craited strength, he was compelled to retire back upon his former position. Where, then, was the ground of hope? If the greatest efforts we could make have done so little, could they indulge in any reasonable expectations of success, when the prolongation of such a contest could only make our struggles weaker? for, the more liberally he allows the greatness and extent of our exertions in the Spanish cause, the more limited must be his hopes of future success, when such means and such exertions have already done so little. But when the Louse was called upon to lend its sanction to the prosecution of this struggle, he thought that they were entitled to more information than the right honourable gentleman had yet thought fit to afford them. He did not see how the house could promise its aid, without more information upon this point than it was as yet in possession of. Another omission in the speech, was that of withholding from the house all explanation upon the state of our relations with the self-called government of Cadiz, and also that of the government of Cadiz with their colonies in South America. Some months had now elapsed since the appointment of commissioners to intermediate between the mother country and the colonies. Why had those commissioners been so long delayed? The next point, and one of no inconsiderable interest at the present crisis, was that respecting the actual state of our army. The whole British army was now in Portugal-what was the state of that army?-was it full? -was it flourishing?-were the ranks full?—and were we enabled to keep those ranks full?-These points and more he must be better informed of before he pledged himself to do what he might afterwards 1812.

find impossible to be done.-The next topic was one of the very last importance, he meant the state of our relations with North America. In the speech they were assured that the prince regent would continue to employ the same means of conciliation. He wished to know how this spirit of conciliation had been evinced. Not surely in the negli gence and disrespect with which the American minister had been treated by the British minister for foreign affairs, the marquis Wellesley. He, and those of his side of the house, repeatedly said, that the adoption of those measures then proposed by the ministers, respecting America, must lead to inevitable war-this timely warning was laughed at. As to the spirit of conciliation, which they were told would be continued, he begged leave to ask, when had it begun?If a minister of another country resident in this, was applied to by a foreign secretary respecting a par ticular point of concession, would it be thought very conciliatory if, after it had been determined that that point should be conceded, it should be conceded in silence, and no notice or intimation given of the concession having been made? Was it a conciliation to give a direct denial in the face of the fact? He repeated it-it was denied that the Berlin and Milan decrees had been revoked, and the denial was given in the face of the fact, for America admitted that they were revoked. He defied the right hon. gentleman to state a single fact that had occurred since the 2d of November, 1810, to prove that those decrees had not been revoked. He rejoiced, however, at the amicable termination of the Chesapeake affair. He had now but one or two observations to make. He thought that that part of the speech that allude 1

B

to

to the affairs of India was not sufficiently specific. Before he sat down, he could not help adverting to the expression of a sentiment in the speech of the noble lord (Jocelyn) who proposed the address. That noble lord seemed to think it impossible we could have peace with France, while such a man as the present emperor was at the head of its government. He (Mr. W.) thought that the personal character of the chief of any government could never be a ground of objection to the commencing a negotiation for peace. Such a sentiment, as a political maxim, he abhorred: for himself, he saw nothing against entering into a negotiation with the present emperor of France, as far as regarded mere private character, more than against any of the Bourbons, or the head of any government. The time and terms were the points of 'consideration, and not the private character of any head of any government. He confessed he saw no reason to alter his wishes respecting peace-his opinions remained unchangedwar must otherwise terminate in the subjugation of either of the contending powers. They were both great; but this was a country of factitious greatness, and France was a country of natural greatness. He trembled for the consequences of a struggle obstinately continued between two such powers. It had been boasted that France had neither ships, colonies, nor commerce. Would to God that she had ships, would to God that she had colonies, would to God that she had commerce! for until she had each and all, he feared there was no chance of peace to the rest of the world.

The chancellor of the exchequer replied with considerable warmth to the observations of Mr. Whitbread. He said that the concluding

prayer with which that honourable gentleman had closed his speech, afforded a clue to the adequate comprehension of his reasoning, which his arguments must otherwise have failed to have done; for certainly if that honourable gentleman thought it for the interests of this country that Bonaparte should have ships, and colonies, and commerce, it was but natural that he should disapprove of all those means that may have been resorted to, to deprive the French ruler_of them all. The honourable gentleman had complained of the present state of affairs in the peninsula— he begged leave to ask that honourable gentleman, if he recollected the state of those affairs at the commencement of the last session? Did the honourable gentleman remember his prophecies upon that occasion? And if he did, he would advise him to compare the actual state of those affairs at present, with the state in which they now would have been had those prophecies been verified; and when he had compared them, and seen the striking contrast between both, one would suppose that the gentleman's confidence in his own foresight would have been a little shaken. But far from it-they found him, after predicting a year ago events that have never taken place, come down again and prepare to re-prophesyand from whence is all this doleful prophecy of the inexhaustible strength of France and the perished resources of Great Britain-from whence is it drawn? From the moderate language of the French gazettes, and the chastised vauntings of Bonaparte and his generals: it was in vain to say that facts had contradicted all these proceedings: Destroy his web of prophecy-in vain,The creature's at his dirty work again. Where was the evil that was not to

