The Sun.
London, England, 1802-05-08 00:00:00

THE LATE MINISTERS,

Afr.NICHOLLS said, he had thought it his
duty to submit .a Motion to the House for the pur-
pose of bringing the Conduit of His Majesty's late
Ministers before them ; but more particularly than
of the Right Honourable Gentleman (Mr.,Plrr)
who' held a prominent situation amongst:those Mi.
nisters ; not only because he was thus prominent,.
but because:there were several circumstances which
would apply to him in a. greater degree than to his
Colleagues: The Right Honourable Gentleman had
commenced a War for the purpose of wresting from.
France the Austrian Low. Countries, and to pr0..1
tee Holland. France was, howerer, at this mo-
ment in possession of the Austrian Low Countries,.
and she had subdued Holland; He had a right to
say;. that Holland' i,vas subdued by France, since
those who approVed of the Treaty of Peace, congra..
tulated the country on her retaining Ceylon, as it
was thereby taken out of the possession 'of the
French ;,-i--,and those who condenined the
lamented that the Cape was left in the hands of
Holland, because they coriSidertd it to the
hands-of France: TEC Right Honourable Gentle.
man had therefore failed in this object ; and.-it was
to be remembered; at the same time; that Austria
bad no pretence tocalkopon'this• country for the de-
fence of the Low Countries: Another object: of -the
• War 'was, as stated by the Right Hon. Gentlenian,
indemnity for the pact, and seenrity for the future ;
which he supposed id mean the disthembertnent of
the French Empiie; and the augmentation 'of the
Power of -Englanct and her Allies Had .this been
-effeded The fad was, on the contrary; that the
Empire of France was extended beyond every thing
that ambition ever dreants of them look at
the 'terms of the late Negotiation. France bad
taken; as the bask, of her Treaty, the Kti posiaetis,
as to all she Was in possession of ; and the statur.grio
ohm bellzevi, as to . all- she had.lost-t---a.basiS of ne- •
gotiation which was :never before used by . any
Power whatever. A third ohjed of the War was the
extinetiort of French Print•iples. He might, be con-
.sidered as differing in opinion with resped to French,
-Principles from tiffany Gentlemen in that House; but
he had always conceived; that the obied of .the
French Revoldtion was the abolition of the Order of
the Noblesse and of Feudal Rights; in which he was
fortifitd by the opinion of Mr. Burke; and many
other enlightened men, who eonsidered it to-be the
objed of that Revolution to. destroy the Constituted
Authorities of France: it was thonght that this
-Country was deeply interested in the re-dstablish-
ment of the Constituted Authorities of Fiance, and
in preventing France from becoming a successful
ey:ample of insurrection to the rest of Europe. Had
the War restored tlre CoriStituted Authorities of
France ?' • .Had it prevented the' example of success-
- ful insurreCion r Had it Wit entirely failed.? The
War had; on the contrary; held oirt encouragement to
• pmorts holding similar principles' in other countries ;-
, and nothing, gave so eomplett a discomfiture to per.
sons influenced by Similar principles; in Irelatid, as
Peace. Ag to- Jacobin principles in 'England, he
dtiged that the Constituted Authorities of this

•
'Country were ever despised any great number
of the People. The late Miniiters, however, in
endeavouring to guard againiC ;French Principles,
had increased French power to such an extent, that
he'did not think any: man would be bold enough to
say, that he bad not apprehensions froth the 'power
of France. He was grateful to the 'Ministers who
had made the. Peace, which had been rendered neces-'1
say by the War., He should now make some obe
servations on the conduit of.the War. The Right
Hon. Gentleman had violated three great politica;
maxims laid down by a celebrated writer, he meant
Machiavel. The first was, never to believe
the relations of Emigrants, relative to the state
of their Country, because they 'were likely to
be deceived themselves, and were deeply interest..
ed in deCeiving others. The Right Honourable
Gentleman had forgotten 'this : he trusted to
the relations of French -Nobles, as to the facility of
overturning the French Government, forgetting' the
lesson taught his Predecessor, with resped to the
American Loyalists ; and the consequence was, as
might be expelled, his objett failed. The second
maxim was, not to trust in invading a cotintry, to
internal dissentions in that country, because as the .
fart proved in this instance, external war would in
all probability compose those dissentions, and dice&
A temporary union among the contending parties.
The third maxim was, never to rely, in the event
of invasion, upon any success to be derived from the
state of the finances of the country invaded. ' The
Right Hon. Gentleman had,. On the contrary, con-
sidered the whole as ,a question of finance. He
should now advert to the measures pursued by the
Right Hon,. Gentleman. The first great measure
was an attempt to famish France, which was pro-
duetiv.e.of calamities to this country much greater,:
than were generally imaginekl. An endeavour was
made to deprive France of a supply, by buying up,
corn in foreign markets ; what was the consequence ?
