t 7 ee tite ARHARH SH of ANNUAL REGISTER, or A VIEW of THE | [*) HISTOR Y, POLITICS, . AND LITERATURE, For the YEAR 1810. SECOND EDITION. LONDON: PRINTED FOR BALDWIN, CRADOCK, AND JOY; J. CUTHELL; LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND CO.; E. JEFFERY AND SON; J. BOOKER; HARDING, TRIPHOOK AND LEPARD; SHERWOOD, JONES, AND CO; HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO.; G. B. WHITTAKER; HURST, ROBIN- SON, AND CO.; W. REYNOLDS; SIMPKIN AND MARSHALL; AND J. COLLINGWOOD. 1825. T. C. HANSARD, Pater-noster-row Press. “—r PREFACE, ee THOUGH there was nothing of extraordinary interest or importance among the subjects brought under the consideration of the British Parliament this year, our accounts of its proceedings have run to an unusual, and, we fear it may be justly thought, an excessive length. The expedition to Walchereti was a dull and irksome topic ; and the result of the tedious inquiries and dis- cussions to which this gave birth, unsatisfactory and vexatious. But, in the course of proceedings on this Subject, a question arose relative to the privileges of the House of Commons, and the liberty of the press, parti- cularly that of reporting parliamentary debates: and this again to a train of incidents, which it seemed natural to notice in connection with the cause from whence they sprung : and that question, with the consequent commo- tions, in the cities of London and Westminster, and the vicinity, excited by Sir Francis Burdett, forms the most distinguishing feature in the parliamentary history of 1810. It may also be necessary to offer an apology for the order observed in our narrative of all these occurrences, not interrupted by many intervening subjects of atten- tion and discussion in Parliament, from first to last : from the first of February, when the hon. Mr. Yorke gave notice of his motion for enforcing the standing order ~ A 2 PREFACE. of the House for the exclusion of strangers, to the 21st of June, when Sir Francis Burdett was liberated, by the dissolution of Parliament, from the Tower, and Mr. Gale Jones was driven out of Newgate. In relating the debates about Walcheren, and the different matters that grew out of it; we have observed our usual method of ' arranging transactions under different heads or classes, and passing as much as possible from one subject to ano- ther, according to the relations they bear to one another, and not merely that of abridging parliamentary debates, whatever the subject, in the order of time. It. may be permitted to the imagination of a poet, “ rolling in a fine phrenzy from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven,” to carry his reader where and when he pleases ; “ and set him down now at Thebes, and now at Athens.”* The poet, however various or rapid his flight, keeps still on the wing; still bears us smoothly along by transitions founded in strong associations of ideas. To pass ab- tuptly, to skip backwards and forwards to a thousand heterogeneous motions, bills, and debates in both Houses of Parliament, could not, properly speaking, be called even Parliamentary History, far less the History of Europe. It must be admitted, however, that our state- ments of what passed annually in our Parliament, have been carried to details altogether disproportionate to an Annual Register of the great affairs of various nations. _This will be excused by the candid critics of even foreign nations, on the ground that they are principally intended for English readers. But we are not inattentive to free ~ assemblies in other countries. We have entered sufli- * Horat. Epist: 1. PREFACE. ciently into the dissentions and contests, and given specimens of the debates, in the national, conventional, and legislative assemblies of France, until all freedom was suppressed by the usurpation