The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1806-02-04 00:00:00

L..- / 111111; drat OM not in his pn.vei; it sea; to herthtir himself that hr had so spoken. Ile had, however. an ithee motive. fte knew better than most oth•ts. the difficulties and dangers of the eatcrptise he un• dertook ; and he %VAS truly sorry l e had fallen a einim to his nob'. attempt. Another consideration als-i pressed on his mind the hnnnnr and me it of the Noble hlarg•iis can suffer no abatement ; bttt he thought his hotline risigl , t. He ha.t not the fortune of dying like Lord N.slson, in the iintnediate aftive service of his conatty, in the hos i ers of vietory, and in the exercise of hi. profession as a military man, wlach, in all likelihood, he might have done if lie had lived ; tor, etc was sure. every a,4ion of die Noble Marquis had evinced, that he was always ready to fight, and, if necessary, to fall in the ser vice of his country, and in the fulfilment of his duty. The honours requaed by the Motion were, he thought, due to tae memory of the Noble Marquis, and he should, therefore, give it his support. Mr. WIND. IA said, that when he saw the Nnb!e Lord rise to na.ke the !slotiati, he did not know what the nature of it W. 1., for he had not understood any thing of the kind W.IS intended to lie hronght forward that night NVitli all his re. I.•eft for Lord OwnwAlli.., with a pc, feet knowledge of all his good valities, and a nth every desire to honour, and pay respell to them, lie could not, t.ir the same tea o us be had given the other night, tin a similar Motion. but withhold his assent to this, a, he had do.,e to toe other. Ily balancing matters, as he had done, the Noble Lord took an advantage, not fair to the living, nor respectful to the dead, of mixing praises of himself and the late Admini stration in India, with those of the Noble Marquis, in favour of wK•se set vices the Motion is made, as he slid in the Vote of Thanks to the Officers and Seamen, oa a former night. He shou:d, therefore, enter his protest against that mode of compounding dern:rits with merits, and content himself with assigning this as his only reason for objecting to the Motion. Mr. WILBERFORCE. expresvei himself ex tresnely happy, C' many grounds, that this Motion bad been brought f r o ward, emit gave him an opper • tunity of expressing the sentiments of gratitude he felt fur the ensile-in services of the Note Marquis. Ile hit greet: pleasure in hearing the Noble Lord, and the Hon. Director, as well as the Hon. Member opposite to him (Mr. Eraneis), who are all so well acquainted with India, pay such unequivocal tributes Of praise, 'and beat se,h ample testimony to his Irma deserts; but he was desirous, tha: they Also, who were not so well acquainted with It. is should have an opportunity of expressing the I 0 and their feelings in favour of one, nil out whole life had lseeu devoted to the service of his country. If we looked back to the history of any country, us ancient or modern times, what was the situation of the Jistantcolonies they possessed? Too often we shall find the unfortunate people groaning, and miserable under the weight of a system of tyraiiny, oppression, and repack), exercised without mercy, and with out hounds, by their governors; for the purpose, in the fist place; of enriching themselves ; and, in the next, of providing as much moor as would pur ch.ee them security from 311 iuquiry at home. flit how very different from those, WAS the conduCt of this great and d nii goo_ .te who had canted British laws and reguiatins for the security of persons property, to be transplanted into the bosom of India, and fo.tereel and extended to its most distant parts ; who had, while there, been the idal of miilions, and who left it with the blessings of all who knew his same. In Iris cieil, military.and diplomatic capacity, be had. on every occasion, evinced the most ardent seal and anxiety, to do service to his ccuntry ; and in this last great aft, he had only failed, from an un fortunate diminution and decay of .bodily strength. In all his former transaClions, lie hrd been crowned with success ; and if life had been allowed him now, he had no doubt, but his great exertions, and the high estimation his character was sn deservedly held its by all ra , ilre and degrees nf.eher people of India, that he would have achieved for his coml. try, brighter successes and more extensive adven t-lees, than those it hoed already to boast of. Every ettion of the noble Marquis seemed to have been so creme:led with thc happiness of the people, that it had produced the happiest eire3 ; and he hoped we may, through his example, convince the millions there, who are subjeet% t our sway. that we are able, and willing also, to rule with justice, and to make those see govern happy. Hr thanked the noble: thelciore, fur having brought forward this .