The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1806-05-15 00:00:00

t i 7 le, between stime of the Veers, the llonie re- 1 ,•,,med, and the Committee were oidercd io sii again. t.; . .rnorrow. • An attested Copy cf the proceedings ' 1 lithe Ec- C. - iastical Couits, touching the case, being duly i .. 1 before the House. a Bill to dissolve the mar - - iage.betvreen Henry Simpson, Esq. and Henrietta ke..7bara, Its now wife, was read a fist time, and :ered to read a second time to•morrow fort : 1- , 4cht, and the Lords summoned thereon.—Ad torue,d Lill to-morrow. - HOUSE OF COMMONS. s—wori A Message from the Lnrds informed the Howe, that their 1.:,-,l,•isna would proceed further in the Trial of Henry Vis e-noir etas Ile, to•mnerow morning, at ten o'clodc. A from the Excise presented, at the Sir, an Account Quantity of Spirits distilled in Ireland, pursuant to the lTd .r of the House. r Minnie Continuance Biil went through a Committee, the re:.int was received a: el agreed to, and the Bill ordered to be read a third time to-morrow. Lord How ick brought up the report of the Consmitree en r Lord Nelson's Artbruty 13iii, which was agreed to, acrd a Bill [ • ordered thereon. The reports of the Irish Debenture Eill and thee Irish Tree- soil Bills Bill were severally brought up, read and agreed to, and !sash Bills ordered to be read a third time to-morrow. COMMITTEE OF' SIMPLY. mt. VA NSITTAR V inctircd the Order of the Day for the Ilmase to resolve itself into a Cumniittee of Supply, which being reed— Mr Aldarmas ANDERSON moved " that the report of the CniTlOlitteo on the Petition of the Trioees of Bethlem Iles , pital, be referred to the said Committee."--Ordered. The Howie then resolvent itaerf into a Committee of Supply ' (Mr. Alevander in the Chair), in which it was resolved to vent tho mint of to,on I clear et all totes or de.duCti.ns, towards %she Maintenance and Repairs of the said Hospital —The report was e. defied to be iscsovial SO lilOllOW. The Irish Stamp Duty Bill, the Irish Distillery Regulation B 11, and the Irish Sugar anJ Tee Bill We ISAAC/11y read a first „ and wileree to be read a second time on Friday. It was ordered, on the motion of Lord H PETTY, that so much of His Maanty's Mensa l /a as relates t.. the SAM of 120,0001. to be granted to the use of the Family of Lott' Nell eon be referent so the Committee of Sh,)ply en Friday. The Irish Bank Annu.tv 8.11.e/sot through' Committee,and the repott war radercd to be received to.n.,rrow. Mr. rABNEI, moved for a.l Acco:int of at Ir'sh Bank Motes in cireulation (torn the lot of Feb. Ighb, to the Itt of IFeb. 1606, th4tiaighishing tl.orre under .51. A;.o for a similar Arc,u't of F.ngtvit Busk Notes during the same period, and with the same distiniSion —Oodered. ito the motion of Lord 11 PE ITY, the Committee of Ways and Means was &Ferrol to Frulay. EARL OF ST. VINCENT. Mr..TKPFEBY (Poole) slid, he new rose in ppm suango of the notice he had given, to call the atten tion of the House to the papers he meant to slab :Mr -to them, in order in substantiate his charge arakilse Earl St. Vincent for culpable negleEt and mismanagement, during the time he lately pre sided at toe head of the Board of Admiralty, for doing which, he some till% ago pl.dged himself to tie Howe and to the country. At the time he first g i.v • notice, of his intention to bring forward this eharge l she had informed the House, ,that he did it without baring had any consultation with any per son whatever cn the subjefl, and was solely itn yelled to what he did from a sense of duty, and I added to that, the repeated very extraordinary, and, I he Oilseed, ill-timed panegyrics, so copiously be -1 stowed omhim, by those who called themselves his friend', in that House. He thought it the more ne .cessary to do this at the time, as the country was 1 threatened with an invasion, and every neglea and mismanagement in a department on which the most iimportant and vital interests of the counts y so crili • cally depended, could not be ton soon pointed out, nor toe soon seriously attended to by that House. He did, therefore, from a sense of duty, cheer fully undertake the task of- bringing for ward an investigation into the condua of the Noble Earl ; though, when he so undertook it, he was by no means aware the subjed was of . such magnitude, extent, and importance, as he had since found it to be. He had frequently wished this !treat cause had faPen into hands more able to do justice to it ; hut, having once set his shoulder to the wheel, he had given it the utmost attention and eansicit ration. and, as Le proceeded, lie found he - bad been daily acquiring addition-. 