of Buonaparte. Our attention is now solicited to the Cortes of Spain. If we were to measure the importance of the speeches in the Hall of the Cortes, and the propriety of introducing them into a general History of Europe, by the extent of their knowledge and views, and their admirable elo- quence, we should not hesitate to. make way for that introduction, by the suppression of much of what passes in our own Parliament. Nor would the British states- men and: orators be disparaged, if they were to sit as close together, and make as much room as possible for the admission of the Spaniards into the bright political zodiac of freedom: Individual liberty and national in- dependence, Ipse tibi jam brachia contrahit ardens Scorpius* But in annals of Europe, we must be guided in our selections by the consideration of what is most important in its general effects and practical results. Had the -speeche’ in Cato’s little senate at Utica been published, there is not a doubt but they would have displayed as much wisdom and eloquence as any recorded by Livy or Sallust ; but they would not have excited at the time the same degree of interest. As yet, the deliberations and decisions of the Cortes have not had any actual in- fluence on the affairs of nations. In the present volume, as much space has been allotted, as could be possibly * Virg. Georg. lib. 1, ver. 34. ‘ PREFACE. spared, to the convocation, formation, and first proceed- ings of that august assembly, in which deputies appeared from the Spaniards in all the four quarters of the world. It is our sincere wish and prayer, and there is not _ wanting reason to hope, that the deliberations of the Spanish may one day rival in importance those of the British senate. It will serve as a focus to collect, retain, - and reflect the genial rays of patriotism and public spirit; to consolidate the dispersed elements of public force into one mighty mass, and confirm the stability and promote the prosperity and grandeur of the Spanish nation by an enlightened, uniform, and steady government. We ought to congratulate our readers on the glory acquired this year by the skill as well as valour displayed by our arms in the peninsula of Spain, and in the East Indies, under the direction of Lord Wellington and Lord Minto: both of them, being eminently distinguished by active and extensive genius, bright ornaments of their country. ONT EN Ts, a . HISTORY OF EUROPE. CHAPTER I. Changes in the British Ministry.—Meeting of Parliament.— King’s Speech.— Addresses moved in reply in both Houses.—Amendments * proposed.— Debates thereon—Involving particularly a Review of thé War in Spain—And the calamitous Expedition to the Scheldt .. 1 CHAP. II. House of Lords.— Motion for the Thanks of the House to Lord Viscount Wellington, and the Officers and the Army under his command, for the Victory over the Enemy at Talavera—opposed—supported—carried.— In the Course of the Debate fresh Discussions on the Affairs of Spain, both political and military.— House of Commons.— Thanks moved to Lord Wellington and the Army.—.Arguments pro. and con., and Dis- cussions nearly the same as in the House of Lords.— Motion for Thanks to Lord Wellington carried without a Division of the House ;—that to the Army unanimously.— House of Commons.— Motion by Lord Coch- rane, for Minutes of the Court Martial held on Lord Gambier, and the Object of this Motion.—Debates and Discussions.—Lord Coch- rane’s Motion negatived by a great Majority—Motion of Thanks to Admiral Gambier, §c. &c.— The Motion for Thanks to Lord Gambier carried on a Division of the House ;—that for thanks to the other Offi- cers, and Acknowledgments to the Seamen and Marines, unani= mously.— Motion for Thanks to the same Parties in the House of ite MY Edessa bi « exh masa oneaerixac on aoeck shail vanchinastbnaoas 27 CHAP. III. House of Commons.