The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1807-08-01 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

The Dublin Paving B:11, the B Fishery 8.11.
the Woollen NlAnutaeturers' &11, and th- !Coronae
ReKulation Bil, were severally read a iburd time
and p used.
Toe Foteign Goods Bill. and the German I.4;nens
11.11, were s fly real/ a second time, and ordered
t.t he repotted to-morrow.
The t'u Accountants' Bslance Bill, and the
West 1144 Produce illiet-on Du y Esemp inn Bill,
were severally reported, and orderal to be read A
third time to-morrow. _ . .

..... _
The Bill for repealing certain dut'es noon Irish
Silk, and substituting others. the Swedish liming
Import Bill, and tne Irish Spirit ITt ttehack Rill,
were s irerally prods/fit up, read a 6. it, and ordered
to be real a second time to-inorrnw.
A Nlestage from the lairds announced their
lanriiships' assent to the Amsterdam Free Port B 11,
!fish Fi.hery Continuation Rill, the Military Ciin-
rnissioners' Continuation Bill. and several Private
Bills.
Mr. CREEVEY gave notice, that on Monday he
should move for sae Bstimates of the East India
Accounts, for the years 1806 and 1807. made On:
in a different form than that in which they at pr,-
sent are.
On the motion of Mr. LONG, the Irish Militia
Transfer Bill was committed, and the Report was
ordered to he received to.morrner.
Sir JOHN NEWPOR I' rose for the purpose of
putting a question to a Right Hon. Gentleman op-
posite. He wished to know whether he (the Cna
cellor of the Exchequer) meant to produce, dui ing
this Session, the Returns respeding the Irish Arch-
bishops t because he thought the WO& to which
they related was one of the utmost importance, and
he should certainly take an catty opportunity to
propose some measure relative to the establishment,
early in the beginniog of next Session. Even in one

country.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
expressed a wish to know whether the motion, which
the Right Hon. Gentleman meant on that day to
propose, was to he of a military, civil, or ecclesias-
tical nature ? Because it would be necessary for him,
and rhos- who aged wi•h him, to be prepared, so as
to meet the case to w' ich he ( Mr. Sheridan) meant
to e II the attention of the House
Ms 44117.R1DAN replied, that he had not the
least ohjeftion m t-11 h:s ofakft. It would I.e to
submit .o the House a resolution, requiring them to
Come to some strong pie ige, that in the ealy part
of next Session they wool] proceed to inquire into
the c tusea of those cony)l tints which havc made it
"teens 41. to Pass so-h Bills as PAIHAM,R! WINO Pow
passing relative to Ireland.
COMMITTEE Of SIIPP!.Y.
SUBSIDIES. he. TO ElttiSSIA AND surrOF.N.
In the Committee of Suppli it was moved. that
His MOWS Mtllne to the House. relative to the
above talkie% be taken into consideration ; upon
this occasion, and after the Message was read.
Mr. S-creta-y CANNING addressed the Chair-
man and the Comen;ree, n-arly as follows :—.. Sir.
in moving this We've, which you have n 0.... heard.
I do not anticipate any obje!tion that can be mad-
to our granting to His Majesty those rims which
ate therein expressed ; but, in order to elucidate
sr it, I shall shnitly stele the grounds
tattoo which they have become necessary. In the
nv‘nth of Nye!) last the sum of 8/.0001 was
stated to have been advanced to the King of Prus-
sia, in confer-nee of a Suhvidiary Treaty, and
thtfrlogise 'voted no doubt have made good the.
uwwe, had nor certain circumstances occurred,
which prevented it. His Majesty's Meesa7,e divides
itsell i two parts, the one relative to the Swedish
Suii:id,ary Treaty, the other the subsidy advanced,
and the arras and military stores furnished to His
Prweian Majesty. With respell to the Subsidiary
Treaty, it will be o ly necessary to state, that al-
though the time has arrived. yet the whole pay-
ments have not yet been made. fiy former 'treaties
the Kimp iiiSerecten was bound to maintain 8,000
men •in Swedish Pomerania. to posh the pro-
gress of the Swedish arms fur her than at any
firmer period; and in consequence of a ,u'vsequent
ailiance between Prussia and Sweden, in which the
former power rogaged to furnish 10 010 men, it
was th. ug'.t proper to afford an atlitional assist-
ai-ce to the Ling of :4vre.kn, in order to enable him
to undertake a tortwr mivement, at a period when
it was kilo en that the whole of the force colletted
was not sufficient to make head against the French
army, by angm•nting the force he employed up in
that caeca t i ))))) Won 12 thousand to la thousand
men. Tree addition was, therefore, 4000 men ; and
this occurreiiee teed( place in the end of November,
although the knowledge of it had not arrived in
this cotintry till recently ; and no money having been
paid for t us purpose, I have now to propose a vote
of the H t e m eke good that exigency. The
utmost expente, in point of fad, supposi-g t':e
Treaty still rem siniog in force, would hare been be-
tween tO and 30,0001. Alto the King et Prussia, His
Majesty has made an advance of 100,0001. besides
considerahle supplies in military sto:es a•id arms.
Chat mode of advancing money, although sanc-
tioned by the precedent in March, would not have
been adopted, had it not beets in covet-mplation of
the Treaty that was to sub,ist betwixt toat unfor-
tunate hlonatch and this country. That Treaty
was in etre.% suhsequetely framed, and it was one of
the stipulations thereof, that an advance of '20,0001.
should be made in addition to the 80,0001. which
had been given to him in March. Unquestionably,
the Treaty itself cemprehended sums of a larger
amount than that in goestion, but it also contained
wand seipulatioos, witch have not boen observed
in consequence of the change of air sirs upon the
Continent. The evens, of the supplies of arms,
which ought to have come under another depart-
ment, added to the other sums. would snake the
w'iole vote to His Prussian Majesty amount to
180,00JI. The Right Hon. Gentleman then con-
cluded with moving, as the first Resolution, 4. That
the sum of 180,0001. shall be paid to His Majesty,
in order t s enable him to make good the like sons
advanced to the King of Prussia, in consequence of
the urgency of the affairs upon the Continent."
• On the motion being proposed from the Chair.
Lord IV-Ma PErTY said, he could feel no
objeCtion to the advance which had been made to
His Prussian Nl.jesty, because if any thine could
persuade him of its propriety, it would be the cir-
cumstances under which the 10,0001. had been for-
merly advanced ; this matter having been entrusted
into the Wilds of Lord Hutchinson, whose enter-
pen, knowledge, prudence, Dag caution, entitled

