The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1804-06-19 00:00:00

I emu* s seasessian of ships to a preNrr ener.t.-- Thonesubjeate. however. as I tn.! before, cannot haeonsprtAseaded in the present 13;11, but it dries INt thence foilow that they are negleaed by His Atajasty's Ministers. 'there were other points I also which were the subjeet of my observations before I Came into office. If Gentlemen will look back the/ will see that I (Psi propose a measure far our Suture defence ; hut that at to im mediate defence, I considered that all that could he lion then was, to improve the discipline of the fume tium subsisting. But has nothing been done since ? I reconunewkd originally, that the 1, ulunteers should • be called out upon permanent duty. That system has hem adopted; and I am sure not leas than from 0%400 to 160,000 Volunteers have been placed in that state for improving their disci pbne. Now I would appeal to ever y o ffi cer o f esoesienee, whether the result of this proceeding, by the improvement of their discipline, has not en creased their strength more than if their number boa been encreased one half ? I will not there fore have it said, thAt AdministrAt i on have been wholly ide s aed Ant nuthin o cha4been done for the defence of the country. That being the case. 1 know nothing on mrpart inconsistent with any rational ex peaation t hat the or any man who has attended to the no tices I gave, could have formed. I am ready to have my measure decided by experience, and I a ill confident tb,at every discussion will be beneficial to it. as it will place it more and more in its trot light. Of the mode of opposition which it .leas experienced, I have a right to complain.— There has been a disposition to draw into argument uesigu topics, which divert the attention from the teal subjvct, and in such hands as those of the Hon Geatleman v.-no spoke la.t, may be productive of ontertainment, and relieve the tediousness of debate by the brilliant display of wit which we have just witnessed. As to the argument, that the Admiiiis tration is rot worthy of confidence, I am At a • loss to coqjcaare upon what ground it r.:sta.—. T'ais, its first measure, surely canant be the cause, for it loss to an ohject upon which all per. - ..ms of all parties a:.d all descriptions 74.-e agreed. There must then be something awkward or unfor tunate in the manner of bringing it forward, if it be the cause of this loss of contill'ence. It is a delicate thing to speak upon the formation of the present iliEnistry t but with regard to the question of a more er 1., extended Administration, I believe I may eppeAl ter the Hon. Gentleman opposite 01r. Fox), whether, in a conversation which I bad with him wpon the su''jeet, he did not admit, that if the Administration was trot considered efficient and competent to its purpose, and that it conse quentlyn became right to remove it. that it was the province of tau House to died the chauge; but as to who is to be the Minister in the place of the person removed, I ask the Hon. Gentleman whether he did not at die same time say, that he ham his duty too vecil to agitate that question in the House ? then, what is to be done obstrult the Minister? Wby, because his Grit measure is a good one, that is to be Rude a sohjod of complaint, and this is to be a .list to him to retire from office. But the Lint is not broad enough , and I shall not take k ilelich). I think Bill will pass with aa auseated majority. I will not undervtand this hint, and I do assure the Hon. Gentlemen, that though they were to gain this point, they would lave a good deal more to do, hefts' e they could rec kon upon success. It is curious indeed, that I should be thus attacked by a combined confederacy of troops, who unite in sentiment upon this sub jell only, while, during all their past lives, they have beets involved in contradiftioo, and wiformly opposed to each other. lam not prepared to say whether a mere extensive Administration would not Live been more suited to the present times, but it is the prerogative of the Crown, to call any person whr ot it ti•inks it to the situation l have been at • issue upon O. pnirt in firmer times, and I am now ready to maintain' it as necessary to the free and Inonarchica: Constitution of the country. As to my suffiziency, or the &efficiency of those in of - lice with me, it is Flat necessary to say a great deal cpis: that eunjed I bat lem surprised at the lan /peke that has fallen from a N. Ile Lord (Tempt ). r I clink it ii•tle singular that my ading in concert with- a part of the late Administration should be made • bar to the confidence of him and his Irian's. I de remember the time, when, in the trwarem of his bitterest hnstility to the late Mi nister t I je remember that they then said, if His Majesty would include me in the Administration theysadd withdraw their opposition. (Herr! 4~ ! ) I ant mew I have done nothing since that which can *tiff any change of opinion; and, therefore, I aesat a little loss to know upon what ground they al laid now say, that the exclusion of men likel whom they have not sided should make am refuse me their assistance, and send them beis opposition. I hope I have spoken guardedly "pa this delicate sabjoft. It is one, which, from baits of private friendship and eonnedions ' I ditadd wish to have emirely abstained ; but what has /one forth itttotheworld calls on me to say thiamin!). lir, much fault has been found with th e pre sen t BBL but I think I may, without vanity, be allowed Ms my it is a much better Bill than the other, because it attempts to raise a force on better grounds by many degrees than that Bill did. It has been the custom, Sir, during the debates on the present Bill. to contrast this and other matters with the measures of the former Cabinet ; gentlemen may amuse themselves in so. doing. I can only say this h not a Cabinet that decides measures by telling of noses. as is done in this House, nor that adopts memores according to a plurality of votes. A great deal has been :Aid, Sir, in the course of the debate, Ni my not Navin; formed an ashninimation on broad basis, and an extensive settle as to talents and inlbenee. Sir, I am perfenly aware that it it tea ennable to eared great advantages from a broad Admittistrati"s in times of danger—and, yet Sir, I have my doubts whether such advantagrs are not rendered doubtful and questionable, from the grest variety of arguments 1 have heard advanced during the debates on this Bill, which chew, almost to a cert. inty that the Hon. Gentlemen, who, from their opposition to it. and who would, many of them, have been expeded to term a ran of that broad Adnii.i;stratice, scarcely agree in any twa pines on which they give their opinions. Another avument, which has been urged on the present cotta. Won, is, that the piesent change is not sufficiently so constitute a new Gneemrnert. So far as rebates . .to the Hon. Geet'omen no. the Bench b :dr, Ad lington) ; I think he must be convinced, and has evidently shown, that this Government is identi fied not to he his ; and, notwithstanding all that has been said of it, I holdet to be substantiel enough to :answer the purposes for which it was farmed. Mmy mijed;ons have been urged ag then it by the Hon. Gent who spoke lest, echo has i udulged hi mself in that rein of pleasantry and burnout, for which he has Most deiervedly acqiiircd soinuch celebrity, incom pei iag some of the Members of the present Adrriiiii stretiou with those whim the. y have succeeded in office, aid has indulged henelf particularly in contrestine Lord Melville with tee Fail of St. Vince-t. I should unceiestiona'sly myself extremely wrong. were Ito say than Lord Melville was as good a sailor, or understood how to work or fight a ship of war as well as Earl St. Vincent ; and yet I can have no hesitation to say, that in my opinion, there is every reason to suppose that Lord Melville will make as good a First Lord of the Ad miralty as Earl St. Vincent, for experience has often forcibly theism, that it was by no means necessary that a First Lord of the Admiralty should be a naval cherader. Ido not snepose the Hun. Gentleman thinks the First Lord of the 'Treasury worse than his predecessor, and ye he persists in stating that a Government or Administration, in which the two Secretaries of State are changed, and in which the First Lord of the Admireltr ns changed, besides se veral subordinate changes, is no new Government. In addition to this, it has been held that I enter tained a general remohation of the whole of the Lite Government. I can hoWever ueequivocelly assure the House that was not the case. Indent, it must be well known to the greatest pelt of the House, that I here ever entertained the greeest regard and the highest respeft fee ni my of them; and that with some of them I have lived in habits of the stridest friendship from my first entrenie