Star. — London, England, 1802-05-08 00:00:00

D ..I ' was the thief of the Briffotin; patty, who,' from the beginning had been defirous of Peace . condua on this occafion was marked with peculiar circumftances of guilt. He knew that the country was then fuffering under the prelline of fcarcity, and labouring under dif tretTes from which nothing but Peace could re lieve her. Yet he (hewed a determination to go on with the war ; he did fo, and difgufted- the j other nations of Europe. Shortly after this, he I contrived to excite Auftria again into the war, al though it was known that country had been ex. hauffed, and that its people were adverfe to the war. The campaign commenced in tfloo. Auffria was fubdued ; and France difplayed a degree of moderation which proved the was not wholly actuated by a Spirit of conquell, for (he forelxne taking polfdfion of Vienna, which (lie might have done. Another objeft for the conlideration of the Houle was the quarrel with the Northern Powers, which had beet occalioned by the imprudent oh ftinacy of the Miniller in refuting to give up Mal ta to the Emperor of Rittlia, who became the bead of the Confederacy then formed. There would have been lefs danger in giving up that place to Rialia than to Naples, from which it was likely foon to get into the polfetfion of France. Betides, it would have been wife to introduce Ruffia into the Mediterranean, as the Ally of this CQnutry. Fortunately, however, the death of the Emperor Paul put an end to tke Confederacy. In no put of the conduct of the late Minifter was there any thing like political wildom ; he failed in all his °Neff'. Peace at length became neceffary and what made it nece(fary ? Nothing but the war.—Othrisg6).—lt was the war which made peace neceiFary : he was cnrreut in the expreftion— " The terms of the peace were not fuch as could have been ward for ; but they were juftified on the ground that the country was reduced to a hate in which there was no profpea of fuccefs by con tinning the War." He wailed Gentlemen might look back to the calamities that had been produ ced by the 'War ; let them look at the poor-houfes, and at the numbers of people who died there in confrqucnce of the diffreffes which war and famine had !nought upon them : and then a& whether peace was not necetEtry ? The calamities of Europe rendered it ocean}, ; and France was enabled to dilate her own terms. ft would hereafter be Seen j whether the retaining of Ceylon and Trinidad was likely to be beneficial to this country. The cat however was, that the calamity of the country was fo great that the war could not be continued longer. It might be faid, however, that Mr. Pitt had !hewn great abilities in his plans of finance : he denied that fait. His principal plan, the Income Tax, could be conhdered as nothing better than a R.obefpierrean qifem of revenue which debated the people, and railed up fuch an oppreflive and inquifion la; powcrin the countryas could nolonger be tolerated. Another plan was the file of the land-tax, a meafure of great oppreftion on the land ed intereft ; but in which the Minifter's objea was to give a preponderance of benefits to the monied intereft ; and by railing the price of the funds, to keep the capitalifts in good humour, and enable bimfelf to raife loans on better terms. The effea of aloft plans was the great oppreffion and milery of the poor, who, during the laft two years, were want by thoufands in the poor-honfes. (Mar *ewe etVi tt randion were heard in various parts of lie Rosie.) " I arm," laid Mr. Nicholls, " that the condo& of that Right Hon. Gentleman has pro. duced fuck mifery among the poor, that the deaths in the poor-houfes within the bills of mortality, have exceeded all proportion, and that you would be terrified were you to hear the rectal. If you doubt the faa, appoint a Committee to enquire into it." This, he faid, was principally occalioned by the circulation of paper-money ; and the enor mous increafe of our public debt ; and every thing contributed to place us in a situation in which Peace was loudly called for. The Right Hon. Gentleman, he thought, was not of an avaricious turn, but he was a man of nroft inordinate ambi tion : h was true, he made no fortune for himfelf. but he put others in the way of making fortunes; and in point of corruption, Sir Robert Walpole was a child to him. He had adopted means of corruption that were never heard of before. He bad adopted the expedient of creating Peers for the purpofe of obtaining nominations to feats in that I look. (A ny of hoer!) •' Do you doubt it, laid he, " if yon do, go into an enquiry, and I will prove the fad." He had created above a hundred Peerages, and given away sSo . Penlions. Cor. ruption was the inftrument by which he afted ; it was by that he had fupported himfelf fo long in power. His retirement from office was atten ded by two circumftances, to which a very confiderable &woe of criminality attached : firfl, he of igned a reafon for his refignation, which Kid a tendency to alienate a great portion of his Majefly's Inbjeas—the Catholics of Ireland—from their attachment to his Majclfyis Perfon and Go vernment ; and lecondly, he left a large portion of debt on the Civil Litt ; and this criminal con duit was aggravated by the circ nmitance of a great part of the debt being incurred by lending money to the King's fun. Wo application of money on the part of a Minifier could be more injurious to the Country than this. It was not only attaching to him the Princes of the Blood, but making them dependent iot him ; and giving him . a dangerous power over them. Had an applicat ion been made to Parliament to fupply their necetlities it would j have been immediately attended to. But the Mi. :lifter, without confultingsParliament, committed this crime againh the Creilitution, and gave the King's tons to underhand they were to look up to him only for money. The contequences oh this lroceeding could only be judged by thofc who ooked at the hiflort of other countries, and taw the power affirmed by Knitter:, over their Sove reigns. Gentlemen mutt have heard of the Mair Is Falai: in France, and of the Pc,// , tra at certain Afiatic COurts. He milked if the Iloufe w ould fuller filch a praaice to grow up in the Country ? Thofe who whiled to guard the i.ldependence and the power of Royalty ought to guard ;Tama Inch conduit as this, and not (Infer any man, from his inordinate ambition, to nfurp an uncontlitntional power over his Sovereign. Nor fuould that Houle Puffer the Heir Apparent to be treated in that dif graceful manner he had been by the late Mininer. Mr. Nicholls then concluded by moving, " That an humble Addrefs be prefented to his Welty, returning him the Thanks of that Houfe for hav ing removed the Right Hon. William Pitt from his Councils." Lord BE LGRAVE obferved, that his Right Hon. Friend (Mr. Pitt) was not removed from his Ma jelly's Councils, but that he refigned his fituntion; :ind therefore if the Houfe agreed to the motion jolt made, they would be placed in a very awk• ward fituation ; they would be doing neither more not lefs than voting an Addrefs of Thanks to his hlajelly fur doing that which was not done. His Lordthip then laid, he anticipated the cordial fop-1 port of the Houfe to the amendment he had to pro. pore. He believed, in confidering the merits of , the late Minillers, their virtues would be found to outweigh their decals; and if the difficulties of the late conteft were confidered, as well as the arduous ftruggle which Mini flers had to make, it could not furpi We any body if they had betrayed fome of thole errors incident to human nature. His ob- 1 fervations fluyiel now be directed to that Gentle-1 man againll whom a vote of centime was moved; but to whom he himfell confidered the country in. l debted for her prefervation.—(A cry of hear!) He wilhed that the Houfe might notice the dif. ference which there was between the fituation of the country now and in the year 1792. With re-1 gard to the prefent Minifters, they did no more than follow the fleps of their predeceffors in office. Without meaning to detract from their merits, heJ mutt fay that the ftruggle againft the French Re. volution was over at the time of their coming into' power. They were like men, who, by the (kill of others, had efcaped the form, and were now fafe on (tore. All men, who were not void of feeling, mull know that at the end of 5792 the country was in a (late of general alarm and danger, from which all had efcaped and he would ark, if fomc credit was not due to that man who had (leered the ref fel of the State in the aria of the form, and brought her into port, with her colours hoitted, and her Itreamers flying ; and now proudly and triumphantly riding in fecurity ? At the period he alluded to we had not only to contend againll France, but againft French principles fopported by French arms. We had to r. ntend againll a country that had recourfe to confilcation, rapine, and bloodfhed, to fupport her erhaufted finances. Treafon was fpreading over' England, Scotland, and Ireland. Had it not been for the &inners, the wifdom, and intrepidity of his Right Hon. Friend, he was fore he thould not then have the honour of addreffing that Houfe. The Noble Lord then mitt ' merated tome of the moll brilliant inftances of the fuccefs ofour arms in the war,and the whole of which had been directed by the late Minifters. Betides this, he allted if there was no merit in organizing the fpirit of the country, and adopting loch effica cious meafures of defence ? '['he Union with Ire land, which was effeeted by the wifdom of his Right Hon. Friend, was another objea of the greateft importance and public utility; the good effeas of which began already to be felt in Ire land. The financial fyllem of his Friend was not, as the Hon. Gentleman laid, a Robefpierrean (yr. tern, but one which produced the utmoft benefits to the country, particularly the Sinking Fund, by which the burthens would be removed that mull otherwife fall on pofterity. He alfo deferved great merit for his Income Tax, which was a muff powerful weapon to fight the battles of the country. This war tax might fairly be called the Magna Charles of Britilk Revenue. His Right Hon. Friend had prelided over the Councils of the country for feventeen years—he had ferved the na tion with fidelity ; and his defesfts were only like thofe palling clouds which by obftruaing for al moment the rays of his talents, only ferved to heighten the luftre of his charaaer.