—Motion by Lord Porchester, for an Inquiry into the late disastrous Expedition tothe Scheldt—Long Debates.—Lord Porchester’s Motion carried by a small Majority.—A Committee of the whole House appointed to inquire into the Causes of the Failure of the Expedition to the Scheldt-—Motion for Papers relative to that Subject, agreed to.— Appointment of a Secret Committee for the Inspection and Selection of Information of a Nature improper to be Pidme" PADS)! Lees tse Wee kasteeoom ebaaweld. Rseelevs.tivaet 4 “a CONTENTS. CHAP. IV. House of Commons proceeds in the Inquiry into the Expedition to the Scheldt.— Found among the Papers on the Table, a Narrative of the Expedition to the Scheldt, signed by Lord Chatham, and presented to his Majesty, without the Intervention of any responsible Minister.— The Purpose for which this was apparently framed.— This clandestine Proceeding of Lord Chatham arraigned by some Members as uncon- stituttonal—defended by others.—Motion by Mr. Whitbread, for an Address to his Majesty, for Copies of all Reports, &c. submitted at any Time to his Majesty, by the Earl of Chatham, relative to the late Ex- pedition.—Debates.—The Motion carried by a small Majority.—The King’s Answer to the Address respecting Lord Chatham's Narrative.— Inserted in the Journals of the House.— House of Lords-—Motion by the Marquis of Lansdown, for an Address to his Majesty, respecting his Majesty's Answer to the City of London.—Cause and Object of this Motion.—Debate.—Discussions respecting the Policy and Con- duct of the Scheldt Expedition.— Lord Lansdown’s Motion negatived.— House of Commons.—Specific Resolutions moved by Mr. Whitbread, on the Narrative of the Earl of Chatham.—Long Debates—The Resolutions carried by a small Majority Ceececcevorersesserecseseeries 50 CHAP. V. Summary View of the Impolicy and Misconduct of the Expedition to the Scheldt.—Resolutions moved by Lord Porchester on that subject.— Debate of four Days.—Lord Porchester’s Resolutions negatived.— The Conduct of Ministers with regard tothe Policy of the Expedition to Walcheren approved.—The Retention of Walcheren also approved. 75 CHAP... VI. The standing Order for the Exclusion of Strangers from the Gallery of the House of Commons, during the Inquiry into the Scheldt affair, enforced by Mr. Yorke.—Motion on the Subject of this standing Order by Mr. Sheridan—Who displays the Advantages of the Liberty , of the Press, and particularly the unrestrained Publication of the Debates and Proceedings of Parliament.—Mr. Sheridan’s Motion negatived.—The Vote for enforcing the standing Order made a Sub- Jject of Discussion in a Debating Club, and severely censured.—John Gale Jones, the President of the Club, sent to Newgate by the House of Commons.—In this Step, it is contended, by Sir Francis Burdett, that the House of Commons exceeded their Constitutional Powers.— Motion by Sir Francis for the Liberation of John Gale Jones.— Debate.—The Motion negatived by a vast Majority.—Letter from Sir Francis Burdett to his Constituents, published in a Weekly Paper, denying the Right of the House of Commons to imprison the People of England.— Brought under the Consideration of the House of Com= mons.——Long Debates.—Sir Francis Burdett ordered to be sent to the CONTENTS. Tower.— Delay in the Execution of the Order.—Saucy Letter from Sir Francis to the Speaker of the House of Commons.—Sir Francis taken from his House by force, and sent to the Tower—Tumults and Accidents.—Sir Francis Burdett’s Letter to the Speaker laid by him before the House.—Severe Strictures on the Conduct of Sir Fran- cis Burdett.—Resolution of the House of Commons on Si Francis Burdett’s Letter to the Speaker.—Actions at Law brought by Sir Francis Burdett against the Speaker, the Serjeant at Arms, and the Earl of Moira, as Constable of the Tower.