The Sun.
London, England, 1812-06-18 00:00:00

FRENCH PRISONERS OF WAR.

Mr. N. CALVERT moved for an Account of the
French Commissioned Officers, Prisoners of War
in this country, in the years ending Junes, 1810,
1811, and 1812, distinguishing those who had
been set at liberty on their,parole, and .those who
had broken it, and also those who had escaped,
and those who. had been retaken.

Lord CA3TLEREAGH was happy such a motion
had been brought forward. The number of
French Prisoners Vho had lately violated their
parole, was so great, that it became a subject of
serious consideration; •in a war like the present.
If we could not prevent this evil, without having
recourse to measures which our feelings weld
not allow us to adopt, we might at once publish
to the world the numbers who broke their pa-
and their Baines, to hold them up to the dis-
grace they merited.
CALV2RT was of opinion, that to do
this alone voald not be sufficient. He had much
to say on the S•Z;liject, but would not then take
up the time of die House.
This Motion was agreed to.
Mil. SHERIDAN AND THE HOUSEHOLD.

Mr. SHERIpAN rose, pursuant to a notice which
he had given on Monday, for this day, -with the
indifleuce of the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
though more business of greater importance was
before them than any thing could be whiCh lie
!night have to say. He must confess, that in
(twit% down to the House, he felt that which
had occurred as rather an inauspicious omen.—
How it had happened he knew not ; but yes-
terday it Inul I.),tn rumoured Alia he *0 so
very iii, that it was impossible for :bim to
bring on his , Motion. He' had been..., much