- Motions which had, he said, his warmest approbation. Mr. O'HARA said, that if the Noble Lord had confined his motion to the condiel of the Noble Marquis in India alone, either on his first or second sisit, or to both, he certainly would trot have had the smallest ohjeClion to giving his vote ter Any ho r. kits to his memory ; but, when he brought for waid other subjetts, and blended thi m together, as he had now urine, he could not bet suppose but he must awaken in :Om, and many more Honour. able Members, who had the same cause to feel as he did, the most rnehoichely and painful sensations. The Noble Lord had all to the peace of Amiens. For his own part, he could see no great merit in that transaction, nor any beacit acceding from it to the country, nor had he ever heard ethers weak At it more favourably than as an aft of necessity. But when he went further, and alluded to the union of Ireland with this country, he could by to means give a vote for funeral honours Se the memory of a man, who had had so prin cipal a share in that transaetion, which he look ed on as mischievous and feal to the interests of Ireland. lie felt this the more poignantly and deeply, when he recut!; Red that the people of that country had not long hernie obtaii ed a Ciin.titution. which was the w:sh and mid* of their beasts; which peranised to Ina• • :nem a prosperous. etrtajpendent, and a happy people; an d sehkits bad, in fa& timing the short time they had enjoyed it, done more than 'em expected. TI ey had. since the Union, experiment a very dif ferent ss stern indeed; a system the very revere of whet he had jest me.dinned, end witch must, ere long, i‘ that disastrous measure s t , .,,,;d n0t be re ✓insfeJ by this country. prove, from its evreme ex pensiveness, altogeher ruinnus to that. When h e recall .c led •iso the shameful and barefaced corrup tion, which was openly carried on, for the purpose of carrying that fatal measure, and whirls reelected the greAtctt dt.grAce nn the ju,tice of thi% country, and eatted to ut:nd, tl.e high pm the ,m 4,1,64 Cornwallis 'filled in the scene 'of that traiinciion, he most oppose the Motidh, anti tho'sgltt no on* cold: fairly biome him lot elifecting tb it. Mr. HUDI.ES i•ONFI: (another Dinging) ex. pres.ed himself happy IV pay his tribute of prai•e to the services of this most exttarrdinary inestimable man. The Hon. Gentleman oppo site ( %Ir. Francis) had ob.erved, the motion woul be in u IiSCM %Vali elrety man's mind in the country. FL: might have gone farther, and exteoskd it to every mind in the wide'ise:tinsnla of Indostan. Hi had carried to India the genuine, free principles of an Engiishman ; he had transplatiii.d thither her in valliable laws, and, in the midst of the most spienditi viaories, had evinced the most mild and benefice:a moderation, and, inste.td of opprescion, Insil substi tuted justice. He c Ina red the death of the Noble Marquis, ai one of the greatest calamities, that, a , the pre-cut moment, could have happened. It was, he , :.aiti, impossible for him to attempt to Jo justice, by words, to what he felt on the occasion, but de clared be never gave, with greater pleasure, his as seat to any motion Mr. Alderman PRINSEP said a few word: in fa vour of the motion. Mr FOX said, he should vote for the motion, be cause he thought it necessary to express a testimony of approbation to the general merits of Lord Corn wallis, and nor on one of those points which had been mention-td. The Noble Lord had refrained from statMg him to be an eirellent Statesman, which might, perhaps, have caved Fprrie difference of opini on. As to the Union with Ireland, he could nor but agree in what had been said by the Hon. Cent. behin.l 11;m (Mr. O'Hara) that there were circum• stances attending that transaction, which reflected more disgrace on this country, than any it had ever before experienced The motion was then put and agreed to. Lord Castlereagh b-ought up several additional Papers, containing further information relative to tie Treaties with the Powers on the Continent, which we.e ordered to lie on the table, and to be printed. PAYMENT OF MR. PITT'S DEBTS. Mr. C Oil l'sV it IGH P stated, that in the