— These Parties defended. And the Privilege of the House of Commons, in the Cases to which they refer, recognized by the Court of King’s Bench, as Part of the Law of the Land.— Addresses to Sir Francis Burdett, and Petitions - to the House of Commons for his Release ; and also for that of Mr. Jones from Newgate.—A grand Procession arranged, intended as an Act of National Homage to Sir Francis Burdett, on the Day of his Liberation from the Tower.—Sir Francis Burdett slips away from the Tower by Water.— Discontents at this—But the Procession goes on.—Remarks on the Conduct of Sir Francis Burdett in conniving at the Design, but declining to join in the Procession.—Reflections on the Practice of publishing Daily Accounts of what passes in Parlia- MCN ennacdacaadecascveventpcsonenevesdsercbgecsscnerecoccnseUpeceesnassscvsce 86 C HAP. Vil. ; Finance—Ways and Means of the Year for Great Britain and for Treland.— Affairs of the East. India Company.—Offices in Reversion Bill.— Passed in the House of Commons, but thrown out of the House of Lords.—Third Report of the Committee of Finance.—Motion by » Mr. Martin respecting Public Economy.— Resolutions on this Subject moved by Mr. Banks respecting Sinecure Places and exorbitant Salaries or emoluments.—Offices in Reversion Bill._—Resolutions moved by Mr. Horner and agreed to, respecting Bullion, and Foreign Coins, Bank Notes, &c. &c.—Bullion Committee appointed.— Their Report.—Twelfth Report of the Commissioners of Military Inquiry. —Expulsion of Mr. Hunt, for Peculation, from the House of Commons SOP O eee sees Hee FOS HEF OSE OHHEEEHO Fa GaEHE SOP DET EES HEL SHOHTEHSEEES 116 CHAP. VIII. Mr. Brand's Motion for Parliamentary Reform negatived—Mr. Grat- tan’s Motion for a Committee on the Catholic Petitions.—Debated.— Negatived.—A Motion to the sameEffect in the Houseof Lords, by the Earl of Donoughmore, negatived — Measures adopted by the Legisla- ture for Conciliating the Attachment of the Irish Nation.— Motion by Sir Samuel Romilly for bringing under the Consideration of the House of Commons some Parts of the Criminal Law of this Country. Agreed to, and leave given to bring in a Bill for that Purpose.—Ob- jections to the Bill.—Debates—The Bill rejected.—Motion by Sir Samuel Romilly for carrying into Execution the Acts already passed Sor the Erection of Penitentiary Houses, for confining and employing Convicts—The Principle of this System approved, but some time 7 CONTENTS. t required for complete Information on the Subject.—Debates on the necessity of Delay.—Sir Samuel Romilly’s Motion withdrawn for the present.— Vexatious Arrests Bill.—Insolvent Debtors’ Bill. —Scotch Judicature Bill.—State of the Slave T'rade.— Address to His Majesty - for his using his influence with Foreign Powers, and the Execution of the Laws in this Country for the effectual Abolition of that Commerce. —Relisf of the Poor Clergy in Scotland, and in England.—Motion by the Marquis of Lansdown, relative to the Campaign in Spain.— And by Earl Grey on the State of the Nation ssssccccorseceseee 132 CHAP. IX, Address of the Supreme Junta to the People of Spain after the Battle of Ocana.— Means used for the Defence of the Sierra Morena.—Pas- sage of the French over this Chain of Mountains into Andalusia.— General Sebastiani marches against Grenada.— Marshal Victor against Cadiz.— The City and Province of Grenada reduced under the Power of the French.— Manifesto of King Joseph Buonaparte to the Spanish Nation.— Seville surrendered to the French without resistance.—Ad- dress of King Joseph to his Soldiers.—The Supreme Junta retire to ‘the Isle of Leon.— Timid and treacherous Conduct of not a few Indi- viduals of this Body.— Miserable Intrigues among the Junta.—Cha- racter of the Junta.