donate surprise, at his being well enough to come
out, with which he bed been greeted by those
whom he had met. -I,7QW the truth *as, that he
had been very well yesterday-, bet he was so far
ftene being well to-day, that he must on that ac-
conat solicit the indulgence of the House; .but
-severe indeed enlist that indisposition.have been
which could make him so far neglect his own
character, and what was of greater consequence,
treat the NotiSe with such disrespect a's .to fail to
redeem the pledge which he had given., • Gentle-
%tenon might be assured that he would be as brief
as possible-, because he must confess that he had
solicit their attention very much to his own_ per-
sonal feelings ; and during the time that he had
hail a 'seat in that House, he trusted he had at
lease had good common sense and common taste
enough, not to be-an egotist within those wallss•but
au the present occasion he must solicit their in-
dulgence. In what he had to say he did not mean
to prefer the slightest.- charge, or throw the
slightest aspersion or ceimination on any person
whatever ; he would confine himself to refuting,
those calumnies and libels which had been pub-
lished against him—snot those, however, which
had appeared in publications which he would
scorn to 'hold in his band. If the celmeraies of
which he complained had only been published'in
those or in ordinary. publications, he would -not
have noticed them, for never was man more
.friendly, not only to the liberty, .but he might
almost say to the license of the press, than him-
self ; but when such libels appeared in that print
which it was notorious was most particularly at-'
tache.d to, and under the influence of those who
had long been considered his political friends,:te
could not view them with the same indifference.
He had -there been inittrionsiy.held up as the
chief actor in that secret influence .N.VII lei it was-.
said had disappointed the hopes of the nation,
,and twice prevented4e formation of a strong
Administration: He 'had been represented to be
the cause of the failure of the late negociations,
and as having rought about the formation of the.
present Administration. The Gentlemen oppo-
site knew better. They (the present
tration) knew how little they were beholden to
,him, and he seas certain that he should not lessen
himself in their estimation, when be declared;
that if his counsel, or if his influence could have
prevailed, not-one of them tvOuhl have been in ,
the service of the Prince illtgent that day.--4n
order to prove that he *as a member of a -cabal
which.it was said had disappointed the hopes of
the country, and procured the appointment of the
present- Administration., it had been said, that he
had in. an 'indite manner exerted an influence he
possessed over that great and illustrious person-
age, in whom the executive power was vested.
This was that which wounded him more than any,
calumny which might be fabricated against, him,
self. He would not pretend to dh:guise the friend-
ship and the confidence with which he had long
been honoured by his Royal Master ; but if be
(Mr. Sheridan) had'been base enough to take ad-
vantage of that confidence and friendship to offer
him secret advice, while he had responsible Mini-
sters in his service, who alone ought to advise
him, he was sure that such conduct would have
met with the severest reprobation from that great
and illustrious personage. He would not. dis=
guise,' that perhaps no . man living had had more .
opportunities of knowing the disposition and the
heart of that exalted character than himself, but
~it could only be known to him (the Prince) to
his (Mr. Sheridan's) own heart, and to the omni-
scient researcher of all hearts, le ther or not he
had endeavoured to avail himself of those opportu-
nities tia gain an ascendancy over himby sycophancy
or servility. He had never been the man to do so, and
little did they know of the Prince, who. could be-
lieve that such a man could possess his confidence
or his friendship. He, wished those who en-
couraged the aspersions thrown on that illustrious
personage had known his heart as he did, and then
those injurious calumnies, and that ungentleman-
ly scurrility which they had seen would never
have existed: For himself he would say, that he
had never acted against the interests of the coun-
try. To her welfare be bad uniformly sacrificed
every personal feeling. He had deserted those
with whom be had been in the habit of acting,
and voted, against his party, though it was a par-
ty he loved—and why ?. Because. he loved his
country better than his-party. In conscientious-
ly voting against them, he did not know that he
offended them ; but if it did give them offenee,
he was consoled for it by the applauses and the
confidence of the country ; and he was confident,
that if the senility of a sycophant had appeared
to mark his conduct in his intercourse with the
illustrious personage of whom he had spoken,
that it would have been at the risk of that friend-
ship which be had the happiness to enjoy, and
the consequence would have been, he (Mr. S.)
would have lost the favour of his Prince, and he
(the Prince) would have lost (a loss which. he
(Mr. Sheridan) would have prayed to God to re-
pair the same hour) the zealous and dutiful ser-
vices of one who was sincerely attached to his
person, and to his honour and -his glory, and not,
to his station. The reflections which had been
thrown out respecting t'he seat he held in. that
House might he thought have hten repressed.—
He did not throw out the slightest insinuations
against Gentlemen of the party with which he
acted as having published those aspersions Of
which he complained. He wholly acquitted them
of any thing of the kind ;I
hut he: thought it,
might have occurred to those who knew him,
who had known him long, and who had seen
what his conduct had been for the last thirty-
two years, that he was not that sycophant who
would join in a cabal i*hich oppose itself to the
interests of the nation for a seat in Pailiameat. He
next came to speak of -the income which he re-
ceived, .and which was. ete .only income he had
from the office bestowed upon him by the Prince.
On the death_ of Lord tiliott, his Royal High-
ness had consulted the late Attorney-General,
Vicary Gibbs, and Sir Thomas Pioneer, on the
subject of giving it to Lord Lake. -They h td giVen
it as their opinions, that it could not at that time
be conferred on Lord Lake, as his Lordship was
then in India. His Royal Highness upon this
gave it to him pie. Sheridan), for the time being,
and he accepting of it, had pledged himself to the
brother of Lord Lake, and in the presence of the

