tion, as the man who had disciplined the Portuguese levies, making them troops worthy to take the field with the British. Addresses to his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, concurring in all his recommendations, were moved and carried in succession, with entire unanimity, and the said addresses ordered to be presented by the Lords with white staves.

House of Commons, May 12.-A committee upon the messages of the Prince Regent being gone into by the whole house, the Chancellor of the Exchequer took a wide survey of the military character of the Duke of Wellington and the other general officers specified in those messages, and concluded by moving that the sum of 10,000l. be paid annually out of the consolidated fund for the use of the Duke of Wellington, to be at any time commuted for the sum of 300,000l. to be laid out on the purchase of an estate. On the question being put, Mr. Whitbread objected to the proposed grant, because it was not sufficiently large, and he did not approve of the proposition that if the sum was found inadequate a second application might be made. No time ought to be delayed in making such a provision as was commensurate to the service rendered, and the dignity conferred. The house should have in contemplation to settle the Duke of Wellington on a great landed estate, and in a noble house in some part of the country; and the sum proposed was not sufficient for such a purpose. Mr. Ponsonby moved to add 100,000l. to the proposed sum. The Chancellor of the Exchequer observed in reply, that no pecuniary reward could be equal to the services of the Duke of Wellington. He would therefore propose 400,000l. and augment the annuity to 13,000l. per annum; so that, with the sum of 100,000l. already granted, half a million would be placed at the disposal of the Duke of Wellington. Mr. Whitbread replied, that this addition made the act complete, and he was perfectly satisfied. After the resolution had been unanimously carried, grants of two thousand pounds per annum were conferred upon Lords Lyndoch, Hill, and Beresford. In the House of Commons (July 1) Lord Castlereagh stated, that in consequence of the inti

mation of the house, his Grace the Duke of Wellington was in attendance. This was a memorable scene. All the members uncovered, rose, and enthusiastically cheered him as he entered, dressed in his Marshal's uniform, profusely decorated with military orders, and bowing repeatedly to the house. The Duke seated himself in the chair of ceremony, which was placed a few feet from the bar, and put his hat on. The members of the house then resumed their seats, when his Grace instantly rose, took off his hat, and addressed the Speaker to the following effect: "Mr. Speaker, I was anxious to be permitted to attend this house, in order to return my thanks in person for the honour done me in deputing a committee of the house to congratulate me on my return to this country. After the house had animated my exertions by their applause on every occasion that appeared to them to meet their approbation; and after they had recently been so liberal in the bill by which they followed up the gracious favour of his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, in conferring upon me the noblest gift a subject has ever received, I hope I shall not be thought presumptuous if I take this opportunity of expressing my admiration at the great efforts made by this house, and by the country, at a moment of unexampled pressure and difficulty, in order to support, on a great scale, those operations by which the contest in which we were engaged has been brought to so fortunate a conclusion. By the wise policy of Parliament, government were enabled to give the necessary support to the operations carried on under my direction. The confidence reposed in me by his Majesty's ministers, and by the commander-in-chief, the gracious favours conferred on me by his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, and the reliance I had on the support of my gallant friends the general officers, and the bravery of the officers and troops of the army, encouraged me to carry on the operations in which I was engaged, in such a manner as to draw from this house those repeated marks of their approbation for which I now return them my sincere thanks. Sir, it is impossible for me to express the gratitude which I feel. I can only assure the house, that I shall always be

ready to serve my king and country in any capacity in which my services may be considered as useful or necessary."

Loud cheers followed this speech, at the conclusion of which,

The speaker rose, took off his hat, and addressed the Duke of Wellington as follows: "My Lord, since last I had the honour of addressing you from this place, a series of eventful years have elapsed; but none without some mark and note of your rising glory. The military triumphs which your valour has achieved upon the banks of the Douro, and the Tagus, of the Ebro, and the Garonne, have called for the spontaneous shouts of admiring nations. Those triumphs it is needless on this day to recount. Their names Their names have been written by your conquering sword in the annals of Europe, and we shall hand them down with exultation to our children's children. It is not, however, the grandeur of military success which has alone fixed our admiration, or commanded our applauses; it has been that generous and lofty spirit which inspired your troops with unbounded confidence, and taught them to know that the day of battle was always a day of victory; that moral courage and enduring fortitude, which, in perilous times, when gloom and doubt had beset ordinary minds, stood nevertheless unshaken; and that ascendency of character, which uniting the energies of jealous and rival nations, enabled you to wield at will the fate and fortunes of mighty em

