The National Register.
London, England, 1814-11-13 00:00:00

NOV. 13.

Ttrr, NATIONAL ItERISTER.

valete4, her eatioal weans of anzioyance to a trade which spread
over toe wield, the qaestiort of success or discomfiture was to he
(belled by looking to the pi oreetion afforded to that trade in the
preseeve of that host of enennes Something might he guessed of
this from the fact that between eepturee at home and our colonies,
we .11.411 within a few hundreds of 20,000 American sesmen prisoners
(hear !) This was not like inactivity. We had also captured from
them more than '2OO ships of war lid armed vessels. He would add
a few little facts of that nature. The list was thirty-eight ships of
war from the greatest force dowuwards, and 190 e: med vessels,
captured or destroyed. Nine linnArrel vesaels had been taken, and,
filen the number captured abroad in different parts of the world,
he would not rate the entire at less than 190 e. ( hear !) He had to
mention another rice : the rate of insurance had been alladesi to on
emit occasions as an evidence of the public feeling on such
subjects. How did that now stand? Notwithstanding the in-
inert ase of privateers, the premium of ittimranee last Jone
- was less than it had been the June before. With regard to the
nionher el captures niatle on the coast of' this kingdom and Ire-
Lied, hit Lerdellip was desirous of stating what had happened
(it former periods. At the e!n:e of the war in the year 1759 and
1760, the French took :acid British vessels. The captures from the
Frenvii were not more titAtt 100, leaving a balance hi favour of the
French. Toe follywing year, the French were driven from the seas,
amt it was a fact, that the whole navy of the country could not
preveeo. the privateers from capturing British vessels. Looking to
the capture at the period alluded to, more had certainly been cap-
tured of late, hut then the trade of 1760 was nothing compared
with the present trade. He had not heard the number of captures
last vomiter by American privateers from any reenter return, but
he had taken smite pains to procure the best information on the
subject. From the taking of Paris to the end of the year there
were 172 captures. The Noble Lord would observe, that ships
were then going to and coming from France, and many that miahl
,have sailed with convoy refaced that prOteetian. A number sailer!,
over which the Admiralty bad no controul. Ninety-fonr sailed
e.Aliont convoy out et 172. Convoys had seldom arrived, without
makine compi•liets of ships having refused to sail with them. The
tact was, it was a Vneral custom fur ships to proceed to a conve•
Meet diAatice with convoy and then separate, and the consequence
was, thst they were often captured. The total of ships lost by
kailin4 without convey waa r 3 ; the whole meer:er of coasting Yes-
:As taken, os er which the Aoltunalte had no controul, wag eleven
only. Lord Melville then reminded the Nobie Lord, that the con-
test noon the Lakes was neatly epee an equality, and coecluded
by ulmerving, that ell had been done by those who had the manage•
meta of tle. aide) to give tiltPi to exertions in that quarter.
Lord GRENVILLE said, it was unfortunately a prevailing opinion.
that the affairs of the navy 113.1 hetet neolvettd. Whe the% they had
been mistaken ie formine such (wishing, his Lordship could not
cide, but he eepressed a hope that the time would conic, when in
justice to the Noble Lord. arid iu justiee to the trays. the uscessery
inquiry would he made. I have always been led to bell. ve that the
superiority in America consisted in the possession of the Canadian
:vat ers. This was the opinion of farmer Government.. It becomes
a ipication to know how we are timed stinggliest with the power of
America, hos iota been St) lOn'2 aequaieted with a know 'seize of the
war. With respect to the qecstion generally before us, I may say,
it has been my de,ite to concur in nuet addresses, but in this it is
impossible to coacur. After the loeg strierele, and
eveills, which have distineuished the conclusion of it, so much in the
intereat of mankind, I hope we should this day he called on to
conaider the means of improvine the situatiosi of the public, and
tenoning the burdens of the country; mitt I see on the contrary,
%fleet the war which justified these hardens has star d, that nothizes
F pokell of but large expteehture, and increased bearded' on the
yeeple. I looked with the utmost atteiety to that pert of the Speech
which to the state of neeotiation with America. It was
my practice to condemn the conduct 01' this country towards Aiee-
rica ; but when you had repealed those Orders of Council, and
America declared seer, on a groued that went to the destruction of
your maritime rights, there was hut one voice as to the necessity of
upholding the cutest ; but the circumstances which unve bi:th to
the war seared with the NV di' a 4 Europe, end never did I think two
great nations would wantonly shed blood on a retoospective ab-
stract question. As far a., my julement went. all occasion of war
had ceesed, when Peace was restored to Europe, and I conceived
that nothing reneabied to he done but to return to that state from
which the tes a countries had iinfortenately •leparted The next
question is, whetht r, and what eiremostauces have prevented such
a result, but I must say, of all the speeches I havcrver seen. and all
the terms of cxyzeksbiuu iu the Liglith Languages conve:,ing a deli: e to