The Corn-merchants in this country, unable to en- ,
ter into a. competition with Government, relin-
quished the trade., The supply thus rested with
Government, who, introduced too little into the ;
markets in the years 1793 and_l794., which pro:.
duced the scarcity of 1795, a scarcity which 'did
not arisefrom a bad Harvest, but from the scanty
supply of the years 1793 and 1794. The scarcity
of
.1795 obliged the Governmet4 to invite -the
Cern-merchants • to resume their trade, the cense--;
plence of which was, the country was exhausted of
money from the large sums paid for foreign Corn
and this, added to large subsidies..sent out of the
kingdom, produced the stoppage • of the Bank in
February 1,797—These were the corsequenCeS of an
attempt to famish France. The next point was the
einbiguity Of the Right Hon. Gentleman's conduit,
Which left it a matter of doubt whether this country
was aging as the Ally of Other Powers, or endea-
vouring to make a conquest of the ,territories of
France. ,By .this .condutl, the Right... Hon. Gen-
tleman alienated, not only the
,RoyaliSts, but the
King of Prussia, the latter of whom retired from
the contest when be saw it was till, object of this
Country to dirnember France, whilst the Royalists.
evere disgusted by our conduct at Valenciennes arid
Toulon. The third , measure which he protested
.against, was the system. Of Subsidiee to Foreign
,Powers, Subsidies having been granted by the Right
Hon. Gentleman to those Powers, of a magnitude
before unexampled, -an instance of which was to'
be found .in the Subsidy to Austeia in the year
1797. The fourth measure he alluded to; was the
Expedition to SteDcerningo, in which it was undecid-
ed whether it was meant to take,,possession of the,
island in the name of the French King, or to make
a conquest of it. If the Right Hon. Gentleman had
indicated. an intention of taking possession of it for
the French King, 'the inhabitants would readily
have submitted ; if it was intended to 'make a
conquest of the Island; the Expedition was ridi-
culous; as only 750 men were sent out, though
before the conclusion of the war in that Island
we lost is,ooo men, and expended 22,000,0001.
. The Expedition to La Vende6, which he should
next adverteto, was a disgrace -to this coUntry. in
the E)ipeditiori to Holland- We were told
.that the
.people were to join the Army; who „were Sent
out in an undisciplined state ; Itit it was a rash
•measure: The next measure was, theo[derssent
...out to Egypt to break the Convention entered into
with the French. ThiS was alSo a rash measures;
it catisededs to,giVa offenCe to Turkey, and obliged
us to send to Egypt the only Army we 'had left,
which ought to have Served for the defenee of Per-
„tugal; in consequence of Which we suffered hee,to
be subdued by Prance. The Repedition toe Egypt
was successfully concludede. happily by. the Peace
which wedrad just:made. dint would 'any man in
theHodse say; that T'eace might nor have been more
happily obtained when Bonaparte offered it ? And
ought not the Right Hon Gentleman to haVe
known,- that Bonaparte was the Chief of the Bris-
sotine Party, . who were always favourable .to
Peace ? He must have known the .rums on Which
Peace was •then proposed to be made ; tit bad now
been concluded on much 'worse' terms than might
then have been Made. Added to this; Peace would
`have at that period:opened tons another market. for
the, supply of this-Country With corn: Another
charge which he made; wa's.the indticing Austria to
renew the War, when the Right Honourable Gen-
tletnan ought to have known that Austria was not
in a: situation to renew it. The consequences were
well kneWn Atistria was i'nbdoect rind compelled.
.to:! Make peace on tfie terms dictated by 'France ;
who might; _ if she had chosen, have takeri pos-
session of Vienna. One subjeft mote, he should
refer to, which was the quarrel with the Northern_
Powers; and which might have been prevented if
Malta had ,been, given up to the.Etpperor of Russia.
Was any' better artangetuctit trtatiowith respell: to

that island ? Was -it .More likely to fall into tiff.
hand's 'of France when under the dot-hihien of RuSsial
than .while it, was under the, sovereignty of Naples?
The bra Very of otir nattier), and . the death of thii-
Empetor Paul; had fortunately effe6led a. ehang4
or otherwise a force Might have been required in
that quarter which, it would have been highly in.:
convenient for this Country to spare: The Wart
he contended; had in its ultitnate objed failed, and
the calamities of the Wai• had rendered Peace ne.
cessary. • Of thoe CalaMities litany Gentlemen had
no idea ;--but let them look at the Poor House fort
the illustration. If thiS Cotintry had even been in ai.
prosperous state, the rest of Europe, ircapable of
continuing the contest at the time an ofi'er of Peace
was made by lonapa.te; Peace ought then to have
been conclud,A. Be had now, to.exainine the con_
dud of the Right klonoutable,Gentleman had
beemsaid that the Right HoneGentleinlm had shewd
great abilities as a Financier ; he thought the Right
Hon. Gentlethan had rather-displayed • great weak.:
ness. The principal financial Measures of the Right
Hon. Gentleman had been _the Incortie Tak; the
Redemption :of the land Tax, the addition of
z48;doo,dool. to the National Debt, and the-7crea..
tion of paper money. The Income Tait had esta-
blished an inquisitorial poWei in the country;
and the sale or. the Land Tax had put all the
landed property in al state of requisition ; it had
been. adopted ,by the Minister, for the purpose of
keeping up the funds; but it Should- be recolleCted
that it had kept tip the price of beef arid muttori at
the „Sitne time: In consequence of this ineasure;,
thousands had perished in the Poor:.houSes=---(Altiett
iiirirmio).-I.;et a Comthittee be appointed; he said; "
Id-inquire, -and. they would-find that a much greater
number perished within the last two years, than at,
any formerperiod.-48,cocnciddl. had
:been added
to the National Debt, Whilst paper money had beers
created, which had kept up the price of all the ne.
