opinions, Which have
been rumored about, are unfounded. I shall now
address a few words to those gentlemen who would
hurry us into war; and here, Sir, I must say, that
of all persons living, the Ex-Secretary of War is
the last man who can consistently call out for war.
He despised the warning voiee of my honorable

1802.] 223
friend ; he turned a deaf ear to his predictions, that
we should only consolidate and strengthen the power
of France. His answers always were as if he
should despise the power of France, could he but
see jacobinism destroyed. Is it not destroyed?
" Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear ;
The arm'd rhinoceros, or the Hyrcanian tiger —
Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves
Shall never tremble — "
The right honorable gentleman's wishes are gra
tified ;. jacobinism is killed and! gone, and by whom?
By him who can no longer be called the child and
champion of jacobinism — by Buonaparte. I re
member to have heard jacobinism compared to
Antaeus, who gained strength at every throw : but
Buonaparte proceeded like Hercules ; he gave it a
true fraternal hug, and strangled it. Did the
French annex Piedmont, did they enter Switzer
land with the Rights of Man ? Did they talk of
those rights when Buqnaparte' told the people of
Italy they were a set of dolts and drivellers, and were
unfit to govern themselves ? But now the right
honorable gentleman seems in a greater fright than
ever. He seems as if he had rather have the old
ghost back again. Most whimsically he wants to
unite all parties against France —
Black spirits and white/
Blue spirits and grey,
all are welcome to him. The moderate jacobins he
takes to his bosom ; they were only misled by their
feelings. The violent jacobins he appeals to as
men of 'proud spirits. He wishes to sing Ca Ira to
them, and to head them all. Oh! had I, he sighs,
but plenty of jacobins here ! But on what principle
Would they carry on the war ? If they were able
to curtail the power of Buonaparte, would not their
views increase, and would they ever stop without
making an example of the regicide republic ? If

224 [DEC. 8,
they will speak out fairly, will they not confess this ?
Will the country, then, for such a purpose consent
to turn out the present ministers ? Sir, upon the
spirit of the country I wish to say a few words. I
have heard from one noble Lord, with regret, what
I hope was but a slip, that the spirit of the country
is worn out. I think that noble Lord must retract
that idea. Sir, I certainly looked to the rejoicings
at the peace as an unmanly and irrational exultation.
Do I rebuke the people for rejoicing at the blessings
of peace ? No, Sir, but for rejoicing without asking
about the terms. Did they rejoice that we had
gained Trinidad and Ceylon ? Would two farthing
candles have been burnt less had we not obtained
them ? No, Sir, if they had believed that they had
been fighting for civilized order, morality, and re
ligion ; and if, believing this, they exulted in such
a peace, then it proves, that their spirit was worn
out. But I allude to this, in order that the enemy
may not be led into a mistake upon the subject.
Sir, one of the disadvantages attending the present
administration is, that they will not turn, when they
are attacked by the last administration. They are
hampered by the votes they gave for the war. But
from the period of the allegations that it was a war
for the Scheldt, I assert that it continued to be a
war upon false pretences. The people were told
that it was a war for religjon and good order, and
they found that peace was ready to be made at
Lisle, without any reference to those causes. The
right honorable gentleman says, what baseness,
while religion was in their mouths, to consent to
steal a sugar island. It is true, Sir, though it
comes a little extraordinarily from that man who
was one of the cabinet ministers at the time of the
negociation at Lisle. It should appear as if there
had indeed been great discord in the cabinet ; there
never was greater, says the honorable gentleman.
They acted not merely like men in a boat, rowing
different ways, but like men in the boat of a bal-

1802.] 225
loon. Up the Ex-Secretary of War was ascending
to the clouds, whilst Mr. Dundas was opening the
valve and letting out the gas to descend ; while one
was throwing out ballast to mount to the most
chivalrous heights, the other was attempting to let
drop an anchor upon a West India island. Each
of these ministers was suffered to have his favorite
plan; The Ex-Secretary at War was allowed to
nibble at the coast of France, the War Secretary of
State to make a descent upon a sugar island ; and
thus they went on till the letter from Lord Gren
ville, that letter never to be forgotten ; and, 1 will
add, never to be forgiven, made its appearance,
and the people took a deep and settled disgust.
Why did this not appear ? And this, Sir, ought
to be a lesson to us. The mouths of the people
Were shut and gagged, and the government were
acting without knowing any tiling of their circum
stances. Sir, in such circumstances, the integrity
of their minds was disgusted, and they were glad to
get rid of the war at any rate. Upon this subject I
have dwelt the more particularly, because I wish
Buonaparte not to mistake the cause of the joy of
the people. He should know, that if he commits
any act of aggression against them, they are ready
to enter singly into the contest, rather than suffer
any attack upon their honor and their independence.
I shall proceed no further. I perfectly agree with
my honorable friend, that war ought to be avoided,
though he does not agree with me on the means
best calculated to produce that effect. From any
opinion he may express, I never differ but with the
greatest reluctance. For him my affection, my
esteem, and my attachment, are unbounded, and
they will end only with my life. But I think an
important lesson is to be learnt from the arrogance
of Buonaparte. He says he is an instrument in
the hands of Providence,, an Envoy of God. He
says he is an instrument in the hands of Providence
to restore Switzerland to happiness, and to elevate

226 [feu. 23,
Italy to splendor and importance. Sir, I think he
is an instrument in the hand's of Providence to make
the English love their constitution the better; to
cling to it with more fondness ; to hang round it
with truer tenderness. Every man feels when he
returns from France that he is coining from a dun
geon to enjoy the light and life of British inde
pendence. Sir, whatever abuses exist, we shall still
look with pride and pleasure upon the substantial
blessings we still enjoy. I believe too, Sir, that he
is an instrument in the hands of Providence, to
make us more liberal in our political differences,
and to render us determined, with one hand and
heart, to oppose any aggressions that may be made
upon us. If that aggression be made, my honor
able friend will, I am sure, agree with me, that
we ought to meet it with a spirit worthy of these
islands ; that we ought to meet it with a conviction
^of the truth of this assertion, that the country which
has achieved such greatness, has no retreat in little
ness ; that if we could be content to abandon every
thing, we should find no safety in poverty, no se
curity in abject submission. Finally, Sir, that we
ought to meet it with a fixed determination to
perish in the same grave with the honor and inde
pendence of the country."

February 23, 1803.
PRINCE OF WALES'S ESTABLISHMENT.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer moved, " Ttiat His Majesty be
empowered to issue annually to the Prince of Wales a sum not exceed
ing sixty thousand pounds."
Mr. Sheridan said, he would have wished to
have abstained from troubling the house, but that
some points were absolutely necessary to be ex
plained. He was ready to admit the arguments
employed in support of the proposition by the right
honorable aud learned gentleman (the Solicitor Ge-

1803.] 127
neral) opposite to him; the proposition itself was
equally satisfactory to those who wished to replace
his Royal Highness in his constitutional splendor,
and to those who watched with a jealous eye the
expenditure of the public money. There was, how
ever, one thing which did not appear to be admitted,
and which he was particularly desirous should be
stated ; it was not admitted that the Prince of Wales,
so far from burdening the public, had, on the con
trary, made a considerable sacrifice to them ; this
certainly was the fact, and it should be known to
the country. He was himself a real friend to the
comforts and splendor which his Royal Highness
ought to enjoy, but he was, at the same time, a
greater friend to his honor and character. The
Prince came forward for the third time. Upon
the first application, notwithstanding the arguments
employed by the learned and the unlearned, not
withstanding the vast fund of legal and historical
erudition, which was displayed, nothing was ascer
tained with regard to the petition of right. First,
it was to be presented to the Lord Chancellor ; then
it was discovered that the Chancellor was not the
proper person, but that the petition should be given
to Lord Pelham. Afterwards it was to be laid be
fore the Chancellor, and then it came into this
house. An assurance had been given, that there
was no compromise whatever, and that the Prince
was at liberty to prosecute his suit ; but, for his own
part, he gave his support tojhe proposition, because
the Prince did not come forward as a claimant upon
the public, but asserting a just demand. As to the
idea of a compromise, there appeared in that no
thing of a disgraceful kind^ An adjustment, by
way of composition, when no other mode could be
devised, was fair and satisfactory. The measure
now adopted was, without doubt, the shortest ; for
had the suit gone on, it would have been spun out to
a most tedious and insufferable length. The late
Chancellor kept - the papers in his pocket for six

228 [FEB. 23,.
years before he could make up his opinion ; and if
the suit had been carried on, it must, no doubt, have
partaken of that glorious uncertainty which was one
of the excellencies of the British laws. If he con
ceived the ground rightly, upon which the right
honorable the Chancellor of the Exchequer formed
his motion, it was to be understood that the sum
was to be appropriated in immediately enabling his
Royal Highness to resume the state and splendor-
appropriate to his high rank. He wished to know
whether the house was to understand this to be the
real fact? If so, he should have much greater plea
sure in supporting the motion ; but he begged to
know from the right honorable gentleman if he was
warranted from any authentic quarter to give this
assurance to the house ; because if they voted the
sum under such an idea, and that afterwards it
should be found that the resumption of tbat state, on
the part of the Prince, was to be still protracted,
much discontent and disappointment must be the
natural consequence. Nor could that minister be
fairly said to consult the honor of the Prince, in der
ceiving the house into a vote, under an idea, that
by such vote his Royal Highness was to be imme
diately restored to his rank in life, when in reality
he must remain under embarrassments that must
still longer oblige him to remain in obscurity. But
in all events, whatever the fact was, it ought to be
fully understood. An honorable member had this
night moved for the reading of some passages in his
Majesty's message on a former occasion, respecting
the Prince's affairs, in order to prove that the Prince
was thereby precluded from any further claims
upon parliament, because he was thereby construc
tively precluded from contracting any new debts.
But although the letter of those passages certainly
did not expressly restrict his Royal Highness from
contracting debts, yet what he was ready to allow
his Royal Highness was as firmly bound in honor
upon that point to abstain from contracting new

1803.'] 229
debts, after the vote then passed, as if bound thereto
by a condition worded in the strongest manner : but
the fact was, his Royal Highness had contracted no
new debts; nor had he made any claims on the
public for payment of his former debts; for surely
the submittal to excessive restraints upon his own
income for the liquidation of his Royal Highness's
debts, was not to be termed a burthen on the coun
try for that purpose. But though his Royal High
ness had contracted no new debts, yet it was to be
recollected, that if those arrangements made with a
;foroner Chancellor of the Exchequer for the liquida
tion of his debts, had failed in some instances of
•their intended effect, the Prince, feeling himself
bound in honor to make good the deficiency, was
still embarrassed, under the sense of that honorable
obligation. On the former occasion, a sum of 60d,000Z.
Was voted in advance to the Prince for the liquida
tion of his debts, to be vested in the hands of trus
tees ; but when by public advertisement all the
claims of his Royal Highness were called in, the
aggregate was found to amount to 650,000Z. ; con
sequently there was a deficit of 50,000/. It was not
thought advisable to make a further application to
parliament; but the commissioners, to supply the
deficiency, proposed to the creditors an abatement,
on their respective debts, of no less than 10 per
cent. This deduction was not upon claims consi
dered as any ways fraudulent or over-charged, but
upon debts fairly fitted, and admitted to be just and
reasonable. This, be contended, was, in direct
terms, compromising the honor of his Royal High
ness ; it was not paying, but compounding his debts;
and his Royal Highness, he said, had authorized
him to declare, on a former occasion, that he had
much -rather again apply to parliament, and solicit a
restriction of one year more upon his income, in
order to pay in full every claim against him, than
submit to a measure which his Royal Highness con-
ceived to he so degrading to his honor ; nor could

230 [march 4,
he conceive that honor satisfied until he had paid
the last farthing. If then his Royal Highness was
still to remain burthened with claims, which he con
ceived himself bound, as debts of honor, to dis
charge, it was obvious the chief end proposed to the
house, of enabling his Royal Highness immediately
to resume his rank and appropriate splendor, would
not be attained by the vote proposed. If it was said
he was, in consequence of this vote, to be restored
to his whole income, but not yet to resume his rank
and state, in God's name let the circumstances be
explained to the house ; and some definitive time
mentioned at which an expectation, so anxiously
and so generally entertained by the nation, was
really to be fulfilled.
The resolution was agreed to without a division.

March 4.
PRINCE OF WALES'S ESTABLISHMENT.
Mr. Calcraft moved, " That the house, anxiously desirous to give
full effect to the important objects contained in His Majesty's most
gracious nwssage of the 16th of February, do appoint a select com
mittee to inquire into the embarrassments of the Prince of Wales, and
into the most effectual means of relieving them as speedily as possible,
in order to enable His Royal Highness to resume the splendor and
dignity due to his exalted station."
Mr. Sheridan, after the manner in which this
question had been deprecated, and the manifest in
disposition that had been shewn on the other side to
enter into it, thought it unnecessary to assure the
house, that it was not his intention to detain them
long. Unquestionably if a division were to take
place, he should vote for the original motion ; but so
little real difference of opinion did he see, that he
could have no apprehension of coming to a division,
There was but one object professed on both sides,
and he was. sure the manner of attaining that object,
though it might, in the first instance, strike gentle
men very differently, would not ultimately be a

1803.] 231
cause of dissension. From the tardiness of the
right honorable gentleman (the Chancellor of the
Exchequer) and those about him, to reply to the
arguments of his honorable friend (Mr. Fox), he had
reason to conclude that they were ready to do that "
justice to his Royal Highness to which he is un
doubtedly entitled. His Royal Highness, upon the
gracious intention conceived by His Majesty, and
communicated to the house by His Majesty's mes
sage, with the advice of his law officers, adopted the
resolution of abandoning his claims to the duchy of
Cornwall. There was no doubt but his Royal High-
nes's advisers, as well the one who had a seat in
that House (Mr. Erskine) as the one who had not
(Mr. Adam), had given his Royal Highness the
advice most consistent with his dignity. But it was
not for the house to consider that he did not act on
the authority of private communications ; be was
bound as a member of parliament not to do so. Was
there any reason to believe that his Royal Highness
was indifferent to the restoration of his rank and
state, or to the restoration to the same rank of that
family which had shared in his obscurity ? Let gen
tlemen look to the communication made by his
Royal Highness, and they would there find it ac
knowledged that he was not indifferent. This was
not information from private authority. The house
had it from his Royal Highness himself; they had
it on the face of their journals. All opinions were
therefore agreed as to the object that was to be at
tained. His honorable friend, if the form of his
motion produced any difficulty, would, he was sure,
not hesitate to change it to the shape that would be
least exceptionable. Let it be said, that the house
would consider of it. The right honorable gentle
man (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) had said,
his Royal Highness was in a situation in which it
was not to be entered that he should continue one
hour longer : that he was in a situation which he
could not have that interchange of hospitality with

232 [MARCH 4(
the noble families of the country which it was most
material that the heir apparent of the crown should
keep up : that he could not promote the arts, patro
nise talent, or contribute to the advancement of
those various laudable institutions for which the
present time was so remarkable. The house ap
peared to feel as the right honorable gentleman did ;
but now, as something more was required to ac
complish the object, was the feeling of the house and
the right honorable gentleman to be altered ? We
were told that those things must be endured, for
which there was no remedy ; but if there was a
remedy, why should a great and confessed evil be
longer endured ? His attention to this subject had
lately led him to look over what had been done in it
in former times. He had found in the former de
bates a great deal of asperity, which he was sorry to
find mingled with such a discussion. He was
pleased to find that nothing of that kind had entered
into the present discussion, with the exception of
one honorable gentleman (Mr. Johnstone), whose
accuracy in figures had been complimented by the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, though that accuracy
had commenced in miscalculation, and ended in
false inference. The honorable gentleman declared
himself sorry that a compromise had taken place.
He, on the contrary, rejoiced at it, because much
disagreeable consequence might result from the pro
secution of the suit, and the legal advisers of his
Royal Highness, who would give no advice incon
sistent with his honor. The honorable gentleman
conceived it an insult to the public to suppose that
there is any balance due to his Royal Highness on
the arrears. He was as little inclined to insult the
public as the honorable gentleman ; but he could not
conceive the public so irritable as to fly into a rage
at being called on to enter into an account on a mat
ter in which the best informed persons were of opi
nion that there was a large balance against it. He
gave the public credit for more justice and less irri-

1803.] 233
tability than the honorable gentleman. The indeli
cacy of entering into such an account had also been
mentioned. He knew of no indelicacy in it, ex
cept, indeed, in the set-offs which gentlemen made
against the revenues of the duchy. Was the Prince
to be told by his Royal Father, "It is true, I owe
you a large arrear accumulated during your mino
rity, but I have to deduct the expenses of your
pursing and education ; there is so much for your
cradle, and so much for your pap, and so much for
your books?" The whole of the indelicacy was in
this. The Prince of Wales had shared the same
education and the same maintenance which had
been enjoyed by the Duke of York. They were
both maintained out of the Queen's privy purse, and
it was on the occasion of that maintenance that par
liament had made so large and liberal a grant for
Her Majesty's service. The honorable gentleman
.(Mr. Johnstone), said, that the settlement made in
1795 ought not to be changed, and that there was
no reason why it should not be continued in 1803.
That may be a good argument, but it came rather
late. It ought to have been advanced when the
original grant on His Majesty's message was pro
posed. The honorable gentleman held his tongue
then, and now, when His Majesty's message had
recommended the object to the house, when the
Chancellor of the Exchequer had stated that the
object was so important and desirable as to admit of
no delay, when the house assented to the principle,
and seemed to feel no other objection to the mea
sure proposed on it, than that it did not go far
enough, the honorable gentleman came out with
this argument, which went against the bill brought
in on the resolution of the house in every stage.
The honorable gentleman adduced a curious reason
for not doing more now than was done in 1795. He
said it was particularly necessary that the Prince of
Wales should keep a greater state than in 1795, and
have more trappings and lords of the bedcham-

234 [march 4,
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 Mas-
sand, 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 Bux
ton), 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 fea
ther 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 con
tending system home to gentlemen's minds, let it be
applied to the house — let it be supposed that the
Speaker possessed sufficient dignity, and com- '
manded 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 bis ac
customed hospitality and splendor, be demolished ;

1803.] 235
let the state coach be laid down, and instead of pro
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 she
riffs 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 out
side passengers — (A loud laugh ) . Let the Lord
Mayor, instead of coming to Westminster-hall in
the state-barge, accompanied by the several com
panies in their state-barges, — let him come in a plain
wherry, without any attendants, and instead of going
back to feast pn 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 be should not
then have the high opinion of him that he had. The
house may, therefore, well go a step beyond mi
nisters. 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 refe
rence 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 acknow
ledge, but which he should be sorry to make knowm
There would be that difference between money voted
for these debts, and that voted on former occasions,

286 [aug. 4,
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 clandes
tine — (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 inconsi
derate deduction. He would hardly be suspected
of having any interested view in supporting this mo
tion ; 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 250,000,000/. for the support of
the thrones of Europe, an object in which we failed,
we should not give 100,000/. 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 gentle
man'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 re
marked, 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 encou
raged volunteer exertions, and pointed out the sta
tion in which every man in the country ought to

1803.] 237
place himself. It had been stated by the right honor
able gentleman, with respect to the general de
fence 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, gentle
man, 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 volun
teers, who most likely might, at this moment, be
seen exercising in the hall. But the honorable gen
tleman 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 de
nied that it would have any such effect. The only
effect of the bill was that of allowing persons to vo
lunteer 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 ge
neral defence bill, In large towns such as Birming
ham, 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 re
gard 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

238 [AUG 4,
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 em
ployed 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. S/ieridan.
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 for
ward and state his opinion when the country was in
danger ? Did he call out like the honorable gen
tleman, " 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 mi
nisters 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 bring
ing forward such a measure ? No, it was more

1803.] 239
likely to be attended with effect, by having been
brought forward after the spirit of the people had
been excited. With regard to that clattering and
race-course bustle the honorable gentleman had
described, he was glad to hear that noise of the
machinery of the bill, but it was with regret he had
heard the honorable gentleman speak of it with dis
gust and rebuke. The honorable gentleman had
called the placards of the enemy paper bullets, and
had said what a time for Buonaparte to come ! It
was to be hoped he would not come the sooner in
consequence of what the honorable gentleman had
said, but if he did, he would find that the measures
adopted by ministers had already produced an army
of one hundred thousand volunteers. The honor
able gentleman regretted the measure had. not been
brought forward sooner, but he could have no sub
stantial reason for his regret, except that he would
have had three times so many opportunities of abu
sing ministers. His system had been a system of
discouragement, which, if it had been followed,
would have led the country to despair, and prostrate
itself at the feet of its enemy. He had said, that
there was no salvation for the country, except by a
particular individual being minister ; that the country
had nothing to fight for; that after the disgraceful
treaty of Amiens, the country had received, on the
part of honour, kicks innumerable ; that it had
nothing like glory or honor for which to contend.
This was one of his modes of discouragement. The
next was to lay down by most laborious demonstra
tion, that no irregular force could contend with the
regular. That such a force as we had, was impos
sible to resist such a force as the enemy could bring
against us. The next was, that nothing could be
done for the country till the present ministers were
out — that they were an incubus, a night-mare — and
that the more that was given them, the worse they
were. He then referred to what he described as

240 [AUG. 10,
the honorable gentleman's silly panegyric upon Mr.
Cobbett, and the erection of a statue of gold to his
honor. (Here Mr. Windham said something in a
low tone of voice.) Mr. Sheridan continued. The
honorable gentleman, he said, seemed to mutter at
this ; nay, he j groaned ; he was glad to hear him
groan. However, he hoped, he would go on with
his statue of gold, and make a colossal statue;
but he advised him not to solicit subscriptions at the
Royal Exchange ; it was not likely he would be
very successful there ; for, he believed, in one of
that gentleman's papers, he had observed, that the
stocks could not exist if the monarchy exist. It
was not very probable that the writer of such a sen
timent would be very popular in that wealthy city
where any subscriptions could be raised with effect.

August 10.
VOLUNTEERS.

Mr. Sheridan rose to make his promised mo
tion relative to the volunteers. He began by re
minding the house that, when he first gave notice
of the motion, he had stated his conviction that it
was of a nature which could give rise to no oppo
sition. In now rising to bring it forward, he was
not less sanguine that it would be unanimously
adopted. It was of a nature which he flattered
himself would meet the approbation of every man
in the house, however different his opinions on ge
neral subjects of policy. — (At this time Mr. Wind
ham and some of his friends entered the house.) The
honorable member, with peculiar good humor, al
luded to the circumstance ; and however difficult he
thought the task, he was not without hope that even
these honorable members would give their assent to
the motion. He trusted that whatever zeal of
opposition had been manifested on other occasions,

18U3.J Z41
there might, at least, be one cordial day before
their separation— one day in which every conside*
ration was lost sight of but devotion1 to the cause of
our common country. It might perhaps be thought
by some persons that the motion which he was now
about to submit to the house would have come with
more propriety from one in an Ostensible situation,
from a member of His Majesty's executive govern
ment. In bringing forward the motion, he certainly
had no wish to interfere with what more strictly
Was the duty of th'e servants of the crown, but he
could not but think that a motion such as he had to
propose was one which came with peculiar propriety
from an individual who appeared in that house as a
volunteer in the cause of his country. It might not
possess equal authority, but he was sure it would
npt be inferior in honesty and sincerity. In the few
Words which he had to offer before he submitted the
motion to the consideration of the house, he should
carefully abstain from every topic on which a diver
sity of opinion'might arise, conscious as he was that
some gentlemen (looking to the bench on which
Mr. Windham and his friends were seated) were
never backward in availing themselves of oppor
tunities for starting grounds of opposition. Before
he proceeded further, he wished it to be distinctly
understood that his motion was intended to include
every description of individuals whose services were
voluntarily offered at this difficult and trying crisis.
It would include volunteer corps, corps of yeo
manry, and corps wich were raised by patriotic
gentlemen, and accepted by government. He
thought it necessary thus far to explain the ob
ject of his motion, to prevent any misconstruction
or misapprehension from whatever quarter it might
proceed. There were one or two points on which,
before he handed the motion to the chair, he wished
to say a very few words. At present there existed
some degree of doubt respecting the proper con
struction of the clauses of the bill for the general de-
VOL. V. R

Z4Z |AUG. 1°»
fence ef the country; and also of the bill by which
some ambiguities were meant to be removed. It
was not sufficiently understood how far a voluntary
offer to enter into a corps, previously accepted by
His Majesty, would exempt the individuals making
this offer from the compulsory operations of the bills
to which he had just now referred. He thought it
the more necessary to call the attention of the house
to this subject, in consequence of a circular letter
from a noble secretary of state (Lord Hobart), in
which it appeared to him that the noble lord had, to
a certain degree, put a false construction on the act.
After such an authority as this had been published,
it was essential that the public at large should have
a thorough conception of the meaning of the legis
lature. He stated, from communications on which
he could place the greatest reliance, that in Hamp
shire particularly, the greatest embarrassment pre
vailed. If the interpretation of the noble lord was
to be considered as decisive, then a power would be
left to the constables of the different districts, to call
on individuals to comply with the compulsory clause
of the act, after they had entered into a voluntary
corps, whose services had been regularly accepted
by his Majesty's ministers. Nothing, however,
could be more clear than this, that such was not the
view of the legislature. It was the clear spirit of
the act, and he was anxious that it should be une
quivocally understood, that when any individual
entered into a corps of the nature which he had de
scribed, he was henceforth freed from the operation
of all the compulsory clauses of the act. The next
point on which he wished to make a few observa
tions, was the mode in which many volunteer associ
ations conducted their clothing. He was well
aware, and it could not have escaped the notice of
many other gentlemen, that many thousand indivi
duals whose loyalty was undoubted, whose ardor to
come forward in the sacred cause in which we are
now engaged is indisputable, were prevented from

entering into volunteer associations, from the heavy
expense to which, a gaudy fashionable dress, calcu
lated merely to gratify the silly vanity of some per
sons who were too opulent to feel the pressure, would
expose them. They had every wish to appear in
the ranks of their fellow-countrymen, in defence of
their sovereign and their country, but they could
not, without the greatest inconvenience to their fa
milies, incur the expense which Such dresses neces
sarily incurred. If the clothing were more cheap,
he was sure that thousands, whom no consideration
but that which he had mentioned now deterred,
would flock to the standard of loyalty. He could
but think that gentlemen in affluent circumstances,
and who had no reason to think of the expense in
the choice of a dress, would dothemselves infinite
honor by appearing in the plainest dress possible.
No man was surely, at a period like this, when the
greatest virtues were called forth, to pride himself
in the ranks of a volunteer association on the rich
ness and costliness of his dress. We were not to
turn our attention to external decorations, but to
place our confidence in the heart which they coT
vered. It was not idle pomp or tawdry magnifi
cence which was to entitle members of a volunteer
association to the confidence of their country. In
this great and trying crisis, we were to look for sal
vation to fortitude, to heroism, to contempt of death.
(This part of the speech was loudly applauded from
all parts of the house.) Passing from this point, the
honorable gentleman next adverted to another sub
ject, on which he insisted with a good deal of
energy. He was glad to see that the spirit of the
country was nOw roused, but he wished that this
spirit should manifest itself by unequivocal signs.
He rejoiced to find that a military disposition per
vaded the land, and he wished that the effect of
this military disposition might be visible in a gene
ral military appearance in the country. In Ire
land, when the system of volunteers, carried to an
R 2

244 [Aim. lOj
extraordinary pitch, left a greater proportion of the
regular troops disposable for foreign service, every
man, in every part of the country, was to be seen in
his uniform. When he said this, he believed he
spoke in the hearing of some gentlemen who had
witnessed the scene, and the impression which it
produced. At that period, every man in the Irish
house of commons appeared in the dress of his ap
propriate association. It might not, perhaps, be re
gular in him to allude to the gallery of that house ;
but he might just say, that the gallery exhibited an
equal military appearance. The public officers of
state imitated the example, and even the grave
Judges on the bench were unwilling to call a coun
sel, unless under his professional gown he exhibited
a uniform. He could not but think that the adop
tion of a similar practice now, would be productive
of'the most beneficial effects in keeping alive that
ardor which, fortunately for the country, had now
began to kindle in every loyal heart. Even if it
had no other effect, but tp point out those who were
lukewarm and disaffected at this moment, when the
loyalty of all was put to the test, he thought that it
might be productive of infinite advantage. As to
the space where volunteer associations were to be
trained, he begged leave to offer a very few words.
It was his opinion, that the places allotted for this
purpose should, in the first instance, be as secluded
as possible. Till a certain degree of progress was
made in discipline, it was in every point of view de
sirable to be separated from the observation of a
promiscuous multitude. He needed not to remind
the house, that there were many individuals to
whom, under such circumstances, the stare of a vul
gar multitude would produce the most unpleasant
sensations. There were men who would much
more cheerfully expose themselves to the shot of the
enemy than encounter the derision of motley spec
tators. He was at all times happy to hear of any
facilities being glv -» for1 this separate exercise. He

1803.] 245
mentioned, to the honor of his Grace the Duke of
Portland, that he had given up the space before his
house for the use of a volunteer association. There
was another place, called, he believed, Lord's Cricket
Ground, hired for a similar purpose at an enormous
expense, and at the same time unattended with the
advantages of privacy. He was informed that the
owners of this place, after exacting this inordinate
price, were in the habit of admitting boys and other
idle spectators, at the rate of sixpence. He felt in
dignant at such unjust and exorbitant extortion, and
he did not think that government would be step
ping beyond the bounds of their just authority, if
they insisted on the proprietors of such grounds giv
ing them up for the use of volunteer associations on
receiving a fair and reasonable compensation. These
were the general points to which he wished to call
the attention of the house. Before he sat down,
he begged leave to advert to some other con
siderations connected, though not in so intimate a
manner, with the subject immediately before the
house. No man had seen with greater pleasure
than he had, the noble, patriotic, generous donations
of which the gentlemen at Lloyd's coffee-house had
set so illustrious an example in the city. He con
fessed that, liberal as the subscription already
was, it was with surprise that he still observed
the absence of several classes of the community
which he expected to have seen the first on the list.
He had no wish to say any thing harsh respecting
the noble and honorable persons of whom those
classes were composed. Though they had not yet
come forward with their contributions, he had no
doubt that they would not be deficient in devotion
to their country at this trying moment ; and that,
though they had not taken the lead, they would not
shew themselves deficient in generosity in so sacred
a cause. When he looked tp the amount of the
fund at this moment, and when he considered how
much greater it might eventually become by the

246 [AUG. 10,
Contributions of those classes to which he had re
ferred, much as he admired the object to which it
was originally appropriated, he could not help
thinking that it might admit of a more extended ap
plication. Though originally designed solely for
the humane and generous purpose of affording aid to
the wives, to the orphans, and the relatives of those
who perished while fighting their country's battles,
it did appear to him, that so large a fund, instead of
remaining now unapplied, might, to a certain ex
tent, be employed in contributing to the direct ser
vice of the country. Rewards might be offered to
those who were now willing to volunteer the per
formance of important national services, and who
might be deterred merely by the consideration, that
in their absence their families would remain without
a provision. He did not mean to press this subject
further at present, but thought it his duty to throw
out these hints for the consideration of those to
whom was committed the management and appro
priation of the fund. He would, he hoped, be for
given if he alluded to another source of assistance,
the beneficial effects of which had been so liberally
experienced during the last war. He meant to al
lude to the patriotic contributions of our fair coun
try-women. In such a contest as this in which we
were now engaged, involving the preservation of all
the charities and all the endearments of domestic life,
he could not allow himself to believe, that they would
be backward in the display of their patriotism. To
their other charms he was confident they would add
the charm of love to their country and their homes.
The honorable gentleman having gone through
these topics, proceeded to advert to the description
of the force, to the individuals composing ' which
his vote of thanks would be addressed. On this part
of the subject he had no sort of desire to enter into
any military details. He was no military man,
and professed no power to give the house information
on the subject. In the course of many discussion*

1803.] 247
which had lately taken place, it had, however, fre
quently occurred to him, that many of these details
might have been very well spared, whether pro
ceeding from military or unmilitary members of the
house. He must, in the face of authorities de
servedly high in a military point of view, be per
mitted to say that, as a constitutional member of
parliament, he thought ' the force which was now
formed for the defence of the country, one in which
he felt himself fully warranted in placing the am
plest confidence. Military men were too apt to
view every object with what they were pleased to
call a military eye ; but with all their minuteness
of observation they were very apt to overlook one
little fortress, which he should never cease to think
of the highest importance, and that was the fortress
of the constitution. If fie were asked, whether he
did not think a hundred thousand regular troops a
more effectual body for the defence of the country
than an equal number of militia, volunteers, and
yeomanry, he certainly could have no difficulty in
giving his answer. Undoubtedly, for every mili
tary purpose, such a regular force was superior.
He would maintain, however, that in addition to a
regular army of a certain magnitude, a force, con
sisting of militia, volunteers, and yeomanry, was a
force more suited to the habits, to the circumstances,
to the constitutional liberties of this country: In
saying this he did not speak of an army for the pur
pose of carrying on a continental war, but a force
such as it behoved us to keep up when the necessity
of cultivating military habits was more imperiously
imposed on us by the ambition and the malignity
of a foreign enemy, whom nothing could satisfy
short of our destruction. He liked the force the
better, because it Was of a diversified character. In
the first instance the preference was given to the
regular troops ; the militia, the volunteer corps, and
the yeomanry succeeded in their claims to distinc
tion. There was in such a force a connection which

248 [AUG. 10,
must ever make it formidable to a foreign enemy.
There was in its composition a facility for separa
tion, which, in a constitutional view, he should al
ways regard with satisfaction. Great standing
armies, however disciplined and powerful, were not
to be implicitly trusted. He might refer to nume
rous examples in proof of this position. A most
striking instance occurred in the army of France.
Never was there an army better disciplined, more
brave, or apparently more dependent on the throne ;
but that very army thus constituted, and on which
every possible reliance was placed, in the course of
a very few hours suffered the monarchy to be over
turned, and the revolution to triumph. In making
this allusion, it was the farthest in the world from
his intention to impeach the loyalty of our regular
army. On the contrary, he believed that no body
of men were ever animated with truer or more
affectionate attachment to their sovereign. He
admired, however, the present constitution of our
military force, as being exempted from the incon-
veniencies and the evils which attached to a certain
degree to all standing, exclusive, permanent armies.
By such a constitution, the strength and efficiency
of the whole was confirmed and consolidated. He
liked the present attitude of the country, whether
we looked forward to the continuance of war, or to
the conclusion of peace. On the subject of peace he
should just say one word. He should be the ready
advocate of peace, if it could be obtained on terms
consistent'with the national honor and safety. This,
however, be would distinctly say, and he was sure
that he spoke the language of His Majesty's minis
ters when he made the declaration, that no peace
could be formed, no negociation could be listened
to, no offer for negociation could be accepted, while
there was a hostile army in any part of the united
empire. If be had supposed it possible for minis
ters to have entertained contrary sentiments, he
should have felt it hja duty to have brought forward

1803.] 249
a distinct proposition, that the minister who should
listen to so disgraceful a proposition, would deserve
to be impeached, and to lose his head as the punish
ment of bis infamy. He stated it distinctly, there
fore, as what he conceived was the unalterable reso
lution of ministers, that no proposal for peace should
be entertained, while a single French soldier had a
footing on British ground. (This sentiment was uni
versally applauded.) The honorable gentleman,
after this patriotic effusion, went on to recommend
unanimity on this interesting occasion. He did not
call on gentlemen to give up their opinions. He did
not wish by any means to dictate to them- the course
of political conduct which they were to pursue.
Within the walls of that house every man had a
fair right fully aud unequivocally to declare his opi
nion on pubiic affairs. He might be permitted,
however, to entreat of gentlemen, that as the period
of their separation was now at hand, they would
not utter such sentiments out of doors ; that they
would not resort to any measures which could damp
the increasing ardor and energy of the country ;
that they would not lend the sanction of their names
to sentiments which, coming from unauthorised
sources, had never been received with any portion
of favor. All that he asked of them was, to sus
pend their political animosities for a moment ; not
to represent the servants of the crown as weak and
inefficient, at a moment when confidence in their
exertions was so necessary to the salvation of the
country ; not to waste that time, and those talents
in party spirit and intrigue, which might be so much
more worthily employed in performing the sublime
and animated duties of patriotism. This was a
moment which called on every honest man to unite
heart and hand in support of all tbat is dear to us as
a great and free people, against the greatest danger
with which we were ever threatened. It was not,
surely, asking too much of honorable gentlemen, to
ask them, during the short recess of parliament, to

250 [AUG. 10,
suspend all pursuits, to relinquish all pursuits, of
secondary importance, and to think only of the
great cause which interested all minds, and at
tracted all hearts. Surely their party spirit ,was
not so violent, their hostility to ministers was not so
virulent as at all to come in competition with the
great object of saving the country, which they uni
formly declared was the first object of their regard.
In tbat short interval, properly employed, much im-
Sortant service might be rendered to the country.
Iuch might be done in giving a proper direction
to that spirit of patriotism which now fortunately
pervaded every part of the empire. Let but this
small sacrifice be made to patriotism, and when
they once more assembled in that house, they might
again resume their favorite pursuits, under the plea
sing consciousness, that they had contributed their
efforts to the general safety, that the patriotism of
the people at large had at length secured us against
enemies, however malignant, and dangers however
formidable. The honorable gentleman, in conclu
sion, declined occupying the time of the house, by
any arguments in support of his motion. The zeal,
the fortitude, the promptitude, with which the volun
teer associations had obeyed the call of their country
in the hour of her danger, could never be sufficiently
admired. He would not expatiate on their conduct,
he would leave it without comment to the honest
unbiassed feelings of the house. He then moved,
" That the thanks of this house be given to the
volunteer and yeomanry corps, for the zeal and
promptitude with which they associated for the de
fence of the country, in this important and danger
ous crisis."
He also moved —
" That a return of the volunteer corps be laid be
fore the house, in order that they may be handed
down to posterity, by being entered on the jour
nals." Gen. Gascoyne seconded the motion. A debate ensued.