— They become Objects of general Hatred and Con- tempt.— Forced to dissolve themselves.—Cadtz saved, even in defiance of the Counteraction of the Junta, by the Patriotism and Military Con- duct of the Duke of Albuquerque.—Patriotic Ardour and Exertions of the People of Spain, particularly the Inhabitants of Cadiz.—Junta appointed for the Government, ad interim, of Cadiz,—Selfish and paltry Views of this Junta, and shameful Conduct towards the Duke of Albu- querque.—This Duke deprived of his Military Command in the Isle of Leon, and sent Ambassador to England.—Recalled by the newly- appointed Regency.— His Death.—Funeral in London.—and Eulo- gium on his Character.—Blockade and Defence of Cadiz....... 152 CHAP. X. The operations of the Spaniards and their English Allies not confined to the Defence of Cadiz—The Mountaineers of Alpujarras excited to Arms.—and_ supported—and also the Inhabitants of the Moun- tains which separate Murcia, Grenada, and Jaen.—These Moun- taineers defeated and dispersed.—A combined Expedition from the Port of Cadiz against Moguer—Successful—French Batteries and Redoubts destroyed by English Gunboats.—A secret Expedition from Gibraltar against Malaga— Unsuccessful.— Reduction, bythe French, of the Town and Fortress of Hostalrich, in Catalonia —Fruitless Attempt by General O’Donnel to raise the Siege of Hostalrich.— Effects of the reduction of Hostalrich—Reduction by the French of the strong Fortress of Mequinenza, in Catalonia.—The Siege of Valencia raised by a Sa ly of the Spanish Garrison, under the Command of Don Veniura Coro—Reduction of Tortosa, by the French General Suchet, after an obstinate Resistancesscs00008 171 CONTENTS. CHAP. XI. The Great Theatre of the War in the Peninsula, the Frontier of Portugal. — Reduction by the French of Ciudad Rodrigo—and Almeida ... 182 Cr AP. xT: Plan of Lord Wellington for the Defence of Portugal, and at the same time supporting the Cause of Spain.— His Army, for near Three Months after his Retreat from Talavera, how stationed.— His Armyaugmented by Portuguese Troops, disciplined by Field Marshal Beresford.— How quartered in and after the Month of February.—Their Positions when they come nearly in contact with the Enemy advancing on Portugal— And their Line of Retreat on strong and impregnable Fortifications near Lisbon—After the Surrender of Almeida, Lord Wellington begins to retreat and concentrate his Forces.— Marshal Massena, at the head of the French Army of Portugal, pursues.— Lord Wellington, for impeding as much as possible the Advance of the Enemy into the interior of the Country, obliges the Inhabitants to quit their Homes, and remove or destroy all that couldbe of use to the Enemy.—The Planof Massena for turning the left Flank of the Allies, frustrated by Lord Wellington.— Battle of Buzaco.—The French repulsed in an Attack on the Position of the Allies ; but they turn the Left of the Allies, and advance on Coim- bra, whither Lord Wellington, with the main body of his Army, arrives before him.— Retreat of Lord Wellington to his Lines at Torres Vedras. — These described.— Difficulties in which the French are involved, being drawn into a Snare by the military Genius of Lord Wellington.— Their Sufferings, particularly from want of Provisions.—Their Positions at Jirst in front of the Allies —Skirmishes—Massena hemmed in on all Sides.— His Operations confined to Self-defence against the Allies, and against Famine.—Relative Positions of the French and the Allied Army of Portugal at the close of 1810 bacate dae veeesvatuuseccecevace AOU Pu CHAP. XIII. A French Corps. sent against Badajoz.—A kind of false Attack.—The Intention of it—The main Efforts of the French pointed against the Allied Army under Lord Wellington.— Address to the Spantsh Nation by the Junta of Badajoz.—Nature of the Warfare carried on by the Guerillas.