cessarics. of 'life. - With respect to the sale of the
-Land .Tax, they :cotild not see the mischief of if;
but wheitthoother parts of the Land Tax came to
'be sold to strangers; the Country would then see
the full extent of the mischief. Paper.thoney had
raised the price of the necessaries of life; and open
rated against the Country. With, respea to the
War, 'he would ask, had it been successful, or 'had
its object been aittaitied, and, he trusted, it would
be generally an§wered, "No." It might be said;
that the, Right Hop. Oentlerrian had received no,
ertioltinietir from his'Administration.; He admitted
it ; the Right HOnourable Gentiernan
.was not t
nem Of avarice; hut of inordinate ambition—the
Right I lonotirable Gentle Man had,, however, ex;
tended the arts of corfuption; he had ditribute4
in' tfie, course of his administration; more than Job'
Peerages, and with a proper Waste of the public
Morley, he had given away more, than 586 Pensions;
His conduct relative to the Catholics of Ireland'
was to be highly condertined; as he had endeavoured
to make a large body.of His Majesty's Stihitas look
to him.personally, for that boon tvftiCh was to come
ftdm the Crown; With respeft"to the Debts of the
Civil List, the .conduCt of the Right Hon; Gentleman
was- extremely ctilpable in the manner in which. the
Revenues Of that Civil Liit were disttibtited. What
could, be more dangerous than for a Minister to render.
the King's Sons in some measure dependent Upon him-.:
'self, by giving thoie sums to them out of the Civil
List, the grant of whiCh might to come froth Parlia;
ment ? The Miniiter Ought likewise to have
considered the right of the King's eldest Song
instead of .giving him, from time to time; sums
out Of the Civil List; The Noble, Lord (BEL-
daAvE), having given notice -of his inception td
move a proposition of Thanks to His Majes-
ty'slate MinisterS, he had thought it his duty to
call the attention of the House to the toncluft of the
late-Chancellor of the EXchequer. He thought it
necessary; fdr the sake of the Magistraty of Royal.;
ty, that Gentlemen- should be. cautious hdve, by a
vote of such a.haturee they erea.ed a•pthirer unknown,
to the .COnstittitiona Let their! take care they did '
not eitablish a 'power by sueli means supreme; every
over the Xing himgelfe for the motion ,Of Thanks
applied' tn' Men who had been removed . from office
.by the King Having .briefly tecapitulatcd the ar-
guments' he' had used; he Concluded by moving,
"'That an - humble Address should be presented' to
HiS Majesty; ekpreSiVe of the Thanks of the House -
to fiis Majesty, for having been pleased to remove
:the Right Hon, WILLIAM PITT froth his CdtincilS."
Lord BELGRADE said; that he rose to make a
MOtion; by way of 4mendrneat to the Motion of
the .Ffort Gentlenian who 'had
.just sat dciwn. -He
could hardly think: the HonL Gentler-Pan Meant • se-
riously to press his Kotion, as- it was notorious
.that iris Right Hon. Friend had resigned his Situa-
tion; •and'.had not been dismissed Us Majesty's
stvice. The 'Consequence of: agteeing to. this
'Vote therefote would be, that the Hou.se votild
address the King to thark him for dc;ing What he
had, not 7done.—;.The Hon., Gentleman had dwelt
upon a'SUbjea very 'much in derail, which made.nd
- part of the, present SubjeCt, the Subject of Peace ; it
was a distina Question,' ;end ought td lie. argued
on separate grounds,, at a , Separate , time:- He
said, that he came forward with. much readiness,:
as lie Could not helpeanticipatirg a Very and
Cordial support to the Motion which he should have
the honour to.cortelude. .He eritertained,Ahat
expeetationd
,both from' cite disposition appatent inl
-
the House-on-a- forther evening, ioen • the subjet
was .first scatted, and from the nature of the- Motion
itself, which embraced a general Vote cif approbation
of the leading Measurei of Flis Majesty's Councils
during. the late Wirovhich.had been frequently the
sullied of commentligion in that liotise, and rectird.:
ed in the Journals; in terms very honourable and
flattering? in various AddreSsel to the Throne,- But
though the 6arulud. of Goverprrierit hadebeen scveot

times applautiedin detail, there was-this novelty in
the Motion he was' about to propose, and which, he
wished the House fairly toweigh and_ consider,. that
Gentlemen -.would he now called upon to bring into
view the getieral merits and demerits of Govern-,
argent, and upon a conscientiou's revision of their
whole condud d iring the War, to decide either in -
favour ,of, or -against the .Motion he intended to
submit to their consideration ; and he was far from
wishing any Gentleman to vote with hint who did
nor led enriroiy satisfied that their merits very
much outweighed their defeeis. thought indeed
that, _considering, with the smallest, portion of can.
dour-,.. the variotni difficulties -of the Public Service,
and parisicularly the unprecedented difficulties of the
Lee Contest, and the liability of man tow, it would
not be conceived very extraordinary, if the late Go.
v'ernment should occasionally have [tetra) ed, in their
eonduCt, the imperfeCtion of human nature. In the
Motion then he intended to propose to. the House,
he included those Ministers who ha.d.been principal-
ly concerned in conducting the affairs of the Nation
in the arduous and -pet docks Contest its which it had
been engaged. But he meant certainly to point both .