1803.] 251
Mr. Sheridan rose to reply, and spoke in nearly
the following terms : — By the courtesey of- thisy.
house, any member who brings forward a motion is
allowed the right of replying to any arguments
which may be offered against it ; but of this right I
should not on this occasion avail myself, if it were
not for the very direct personal allusions which have
been made to me in the course of the debate. I
confess that I feel great surprise, that the appeal I
have thought it my duty to make to the house, for
a vote of thanks to those gallant men who have stood
forward so gallantly in defence of all that is dear
to us, should have provoked a dissentient voice, or
produced a discussion of such length — now not less
than five or six hours. This hesitation was not less
surprising than impolitic ; but the conduct of the
right honorable gentleman (Mr. Windham) did not
by any means surprise me. That the man who re
quired twenty-four hours to consider of the propriety
of putting down rebellion in Ireland, should waste
five or six hours in investigating the policy of de
claring our gratitude and admiration of the loyalty
and exertions of those who stood forward to protect
their country in the time of peril, was perfectly con
sistent ; that he should have been seconded, how
ever, by the gallant officer behind him, was rather
a matter of astonishment. But before I proceed to
remark on the observations of both those gentlemen,
I must take notice of the appeal which has been made
to me by an honorable friend of mine, namely, whe
ther, before I consented to give my support to mi
nisters, I had obtained satisfaction from them upon
two points, and made those the conditions of my
support ; first, as to the appointment of a council
of war which I supported the other night, upon the
motion of another honorable friend of mine. With
regard to this measure I confess that, though on the
occasion I have alluded, I strongly advised its adop
tion; I have since then, in consequence of informa
tion I received from the very highest authority, had

252 [AUG. 10,
my opinion very materially shaken, if not altoge
ther removed ; for from this authority I have heard
such arguments as completely satisfied my mind that
the establishment of this commission would be at
tended not only with disadvantage, but seriously
injurious ; I therefore am ready very fully and
frankly to declare that the sentiments I held upon
this subject were erroneous.
The other point to which my honorable friend re
ferred, but not quite in the friendly tone to which
he has been in the habit of addressing himself to me,
was with respect to the offer of service froin his
Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. That, how
ever, is a subject of delicacy into the discussion of
which I shall not enter. I believe there is no man
who knows me will doubt for an instant the respect)
attachment, and veneration I entertain for the vir
tues and public spirit of that illustrious personage;
but I am not to be tutored or schooled by any man
as to the way in which I should manifest my feel
ings and discharge my duty towards his Royal
Highness. I am not to be told, that unless the
offer, which has done him the highest honor, shall
be treated in a manner satisfactory to my honorable
friend and me, I shall decline to support His Ma
jesty's government on this trying occasion. Of my
respect and regard for his Royal Highness as a
Prince, and as a man, I should think my honorable
friend himself fully aware. It is not necessary for
me to make any parade or profession of my zealous
wishes for his interest or character. It is justly due
to that character, to state that which must consti
tute its highest praise, that he has offered, in the
noblest manner, to stand forward for the nation's
defence; and I am fully persuaded that that offer
was not less graciously received by the persons to
whom it was made, than it is felt with gratitude by
the country at large. I am, however, confident,
that whatever might have been the effect of that
offer, his Royal Highness would not be friendly tp

13U3.J 203
any observations calculated to excite public discon
tent, or to disturb public unanimity ; on the con
trary, I am fully persuaded, that, according to the
sentiment of his dignified friend, Lord Moira, his
Royal Highness would rather enter as a private in
the ranks of his armed countrymen, than counte
nance any discussion which could tend to divide the
feelings of the people. With respect to the remarks
of the honorable officer, upon the manner in which
military lectures are received in this house, I must
set the honorable gentleman right, if he alluded to
me. I beg him to understand that I never did say
that this house was not a proper place for military
men to state their opinions ; but I did say this, that
as a member of parliament I would not abandon my
opinion in compliment to the assertions of military
authority, for which, generally speaking, I profess
not to entertain a very profound respect, at least so
far as it is displayed in this house ; and indeed it
would be rather surprising, if from the manner
pursued such authority should be much respected.
I can collect no information from it. One officer
rises and lays down a certain plan, another proposes
one of quite a different nature, but neither follows
up his ideas. There is a kind of confusion and irre
gularity in their movements. They do not march
close upon each other with the lock step, but they
run about and scramble in such a way as to be
scarcely intelligible, and when intelligible, of very
little Use, and not at all tending to elucidate the sub
ject, or to enlighten the house. The honorable offi
cer to whom I refer tells, to be sure, some military
anecdotes, with which any man that has read some
very well known books, cannot be unacquainted ;
and another honorable officer at times entertains us
in the same way. But of what value to the house is
the repetition of those matters of fact ? If these
gallant officers can tell us nothing more than what
can be seen in Plutarch's Lives, Csesar's Commen
taries, or Vaughan ; or how such a division moved at

Malplaquet or Blenheim, they can render very little
service to the country. Indeed, for the credit of
these officers themselves, I deprecate such discus^
sions, and would advise them to abstain from such
statements. But, as to the motion before the house,
the honororable Colonel asks, why thank the volun
teers for merely doing their duty ? His new ac
quaintance and right honorable friend below him
ought, however, to be the last to oppose a motion
of thanks to them for doing their duty ; he who has
been so long and so loudly lamenting the base spirit
which, according to his description* existed in the
country, in consequence of the treaty of Amiens
and the character of the present ministers. If the
right honorable gentleman did really wish to remove
that lowness of mind which he so often deplored, his
language this night was strange indeed ; but if he
regretted to find his opinion mistaken, it is of course
quite consistent to resist the expression of our grati
tude to the band of patriots who have broken through
that slumber of apathy, and shook off that shade of
despondency which he has so frequently pictured to
the house, but which in reality never existed. The
honorable Colonel has described the motives which
ought to actuate the people of this country to take
up arms at present, and he contends that their hav
ing obeyed these motives, namely, the defence of
their own families and the call of public duty, does
not entitle them to the gratitude of parliament. I
regret that the honorable Colonel has, in the course
of his 6bservations, entered into any contrast be
tween the volunteers and any other description of
the public force. Such comparisons are invidious
at any time, and particularly imprudent at present ;
I can see no good purpose it can answer. Although
the wisdom of the honorable Colonel's right honor
able friend (Mr. W.) has given the sanction of his
authority to the practice, I did flatter myself that in
the observations with which I prefaced this motion
I had abstained from every topic that was likely to

loi/a.j zoo
provoke debate or dissension, and that was my
wish. ,1 declined to say one word as to the conduct
of ministers, because I knew, from the experience
of a former evening, that any thing from me in
commendation of ministers would be a pretext to the
right honorable gentleman to fall foul of them.
Recurring to the comparison of the honorable Colo
nel between the volunteers and the regulars, I can
not help saying that he has not taken a course very
likely to reflect honor on his favorite force. The
honorable Colonel has admitted that the volunteers
have done their duty, but that they are not on that
account entitled to the proposed vote, while the dis
tinguished services of the regular army are over
looked. In proof of their services, however, the
honorable Colonel states this, that at the time of the
mutiny in the fleet, the jacobins sent circulars to the
several regiments of the army, inviting them to mu
tiny, which invitations they refused to comply with.
Then the honorable gentleman's argument stands
thus, that we should refuse our thanks to the volun
teers, whose merit is that they have done their duty,
but that we should grant this honor to the regular
army, whose merit is, according to his statement,
that they rejected a proposition to mutiny ; that they
declined to violate their oaths — to abandon every
sense of duty and honor. Such is the substance of
the panegyric which this regular Colonel has pro
nounced upon the regular army. If he can say no
thing more in their favor, I think the army would
be much obliged to him to withhold his praise. The
honorable Colonel has, in his compliments to his
right honorable friend, thought proper to say that it
would be for my interest to preserve my hands as
clean from the imputation of unworthy motives in
my opposition to ministers as his right honorable
friend has done and continues to do. If the honor
able Colonel has been acquainted with the views and
proceedings of the old opposition, he would have
declined that remark : but I will refer him for in-

256 [AUG 10,
formation upon this point to his right honorable
friend, and I would call with confidence Upon that
right honorable gentleman myself to state the course
which the old opposition took when he acted with
them. Were not the grounds upon which they
rested their conduct materially different from those
upon which he and his colleagues now act ? When
they condemned ministers they pointed at the par
ticular acts which justified that condemnation.—-
They never pronounced loose and general censures.
They never told the country that the ministers they
opposed were not entitled to confidence without prov*
ing it ; but the right hon. gentleman never does meet
the ministers fairly, never opposes them front to front ;
his mode of discipline seems best to qualify him for
squibs and skirmishes ; his favorite plan of attack is
on the flanks and rear of his adversary. Is this
the system of tactics which the honorable Colonel
could approve ? I would call upon the right ho
norable gentleman to make his approaches more
manfully. If he would consult the precedent of the
old opposition, he would alter his present course for
one better adapted to recommend himself to the
favor of the country and the deference of parlia
ment. I am glad, however, to perceive from the
reference he has made to the old opposition, that
he is refreshing his arms, no doubt from an expec
tation, in which I hope he will not be disappointed,
that he will have to stand a very long campaign in
opposition. If in this campaign he will endeavor
to imitate the party I have alluded to, he will pro
tect himself and his friends from the charge of
faction ; he will not oppose measures because they
come from a certain set of men, and although the
same measures from other men would meet his mest
cordial concurrence ; he will not act upon such mo
tives, and if not, his opinion and opposition will
become respectable, and may have some pretension
to a comparison with the old opposition, from which
the right honorable gentleman may, perhaps, think

1803.] 257
I have now a furlough ; but, as to the comparison
of the two oppositions under the present circum
stances, it strikes me that the old opposition might
address that of the right honorable gentleman in
the same terms as those used by the landlord who
kept the sign of the Two Magpies at Hounslow, in
his dispute with another landlord who thought pro
per to put up the same sign — " We are the real old-
magpies, and you have set up your new opposition
through spite." [A general laugh.] The honorable
Colonel, in his affection and deference for the Prince
©f Wales, recommended that his Royal Highness
should be appointed to the command of the levy en
masse, as a place suited to his rank and consequence.
I would beg the house to recollect that this is the
army which the honorable Officer advised ministers
to distribute into scouring parties, or to stay in their
respective districts, to keep up a kind of irregular
attack upon the enemy — to fire from behind hedges
or walls — from out of houses, &c. Now mark the
station the honorable Colonel would assign the illus
trious personage I have mentioned— he would send
his Royal Highness to take his place behind a tree,
to watch and direct flying shooters, to conduct a
mode of warfare that would resemble something
like bear hunting. This is a part which I hope
will never be assigned to the Prince of Wales ; that
we shall not call on him to stand behind a tree, or
throw himself into a ditch when the enemy ap
proaches. An honorable friend of mine has stated
in the course of his objections to the motion before
the house, that while the volunteers were drilling,
they were laughed at by idle, worthless spectators.
This appears to me to be a very strong reason in
favor of this motion; for if the volunteers are
laughed at by the profligate, let them have this
honorable mark of your approbation to gratify their
pride; to raise them above such sneers. The late
Secretary at War has maintained in the course of
this debate* and on other occasions, that our situation
VOL. V. s

258 [AUG. 10,
was by no means so dangerous at any period-of the
late war, as it is at present. To this assertion the
noble Secretary of State has so ably answered, that
I think it unnecessary to say much, but I insist that
the perils of the country in the year 1798, were
much superior to those by which we are now me
naced; for at that time Ireland was actually in
vaded ; a formidable insurrection prevailed ; and
had the whole of the French force which was sent
to Ireland been able to effect a landing, or rather,
perhaps, were it not for the- treachery of Hoche,
that country would have been subdued. Then I
contend that Ireland was saved by an accident;
and if the 40,000 men which were permitted to go
to Egypt had bent their course to Ireland, what, I
would ask, could have been the fate of that country ?
In such a state of things, I maintain that ministers
are justified in charging the right honorable gen
tleman with neglecting to resort to such measures
of vigor as he ought to have employed, and such
as have been on the present occasion adopted. The
right honorable gentleman will not deny that he
felt the extremity of panic at the state of the nation
in 1798, insomuch that he was heard to complain
of the apathy of his colleagues ; that they were not
forward to adopt measures sufficiently suited to the
crisis. They were, to be sure, persuaded to propose
a bill, which was passed, in the preamble of which
the alarming state of the country was acknow
ledged, and several military preparations pre
scribed ; which, however, were never executed, nor
was the act, in any of its provisions, acted upon;
but yet it was remarkable, that though clumsy and
ineffectual, it contained the same principle and
nearly the same clauses, which the right honorable
gentleman has objected to in the act for raising the
mass of the people. Why did the right honorable
gentleman approve of a proposition then which he
abuses now. There are indeed many other mea
sures of the late ministry which the right honor-

1803.] 259
able gentleman professes to condemn. He has said*
among others, that the provisional cavalry was a
foolish measure — how then can he account for the
support he gave it as a minister ? I do appeal to
him, or any other man who has a spark of frank
ness, whether such conduct is excusable! that of a
right honorable gentleman, who lays claim to a
character of candor, sincerity, openness, and inde
pendence of mind, who continued in this house to
plead for proceedings, of which, as a cabinet mi
nister, he strongly disapproved, was certainly not
quite consistent. The honorable Colonel says, that
Austria was not sincerely desirous to preserve the
peace of Campo Formio. I remember when we
stated the same thjng in this house we were op
posed by the late Secretary at War and his friends,
and the fact was positively denied. The Ex-Se
cretary at War considered the assertion mere non
sense— indeed, that right honorable gentleman, whe
ther in or out of office, has always been in the
habit of treating the assertions or arguments of his
adversaries, with an appearance of indifference, if
not contempt, that was not becoming in any man.
No doubt, if great talents would justify a man in
looking down upon the arguments of his adversary,
the honorable gentleman was fully qualified to do
so — but no degree or description of talents could
excuse such conduct. The argument of every man
is, if at all attended to, entitled to respectful atten
tion. With regard to the conduct of the right ho
norable gentleman since he became an ex-minister,
I do contend, that its uniform tenor has been to
invite and encourage the enemy, and to depress and
discourage our own people. He has invited the
enemy to provoke the war, by the description he
always gave of the character of ministers — and
since the war he has invited an attack upon our
country, by the statements he has made of the
situation of the public mind, the disorganized state
of our armv. and the awkwwd maimer in which

260 [AUG. K>;
our defensive force was to be constructed. By
this kind of invitation he has brought Buonaparte
into a scrape, and he certainly is in a much worse
scrape than this country ; all his misfortunes may
be attributed to the reliance he placed on the words
cf the right honorable gentleman, when he reported
the ministers to be a set of shabby, pusillanimous)
incapable fellows, who knew nothing, who would
hear any thing, who would submit to any injury,
or endure any insult. In short, that the peace of
Amiens was a curse, and that* bad as the ministers
were, this treaty had rendered the people still worse*
He always stated that ministers were only anxious
for the safe tenure of their placed, and that as there
was nothing high-minded about them, they would
make any sacrifice to that object. What was the
natural tendency of such language? What im
pression was it likely to make on the mind of
Buonaparte ? If he were told that it was always
rant, the mere heated declamation of a discon
tented ex-minister, he would, no doubt, answer
No — impossible ! Mr. Windham is a discreet states
man, and he knows the character of the English
government, and of the English people, well; no
man better. But Buonaparte was deceived, and
was suffering much regret for his confidence in the
right honorable gentleman. He knows now that
ministers are not quite so passive or so timid as the
right honorable gentleman would lead him to ima
gine ; that they would go to war sooner than sacri
fice the honor and interests of the country. There
is a character in our great bard, Sir Andrew Ague-
cheek, to whom, though I cannot entirely compare
the First Consul, I have no doubt that if be were
to declare his sentiments on his present situation, be
would say, in the language of the old Knight, — " If
1 thought he'd been so valiant, I'd be damned ere I
had challenged him."
I am pretty certain that such is now the feeling
of Buonanarte. and he has to thank the rhrht honor-

1803.] 261
able gentleman for reducing him to that dilemma.
I hope that ministers will place him in a still worse
dilemma ; if duly seconded by the people, upon
which I confidently rely, I have no doubt that it
•is in their power to do so. In reply to the obser
vations that have been made on the motion under
consideration, on the ground that it is not necessary,
I shall only say that it must be useful ; that it is
dictated by justice and policy, and called for by the
irresistible voice of gratitude ; that the merit it is
intended to distinguish is great and material to the
public safety ; and that to record such merit would
excite the emulation of the people at large, if a
stimulus were necessary, while it would form a mo
nument honorable to our own character, grateful tp
the pride, and conducive, by the influence of ex
ample, to the best interests of posterity. The ho
norable gentleman concluded with submitting his
motion for thanks, &c.
Colonel Crauford made a few observations in reply, which was
merely explanatory of his speech.
The question was then put upon Mr. Sheridan's motion, and
carried nem. con.
Mr. Sheridan next moved, " That the Speaker
do signify to the lords lieutenants of counties, &c.
the assent of the house to the above resolution."
Agreed to nem. con.
Mr. Sheridan finally moved, " That a return be
made and entered upon the Journals, of the names
and number of the volunteer corps, who, from the
present moment till the next meeting of parliament,
should enrol themselves and be accepted by His
Majesty, in order that their patriotic example may
be handed down to animate our latest posterity."
Agreed to nem. con.

262 [MARCH 15,
March 15, 1804.
STATE OF THE NAVAL DEFENCE OF THE
COUNTRY.
Mr. Pitt moved for an address to His Majesty, " Praying, that
he will be pleased to give orders for laying before the house, an amount
of all the ships of the line, fifty gun ships, frigates, sloops, gun
brigs, and other vessels actually in commission in the years ending
the 31st of December, 1793, 1801, and 1803.
Mr. Sheridan. — It was my intention, Sir, to
wait until I should hear the opinions of professional
men on this subject, but the observations which have
been made by the honorable member (Mr. Wilber-'
force) who has jdst sat down, urge me to obtrude
myself on your notice thus prematurely, and con
trary to my original intention. The honorable gen
tleman has, in my mind, used observations the most
unwarrantable on parliamentary grounds I have
ever heard in this house. He has stated, that he has
never had conversation with any naval officer whose
opinion has not been decidedly in contradiction to
the system upon which the naval affairs of the coun
try have been for some time back conducted ; that is
to say, since the gallant admiral, who now pre
sides at the head of the Admiralty Board, was
appointed to that high station ; and this informa
tion so obtained, he offers to the house as justifica
tion for the censure which the advocates for the mo
tion before the house would attach to the character
of the noble lord at the head of the Admiralty. The
honorable gentleman ventures to tell the house, that
upon grounds such as these, there is a sufficient rea
son for the inquiry, and for granting the papers
required ; but from whom has the honorable gen
tleman obtained the intelligence, and heard, the sen
timents to which he thinks the house ought to attach
so much importance ? From officers, no doubt,
who are ashore and unemployed ; from those who
have not the best opportunity of judging, and whose
judgment for many reasons is not entitled to the first

1804.] 263
attention : but not from such officers as those whom
the house has heard this night ; not from such as the
gallant admiral who preceded the honorable gen
tleman to whom I am now alluding, and who has
attracted my notice by statements which I am in
clined to think he has collected from persons such as
I have described, from those whose accounts of the
condition of the navy naturally receive a colouring
from their own situation. Thus the honorable gen
tleman would persuade us to sound our verdict on an
occasion so important as that now before us, upon
evidence drawn from such sources, upon second
hand assertions, in a word upon mere hearsay. The
honorable gentleman is no doubt a conscientious
man, he certainly so considers and describes him
self, and we cannot give him any credit at all if we
do not believe him to be so ; and would appeal to
his conscientiousness whether he does think that any
court of justice, and this house is now called upon
to act in that capacity, would pronounce sentence in
any case upon evidence of the nature of that upon
which he seems to rely? I say that there is no
court that would attend to, much less believe such
assertions. If the honorable gentleman has any
charge to urge against the noble Lord against whom
the motion before the house appears to be pointed,
I say, let the evidence be brought forward; but, do
not let accusations be insinuated abroad, unsup
ported by any witnesses whatever, unjustified by
any fact, and excused only by a loose statement that
such and such officers, whom no one ventures to
name, are much in the habit of speaking ill of the
conduct of the Admiralty, and of the character of
its principal director. The honorable gentleman,
however, has told us, that he entertains a very sin
cere respect for this noble lord, and really here I
must remark, that I never heard of any public cha
racter for whom men are more forward to profess
respect, nor one that is so much respected, andsyet
so much aspersed. The grounds of the respect are,

264 [MARCH 15,
however, notorious, while those of the aspersion are
not even pretended to rest upon any thing more than
hearsay evidence, which is surely not sufficient to
induce this house to acquiesce in a motion that has
no other object in view, than to convey an imputa
tion upon one of the most gallant and meritorious
characters this country has ever produced. For
such a purpose I will never give my vote. I will
not therefore consent to the grant of a single slip of
paper, however plausible the pretence for demand
ing it, that may lead to an inquiry for which there
exists no necessity whatever ; to enter into which
would imply a suspicion for which there is not the
shadow of excuse, and import an accusation for
which there is not the slightest ground. I would
ask the right honorable gentleman mover of this
proposition, what are the reasons, for he certainly
has not stated any, which have provoked him to
alter his sentiments with respect to the noble lord
who was the subject of such warm panegyric, upon
the first accession of the present ministers to office?
and who, I would be curious to know, does the
right honorable gentleman think more adequate to
the high station he fills; whom would he recom-,
mend to succeed him ? If the right honorable gen
tleman did pronounce the splendid panegyric to
which I have alluded upon this noble lord, upon
light grounds, he was certainly very censurable, for
he was, as it were, giving a false character, and that
of a great public servant ; but it was well known
that those grounds were not light — they rested
upon the highest public services, and were supperted
by the warm and unanimous applauses of the coun
try. Why then has the right honorable gentleman,
and the honorable gentleman who spoke last, changed
their opinions ? Why have they altered their sen
timents of the noble lord ? Has any thing occurred
since to induce or justify the change ? I challenge
them to take the most minute retrospect of the con
duct of that noble lord since his appointment to the

1804.] 265
presidency of the Admiralty : I call upon them to
retrace all his steps, and to point out one reason why
he has forfeited their confidence ; I mean such a
reason as this house would recognise as sufficient to
justify the proposed inquiry. What facts have they
in their power to produce ? I am satisfied they
have none, and therefore I will resist the proposition;
and this is the first instance in which it has hap
pened that I haye felt it my duty to oppose a motion
for inquiry. Indeed, on every such motion hereto
fore that I recollect, particularly during the admi
nistration of the right honorable gentleman by whom
the present motion was submitted to the house, am
ple grounds were laid to demand inquiry ; but in
this instance I am of opinion that the demand is
unsupported, not merely by common sense, but
common decency. I do not intend to attribute im
proper motives to the right honorable mover ; but I
beg to ask him, what good can he accomplish by
the production of papers respecting the state of our
navy in a former war ? What are his views ? Does
he mean to institute a comparison between Lord
St. Vincent and Lord Spencer ; to ascertain which
of the two is better qualified to manage our naval
concerns ? I cannot see the purpose of such a con
trast. It cannot tend to any good object. Indeed I
am confident that if a stranger were to observe the
whole of this proceeding, he would not hesitate to
pronounce that it could be only actuated by factious
and party motives. 1 his I am the more strongly
inclined to believe from the statements of the gal
lant officer (Sir Edward Pellew), which were quite
a satisfactory reply to all the arguments that have
been advanced this evening, and a full refutation
of the calumnies that have been for some time back
propagated relative to the condition of our navy.
In that speech, which applied as forcibly to the heart
as the understanding, the honorable baronet mani
fested not only that sincerity and frankness which
is the general characteristic of the profession of

266 [march 15,
which he forms so bright an ornament, and which
never fails to interest any man capable of feeling,
hut also a considerable share of acuteness and judg
ment : he made some very pertinent remarks upon
the nature of those gun-boats which seem to be such
favorites of the right honorable gentleman who
brought forward this motion, but of which the
honorable baronet don't appear at all to approve ;
and, from my own observation, I certainly am dis
posed to agree with the honorable baronet, who is
much more competent to judge upon the subject
than the right honorable gentleman or any other
statesman. I am not surprised that these gun-boats
should be treated with so much contempt by naval
men. I have happened to see something of them
myself, by accident, in the course of the last war,
on the South coast, and they really appeared to me
to be quite unfit to render any material service in
the way of attack or defence ; indeed some of them
were incapable of firing a shot. It is known that
out of the 120 gun-boats which the right' honorable
gentleman had in commission at the close of the last
war, there were scarcely any retained as at all use
ful, and that sixty-two of them, which were pur
chased from contractors, were much the worst.
Enough has been said by the honorable baronet of
the kind of vessels which contractors generally
built : and without referring to the ships of the
line of which the honorable baronet has taken notice,
in proof of the badness of their materials, and the
inferiority of their workmanship, I shall only re
mark on these gun-boats. I do not, indeed, like to
dwell on the misconduct of inferior officers in any
department. I do not wish to hear of such persons
in this house ; we should always look to the heads
of those departments as the persons answerable to '
us. The Navy Board may be suspected of having
played into the hands of the contractors during the
last war ; and perhaps, to that was owing the great
inferiority of the right honorable gentleman's gun-

1804.] 267
boats — an inferiority which was certainly very glar
ing, for out of the hundred and twenty, eighty-seven
were sold, after advertisement, for almost nothing ;
some which could not be disposed of were retained,
and six were sent to Jersey, which were found
so utterly useless, that Captain D'Auvergne knew
not what to do with them. He, however, sent five
of them home some time after, and was obliged to
send some of his best cruisers to tow them safely.
Yet this is the kind of force which the right honor
able gentleman would recommend in preference to
any other to defend our coast. It reminds me of an
anecdote of the right honorable gentleman's admi
nistration, when three men of war were sent to this
country from Portugal, which was our ally ; those
ships were found to be incapable of giving us any
assistance ; but on the contrary, were so little sea
worthy, that it was determined to send them home,
and it became absolutely necessary to dispatch one
of our frigates with them as a convoy. Such
shipping would of course be rather an incumbrance
to us ; and the gun-boats, to which the right honor
able gentleman is so partial, would, from all that I
have heard abroad, which" is corroborated by the
honorable baronet this night, be rather injurious on
the score of expense, and the number of men they
would necessarily require, than likely to be ser
viceable. An honorable admiral on the lower bench
(Admiral Berkeley) has, in the course of a very
extraordinary speech, stated that he had delivered
in a plan to the Admiralty, which, if acted upon,
must effectually secure our own coast, and com
pletely destroy the flotilla of the enemy. The gal
lant Admiral has detailed to the house some parts of
this plan ; but he has not told us whether it was the
production of his own brain or that of some other
person, and doubtless it would be, from the speci
men he has given us, a strong" proof of his own gal
lantry to own it (a laugh). Without pretending to
much nautical knowledge, one might, I think, ques-

268 [march 15,
tion the correctness of the honorable admiral's ideas
upon this project, for the practicability of making
use of gun- boats to annoy the flotillas on the French
coast is denied by every intelligent naval officer ;
but whatever is their use in the shoals along that
coast, they surely are incapable of any utility, com
parable to that which may be derived from large
shipping upon our own coast. Wherever the lat
ter can be employed, the former must be compara
tively useless. It is notorious that all along from Pe-
vensey to Dungeness, a man of war can anchor close
in shore, such is the depth of water. This, therefore,
is the description of force upon which I would place
my confidence either for attack or defence. As to
the former, who can entertain a doubt that, if the
French gun-boats should venture out, and the
slightest breeze should arise, that Captain Mark
ham, whom I mention, not as a member of Par
liament, for that I know would be irregular,
but as a naval officer, that Sir Edward Pellew,
Sir Thomas Trowbridge, or in fact any officer
known in our naval records, would, with a single
74, shoot through, and sink a crowd of that
contemptible craft ? With respect to the number
of seamen and marines now employed, it has been
stated by the right honorable gentleman on the
Treasury bench, that there are 98,000, which is
only 2,00 short of the whole amount voted. But the
honorable gentleman who spoke last is still dissatis
fied. He says that there ought to be more men.
He does not seem to recollect, that the vote of the
house limited the Admiralty ; and that it was at the
time that vote was made, the honorable gentleman's
objections would have been most timely and proper.
That was the period to consider the amount of the
force necessary to maintain the war. The Admi
ralty had thought 100,000 men sufficient, and it
appeared that they were right, notwithstanding the
honorable gentleman's disapprobation. They had,
and it was not the least of their merit, collected this

1804.] 269
vast force in the space of twelve months, notwith
standing the number of our other descriptions of
force, and without interrupting the active employ
ment of our population in the various avocations of
commerce, manufactures, and agriculture. To the
observations of the right honorable gentleman, on,
the propriety of building ships in the merchants*
yards, I trust enough has been said by the honor
able baronet (Sir Edward Pellew), at whose pre
sence this night the house has reason to rejoice, to
convince the right honorable gentleman of his error,
and also to shew him that his partiality to gun
boats is not quite so judicious as be imagined. Af
ter what the honorable baronet has urged on this
point, I should hope the right hon. gentleman will
no longer attempt to maintain his argument, unless
he be influenced by such magnanimity, that he
would not wish tp oppose the French gun-boats by
any but their own matches. (A laugh.) I have
heard a right honorable gentleman on the lower
bench (Mr. Windham) often deplore, that " the
days of chivalry was gone ;" but surely that com
plaint can no longer be repeated, if the right honor
able mover of the proposition before the house shall
continue to manifest a wish rather to oppose gun
boats to those of the French, than to see a crowd of
them run down by an English 74. This would be
something like the feeling which I am sure would
influence the right honorable gentleman on the lower
bench, if, in passing through the street, he should
happen to see two men engaged of unequal size and
strength. The right honorable gentleman would
immediately interest himself for the weaker party,
and call into action that science for which he so
distinguished, to release, and perhaps to avenge,
him. (A laugh.) To be serious: it is absurd to say
that we should at once give up that formidable de
scription of naval force, in which we have always
found our strength and our glory, and take up ano
ther which is condemned, not merely by the expe-

270 [march 15,
rience to which I have already referred, but by the
judgment of the most t-espectable naval officers.
That this charge" too should be chosen, as the right
honorable gentleman recommended, merely in order
to reduce us to a level with the French boats, for no
other argument to support the choice has been ad
vanced, really surprises me. It is something like
this, that if we had a stone wall to defend us against
the shot of an enemy, it should be recommended to
us to throw down the wall, and fling stones at our
assailants. An anecdote has been very generally
mentioned with respect to the right honorable gen
tleman who commenced this debate ; it is said that
he proposed this sentiment — " The volunteers, and
a speedy meeting with the enemy on our own
shores," This toast, I understand, was proposed
among a number of volunteer officers above six
months ago, at a time when the volunteers, upon
whom we are so much to rely for our security, could
not be much acquainted with discipline, if, accord-
ingto the right honorable gentleman's assertion, they
are even now very defective in that respect. I am
as ready as any man to pay a just compliment to the
right honorable gentleman's active endeavours to
promote the improvement of the volunteers. I ac
knowledge that his solicitude for their advancement
and glory is considerable, and probably he wishes to
remove any impediment in their way. His desire
is, perhaps, that they should have a full opportunity
of distinguishing themselves pursuant to the toast I
have quoted. If such be his view, he certainly could
not accomplish it by better means than by contriving
to have the defence of our country committed to his
favourite gun-boats, instead of men of war. Inde
pendently of the other objections I have offered to
those gun-boats, there is one which occurs to me of
too much strength to be omitted. If they were of
the same kind as those of last war, any description
of men would be good enough, or too good, for
them; and if good men were required for them,

1804.] 271
they could not be had^without deducting from the
number necessary for our important shipping. Why
then join with the corrupt band of detected pecula
tors in censuring the Admiralty for not paying all
the attention which the right honorable gentleman
desired to these gun-boats ? A little consideration
ought to be sufficient to prevent any man from com
plaining of that respectable board; — that board
which is respectable in the estimation of all men but
mistaken partisans, or fraudulent contractors; — that
board, which has had such numerous difficulties to
encounter, all incurred by a solicitude to expose and
punish fraud — to recover and to spare the public
money. Has the right honorable gentleman read
the five reports from the commissioners appointed
to inquire into the abuses committed in the several
branches of the naval department? If so, has he
not there seen the foul corruption the abominable
artifice, with which the Admiralty has had to
struggle ? Has the right honorable gentleman ob
served the frauds exposed in the second report — the
block and coopers' contracts, where 2,0001. have
been paid for work proved not to be worth 2001.
Has he read the description of the plunder practised
on seamen by prize agents ? and if so, can he, can
any man who loves the friends of his country and
virtue, refuse his gratitude and admiration to the
first lord of the Admiralty, who originated this in
quiry — an inquiry which has irritated against him a
host of enemies ? they are enemies, however, which
the noble lord must despise. It was but the preju
dice of defeated vice against triumphant virtue. It
could not disturb the noble Lord's mind. While he
was only assailed by those worms who had fed and
fattened upon the corruption of the navy — while he
had only to reckon as his foes those who had proved
themselves hostile to honor and justice, who had en
riched themselves on the spoils of their country —
while such only were his enemies, the noble lord
would proceed in his course of glory as he did in the

272 [march 15,
victory on the memorable 14th of February, 1797,
disdaining and declining to retaliate their attack ;
hut when the right honorable author of the motion
before the house becomes his assailant, the noble lord
must feel surprised. Even that right honorable gen
tleman, however, cannot injure him. His fame
stands too high — his character is too firmly estab
lished to be hurt by the assertions of any member ;
and I have no doubt that the noble lord will be ever
found entitled to the applause and protection of his
country. With regard to the right honorable gen
tleman's recommendation, that shipping should be
built in the merchants' dock-yards, I shall only refer
him to the ships mentioned by the honorable baro
net, and also to the cases described in the reports of
the commissioners of naval inquiry, particularly to
the cases where it appeared that the persons who
received payment for the ships built in merchants'
yards, were clerks in the King's dock -yards. Is it
possible to suppose, that collusions did not exist in
such cases as these ? The right honorable gentle
man has said, that it is impossible during war to
build any number of ships in the King's dock-yards,
and that therefore a necessity arise^ of resorting to
the merchants' yards. What a melancholy expres
sion, that in those yards, where there were 3,200
men employed, nothing more than the repair of ships
could be done ! If so, then our surprise must be di
minished, that a French fleet should have been per
mitted, in the course of -the last war, to find its way
to Ireland, where nothing but the elements offered
to prevent a formidable French army from landing.
If, however, the King's dock-yards are really so
little useful, or rather so useless, they ought to be
abolished altogether. A new system ought to be
adopted. If they could only finish in these yards
24 sail of the line,' 15 frigates, and some few sloops,
in the course of twenty years, although it is known
that 45 shipwrights can build a 74 in one year — as
there are 3,200 shipwrights in those yards, and the

1804.] 273
expense, &c. could not be less in twenty years than
4,100,0001. a sum equal to the building oi" the whole
navy of England, it follows, of course, that it is bad
policy to continue the maintenance of these dock
yards. It is, besides, well known that the internal
system of these yards is bad. There is no difference
in the wages allowed to the workmen ; the unskilr
ful can earn as much as those of a different descrip
tion. Thus emulation is prevented, and many ad
vantages, of course, lost to the employers. The
right honorable gentleman may answer this, and say,
that although so many abuses have been detected
by the commissioners of naval inquiry, still the sys
tem, of the dock -yards is good : but I assert, and
am prepared to maintain the assertion, that abuse
pervades in every department of the system. Does
the right honorable gentleman know of the frauds
which the commissioners have found to have been
committed in every article with which these yards
are furnished, particularly blocks? From these
abuses arise the necessity of advertising for contrac
tors to build shipping; and as to correct them, to
produce integrity and arrangement in all the de
partments of the navy, is, and has been, the great
endeavour of the high character upon whom it ap
pears to be the object of the motion before the
house to fix an imputation, I shall vote against it
with as much satisfaction as ever I gave a vote
since I had the honor of a seat in that house ; fully
convinced that such a motion is only calculated to
gratify the corrupt, to frown upon reform, and to
assail the reputation of a gallant officer, whose
claims to the gratitude of , the country can only be
equalled by the esteem and attachment he enjoys
among all that are great and good.

vol. r. T

274 [JUNE 18,
June 18.
additional force bill.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer moved that the bill be engrossed.
Mr. Sheridan. — To the arguments, Sir, which
have been urged in support of the measure before
the house, the right honorable gentleman (Mr. Ad
dington) who has just sat down has given such a
full and fair reply, that I do not think it neces
sary to enter into the subject as I had otherwise
intended. The objections to this bill have been so
forcibly maintained by that right honorable gentle
man, and he has put the subject upon such fair and
constitutional grounds, that I should decline to
trouble the house upon this occasion, if it were not
for the observations of ihy right honorable friend
Sdr. Canning), who has not confined himself to
e bill under consideration, but has thought proper
to introduce matter not strictly relevant, but yet of
infinitely more importance than the bill itself — I mean
my right ^ honorable friend's allusion to the degree
of confidence to which the present administration is
entitled. My right honorable friend stated, thaf
he was not disposed to adulation towards his right
honorable friend who sits near him (Mr. Pitt) and
for whom, no doubt, he entertains the most sincere
respect and regard. 1 hope he will do me the jus
tice to think, that I am equally incapable of adula
tion towards my right honorable friend on the same
bench with me (Mr. Fox). I certainly am no
flatterer, although in point of attachment to my right
honorable friend, I will not yield to that which my
right honorable friend on the opposite side can or
does profess to feel for his right honorable friend
beside him ; with this difference, however, on my
part, that my attachment to my right hon, friend
on this side of the house is of a much longer stand
ing — that it is the first, the strongest, and the
only political attachment of my life. But my right

1804.] 275
honorable friend disclaims adulation towards his
friend, and, indeed, he seems to me to have had no
occasion to do so, for he certainly did not deal in
it ; on the contrary, he has taken occasion to pro
nounce upon the condPct of his right honorable
friend one of the bitterest satires that could be well
imagined: My right honorable friend expresses his
surprise that we who oppose this bill can contrive to
co-operate, and that we can avoid quarrelling when
we get into the lobby ; but is it not equally, if not
more a matter of surprise, that he can avoid quar
relling with some of his friends near him, to whom
he has been so very lately in decided opposition, and
particularly with the noble lord (Castlereagh) who
appears now to have determined which of the "two
strings'' he should put to his bow ? (A laugh.) If
my right honorable friend will look at those about
him he will find that the compliments and censures
which he meant for the right honorable gentleman
on the lower bench, (Mr. Addington), were appli
cable also to some of his present connections. What
ever praise or condemnation applies to the one, ap
plies equally to the other, With this difference, that
the compliment called forth* by the retirement pf the
one from office, when the voice of parliament and
the country called for it, is not deserved by the
other, who still remain in power. Some part of the
administration of the right honorable gentleman on
the lower bench I most cordially approved, and his
intentions in every instance I respected, because I
firmly believed them to be pure and honorable. I
esteemed the motives which actuated his public
conduct, because I was certain of his disposition^
whatever might be the sentiments of some of his
colleagues, to govern the country upon the princi
ples of the constitution. I know that his acceptance
of office was a sacrifice, and I feel that his retire
ment from it was a triumph. But did my right ho
norable friend, I would ask him, mean it as a com
pliment to the right honorable gentleman, that
T2

276 [june 18,
immediately upon his retirement from office, he
started into an open, manly, and systematic oppo
sition ; or did he mean it as an indirect sarcasm
upon the conduct of his right honorable friend ?
Did my right honorable friend mean to say, that
when the right honorable gentleman resigned his
situation, he did not offer an insidious support to his
successor; that he did not seat himself behind him
for the purpose of a\ ailing himself of the first op
portunity to push him out; that when a motion of
impeachment was made against his successor, he
did not attempt to suspend the judgment of the
question, by the shabby, shallow pretext of moving
the previous question? No ! Such has not been
the conduct of the right honorable gentleman, and
the line he has pursued will be entitled to commen
dation. What are we to think, what can my right
honorable friend say of that course of proceeding
which I have described? a course which had no
thing manly, consistent, or direct about it. In this
conduct, however, my right honorable friend did
not participate, and of course merits no part of the
censure attached to it by every generous and liberal
minded man. My right honorable friend has given
credit to the right honorable gentleman for retiring
from office before he was forced out by actual oppo
sition, for taking the hint from parliament. If he
be serious in pronouncing this laudable, what can
he think of the six members of the late cabinet who
still continue in office, who consent to act with, and
even subordinate to, the very right honorable gen
tleman who so lately treated them with contumely
and contempt ? If the behaviour of the one be
manly, how are we to estimate the other? how are
we to judge of the situation of, that noble lord,
(Hawkesbury), whose conduct in office appears to
have given such particular offence to my righthonor-
able friend ? But I derive some consolation from
the language of my right honorable friend, for as
he applauds so much the act of the right honorable

1804.] 277
gentleman, in having resigned his office when par
liament and the country seemed to wish it, when he
had in this house but a majority of 37, I have rea
son to hope, that as his right honorable friend had
only a majority of 28 on a former evening, which
majority will, I think, be reduced this night, my
right honorable friend will recommend to him an
imitation of the gallant and dignified conduct of the
right honorable gentleman on the lower bench-
that he will advise him not to persevere any farther
with such a mean, decreasing majority, after hav
ing lost the confidence of all the independent part
of parliament and the country. My right honorable
friend, indeed, states that he would wish to see an ad
ministration formed upon a broader scale, and in this
declaration I really believe him sincere. If he consi
ders what his right honorable friend now is, and
what he might have been, I am pretty sure that
such must be his wish. 1 am also sure that my
right honorable friend delivers his real sentiment
when he states that he feels himself in a post of
danger. 1 believe that he considers the administra
tion to which he belongs as not at all likely to last;
and I will go a step farther, I believe that neither
himself nor his right honorable friend really think
that it ought to last ; for they must be aware that
it is an arrangement which has excited discontent
and complaint through every part of the country.
It is indeed an arrangement of such a nature that
my right honorable friend thinks it necessary to offer
something in the shape of an apology for the part he
has taken in it. My right honorable friend has taken
occasion in some degree to contrast his attachment
to his right honorable friend at the head of admini
stration, with my attachment to my right honorable
friend beside me; but there is this difference be
tween us, that I can never follow the same line as
that which my right honorable friend has done this
night, to excuse his acceptance of a high office under
the administration of his right honorable friend. I

478 [JUNE 18,
do not feel it necessary to enter into any justification
of my attachment to my right honorable friend ; for
although I do not find him holding one of the first
offices in the government, I find him surrounded
with honor; for although I do not find him leading
a cabinet, I see him followed by all that is inde
pendent in the rank, character, consequence, and
population of the country. I see him restored to
the friendship of all those good and great men, from
whom he has, though he never ought to have been
separated, or rather I see those personages restored >
to him. In a word, I have the happiness to observe
the public character of my right honorable friend
placed on a more exalted eminence than it ever be
fore stood on; An attachment to him, therefore, it
cannot be any other than a source of the most grati
fying pride to reflect upon. My right honorable
friend, in the course of the justification which he
has attempted for his conduct in co operating with
his right honorable friend, has dwelt a good <deal
upon the happy event of the removal of what he
termed the late ministers, but my right honorable
friend seemed to forget that that removal was far
from being complete. To be sure some of those,
with whom my right honorable friend professed to
have been dissatisfied, were removed. He was dis
satisfied with the conduct of the department for
foreign affairs, and therefore out goes Lord H awkes-
bury ; and sorry I am to perceive that that noble
lord has put the seal to his own condemnation, that
being charged with mismanagement and incapacity,
he consents to be degraded in order to make room
for another noble lord, who certainly has yet to
prove his ability, who has at least no experience to
recommend him. This removal must no doubt be
a source of much mortification to those who may be
intimately connected with the noble lord : but this
alone was not enough to satisfy my right honorable
friend, and to reconcile him to the administration.
He disliked the Admiralty, and therefore that silly,

1804.] 279
incapable person, Earl St. Vincent, is removed ;
and his place is filled by that tried, experienced
seaman, Lord Melville — (a laugh.) In the office
of the war minister also, my right honorable friend
saw good ground for complaint, and therefore the
noble lord (Hobart), who held that situation is su
perseded by a noble lord who gallantly resigned the
government of Ireland because it was a time of war
and trouble, and much disturbance was apprehended
in that country. Under such circumstances, it is no
wonder that my right honorable friend should ex
press his regret that his right honorable friend has
not better support ; for all those being dismissed for
detected, acknowledged incapacity, accordingto
the language of my right honorable friend, of whom
his right honorable friend spoke in such lofty terms of
E raise, none remain in office, but those six of whom
is right honorable friend did not think worth while
to utter one word in the way of commendation. But
of the right honorable gentleman's praise much now
don't seem to be thought, and therefore it is,
perhaps, that we have had no panegyric pronounced
upon the qualifications of the persons just introduced
into his cabinet. After the perfect knowledge of
human nature, which the right honorable gentleman
has manifested, particularly in the expedition to
Holland, and the representation with respect to
some of the late ministers, his opinions of mankind
don't appear to be held in any estimation, and there
fore, no doubt, it is that the house has not heard
one word from the right honorable gentleman as to
the merits of his new colleagues. I dare say, that
this silence was in consequence of a previous stipu
lation. They most probably said to the right ho
norable gentleman, " You may give us ribands,
titles, pensions, places, or any thing you like, but
a character : do, for God's sake, save our names
from the peril of your praise — for, if you praise us,
both you and we shall be laughed at." My right
honorable friend has frequently said, ." Away with

