" ples, and keep the circulating medium within certain bounds. Supposing, then, the Catholic question decided, an impassable line of separation existed between him and the present administration, in the proposition for making Bank-notes a legal tender. With respect to the policy which the circumstances of the present crisis less. His feelings in support of those interests, would lead him to go as far as any man, although he should still deem it necessary to weigh the true value of those disputed interests, and to guard against making a sacrifice disproportionate to the object to be attained. If once persuaded that the national honour was at stake, or that those rights on which our national in-demanded to be maintained in the affairs dependence was founded, were attacked, of the peninsula, he certainly was not prehe should feel no difficulty to act with all pared to say that it was expedient to rethe directness, and vigour, and determina- call our troops immediately home; but he tion, which, under such circumstances, certainly did not wish to proceed on that would be indispensible to our safety. But expensive mode of warfare, without havhe could never lose sight of that principle ing some military authority as to the prowhich ought to lie at the basis of all na- bable result of it; and he wished, above tional policy, namely, that, as it had been all, to see the opinion of the illustrious well expressed by Mr. Burke, as we commander of the forces in that country ought never to go to war for a profitable on the subject. No part of national powrong, so we ought never to go to war for licy was more open to repeated discussion, an unprofitable right." If the prosecu- or more calculated to engender a diversity tion of the right were likely to lead to of opinion, than the most proper mode of consequences more dangerous and destruc- carrying on foreign warfare. The first tive than those anticipated from its re- principle in the policy of all wars was to linquishment, it was almost superfluous to inflict the utmost possible injury on the say, such a right ought not to be insisted enemy, at the expence of the least possion. He well remembered, that during an ble injury to ourselves. Such a question, opposition carried on with something therefore, as that which related to the more than parliamentary virulence and continuance of the present contest in the pertinacity, while he had the honour of peninsula, depended on a variety of conholding an office in administration, he was siderations, arising out of recent events often pressed in the other House to assume and the consequent and relative situations a different tone, and to act upon what was of ourselves and of the enemy. In decalled a more decisive policy. He had termining on the expediency of any meathen employed, as an illustration in de- sure of this nature, he was to be guided fence of his own doctrine, the fable of by calculations formed on an extensive the man who threw cocoa nuts at the combination and comparison of circummonkey in the hopes that the monkey stances. He thought, and thought most would throw cocoa nuts at him; because decidedly, that a reduction of our expenhe believed that the object of Buonaparté diture was called for by reflections of the was to embroil us with America, for the most urgent and powerful kind; and he furtherance of his own purposes. A new would feel it to be his duty, before he system had, in his opinion unhappily for could agree to the continuance of any this country, enabled the enemy to suc- continental enterprises like those in which ceed in his incitements; to triumph in his we were now engaged, to take a wide surpolicy, and to make us the instruments of vey of our own resources, to measure their his ambition. Upon the subject of the extent, and the means of their application state of circulation, interesting as it was, to the objects for the attainment or proand decisive as his views were upon it, motion of which they were proposed to did it follow that he held it to be indis- be exerted. If the result of such an estipensible to recommend immediately the mate were to establish any thing like a resumption of cash payments by the Bank? certainty of success in the schemes that It was not to the omission of that particu- were devised, all his hesitations and diffilar measure that his principal objections culties would be removed, and he should were directed, but to a perseverance in a consider even the most extensive scale of system not founded upon just principles, foreign operations as recommended and and which therefore the longer it conti- supported by the principles of economy nued became the more menacing and cala itself. He hoped too that he felt as mitous in its operation. His wish was to warmly, and was as willing to acknowrevert as much as possible to true princi-ledge that feeling as any noble lord, the (VOL. XXII.) (G) justice of that cause which we were maintaining in the peninsula. No cause related in the annals of mankind ever rested more entirely on sentiments of the most honourable feeling, or was more connected, if circumstances were favourable, with principles of national advantage. The spectacle exhibited was the most interesting that could engage the sympathies or the attention of the world, and it was impossible not to wish to afford assistance to the noble struggle of a free people against the most unparalleled treachery, the most atrocious violence that ever stained or