mands, by informing the noble duke, that they had unanimously voted their thanks, for his eminent and unremitted services, and their congratulations upon his return to this country. The Duke of Wellington rose and said: Unable as I should feel myself at any time to address your lordships, yet I have, on the present occasion, to return you my acknowledgments for the approbation you have been pleased to express of my conduct. But I feel myself so overcome by the honour I have received, by the favours which his royal highness the Prince Regent has shewn me, by the approbation bestowed by your lordships and the House of Commons, that I am utterly unable to express my sentiments. In truth, my lords, the entire confidence which government was pleased to repose in me, the ample means entrusted to my disposal, and the cordial assistance I received from the gallant officers who shared my campaigns, contributed powerfully to those successes which your lordships have noticed in a manner so gratifying. Encouraged and excited as I was by the greatest favour and protection of the Prince Regent, and by the approbation and applause of parliament, I cannot consider the difficulties I had to overcome as at all equal to the motives that thus animated me, and I am apprehensive I shall be found not so deserving of the honours bestowed upon me as your kindness may believe. I can only add, that I shall ever be found ready to serve his Majesty, to the utmost of my abilities, in any capacity in which he may think proper to employ me. After a few minutes, during which his grace received the congratulations of many of the peers present, he retired to unrobe, and then re-entered the House, dressed in the uniform of a field marshal, decorated with various orders, &c. ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLICS.] Earl Grey rose to present a Petition from the English Roman Catholics, praying for relief. In bringing this separate matter before their lordships, he wished to be understood as departing in no respect whatever from the sentiments he had hitherto avowed, with respect to the general question as affecting the Catholic subjects of this realm. Upon that question, his opinions remained unaltered, though, from particular causes, he had thought it inexpedient to bring it before parliament in the present session, and had therefore urged with a noble friend of his, Their who presented a petition from the Catholics some measure The Duke of Norfolk expressed his hope that ministers would do something this session. If they would hold out a hope that the Petition should be taken into consideration, he would not press the matter any further; but if no such hope was held out, he should feel it his duty to bring the question before parliament this session. The Petition was then ordered to lie on the table. He SLAVE TRADE.] A great number of petitions against the continuance of the Slave Trade, were presented by the duke of Gloucester, lord Grey, and the marquis of Lansdowne. Lord Holland presented one from the Dissenting ministers of the three denominations in London. Lord Stanhope presented several also, and observed, that as the House must contemplate, with infinite regret, the probable danger of slaves being smuggled into our West India islands, he had drawn up a Bill to prevent that evil from taking place. It was not his intention to present it that day. The object of the Bill was, that if any negro should be imported into our islands, they should become ipso facto, as free as if they had been landed in the island of Great Britain. This he considered would be a complete remedy, as no person would be found willing to purchase a negro when he could have no property in him. ORANGE LODGES.] The Duke of Sussex rose and observed, that he had a variety of petitions to present from the Catholics and Protestants of various parts of Ireland. For the information of the House, he should move that one of them be read, as they were all the same. They were against a society called the Orange Lodge. He had had them in his possession some time, with an intention to present them, but he had come down to the House several days without finding any of the ministers present, and had thought it improper to lay them on the table in their absence. had waited, therefore, for a meeting like the present; but he did not mean, as there TREATY OF PEACE WITH FRANCE.] Lord was an interesting subject which already Lonsdale rose to move an Address to the stood for that evening's discussion, to press Prince Regent, thanking him for his grathe matter upon the attention of the House. cious communication of the Treaty of He thought it his duty, however, to pre- Peace with France to the House, and assent the petitions, because he conceived suring his Royal Highness of the approthat when the Catholic Board (upon whose bation with which their lordships regarded proceedings he should deliver no opinion) that Treaty, which was safe and honourwas laid aside, and when it was known able to all. It was safe, as the best intethat elsewhere a Bill had been introduced rests of this country had been consulted; for preserving the peace of Ireland, the honourable as it had been concluded at moment was come for government it- the end of a successful war. With this self to take some measure with respect to impression of the Treaty, it might be sufthe associations referred to in those peti- ficient barely to move the