the- \-roe and his remarks chiefly to His Majesty's -
late Chancellor of the-Exchequer, who had been, for
so many years, the leading Member of His Majesty's
-Councils, and to whom the Country was, above all
others,- iodebted for the distinguished charaCter at
present it held in the estimation of mankind. The
other Ministers well° held high responsible situations,
would partake in the honour i:f the Vote in proper-
tion to their merits, or conscientious discharge
cf their duty, and, undoubtedly, in proportion to
the opinion entertained by the House and the Public
of their, respeClive serviLes and zeal in their cause.
nethad now, he said, explained the general nature
cf the Motion he had to propose, and should pro-
ceed to touch upon some few of the leading circum_
-stances of the late. War, and the contlu& of the Go-
%err-anent. Ile was. unwilling to go into detilils, as
they wood necessarily branch out
.into such a va.
tie!), of points, that he knew not where they, would
terminate ; and he should therefore etnisume such an
unreasonable portion of the time of the House, even
if ins: stre,gth and recolleCtion should be sufficient
to-carry him through ; and as the-events he should •
have to enumerate, were of ,a date so recent, and
fresh in every Gentleman's me:wiry, he should
therefore, confine himself as mucli. as possible to,
general` observations. In the first place, then, he
wished principally to hold up to the contemplation of.
the House, the ktrikingeontrase between the situa.
tion of the Country a: that mothent, and at the end
of the year .1792-s—he said at that moment, because,
although last year, a new •Adt-nioist ration had suc-
ceeded to the management of Public Affairs, yet,
in the condu& of the War,- they ?o liOwed,. in everY-
respeCl, (mach to their honour, in his opinion), the-
system.adopted by their Predecessors in Office, and
they would therefore partake of. the praise, btit
without,. in the,least degtee, detracting from their
merits. It must he allowed, he said, that the
great struggle fur their security, the main shock of
the French . Revolution had been, 'successfully re.
sisted, when the late
,Ministry retired froth Office.
Comparing then the present period, with that of
the end of the year T 792, let him ask the House,
whether they did not feel thtsmselves a little more
secure now, 'ban they did at that time ?- Whether
they did not feel themselves very-much in the situ-
ation of Mariners,' who had just escaped the dan-
gers of the most tremendous storm they had ever
encountered, and who looked back upon the scarce
subsiding waves with emotions of calm delight, and
Unspeakable satisfaCtion ? Every man, he said, not
lost to all virtuous and honotirable feeling, or whose
intellects were 'not unusually benumbed, Must have
felt at the end of the year 1792, and at other
periods of the War, no common anxiety for .the
fate of his King rind Country, , his family, his
friends, and his own safety ; if indeed, Self, at
such a moment of general Alarm, could have intruded
upon his attention. Let them now turn their eyes
on their present situation, on the Ves-:.el; of the State
having now weathered the storm, and riding in tri-
umph and security in her native-Port ; and then let
him ask the House, whether some credit was not
due to those that had steered her uninjured thro' .a
sea so threatening, so awful, and so tempestuous-?
As he bad already said, he -was unwilling to go into
details' for the reasons lie had stated,- h.! could
not avoid shortly presenting to tile view of- the
House a few of the most prominent features of the
sdangers they had escaped by the fortitude and exer-
tions of the late Administration. They had had
not only France to contend with;.but French Prins
ciples; supported by arms. They had not only a
foreign Enemy, but a domestic one teralarm them
and encrease their diffieulties—While they had
course only -to legitimate means of carrying on the
contest ; France in a state of unbridled liceritious,-
nessy had recourse to depredation, confiscation and
blOod, to recruit her continually exhausted finanees.
In the early part of her Revolution -toti,- the de-
formity of her principles 'Was something-veiled by
appearances so specious and alluring, that they for a
while infused- their fatal poisons even here, and the
disaffeaed availed themselves- of the delusion to.
spread their snares, and weave their Treasons -in
England, Scotland, and Ireland, and eSpecially the
latter Country, where the materials to Work upon
Were found more coMbustible, and better suited to
their diabolical designs—Without dWelling, how-
ever, he said, on this part -of the subjea iiny longer,
he should only add-his firm conviction, that had it'
not been for the vigilance and firmness of His-Ma-
jesty's Government, at the time the life of ourbe-
16ved Monarch Was so basely, and 'traitorously en-
n' , ,
tsertsd dreadful would have been the confusion,
desolation, and bloodshed, for a season at least in this
MefropoliS. The next point he wished to advert
toi was their great success in the contest in different
parts of the world ; certainly success was no positive
proof of the wisdom and cocrgy of those who
conducted the public affairs of- a Nation ; at the same
time it must be admitted to be a presumptive proof
at least,- for disaster was-generally contended to be a
presumptive proof of demerit—Witliciut enumerating
their conquests, the House would be aware that in the
course of the late War 'their': conquests had been
many, their losses none.—The House. had. repeated
opportunities of contemplating 'with admiration the
immortal exploits of their Navy, and their Army
too Lad excited their genuipe appliuse and eirrnal

gratitude, and die was surprized the Hon. 9eotle..'