280 [JUNE 18,
the cant of not men but measures, for it is a frivo
lous notion, as it is not the harness, but the horses
which draw the. carriage;" but I would ask ¦ my
right honorable friend, what is to become of the har
ness and carriage with such horses as his right
honorable friend has now engaged? There are six
of them that are old, and six new — a double set to
be sure. The former are part of that " slow paced,
lumpish, awkward collection," upon . which my
right hon. friend so severely commented in the dis
cussion of Colonel Patten's motion. They of course
can be. of no use, and so the six new nags will have
to draw not only the carriage, but those six heavy
cast-off blacks along with it. (A loud laugh.) Now,
if in such a situation my right honorable friend does
not feel himself embarrassed, and anxious for the
release of his right honorable friend and himself, he
cannot have that feeling of . dignity and solicitude
for honorable reputation which I am willing to as
cribe to him. Among the arguments advanced by
my right hon. friend in. favor of the bill before the
house, there were some that struck me to be very extra
ordinary indeed. (Here Mr. Sheridan searching for
his notes found they were , lost, which produced a
laugh,, and the honorable member observed,! that his
right honorable friend, he dared say, was not sorry
that he had lost tbejn.) The honorable: gentleman
went on to animadvert on the observations which re
lated to the amount of our public force, as incon
sistent with the language used on other occasions by
the same gentleman. My right honorable friend
observed the honorable member, complains that we
should express our disappointment that the measure
before the house is not equal to the expectation we
entertained, and states that from the number of
troops already existing, it was impossible to draw
more from the martial resources of the. country than
this bill proposes to obtain ; but my right honorable
friepd should, recollect that the fault lies with those
by whom our imaginations were raised so high. If

1804.] 281
we complain of, disappointment, who raised our ex
pectations? The right honorable gentleman in the
course of his opposition to the late minister, held
forth such high promises^-talked of what he would
do: if in office, that he would submit a measure of
.vast importance-, &c. — that it was impossible not to
have). our curiosity and expectations strongly ex
cited; but after all this prodigious parade of means
in contemplation for the increase of our public force,
what do we see ? Instead of plans at all promising
^efficiency, instead of looking for an armed Minerva
frota thejbrainof'this Jupiter, we see a puny, rick-
etty bantling, which after being sent to the parish
ntpjsej does not appear to have, gristle or bone ever
to attain the age of manhood. In truth, I cannot
suppose that the right honorable gentleman himself
thinks that this bill will procure men. The. only
object seems to he to ; raise a tax upon the landed
interest, to inflict, penalties and enact forfeitures.
The right honorable gentleman only proposes to
levy a , tax in a novel way. If, by such a system,
men should really he had, I am persuaded that the
right honorable gentleman would be more surprised
than any other man in the country ; that he would
feel, as much astonished as he lately was at the
wonderful discovery, that but few ballotted men
gave personal service. Even supposing that the
proposed number: of men could be recruited, where,
I would, ask, are six or seven thousand persons to be
found' qualified to officer thena ? The right honorable
gentleman must? know that the thing is impossible.
Bpt the mode suggested to discipline those corps is
really ludicrous. , The idea of attaching one batta
lion to another is not unlike that of throwing a young
Woman in the way of an old man for the purpose
of. courtship, in the hope that, after the opportunity
of what is commonly termed " keeping company,"
they will " come together," matrimony must be the
consequence. Absurd as this may seem, it is npt

282 [JUNE 18,
more so than that such a connection as that proposed
in this bill, between a battalion of regulars and one
of the new levies, can tend to promote or preserve
-discipline. It is ridiculous to talk of discipline in a
corps where, as in the new levies, the officer will be
urged to ask favors of their men. If a man belong.
ing to the regulars shall be found tippling with any
of the new levies, he can plead that he was endea
vouring to prevail on the other to enlist for general
service — that he was only employed in endeavouring
to forward the views of government. At such irregu
larities as these officers must connive, or the enlist
ment from among those new levies will not be pro
ductive. From an army then so constituted and so
employed, what evils are not to be apprehended 1
So fully convinced am I of the mischief that must
result from it as to think that, if the bill should be
adopted, the most appropriate title for it would be
*' a bill for the destruction of military discipline."
In considering the means of providing for the de
fence of the country, I am sorry to perceive that
gentlemen, whose opinion upon other occasions I
most sincerely respect, should look so much, or
rather entirely, to the extension of our regular army.
With respect to the army, however, I wish to ob
serve, that in my opinion men should be enlisted for
that service not only on terms limited as to time,
hut as to place. The latter regulation would tend
to save the lives of many soldiers, while the policy
of the former is so generally acknowledged, and
has been so often discussed, that the surprise is, that
ministers hesitate to act upon it. Upon this ques
tion, as to the augmentation of our regular army, I
cannot forbear to say, that I always look upon such
augmentation with jealousy ; I would not risk the
liberties of the country, by the enlargement of our
standing army. If I were asked whether I would
not rather trust our defence in the field against the
attack of a foreign foe to regO lar troops, I would

1804.] 283
immediately answer in the affirmative ; still, how
ever, keeping in view the compromise between dif
ficulties, the necessity of securing our freedom
against the influence and power of a large stand
ing army. I would have our volunteers and militia
aided by a due proportion of the regular army. The
people of this country are competent to their own
defence, and are ready to take the tone from those
above them. They have regarded for the high
station which freemen may be supposed to feel;
they have none of the slavish attachment to clans,
but they look up to their superiors — and I use this
word in its liberal sense — they look up to you, their
superiors, with confidence, because you do not look
down on them with insult. Give, then, to such a
people proper example and encouragement, and you
will not have any occasion to look "for a large stand
ing army to defend your country. The people of
England know the value of the objects for which
they have to contend. They feel that, from the
constitution of the society in which they live, there
is nothing of honor, emolument, or wealth, which is
not within the reach of a man of merit. The land
lord, the shopkeeper, or mechanic must be sensible
that he is contending not merely for what he pos
sesses, but for every thing of importance which the
country contains ; and I would call on the humblest
peasant to put forth bis endeavours in the national
struggle to defend his son's title to the great seal of
England. Acting upon this plan, employing proper
means to animate the country, would render it unne
cessary to hire an army to defend us or to resist any
enemy. It is because I am satisfied of this fact —
because I know that in this important conjuncture,
which so strongly demands the valor of the brave,
the vigor of the strong, the means of the wealthy,
and the councils of the wise, we could obtain all that
is requisite by operating judiciously upon the cha
racter of the people, that I object to the frequent
call for an increase of our regular army, as I know

284 [june 18,
that such increase must invest the executive govern
ment with a power dangerous to the existence of
liberty. I like an army of the people, because no
people were ever found to commit afelo de se upon
their own liberty; but 1 dislike a large standing
army, because I never knew popular liberty in any
state long to survive such an establishment. It is
upon these grounds that I disapprove of the senti
ments so often urged as to the augmentation of the
regular army, and particularly 'by an officer whose
information upon military subjects is no doubt en
titled to the utmost respect; but whatever may be
his information and experience upon military topics,
if he had the ability of the Archduke 'Charles, until
he shall look at the whole of the subject, until he
shall examine it as a statesman, with a mixed atten
tion to the rights of the people apd the military
defence of the country, I cannot defer tohis opinions.
With regard to the principles upon Which the pre
sent administration is formed, I shall 'conclude with
a few observations. The cause of the exclusion,
which is so much and so justly complained of, we
are all tolerably well able to conjecture ; but it would
be, I am aware, indecorous to describe it in this
house. I know it would be unparliamentary to 'in
troduce into debate any particular allusion to this
circumstance. Of the personage, however, to whom
it refers, I cannot speak from any particular know
ledge; but of him who is next in rank and conse
quence, I can say, that that illustrious personage
whose name I know my duty too well to mention,
who stood forward at the commencement of the
war, displaying a noble example of his wish to pro
mote unanimity, to rally all parties round the stand
ard of the country, entertains no political prejudice
against any public man — though, God knows, he
has had much to forgive. Far however from in
dulging resentment, I am sure that he would be
forward to accept, to call for the services of any

1804.] 285
political character who could contribute in this great
crisis to the safety of the empire.
For the motion 265 ; against it 223'

March 6, 1805.
ADDITIONAL FORCE BILL.
Mr. Sheridan — I rise, Sir, in pursuance of the
notice I took the liberty of giving on a former day,
to move for leave to bring in a bill to repeal the
act of last sessions, intituled, "An act to provide
for the better defence of the country, and for the
gradual increase of our disposable force." I choose
to read the whole title of this act, rather in com
pliment to the feelings of the right honorable gen
tleman, than to call it by its general denomination,
" Mr. Pitt's parish bill," It is impossible for me
before I proceed further not to observe shortly on
the impression which seemed to have been produced
upon the gentlemen on the other side when 1 thought
it my duty to give notice of this motion. Those
gentlemen appeared to express surprise, not unac
companied by some disapprobation, that I should
attempt to propose bringing forward such a motion.
What excited that surprise I am rather at a loss to
conjecture. Perhaps the right honorable gentleman
over against me thought that the debate on this Sub
ject need not go on any further, conscious, no doubt •
that the case stated by my right honorable friend on
a former evening was but weakly supported ; and
that the answer of my right honorable friend who
sits near him was quite sufficient, or rather that that
answer contained matter so forcible and conclusive,
argument and eloquence that overwhelmed us on
this side of the house — that gave us such a shock
that some time was necessary to enable us to meet
it with any effect, to come fresh to the contest.

286 [MARCH 6,
Perhaps too, the disapprobation which was mani
fested proceeded from this, that it was deemed dis
respectful to the right honorable gentleman to press
upon him any further discussion of a subject, to the
consideration of which he seemed so peculiarly un
willing to proceed. In truth, the right honorable
gentleman did appear to be very bashful of this
topic, and 1 am quite sure that he very reluctantly
touches upon it at all. Another cause of the disap
probation I allude to, may be attributed to this,
that my notice implied a doubt of the force of that
reply which the friends of my right honorable friend
have been so anxious to extol. It was evidently
the supposition of the gentlemen on the other side
that the hint should be taken from the disinclination
shewn by the right honorable gentleman to enter
into this question, and that we should abstain from
the performance of our duty. But regardless alike
of the feelings of the right honorable gentleman
himself upon this subject, as of the surprise or
disapprobation of his advocates, I rise to bring
forward this motion. It may be said, that any
inquiry of mine into the military state of the
country cannot be necessary, after the very able
and comprehensive dissertation we have so recently
heard from my right honorable friend on the lower
bench, on that subject. With those who argue so I
should most cordially agree ; but it will be recol
lected, that in the course of that masterly review of
my righ thonorable friend, he but incidentally noticed
this act, which I conceive to be a disgrace to our
statute book. It is natural that the gentlemen on
the other side feeling this, aware that the act has
utterly failed of its object, should disapprove of any
attempt to ridicule its imbecility, to put a period to
its existence. In endeavoring to accomplish this,
some of those common-place censures which are
thrown out against men who attempt to oppose any
measure for the defence of the country, may be ap
plied to me ; but I feel that they are entirely inap-

1805.] 287
plicable, for I contend that the act, which it is my
object to repeal, is not a measure for the defence of
the country ; the bill has no such character or ten
dency. To oppose its continuance, therefore, can
not subject any man to that outcry which it is the
fashion to raise against the opponents of measures
of a different description. If the proposition I mean
to submit to the house had the remotest tendency to
injure the spirit, to depress the heart and feelings
of the country, in the present emergency, I trust I
should be the last man to bring it forward. But
satisfied that it is calculated to produce quite a con
trary effect, I cannot be dissuaded from pursuing it.
Again, I repeat, that I cannot conceive the reason
why my notice was treated as I have described on a
former evening, nor can I anticipate how my motion
may be treated this night. To the speech of my
right honorable friend on the lower bench, I remem
ber that the right honorable gentleman on the op
posite side thought proper to preserve a most reso
lute and dignified silence. He did not seem to
think that it was such as to call for the reply of a
minister, and that the answer which it received from
my honorable friend was sufficient to content him.
I have often heard that the right honorable gentle
man was rather an unreasonable, discontented, ex
pecting kind of man ; but if he really was contented
with the reply of my right honorable friend near
him to the speech of my right honorable friend on
the lower bench, I must say, that he is the most
easily contented man I ever heard of. I know tbat
it has been asserted by the advocates of the right
honorable gentleman, out of doors, that that reply
was complete ; but sure I am that no man in this
house who heard it ever thought it so, and least of
all was it so thought by my right honorable friend
himself, who delivered it. I admire the talents of
my right honorable friend as much as any man, yet,
upon the occasion alluded to, I could not help ob
serving the difficulty he had to struggle with; the

288 [march 6,
embarrassed and staggering course he made ; I was
conscious that my right honorable friend felt that
he had very little to say to the purpose ; that he was
sailing against wind and tide; that although the
puff of a cheer from his friends sometimes produced
a slight swell in his sails, he could make bin little
progress; that he raised his voice aloud, but pro
duced no impression ; that he dropped argument
and produced a noise ; that, in fact, he made a fine
catamaran speech (A laugh), plenty of noise, but
little mischief to his adversary at least. What mis
chief he may have done to the system he would
support I cannot pretend to say. Having said so
much as to the conduct of the gentlemen on the
other side on a former evening, I shall now take
notice of some of the propositions of my right ho
norable friend. I shall confine myself entirely to
the military argument. There were some points in
the speech of my right honorable friend which I am
now unwilling to take up. If I were to dwell upon
them, I should have no doubt of being cheered by
the right honorable gentleman on the other side.
In the wide scope of my right honorable friend's
general view, he advanced some opinions from which
I differ. In his view of some points in our military
defence, I certainly cannot agree with him ; but the
honorable gentleman on the other side are much
mistaken if they look for any thing from that dif
ference which can afford them any amusement. —
Whatever occasional warmth I may have shown in
animadverting on the opinions of my right honor
able friend, 1 have always felt and acknowledged
the grounds of his opinions to be substantially good,
and ever disposed to treat them with due deference.
Yet I never could bring myself, in some important
questions, entirely to concur with him. The volun
teer system, for instance, I have ever thought, and
do still think, entitled to the highest admiration,
and to the particular gratitude of the country. I
really do believe that the existence, the number,

1804.] 289
and the spirit of the volunteers, had more power on
the mind of the enemy, had more effect in making
him shrink from attempting the execution of his
menaced attack, than all our other force. I will
not take upon myself to say that I have received
any certain knowledge upoh the subject, but I have
enough to justify me in asserting, that the volun
teers produced a most important effect on the reso
lutions of the French government, and particularly
on the mind of Talleyrand ; and this was naturally
to be expected, for that gallant body served to dis
lodge the opinion which generally existed in France
with respect to this nation. The volunteers shewed
most satisfactorily that the " shop-keeping, indolent,
luxurious," people of this country were not disposed
to loll on their couches in a time of public danger,
and trust wholly to an hired army for their defence.
Whether the volunteer system was or was not ex
ceptionable in the first construction of it, it must be
matter of satisfaction to all men to know this im
portant fact ; and it must furnish a ground for pecu
liar congratulation to the volunteers themselves to
find that they had so materially contributed to the
safety of the state, and to the character of the coun
try also. For they had convinced the enemy that
all his calculations respecting- us were unfounded.
The volunteers have convinced him of the resolute
spirit and unconquerable mind of the nation. I,
therefore, cannot but be proud of the support I have
uniformly given to the volunteer system, however
much I may regret my difference of opinion with
my right honorable friend, with whom I cannot
help repeating that 1 also differ upon another im
portant point ; I still retain the opinion that I so
often before stated, that the military force of this
country ought to be varied, and that great advan
tages arise from pur various descriptions of force.
For whatever may be my confidence in the cha
racter and disposition of the regular army, I must
say, that my opinion has undergone no change;

290 [march 9,
that the people of any country cannot long retain
their liberty who trust altogether to an hired army.
Some gentlemen, I understand, have said, that it
would be imprudent to adopt this motion, that the
repeal at present of the act to which it refers would
damp the spirit of the country. But I would seri
ously put it to the candor of those gentlemen, whe
ther it is rational to apprehend that the repeal of
an act which, according to the knowledge and con
fession of every body, has totally failed, could create
any dismay ? I think the contrary is the rational
calculations. But what will be said of the bill
when the time and manner in which it was intro
duced is called to the recollection of the house ?
When the right honorable author of this bill was
out of office, he exclaimed loudly against the imbe
cility and inactivity of his predecessor; he stated
what a force he should produce if his plans were
adopted. He complained of the limited amount of
the force which his predecessor was able to raise.
Yet, after all the pompous vaunting pledges of the
right honorable gentleman; after all his promises
of activity and vigor, when I's come in, what does
I do? Can any man say that he has not com
pletely broken his promises to this house and the
country ? ' After then the notoriety of such failure,
and particularly with respect to this bill, is it not
idle and absurd to tell the house that it would be
indiscreet, that it would be shocking to mention a
word about the failure to the country ; that we
should keep the thing snug to ourselves ? Such a
mockery is not to be endured. What, after the
only measure which the right honorable gentleman
has introduced since he dispossessed his predecessor,
has proved inefficient as to the raising of men which
was its professed object, to be told that this mea
sure shall still be allowed to go on now that it is
entirely become a tax bill! The demand implies
extraordinary confidence. Before the right honor
able gentleman returned to power, before he had

1805.] 291
succeeded in removing what he and his friends so
often termed the rubbish that stood in his way, we
were told much of the extraordinary things that he'
had in contemplation for the defence of the country.
We were told, indeed, that our salvation could only
be effected by this great Caesar ; and yet what has
he done to justify those assertions ? — literally no
thing. He may shew a regular army on paper,
but whatever really exists is not attributable to him;
He has made no contribution towards it, and, there^
fore, the hopes excited by his partisans have been
wholly disappointed. The house and the country
have had ample opportunity of appreciating the
right honorable gentleman's powers. The delusion ;
which his advocates had spread no longer exists ;
it is completely dissipated by> the failure of this
bill. To talk of concealing that failure from the
country is quite nonsense ; for in this case the peo
ple themselves are behind the scenes, they are under
the apron of this great puppet-show, and, there
fore, it is ridiculous to speak of concealing the fact
from those who know it as well as we do. The
great points to be considered by the house with
respect to the motion I have the honor to submit
are these : first, has the bill to which that motion
refers failed of producing the effect which it pro
fessed originally to have in view? secondly, if it
has failed, is it likely by its future operation to atone
for that failure ? and, if not, thirdly, would the re
peal of it be attended with any danger? Now, as
to the first point, it is admitted on all hands that
the act has completly failed ; and it will be recol
lected that the effects promised from it were not,
according to the language of its author and advo
cates, to be produced by degrees, but at once. The
right hon. gentleman vaunted that it was only neces
sary1 to place him in power to enable him to raise
such an effective disposable army as should qualify
the people not merely to defend the country, but " to
hurl back the proud insulting menaces of the enemy."

292 [march 6>
It has been observed that my right honorable friend
on a former day, treated this subject with much le
vity, which shewed that he really did not consider
the state of the country dangerous, or requiring
such further measures of defence as he recom
mended. But, however important and grave the
subject of our military defence may be, and however
necessary it may be seriously to consider every
point connected with it, I would appeal to the can
dor of gentlemen, whether, when the lofty promises
of the right honorable parent of this bill were com
pared with the result, it was possible to avoid ridi
culing his pretensions? Is not the failure of his
promises obvious? If he promised to raise men,
and could only raise money, did he perform his pro
mise? No; not even so nearly as if he had pro
mised to procure horses for the carriage of the ca
valry in the field, and instead of that had furnished
oxen to draw the baggage. Let me not then be
told that the right honorable gentleman has per
formed his contract. In order to render his failure
evident, it is only necessary to look at the returns
on the table of the general state of the army, and
of this additional defence act in particular : it will
be seen in those returns that the army under the
right honorable gentleman's predecessor was not
merely not improved by the boasted energy of the
right honorable gentleman, but that it was rather
deteriorated. I apprehend it will be said that no in
quiry ought to be instituted under the administra
tion of the right honorable gentleman, however ne
cessary it was under his predecessor. It is, no
doubt, convenient for the right honorable gentle
man's friends to maintain that doctrine at present;
but if an enquiry were to take place, I have good
reason to think that the right honorable gentleman's
administration would be found to be not less defec
tive in the navy than in the army. I have heard it
asserted that fifty ships have been added to our
naval force since the right honorable gentleman's

1805.] 293
accession to power ; but this I most positively deny.
If, however, I was to demand an enquiry, to ascer
tain this fact, I suppose it would be refused, on the
ground that the character of the noble lord at the
head of the Admiralty is such as to preclude the
necessity of enquiry — that it is peculiarly entitled to
confidence. But more of that noble lord hereafter.
I shall now shew, from a short review of the returns
on the table, what the exertions of the right honor
able gentleman have produced for the army, and
how the country has reason to feel from the change
which placed the right honorable gentleman in
power.In Jan. 1804 the whole of our army
amounted to  191,099
In Jan. 1805 ditto - - 143,651

Deficiency - 47,448
In Jan. 1804 the militia - - - lu9,947
In Jan. 1805 ditto - - 85,519

Deficiency - 24,428
Total of army and militia in Jan. 1804 301,046
Ditto in Jan. 1 805 229, 1 70

Deficiency - 71,876
The cavalry in Jan. 1804 - 17,177
Ditto 1805 - - - 21,223

Increase - - 4,046

The artillery in Jan. 1804- - - 7,661
Ditto 1805- - - 8.517
Increase - - 856

294 [MARCH 9,
The foreign troops in 1804 - - 13,710
Ditto 1805- - - 21,028

Increase - - 7,318
But, notwithstanding the increase in these depart
ments, could it not surely be pretended that that in
the foreign corps, for instance, added any tiling to
the disposable force of this country. What were
5,000 men, the amount of the addition at Ceylon,
to the kind of force which it was the object of the
additional force act to raise ? or how was the right
honorable gentleman entitled to claim any merit
from that addition ? There was an augmentation,
it appeared, of our cavalry and artillery ; but there
was no actual reduction of the infantry of our regu
lar army, amounting to 853 men; and any augmen
tation that has taken place in the different descrip
tions of force I have alluded to, or in the black
troops of the West Indies, is attributable of right
to the right honorable gentleman's predecessor.
The measures which produced such augmentation
were in operation before the right honorable gentle
man came into office. But with respect to the act
under consideration, no increase of our force at
Ceylon, in the West or East Indies, has connection
with this bill. The object of the bill was to raise a
disposable force for England, and in that object it.
has not succeeded : the addition of 11,000 men to
the whole of our military force, in the year 1804,
which has been so much boasted of, is, I contend,
owing to the provisions of the right honorable gen
tleman's, predecessor, whose administration it was
so much the fashion of the right honorable gentle
man and his advocates to describe as milk and
water, as nauseous broth, &c. But I believe that
many of those gentlemen would now be ready to
retract their words.1 Whether they would or not
I feel quite certain that I happened, with some
other" gentlemen on this side of the house, to be

1805.] 295
perfectly right in our opinion, that if the right
honorable gentleman's predecessor should be re
moved, an administration much more deserving the
character of imbecility, and something worse, would
follow. In this apprehension we were but too well
founded : the right honorable gentleman had pro
mised and performed nothing : the increase of the
cavalry arose from the plan of raising men for rank ;
the raising of the German legion, and the augmen
tation of the artillery entirely belonged to the pro
ject of the right honorable gentleman's predecessor.
The merit of the whole belonged to the noble lord
now at the head of his majesty's councils — council
I mean (a laugh). Whether that noble lord be at
present really as well as nominally at the head of
the council, I do not mean to enquire, nor do I
think it a matter of any consequence. My object
is to shew that the right honorable gentleman has
disappointed the expectations which his assurances
excited ; that his abuse of his predecessor was un
founded, and that if he be enabled to send any force
out of the country, or to perform any exploit, he
owes the capacity of doing so to Lord Sidmouth.
That the right honorable gentleman has derived no
assistance from the only scheme for recruiting the
army which he has proposed will be obvious from
a view of the returns under this additional force
act, which, in point of fact, was ludicrously unpro
ductive. From the 5th of July, to the 5th of Fe
bruary, this redoubted bill has only produced 1 295
men in England and Wales, 266 of whom had de
serted, or been discharged, leaving only 1029 effec
tive men. This was the entire fruit of all these
exertions of " local knowledge and sympathetic
feeling," from which the right honorable gentleman
proposed to obtain so much. For this amount of
men had all the lords lieutenants and deputy lieute
nants, bailiffs, overseers, constables, and parish
officers, been put in motion ; for this small number
of recruits had little less than 40,000 persons been

296 [march 6,
set to work. Out of the number I have mentioned
which were raised under this act, it appears that
323 men have enlisted for general service, which is
about 4|- men for each county. Of this number,
however, 88 of which were raised for the parishes
by the regular recruiting officers, 30 deserted, and
33 were discharged as unfit for service. In Ireland
the return under this act is 1031 men. The zeal of
that country was quite satisfied to get on a level
with the produce of this ; but here it thought pro
per to stop : not one, however, of these men has
enlisted into the regular service — so much for Ire
land. But to return to this country — it seems to
he the case that the parishes have seldom, under this
act, furnished a, good soldier, and particularly in
the manufacturing countries. The object of those
officers was rather generally to get rid of vagrants,
so that the greater number collected from the ma
nufacturing counties were found to desert or to be
unfit for service. Of the number raised by parish
officers who enlisted for general service, 52 were
from Lancashire, half of whom deserted ; and what
was the case with respect to Kent, where the right
honorable gentleman's influence, one would suppose,
must be powerful ? Why, it furnished eleven men,
all of whom deserted. But I would beg the parti
cular attention of the house to the produce of the
Cinque Ports, with which the right honorable gen
tleman is so particularly connected ; where he has
so much weight, both in his civil aftd military capa
city ; where he is said to be so much adored as a ge
neral and as a man. The Cinque Ports have pro
duced one man; and no doubt he is an extraordi
nary man, if one could see him. He is, perhaps
a Milo or Hercules, and might be equal to the
numerous produce of another district; as in the
fable of the lioness and the sow, where the lioness
said to the latter, what signifies your numerous
brood ? I have but one — sed ilk ko est (A loud
laugh). I remember a story, that after an engage-

1805.] 297
ment, some persons inquired for Lord Donegall's
regiment, anxious to know its fate ; one soldier ap
peared and exclaimed, " I am Lord Donegall's re
giment" (A loud laugh). Perhaps this man from
the Cinque Ports would be found ipse agmen (A
laugh) . To be serious, I cannot but consider this
bill on the whole a disgrace to its author. Though
I state this, I would not be understood to insinuate
that whatever difference of opinion may prevail on
particular points, we are not all of us of one heart
and one mind, as to the necessity of providing
effectually for the defence of this country. I mean
then that this bill is a disgrace from its total ineffi-
cacy, and from its mode of attempting to be effica
cious. It first goes into the parish as a beggar, and
if unsuccessful in begging, it assumes the character
of a bully ; it tells the parish officer, " if you do not
raise the men I desire, I would advise you to drop
20Z. in a certain place, or I will mulct you to double
that amount." To those who complain so much of
the parish officers not having done their duty under
this bill, I would ask why the privy council did not
set them a good example, by doing their duty ?
Had the privy council done so, the proclamation of
Lord Hawkesbury would not have been delayed so
long. From this instance of neglect in the privy
council I should think it would be necessary in any
future acts, where that council should have any duty
to execute, that a clause should be inserted to inflict
a penalty upon them for neglect. As to the double
penalty threatened on the parishes which are defi
cient under this act, I think the collection of it
would not be less difficult than oppressive. This bill
was originally said to be for the purpose of expedi
tion, yet, when we complain of its failure in this
respect, we are told to wait, that it will still ope
rate what it promised. We have heard a good
deal lately of the preparation of carriages, for the
speedy conveyance of soldiery, &c. Now, sup
pose any man came forward and said, " destroy all

298 [marqh 9,
those vehicles ; I have got one on a new principle,
that will carry twenty men, at the rate of eight
miles an hour." Suppose all those carriages were
destroyed, and the boaster were relied on. Well,
the twenty men get into his new carriage to set off
to Windsor ; some hours afterwards you meet him
and the men at Kensington — on coming back ? — no,
but on his progress, for he had absolutely got no
further. Still the boaster would say, give me time
and I will yet accomplish the journey. What
would you say to such a man ? And yet exactly
similar is the language which the right honorable
gentleman holds to the house with regard to this
bill. If a man were to persuade you to throw away
your blunderbuss, and offer a gun of his invention
in its stead, after hearing the man's praise of his in
vention, you attempt to fire it off— it misses fire— it
burns priming. But still he urges you to keep it
to your shoulder, assuring you, that it only hangs
fire. This you might do for a little time ; but what
would you think of your man if his gun hung fire for
six months, as this bill has done ? (A laugh).
Why really, Sir, it is impossible to look at this bill
in any way without laughing at it. The right
honorable gentleman proposed that it should furnish
a sword and a shield for the country — but it now
turns out that this sword is only fit to be a soup ladle,
and the shield a fish plate (A laugh). The right
honorable gentleman, however, and his friends have
attempted to solace the country for the failure of this
bill, by asserting, that an addition has been made
under his administration to the amount of our naval
force; but this I positively deny. I assert that
nothing has been added to our naval force, and that
the navy itself is in a state much inferior to that in
which Lord St. Vincent left it. When we come to
examine the fact as to the fifty ships alleged to have
been added to the navy under the present Admi
ralty, we shall find that no less than thirty of them
were old West-Indiamen ; -that one fifty gun ship

1805.] 299
that was sent to the Downs was pronounced inca
pable of keeping the sea, and sent back into port ;
that another of the new vessels, the Weymouth, sent
to convoy some merchantmen with which she should
not keep company, was from her not being sea
worthy, incapable of making her way, and there
fore kept back the convoy. It would also appear on
inquiry, that the present Admiralty had ordered the
purchase of some West-Indiamen in the river,
which were reported to that board to be incapable of
being made fit for use at the time of the purchase,
and which were still lying in the river. Such are
the ships of war which the present vigorous Admi
ralty has added to our fleet, and they have, against
that addition, reduced it by dismantling seven ships
of the line and several frigates. By the bye, as a
sample of the wisdom of building vessels of war in
merchants' dock-yards, which the right honorable
gentleman once so strongly recommended, all those
dismantled vessels had been so built, and not one of
them had been in use above seven years. The addi
tion of men alleged to be made to the naval service,
under the present Admiralty, does not exceed five
thousand. Will then any man attempt to compare
the present first lord of the Admiralty, in point of
vigor and efficiency, with his noble and gallant pre
decessor ? The comparison would be ridiculous,
and yet the right honorable gentleman on the other
side thought proper, on a former occasion, in reply
to a question, in which no allusion of such a nature
was naturally called for, to arraign the conduct and
character of that highly deserving nobleman. I say
it was not fit or becoming in the right honorable
gentleman to do so. He had accused the noble lord
without affording him any prospect of an opportunity
of coming to trial or refuting the accusation. I
know that the noble lord is ready to vindicate his
character from any charge that can be brought
against it, and that he pants for a full investigation
of his conduct. If the present administration will

300 [march ff,
not grant him that, and it should become necessary,
from the circumstances of the country, to call the
noble lord into the service — to raise his flag, with this
imputation, cast by the right honorable gentleman,
still lying on his character ; what I would ask, might
the consequences be to the discipline of the fleet?
I am afraid that in such a case the minister would
be found to have incurred a deep responsibility to
his country. The right honorable gentleman has
thrown out a half charge against the noble lord,
that he was disposed to tyranny, and what must be
the consequence of such a represesentation upon the
discipline and opinion of the sailors who might be
placed under the command of the noble lord ?
Having said so much as to the matter and the effects
of this bill, I beg to say a word upon the bill itself.
In looking over it, every clause seems to be drawn
up with a characteristic degree of confidence. It
states, first, that whereas it is necessary to raise
eighty-five thousand men ; it proposes to raise that
number within the year. In the next year it pro
poses to raise as many men as should be necessary to
supply the deficiencies occasioned in the additional
force, &c. by enlistments for general service. Af
terwards, the bill becomes somewhat moderate, and
promises to supply substitutes only for nine hundred
men each year, which is the estimated amount of en
listment for general service, and the substitutes are
not to exceed that number. But the most curious
part of this curious bill is, that the parish officers are
restrained from procuring men beyond a certain
distance from their respective parishes, while the
regular recruiting officer, who is to provide the men
in case the parishes fail, is at liberty to procure those
men wherever he can get them. Another singular
thing in the act is, that it is not specified what
bounty the parishes shall be permitted to give, whe
ther one pound or ten. This was left at the discre
tion of government, and therefore ministers may, if
they please to render this tax productive, levy the

1805.] §01
penalty of 20Z. or 401. according to their pleasure.
But it is impossible these penalties can ever be le
vied, for all parishes in England are the delinquents!,
This defect in the bill I have just alluded to was,
I recollect, corrected in the bill for Ireland, for in
that the bounty was limited to two-thirds of the
amount of the bounty settled for the regular army.
If the right honorable gentleman should say that
this money to be raised from the penalties is to be
applied to the raising of men, I should reply that
that would be no defence for the tax. The right
honorable gentleman, indeed, must know that the
objects to which it might be intended to apply any
tax, would be no argument in favor of that tax. The
friends of the right honorable gentleman are gene
rally heard, I understand, to maintain, that although
the act under discussion has completely failed, there
is yet, in consequence of the respect and confidence
due to the character of the right honorable gentle
man, no ground for alarm, dismay, or inquiry, as
to the circumstances in which we are placed. With
respect to the claim of confidence, so confidently
alleged, I can really see no ground to sustain it.
We have heard much of the inefficient administra
tion of the right honorable gentleman's predecessor,
and I cannot perceive any particular difference that
has arisen. Certainly the change is such as I can
not describe, nor can I believe, any body else. At
the time the administration of the right honorable
gentleman's predecessor was on the decline, the
general voice was for what was called a broad-
bottomed administration. My right honorable friend
on the opposite side (Mr. Canning) expressed a
particular wish for the establishment of such an ad
ministration, and I firmly believe that he was sineere
in that wish. Perhaps others were equally sincere
upon that point, but not being acquainted with
them I cannot say positively. However, the wish
so often expressed by my right honorable friend and
so many other gentlemen in this house, apd so

302 [march 9,
strongly felt by the country at large, was disap
pointed. The right honorable gentleman went into
office alone — but lest the government should become
too full of vigor from his vigorous support, he
thought proper to beckon back some of the weak
ness of the former administration^ He, I suppose,
thought that the administration became, from his
support, like spirits above proof, and required to be
diluted ; that, like gold refined to a certain degree,
it would be unfit for use without a certain mixture of
alloy ; that the administration would be too bril
liant, and dazzle the house, unless he called back a
certain part of the mist and fog of the last admi
nistration to render it tolerable to the eye (A laugh).
As to the great change made in the administration
by the introduction of the right honorable gentleman
himself, I would ask, does he imagine that he came
back to office with the same estimation that he left
it? I am sure he is much mistaken if he fancies
that he did. The right honorable gentleman retired
from office because, as was stated, he could not
carry an important question, which he deemed ne
cessary to satisfy the just claims of the Catholics ;
and in going out he did not hesitate to tear off the
sacred veil of majesty, describing his sovereign as
the only person that stood in the way of this de
sirable object. After the right honorable gentle
man's retirement, he advised the Catholics to look
to no one but him for the attainment of their rights,
and cautiously to abstain from forming a connec
tion with any other person. But how does it appear
now that the right honorable gentleman is returned
to office? He declines to perform his promise;
and has received, as his colleagues in office, those
who are pledged to resist the measure. Does not
the right honorable gentleman then feel that he comes
back to office with a character degraded by the vio
lation of a solemn pledge given to a great and
respectable body of the people upon a particular and
momentous occasion ? Does the right honorable

1805.] 303
gentleman imagine either that he returns to office
with the same character for political wisdom, after
the description which he gave of the talents and
capacity of his predecessors, and after having
shewn by his own actions that his description was
totally unfounded ? The house will recollect the
high panegyric which he took occasion to pronounce
upon the ability of Lord Hawkesbury. That noble
lord, the right honorable gentleman asserted, was
more competent to the office of secretary for foreign
affairs, than any man on this side of the house, or in
(he country; my honorable friend (Mr. Fox), to
whom he condescended to pay that compliment,
alone excepted ; and yet he has now cashiered that
noble lord as quite unfit for that office, and turned
him down to the office of secretary for the home
affairs. — Thus, although the right honorable gentle
man has since undertaken to make such men mi
nisters as he thought fit, has set up no other rule
for choosing them but his own will, he stands con
victed in the recollection of the house and the coun
try, of an utter incapacity to judge of the abilities
of men. How then "can the country confide in him,
or the cabinet that he constructs ? If the right
honorable gentleman be so incapable of forming a
just estimate of the powers of men with whom he
was so familiar as with Lords Sidmouth and
Hawkesbury, how can he pretend to speak as to the
competency of strangers ? How is he able to de
cide as to the choice of proper persons to fill the
several offices connected with the domestic and
foreign relations of government ? How can the
right honorable gentleman be relied upon on these
important points? He has given the most glaring
evidence of" his utter incapacity and ignorance upon
points which are essential in forming the mind of a
great statesman, and with the notoriety of this evi
dence he cannot, surely, to flatter himself as to fancy
that his introduction to an administration can entitle
that administration to the confidence of this hous*

304 [march 6,
and the country. I will not go minutely into an ex
amination of the characters of the subaltern minis
ters with whom he is connected, nor shall I call on
him to explain what he means by counting noses in
a cabinet. He seems to mean, that he would not
enter into any cabinet where he would be obliged
to count noses. But I rather think that at the time
he was in a cabinet with my right hon. friend on the
lower bench (Mr. Windham), and a noble friend
of mine in another house (Lord Grenville), noses
were counted ; and I can see no reason why the
right hon. gentleman should pretend to be exempt
from such counting, or should attempt to do it away
altogether, unless, like the nose of the man at Stras-
burgh, alluded to in Tristram Shandy, he imagines
his own nose of much more importance than that of
any other man. But to return to the right hon. gen
tleman's extraordinary claim to confidence, I main
tain, that it is quite unfounded, particularly because,
for the reasons I have stated, he has returned to of
fice with a diminished character, and a recorded
conviction of incapacity. If then the right hon. gen
tleman be so convicted, and has no claim to confi
dence, where shall I find ground for it among his col
leagues ? As to the noble minister of war ( Lord Cam
den), I presume he is no wiser than when I de
scribed his pretensions before. The noble lord
(Castlereagh) who sits near the right hon. gentleman,
stands in rather an odd way in the present adminis
tration, as he did in the last. From him, indeed,
the cabinet can derive no brilliancy. The Lord Chan
cellor, I suppose, possesses the same knowledge in
the present cabinet, as he did in the last. Here
there was no change, and I presume that the right
honorable gentleman has not yet discovered that
that noble lord is ignorant of the law. Now, with
respect to Lord Mulgrave, who is chosen to fill that
office, the duties of which, according to tlte right *
honorable gentleman, no other man in England but
Lord Hawkesbury and my honorable friend was

1806.] 305
competent to discharge, I should be glad to know in
what the superiority of that noble lord consisted ?
That noble lord, I recollect, was at Toulon, into
which he got through the treachery of some of the
people of the town. Whether he managed well or
ill there, it is not my business to inquire, nor is it
material to ascertain. The noble lord has now got
into a " state of comfortable security" (alluding to
a phrase of the noble lord's in a dispatch-from Tou
lon) to which I cannot conceive him to have any
claim on the score of ability. But there is certainly
One thing in favor of the noble lord, and I say it
without any partiality to him — he has not had any
character from the right honorable gentleman. (A
loud laugh). That certainly pleads for him, and
gives him a decided. advantage over Lord Hawkes
bury, who had the misfortune of suffering him so
much by the character given of him by the right
honorable gentleman. As the right honorable gen
tleman has not said a word torecommend the noble
lord's ability for the foreign office, he stands some
chance of being qualified for it. There is a noble
duke in the cabinet also who seems to be introduced
as an ornament. This noble duke appeared ready
to fill a place in any cabinet ; no minister could be
distressed for a person to fill up a vacancy in his ca
binet, while this obliging personage was to be found.
Indeed, however the reservoirs for the army have
failed, there seems to be of late a reservoir for mi
nisters which cannot fail ; you have only to turn a
cock, and out pops a minister. So far as I have
gone, at the comparison will not be denied to be ra
ther in favor of the feeble administration of the right
hon. gentleman's predecessor. But then I am told,
there's the first lord of the admiralty — " do you for
get the leader of the leader of the grand catamaran
project?" Are you not aware of the important
change in that department, and the advantage the.
country is likely to derive from that change ? Why,
VOL. V. X

306 [march 6,
I answer, that I do not know of any peculiar quali
fications the noble lord has to preside over the ad
miralty ; but I do know, that if I were to judge of
him from the kind of capacity he evinced while mi
nister of war, I should entertain little hopes of him.
If, however, the right hon. gentleman should say to
me, Where else would you put that noble lord ?
Would you have him appointed war minister again ?
I should say, Oh no, by no means — I remember too
well the expeditions to Toulon, to Quiberon, to
Corsica, and to Holland, the responsibility for each
of which the noble lord took on himself, entirely re
leasing from any responsibility the commander in
chief and the secretary at war. I also remember
that, which, although so glorious to our arms in the
result, I still shall call a most unwarrantable pro
ject — the expedition to Egypt. It may be said,
that as the noble lord was so unfit for the military
department, the naval was the proper place for him.
Perhaps there were people who would adopt this
whimsical reasoning. I remember a story told re
specting Mr. Garrick, who was once applied to by
an eccentric Scotchman, to introduce a production
of his on the stage. This Scotchman was such a
good-humoured fellow, that he was called " honest
Johnny M'Cree." Johnny wrote four acts of a tra
gedy, which he shewed to Mr. Garrick, who dis
suaded him from finishing it, telling him that his
talent did not lie that way ; so Johnny abandoned
the tragedy, and set about writing a comedy. When
this was finished, he shewed it to Mr. Garrick, who
found it to be still more exceptionable than the tra
gedy, and of course could not be persuaded to bring
it forward on the stage. This surprised poor Johnny,
and he remonstrated. " Nay, now, David (said
Johnny), did you not tell me that my talents did not
lie in tragedy ?" " Yes (replied Garrick), but I did
not tell you that they lay in comedy." " Then,
(exclaimed Johnny), gin they dinna lie there, where
the de'il dittha lie, mon ? (A loud laugh.) Unless