Address without tions. If he should learn from the senti- any comment: but there were times when ments of ministers, that it was their inten-those who seldom addressed their lordships tion to suppress the system, then he should were called upon to express their sentithink it unnecessary to make any ulteriorments. It was unnecessary now to call motion; but if not, he should bring the question before their lordships. He could not, however, dismiss the subject without begging that one of the petitions might be read. The substance of the allegations contained in them was, that these societies were bound together by secret and illegal oaths; that they formed processions, in which there were a number of armed people; armed societies being unconstitutional; and that the existence of these lodges gave rise to other societies of a different nature, but equally distressing to the country. One of the petitions was then read, which, with several others from different districts in Ireland, were ordered to lie on the table. the attention of their lordships to the time when the military power of France preponderated so much on the continent, and was wielded by a man whose dearest object was the destruction of the constitution and independence of this country. By the splendid successes of the duke of Wellington, who had that day been so eloquently thanked by the noble lord on the woolsack, and the exertions of the allied powers of the continent, that colossal preponderance had been overthrown, and the result was the establishment of a secure and honourable peace. The restoration of the Bourbon family, who had so long enjoyed the hospitality, of this country, was itself a strong foundation for confidence, that the peace would be secure and lasting; while the friendly relations between this country and Russia would, in all probability, be cemented by the visit of the august monarch of all the Russias. France, too, had received all that was necessary for her honour-all that she could reasonably demand most of her foreign possessions had been restored, her own boundaries had been rather increased, and by this means the causes of future contention had, as far as possible, been removed. On this principle, also, France had given up all pretensions to permanent and extensive establishments in India: and this country had made several acquisitions highly favourable to her naval superiority. The people of this country had suffered many privations; but by their confidence in the government, and by the wisdom of the government, in acting on the energies of the people, the nation now reaped its reward in a secure and honourable peace. The noble lord concluded by moving the Address. Lord De Dunstanville seconded the motion. The subject of the Treaty had been already amply and ably discussed, and the thanks of this country were due to the supreme Disposer of all events, and he was happy that those thanks were soon to be rendered in a more solemn manner. In addition to the great exertions made by this country, and the splendid talents and successes of the duke of Wellington, the cause had been powerfully assisted by Russia, and latterly by Sweden, Prussia, and Austria. The emperor of Russia, particularly, had evinced the greatest magnanimity throughout; and the exertions of Sweden, Prussia, Austria, and Bavaria, | had produced the greatest effect, without which, the peace could not have been made on such favourable conditions. The thanks of the nation were also due to the Prince Regent's ministers. The English had been called by the late ruler of France a shop-keeping nation; but if the matter were considered merely on the principle of profit and loss, the money of the nation had been well expended. As to the duke of Wellington, it was impossible to speak in adequate terms of his services. As had been said of a great leader of antiquity, he had overcome envy by his glory. He did not wish to detract from the merits of the duke of Marlborough. Had he been placed in the duke of Wellington's situation, he would probably have done the same more he could not have done. But the duke of Marlborough had been placed in much more favourable circumstances than the duke of Wellington. He had fought at the head of the armies of the greatest military power on the continent, except France. They all knew in what a situation Europe was when the duke of Wellington went to the continent,-what a tremendous preponderance France maintained by her vast armies, commanded by one who was the greatest military genius of the age. The glory of our illustrious general would be recorded in the page of our history, and he would be delivered down to posterity as one of the greatest of the heroes that this country had produced. His conduct was a noble contrast to the excesses which had been committed by other generals in the present war. The conduct of the duke of Wellington was a constant endeavour to mitigate the evils of war. The terms of the Treaty had been properly described by the noble lord as honourable to all parties. France had been preserved in nearly the same situation that she was in before the war. The terms were also honourable to Great Britain, inasmuch as she retained some of the colonies taken from France. Viewing the Treaty as honourable and advantageous to all parties, he was happy to second the Address moved by the noble lord. Lord Grenville said, that if he felt any difficulty in cordially