into public life. %Vith reseed to another person, in aneelier House, I must beg leave •to say there were m a ny things which pass. d. dieing the time he held the seals, which I did not approve; but still no words ever fell from me in the smallest degree indicating that I would not agree to eft with him. Another point, Sir, which was touched on by the Hon. Gentleman who spoke lest, seas the degradation which one of the Nosle Secretariee of irate has suffered in conse -1 ! quence of having chang e d hi s s ituation. I a l w ay s did hold the Noble Lord alluded to fully equal to the itschei ge of the s arious, essential, and important duties which it fell to his list to fill; and I can by no means think that he suffered any degradation in accepting the office or one Secretary of State for that of :mediae indeee, I cannot see with what view such a thine come he mentioned, unless it was for the purease of sowing jeeloto.ie- and dis amnions anions His Majesty% c': event Ministers, and, as such, it deserve: my severest animadver sion. If the present Bill elsould be lost, I shall be sorry for it, because the I louse and the country will thereby lose a good measure; but the Hon. Gentlemen opposite will be much mistaken, if they think they will thereby be any thing the nearer getting rid of me. It is well known, and has ever been allowed to be one of the first and most es tablished privileges and prerogatives of the Crown, that His Majesty has a tight to these and nominate his own Ministers!: and with that convidion on my mind, 1 shall not be deterred from bringing forward snch measure as may be necessary, in aid and support of the preset Bill. which I have no doubt will meet the approbation of a considerable majority of the House, notwithstand ing all the opposition it has met with trim the Hon. Gentlemen en the opposite side of the :douse." Mr. Fox then rose aid spoke .he fallowing purport:—" Sir,l shell not a: rte hour of the night, and on a question whieb i• •en so often and soleteniously debated, take up ill of the time of the House in adverting to the topics which the Right Hon. Gentleman has thonght proper to take up. In a discussion on a Bill of this kind, lam net sarptised thereshould hew yet ygreat a difference of opinion. But in one of the arguments of the Right Hon. Gentleman with respect to these topics, he has said, eiat the mode which has been purste d togs: rid of this Bill has been very personal. I can only say, Sir, that in every business that comes before the House, on whatever subject it may be, no one can he more averse from personalities than myself, and I think I can eddy :tercel to the House, whether the introduction of such tmecs, dining every ciscussion which has taken place ott this Bill, were not brought on by himself, except on the present day, and then whether they *ere not entirely owing to the Honourable Gentleman who is near him (Mr. Canning) ? ‘Vlietever maybe the inclination of the Right t ion. Gentleman opposite to enter on per sonalities, 1 de not feel the smallest inclination, nor am I willing to shew my regress on the sua jed. I have. indeed, no wish to treat it i such a way on the present occasion; my prin ciple being totally averse from it. I certainly have entertained the opinion ever since the commence ment of the war, that the misery could not fail to be highly and extensively bene fi ted by an Admini stration formed on a broad basis, and which would embrace the greatest talents and the roost pre lomi. nant influence tie the kingdom. and as such I have uniformly given my oeimira. I thick it therefore best to avoid every thing that may tend to exaspe rate. 'There are, hawever, one or tries points of the Hon.Cerelemices speech, on which I must beg leave to makc a few observations. He rays thet His Majesty is by Ins prerogative uartistinnably entitled to choose and appoint his own Ministers. This is a positien which I do 11431 mesa to deny, though I am clearly of opi nion the I louse may so condud itself a t to convince His Majesty be ought to remove them. I don't know what the Right Hon. Gentleman means by speaking of an opposition composed of such discordant ma terials, that there is scarcely a point in which they can agree ; and that it is a point of time merely. if ' I recelka rightly as to time, there was a period, and that at no very great distance, in which that Right Hon. Gent. himself sepported,end slime also quickly succeeding in enich he opposed