The Sun.
London, England, 1803-11-29 00:00:00

41111SWER DO CURSORY :REMARKS.

BEstois Letters of Fa-1-i- Ain lON which
lately appeared in this Paper, and Which :ere upon
the "eve of rc.publication in an improved and alter-
ed form, A Plain ,4ns2uer to the Cursory Remarks
of the NEAR OBSERVER, has just made its .appear.:
ance. They seem equally to be the produttion of
men who have more than common information upon
• the topics agitated and misrepresented by the Near
Observer. The Plain Answer will•be fotind•to Con.
• tain many important fans given in the simple lart-
,gliage of -truth, and the Writer very successfully
exposes the ,malignity and 'falsehood of the Near
Observer, in- every point brought forward by that
profligate pgregyrist of the present Administration.
It will be reColleded •by those who have read the
Canary 'Remarks, that a very gloomy picture is
drawn of 'our public situation at the period of the
resignation of .the late Nlinisters, fur the purpose
'of Introducing the new ones with additional eclat.
To this The Plain Ai,swer opposes a much juster
counter-part, which the British Public will more
readily recognize.
aa,when it was announced that a change was
about to take place in His Majesty's councils, and
the Public were thereby thrown into a .state of
consternation'; more justly than consistently de.
scribed by our Author, the desire of, the Public to
he acquainted, with the causes of this 'event was
certainly very strong. VaiinUs rumours prevailed
as to the causes of the resignation. As far as was
consistent with their duty to•their Sovereign, the
Ministers did not hesitate to acquaint the Public
with chi motives which had 'induced them to re.
linquish their situations. 4. Feeling it,' they said,
' an incumbent duty upon them to propose a mea.
sure on the part of Government, which they thought
of great public importance,—when they met with
circumstances which rendered it impossible for them
to propose it, as a measure of Government, they
felt it equally inconsistent with their dui') and their
honour, any longer to remain a part of that Go-
, vernment.'

" They at the same time explained to the Public
the general outline of the measure to which- they
alluded.. Upon this topic it is quite unnecessary to
enlarge ; especially as there •is reason -to suppose
that (as frequently happens' upon similar occasions)
the question, in its course, took a very different
shape from that which it originally bore ; and had
a similar difference of ()Onion exiited, with respect
to any other question attended by the :ante circum-
stance:, the result would, in -all probability, have
been •exaftly the same, Of the essential importance
of the,question itself, and of. the nature and- ten.
dency of the circomstlinces attending its discussion,
the Ministers were to judge for themselves. They
considered that the line of conduct which they
adopted, was 'equally conformable to their public
duty, as it was consistent withtheir private tee!.
ings.
" Considering, this short explanation as furnish.
ing a plain and intelligible reason fur the resigna-
tion, .I .should feel it unnecessary to say more upon
the sublet}, but for. the extraordinary •ntotives which
the Near:Observer has assigned for the condua of
MG;Prre 'and his friends' upon. the:oecasion, or
rather which he thinks proper to suppose to be the
motives ascribed to them • by the world 4t large.
The•charaeter and •conduet of the. Ministers who
resigned, from the earliest period of their political
lives, ana the nature of the charges usually brought
against
.them by their most violent opponents, are,.
equally inconsistent with the •stpposition of their
having been ir,fluenced by r derpondency and appre.
hension.' What I Is it probable that 'Ministers,
who had seen Jacobin principles gaining daily
strength in Britain, Ireland in open rebellion, the
Fleet in a state of mutiny, the Bank supposed to be•
insolvent, the Kingdom threatened with- faMine,
and a People murroutink against the load Taxes,
and the War by which they .were occasioned? Is
it- probable tliat Ministers, whom these evils
'could not appal, should have yielded tn feelings
of despair, find' begun to be apprehensive of our
danger, at the•:mornent when- the' malignant prim.;
ciples of Jacobinism had been almost eradicated from
the country, which-gave triem birth ; when they had
accomplished a measure which they considered as
the best hope of the fitture tranqUillity of Ireland ;
when our Fleets wt..rt triumphing in every part of
the world (and itt. that instant preparing .a dreadful
stroke for a new-I:tie); when Public credit was corn.
pletely restored; and the Nation reconciled
exertions which-the state 'of Europe called. for•at
their handsl •

