disposed decidedly to disapprove of what had been done; but reserving to himself full freedom of observing upon this subject at any future time, he should assent to the address. Sir Francis Burdett moved an adjournment till the next day. "A practice," he said, "had crept in within these few years, of not acquainting the house with the substance of the speech before they were called upon for their votes upon it. This practice he reprobated, and therefore moved the adjournment, for the express purpose of taking time to consider the subject. He could have wished," he said, "that the prince had refused to accept his present situation. After raising one phantom, we had raised another, and called it a regent; we had made a governor, without intrusting to him the power of government. The not meeting the regent to-day, was an evident proof of his dissatisfaction with the conditions upon which he held the regency, and with the ministry who had been forced upon him: the regent would not appear in public with them; he would not be seen by the house in company with them. It reminded him of the scene in the play, where Falstaff musters his recruits, and finds, upon inspecting them, that they are such ragamuffins; such a pityful scare-crow set, that he would never march through Coventry at the head of them." Mr Lambe admitted that the progress of the French in the peninsula was slow; but he said it was slower than their other conquests, only because they had less to conquer. He expressed his hope, that, as there was likely to be leisure for the work, the house would attend seriously to the concerns of the country, and set about a system of the strictest economy. Mr Parnell observed, that, both in the speech and the address, the state of Ireland was totally omitted. "He had hoped that the system of silence on that subject would now have

been relaxed at least; and that, as a mark of common respect to the Irish, their affairs would not have been passed over without notice. But ministers were quite callous, and their senses appeared perfectly benumbed. They did not seem to be at all aware of the state of that country; though, if ever there was a subject which deserved the utmost anxiety and attention, night and day, it was the condition of Ireland at this moment.

He could not think of the dangers in that quarter, without a degree of alarm which he could hardly find words to express."

The address passed without any other opposition than Sir Francis's ineffectual motion for adjournment. His objections were repeated the following evening by Mr Hutchinson, who declared, that it was not fair to take the house thus by surprise, forcing the members either to oppose the address altogether, or to vote in opposition to their judgement, or at least without an opportunity of exercising it. This gentleman then launched out into a vehement strain of invective. "He could not," he said, "omit that opportunity of protesting against the manner in which our army in Portugal had hitherto been supported. The ef forts of that brave army had not been duly seconded; the supplies of men had neither been effective as to strength, nor seasonable as to time; the contribution, and the manner of contributing, wore all the features of lingering indecision. There prevailed throughout the conduct of ministers all the vice of half measures: there appeared to be neither plan nor principle, design nor method; reinforcements were sent out too trifling to be of any use had they been seasonable; and yet so ill-timed, as not to have proved of much use had they been sufficiently effective. Would it not be disgraceful, if it should appear that France could collect from all quarters, and convey over land,

greater numbers of men in a given time than England could, with all the boasted advantages of her marine, possessed as she was of the whole navy of the world? Our troops had had to contend not only with the active enemy opposed to them abroad, but also with the imbecility, irresolution, ignorance, and negligence of the ministers at home. Was it by such contempt ible children's play, as the country had witnessed on the part of ministers, that they expected to strike a decisive blow against the tremendous power of France? If their intentions were of so vast a scope, why should the measures taken in avowed prosecution of them, be so meanly inconsistent, so wretchedly disproportionate? If, on the other hand, the struggle was in the end to be abandoned as hopeless, why exhaust the means of our defence in fruitless specimens of British bravery, always brilliant, but always unavailing?

"A moment like this," he pursued, "was not suited to idle and empty compliment. The address ought to be one of condolement, not of congratulation: it should contrast the general prosperity of the empire at the mo ment of his majesty's accession, with the accumulated difficulties and gloom of the present hour. If the amiable qualities and best intentions of a virtuous monarch were not sufficient to rescue his people from the baneful influence of bad advisers-an influence which had so long and fatally oppressed the people, and had, at one time, only stopped in the dismemberment of the empire-if such could have been the ruinous consequences even during the reign of the present king, what future sovereign could be too cautious in committing himself to the counsels of wicked, ignorant, or interested men? Therefore, in such a crisis as the present, they ought to remind the prince regent how great a portion of our empice had been already lost by the effect,

of mischievous and unwise councils. The address should state the disturbances and dissatisfaction which had fre quently prevailed throughout this reign in Ireland, and still continued unhap pily to prevail. It should not pass over in silence the enormous increase of the national debt, and of the public burdens; it ought too to contrast the present gigantic power and means of France with what they had been at the accession of his present majesty. It should state the conviction of the House of Commons, that much of the present peril, much of the public burdens, much of the grievances and con sequent dissatisfaction of the most warlike and capable part of the popula tion, were fairly attributable to a bad and narrow policy, suggested by igno rant or wicked ministers. Condoling, therefore, with the prince, on his being called in such a situation of things to the helm of the state, they should strenuously exhort him to reject such counsels and to resist such measures as by experience had been proved to be greatly disastrous, and which could not be persevered in, but to the certain and utter ruin of the empire.