1806.] 307
the noble lord at the head of the admiralty has the
same reasoning in his mind as Johnny M'Cree, he
cannot possibly suppose that his incapacity for the
direction of the war department, necessarily quali
fies him for the presidency of the naval. Perhaps,
if the noble lord be told that he has no talents for
the latter, his lordship may exclaim with honest
Johnny M'Cree, " Gin they dinna lie there, where
the de'il dittha lie, mon ? (A loud laugh.) With
regard to the military system, I must confess that I
am a friend to it. The high bounties have been
complained of ; but this evil does not originate in
the system itself, but from the abuse of the system.
But when you expect a higher degree of discipline
in the militia than is consistent with the nature of
that service, when you carry the troops to a great
distance from their homes, the bounty must be in
proportion to the service required. I cannot con
ceive a more meritorious character than that of the
men of property, who leave their homes and their
comforts to bring to a proper state of discipline these
regiments ; but when you break your faith with the
troops, when you put them in situations where it is
impossible for them to refuse compliance with your
unreasonable proposals, when you place them in the
way of snapping their fingers in the faces of their of
ficers, is it wonderful that a high bounty should be
demanded? They have been entrapped into fo
reign service, they have been sent to Holland, to
Egypt, and to other places, and it is natural that the
bounties should rise to an extraordinary height. I
would say one word more on the recruiting for rank.
It does appear to me that there can be no objection
to it, when you cannot easily procure men in any
other way. In such a case, there can be no serious
harm in ushering brave young men forward a little
quicker than by the ordinary steps. Besides, the
more the ranks of the army are filled by men of pro
perty and independence, theless jealousy need be
entertained of it ; and the more we may be disposed

308 [march 6,
to regard it with affection. Another point which
has been before insisted upon by my right honorable
friend (Mr. Windham) in enlisting of men for a li
mited time. Considering the reasonable and ad
vantageous nature of the proposition, it is astonish
ing to me that it yet remains to be done. There
can be no doubt that His Majesty would consent to
this, if advised to it by his ministers. Since the
honorable gentleman's great plan has failed, why
not attempt this one ? This would undoubtedly
procure men, and it comes recommended by every
argument of humanity and justice. It is improper
to enlist poor boys for life, perhaps before they well-
know the nature of the engagements they are con
tracting. It is improper in a constitutional point of
view, for it is right that those who fight for the con
stitution should have an opportunity of enjoying its
benefits. What do they know of the constitution,
according to opr present military system ? I do,.
indeed, believe that it is the best on the face of the
earth ; but it is so much the more unfortunate that.
our soldiers should be ignorant of its blessings.
Suppose they were sent in their earliest years to a
foreign country, and there told to fight for their
country and constitution ; they would be informed,.
that they fought for the most glorious constitution,
and the most excellent country in the world ; but
then they must be sensible that they are pever to see
it, and what in this case does its excellence signify
to them ? But if the soldiers were made sensible
of the benefit of our constitution, and brought to in
dulge the hope of being permitted to enjoy its bles-
ings ; if they should be taught to look forward to
the indulgence of one day sitting under the shade
of this spreading tree, of being refreshed with the,
fragrance of its blossoms, and of tasting its fruit, then.
the great complaint of high bounties, and a want of
men, would be done away. Now, Sir, I would calL
the attention of one set of gentlemen particularly to •
this subject. I would request the country gentlemen

1806.] 309
to consider it de novo, and say, whether they can
submit to the unjust tax that is imposed by this
measure on the landed property of the country.—
Next, Sir, I would address another set of gentle
men, those who supported the predecessor of the
right honorable gentleman, for their concurrence in
the motion which I am now about to propose. I
gave that noble lord my support, feeble as it was,
from a conviction that he was pursuing those mea
sures which were best calculated to promote the in
terests of the country, and because he kept the right
honorable gentleman out of office. My support
hail nothing interested in it; of that the noble lord
is himself convinced, and so is he from whom I
could not separate without causing a schism in my
Own heart. But I call upon the noble" lord's friends,
those whom he headed in opposition to this very
measure, to support me on the present occasion. I
ask, then, if the noble lord hipiself had not been
placed in the other house, if no- reconciliation had
taken place, is there a man among his adherents
•who would not vote with me on this occasion ?
This bill only operates as an impost tax. At this
moment, when taxes are so heavy, and when it is
so desirable that they should be borne with pa
tience and willingness, care is to be taken that they
he imposed in a just and impartial manner. I have
seen the day when the country gentlemen were more
independent, and more powerful in the house. But
there is another thing which is blameable in the
conduct of the right hon. gentleman's administra
tion. The country gentlemen have not only lost a
great deal of their independences, but the peerage
has been degraded. During the seventeen years in
which the right honorable gentleman continued in
administration, almost a moiety of the house of peers
are of his creating. These, for the most part, were
not created for any great public services, but merely
for the convenience and assistance which they
afforded to ministers. It is impossible that these

310 [march 6,
things can go on much longer with safety to the
constitution. I would not willingly dwell upon the
circumstance of the preponderance which the right
honorable gentleman has given to the commercial
interests over the landed. I do not wish now to
give any express opinion on that subject ; but one
thing is certain, that it has created an anomaly in
this country, which is, an assembly governing a
large tract of territory (the East Indies), which is
not subject to the people of this empire. I do en
treat, that on this decision gentlemen will lift them
selves above all considerations of party, and vote
against this measure, which is found to be ineffi
cient. This is the only way in which we may be
sure of inspiring our friends with confidence, and
our enemies with fear. This is the way in which
we may expect to bring the present arduous contest
with the most daring, the most enterprising enemy
with whom we ever had to contend, to a safe and
honorable termination. The present question puts
all this at issue. If gentlemen vote with me on this
occasion, then our country will have a proper confi
dence in our own exertions. Europe will be satis
fied that the hands and the hearts of the nation are
engaged in our measures. Foreign nations who
may join us, will be confident of firm and active
support ; and we may then with boldness bid de
fiance to all the efforts and machinations of the most
ambitious, the most savage, the most powerful, and
most unprincipled foe that ever attempted to disturb
the peace of the world, to overturn the unrivalled
constitution, and destroy the unequalled blessings
of a great, a free, and a happy people. Mr. Sheri
dan concluded with moving, " That the additional
force act should be read." This being ordered to
be entered as read, he moved the repeal of the said
act.
Mr. Pitt and Lord Castlereagh replied.
Mr. Sheridan was not surprised that the noble

1806.] 311
lord had felt so forcibly that he and his friends had
been called upon for some answer, and for their
reasons for still supporting this bill. If they had
given no answer, it might very fairly have been
inferred that it was because they had nothing to say.
In their answer, however, they took care to avoid
the main objections, that it was unconstitutional in
its principle, and that it had completely failed in its
effect. The noble lord, however, conceived that
the argument of the bill not having been fairly
tried, was too strong for the great abilities of his
honorable friend (Mr. Fox) to combat. He had
forgotten, however, that the greatest part of that
honorable gentleman's speech was entirely directed
to this veryr point, and to prove that there was no
thing to be hoped or expected from it. In Ireland
where it was said the bill had produced men, the
fact was, that not a man had enlisted for general
service, which was the professed object of the bill ;
and, in England, if the number raised by regimental
recruiting was subtracted, it would appear that
there had been no more than 787 men raised by
the parish officers according to the provisions of the
bill ; and when it was considered that the promise
went as far as raising 27,000 by this time. He
then observed, that the right honorable gentleman
(Mr. Pitt) had complained that he had used harsh
and strong language towards him ; although he was
a warm speaker in the house, he never harbored
much personal animosity against any man ; he sup.
posed, however, the right honorable gentleman
meant to contrast his language with his own sin
gular gentleness and meekness of manners, his mo
deration and total abstinence from sarcastic or
biting remarks. He had stated that he (Mr. Sheri
dan) had wandered entirely from the subject ; that
he appeared to know nothing of the bill, except its
title ; and that he appeared to have hoarded up a
collection of jests and sarcasms to throw out upon
him. If his speech, however, had been so very

312 [march 6,
ignorant "and unworthy of the serious attention of
the house, there was no occasion for the right ho
norable gentleman to jump up immediately to reply
to it himself:
" Nee Deus intersit, nisi Deo vii; dice nodus,"
was a maxim well understood by that gentleman.
The right honorable gentleman had attacked him
for bringing charges against his colleagues, who
were not in that house to defend themselves : he
had taken up the glove for the first lord of the ad
miralty. For his part, he had really a respect for
that noble lord as a man of business, that did not
pretend to more talents than he possessed ; but
there were many differences between him and his
predecessor in office ; he had no occasion to be at his
desk by four o'clock in the morning examining
abuses ; but, on the other hand, he went in a boat
to superintend, or rather to judge with critical eye
of the explosion of his own catamarans. At Wal-
mer Castle, he and his right honorable friend had
another Alexander's feast. Whether they had a
Timotheus of their party report does not say ; the
jolly dog, however, was not absent. There, like
Alexander, " they seized a torch with fury to de
stroy ;" and, if they did not succeed, perhaps it was
because there was no Thais at Walmer Castle. —
But (continued Mr. Sheridan) the right honorable
gentleman (Mr. Pitt) has thought fit to charge me
with insincerity in the support I gave to the late
administration. I say that this charge is contrary
to the fact : I gave my support to it with the utmost
good faith, and I know that Lord Sidmouth has
always been ready to acknowledge it. But, sup
posing I had not supported him with fidelity and
firmness ; what then ? I never had professed to do
so, either to that ministry or to this house. I ap
proved of their measures, and I thought besides,
that their continuance in office was a security against
the right honorable gentleman's return to power,

1806.] 313
which I always considered as the greatest national
calamity. If, indeed, I had, like him, recommended
Mr. Addington to His Majesty and the public, as
the fittest person to fill his high station, because it
was a convenient step to my own safety, in retiring
from a station which I had so grossly abused, and
which I could not longer fill with honor or security :
if, having done so from such unwarrantable motives,
I should have tapered off by degrees, from a pro
mised support, when I saw the minister of my own
choice was acquiring a greater stability and popu
larity than I wished for : and if, when I saw an
opening to 'my own return to power at a safer pe
riod than when I had left it, I had entered into
a combination with others whom I meant also to
betray, from the sole lust of power and office, in
order to remove him ; and if, under the dominion of
these base appetites, I had then treated with ridi
cule and contempt the very man whom I just be
fore held up to the choice of my Sovereign, and the
approbation of this house and the public ; I should,
indeed, have deserved the contempt of all sound
politicians, and the execration of every honest
private man ; I should, indeed, have deserved to be
told not merely that I was hollow and insincere in
my support, but that I was mean, base, and per
fidious.
For the motion 111 ; against it 267.

May 13, 1806.
repeal op additional force bill.
Mr. Windham moved the order of the day, for the third reading
of the additional force act repeal bill.
Mr. Sheridan did not consider these constant
insinuations of gentlemen on that side of the house,
wishing to triumph over the measures or memory of
a great man, who is now no more, as being at all
justified by any part of their conduct. This was

514 [may 13,
now the fourth debate which the house had had
upon this bill. In the first, it seemed as if there
had been a council held among the opposers of it,
and that it had been resolved, " Let us attack all
the measures that have been proposed or suggested,
but let no man say a word about the bill." In that
debate they therefore cautiously abstained from
meddling with the bill itself. The second debate
was began by a military general (Sir James Pul-
teny), certainly of very high consideration. That
General, however, entirely abstained from the mi
litary view of the question, and confined himself to
its civil operation. In the third debate, both the
civil and military questions were declined, and the
argument was principally about the clause of re
funding, which was the chief subject of the right
honorable gentleman's argument upon the present
occasion. If the gentlemen on the other side of the
house had been twenty months before they could
understand their own bill, they were not to triumph
much even if they should find any omission in the
present. He did not think it quite decent of the
learned gentleman (Mr. Percival) to say, that his
right honorable friend had not read the bill that
he proposed to repeal. Since he had made that
assertion, he thought himself warranted in saying,
that the bill had been drawn up in a manner so con
fused and unintelligible, that he could not but con
sider the learned gentleman himself as the framer
of it (a laugh) ; and from the little knowledge he
discovered of that bill, he was only the more con
firmed in his opinion. The learned gentleman in
ridiculing another system said, that some men had
such an idea of the wonders that might be disco
vered, as to suppose a plough might be constructed
to do its work by itself. Now, certainly the parish
bill was not a machine of that construction, for with
forty teams of horses, or rather with forty teams of
asses (for so it seemed the parish officers were to be
described), it did no work, at all. The right he-

1806.] 315
norable gentleman had warned His Majesty's mi
nisters not to be intoxicated by the sweets of power,
nor led away by the pleasure of triumphing over the
measures of their rivals : he, therefore, thought that
he had a right, from the " bed of roses" on which
they supposed His Majesty's ministers to be placed,
to warn the gentlemen on the other side of the house
not to be too much mortified by their disappoint
ment, nor to be so excessively soured by their change
of situation, as to look on every thing in an unfavor
able light. (A laugh.) The right honorable and
learned gentleman had said, that if his right hon.
friend (Mr. Windham) would but take time to con
sider, he was sure he would change his sentiments;
aud yet the principal accusation against his right
hon. friend had been, that he had taken too much
time to consider, and that he delayed his measure
too long. The noble lord (Castlereagh") had said,
that if his wish had been to overturn the present
government, the mode he should have taken would
be to hold his tongue, and let them carry their own
measures in such a way as must completely disgust
the country. He believed, however, that that sort
of hostility was not much dreaded by His Majesty's
ministers, and that they would be better pleased
that those gentlemen should hold their tongues,
than that they should misrepresent, and endeavor
to inflame the country by those misrepresentations.
He believed that it would hardly be contended that
there was a single parish in England that had raised
its quota of men in obedience to the law ; and, there
fore, when the learned gentleman spoke so much of
the dignity of parliament requiring that the laws
should be obeyed, be should have recollected that
the parishes which violated the law, were those who
raised men contrary to the provisions of the act, and
the parishes that did not violate the law were those
who raised no men. In Leicestershire, it appeared,
there was a wholesale crimp, by whose assistance
that county procured its quota. There appearing

316 [mat IS,
to be some difference of opinion on this subject, be
tween two representatives of that country, it had
been stated, in the course of the debate on a former
night, that one of thtm did not reside in the country
he represented, and that probably his constituents
would remember that on the next general election.
He must compliment the constituents of the right
honorable gentleman who made the observation for
his residence among them. He wished, however,
to know whether he had ever seen the place he re
presented (Tralee in Ireland), or whether he knew
the name of one of his constituents? When h, was
seen, that in some districts a considerable number
of men had been got, and in other none at all, it
was impossible to suppose, that it was because there
was a great deal of loyalty and zeal in one parish,
or district, and none in that which immediately ad
joined it. 1 he reason was very different. In some
cases it was represented as necessary, in order
to support the characters of the ministers who
brought in the bill, that some men should be got,
and for that reason exertions were made to procure
them, by means that were contrary to the law. In
the parish of Marylebone, the same crimp offered
his services who had raised men for other parishes,
but. his offer was refused, as that parish did not wish
to violate the law. In St. Anne's parish, however,
they were not so nice, and they got some men. [He
then read the advertisement of the parish of St.
Anne, which began with " The largest bounty
in England for recruits," and ended with die
following postscript, " No Irishmen, Germans,
or boys, will be taken."] In St. Luke's also,
they raised some men, by adding 12/. to the go
vernment bounty. As to getting men at the
bounties fixed by government, it was impossible.
If government were to want a levy of cavalry horses,
and would allow no more than 5 or 10/. to be given
for them, the parishes might answer, that it would

1806.] 317
be as easy for them to raise as many elephants',
rhinoceroses, or any other strange animals, as to
get good horses for such a price. It was the*
same thing in the case of the recruits. There was
an utter impossibility of procuring them for the
bounties stated in the act. He felt convinced that
the right honorable framer of the bill would not
(if he were now living) support* the bill. Whea
he himself moved for the repeal of it last session*
that right, hon. gentleman expressly stated, that if
upon trial it failed to produce the men, he should
himself move for the repeal of it. The act had com
pletely failed, and in order to give the appearance
of its having partially succeeded, scandalous mea
sures were resorted to by the government. He
considered the letter of Lord Hawkesbury, of
the 31st December, as a most atrocious act, which
the right honorable gentleman (Mr. Pitt) would
never have consented to. That letter of instructions
allowed the men to be raised contrary to law, and
gave the recruiting Serjeants a privilege to libel the
regular army, and point out this additional force as
much more eligible to enlist in. As the right hon.
and learned gentleman (Mr. Perceval) had sug
gested a form, for acts of parliament to run, he also
should name a title which, would have been more
fitting for the additional force act than that which
it had been. It should rather have been called, an
act " for degrading the magistracy of the country,
for raising the bounties, perverting the public mo
rals, destroying the regular army, and encouraging .
mutiny and desertion." Such an act should be im
mediately repealed as a great evil. If he saw a
person afflicted with a wen, or a. strangury, or any
other disorder, and spoke of curing him, he did not
think he could fairly be asked, what other disorder
he proposed to substitute in its place ? Or if he
were to see a mad dog in the street, he should con
ceive himself justified in killing it, without provid
ing any substitute, for it, and this was precisely his

318 [may 13,
feeling with respect to the present bill. The fa
mous letter of Lord Hawkesbury began by stating,
" Whereas information has been received that the
additional force bill has generally failed, on account
of the negligence and supineness of the parish offi
cers." He had read all the correspondence on the
subject, and he would venture to say, that the Earl
of Essex was the only person who gave such infor
mation. The letter, therefore, began with a viola
tion of truth (in saying violation of truth, he did
not allude to the noble lord personally, but to the
act of the government), and proceeded to order the
violation of the law by increasing the bounties.
Colonel Campbell, who acted under the directions
of the secretary of state, gave notice, that there was
no occasion for being very nice in the manner the
men were raised, so they were got. It was also a
subject worthy of serious observation, that by the
law the recruit was obliged to take an oath, that he
was a native of the parish or district for which he
served. Now in the manner those recruits were
raised in distant parts of the country, it was neces
sary that perjury should be added to a violation of
the law before such recruits could be received. He
then concluded by utterly denying that he or lnV
honorable friends acted at all through hatred of the
memory of the great and illustrious man who
framed the bill. " As for me (said Mr. S.), there
were many who flattered him more than I, and
some who feared him more ; but there was no man
who had a higher respect for his transcendant talents,
his matchless eloquence, and the greatness of his
soul ; and yet it has been often my fate to have
opposed his measures. I may have considered
that there was somewhat too much of loftiness in
his mind which could not bend to advice, or scarcely
bear co-operation. I might have considered, that
as a statesman his measures weue not adequate to
the situation of the country in the present times,
but I always thought his purpose and his hope was

1806.] 319
for the greatness and security of the empire. Let
not his friends then suppose they are dealing fairly
with the house, in representing that we seek a tri
umph over the memory of that illustrious man,
when we now move the repeal of a measure, which
he would himself have repealed if he had lived. A
right honorable gentleman (Mr. Wilberforce), who
had many opportunities of knowing his intentions,
has told you that he intended to repeal it if it failed
in getting men. It has failed. Let the failure of
the measure he buried in his grave, and never re
membered in his epitaph."

July 11.
THANKS TO THE VOLUNTEERS.
Sir Henry Mildmay moved the thanks. Lord Ossulton the pre
vious question.
Mr. Sheridan — Although I could not have re
mained wholly silent during this debate, yet I
wished to have heard the sentiments Of others before
I delivered my opinion ; but what has fallen from
two honorable gentlemen who have recently spoken,
has induced me to abandon my original design, and
to avail myself of this opportunity to solicit the at
tention of the house. I am desirous to abstain from
all party allusions, and never wish to censure those
who, from early attachment, and long habit, feel a
peculiar ardor of affection for the late right honor
able gentleman (Mr. Pitt) ; but whether the right
honorable general belongs to that number, I will
not pretend to determine. I think that gallant of
ficer was not perfectly correct, when he ascribed
the impassioned exclamation of the late minister to
his regret that the affairs of the empire should be
consio-ned to the present servants of the crown : that
eminent person, no doubt, fully expected that his
own companions in office would remain in power,

320 [JULY 11,
and under this painful reflection, his anxiety for his
country is fully explained ; for what would have
become of it in such hands is sufficiently obvious. I
have not yet expressed my views of this military
subject ; but it may easily be expected of me to de
clare, that the defence of the kingdom ought not to
be entrusted exclusively to a regular army, and
history has instructed us that there never was a
country which preserved its liberties that exposed
itself to this danger ; nor, Sir, would I, on any oc
casion, give my vote to deduct one man from the
great constitutional force— the militia. Acting
under the influeoceof similar principles, I have, al
ways resisted the compulsory bills, stating it tobejthe
undoubted prerogative of His Majesty to select any
individuals from the great body of the community,
to place them in the ranks of the regular army,
and to send them to any part of the kingdom. It
is true the judges and some public officers were
excepted, but the whole of such a bill should become
a dead letter. It is not necessary that I should
now state my opinion on that subject; but I wish
distinctly to be understood, that with regard to the
volunteers I never shall vary my sentiments. I did
before move the thanks of the house to that meri
torious body, and in so doing, I gave them a pledge
of the spirit in which I would support their interest,
character, and dignity. If, Sir, they deserved
this mark of public feeling, merely for the promp
titude with which they stept forward for the de
fence of the state, how much higher are their claims
to merit, when they have done that service which
they then only intimated a disposition to perform !
With respect to the drill Serjeants, and some other
minor matters of regulation, it may be eligible to
leave these in the care to which such subjects are
officially committed. But I think the reports of
the military inspectors have been treated with a
degree of levity which is neither candid or decent.
Are we to. say, that the general officers are charge-

1806.] 321
able with misrepresentation, in order to deceive
government, to lull ministers into a consciousness of
security which is fallacious ; or are we to presume
that, as honorable men, as gentlemen, and officers,
they do render the accounts now upon, your table ?
If these be accurate, ought the volunteers to be
undervalued ? Sir, it is a fact most notorious, that
nothing made so strong an impression on the French
government during their hostile designs upon this
country, as the energy manifested by the volun
teers : the effect was equally felt by Buonaparte and
his minister Talleyrand : they saw with mortifica
tion, that the nation would be indebted for its inde
pendence to its own valor. The people of England
did not prostrate themselves and petition the sove
reign, ' O king, hire us an army, and we shall be
protected ;' but they took the weapon into their own
hands, to wield it in their own cause. 1 fairly say,
that as the motion is now Worded, I cannot vote
for it. I shall therefore, before I sit down, submit
to the house a middle proposition, not liable to the
same objections with the original proposition. What
were the motives of the honorable gentleman in the
form in which they have shaped this motion, 1 would
not prejudge ; but they may very correctly be as
certained by the spirit in which they receive the
variation I shall suggest.
What were the motives of the honorable gentleman
in the form in Which they have shaped this motion,
I would not prejudge ; but they may very correctly
be ascertained by the spirit in which they receive
the variations I shall suggest. The passage to which
I object is retrospective ; the language is, ' it is ne
cessary now to declare ;' why is it ' necessary now,'
Unless something has been done indicative of a dif
ferent temper to that which the motion is intended
to exhibit ? Is it admitted on all sides, that if my
right honorable friend (Mr. Windham) has inti
mated any thing at all injurious to the volunteers, it
is confined to mere expressions. In his acts (A cry
VOL. V. Y

322 [july 6,
of hear hear ! occasioned some pause)^ in his acts I
repeat, it is admitted on all sides by those who have
spoken (and those who only tell me their sentiments
by this sort of clamor, it is not possible I should
understand), he has done nothing which can justly
be deemed prejudicial. But has no dexterity been
employed to pervert his meaning? — Have no arti
fices been resorted to, to proclaim what gentlemen
on the other side would effect to suppress and to
conceal? Sir, I will frankly confess, that formerly
I have had differences with my right honorable
friend on this subject. He, perhaps, in the heat of
debate, and in the ebulition of wit, used stronger
terms than his deliberate judgment would have em
ployed ; and possibly, having altered his situation,
he is not disposed to shew, that this change has go
verned his opinions. I have these before me in re
view, when I observe that no enmity has been ex
cited between the regulars and the volunteers, by
the rank the latter have acquired ; as far as my ex
perience extends, they have treated each other with
decorum and respect : if any superiority may be
claimed by the officers of the line, the same sort of
precedence may be demanded by the privates of the
volunteers, so that there is a kind of balance which
precludes discontent. The motion I should wish
now to substitute, would be similar to another to
which I have already referred : * That the thanks of
this house be given to the several corps of yoemanry
and volunteers, from the promptitude and zeal with
which they have stood forward for the defence of
the country in the moment of public danger.' This
motion was acceded to without a dissentient voice ;
and I am not aware how those who concurred in
that proposition, can consistently, resist that which
I shall presently recommend. It has been said, that
rumours are abroad that the government designs
to discourage the volunteers: these vague reports,
however, met by a distinct avowal by my right ho
norable friend, that the measure to which he has

1806.] 323
resorted will increase and cannot diminish their
numbers. Whether the training bill is calculated
to have this beneficial effect, it is not my present
business to enquire : but, be they just, or incorrect,
rumors have prevailed, and an idea has gone forth,
that administration is unfriendly to the volunteer
system ; and no more successful means can be em
ployed to prevent any misconstruction with regard
to the intentions of ministers and parliament, than
a vote of thanks, couched in terms expressive of
the sense entertained of the important services of
the volunteers. Again they say, why do you not
thank the navy and army as well as the volunteers ?
Sir, the army and navy cannot be insensible of the
estimation in which they are held by this house, and
by the country in general : and they are sufficiently
and properly convinced of their own importance ;
they know we cannot dispense with the protection
they afford. The volunteers are not so firmly per
suaded, that they receive the applause they deserve,
and perhaps, they feel too diffident an opinion of
their own utility. Besides, the army and navy can
not disband themselves at pleasure ; the volunteers
may, from some real or supposed provocation ; and
this is the serious evil I am most solicitous to avoid :
by the vote I have proposed, all misunderstanding
will be prevented. From these considerations I am
very desirous that the honorable member should
withdraw his motion. I think he must see that the
effect of it, in its present shape, must be to attach
a stigma on ministers; and what is yet more objec
tionable, on the house itself, for the legislative regu
lations it has already adopted, applicable to the mi
litary system. If the intention be purely, simply,
and honestly to impart to the volunteers a convic
tion of the favorable sentiments of this house to
wards them, let them present the motion in a point
of view which will induce this sideof the house to
concur with them ; if under this ostensible design
they have other concealed motives, it will be in vain.
y 2

324 [fee. 20,
to expect this uniformity. So little do I disap
prove of the general character of the motion, that
I should have been happy to have seen it introduced
as a preamble to one of the bills of military regu
lation, brought in by my honorable friend (Mr.
Windham.) Perhaps the style adopted when the
thanks of the house were voted to Sir Charles
Gray and Sir John Jervis, on the 20th of May,
1794, would not be objectionable, " This house
continues to retain a cordial sense of the zeal and
spirit of the yeomanry and volunteers." Whatever
may be the result of the proceedings of this night,
I will confidently assert, that in any former period
in the history of this country, there never was a
body of men who deserved more the gratitude of
the nation, who merited more highly its love, respect
and veneration ; and nothing can be more becoming
the house of commons, than by a solemn act to re
cord this effusion of public sentiment.
For the previous question 89 ; against it 39.

February 20, 1807.
WESTMINSTER ELECTION.
Mr. Sheridan rose, pursuant to notice, to move
that the order for the appointment of a committee
to consider the petition upon this subject should be
discharged, with a view to move for the further
postponement. The right honorable gentleman
was so much of opinion, from what had passed
when last this question was before the house, that
a motion for further postponement would be imme
diately assented to if required, that he confessed he
heard with considerable surprise of the intention to
oppose the motion, particularly on the part of the
noole lord (Folkstone), by whom a similar proposi
tion was last submitted to the house. Had he hap
pened to have stood iu the predicament of being

1807.] 325
unable to bring forward such a motion, he really
thought that the noble lord would have been ready
to propose it himself: at least he felt that he would
be warranted, from the noble lord's former Ian-.
guage and conduct, in relying upon his readiness to
second him in this proposition. Of the grounds of
this reliance, and the justice of his opinion, the house
would be able to judge from a short review of the
history of the case. When the petition before the
house was presented, which was about the 23d of
December, the first or second day after any petitions
could be received, the noble lord announced the de
sire of the petitioners that the earliest day possible
should be appointed for the ballot, and that they
were ready at once to go before a committee. Ac
cordingly the 30th of January was appointed : but,
notwithstanding the declaration of the noble lord,
and the publicly proclaimed resolution of the peti
tioners, he received, not many days afterwards, a
note from the noble lord, stating, that it was
thought a mistake he presented the petition so soon,
and that the parties were not ready to go into the
investigation on the day originally appointed. The
noble lord, therefore, requested his consent to a fur
ther postponement, as a matter of personal accom
modation to himself, and a matter of justice to
wards the petitioners, who would otherwise suffer
through his error. Having had an acquaintance
with the noble lord, he was certainly disposed to ac
commodate him, but yet he felt himself bound, be
fore he complied with the noble lord's request, to
consult the opinion of his friends, and they decidedly
objected to the delay required.1 However, when he
came down to the house upon the day appointed
for the motion, the noble lord applied to him again ;
and ag*ain asking his consent to the motion as a per
sonal favor, he did grant it. So far as he had gone,
he believed the noble lord could not say, that what
he had stated was not strictly true. But as to the
conversation which took place the day the noble lord's

326 [FEB. 20,
motion of postponement was agreed to, he held in his
hand a document which contained it. He knew that
he could not distinctly allude to the evidence he had
adduced, because, according to the orders of that
house, strangers were understood to be excluded.
But somehow a memorandum of what was said on
the day alluded to, did find its way into print, and
certainly it was detailed with considerable accuracy.
In looking over this memorandum, it would be seen
that all the arguments advanced by the noble lord
made against his motion, and of course it was a very
natural inference that the motion owed its success
to something else. That something was his con
currence — and he recollected very well, as it ap
peared from this memorandum, that he mentioned at
the time of his apprehension that the 24th of Fe
bruary would go too near the circuits, which would
render a farther postponement necessary, as his
counsel would be out of town. Such was his state
ment then, and it was only upon the express condi
tion that farther delay would be acceded to if ne
cessary, that he gave his assent to the noble lord's
motion. This he could aver from his own memory,
but there were not less than twenty or thirty gentle
men present, who also heard the noble lord, and who
could bear testimony to the noble lord's observa
tion. The noble lord did state upon that occasion,
that when he mentioned the 24th of February, he
was not aware that the circuits were so near, and
that if that day should in consequence become in
convenient, there could be no objection to a farther
postponement. This declaration the noble lord was
understood to have made by several friends near
him. The house, he had no doubt, would agree
with him in thinking, that when the petitioners
urged the noble lord to move for the former post
ponement, on the ground that they did not wish for
the trial on an early day, that the noble lord was not
aware of the resolution relative to a speedy trial,
which these petitioners had just before published,

1807.] 327
and in all probability the noble lord was equally
unaware of this circumstance, that the counsel for
the petitioners did not go any circuit, while those
retained on his part did. But of this the petitioners
were fully apprised, and they would fain urge him
to trial without the advantage of his counsel It
might be asked, why he did not make this proposi
tion of postponement somewhat sooner. He womd
candidly answer, because, as he stated before, when
this subject was under consideration, he really did
not think the petition would be persisted in, but
from what he had heard of their proceedings within
the last few weeks, he was led to believe that his op
ponents were much more sanguine, even than he
suspected, and that they were resolved to persevere.
Upon the whole, however, the right honorable gen
tleman could not persuade himself to suppose that
that house would call on any gentleman to enter
upon such an important investigation stripped of the
aid of his counsel ; and he could not help observing
that the attempt to take advantage of him in this
instance, was not a very liberal return for the man
ner in which he gave way to the noble lord's motion
upon a former occasion. But his manner of acting
towards the noble lord and his friends in this tran
saction was, that which perhaps few men would be
ready to imitate.
Ayes 162 ; noes 12.
March 17.
ABOLITION OE SLAVERY.
Lord Percy moved for leave to bring in a bill for the gradual
abolition of slavery in the West Indies.
Mr. Sheridan having anxiously expected that
the bill passed the preceding night was the preamble
of the ultimate measure of emancipation, thought
that he should be guilty of the grossest inconsistency
in fiving a silent vote on the present question.
With these sentiments he need scarcely say, that

328 [march 17,
the noble earl had his thanks for having directed
the attention of the house to this important subject,
even at that early period. The noble earl's state
ment had been misrepresented. He had never pro
posed to enfranchise the living negroes ; his mea
sure, as he understood him, was to commence with
infants born after a period, which would remain a
matter of future parliamentary discussion. The
planters were entitled to fair dealing on this sub
ject. If the house meant to say, that by abolishing
the slave trade they had done all that duty de
manded, and that they would leave the emancipa
tion of the slaves to the hazard of fortuitous circum
stances, let them be explicit, and say so ; but if
there lurked in any man's mind a secret desire to
proceed in that business, a secret conviction that
more ought to be done than had been done, it was
unmanly, it was dishonorable, not to speak out. For
one he would boldly declare that he had further
views; he hoped that the young nobleman who had
done his, feelings so much credit, by the proposition
which he had that evening made, would stand to his,
ground, If he persevered in the pursuit of his ob
ject with the same zeal as his right honorable friend
opposite had done, he had no doubt that he would
meet with the same success, An honorable baronet
had talked of a cloven foot ; he pleaded guilty to
the cloven foot, but he would say that of the man
who expressed pleasure at the hope of seeing so large
a portion of the human race freed from the shackles
of tyranny ; it ought rather to be said, that he had
displayed the pennon of an angel than the cloven
foot of a demon. It was true no immediate con
nection existed between the abolition of the slave
tiade and the abolition of slavery, but the same feel
ings must be roused by the consideration of both
questions ; and he who detested the one practice
must also detest the other. He did not like to hear
the term property applied to the subjects of a free
country. Could man become the property of man?

1807.] 329
A colony emancipating from the free constitution of
England must carry with it the principles of that
constitution, and could no more shake off its well
known allegiance to the constitution than it could
shake off its allegiance to the sovereign. He trusted
that the planters might be induced to lead the way
on the subject of emancipation ; but he cautioned
the bouse against being too sanguine on this subject.
Were the planters themselves always resident on
the islands, he should have greater hopes ; but it
was not probable that because cargoes of human
misery were no longer to be landed on their shores,
that because their eyes were to be no longer glutted
with the sight of human suffering, or their ears
pierced with the cries of human distraction in any
further importation of negroes, that the slave-drivers
would soon forget their fixed habits of brutality, and
learn to treat the unhappy wretches in their charge
with clemency and compassion. Slavery would
not wear itself out ; it would become more rigid,
unless the legislature became more vigilant, and re
minded tjie planters of the new duty that had fallen
upon them, of rearing the young slaves in such a
manner, that they might be worthy of freedom.
Adverting to the quotation from Gibbon, he con
tended, that the slavery of the West Indies was un
like any other slavery ; it was peculiarly unlike the
slavery of antient days, when the slaves frequently
attained to the highest dignities; Esop, Terence,
and Seneca were slaves. Was there a possibility
that any of the unfortunate negroes now in the West
Indies should emulate such men ? It might be dan-
o-erous to give freedom to the slaves in a mass, but
that it was not dangerous to give it to them in de-
dail, was sufficiently proved by a little pamphlet
that had been put into his hands the preceding
night, in which it was stated, that a Mr. David Bar
clay, to his eternal honor be it spoken, who had him
self been a slave-owner in Jamaica, and who, re
gretting that he had been so, on a bequest of slaves

330 [march 18,
being made to him, emancipated them, caused them
to be conveyed to Pennsylvania, where they were
properly instructed, and where their subsequent ex
emplary conduct was the general theme of admira
tion. With this fact before him, should he be told
that he must give up all hope of abolishing slavery 5
No, he would never give it up. He would exclaim
with the poet, in the words of the motto of the pam
phlet which he had mentioned,
" I would not have a slave to till my ground,
" To fan me when I sleep, and tremble when
" I wake, for all that human sinews bought
" And sold, have ever earu'd."
Sir C. Pole moved tlwt the house be counted, and only 35 mem-
ters being present it was adjourned.

March 18.
WESTMINSTER ELECTION.
Lord H. Petty moved, that the Westminster Petition be now
taken into consideration.
Mr. Sheridan rose and said, that he was aware
that standing in the situation he did, he was en
titled to comment, to remark on, and to sum up,
all the evidence that had been adduced in support
of the allegations contained in the petition now be
fore the house ; he should, however wave that right,
the evidence was in the hands of every member of
that house, and he was not anxious, if he could do so,
to add to the impression testimony of such a nature
must have already produced ; he would content
himself with one remark which was, that that evi
dence, weak and futile as it was, did not say more
to its own confusion than would have been proved
by witnesses unimpeachable, which he, (Mr. She
ridan) had the house thought it necessary, was ready
to bring forward. As an instance, he should men
tion merely Mr. Weatherhead himself. When an
inquiry was made as to bis services in the navy, he

1807.] 331
confessed himself not quite satisfied with the return
of the navy office. A noble lord (Folkestone), was
equally dissatisfied, but upon different grounds. The
noble lord seemed to think that this Mr. Weather-
head had been calumniated, and accordingly the
noble lord moved for a return at once more exact
and comprehensive. What had been the issue of
this attempt to rescue the character of this Mr. Wea-
therhead from this supposed slander ? Why, in
truth, no more than this : that he, Mr. Weather-
head, had not served in one ship only, but in twelve
or thirteen, that he had continued in one a year, in
another ship three months, in a third a month, in a
fourth three weeks, and in a fifth five days ; running,
as it were, the gauntlet of the British navy ; for it
appeared that he had been actually guilty of deser
tion from each ship, though in the first return it
appeared that he had deserted but once. But it
was not more difficult to fix the station of this naval
officer to a certain ship, than to fix his birth to a cer
tain place ; he had the singular good fortune to be
born at a number of different places (A laugh) ; he
was first at Newcastle, he was born at Morpeth,
and after some other birth he was brought forth in
London (A loud laugh). But there was another
slight ground of objection to the character of this
witness ; in the month of September, 1803, he pe
titioned to be examined for a lieutenancy, and to the
recommendatory certificate of the different captains
under whom he served, there was but one objection,
namely, that they were all discovered to be forge
ries. He was not anxious to press upon the house
the gross and flagrant contradictions and absurdities
in the evidence they had heard ; he did not wish to
expose the miserable wretches to the just rigor of
the honest indignation they had so universally ex
cited ; but he would put it to the feelings of that
house, whether it was not necessary to inquire how
far those wretches had been the tools of a conspi
racy; how far it was the duty of any agent or agente

332 [Are. 7,
to inquire into the nature of the testimony and the
character of the witnesses, more especially in a case
where this evidence went directly to affect the seat
of a member of parliament, to mention nothing of
the danger or propagating groundless slander against
a privy counsellor. It was for the house to consider
how for the agents are responsible for employing
wretches as substantial evidence, whose character
they might have learned (had they been ignorant of
it) in the neighbourhood of Bow-street, Hatton-
garden, and Newgate ; but he should abstain, he
would keep his word with the house and not enter
into any remark upon the evidence. He had an
idea of submitting some motion for the purpose of
investigating the charge of conspiracy ; he should,
however, in compliance with the suggestions of
those right honorable friends, whose superior judg
ment was with him decisive, give way, and should
now through a sense of delicacy retire, leaving his
cause with confidence to the house, assured as he
was, that the house would with becoming dignity
assert its own character and honor, in doing so, pre
serve his.
Mr. Sheridan immediately withdrew.