—lt had often been the fate of great men to be (lighted and treat ed with ingratitude by that Public of whom they were the benefactors ; but it was not the charader of the Britifh nation to do fo. His Lordthip then concluded with moving the following Amend ment r—" That it is the opinion of this Houfe, that by the wifdom, energy, and firmnefs of the Right Hon. William Pitt, during the late moft arduous conteft, fupported by the unparalleled ex ertions of our fleets and armies, together with the virtue, magnanimity, and fortitude of the people —the honour of the country was maintained, her (lrength was united and confolidated, her credit and commerce maintained and extended, and her in. violable Conftitution preferved againft the attacks of foreign and dome flic enemies. " Mr. S. Tnoaturos feconded Lord Belgrave's motion, laying, that .after what had palled, he thought it a tribute of gratitude juftly due from the Houle to the late Adminitlration. He was one that had uniformly held the opinion, that this country did not reek the war, but that it was forced upon us by the ambition and reliefs interfering 101.4 of the enemy.—ln the eventinl contelt we had witnelfed it could not but be expeaed that difafters mull occur. They had, however, been met with a manly (pint, as had the commercial difficulties of the year 1793, which were connteraaed with al penetration, fagacity, and firmnefs that was un exampled. It had fallen often to his lot to wirnefs the fpirit and talents of die Right Hon. Gentleman againft whom the original motiouof the Hon. Gen tleman oppofite him was pointed, and he could fay' with the greatefl truth, that more integrity, cool deliberate penetration, and promptners of execu tion, he had never fcen or read of in any man.— ' He could not, however, conclude without giving his tribute of praire to the good fenfe and magna nimity of the people of this country, who had re fitted every effort to reduce them from their alle giance to their Sovereign, and fupported them (elves with fortitude under the prelfure of three adverre feafons. Mr. GREY role to order, and aficed whether an amendment could be put which altered the entire feat: of the original motion ? The STEAMER was of opinion that the amend ment was confiftent with the orders of the Hoak, though •ery snulhal.. - Mr. Fox apprehended the nature of the original motion had•bees stihadarliood. it was as Ai!• mmomak drefs to the King ; therefore& Noble Lord could not move an amendment clutneing the, orig motto' n ; he was, however, at liberty to move4a Addrefs likewife, if be thought• it expedient. . lir. Goa x►too fupported Lord Belgra ve's motions Sir H. MILDP4 41( fail, that the efcape this country had from the dangers in which furround. ing nations had been involved, was to be afcribed to the exertions of that Gentleman who was pro pofed to be impeached. The war, fo far from be ing difaftrous, had been eminently fuccefsful by fea and land : and there never was one in which the country had been engaged, which placed her in a fituation of fuch unrivalled fplevidor. Under the direaion of that great and amiable man (Lord! Spencer) the atchievements of our Navy were ; never equalled by thole of any former war. The , Hon. Baronet concluded by moving another amend ment—" That the Thanks of this Houle be given. to the Right Hon. Wm. Pitt, fur his great and' eminent fervices, &c." The SPUN= obferved that an amendment could not be moved to an amendment. Mr. EKSKIN F, at the fame time that li?oppofed the Amendment propofed by the Noble Lord,. laid, he could not concur in the original motion. He himfelf did not know why Mr. Pitt had re ligned his office ; nor could the Houle know whe ther he did refign, or whether he was diftniffecti it would not then he confiftent in the HOufe to thank his Majefty for doing a thing which they did not know whether his Majefly had done or not. At , the Fame time he could not fuffer this Motion to be made the foundation of another Motion, the moll unfounded and invidious that ever was calculated to difguft the feelings of the people—a motion to load with unbounded praife the man who had brought innumerable calamities on his country. It was for the King to appoint his Hi oilier, and for him, as a Member of that Houfe, to fee what the Minifler had done. He was afto nifhed to hear the Noble Lord, wlio fpoke in inch praife of the late Minilter, tile terms of cold and languid approbation when he alluded to thole who had rcfcued the country from the fituatinn it was lately placed in. The Noble Lord, in his figura tive language, reprefented the country as a !rad which his Right Hon. Friend had Reeved through the dorm, and which was now riding in port, with &earners flying, &c. Was it poffible that the Noble Lord could be ferious iu giving fuch a chg r rafter of his Friend ?