"vices he had done to his coun"try, by the most glorious victory "obtained by him over the Ame"rican rebels at Camden." He obferved, that he had before given notice of his defign to make a motion for the thanks of the house to earl Cornwallis, for the important fervices he had rendered to his country. But at the time when he gave that intimation, he did not recollect the propriety of giving thanks at the fame time to Sir Henry Clinton, for the fignal for vices performed by him to this nation. He now wifhed to comprehend him in the vote of thanks that he moved, and which he hoped would país unanimoufly. Gentlemen on every fide of the houfe bore testimony to the excellent conduct and to the gallantry of earl Cornwallis; nor would it be denied, he prefumed, that the fame qualities were pofieffed in an eminent degree by Sir Henry Clinton. It would have a bad effect to vote the thanks of the houfe to one of thofe gentlemen, and not to the other. The thanks of the houfe were deferved by both; but while gentlemen allowed the great qualities and virtues of thofe officers, there were fome who difapproved the caufe in which they were exerted. For his own part, he had been one of thofe who lamented the commencement of the American war, and difapproved of many of the mealures adopted in its pro. fecution. But the origin of the prefent war fhould be kept entirely out of view in the prefent question. America was now the ally of France, the confederate of the houfe of Bourbon. He did not fay, that the war against America was not big with many calamities to Great Britain; he apprehended, that if it

would not be the ruin of this country, it would at least extremely impoveril it; but ftill he faw no medium between unconditional fubmillion to the enemy, and the moft fpirited exertions. He had not, in the motion that he offered to the houfe, faid any thing concerning the juftice or policy of the American war, hoping thereby to gain that unanimity, without which a motion of thanks, though carri ed, loft much of its value. added, that if he could harbour the leaft fufpicion, that his motion, if perfevered in, would meet with a violent refiftance, he fhould instantly beg leave to withdraw it; as he could not reft fatisfied with any ac quifition fhort of that at which he ained; the payment of a just and neceflary tribute to military virtue, the enterprizes of which were crowned with victory.

He

Lord Lewisham feconded the motion, and obferved, that however remote the period might be, when a virtuous and fuccefsful coincidence of opinions would animate the investigations of a whole British Houfe of Commons, he flattered himself that the prefent motion must give occafion to at leaft a temporary bleffing of this kind; and that no difference of fentiment would prevail in an af fembly, whofe too frequent departure from unanimous refolutions had overfet thofe great advantages, which might have fwelled the fails of the agitated veffel of the flate, and wafted it in fafety over that fea of difficulties, where, during fuch a length of time, it had been dangeroutly toffed. One fource of confolation was ftill remaining, and it became evident from the ideas which were thrown out, in the courfe of former debates, that eve

ry

ry member within the walls of parliament felt the strongest conviétion of the neceffity of humbling the arrogance, and of diminishing the power of the house of Bourbon. To this end would each advantage acquired in America naturally conduce; and therefore, upon that account alone, exclufively of a multitude of others, Sir Henry Clinton, and earl Cornwallis, whofe gallant and well directed enterprizes had been accompanied by brilliant victories, were undoubtedly entitled to public marks of approbation from the reprefentatives of a people, accustomed to look with pleature on the rewards of military conduct and determined courage.

Mr. Thomas Townshend then rofe, and lamented that the honourable gentleman by whom the motion was made, and who was fo anxious for the prevalence of unanimity on the occafion, had not fo worded his motion, as to fecure it against all cavils and exceptions. There were fome particular terms, that were probably inadvertently thrown in, but which were liable to give rife to warmth and altercation, and were too obvious to require that they fhould be exprefsly pointed out : thefe even the honourable gentleman, who had ufed them, might, upon fecond thoughts, be defirous to expunge. Lord North appeared to concur in opinion with Mr. Townfhend; and allowed that it would be better if the motion were fo worded as not to give the leaft offence to any party. He hoped, therefore, that the gentleman by whom the motion was made would admit of an amendinent, and confent that the words "import"ant," and over the re"bels," fhould be omitted: and

this amendment was accordingly agreed to.

