The Sun.
London, England, 1820-05-06 00:00:00

tardstritistit, Or hn servicee at ail. li.e Dr()its tic'
cruing from time to dine to the Ciowo might be.
most mischievously employed. He did not say
that they had been so employed, it wes etiougli
tor him if he made out the possibility of their
being improperly applied. It any persons ren-
dered a great military or naval servic,—in a case
like that 'of Earl St. Vincent, or Lord Hutchinson,
or where the heirs of a Nelson were to he pro-
vided tor, the Ministers felt that they would neg-
lect their duty it they were not to bring their
cases under Ye consideration of Parliament ; Ord
accordingly they came down to that House, an'l
.called lire attention of Parliament to their merits'
But they might not do so to those who were fa-
voured, anti who hart not defeated the French itt
Egypt, or destroyed the Spanish fleet off Cadiz.
Jr they were to co so, they knew that the mmoioa
would be less popular, and ihe House to which it
was proposed less unaniorous, (ha u it would in all
probability be in the other cases, and knowing
that ,Ministers would be more !clue:ant to come
for such gratos to the House than They were tot
sanction thrill, it they could be made to another
way. In the case of :he Right Hon. Gentleman
opposite, or in that of Lord Grenville, they might
out so come down to the Ronne, hot could perm"
slot; off by means of tio•se nlmmits. He rid nor
mean to say, tlott the peroimmos of the Right lion.
Gomtlernan and Lod Grenville were but well de-
,•erved.—(Hear, (rear, hoar ! from an Honourable
Member on the Unpositimor side of the 11.01,..)---';
There was a proof of what he was saying. oils
Honourable Friend cheered sViiii( he had just said,
hut there were tto cheers whet) Ire mentioned the
names of Ell I Sr. Vincent and Lord Hutchinson.
His honourable F. tend would perh,ps have sew
courted the one motion hot snot the other, mend thi,,
it he were right, would suffice to make out that tor.
'which he had feebly cowended. But ire did riot say
:that there had never been abuse!: of tire
There had been abuses. What is as the case oh Sir
11. Popham ? (tete Was air offirer who, at the end
'of a • 1511 g war, when it was probable that theme.;
would be a long peace, could nor tecOucile his-•
ardent mind to a life of indolent repose, tome.
determined on revisiting tire old haunts of his
former glory, enamoured of that element ton whii.ll
he had so often sailed'. 'lbis gallant Olio er emo.
gaged in a saingitling voyage to the East ladies:
There he did not meet w rib that surces‘, " the
bright reward of ever daring mind.," to which
he might look torwaid. Provided with simulated'
papers, he had taken, the name of toe E,rosco for
hilt ship, but the sea, though the field of glory, is,
proverbially unc-rtain, and in this case iii. lion-
vidual he had mtortioned fatted, and this gallauto
and diatingoished contrabandist ofas eapiored.
vessel was Capdelllned as AC Droit, jere Coroue;
but he •was cormsol.-d by a grant from those Droits,
by whiell be pocketted,the sum of twenty thou-
sand pounds. A question was asked him whether
he hated not iinin,:4led tea homewards? Gail
forbid," said he, " that I shotild remain as sing C
night oir hoerel the Etruseo absent trolly my wile.
and family." And, aecorditigly, jook a b,met
immediately from tire shin. When asked it he
had trot taken a boat ?----`` be sore," is'A, !tie
reply. " and I woatil haVe.-taien timenty to haves
joined my dear wife amt ramify." It was Ats--
covereditoweter, that the bait ',taa going temeku"
wards and forwards tilt; whole oit4ht, fry a kind At
11:41.1t., or, as it were, to reader. time cooneet.itor
between the. vessel and his dear family (to: closer'
—(Lolghter.)---litit it ',rued omit lust Sit IL
Popham had laid out no nsnmrey oft this cargo ;•
the imh.le of it belonged It) a merchant its lIrd•
land, who eventually be,cattri bodiropt..ltevio.4,
however, the good fortune to meet with; some
nine who pia all his bills for Ilia]. It migne
he right, or it might be wrong; cow inut d titel
Hon. tool Learned Gentleman, to give Ibis to Sic
H. Popham ; but the Minister who (lid it look
care that it should-be done in the secret nay—he
gave it out of the Kitig's Droit a He bad alio..
ther and last objection to these -Droits. It they
Were suspicious or dangerous in their applicants!),
they were ten thousand times worse in their osigin-
They were alempratioo to Ministers which ought
not to he thrown in their way —tie would cere
taioly not say for one moment that any Sororeiell
would have been silly enough to engage in a Warr
solely with reference to these Droits. It might,
perhaps, in the minds of sortie Ministers, be*
mitigation of such a proceeding, that eiAlit of
nne millions came in, in consetptence. Jr er4'
true that all prizes made atter the declaration o°,.
war were, by the uniform custom of the Crown'
given up to the captors; hut every capture helmet
she declaration. of war went to the King's Droils"'
He could only, therefore, ca-11 upon theta to look 01
the consequence of this, and consider how it vs's*
that such enormous fundms had accumulated in tits!
.
manner, which excited .so, much jeatototy as
their application, so that it ought to he %solve!) 0°
Ore front of these foam's—tie feared it was alreadf
written in characters of blood—that they poi'
chased the honour and the unsullied name of Ear
land. If it wanted pioati, be woulalreter to tli°
war commenced against the Dutch in the reigt;
of Charles 11., from no other motive titian to ,tee
the Smyrna fleet. Providence bad in lust repeVo
billion of this iniquitons deed, overwhelmed tt
projectors with disgrace, mod forest them to stet,
for peace on the tertia.s of their .enemy, If tote'
wanted precedents trot* later times, he wool:,
ask them, what dirt they thimis of the Dattish'tw7
fair ?' Or %vita+ did They ihink ct die Stninish
He had talked to many (;dicers ocr.this latter 61
jest, and be had never spoken. to one who had ott'e
said that tire transactions were enestigh to U 1
'every English sailor Wog his head for shatr!.,,,,
But he did not care if these things had happet!ett
or not from the causes to which he had atirilrire
them. It was enough for bon to ktiow that th'6
was a temptation, and that it had once, in
reign- of Ch.tolea the eecood, been yielded W;;
d %You' they not then unite with him, in an 4 no
thavour to wipe away this stain? It there waaerof
other itolittement than to take away the nv doe
carping from their enemy, lie thought ked,
ought to he olfficirat. Let the Crown be as of,
let its assl.n: be obtained, let fair terms belt ic;
fered, and let time Consolidated Fund be Y'o.,
possession of these Droits. nror'e."
•
such a step he had proved by principleI'
,Yor►lst
pedieucy, and it it were necessary, he ford:
prove it by precedents. 0-te was to ire
c ,
the time of Henry the L'i'nk, as rel