him to every decree of confiJonce beiare repo ed in
his condo% With rested to th • o,nrineenf
T•eaty with the King of Sweden, lie should not say
mu-h. till he heard how the public ex gencies had
made that additional sithsi4y necessary.
Mr. WHITBREAD wished to know whether the
stinitlatinns of those tr-a•ies that hod not been fut.
filled, were liktly to be so ? It did appear to him,
that some additional informatinn would fteerremelY
import it ; altimeah by ,heir no; h lying been rntM
oleted it was not thought prome by the Right Hon.
r.,,ntlemin to bring the suhjedt bef ire the H men.
This he thought was a very nefor•itriate circurne
stance. that His Majesty's C, .vernment did not
deem themselves host to 61 'no tn. whole elf the
provisimo tin ter the nevi-er of t' .e House.. Ursa
the %Oiling of the advance to Prussia, miteh doubt
?night sie..e as to the corn tenee of making it It
appeared to him to have e'en ironoliey in the whole
tratnadisn, and he sh oil therefore In. glad to
have an opportunity of reviewing it. He ih uld
much lament if Parliament were thus in be de-
prive I of the monist-unify of getting sir the neere
of th ce stieelations alluded to, and if it was to be
with-held by Mi• icons themselves, he should pro.
hahlv think of submitting a motion to etre& this de.
sirable ()Nell
Mt. CANNING said, that although he did not
himself see any Parliamentary necessity for h's lay-
ing the whole of these stipulations before the Howie, •
yet he thcught it might be competent to the Hon.
Gentleman to make any motion he pleased noon the
suhjeft, if be deemed it likely to be satisfaCtory.
His not doing so was from no shyness upon his part,
or on the part of Government, to enter upon an in-
vestigation of their condutt as to Foreign Powers.
They, on the contrary, wished to have it as nar-
rowly lotned into as possible ; and felt, in common
with the Hon. Gentleman. a regret that that subjea
was excluded. by a concurrence of circumstances.
prom earning under their notice ; but if thd Hon.
Gentleman wished to then his jealousy tenon this
sohjeCl, he might call for any further eeplanation
he pleased. With respetl to the vote which he had
proposed, it stood upon the same greunds upon
which a farmer one had been made.
Mr. WHITRREAD said, thet, in contequmce
of the King's Speech. Ministers certoitly stood
pledged to give an enlightened view of our foreign
alliances. They at present stood upon dig' rein
grounds from those which existed at the time the
sum of 80,000 h was ;Omitted to the consideration
of the former Parliament. That subsidy was motto
upon an emergence, for a spicific pnrisoo; and .t
was prop aed. by the late Admitoistration, that the
subsidy to that power should end there. It was
expressly intimat d. at the time. that there was no
intention of following it up with any other subsidy
to the King of Prussia ; and it was proved. to the
satisfnaion of the last Parliament, that it was one
which was extremely politic to provide far. Now.
as to the 1 00.0n01. it app•srad to he the fame than,
Hai been pail to His Pruoian Majnoty, without any
specific osi,et being stated to the House, as the
cause of doing so ; and he understood it was only
part of a million of money that was to have been
paid to that power, had ant circumstances prevent-
ed the treaty from continuing or going on. 'chat
inhoidies were necessary, upon some occasions, he
won'd willingly allow ; bin, after this coen•ry had
• sted largo sums to the powers upon the Continent,
for the period of 14 years, and had seen and ex-
perienced the results whsch had followed from our
off lett, ihonght the syttenstneght to be pursued with
ea aion These combinations had been f dto prove,
on various araunds, unsuccessful; and, therefore. we -
oaght now to be panicularly jealous and cautious it
voting away the public money for subsidies in the
course of the present war. We ought never to tube
sidise a power for the mere purpose of inducing him
to make war; hut if he were to have made it for
his own rads and interest. er m ern in policy assist
hint. Nto viewing the matter in this light, how.
ever, the Gentlemen opposite had projealea to give
away a million of money. The question to he con-
sidered was, what had the power sits be su' 'kV ed
to give us in return for what we give him. He
would ask the Right Hon. Secretary, in what situa-
tion was the King of Pt tnsi aat the time this ad onal
subsidy was paid to him ! WAS he in a con :time
that enabled him to repay no ? had been said
that it was to give aaivity to a force, %mit+,
during that particular campaign, it was physically
impossible to put forward, with any 'flee, agai
the enemy. Whatever resources that power had,
had been expended for purposes in whie s this
country could not be concerned, er pa• titularly
interested. Were we to subsidize the King of
Prussia, in order that he might maintain a certain
pomp and establishment for the Emperor of
France, at Berlin, his capital ? TWA was not surely
a proper casjen upon which to hvish away die pat,-
lic money. Under such circumstances, to hare
this treaty, with all its various stipulaiiann_laii be-
fore the House, world mainly be proper, and
could not be anenied with any bad consequences.
as it followed, of necessity, that bad it had its full
elle& it must hate been fatly explained to this
House, and be brought ander d sciossion. Ot the
fatal policy of signltig socet treaties with foreign
powers, we had already had sufficient instances.
and undoubtedly he should wish the present
treaties to be produced. in order to show
the impoliey and improariety of them.
Mr. CANNING said, he should be sorry should
any false impression remain upon the mod of the
House, AS to the cochlea! of Government in these
particulars. The exigency under waich thus sun.
aid,' was granted to Prussia was really in tha highesc
degree pressing. It took place at a time when
there happened, or was in contemplation. a change
of the prussiaa M nistry, who had &howl a dispo-
sition to a subserei-ncy and submission to the power
of France. This was a time ernen it was thtsee t
there existed the less probability of the money being
misapplied. and up to a certatnpertod it w:s sup-
posed that the wreck of the Prussian filonarch • mfrA