concurring in the Address which had been moved by his noble friend, it arose out of the Article regarding the Slave Trade, to which he had adverted on the preceding evening; but having signed a declaration of his opinion upon that head, he should content himself with that and the declaration which he now made, that his sentiments upon that point were unchanged, and would not disturb the unanimity which he wished to prevail in that House, in approbation of the principle of this Treaty, and which he wished to go forth to the people as the unanimous sentiment of the House. It was with this view that he had made the Article respecting the Slave Trade, which he, in common with others, so deeply lamented, the subject of a preliminary discussion. The only difficulty, therefore, he felt was, that by a strictness of con struction, the Address moved by his noble friend might be supposed to convey an approbation of that Article. In all other respects, he most sincerely and cordially concurred in the Address, which he considered to have been wisely drawn up: First, with respect to its noticing, in appropriate terms, the firmness, the perse verance, and the magnanimity with which the people of this country had borne the privations consequent upon a war of 20 years duration, a conduct which had so essentially contributed to the maintenance of their own dearest rights and interests, and to the restoration of the tranquillity of Europe, a conduct which in all times to come would be remembered with gratitude, and which would go down to the latest posterity, accompanied by all that praise to which it was so justly entitled. Secondly, in its approbation of the principle upon which the Treaty was founded, that of cessions of the conquests made by this country, with a view to the general settlement of peace in Europe. Nothing, in his mind, could be more clearly founded in sound policy, than the principle that the conquests we had made were not to be retained for our own advantage, but were to be considered as pledges in our hands for the restoration of the general tranquillity of Europe, upon a secure and permanent basis; and, happily, they were now so applied, with a fair and reasonable prospect of attaining the security so highly to be desired. There undoubtedly had been times in the progress of the contest, when it became the duty of ministers to offer part of our conquests at the price of pacifiaation, but he, speaking individually, had never entered into any negociation, or seen as a spectator any negociation entered into with the late government of France, in which he had any hope of its leading to a permanent settlement of tranquillity in Europe. That government being itself an usurpation, was essentially military, and depended for support entirely upon its army-an army which could alone be supported by the aggression, the plunder, and the spoil of surrounding states. It was this situation of France, which rendered in his mind hopeless all expectations of the restoration of Europe to a state of permanent tranquillity. By the providential change which had taken place in the affairs of the continent, this obstacle had been removed, and we could have no better security for the permanence of the tranquillity of Europe, than the restoration of the descendant of the legitimate king of France to the throne of his ancestors. Of the just and liberal views of the monarch now so happily restored, he was personally convinced, but the great object attained was the restoration of those civil institutions in France, which were in unison with those that had grown up in Europe during several hundred years, and which had been forcibly subverted by the late usurpation. It was alone to a government founded on those civil institutions that we could look for that security, without which the peace of Europe could not be of long duration. This object being thus happily attained by the restoration of the legiti mate monarch of France to the throne of his ancestors, the noble lord said, he would even have been ready to have gone further, in acting upon the principle of cessions, provided the settlement of the peace of Europe could thereby have been securely attained. He would even have been ready to have given up all our conquests, (for our possessions without them were, God be thanked, fully enough for our own security) with a view to the attainment of that great object. It ought not, however, to be concealed, in taking a view of this Treaty, that we had paid the price in cessions for obtaining the settlement of the peace of Europe, but that that important object still remained to be secured. It were much to have been wished that this important object could have been settled, or at least the basis of it definitively arranged, at the time the cessions we had made had been bartered for its attainment. With regard both to Germany and Italy, the interests of this country were undoubtedly materially involved, in whatever ter ritorial arrangements might be made there. With respect to Holland, it was most manifest that we had the deepest interest in the future arrangements for the security of that state; Holland, of itself being unable to resist not merely a protracted war on the part of France, but even a sudden hostile aggression. With this view it had been the policy of our ancestors to interpose between the Dutch territories and France, states belonging to a powerful monarchy, namely, the