Star.
London, England, 1809-05-19 00:00:00

H ARDINGE.

Mr. WARD rose to propose a Monument to the
Memory of Captain Hardinge. He began by moving
that the entry on the Journals respecting the motion
for erecting a monument in e Collegiate Church of
St. Peter?' Westminster, to the memory of Captain
Falkner, who fell gloriously in 1795, be then read.—
It was read accordingly ; and Mr. Ward then pro.
ceeded to enter into a detail of the distinguished ser-
vices of Captain Hardinge. He stated that that
gallant officer had begun his career under the aus-
pices of Sir Sidney Smith at the siege of Acre -- that
he had followed it up in a ,manner worthy of such
auspices. -Here the Hon. Gentleman entered into a
detail of Captain Hardinge's services, particularly
in the action in the vessel commanded by Captain
Miller, which was afterwards blown up ; as also his
services in the Terror bomb and Scorpion sloop. He
commented on the intrepidity displayed by Captain
Hardinge when commanding the Scorpion sloop, in
cutting ont the Atalante brig, and read a passage
from the letter of Captain Perry, highlrextolling that
service. He next adverted to the engagement uff the
coast of Holland, with a Dutch ship of much superior
force, and his conquest of it after a most desperate
encounter, in the course of which he boarded the
enemy and fought hand to hand with the Dutch com-
mander, who heroically resisted to the last the gene.
rous solicitations of Captain Hardinge to accept of
quarter. He applauded the generous sympathy
with yhich that brave man had afterwards fre.
quently lamented the fate of a brave enemy, whose
recollection had often filled his eyes with tears. He
lastly adverted to the memorable engagement in
March 1808, memorable for such a victory and fur
such a death, in which the San Fiorenzo encountered
and beat the French frigate, the Piedmontese. The
Piedmontese was manned with 566 Frenchmen and
200 Lascars, making in all a force of 56.3 men. The
San Fiorenzo had but $8 guns, and not more than
180 men. The action was off and on tor three days
together, and that Fart of it in which he fell lasted
an hour and 40 minutes, and ended in the capture of
the greatest scourge our commerce had known in the
Indian Seas for a long time ; and next to the name of
the Hero who fell, he said that of Lieutenant Jowson
was worthy of honourable mention for his conduct in
that action.—The Honourable Gentleman then went
into some abstract observations nn the general policy
of keeping alive that desire of fame—
" The last infirmity of noble rnind‘,"
by the manifestation of the country's gratitude for
such services. He stated that the merchants of Bom-
bay had, to their honour, subscribed €IO,OOO fur the
purpose of erecting a monument to the memory of
this intrepid Officer; and concluded with tooting,
" That an humble Address be pres'ikted to his Ma-
jesty, praying that he would be graciously 'timed
to give directions for a Monument to he erected in
the Cathedral Church of St. Paul's, London, to the
memory of Captain George Nicholas Hardinge, for
his eminent achievements during the course of his
short but serviceable life ; and particularly in the
Indian Seas, &c. assuring his Majesty ova that
House would take care to make good the same."
Mr. WINDHAM opposed the motion. 1 le
great as was the merit of the individual in this cite:,
still mere merit was not the rule by which the grant
of national honours was regulated. it was their
scarcity made them distinctions, and it was by being
distinctions that they were honours—the national
benefit accruing from the service, was that only which
called for national distinctions, and making them
common would only go to counteFuct t:ie object it
was their avowed purpose to effect ; the smallest ser-
vices might have as much merit iti them as the
greatest ; a coxswain of a boat might in any one ac•

tin, evince as much contempt of life, and as much
heroism as the most successful Commander ; but mere
individual merit could not be permitted to be the
rule to guide the bestowing great national distinctiiins.
Lord CASTLEREAGH commented on the na-
tl:re of the services of Captain Hardinge, and con-
tended that there would be found but few cases in the
s7:endid annals of the Navy, with such concomitants
as the present, in which the public gratitude had not
been manifested.

Mr. WILBERFORCE thought that in general
they were too niggardly of public honour in recom-
pensing public services. He wished that the sugges-
tion of his late Right Hon. Friend (Mr. Pitt) for the
establishment of an order of Naval Merit would be
acted upon. It was a pleasing reflection that the in-
staeces of national heroism were so numberless, that
the House seemed to be labouring to draw shades of
difference, but by the uninterrupted grant of distinc-
tions upon extraordinary merit, the distinctions them-
selves should become cemu..,n, and the merit cease to
be extraordinary—he would vote for the motion.
Mr. ADAM followed upon the same side, and
said, that it had been admitted that since the year
1760, there had been but four instances of the same
service. Had Captain Harding survived that glorious
victory, his Majesty no doubt would have made him
an object oithe royal favour—as he had fallen, that
House ought not to refuse him the only mare of pub-
lic gratitude, that they now could confer upon his
memory.
Mr. MARRYAT thought, that if they were to
erect monuments to every heroic officer that fell in
the service, they would have to *se buildings, in the
firit instance, to contain their 111011Ufflelti.

Mr. W. WYNNE professed as high a sense of the
merits of Captain Harding., as any Gentleman who
heard him ; but he Thought it necessary to draw some
line of distinction, Captain Conk had got no monu-
ment—Captain Farmer, who was. blown up in his
ship, the Quebec, disdaining to quit his post, though
inevitable death was the result, had got no monu-
ment. He could not agree to this motion, though at
the same time he ird not wish to give it a direct ne-
gative. He should therefore move the previops ques-
'von, which, after some further observations from
Messrs. LONG, CURWEN, WILLIAM i SMITH Admiral
MARXHAW, Sir C. P 01.14 Mr. PALMER. and Mr. WARD,
ail in favour of erecting the Monument, was nega-
tived without a division—when the original motion
for erecting the Monument was then agreed to.

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