rte might be save& and employed towards car-
rytag on the war; hut the r-verse of that had
afterwards been proved. The Nine of Prussia had.
at to a time, an efrettiee force, WLiCh was +arra,'
and v.gorously employed, in attempting to relieve
Daman:, over which. indeed. sea could have no
emorout ; bat. whatever were the circumstances at-
tending these operations. it might surely he a mat-
ter of consideration, that we were twice the moans
of saving Irons surrender the gallant garlism
of
Co'herz. and of maintaining and relieving it from
starvation.
WHITBREAD thought it would he
rnamiial to know whether or not Lord Hut -
clog:son was a party to that further Suisitly,
at the time it was granted ? as it had been
stated noon a former debate by the Right Hon
G-ntlem'n oppo.it-, that the present sitaation of
affiira upon the Continent had come upon them
unespeßedly. and wit they could not foresee such
a rapid ter urination to hostiliti-s. One might ask,
whether Ministers had not received some indication
m prognostic from Lord Hutchinson, as to the
event of a great battle taking pia:l, and likely to
terminate unfavourably to the Allies. when they
ventured to allege that they were deceived. contrary
to all expeetations ? D d they in point of fat re-
ceive such information as could justify them in
wit ihulding their Defence Bills so long ?
Mc. CANNING saisl, he had not the least ob-
jeaion to answer such questions, if they were put to
AS matters of CIII it.ity. It was impouible that
Lord li•itchinson could anticipate the events that
aCtually task place upon the Continent. The com-
Thunicatinns from his Lordship were such as he
(Mr. C.) apprehended he had not made for the first
time. Seine rif the earliest of them did seem to
argue a confirmed and settled opinion that prevailed
upon Ow Continent, that this country was to come
f,: ward with military aid to the allied powers.
Such were the impressions conceived amongst the
aliies, when the present Administration came into
oilice. They found such expeClarions entertained
abroad, hut not a single preparation at home had
been made by the former Government ; so that Br i-
rain was utterly unable to afford timely assist-
ance. On the contrary, they found all the trans.
ports were dismissed from the. public service,
for the very purpose of preventing Stay Government
from fulfilling those expatiations. He could also
state tco tha the time was aatally arrived, when,
unless Prussia was aided both by military and pe-
cuniary means from this country, that Power could
no
longer ptrutere in the contest. These were
discouraging contingencies. mods' which the pre-
sent Administration had to struggle. and this was
an answer to the Hon. Gentleman's question, upon
a subjeCt which he would not have thought of
tnuchi .g unon in Cie ahsence of a Noble Lord
(Howie;) who was materially conflated with these
transations. -
_ _ _