degraded the ambition of despotic power. If he could but calculate on the probability of supporting such a cause to a triumphant issue, there could remain no doubt but that the separation from France of such a country as Spain, containing her extent of territory and amount of population, would be to augment in a great degree our own national security. But those principles, on which the prosecution of that war could be defended, must be reduced to a mere speculative theory, unless supported by adequate exertions from the Spanish people and the Spanish government; without that necessary co-operation all our efforts must prove useless. With a view to those advantages, we had unsuccessfully before contended in that very country against France, then much less powerful than at present. He did not mean to say that, from these considerations, we were to withdraw our armies from the peninsula; but he thought that, before we proceeded further on the present expensive system, the House should have the distinct opinion of the Commander-in-Chief, as to the probable result of the operations, and enquire into the means of carrying on the contest by a more limited expenditure of our remain ing resources. It would be his maxim to guard against endangering our own safety in the prosecution of remoter interests. These were his principles and his opinions; he had stated them distinctly, however assured at the same time, that he should to-morrow see them completely misrepresented in the newspapers. He was desious of adding a few words upon what had fallen from the noble lord who moved the amendment, respecting what he was pleased to call the complete success of our arms, during the last two years. For his own part, when he looked back to the events of that period, when he recollected the original objects of the war, and knew, as every other man knew, that the defence of Portugal must be impracticable after Spain should be entirely subdued, he could coincide in no such declaration. We had, unquestionably, achieved much; and in the capture of Ciudad Rodrigo he concurred in the admiration justly due to the vigour, celerity, and military skill so eminently displayed by the great commander who conducted that important enterprize. But when he looked to another part of that kingdom, and saw Badajoz in possession of the enemy-when he turned his attention to the operations in Catalonia—when he saw that, within the last two years, Tortosa, Lerida, Tarragona, Saguntum had yielded-that Valencia had fallen-that the province of Murcia was over-run-he was at a loss to discover what new prospects of success had dawned upon the Spaniards. Those conquests opened to the enemy a free communication between all their divisions; and they would soon be enabled by that circumstance to bring the whole weight of their united forces against the British. He did think too that ministers had been culpably negligent, in not having exerted, in the quarter to which he had just adverted, the means actually in their power, by employing a considerable naval force, for the purpose of lending our allies more effectual succour. In Catalonia for instance, such a system, if properly conducted, would, in all probability, have enabled the warlike population of that province to expel their invaders. Where then were the symptoms of this boasted success? Lord Wellington, at the head of an army of 62,000 as effective men as were ever led into the field, had been compelled to remain on the defensive. With a force greater than that commanded by the duke of Marlborough at the most splendid æra of our military history, lord Wellington had found himself limited to the pursuit of a defensive system. The country had been told, indeed, to look at the exertions of the Spanish Guerillas for a substitute to the assistance of regular troops, in which the natives of the peninsula were so deficient. On this he founded no great hopes, yet he was not able, from want of sufficient documents, to state precisely the weight which their assistance might have in the scale. But, momentous as all those objections were, in his opinion, against the present system of government, they sunk into insignificancy, when compared with one point on which he had to make a few observations; a point in his estimation of paramount importance. He alluded to the existence of an unseen and separate influence which lurked behind the throne. An influence of this kind had too long prevailed, not less incompatible with the constitution, than with the best interests of the country. An influence of this odious character, leading to consequences the most pestilent and disgusting, it would be the duty of parliament to brand by some signal mark of condemnation. It was his rooted and unalterable principle, a principle in which those with whom he had the honour to act fully participated, not to accept of office without coming to an understanding with parliament for the abolition of this destructive influence; which consolidated abuses into a system, and by preventing complaints from reaching the royal ear, barred all hopes of a redress of grievances. Holding these views and sentiments, he had thought it his duty to submit them to the House, and however various might be the opinions entertained of them, he had at least to congratulate himself on his own self-approbation. He had, however, the pride and satisfaction of reflecting that he still continued to enjoy the esteem of those friends for whom he