1 vice of the enemy, and tranfported to the islands in their poffeffion, he declared that the very reverfe was the truth; that he had given the ftricteft orders none of them hould be fold, but all fent to his Majefty's yard at Antigua. So fcrupulously exact had he been in this refpect, that he had not only examined himfelf the clearance of every fhip that went out of the port, but caufed them to anchor under his ftern, where they were ftrictly examined by commiffioned officers of the navy. As to the afperfions thrown on his military character, for remaining three months inactive at St. Eustatius, and detaching an inadequate force to prevent the junction of the French fleets, he remarked, that matters of the utmost importance had made his prefence there for fome time abfolutely neceffary. That during that period he had planned two expeditions, one against Curaçoa, the other against Surinam; and was on the point of putting them into execution when he received intelligence of the approach of Monf. De Graffe. That this intelligence reported the French fleet to confift of no more than twelve fail of the line; and that confequently, he had thought Sir Samuel Hood a fufficient match for them with fifteen. That as foon as he heard of the failure of Sir Samuel Hood, he had put to fea with the fhips remaining at St. Euftatius, and failed to join the fleet; that he had put St. Lucia into fuch a posture of defence, as had preferved that island from the fubfequent attack of the French; and that he fhould, doubtlefs, have intercepted Monf. De Graffe himfelf, had not his defigns been traitorously difcovered to the enemy. The lofs of Tobago, and the unfortunate conclufion of the campaign in the Chesapeak, were, he faid, laid to his charge with equal injuftice. With refpect to the former, the tranfactions relating to it being already in the poffeffion of the public, and no new matter adduced by the admiral, it is unneceffary for us to repeat them. As to the latter, befides the arguments in vindication of his conduct (which have been ftated in our last volume *) he affured the House that he had dispatched an account of the defigns of the French to the commander in chief at Jamaica, requefting him to lofe no time in fending whatever fhips he could poffibly fpare to reinforce the admiral on the coast of America. This was the fum of the defence fet up by Sir George Rodney: he was followed by Major-General Vaughan, who went nearly over the fame ground, denying in the moft folemn manner, his having had any fhare or concern in the depredation and outrages alleged to have been committed. He refufed to account for his conduct to an individual, but declared himfelf ready to enter into the fulleft investigation of it before the Houfe, if they fhould think fit to call for it; and in proof of the falfity of one of the charges, he read an addrefs he had received from the warden and rulers of the Jews, expreffing the fulleft Chap. VI. p. 117. fenfe enfe of the obligations they owed him for his protection. Iffue being thus joined by the two parties, the motion for a Committee of Enquiry was ftrong. ly fupported by Lord John Cavendith, General Conway, Mr. Fox, Mr. Barré, and Mr. Sheridan. It was oppofed by Lord G. Germaine, the Lord Advocate of Scotland, the Secretary at War, and Lord North. The two laft objected principally to that part of the motion which tended to prejudicate and affect the claims under litigation in the courts below; declaring their readiness to confent to the fulleft investigation of the remaining charges. The Lord Advocate objected to the whole, for want of a specific accufation, and because, he faid, the allegations were too indeterminate to be the ground of a par. liamentary enquiry. The motion being at length amended, fo as to except "all "wares and merchandife claimed "in the courts of Westminster"Hall," on a divifion, there appeared for the queftion, 99; against it, 163. Dec. 5th. The Earl of Lilburne having moved, "that "100,000 seamen be granted for "the fervice of the enfuing year," an amendment was offered by Mr. Huffey to fubftitute 110,000, inftead of the number propofed. This amendment, though evidently calculated to strengthen the hands of government, yet coming from the oppofite fide of the Houfe, occafioned at firft fome hefitation amongst the members in .dminiftration, and afterwards produced a long and warm debate. In fupport of the original mo tion, it was urged, that the number therein fpecified, exceeded by 10,000 the number voted laft year; and that, owing to the great Íoffes we had fuftained, the hips of the line now in commiffion were fix fewer than they were before. That indeed fourteen fail, at least, were expected to be ready in the courfe of the year; but that as 99,845 men had actually been employed laft year, though 90,000 only were voted; fo in the pre fent cafe, the board of admiralty fhould not think itself bound to limit the fervice to the number granted, but fhould doubtless make every poffible