the opinion that we were to listen to no proposal while Spain remained in the hands of France,-a pledge by no means politic or called for. With respect to Sweden, it had been hinted, that the payment of our stipulated subsidy should not be considered as a tie on her not to make peace when an opportunity occurred: no doubt, the destinies and future political contingencies of that country were liable only to the judgement of her government; but yet, if this principle was admitted, and if a condition of the treaty of peace proffered to her should be an association with the northern confederacy for the purpose of shutting the Baltic, what would be the consequence? Why, plainly this: that our money, paid to a supposed and nominal ally, would tend to the creation of an efficient enemy! The right ho nourable secretary of state seemed particularly anxious last night not to be considered in the light of a culprit called forth for examination. He hoped ministers would be enabled to exculpate themselves; but if it appeared that they had needless ly involved the interests of the country, that a fine army intrusted to their management was at this moment, perhaps, passing “sub fur44," there certainly was blame attachable either to those who planned or executed such measures. A fatality for many years had at. tended the measures of this country, but still the interference of secondary causes was allowed; and if it should be apparent that human wisdom had not been sufficiently exerted, that favourable opportunities had not been carefully improved; and that adversity had fallen on us, not through necessity, but neglect; then indeed govern ment did deserve the verdict of cul

pability, and its natural conse quence, the most severe censure.

The report was then read a second time, approved, and ordered to be presented to his majesty.

Jan. 23. Lord Auckland, in the house of peers, stated, that a noble friend of his (lord Grenville), whose absence, on account of illness, he had to regret, but whose illness would not, he hoped, be of long continuance, had requested him to state to the house, that if he (lord Grenville) had beeen enabled to be present, he should have joined in every tribute of applause to the merits of sir Arthur Wellesley. His noble friend had also requested him to move, that the lords be summoned for this day fortnight, when it was the intention of his noble friend to bring forward a motion to address his majesty to rescind the orders in council; and to found that motion upon the letter which had been published from the American minister to our government, and the answer of the secretary of state. It was requisite that these papers should be before the house; and his lordship, therefore, moved for the production of the correspondence between the ministers of the two governments.

The earl of Liverpool spoke a few words by way of limiting the motion: his lordship then rose, pursuant to notice, to move the thanks of the house to the right honourable sir A. Wellesley, K. B. and to the officers under his command, for the victories gained by them in Portugal on the 17th and 21st of August last, especially for the glorious and signal victory achieved on the latter day, by the British troops under the command of that gallant and distinguished officer. In the view which he was prepared

to take of this splendid subject, it was his anxious wish and intention most strictly to adhere to the matter of those achievements, and most religiously to separate them from any other topics, respecting which, in the subsequent issue of the operations in Portugal, a diversity of opinions might be expected to prevail. He should therefore briefly advert to what had passed from the landing of sir A. Wellesley in Mon dego Bay, to the issue of the battle so gallantly fought at Vimiera. The march from the Mondego to Vimiera was achieved in about twelve or fourteen days; and when the nature of all the circumstances attendant on that march is duly considered, the march itself, had nothing else followed, should be considered as an extraordinary achievement. It was entered upon with not more than 13,000 men, and in the course of its progress the additions which the army received did not make it amount to 17,000 men. With that number sir A. Wellesley had undertaken to expel the French from Portugal. Such indeed was the suggestion of his own judgement, as well as the tenor of the instructions with which he had been furnished by government. The number of the enemy proved afterwards to be more considerable than at first had been expected, and in the action of Vimiera the far greater portion of that force was employed. In short, it was the impression made by the issue of, that engagement, which led to the accomplishment of the great object of the expedition, the deliverance of Portugal from the French. In the battle of Vimiera, a display was made of that judge. ment, gallantry, conduct, and intrepidity, which, as far as the amount of the numbers engaged,