1 strength, and hoped and trusteil he should be able to Make good his charge, to tl.e entire satisfatlion of the House and the public. Before he proceeded to addsce any positive and aflual charge against F:arl St. Vincent, for his negleti cf keeping up an efficient and powerful navy, he begged leave to refer to what had been done by his predecessors in office, and from thence to shew whether he had at all fol lowed their steps, and whether he had done all in his power to contribute to the maritime defence of the country, according to its particular nature and .situation. It appeared, then, that during the peace before the last war. the predecessors of Earl St. Vincent had made the greatest excl.:ions to build and repair snips is His Majesty's dock-yards, as well as the 51trehants% yards t that there were, immedia•ciy before that war broke out, 100 sail of the line. besides friptes ; and many more could speedily have been provided for *final service, an the year 17r3. rhai - in thl: course of Oat time, 42 ships of the line and 45 frigates ha 3, been actually built ; and that out of the 45 frigates, the Admiralty had been in debted for 37 to merchants' yards. He then stated, that from 3an'.1793, to 1801, there had been built 113 sail of the line and 43 frigates ; that during the same period, there were 31 sail of the line and 36 frigates, all captured ships, which had been put in commission; and that, on the 18th of February, 1801, when Earl St. Vincent came into office, there were 13 sail ef the line on the stocks; torte in the King's yards ; and six in the merchants yards; that he had neglected every mode of foslwarsling • their completion . that he never launched one single ship of the line is the King's yards, from 1301 to 1304, and had totally forbidden every kind of con nection with due merchants' yards; and though his predecessors had left him so many ships of the line and frigates, he left his successor only 10 sail of the line and 9 frigates, which was not one half the num ber left him by his predecessors, tho' he had a time of peace to do it in. He made a similar statement respecting frigates, 4 in the King's yards, and 7 in she merchants' yards, all lett oa the stocks by his 1-: r ' he - ' - 'lg, have equalled ny degree; on the ing at ail: and his exertion, neces tooting, as to keep ikeiet efforts of our enterprising and inveterate ene!nr. Hew, he ailttiovould the House and the country view the culp ° neglea pf the Noble Earl, when he stated to thllin that in three years and three months, ha had only added' three ships to our navy, when he should have added thirty-nine ; and when even those he had laid down, were owing to the clamours rlised within that House, and without its walls, through the whole country, in consequvnce of the visible negle.:l of the navy, and the alarm o;:ca• signed thereby. When he qiitted the situation of First Lord of the Admiralty, he left only one fri gate on the stocks ; nine indeed were ordered, but there was only one in any degree of forwardness ; when the country was fortunately relieved from this state of alarm and anxiety, by the Noble Earl's going out of of ice. Having thus shewn that Earl St. Vincent had not made all the exertions he ought to have done, for the purpose of increasing and adding to the strength of Oe navy, it ;night not be improper to inquire whether he had not the same power which his predecessors had ?—whether there were any pzrticular impedirneats which pie chided him hem doing so, more than they had to encounter ?—and whether our enemies were, during that time, employed only in building those cockle shells, of Which an Hon. Admiral (Markham) had then spoken so facetiously ?—and whether all these, taken together, were not deserving the attention of the House, and of the country ? There were added sixty-six sad of the line between 1793 and 1801 ; and during Earl St. Vincent's Administration only fourteen sad of the line were added, which bore no kind of comparison ; and he appealed to the House, whether, under the circumstances in which he found the navy. and the circumstances the country was in, the Noble Earl had any reasonable ground to suppose that no exertions on his part were neces sary to increase and strengthen that part of our de fensive syszeux, which was.univer,ally looked on as the natural bulwark of the cotintty ? What was most extraordinary was, that the Noble Earl ac tually thought the reverse of this—he owned, from his first coming into offi.:r. that