mo tion he had to submit to the House, lie should fol low the example that was led on the occasion of a former motion, and studiously abstain from any topic that might be likely to produce a difference of opinion ; and to insure this the more effeCtuany, he W . JUlti. as had been done before. adhere to the precedent he found upon the Journals, in the in stance of the late Earl of Chatham. He thought, however, that he did not swerve from his purpose, in avowing, that he considered the death of Mr. Pitt a great national loss ; and this opinion was cer tainly supported by the general sense of the people of this kingdom. In making his motion, therefore, he only submitted to the I louse, what he thought a testimony of the general estimation in which that exalted charaOer was held. lie was free to con fess, that if he could bring himself to think, that 'he vote he undertook to propose, would, in the sma lest degree, detraet from the fame of that great man, he should never have offered ii to their consideration ; but seeing, as hr did, th.o a similar vote did. not, by any means, diminish the charac ter of Lord Chatham, or that his dying in debt had, in the least, sunk him in estimation, he did not , conceive, how the same cir cumstances could have' a different rife& upon the memory of his son. When the House called to mind, that, for twenty years of Mr. Pitt's life, his attention w;'s wholly occupied in the discharge of public duties, having no other subsistence for the support of his station, but the salaries of his offices ; and that, with the exception of the Cinque Ports, be reje9ed all the emoluments which might have ben so frequently within his reach, they must he impressed with a thorough conviEtion, that his poverty was the best proof that could be given of his virtue. In the in vestigation of his condua, which took place in a Committee last year, the gentlemen who composed it, as well as the whole House of Commons, ac quitted hint of all blame, and acknowledged, that he Came Irons the enquiry with unsullied hands. This vote, he said, was not meant to operate as a common precedent for discharging the debts of Ministers, nor was it brought forward for any common purpose. It was generally, if not universally admitted, that Mr. Pitt was the main instrument of saving the country from that anarchy with which it was at one time threatened; that the measures he proposed and carried into execution, had the most beneficial ttfeCts on the finances of the couaay ; and that, during his long administration, whether in peace or in war, as far as our exertions were concerned, he raised the glory of the country to a height of unexampled splendour. After making these tew observations, he had only to add, that, upon the strictest investigation, Mr. Pitt's debts amounted to the sum of 40,0001. which he con ceived not to be m a re than what was voted for the late Lord Chatham ; when the House came to con sider the length of Mr. Pitt's Administration, the difference in the expence of living, and the increased value of money. He then concluded with moving for an humble Address to His Majesty, stating, that the House, having received information that the late Right Honourable IVilliem Pitt had, at his death, left debts to an amount which his property was in sufficient to discharge, requested that His M.ijesty would order the issue of a sum, not exceeding 4 ),0001. for that purpose, and assuring him that this House would make good the same. Mr. RooTLE raid, he was the more anxious to second the motion, as it WAS probably the last opportunity he should have in that House of paying his sincere tribute of respect to the memory at the Jmat skimmer in question. This vote he con s i. ered in the view of a debt due to Mr. Pitt, who, in first coming into the station, parted with somel its emoluments, and immediately occupied himself on a plan for the regulation of the public expendi ture. It was a sincere pleasure to his friends to find, that in die accumulation of those debts, there was not an item to be charged to the account of ruinous travagance, nor any single article which any man could state to be obj::ctionahle. Ile therefore hoped. that in the vote to be given this night, the House would be unanimous, as,bv concurring in the motion, no gentleman was called upon to make the least SA. crioce of his former opinions. Sallie persons, per haps, niay object to this proposal, on the grownd that the same effect might be produced by a public subscription, but he must consider such an °Nee- Con