exertion to increase the naval strength of the empire to the utmost. This alarming account given by government itself of the decreafing state of the navy, was received with great indignation by the oppofite fide of the Houfe. Administration was accused of an improper and dangerous predilection for the army. To this caufe the feeble condition of the fleet was attributed; and it was therefore urged as one of the most powerful arguments to induce parliament to impound (as the member who moved the amendment aptly expressed himself) 520,000 7. of the public money, the value of the additional number of feamen propofed for the fole and exclufive fervice of the navy. In corroboration of this charge, feveral members averred, from their own knowledge, that the admiralty had not only neglected to employ the public docks in building to the extent of which they were capable, but that they had refufed the offers of feveral pri vate vate builders. That there were four yards in the river Thames, each capable of building four fail of the line; and that the outports could furnish as many more; all of which there could be no doubt might have been engaged for the fervice of government. The want of money was the only plea that could be alleged in excufe for this conduct; and if they refufed the fupply now offered them, the public would juftly at tribute it to fome dark and finifter cause. To thefe arguments it was replied, that it being allowed on both fides that the amendment propofed could not add to or take away from the navy a fingle feaman, the queftion was reduced to a mere point of finance. The committee was called on to vote the first branch of the fupplies, the fupply of the navy, which had always, and very defervedly been the favourite fervice of the nation. In this cafe, the cuftom in the last war and the custom in the prefent had invariably been to vote a fpecific number of seamen ; but this number had always been much less than the number known to be actually employed. During the laft war, the vote of fupply had never exceeded 70,000, and yet the number employed had amounted from 82,000 to 86,000 men. This had been the conftant practice of parliament; and it was certainly much lefs neceffary to increafe the number fpecified in the prefent vote, fince it by fame thousands exceeds the complement requisite to man the prefent lift of the navy. Befides, was it neceffary or expedient at this early ftage of the tupply to impound 500,000l. Other fervices remained to be provided for; and though (notwithstanding the infinuations that had been thrown out) no perfons were more ready to allow than his Majesty's prefent fervants, that the navy ought to have the preference, yet gentlemen would confider, that every other fervice fhould not be fa crificed to the name of a navy; the amendment propofed obvi oufly going no further. As to the charge of neglect of duty in the board of admiralty, it was either generally denied by the members in the Houfe who belonged to that department, or the blame, if any exifted, thrown on the navy-office; but though the inftances had been particularly fpecified, none of them were controverted, except in the cafe of Mr. Wells, whofe propofals for building fhips for the fervice of government had been rejected, on account of their extravagance. At length the amendment was rejected, on a divifion; there being ayes, 77; noes, 143. On the day ap- Dec. 12th. pointed for voting the army fupplies (the question alluded to by the Lord Advocate of Scotland, when, he faid, minifters would be under the neceffity of coming to fome explicit declaration with refpect to the continuance of the American war) the Houfe was early and uncommonly crowded. The difficulty with which it was forefeen the minister would be brought to disclose the intentions of government, and the dexterity he had already fhewn in evading the queftions with which he had been pretled on that fubject, induced the oppofition to bring forward a motion, which, though it should fail in its intended effect of forcing from him any binding declaration, might at leaft ferve to discover the number of thofe in the Houfe, who, without refpect to their general political fentiments, agreed in opinion with them upon the profecution of the war. As the object of this measure was to form a coalition from all parties, for the fole purpose of obliging the crown to put an end to an attempt at once ruinous and impracticable, the motion was drawn without any criminatory retrospect, in terms the most cool and temperate. It was "to de"clare, that the war carried on "in the colonies and plantations "of North America, had been "ineffectual to the purposes for "which it had been undertaken, "of affording protection to his "Majefty's loyal fubjects there, "and of defeating the hoftile in "tentions of our confederated "enemies."