Lake. The moment his Lordship retutned from
India, he (Mr.,81) did_ resign it. Jamented,
death of Lord Lake shortly after gave the Prince
an opporiMuity of restoring it to him (Mr; S.),
which he did, giving it to him by letters patent
for his life, as he had given it before to Lord:
Lake. He had felt himself bound to say so Much
on this subject, in justice to his Royal Highness,
whose conduct in this respect.had been most un-
worthily asliersed. With respect to . that secret
influence of which so much huti been said, he 'dis-
claimed all participation in it, and he would state
what might excite some surprise, that he hadseen
the Prince Regent but once in the course of the
last two months. 'He- bad
.purposely abstained
'from having any communication with his Royal
Highness, !fromsa feeling of dutiful respect, and
had onl seen him after hies return from Stafford-
- shire, when lie (the Prince) was graciously pleased
- to ask his humble opinion on certainmegociations
which were going on. Ile had given his opinion
on them, at for his own honour he would desihe
nothing more than that
,Opinion should he ,pubs
lished. He now came to his connection .with the
IHousehold Officer, of which so much had been
said : he had to state that he was not acquainted-
with the Marquis of Hertford. In his life he had.
'been twice in that Nobleman's house. He•bad
dined there once just before the death of Mr. Fox,
and he had been there once since. If he had the
honour ofvisiting at Manchester-square, he would
think it mean to shrink from an avowal of it at
this time, and unmanly to disclaim the connection.
With the Noble Vice-Chamberlain (Lord Yar-'
month) he was well acquainted : they hat! very
frequently met at A variety of places in different
social circles; but he believed no two men' at all
connected with public life had, ever so slight a po-
litical acquaintance es himselfand the Noble Lord..
Having now rubbed away a good deal of the rub-,
;bush about the Household, and the secret influ-
ence, he would proceed, to pawy matters. His
Noble Friend opposite had described him as -a
principal in the late negociatioes. Doing this, he
had done 'him too much honour, as his had been
but a very minor part indeed. He`would -state
how far it had gone. 'lf he had, pretended; to
knO-w nothing of :the:late .fiegociations, and had
assumed a grand mysterious air of profound ignoe
ranee on the subject; his conduct would have been
comically extravagant enough ' • but he had affehted
nothing of the kind. He did know of them, ahtf
he had never denied that lee knew of them. Andhos
did he know of them ? Not from the HOusehold;
not from his connection With the secret influence,
not friam his acquaintance at Carlton-house, but
from the Marquis of Wellesley, who had called at
his house in his carriage on the day
.on which the
Noble Marquis was authorised by the Prince Re-
gent to form an Administration. Lord Wellesley
bad done him the honour to call upon hint (Mr.
S.) the second or third person he called on, and
had shewn, him the written plan which :he had
drawn up for formingan Administration. Of the
negociation which followed that of the Noble
Marquis, he Pdr. S.) had known more from his
intimate connection with that Nobleman, whohi
he called his friend' with pride, and who was .e very
thing that was great, and manly, andsineere, and -
virtuous, and good, the Earl of Moira. Stand-
ing in the situation which he had described, with
the Noble Lord, it most undoubtedly would hare
been silly for him to have affected ignorhnee of
what was going on. What he resented most
in the libels which had been circulated, was,
that he had been described as an artful in-
triguer,, and charged with giving secret advice
to his Prince to inflame his mind against the two
Noble. Lords who had been particularly applied
to, to form a part of the Administration, and against
one of them in particular. He would assert, that
the paper which preferred such a charge against
him, wass from beginning to end, Most grossly
and audaciously false. It was hardly saying
enough of _it to declare it to be false, as every -
part of it set forth that which was the very
,cen- •
trary of the truth. He had done all that was in s
his power to bring the confideece goodand Will •
of all parties to those Noble Lords, and this he
did not wish to rest on his assertion, as proofs
the •most unequivocal were easi'y to be produced
of the facts When it was decided that an Ad-
Ministration should be .formed without any ex-
clusions being previously stipulated, he did then,
as a Privy Counsellor, address a. letter tohis Royal
Highness on the magnanimity and wisdom with
which be had acted. He would contend, that
the-Prince Regent had. as much right to call upon
any Privy Counsellor for his adlice as he had
to call upon any. great Lord for his, and a
Privy, Counsellor
.was as . responsible for the
advice which he might give. He wouild now
come to the subject of the supposed con-
versatien between the Noble Vice Chamberlain
and himself. This was supposed to be confirmed
bAtlie Right Hon. Gentleman's five hundred thoh-
sand guinea bet, of which he whet(' say more by
and by: The charge against him was, that he
had endeavoured to establish the present Admini-
stratisith by baffling Lords Wellesley and Moira in
their
,effortsto form an Administration. A charge
more foolishly false was never made in the world.
He would not condemn the conduct of Lords
Grey and Grenville. They might justify it in an-
ether place, where he understood a discussion on
the sAject was likely to come an. Though be
certainly had formed a judgment of his own, he
would allow others to have their judgments also ;
btit this he said, that, at a moment like the pre-
sent, when all the great points for which they had ;
so long contended were conceded to them; when
thatquestion, which in his opinion was Oh great-
est and most important of all questions, that te- : I
tire to the state of Ireland; was thrown open to
their wishes ; when an opportunity appeared to
be gin-en to them of preventing an American war;
when it was put within their power to introduce
those hecessary and practical reforms which were
called for, and also to quiet the disturbances in
the country; when all these great objects were
set before theth, he had not believed it possible
for any set of men to set themselves up against
serving their country, because they wanted thre`e
white sticks, which were held by the Officers of
the Household. That these were his sentiments
was no secret. He had argued the question with
many of his friends, and stated-his opinions to he ,
such. He had communicated them to a Noble