man spoke so slightingly of those exploits ; :he
begged leave then to ask 'whether some merit was
not attribUtable to. those wilt') superintended and •
dieeCted the public serVite, preparatory to such
splendid atchievements ?--He knew that it was the
publicly declared opinion of one of the greatest
heroes of this or any. other Country, that a large
share of the merit due to the ever. memorable Vietory
of the Nile was attributable toi those who originated
and planned that Expedition. If they proceeded, and
turned their eyes to India,
.their conquests in that
distant quarter of the. globe had established their
reputation. on a baSisTepee firm; tfi:at the Country need
not now be apprehensive of. the security of their
possessions there, under the dire lion of hands leis
able, and understandings lesS enlightened and com-
prehensive. than those of the present Governor-Ge-
neral, Who had aced a master-part indeed in the late
Splendid transaaions in that part of the 13ritilt
Empire.. If he: shouldi however, be asked how
he conneaedtheir. conqnests in India with the late
Government, he should in his turn ask, whether the
Governor-General's instruaiOns. did not come from
hence ; and if .he ShOnld beasked, how he conneled
Laird Wellesley More especially with the late' Chan_
ce'llot. of the Exchequer," he would say, was be' not,
brOught up in the school'of his Right I-lon. Friend ?
pid not the House see him within a veryfew years
strenuously and Most ably contending wi th-him'bere
for the maintenance of the honour, dignity, 'and eha_
rafter of the Nation in the great contest in width they
had been engaged ? He said he Ought not in that pl'ace
to omit to give the merit due to the late-Govern-
ment for the promptitude ind decision with which
they called faiith and organized the manlysidrit and
patriotic zeal of the Nation, manifested in all. ranks
of people, in the alacritY with w.hich they -robin_
tarily stepped forth to defend the Country against
the threatened Invasion of the Enemy. This ardour
was well worthy those, whoie brave Countrymen
were bleeding and triumphing ahroad-Lie next
came to speak of the. Union with Ireland, which
was too remarkable a feature of the late Govern.
mem' to he easily overiooked An Vnient which
originated in
.an attempt, on, the' part Of Frattee, to
disunite us far ever;'but was not only abor
tive,,but ended in an Union the most entire, and he
trusted, indissoluble.. The Union with Scotland
hadhein 'the thethe of panegyric for a century past----
that with Ireland, 'he hoped, would continue to he
so, as loug. as • the world endured ; for so long did
he hope the United 'Kingdom of Great peritain
and Ireland 'would "continue to' flourish with
mented strength, prosperity, and happiness;Al-'
ready the good eifeaS of the Union began to shew
theinselves in Ireland, by diminished irritation and
augmented confidence and industry. Here .too, at
least in' that Honse, he might be allowed to speak
favouiably of its effeas, far he could, confidently
appeal to the SP E AK E R P.m' the House, whether more
propriety of conduft, 'urbanity and good sense had
been ever witnessed, than in -the persons 'of the
Irish Gentlemen ? He congratulated the House and
the Country upon ; and although the Union was
as yet in its blossom only, he thought, without 'as-
suming too much of the prophetic eharaaer, he
might fairly anticipate its fruit ripening, and that
speedily, into richness and abundance. 'And to what
influence and per Severing resolution were they
chiefly to attribute the Union,, but that of hiS Right
Hon. Friend, the late .Chancellor, of: the Exche-
quer ? Pe imagined it tooobvious, robe necessary
to go into any dmil; to proVe the increase Of tile
Commerce and Credit of the Nation under the fos--
tering and energetic protetion and siipport of the'
late Government, Or to specify the many wiselaws,
introduced by them, into the House for the security
and welfare of the People. 'He was aware' that' lie
had omitted topics, that might have been brought
forward in just etilogium of the late Ministry, but
he could nOt forget one, which the Pon. :Gentle-
man should remember, and *oh which the great re-
putation .of the late Chancellor , of the Excite;
quer might, be considered principally to rest ; he
meant his unrivalled talents in managing the Fi-
ttance-of the Country.---By his Sinking Fund. Sys_
teM, he.had wisely contrived to uphold, the Public
Credit and to ease the burdens of Posterity; but
what was worthr!of peculiar admiration and exclu-
sive applause wasiethateinthe'tnidst of-a contest of
unexampled difficulty,' at a time, when the Enemy,
regardless of...justice or Character, was revelling in
confiscation and plunder to 'Supply their gigantic
expenditure,- his. Right Hon. 'Friend had the reso-
lution (contrary to the example of his Predecessors),
to leave the Sinking Fund, now grown consider.
able, untouched, and to have recourse only to legi-
timate sources of Revenue to supply the necessary
mans for carrying on the contest with vigour
but he did more, for 'trusting to the firmness and
disinterested magnanimity of -the Country, even-at
the time, when nearly z,000,000 of money had been
voluniarily contributed to the support of the, War,
he proposed the Tax'on Inconie, as a War Inr:ost,
'which was readily adopted, thoughit" at the-
mornent with peculiar weight on—the Country.