have befallen us before this time? We were to have been swept from the face of the peninsula-we were not to have been left a foot of ground to stand upon-we were to have been driven into the sea. Such were the prophecies: but, unfortunately for the prophets, we have not been swept from the peninsula we have not been driven into the sea, but are at this hour in possession of Portugal. But then, say these prophets, you have Portugal, 'tis true; but it is only because Bonaparte thinks proper to let you keep it: he will begin with Spain, and leave us for the last.-Will any man believe, that if the French could have driven us from Portugal, they would not?-Wonderful as the power of France unquestion ably was, we had maintained our hold in Portugal in despite of it. Was this the commentary upon the invincible force of her arms, and the united strength of her resources, that Bonaparte wished should be read by Europe upon the contest in the peninsula?-The British forces have driven his army out of Portugal, and keep possession of Portugal in defiance of his millions, and to the disappointment, vexation, and confusion of their ruler-and yet we were to be told that he permitted all this, nay, even that he designed it! His first wish, his prime object, was to expel us from Portu. gal, and he has not done it, only Because he could not! That he might not yet do it, it was not for him to argue then, because he wished not to prophesy what might or might not take place: but to infer from a retrospective view of what had occurred, the fair probability of what might occur hereafter, and arguing from that view, he saw no reason to suppose that he could do it; for, if he could, he must have done it before now; it

must have been his first object: as long as a British army remained in the peninsula, so long were they a standing contrast to the basest spectacle that ever fraud, oppres sion, and tyranny presented to the disgust and indignation of mankind. If, therefore, the ruler of France had any interest in concealing or in disguising the perfidious characteristics of the Spanish war, he must have been anxious above all things to drive a British army from that scene where they stood a moral contrast to him and to his causeopposed to him in every sense, in every point to which the term can be applied, and arraved against him upon that scene which his ambition had selected for the display of its last iniquity, and where it must be the wish of all who look for the repose of mankind, that that ambition may at last find a grave." As to war with America, there is no man," said Mr. Perce val, "who would more sincerely deplore such a calamity than myself. I know it would be a great evil to us, but I know also it would be a greater evil to America. I wish for the progressive prosperity of America. I would look to her wealth, and strength, and commerce, as accessary to those of the British empire. I should be sorry to see America subdued-I should indeed lament to see America destroyed-here Mr. Whitbread repeated the word 'destroyed?] When I say destroyed, I certainly cannot be thought to mean mere physical annihilation; but if the total loss of commerce to a commercial power be not destructive, I know not what can be so. That the present government is influenced by a spirit of conciliation in all discussions with the United States, I can at present give the honourable gentleman no other proof than the general B2

assurance

assurance I have already given." Mr. Perceval then concluded with two observations; the one respect ing the recommendation in the speech for the provision of certain measures for the future government of the British possessions in India. He did not agree with the honourable gentleman in thinking that the speech should have gone into a specific detail of those measures. They had been long under the consideration of ministers, and would in due course come under the consideration of the house. The other and concluding observation was respecting the misapprehension of the honourable gentleman as to a passage in the speech of his noble friend. He was glad he had given his noble friend an opportunity of setting him right; and he had only to say, that he entirely concurred with the honourable gentleman in thinking that the personal charac. ter of the chief of any government should never be considered as an insurmountable obstacle to the opening a negotiation for peace with that government.

Mr. Whitbread "I do not rise, sir, to explain, but to demand of the right honourable gentleman to explain, if he meant any personal allusion in some words which fell from him that appeared to me to be of no very delicate description, and therefore I do now ask of that right honourable gentleman if he did intend any such allusion?”

Mr. Perceval" I could have meant none. The lines are Pope's -the metaphor is that of a spider spinning a new web after one has been destroyed. I thought it applicable to the pertinacious manner in which the honourable gentleman appeared to me to have been reviving his prophecies over again; but I do assure him, that I would not have so applied it, could I have

imagined that he would have so construed it; and that were I even indifferent to his disapprobation, which I am not, I could not be so indifferent to my own as to descend to the grossness of any such personal allusion."

Mr. Whitbread" I am perfectly satisfied with the explanation given by the right honourable gentleman; and I am sure that had the same words been so applied to him, he would have felt it necessary to call for an explanation."

Mr. Perceval here said, with a smile, across the table, "Indeed I should not."

General Tarleton, though he saw gentlemen unwilling to have the present debate protracted to any considerable length, after the debate of the preceding evening, could not help adverting to some topics in the speech, and particularly to that part of it in which the affairs of the peninsula were described as wearing a favourable appearance. He entered at some length into the impolicy of the war, and contended that it had been almost uniformly unsuccessful. After going at length into the affairs of the peninsula, he took a view of the rest of the continent, observing, that he had the opinion and doc trine of Mr. Fox in his favour, who wished for the pencil of a Cervantes, to be able to ridicule those who wished to enter into a continental