"'Phis representatinn of the atate of the Coun,
try at the .beginning of 18ot, is very difertnt from'
that which has been exhthtted -by theisTear'Ob..
server I and since, with what Cortsistencyi will.
presently .enquire, he lays great stress-,,upon the
period •at winch the late Ministers...quitted- -office,
I will shortly examine the circumstances of that
period. •
• 44 He represents I the subjugation of the beat-
half of the Continent as ratified at ,Lunevillei'
and a the rest of the Continent, as, FrariCef Spin,
Italy, Piedmont, Switzerland, the .courses tit the
Lnwer Rhine -into the Ocean,- the 'Seven ,United
Provinces, and the-Low Countries absorhed !'
the correlness of this statement. I have certainly,
nothing to Objea, however- surprizedlnitty be,
that theme- topics should have been placed by twr.•
Author in so prominent a 'light t thitt, the zealous
partizan of a Ministry, who had given their taiugion
to the' subjugation-of half of the Continent., and to'
the absorption of :the remainder in-the-enormous
power of• France,- should - love lo,tlwelt upon these
unfortunate events, and to adduce-them- as an in-
stance of tha.desterate `situation of tho'Country un:
der the late.Administratior. -A state of things
which the present Government—, successful,'---' for-
tunate,' 4 vigorous,'.;-' prudent,'—had solemnly
ratified, or tacitly consented to I- .
" But as for • the remainder of the statement hf,
the Near Observer, I, efttl neither assent- to .the:cor.,
rednese of tritiatts, or the justness of his corilusions,
4-What gtoundis there for-saying,- that,theVir.
had view grown' unpopular and hopeless ? and, .to as;.:
i.ett *that.: the disappointment receive& at'
Ferrol, caused:- wore -iiiiicontent and despondener'
than had arisen from-nil our- mistakes-and misfor.....
'tunes at earlieeperiods of the War ?' To asseriibtyr
likelhesel unsupptirtidbt anyprQuiso it 'IA 'aiiikUlt
' •

,to nplinse any thing but general contratlia ion. It
*mild be a most extravagant supposition to bon inr,
that the fortune of the War could have been rna•e,
rially affeeted by the failure or success of this Es..
pedltion. To the Journals of Parliament, however,
I may refer my Author for a denial of his position,
that the War was more unpopular than at former
periods. As far as we can judge of the national
feelings by the public expression of them, it was
certainly less unpopular in zBol, than in 1795, 1796,
and 1797.
4g But the War, says our Author, had also grown
hopeless.' I have no hesitation in confessing; not;
does the confession imply any thing derogatory from
the honour of the Country or the Wisdom of its late
Ministers, that at the conclusion of the Preliminary'
Treaty, and for some time before, the probability of
our obtaining that which was a part of the ohjift of
the War, namely, the delivery of the Powers of Eo.
rope from the state of oppression to which they had
been reduced by the enormous power of France, had
become very slight indeed. The period had, for a
second time, arrived, when• the danger, the
difficulty, the risk of continuing the contest had in.
creased, while the hope of complete:Aim qtr suc.
cess was diminished.' The Near Observer's asset..
tions, brought in without any apparent connection
with the' subjefl, that the nature and charaEter of
the War had been early mistaken, and that its prin.
ciples and objefts had repeatedly appeared to change,'
is one of those wilful and perverse misrepresenta.'
tions which he has borrowed from the '-Old Oppo_
sition,' and to which I deem it unnecessary to give
any more particular answer in this place, than that
one of the principal objets of the War having been
attained, our chief attention was afterwards dirt:tied
to the other, and that the means by which we
hoped to accomplish Mir, varied according to the
circumstances of the times, the situation and dispo.
si t ion of the other Powers of Europe, and of Erance
herself.