This Tax, excellent in 'theory, though 'somewhat
'dere:live in operation, yet admirably-calculated; and
iteund fully adequate- to meet the trying exigency
' of the time, was A- most powerful weapon in the
hands of his Right Honourable Friend tcifight' the
battle. of the RevOltition, of the Public Creditor,
and of 'the Country. In fine, he night be truly
said to haveestablished a'System. Of Finance, by
mears'of a rigid adherence to 'the integrity of the
Sinking .Fued, in times even of great peril, which
might be called ahe.Magna Chula of 'Public Cre-
dit, which no future .Minister-would venture to de-
partfrom, and which; 'whilSt it attraaed the admi-
ration 61 this and'rither Cotiritties, was well calcu-
lated to•preServ.eethe COUnify-wealthy, prosperous,
and independent. LOrill3k-abit AV a said he now began
to feel he Was going to tread upon some what more de:
licategrotind than he had hitherto done, as he was go-
ing to speak of the public indeed, but personal chi-
racier of His Right Hori. Fri-end ; but though.the
ground might be delicate, he should treadfearlessly,
considering the Person heehad 'to speak Of, For
seventeen years. full of trying events, had he been at
'the head of 'His Majesty's Councils, and' though
seventeen years, in the countless periods 'of eternity,
might appear inconakkeable -in the life of man,
the period was not- short—for lie said, if it had
(unhappily -for the Country) pleased GoeF,to have

removed him from this World, at that awful mo-
ment when it is of so much importance to any man
to be able to retie& that he has spent his life.in
five virtue, and not in idleness and dissipation, he
would ask the House whether they did not-think
his Right Hon. Friend might with truth have de,
dared, " for'seventeen years I have served my
'Country' with unsullied integrity, with entire per-
sonal disinterestedness, with the most laboriOusdi-
ligence, with perfea devotion to tits interests, and
with. constant zeal and anxiety-for its happiness
and prosperity." That his talents were .tranbcend_
ant; no one wOtild'Aispute;: but while he was deli-
vering well2iiirefited eulogium on his Right
Honourable Prietidl,r'so gratetul- for him to 'utter,
and the House to' hear, he was not so daziled by
the splendoUr Of his character, as not to think that
he perceived some .political- defeds ; for where
either •in politics or Morals was perfedion to he
found On earth ? But these defeets, far from eclips-
ing his fame, were only like passing and transient
clouds, that by contrast 'rather tended to heighten
than destroy the ltistte of this great political
Luminary-. ' 'lf any one shOuld accuse him of speak-
ing the language of partiality, he should deny the
charge, as Ihe felt conscious of speaking only the
truth, and he felt, assured that the HOnse would at-_
testit. fie had read ofStates,,.as well as of In„.
dividuals, to whom great and eminent services had
been rendered, and yet, such was the ingratitude of
the iniman heart;. t hat those,vervices were ere long
either slighted or forgotten,; suchjiowever; he
.would never believe to be the characteristic of a
British House of Commons. He said he should
only add to what he had-said on this *cresting
occasion, that although undoubtedly if the House
'should agree to the Resolution he was about to pro,
rise, it would be the means of conferrit a lasting
honour on his Right Hon.: FrieUd, ;Ind his chief
Concaves in Office, as well asiri fad on the pre:.
sent Government, yet he thought that their :,er,
vices acre so very meritorious, that. the Ilouse
Would be doing.little more.than discharging a deht
of gratitude and justice.
He Alterefore mo ti ed,

" -042' it. lfeLresolved, That it ,is the Opinion .of this
ky,t,tie .wisdom, Euergy,. and. firmness of
HistAlidti?t)!s Councils during the law arduous Contest,
suPporLea by the uparalleled.Exerticips ()four Fleets and.
Atones, "ana by the Magnanimity • and fortitude of the
People, the Honourok this Country has been upheld, its
Strength united and consolidated; its Crdit and •
theme maintained and extended; and our invakiable Con-
stitptian preserved against the, Attacks (A —Foreign and ,
Doines..ic Enemies."
Those Gentlemen, who thought with him, that
by the. Wisdom and Firmness of His I'd
Councils, the HOnour of.this Country -has been up,
held, its Strength united and consolidated, its Cre-
dit and -Commerce maintained and extended, and
our invaluable Constitution preServed against -the
•
Attacks of
,Foreign and Domestic Enemies, would
vote with him ; while those who, Thought. that the
Honour of,the Conntry had been tarnished, that its
•Sfrength, had been impaired, its Credit -add
meree diminished, and our invaluable Constitution
abandoned to the violence of Foreign and boMestic
Enemies, would vote against the Motion .hehadpro-
posed ; en such a Motion, however, he called for
the opinion of thellouse, and in support of
.Which
he anticipated a very general and cordial concur-,
rence.,
Mr. TWORNTON seconded the Amendment.He COnsidered. that. it was but a tribute of :justice
to the late Administration. -He had been a witness
to. many of the- financial plims of the late Ch;m-
cellor of • the ,Exchequer, and he was ,of' opi-
nion, 'that more. ability and firmness were' never_
displayed than by' that. Right Honourable Gentle-,
mail. He 'was glad that the Motion; of the Noble
lord offered a`. just eulogium upon the people of this
Country, to which they were justly, entitled. .
• Mr. GREY spoke to Order.--41e wished-to have'
it ascertained before they proceeded further with
the discussion, whether, consistent with.' the forms
and Order of the House,- such an Amendment could
be .• moved upon the Motion of the Honourable.