there was the most urgent necessity for the exertion of every effort to increase the navy, and to add to its strength, by every possible means; and, in the various convet setions he had with the Comptroller of the tf.tvy,. and other official persons in different departaiims, he endeavoured to impress nn them ele neeeitity Of building ships as speedily as possible; and if than appeared in them the smallest doubt or difference of 'opiriou, I.e always combated them with a considerable degree of reproach. Here the Hon Gent. read a very long letter frorriSir A. Hammond to Earl St. Vincent, his Lordship's answer, and Sir A. Hammord's reply, dated the Ist of January 1802, upon this suhjeeti; by which it appeared that his Lordship had formed a strong opinion in favour of increasing the navy by building new ships. The , House weuld then be astonished, he said, after hear: ing those letters, to find that, even after the war bad begun, his Lordship did not endeavour to build -.lay ships, and he continued to pursue t'at culpable neg ligence, during the whole time he remainej in office. It had been asserted that his objections were confined to the Merchants' yards ; but, supposing those to have existed formerly, he koew what they were M 1802 ; and if he had changed his mind, why not build as speedily as he could in the King's yards? By the papers called for by an Hon. Admiral, there will appear a speculative argument used as to ships in the King's yards ; in which they go so far as to say, that .50 ships may be built in the King's yards in a year; but those arguments he kneiv to be fat-. lacious and deceptive. 'l'his, however, was not the cause of our navy not being increased ; there Was no want of ships ; the want lay in another curter. His Lordship had wantonly discharged the work men from the different dock-yards belonging to the King. and great numbers of them had gone to obtain employment in the dock-yards of our impla cable enemy. His haughty and overbearing conduct had disgusted all ranks, and sent them awayby scores; so that in a short time after Le came into Office, there were in our Dock-yards neither shipwrights, to work, nor timber to work upon ; which Mr. .leffery said was another, and.' further proof of the Noble Earl's criminal neglect. There was,. within a month of issuing presswarrants, a letter from the Dock-yard, requiring various articles of timber to complete the Hibernia, Impthieux, War rior, Terri 34 and Ftspiard. complaining heavily, and seriously that they were altogether destitute of m any, very important and abseilutely necessary ar ticks, and -particularly that very essential one of .knees. This was also the case in almost all the other. King's yards ; a lack of every necessary article pre vailed every where. Great stress, he said, had been laid on many occasions on the Deptford Yard, which was said to be the standard, for order, 'regulatity, ' and every other requisite for well providing the navy ; but there also the same s7sttm of poverty was predominant, and by a letter from that yard, it appeared, about that time, there was not timber enough .to answer the repairs requires for the 'lean) .Sferi'ie. Such was the state of the different dock yard;, with respett to so essential an article to the maintenance and prosperity of our navy, as tim ber, even after the war had commenced ; and he thought he I ad sufficiently proved that part of the charge. He then stated. that owing to the unfortunate and capricious temper of the Noble Earl. he had negleeted various opportunities of making contrads in the Merchants'yards, till he was at list compelled, trim the absolute necessity of baildsng, to give .!3tii. a ton, which was 21. .51. ex ceedia4 the estimates of the Surveyors of the Navy, by which there was a loss incurred to the country of upwards of 200,0001. ; and in many cases, the Noble Earl had changed his mind so often, and aeled with such extraordinary caprice, that his con due" in several instances was chargeable with a breach of faith. In short, his negkets and mis managements were beyond what had ever been kni,wn in that must important department, and`had plated our navy in such a state, as made it a most arduous undertaking for hi. immediate successors, who had Wand an absolute necessity to strain every nerve, and to use their utmost exertions, in order to recover that dreadful state of debility and weak ness to which our navy had been reduced. That great statesman, Lord Melville, and after him Lord Barham, had, by pursuing plans of unremitting v . ; ilance and atilvity, revived and