The National Register.
London, England, 1811-06-09 00:00:00

kTION A L.Y.EGISTER.

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theie considerations, it would evidently appear, that they would
have been disgracing themselves had they withheld from th
publiethe services of his Royal Highness. If there was a time
more fitting, a period more opportune, for the appointment of
his Royal Highness than another, it was, indeed, the present. '
He would not argue on the good will of the army,' and the ge-
neral wish they entertained in his Royal Highness's favour,
which mieht have almost induced them to comply with their
wishes, had no other causes aipeared ; and when his •P oral
Highness's de:tinguished services were considered, there could
be nt hesitation to affirm that the army's opinion was fair, and
that he deserved to be re-established. It was a question quite
clear of aey previous decision. and called tor by the tried and.
eminent services of his Royal Highness, whose appointment he
Iliad advised, upon a conviction that he was the best person to
till the office.—Wear, hear I)—Unless the House should put a
d fferent interpretation on its own Resolution, from that in
which be understood it, he was sure they could not agree in the
motion of the Noble Lord.
Lord AL I 110 K PE supported the motion, as did Mr. EL-
Lityr -r and Sir OSWALD MOSELY.
Mr. %%THU Ks r opposed the motion.
Mr. Goocu helieired, that in the utmost bitterness of
hostility, no one had as yet accused the present Ministers of
political cowardice, but of that they would have been, in
his opinion, unquestionably guilty, if they had scrupled to
recommend the re-appointment of the Duke of York to the
.office of Commander in Chief, and he would say that it
Was countenanced by that of the best judges of military aft-ail-s—
-tile Officers of the army themselves. His Royal Highness had
filled that high station with unparalleled ability. Ile had never
4mputtd any thing absolutely criminal to his Royal Highness;
and with respect to his moral defalcation, he should say to
the Members present, " Judge not lest you be judged."—
(A laugh.)—His removal from office had been produced by an
unfounded clamour, raised by a set of profligate hired witnesses.
(Cheering from the Ministerial Benches.)—And he would ask the
'House, whether it must not be a subject of much satisfaction
to the nation to see him restored.

(kil"! al 'LI R LETO N said that he stood in a situation of
pecu.iar dlilie tilry ; he' had to acknowledge many obligations
to his Royal 1 ligliness the Duke of York ; he had nevertheless,
on the charges bi-ing preferred against him, chosen to follow
hiApublic duty, and vote for his removal ; now, however, that
the mode in which the evidence against him had been obtained
uffisbrought to light, he was pleased at the opportunity afforded
•'tim by the present debate, to retract his former opinion. He
was confident the reinstatement of his Royal Highness would
infuse the most vivid joy into the whole army, over the interests
of «•hick try had watched with increasing vigilance, while he
had laboured successfully to improve As organization ; lee should
therefore vote against the motion.
Adiniral Ititivi.v thought there was no man who ;lesse-s-
-ed a sense of tumour, but would conceive a removal Irom office
a very severe punishment. hear !)—blow that the
House wad fully informed as to the foul and wicked conspiracy
that had been hatched against his Royal flightless, he trus!ed
that every impression prejudicial to his character would be. en-
tirely removed.
. Mr. CHARLES ADAM opposed the motion.

Mr. Wm-fitar.An rose and said, that some Honourable
Members had declared, that although they' had formerly
given their votes in opposition to the interests of his Royal
Highness, they would now -tote for hi 4 restoration to office.
What their -motives could be for such a change of opi-
nion, he could not conjecture ; but as to himself, his
former opinion had been uninfluenced by aught but.
a sense of duty, and it had remained unaltered. Had
the House contemplated the restoration of the Royal Personage
as likely, at the time of his resignation, they would, without
doubt, have passed a Resolutior putting a bar to it; but on his
voluntary relinquishment they had forborne to take this step
from motives of delicacy and respect. He thought, in common
with the Noble Lord, that the re-appointment was improper
and indecorous in the extreme. The Chancellor of the Exche-
quer, like some late Ministers, had claimed the merit of having
advised the re-appointment of his Royal Highness, contrary to
the wish of tin- House. Shuidd the vote of the House be
against them, however, they might be made to feel that as-
heavy responsibility attached to them. He thought that
when their opinion wits brought in direct opposition to that
of the House, they would have dune well to have adopted
a similar conduct to that pursued on a former occasion, and
to have withdrawn
_themselves till the House had come to a
isiuu bject. He adthitted the fact that
advanced in years, nor was he in-
toritms nature of his services; but he
Gent. what was his age when he him-
a fit successor for the Duke of York ?
reported that Sir David DOndas had