Gentleman (Mr. NicHoet.O. always un-
derstood that an Amendment must partake in some
degree-of the nature of the Question. The Motion
was;' in thigecase, for an-Address to His Majesty
and:the Amond;rnent was, -to convert it into a: Vote
of -the House; Ale might perhaps have given tea,.
sons-`Why-lie cotil&'nor assent to this Motion, but
how a Motion for 72 Address. to His,. Majesty
could- he converted 'into- a Vote of .the House, he
could not conceive. •
The SPEAKER; said that, so far as, he was in-
formed uponn-the subjea, he was of opinion that the
.:Amendment came within• the forms .of Parliament,.
though iti,was very utiusnaL ;
Mr. WILBERFORCE .thought the Amendment,
7of the .Noble" Lord was perfectly in order; The
Hion.'Gentleman who had made ,the Motion, 'had
-gone-into a revieW, of the transa&ions of thelast
seven years, and had concluded with moving areAti- -
dress to His Majesty,.thanking h m for,, dismissing
"his-late Minister. The Noble 'Lard, talking the
same grounds, had called for a Vote of Approbation -
upon the condua of that Minister, "and others ading
with him. He therefore considered: the Amend-
ment as perfectly in order. , 1'
Mr. 1-OX Said,--h.e. apprehended his, Hon. Friend
' had not been clearly understood'.—His objeaion'
was to a point of form. He iithnitted that amend-.
rents had been frequently-movedin that House,Va-:
tying entirely 'the'substance of the. Motion but
Amendment- went to convert. an Address to His
IVlajesty into a Vote of the House,
_and he did not.
recoiled any instance. of an- Amendment ,thus
ing the fiicui.-Of the original Motion: '' , ,
Thildebate on the'point of order here closed.
It tIeNNING said, be wished, to declare his:-
appf-Whiitlonlit the Condud of the late Administra
tion; and of tfii genius" and ability of the' late Chan--
cellor of the Exchequer,. ".to whom they .'were in' the
highest degree indebted for the benefits which this
Country had derived ft-on-this:exertions. He wished,
also to give his testitnony of approbation to the
COnduet of the late First Lord of , the Admiralty;:.
Whose zeal, vigour and. integrity.were "entitled to
the highest ,praise.. • , •
Sir HENRY -MILDMAY said, he could, not
give a- silent vote upon,the,-present question„ and
he. was -Sorry to say that he could rilit.rigree With
the. Noble Lord in his AMendnient,-but he thought
it ought 'to he confined to the late Chancellor of the

, .
.FAchequer— The late Admin:stratiOn 'bad to '011••
,
tend with a new.system of warfare, suliversive of
our Constittnion, of SoCiety, to resist wilier.'
firm and unshaken, required no common degree
-of rance and abiity. He believed that
to. hispersev Right Honourable) Friend (Mr. PITT) 'll'l
were indebted for
.the preServation of their Lawg
and' their Religion. • He believed,. that to dig
identical .WILLIAtq PITT, ,abin von:Ger:l tle.
man wished to thank HIS MAJEsTY for dismissing,
the
adefteawils
observations.
wore. He
KING Isvhoosu_lictildnebotteaf,-,lfiobrw
Hd.ortio;.voli
ettlitliaetrnha:
in
make
had asserted that the War was diSitStiOUs in its
consequences;. he thought, on the. other hand, there
never was.. a War 'ln which this -Country'
_lva'
Aki:riicohtish.e had entered, but merely
l'he Hon. Genuleman
engaged—more. distingnished for glory and brilliancy
of. exploit. He joined in that tribute of praise
which
Lthey. iyloioarutdll
dls?e.reli;l-INvgc:EIR, eilne:trlt:if t:i ableottigii
Expeditionsa
that House ; but . surely when. theyofilatdheilli'°;cjcin
Et hxainlekdsi
titono
st, het
hegallant
het fEaciesios
tcoon
vaoe rt
en ettlbion those
those by IA horn such Expeditions had • been r131)-f
ned , and condu6ted. As. to the conseCitiences
the War. with respea to.' then credit of the Country,
land was at never lcsz,-dding.the \Var, than OvencYl;
seven or. twentyreight
:years' puichase.; -and sucni
was the, credit of the Country, that, at the c1.95e
the:War, when
.a loan of 25,600,0001. was WarJr);
no less than seven persons eame,iorward ti.s. bid
it. He did not nicin. to 'assert that.son;..e:serr°rs
were not to be found- in the conduet of thelatc
Minister ; but he was convinced, that :all Isis P'e"'
sures were founded in integrity.: rest. I.°
the, iNinendinent he objeaea to i.t_as .1t ",3
WON:IC(14 He w•OLLIt.I suppose • thilt Commlndjerb's.3
Chief was.tfir_d by'tt Court Mafrial, arid 113"°tP1-4,1"3
acquitted, and that the.trootis whom he cdn'l)9';l)(l.‘
wished to returnhid dunks for his conduCttheiri
would not confound hint with yhe'whis)e•Staff:
he. could not 'conceive,• iii thiS instan&,
House ought
bttotti
ge tltieht':nwk the .
dl._'ottzee sCi klrre 1-°:s;6;11
but. he thought that the I\lotion'44-.1-lianki'O?gbe
to :meet, precisely and pointedl4l-re, it+trt !1
Elotiourabie Gentlerpan (Mr. N :41111'611 tl"1.
it
.ought
.to.fie confined in the sauseaniacr I,° (1,5
'Right honourable, \V t.rANt 1-lc C()"° °(':i.
by. inov tag an 'Ainfridlnenr; to cot fine...die 6.4.010
the House to Mr., PITT:-
,1t Cr •
4e SPEAKER was Of Opinion that al":•1
Amendment :could not lie received', 4 st
cilia! 14c "r •

Azhenciment was disposed of.