August 7, 1807.
THTRD READING OP IRISH ARMS BILL.
Mr. Sheridan declared it was a matter of
astonishment to hear the question called for by
something like a general voice. He had noticed
the motion of his honorable friend, and the ability
with which he had supported it, and he had noticed
most attentively the eloquent and unanswerable ar
guments of his honorable and learned friend (Sir A.
Pigot), and many other honorable gentlemen; he
certainly did think, that something would have been
said in answer to them ; he certainly did think that
something like an answer would have been at-

1807.] 333
tempted ; he certainly did think that gentlemen on
the other side would have condescended to have said
something in favor of their own measure, after it had
been overwhelmed almost with such a torrent of
argument. But if ever Ireland was at "once injured
and insulted, it was that night; he conceived the
silence of ministers on this occasion to be an injus
tice to the measure itself, whilst it evinced a total
disregard of the gentlemen who spoke upon the sub
ject, and through them insulted and outraged the
feelings of the people of Ireland. The gentlemen
who spoke upon the subject, pleaded the cause of
the injured constitution of Ireland. They pleaded
that cause in the most moderate and persuasive
terms, and yet the most sullen silence prevailed
throughout the whole body of His Majesty's minis
ters ; they gave a blank instead of argument. Even
on the introduction of the bill, when it was unavoid
able to say something in support of the measure, the
Attorney- General did not pretend to say, that he
knew any thing of the existence of any facts, the
existence of which was necessary to justify the
adoption of such a measure ; no, but he had heard
something by rumor somewhere, about the existence
of some such circumstances. The Chancellor of the
Exchequer was equally ignorant, but he had also
heard of something that he believed had a strong
tendency to resemble insurrection. Then, with re
spect to the bill itself, when he looked at it, compared
it with that which had lately passed the house, he
must say that if the former seemed odious in its form
and substance, this was ten thousand times more so,
it was really most abominable. But at the same
time, as if it were meant to make the measure both
odious and ridiculous, it was so constructed, as that
it would plunder the people of their arms, and put
down the trade of a blacksmith. Nothing like a
blacksmith was to exist in Ireland, lest he might
possibly form something like a pike. If ever there
was an instance in which the liberties of a loyal peo-

334 [AUG. 7,
pie were taken from them, and they were thereby
tempted to become disloyal, it was the present.
Indeed, from the general spirit with which the bill
was framed, he thought there was something still
wanting, and he should propose to add a clause by
way of rider to this bill, making it high treason for
any man to communicate either of these bills to
Napoleon Buonaparte, Emperor of the French, lest
he should conceive them to be direct invitations to
him to visit that part of his Majesty's empire. He
had already noticed the silence of the gentlemen op
posite him ; but if they should now think proper to
drop a word or two, when he considered the high
political character, the extraordinary virtue, and
the vastly extensive powers of argument of those
gentlemen, he should think himself highly honored
indeed, if they should design to take the most trifling
notice of any thing that fell from him. He now hap
pened to recollect what was said by a right honor
able gentleman, to whose opinions they all deferred
(Mr. Grattan), that notwithstanding he voted for the
present measure with all its defects, rather than lose
it altogether, yet that gentleman said, that he hoped
to secure the reversionary interest of the constitu
tion to Ireland. But when we saw that the consti
tution was suspended from the year 1796 to the pre
sent period, and that it was now likely to be conti
nued for three years longer, the danger was that we
might lose the interest altogether; when we were
mortgaged for such a length of time, at last a fore
closure might take place. But what had been done
for the protection of Ireland ? an experienced mili
tary officer, the Secretary of State for that country,
had been sent up the Baltic. (The Chancellor of
the Exchequer said, across the table, no, secretary
to the lord lieutenant.) Mr. Sheridan then said, he
felt himself highly honored indeed by that correc
tion of a supposed error. If the right honorable
gentlemen meant to say, that the worthy baronet
(Sir A. Wellesley) was too insignificant, he would

1807.J 335
defend the honorable baronet against the imputation
of that right honorable gentleman. The baronet was
secretary to the representative of His Majesty,
and a military man ; he was sent up the Baltic,
and you garrisoned Ireland with two arbitrary acts
of Parliament.

August 8.
publicans' bill.

Mr. Sheridan moved the second reading of
this bill. He could adduce, he said, instances of
the most atrocious oppression practised by the ma
gistrates on individuals of this trade ; he did not
say designedly, but from carelessness and inatten
tion. All that he wished was, that, when a publi-r
can was charged with an act which was to be es
teemed sufficient to deprive him of his license, he
should be informed of the nature of the crime im
puted to him, and should be heard in his defence ;
not that he and his family should be deprived of
their livelihood by a whisper. This, he maintained,
was not a situation in which an Englishman should
be placed. It had, he believed, been objected
against him (Mr. Sheridan), that this was the mode
he had taken of canvassing Westminster. How
truly this was alleged might be gathered from this
simple fact, that one of the first measures moved by
him in parliament was of a similar nature. Shortly
after the riots in 1 780, he himself originated a mea
sure against the Westminster justices, in which he
nad the satisfaction of being supported by a most
respectable minority. Shortly after this, the late
Duke of Northumberland put an additional number
of gentlemen into the commission of the peace,
among the rest himself (Mr. Sheridan). General
Fitzpatrick, Lord B. Spencer, and other gentlemen
on that side of the house, finding, during the imme
diately succeeding election for Westminster, that

336 [AUG." 8,'
the publicans, through fear of the magistrates, all
of whom were in the interest of government, could
not be induced to open any houses in favor of Mr.
Fox, though they had not previously been qualified
themselves as magistrates, they resolved to do so,
and immediately advertised, promising their protec
tion to such publicans as should act impartially by
opening their houses for the independent candidate.
In this determination they could only find one of the
existing magistrates who would join them, and add
his name to their corps — (a laugh from the ministe
rial benches.) Gentlemen, Mr. Sheridan remarked,
might, if they pleased, think it a subject of congra
tulation, and that it conferred honor and respectabi
lity on the magistracy of Westminster, that not more
than one man could be found among them to add his
name to a resolution expressive of their determina
tion to act fairly and impartially. He had only
stated this, however, to shew that the present was
not an idea which he had now taken up for the first
time. He had prepared a bill on the subject while
he was treasurer of the navy ; and so far was it from
being an election trick on his part, that he did not
mention the subject during the last election till the
12th day of the poll, whereas, had he meant it as a
theme through which to court popularity, he would
have set out with it from beginning. If it was de
sired, he should be ready in the committee to go into
a string of cases, the substantiating of any one of
which he was convinced, must render it impossible
for gentlemen of honor, feeling, or humanity, to
doubt on the propriety of what he proposed. He
proceeded to state the case of a woman, whose father
aud mother had been for sixty years in one house, in
which they had uniformly maintained an unblemished
character. She had succeeded to her parents, and
supported in it, with the same propriety, a family
of seven children, five of whom were entirely de
pendent on her industry. Being summoned before
the magistrates, and informed that they could not

1807.] 337
hew her licence; on her attempting to remonstrate,
the only satisfaction she could procure was " wo
man, you have had your answer." Her licence
was accordingly withdrawn, and she and her family
Were now reduced to a state of extreme poverty
and distress. This case was not unknown to, and
had attracted the commiseration of a noble lord and
right honorable gentleman ; but he (Mr. Sheridan)
denied that it was consistent with the constitution
of this country that any man, in any profession, was
to be told, that at the discretion of any one man, he
and his family were to be deprived of their liveli
hood, and reduced to misery. He had, he declared,
thirty instances of a similar kind, which he should,
if required, bring forward in the committee. He
had several instances too, of persons having been
deprived of their licences for voting for Sir Francis
Burdett, for Middlesex : they had even been told
that this was the reason ; and, he would ask, were
publicans at the will of a magistrate, to be deprived
of the free exercise of the elective franchise more
than the other inhabitants of this country ? He al
luded to another case which had occurred at Ful-
ham, where a house, remarkable for the usual deco
rum of its keeper, had been deprived of the licence,
merely because on one occasion, a few Welsh girls
returning to their own country, had been indulged
with a fiddle and a hobble. These were arbitrary
powers, which, he submitted, were' not fit to rest
with one or two individuals, without the person ac
cused beirig acquainted with the Charge against him,
and allowed to defend himself. Neither, he main
tained, was it even then fit that they should exist
without appeal. All he asked was, that every per
son so accused should have the charge against him
furnished to him in writing, and that he should be
heard in his defence; and, afterwards, that he
should have it in his power to appeal to the quarter
sessions. He could not think it possible but that
the magistrates themselves must be pleased that an
VOL. V. Z

338 [aug. 8,
appeal lay from their decision. If not actuated by
personal motives, the knowledge of such appeal
must be consolatory to their feelings: all he wished
at present was, that the bill should extend to Mid
dlesex and Surrey. He confessed that he had re
ceived letters which would do more than cover the
table, containing similar complaints from every part
of the country, so that he might be fortified in main
taining that the alteration should extend throughout.
But still, high as was the respect in which he held
Mr. Graham, and one or two others of the Westr
minster and Middlesex magistrates, he could not
so far shut his eyes as to put them on a level with
the independant country magistrates. The former
held their places, for which they received an emolu
ment, at the will and pleasure of His Majesty's Mi
nisters ; while the latter exercised a gratuitous, and
burdensome duty. There was another subject, which
he had alluded to elsewhere, and before an auditory
far more numerous than that which he had now the
honor to address, namely, the power exercised by
brewers over publicans, by being proprietors of pub
lic houses, &c. With all the regard which he felt
for many gentlemen connected in the brewing bu
siness, this was a practice which he was aware,
ought to be checked, if not abolished. Nothing
was more clear than this, that brewers might meet
together, agree that they would not interfere with
the houses which were held under the dominion of
each ; and in the manner they had it in their power
to impose whatever trash they pleased on the poor
— an expression which he did not like in the accep
tation in which it was frequently received—more
propsrly, on the laborious part of" the community.
What they had after labor was of as much conse-*
quence to their health, and to their existence, as
food. It was, therefore, an object well deserving
the interference of the legislature, to see that impro
per means were not resorted to, to disappoint them
of it. The period of the session, however, would

1807.] 339
not allow time for so extensive a regulation. All
that he now desired was to provide that a man,
merely because he was a publican, should not be
ruined, and his family turned on the parish, with
out having an opportunity of knowing what was
charged against him. , He concluded by moving,
that the bill be now read a second time.
Mr. Moore recommended, as more enquiry seemed necessary, that
the bill should be withdrawn, rather than let it go to a division.
Mr. Sheridan professed his disposition to yield
to whatever appeared to be the general wish of the
house, and therefore he should comply with the request
of his honorable friend (Mr. Moore) to. any sugges
tion from whom he should be always happy to at
tend. At the same time he could not help noticing
the surprise expressed by the right honorable gen
tleman (the Chancellor of the Exchequer), that he
should have brought forward this bill at so late a
period of the session. What, said Mr. Sheridan,
the right honorable gentleman, who has surprised
the house and the country so much himself ; he who
has surprised the house at a late period of the ses
sion with his plan of government for Ireland ; Who
has surprised it with his new military project ; who
has surprised it by proposing to suspend that highly
laudable and universally praised system, the plan of
enlisting for a limited time. And yet, that after all
the right honorable gentleman should talk to me of
surprising the house. But among all his surprises
there was one surprise which he could not produce,
namely% that of surprising him (Mr. S.) by opposing
this bill ; for he suspected it.
The right honorable gentleman proceeded to state
the manner in which he had acted with a view to
produce a satisfactory bill. First, he drew up a
bill such as some gentlemen now professed to wish
for, combining the case of brewers owning public
houses with that before the house respectively ; but
then objections arose, to which he yielded, in pro
posing to make those the objeets of separate bills.

340 [AUG. 8f
Again he proposed to make the bill general ; but
to this very great difficulties were suggested ; he
found many men, and magistrates particularly, who
were willing to let him do what he pleased with
Middlesex and Surrey, provided he let the re
mainder of the county alone. He therefore endea
vored to make a beginning of that reform in those
counties, which so many gentleman have professed
to desire to extend to all England. But a com
mittee of inquiry was required previous to the in
troduction of such a bill as this. He, however,
would beg those who desired such a committee, to
reflect upon the expense and trouble that must
attend such a committee ; to consider if witnesses
were to be summoned from all parts of England and
Wales, what time such a committee must last, and
when it was likely to end ? Each case would, in
fact, be a suit before the committee, for he should
propose to do that with regard to the magistrates,
which they, under the existing law, declined to do
towards the publicans ; that is, he should have the
magistrates apprized of any ground of complaint
urged against them, and afforded the opportunity of
vindicating themselves. What time, then, would
such an investigation occupy ? As to the cases he
had adverted to upon this occasion, the right honor
able gentleman stated, that they were but a few out
of a large mass, and while gentlemen called for
deliberation and delay, he could assure them and
the house, that many persons were starving in jail
in consequence of the law which he proposed to
correct. There was one case in particular into
which he believed a right honorable gentleman
(Mr. Rose) had made inquiry, and which he knew
was peculiarly oppressive, namely, that of Mrs.
Unthank. The case of Mr. John Morris, a respec
table man, who had a shop over the way in King
Street, furnished the strongest grounds of complaint.
This Mr. Morris, for whom, from his own know
ledge of him, he could not hesitate to avow tha

1807.] 341
utmost respect, was deprived of his licence by the
magistrates, merely because his house was to be
taken down in order to make some coxcomical im
provement about Westminster Abbey ; to shew that
building to the members as they came down to the
house. But he had communicated the case of Mr.
Morris to the Treasury, and he hoped for redress.
There was also one with regard to a Mr. Bignall, of
the Broadway, Westminster, whose license was
withdrawn by the magistrates, upon grounds which
they would not explain, and the poor man finding
every effort to procure redress unavailing, abso
lutely died of a broken heart about a fortnight since,
leaving a helpless family to deplore his fate. With
such facts before him, he did not think it too much
to propose this' temperate measure. However, as
the opinion was so strongly expressed, that if such a
bill was necessary, it should be made general, he
should acquiesce in the wish for time to inquire into
the subject. He hoped and trusted, that by the
next session petitions would pour in from all quar
ters, praying the removal of the existing grievances,
and that such petitions would be presented by the
highest authority, by that of the county represen
tatives of the respective petitioners. For himself,
he should for the present only say, that which was
only a repetition of what he had said before, that
while he had a seat in that house, he should ever be
found an advocate of the weak against the strong,
and of the helpless against those who had the power,
and he was sorry to say too often the will, to oppress
them. The bill was withdrawn.

August 13.
state of ireland.

Mr. Sheridan rose to diake his promised mo
tion, and spoke in substance as follows : I rise, Sir,

342 [aug. 13
under some degree of apprehension that from the
lateness of the hour, and the quantity of less im
portant business which the house has already gone
through, I may be felt to trespass on your atten
tion ; but it was, I assure you, not less my inten
tion this night, than it was on Monday, to address
you at a much earlier hour of the evening, had other
business permitted. The lateness of the hour on
Monday was indeed one of the causes which induced
me to postpone my motior&intil this evening ; and I
cannot but regret that on this, the last day, nay the last
hour of the session, it should become necessary for me
to arrest your attention ; because I know that at such
a time to delay your sitting cannot be agreeable to
your feelings or to your habits. I am aware that it
must have somewhat of an ungracious appearance
to postpone your separation at such a season ; and
believe me I am as willing to enjoy the benefits of
that separation as any one among you ; but I am
too strongly impelled by a call of imperious duty to
yield to any desire of accommodation. The neces
sity which gave rise to that call was not created by
me ; nor was the postponement of the proposition I
am about to submit, from Monday to this late
period, by any means my fault. The propriety of
adopting it is to my conviction rendered perfectly
obvious by the circumstances of the two bills which
you have recently passed with regard to Ireland.
When you have determined to suspend the constitu
tion and laws of Ireland, is it not reasonable to
propose to you some inquiry into the causes alleged
for such suspension, and how far such causes are
removeable ; is it not wise, when you are sending
such acts to Ireland, to communicate at the same
time such assurances of your resolution to take the
state of that country into your consideration ? I am
confident that such conduct would be at once con
sistent with policy and humanity, and that much of
the apprehension and irritation which those aets of
parliament may be naturally expected to produce,

1807.., 343
would be mitigated if accompanied by the adoption
of a motion of the nature of that which I hold in
my hand.
With regard to the intentions entertained by the
last administration, to propose two acts similar to
those I allude to, of to the character of the persons
to whom the execution of the extraordinary powers
which these acts confer, might be intrusted by either
the late or the present government, it is my inten
tion to say very little indeed. Because I do not wish
to touch upon any topic of irritation, I Will not
enter much into comparisons. My hope and desire
is to obtain an unanimous assent to the motion, as
unanimity is necessary to give it complete effect. I
shall abstain Cautiously from any thing that resem
bles invidious distinction. I know that to no set of
men could power have beep more safely confided
than to the members of the late administration. I
am sure that in the hands of none would power have
been less liable to abuse; and whatever my disincli
nation to comparison may be, to them cannot be
denied this just distinction, that power might have
been granted tp them with the less reluctance, as
they manifested a disposition to accompany its ex
istence by every means of concession and concili
ation. When I reflect in whom the potvef of these
acts was to have bee"rt invested in Ireland ; when1 I
Consider that it was to have been exercised by the
Duke of Bedford, who Was not likely to call it into
action, unless the necessity was irresistible, and who
was in no case likely to abuse it, I must feel that he
was peculiarly entitled to confidence. The Charac
ter of that nobleman formed a guarantee against the
apprehension of abused authority. But I have great
respect for his successor also (the Duke of Rich
mond). I know that nobleman well enough, to be
certain that he has no disposition to cruelty, that he
has no malignant passion to gratify, and that he is
aboVe being affected by that gloomy suspicion, or
party rancor, whieh might unnecessarily call for the

344 [AUG. 13,
execution, and materially embitter the operation of
such power as these acts ordain. I have no doubt
that this nobleman will follow the wise example,
will be actuated by the same liberal principles,
which served to render his illustrious predecessor so
much the object of panegyric and attachment. I
should not, therefore, be very materially influenced
as to a comparison of persons in power, as to my
opinion of the manners and unconstitutional powers
which characterise these bills. I am adverse to the
principle of such measures, and could never be per
suaded to accede to them, unless the necessity were
strong and glaring indeed. Upon Monday last I
had an opportunity of shewing my motion to several
gentlemen on both sides of the house, and had the
satisfaction of observing a general disposition to
concur in its principle and object. But some gen
tlemen expressing a wish for time to consider its
structure and tendency, I was therefore for post*
poning the motion until this day, influenced by the
request of those who required such a time, in the
hope that consideration would serve to remove their
doubts and secure their support. In this opinion at
least, I acquiesced in the proposed delay, that the
effect of it would be to produce the proposition per
haps of some remedy for any defect in the motion,
but that delay and deliberation must determine every
man in favor of its main object. Retaining still a
little of that hope and opinion I do not think it ne»
cessary to take up so much of your time, by enter
ing into a detail of the reasons which have induced
me to bring forward the motion, and which should
urge you to adopt it. Indeed I cannot conceive a
ground upon which the rejection of such a motion
can be justified and I am not bound to conjure up
objections or anticipate arguments, upon the strength
of which no reasoning man can rely. It is impos
sible that any thinking man should seriously insist
upon as an objection to any motion, that which I
have heard on other occasions, namely, that danger

1807.] 345
was to be apprehended from the discussion of such
affairs in this house ; that it is a topic which ought
to be touched as little and as seldom as possible.
But I deprecate such a ground of opposition, as full
of error and mischief. You conceive that until we
get compl tely rid of the folly and fallacy of such
an objection, it will be quite impossible for us to
apply a remedy to the disorders of that country, and
for this obvious reason, that we cannot know the
nature of their disorders. What! that we should
go on legislating for Ireland in the dark : that we
should reject light and information upon a subject
to which we are called upon to apply the law, and
that law too most penal and severe in its character!
When I hear the ministers of the crown declaring
without shame, that they know nothing of the state
of Ireland ; — when I hear the same declaration
from the law officers; — when, in fact, no man can
speak decisively upon the subject, is it possible, I
would ask, to devise a stronger argument than such
declared ignorance suggests, to urge the united par
liament to an investigation of this important ques
tion ? It is not consistent with even the decent ap
pearance of respect for the rights, interests, and li
nt rties of the people of Ireland, to legislate for that
country in such total ignorance, or at least, such
inconsistent contradictory information as we have
before us. We have heard one set of gentlemen
assert that Ireland is perfectly tranquil, loyal, and
united, and this assertion is corroborated by the
authority of a noble lord (Hawkesbury) in the other
house of parliament (A cry of order from the chair),
then by a noble lord in another place ; and with
such authority before us, is it right that the consti
tution of Ireland should be suspended ? But further
in support of the allegation -that Ireland is undis
turbed, and requires not such an act. I find that
in a very populous county, where disaffection was
supposed to exist, I mean Tipperary, Judge Fox at
the late assizes congratulated the people upon the

346 [AUG. 13,
state of the calendar, upon the acknowledged tran
quillity of the district, and upon the general good
order of the county. I find that not a single charge
of disloyalty, sedition, or treason, was to be seen on
the calendar throughout the county. I find at Kil
kenny the public resolutions of the grand jury, tes
tifying, not only the peaceable disposition of the
county, but a general and cordial harmony between
protestants and catholics, with a strong declaration
from a body of the former in favor of the claims of
the latter. All these testimonies appear on the one
side ; on the other, to be sure, I hear a very high
authority, an authority certainly of the highest cha
racter in my estimation, I mean the member for
Dublin (Mr. Grattan.) I hold his authority high,
because I respect, not only his talents aud informa
tion, but his integrity; and I feel towards him as
warmly as any resident of Ireland, the gratitude to
which he is so eminently entitled, for obligations he
has rendered to my country. Ministers, I perceive,
are willing to ground their proceedings upon the
authority of my right honorable friend : under his
great name they would shelter the creation of enor
mous powers, for which there may be no necessity.
At all events, with the information I have received
both from public and private sources, I must con
tend that no necessity appears. Why, then, should
we not enquire ? My object is to awake the house
to what I conceive, with deference, to be a just
sense of its duty ; to procure from it a pledge that
an enquiry will be instituted, and thus to hold out
to the people of Ireland some prospect of redress;
some assurance of the friendly disposition of the
legislature. That enquiry is necessary, no man can
deny; and without full information, I must say,
that it is not becoming in us to take such serious
measures with regard to Ireland. We have, in fact*
been legislating for that country upon hearsay and
authority alone, and mark, with much more of hear
say and authority against, than for the cause yon

1807.] 847
have pursued. All this too while you have had the
means of ample enquiry within your reach. Upon
what grounds, then, do you shrink from that en
quiry ? It is preposterous to pretend that you fly
from it because you apprehend danger from discuss
ing the affairs of that country. The fact is, that no
topic requires or deserves more of your discussion or
investigation : so far from avoiding knowledge upon
such a subject, it is highly culpable not to seek it.
I profess myself as much in want of knowledge as
Other persons, and I take some blame to myself on
that account ; but I shall endeavor by all means in
my power to obtain information, and it is with a
view to remove my own defect upon this head, as
well as the defects of others, that 1 wish for enquiry:
I wish for enquiry because it is essential, as well in
respect to our own character, as in justice to the
people of Ireland. It is our duty to enquire upon
such an occasion, and we should not shrink from
that duty through any objection to the trouble that
might attend it, or through any idle fear of danger ;
but least of all, through a timid apprehension of the
truth. With regard to the motives that have urged
me to stand forward upon this occasion, I have been
prompted to it by duty and by feeling. My object
is, to serve the cause of justice and my country,
without exciting any passion, or flattering any pre
judice. I hope I may take credit for being as little
inclined as any man to the use of inflammatory lan
guage ; as little disposed to, promote sedition, or
mutiny, or disaffection. For this I think I am en
titled to take credit. There is not, perhaps, a man
more strongly convinced than I am, that the very
existence of the two islands depends upon the con
tinuance of their connection. I am quite assured,
that if there be any party in Ireland of any deno
mination, which would advocate an opposite prin
ciple, that party is decidedly hostile to the interests
of that country ; and should call forth the vigilance
and vigour of the law. But I must say, that all

348 [aug. 13,
appearances are against the belief of any such dis
affection, much less of organized treason : indeed,
if I could imagine an observer totally free from
prejudice upon the subject, his inference would, I
am persuaded, be of quite an opposite tendency.
If I could imagine a foreigner well disposed to
Great Britain ; if I could believe such a foreigner
to exist, I am satisfied he would be forward rather
to congrntulate Great Britain upon the present
state of Ireland. There are four symptoms of loy
alty and attachment to Great Britain visible in Ire
land, which would naturally attract the attention of
this foreigner. Having heard that the Duke of
Bedford was applied to by some rash individuals to
proclaim a county, at the time of the insurrection of
the thrashers, that noble duke rejected the applica
tion, and trusting to the ordinary operation of the
law, put down the insurrection ; the foreigner
would, in the first instance, consider this a very good
symptom of the disposition of Ireland. Well, in the
second place, he would be told that there had been
no disturbances whatever in that country, since the
Duke of Bedford had put down the insurrection al
luded to, and that the disposition of the people had
been particularly proved by the rejection of the ca
tholic bill. A short description of the nature of
that measure would readily satisfy his mind, that the
laying it aside, after it was promised, was very
likely to have an irritating effect in Ireland : but
instead of irritation,, he would witness the most per
fect good order, although all the ingredients of in
surrection were flung among the people, under the
wrapper of a proclamation for dissolving parlia
ment. The third object of the foreigner's attention
would be Judge Fox's address of congratulation
to the people of Tipperary, upon the peaceful state
of the county ; together with that judge's expression
of surprise, that it should be otherwise described by
any person ; and the fourth symptom would more
than all satisfy his mind, that no apprehension what
ever could be entertained of disorders or insurrec-

1807.] 349
tion in Ireland. For he would see the army taken
away ; he would see that formidable body, the Ger
man Legion, which was sent to Ireland to save it
from sedition, embarked for the continent. Now,
if this foreigner were to state these * sentiments to
the minister, and express his surprise that any sus
picion could any where be entertained of the loyalty
and tranquillity of the people of Ireland; what
would the right honorable gentleman say to him?
Perhaps the right honorable gentleman would tell
him that the Duke of Bedford acted injudiciously in
refusing to proclaim a county under martial law,
and restoring the peace by means of the common
law of the land ; that the circumstances of Ireland
being understood for some time back, was mere
matter of accident ; that Judge Fox knew nothing
at all about the state of the country. But would
not the foreigner be apt to ask, why, if Ireland were
in such a state of disaffection, the military force
should be taken away from it, and two oppressive
and arbitrary bills sent there, still more to irritate
that disaffection ? Perhaps the right honorable gen
tleman might say, that he relied more upon these
bills for preserving Ireland, than he did upon a mi
litary force ; and when he marched out an army,
he would march in an act of parliament ; and when
he withdrew a legion, he would substitute a law.
But above all, what was the foreigner likely to say
to the right honorable gentleman, when he found,
that while every endeavor was using to arm the
English, the Irish were disarming ? With such a
remarkable contrast before him, would not the
foreigner, would not any man interested for Great
Britain, or possessing common sense, be disposed,
particularly at a crisis when the invasion of a power
ful enemy was to be apprehended, to put this plain
question to the minister — If you take away the arms
of the Irish, what are they to fight with ? and if you
take away their constitution, what are they to fight
for? It has been said, that there exists a French

350 [aug. 13,
party in Ireland; but when was it that such a party
did not exist in that country ? Since the days of
Elizabeth, from the very commencement of those
foul and tyrannous measures which originated in
national jealousy, political prejudice, or religious
dissension, but particularly the latter, which drove
catholics of high spirit from their native country,
numbers of such exiles found an asylum in France,
and hence a correspondence between them and their
relations in Ireland, which naturally led to the crea
tion of a French party in Ireland, and an Irish party
in France. But the existence of such a party
cannot for a moment be insisted upon as a justifi
cation for the oppressive laws it was quoted to sup
port. For what policy could be more mischievous'
and inhuman, than a perseverance in the same per
secuting measures which originally created that
fmrty ? Let the state of Ireland be enquired into ;
et persecution and injustice be put an end to, and
the French party will soon cease to exist. But I
cannot admit the danger of such a party in a poli
tical point of view. The correspondence of family
connection may exist altogether independent of na
tional attachments and prejudices, and perhaps this
talked-of French party may consist solely of mere
family connection, abstracted from all political
views. At all events there is no evidence upon the
subject to direct the judgment of this house. There
is, I must observe, a principle contained in the ar
gument which the alleged existence of this party
was adduced to support, that bears a most fearful
character for Ireland indeed: for the Irish exiles
having found an asylum in America, in Denmark, and
other states, it would follow from the use made of
this principle, that whenever Great Britain should
be at war with either of these states, Ireland would
be liable to have her constitution suspended, there
being to be found an American and a Danish party
in Ireland, as well as a French, and all arising from
the same cause, which cause it is the tendency of

1807.] 351
the bills I have objected to, to continue and increase.
The cause of emigration and exile from Ireland has
been considerably diminished under the auspices of
our present most gracious sovereign ; but still a
great deal remains to be -done to reconcile to their
country the great bpdy of the Irish. What has
been done was no doubt calculated to do much
good, but yet it is to be recollected, that there is a
great deal in the manner of doing a thing : there is
such a case as conferring a favor without obtaining
any acknowledgment ; of rendering a service with
out exciting any gratitude ; and such a case may be
as making concessions when it is too late. I recom
mend these considerations to the reflection of mi
nisters. When they and others complain of the
discontents of the Irish, they never appear to con
sider the cause. When they- express their sur
prise that the Irish are not contented, while, ac
cording to their observation, that people have
so much reason to be happy; they betray a total
ignorance of their actual circumstances. The fact
is, that the tyranny practised upon the Irish has
been throughout unremitting. There has been no
change but in the manner of inflicting it. They
have had nothing but variety in oppression extend
ing to all ranks and degrees of a certain description
of the people. If you would know what this varied
oppression consisted in, I refer you to the penal
statutes you have repealed, and to some of those
which still exist. There you will see the high and
the low equally subjected to the lash of persecution ;
and still some effect to be astonished at the discon
tents of the Irish. But with all my reluctance to
introduce any thing ludicrous upon so serious an oc
casion, I cannot help referring to a little story which
those very astonished persons call to my mind. It
was with respect to an Irish drummer, who was em
ployed to inflict punishment upon, a soldier. When
the boy struck high, the poor soldier exclaimed :
" Lower, bless you," with which the boy complied.

332 [AUG. IS,
But soon after the soldier exclaimed : " Higher, if
you please." But again he called out, " A little
lower," upon which the accommodating boy ad-
dressed him—" Now, upon my conscience, I see
you are a discontented man ; for, strike where I
may, there's no pleasing you." Now your com
plaint of the discontents of the Iri.^h appears to me
quite as rational, while you continue to strike, only
altering the place of attack. As to the conduct
which ought to be pursued with respect to Ireland,
don't let it be imagined that 1 should not desire to
have a strong armed force in that country. I would
have such a force stationed there, much as I rely on
the loyalty of the people. But this force should be
the protectors and advocates of the people. It
should not be placed there to act as executioners, but ,
as a guard of honor upon the constitution, the liberty,
and the property of the people. I should not wish
to have the fate of Ireland entrusted to an inade
quate force, particularly at a period when no one
can tell the hour at which the enemy may arrive.
I would wish to have such a force in Ireland as in
every other quarter of the empire, as should assure
our foreign enemy of the impossibility of success;
and at the same time serve to discourage the opera
tions of domestic enemies, by convincing them tbat
it is in vain to hope ; that his prospects and calcu
lations were vain. With this view and object, I
would have a large army in Ireland ; and such an
army would serve still more to render the bills I
have referred to quite unnecessary. Because, if
invasion or rebellion should take place, the peace of
the country would be vested in the army. For it is
a prerogative of the crown in such cases, to put the
country under martial law, and in such cases only
can martial law be necessary, particularly if you
keep a large force in the country. The prerogative
of the crown, then, is fully competent to meet any
real danger, without these bills, which are, in fact,
nothing but martial law in masquerade. As to the

1807.] 353
plan of arming the people at large, which, it seems,
is to be extended to Ireland ; although the principle
is so perfectly Congenial with the spirit of the Bri
tish constitution, for it is a part of the king's prero
gative to compel the people to arm in case of invasion
or rebellion. I contend that the policy of disarming
the Irish is bad, even for the purposethat measure pro
fesses to have in view. For a people that are armed
are generally, or almost always, more peaceable
and iess discontented, than those who are left de
fenceless and disarmed. If the king should, under
his prerogative, call out the people of Ireland, or
the sheriff were to summon the posse comitatus, in
what state, I would ask, are that people likely to be
found after the operation of those acts of parliament?
It is, however, pretended that these acts are only
to continue for a certain time ; that they only in
volve a suspension of the constitution, in which the
people have a reversionary interest. But I do not
know when the suspension is to cease. It began
in 1795, and since that it has continued without in
terruption, and the lease has just been renewed for
three years longer. I am of opinion, that the peo
ple who can submit so lpng to such a measure, must
be tolerably well prepared for slavery. Indeed it
cannot be difficult to reconcile them to the loss of
freedom. In renewing the loan to government of
the Irish constitution, I remember that ministers
would not attend to the advice of my right honor
able friend (Mr. Grattan) as to the duration of the
lease. No, where his authority suited their view,
they adopted it, and took shelter under it, but
where that authority was against them, they rejected
it. But the right honorable gentleman (the Chan
cellor of the Exchequer), has promised that the
constitution shall be restored to Ireland. I should
like to see a receipt and promise of return for a free
constitution, from the hands of the right honorable
gentleman. I dare say as a lawyer, a financier, and
astatesman, it would be a curious production, run-
VOL. V. A A

351 [aug. 13,
ning, perhaps, in these terms : " Whereas it has
been deemed expedient for the peace, and good of
Ireland, for good and valuable considerations, to
take the constitution of that country into the keep
ing of the crown. I, on the part of the crown, do
promise and declare, that it shall be returned when
it is deemed expedient." But suppose a project
formed to withhold this constitution altogether ; sup
pose it was resolved to establish absolute despotism,
such as would justify the resistance of a free people ;
how is that resistance to be made, after the arms of
the people have been taken away ? What ministers
ultimately mean to do with respect to Ireland, it is
really difficult to divine. They promise, to be sure,
to restore the constitution, and do many other
things : but the people of Ireland know by whom
the promise is made. They remember those who
promised so much at the time of the union, and
never kept their word in any one point; no, not
one : indeed their conduct towards Ireland in this
respect, puts me in mind of the promises made to
children. The parent presents a favor to the view
of the child ; but declines to give it : no, no, the
child would spoil it, and the parent keeps it for fear
he should. Thus precisely are the people of Ire
land trifled with as to promises ; and thus are those
promises fulfilled. How have they acted upon the
subject of the catholic question ? I am not now
going into the discussion of that question ; but was
not the grant of that measure held out as one of the
first consequences of the union ? Such was to be
collected from the words of several of the principal
advocates of that measure, and, among others, even
Dr. Duigenan. Mr. Pitt and the noble lord (Cas
tlereagh) held out a hope, upon their retirement
from office in 1801, that their return to office might
be deemed the signal for catholic emancipation.
But yet they returned to office, and no such grant
was proposed. Was not the frequent disappoint
ment of the catholic body, their hopes deferred, one

1807.] 355
of the principle causes of the Irish discontents ? —
Here Mr. Sheridan entered into a review of the con
duct of the several members of the present cabinet
with respect to the catholic question, and contrasted
those who formerly promised so much to the catho
lics, with those Who had lately endeavored to put
an eternal bar to their hope, and who raised the
abominable yell of No Popery. There were some
of the latter who were^ no doubt, actuated by con
scientious motives. He was most sincerely disposed
to do credit to the molives of his Majesty, and had
no doubt he was actuated by the purest precepts of
conscience. In his honorable mind he was confi
dent there existed as much abhorrence pf the au
thors of any kind which could disunite and distract
his subjects as any man in the nation could feel. He
had no hesitation in saying, that those men who
would raise any thing like eternal obstacles to the
views of the catholics, must act disagreeably to
him whose scruples upon the subject might be re
moved by time and consideration. The right honor
able gentleman concluded this part of the subject
by referring to the conduct of the last administra
tion, whose promptitude in dropping the bill respect
ing the catholics he approved, perhaps much more
than he did of their original introduction of it. I
think, said Mr. S. they began at .the wrong end.
They should have commenced the measure of re
dress in Ireland at the cottage, instead of at the
park and the mansion. To have gone first to the
higher orders of the catholics; to have sought to
make them judges, and peers, and commoners ; I
do not know that such a proceeding, had it taken
place, would not rather have served to aggravate
discontent, as it might have been construed into a
design to divide the interests of the catholics. Sure
I am, that with a view to serve or to conciliate the
catholic population, I mean the poor, the peasantry,
its effect would be nothing ; indeed it would be
quite a mockery. It would be like dressing or de-
AA2

356 [aug. 13,
corating the top masts of a ship when there were ten
feet water in the hold, or putting a laced hat on a
man who had not a shoe to his foot. The place to
set out to in Ireland for the relief of the people, is
the cottage. The distressed state of the peasantry
must be first considered, and above all the tythes.
I should hope that every man of good sense or good
heart, would be forward to devote some part of his
attention to this important question. A great deal
of information with respect to the state of the Irish
peasantry, and the best means of relieving them, may
be collected from private sources. I have had many
communications on the subject, and I have looked
into several valuable books and pamphlets respect
ing the Irish peasantry, but have been particularly
interested by Mr. Bell's treatise upon them. It
, would not require much reading after this book to
make gentlemen fully acquainted with the state,
habits, and character of these poor peasantry, whose
sufferings have so long and forcibly appealed to the
humanity and justice of the legislature. I have
heard it said, and I have been always shocked at the
assertion, that the Irish peasantry might be comfort
able if they chose to be industrious ; and that it is
idle to attempt any improvement of their condition.
It is abominable to hear blame laid on providence
instead of laying it on man. Can any set of men, I
would ask, be found, who manifest so much of the
qualities of which these cruel calumniators would
deprive them as the Irish peasantry ? But they are
only calumniated by those men who would degrade
them below the level of the human creation, in order
to palliate their own inhumanity towards them.
We were told in England, that the unhappy Afri
cans were insensible to the ordinary feelings of hu
manity, in order to render us indifferent to their
sufferings, and to the custom of the slave-trade. On
similar motives the character of the Irish peasantry
is so foully misrepresented by some men in this
country and in Ireland also. But what palpable

J807.] 357
evidence do the Irish peasants, wherever you meet
them, afford of the falsehood of their slanderers! —
Can any men exhibit more of enterprize than those
peasants, in coming to this country in search of em
ployment, or more of affection for country and
family, in returning home with the pittance they
earn here ? Is it not manifest to every one of you,
that the charge' of indisposition to industry cannot
apply to those poor men, who, in fact, do all the
hard work of this metropolis? When then the
Irish exhibit such a character in this country, it is
impossible that such a difference at home as some
gentlemen assert to exist, can proceed from any
other than gross misrule. If I were proposing this
inquiry in time of profound peace, I should expect
your acquiescence in it ; but in the difficulties which
now surround the country, the claim is, in my mind,
irresistible. I know it has been the long hackneyed
cant, that such and such is the most perilous period
the country has ever known. But without any such
cant, without any exaggeration whatever, I defy any
man to shew me a a period in our history so full of
peril ; and where shall we look for aid ? I am sick
of continental alliances, of hearing about the mag
nanimous Alexander, &c. &c. When, however, I
look at the conduct of that sovereign, triumphing
at Petersburgh upon acquisitions of territory plun
dered torn Prussia, his ally, to whom, were he
really magnanimous, he ought rather to have given
territory, I cannot endure the idea of turning to
the continent for any thing to confide in for our
existence. When I look at France, not as Mr.
Burke described it a blank in the map of Europe ;
but when I see nothing almost but France; when I
look to the state of the East Indies, and to that of
the West also, I find, indeed, that on Monday you
pledged yourself to inquire into the state of pro
perty in those islands, and very properly too. But
when you thus pledge yourselves to inquire as to the
property of the West India planters, is it too much

358 [AUG. 13,
for me to propose a pledge that you will take into
your consideration, not the property of the Irish,
but their allegiance, liberty, and right ? When I
look at America — but in mentioning that country I
should be sorry if understood at all to speak in terms
ill calculated to encourage a disposition to surren
der that privilege which we cannot surrender, with
out abandoning our maritime power and importance.
When I have thus reviewed the state of our colo
nies, connections, and allies, and find the appearance
so gloomy, is it unreasonable that I should ask you
to look at your statute-book, and to study the means
of conciliating the alliance of your own subjects?
While such menacing danger hangs over us, I can
not, without serious pain, reflect upon the manner
in which you employ yourselves ; one party charging
the other, and vice versa; " You did that job,"
" No, but you did worse ;" " My plan required
more recruits than your's," " No, but it did not."
As if men were recruiting for a wager, and the only
object of debate was to criminate each other. I
cannot think patiently of such petty squabbles, while
Buonaparte is grasping the nations ; while he is
surrounding France, not with that iron frontier, for
which the wish and childish ambition of Louis XIV.
was so eager, but with kingdoms of his own creation ;
securing the gratitude of higher minds as the host
age, and the fears of others as pledges for It's safety.
His are no ordinary fortifications. His martello
towers are thrones; sceptres tipt with crowns are
the palisadoes of his entrenchments, and kings are
his centinels. In such a state of the world then,
and with such an enemy, viewing this country as
the only remaining object of his ambition to destroy,
surely the policy of looking to all the means of
strengthening yourselves is too obvious to require
comment. Let me then exhort you to consider the
means of rendering that country really serviceable
to you. I have heard of subsidies. Your subsidies
to Prussia were considerable in amount, and yet

1807.] 359
quite unproductive in effect. Why don't you sub
sidize Ireland ? And all the subsidies I ask for her
is your confidence, affection, and justice to her peo
ple. These I call upon you to grant before it be
too late. If you refuse to see the danger that me
naces, and will not consider in due time about the
means which I propose to you for providing against
it, it is a bad symptom. The first character of
courage is to look at danger with a dauntless eye,
and the next to combat it with a dauntless heart.
If, with this resolution, we front our dangers, history
will do justice to our feelings and character, what
ever may be the exertions or the success of the
formidable tyrant who would destroy us, or of those
who succeed to his power and views. The honest
historian will not fail to yield a just tribute to our
reputation. If faithful to ourselves, if united, we
shall, in these two little islands, to which, as to an
altar, Freedom has flown for refuge, be able to fight
with all the valorous fury of men defending a vio
lated sanctuary.
The right honorable gentleman concluded with
an animated exhortation to the house, to aim a blow
at the fellest foe to British greatness and security,
namely, internal discontent, by acceding to his mo
tion. Then the right honorable gentleman read
his motion, which was as follows :
" That the house will, immediately on the meet
ing of the ensuing session of parliament, proceed to
take into their most serious and solemn consideration,
the state and condition of Ireland, in the anxious
hope, that such measures and remedies may be
safely adopted in regard to the discontents alleged
to exist in that country, as may render unnecessary
the continuance of those provisions which the legis
lature of the United Kingdom has deemed it expe
dient reluctantly to adopt at the close of the present
session, and the permanence of which would be a
violation of the rights of the people of Ireland, and

