The Sun.
London, England, 1804-02-28 00:00:00

rlis Right Iron. Friend, 'teas the state of the Counfey in
point of Naval Defence. And with the vie,/ to prove that
the greatest exertions were made by Ministers in that vitally
important line, his Lordship entered into some calculations
of the comparative state of our Naval- Force at present, and
at different periods of the late War ; this, he argued,. was
greatly in favour of the former, speaking of ordinary Ships
of War, in. addition •to which was to be considered a flotilla
of itiz small vessels, either armed or arming., which the
peculiar circumstances of the present time required.'
ilfr. PITT begged .leave to say a very tew words in ex-,
planation. He assured the Noble Lord that he should feel more'"
happyin finding that every thing predicable had been done in
the line of Naval Defence, than that any of his appreheneions
of another kind should be realized. .But to be convinced
of this, ..some further explanation than that just offered
should be given. He thought the comparative statements
which had been given did not proceed upon a fair principle :
there certainty was no comparison between the first years of
a Ware when the previous Peace Establishment had been
only IS,ooomen, and that in which it had been 5.0,000,—
Where they had passed to a - War from a state of profound •
Peace, and where hostilities were resorted to after a con-
tinual apprehension-of War.—He thought it should be,sheivn
what progress was made in that species of defence to court-
teraa attempts at Invasion, by means of shallow water ?-..
Were the comparisolts drawn from the state of preparation at
those periods of the late War when Invasion was more par-
ticularly thought of, as in 97 and 98, and in the summer of
the year iBor, the difference would be more apparent, and
the contrast more visible with those steps which had 'been
fately:and tardily taken for counteracting the designs of the
Enemy in these particulars.. He felt it a duty due to hint-
selfand to the Country,' to point the attention of the House
to this important topic—a duty with which no, former partis
ality or private frieodships should interfere, and which,
therefore, he should perhaps bring forward in a more specific
form to the consideration of the House. • •
. WILITI3ItEAD spoke at some length, and-argued
with considerable ability againsti. some of the more pro-
minent measures of Ministers with respectto the Volun
teers. (Of this and the subsequent' parts e!tf the Debate
our restricted 'limits allow us to give but a very briet
sketch.) -• The Honourable Gentleman dwelt partieular-
ly on' the circumstance of • the opinion of His Majesty
Law Officers, which had been circulated by Autho-
rity.to the Lord, Lieutenants, &c. and which they after-.
Wards, he said, declared were contrary to their intentions in
originally framing the Ads. This proceeding he not only
reprobated with great force of argument, but displayed
considerable degree of humour, when he treated- it• ludicrous-
ly. Heehouglit ail the expences of the Volunteers should
be paid froM the public purse, which would do away the
much talked of evil of the Committees; he censured Mini-
sters for the tardiness of their measures, perticularlf" with
reaped to The Volunteers;" and in'a neat and well delivered ,
oration, he deprecated the idea of • taying emphasis upon'
the character of the invader, it was enough that' the invasion
was threatened.. Were it the Detni God, of the' Thuilleries, i.
or the Devil 'incarnate of the print-shops Of Piccadilly and
St..laines's-street, or even the illustrious Henry IV'. hims'
self that came to invade us, the spirit, energy and patriotisrn
- of '.Britons would alike be roused to repel the aggression, and'
to-drive him from their shores with defeat-and disgrace..
Mr. Secretary Secretary YORKE saida few words in explanation.
Mr. TIERNEY,- in consequence of some points which felt
from Mr. WHITBREAD, entered into some explenatiops re..
lative to what passed in the Borough Corps, respeding the
appointment of
.oflicers, &c. (These being already before the
Public, we do not recite them..)
Mr. FOX, in a speech of- some length, in whiCh he dls-
Playect'hisaccustomed talents aod eloquence,'supported the
arguments of his Hon. Friend. (Mr. WHi TAR E At)) but pre-
vious to his entering upon the main subjed, he adverted to
What tell from the Noble Lord (CA STLEIEACH) respeding
the exertions made • for the Naval Defence of the Coulee-ye
In7this, he observed, %vete any blame imputable to 'his
Noble- Friend at the head of the Admiralty, it, roust be
'done away by a better Advocate, or by different statements.