"The affairs of this country had now arrived at such a degree of difficulty and danger, that flattery and falsehood could no longer deceive. It was time to substitute for those pretences and deceptions, under which the affairs of the nation had been so long mismanaged, a system of sound and manly policy. Let the house adopt towards the regent the language of truth, not of hypocrisy: tell him of the lamentable incapacity of his ministers; that they possessed neither their confidence, nor that of the public; that they were capable of suggesting no measures but such as they thought calculated to ensure their ill-gotten power, and gratify their miserable ambition; that they commenced their career by affixing an indelible stain on

the national character, in their daring violation of the laws of nations, and by blasting the hopes and outraging the feelings of millions of his father's subjects; that they had since weakened and degraded the kingly office, deprived the empire for months of an efficient executive, and, by their intrigues, shaken the very pillars of the monarchy; that the period was critical, the danger imminent, the national calamities numerous, the pressure on the people nearly intolerable; that decisive measures, neither partial nor occasional, could no longer be deferred; neither should they yet abandon the hope of a secure and honourable peace, pledging themselves at the same time to the most vigorous prosecution of the war, should any sincere attempts at peace on our part prove ineffectual, and expressing their confidence that the resources of the country, under sage counsel, were fully equal to meet the exigences of the moment. Let them assure the regent that they will narrowly watch over the public expenditure; and that, to show their sincerity in the cause of general reformation, they were determined to begin by reforming themselves, and above all to heal, if possible, the rankling wounds of the Irish, who had been uniformly neglected, insulted, and oppressed. His expectations of the benefit likely to result from the regent's government to Ireland were confident, and entirely founded upon the former acts of his royal highness, in defence and on behalf of what he was known to consider as a most valuable, but too much neglected part of the empire. At a most critical and afflicting period, few years since, without the knowledge of those for whom he interfered, he most strenuously and eloquently exerted himself in their behalf, by urging to the minister of the day the adoption of soothing and conciliatory measures, offering himself to be the

a

instrument for carrying them into effect. Those sentiments could not have been since lessened, however much they might have been increased; and it was gratifying to reflect, that the people of Ireland should have ever felt towards him the most disinterested attachment, the most entire devotion, of which they afforded a convincing proof, when the Irish parliament, by the una nimous approbation of the people, conferred upon his royal highness, with a generous confidence, those powers which were denied him in his native land." Mr Hutchinson then protested against the practice of omitting all mention of the affairs of Ireland in the speech at the opening of the session. " Why such industrious neglect of a brave people, and their unmerited sufferings? If the present ministers had one principle to guide their conduct, it was that of contempt for Ireland. When an Irish member rose to demand redress for his injured country, his rising was the signal for a laugh from the treasury bench."

The opposition made amends in this debate for their forbearance on the preceding night. Sir T. Turton regretted, "that nothing had been said in the speech of the regent's design to bring about an honourable peace, the only legitimate object of all war. He would not pledge himself upon the contest in the peninsula, but he indul ged no expectations of success; the contest might add to the glory of our arms, but nothing more was to be hoped for; its termination would probably be the grave of our commercial prosperity, and of every thing but our honour. He had always maintained, that it was idle to contend with France on the continent; we should soon have only Lisbon and Cadiz in our possession, and these must be preserved at an immense expence." Mr Whitbread enlarged upon this theme. "As to the state of our affairs in Portugal,"

he said, "he must now most solemnly guard himself against the imputation, which might hereafter be made, of his having given any approbation either of the plan or execution of the campaign. He was quite ignorant upon the subject; and he believed that whatever praises might be given to the noble lord who conducted it, no man would say that his dispatches contained any thing like an intelligible history of his progress. All he knew on the subject was, that with the largest army we had ever sent into Europe, we undertook the defence of Portugal; that, after advancing into the country, we had patiently witnessed the fall of two towns; that, on the approach of the enemy, we had retreated; that, after gaining the battle of Busaco, we had lost Coimbra; that we had talked of our confining the French to their entrenchments, and yet were ourselves kept by the enemy effectually in check. From this knowledge only, until it was increased by more, and of a nature more explicit, he must beg leave to decline giving any approbation of the campaign.