Mr. WHITBREAD replied, that he was far

. -
from thinking he had brought the conduit of the
late Administration into any &iv,. of Wizard by
the observations which had fallen from him ; but
',bother it was so or not, it was certainly of great
importance to the country, that the whole of the
cirenmstances sboulj he known. He now felt him.

Rif rather called upon to defend those whom the
ight Hon. Gentleman had unjustly attacked, than
to combat sny fair argument he had used upon the
enikket at Lisle. While that Right Hon. Gentle-
man acknowledged the accounts from Lord Hut.
ehinion were discouraging, be supposed, that if ea.
fain circumstances had taken place in this country,
some hopes might have been entertained of a snore
favourable issue. Upon this he (14r. Whitbread)
should observe, that the hopes alluded to were
wither more nor less than this, that Prussia, attack-
ed it, France upon her own frontiers, could still re-
tire, and avoid a little longer a general engagement ;
or in other words, put off the fatal day. On their
sanguine espeflittions of 'bat event. and exag-
gerating to themselves every little and trivial ad-
vantage that was gained upon the part cf Russia. with
France at a dt.tance from supply, they founded
their hopes upon a general a&ion. He confessed,
that if he had seen a letter from Lord Hutchinson,
founding such expeOations upon a general engage-
ment, he would have thought that there was an end
of tl.e whole campaign. And yet the Right Hen.
Gentleman alleges, that under such circumstances a
snilitaty force ought to have been sent from Great
; but be begged Lim at the same time to re.
(Oita our predicament, when the war at first broke
cut, ier.d to say whether there would have been
je.t.tice or propriety in our adopting such a line
of cet.dua, Prussia being then attuAlly at war
with England upon the subject of Hanover.—
This happened in the month of November;
TION eh-t possibility was there, be would ask,durirg
the wl.t)le ef the winter, of cur sending a British
force to cri.nperate with the powers upon the Con•
'Lunt? if Prussia was i.t.t at that time able to
maintain herself, to number of men that we could
have acitt tint would have terminated the war in her
favour. The slight Hon Gentleman saw no pre-
parattatt upttn the part of the late Goverment, hut
what have the gfesent Miniaty themes:wee done?—
What have they accomplished during the several
months diet have expired since they came into office
3n the beginning of April ? They aired to feel it
necessary to give a sub slify to the King of FlllllBk,
and to assist him and Sweden with a military force,
yet they have not made one single movement for
transports till the middle of June. and not then in
the moment of necessity, but for other unknown
and secret purposes. What have they done,
within the last fortnight, with the number of men
they have enslsiuked, amounting to nearly 20d300 ?
they cooll do this in July, why not do it in
April? It had !teen said that the late Administra•
thin preclOst d the possibility of embarking a single
man, by Diving paid off he transports, hut was
net this a seeing of about 40,0001 per month, dur-
ing the interval when thy), were thought to be sit.-
necessary
Lord CASTLEBEAGI I said, he ermld nct allow
such observstiebs to pass without cr,r4ine-.t. Al-
though Prussia WAS utiminally at war v itli this
- rooter of notoriety, that
'king place betwixt her and
parlud ; and if the late Go.
ntry had ailed with political
to have been prepared to have
tho‘e they were begot:Laing
s .. struck A&Ainst Aussie,