as unninithv of the li'‘etAity • a great nation. .n the year 17e7. ali pEr•is itnaninv.ilde enutl‘ited .11 a similar veal:, in helt..llof die Earl of Ch.t . th4m. _old he could see no reasons why tha same s:ntitiietits ,hould not be allowed to operate in the present in stance. There was, he said, no cirg:.r e.f this se n t . og as an encouragement to future applications ; as he I louse, untorionately, had t.rlJoin to consider meri ts of rare a quality ; ani he WAS the further etuttag:•il in his hop. s, as dieting the time that he the honour to sit in Parliament. he never keew an instance wtere an appeal to the national munifi cence was not ciowned with success. Mr. WINDHAM said, that whatever reasons he ought have had for withholding his consent to A late proposition. he was quite as willing to concur in the present, as lie was to dissent from a former motion. Any thing that had only a reference to per sonal regard and respat for the memory rf the late Minister, should not want his concurrence; and he confessed, that with respect to the vote now pro posed, he had no objeCtion either to the nature of the object, or the terms of the motion. He was not, on this occasion, called upon for a general approbation of the political conduit of Mr Pitt. which he could not give without a reprobation all his former opinions, for which no n;an had a right to call either upon him, or those with whom he aEted. He even felt it more easy for him now to approve of the present measure, because, by his oblation to the former vote, he had protsCred himself from any adverse conclusions that may he drawn from the acquiescence he expressed is it. The present motion simplyapplied to those qualLies of Mr. Pitt, which no man was ever known to dispute— his extreme disinterestedness, and his total disre gard and high disdain of all pecuniary considera tions, as far as regarded his nun person. In at folding this testimony to his memory, the House touched upon consequences resulti g from these qualities. This precedent, he thought, could never be adduced to countenance other ap plications fur the payment of debts ; for in Mr. Pitt's :ase there was, confessedly, nothing either of wild pr fusion, or of idle ostentation. Th it there was nothing of ostentatious or lavish expenditure in his way of living, was perfectly known to all these who were in any habits of friendship or in timacy with him ; and were he disposed to criticise him, he should rather incline to think, that he somewhat failed in that magnificence, which, though a man might despise for his own grati fication, was, in the opinion of others, proper for the maintenance or eminent station.—Mr. Pitt alwa3s appeared to value himself much more upon his other qualities, and to pay little or no attention even to what might be fairly deemed necessary splendour, and in private life was so totally free from the affectation of any superiority over others, that, on all occasions, he studiously rejected it. His income from the public, and he had no private fortune, was certainly unequal to the supply of those comforts, which he could not indulge in without producing the consequences which gave rise to the present motion; and from his habitual disregard of money, he was, of course, the more open to the impositions of those whom he might have to deal ss ith. His debts, open the wholso were not only innocently, but meritoriously contracted. lu the conclusion of his speech, the Right Hon. Gentleman appeared to express some regret, that the proposers of this Motion had not taken mea sures to extend the liberality of the House and the public to those relatives who were near and dear to the departed Minister. Mr. G. PONSONBY said, that, on a former night, he felt himself relsaantly compelled to give a negative to the motion submitted to the House ; but if he gave that negative vote with pain, lie would now vote in favour of the present motion, with a peculiar degree of satisladion and of pleasure. He considered this vote, not as paying the debts of Mr. Pitt, but of the publi:. For twenty years of his life, the House and the country supported the measures of that Minister; and, during all that time, they did not allow a sufficient income to himself. For his part, he was only surprised at the smallness of his debts ; and, while he most cheerfully concurred in the motion, he would take that oppor tunity cf assuring the House, that, though through the greatest part of his Parliamentary life, he al most uniformly opposed the measures of the late