— Celebrated Chiefs of the Guerillas.— Successes of the Gue- rillas—unavailing against the steady and combined System of the enemy.—Great Hopes from the approaching Meeting of the Cortes.— Form of electing the Deputies of the Cortes.—Deputies elected to the Cortes even in the Provinces occupied by the F: rench.—— Meeting, Instal- _ lation, and Transactions of the Cortes —Political Conduct of King Joseph in Spain.— His Situation there very uneasy and unpleasant.— The Measures adopted for conciliating the Spaniards, by Joseph, con= _demned by Napoleon.— Atrocities committed by the French Generals in Spain.— The Duke of Orleans invited to—and dismissed. ... 209 CONTENTS. \ CH APs XIV. Spanish Provinces of \ America.—Revolution in.—Traced to their Causes.—The Colonies divided into two grand Parties—Civil War begun SES SCOHET eS ehEFeeeeeetePeeesesaeeteseseseaesee Ceeeeeevereessereeseeasse 293 CHAP. XV. Marriage of Buonaparte with the Archduchess Maria Louisa of Austria. — Addresses from all Quarters, and Festivities on this occasion.—Cha- racter of thenew Empress.—French troops pour into Holland.— Treaty between Napoleon and Lewis Buonaparte.—Infringed by the former.— Lewis abdicates the Throne of Holland in favour of his eldest Son.— Farewell Address of Lewis to the Dutch.— The Character and Conduct of Lewis contrasted with that of his Brother Lucien.— Conference between a Dutch Commissioner and. the Marquis Wellesley, British Secretary of State, on the Subject of a Maritime Peace.— Annexation of Holland, and all the Territories between the Elbe and the Ems to the French-Empire—And of the Valais.—New Measure Sor recruiting the Naval Force of F; fg mAs Sach of the French Empire.— Annexation of Hanover to Westphalia.— Extension of the French Conscription Laws.—Various Modes in which Buonaparte rivetted the Chains in which he had bound the French.—And Means by which he provides for his personal safety.—His Rage against English Commerce.—Curbs the Priesthood at Romésersssesseeeee 232 CHAP. XVI Election of a Successor to Charles XIII. King of Sweden.— Death of the Crown Prince, Charles Augustus of Augustenburg.— Murder of Count Fersen, High Marshal of Sweden.—Competitors for the Suc- cession of the Crown of Sweden.— Lhe successful Candidate, Marshal Bernadotte, Prince of Ponte Corvo.— Suspicions of French Intrigue, and Instigation in the Murder of Count Fersen, and even the Death of the Prince of Augustenburg.—Grounds of these.— Character and Anecdotes of Count Fersen.— Bernadotte strives by all Means to gain the Affections and the Confidence of the Swedes.—War declared by Sweden against England.—Arrival of the Ex-King of Sweden in England.—Character of that Prince-—The Danes return to their old Business of Piracy.—Preparations and Attempts of King Murat to invade Sicily frustrated by the Vigilance and Vigour of the English General, Sir John Stuart.—War between the Turks and Russians. 243 .. CHAP. XVIT. History of the Dispute between Great Britain and the United States of America.—Naval and Colonial Affairs of Great Britain—In the Mediterranean—In the West Indies—The East Indies, and on the Coast of Germany.— Meeting of the British Parliament.—Indisposi- tion of the King.—During this, the Prince of Wales appointed Regent of the Kingdom COCO O SOE THESE eceTERHHETOS TED HF EHOH SHS eHe tHe EES 253 CONTENTS. CHRONICLE. 241 APPENDIX TO THE CHRONICLE. 297 Gazette INTELLIGENCE chronologically arranged «+ «+ bid. Dispatches, &c. from the London Gazettes see ose .-. tbid. Promotions in the year 1810 ose eee eee ee 319 JURISPRUDENCE 324 I. Abstract of the Public Laws enacted by the British Legislature. Passed in the fiftieth year of his Majesty's reign vee eee dbid. Il. Brief Reports of. some important Law Cases in the year 1810 331 III. Liberty of the Subject —Collection of Papers relative to the Affair of Sir Francis Burdett Sas ta on wee O44 OBITUARY FOR 1810. 