they wan ailually leading themselves to their own
disgrace. The Hon. Gentleman had said, if the
present Government felt the necessity of affording
aid, why did they not do it stoner! but he did not
seem to advert to this, that when they came into
office. they found no me ins afforded them of m!!c-
ing any exertion at all. The transports were all
dismissed, so that there was not sufficient time af-
' forded to snake the preliminary preparations for the
erab it !cation of cavalry—the most liezessary force
that could possibly have been sent. When Mr
sisters came into Ake, iliere was only one tram-
port, and that seemed to have ben preserved as a
curiosity. The first comoilinica:iiri I-oni toe Con-
tinent was an exptessia i rt dt•appnintment that
cavalry had not been sent such was the
cnns.•gnrnce cf the plan .1-Ivrea by the late Ad-
as to ravirg the public Irons ex-
pense ; and yet it a,-peared, that when an order
had been given to the Transport Board to pay off
all transports, Al it Board had made a represen-
tition to the T. eastit y. that if they were really
paid off. it would afterwards prove very men-.
sive to the public, they be:ng more conversant in
these matte-s than those who had issued the order
Instead of costing 40,0001. per month, as was al-
leged, they would not have cost 4,0001. per month.
At the time they came into office, there were about
60,000 tons of transports, as woo mea were then
about to be sent upon Foreign service. The pre.
sent Ministers could not have made any exertion
sooner than they had done, on account of the state
in which affair were left by their predecessors. It
was well known that a wise Government ought to
have matters so arranged beforehand, as to have
the power of executing military embarkations
almost as soon as conceived, so as to prevent the
enemy from getting notice of our preparations.
The failure of our assistance ►o the Continent had
therefore been greatly owing to that false system of
economy, which had been peasaised by his predeces-
sors ; whereas, if there had been 50,000 men sent to
the Continent. it would have been impossible that
France could have done what she has done.

Mr. WINDHAM observed upon the impro.
priety of the present Ministers bringing for ward
such unfounded charges against their predecessors.
at this period of the Session ; and alio obj.fted fo
their mode of doing so, because. if they had any
real subject of complaint. they ought rather to
make it the subject of a formal accusition. He
ridiculed the idea of our being in a sitaation to pay
all the powers of Europe, although there might
be some occasions upon which it mir;ht really be
proper to lend our assistance to them. He denied
that the late Government had given the Allies on
the Continent any season to *epee such assistance
as that alluded to. either military or pecuniary.
He disapproved of the policy of making a 'hew of
pieparations, as it only tended to awaken the suspi-
cions of our enemy. All that the late Ministers were
required to do, was that which they thought best ;
but they did net foresee they were to hare sue..
testers so soon, who should be of a contrary opinion,
and think so wrong.
The Right Hon. Gentleman nest adverted to the
appointment of Sir Home Popham to a command
in the last Expedition, which he could not help ob-
serving to he rather premature, after the Court
Martial which had been so recently held upon Oat
o:ficer, when he was declared. by the sentence of
that Court, to have been guilty of a great breath of
duty; yet he was now appointed, out of his turn, to a
command in this grand Expedition. When, there-
fore, he saw an Officer, fresh from the disapproba-
tion of a Court Martial. app6inted to a high com-
mand, he most consider it not only ruinous to tile
service. bat a mockery upon all naval discipline ;
and now, after all this, the Noble Lord had tile
modest confidence to come forward, and tell the
House, that, forsooth, if His Majesty's late
Ministers had followed up the measures of his
fixing( Ministers, there would have been no de-
ficiency such as was now complained of; but he
must tell: those Honourable Gentlemen. they left
them no option ; and he would tell those Gen-
tlemen, that His Majesty's ' late Ministers left
the army 10,000 men stronger than they found it,
and as to the navy, that was not in a more deficient
state than the army, for it had been increased
nearly about the same number. With what reason
or justice then could the Noble Lord so tauntingly
a •case him of the magnificence of his plans? His
own magnificence consisted in distinguishing, but
the Noble Lord's magnificence was in confound:llg.
With respell to the transports adverted to hy the
Noble Lord. the chief °Nee was to dismiss those
ships which were calculated for short voyages. be-
cause they could betaken up again, whenever occasion •
required, and at a short notice; but it was necessary
to keep in tow a number of copper-bottomed vessels,
which were difficult to be procured in' a hurry, or
upon any great emergency. Of these latter descrip.
tion cf ships, they left the Noble 1.-tied a greater
number than they found ; and after all the Noble
Lord's taunting and jeering upon this point, let him
only bring a comparative statement of the number
of transports engaged during the former and late
Administration, and then the House will be able to
judge whet are the reel fees of the case. In an-
swer to the grand Sourish of the Noble Lord, that
ell the tranispom had been dismissed under the late
Administration. and all that, it might do very well
for passing into the country in the course of the
summer, without any hazard of a contradinion ;
but he must say, the Noble Lord and Close with
whom he affect. never would come to an investiga-
tion of the subjcift. although se frequently invited
to it.

