the year, during which these ministers have wielded the whole strength of the empire; if every effort had been made, or even every disposition manifested, to give heart and hope to the nations of the continent, so that out of such a war might arise the promise of an honourable, a secure, and a permanent peace; unquestionably, in that situation of things the rupture of the late negotiation would be matter of unqualified joy, and I could not bring myself to concur in lamenting it. But if the war that is to come, is to be the counterpart of that which we have hitherto witnessed since the accession of the present administration; if the events and exertions of the last ten months are to be taken as the sample and the measure of our activity and achievements; if while the enemy insultingly tell us at every step of the negotiation, beaucoup se prépare,' and, teiling us so, uniformly keep their wordon our part such opportunities are to be thrown away as have existed for the last three months, and which exist still had we the spirit to take advantage of them; if Bonaparte may traverse the continent of Eu- rope to its furthest extremities, and drain France of her last man, relying as fearlessly and as securely upon our supineness, our sloth, and our despondency, as he could have done upon our faithful observance of the stipulations of the most advantageous treaty of peace; and, lastly, if that disheartening maxim, to which I have already had occasion to refer with sorrow and shame; that maxim which was so deeply impressed upon the mind of government, even so long ago as

the beginning of the negotiation, that it overflowed in confidential communication to France herself; the maxim that there is nothing so chimerical as any new project of continental confederacy against France;-if that, I say, still prevails, and prevails with all the additional weight which it may have acquired from the unfortunate events which have taken place since it was first promulgated;-then indeed, seeing little to expect from such a war, conducted on such principles, under such auspices, and with no better hopes in the minds of those who have the charge of it, I can in that sense join in expressing my regret at the failure of the negotiation; and with that explanation I am willing to vote for the address as it stands."

Lord Henry Petty, in a speech of considerable ability, endeavoured to prove the existence and the importance of the basis of actual possession. "The existence of it," he said, "was every where to be collected from the replies of M.Talleyrand, and its importance and utility were abundantly proved by the unfair attempts made by the French negotiators to get rid of it, when circumstances arose that seemed to justify the assumption of more favourable ground." He concluded by defending his majesty's ministers from the charge of their hav ing been duped by the enemy.

Mr. Perceval, lord Howick, and Mr. Whitbread spoke also on the subject; when the address was agreed to, and ordered to be presented by such members as belonged to his majesty's most honourable privy council.

CHAP.

to be in the same proportion, and to be ascribed to the same cause; and he felt warranted in saying, that whoever should have the hohour of discharging the next year the duty he was now called on to perform, would then have a more pleasing task, as the reduction

would, by that time, be still greater, as the lines of Chatham, and the great works now carrying on at Dover and on the coast, would then be completed.

The following sums were voted without any further observations:

To do. for 1806

For charge of ordnance, 1807, For do. for Ireland

On the next day Mr. Johnstone said, that, in looking over the estimates, he had observed that there was a charge of 54,4007. for ordnance for the island of Ceylon, which appeared exorbitant. One of the items of this charge was for powder. It was, surely, unnecessary to send powder from this country, as it could have been procured infinitely cheaper from our settlements in the East Indies. Another circumstance which struck him with surprise was the charge of 10001. for worms, turn-screws, &c. for England, while the charge for the same articles for Ireland exceeded 70007.

Mr. Calcraft, in answer, on a subsequent day, said, that the governor of Ceylon had required a supply of English gunpowder in preference to that of our eastern settlements, owing to the superior quality of the former. As to the apparent disproportion of the charges for worms and screws for England and Ireland, it was to be considered, that of the supplies hitherto furnished for the service of England, 9,1007. remained unexpended; so that towards the customary annual supply there was but a deficit of 9001., whereas there was no remainder to supply

£. s. d.

301,406 9 8

262,365 14 2 2,278,197 0 10

479,216 19 7

the yearly demand for Ireland ; this statement, however, as it stood, made, in this case, the ordnance estimates of England to those of Ireland in the ratio of 7 to 9, which was by no means in due proportion. As to the officers of ordnance in Ireland, they were entitled to every praise for the strictest economy, and the most laudable attention to the duties of the department.

The estimates were accordingly agreed to.