-And fecondly, "That it was the opinion of "the House, that all farther attempts to reduce the Americans "to obedience by force, would "be ineffectual and injurious to "the true interefts of this country, "by weakening her powers to "refift her ancient and confe"derated enemies." The motion was made by Sir James Lowther, and feconded by Mr. Powis in a long and eloquent fpeech, in which the various to pics that had been urged in the repeated difcuffions this matter had undergone, were placed in many new and ftriking points of view. As foon as he fat down, Lord North arofe, imagining, he faid, that the House were in immediate expectation of hearing his opi nion, and fenfible that the fooner it was given, they would be able with the greater facility and precifion to form a proper judgment on the two propofitions that had been offered to their confideration.. To the motions, he faid, he had great and weighty objections; but before he ftated them to the Houfe, he felt himself bound, efpecially after what had paffed on another occafion, to speak much more explicitly than what was his ufual cuftom, and indeed, than was wife and politic for a man in a high and refponfible office to do, concerning the future mode of profecuting the war. He then declared, that his Majefty's fervants had come to a determination, that the mode of profecuting hoftilities internally on the con tinent of America, fhould no longer be followed; but that the form of the war fhould undergo a total change. This declaration, he faid, he should not have thought himself warranted in duty to make, had not the estimate of the army, then on the table, declared nearly as much. By those estimates the Houfe would fee that government had not provided itfelf with the means of carrying on the war in the manner it had hitherto been conducted; and, therefore, the Houfe could not require a furer pledge of the future intentions of administration. Having made this declaration, his lordship ftated the objections to which he conceived the motion before the Houfe was liable. He infifted on its impolicy, as it pointed out to the enemy what was was to be the future fyftem of the war, and confequently directed them where to prepare for defence, or to plan their attacks with the greatest advantage. He objected to the loofe and general terms in which it was expreffed: a circumftance which he thought alone fufficient to induce the Houfe to reject it. It called on them to refolve against all future attempts to reduce the Americans by force. Were the motion to pafs, though the American privateers fhould infult our coafts, or cut our merchantmen out of harbour, no English officer would venture to attack or oppose them. Was New York and its dependencies, was Charles Town and Halifax to be evacuated? Defended they could not be, if the motion fhould pafs; at leaft, added the noble ford, if I had brought forward fuch a motion, and given it a lefs extenfive explanation, I fhould have been accufed without merey of fhuffings, twiftings, and evafions, in order to delude the Houfe. Was it intended then that we fhould withdraw our armies and our flips, give up to them all our ports, open to them all the feas, and fuffer them to give what affiftance they pleafed to the ancient enemies of this country? Was it not known they were bound by treaty to aid the French and Spaniards in the conqueft of the West India iflands? And could it be doubted that this would be the first effect of our totally abandoning the war in America? If it was imagined that fuch a proceeding might facilitate the return of peace, he must again beg leave to be of a totally different opinion. He could not conceive, that the most effectual way to render an adverfary tractable, and make him reasonable with respect to terms of peace, would be to declare we would fight him no more. These were the principal objections made by Lord North; in which he was fupported by Mr. Welbore Ellis and Lord George Germaine. The latter having declared that he regarded the motion as amounting to a refolution to abandon the American war altogether, faid, he fhould make no fcruple in affuring the Houfe, that if parliament acceded to it, he should immediately retire; for be the confequence what it might, he would not hold his place on the condition of figning any inftrumeut tending to establish the independence of America. Several of the country gen tlemen declared themselves fatisfied with the affurances given by minifters, confidering them as tantamount to the propofition before the Houfe, unless thofe propofitions were defigned to go a length which they thought neither conftitutional, prudent, fafe, nor honourable. In fupport of the queftion, it was contended, that the first ob jection ftated by the noble lord, fcarcely deferves a ferious anfwer, That to fuppofe a resolution to abandon the American war, would in any degree discover to the enemy againft, what part of their extenfive dominions, vulnerable in a thoufand places, the next blow would be aimed, was abfurd and ridiculous. It would rather tend to produce a contrary effect; at prefent, they were fure of meeting us, and that to the greatest advan |