The Sun.
London, England, 1802-12-03 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

lI9LISE OF COMMONS;

THURSDAY, DEC. 2.

MR. SAMUEL SMITH presented a Petition from
the Maltsters of Leicester, praying for a repeal of
the Bill imposing regulations on the wetting -of
Malt,' which was ordered to lie on the Table.

The Small Note Bill was read. a thiid time, and
passed.

NAVY ESTIMATES.

The Report of the Resolutions of the Committee
on the Navy Estimates having been brought up by
Mr. ALEXANDER, and read a first time ; on the
Question for their second reading,
The Right Hon. T iIO,vI.IS G REV V I LEE rose,
observing, that did he conceive the House of Com-
mons at present in the same state in which it was
uuaiij plad on subjects of this kind, he should
have employed 'only such arguments as applied to
the substance and matter of the Resolutions them-
selves : but at present he saw the House placed in
a situation, not,only unprecedented, but unconstitu-
tional. Let them look hack to the state of the pro-
ceedings, and they would find His Majesty's Mi-
nisters, in the course of this Sessions, expressed
themselves in the most inconclusive and inconsistent
manner. Sometimes their language seemed to be
in a stile calculated to manifest a disposition to
maintain the dignity and independency of the
Country ; [a. cry .of bear ! bear ! from the Minis-
terial 'side] and, at other times, they were observed.
to adopt a language diametrically opposite, and
seemed to 'concur in the sentiments of those who
were disposed to acquiescence [a cry of bear ! hear !
' from the Opposition shie]. It might have been
reasonably exile led, that when, Ministers proposed
-what they conceived to be a system of solid ancl sub_
. stantial defence, they would have offerednis some of
themotives on which' their opinions were 'founded.
They might hav-e acquainted us what was the na-
ture of our security, and what of our daeger. If
there was really no danger, why so large a force ?
and if danger existed, why so small a one ? hitherto
they had beerenearly silent on the state of ,Europe ;
and the language held from the Throne was at this
time remarkably deficient: If we looked. to the
words- of the Monarch, on the first day Of the
Session, there was not -one sentence ,of it which
would not be equally. applicable to any period of
our history. It dealt entirely in truisms attd gene.
ral observations ; but it contained not the opinion
of the Crown or of the Ministers. He th en con-
trasted this language with the Speech as &slivered
at the conclusion of the Peace of 1763 and that of
1783. In the former His Majesty said, " t:hat he
Observe:l, with satisfadioni•in the severaleVowers
of Europe engaged in the late war, the strongest
assurances, &c:' These words must halve un-
questionably applied to the existing situ ttion of
things. In November, 1783, His Majesty assured
his Parliament, " that he was happy to ad d, that
he had no deiubt but 'that all the other Power! I joined
with him in their wishes for the continuance Of
Peace." The present speech, hoWever, wets- to-
tally different, and left us nothing to expeet either
of hope or fear. No reason was given wily the
number of our Establishments should he stria tier or
greater. It was. equally distant from assurat see of
War, or any hope of Peace. Being thils silent as to
any thing like reasons,. he would ask, who's was
the meaning of the vote of 52,000 Seimen ? NV-hen,
Peace was concluded, the vote was for 70,000 glen,
and, the Minister at thesame time stated, the It the
Peace Establishment would be 30,003; 'and how,
without any farther information, as if it was go
by guess or draw lots for the number, the Wouse
was called upon far the number of 50,000 Eden,
and this too before the Country had yet come to its
Peace Establishment. Was this, then, a 'situa tion
fot the House to be placed in ? Or did it not mother
become them to compel His Majesty's Miniotern to
afford such explanations as would relieve.th t House
froio the obloquy of voting 50,000 men without a
single argument ? Such was the mode of c hfitempt
with which. the House of Commons 'was treated.
Had we any viewigiven us of our COMM?. tcial re,
sources ? any comparative estimate of the 1s laritime
strength of Europe ? And, if not, did it not be-
come the House, before they confirmed t hese re;
solutions, to consider'
:the degree of dang*.r from
without, and the force, we possegsed effene
tually to Oppose it ? From without,we kne tv, from
a variety .of circumstances, that the inil: ?once of
France with the Court
.of Petersburgh, i s =let
greater than we could•'arish, or' was ceensistent
with our intetest. It was indeecf.to be: hoped,
that the moderation displayed by the feigning
Emperor, in other instances, may at,least relieve
us • from some part of qur apxiety. Pith re-
spdt to the late Convention with the North-
ern Powers, he owned that 'he -should feel a,
greater degree of Consolation
_if it- ha A been
more explicit ; and ss to "the .explanatorj Con-
vention which followed it, it seemed to to ttn even
less satislatior! than Lfie fOrmei, and 'app fared to
announce nothing more than our failure. Very
slender hopes intleed could be built on the success
of any future or :pending Negotiations wi ill that
Court, after the House had lately heard, fr inn His
Majesty's Foreign Secretary, of State ( Lord
HAWKESBURY), that the vie-tory-of Copenha gen had
made the Negotiations with Russia the m(: it diffi,
cult he had ever. been engliged in. Turning their
eyes to Holland, a circumst ante would present itself
which, though he could .n.rot assert with an; t ocular.
certainty, yet was confirmed by the concurrent tes-
timony of eery one with whom he hapt coned to
converse lately returned. from that Country. By
all•those it was univerially stated) that th ire pre.