Lord CASTLRREAGH, in explanation, said,
from all the measures and or :!rs of the late Go•
vernment, from their total inthivity and entire
abandonment of the Continent, he did think they
had determined not to make any exertions whatever
to subsidise foreign powers. His Lordship, in
observing florin the subject of transports, adverted
to the circumstances of the gth Dragoons, who
were sent to Buenos Ayes, returning, and request-
ing to have copper-Sottomed vessels, those in which
they were •sent being only fit for three swaths
voyages, and not at all calculated for 'that sulfite.
In the Administration of Mr. Pitt, theirand Poker
was always to have the immediate means of embark-
ing 10,000 men, for foreign service, or for taking
advantage of any pre-existeng obits". Giving. there-
fore. the Right Hon. Gent. (Mr. Whildhaos). medic
for all Lis copper-44moms! umasporth Lbws was 01117

a sufficient nnmber keit for the hoop. service. and
such as ceold not be dispatched upenany immediate
mileary expedainn.
Mr. WINDIIAM, in aeswer, could not hut ob-
serve the candour of the Noble Lotd, when he said
they had ne immediate puronie so answer in sending
troaps to the Continent; they certainly had no im-
mediate views on that subjea. and therefore the
copper-bottomed transports were employed- in carry-
i-g provisions to the fleet off Brest.
Lora CASTLEREAGH again rose. and ob-
oe ved, that the experience of the Right Honour-
able bad been in paying off transports.
and I.k experience veer in taking them up ; and ever
since his return to office he had been endeavouring.
hut was not able to colle9 a sufficient number for
the public service. The Continental game had
been thought a bad one by the late Government,
a. appeared from their own .hewing, and therefore
they washed their hands nut of it entirely.
Mr. W INDHAM slid, if the Noble Lord took
tip transports with the same facility he took up
f4N, which had no existence, he congratulated him
on the acquisition. He said they had the copper-
bottomed transports, and because they had them,
they employed them.
Mr. ROSE shoula not have risen. hut to take no-
tice of an observation of the' Right Hon. Gentle.
man (Mr. Windham), who had said, that the re-
cent appointment of a certain naval officer was a
mockery on all navel dicipline. He begged leave to
set that Rig:it Hon. Gentleman right upon this
tulrjea. and to tell him, that an Admiral, com-
manding a fleet, had always a right to selea his
own Captain; and although the gallant Officer al-
luded to bad been reprimanded by the sentence of
a Court Martiek there was no blame or imputation
whatever, to area either his courage or his skill,
and the only charge against him was too great zeal
in the service of his country. That brave officer
was new engaged upon a service which would call
forth those qualities, as a brave and skilful officer,
for which he was so eminently distinguished. He
reminded the House of the appointment of Sir Ro-
ger Curtis, who was 'elated by Lord Howe to Le
his Captain; and it was allowed on all hands. by
Officers ci the lien experience and knowledge, that
such a praaice must always be allowed. Admiral
Gambier, theretore, trri every •right to selea Sir
Home Popham `sr his Captain if he pleased. While
on his legs, he begged leave to make one further
oNservation, respeaing the engagement of trans-
ports. If, as had been said by the Right Hon.
Gentleman. there was a raving of 40,0001. in the
hire of transports, and calculating upon an average
that the hire of etch transport per ton was 11. and
allowing every man a ton, which was the usual
compuutioa, there must necessarily have been a re-
duaion of 40,000 tons ; how then, he asked, did
the observations of the Right Hon. Genleman stand
good in this respea ?
General Loprus shortly adverted to the Ex-
pedition under General Creufurd,aad the want of
proper transports on that occasion. - •
Mr. WINDHAM again shortly explained.
General PHIPPS adverted to the appoint-
ment of Sir Roger Curtis, by Lord Howe, and
asked, whether a man should be punished beyond
the law ? (Alluding to Sir Home Popham.)
Mr. WINDHAM again rose, and declared he
did not mean to deny the necessity of the seta/lion
of an officer by the Commander of an eaeeditien.
But he considered the appointment of the Officer
alluded to as not altogether consonant to the
general feelings of the service.
Mr. ROSE shortly explained.
Lord HENRY PETIT considered the appoint•
meat lately made up= *greet expedition. which had
recently sailed, like the appointment of Sir R. Curtis
by Lord Howe, as the subjeft of great dissatis-
faaion among the fleet (4 erg No 7 No I lie 1—
! amp 1) Its Lordship said, he bad been in-
formed it was so; and independent of the Court
Martial, he thought that there had been some cir-
eunsstaaces upon the subjea of the expedition to
Buenos Ayres, which had transpired in public, and
would become the duty of that Home to inquire
into, and therefore this appointment should not have
taken place. His Lordship then entered Into a long
justificntion of his financial system; and next ad-
verted to the various plans and expedients of the
Noble Lord (Castlereagh) for the deliverance of
Europe, liens the year 1793 with the various ex-
peditions and subsidies which had been prnjeaed for
and against the Continent of Europe; all of which,
his Lordship contended, were so tardy in the exe-
cotion, that the opportunity had passed, and many
of thew were either destroyed, or returned without
accomplishing the objeS they were destined for. In
conclusion, his Lordship observed. that no Govern-
ment was justified in exposing the troops confided
to their care to unnecessary dangers.
Mr. CANNING observed, that the question was,
whether the Committee would vote a sum of
189,0001. to the powers of the Continent ? and, in
stating this, he bad puiposely abstained from en-
tering into any general matter, comparison, or
controversy, but merely stated the circumstances
under which that sum of money was to be granted ;
but his difficulty now, since his coming into office,
was to reconcile the expeflations of the Powers on
the Continent, with the performance of those pro-
mises and expeaetions held out to them br His
Majesty's late Ministers. It wet: now known by
whom these Powers were abandoned—it era. ret
the country, it was the then Ministers. The Powers
of the Continent were no longer to look to Lord
Grenville as a Is iend to Continental subsidy; he was
converted by the then Chancel) sr of the Exche-
ever, (Lord Henry Petty) ; and he congratulated
the Noble Lord on so noble a conversion. But it
such were the opinions of the Cabinet, it was
but fair to state to the Powers of the Conti-
nent, that such plans had been adopted. He
was rejoiced to hear the declaration of the Noble
Lord opposite, because he hoped that it would
reach beyond the walls of that Haws to our late
Allies on the Continent. That Noble Lord had
stated, that the late Ministers bed made decla-
rations of a general nature of assisting our Allies,
but that they had guarded against entering into po•
sitive engagements, and that no circumstance of the
wit had occurred to induce them to send to them
efficient help. He rejoiced is this declaration, inas•
much as it delivered hits and his colleagues in
office from the prtittful necessity of concealing (w.
they bad hitherto laboured to do) the *mbar