In the house of peers, lord Grenville moved, on the 12th of January, the second reading of the bill for the abolition of the slave-trade: upon which

Lord Hawkesbury adverted to the resolution of the last session, to address his majesty to make such communications to foreign powers as his majesty should deem advisable, with the view of procuring the abolition of the slave-trade he thought the house ought to be informed of what had been done in pursuance of it. There were five powers who were materially interested in the slave-trade, viz. Portugal, and the united states of America, France, Spain, and Holland: Denmark and Sweden had also some interest in the trade, but

it was of a subordinate nature. With respect to Spain and Holland, he could readily conceive that there had been no means of making any communication on the subject with these powers. He did not know whether, during the Jate negotiation with France, any communication had been made on the subject; but it was a point of which he thought the house ought to be informed: so also with respect to the united states of America, and Portugal. He therefore moved an address to his majesty, requesting him to order copies of all communications which had passed between his majesty and foreign powers, respecting the abolition of the slave-trade, to be laid before the house; which, after some conversation with lord Grenville, was agreed to.

On the same day, lord Castlereagh, in the other house, moved for a monthly return of the effective amount of our regular force, from the 1st of March 1806 to the 1st of January 1807, distinguishing the amount of the several corps; also distinguishing the number of our forces at home and abroad, with a monthly return of the English and Irish militia. If those papers, he said, afforded no proof of the superior efficacy of the right honourable secretary's military plan, he could not expect those who felt for their country's safety and military character would permit a plan to go on undisturbed, which changed the foundation upon which our military system had so long and so securely rested; that they would suffer that change to continue, which, upon the right honourable gentleman's proposition, was introduced last session into the muny-act. If it should appear that

the new root which the right honourable gentleman had then planted, instead of producing an immediate increase or procuring a permanent supply to the army, was likely to produce discontent and ultimate weakness; surely parliament would not hesitate to have it torn up. What the papers referred to might show, he would not say; but unless he were at present very ill advised, by persons competent to judge upon military questions, the change alluded to would be found to have had a mischievous operation, and to threaten more mischief if it were not removed, and the system restored to which our army was indebted for its prosperity, its strength, and longestablished character.

This motion, after some conversation in which Mr. Windham took a part, was carried; and

On the 21st the house went into a committee of supply, to which were referred the army estimates presented by the secretary of war, who said, that as the estimates he had to move were, with very few exceptions, made conformable to those of last year, it would not be necessary for him to trespass upon the house, at any considerable length, in stating them minutely, In the multiplicity of services comprehended in the estimates, some variations in the charges must occur; but the variation was small: the difference was in point of number of men 5,284, and in point of charge 9,1761. There was thus an excess in this year, but still there was a nearer coincidence than in any other two years. Here the honourable member went into the details, and concluded by saying: On the whole view of the estimate, there was ground for congratu lating the country on an augmen

tation of the number of forces, and a decrease of the expense of the establishment of 150,000. The additional expenses upon the whole, inclusive of the additional pay, were but 451,000. On the full consideration of the estimates, he was of opinion, that the honourable gentleman, who had the other night given notice of a charge against ministers for the waste of the public money, would be very much at a loss for any foundation in the military departments. In 1806, when the present ministers had first come into office, if they had proceeded according to the system before acted upon, without any reformation, the total charge would have amounted to no less than 14,800,0007. He did not mean to state, that his majesty's late ministers would have come to parliament for that sum; but that they must have asked for that sum according to the former scale, unless certain reductions, of which he was not aware, should have taken place. Thus there would have been, according to the last scale, an additional charge of 640,000. There were only two or three other points upon which he would have to claim the indulgence of that house. The general training he should leave to his right honourable friend, who had formed the plan, and to whose department it belonged. He should therefore content himself with stating, that the returns had been made, and that every thing was ready for carrying it into execution when ever his majesty's ministers should think fit. The next point was that of the volunteers; and it was matter of satisfaction to him to state, as he was sure it would be to every person in the house to hear, that all the gloomy apprehensions

that had been formed, and all the dire predictions that had been put forth, of the whole dissolution of that respectable body, in consequence of the reductions made in its expenditure in the last session, had been completely falsified in the event. During the agitation of the public mind, and of the volunteers, which had been produced by misrepresentation and studied irritation, while the subject was under discussion, some symptoms of disinclination to further service might have appeared; but, on better consideration and better understanding, these ill-advised discontents subsided, and the same ardour for the service of the country prevailed, without any material defalcation in point of numbers. By the papers on the table it appeared, that the diminution in the effective strength of the volunteers was very inconsiderable; but he would state the amount of the establishment rather than the effective, as that would afford the fairest means of judging of the effect of the operation of the late regulations. At the present moment the apprehension of invasion, that had called forth and stimulated the volunteers, had subsided, and some relaxation of activity may have arisen in consequence; but there was no doubt that this highly estimable description of the public force would again display its characteristic zeal and spirit, if a renewal of the enemy's menaces should call for a similar ardour and energy. The honourable gentlemen opposite seemed to triumph in this testimony to the merit of the volunteers, as if it was a sort of inconsistency in his majesty's present servants. But the present ministers had found fault, not with the volunteers themselves,

but