" How far ' the capacity of the persons entrusted
with the conduit of the War' can be affected by the
History of the Treaty of El Arisch, is a subjeit
which has been repeatedly discussed ; but if, in.
deed, .the Expedition prepared for the recovery of
Egypt was incompetent 'to its objet}, if His Ma.
jesty's late Ministers have no claim to the merit of
that most happy and stupendous service,', I would
ask upon what ate founded the pretensions of the
present Administration to it ? Is it that the princi.
pal battle which was fought in the campaign, inAl
which may be said to have decided the fate of
Egypt, tot,k pheeupin the very day that Mr. Ad-
dington became the First Lord of the Treasury.? Or
that Lord Hobart opened the dispatches addressed to
Mr. Dandas, giving an account of that glorious
event

In touching with all delicacy upon A circumstance.
which at that period awakened the anxiety of; aril
produced deep affilaion to the whole- Nation, he
repels the insinuation that it was at that particular
period that His Majesty's late Ministers thought
proper to retire from his service.
They had," says he, " laid their offices at
His Majesty's feet, days and weeks previous to this
most alarming anti distressing event. But my ob.
nervation,. ituhich is not ,very, distant, bas deceived
me melt, if Mr.• PITT, at , the time of doing so, did
trot make a distina ,ittfer to retain his tilmattoM,,intit
the Wartboad be conclnd-4 and the Vonntp,"-relleitos
edlivm its mess p ;wring Irjlicuhies, provilied that he
could be. assured that no attempt would be made in
the mean time til:prejudge the important question,
the difference of opinion on which, had led to his re.
signation.. Although this offer was not accepted,
his resignation will 'nevertheless suspended, by the,
event which immediately followed, of His Majes.ty's
*unfortunate illness. Until His Majesty's recovery,
he not only remained nominally in office, but eon.
tinued to .during the whole of the period, as Mi.
oker, and retained as much as ever the chief di.
ration of affairs."

As much misrepresentation has gone abroad re.
speefing :the transattiona which passed last Spring
for the return of Mr. PITT to power, we feel it A
public duty, to.lay evert thing that is stated ,upon
that subject before our, Readers, and we can give
Theft the additional atiourance that:every thing: ad.
.vaneed,it, the following statement is corral.
Towards the end:of March,,,or at the begin.
aping of April, the-.eve of War, alter ,
distially known to 'Mr. ADDING-1W that, Mt.
•Ptrr strongly disap.proaed.of-some-of the leading
measures of his Government, and after an over.
cure had been made ein Are • par.6sfl' Mr. AD D
Tot!, COO foolish, I had-11MOU said, too insult.'
,ing,AO: be noticed,•,at distinft ;proposition, foci.
gloating, nut,, as has -bears': insinuated; with Lord
.btir entirely :with Mr. AO DINGTQK
ilitiliciL)WaS made .t(v Mr.. Pttrialie objed.of which.
was .his return to the:official eituation—lie ftlf-
merly held in the Administration; and, at .1 un.
derstand,, the atrangement was to have taken
place whenever the negotiation then pc-ruling
with 'France should ha'c beell titough't to a con.
elusion. It _was signifird, that vacancies
would beimade for .thepurpose of a4tnitting Lord
MeLvtLor into. the Cabinet, and some other of'
Mr. ?ITT'S friends into different official situations.
To this proposition Mr. Purt:replied, that he
would :not enter upoo, jbe question of army.
ments, road he 'was- distbany; iNformid !rya oses.„
sage from the highest pas-tell,• that his services
'were t f;teght (ssevtial ; that if so called upon, in
spite of the precarious state of liis health, he should
not decline the offer of his best advice- .and assist.:
antra; that he was'. fully aware of the 4rtat mid
increasing difficulties of the Country, anti that hes
saw the necessity of a iiroseg 'vigorous, ass 4 elcitist
Pcpvernment.' That if called upon by klisslYlajesty,..
lie should feel it to be his duty to propose en Ad.
ministration connoting principally of..tlie members
of the present and of the late Government ; thatin
the general arrangement which he should submit
for l pia Majesty's consideration, heshoittl, if they •
assented, include•ilie Lords Gk V NV.t t.t. a and SP.I
btit.that he should press no arson whatever
op,)o Majesty,.:' 01) reser.Vtrig.-'2io himself
the potver of declining the ondertaking: altosetber,
if ,he could not 'form such a Government as would.
;noble him, in 'his-njutigitient, to cOndull the affitiri
of the Nation, Prubability of sic,
cell. No rime qua tioq. *flu insisted upon, as dm

it Mt: Pitt's Sprach, Fob. 3, Ilea.