—a wait, who bad driven the velfel into a tempettuous fea,'sind who, inftead of piloting her into port, took to his boat, deferted the Chip, and left her to be wrecked and deftroyed. Therefore, before he would agree to a Vote of Thanks, he mull enquire into the condua of that Minifter who had betrayed and abandoned his country. He bore no perfonal refentment to Mr. Pitt, he admired his talents, and only fpoke of his conduit as a public man ; it was,necetfary, there. fore, to examine that condua, particularly when a propo fi t ion fo extraordinary as the prefent was made to the Houk. War was in itfelf fo great a calamity, and attended with fo many evils, that he thought at the end of every war an enquiry ought to be made into the conduit of it. It was an excellent cuftom in the Navy, that whenever a Chip was 1011, altho' no blame could attach to an y of the officers, yet fo great attlevil was it to lofe a fhip, that a Court was always appointed to enquire into the condua of thofe who had the management of her. But a war was over, which produced none of the objeas for which it had been undertaken—which had not gained the (murky it fought for—which created a debt fo enormous that the addition of 4o or so millions could hardly furprize any body who fhould hear it named—a war in the courfe of which the Con ftitution had been invaded; fo far from an enquiry, it was propofed to thank the perfon who conduft ed it ; and this was the perfon who abandoned the helm of the Rate in the moll perilous cir cumftances ; in the midft of a formidable confe deracy of the Northern Powers agaiu9 us, di reeled and fupported by the head of a powerful empire, with all the affillance of that brute force for which Rullia has been ever diftinguiffied. Yet all this was propofed before any thanks were moved to the Minifters who refciied the Country from the difficulties with which the was then furround ed ; and reftored the kingdom to the Bleilings of Peace. Perhaps it might he laid, that although Mr. Pitt had retired, he did lo becaufe he was dif qualified from making peace, but that he left it to be made by others, and fuperintended the whole concerns of the country, although not appearing , to take an aftive part in them. This was a fart which few could fpeak to; and for his part he mutt fuppofe, that when the Right Hon. Gentle man retired, the State was direlift. He agreed with an Hon. Baronet in his eulogium on Lord Spencer ; but it fhould be obferved, that another Noble Lord now filled his department in a manner in which he could be excelled by none. There were Members in that Houfe who ("drafted from the merits of the peace. He did not think it was fo favourable a peace as could be walled ; but whole fault was that ? was he to thank Mr. Pitt for that peace? No; but the time might come when that Gentleman should be impeached for not Ellen ing to the overtures of 13onaparte : that Bonaparte, whom this covntry mull now keep at peace with, and whole propofals were made at a time when his Government was unfteady, and when the fate of France was uncertain. At that very time when the then Minifters could have made a favourable peace, an anfwer was fent to Bonaparte's letter, fo barbarous, indecent, and opprobrious, that he - hoped thofe who had advifed the writing of it might one day be impeached for Co doing. The Houle did indeed fwallaw the pill by approving of the con.' daft of the Minifter at that time ; but he would as if they would do fo again ? The eyes of maw. kind were fixed on that Houfe, and if it had hem once furprifed into fuch an aft, was it to do ano• then aft equally difgraceful ? He would *lk Gen tlemen if ever they could mat to enjoy a peace as long as Mr. Pitt continuectintis &nation ? Did he not take every opportunity of rejeaing peace ? For his own part he could neverbelieve that Gen tleman had appointed a Deputy to make peace for him ; hut that the State was fotfaken by him, and that the King had been left without • a Mini fler, for what reaton 420 (Mr. &WM) could: sot toll. . The Hots. eternise; toncloded with moving an Amendment to the Noble Lord's Motion—that ter the word" that," thee words be infertel 44 - a Committee be appointed to inquire into the condo& of Minifler during the late War, and the reafons of their refignation."—However, as th e f or m s of the Houk did not allow of the m o :i tn , being put, the Honourable and Learned Gentle man withdrew it for the prefect, and concluded by giving his moll hearty diffent to the amendment of the Noble Lord. Mr. CARTWRIGHT. warmly apptoVed theAmencl meat of the Noble Lord ; and offered the Houle that he never was one of thole Members, v..1i0, it was often laid, were in the habit of publicly fhp porting nieafures which they privately condemned 1 —for he always.thought the proceedings of the hitt Adminifiration neceffary to the fafety oldie coon ' try. Mr. Ws triattroaca was of opinion, that though every individual meafure of the late Minider might not be deferring of approbation, yet that upon the whole his condnEt was entitled to public gratitude, for having direded the Government of this coun try, paructslirly during a period of ten years of as difficult circumdances as ever any. Governor or Legiflator managed the affairs of man. The Legrned Gentleman on thy other fide had intro. 