felt the most sincere respect. All the arts and intrigue that had been attempted, in order to seduce many of those who had previously concurred with him on most of the great public questions of the day, had failed, except in one solitary instance, and that was scarcely worth notice. He trusted he had sufficiently explained the reasons by which he had been induced to sign the Letter so frequent ly alluded to in the course of the debate; and with respect to his noble co-adjutor in that proceeding, he must say of him, that the sentiments which that Letter conveyed, were in strict conformity to the whole tenour of his noble friend's political life. Lord Mulgrave denied the existence of that secret influence, to which such power was attributed; but without laying too much stress on the arguments adduced in debate, it was evident, as a noble friend of his had stated it, that the aim of the motion was to remove the present administration; and the proposed Address could have no other effect than that of dictating to the Prince Regent the choice of his ministers, which would not be fair and constitutional proceeding towards his Royal Highness, who bad already endeavoured to form an adminstration on a liberal and extended basis. Adverting to several of the political grounds on which a difference of opinion subsisted-the conduct of the war on the peninsula, the Orders of Council, the state of the currency, &c. he asked whether the noble lords opposite were so rash as to propose at once a radical change in all the measures adopted on those important subjects, or whether they were inclined to follow the same measures, and only to change the administration ? It should be recollected, besides, that in every thing they had done, the present ministers had repeatedly obtained the sanction of parliament. And now the House were called upon, without any solid ground, to present an Address, which would go to operate an entire change of administration, and a complete alteration of the system hitherto pursued. The great ques tion, which divided the opposition from the ministry, was not only the general policy of the country, but more specifically the state of the Irish Catholics. He wished, however, that it should be distinctly remembered by those who supported the justice of Catholic emancipation, how great was the difference between the present state of the Catholics and that in which they were when the concessions were granted in 1793. Every heart in the empire rejoiced then at the partial removal of their disabilities; they had deserved that favour by their constitutional deportment, and every one hoped that by continuing to pursue the same line, they would entitle themselves to further indulgence.-But now their petitions were urged in avowed contempt of the law, and in open defiance of the authority of the government. The objections to their claims arose not only from what was their conduct, but also from what were their demands. They demanded high situations in the law, the army, and the navy: "give them those situations," said their advocates," and they will be satisfied." But were we sure of that? Were we sure that when these claims were conceded, fresh claims would not be advanced? Did they not say that they would be satisfied with the concessions in 1793 and yet had they been so? Had they not since offered pledges of security, which they subsequently withdrew? Their demands indeed now, were something like those of the beggar in Gil Blas, who levelled a musquet to enforce the charity he solicited. It remained, therefore, a question for their lordships decision, whether they would hazard introducing the Catholics into the govern ment of the country, disposed as they were, not to concede the guards that were requisite; and looking thus at one most important feature of the motion, he thought it utterly impossible for their lordships to entertain it. It would be, indeed, in his opinion only an insult to carry up an Address to the Prince Regent, worded as that was which had been submitted to them; and if a fresh Address were substi tuted, it would require the mature consideration of their lordships before it could be voted. law. The noble lord had urged to the House, that an indirect attempt to remove ministers ought to be considered as an encroachment on the prerogative. He might be right as to principles; but was no allowance to be made for the noblest and most patriotic feelings? When they considered the state of the country, involved in a struggle, in which her very existence was at stake her population groaning under a load of taxes, her manufactures ruined, and her currency depreciated, could any of the noble lords on the opposite benches say, that an extraordinary remedy was not necessary to remove evils so portentous and so complicated in their nature? And where could that remedy be sought but in the removal of men who were still so obstinately wedded to the very measures which had brought the country to such a crisis? Those men so bigotted in their opposition to the Roman Catholics of Ireland, could not be ignorant of the actual state of that country.