the late Administra tion. Inn the coarse of a few months, he supported, with the Inmost warmth, all the military mea sures of the Riele Honourable Gentleman, his predecessor, and very soon afterwards he opposed the Army of Reserve Suspension Bill, in or..:er to make way for the present measure, which he gave the House to ondernend was so much more eflivient and available at the present ins- . r t e : - . remelt crisis. To return, however, to tree pre. rng serve of the crown. if it be, which 1 do not deny, the prerogative of the King to choose his own Ministers, it is equally tile right and the duty of the House of Commons to judge of the capacity and the intentions of those Ministers ; and if thiiy should be found deficient in the confidence of the House of Commons, and in the confidence of the country, such disapprobation was a strong and fair ground for the King to dismiss them. if ever there was an Adminis tration that was deficient, he thought he might fairly and justly say it was the present. NVlien the Right Honourable Gentleman is attacked on the subjeCt, he has no other answer to give, but look at rue, as if the whole Administration were wrapped up in himself. He says, Lots! Melville is a better first Lord of the Admiralty than Eatl St. Via ceitt ; and, after speaking with the greatest com placency of himself, and the two Secretaries of State, he asks the Hon. Gentleman on the Bench below him, whether he is rot practically convinced that this is a new Administration? I should be sorry to give credit, Sir, to the rumours which are abroad, and which all go to prove, that all his wishes are centered in the objet he has attained. 'I he Right Honourable Gentleman says, he thinks the opposition to the present Bill extra ordinary, and that it is a hint to Ministers to retire. On some principles of the Bill, he says, the opposition totally differed, and then he asks how they would have agreed, heel they tormed part of an Administration ? There, indeed. I cannot answer the Right Hon. Gentleman. How far he might have insisted on any one or more parts of his Bin, and how far he might have conceived that we ought implicitly to yield to his opinion and to his direflion, I cannot pretend to say; but I think an Administration, formed on a broad and comprehen sive basis in times of danger, would be highly be neficial to the interests of the country ; and in such case, if the present Opposition could not bring themselves to agree to this measure of the Right Hon. Gentleman, their refusal would certainly be meritorious. The Right Hon. Gentleman says, we may give as many hints as we please, he won't take them; but 1 should be glad to know, if the House of Commons says, by its proceedings, we have no confidence in you, are those hints whirl] he will not take ? if that be the case, why did he not give such advice to his predecessor I I have un derstood there are some of the present Administra tion who did advise their colleagues to give way when they saw the opinion of the House of Commons was against these measures. I don't know which it was, but I hope it was not such only as boast of having a two strings to their bow ;" that would be taking an advantage with which he was by no means desirous to charge any of the.• pre sent Administration. The Rt. Hon. Geutleman has said. Sir, that it would be abiurd in the King's Council to be counting noses as we do in this House. I dare say, Sir, he is r erfeFtly riKht ; and if it was his intention to firm an Administration where no counting was really necessary, I believe he has completely succeeded. He has mentioned the change that has taken place in the Secretaries of State, and contended that in such a proceeding there is no degradation. The Right Hon. Geode man is most undoubtedly at liberty to form his own opinion and judgment on such a humiliation ; can only say that I totally differ from him in opini. . on. Having made these observations, Sir, I will beg leave to trouble the House very shortly on the Bill itself." Mr. Fox then proceeded to comment on the Bill; and contended, that af ter all that hid been said on the Army of Reserve Bill, the Right Honourable Gentleman must be perfeetly aware that this Bill could not be agreeable. The Honourable Gentleman had laid great stress on the clause which had been in tiodnced this day. By which 70,000 men were to he embodied during the war, and then disbanded at the peace, but registered, so that in case of any