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On the 16th of November, a motion was made in the Houfe of Peers by the duke of Bolton, "that an humble addrefs be prefented to his majesty, that he will be graciously pleafed to give direc"tions, that there may be laid "before this houfe copies of the "orders and inftructions given to "Captain John Moutray, of his majefty's fhip Ramillies, in July "or Auguft laft, refpecting his "taking under his command a num"ber of merchant fhips bound to "the Eaft and Weft Indies, and "other parts, fo far as relates to "Captain Moutray's being direct. "ed to go to the ifland of Madeira, or refpecting his being par"ticularly cautioned to ufe his ut"most endeavours to avoid failing "in fuch a tract, as might rifque his falling in with the enemy's "fleet:" and alfo," a copy of Captain Moutray's letter to the "board of Admiralty, giving an "account of the capture of a great part of the merchant fhips "under his care, on the 9th of Auguft laft." In the fpeech by which his grace introduced this motion, he remarked, that in the prefent critical and very unusual Situation of this country, when the landed intereft was oppreffed beyond all example, from the nation's being engaged in a war of fo ruinous and expenfive a nature, and when an enormous addition was annually made to our public debt, it must certainly be proper to compare what was performed in return for this wasteful profufion of treafure; to oppofe the advantages to the difadvantages; and, by ftriking a balance, learn whether the nation had been a lofer or a gainer. This, he believed, could not be fo well decided upon in any

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other way, as by having reference to the events of the last year; which, if it was not a difgraceful campaign, was certainly inactive and inglorious. There was no profpect of any fortunate iffue of the war, nor indeed of any iffue. The language of the times was, like the times themfelves, altogether new and extraordinary. In former wars, when this nation was ever fe hard preffed by her enemies, the fpeeches from the throne, and the fpeeches of the minifters, held out to the people fomething of comfort, fome hopes of a better turn of fortune. At prefent, neither the fpeeches of his majefty, nor the fpeeches of his fervants, aforded any thing comfortable or fatisfactory with refpect to our future profpects. On the contrary, all was difinay; and nothing was heard, from any quarter, but the tremendousness of the confederacy against us, and the great power and mighty preparations of the family alliance, the alliance of the Houfe of Bourbon. Of that alliance he had at different times heard very different language. The late carl of Chatham, he remembered, ufed to warn the house of that alliance. Others had faid, it was an alliance to be laughed at. Without giving any opinion upon rhis fubject, he begged leave to afk, what had the minifters to fhew, or what argument could they urge to prove, that this country was now in a better ftate than it had been in the preceding year. He knew not where to turn his eyes in order to find that our fituation was improved. In America, we had loft Rhode Island, the only good winter harbour on that fide the Atlantic: we had alfo fent a gallant officer to be hanged, and in return received a very bad man in ex

change,

change, in whofe fervices or fidelity no reliance could be placed. As to the boafted victories of lord Cornwallis, he faw no great caufe for exultation on that account, though our officers had undoubtedly behaved well. He was convinced, that the state of New York, and its vicinities, hemmed in on all fides, as the commander in chief was, more than counterbalanced any advantages obtained in the Carolinas. In the Weft-indies, our fituation was much worfe than it had been during the laft year. In Europe, we had but one ally, and by our own mifmanagement had contrived to lofe that ally. The ally, his grace faid, to which he alluded, was Portugal; which we had loft as an ally, by moit unwarrantably prefuming to make the port of Lisbon, a neutral port, a itation and a place for fitng out hips; nay, a kind of naval arfenal; a matter unheard of before, and contrary to the law of nations. By fuch conduct it was that we had now no ports in Europe but thofe of Great Britain, and were confined to our own if land. By fuch conduct it was, that we had increased the number of the neutral powers in confederacy, and thereby ftrengthened the hands of our enemies. The trade of Great Britain had likewife fuffered, in the course of the last fummer, to a degree that had never happened at any preceding period. On the 9th of Auguft, no lefs than fifty-two fhips were captured at once, and among them five Eaft India-men, and many richly laden for the West Indies. That fleet had, contrary to wisdom, contrary to every neceffary caution, been fuffered to touch at Madeira, when it was well known that the com

