The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1809-01-19

EUROPE.
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place ON Thursday ~last,in Hall,
to consider ut he propriety OF addressing his
majesty on til, iste Portuguese convention.
Mar. Wisha:t upenei.he busIacss BY stating
the purpose lot which the ELECTORS hadbcen
assembled. Asthe just hopes and expecta-
ti0ns of the nation had been frustrated, he
might say blasted by the disgraceful result
oil the late cveste,in Portugal, they were
Called upon bv every consideration of right
and duty 10 addressrhe throne, and petition
his majesty for full and efficient inquiry,
that the guilty might he discovered, and
adecasye punishment inflicted. He would ask
any gentleman who heard him if after the
b-tHe OF Nimiera, lie would have colnTound-
&c FOR any thing less han ar unconditional
surrender . WIZ then, it could not be de
MED that an inquiry was necessary. In
that inquiry more pom" than enc O ght To
lie Carefully stated aether the army
had a sufficient proportion of cavalry and
heavy artillery Whethe, due a.sSii:.ii, ION had
been paid to the appointment of a fit Com
m~ander-and, whether any improper mo
tives had influenced the choice of those by
whoni the appeintlncnth had been made, &c.
The citizens OF London had already pre-
sent>t AN address on this subject, aud eve
ry friend OF his country must regret the arr
swer that had been given. Considering his
as che answer OF the ministers, he would
make a few observations upon t. In the
times OF the Charles's and James's, wheu
the doetrine OF passive obedience was cur
rent among manv, such an answer might not
have appeared very acknowledgements: in
our days, when such absurd notions were
so generally exploded, in this II matter Of
surprise that any minister should have pre-
sumed to advise his majesty to check his
subjects in the exercise of their constitution
al yhss aud duties The single instance
of an Inquiry into the causes. Of the recent
1aliare at Buenos Ayres was not sufjcient'to
prove that there could be no baCkwardness
in proceeding to a full and impartial inves-
tigatiOn Will respect to the convention. 1t
was well known that there had been no in
auirv with respect to the ~retrcgrade march
at Dunkirk-the convention at the Helder-
and the failure at Ferrol. The plain mean
ing OF the answer seemed to be this: &c Pay
your taxes. End come with congratulatory adj
dresses as often as you think proper, but do
net presume to NEEDLE with the acts of go
vernmcnt." Some, who heard him, might
perhaps have lived in the reign of George
ii. Ashe himself was warmly attached to
the family ofHanover, he would relate an
arecdote. When the Duke Of Cumberland,
who hadby the victory cf Cullcden, secured
the possession of the English throne to hi, ia
mill, had concluded the disgraceful con.
vention Of Cioster-Seven, his father would
not see him, but dismissedh him from his en-
piog ment, to which he was never again adj.
mitted. His majesty knew the duties of his
station he felt asa parent, but he acted as
a sovereign. The ministers by his answer
which they had given to the Corporation OF
LoncIon, perhaps thought, TO preclude any
addresses OH this subject; but the e fft CT has
rot answered their expectation in Westmin-
ter, and from what bad already appeared,
the cXpedient wnuid answer as little in o.
. thpy tl1rrC no1Shnrn h. trre,al xxOnlI
always have sufficient spirit to support their
rights, and to perform their duties. Hi.
friend. Mr.. Clarkson would read some reso-
]utiGns, WHICH, if they met their concur
renee WOULD foFi" the foundation of an adj
arcs santrnSycT'h the Gazette of Sep,
-. H. OK ewing the account of the
80 ..,-dove the Duke d'Abrantes, and
o1ehch army under his command. by the
british army. although half their force was
not engaged, LED us to expect the ancondi-
tional surrender ofthe French.
Q. That, to our utter establishment, the
Gazette of the 10Th of September informed
us. that a convention had been concluded
allowing the enewy to return to France in
British vessels, with their artillery, ammu-
nition. and baggage.
8. That. the conception has frustrated our
well grounded expectations and disaappoint-
ed the just hopes oft nation.
4, That we agree with his majesty, that it
is not censouant with the principles sf Bri-
tish Justice to pronounce judgment before in
vestigatinn.
s That an humble address be presented
to his majesty, requesting him to make d
a proper and efficient inquiry into the causes
that led to the convention, and to bring to
punishment the delfnquents Of any how ever
exalted in rank, and strong in political in
fuenCe.
Mp Finuerty then came forward & said,
that his only reason for dissenting from the
resolutions which had been read was. that
they did not appear 70 him to express in ude-
qHate terms the Indignation which a Justly
i~rritated nation felt sc the disgrace which
this contention attached to the British
name. lie thought it was probable that an
address. conceived in more manlv terms,
might produce = better effect, and thai the
inha5itants of Westminster might not be
trerted by ministers with the same aE-
fecfed contempt which the corporation of
London had met with from them. file had
no very great respect for the corporation Of
London. as he thought, that by former SER
witty, they had exposed themselves tothc
contempt which tsey had met from minis
ters bur AT the same time he could NOT think
so very poorly of the corporation, as to sup
pose that the present cabinet had any right
~ tIpat Them tyith r,,s,rrt AIL1DI