than those offered by the Noble Lord ; it - Was not by eolii-1
parisons of condud, that of his Noble Friend was to -be
judged, or
,by what had been done by others: --it must
stand open its own -merits : —it was to be considered reds;
what was requisite fer that Noble Person to doe and 'what
means lie had for the performance alit but comparisons of
the nature advanced by the Noble Lord, were by no means
just, and he had to censure similar proteedith;s the Ame-
rican War, when it was attempted on such groendS. to jus-
tify the late Lord SANDWICH. . He censuthd the con-
dud of Ministers for their tarditiet;S of. Oreparatien, when
they mast have known the relative state of 'the-Belligerent
Countries long before hostilities commenced; • when, ac-
cording to their own accounts, the •coodua of France to-e
wards'us, since the sigassiture of the' Definitive Treaty, was
one uniform system of insult and aggression. He col-_
demned in strong teirn; the coudud of Ministers respect_ .
ing the consulting the opinions of the Law Officers, and
the „I,:row n, &c. witieh had the etled of inducing Magistrates
ao colones pseele who ought not to be convicted, and to levy
fines w teee ;:blie ought to be levied the general syatern Of
men e • ee:,,et with. reseed to the Volunteers,. also had his
eisapeee:atioe—Nor could he agree in a great part of what
;,,. eden froill the Right Hon. Gent., under the Gallery.
eSi not mean to propose a
,geheral plan himself for the
aniciioretion of that part of our defence: he deeMedhinieelf.
not eqn.il •to, it ; neither did he suppose the Ilouse would
adopt iiis suggestions.' Indeed; at present, lie thought such
would be the .late 01 those Of the Right• Hon. Gentleman.
I-lose:vete lie hoped the general subjeet would be made a
matter of. regular 'inquiry. Were such' inquiry, adopted in
itibe or August last, the Country would-now be in a dieter.
ten situation.-
Mr.Ti•ER N EY and Mr. Fox spoke severally in explanation.
• ,The CHANCELLOR qf 'the EXCHE,QUER'said, he Would.
trespass on the House but a very short time. He defended.
the -comparative statements advanced by his Noble Friend
(Lord CAsi• Leas:keit) as fair and justifiable, in evincing the
unparalleled exertions made .in these tipes in the -present
Contest. . _
He adrnitted that the Recruiting of the garine Service was
and had been in a state of lanyour; but not from any defed in
• the conduct of the. Admiralty, Which. he justified altogether,
as he did also the conduct of Government as to the use they,
had made of the means put into their
,hands, and professed
his readiness to discuss the subjed at length at any future
day. He said that the present regular force of this Country was
within 17,000 men equal to what it was in the year 1799,
when our Military. Establishment was-at the highest. As
to the question of the Right of Volunteers to resi'grie•the
point' had never occurred to him beldre the Opinion of the
Attorney General had been given, but if the question had
beet, asked of him he should certainty-have said that it was -of
the essence of a Voluntary System, to be accompanied by a
right- of resignation; but after the Opinion of the Attorney
.General had been taken vpoh it,' he tneught it wouldha've
been unjust to. the Volunteers themselves• to keep it a se-
cret, as many of them at that time had not entered, and if
there was any blame to be attached to the publication of than
Opinion, Gentlemen on the other side ot'the House Were
accomplices in the tad, siece they never found-fault- with IL
although frequent opportunities occurred for that purpese7i-
He assured Mr. Fox that every attention would be paid to
whaniyer suggestion came from him upon the -subjed "Of
the Volunteer System, and Mr. PITT still more partied--
lady of the same thing as to his ; and he assured every,
tleman in the House that Suggestions from every lalernbef
would be attended to with great reaped,, for-it was the ob,
jed to make the Plan as nearly petted as possible; and this
I was a question in which Gentlemen might aftbrd a truce to
party feeling—He expressed his hopes' that elle Bill might
be commited on Wednesday, and go through all its stages in
that House in the course of this week. •
Mr. GREY answered all the objections of the Chancellor
of the Exchequer, and censured the conduct of GovernMeht
with regard to the Volunteer System, which had -prevented
the increase of the Army and Army of Reserve; Marine, &c.
Captain MAR;HANI justified the conduet of-the Admi-
ralty, and considered the. low rate of Insurance as conclusive
evidence of the merit of that Board. • •
Tile-Question was then put and carried: —Bil I read a Sp-
•contl time, rand ordered • to be committed tp a COMMittee of
the whole Hattie on Wednesday. •
Sir joex W a (yr Es LEy renewed his notice of a Motion for
Inqadry into the Conduct of Government in Ireland, 'previ-
ous to and on the zsd of July last: He said lie should move
it on Wednesday se'nnight.
A new Writ was ordered, on the Motion of Mr. Rosa, for
Liskeard, in the room of j. EL tor, now Lord ELi ot .
Deferred the other Orders of the Day.
At four o'clock in the morning the House adjourned to to.
morrow (this Day.)