pires. For the repeated thanks and grants bestowed upon you by this house, in gratitude for your many and eminent services, you have thought fit this day to offer us your acknowledgments; but this nation well knows that it is still largely your debtor. It owes to you the proud satisfaction, that amidst the constellations of illustrious warriors, who have recently visited our country, we could present to them a leader of our own, to whom all, by common acclamation, conceded the pre-eminence; and when the will of heaven, and the common destinies of our nature, shall have swept away the present generation, you will have left your great name an imperishable monument, exciting others to like deeds of glory, and serving at once to adorn, defend, and perpetuate the existence of this country amongst the ruling nations of the earth. It now remains only that we congratulate your Grace upon the high and important mission on which you are about to proceed, and we doubt not, that the same splendid talents, so conspicuous in war, will maintain with equal authority, firmness, and temper, our national honour and interests in peace."

During the Speaker's address, the acclamations were loud and frequent; and at the close of it there was a general and long continued cry of hear, hear, hear!—The Duke then took his leave, bowing repeatedly, and all the members, uncovered, rose and warmly cheered him, as he retired.

By the treaty of Paris it was declared in general terms, that all the powers engaged on both sides in the late war should send

plenipotentiaries to Vienna, for the purpose of regulating in a general congress the arrangements necessary for completing the

enactments of that treaty. From this congress much was expected. The measures of the allies towards France had been highly generous and forbearing. They had declared in the face of the world that they were not prompted by self-interest of ambition, and their recent conduct had justified their professions. They had expressed a sincere and ardent wish to restore to all Europe the blessings of peace and independence, and to heal the wounds which for more than twenty years had been inflicted on the fairest portion of the globe. These assurances were amply redeemed in their conduct to the French nation, within the walls of Paris, and by the sacrifice of just retaliation to the dictates of humane and honourable feeling. When all these acts of lenity and moderation were considered, in connection with the deep impression which must have been felt by the allies of the miseries of war, and the destructive tendency of ambition, even those who most suspected the sincerity and veracity of princes, anticipated some great and good effect from the congress of Vienna. At this congress were to be assembled the monarchs themselves, and it might therefore be expected that unusual regard would be paid to the dictates of justice and sound policy. The past sufferings of the allied sovereigns were considered as pledges of their sincerity, and their personal characters favoured these prepossessions. The Emperor Alexander had conciliated, during his visit to England, the admiration and confidence of all classes, by the suavity of his manners, and by the impressions connected with his late magnanimity to a fallen enemy. While in this country he principally employed his time in seeing and examining those institutions and improvements in machinery which might be of service to his own country, so that it was hoped by many that a monarch had at length arisen who would feel more delight in the protection of knowledge, and the advancement of civilization, than in war and conquest.

1814.-The king of Prussia had suffered deeply in his wars with Buonaparte, not merely as a sovereign but as a husband: he bitterly lamented the death of his queen, and his demeanour was sedate, reserved, and melan

Less

choly. From his retired and reflective habits, it was presumed that in the congress of Vienna he would raise his voice, and exert his influence, in favour of those schemes alone which had for their object the reciprocal benefit of monarchs and subjects. was expected from the Emperor of Austria than from his illustrious confederates. Parade and ostentation, a frigid indifference to the feelings and interests of his subjects, except as they were combined with the pomp or the pecuniary advantage of the court, and apparent indifference to all the sufferings of Europe, were the peculiar and unpleasing traits in the character of this monarch. From the other sovereigns assembled at Vienna: the kings of Bavaria, Wirtemburg, and Denmark, little was expected; for whatever their personal characters might be, they possessed, comparatively, so little influence, that they would be compelled to acquiesce in the views and plans of the three great potentates.