Netherlands, belonging to Austria, which formed an effectual protection to Holland against the hostilities of France. From some motives of policy on the part of Austria, but in his opinion with great folly, during the progress of the late Revolution in France, she dismantled all the fortresses of the Netherlands, and the consequence was, that they, together with Holland, fell a prey to the aggressions of France. What security it would be now deemed best to give to Holland, whether to restore the intermediate territories of the Netherlands to Austria; whether to vest those territo ries in another monarchy, or whether to give to Holland such an accession of Strength as would enable her to secure herself, he could not presume to say, being ignorant of the circumstances which could alone enable him to form a judgment upon such a subject. But this he would say, that it was essential to the interests of this country, that a sufficient security should be provided for Holland, sufficient, at least, to enable that state to repel any hos. tile aggression on the part of France, until this country could make preparations to send a force to the assistance of her ally; and sufficient, with that aid, for defence, until whatever power in Europe might then be connected with this country, could also send a force to co-operate in repelling the aggression. union of the great powers of Europe, which had at length been so happily effected, had been frustrated, and every hope of the good to be derived from them, disappointed by the operation of this principle of partition, each power looking to aggrandise itself at the expence of its weaker neighbour, without considering that it thereby only rendered itself an easier prey to France. He rejoiced most sincerely that this principle of partition had at length been given up, and that the powers of Europe, aware of their true interests, had gone back to the only true principle, that of restoration, and the beneficial effect of this policy had been most apparent. He trusted that this principle of restoration would be persevered in, it being that alone upon which the peace of Europe could be permanently settled. He could not express his satisfaction in the general features of the Treaty, without at the same time stating the grounds on which that satisfaction was founded. After the convulsions which had taken place in every state of Europe, he did not expect that the object of restoring every country to its former situation could be followed up with literal strictness. But he wished to make this general impression on the minds of the public, that in proportion as the principle of restoration was adopted, would the peace be secure and permanent, but in proportion as the principle of partition was resorted to, would be the short With regard to the frontier accessions of territory obtained by France under the Treaty, his noble friend, who moved the Address, had observed, that they were merely for the purpose of rounding her territory, and for the mutual convenience of frontier states, by exchanging pieces of land involved in each other's possessions. Were it nothing more, none but a pedant would object to the Treaty upon any strict ground of construction; but there appeared in the Treaty something more on the side of Savoy, where France had obtained not merely a trifling accession of frontier, but, as he was informed, an important military position, and that not merely a defensive one, but of an offensiveness of the period in which we should be character, and against which, as he understood, the king of Sardinia, on being restored to the inheritance of his ancestors, had loudly complained. He did not profess to understand the nature of the position obtained in this quarter by France, but such was the information he had received. With regard, generally, however, to the principle and object of the Treaty, the Address had his sincere and cordial concurrence, and he trusted that the settlement of the peace of Europe would now be attained upon a secure and permanent basis. He rejoiced at the recognition in the Address, which might be considered to contain the sentiments of his Majesty's government of the principle of restoration, instead of that principle of partition which had led to so many evils. The principle of partition had given the first shake to the solid establishment of the peace of Europe, and during the first ten years of the late contest the endeavour to procure that again involved in the calamities of war. There was only one sentiment more which he was desirous to express. After the immense sacrifices and unparelleled exertions made by this country, sacrifices and exertions only justified by the desire of preserving the happiest constitution that had ever existed in the world, he hoped that the habits of the last twenty years, would not make them forget that that constitution and a great armed force could not exist together. He would add, that the keeping up such a force would not be consistent with that part of the Address in which we were told, and told truly, that all the objects of the war had been accomplished, and final tranquillity restored to Europe. If such was our present situation, he would claim for his country, that we should return once more to the reduced military establishment which we main. tained before the commencement of the war in the year 1791. He knew that it was necessary to keep up a larger force |