The Statesman.
London, England, 1812-12-19 00:00:00

an unfavourable view to the French.— Loud cries
of Hear! from the Ministerial Benches. —lle really
believed this was the case in the present instance, nor
could he credit the story of the burning of Mowcow
from patriotic motives, until he had better proofs on
that subject. The grant, however, called for under
that pretence, would be severely felt in this country
by a people already unable to bear the existing taxes,
and this consideration alone would have determined
him to oppose the grant, however inclined to relieve
the wsnts of the Mustang. Ile did not understand
the principle of that generosity, which sympathized
only with the distresses of other countries, but had
no feelings for those ofour own. Last year the suf-
ferings of the manofacturers in the northern and mid-
land counties had been laid before Parliament with a
view to some pecuniary relief being afforded. Those
sufferings were of a nature to make every feeling
lima bleed. But the answer to the application was,
that no relief could be given, consistently with the
precsnre of the times, and with public economy. We
paid dear for the prevalence of this sort of foreign
sympathy; we had to maintain French, Dutch, and
American loyalists ; but when he bad come to the
House with a proposal of some better provision for
the worn-out servants of the public, veteran officers,
who were pining in poverty, and obscurity, or the dis-
ab ed %atm we daily saw begging about our
at. eets, he had received the same cold answer, that
the necessary expenses of the Government were so
great as to admit of no addition.
Mr. 'WILBERFORCE said, he thought the ar-
gument, that the sum of t21)0,0001. now asked for,
would not materially benefit or relieve the Russian
people, was extremely futile. lie had heard the same
argument urged on former occasions, in all of which
they had been proved wrong; because the grants then
made had nit only operated to the extent of their
respective. amounts, but had been productive of this
further advantage, that they had stimulated and called
filth the charitable exertions of many societies in dif-
ferent places, and had been productive of the most be-
neficial effects. In passing this vote, the House would •;
show that it entered feelingly into the sufferings of the
Russian people, and it was on that account he support-
ed it; and he thought the feelings of sympathy in their I
distresses, thus forcibly evinced, wont(' make this
sum appear to the Russians of much greater value ;
than would a much larger sum granted under different
circumstances; and would give an advantage to the
industry of this country, to a much greater extent
than the amount of the sum voted. For his own part, '
1n could not conceive why nations should not he ge-
teroes as well as iedividuals ; and if it had pleased
the Almighty to spare this country front the suffer-
iegs and ravages of war, he was at a loss to conceive
why we should not relieve, as far as we were able,
there people in other countries with whom we- were
in allianse, and whose situation, in being made the 1
seat of war and devastation, rendered them so much
more unfortunate than ourselves. Under all these
circumstances he felt great pleasure iu giving his vote
in favour of the :irant.
Lord COCHRANE said, that as the sum required
was only equal to ten days expense of the war in the
Peninsula, and as the exertion of the Russians were,
in his opinion, likely to accelerate the termination of
that war, lie felt it his duty to vote for the motion.
The Resolution was then agreed to, and the Re-
ort ordered to be received to-morrow.—Adjourned.