Besides the monarchs who were assembled at the congress of Vienna, there were the ministers of Britain and France; Lord Castlereagh from the former, and Talleyrand from the latter. from the latter. The influence of England at the congress ought to have been very great. She alone, of all the powers engaged with Buonaparte, had never been conquered or invaded by her perseverence he was finally overthrown by her example the allies had been encouraged to continue the arduous contest: she had made most wonderful and unparalleled exertions to aid them, both with men and money. Her interests at Vienna were committed to a man, who, however deficient as a minister of war, possesses in the department of diplomacy intelligence, firmness, and address. At the time when the allies were on the point of gaining possession of Paris, and when Buonaparte was in their rear, they were saved from retreat and probable destruction by the intervention of Lord Castlereagh. As England had little or nothing to ask from the continental powers she was undoubtedly the better enabled to raise her voice in the cause of justice and liberty. It was therefore hoped that Lord Castlereagh would be able, on the part of his country, to benefit the cause of freedom at Vienna in a manner worthy of the

nation which he represented, and of his own reputation. One important object at least, connected with the cause of humanity, it became his peculiar duty to obtain. By the treaty of Paris the French were allowed to carry on the slave trade for five years, under the pretext that this treaty was absolutely necessary for the supply of her West India islands with slaves. At this article of the treaty the people of Great Britain were so indignant that the Prince Regent gave instructions to Lord Castlereagh that he should use his utmost endeavours to procure the total and immediate abolition of the slave trade, not only from France, but from all the other European powers by which it was tolerated or carried on. All the remaining objects which he was directed to accomplish were of the same description: all unconnected with the particular interests of Great Britain, and conducive to the liberty and happiness of Europe; and it was hoped that he would prove successful.

The subject of the slave trade was debated in the House of Commons with a zeal and perseverance honourable to humanity. On May 3d Mr. Wilberforce rose to make a motion for an address to his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, to take the present opportunity of proposing to foreign powers the abolition of the slave trade. In 1806 and 1810, the house had voted nem. con. addresses of a nature similar to the present. It was impossible, however, for any person not to see, that there never was a period more favourable, a better prospect of success, or more powerful motives for interference, than there was at the present time. It was a time in which the British cabinet and foreign governments were more closely drawn together, and more intimately connected, than at any former period. It was a time when all the nations of Europe were about to revive their commercial relations with each other, and to study the elements of a lasting peace. When we considered the extraordinary circumstances in which we now stood, and the extraordinary successes we had experienced in a long course of providential events, it appeared to him that there was no better or more acceptable mode of expressing our gratitude to that providence which had brought

us in safety and triumph out of all our trials, than to do what in us lay to diminish the mass of human suffering. Never did any time appear fitter for the proposition he had now to make. The great continental powers had distinguished themselves by their moderation and generosity, and had shown a temper and character that left no doubt but that they would be well disposed to contribute to any great plan for the relief of suffering nations. When the present circumstances were taken into consideration, when it was considered what great provocations some of the allied powers had received from France, and what noble revenge they had taken by returning benefits for injuries, and good for evil, he felt a most sanguine hope, that when they were made thoroughly acquainted with the nature of this horrid traffic, they would, as a sequel to their noble conduct, join heartily in this great act of justice and humanity. At the time when this question was first agitated, there were great and powerful interests contending against it. It was then represented that the commerce and marine of this country would be ruined by the adoption of such a measure; that the estates in the West Indies could no longer be cultivated; and that the slaves which were now sold to our islands, would be, in future, murdered on the coasts of Africa. Those things were so confidently asserted, that it naturally produced some hesitation. We had, however, ventured to try the experiment, and the threatened evils had not taken place. We had, therefore, tried the experiment for all other nations; and in now proposing to them to abolish this trade, we could confidently tell them that those evils were not likely to ensue. The slave trade of France had been practically destroyed by the war, and therefore that country had nothing to give up in this respect. He did not wish to appear to exult over him who had lately fallen: but in justice to his subject he must say, that there appeared such a connection between the slave trade and Buonaparte, that while he was in power there was but little prospect of any general agreement of nations to abolish it. He considered Buonaparte a far greater enemy to mankind, from his principles, than even from his conquests;