.
fattment and clartdty they felt. mai since the,
entered into office. *rising from the eqld
porising cont!na of the late Adminiitration ti.
wards Prussia and Russia. From their aeltnr...v.
fedgments it now appeared. that they had seilti •••
themselves vetth general, indeßilte, and empty p 7.
cessions of friendship ; but that, with the except*,,,,
of Cie advance of 80,0001. to Prussia, they hat
taken no efli:ielkemp. even to the day of their
;....
ing out tit odia to aid the cause of our
against tile common enemy. He trusted chile
Powers and the rest of the Cmtinent would tin,, !le
table clemly to distinguish between the rigid el,
0:-timed parsimony or the late AdmiMs.ratien,
the true politic il principles which were meted no-,
by emir successors, and felt by the British enspire .it
Urge. The speech of the Noble Lord, and of the Rt.
Honourable Gentleman (Mr. Windham) drear tro.n
him this acknow:edgmeirt, that the late Istni,oy
were the most dextrous executors of their own par.
poses. in throwiug off the interests of ilia Comineat,
as connedled with those of this 'corn! ry. fiat h.
would put it to the Noble Lord an.l his late Cat.
leagues. he would put it to the cool judgment
the House, and of the Country, whether are tee:;
more likely to secure economy by abandoniug
Continent, and being left to carry on the v, •
? In this war we were engaged as Nur
terms with Russia s no subsidy had been destrr.:.
by her t she only wanted our alive -*
.and she, along with Prussia, (the ',„tr,e poi„
struggling for hei very exist:sic •) frequ..ntly
their wishful eyes, hot cast them iii vain. to ne
shores of Britain, nor that assistance which,
in vague and ind.dinitd terms, they had been gisti
to aped. But if it should now be charg,d ~4
Russia, that she hid allaw_ioned. us. Resat eh,
retort that she • had fought mitifiilly aid j,;_;:,
pendently of us, whilst she had look!! in ram for
help from England; and that all oar Ix: promit
had vanished into air, tijl at last she we> 6.11gcl
look to her own, safety. without being t.h,.gid to
realer an account of her conduit to &If:A(4 .
allies bad, It was tru,, left us allne, btu cella
only ourselves to thank for it ; we had hnur.l :!:cm
to us by no obligations which they had brute r
through. Russia, to ete period of the aro, ,
had exhibited the resources of an estensiv • r ,
unaided by any others ; and had she nit j t.t a :
of complain:, as she aEloally tad com?hon t
Anibassador, that whilst France had villa:a et
troops from her narthex s• and westrrn coays,
the extremities of her empire, and from Italy, to
traverse France and Germ ley. in order to carry nn
the war in Poland. we had in no part of t'lat
period either sent troops to her assist( ,ce, or soda
made any diversiod on the pppoloo coasts of France,
or on any part of Italy t He again declared, that
much of the difficulty which he ani his,eo•leagaer,
had had to encounter in their ceeduA towards rat
Allies. and for the benefit of the empire, hssl Sera
greatly owing to the pusillanimms, imitating. had
inefficient measutes of their pre teeeesort in offite.._