foes, for his conduct had provoked no Personal
enmities without the. wnlis of that House ; he had.
coMinunicated his sentiments to his Noble Friend
(Lord Kinnairsl) a person. through whom he could
convey them with temper anti with accuracy to
Lord' Grey. His arguments on the subject had
snot pro4uced the impression he desired. On his
frieutts ; a circumstance which he much regretted,
and in no institutemore than in that of this' fail-
ure on a .young- frieird who promised to be one of
the greatest ornaments of that House. [le -was
of opinion, that the pledge given by Lord Grey:
in the House of Lords could not be retracted. On
this, he (Mr.-S.) was not disposed to say one
word ; that Noble Lord ou.t.,,ht to be the guardian
of his' Own- honoUr; but he could not but wish
that he had not pledged'himself to discharge tlto
Household. He. had at firt :thought the News-,
papers had exaggerated in the accounts they gave
of that pledge ; but this. not being the case, if he
were asked the question, hemertainly .could not.
see how the Noble Lord could preserve his hoot):
if he did not abide by that pledge. The Noble
Earl, he had understood, was of opinion, that its
'certain personi came into offr:e,.-The present Oui
eery of, the Household were licntd...tO
This he thought came to prec;se'y the same thing
as discharging them ; for he trusted there 's-g.s not
a man-in the House whO would come into the
shabby juggle it would be, to say that merely al-
lowipg,them eight or ten minutes walk off with
their white sticks, came to any thing short of dis
charging them. He had disliked tic conduct of
the Household in saying, " We will resign if such
1111 Administration comes into power," as he did
the conduct of an Administration which said, " if
we come in, the Household shall be dismissed."---
He had only .disapproved on this principle of the
conduct- of the Noble Lord, and theirconversation
ended in his-

[Here Mr. Sheridan, who, to‘VardS Op latter
part of his statement, had 'frequently paused front
apparent indisposition, appeared so._ ill, and so
much eXhausted, that he could not proceed. /lc
raised his hand to his foreheadi and stood silent
fiir ;some moments. The' House called upon him
to sit down. He accordingly resumed his scat,
and a glass. of water was brought to him, which
appeared to kelieve him consilerably, and he agant
.rose,]

lie coressed his gratitude- for. the indnigence
of the 'rouse. He endeavoured to state part Of
the conversation Which had. passed between him
and the Noble Vice Cl' ni..mberlain. The story of the
Noble Lord having given way to his exi!ortation
was Wholly unfOunded, and the conversation had
ended with his saying " well, I believe you arc
right after all."
[Here Mr. Sheridan was again unable to pro-
ceed. His voice faltered before be ceased to speak
the last time, and he was more than once wholly
inaudible.]
Mr. JEKYLL submitted it to the delicacy and
feelings of the\ HouSe, if it could be proper to KG':
teed with the discnssion. He though that it
must be felt to be more corOenient to postpone
it, and he accordingly moved to-postpone it to
Friday.
Mr. SHERIDAN' faintly nodded 'assent, but :lid
nct speak.
The question was 'then put and carried, and thr
dizcus-Jion was postponed to Friday.