The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1805-05-11 00:00:00

7.7

tie should also ohjett to the produ&ioq orasy eon.
• respondence expl7tining the state of British and Fo-
reign timber, as it might disclose the foreign re-
*tierces of the Navy, and thereby perhaps enable
the enemy ro embarrass them.
Sir J. SINCLAIR said he bad great doubts of the
expadiency of this prneeeding at the present moment,
and at this advanced period of the session, rspeciaHy
' as another enquiry of great length was going on
already. The produaion of these fresh papers, be
feared, would distr.:tat the attention of the Navy
Board, and too much ocenpy the attention of the
Clerks, when the existing state of affairs called for
the most vigorous and unremitting exertions in baf-
fling the dangerous attempts of the enemy. It
most also be remembered, that voluminous as these
Motions were, they would probably farm but a
small part of the whole, as it was to be expeeted that
the friends of Earl St. Vincent would call. for a
still greater man of paper its his Lordship's vindi-
cation ; without taking up the time of the Navy and"
Admiralty Boards by motions in that House, he
thought it would be much better, if Earl St. VW:
cent was wrong, that an enquiry should be for•
mdly instituted by his successors. He should
therefere enter his public protest against multiply-
ing enquiries at such a mind as the present.
-Dir. JEFFERY thought it premature to talk of
the ineonveniencies of enquiry before Gentlemen
could know what may he the result of the papers,
or whether they might, or might not, afford suf-
ficient ground cur it. If the event should prove,
that there was any thing in the conduit of
Earl St. Vincent, it must be admitted that it had
been suffered to lie by Inn; enough. He declared
he did not take op this business at the instigation of
any man, or set of men, as he had always kept him-
self unconnected with any party. He saw great
mismanagement, and hac'., on examinati us, disco-
vereti where the fault lay. The enquiry- he pro-
posed, appeared to him of much more importance
- than any which had hitherto been instituted, and if
not taken up now, would stand but little chance of
ever being taken up at all. As to any untoward
'circumstances that had arisen, be considered them as
affording an additinnal ground forinvestigation; and
when the papers were brought forward, any Gentle-
man would have an opportunity of judging, whether
they furnished matter for inquiry. He was war-
ranted in saying, and was willing to pledge himself,
that the produltion of the papers would be attended
with no delay or difficulty, and that, if granted,
they would be on the table in the space of ten '
days at farthest. As Earl &. Vincent's friends
courted inquiry, he hoped the House would grant
any accounts they might move for, provided they
confined their motions to what directly and fairly
related to the subjea. All he was anxious for was,
the fair means of discussion ; and when these were
afforded, he made no doubt of being able to prove
his assertion, that Earl St. Vincent had, during
his Administration, disgraced the British Navy, and
was the greatest enemy to the country that the
country ever kivare.
Mr. TIERNEY said, he was far from opposing
the motion now before the House. especially as the
Hon. Gentleman had put it out of his power to do
so, by declaring that the Noble and gallant Earl
had disgraced the British Navy, and was the greatest
enemy to the country that the country ever knew.
If the Hon. Gentleman said all this .from his own
suggestion, it was a pity that he was not a Lord of
the Admiralty, by which he might have obtained
greater information than he probably now possessed.
•f he lights, however, which he professed to have
obtained, and the decisive line of conduf he had
adopted, were rather strange in an independent
country gentleman, professing himself to be uncoil.
meted with any party. It was equally strange too,
that no attack whatever had been made against Earl
flt. Vincent until he adopted measures which imoded
to attack others. The proceedings of this day were
certainly a goqd warning to any man to be very
carefulhow he ventured to attack abuses. If the
lion. Gentleman had indeed been a party man. in-
stead of an enconnesned country gentleman, as he
described himself, he might have been suspeactl of
having taken a very dexterous war to divert the
attention of the House from the other inquiries
already going forward ; but he could not consider
' it altogether fair in an unconnected man to assert
that he weld prove F.arl Sr. Vincent to have dis-
armed the Navy, and have been an enemy to his
cosouy. After he heard the Minister himself objea
to some of those papers which might turn out to
be the moo necessary for the Noble Earl's defence;
let the fair and full inquiry be granted; and if
any of the papers required should appear of too
delicate a nature to be made public, let the inquiry
be a secret one. At the present moment, indeed,
the friends of time Earl ofSt. Vincent did not appear
to be very numerous in that House; nor were they
mush wanting to a man who might safely rest his
eharaaer in the sentiments of a grateful and affec-
tionate people. Whatever that -Honourable Gen-
tleman may think himself, he fancied he would
not find it an easy task to convince the people
of England that the Earl of St. Vincent was the
eaerny of his country. lie thought he had a right
to expo& that the Right Hon. Gentleman 'Mr. Pitt)
himself would have given some favourable opinion
of at least the professional merits of the Noble Earl,
when he heard his charaaer arraigned in such a
manner, by an uncoaneaed individual. When he
beard so illustrious a charaaer reviled, without any
appeal to former friendship. to extend towards it
the prnteaion of his awn opinion, was no more than
what was due from one great man in a high situa-
tion to another. They differed indeed in their opi-
nions, on the best means of Naval Administration;
lost he should not have thought that a reason why
be should so abandon him in every other respea.
A fair and manly hostility to the Noble Earl, like
that of the unconnected individual, would, in his
opinion, be more becoming in the Right Honour.
able Gentleman, than the grant of papers, pto-
fessing to brand the Noble Earl in the manner
expressed by his present adversary. 'llia was not
a charge that respelled any particular expedition, or
partial failure, but a broad accusation, which ought
either to be sifted to the bottom, or all documents
lie refused upon it. When the Hon. accuser seemed
to doubt whether these papers might, in the ;cork,
must have bad a most ex-
, own motion, to think it
!If for condemnation. Fur
a very different opinion,
distinaly to state men the

tend to an enquiry, he gnus
I sr?svagant opinion of his
.184nrsufficient of itself
›- • • he was of a
*tccsaAulon•
• •
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