future war, they might be called on to serve again. This, he asserted, was by no means equal to a Militia; for in that kind of force you knew where to look for them. lion could look for the Yorkshire Militia in Yorkshire, and the Kentish, in the county of Kent: but these battalions were to be composed of such a mixture of men from all parts of the kingdom, that you might have to look for the Yorkshire in Cornwall, and the Cornish in Lancashire. In short, that there would be no knowing where to find them. They would not be so efficient either as the Militia or Army of Reserve. He con demned severely the mode of raising !emits by parish officers, and insisted that the influence of parish officers could be attended with no further or other advantage in the raising recruits than what resulted from a system of terror and op . pression, which could not fail to be the case in such a system as the present, where persons were to be fined for not doing what it was ima possible they should be able to do. Besides, fines were in themselves a species of punishment, and that ought never to attach to persons who had been guilty of no crime. He contended that there was the greatest inequality in a system of tAzation by fine, such as.this was, and illustrated it by the following position—" I send my servant to market to buy a bushel of wheat, or any ether grain; but I tell him, At the same time, he must not, on any account, g.ve rn , :e than half-a-crown for the bushel." " HA:i.a.;iown, Sir 1" says the Scot, " I can't buy a bushel of wheat for that sum; it is worth seven shillings a bushel, and no one will sell it fcr less." a Nosmatter," say I ; " you must give n 1 more than half-a-crown, and if you don't buy it for that, you shall be punished with a fine." In the same way would it ex idly turn out with the recruits under this Bill. Men will not enlist for the sum to which these parish . ea uiting officers are restricted by the Bill. and then the parishes must be firsts', which would prove as great a hare ship as could well be conceived. the whole sys tem was also very unequal, for it fell much heavier on the landholder than any tither description of persons, and with the greatest inequality even on those. He saw no reason why the mode of recruit ing for the regular army advised by his Right Ho nourable Friend (Mr. Windham) should not be tried. %Vny not enlist men fora limitted time, or fcr limited service? He had no doubt, but inch trial wouid be attended with success. He could, however, see no pcssible advantage, but only the contrary, in enlisting men for a limited service, in order to seduce them afterwards into a general ser vice, which was to be the operation of this Bill, and from which he could not see any benefit could be expeCted. Because the Army of Resrve could not do its service with the ballot, it is rashly pic slitt , j that this Bill will etre.% the same perposes witla nt , t h e ballot; a mode of arguing, which militated rt. pressly against the nature of things. For his ;,,v ii part, he fad voted for the suspension of tt ;e Army of Reserve Bill, for the express purpos e if giving this measure an opp.rt tttt ;Lye f being f.t;rly and fully discussed ; and now thachad taken place, he was convinced it was one of the most opprc!.th e a s well as one of the most inefficient meanne,, ;;; could well be devised, for the purposes it was in tended to ellen. Indeed, to speak of the als o -di, ties of the Bill in detail, would be a wondro, waste of time. He had said just now it wo u ld he oppressive ; perhaps it might be answere I him, why it cannot be oppressive an 1 inefficie nt too ? But he insisted that it might, for it w as full of oppression and injustice, and tended b! 4 more circuitous mode to recruit the army, d ati the plan proposed by his Right Hon. Friend. li e must, therefore, continue to give his opposition to it. Refo-e he . al; down, there was ode observation whi, had fallen from the Right lion. Gentl-rnan that It. cou'd not let pass without saying a few words on it: The Right Hun. Gentleman had said, if you throw out my Bill, I shall be sorry ; because you 1:-.4 the country will lose a good measure ; Lut yr‘ tt won't be the nearer getting rid of me." A rnoT l incedent and disrespeCtful expression from a NV. nister, to a British House of Commons, he hit never heard. He asked, if it was possible that the House could send a Bill into the country of such unexampled seteiity and oppression, which would pass against the opinion of one-half the Members of the House. It must be allowed, the Bill, with all the influence of Government (the honourable influence he meant), would be carried by only a very trifling majority, and under such circumstances he found it his duty to raise his voice, and give his vote against it is every stage which it had to pass. The Question being then loudly tailed for, a di. vision took place, when there appeared, for engross,. ing the Bill with the Amendments, Ayes, 263—Noes, 2'l3—Majority, O. The Bill was then ordered to be read a third time this day.