360 [AUG. 13,
a subversion of the spirit and practice of our free
constitution." After he had read his motion, the right honorable
gentleman expressed his readiness to acquiesce in
any amendment, which should leave its main
object untouched. It did not matter to him by
whom the object was taken up. His desire was to
have the thing done; and if any gentleman on any
side of the house, would follow it up, he would be
entitled to the gratitude of Ireland, and he should
have his warmest thanks.
Towards the close of the debate,
Mr. Sheridan rose amidst cries of " question," and
expressed his hope that the house would indulge
him with the privilege usually granted to persons
who brought forward a motion, and hear his reply
to such arguments as seemed to him peculiarly to
call for attention. Of this privilege he would not
avail himself at any length. First, then, he would
have no objection whatever to alter his motion in
the manner proposed by his right honorable friend
(Mr. Windham) near him ; and, indeed, to any
alteration that did not destroy the substance of his
motion, he had already pledged himself to agree.
[The Speaker here interrupted the right lumorable gentleman, and
informed him, that consistently with the resolution of 1778, and the
usages of the house, there could be no alteration in the motion after
the previous question had been put.]
Mr. Sheridan, in continuation, observed, that in
that case, he had no doubt, the right honorable
gentleman opposite would withdraw his motion, in
compliance with the general wish of the house. He
wished to have his answer. [No answer.) Well,
the time for answering was not yet come perhaps.
However, nothing in the world had been more mis
understood in this respect than the motion which he
had submitted. Gentlemen seemed to suppose that
he had censured the passing of the late bills, and

1807.] 361
thereby called upon the house to censure its own
acts. He never had such intention, nor could his
motion, by any one who took the trouble to attend
to it, be supposed to carry any such meaning. He
had distinctly declared in his speech, that he had
now no such intention. But it might be said, that
though not in his speech, it might be in his motion.
What, then, was his motion ? " That the house
should take such measures as would render the pro
visions of the bills, lately with reluctance passed
unnecessary." What did his right honorable friend
(Mr. Windham), and his honorable friend (Mr. Her
bert) over the way, object to ? They could not
surely object to the word " reluctantly." His right
honorable friend over the way said, that he would
join with him if he would strike out the latter part
of his motion. What was that? Why, that the
permanency of such measures would totally destroy
the- constitution. Did any one object to this ? Then
he would be glad to see the man who would stand
up in his place, and say that such enactments ought
to be permanent ; or that, if permanent, they do not
completely overturn the constitution. These acts
were to be in force for three years ; and, under these
circumstances, there was at least a reversion of the
constitution. But if you thought the permanency of
such acts did not infringe the constitution, then you
ought to make them permanent at once, for in that
case where was the use of hesitation ? Such enact
ments could not be considered in any other light,
than as an infringement of. the constitution ; and,
therefore, it was the duty of every man to limit
their duration, as much as the necessity of the case
would allow.
He felt it necessary to make some observations on
what had fallen from the honorable gentleman on
the bench below him. With all the respect he had
for that gentleman's (Mr.Lockhart's) abilities; with
all his deference to his means of information, and to
the authority which he appeared to have with some,

362 [AUG. 13,
yet, not being intimately acquainted with the honor
able gentleman, and not having an opportunity of
observing those talents and information that had
been ascribed to him by those who knew him better,
he was perfectly excusable in not giving him that
entire confidence that had been given by others.
That honorable gentleman had said, that he had
listened with great anxiety to his speech, because
he expected that he (Mr. S.) would have first stated
the evil, and then the remedy. The honorable gen
tleman might have listened to his speech with anx
iety, but he had certainly done so with more anxiety
than attention. He said, that he (Mr. S.) ought
to have pointed out the grievance. Certainly not.
He never thought that he was bound specifically to
do that in the present instance. When ministers,
came to him, asking him to give his assent to such
regulations as these, the onus probandi lay on them.
They were to shew what grievances called for such
measures, and that too before the measure was
passed. " But no," said the honorable gentleman,
" pass your bills first, and then let us hear of
grievances." Inquiry ought to precede the pas
sing of these enactments, and the necessity for them
ought to have been proved. However, the house
had passed the bills, and all he wanted now was,
that they should give a pledge to inquire whether
they had passed them on good grounds or not.
This was all he asked. His object was to keep
this subject perpetually before the house. If the
bills had been enacted only for a year, there would
have been less cause for his motion. But as the
period pf their duration extended to three years, his
object was, and he hoped the result of an inquiry
would be unnecessary, to continue them for more
than one year. This he was, for his own part, per
suaded, would turn out to be the case, unless gen
tlemen chose to continue in ignorance, and rejected
the means of acquiring information. But the ho-?
norable gentleman dwelt a good deal upon general

1807.] 363
doctrine, and said that a boon ought not to be
granted till you were strong, and had enabled your
selves to crush your petitioners if you chose ! He
(Mr. Sheridan) had really thought that men could
distinguish between good and bad treatment, and
that the one produced gratitude and attachment as
naturally as the other revenge and hatred ! " But
no," said the honorable gentleman, " make them
fear you first, that they may love you afterwards !"
Then the honorable gentleman accused him of having
said that Ireland had been used worse than a con
quered country. Certainly, he had said that England
had adopted a more ignorant and barbarous system
of management with respect to Ireland, than ever
any one nation with any pretensions to civilization,
had adopted with respect to another. The honor
able gentleman said, that he was taken aback with
regard to his statement, when he allowed that con
cessions had been made in the present reign, and
consequently the system changed. This, he sup
posed, was meant, for he did not pretend to under
stand the phrase " taken aback," not being a naval
man, as the honorable gentleman probably was.
That the concessions had been made with a very ill
grace, he had certainly said. He did not wish, as
he said before, to produce any irritation whatever ;
but if the times and circumstances when these con
cessions were made were considered, it would be
found that they had been wrung from most unwil
ling minds, rather than conferred in an open, liberal,
and generous manner. He (Mr. S.) deprecated
waiting for such terms and circumstances. He was
conferring favors, when they might be ascribed
to a sense of generosity and justice, and not for
waiting till they could be demanded, when you
would not dare to refuse them. Now his right
honorable friend (Mr. Grattan) on the bench
near him, had a more able speech in favor of
his motion than he himself could possibly do. —
That speech was characteristic of his wonted genius

364 [aug. 13,
and eloquence, and every thing must be full of ge
nius, animation, and eloquence that came from him.
This very speech was one great instance of the
benefits to be derived from the motion now submitted
to the house ; for his right honorable friend had in
the course of it thrown out more information respect
ing the state of Ireland, than ever had been commu
nicated by any other member, or at any period for
some time past. But another member accused him
of libelling the legislation of this country, and our
cosmopolitan and philanthropic parliament ! But
what had our most philanthropic parliament done
for Ireland ? Why, they legislated without inquiry
for that country ; but if his motion had been pro
posed and agreed to two or three years ago, parlia
ment would have been better able to have legislated
for Ireland. For the proof of this he would only
refer to the speech of his right honorable friend,
who had exposed the abuses with respect to tythes,
the non -residence of the clergy, and state of the
Protestant schools. The honorable gentleman
seemed to be mightily offended at his saying that
government had not been attentive to Ireland. For
a proof of this too, he referred to the speech of his
right honorable friend (Grattan) who had stated that
10,000 acres of land only supported eighteen Pro
testant schools; and yet with all this before them,
some gentleman pretended that the government had
paid the requisite attention to the state of Ireland. He
hoped, however, that an attention of a different sort
would be given it. Ireland expected this; Eng
land expected it ; and the result he had no doubt
would be beneficial to both countries. His right
honorable friend had adverted to the state of tythes
in Ireland, and from the ill-constructed method of
collecting and managing these, had deducted a great
part of the evils under which Ireland labored. The
"hearts of steel," the " white boys," the "bright
boys," and " thrashers," all arose from the tythes,
which appeared the most cruel of the burthens under

1807.] 365
which the lower ranks of people in Ireland groaned.
Why then, did not this sufficiently account for the
disaffection in Ireland, without having recourse to
the idea of a French faction ? His right honorable
friend admitted the general loyalty of the people of
Ireland ; but still said there was a French party in
Ireland: a French party ; but contemptible ; a mi
serable faction, destitute of talents and energy,
and of trifling numbers. What he wanted then
was, to have the nature of this danger ascertained,
to see in what it consisted, to find out the strength
of this French faction, and if so contemptible as his
right honorable friend had said, to apply a remedy
equal to the disease, and not to overturn the whole
constitution of the country on account of a wretched
faction. His right honorable friend had compared
the general loyalty of Ireland and her French fac
tion, to a beauty with a pimple on her face ; a very
gallant illustration, and one that must certainly be
admired by Irishmen. But if he (Mr. S.) were to
give his advice to this beauty, he would say to her,
" my lovely charmer, put a patch on that pimple,
but do not cover your whole face with a mask."
Apply this to Ireland. Were the whole of the loyal
Irish to be deprived of their liberties, because there
existed a contemptible French faction ? Let the
remedy meet the evil, but no more ; let not the foul
mask of despotism cover the land, but let liberty
bloom in all her beauty, where there existed a soil
in which she was capable of flourishing. It had
been said, that now, in this difficult crisis, was the
time for the Catholics to show their loyalty and at
tachment to the constitution, and their worthiness
to enjoy its benefits ! But this was beginning at the
wrong end. If you want the attachment of the
Irish, begin by giving them some reason to love you.
If you want them to fight your battles, give them
something to fight for. But the other way, to de
prive them of their constitution in the mean time,
was " Propter vitam, vitas perdere causas."

363 [AUG. 13,
You asked them for bravery, and took away the
motives to it. You asked for loyalty, and bid them
contend for their laws and , liberties, and at the
same time deprived them of the benefits of the con
stitution. But his right honorable friend said, that
they were only deprived of this for a time, and that
they would have their liberties again after they had
achieved some acts that would show their zeal and
loyalty. He had a different view of this subject.
He wished to give them the motives to act, before
he sent them to action. But what was this proof re
quired of the Irish Catholics ? Had they not already
given it ? Where, by sea or by land, had they failed
to do their duty ? When had they shrunk in the
moment of invasion ? When had they been deficient
in expressions of loyalty and attachment to the con
stitution ? And when havetheir words been falsified
by their actions ? Yet his honorable friend seemed
to think, that proofs of their loyalty and zeal for the
constitution were wanting ! You must, however,
trust the Catholics; you must have them in your
Irish militia. Why then suspect them, and subject
them to penalties without cause ? He might be
wrong in this ; but if that was so let it be proved.
His right honorable friend close by him (Mr. Wind
ham), had said, that he seemed to hold the conces
sions to the Boman Catholics cheap. He certainly
had never done so, and his right honorable friend
was mistaken. He had said, that if what was
called Catholic emancipation was granted without
some other measures in favour of the poorer classes,
it might excite envy and jealousy in them. The
benefits to them they would consider as not running
pari passu with those to their superiors, and cer
tainly without some caution what was intended to
promote harmony, might become the excitement to
contention. But what did the bill proposed by the
late administration in favor of the Catholics do ? It
certainly did a great deal indeed, when it proposed
to abolish the restrictions on the Roman Catholic

1807.] 367
officer, when he came to a certain rank ; an officer
who stood in this singular situation, that he rose till
he had an opportunity of doing some act worthy of
preferment; and however great the services he might
perform, there he stopped, and the disabilities under
which he labored damped his ardor, and rendered
him less fit or disposed for enterprize and exertion.
The unfortunate Catholic officer might therefore be
said to rise to his degradation. The removal of such
restrictions were doing much, and the best effects
would certainly have followed from the adoption of
such a measure. Was it not better to put confi
dence in the Irish than to bind them down by re
strictions? The enemy might hope to break their
chains, but they could not expect to turn towards
them those hearts that had been conciliated by kind
ness and confidence. Instead, therefore, of putting
them on trial, his wish certainly would be, to give
them the benefits of the constitution before they mus
tered in the field. Instead of the yoke of slavery,
he would hang the privilege of the constitution
about their necks, and arm them with their rights.
Without this, it was impossible to expect that the
Irish Catholics should be so cordial in their loyalty
and attachment to the constitution as they would
otherwise be. He had heard nothing more that
appeared to him to require any particular observa
tion. But he again repeated, that if no other good
effect should result from this motion, than an ac
knowledgment on the part of parliament, of the im
portance of the subject, the motion ought to be
adopted. Charles the First, asked Selden, " what
was the best way to put down a rebellion ?" to
which Selden answered, " remove the cause." He
begged of the government to apply this answer to
Ireland, and put an end to the disaffection there, by
removing the cause. He would keep his word, and
trespass no longer on the indulgence that had been
granted him.
The house divided; for the motion 33 ; against it 76.

368 [JUNE 15,
June 15, 1808.
AFFAIRS OF SPAIN.
Mr. Sheridan rose to call the attention of the
house to the affairs of Spain. It had been proposed
to him to put off the subject, on the ground, that the
gentlemen from that country now residing here,
were this day gone to partake of the hospitality of
his right honorable friend the Secretary of State for
foreign affairs. He believed, however, with all the
enthusiasm they must naturally feel on such a sub^
ject, they would be equally well entertained with his
right honorable friend's dinner as they would have
been with listening to what he had to say. He
could, therefore, on that ground feel no hesitation in
persevering in the motion of which he had given
notice. He understood, besides, that his right ho
norable friend had dispatched- a general belonging to
Ireland, to represent him at this entertainment.
That these noble foreigners would feel themselves
particularly happy in the company of that gallant
officer, he could have no doubt ; the more especially
as it was understood, that his right honorable friend
had not sent him to represent himself at his hospi
table board alone, but that he was also to be sent to
represent this country in fighting the battles of Spain,
where he (Mr. Sheridan) was satisfied his services
would be unfeigned, He begged leave to correct
an idea that seemed to have gone abroad, that he
meant to make an harangue or exhortation to mi
nisters on this subject. Nothing was further from
his intention. He simply meant to call the atten
tion of ministers, and of the house, to the subject,
not to lecture them into it. All that he had to say,
he had communicated some days ago to his right
honorable friend. The right honorable and learned
gentleman opposite (Mr. Perceval) did not give
credit to this ; and he had also had the misfortune to
fall under the odium of his honorable friend near
him, as if by his present notice he had meant to

1808.] 369
save government from all responsibility on the
subject. Thus, on one, side, he had been suspected
of wishing to injure, oh the other to save from any
subsequent stigma, the existing .government. In
neither of these conjectures, however, was there
any truth. Notwithstanding the high opinion he
had of the probity, zeal, ability, and estimable qua
lities of his honorable friend (Mr. Whitbread), and
with all his promptitude for business, he could not
say that he was particularly distinguished by a
promptitude to go into the opinions of others, or to
doubt his own judgment. H\s honorable friend
must, therefore excuse him, if he did not, bri the
present occasion, yield to his recommendation. He
had no other desire but to bring under discussion
a subject to which the attention "of the people of
England was called at the present important mo
ment. He did not ask ministers to embark in any
foolish or romantic speculation ; but he was satis
fied th'at there never was a time, since the com
mencement of the French revolution, taking it for
granted, that the flame would spread, there never
was, he was satisfied, so great an opportunity and
occasion for this country to strike a bold stroke,
which might end in the rescue of the world. It
might be asked, if he was inclined to trust to the
conduct and prudence of ministers, why did he
brihg the matter before parliament ? He confessed
that lie was Pot friendly to ministers ; but still this
was not a subject for party. He therefore wished
to express his opinion to ministers, and that opinion
was; that they should not deal in dribblets ; but if
they could riot do much, that they should do no
thing. There never was, he believed, in this coun
try, a government, except during the administra
tion of his dear friend now no more (Mr. Fox), in
which one object only was pursued. When they
should have been aiming a blow at the heart of
France5, there was always something else to dis
tract tfie attention ; when they should have been at

370 [june 15,
the core of the heart, they were always found
nibbling at the rind. There was hardly a single
person, except his right honorable friend near him
(Mr. Windham) and Mr. Burke, who since the
revolution of France, had formed adequate notions
of the necessary steps to be taken. The various go
vernments which this country had seen during that
period, were always employed in filching for a
sugar island, or some other object of comparatively
trifling moment, while the main and principal pur
suit was lost sight of and forgotten. Let Spain see,
that we were not inclined to stint the services we
had it in our power to render her ; that we were not
actuated by the desire of any petty advantage to
ourselves ; but that our exertions were to be solely
directed to the attainment of the grand and general
object, the emancipation of the world. He again
repeated, let not our assistance be given in dribblets.
But he also again repeated, let it not be romanti
cally and foolishly bestowed. Let it be seen, that
the enthusiasm of the people had been fairly
awakened ; without that our efforts could avail no
thing. But if the flame were once fairly caught,
our success was certain. France would then find,
that she had hitherto been contending only against
principalities, powers, and authorities, but that she
had now to contend against a people. The right
honorable gentleman said he brought nothing on
for discussion ; he only wished to call the attention
of ministers to a subject in which the feelings of the
people of this country were so deeply interested.
If they acted properly, they might depend on hav
ing his most steady and sincere support. Would
any man tell him that there was no use in agitating
a question of this kind ? Would it not be known in
Spain, and would it not preserve and even rouse the
spirit of the people of that country to know, that the
unanimous voice of parliament, as well as of the
people of Great Britain, was raised in their favor,
andthe ir cordial assistance and co-operation ready

1808.] 371
to be afforded them ? Was he then to be told, if
an opportunity should arise of affording effectual aid
to Spain, that it was not of importance that the sub
ject had been agitated in that house ? He had en
tire confidence in the right honorable gentleman
(Mr. Canning), that nothing on his part would be
wanting. The crisis was the most important which
could be conceived : the stand made in the Asturias
was the most glorious. He hoped that the progress
of it would be closely watched, and not a single op
portunity lost of adding vigor and energy to the
spirit which seemed to exist there. The symptoms
could not be long in shewing themselves, their pro
gress must be rapid ; probably the very next dis
patch might be sufficient to enable a decisive opi
nion to be formed. If the flame did not burn like
wildfire, it was all over. He hoped ministers would
act as circumstances required ; and if so, they
should, as he had already said, receive his support.
He concluded by moving, " that an humble address
be presented to His Majesty, that he will be gra
ciously pleased to direct, that there be laid before
this house, copies of such proclamations as have been
received by His Majesty's Secretary of State for
foreign affairs, and which have been issued since
the arrival of the French army at Madrid, whether
by the Spanish government, theFrench commander-
in-chief, or by persons since claiming to act on be
half of the Spanish nation.
The motion was afterwards withdrawn.

June 17.
CARNATIC QUESTION.
Mr. Sheridan felt, that after the personal allu
sions so frequently made to him, he should not
act respectfully towards the noble lord (Castle-
reao-h) if he continued silent on the present occasion
The noble lord concluded a speech, filled with the
strangest and most monstrous doctrines he had ever

372 [june 17>
heard, with a solemn appeal to the justice of the
house, calling upon it npt to establish so bad a
moral as that of exposing the, delinquency of pub
lic servants, for fear their cop duct should he com
pared with the enormities pf , our enemies. It was
with reluctance he entered on any of the enormi
ties committed in India. Ip majdng such a decla
ration, the noble lord was pot aware of the, libel
which he pronounced on an honorable friend, of his,
who was lately chief justice in Indja. Here Mr,
Speridan quoted a speech (deljvered at the time. of
Mr. Hastings's impeachment," by Mr. (now Sir.
John) Anstruther, in which that geptleman dwelt,
on the enormities practised in India, and insisted,
on the necessity pf investigation and punishment.
But now the( house was to understand, frop} the
speech of the noble lord, that no governor in India,
let his crimes be ever so great, was tp have his con7
duct at all enquired into. He maintained, that the
best way to lipid, out to the world that we practised
no enormities, was to punish thpse who committed,
any. The noble marquis, wnpse copduct was nqw,
the subject of discussion, had .lately made an obser
vation, that the attack upon, Copenhagen, apd the,
seizure of the Danish fleet, was an event which
Englishmen ought to rejoice,, because it woujd
grieve Buonaparte. It was unwise, in the noble,
marquis to make such a declaration; because he
believed it to be entirely the reverse of what,was,
the fact. He sincerely believed, that Buonaparte
never felt more joy at any event than what this act
of ours gave him. In that act he saw our charac
ter blended with his own. He found in it an in
demnity for the past, and a security for the fu
ture. The noble lord's code of political mo
rality was the worst he had ever heard broached
in that house. His, desultory term. Will o' the,
Wisp speech had . not put down a. single argu
ment advanced by his learned friend, tp whom he*
felt, grateful for the sentiments, he delivered. He,

.1808.] 373
did not feel a wish to say any thing uncivil towards
the noble lord, particularly so, after the very hand
some manner in which the noble lord spoke of him
the evening before last. But he should have sup-
poseds, had he not known his assiduity, the noble lord
had never read; the papers relative to this subject.
He bad said) that Ally Hussein had forfeited his =
right to. the throne, inasmuch as he inherited the-
treason of his, father* He could never have been a>
party to, a treason, which had, not been, communi
cated to, him, and with.which the father had not been
charged in his life time. He never knew a more
monstrous attempt than this to impose on the credulity
of the public. Therewasnoanalogyinthiscasetothafc
of the house of the Stuarts, in which a country chose'
its own magistrates, which every people had a right
to do ; but. here, was an independant prince, who
was an ally; and/ what right had any man to say,
that we should dismiss from the throne of his ances*
tors the lawful heir to that throne, against, whom no
charge whatever , could be made? But what be>-.
came of all this argument, when the fact is, that'
Azepn .ul Dowlah was put on the musnud over the
son of a person who was actually proved to be an
enemy to the British interests ? The noble > lord)
shewed the grossest ignorance, of the papers-; foi«;
the very correspondence he referred to was carried i
on, with the consent of the: government. of« Madras*
(Hear !) As to the cypher, he appealed, to the ho
norable baronet who was chief justice in India, and
would ask, if he. would suffer a man to be convicted
on such evidence (Sir John Anstruther signified.
that he would not), he was happy to hear his ho
norable friend say he would not. Yet it was on
such evidence, that an innocent young prince was«
deprived of his throne, and placed in a situation in
which he lost his life. Mr. Sheridan then read
some correspondence, in order to shew that the
British government in India considered it as likely-
to be favorable to their interests) to have an intimate

374 [JUNE 17,
correspondence and connection carried on between
the house of Arcot and the Mysore. It was at
tempted to justify this transaction, on the ground of
state necessity. But this act of injustice and rob
bery could not be an act resulting from state neces
sity, because there existed no necessity for it, or at
least none had been shewn, to influence their deci
sion. Here Mr. Sheridan read some papers, to
shew the steady attachment of the nabob to the
English ; and he defied any governor to say, that
there existed the slightest proof of the hostility of
the father or the son, except what was extracted
from the trash found at Seringapatam. The argu
ments that had been used to prove that the nabob
was considered as a vassal to the India company,
were as unjust as they were unfounded. The im
portant documents on the table put that question out
of all doubt, for it would appear by an address ac
tually signed by his majesty, countersigned by Lord
Corn wai I is, and addressed to the nabob, dated the
13th of May, 1790, that he was considered not
only as an independant sovereign, but actually called
the " faithful ally and friend" of the British go
vernment in India. Here the right honorable gen
tleman read a long extract from the address alluded
to, from which it likewise appeared that the very
first acre of ground the English became possessed
of round Madras was acquired through the friend
ship of the nabob of Arcot ; yet he argued, after
such an unqualified declaration under His Majesty's
own hand, of the independency of this prince, such
degrading language was to be held out. Was it to
be endured for one single moment, that the rights
and laws of nations were to be thus trampled upon
with impunity, merely upon the alleged policy of
the measure ? From a very patient perusal of the
very important documents on the table, they esta
blished this proposition in his mind, that there was
no ground whatever for any suspicion of the faith
fulness of the nabob of Arcot and his son towards"

1808.] 375
the British government. There was one part of
this question which he could not but consider as a
great dereliction of principle in the noble marquis.
It was said that he took every possible care for the
protection of Ally Hussein, the deposed nabob.
Could it be thought for a moment, that the deposed
nabob would be safe in the hands of a man who
threatened him with instant death if he ever at
tempted to regain the throne of his father ? From
these circumstances he concluded, that the young
nabob was not safe in those hands. He did not feel
disposed even to enter into all the motives that
might have actuated the noble marquis in his con
duct, and he was less disposed to argue the accusa
tion urged against him of his being actuated by pe
cuniary interests in his administration ; but looking
at his general conduct as a governor of India, he
must say there was no parallel in the history of that
country which presented so unbridled an instance
of insatiable ambition. The sum total of what the
country knew of his conduct as governor was, that
he succeeded to the government after Lord Corn-
wallis. He found India in a great and increasing
state of prosperity. He found a system of equity
and economy in the public expenditure, admirably
calculated for the solidity of our establishment in
that country. But when he left it, he left behind
him an example of the most pernicious prodigality
and profuseness ; when he landed, he found a dis
position in the company's servants to revere the laws,
and to abide the decrees of his majesty ; but when
he left it, the utmost contempt prevailed of the
laws and regulations of the company. When he
went there, the native powers of India placed the
utmost confidence in the faith of the British govern
ment ; but he left them entertaining in their minds
the most irreconcileable sentiment of disgust and en
mity, on account of its treachery and oppression.
In short, the result of the noble lord's administra
tion was this, that when he went to India, he found

376 [june 17,
Great Britain without a foe, and when he departed,
he left Great Britain without a friend. Upon these.
grounds he felt he was called upon to say thus
much, not from any personal enmity to the noble
marquis, but from a principal of preserving his own
consistency. He took this opportunity of defending
himself from the insinuation thrown out by the noble
lord (Castlereagh) in the commencement of his
speech, that he had departed from principle in seem
ing to neglect the cause he had so strenuously under
taken to advocate on former occasions, by stating
that his sentiments upon this subject had never been
in the least altered from the first intimation he re
ceived of the oppression and tyrannous dethronement
of the young nabob, and the Subsequent information
that arrived in this country of his murder. On that
occasion his mind was so horrified by the atrocity of
the act, that he resolved himself immediately to in
stitute an enquiry into the causes of So gross a viola
tion of the laws of civilization and humanity. Cir
cumstances, however, had prevented him from car
rying the desired object completely into effect per
sonally. He saw no prospect then of pursuing the
investigation in that administration, and from these
considerations be did not press it. He had, how
ever, moved from time to time for a great number
of documents, which must remove at once every
suspicion of his having cooled in the cause. He
concluded by declaring his fixed determination at
all times never to shrink from the task he had im
posed upon himself, of representing the noble mar
quis's conduct in the plain and unvarnished manner
in which he fully persuaded himself the various-
documents on the table exhibited the circumstances
of his administration to the country.

END OF THE SPEECHES.

MJEMOIMS
OF TBI LATE
RIGHT HONOURABLE
RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN,
Sec. See.

Richard Brinslet Sheridan was the
third son of Mr. Thomas Sheridan, a gentle
man well known by his endeavors to promote
and improve the art' of oratory in Great Bri
tain, and universally acknowledged the best
declaimer of English of his day ; he was a
considerable time manager of the Dublin
Theatre, which the furious animosity of party
obliged him to quit ; but in England he found
fame and prospect enough to leave him little
cause to regret his banishment from his
native country.
The father of Mr. Thomas Sheridan, the
Rev. Dr. Thomas Sheridan, was the intimate
friend and favorite of Dean Swift * the compa-
* In the debate on the treason and seditious bills, on the 10th of
December, 1795, the character of this eminput divine having been
reflected on by Mr. J. W. Browne, it was most warmly and feelingly
supported, by Mr. R. B. Sheridan.— Vide vol. iv. 201, 202, 203.
M. — A

11 MEMOIRS.
nion of his leisure, the depository of his con
fidence, and the imitator of his wit.
Mrs. Frances Sheridan, the mother of
Richard Brinsley Sheridan, was the intimate
friend of Dr. Samuel Johnson; she is the
authoress of the novel " Sidney Biddulph,"
" Nourjahad" an oriental tale, the comedies
of the " Discovery," " Dupe," and " A Trip
to Bath : " she was also the translator of the
Memoirs and Letters of the celebrated " Ni-
ron de FEnclos," published in 1761, in two
pocket volumes. This lady died at Blois, on
the 17th of September, 1766 ; and such was
the respect paid to her memory, by the bishop
of that place, tbat he caused it to be inti
mated to her friends, notwithstanding the
difference of religious persuasion, that they
might take advantage of the night to deposit
her remains in consecrated ground, and no
interruption should be given to the interment.
The subject of this sketch, was born in the
month of October, 1751, in Dorset Street,
Dublin, and on attaining his seventh year, he
was placed with his eldest brother Charles
Franeis, formerly Secretary at War in Ire
land, and the Historian of the Revolution
in Sweden, under the tuition of a friend of
their fathers, Mr. Samuel Whyte of Dublin,
who having opened an academy in April, 1758,
these two brothers were the first pupils ad-

MEMOIRS. IU
mitted. Shortly after this, the affairs of Mr.
Thomas Sheridan compelled him to leave Ire
land : he removed to England, and settled at
Windsor. It is a circumstance deserving of note, that
the early years of Mr. Sheridan afforded little
promise of the uncommon talents he has
since exhibited ; and this is evident, from a
letter written by his mother, to Mr. Whyte,
in which she observes : " These boys will be
your tutors in that respect (patience). I have
hitherto been their only instructor, and they
have sufficiently exercised mine ; for two such
impenetrable dunces I never met with."*
After remaining under the care of Mr.
Whyte nearly eighteen months, they were
sent to England, and for one year, resumed
their education under their parents. In 1762,
Mr. Thomas Sheridan's talents were, unsoli
cited by him, honored with a pension, and
being at this time in easy circumstances, he
determined on placing his younger son,
Richard Brinsley , at Harrow School, at the head
of which celebrated seminary, was the learned
Dr. Sumner and Dr. Parr. In a letter writ
ten by Mrs. Sheridan on this circumstance,
* This, and some subsequent anecdotes, have appeared before the
public in former sketches, &c. of Mr. Sheridan's life ; but they point
out so forcibly the early habits of our subject, as to render an apo
logy for their insertion in these Memoirs unnecessary.
M. — A 2

IV MEMOIRS.
she makes the following singular remark —
" Dick has been at Harrow school since
Christmas; as he probably may fall into a
bustling life, we have a mind to accustom him
early to shift for himself."
Although the exertions of Mrs. Sheridan
and Mr. Whyte had failed in producing a
semblance of those talents, that have since so
highly adorned our literary annals, and shed
so bright a lustre upon this age, the unre
mitting efforts of Dr. Parr were crowned with
the most perfect success : he elicited the
latent spark of splendid genius, and brought
into activity the slumbering energies of his
pupil; who has since enriched our drama
tic literature, adorned our poetry, enlivened
the highest and most cultivated circles with
his powers of conversation, his elegant de
meanour, and his unsurpassed wit, and who
has formed so conspicuous a feature in our
senatorial discussions on so many great occa
sions. The efforts of Dr. Parr, in this in
stance, therefore, are no inconsiderable addi
tion to the many obligations the literary world
is under to that eminent and worthy divine.
In 1769, Mr. Sheridan quitted Harrow school ;
his father was so fully satisfied of his attain
ments, that he considered it unnecessary to
send him to the University, and he was en
tered a student of the Middle Temple.

MEMOIRS. y
The income allowed at this period to Mr.
Sheridan by his father, being insufficient for
his support, he was compelled to increase it
by literary exertions ; and he became a con
stant contributor to the productions of the
day. He also, at this time, gave his attention
to dramatic writings ; but from being dis
gusted with some sketches of comic character
which he drew, he actually destroyed them ;
and, in a moment of despair, renounced every
hope of excellence as a dramatic writer.—
Mr. Sheridan, likewise, engaged with a friend,
Mr. Halhed, in a poetical* translation of the
Love Epistles of Aristsenetus, from the Greek.
The poems are written in many different mea
sures ; for which the preface accounts, by
saying, that " something beside caprice may
be urged in their favor ; for, by a variation of
metre, the style almost necessarily undergoes
an alteration ; and, in general, the particular
strain of each epistle suggested the particular
measure in which it is written."
These pursuits drew Mr. Sheridan's atten-
* At the close of this Memoir, a few specimens of Mr. Sheridan's
delightful muse will be introduced; and, likewise, same beautiful
lines to his memory, written by those who can justly estimate and
acknowledge his extraordinary genius.— The specimens are neces
sarily very limited. With the greatest difficulty we have prevented
the work swelling to a sixth Tolume, so many interesting circum-
stances relating to Mr. Sheridan, hourly occurring to our recol
lection*  and the same consideration occasions this Sketch to be
confined almost entirely to some of his political measures.

VI MEMOIRS.
tion from the profession of the law ; and, con
sequently he was never called to the bar. '
Mr. Sheridan became about this time the
suitor of Miss Elizabeth Linley, a most accom
plished young lady, and the principal per
former in the Oratorios at Drury-lane Theatre,
and daughter of the ingenious composer. —
Her father had crowned those gifts which
Nature, with a very lavish hand, had bestowed
on his daughter, with every advantage which
can result from a thorough acquaintance with
the science, whose attribute is
" To soften rocks and bend the knotted oak."
Her beauty and talents procured her the dis_
tinguished title of the Maid of Bath. Captain
Matthews, a gentleman well known in the
fashionable circles of the period, having
caused a paragraph to be inserted in one of
the public papers of Bath, prejudicial to the
character of Miss Linley, a duel took place
between him and Mr. Sheridan ; and the latter
having succeeded in disarming his adversary,
he compelled him to sign a paper, in which
he made a formal retraction of the paragraph.
Upon this being settled, Mr. Sheridan set out
for Bath, and immediately published the apo
logy in the paper which had contained the
obnoxious paragraph. Captain Matthews, in
consequence of this, demanded of Mr. Sheri
dan satisfaction,— -and another meeting took;

MEMOIRS. Vll
place ; after a discharge of pistols the parties
fought with swords : both were wounded, and
closing with each other, fell on the ground,
where the fight was continued until they were
separated. Shortly after this, Mr. Sheridan's
suit was crowned with success, by Miss Linley
accompanying him on a matrimonial excursion
to the Continent. The ceremony was again
performed, 13th April, 1773, on their return
to England, with the consent of Miss Linley's*
parents. Though at this period Mr. Sheridan's cir
cumstances were far from brilliant, he dis
played that elevation of mind which is a
constant characteristic of true genius : hig
lady had not brought him any fortune, and
her talents were fully sufficient to have indem
nified him in that respect ; but Mr. Sheridan,
though at this time only in his twenty-third
year, and far removed from brilliant prospects,
would not condescend to receive the salary
annexed to the exertion of her abilities ; and,
notwithstanding several very advantageous and
* The following lines were addressed by Mr. Sheridan to this lady,
previous to their union : —
" Mark'd you her eyes of heav'nly blue,
Mark'd you her cheek of roseate hue !
That eye in liquid circles moving,
That cheek abash'd at man's approving :
The one, Love's arrow darting round,
The other, blushing at the wound."

VIU MEMOIRS.
lucrative offers were made,* she was never per
mitted by her husband to appear as a public
performer. Depending on his own talents for support,
Mr. Sheridan again turned his attention to the
theatre, and in 1774 wrote the admirable co
medy of " The Rivals." He gave it to Mr.
Harris, the manager of Covent Garden
Theatre, and it was first represented on the
17th of January in the following year. It did
not, however, experience the approbation it
merited, owing principally to the Irish cha
racter of Sir Lucius O'Trigger being ill sup
ported by Mr. Lee. Mr. Sheridan afterwards
made some alterations, and it was again
brought forward, and received with the great
est eclat.
The success of " The Rivals" gave a strong
impulse to Mr. Sheridan's theatrical genius.
He next wrote the farce " St. Patrick's Day,
or the Scheming Lieutenant," and presented
it to Mr. Clinch, as a testimony of his grati
tude for the assistance he had experienced
from that gentleman's admirable performance
of Sir Lucius O'Trigger, in the Rivals, in
which he had succeeded Mr. Lee. This farce
was written, it has been stated, in forty-eight
hours, and was performed for Mr. Clinch's
* Her situation in the Oratorios was filled by her younger sister,
who died singing—" I know that my Redeemer liveth."

MEMOIRS. IX
benefit on the 2d of May, 1775. In the ensu
ing season, Mr. Sheridan produced his comic
opera " The Duenna," and which was so well
received as to be performed seventy-five nights
during the season.
On Mr. Garrick resolving to retire from,
and give up his connexion with, the stage, a
negotiation for the purchase of his share of
the patent of Drury-lane Theatre, was entered
into by Dr. Ford, Mr. Linley, and Mr. Sheri
dan; who, in 1776, paid for it the sum of thirty
thousand pounds.
Mr. Sheridan's next production was " The
Trip to Scarborough," a comedy, altered from
Vanburgh's " Relapse." It was performed on
the 24th February, 1777 ; and, although not
very favourably received on that night, owing
to the inaccuracy of the performers, it was af
terwards played with great success to crouded
houses* " The School for Scandal," which, as long
as the English stage exists, will be a stand
ard comedy, followed, and was first performed
on the 8th of May. Forty years have now
elapsed since this comedy was brought out ;
during that long period, not any writer has
* The copy of this play was lost after the first nighf s representa
tion, and all the performers were summoned together early the next
day, in order, by the assistance of their parts, to prepare another
prompter's book.

X MEMOIRS.
produced a comedy to be put in competition
with it. In the same year Mr. Sheridan made
alterations in Shakespeare's Tempest. In 1781,
he wrote " The Critic, or a Tragedy Re
hearsed," written upon the model of " The
Rehearsal," * which, as well as " The School
for Scandal," is unequalled.
An intimate acquaintance with the late Right
Hon. Charles James Fox,-f- opened a new and
widely-extended field to the aspiring mind of
Mr. Sheridan, and produced in him a strong
* In addition to these, the musical piece " The Camp," is attributed
to his pen, but it is positively denied by Mr. Tate Williamson that Mr.
Sheridan was its author.
Kotzebue's drama of Pizarro received considerable improvements
from Mr. Sheridan's talents. The speech of Holla, exhorting the Pe
ruvians to defend their king and country, and their civil and religious
institutions, against a ferocious band of lawless invaders, is exclusively
from Mr. Sheridan's pen.
f Mr. Sheridan's opinion of this great man deserves notice. In the
debate on the Regency Restrictions, 16th January, 1789, vol. II.
p. 147, 148, Mr. Pitt having wantonly attacked the character of Mr.
Fox, Mr. Sheridan declared, " it was the characteristic distinction of
his (Mr. Fox's) heart to compel the most submissive devotion of mind
and affection from all those who came under the observation of it; and
force them, by the most powerful and amiable of all influence, to be
come the inseparable associates of his fortune. With respect to hi*
talents, he would not speak of them ; they would derive no support
from any man's attestation, nor the most flattering panegyric from tha
most enlightened of his friends. Thus much he would only observe,
with regard to the abilities of his honorable friend, that it was the ut
most of any other man's talents, and the best proof of their existence,
that he was able to understand the extent, and comprehend the supe
riority of them. It was the pride and glory of his life to enjoy tbt
happiness of his friendship."

MEMOIRS. Xi
desire to enter on the political stage. At the
general election in 1780, he therefore, by the
recommendation of Mr. Fox, proposed him
self as a candidate to represent the bo
rough of Stafford, and was accordingly re
turned. At this period the British Senate had to
boast of more able and enlightened men than
perhaps it had ever enjoyed. The reputation
for extraordinary talent, which Burke, Fox,
Pitt, and others had established, were formi
dable checks to any but the strong, aspiring,
and confident mind of Sheridan, who boldly
entered the lists as a competitor. He did not
feel  " How hard it is to climb

" The steep, where Fame's proud Temple shines afar."
Recommended solely by the vigour and versa
tility of his genius, he was not to be daunted
by the hazard of the undertaking ; he had a
just estimation of his own natural and acquired
powers ; and shortly after taking his seat dis
tinguished himself by successfully wielding
the various weapons for which those eminent
orators were respectively celebrated.
The idea Mr. Fox entertained of the talents
of Mr. Sheridan cannot be stronger expressed
than in quoting an observation he made in the
course of a speech of uncommon eloquence,

Xli MEMOIRS.
on his motion* for putting an end to the war
with France. Mr. Fox remarked, " if in point
of ability, if in point of integrity and honor,
if in point of every quality that could adorn
the character of man, they-f* were compared
with his honourable friend, Mr. Sheridan, they
were compared with their equal, and the com
parison would do them no dishonour." J
It was natural, on obtaining a seat in par
liament, that Mr. Sheridan should give his
splendid talents in aid of his friend Mr. Fox,
and consequently he became a firm supporter
of the measures of that statesman, and joined
his party, then in opposition.
The first motion Mr. Sheridan made in the
house was on a subject of the greatest import
ance^ It was founded on the employment of
the military during the riots, which occurred
on the Protestant petition in 1780. The
wretched imbecility of the magistracy of the
metropolis had laid the inhabitants open to
the violence of a contemptible rabble, and the
enormities they committed became topics
which were applied with great success, to
show the inefficacy, in all cases, of the civil
authority in affording protection, and the ne-
* May 30th, 1794.
t A Secret Committee of the House.
J Vide Fox's Speeches, Vol. V. p. 308.
§ For the better regulation of the police of Westminster, 6th March,
1781. Vol. I. p. 6.