increased, and in tai aCtually saved our navy, by their uncommon exertious. If Earl St. Vincent's contrafted nancnr system bad been persisted in, the of this country would not•have had s the gtroud and pre eminent gratification of congratulating themse lves the 'glorious viaory obtained over the Combined Beets, in the ever-to-be-remembered battle of Tra falgar —ot en the subsequent noble exploits. cOtfafl'f ! honourable to those who achieved them ; he meant the vi Tories of Sir it. Strachan and Sir J. T. Duckworth—the taking of the Message end sins- Belk Poulc---and our blockading squadrons riding triumphant, and proudly defying our combated enemies to come out of their blockaded piirts. In. stead of these noble achievements, instead of the complete demolition of the Combined Fleets, there is but too .much reason to dread they would; ere now, have been able to,aint their united efforts against out own shores; and we might, perhays, have been obliged to submit to must degrading terms. He did not mean to condemn the plans of reform or economy which the Noble Earl had set on foot, nor that of Naval Inquiry ; but only the narrow-minded schemes which he had em ployed for the increase of the navy, which had been . approved by none but the brother of the Mater of Plymouth dock-yard, and not by the Commissioners of the Navy Board, or any other official depart ment. They had offered to second his endeavours by assisting tam in any thing he should suogest ; but he declined to suggest any thing, as he would not render himself liable to the least responsibility. Strange, however, it was to tell, that the Noble Earl Cid not build more than two ships and a half of the line, during his White administration. He could not, he said, leave this part of the subjeat, without informing the Haase, that the state of the navy re quired the utmost vigilance and aaivity of exertion, both in building and repairing ; and he could not help cautioning the Noble Earl, now at the head of the Admiralty, to beware of treading in the steps of the Noble Earl who was then the subjea of, debate, if he wished to add to his own reputation, or to the efficiency, strength, and glory of the navy. He next adverted to the repairs, which, lie said, un der the Administration of Earl St. Viucenr, were going to ruin, thougn he must have been swam c of the necessity of great repairs at the conclusion rf so ter, Active a o ar. He then stated the several degrees of repairs, which were 7 in number, begin ning with the higher, under the title by which it ages known a: the dock-yarils, of o very large repairs," and were; on with the gradation, to the seventh, under the head of tt very little repairs." He stated the average prices of eases repair, And as serted that Earl St. Vincent had ordered no repairs, except of ships which required little er nothing to be none to them, and only 80 sail of the line in all, though be knew there were 120 in want of them. Taos. ships which required " very large repairs," would cost, on an average, 13,00111. while those re gairing " very little repairs," would cost only 25001. which was the reason that in that branch of the Na val Service the Noble Earl expended only 118,0001. whereas, had he repaired all the ships that stood in need of it, the cost would amount to 918,0001. which vras,upon the whole, expending no mole shim one-eighth of -what was requisite for the service id a year and a 1141 f. The Noble Earl, he said, was so supine in the execution of his duty, that he was not awakened to the danger to which the Navy was exposed by his condua, till two minithkbefore the press-warrants were aflualty issued. This he con sidered to be the more inexcusable, as from the roe respontleoce of our Nliaisters with those of Franco, he might have anticipated the certainty of a new war. The sondua, however, of the Noble Earl, in these circumstances, wag to put the navy in ordinary, to disband the sailors, and dismiss a number of the anthicers, who were at sally at this time in the dock yards of the enemy. Ile also ordered several ships to be broken up, and the materials disposed of ; particularly hemp, to the *moons of 700 tons, which was sold for 101. a ton ; though in the done following, we were obliged to buy hemp of the some quality, at the tate of 521 a ton ; and what made it worse Was, that all the hemp that was sold went to supply the navy of the enemy. It might naturally .be es - paled that the Noble Earl would have taken care that our naval prepatations should be in pro-1 1 portion to those of the enemy, but that also was negleEted. At