Mr. Wilkes declared, that he thought it his duty to oppofe the motion, as originally intended, refpecting only lord Cornwallis, and all the fubfequent amendments; becaufe, in his idea, every part of it conveyed an approbation of the Ameri can war; a war unfounded in principle, and fatal in its confequences to this country. He had condemn ed it, he faid, at the beginning, and had regularly oppofed its progrefs in every ftage, both in and out of parliament. out of parliament. The eminent. and very important fervices to his majefty and this country, mentioned in the motion, he entirely dif approved, and confequently should with-hold his thanks and gratitude, where he did not think them want ed, in a war of glaring injustice and wretched policy. He did not mean, he faid, to derogate from the heroic courage, and fuperior military virtues, of lord Cornwallis. He admired the fplendour and brilliancy of thofe qualities, which dazzled in his countryman as they did in Julius Cæfar; and he equally la inented that they were called forth to action in the fame bad and mifchievous caufe, the attempt to overturn the liberties of his country. The Roman too poffeffed, as had been faid of lord Cornwallis, nice and delicate fentiments of honour and virtue; and was certainly an accomplished gentleman, perhaps the moft accomplished of any in the hiftory of mankind. But he carried on a wicked war against the conftitution of the free country in which he was born, and which therefore he was under the strongeft obligation to fupport. In the fame light, Mr. Wilkes proceeded to obferve, he confidered the war

carrying

carrying on in North America; and if an arbitrary, but incapable adminiftration, had fucceeded in the plan of dragooning the colonists into unconditional fubmiffion, he believed that the liberties of England would not long have furvived thofe of America. He could not but regard it as an inconfiftency in the character of lord Cornwallis, that when he had, in the debate in the houfe of peers on the declaratory act, ftrenuoufly denied any right we had to tax the Americans, while they continued unreprefented in the British fenate, he fhould folicit a command against the Americans at the first breaking out of the war, and afterwards endeavour by fire and fword to enforce a taxation of the colonies. As a peer, his lordship had fupported American freedom, and voted against an ignominous badge of bondage on the colonifts; as an officer, the fame lord folicited a command in America, to enforce that injuftice of which he complained, and was active to rivet the chains of flavery on the free-born inhabitants of the new world, and the defcend ants of Englishmen. In fuch a caufe, he would not give thanks to genius and courage united, but ill directed, productive of no good, but of infinite mifchief. He could not but confider it as a fubject of regret, when great military talents were thus feen to triumph over the fuperior civil virtues of the citizen, and when mere lawless force and violence received the aid of valour and diftin guifhed ability, in order to overturn a fabric of freedom and justice, cemented by the best blood of our ancestors. A good man would indignantly turn his eyes from laurels and palms of victory stained with the blood of deferving fellow-fubjects, facrificed to fordid views, to the luft

1781.

of power, to the rage of a tyrannical adminiftration. Mr. Wilkes added, that he would not give thanks for victories, which only tended to protract a deftructive war. Peace with America could only fave this finking state, and give us permanent prof perity. There was more matter of grief than of triumph, of bewailing than thanksgiving, in this civil conteft, and in the deluge of blood which had overflowed America. Public thanks from that houfe on the prefent occafion would only widen the breach, and demonftrate how far we were behind other nations in the knowledge of true po licy. The wifeft and most polished nations of antiquity drew a dark and thick veil over the horror of civil commotions and bloodshed. The Romans granted no triumphs for the victories of their generals in civil wars. They wished not to record and perpetuate, but to conceal and confign to oblivion, the memory of Romans falling by the fwords of Romans. As to the victories of lord Cornwallis, their luftre was obscured and darkened by the want of a good caufe; without which, in the eye of truth and reason, no war could be juftified. In every view, there fore, he was entirely against the prefent motion.

Lord North endeavoured to defend the character of lord Cornwallis from the charge of inconfiftency. He had, indeed, protefted against carrying on coercive measures against America, as long as he conceived the Americans injured by fuch measures. But as foon as Great Britain gave up the point of taxation, and made other liberal conceffions, it was confiftent in lord Cornwallis to draw his fword against thofe whom justice, and more than juftice, would not fatisfy, and who had leagued them

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felves with the inveterate enemies of their country. Even the late earl of Chatham would have been moved with the greatest indignation at the idea of giving up the dependency of America on this country, though he was not a friend to American taxation. His lordship farther obferved, that earl Cornwallis was not a foldier of fortune, or under anv temptation to feek in war the advance ment of his intereft. He had left the comforts of a liberal fortune to risk his life, and undergo many toils in war, to ferve his country, and perhaps from a view to perfonal reputation; but a reputation well deferved, being founded on fervices of the greatest importance to his country. Several other gentlemen fpoke in the debate, and the motion was at length carried, without a divifion, and with an amendment propofed by lord Beauchamp, that the thanks of the house should also be given to admiral Arbuthnot.