. .
been appoititeli merely to preserve the place for the Duke; and
It now appeared that the report was not unfounded in truth.
The measure had enabled the Duke to retire, in order to evade
the resolution Which the House would haite passed, had he per-
sisted in retaining tiffs situation. Had any one of the amendments
which had been proposed in the course of the discussion re•
specting his condutt been agreed to, it must have inevitably
produced his resioation, accompanied with an effectual obsta-
cle to his restoration to Mice ; but on his voluntary resignation
the proceedings were stoppL d from a feeling which rcflected much
credit on the House, though cei t.tinlythey did not at the time
conceive that any Minister would ever venture to recommend
hisi-e-appointment to his formcr exalted situation. If the Duke
were restored, he would ask on what principle similar pleas to
his from others could be refused. Was it just to say, now that
our army was raised so high in the estimaton of all Europe for
discipline and bravery, that there was no officer to be found
except the Duke of York, capable of tilling the situation of
Commander in Chief. Why, if this was the case, was his resig-
nation ever alloWed of ? We were every day called on to
applaud the splendid victories obtained by the gallant Welling-
ton, victories which would bear a comparison with any of thq,se
recorded by ancient history ; but much as the country was
indebted to that Noble Commander, were he now placed -
in a similar situation to that of the Royal Duke, he would not
hesitate to say, that he would not admit him to office
to achieve a victory of a different nature from those on which
his glory was founded, a victory over the British House of
Commons and the British Constitution.

Mr. CHARLES ADAM and Mr. BATIIURST explained. -
Mr. Secretary RYDER said, that it was not his intention to
take up the time of the House longer than would be necessary
to state the reasons which influenced the vote he meant to give.
He had never heard that the House had given any opinion
against the restoration of his Royal Highness, or otherwise.
He recollected, indeed, many Members saying that his
re-appointment would be the necessary consequence cf what
had transpired since his resignation. He thought the
proper time for that re-appointment now arrived, atter it had
been distinctly proved, that the evidence by which his removal
had been produced. had been hired for the purpose ; and he had
the authority of the Noble Lord, who had presided at a late trial,
for saying that had the witnesses been examined upon oath be-
fore the House, the Hon. Member who preferred the charges
would have been liable to be indicted for subornation of per-
july.—(Hewn•, hear !)—The army were fully convinced of the
foul conspiracy which had caused the removal of a Commander
is Chief who possessed their entire confidence, and exulted aus
his restoration.

Sir F. BuitnETT supported the Motion.
Mr. PoN so N BY was of opinion that the Dulce had sufficiently
expiated his crime by the odium to wh:ch he had been exposed.
Mr. BARHAM opposed the Motion.
Mr. MANNERS SUTTON opposed the motion, as did Mr.
Roar:aT THORNTON, who declared that nothing could have
been more grateful to the Army, than the re-appointment of
the Duke of York to the Office of Commander in Chief.

Mr. CANNING, in a short speech, defended the conduct of
the Duke of York ; and declared his opinion, that from the
nature of the evidence which had been adduced against him no
just ground of imputation had been proved. He struntly repro-
bated the nmtiun of the Noble Lord.

After a few observations trom Mr. WARDLE, in defence of
his own motives in bringing forward the charge. The Question
was loudly called fur, and a division took place.
Fur the motion 47 ; Against it 21-)6; Majority-249.
The other Orders of the Day were then disposed of, and the
House adjourned at ONE o'clock.

FRIDAY, JUNE 7.
THANKS TO GENERAL BERESFORD.

The CHANCELLOR of the ExcitrQu ER had now again imposed
on him the agreeable duty of directing th- attention of the House
to another brilliant display of the glory of the British arms.
He had the honour to propose upon this occasion, that the names
of General Beresford and of the Officers and Soldiers under his
command should be enrolled among the numbers already be-
come illustrious by their heroism. -This was the third instance
in the short space of one shortcampaign in which such actions
were brought under the notice of the House. lie should briefly
state the circumstances and nature of the transaction on account
of which he came forward in the present instance, to call for the
approbation of the House. [Here the Right Hon. Goitleman
entered into a detail of the fact, and complimented in terms- of
the highest eulogium, the judgment and decision of Gener.d.
Beresford. He applauded the conduct of the Spaniards, who,
being' stationed on the right wing, resisted the French for some
time, and even after they were repulsed, succeeded in checking.
ebe enemy at the foot of the hill before the reinforcautuLs