—They were not to learn, that perhaps in the course of two months, an insurrection might be apprehended; that it had been lately on the point of breaking out, on account of an advance in the price of provisions-and this was the moment they chose to avow, in the most insulting terms, a system of perpetual exclusion against the Roman Catholics of Ireland. The population of Ireland furnished one half of the forces of the empire, and this was the moment they chose to disgust them from the service. He declared on his honour as a peer, and as if speaking in the face of the Almighty, that in his opinion England could find no safety, but by conciliating the people of Ireland; this was his confirmed, his unshakeable conviction. He knew of no other method, and he was confident there was no other method. There was no hope for safety in the present arduous struggle, but by cementing the bonds of union between all classes of people, by uniting all hearts and all The Earl of Moira had not entirely made up his mind as to the vote he should give on the question when he came down to the House. He should certainly have felt unwilling to interfere with a branch of the prerogative, by presuming to influence the opinion of the Prince in the choice of his ministers, and he was glad that no such idea could be deduced either from the motion itself, or from the arguments of his noble friends. Yet, if nothing else but the removal of the present ministers could give the Roman Catholics of Ireland any prospect of obtaining a redress of their grievances, he thought, that such a change ought to be rapturously hailed by the whole country. He was of the same opinion as his lamented friend (Mr. Fox,) that the measure could never be carried without the concurrence of administration, and the speech of the noble lord, who had just sat down, had removed all doubts as to the intentions of the present administration, if any doubts could have still been entertained. The noble lord had stated, that the broad and unqualified principle of excluding the Roman Catholics of Ireland from the benefits of the constitution, without even giving them a glimmering ray of hope, had been adopted by ministers; and he had attempted to justify that conduct, by the most unjustifiable assertions. To these he could not tamely listen. The noble lord had stated, that the Roman Catholics of Ireland acted in contempt of the law, and in open defiance of the autho-hands for the defence of the empire, and rity of government; this he denied, and he called on the noble lord to substantiate his assertions by proofs.-There was, indeed, a nice point of law still left undecided, which might come by way of appeal before their lordships in their judicial capacity; but this did not authorise the noble lord to decide the question at once, especially when they had heard a high authority (lord Erskine) declare, that the Catholic Convention was not contrary to by rallying the whole of the population round the standard of the constitution. The language held out on that night by the noble lord, had, however, removed those pleasing hopes from the reach even of imagination, and no alternative remained for the safety of the country, but the removal of the ministers who had avowed such principles. He repeated that he had come down to the House undetermined as to the vote he should give. The royal charter, in the city of Glasgow, was presented and read; setting forth, "That by the Act 33 Geo. 3, c. 52, the entire right of commerce and navigation in the seas, and to the territories between the Cape of Good Hope and the Straits of Magellan, is vested in the body of merchants incorporated under the name of The East India Company, and that this exclusive right, if not renewed, will terminate on the 1st of March 1814, after which the company will still remain a corporation, on the same footing as to this trade as other British subjects; and that, by the Act 37 Geo. 3, c. 97, the privilege of trading to those countries, although denied to British subjects, is permitted to foreign nations in amity with his Majesty; and that the private trade which British merchants were allowed to prosecute under the regulations of the Act 1793, although fettered with vexatious restrictions, has continued to increase, and shews to what extent it might have attained, had it been left to its free and natural operations; and that the merchants of the United States of America, availing themselves of the liberty which they have been allowed to enjoy, at the expence of our own people, have prosecuted the East India trade in a manner and to a degree which has enriched the individuals, increased the national wealth of that country, and supplied, as far as was possible, not only the continent of Europe, but South America, the West Indies, Turkey, the foreign ports of the Mediterranean, and even Malta, with East Indian commodities, thus, by their industry, economy, and dispatch, compelling the company to shrink from the competion, employing British capital in a trade which the laws of this country prevent its own subjects from using directly themselves, and possessing, in consequence of the monopoly, the incalculable advantage of having to contend not with the skill and resources of British merchants, but with the prodigality and negligence of a joint stock company; and that the actual operation of this monopoly thus appears to be directed not merely against British subjects, but in favour of foreign nations; and that no satisfactory reason can now be assigned against opening the trade to China, because the supposed delicacy of allowing a general intercourse with that people is completely removed by the success which has attended the American traffic; and the same means which have enabled the company to manage their affairs in China |