On the 8th, upon the report of the refolutions of the army climates, a motion was made by Mr. Huffey, that the faid eftimates fhould be recommitted, and deferred till after the holidays. He affigned as one reafon for his motion, that he difapproved of the mode of recruiting the army, by reducing the old regiment, and railing new levies; but he faid, that what weighed much more with him was, the enormous amount of the army estimates. He alfo thought that the navy was neglected, and that our naval force ought to be confiderably augmented. Several other gentlemen concurred with him in opinion: and Mr. Thomas Townend expreffed himfelf with warmth on the inhumanity offending out new raw regiments to the Weit India itlands. He declared that he had it from good authority,

that no less than 740 foldiers died at St. Lucia in a very few months. But instead of attending to the decreafe of our refources of men, the miniftry were wantonly wafting the ftrength of the country, and fending its army to rot in unwholefome climates, and to find early graves in the West Indies. The houfe divided upon Mr. Huffey's motion, when there appeared 37 for it, and 108 against it.

The following day, the house having refolved itfelf into a committee of fupply, the estimates of the expence of the ordnance for the year 1781 were laid before the house; and the fupplics moved for on this account were agreed to without much debate. On the 30th, Colonel Barré moved, that accounts of the army in North America and the West Indies, in November, 1779, according to the returns for that year from Sir Henry Clinton, fhould be laid before the house. This motion was agreed to, as were alfo two others made by the fame gentleman; one, that "accounts fhould be laid before the houfe of all the troops embarked for America, according to the embarkation returns, from 1777 to 1780. inclufive;" and the other, "that accounts of all the men raised and employed in the land fervice in Great Britain and Ireland, including twenty thoufand marines, in the years 1777, 1778, 1779, and 1780, the fencibles or militia of Scotland not being included, fhould be laid before the house."

On the 4th of December the fupplies required for the navy eftimates were agreed to by the houfe; and thefe giving rife to a fhort debate, fome reflexions were thrown out in the courfe of it against the adminiftration, on account of their having appointed tir Hugh Pallifer to be

governor

governor of Greenwich Hofpital. That gentleman being prefent took occafion from hence to attempt a vindication of his conduct; and fome altercation enfued between him, and admiral Keppel. The next day, a motion was made by Mr.

Sawbridge, and agreed to, that a copy of the minutes of the trial and fentence of the court-martial held for the trial of vice-admiral fir Hugh Pallifer fhould be laid before the houfe, The day following, the house adjourned to the 23d of Jan. 1781.

French to render themselves mafters of the ifland of Jersey. Their want of fuccefs on that occafion did not, however, prevent their making another attempt at the commencement of the year 1781. On the 6th of January, upwards of eight hundred French troops, commanded by the baron de Rullecourt, landed at the Bank du Violet, in that ifland. In their attempt to land, more than 200 men were loft, in confequence of one privateer, and four transport veffels, being wrecked upon the rocks. But the militia guard of the iland were fo deficient in vigilance, and fo totally neglectful of their duty, that the French effected their landing with the utmost privacy. To the astonishment of the inhabitants, the market-place of St. Helier, the principal town of the island, was filled with French troops, foon after the day began to dawn, without a fingle gun having been fired, or the leaft alarm being given from any quarter. Major Mofes Corbett, the

the arrival of the French troops. When he had dreffed himfelf, he found his houfe furrounded, and on his appearing was taken prifoner. He had, however, previoufly found means to fend fome information of the ftate of things to the 78th, 83d, and 95th regiments, which were fationed in different parts of the island. After the lieutenant-governor was taken prifoner, he was carried to the French general, who immediately propofed to him to fign articles of capitulation; threatening in cafe he refufed, to fet fire to the town, and put the inhabitants to the fword; and at the fame time, in order to prevail on him to comply, falfely affuring him, that he had landed above five thousand men island. The lieutenant-governor reprefented, that, being a prifoner, he was in confequence deprived of all authority, and that therefore his figning any terms of capitulation, or pretending to give any orders, could anfwer no purpose.

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on the

The French

general,