-Adjourned at HALF PAST FOUR. THEATRE ROYAL, COVENT-GARDEN. Thin Everiinq will be acted. THE WILI. FOR THE HEED. After which, THE PARAGRAPH. To "ditch wilt he added. RAISING THE WIND. THEATRE R0Y.%1,, HAY-MARKET. This Evening will h• prevented, THE bAT(LE HEXHAM. To which win he adied, THE CHILDREN IN THE WOOD. THE BRITISH PRESS• IA )N DON, TUESDAY, Jura 19. Mr. PITT had this morning a majority n( 4?. Urine the division, his party went out iuto the lobby, where le pressed great eitultAion at tilt resuk, and said, he esp.-cud. a mach larger majority upon tits third tending of the evening. Th's declaration was semi', ed with It was reportvd yesterday, we knew not upon what autho rity, i at a person had a rived from the Comment, 16 tit rive tinga of peace. We received by the last Flambingh Mali, a er fro.o tile Continent, which dates, that rumours of pm:: were became general; but that they were suwessed to be cv. colated.ny Bonaparte, far the li:repose el impos.tran. . . Advises were yest,olay received overland from Madras, oc. dear date the Itlth of January, bringing the pleasing Intel-, genes et a deinitive truty et' perpetual amity - and alliance, having been visaed and =titrd un the :30th Deirernbic betwrien the !Swish Government, and the rnited Tones of Scindia, and the Rajah of Bcr.,r. The Treaty wu signs I Major General Wellesley, on the port of oor (taverna:amt. and wo learn that it it highly advantageous to the British it, tercets. We retain the imivartant Fortress of Broach, with every important , ituation on the Coast in the Guterat. The aathority of the rcishwa is acknowledged, and he is expected sho,tly to be restored to his former dignity an the empire. Colonel Maloolin was appointed to proceed, a ithaut as Aniiiessailer at the Conn of Scindia. We hare, 'maestri, to add the partkalan of another echo% which took place a short time prior to the ratification of the Troaty. It will be recollected Oat a cessation of hostilities had taken place for some time en the part of Scind.a i hot die Rajah of 13.-ar hid decliiied ente-ing into any engagement Qf the kind, though lie n:rn• sliewcd an inclination to hava , l a battle. About the middle of Dezember, a detacheteut from Cele-! Welk-dry% arm., with Fin of the satsiliary force nodes lonel htevenenn, storme I the (enters of Oyalgur, ea the bur. tiers of the territory of the R d.h of Serer. Our tom wig V(.l triimg con,itlercil with th• en.rn,y's i and the following will le rowel a correct retina on that occasion :••••• 114`of G , nerel Wenewty's 15.•,siune.erwropwant 5 killed 1.14 11 wounded. Netivos I killed, 9 wounded, and I OM% ag Subsidiary Force—Ettropr.i.rs, b 7 wourided, pa . killei, 4? sround -4, aud V usisming. Toci—.F.un,,, , ..es, 3 kined, Si wone.:^4. 1C4. ,, • 31 wounded, 3 mixing. Lieut:nant G.•nrge Young, of the 24 ISatta',..n of t.t.: Regiment of Native Int r.iry,thed of hit wounds. Wntartesi—Lieutenmit.Cantel Ktnny, 14 Batt..l i Regiment Native Infantry, and Lint:tenant Par:Ly,il4 7th Regiment Nrive Infantry. The forting: was taken be Storm oa '0 a 15th of D'.t and 52 brawl and ono g MIS kll Into •-t3 r The a ccuetno front iforrttly by the eustveyante mute tt,s as Tate a, the t: ;th of Janu.oy. A Paris Paper, received yesterdAy, comp'^: further particulars of the trial of MustAlr entered oa his defence on the sth inst. lie req . .% •• est ro be permitted to speak befr•re his Ativ:scaiL. This request was granted, and he gave a k'r..! histories! summary of his life, in which he e" deamared to shew how little fonnd.ttion t:.;'' was for the charge; brought against him. U - • he had concluded, his Advocate Dosvery ceeded on his defence. After a speech of rnr• . * detAble length. the Prrsident adjourned the skull); London:-Pi.oted by J G; 1 ; 147,- " - (ite..t Mc .r.strxt, p :,r V. r 0.. u , • Nip. 1 5, 146. t,f St. Ck itie;•.• fit I I M I+