MEMOIRS. Xlll
cessity of a military force for preserving
order and good government. This danger
ous and unconstitutional doctrine went like
wise to reconcile the people to the authority,
with which, under colour of the riots, the
military power, throughout the kingdom, had
been endued, of acting immediately from its
own motion, independently of the civil magis
trate. The invincible jealousy of military
power, which bad so long characterized this
country, grew familiarised to the aspect of an
armed force, and gradually gave way to im
pressions, which, if they had been lasting,
threatened the worst consequences to liberty.
Mr. Sheridan's speech, on this occasion, de
serves particular attention, although the mo
tions with which it concluded were negatived
by the ministry. Mr. (afterwards General
Fitzpatrick) seconded the motion ; and in
the course of his speech remarked, that " if
the military were to be employed against
their fellow-citizens, without waiting for the
orders of the civil power, he should no longer
wish to belong to a profession so dangerous
and fatal to the liberties of the country."
During 1777 and 1778 Mr. Sheridan had
been a regular and important contributor to
a paper conducted with great acrimony
against administration, entitled " The Eng
lishman;" Mr. Fox, Mr. Burke, General

XIV MEMOIRS.
Fitzpatrick, Lord John Townshend, and other
distinguished characters, also wrote in it.
The latter nobleman was one of the earliest
of Mr. Sheridan's political friends, and the
sentiments entertained by his lordship are
most feelingly expressed in the following ex
tract of a letter addressed to a friend, stating
the cause of his absence from Mr. Sheridan's
funeral, and which arose from his lordship's
own son being at the time in the most im
minent danger : — " I am one of Mr. Sheridan's
earliest friends. He, I, and poor Tickell
(whose memory, with all his faults, will ever
be dear to me) lived together in the closest
habits of friendship from earliest life — long
before Sheridan's introduction into public
life — before " The Duenna's" appearance —
before he was known to Fox, to whom I had
the pleasure of first introducing him. I made
the first dinner party at which they met ;
having told Fox that all the notions he might
have conceived of Sheridan's talents and ge
nius, from the comedy of " The Rivals," &c.
would fall infinitely short of the admiration of
his astonishing powers, which I was sure he
would entertain at the first interview. This
first interview between them (there were very
few present, only Tickell and myself, and one
or two more) I shall never forget. Fox told
me, after our breaking up from, dinner, that

MEMOIRS. XT
be had always thought Hare (after my Uncle
Charles Townshend) the wittiest man he ever
met with, but that Sheridan surpassed them
both infinitely.- And Sheridan the next day
told me, that he was quite lost in admiration
of Fox— and that it was a puzzle to him to
say, what he admired most—his commanding
superiority of talent and universal knowledge,
or his playful fancy, artless manners, and the
benevolence of heart which shewed itself in
every word he uttered. Ever afterwards we
continued intimately and closely connected
to the hour of his death, and nothing could
give me a severer pang, than to have it sup
posed that I was remiss in my duties upon the
last sad occasion."
In 1782, when a new administration was
formed under the auspices of the Marquis of
Rockingham, on whose public principles^ and
private honor and virtue, the nation seemed to
repose, after the violent struggle by which
it had been agitated with the securest and
most implicit confidence, Mr. Sheridan's exer
tions, as a political writer, were recompensed
with the appointment of Under Secretary to
Mr. Fox, who had received the seals of the
Foreign Department;
The public measures, for which the new
minister stipulated with the court before he
would consent to enter into any negotiations

XVI MEMOIRS.
for office, were these : — 1st. Peace with the
Americans, and the acknowledgment of their
independence not to be a bar to the attain
ment of that object; 2nd. A substantial reform
in the several branches of the civil list expen
diture ; 3rd. The diminution of the influence
of the crown, under which article the bills for
excluding contractors from seats in parlia
ment, and disqualifying the revenue officers
from voting in the election of members, were
included. While measures were happily pursuing for
maturing and bringing forward plans of eco
nomy and reformation, for the security of the
independence of parliament, for healing the
breaches of the constitution, and relieving the
burdens of the people; in the execution of
which the present ministry stood pledged to
the country ; a heavy calamity was approach
ing, which darkened the prospect that had
opened to the nation. This was the loss of
the Marquis of Rockingham, whose health
had been for some time gradually declining,
and at length sunk under the increasing
weight of public cares and business. The
first step taken by the court, after his death,
which happened on the 1st of July, 1782,
was the appointment of the Earl of Shelburne
to be his successor in the Treasury. This
unexpected event was soon followed by the

MEMOIRS. XVII
resignation of Mr. Fox, Mr. Sheridan, and the
rest of the ministry ; and the ever-memorable
coalition having been formed, the talents of
Mr. Sheridan were again devoted to lite
rary hostilities against Lord Shelburne's ad
ministration. It has been erroneously stated, however,
in the Biographia Dramatica, and other pub
lications, that Mr. Sheridan was a writer in the
periodical paper called " The Jesuist :" he
did not write a single paper of the eighteen
numbers that were printed ; but he was one
of the advisers of the publication. Mr. Burke
recommended the late Dr. Lawrence to con
duct it, and that gentleman was the writer of
the whole, from facts and hints with which he
was supplied. It was stopped by a threat
ened prosecution after the above numbers
had been published.
In a short time the coalition gained a de
cisive victory over the Shelburne administra
tion; a negotiation was opened with the
Duke of Portland, and on the 2d of April,
1788, a new administration was announced,
in which Mr. Sheridan was appointed Secre
tary of the Treasury.
The extraordinary powers of reasoning
evinced by Mr Sheridan in defence of Mr.
Fox's celebrated India bill, equally astonished
and delighted l|is audience and the public.
M — B.

XV1U MEMOIRS.
On the rejection of that bill in the House of
Lords, in December of the same year, the mi
nistry, of which Mr. Sheridan was a member, was
compelled to yield to another coalition ; not,
however, formed of two eminent leaders of
opposite parties, but of the shreds and tat
ters of every party. Mr. Sheridan being again
placed in the ranks of opposition, became
constant and indefatigable in his support of
the popular cause, and his abilities were
dreaded as the never-failing scourge of the
measures of his opponents.
In the violent debates which took place on
the state of the country,* Mr. Sheridan exer
cised his satirical powers with the greatest
success. In these discussions the most
pointed personalities were cast and retorted
from both sides of the house. The coalition
was branded as a corrupt confederacy of two
desperate factions, to seize upon the govern
ment of the country ; and the India bill was
foolishly represented to have been an experi
ment made by Mr. Fox, with a view, if not to
place the crown on his own head, at least to
raise himself to a degree of power superior to
that of the sovereign. On the other hand,
the party composing the new administration
was described as a coalition, not indeed of
parties, but of ifee shreds and remnants of
* Vol. I. pages 74 to 88.

MEMOIRS. XIX
the dregs' and outcasts of parties ; as a body
collected for the purpose of fighting the
battles of secret and unconstitutional in
fluence,* of trampling on the power and dig
nity of the House of Commons ; and of estab
lishing a government of cabal, intrigue, and fa^
vouritism, and of destroying the very principles
of laudable ambition, and honourable service
in the state.
Mr. Sheridan on these occasions, attacked
with the greatest severity, and at the same
time with considerable poignancy of wit and
humour, both Mr. Pitt and Mr. Dundas,
(afterwards Lord Melville) the two leading
members of administration.
In 1785 Mr. Sheridan had a principal share
in the debates on the Irish Propositions.-f- He
warmly contended, that circumstances did
not justify the arrangement of ministers,
whose schemes throughout the business
had been delusion, trick, and fallacy. He
compared the treatment of Ireland, newly
escaped from harsh trammels and severe dis
cipline, to that of a high mettled horse, hard
to catch; whom the Irish Secretary was to
soothe and coax with a sieve of provender in
one hand, but be prepared with a bridle in the
• In allusion to the communications received from His Majesty,
by Earl Temple and others.— Vide vol. I. page 73.
t Vol I. page 141 to 182.
M.— B 2

XX MEMOIRS.
other, ready to slip over his head while
snuffling at the food. Mr. Sheridan proved
himself in these debates, perfectly master of
the subject, and fully acquainted with the
real interests of Ireland : his speeches on this
occasion, were particularly remarkable for
their depth, solidity, and force of argument.
The ministry found them unanswerable by fair
reasoning, and Mr. Pitt attempted to rebut
them by the most acrimonious language of re
proof; but this line of conduct produced
from the latter, those retorts of keen satire,
which never failed in silencing the person,
whose inconsiderate conduct provoked them.
This was particularly noticed, when Mr. Pitt, in
1783, whilst prime minister of this kingdom,
illiberally made allusions to Mr. Sheridan's
employments, as manager of a theatre, and
his dramatic pursuits ; and recommended his
reserving his talents for their proper stage.*
Instead of being put out of temper by this
attack, Mr. Sheridan met it with the greatest
good humour, and by a happy thought, re
duced the Premier of England to the angry
boy in the Alchymist,f to the no small amuse-
* Vol. I. page 46.
t The singular felicity of this allusion to the character of Kastri\
•as noticed in the probationary odes for the laureatship. Lord
Thurlow is there made, much in character, to exclaim,
" Damn Sheridan's wit,
The terror of Pitt."

MEMOIRS. XXI
ment of the opposition party, and of every
admirer of gentlemanly satire.
Equally expert at a regular charge, or an
unpremiditated reply, Mr. Sheridan had, at
this period, rendered himself feared by the
opponents of his colleagues, for that vigour of
mind, extent of information, and brilliancy of
eloquence and wit, which penetrated their con
cealed views, exposed their fallacies, and by
unexpected flashes and retorts, never failed to
overwhelm them with confusion, and expose
them to the derision, not only of the house,
but of the public.
In 1786, Mr. Sheridan vigorously opposed
the motion of the minister, for erecting forti
fications for the protection of the dock-yards,
founded on a plan proposed by a board of offi
cers. His speech,* on this measure, was
the subject of much admiration ; and indeed,
independent of such arguments as are peculiar
to itself, it comprehends every other which
was made use of in contradiction to the pro
posed plan of fortifications. His objections to
the system, were, first, such as went to shew,
that it was, in itself, dangerous and inimical to
the constitution; and secondly, that such
were the nature and circumstances of the
report made by the board of officers, that the
* Vol. I. page 197.

Xxii MEMOIRS.
report itself did not warrant or authorize the
system. The arguments with which Mr. She
ridan supported his objections, had full
weight with the house, and on a division, the
motion of the minister was rejected by the
casting vote of the Speaker.
The proceedings against Mr. Hastings af
forded Mr. Sheridan opportunities for the dis
play of all his powers of eloquence. His
speech * on the third charge against Mr. Hast
ings, viz. the resumption of the Jaghires, and
the confiscation of the treasures of the
Princesses of Oude, the mother and grandmo
ther of the reigning Nabob will always be ad
mired. And here it may not be improper to
repeat the opinions, as stated in vol. I. of the
most distinguished members of the house on
this celebrated oration.
The subject of the charge was particularly
fitted for displaying all the pathetic powers of
eloquence, and never were they displayed with
greater force, skill, and elegance. For five
hours and a half Mr. Sheridan commanded
the universal attention and admiration of the
house (which, from the expectation of the day,
was uncommonly crowded), by an oration of
almost unexampled excellence; uniting the
most convincing closeness and accuracy of ar-
* Feb. 7, 1787, Vol. I. p. 272.

MEMOIRS. XX111
gument, with the most luminous precision and
perspicuity of language; and alternately giv
ing force and energy to truth by solid and
substantial reasoning; and enlightening the
most extensive and involved subjects with the
purest clearness of logic, and the brightest
splendour of rhetoric.
Every prejudice, every prepossession, were
gradually overcome by the force of this extra
ordinary combination of keen, but liberal dis
crimination — of brilliant, yet argumentative
wit. So fascinated were the auditors by his
eloquence, that when Mr. Sheridan sat down,
the whole house, the members, peers, and
strangers, involuntarily joined in a tumult of
applause, and adopted a mode of express
ing their approbation, new and irregular in
the house, by loudly and repeatedly clapping
with their hands.
Mr. Burke declared it to be the most as
tonishing effort of eloquence, argument, and
wit, united, of which there was any record or
tradition. Mr. Fox said, all that he had ever heard —
all that he had ever read, when compared with
it dwindled into nothing, and vanished like
vapour before the sun.
Mr. Pitt acknowledged, that it surpassed
all the eloquence of ancient or modern times,
and possessed every thing that genius or art

XXIV MEMOIRS.
could furnish to agitate and controul the hu-
man mind.
The effects it produced were proportioned
to its merits. After a considerable suspen
sion of the debate, one of the friends of Mr.
Hastings (Mr. Burgess) with some difficulty
obtained, for a short time, a hearing ; but find
ing the house too strongly affected by what
they had heard to listen to him with favour,
sat down again. Several members confessed
they had come down strongly prepossessed in
behalf of the person accused, and imagined
nothing less than a miracle could have
wrought so entire a revolution in their senti
ments. Others declared, that though they
could not resist the conviction that flashed
upon their minds, yet they wished to have
time to cool before they were called upon to
vote ; and though they were persuaded it
would require another miracle to produce
another change in their opinions, yet, for the
sake of decorum, they thought it proper, that
the debate should be adjourned. Mr. Fox
and Mr. M. A. Taylor strongly opposed this
proposition ; contending, that it was not less
absurd than unparliamentary to defer coming
to a vote, for no other reason that had been al
leged, than because the members were too
firmly convinced; but Mr. Pitt concurring
with the opinions of the former, the debate
was adjourned a little after one o'clock.

MEMOIRS. XXV
In June, 1 788, Mr. Sheridan summed up the
evidence on the second, or Begum charge,*
respecting the confinement and imprisonment
of the Princesses of Oude, and the seizure of
their treasures. This oration, which was deli
vered on the 3d,f 6th, 10th, and 13th of June,
* Vol. II. page 55 to 127.
t The opinion of Mr. Burke on these orations deserves notice : —
On the 6th, Mr. Burgess having moved in the house of commons,
that the Solicitors employed by the managers of the prosecution
should, from time to time, present at the bar of the house, an account
of the expenses incurred, Mr. Burke said, that he rose neither to
second nor to resist the motion. Before he seconded, he must ap
prove a motion ; before he opposed it, he must feel a strong reason
for meeting it with his negative. In the present case, he felt no
powerful propensity either way. He would not, however, avoid
offering his warmest congratulations to the honourable gentleman, on
his having chosen that glorious day, after the triumph of the mornr
ing, to bring forward a business of such an important nature ! It
was the honourable gentleman's choice of filling up the happy interval
between their adjournment from Westminster Hall and the rising of
the house, with calling them to the examination of the items of a
Solicitor's bill, which alone was fit to follow his first onset within
these walls, when he had stood up, and boldly ventured for a long
time, singly and unseconded, to call for the attention of the house,
after every other member had been struck dumb with astonishment
and admiration at the wduderful eloquence of his honorable friend,
Mr. Sheridan, who had that day again surprised the .thousands who
hung with rapture on his accents, by such a display of talents as
were unparalleled in the annals of oratory, and as did the highest
honour to himself, to that house, and to his cpuntry. For his part,
Mr. Burke added, his mind was not sufficiently let down from the
height of : exultation to which it had been raised; it required a de
gree of bending, of wetting, and of relaxation, to sink his thoughts
to the level of such an inquiry as that to which the honourable gen
tleman had called their attention. After sueh a sublime and glo
rious feast as the morning had afforded, the honourable gentleman's
curious speculation on minute particulars, convinced him that Provi-

XXVI MEMOIRS.
is beyond all praise. It enchanted every in
dividual present, and established Mr. Sheri
dan the first orator of the age.
The conduct of the impeachment of Mr.
Hastings was a task singularly arduous. Pub
lic opinion was in favor of Mr. Hastings,* and
dence had intended tbat man should not be proud, but that extasy_
of the mind should be checked and cooled by some sudden conco
mitant of mortification and disgrace, so that, under any circum
stances, it should be impossible for a human being to escape long
from having some proof of natural infirmity thrust before his sight.
He again congratulated the honourable gentleman, therefore, on his
choice of a day, declaring, that if ever there was a day made to
dignify the nation, made to dignify human nature itself, it was tbat
very day. Of all the various species of oratory, of every kind of
eloquence that had been beard, either in ancient or in modern times ;
whatever the acuteness of the bar, the dignity of the senate, or the
morality of the pulpit, could furnish, had not been equal to what
that house had that day beard in Westminster Hall. No holy reli
gionist, no man of any description as a literary character, could
have come up, in the one instance, to the pure sentiments of mo
rality, or in the other, to the variety of knowledge, force of ima
gination, propriety and vivacity of allusion, and strength of expres
sion, to whieb they all that day had listened. From poetry up to
eloquence, there was not a species of composition of which a com
plete and perfect specimen might not have been culled, from one
part or the other of the speech to which he alluded, and which he
was persuaded, had made too strong an impression on the minds
of that house to be so soon obliterated, as to render such a coarse
dish of slops as the honourable gentleman had set before them, at all
palateable. There was, Mr. Burke added, no conquest of man over
man, like that of genius over injustice; instead, therefore, of re
solving themselves into a committee of petty accounts, they ought,
like the Romans, after Scipio's victories, to go and thank the gods
for that day's triumph, &c.
* Mr. Sheridan's opinion of the character of Mr. Hastings will be
found particularly expressed in Vol. I. p.2«7, 288, 326.

MEMOIRS XXV11
throughout, the greatest difficulties were op
posed to the managers. The decided sanc
tion given to the party arraigned, and the dis
countenance constantly shewn to the mana
gers of the impeachment during its progress*
by several of the judges ; though, perhaps, in
some degree consistent with the merciful
spirit of the law of this country, were obstacles
the managers could hardly be expected
to surmount. The impeachment, however,
opened a splendid theatre for literary fame,
before an audience of the first dignity and
splendour, between Mr. Sheridan and Mr.
Burke : two individuals of the same country,
(Ireland), the same nearly in point of genius,
as well as birth, though each was marked by
some peculiarities of character. They both
possessed great variety of style as well as
vigour of imagination. By the magic of their
eloquence and poetical fancy, they could give
animation to every object they might have
occasion to describe ; and where real objects
failed, could call into existence a thousand
airy nothings. As was said of the Italian poet
Dante —
" II poeta dell' eoidenm."*
They were taught by philosophy, that a
degree of belief attends vivid conception;
and that to arrest the attention of men, is a
* They were poets of evidence.

XXV1U MEMOIRS.
great step towards their conviction. Mr. Burke
was, perhaps, richer in his various metaphors
and allusions, as well as more lively in his
transitions ; but he mixed the serious too
often with the low and the burlesque. Mr.
Sheridan's muse was less desultory, and more
equal in her flight; to him belonged every
intellectual excellence—
" Omne genus tetigit — nullum tetigit quod non ornavit."
But both * of them soared with epic freedom
into the boundless regions of fancy, and made
the most energetic appeals to the passions.
Here again Mr. Pitt-f- bowed to the supe
rior eloquence of Mr. Sheridan, by moving
an adjournment at the close of his (Mr. She
ridan's) speech ; and stated, as his principal
* It has been remarked, that Mr. Sheridan, in flow of diction,
yielded not to Mr. Pitt ; in force and acuteness he might be com
pared to Mr. Fox ; while, in splendour of imagination, he equalled
Mr. Burke, aud in its use and management, far excelled him. His
sarcasms were finer, but less severe, than those by which Mr. Pitt
indulged his anger, and the wit displayed by Mr. Sheridan in par
liament was, perhaps, from the suavity of his temper, much less sharp
than brilliant. But the quality which predominated over all its
companions in the mind of Mr. Sheridan, was his exquisite and
highly finished taste. In this rare talent he had no competitor ; and
that it was that gave such inimitable grace to his expressions ; and
which, in arguing or declaiming, in eulogy or invective, disposed his
thoughts with an effect so full and admirable.
t Mr. Pitt, in speaking on the Declaratory East India Bill, 7th of
March, 1788, vol. ii. p. 10, observed, " That in most of Mr. Sheri
dan's speeches there was much fancy ; in many, shining wit ; in others,
very ingenious argument ; in all, great eloquence," &e.

MEMOIRS. XXir
reason, that the house could not come then
to an impartial decision, for they were still
" under the wand of the enchanter."
In the debates * on the Regency, in the
same year, 1788, the powers of Mr. Sheridan's
eloquence were again called forth. He was
the principal leader in the attempts to con
stitute, without restriction, the Prince of
Wales, Regent; whose rights he supported
with a dignity, not lessened by his accus
tomed ardour. In imposing restrictions, Mr,
Sheridan conceived some delicacy was requi
site, for every restriction that was not neces
sary, was not a limitation, but an insult. He
attributed Mr. Pitt's haste to impose restric
tions to the fear, or unworthy suspicion, that
he could not carry the limitations he meant to
propose, unless he were minister ; or to the
apprehension that parliament, or the Prince,
would forget to do their duty; and he put
these pointed questions to that minister. —
*' What provision was made, if the Prince
should refuse to be Regent on the minister's
terms ?—Supposing him not to refuse, what
reason had the house to believe he would
withhold his consent from those restrictions
when Regent, under which he would consent
to accept the trust ? Would any one advise
him to say, I accept the Regency under the
* Vol. II. page 133 to 183.

XXX MEMOIRS.
limitations you propose, which I think are im
proper, and which I hope parliament will
annul ?"
The father of Mr. Sheridan died in the year
1788; and, in 1792, death also deprived him
of his lady, of whom Mr. Wilkes said, she was
" the most modest, pleasing, and delicate
flower he had seen."
At its commencement, the French revolution
was enthusiastically admired by Mr. Sheridan.
He conceived it to be as just a revolution as
our's, proceeding upon as sound a principle
and a greater provocation, and vehemently
defended the general views and ^conduct of
the national assembly. At the same time he
abhorred the cruelties that had been com
mitted ; from which, however, an awful lesson
was to be gathered, which could not fail in
creating an abhorrence of that accursed sys
tem of despotic government, which sets an
example of depravity to the slaves it rules
over. Our own revolution, in 1688, Mr. Sheri
dan regarded as the glorious aera that gave
real and efficient freedom to this country, and
established, on a permanent basis, those sa
cred principles of government, and reverence
for the rights of man, which he, for one, could
not value here, without wishing to see them
diffused throughout the world.

MEMOIRS. XXXI
The alarm of danger, which had at this time
been spread throughout the kingdom, not only
to the public peace, but the constitution itself,
began to yield to the means which were now
employed to unfold and controul those practices
by which it had been produced. It was said
to have arisen from the principles of the rights
of man, first propagated by the French, and
since disseminated throughout this country ;
that under various pretences, but particularly
that of parliamentary reform, clubs and so
cieties were established, which met in various
parts of the kingdom, and circulated the doc
trines of the French constitution among the
middle and lower classes of the people, to
make them discontented with their govern
ment ; that thus they hoped to prepare their
minds for any attempt that might be hereafter
made to overturn the government of the coun
try. These circumstances had the effect of
producing a change in the opposition party.
Some of its supporters, and amongst them,
Mr. Burke, imagining that this was a time of
alarm and danger, when all party spirit should
subside, when all party contentions should
cease, and when men of all parties should
unite to support the government, considered
the external as well as internal enemies, to be
of a species which had never been encoun
tered ; and that no weapon could so effec-

XXX11 MEMOIRS.
tually oppose their designs, as an unanimous
and determined spirit of resistance.
Such was the general state of affairs, at the
meeting of parliament, on the 13th of De
cember, 1792. In His Majesty's speech* on
that occasion, it was stated, that a design
existed to attempt the destruction of our con
stitution, and the subversion of all order and
government ; and that this design had evi
dently been pursued in connection and concert
with persons in foreign countries. Mr. She
ridan in opposing the address, which was an
echo of His Majesty's speech, contended, that
if there were, in reality* any seditious per
sons in this country, who wished to overturn
the constitution, their numbers were as small
as their designs were detestable. He accused
ministers with having created the alarm, and
strongly enforced the necessity of the house
proceeding into an inquiry, respecting the
circumstances which were alleged as the
grounds of that alarm, before they proceeded
any farther. Mr. Sheridan gave it as his firm
opinion, that were one French soldier to land
upon our coast, with the idea of effecting any
change in our government, every hand and
heart in the country would be fired by the
indignity, and unite to oppose so insulting an,
attempt,
* For the substance of the speech — Vide page 37. vol. III.

MEMOIRS. XXXlll
In his speech* on Mr. Fox's motion for
sending a minister to Paris, to treat with the
provisional government of France, Mr. She
ridan successfully exercised that vein of
prompted ridicule and sarcasm he had always
at command. The opinions of Mr. Burke and
Mr. Windham were criticised in the most
masterly manner, and the declaration of a no
ble lord,-f- " that he was ashamed of the en
thusiasm that he had once felt for Mr. Fox."
Mr. Sheridan treated with the indignant zeal
which friendship demanded ; he observed,
that the according chorus of the noble band,£
who in spite of the efforts of clamour and
power, surrounded the standard of Mr. Fox,
" the champion of the constitution," testified
how little they valued the desertion of this noble
lord. That magnanimous and humane spirit, which
was such a distinguished feature in the cha
racter of Mr. Sheridan, induced him to be the
first to call the attention of the House of Com
mons to a contemplation of the horrid and
merciless catastrophe, with which the king
and royal family of France were threatened,
* Page 42, vol. III. t Lm-d Sheffield.
J To the eternal credit of Mr. Sheridan, he continued firm to his
first opinions and friendships, while inferior talents, with the recommen
dation of perfidy and political desertion alone, have met with the
most ample rewards, and been fattened on the distresses of the public.
M. — C

XXXIV MEMOIRS.
in order if possible to avert it. Mr. Sheridan
suggested* an interposition on the part of the
British government : and Mr Fox supported
his friend's idea. The conversation, which the
union of such eloquence rendered truly affect-,
ing, terminated in a nrotion, by Mr. Pitt, on the
subject. Mr. Sheridan's feelings, in regard to the un
fortunate Lewis, were further witnessed by the
house, after the death of the king, in the.
speech he made when he moved ¦f for an ad
dress, praying that such communications as
might have been received, as to the existence
of seditious practices in this country, should
be laid before a committee of the house. He
therein animadverted on a declaration made in
the house, % that the only consolation that
could arise from the death or murder of the
king was, that it would rouse the indignation
and animosity of mankind against France.
This, Mr. Sheridan remarked, " was a conso
lation arising from inhumanity that he did not
envy ; he knew there were those who did not
mourn that unhappy event : there were those
who did not interest themselves to avert that
misfortune. But those who loved freedom or
cherished liberty, must ever deplore the trans
action, because, by one act, they had armed
• Page 52, 63, 55, vol. III.
^ VsJ. III. p. 78 to in. t Vol. HI. p. 8&

MEMOIRS. XXXV
despotism, and given a fatal blow to the general
interests of mankind."
In the debates on the continuation of the
war with France, in January, 1794, Mr. Sheri
dan was a prominent speaker.* He shewed, that
undue advantage was taken of the passions at
tached to human nature, in order to excite the
indignation of the British public against the
French, on account of the enormities they had
committed in the course of the revolution.
The guilt and infamy of their conduct, Mr.
Sheridan admitted, no person could deny ; but
it only affected them, and no people had any
other right than to lament the misfortunes of
that country, without assuming, however, the
least interference in its domestic affairs, unless
by amicable mediation between the parties. —
After reprobating at great length the coalition
against France, Mr. Sheridan observed, that
the junction of this country with the other
powers of Europe, was the heaviest blow, in
the opinion of the French, that they could have
received. The English were the only people,
since the revolution, for whom the French had
avowed any esteem. It was of notoriety that
they held all others in contempt, and there
fore, mueh against their will, that they found
themselves involved in a quarrel with this coun
try. Referring next to the parade of disinte-
* Vide Vol. III. p. 182 to 222.
M.-C2

XXX VI MEMOIRS.
rested patriotism and vaunted sacrifices made'
by the ministry and their friends, he entered
into a review of their conduct, and concluded
with the following keen and pointed observa
tions: — " Oh, shame! shame! is this a time
for selfish intrigues, and the little dirty traffic
for lucre and emolument ? Does it suit the
honor of a gentleman to ask at such a moment?
Does it become the honesty of a minister to
grant? Is it intended to confirm the perni
cious doctrine so industriously propagated by
many, that all public men are impostors, and
that every politician has his price ? Or even
where there is no principle in the bosom, why
does not prudence hint to the mercenary and
the vain to abstain, for a while at least, and
wait the fitting of the times ? Improvident im
patience ! nay, even from those who seem to
have no direct object of office or profit, what
is the language which, their actions speak?
The throne is in danger ! we will support the
throne ; but let us share the smiles of royalty :
the order of nobility is in danger ! I will fight
for nobility, says the Viscount, but my zeal
would be much greater, if I were made an
Earl. Rouse all the Marquess within me, ex
claims the Earl, and the peerage never turned
forth a more undaunted champion in its cause
than I shall prove. Stain my green riband
blue, cries out the Illustrious Knight, and the

memoirs. xxxvii
fountain of honor will have a fast and faithful
servant. What are the people to think of our
sincerity ? What credit are they to give to our
professions ? • Is this system to be persevered
in r *
On the 17th March, 1794, a warm debate
took place in the House of Commons, respect
ing a requisition issued by the ministry, under
the name of a recommendation for the raising
of volunteer companies of horse and foot, in
order to preserve internal peace, and suppress
domestic insurrections ; and to aid the mili
tary, if necessary, to repel an invading enemy.
The measure was condemned by the opposi
tion as unconstitutional; and the voluntary
subscriptions proposed to support it, were in
particular declared unlawful, without the spe
cific consent of the legislature. In the subse
quent discussion, on the 2 1st March, Mr. She
ridan demanded, whether the recommendation
proceeded from the Secretary of State ? and
in case it did, that it should be communicated
to the house, which ought of course to be ap
prised of it, as it related to the levying of
troops and money. The reply was, that the
recommendation was no more than a method
adopted by ministry to direct it in the forma
tion of a plan to be presented to the house as
soon as proper estimates of the expense had
* Vol. III. p. 215.

xxxviii MEMOIRS.
been regularly made out. Letters having
been written by government to the lieutenants
of the several counties on the subject, Mr.
Sheridan requested they should be produced :
but this being refused, he gave notice he
would move the house to declare its disappro
bation of the measure. The minister, in an
swer to this, asserted, that it was founded on
precedent; and that money thus raised, had,
in various instances, been expended in the
support of troops, as it was proposed in the
present case. Pursuant to his notice, Mr.
Sheridan resumed this business on the 24th of
March, and moved for the papers ; but the
question being put, it was carried in favor of
ministry. On the 28th of the same month, Mr. Sheri
dan moved, in an animated address * to the
house, that it was dangerous and unconstitu
tional for the people of this country to make
any loan of money to parliament. In reply,
the letters written by the Marquess of Lans-
downe, then Lord Shelburne, while in office,
to the lieutenants of counties, in 1782, were
cited, as a case precisely similar to the present;
Mr. Windham vehemently supported his opi
nion, and observed, that the opposition of the
present day resembled that of the year 1745;
which, to favour the cause of the Pretender,
* Vol. III. p. 285.

MEMOIRS. XXXlJfc
declared t%e country was in no danger.. These
assertions produced , a most satirical and
pointed censure from Mr. Sheridan. He re
called to Mr. Windham's remembrance the
vehemence with which he used to inveigh
against the present minister ; and spoke, with
the greatest severity of his direliction of the
minority. There were, Mr. Sheridan observed,
some fundamental principles which no man
could be justified in forsaking: — to grant no
supplies to the crown, but through parliament,
was the essential part of the constitution :— to
relinquish this privilege, was to enjpower the
crown at once to corrupt parliament, and sub
vert liberty. The debate was concluded with
a majority of 170 for the previous question.
To minutely follow Mr. Sheridan through
Iris political career from this period, would
swell this work to another volume ; we must
snow therefore, content ourselves with a few
observations on two or three particular points,
and refer the reader to the speeches them-
selyes : they are the strongest evidence of Mr.
JSheridan's unremitting exertions in support of
«the constitution of his country; as well as of
the splendour of his genius, which will shed a
lustre upon the age in which be lived, to the
jsemotest posterity.
Mr. Sheridan has the credit of having, on

xl MEMOIRS.
the mutiny at the Nore,* especially contri
buted to save the state. Although in opposi
tion he was complimented by the ministry
for the " fair, candid, and liberal conduct he
adopted in this business."
His speech,-)- in the debate on the army esti
mates for 1803, obtained much commendation.
He endeavoured to persuade all sides, that
there never was a crisis in which it was more
necessary, than at that moment, to prove to
the people of England, that they were above
all party feelings — all party distinctions, and
superior to any petty scramble for places or
power. Mr. Canning, on this occasion, ob
served, that the sentiments of Mr. Sheridan
" were worthy the man who had so often come
forward in times of public embarrassment, as
the champion of the country's rights and in
terests, and had rallied the hearts and spirits
of the nation ; he only regretted, that such a
speech had not come from the mouth of a mi
nister. Such language from those in adminis
tration, would, in his opinion, do more than
fleets and armies to ward off the attack bfi.a
foreign enemy, and to animate and maintain
the spirit and energy of the people."
A portion of this eloquent speech, produced
an effect very different from the conclusions
* Vide Vol. IV. p. 397 to 409. f Vol. V. p. 208.

MEMOIRS. xli
of Mr. Sheridan. It was, as has been ob
served, designed to quell all party feelings;
but in the playfulness of that wit and fancy,
which he always commanded, he fastened a
degree of personal ridicule on the Premier,
Lord Sidmouth, then Mr. Addington, the ef
fects of which long remained. Some sup
posed resemblance in the deportment of his
Lordship, to that which common consent has
usually attached exclusively to the professors
of medicine, coinciding with the circumstance
of his being the son of the eminent physician
of the same name, had procured him, partially,
the familiar appellation of " The Doctor."
Mr. Sheridan, in the course of his speech, not
- content with holding up ministers to view as
the " lees of a bottle of tokay, on which some
had been forward to make it pass for ge
nuine ;" — one as a " mere goose-quill," — ano
ther as " a stick of sealing-wax, which, as soon
as the drudgery of signing the peace was over,
were to be considered as fundi ojfficiis, and
thrown aside" — allusions which were quickly
caught, and kept the house in continual laugh
ter — took occasion, in stating the personal dis
like of some gentlemen to Mr. Addington, to
quote Martial's epigram,
" Non amo te, Sabide, nee possum dicere quare ;
Hoc tantum possum dicere, non amo te."

xlii MEMOIRS.
Of which he said, the English parody would
be more applicable to the parties,
" I do not like thee, Doctor Fell," See.
The particular emphasis which he laid on the
word doctor, and his subsequent repetition of
it, occasioned it to be constantly applied ; and
thenceforward the minister was generally dis
tinguished by the appellation of " the Doctor."
The public prints, in the interest of his oppo
nents, re-echoed the title, and twisted and
tortured it into every species of allusion that
wit and humour could bring to bear upon the
man and his measures, and held them up to.
that ridicule which is always fatal and destruc
tive to public character and confidence.
In 1808, when the early burst of Spanish
patriotism had raised a strong sympathy
throughout Great Britain, Mr. Sheridan was
the first to give form and expression to the
feelings which swelled every English breast.
He was convinced, that since the first burst of
the French Revolution, there never existed so
happy an opportunity for this country to strike
a bold stroke for the rescue of the world ; he
therefore recommended, that the patriotic and
enthusiastic ardour of the Spaniards should
be met with corresponding energy and en
thusiasm ; and, observed Mr. Sheridan, if that

memoirs. xliii
vigorous interference took place, " the admi
nistration should have from him as cordial
and as sincere a support, as if the man*
whom lie most loved were restored to life and
power." On the death of Mr. Pitt, Mr. Sheridan
came into administration with his friend Mr.
Fox. He was appointed a Privy Councillor
and Treasurer of the Navy ; and in the latter
situation he continued till after the death of
that great statesman. Shortly after a differ
ence arose in the cabinet on the subject of the
Catholic claims, which occasioned a dissolu
tion of parliament, and placed Mr. Sheridan
once more in the ranks of opposition, where
he continued for the remainder of the period
he held a seat in parliament.
After the death of Mr. Fox, Mr. Sheridan
contested the representation in parliament of
the second city in the empire, and was re
turned. On the dissolution of parliament in
1807, he again became a candidate for West
minster, but was unsuccessful.
Mr. Sheridan's talents, as an orator, may
always be estimated by his speeches now
recorded, many of which are master-pieces
of eloquence, and replete with the most beau
tiful effusions of fancy, wit, humour, and sym
pathy. It has been justly summed up by
* Mr. Fox.

Xliv MEMOIRS.
several political characters, and with the opi
nion of some we fully accord.
Mr. Sheridan was calculated to shine in
every sphere ; wherever he appeared— in the
senate, in the theatre, or in the seat of con
viviality, he monopolized a large portion of
admiration ; he, to adopt the words of one
friend, possessed strength without coarse
ness ; liveliness without frivolity ; he was bold
but dexterous in his attacks — not easily re
pelled, but when repelled effecting his re
treat in good order; often severe, much
oftener witty and gay, and graceful ; disen
tangling what was confused ; enlivening what
was dull ; very clear in his arrangements ;
very comprehensive in his views ; flashing
upon his hearers with such a burst of bril
liancy! — When no other speaker was listened
to, he could arrest and chain down the mem
bers to their seats — all hanging upon him
with the most eager attention — all fixed in
wonder and delight ; he never tired ; he
could adapt himself more than any other man
to all minds and to all capacities —
" From grave to gay, from lively to severe."
Every quality of an orator was united in him ;
the mind, the eye, quick, sparkling, penetrat
ing, matchless almost for brilliancy and ex
pression — the attitude, the gesture, the voice.

MEMOIRS. xiv
Mr. Sheridan was invariably the friend of
public liberty and the freedom of the press ; —
when they were attacked he stood forth their
ardent, uniform, and sincere champion ; and
his exertions, in their cause, together with
the firmness of his political connection, pro
cured him a great share of popular favor. His
just constitutional principles are so evident
in almost all his speeches, that it would be
difficult to select one in particular. We can
not, however, but notice, at a moment like the
present, his conclusion of an able speech on
the supply of 1793, and which we wish was
impressed on the mind of every individual in
parliament. Mr. Sheridan recommended to
the house, " before they laid a new burden
of a single shilling on the people, to enable
themselves, by a rigorous scrutiny into all
useless places, and reversionary sinecures, to
look their constituents in the face, and assure
them, that before they applied to their pockets
they had abolished all unnecessary expenses,
and unmerited stipends. By doing this they
would not only bring to the public service
large sums, wrung from the industry and
labour of the community, but they would de
stroy the baits of corruption, and teach the
government to look to its merits for its sup
port."*
» Vol. III. p. 104.

xlvi MEMOIRS.
Mr. Sheidan's second wife, and widow, was
the youngest daughter of the Rev. Newton
Ogle, Dean of Winchester ; and with her for
tune he purchased the estate of Polsden, in
Surrey ; and soon after this event he was ap
pointed by the Prince of Wales Receiver-Ge
neral of the Duchy of Cornwall, which situa
tion he held during the remainder of his life.
In private life Mr. Sheridan was as much
esteemed as genuine and unbounded wit, ex-
haustless good humour, and the singular and
happy faculty of accommodating himself to
every taste and every disposition, could make
a man: — his company was universally courted;
it enlivened the dull, gave confidence to the
bashful, exhilirated melancholy, and gave the
highest zest to gaiety and pleasure.
His death, which took place at twelve
o'clock at noon of the 7th of July, 1816, was
occasioned by a disease in the stomach, that
had been gradually aggravating for some time
previous to that event, until at length this
organ became incapable of performing its
functions ; and within the last two or three
days of his life the power of deglutition was
so completely destroyed, that it was deemed
dangerous to put any food into his mouth
lest it should produce suffocation. He was
confined to his bed for some months, during
which he was frequently delirious, from the

MEMOIRS. Xlvii
sensorium being affected, when he was unable
to take any food. The last four years of his
life had been passed in seclusion from the
political world ; and during that time he had,
it is deeply to be regretted, to struggle hard
against the severest pecuniary embarrass
ments. We shall close this sketch of a man whose
talents must always be a theme for admira
tion, with a list of the friends who attended
his funeral ; from which it will be observed,
that men of all parties concurred in paying
this testimony of respect to the last remains
of him with whom most of them had lived in
habits of intimacy, and by whose delightful
powers they had been so often charmed, both
in public and in private.
Mr. Sheridan was interred in the Poets'
Corner in Westminster Abbey, near to the
bodies of Addison, Garrick, and Cumberland.
It was decided that the corpse should be fol
lowed to the grave by his friends on foot ; and
it was consequently removed from the resi
dence of the family in Saville-row to the
bouse of Mr. Peter Moore, in Great George-
street, who was the warm and constant friend
of the deceased, that the procession on foot
to the Abbey might thereby be rendered more
practicable.

xlviii

MEMOIRS.

THE PALL-BEARERS WERE,
The Duke of Bedford, The Earl of Lauderdale,
Earl Mulgrave, Bishop of London,
Lord Holland, Lord Robert Spencer.
Chief Mourner — Charles B. Sheridan, Esq.
Henry Ogle, Esq. Henry Streatfield, Esq.
Hon. E. Bouverie, Sir Charles Asgill, Bt.
William Linley, Esq. C. W. Ward, Esq.
in Mourning Cloaks.
THEN FOLLOWED —

H.R.H. The Duke of York,
Duke of Argyle,
Earl of Thanet,
Earl of Harrington,
Earl of Mexborough,
Earl of Yarmouth,
Viscount Sidmouth,
Lord Rivers,
Lord Lynedoch,
Rt. Hon. W. Wellesley Pole,
Hon. W. Lambe,
Hon. W. Ponsonby,
Hon. Lieut.-Gen. Phipps,
Sir Thos. Mostyn,
Sir E. Home,
Sir Samuel Romilly,
Colonel Hughes,
M. A. Taylor, Esq.
Hon. Captain Bennett,
Robert Adair, Esq.
John Taylor Vaughan, Esq.
W. J. Dennison, Esq.
John Hobhouse, Esq.
Scrope Davies, Esq.
¦  — Metcalfe, Esq.
 Grey, Esq.
B. Williams, Esq.
M. Wyatt, Esq.
— Bradley, Esq.
— Burgess, Esq.