363 / MISCELLANEOUS 3 A pchuaet All The Bill of Mortality for 1810 a ee sh, a loveewgnne Marriages in the year 1810 a wae ona eee ++ ibid. Births in the year 1810 see ese eS eee woe one 414 Sheriffs of England and Wales appointed in 1810 ove eee 416 New Patents granted in 1810 eo eee aes Suthep ed Account of Livings in England and Wales, under 1501. a year ... 419 The Thanksgiving Prayer ~ . ‘ “ e+e bid. The Prayer for Restoration of his Majesty's Health...” .. 420 Statement of the Gold and Silver coined from the Restoration to the 25th of March, 1810 .... Ae re ee ade woe 421 Quantity of Strong Beer brewed in London from the 5th of July, 1809, to-the 5th of July, 1810 ase one ove eve dbid. Appropriation of the British Supplies eee soe «+. 422 ~ List of his Majesty's Ministers in 1810 ae eee woe 425 Prices of Stocks for 1810. eve toe oes eee we» 426 Table of the Numbers of. Bankruptcies in 1810 ooo eee 427 General View of the Confederation of the Rhine ce tees 428 Prices of Meat, Sugar, Salt, Coals, and Bread, in London, for 1810 429 STATE PAPERS. I. BRITISH. His Majesty's Speech at the opening of Parliament see 430 His Majesty's Speech at the conclusion of the Session — «.. wee 432 Earl of Chatham’s Memorial on the Expedition to the Scheldt ... 433 Sir Richard Strachan’s Reply to the same ase ee wee 437 Report of the select. Committee of the House of Commons concerning Sir Francis Burdett’s Arrest vee ove wee ere) ane Extract from the Fifth Report of the Committee of the House of Com- mons on Public Expenditure 6 Abstract of the Bullion Report... ore eve 454 CONTENTS. Abstract of the Report from the Select Committee of the Heuse of Commons, on sinecure Places... is de aes vee ee 478 Extracts of Papers laid before the House of Commons relative to the _ East India Company ... Bs g St wee 486 Official Accounts of the Produce of Taxes ay vee ane 492 ' Net Produce of Excise aaa on ti a: «+» 2bid. —— War Taxes be TT eae ae woo 493 ———— Customs ote > Hy. We wee 494 - ———\—— Post Office aah oS ae i woe 495 a Assessed Taxes ... ae ae ake + ibid. ——_—— Property Tax Sta ae Se .. ibid. —— Permanent Taxes eee ove «+. tbid. ———_——- Stamps ... wo ae oss za w+» 496 —-. Income and Surplus of Consolidated Fund ... abid. II. FOREIGN STATE PAPERS. 497 I..FRANCE. ' Hager concerning Kolli’s Plan for liberating Ferdinand, oe of ae. eee wos Ss aes nc sn w+. 2bid. Bonaparte’s Decrees for annexing Rome, Holland, and the Hanse Towns to France xs 4 : vee «- 502 o Exposé of the State of France \.. RN. Di dey e+» 508 I. HOLLAND. Address of Louis to his Subjects on his Abdication eee ae 512 Report concerning the Marriage of Bonaparte ... ode eee 507 Address of the Deputies of Holland to Bonaparte» o- 513 Ill. SPAIN AND PORTUGAL. 515 Proclamation from the Superior Spanish Junta ... one ove tbid. Massena’s Address to the Portuguese «at abe «». ibid. Lord Wellington's Address to the Portuguese... one - 516 IV. RUSSIA. 517 Decree relative to the Finances of Russia ake eee see dbid. V. SWEDEN. 518 Decree of Non-Intercourse, §c. with Great Britain os eee 2bid. ; VI. AMERICA—UNITED STATES. 519 President Madison’s Proclamation Si ee .-- tbid. Mr. Gallatin’s Letters on Non-Intercourse with Britain ... dbid. VII. SOUTH AMERICA. 520 Declaration of the Provinces of the Caraccas «. eve we. 2bid. Declaration of the Junta of La Plata én ene a e+ CHARACTERS. 525 Anecdotes of the last Hours, with a Sketch of the late Right Honour-— able William Pitt ous ade es ye od eee thi. Manners and Customs of the Tongataboos «x. ee «a 52S" Literary Life of Dr. Hawkesworth ons «. 