TtieSOLICI f OR-GEN MIS A Ltot 5..!0 ILAND
rose for the purpose of Jefendino the apoointni:nt
of Sir Home Popham, as Capt t n of Itift.dlet is the
present expedition, and to rerrairk . how stator cad
ungenerous,it was in the Noble Lord (H. Petty) to
introduce in his speech a dark insiouatirin against
that officer, and to throw out this loose and in :cent.
charge, at a time whey he had tie oprovisany to ae..
himself; and a chase *Mei in ses wart kit
believed to be totally groundless.
Mr. WHI MIRE All said, he was sorry that any
thing had been introduced in this niguesdiseuraaa
on the suhjelt of Sir Home -Popham i• at the sates
time he thought it was sufficient to repel the a tick
of the Hoe. and Learned Gentleman .agaioni his
Noble Friend, to observe, that' hat the N4ble Lord
had alluded to V 74.: no se:ret ; it referred to the .his-
puce with Sit David Raird, as to • the prileonowy
at the Cape. and he believed was, at this very time,
the subjed of a suit in the Courts trelow. Toe Kilo
Secretary of State had made a severe attack epee
the late Adaainistratian. in 'clad in to their condo&
towards Foreign Powers; but, if he thought fit Le
make such charges, why n.it do so in a more fair
and regular war. by bringing forward a vote of ces-
sure against them t The Hon. Gentleman hid
made 'weeping charges, and bad even levelled is
an Administrators, which had not lasted fall
fourteen months, all the errors of former Ad-
ministrations for fourteen years past. He de-
vied that the late Adrisinicratioa had deserted.
the Continent; but they bad learnt wisdom and
caution from the errors of their predecessors. its
charged it upon the Administration of Mr. Pitt aa4
his colleagues, that we were now reduced to such a
painfal situation with respell to the potters no toe
Continent, and were now left erilbout sa ally. It
was not twenty-four mortise mimes, when Austria
was unwillingly driven into a war, at a time whea
she felt her Inability for the contest. and was thus
brought to the verge of stein. and when Massie also
was subsidised. it was not, therefore, his friends
who had ruined the Continent, but Mr. Pitt and rtil
rteoamuobthriaea I
tiatn.fallsehen
Colleagues. With regard to Prussia— he wished not
P °fir setr
the
against Franey. and afterwards withdrew tro.o
ebnuibtalriekedamatin that
the coalition, until the late period when she r -
commer.ced that war. his oeinion of that F.,:.er
had been one and the ,same I nor c.m1.1 h: !••
tify the enodua of England F re:
Power', and particularly in Cie abandonsnen: •
f tie of the unfortunate King of Sardinia. t. ..; • I
was now without a angle Ally. and tire lace ••
that she had some how or other so coodudeA
self. that she was execrated even by the veto Par'''
whom sbehad subsidised. He denied that the late -
nistry had deCeived the Powers on the Continent, for
they had come under no positive eagagenients,
had they fluid out any exaggerated hopes. ...le
prornisos made were merely conditional. as carcoo-
stances might arise to warrant the foliimen:
them ; and, therefore the charge was not true. '3
fait, that the late Ministry bad swerved how
premises they had made; no Russian army
briar dee, ivied from the promise oi cavalry tot
riving ; every encouragement held out had bean
'I conditional patine, and the inhilineut, of coow-
quence, depended upon the circumstances toit
aright arise. The present Administrators was, r.
opinion. incapable of treating with advat.r,
tags with the powers on the continent.
to that magnanimous 'power; Prussia. wh o t
dight Honourable Galilean states, might b 4"

,
,

1111114.
P •
couutty. yat i: was a
altatcotions were tAki
reauce, at that same
• serament of this c,,uni
tiiaceloty, t'•ey oL • 11 ti g .
*l4 in i ;von a t
IR ;A. A:ot Cm b:ow
111L,1