bined fleets of the houfe of Bourbon were ftationed at Cadiz, and waiting to make the best of any opportunity that might offer of enriching themfelves at our expence. It was this circumftance to which he particularly meant to call their lordships attention, when the neceffary papers were laid before the houfe; as he intended to institute an enquiry, from whence it arofe, that this fleet failed under fo flight a convoy, and who it was that directed the commodore to come in fo close with cape St. Vincent; and why, at a period of fuch imminent danger, that fleet failed in the tract for Madeira; or, if it was indifpenfably neceffary that the fleet fhould touch at Madeira, why it was not convoyed, by the weftern fquadron, acrofs all the latitudes till it paffed cape St. Vincent. He had been induced to inftitute this inquiry that their lordships and the nation might know who it was, who ought to stand refponfible to the parliament and people, for the lofs of one of the moft valuable outward-bonnd trade fleets, that had ever failed from the harbours of England.

The earl of Sandwich then rofe, and faid, in reply, that fo far was he from having the smallest objection to the prefent motion, that he begged leave to fecond it. He thought the house, and the public were entitled to have the fullest fatisfaction, refpecting the lofs of fo very important and valuable a fleet, as that to which the noble duke had allued; and therefore, in order to throw the greater light upon that affair, he would, with the leave of the houfe, move an addition to his grace's motion, and call for a paper, which, in his opinion, would affift materially in convincing their

lordships,

lordships, that it had not been owing to any neglect of his, that fo fatal an accident had happened. Accordingly his lordship moved, that "an extract from the letter "of Admiral Geary, of the 2d of Auguft, 1780, fo far as related "to his falling in with the Ramil"lies, and her convoy, bound to "the West Indies, might be laid

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"before the houfe." His lordship alfo made feveral obfervations, in order to fhew, that the board of admiralty had not been in any refpect culpable in this tranfaction. In this he was answered by the duke of Bolton; but the farther difcuffion of this bufinefs was deferred till after the Christmas recefs.

T

HOUGH a new fpeaker of the House of Commons had been appointed, at the beginning of the feffion, in the manner that has already been related, it was thought by many that it would be manifeft injuftice in the houfe, not to give fome teftimony of the fenfe they retained of the great merit, and the important fervices, of the late fpeaker. Accordingly on the 20th of November, a motion was made by Mr. Thomas Townshend, "that the thanks of that house fhould "be given to the right honour"able Sir Fletcher Norton, knight, "late speaker of that houfe, for "his conduct while he filled the chair of the houfe during the two laft parliaments." But this motion did not pafs without fome debate and it was urged by thofe who oppofed it, that the majority of that houfe having already voted for the removal of Sir Fletcher Norton from the chair, they would forfeit all claim to confiftency of conduct, if, after having taken fuch a step, they fhould affent to a pro

pofition for conferring on him a vote of thanks. It was alfo said, that there were many new members in that houfe, who could not be adeqaate judges of the propriety of the prefent motion; because not having been prefent in the last parliament, they could not be perfonally acquainted with the merits of the late fpeaker. Several gentlemen alfo expreffed their diffatisfaction at the liberty which he had taken with the king, when the parliament had granted an augmentation of the royal revenue. But it was urged in fupport of the motion, that all the public measures, wherein Sir Fletcher Norton had acted a diftinguished part, were recorded in the journals of the house, and were not lefs investigated and applauded by the people at large, than by their reprefentatives within the fenate. As to his address to the throne, to which objections had been made, though it might have given offence to those who were difpofed to pay a mean and fervile court to the fovereign, it was cer

tainly an illuftrious proof of the late fpeaker's attachment to the fervices of the people, of his intrepid zeal for the prefervation of their rights, and of his anxiety to maintain the true dignity and importance of the commons of Great Britain. In his general conduct, he had fupported, during the fpace of eleven years, the weight of an exalted and important office with firmnefs, with talents, and with. honour; and was therefore juftly entitled to the thanks of parliaThe question was at length put, and the houfe divided, when there appeared for the motion 136, and against it 96.

At the beginning of the feffion, it was a remarkable circumftance, that no members were returned for the town of Coventry; the fheriffs only reporting to the house a state of facts, in which they reprefented, that in confequence of hired and defperate mobs, they had been prevented from proceeding to any regular election. A new writ was afterwards iffued, and at the time of election new theriffs were in of fice, who returned two gentlemen as duly elected. Petitions were afterwards prefented by the two unfuccefsful candidates, colonel Holroyd, and Mr. Yeo, complaining of an undue election. The affair was canvaffed by a committee, who committed the late fheriffs to Newgate, and declared Mr. Holroyd and Mr. Yeo duly elected. The tranfactions refpecting this bufinefs were very varioufly related; and an act was afterwards paffed for the regulation of elections at Coven

try.