1 duced the figure of a fhip, in allufion to the State. and be would afk him, was that fbip 1011, nr im paired? No,. under the moß,ardoops complication of dangers that ever menaced this country, the late Mmiller had psoferved that kip, and the now lay fecure in port ! For that very reafhn he would I I fupport the amendment of his Noble Friend. Sir ROBIIRT FEEL., alto fupported, Lord Ildi. k grave's amendment. Much had been laid about the debt incurred by the war, but that debt was 'far counterbalanced d hy the commercial advan. tages the country had obtained under the late Ad. minitiration. La the :chid of the greated difficul ties our exports and imports had been doubled._ He had given his fußport to the late Adminitlra tion—he gave it to their ruccelfors—and if the Hon. Gentleman oppofite to btm came into pow er he alto fhould have his rapport, if he did not for feit it by his conchs& With regard- to the Right Hon. Gentleman who had been fo much the tub. je& of debate, he was one who wiffied moll atilt oufly to fee him in a date of comfort. Lle had neglected nobody but hirufelf, and it was a difgrace to the country to fee him in a date of poverty. Sir G. P. Tua'sa denied that war was ever the with of the late Minifler. Had he been a greater tyrant even than Robefpierre himfelf (a laugh), it was improbable that he could have de. fired war, when peace under his aufpkes was fo produdive of public wealth and public happinefs. If the Hoare lhould vote any cenfure upon the late Adminiftration, they would, in his opinion, vote a cenfure upon nine tenths of the Members of the Houle, for they had uniformly approved their meafttres during the war • and he hirotelf was one of thole who always voted with them, upon hide pendent principles too—for he had no place or penfion, nor would they rank him with the Peers —(a general laugh.) Colonel Wow:moot/se conceived, that to agree to the motion for cenfure, would be to vote a grofs infult on the proceedings of Parliament, by whom the late Adminiftration was fo honourably fecond ed ; for it mull be admitted that the. late Minifier was fupported by a larger and more refpedabic majority than any Minliler of England ever h,!,1 been. The Hon. Member laid, he was glad to offer his tribute of praife to the talents and worth of the Right Hon. Gentleman who was the prin cipal fubjed of this diicuffion, though lie vas con. fcious that nothing in his power to fay could ad vance the reputation of that illudrious man, any more than what the Hon. Gentleman, who : pro. poled the motion could fay,would tend to reduce it. Mr. Geer was at a lots to undertland the na ture of the Noble Lord's amendment, and hardly kpew how to addrefs himfelf to it. Whether it was meant to compliment the whole of the late Adrai nillration, or merely the Right Hon. Gentleman who in the courfe of this Mega - ion was the princi palobjed of panegyric, it teemed difficult to divine. All his colleagues appeared to be forgotten this evening; and all the language of eulogitim was profulay lavifhed upon him alone. 1/iefe cola giums however were general: no faa was dated to j unify them ; and direly it would be becoming. before the Houle contented to vote thanks to any individual or Adminiftration, to appoint a Com mittee to enquire into and afeertain the claims of that Individual or Adminiftration—to proceed as now propofed would be altogether unprecedented; it would be derogatory to the chat atter of Parlia ment, and inflating to the common fente and feel ings of the country, differing from the mitiondult of the late Minilter. In the courfe of his °Werra. tions, he fhould confine himfelf to the Amen& Anent, palling by the original motion; which, however, it would have been more regular and candid in the Noble Lord to negative before he propofed his motion, and then the quellion might be fairly met. There were Come parts of the No ble Lord's Amendment from which he could not dilfent : to any compliment on the army and na vy, he was perfuaded no Gentleman in the Houle would object; their achievements during the war , were entitled to the utmolt praife —. as far as de- I pended on skill, bravery, and difcipline. they bad been uniformly furcefsful ; and where they failed the fault was not their's, but the Miniller's, who iert them on difficult and ill concerted expeditions. It was therefore rather hard that the noble Lord then; d have exclufively attributed to the wifetom of the late Adminifiration the vislories of our fleets and armies—or at all, indeed, introduced there riaorks into a motion with which they were not neceifarily conneded. To the condo& of the late Mh.ilier every thing meritorious was in the courfe of this debate attributed, one Gentleman Paid that his Ma jelly was indebted to hint for the prefervation of his Crown; but if that Right Hon. Gentleman had never exided, he (Mr Grey) trolled there was a crowd of loyal fubjeds in the country, able and rea dy to defend his Majefty's crown. Another Gen tleman had infifted that we had gained all that we had not loft; and a third that the profiierity 'of the nation was entirely to be ggili r ed to the