H. R. H. The Duke of Sussex,
Marquess of Anglesey,
Earl Clare,
Earl of Bessborough,
Earl oCRosslyn,
Lord George H. Cavendish,
Viscount Granville,
Lord Erskine,
Rt. Hon. George Canning,
Hon. L. Stanhope,
Hon. T. Brande,
Hon. D. Kinnaird,
The Lord Mayor,
Sir Ronald Ferguson,
Sir A. Pigott,
SirB. Bloomfield,
Owen Williams, Esq.
Peter Moore, Esq.
Dr. Baine,
Samuel Rogers, Esq.
Samuel Smith, Esq.
Samuel Talbot, Esq.
A. Graham, Esq.
Richard Wilson, Esq.
James Perry, Esq.
George Lane, Esq.
Rev. C. Williams
B. Wyatt, Esq.
Rae, Esq.

&c. &c. &c.

¦Peat, Esq.
Dunn, Esq.

MEMOIRS. xllX
The Duke of Wellington, the Marquesses of Wellesley,*
Headfort, Tavistock, and Douglas ; Lord Guilford, Lord
A. Hamilton, Lord Duncannon, Lord Petersham, Sir-Thos.
Stepney, were prevented from attending, by absence from
London, or indisposition.
* Among the various attributes of affectionate respect paid to the
memory of Mr. Sheridan, the following letter from the Marquess of
Wellesley was addressed to the Earl of Lauderdale, in answer to the
request that the noble Lord would attend the funeral : —
" East Cliff Lodge, Thursday, July IQth, 181 6.
" My Dear Lord,
" I return you my sincere thanks for the trouble which you have
had the goodness to take in communicating to me Mrs. Sheridan's
very flattering wish, that I should attend the funeral of the late Mr.
Sheridan. The same kind disposition will, I trust, induce your Lord
ship not to decline the office of expressing to Mrs. Sheridan my
grateful sense of this most acceptable mark of distinction : however
unworthy of such an honor, I am at least capable of appreciating it.
No person could entertain more admiration of Mr. Sheridan's talents,
more respest for his eminent public merits, or more regard for his
amiable character in private society : although I had the misfortune
often to differ with him in political life, I received many testimonies
of his favourable opinion, which are now most valuably confirmed by
Mrs. Sheridan's distinguished notice. ,
" With these sentiments, I must feel a particular anxiety to avail
myself of the opportunity, which your Lordship's obliging letter pre
sents, of manifesting my respect for Mr. Sheridan's memory, but l"
am unfortunately compelled to remain at this place to-morrow and
Saturday on indispensable business. If the funeral should be delayed
until Monday, I could attend it; and I would, with the greatest readi
ness, go to London on Sunday for that purpose.
" If, however, the arrangements already made should be unalter
able, I request your Lordship to assure Mrs. Sheridan of my un
feigned solicitude to concur zealously and actively in every public
and private tribute of affectionate respect to the memory of a person,
whose genius was an ornament to his country, and vyhose conversation
was the delight of private society.
" So deeply do I feel the distinction of being considered among the
M.  D

1 MEMOIRS.
The following is an inscription, on a large blue flag stone,
placed over the grave of Mr. Sheridan, by his friend, Mr.
Moore : — RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN,
BORN 1751;
DIED 7th JULY, 1816;
THIS MARBLE IS THE TRIBUTE OF HIS ATTACHED
FRIEND,
PETER MOORE.

number of Mr. Sheridan's friends, that if I sbould be deprived of the
honor of attending his remains to Westminster Abbey, your Lord-
»hip cannot confer a greater obligation on me, than by communi
cating to the public my sentiments on this occasion.
(Signed) " Wellesley."
" Earl of Lauderdale, &c. &c."
" P. S. If the funeral should happen to be delayed, may I request
» note from your Lordship by return of post?" W.

POETRY. 1
EPILOGUE
To the Tragedy of Semiramisj
By R. B. Sheridan.
Dishevell'd still, like Asia's bleeding Queen,
Shall I with jests deride the tragic scene?
No, beauteous mourners !— from whose downcast eyes—
The Muse has drawn her noblest sacrifice !
Whose gentle bosoms, Pity's altars— bear
The crystal incense of each falling tear !—
There lives the Poet's praise ! no critic art
Can match the comment of a feeling heart !
When gen'ral plaudits speak the fable o'er—
Which mute attention had apprpv'd before ;
Tho' ruder spirits love accustom'd jest,
Which chases sorrow from the vulgar breast,
Still hearts refin'd their sadden'd tint retain —
The sigh is pleasure ! and the jest is pain ! —
Scarce have they smiles, to honor grace, or wit,
Tho' Roscius spoke the verse himself had writ.
Thus tho' the time, when vernal fruits receive
The grateful show'rs that hang on April's eve ;
Tho' every coarser stem of forest birth
Throws with the morning beam its dews to earth,
Ne'er does the gentle Rose revive so soon,
But, bath'd in Nature's tears, it droops till noon.
O could the Muse one simple moral teach !
From scenes like these, which all who heard might reach.
Thou child of sympathy — whoe'er thou art,
Who with Assyria's Queen has wept thy part ; —
Go search, where keener woes demand relief,
Go — while thy heart yet beats with fancy'd grief;
Thy lip still conscious of the recent sigh,
The graceful tear still lingering in thy eye, —
Go — and on real misery bestow
The bless'd effusion of fictitious woe !
M. — D 2

Hi POETRY.
So shall our Muse, supreme of all the nine,
Deserve, indeed, the title of  divine.
Virtue shall own her favor'd from above,
And Pity — greet her — with a sister's love.

PROLOGUE
To the Comedy of the Miniature Picture >•
By R. B. Sheridan.
Chill'd by rough gales, while yet reluctant May
Withholds the beauties of the vernal day ;
As some fond Maid, whom Matron frowns reprove,
Suspends the smile her heart devotes to love :
The Seasons' pleasures too delay their hour,
And Winter revels with protracted power :
Then blame not, Critics, if thus late, we bring
A Winter's drama — but reproach — the Spring.
What prudent Cit dares yet the season trust,
Bask in his whiskey, and enjoy the dust ?
Hors'd in Cheapside, scarce yet the gayer spark
Achieves the Sunday triumph of the Park;
Scarce yet you see him, dreading to be late,
Scour the New- Road, and dash through Grosvenor-gate.
Anxious — and fearful to — his steed to shew,
The hack'd Bucephalus of Rotten-row !
Careless he seems, yet, vigilantly sly,
Woos the stray glance of ladies passing by,
While his off heel, insidiously aside,
Provokes the caper which he seems to chide :
Scarce rural Kensington due honor gains,
The vulgar verdure of her- walk remains,
Where white-rob'd Misses amble two by two,
Nodding to booted beaux — " How do, how do ?"
With generous questions that no answer wait,
<' How vaatlv full ! — a'n't you come vastly late ?
Isn't it quite charming ? when do you leave town ?
A'n't you quite tir'd ? pray can we set you down ?"

poetry. liii
These superb pleasures of a London May,
Imperfect yet, we hail the cold delay ;
But if this plea's denied, in our excuse
Another still remains you can't refuse ;
It is a Lady writes— and hark ! — a noble Muse,
But see a Critic starting from his bench —
" A noble Author"— Yes, Sir ; but the Play's not French :
Yet if it were, no blame on us could fall,
For we, you know, must follow Fashion's call,
And true it is things lately were en train
To woo the Gallic Muse at Drury-lane ;
Not to import a troop of foreign elves,
But treat you with French actors — in ourselves :
A friend we had, who vow'd he'd make us speak
Pure flippant French, — by contract — in a week ;
Told us 'twas time to study what was good,
Polish, and leave off being understood ;
That crowded audiences we thus might bring
To Monsieur Parsons, and Chevalier King :
Or should the vulgars grumble now and then,
The Prompter might translate — for country gentlemen.
Straight all subscrib'd — Kings, Gods,Mutes,Singer,Actor, —
A Flanders figure-dancer our contractor.
But here, 1 grieve to own, tho't be to you,
He acted — e'en as most contractors do ;
Sold what he never dealt in, and th' amount
Being first discharg'd, submitted his account :
And what th' event ? their industry was such,
Dodd spoke good Flemish, Bannister bad Dutch.
Then the rogue told us, with insulting ease,
So it was foreign, it was sure to please :
Beaux, wits, applaud, as fashion should command,
And Misses laugh— to seem to understand-
So from each clime our soil may something gain ;
Manhood from Rome, and sprightliness from Spain;
Some Russian Roscius next delight the age,
And a Dutch Heinel skait along the stage.

Iff POETRY.
Exotic fopperies, hail! whose flattering smile
Supplants the sterner virtues of our isle !
Thus, while with Chinese firs and Indian pines
Our nurseries swarm, the British oak declines :
Yet, vain our Muses fear — no foreign laws
We dread, while native beauty pleads our cause :
While you're to judge, whose smiles are honor's higher
Than verse should gain, but where those eyes inspire.
But if the men presume your pow'r to awe,
Retort their churlish senatorial law ;
This is your house— and move — the gentlemen withdraw :
Then you may vote, with envy never ceasing,
Your influence has increas'd, and is increasing ;
But there, I trust, the resolutions finish'd ;
Sure none will say— it ought to be diminish'd.

STANZAS;
By R. B. Sheridan.
Ask'st thou, " how long my love shall stay,
" When all that's new is past F"
How long ? Ah, Delia I can 1 say
How long my life will last ?
Dry be that tear — be hush'd that sigh ;
At least, I'll love thee till 1 die.
And ddes that thought affect thee too
The thought of Damon's death ;
That he who only lives for you,
Must yield his faithful breath ?
Hush'ii be that sigh, be dry that tear,
Nor let us lose our heaven here !

POETRY. \r
EXTRACT
From a Monody to the Memory of Mr. Garrick;
By R. B. Sheridan.
Amid the arts which seek ingenuous lame,
Our toil attempts the most precarious claim !
To him, whose mimic pencil wins' the prize,
Obedient Fame immortal wreaths supplies :
Whate'er of wonder Reynolds now may raise,
Raphael still boasts cotemporary praise :
Each dazzling light, and gaudier bloom subdued,
With undiminished awe his works are viewed :
E'en beauty's portrait wears a softer prime,
Touched by the tender hand of mellowing time.
The patient sculptor owns an humbler part,
A ruder toil, and more mechanic art ;
Content with slow and timorous stroke to trace
The lingering line, and mould the tardy grace :
But once achieved — tho' barbarous wreck o'erthrow
The sacred fane, and lay its glories low,
Yet shall the sculptur'd ruin rise to day,
Grac'd by defect, and worship'd in decay ;
Th' enduring record bears the artist's name,
Demands his honors, and asserts his fame.
Superior hopes the Poet's bosom fire —
O proud distinction of the sacred lyre ! —
Wide as th 'inspiring Phoebus darts his ray,
Diffusive splendor gilds his votary's lay.
Whether the song heroic woes rehearse,
With epic grandeur, and the pomp of verse ;
Or, fondly gay, with unambitious guile
Attempt no prize but favoring beauties smile ;
Or bear dejected to the lonely grove
The soft despair of unprevailing love, —
Whate'er the theme— thro' ev'ry age and clime
Congenial passions meet th' according rhyme;

lvi POETRY.
The pride of glory — pity's sigh sincere —
Youth's earliest blush — and beauty's virgin tear,
Such is their meed — their honors thus secure,
Whose arts yield objects, and whose works endure.
The actor only, shrinks from times award ;
Feeble tradition is his memory's guard ;
By whose faint breath his merits must abide,
Unvouch d byproof — to substance unallied !
Ev'n matchless Garrick's art, to heaven resign'd,
No fixed effect, no model leaves behind !
The grace of action — the adapted mien
Faithful as nature to the varied scene ;
Th' expressive glance — whose subtle comment draws
Entranc'd attention, and a mute applause ;
Gesture that marks, with force and feeling fraught,
A sense in silence, and a will in thought ;
Harmonious speech, whose pure and liquid tone
Gives verse a music scarce confess'd its own ;
As light from gems assumes a brighter ray,
And cloath'd with orient hues, transcends thcday !
Passion's wild break — and frown that awes the sense,
And every charm of gentler Eloquence —
All perishable ! — like the electric fire
But strike the frame — and as they strike expire ;
Incense too pure a bodied flame to bear,
Its fragrance charms the sense, and blends with air.

LINES
On the Death of Mr. Sheridan ;
By Chandos Leigh, Esq.
Well might the Comic Muse with drooping head
Heave the deep sigh— her Sheridan is dead-.— :
The sisters mourn for him, whose master-mind
Each separate talent in itself combin'd,

POETRY. lvii
Wit, Eloquence, and Poetry, the fame
Of either had imniortaliz'd his name !
O could the Muse's skill but match her zeal,
Then might the mournful lay like his appeal
To British hearts, like his when Garrick died;
Then glow'd the verse to sympathy allied !
Each word with plaintive sweetness charm'd the ear,
As flowers exhale a fragrance o'er the bier.
Where is the mourner now — whose bosom bled
For kindred genius gone ? — he too is dead.
Turn to the scenes of mimic life, there view
The characters our young Menander drew ;
Caprice in all her wayward fits display'd.
Folly in all her nicer shades pourtray'd ;
The testiness of age, the soldier's sense,
The maiden's sweet discourse, love's eloquence ;
The lively wife, not quite by fashion spoil'd,
The smooth artificer of mischief foil'd;
The generous rake, for, lingering near his heart,
His better genius would not yet depart;
These, true to nature, still adorn our stage,
Or in his calm retreat amuse the sage ;
These, like the gems of rarer worth, are priz'd,
When those of transient value are despis'd.
In senates, there his talents shone confest,
As wit delighted, passion storm'd the breast —
The mind with taste, sense, judgment, feeling, fraught,
Seem'd to be bless'd by more than human thought —
Hence burning words, for freedom gave the choice ;
The lightning of his eye— the magic of his voice.
When social mirth beam'd forth in every eye
His was the lively jest — the keen reply,
The flow of soul, wit seasoned high the song,
As playful fancy drove old time along.

lviii POETRY.
As glides a solemn stream by some dark grove
Of cypress trees, that mournful sign above ;
Following his lov'd remains, the good and great,
Marched sadly onwards in funereal state
To that proud scene, were patriots, poets lie ;
(Sacred their dust — their fame shall never die)
There laet not least, our Sheridan was laid,
There, weeping friendship her sad tribute paid.
Ye noble few, whose memories ponder o'er
His cheerful smile — his wit's unfailing store ;
Bright to the last, how graceful are your tears,
They tell of what he was in happier years. —
The friend, whose genius shed its vivid ray,
Far from your hearts to drive life's cares away —
The gay companion, sharers in whose mirth,
You had forgot that sorrow dwelt on earth.
Ye fair, who knew his elegance of mind,
His soul, still breathing in the verse refin'd ;
His purity of heart t' wards her he loved,
Her fondness, by the bitterest trial proved,
While in your heart, the kind affections live,
His faults, whate'er they were, you must forgive.
And you, you all, whom many a sprightly scene,
Waking applause shall teach what he has been. — .
Who shall revere the patriot — love the bard —
From Envy's blight, his sacred memory guard i
While glory aiding round his cold, pale urn,
By fancy watch'd, shall undefiled burn.

POETRY. lix
LINES
On the Death of Mr. Sheridan,
attributed to
Thomas Moore, Esq.
Yes, grief will have way — but the fast-falling tear
Shall be mingled with deep execrations on those,
Who could bask in that Spirit's meridian career,
And yet leave it thus lonely and dark at its close : —
Whose vanity flew round him, only while fed
By the odour his fame in its summer-time gave—
Whose vanity now with quick scent for the dead,
Re-appears— like a vampire, to feed at his grave !
Oh ! it sickens the heart, to see bosoms so hollow,
And spirits so mean in the great and high born ;
To think what a long line of titles may follow,
The relics of him who died— friendless and lorn ;
How proud they can press to the fun'ral array,
Of him, whom they shunn'd in his sickness and sorrow; —
How Bailiffs may seize, his last blanket to-day.
Whose pall shall be held up by nobles, to-morrow !
" Was this then the fate," — future ages will say,
When some names shall live but in history's curse ;
When truth will be heard, and these Lords of a day,
Be forgotten as fools, or remembered as worse; —
" Was this then the fate o! that high-gifted man,
" The pride of the palace, the bower, and the hall,
« The orator— dramatist— minstrel— who ran
" Through each mode of the lyre, and was master of all !

t POETRY.
" Whose mind was an essence compounded with art
" From the finest and best of all other men's powers ;
" Who ruled like a wizard, the world of the heart,
" And could call up its sunshine, or bring down its
showers !
" Whose humour, as gay as the fire-fly's light,
" Play'd round every subject, and shone as it play'd ;—
" Whose wit in the combat as gentle as bright
" Ne'er carried a heart-stain away on its blade ;—
" Whose eloquence — bright'ning whatever it tried,
" Whether reason or fancy, the gay or the grave, —
" Was a& rapid, as deep, and as brilliant a tide,
" As ever bore Freedom aloft on its wave !"
Yes, such was the man, and so wretched his fate ; —
And thus, sooner or later, shall all have to grieve,
Who waste their morn's dew in the beams of the Great,
And expect 'twill return to refresh them at eve !
In the woods of the North, there are insects that prey,
On the brain of the Elk till his very last sigh ; *
Oh Genius ! thy patrons, more cruel than they,
First feed on thy brains, and then leave thee to die !

* " Naturalists have observed that, upon dissecting an elk, there
was found in its head some large flies, with its brain almost eaten
away by them." — History of Poland.

POETRY. lxi
MONODY ON Mr. SHERIDAN;
Attributed to the Honorabk W. Lambe.
SPOKEN AT DRURY-LANE THEATRE.
When the last sunshine of expiring day
In summer's twilight weeps itself away,
Who hath not felt the softness of the hour
Sink on the heart — as dew along the flower ?
Who hath not shared that calm so still and deep,
The voiceless thought that would not speak but weep,
A holy concord — and a bright regret,
A glorious sympathy with suns that set ? ,
So feels the fulness of our heart and eyes
When all of genius which can perish — dies.
The flash of Wit — the bright Intelligence,
The beam of Song — the blaze of Eloquence,
Set with the Sun — but still have left behind
The enduring produce of immortal mind, '
Fruits of a genial morn, and glorious noon,
A deathless part of him who died too soon.
From the charmed council — to the festive board
Of human feelings the unbounded lord,
In whose acclaim the loftiest voices vied,
The praised — the proud — who made his praise their
pride :
*When the loud cry of trampled Hindostan
Arose to Heaven in her appeal from man,
* See Fox, Burke, and Pitt's eulogy, on Mr. Sheridan's Speech on
the charges exhibited against Mr. Hastings in the House of Com
mons. Mr. Pitt entreated the house to adjourn, to give time for a
calmer consideration of the question than could then occur after the
immediate effect of that oration.

lxii POETRY.
His was the thunder — his the avenging rod,
The wrath— the delegated voice of God !
Which shook the nations through his lips — and blazed
Till vanquished senates trembled as they praieed.

And here, oh ! here, where yet all young and warm
The gay creations of his spirit charm,
The matchless dialogue — the deathless wit
Which knew not what it was to intermit,
The glowing portraits fresh from life that bring
Home to our hearts the truth from which they spring,
Here in their first abode to-night you meet
Bright with the hues of his Promethean heat,
A halo of the light of other days
Which still the splendor of its orb betrays.
But should there be to whom the fatal blight
Of failing Wisdom yields a base delight,
Men who exult when minds of heavenly tone
Jar in the music which was born their own,
Still let them pause — Ah ! lii^le do they know*
That what to them seemed vice might be but woe.
Hard is his fate on whom the public gaze
Is fixed for ever to detract or praise,
Repose denies her requiem to his name,
And Folly loves the martyrdom of Fame.
But far from us and from our mimic scene
Such things should be — if such have ever been ;
Ours be the gentlier wish, the kinder task,
To give the tribute Glory need not ask,
To mourn the vanished beam — and add our mite
Of praise in payment of a long delight.
Ye Orators ! whom yet our councils yield,
Mourn for the veteran hero of your field !

poetry. lxiii
The worthy rival of the wondrous Three!*
Whose words were sparks of immortality !
Ye Bards ! to whom the Drama's Muse is dear,
He was your master — emulate him here !
Ye men of wit and social eloquence !
He was your brother — bear his ashes hence !
While powers of mind almost of boundless range
Complete in kind — as various in their change,
While Eloquence — Wit — Poesy— and Mirth
That humbler harmonist of care on earth,
Survive within our souls — while lives our sense
Of pride in Merit's proud pre-eminence,
Long shall we seek his likeness — long in vain,
And turn to all of him which may remain,
Sighing that Nature formed but one such man,
And broke the die — in moulding Sheridan !
* Fox— Pitt— Burke.

INDEX OF REFERENCE
TO THE
lea&tng gmfrjerts,
AND TO THE
Several Matters incidentally introduced
INTO f
THE SPEECHES
OF THE
RIGHT HONOURABLE
RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN.

Auckland, Lord, Memorial to Addington, Mr. (now Lord Sid-
the States General, vol. iii. mouth) vol. v. 218
120, 131, 132. Army, Bills for augmenting, &c.
American War, vol. i. 21, 26, 85 &c. vol. iii. 28S, 285, 307,
Adultery, Bill for preventing and 308, 312, 321 , 327 ; Report ot
punishing, vol. v. 146 the Committee of Supply on,
America, Provisional Treaty vol. iv. 44, 189, 276, 282,
with, vol. i. 38 371; Strength of in 1804 and
Army Estimates, 1783, vol. i. 1805, vol. v. 293
47 ; 1786, 183, 188 ; vol. ii. Additional Force Bill, vol. v.
1790, 241 ; 1793, vol. iii. 274, 285, 313
105 ; 1802. vol. v. 209 Aberdeen Bill, vol. iii. 343
Accountants, and Accounts Pub- Agriculture, Board of, vol. i.
lie, vol. i. 66, 93, 130, 352 169
Atheism, vol. iii. 69 Attornies' Tax Bill, vol. iii. 258
American Loyalists, Claims of, Arms, small in the Tower, vol. iii.
vol. i. 236, 249 179
Admirals, Conduct of the Ad
miralty in the Promotion of, Bembridge and Powell, Messrs.
in 1788, vol. ii. 34 vol. i. 52, 55
Artificers, Corps of, vol. i. 396; Brewers, private, vol. i. 61
vol. ii. 22, 25 Births, Bill for a Tax on the re-
Aix-la-Chapelle, Treaty of, vol. i. gistering of, vol. i. 68
41 Ballot Lists, vol. i. ,191
Alien Bill, vol. iii, 55, 276 Boroughs, Royal, of Scotland,

GENERAL INDEX.

vol. i. 389 ; vol. ii. 127, 203,
205, 208, 404 ; vol. iii. 1, 6,
26, 56, 99
Buonaparte, character of, vol. v.
163, 215, and vide France
Burke, Mr. his Separation in
Polities with Mr. Sheridan,
vol. ii. 241, 245; Observa
tions on his Politics in regard
to Poland, &c. vol. iii. 70, 141,
329
Bearcroft, Mr. Character of,
vol. i. 122
Brandy, Duties on, vol. i. 318
Barracks, their tendency, vol. iii.
93 ; vol. iv. 189
Bank, Stoppage of Cash Pay
ments at the, vol. iv. 317, 324,
328, 332, 366, 368; Ad
vances to Government, 374
Bank, new, vol. iv. 418
Bourbon, House of, vol. iv. 109;
vol. v. 111,160, 176
Bond, Mr. Justice, vol. iv. 212
Bull Baiting, vol. v. 204
Bedford, the late Duke of, his
Volunteer Corps, and Rejec
tion of his Services, vol. v. 23
Cornwallis, Earl, Thanks to in
1780, vol. i. 3
Clinton, Sir Henry- (General),
Thanks to in 1780, vol. i. 3
Coal Tax, vol. i. 93 ; vol. iii. 105
Cottons and Cotton Stuff, Tax
on, vol. i. 149
Coalition, vol. i. 83; vol. iii.218
Civil List, vol. i, 4,101
Carnatic Question, vol. v. 371
Carlton House, Sums voted for,
358, 383
Carlisle Petition for Peace, vol.
iv. 42
Commerce, Chamber of, Petition
from for further Time to con
sider the tendency of the Trea
ty with France, vol. i. 299
Consolidation Duty Bill, vol. i.
351 ; vol. ii. 45, 46 ; Vote of
Credit Bill, vol. iv. 323

Cornwallis, Admiral, his Court
Martial, vol. iv. 242
Canada, Petition, relative to Go
vernment of, vol. ii. 47
Corn Regulation Bill, vol. ii.
326; Report on high Price of,
vol. iv. 205
Commercial Treaty with France,
vol. i. 299, 301, 303, 306, 31 1,
314,317
Catherine, Empress of Russia,
vol. v. 176
Crown, its Prerogative, vol. i.
75 ; vol. ii. 1 1, 170
Condorcet and Brissot's Pam
phlets on Reform, vol. iii. 193
Commercial Credit, State of,
vol. iii. 151, 157 : Bill for re
gulating the Government of
Trade, vol. iii. 170
Crown and Anchor Association,
History of, vol. iv. 209
Chatham, the late Earl, Opi
nion on Parliamentary Re
form, &c. vol. iii. 165; vol.
iv. 9
Catholics, Roman, vol. iii. 326;
Motion for their holding Mi
litary Appointments, 370 ;
vol. v. 153, and vide Ireland
Cold Bath Fields Prison, vol. v.
93
Constitution, true Principles of,
vol. ii. 400; vol. iii. 3, 117;
Libel on, vol. iv. 155, 206,
218; Blessings of, 31, 147,
178, 295, 391
City Militia Bill, vol. i. 388 ; vol.
iv. 2, 6, 66
Cavendish, Lord John, purity of
his Principles, vol. iv. 219
Dividend Bill, vol. i. 110 ; vol.
ii. 326
Deaths, Bill for a Tax on regis
tering of, vol. i. 63
Debt, National, vol. i. 224, 226,
240, 253; vol. iii. 127; and
vide Loan, Supply, Finance
Deism, vol. iii. 69

GENERAL INDEX.

Bistilling Office Fees, and Per
quisites in the, vol. ii. 289
Dundas, Mr. (afterwards Lord
Melville), vol. i. 229
Dutch Loan, vol. ii. 371
Dog Tax Bill, vol. iv. 252
Despard, Colonel, vol. v. 93
Defence Amendment Bill, vol. v.
236
Election, Bribery, Corruption,
Abuses, &c. vol. i. 1 ; vol. iii.
22; vol. v. 337
Exchequer, Regulation Bill, vol.
i. 63
E O Bill, vol. i. 33
Erskine, Col. Case of, and the
Swiss Officers, vol. i. 62
East India Company, Affairs of,
&c. vide Proceedings against
Mr. Hastings ; and vol. i. 72,
96, 99, 105, 218, 223, 230,
258, 260, 267, 319; vol. ii.
5, 10, 16, 23, 31, 299, 304,
308; vol. iii. 168, 176, 178,
180, 345; vol. v. 371
Election, County Bill, vol. ir. 44,
188
Erskine, Mr. (now Lord), vol. i.
133
Fees Bill, for abolishing, vol. i.
61
Fortifications for Dock Yards,
vol. i. 189, 195, 197, 397
Finance, vol. i. 1781,4,17; 1782,
30,34; 1783,47,49,50, 51,
56, 57; 1784, 93, 99, 103;
1785, 136, 155; 1786, 183,
224, 231, 234, 235, 240;
1787, 354, 356; vol. ii. 1788,
38; 1789, 190, 193, 214;
1790, 241, 281, 303, 319,
321; 1791, 327, 342, 346,
356, 365, 375, 380, 381, 383,
390 ; 1792, vol. iii. 51 ; 1793,
101, 127, 175; 1794, 335;
1795, vol. iv. 35, 41, 44, 48,
51, 57 ; 1796, 191, 192, 218,
223, 224, 236, 252, 269, 290,

308; 1797, 312, 317, 324,
328, 332, 345, 349, 366, 368,
373, 374, 376, 396, 418, 420,
428 ; 1798,439; vol. v. 1800,
130; 1802,209; 1803,226,
230
Fox, Mr. his India Bill, vol. i.
72; vol. ii. 13; Character,
148, 387; vol. iii. 51 ; Mo
tion, in 1795, on the State of
the Nation ; vol. iv. 58; Mo
tion of Censure on Ministers
for advancing Money to the
Emperor without the consent
of Parliament, 290
France, Treaty with, in 1783,
vol. i. 35, 299,301, 303, 306,
311, 814, 317; Character of
the French, vol. ii. 245; Mo
tion for a Minister to treat
with Provisional Government
of, vol. iii. 42, 57, 58; Ex
portation of Grain to, 58 ;
Address on War with, 60, 72,
182,281; Bill to enlist French-
men, 32 1 , 327, 328 ; War with,
374 ; Avowal of Deism and
Atheism iu France, 69; Mo
tion for Peace with, vol, iv.
54 ; Negotiation with, 194 ;
Overtures from Buonaparte
for Peace, vol. v. 159 ; Nego
ciation with, 171 ; Definitive
Treaty, 193; War with, 130,
159, 171, 193, 209
Foreign Troops, vol. iii. 103,
222, 268, 321, 327; vol. iv.
260
Friends of the People Society,
vol. iii. 28, 75 ; vol. iv. 18,
and vide Ref'rm Parliamen
tary
Fiiial Tenderness, vol. ii. 116
Females, Mr. Sheridan's proposal
to exempt them from the Alien
Bill, vol: iii. 55
Fitzwilliam, Lord, recalled from
Ireland, vol. v. 17, 55, 80
Flour, Mixture of, in Hair Pow
der, vol. iv. 47

GENERAL INDEX;

Fitzpatrick, General, his Motion
relative to General La Fayette,
vol. iv. 303
Game Qualifications and Laws,
vol. i. 103, 112 ; vol. iv. 268,
288
Grey, Mr. now Earl, Motion for
Papers received from Agents
of the French Government,
vol. iii. 58 ; for Parliamentary
Reform, vol. iii. 158 ; vol. iv.
410; for Peace with France,
vol. iv. 54
Grain, Exportation of to France,
vol. iii. 58
Grenada, Aid to Merchants trad
ing in, vol. iv. 95
Grey, Sir Charles, the late Earl,
vol. iv. 241, 261, and vide
West India Expedition
Garrick, Anecdote of, vol. v. 306
Housebreakers, vol. i. 52
Holland, Treaty with, in 1783,
vol. i. 35 ; Military Opera
tions in, vol. iv. 40
Horse Dealers, vol i. 99
Hastings, Mr., Proceedings
against, vol. i. 214, 219, 261,
272, 302, 321, 346,391 ; vol.
ii. 4, 50, 53 (Begum Charge)
55, 76, 96, 107, 185,306;
vol. iii. 176, 178, 180, 345
Helder Expedition, vol. v. 103
Hawkers and Pedlars, vol. i. 235
Horses, Post, Tax on, vol. i. 364;
vol. ii. 288, 291, 299; vol. iv.
192
Hood, Lord, vol. i. 88, 126, and
vide Westminster Scrutiny, vol.
iii. 378, 390
Habeas Corpus, suspension of,
vide Sedition
Hessian Troops, vol. iii. 222
Halifax Defence, state of, vol. iii.
233
Howe, Lord, vol. ii. 36 ; vol. iv.
332
Harrison, Mr. Motion for Re

duction of useless Places, vol.
iv. 358
Hopkins, Contest for the Office
of Chamberlain, vol. iv. 188
Ireland, Affairs of, vol. i. 31;
Resolutions of, 1785,141, 157,
158, 309; vol. iv. 63; vol. v.
12; Union with Great Bri
tain, vol. v. 24,42, 61, 76, 90;
Irish Arms Bill, vol. v. 332,
341
Jervis, Admiral Sir John, thanks
to, vol. iv. 330
Iron, Exportation of Materials
for the Manufacture of, vol. i.
183
Impey, Sir Elijah, Proceedings
against, vol. ii. 1 ; Character
of, 78
Justice of the Peace for Middle
sex, Bill for regulating Office
of, vol. iii. 5
Invasion, vol. iii. 281 ; vol. iv.
276, 283
Job, Mr. Sheridan's Definition
of the Word, vol. iii. 225
Isle Dieu, Expedition to, vol.iv.
245
Jury, Trial by, vol. v. 1
King's Illness, vide Regency
Kaims, Lord, on Abuse in the
Departments of Government,
vol. ii. 38
Kings and Princes, how to be
Estimated, vol. iv. 32
Loan for 1781, vol. i. 17; 1783,
49, 50, 5i; 1793, vol. iii.
127; 1795, vol. iv.248; 1796,
218,224; and vide Finance
Lotteries, vol. i. 249; vol. ii.
286, 293, 405 ; vol. iv. 329
License Bill, Six Weeks, vol. ii.
313
Liverpool Credit Bill, vol. iii.
157
Lindsay, Admiral Sir John, un
justly promoted, vol. ii. 37

GENERAL INDEX.

Lambton, W. H. Chairman of
the Society of the Friends of
the People, vol. iii. 28
La Fayette, Case of, vol. iii. 47 ;
vol. iv. 303; character of, 306
Military, Interference of, in the
Riots of 1780 ; and Constitu
tional Jealousy of, vol. i. 10,
199
Marriage Act, vol. i. 2d
Minions of the Crown, vol. i. 86
Militia Bill, vol. i. 258; City,
388 ; vol, iv. 2, 6, 57, 66,
282
Militia, Constitution of the, vol.
v. 19
Mutiny Bill, 1788, vol. ii. 22,
29
Monastic Institution Bill, vol. vj
151
Malt Bill, Additional Duty, vol.
ii. 324
Mansfield, the late Lord, vol. i.
293
Manchester Manufacturers, vol.
i. 149
Middleton, Sir Charles Admiral,
unjustly promoted, vol. ii. 37
Magnanimity, vol, i. 287
Maroon War in Jamaica, vol. iv.
229
Navy, Bill for preventing Deser
tion in the, vol. i. 19
Naval Affairs of 1781, vol. i. 23,
24; of 1783, 34, 366; 1794,
vol. iii- 228, 230 ; 1804, 262
Navy Bill Holders, vol. i. 94,
111
Navy Board, Bill for disfran
chising all Voters employed
by, vol. i. 229
Newspaper Duty Bill, vol. ii.
206 ; respecting Publication
of, vol. iv. 461
Nootka Sound, Trade to, vol ii.
305
Nottingham Petition for Reform,
vol. iii. 75

North, Lord, Defence of his Ad
ministration, vol. ii. 25
Navy, augmentation of, vol.iv.35
Navy, Mutiny in the Channel
Fleet, and Augmentation of
the Pay of the Navy, vol. iv.
397,399,405, 424
Notes, Bank, a legal tender, Vol.
iv. 351 ; and vide Bank, Stop
page of Cash Payments, &c.
Office Reform Bill, vol. i. 131,
135
Ordnance Board, Bill for disfran
chising all Voters employed
by, vol. i. 229
Ordnance Estimates, 1787, vol. i.
393 ; vol.ii. 1789, 183; 1790,
297
Outlawry, Clandestine Bill, vol.
iii. 412
O'Connor, Mr. Arthur, vol. v.
9,88
Orange, House of, vol. v. 110
Prevost, General, vol. i. 3
Powell and Pembridge, vol. i. 52,
55
Postage of Letters, vol. i. 104 ;
Penny-post Bill, vol. iii. 256,
259
Prince of Wales, Affairs of, vol.
i. 249, 368, 375, 379 ; vol. ii.
vide Regency and Carlton-
House ; Debts of, vol. iv. 72,
75, 85, 93, 96; Establish
ment, vol. v. 226, 230
Popham, Captain Sir Home, vol.
v. 177
Post. Office, Abuses in, vol. i.
381, 385
Plants, Trees, and Shrubs, Act,
vol. ii. 189
Pitt, Mr. personality towards
Mr. Sheridan, vol. i. 46 ; his
Character, 392 ; his India Bill,
80 ; his Charges against Mr.
Sheridan of Inconsistency, &c.
181 ; vol. iii. 385 ; vol. iv.
301 ; vol. v. 203

GENERAL INDEX.

Powder Mills at Waltham Ab
bey, vol. i. 395
Perfumery Tax, vol. i. 246, 257
Portland, Duke of, Administra
tion; vol. i. 48
Publican's Bill, vol. v. 335
Pigott, Mr. (now Sir Arthur) vol.
i. 133
Palmer, Petition from the Rev.
F. vol. iii. 251, 260
Paper Bill for imposing addi
tional Duty on, vol. iii. 274
Placemen, Motion for Taxing
them during War, vol. iii.
313
Prussian Subsidy, vol. iii. 33-3 ;
vol. iv. <I1, 51
Portland, Duke of, Character,
vol. ii. 147
Peerage, Abuse in Creation of,
vol. ii. 149 ; vol. iv. 364
Polish Revolution, vol. iii. 71,
141
Petre, Lord, vol. v. 22, 216
Paine's Book, vol. iii.. 83, 93;
vol: iv. 415
Poor, Bill for Support and Main
tenance of, vol. iv. 311, 317
Prussia, King of, Conduct to
Poland, vol. iv. 33
Quebec Bill, Motion to Amend,
vol. i. 239; vol. ii. 340
Quiberon Expedition, vol. iv.
106,232,245,269
Riots of 1780, vol. i.6
Reform, Parliamentary, vol. i. 33,
54, 90 ; vol. iii. 28, 75, 153,
156, 168, 195 ; vol. iv. 203,
410
Receipt Tax, vol. i. 58, 59, 67,
69
Rolliad, Critiques on, vol. i. 151
Regency Restrictions, vol. ii.
136, 139, 140, 153, 154, 155,
160, 162, 164, 168, 175, 176,
180
Revolution Commemoration Bill,
vol. ii. 199, 204

Revolution, French, vol. ii. 241,
vol. iii. 13 ; vol. iv. 415
Russia, Motion against any In
terference iu the War between
that Power and the Porte,
1791, vol. ii. 327, 398
Royalty Theatre, vol. iii. 325
Rockingham, Marquis of, Cha
racter, vol. ii. 147
Richmond, Duke of, Opinion on
Parliamentary Reform, vol. iii.
87,96
Reeves, Mr. vide Sedition Bills,
and vol. iv. 156, 203, 206,
217
Sabbath Day, Abuses and Pro
fanations on, vol. i. 18
St. Eustasius, Motion respect
ing, vol. i. 22
Spain, Treaty with in 1783, vol.
i. 38 ; Expense of Armament
against, vol.ii. 1791,360 ; Af
fairs of, in 1808, vol. v. 368
Scholars, Act for regulating of,
and Presentation to Office,
vol. i 62
Smuggling, Report from Com
mittee on, vol. i. 92
Servants, Female, Tax on, vol. i.
152
Sadler's Wells, Bill to Licence,
vol. ii. 18
Slave Trade, vol. ii. 290 ; vol. v.
327
Shelburne, Earl of, Resignation,
vol i. 48
Sedition, vol. iii. 57, 58, 76, 78,
92, 107, 111, 122, 128, 129,
251, 260, 351, 358, 366, 385;
vol. iv. 1, 7, 39, 47, 110,118,
121, 130, 137, 147,165, 170,
201,464; vol. v. 1,140
Smith, Sir Sidney, vol. v. 187
School for Scandal, vol. iv. 188
Supply, vide Finance
Sheffield Petition for Parliamen
tary Reform, vol. iii. 153
Secretary of State, Third, vol.
iii. 416

GENERAL INDEX.

South Sea Scheme, vol. ii. 42
Snuff, manufacture of, vol. ii.
239
Sombreuil, Count de, Letter of,
with respect to the unfortu
nate Expedition to Quiberon,
vol. iv. 232
Succession, real, Tax Bill, vol. iv.
270, 272
Sheffield, Lord, vol. iv. 137
Swift, Dean, his political Pam
phlet burned, vol. iv. 164 ; bis
Libel on Dr. Delaney, 202
Stage, Restrictions of the, vol. iv.
188
Southwark Association, vol. v. 5
Tobacco Regulation Bill, vol. ii.
200, 206, 233, 247, 251, 290,
295, 297
Tontines, vol. ii. 315, 317, 318
Temple, Earl, Conduct on Mr.
Fox's India Bill, vol. i. 73
Traitorous Correspondence Bill,
vide Sedition
Trade, Bill for regulating the
Government of, vol. iii. 170,
173
Troops, Voluntary Aids for rais
ing, without the consent of
Parliament, vol. iii. 273, 277,
285
Treason, vide Sedition
Thurlow, Lord, his Advice to the
Prince of Wales, vol. iv. 81
^trecht, Treaty of, vol. i. 41

Vaughan, General, Cause of his
Death, vol. iv. 246
Volunteer Corps, vol. iii. 277,
283, 285, 307, 308, 312 ; vol.
v. 240, 319
Westminster, Police of, vol. i. 6
Westminster Election, vol. i. 88,
131, 138 ; vol. v. 324, 330
Writs, issuing of, vol. i. 80
Whale Fishery, vol. i. 257
Women, Motion relative to the
Burning of, vol, ii. 3©2
Woods and Forests, Report of
the Commissioners of, vol. ii.
404
Wray, Sir Cecil, vol. i. 88
Wedgwood, Mr. vol. i. 146
Willis, Dr. his Opinion on the
King's Malady, criticised, vol.
ii. 144
" World," political paper, Libel,
vol. iii. 180
West Indies, Expedition to, vol.
iv. 224, 231, 252, 256
Wet Dock Bill, London, vol. iv.
227
Wine Duty, vol. iv. 271
Wilkes, Contest for the Office of
Chamberlain, vol. iv. 188
War Office, Fees iu, vol. iv. 436
Young, Mr. Arthur, vol. iv. 160,
211
York, Dukeof, Encomiums upon,
vol, iv. 264 ; Helder Expedi
tion, vol. v. 103, 118

FINIS.

PRINTED BY W. SMITH AND CO. KING STREET, SEVEN I) 'AM

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