"Should even a brilliant and decisive victory be achieved," Mr Whitbread continued," he could perceive but faint hopes of the final deliverance of the peninsula. Because, when the most important diversions had been made for Spain, Spain showed no disposition to avail herself of them-no desire to retrieve her fortunes. Buonaparte had been called away from the pursuit of the British army under the gallant Sir John Moore, an army sent to Spain in that improvident manner which characterised the measures of the ministers of that day; an army which for that reason suffered so much without any proportionate advantage, the commander, too, having perished, though his glory was immortal; from the pursuit of that army Buonaparte was called away to defend himself against

the attacks of Austria, or, if you please," said Mr Whitbread, perceiving perhaps the manner in which the expression was received by all parties alike," to be the aggressor in the Austrian war. The Spaniards wasted the precious moments of this pause in their fate in shameful inactivity and indecision; a pause during which the ruler of France, by drawing off his troops into Germany, made a voluntary diversion in favour of Spain: yet Spain took no advantage; she did nothing. Even now, when the whole French force was engaged by us, and when we were given to understand such animosity prevailed against them in the country, what was Spain doing?

"There was another most surprising omission in the speech. A general of France had silently slid into the friendly, allied, subsidized throne of Sweden; Sweden had sent her outcast monarch as an exiled private gentleman into our country for refuge, and had admitted Bernadotte into her confidence, not by interest, not by threats, not by opposing armies, but by her own voluntary consent. This was, or ought to be, a striking example how impotent were our hopes that the enmity of every people over which France ruled was excited by her tyranny; it ought to show us also, how impotent were our efforts to check the power of France upon the continent; how impotent our friendship for the protection of our allies, how impotent our money and our subsidies against the gigantic power of France."

Mr Whitbread wound up his speech by expressing his total dissent from that feeling which Mr Ponsonby had expressed towards the regent's government. "As I have hitherto supposed," said he," that I have been acting right, as I see nothing whatever in which I am proved to be in error, nor feel any conviction that my antago nists are superior, I shall at once say,

that while the same system which I have before thought fit to condemn is continued, I shall continue, without reserve, relaxation, or loss of time, the same systematic undeviating opposition."

Mr Perceval, however desirous he was of not disturbing the unanimity which was so desirable on that occasion, thought it proper to advert to some parts of Mr Whitbread's speech. "That honourable gentleman," said he, "towards the close of last session declared it as his wish, that every English soldier was back safe in this country from the peninsula. Does he, indeed, now wish that the peninsula should have been surrendered without the glory of the last campaign? Does he wish, that after the instances which we have seen of French cruelty, French treachery, and French insincerity, Britons should have had no share in the late struggle? Does he wish that Britons should not have made a stand in the only corner where it was possible to make a stand against the common enemy of Europe? We have maintained all that we proposed to maintain; we have maintained Portugal, and in so doing we have rendered the most material assistance to the cause of Spain.

"If England had left Portugal to be overrun by the enemy, would the situation of Spain be now what it is? Whilst the honourable gentleman has thought proper to state as the ground of his despair of the cause, what Spain has failed to do; he has omitted to state what she actually has done. It may be, indeed, that more might have been done by the Spaniards in the course of this struggle than what they have done; but let us do justice to so much as they have done; let us do justice to that nation which has done more than has been done by all the other nations of Europe since the commencement of the revolutionary war;

to that nation which, though now for more than two years overrun by the armies of France, has never yet submitted to her foe, but is still as unconquerable in mind and spirit as ever. It is in these means and this determined spirit of opposition, that our hopes of that country are founded; it is by these means alone that an opposition to France can be maintained; and I trust that while she continues in that spirit, she will remain as invincible to France as ever. Will the honourable gentleman but consider for a moment, what would have been the consequence to Great Britain, if the peninsula had ere this been under complete subjection to France. Let him consider of what consequence Cadiz and Lisbon alone would have been to France, if in her possession. He who has always professed such fears for the removal of the battle to our own shores, will he only consider where, to such disadvantage, danger could be so seriously apprehended to this country and to Ireland, as from the ports of Cadiz and Lisbon."

Mr Whitbread had said, with respect to America, that after so many blunders, and such gross impolicy, we were at length about to pursue the right line, and aim at conciliation. In reply to this, Mr Perceval said, that there was no greater spirit of concili ation manifested now than formerly; that our counsels had always been perfectly conciliatory toward America, and that every thing had been done which could be done to obtain a renewal of a friendly intercourse with the United States, consistent with our own safety. "I believe," said Mr Perceval, "that every thing will be done by the regent in the way of conciliation; but while he is willing to concede every thing that ought to be conceded, he will keep sight of those maritime rights for which this country has always con