Minister, he never felt the least particle of ran lour or personal animosity towards him. Lord FOLKSTONE said, that however he disagreed in opinion with those who extolled the merits of Mr. Pitt, he always admitted his states man-like qualities and disieterestedness. He would only further remark, that the manner in which the late Minister accepted the Cinque-Ports, which were said to have been forced upon him, after a succes sion of long services, formed a striking contrast to the manner in which they had lately been obtained. Admiral HARVEY wished only to say, that he had, in Fener4l, the gond fortune to agree with the late Minister in his measures ; and, though he some times differed with him in opinion, yet he should think himself ungrateful, if he did not cheerfully ac quiesce in the vote now proposed. Mr. %Vivi. SMITH said, he thought it incumbent on him to make a few plain observations on the present :Motion, however ungrateful what he had to offer might sound in the ears of many Gentlemen on both lid,s of the House. He felt himself compelled to give his rn•gative to the Motion, because the rea sons assigned for the vote were such as it was im possible for him to concur in. He Was ex tremely willing to, bear his testimony to o.e set timent so universally expressed, of the disinterest edness of the late Minister, but the question) , ecnied here, in a great measure, to rest on the inadeipt Ic y of the salaries annexed to his high offices, at a the great obligations which his country owed If the hlouse acknowledged that the salaries were too small, they must, of course, lay themselves un der the necessity of increasing them and, he seas free to say, whoever the persons might be. who were !ikely to succeed to these offices, that, in the present situation of the country, he should rot like to see the salaries of Ministers increasel. II; on the other hand, the question were to depend upon every Gentlernan's sense of Mr. Pitt's public ser vices, he wished to know why he should be now called up-in t.-1 approve those services, which, through the course of his Parliamentary conduit he uniformly denied' If Gentlemen were seriously desirous of unanimity, be would ask them. why they • pn: the qtx.stion on : footing, anJ nes a g 5,,,, j whits tn.4Jit it impos anJ those whe thought with him, to agree to? While rl • R -ml.- men oppu:ite in him s' fished to indece the House to confer public honours upon Mr. Pit:, he perceive,' a strange mixture in the mode Of their pri eeed,ie In their mode of doing business, every soppe of the measures of the late Minister, at the s a time that he paid a compliment to leniteif, careful to convey at least an d cenarre those who Vied in opposition to him. He, Wei ice s would not give his consent to a m aims, which, by implication, conveFed a lihel on himself. The sue. pones, of the motion caned Mr. Pitt " the Fa. viour of his Country from the anarchy with which it was threatened !" (tt ert/ i r hear/ h ea ,! the Alimistrrill 13,11,, ). hie thought he could see, fie the manuer in which that quotation sv:_s receive.', a n additional proof of that in•empetance which they were so long in the habit of manitestin;z...... Did they even, in ens very vote, obtain a subse quent approbation of ail the measur-s the Minister resorted to on the occas'on allii led to ?—(a c i s . of Ns! /I',,!j—Why, then, wet e they so ins prient, as scion as they lieatd these measures questioned ? For Ids own part, he believed, at the time, sod he be lieved it still, that a clamour was then industriously raised, merely !or the purpose of discrediting mart eminent persons, some of whom were then near him; and that an advantage was taken of that clam , Cr, to make greater inroads on :he constitution of the country than ever was done in aav former or suhse quent peliods of our history. It, therefore, he couid acknowledge no collie merits in the Minister, he did not see why the public should be called upon fbr the payment of his debts : and net finding himself at all convinced, by the arguments in support ni the motion, he should think himself bound in duty to resist it. His fri-nds ascribed great merit to the Minister for abstaining from actions, which, it he committed, must degrade him. They esteemed it a sublime virtue in him, that he did not de. scend to peculation. He certainly al , ays thought that distinguished man above such base prac tices, and it was only they who pr died Lim for not so staining himself, who did injustice to his memory. He respelled those merits which