Mr. .4RSKI:SE ar
sitici, if they regded. the feel
ings.ef the people, or their own char:Cter,l-15q:Gtijorti
or dignity, they would rot assent to the
coot4kPeci •in the AL-
inendinnt rOoved by the:-.lc
7.
Lord. The .4mendment,.tnoved tl;e,l,;oble
appearetl to be a mere 'pretence. for pouring- fOrt' l'i-
_prates of the la.te Chancellor: of the Exehtitter'
else why out the' Noble. LOrti.stoP
'l3' sf3;:e
not: dismiss that Mini Stet-110 :v.
resigned, •for .that was a isnflici,ent answet..-tQ„01
Mot'on- of his i-I9ucurab.;e Friend., fie
priv ate feelings„af private
aolla te . tbuoir' or
Ai mendment .of the . Honourable Earonet `'t et:
.the most invidious Motions: tiut could 11.3.'1e"-exr
•
t)..tought fOrwaFtl, and,•it- r insulting-
tQo7ttillno,t;ey to au c ttip t to pr,ss
who liad,plun,g-hut the CouOtIllii0;e
a War, before .e,kbanks been .voted 19,''-'2l
who had.. delivered it fr am its danger:i,l""r„jl;.•
,he contended, were moSt.deserving of those I eea
It appeared to him 'that the Noble LOrd„.iv.b4)`'se,;l:ll:
twhzve well consh;ered the subject, ha
hs 41,
f d
orwatd a sirrgn!ar argument' in Ku of
tion. -The Noble .Lorel'had repreenteil this ‘.'-`'or..
try as a vessel driving.intO 'port with Streaslt"
Ing, in • a•state of haFpiness anti jOy ; an't Yetifeir
stead of giving thanks. to the pilot who shad
concluded the vessel. into perr, he had broughcafter
ward a :Vote of Thanks .to the two wil°l.,A" left
quitting the lind taken to his boat' re he
the 'vessel to the mercy of the .storm. pets
assented -to this.:Motioa of the. Ncl'lo.l(l,,iet'taio
••
must have a Committee of .In4piry,
why the late Minister gait wt the he'",,',,rer.
-left the. Cbuntry in a- state, of peril ,"tvil"
If he understood the; subjed of War) it 4v,,-,evef
dreadful, that at the• end of every War pi%
successful, there ought to be a, doultnittee; Of It''.
tk
(laity-into the.conclud of it, • Was the cci-tite 3
the Nary, •when a. Mil; :was •Inst,, to i'%"-rf-- the
'•Court. Martial. to inquire.intd..the condi:A-It!! 0,1
Commander,;.however blameloss he migllc 'e„' take
Hhe-thought •the same 'kind of •itiquirY Oughe,!‘'is coo..
place ,at. the end of every' War. It was to t"cliaseo
.meat unexplained, why the late IVlinister ad
e were
to leave the helm. t.seemed, that thejl'"'before
called upon-to thank those. who made t
thcke who made Peace. What an exlnville `l.-`ll:iea
-111. the Hbeis& ilassed'sueh a Vote, the)" lircrc' ti!e)r
•ikiture-ing• hiry trim the condu& d the ;
'.ll-ade he War theirs,' and noz the TO
intstQl '{et{ to
..had no obj,..dion if a Committee ‘Vas ,PPCLIO
inquire, but the banks of-that House wii
matter, lor'they were the Thanks of thp ~54
way
,oere was one way of,solvin h.v
g all ty "11'.'eritle-
, only; it might be said, that the Right 14°1 ot leave
man did not desert his duty, that he did °,-,ijej
-.'flte State in-danger ; but that not being qua" ode,
Make Peace; aneseeing that Peace must for
he had only quitted the "iniinageinent .Of arialcontrol,
tittle, whilst he still' it:tained zhe-sOteme. übilosc
13ut he did.not know this ba, anti, he intist,"l4oo.
Riga .
rhat the State. was derelh•t, Wkftrt'i.tne 111'
43ttliWilYit7t of the
Gentleman' quitted the.helm.
qutry instittned ? And why was trot ? A:1
'Right Hon... Gentleman's conch:id exP— • /ince° 3.1
:Hon. Gentleman ( Mr. GI! NNI yhad pionc-1,,,,acl 0'
the - it
eulogiutnupan a .Noble Lord lately at oligl
'ttt
Adulitaity, .but. som'ething thclu&,_ that s"
be said abo,it the Noble Lurtf at preseo"" Lora
Nobie • t
tuation, . perhaps the -f6rtner 4005
might 'be_ then • in.. another place
the Peace) .whieh he (Mr. 'i.:;rd-..lne) seleacas'
rersons were invidioos Aver, 130
deelaiolcig,aved the
\rhilst others were as in vidiouily paoed ping at; aa
should . thank WILLIAM 0
FITT f°r t-
6
he saall"
Impeached.? He rue it w Len
for which he thought W1L1.1261 v:LP0019311-