has not been surpassed by any for mer exploit. It attested, beyond controversy, the bravery of the British troops, and proudly contributed to uphold the character and glory of the British arms. Such being the aspect under which he imagined it must be viewed, both by their lordships and the country at large, he could not but regard it as one which fully justified the motion with which he should conclude, and in which there was every reason to expect that their lordships would unanimously concur. Perhaps, however, that might be a wish in which he was inclined too fondly to indulge. Indeed it had been given him to understand, that some objection might be made to the motion, because it was not to include the name of sir Harry Bur rard. He was at a loss to see any just ground of objection arising from that omission. It was an omission which could never have been intended to insinuate the smallest disrespect for the character, or disapprobation of the conduct, of that estimable man and able officer, as far as either could be involved in the object of the present motion. To any thing subsequent to events immediately connected with the motion, the motion with which he should have the honour to conclude had no relation whatever, and would not go in any respect to pledge the opinion of any noble lord respecting it. As to the nature of the objection, which from a private communication he was informed would be urged against it, he could only say, that in his estimation it could have no weight, except from the respectability of the noble lords by whom it might be urged. It pos sibly might be objected, that by conferring a vote of thanks of that

house

to of sir A. Wellesley, the omitting the name of sir H. Burrard would be construed into a stigma on the military reputation of that officer, who at the close of the glorious action at Vimiera was understood to have had the chief command. For such an objection he did not think that any noble lord could adduce the least foundation, especially when the particular circumstances in which sir H. Barrard was placed, and the opinions which he himself had officially expressed, were duly weighed and considered. It might be said that sir H. Burrard had arrived on the field before the battle of Viriera was concluded, it might be said that previously to that battle he had been consulted as to the antecedent arrangements that had been made by sir A. Wellesley, and which arrangements were universally acknowledged to have prepared the brilliant successes of that day. It might be said, that during such consultations sir Harry Burrard ought to be and actually was considered as the commander-in-chief, and that therefore sir H. Burrard was by right included in the present motion of a vote of thanks. He was ready to admit the truth of these premises; but he could not acknowledge the necessity of acquiescing in the conclusion that was drawn from them. Several instances might be mentioned when votes of thanks had been moved and unanimously carried in that house, to officers who had distinguished themselves in separate and subordinate commands, without such votes having ever been considered as any disparagement of the merits or claims of those officers who, upon such occasion and on anch services, were invested with the

tent himself with referring to two of those instances, namely, when that house had passed a vote of thanks to lord Nelson, for his achievements at the Nile, and at Copenhagen, on both of which occasions he had acted under a superior officer; yet it never then entered any noble lord's mind, that such a vote of thanks, bestowed on such splendid services, was any derogation from the military merit and character of the gallant admirals who at the time were invested with the chief command! so far for the precedent. Now if attention was to be paid to the opinion and language of sir H. Burrard himself, as conveyed in his dispatches com municating the glorious result of the engagement at Vimiera, what was the inference to be deduced from them? Did not the gallant general himself declare that he approved of the arrangements that had been made by sir A. Wellesley at the commencement, and during the continuance of the action; that he instructed him to persevere in them, and that he declined assuming to himself any of the merit and glory of that splendid achievement? If any thing was particularly handsome and praiseworthy in this behaviour of sir II. Burrard, it was, no doubt, the magnanimous selfdenial on his part, which induced him to forbear any interference in a work that had been so judiciously begun, and so gloriously terminated by sir Arthur Wellesley. Indeed, he could not help observing that any opposition to the present motion, supposed to grow out of a different interpretation of the sentiments of sir H. Burrard, could not, in his opinion, so much redound to his praise as the conduct which he had himself pursued on that occa

sion, and which, in relating the event, he had so modestly and forcibly exemplified. Nothing, most certainly, could be further from his mind than any intention to throw the slightest slur on the character and conduct of sir H. Burrard by proposing a vote of thanks to sir A. Wellesley. On the contrary, he felt that every praise was due to him for appreciating as he had done the important and signal services performed by sir A. Wellesley on that occasion. They certainly struck him as of the most splendid and important nature; and, whatever might be the complexion of the events which had since occurred, this only confirmed him the more in the justice and propriety of the motion which he should now have the honour of submitting to their lordships. The noble earl then concluded with moving, "that the thanks of that house be given to the right honourable sir A. Wellesley, and the officers under his command, for the important and signal victory gained by him at Vimiera on the 21st of August last." Lord Moira rose, and expressed his regret that a sense of duty must compel him to object to the motion of the noble earl in the terms in which it now stood. He trusted it would not be imagined that, in urging any objection to the present motion, he had the least wish or intention to derogate from the merits and glory of sir Arthur Wellesley. He would be the last man in the world to tear a sprig from the wreath of laurels that so deservedly encircled the brow of that gallant and distinguished officer, whose exploits that house and the country had had such frequent occasion to acknowledge and reward. In rising on the present occasion to state his objections to the tenor of the