the conclusion of the last year of the: - war, we had in commission 100 ships of the line ; and in a tear and a-halt alter the Noble Earl came into office, it was true that we bad l'2o ships cif. the line ; but, fur that, no credit was due to the Noble Earl, as we were i .debted for them to Lord Spencer, who very prudently proposed them in• contemplation of die rupture which afterwards took place with the Northern Powers. Nothing, however, could more Cully prove the neglea of the navy Snider his administration ; than that, when he quitted the Admiralty, we had no more than 86 ships of the line ; and he was informed from such authority as he could not doubt, that the represen tations made by the officers 'dative to the state of many of those ships, had not been attended . His successors, Lowevet, soon alter found memsa to increase their number to ItsB ships of the line. The uext subjea whisth the Honourable Gent. dwelt upon, was the state of the supply of timber. All the predecessors amid successors of the Noble klatl made such arrangements as never allowed any to be wanting, but he alwed time quality of the timber to be employed in the dock-yards, in such a manner, and so great a quantity of that brought in was re !used, that the umber-merchants openly declared, they found it impossible to obtain a sutliciency of that which would be taken. It may indeed be said, the sup ply in the former war was managed in A collusive manner, but that he totally denied. fir admitted that before the Noble Earl's time, thete was snore bad timber in the yards, but it was only paid for a:- cording to its quality, and was found very applica ble to the use. for which it was employed. Even the Navy Board itself declared. that the clock-yards ' would have been better supplied with timber, but for the interference of the Board of Admiralty. Such was the state of things when Earl St. Vincent quitted the Admiralty ; and he maintained, that it was only by that event that the Navy of Great Britain was saved from total destruaion. He had farther to add, that while the Noble Earl was :n office, the annual average consumption of ti.--*ter was 34,000 loads; and, in the last year, it was reduced to only 17,003. As he had haslet to confined him self wholly to a statettsent of teds, he hoped the 'louse would now' pet mit /limn to add one or two. observations: Never, in his °planar, did the naval ..-'~.. • history of this country exhibit such instances of criminal neeleCt and mismanagement, as during the admit:it:molt - in of Earl Sr. Vincent ; and lar was convinced, that had that Noble Eart rem:tined much longer in office, the g lory, honour, and since of the British navy , must have sunk fur ever. So far from laying the foundation of the navy, as his advocates ostentatiously pretended, he had done - wore to injure it than any other man whatever ; and, therefore, it appeared extraordinary, that ever, %%bite such charges were impending over him, he war elevated to the highest and most extensive cow ma:,d that was ever given to any naval officer of this country. In saying this, he was very far from calling itt question the qualities of the Noble Eat], it, his pi etcssion, as a naval officer; but he did not think that any professional merit, however rare, could he pleaded as a set-off against misconded such as his, in his civil administration. If the laurels of the Noble Earl were blasted, it was nut done ly • him ; he owed it to the rash precipitation c i f his own cnndurl. He was satisfied that the Etas he sub mitted to the House could not be disputed ; and t! the House should not agree to his motion, he consider it to proceed from an opinion that the sub jed Mti• not in itself of sufficient importance to be' discussed. He then concluded with expressing his acknowledgments to the House for the patience and indulgence with which he was heard, and atter hay ing read 4 very long string of resolutions, embracing every topic adverted to in his speech, moved," that these motions be referred to a Committee." The SPEAKER asked him what was the motion he meant to make? Mr. JEFFERY replied, that he took up this rAtt jeCl in corsmon with the merchants conne&ad with the supply of the navy. With the opinicup he en tertained, when he heard the panegyrics bestowed by the advocates of Earl St. Vincent, in his admi nistration, he was led, before he was aware of the magnitude of the undertaking, to commit himself . iu bringing forward this charge. He did nut wise to press the matter further than was necessary for his own consistency and justification. lie did not think the Noble Earl deserving of the encomiums bestowed upon him ; and he had moved tor pa pers which would justify his opinion. Not beicg conversant with the Corms of the House on such oc casions, he should follow whatever courseithe House should think proper to point out to him. If it wet • thought to be the proper measure, he should MoVe, •• that these Resoiutions be referred to a Commit tee." lhe SPE A K ER acquainted him, that no question could be put in that way, as what his called ICAJ lutions," were not yet upon the table. Mr. JEFFERY then moved, .