Mr. Pitt possessed, but he could not think of txtecisirg generosity at the etpence of others. If a pubic subscription for the discharge of these debts, on ti e part of that Right Hon. Gentleman's friends, could prove insufficient for that purpose, he decl.red self willing to contribute his full proportion, but he should not think himself justified in transferring that barthen on the public. Mr. ROOF. disclaimed all idea of ascr:hing any merit to the late Mir.ister for his not descending the practices of peculation ; and the great merit attributed to his lamented Friend was, that he, aided by the worth and private virtue of his Sovereign, was art instrument in the hand of Providence, to save his country from that anarchy with which it was threatened and surrounded. He felt himself bold to say, that his abstaining from deriving any pecuniary emoluments from the Ministerial advan tages he possessed, was not his only merit. At !I.e time when some political circumstances induced that great man to retire from office, a rut sensa tion was felt in the city of London, on account cf his pecuniary embarrassments ; and, at a meeting privately held for that purpose, some Gentlemeti had come to a resolution to raise, in tile space of forty-eight hours, the sum of 100,u0o!. for lir relief. An Honourable Baronet, who was, probably, then in the House, communicated this resolution to him (Mr. Rose), as a proper person to propcse it to his deceased friend, in the manner most likely to reconcile him to it. He did so; and he solemn!y declared, in the presence of God, that the answer he received from Mr. Pitt, was no crnsideia tMn upon earth shall ever induce me to accept it." He then, according to his instraelions. prcerteded to press the acceptance upon him, assuring him, it was done in so private a manner, that could' never be disclosed, nor should he himself . ver Le* acquainted even with the names of any of the persons concerned in it. Mr. Pitt, however, wts ir- Arxible in his determination ; nhservinq, that is the event of his ever rewriting to office, he knew th it the msciousness of it would impress him with the M. A uneasy sensations ; and declared his intention re turning, in a short time, to the etercise of his pro fession in the Courts of Law. In another inst....t'c. also, which occurred in the year 1801, having Leen bound to secrecy, his did not feel himself at lshcrty to say any more, than that another s:milar proposi tion was made and rejefted by Mr. Pitt, in the same manner as before. Ha, indeed, was one rt those who thought such a mode of discharg.ng 1.3 debts would be highly honourable t 3 his lattice:ea friend, and pressed it on him accordingly; but resolution was invincible, and he could rester he brought to submit to it. All he had further t add was, that after this notice was first given. he attended a meeting of Mr. Pitt's friend., al..] objected to this application being made to the I louse, from the cmrietion he had, that the sint..unt of the debts would be readily discharged by r ia!i scription amongst his private friends lut, ns t!'s Motion was brought forward, he was determiu.d to give it his support. Mr. MANNING said, he was very well con vinced it would be Mreh more difficult to rer.t...s. than set in motion the discharge of the late Ni.- niater's debts amongst his private friends, who en tertained hut one opinion as to the value of 1. 1 public services, and considered him the instrument of Providence in effeCting the salvation of his country ; but he was, at the same time, satistild. that the mode now proposed, would be the moss accepts:4e to a groat majority of the people of this kingdom. He bore his testimony to the statemeot made by Mr. Rose, that in 1801 Mr. Pitt resisted the proposition then made for the payment of his debts. He said. that, during the thirteen years lie 'At 1111 that Louse, he seldom troubled them at all ; and never in his life proposed any expenditom of the public money. On the contrary, in a year of gtvat dlficulty, he was the h. st to suggest the plan, which was adopted by the then Miniter (Mr. Pitt) :or raising a sum of money , by v .-l untary coi . t rib ta tions. which, in the result, amounted to two miilions st.r• Ting. Aft:r this instance, he did not coped to h! .. considered as a squanderer of the public mousy, 11 . , he supported thi s Motion ; though he knew, that if this notice had 0.. t been given.the torn now deafen:kJ WOOL:. have been raises, en l'unrsday last, with great I ea Ni sv: Ri tli Tic Iti nc CO 1111 L.