final. decision on tile std.
Sir .17 id I)undas was
I t ,dispute the merit,
act ••• Right lion.
• 1.1 ,r,-, ,led hint as ": 1 ILI'
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could come up to their assistance—(Hear,hear !)--in this situ-
ation it was that General Houghton coxiing up at the head of
his men, and huzzaing and, cheering to the battle, had met his
glorious fate,—a fate which it.was no less owing to the interest
than to the generosity of the country to commemorate by some
remarkable distinction. He could not help anticipating the
most beneficial consequences as likely to result from such actions,
forwhen the power of France was defeated in one instance after
another, it was impossible not to concur in thinking wish the
.gallant General himself, that 46 Sault would now retire with a
broken army, and a diminished reputation." The enemy might
take an opportunity to impose for a certain time upon those who
were not acquainted with the particulars of the action, and hav-
,ing taken away some of the signals of victory, might produce
them as evidences of victory itself. It was true that some colours
bad keen lost, and this subject was deservieg of a word or two
from same remarkable occcurrences connected with it. An
Officer who held the colours had been called upon to surrender
.tkeen, which he
.declaeed he would only surrender with his life,
and he fell a victi.o to h.s bravery. The colours which another
.Officer held, were broke!: by a cannon ball, and himself, by the
same shot, severely .wounded, but having fallen on the field, he
tore them from the staff, and thrust them in his bosom.—(Loud
cries of hear !)---It might be also not improper to mention an
anecdote of General Beresford himself, who being attacked by
one of the Polish cavalry, contrived to pull him off his horse,
from a desire to save his life, but cven in that situation he perse-
vered in his endeavours, until those who were around General
Beresford dispatched him. As to the moral effect of such a vic-
tory, it was hnpussible not to collect that it was an attempt made
by the French to retrieve their desperate situation. It was well
known that Marshal Souk, in his sanguine expectation of con-
queq, had issued one of those boasting Proclamations, so com-
mon with the French. What disappointment then must ensue,
when after two attempts, at different quarters, they were de-
feated? And how materially must the reputation of that army
be reduced upon being worsted in successive engagements ? He
knew there were some who thought that there were no limits
'to the resources of Franc,— ' but he thought, it could be no,
easy matter to recruit such an army, and when recruited,
they would find the place differently prepared, and they
would meet with a different description of enemy. They
had in the disappointed expectations of the enemy, a warning
against too much hope. The fate of war was in other hands,
and he would leave the present impression to work. its way
upon the public mind, without adding to it by any representa-
tion. He thought, however, he might affirm that he had great
expectations; which he sincerely hoped God would be pleased
to permit to be realized, for they were in his hands. He con•
chided with moving, 44 That the hanks of the Houte should
be given to General Bere,ford, for the distinguished ability dis-
played by him in the battle of Albuera, on the 16th of May,
which terminated in the defeat of the enemy; also, to Generals
Cole, Stewart, Long, Baron, Halton, &c. and the Nun-com-
missioned Officers and Soldiers under his command."
Lord CASTLEREAGII highly ap.proved of the motion, and
praised General Beresford. In adverting to the co-operation of
the Spaniards, he was happy to find that the testimony of the
General represented them as
.having done their duty in that
day's battle, :end lie hoved that example would leiid to happy
result, in the future. Up to to the present moment France had
made but little impression upon Spam ; for with all her
,efforts,
she had never been able to send forth a single Spanish regiment,
to assist hi the subjugation of the country. As to those defects
in the national characters of Spain, which prevented her from
putting herself in that condition which would enable.her mote
effectually to resist oppression, it was but justice to observe,
that the same untractable character made her su unmanageable
in the hands of her ern:mks.

General TARLe:•roN concurred in the vote.
Sir HENRY MONTGOMERY could not expect to add to the
eloquent and ab!e statement of the Right Honourable Gentle-
naan, and the noble Lord; but he could not forego the pleasure
of offering his tribute of applause to the gallant Commander
and Artily fur the Battle of Albuera.
" General MATIIEW entered into a statement of the services of
General Beresford, and hoped Ministers would make some pe-
ct.niary provision fur him, as he had lately suffered great losses.
The Resolutions were then severally put, and agreed to
?Win. CJn.

Mr. PEaciirAt. then moved the Thanks to the Portuguese
4iraly serving under General Cole at the Battle of Albuera;
which being agreed to nest. c )q.
The CiinNeimr.uit of the EXCIIPQUER said, that though he
believed there was no instance in which. that. House expressed
itc thanks to the unless when they acted under Officers •
of our own, yet the nature of the present contest justified, he
thought, a deviation train that rule ; and, uptiti this, ground, he
shriold move the tbanki to the Spanish Army aitiAg wider
Iftral Blake at the Battle of Albuera.

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