• that the soleral papers presented to the Hearse respecting (he cc,.- duct of Earl St. Vincent, whilst he WAS Fr - t , Lord of the Admiralty, be referred to a Com mittee." Mr. DEN I' seconded the motion, but wished re haie it underatood, that in doing so, he did we pledge himself to any thing. His only wish VA(., that the coleation should be before the House Lill ) . and set at rest in one way or other. The SPEAKER said, that before he put ..7e question, he wished to call the attention o: the House to the forms of i:. The Nun. Get-tier/lan made a long Speech, not bearing upon his present motion. It was not the pleasute of the House t a interrupt hno but the conduct was highly improper ; and his reason for mentioning it at present, was, to express the hope that no such practice sho - uld continued. Vise. 1-10 WICK said, he did not rise to enter ir.'o any debate, but to observe on the course of the pro ceedings ; he should, perhaps, have no objection to discussing the resolutions now, and only wished to know of the Hon. Gentleman, whether he meant to move his resolutions in the Committee, supomiag the House entered into it ? Mr. JEFFF.RY replied, that he was not so well acqoainted with the forms, as to know praciody ho what course he ought to proceed. He had alread y discharged the duty he had undertaken, an.i dismiso ed the load from his shoulders. It now : eitiaiced with the House to dispose of the subjea as they may think proper, as he would acquiesce in what ever may be suggested to him. Vise. HOWICK lamented that the Hon. Geol. did not set out with telling the House what it ,••, he meant to du. He had adopted the unusual estraordidary mode of reading a written speech, aai making a motion to which his speech had IsJ threat application. He said he was content, d with geu:.;,.; A %wallets off his shoulders, but should remember iA himself imposed it on them. As the Speech was already written, and in a state to be published, per haps that may be the design of its delivery, and for that reason, he should recommend to the friends of the Noble Earl, in whose character he also felt a high degree of interest, to take the debate upon the present motion, that the charge and the answer mayago forth together. Mr. JEFFERY said, that if that was the wish 6 the Noble Lord, he should be well pleased to immediately into the discussion. • The que.tion being then put, Admiral MARKHAM said, that in rising tc repel what he conceived to be a most uafounded charge, he had- principally to regret that it ha d not fallen into abler hands. In the task he under took to perform, he was sensible that he laboured tinder many difficulties, of which it was 'not the 'cut, that, before this night, he knew not in what channel the attack would rum Had he been-ap prised of it, he should have saved the House the trouble of moving for voluminous papers, which he did not now consider very essentially necessary. Ile had not these resolutions communicated to him till about 12 o'clock this day, and had not since time to read them, as he vas generally engaged in Offi cial duty in the espartmeat to which he belonged. from 9 e'clock in the morning till 6 in the evea• ing. In his comparative statements, the Hoe. Gent. had told the House, that no less than t`ti sail of the line were either built or taken, fraa the year 1795, *hen the war commenced, the end of April, 1801, when Earl St. Viticoa bec •to Fine Lord of the Admiralty, and that se equal portion had not been built or taken duria his Administration. The House, however, 'v ., ' s e e , that nothing coals' be more unfit'. than to ie elude, in this general estimate, the number of ca` tuned vessels. There could be ao comparisoti b tween the former years and those in %%Licit she merchants' yards, ail lett us the: decessors, and he mighr,by building c s o c u t t u, rA r b y i t t t he h a d h l dd done done so next t o in s n co t a hi successors found all their possible sit y rut tl.e navy en such afa race w.. 11 au ca . ra.:sliaary Assl % 1