motion, he could be swayed by no other motive but a sense of duty, which he conceived to press upon him' more urgently than perlaps upon any other noble lord, on account of the painful task imposed upon him in the part he took as a member of the late court of inquiry. There was laid before him a minute account of the conduct and operations of the different generals who successively had the command of the British army in Portugal. From that account it appeared that sir H. Burrard arrived on the coast of Portugal on the 20th of August, the day before the battle of Vimiera that in the evening of the 21st sir Arthur Wellesley had explained to him the nature of what he had already done, and of what he intended to do: that sir H.-Burrard, even then, signified a wish that further offensive operations should be abstained from until the arrival of the expected reinforcements: that on the next day a battle ensued: and that sir H. Burrard, in immediately proceeding to the scene of action, was apprised of it, and guided only by the noise of the firing: that upon entering the field, and learning the state of things, he approved of the plan and measures pursued by sir A. Wellesley; which plan and measures he certainly was not disposed to disturb or alter, as circumstances then stood. Through the whole of this conduct, their lordships must observe, that sir H. Burrard, by approving the measures of his predecessor in command, had subjected himself to all the responsibility that might be incurred by the result; and that, if a defeat, instead of a victory, had ensued, upon sir H. Burrard would have fallen the due weight of the blame or disgrace of the disaster. If then he had so

far

far taken upon himself the responsibuity of the consequences, was it more than justice that he should participate at least equally in the honours bestowed on an enterprise, to the blame of which, had it otherwise turned out, he had rendered himself liable by his approval of the steps taken by sir A. Wellesley? This was a consideration which would no doubt weigh with their lordships, not only as one which nearly touched the reputation of a gallant officer, but which must tend to have considerable influence and effect upon the military service in general. Too much caution could not be observed in making distinctions such as the present motion would inculcate and sanction; nor could that house be too much on ther guard in conferring the high honrar of their thanks on any ordinary occasion. With him at least these motives, and a regard to the justice that was due to the character of sir H. Burrard, had sufficient weight to induce him to object to the motion as it now stood, and to move as an amendment, that the name of sir Harry Burrard be inintroduced into the wording of the

motion.

Lord Harrowby and several other noble lords spoke on the subject; after which lord Moira withdrew his amendment, and the ori. ginal motion was carried nem, con.

Jan. 24. In the house of commons, the chancellor of the exchequer rose, to move for the revival of the committee for inquiring into the expenditure under the several heads of revenue, commonly styled the committee of public finance. On the propriety of reviving that committee he conceived there could be no difference of opinion, and therefore he felt it unnecessary to detain the house long upon that

point; but as he contemplated some change by reduction in the number of members, from what had been settled last year, he should in the first place state his proposition to the house, and wait to hear if any objections should be made to it. The honourable friend opposite to him (Mr. Bankes), who had so ably and efficiently for the public service, and so honourably for himself, filled the chair of the finance committee for many successive sessions past, would see, that the idea of reducing the number of the committee originated in a suggestion of his own, that by such an alteration greater dispatch would be effected in the disposal of the business referred to them; and the profits of their labours could by such means be more speedily and more frequently laid before parlia ment; and dispatch must be allowed as a desirable object, so long as it was no impediment to the discovery of truth. In proposing to the house the names of the members to compose this list, it was by no means his wish, nor could it, he thought, be conducive to the objects of the inquiry, that they should all be men of the same political sentiments. It was likely that the inquiry would be more efficient if made by a committee of gentlemen whose political attachments were on each side of the house. should therefore propose, as a basis, the list of 25 members who composed the last committee, and reduced them by selection to 15, the number he proposed for the new committee; and so far was he from wishing to mark in the selection any thing like what might be supposed a leaning towards his majesty's ministers, he was anxious rather that the balance should tend the other way. In making this se

He

lection,