On the 24th of November, a motion was made by Mr. Minchin, and feconded by Sir George Sa

vile, "that an humble addrefs be "prefented to his majefty, that he "would be gracioufly pleased to

give directions that there fhould "be laid before that houfe an ac"count of the number of forces "under the command of lieutenant-general Sir Henry Clinton in North America; and alfo the "distribution of the fame, accord"ing to the laft returns made up "and tranfmitted by him to the "office of Lord George Germain.” The motion was oppofed by Mr. Jenkinfon, fecretary at war, who obferved, that it could not be conceived that the houfe would fubmit to the publication, not only in the face of enemies, but in the face of all the world, of the number of forces ferving in America, and of their actual distribution. The house had, on former occafions, refufed their affent to motions lefs comprehenfive than that before them, and extending only to the producing of papers relative to the mere fate of the army in America.

They wifely forefaw, that if the contents of fuch papers were permitted to tranfpire, the nation might fuffer detriment from the publication of circumftances, of which the powers at war might, perhaps too fatally, avail themselves.

The gentleman who made the motion expreffed his aftonifliment, that the fecretary at war fhould countenance the ridiculous and hackneyed idea, that laying a state of military forces open to the infpection and fubfequent debates of the Houfe of Commons, was furnishing the enemy with intelligence. Whenever fuch reafons were affigned, in order to fet afide motions fimilar to that which he had now

made

made, he blushed for thofe by whom they were advanced. On the prefent occafion, they were totally inapplicable. To imagine that the Americans and the French had not difcovered the fecret of the number and diftribution of the troops under the command of Sir Henry Clinton, was in fact to argue, that the officers and foldiers ferving with the latter, could not be either feen or heard of by the former. Were the English camps on the other fide of the Atlantic, totally different from the camps in other quarters of the world? Did no fpies, no friends to the enemy, contrive to get and to remain within their limits? Who could be fo credulous as to imagine, that cither general Wadlington, or monfieur Rochambeau, or monfieur de Ternay, were not poffeffed of the intelligence which it was the object of the motion to bring before the houfe? Was it decent, or juftifiable, to keep the great body of the people, who were reprefented within thofe walls, ignorant of points which were notorious to all Europe? On them the burden of expences relative to the maintenance of the army had fallen with unprecedented weight, and yet they were denied the trifling benefit of official information. After fome farther debate, the motion was carried; but an amendment was previoutly agreed to, by which the claufe relative to the diftribution of the troops was omitted.

The fame day a motion was made by Mr. Jenkinton, "that thirty-nine thousand men fhould "be employed in the fervice of "Great Britain, for the year "1781." This motion was carried, after fome debate; but in the difcuffion of the army cftimates, it

was obferved by Mr. Townend, that the extravagance of the army charges was boundlefs and unprece dented. To account for them in any reasonable manner, must perplex the ingenuity even of the perfons from whom they had originated. In the cftimates laid before the house, feveral regiments were itated as having a full complement, and confifting of eight or nine hundred men each, though he had himself been an eye-witnefs, at the encampment during the courfe of the preceding fummer, that, on a review day, only about three hundred, or at moit, three hundred and fifty men, could be mustered, with the ineffectual view of making up their given number. Other regiments, if they deferved the name, limited to officers, and having no men, were fet down in the estimate as complete; but the plain fact, in confirmation of which the most indifputable authorities ftood forward, and for which the minifters ought ftrictly to anfwer in the face of parliament, was, that the money granted for raising thefe regiments had never been applied to fuch purpos; but was fet apart for the maintenance of a corrupt influence, and not for the military service of the kingdom; for the fupport of venal penfioners, but not for the national defence.

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On the 27th a motion was made by Mr. Daniel Parker Coke, that "the thanks of that houfe fhould "be givhn to general Sir Henry "Clinton, knight of the Bath, for "the important fervices rendered by him and the troops under his command, in the reduction of "Charles-town; and that the "thanks of that houfe fhould also "be given to earl Cornwallis, for "the fignal and meritorious for"" vices

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