536 Manners and Customs of the Tupinambas, exemplified in the extraor- dinary Adventures of Hans Stade vis i evs’ 550 CONTENTS Religious Ceremonies of the Tupinambas se ons g-~ BO4 Anecdotes of the Duke of Burgundy es ses waa eee 568 Last Hours and Character ay Fenelon Sa eae: otek hen Amusements of the American Spaniards vee vyegQZ Characteristic Sketches of the American Spaniards : . 594 Anecdotes of the Mexicans, including a Description of Mexico, its Lakes, Sc. eee ere eso eee ee 598 NATURAL HISTORY. 619 - Directions for taking care of growing Plants at Sea, by Dr. Roxburgh 619 Account of the Mahogany Tree, and of the cutting thereof at Honduras 620 Memoir on the Tunis Broad-tailed Sheep, by Richard Peters, Esq. 624 Method of preserving and keeping in vigour Fruit Trees planted in Orchards or Fields . 630 Observations upon Luminous Animals, by James Macartney "yy Esq. 631 USEFUL PROJECTS. 650 Improvements in the Aqua Tinta Process, by whick Pen, Pencil, and Chalk Drawings can be imitated. By Mr. J. Hassell . 650 Method of preparing Ox-Gaill in a concentrated State for Painters, and Jor other Uses. By Mr. Cathery +» - 653 Method of procuring Turpentine and other products from the Scotch Fir. By Mr. H. B. Way eee eee 655 Improved mode of preparing Phosphorus Bottles ose - 660 ANTIQUITIES. 662 Inquiry into the Composition of some var us and Utensils of ancient Bronze, by Mr. Klaproth w did. On the Forcing Houses of the Romans, by Sir Joseph "Banks... 667 Account of ancient Customs in Cheshire A Re? DRS PST the Sheriff's Breakfast re tee eee eee 673 MISCELLANEOUS. 674 Manners, Customs, Laws, &c. of the Mosquito Indians © we «+e ibid. Account of the Salt Works at Namptwich, in the Comnty of Chester 678 An Account of the Vahabies on vee GSL Vindication of the Liberties oft the Asiatic Women tee - 684 Character of the Lounger was -- 691 Character of Mr. Cumberlands ‘Olserser des as eee 695 POETRY. Ode for the New Year, 1810, by Henry James Pye, Esq. Poet Laureate 699 Ode for His Majesty’s Birth Day, by the same ve se» 700 CONTENTS. The Statue of the Dying Gladiator, an Oxford Prize Poem. By G. R. Chinnery oa vs oS eee eee TOL Harp of the North, from Mr. Scott's Lady of the Lake vo 703 Portrait of Ellen, from the same eee ove ee «+. bid. The Harper from the same eon ove vse eve vee 705 The Sacrifice, from the same eee eee vee eee vee tbid. The Wedding, from the same —. ies one ses east 08 Farewell Address to the Harp of the North, from the same wei MAD The Sacrifice, from Southey’s Curse of Kehama ove ee Z11 Jaga-naut, from the same ae au ove ae ove 714 The Widow, from Crabbe’s Borough wes y-3 ae <0 The Card-Club, from the same BE ‘das He conn, weal The Alms-house, from the same ove ooo eve eo. 720 The Felon’s Dream, from the same Sag eae The Negro’s Home and Country, from the same oie a 4) The Guinea Captain, from the same was ae ane o- 728 The Creole Planter, from the same ae sae oes eve 201d. Christian Negroes, from the same eee ove vee eee 729 The Harp of Sorrow, from Montgomery’s Poem ose ee 730 ACCOUNT OF BOOKS. Account of the British Settlement of Honduras, being a View of its Commercial and Agricultural Resources, Soil, Climate, Natural History, &c. To which are added, Sketches of the Manners and Customs of the Mosquito Indians. By Captain Henderson ... 733 The History of Brazil, by Robert Southey. Part I. w+ «+ 739 The Travels of Mirza Abu Taleb Khan, in Asia, Africa, and Europe, during the Years 1799, 1800, 1801, 1802, and 1803. Written by himself in the Persian Language. Translated by Charles Stewart, Esq. aes re 6 ANNUAL REGISTER, majesty’s councils to the scorn and derision of the enemy. That we therefore feel ourselves bound, - with a view to the only atonement that can now be made to an in- jured people, to institute, without delay, such rigorous and effectual inquiries and proceedings, as duty impels us to adopt, in a case where our country has been subjected to unexampled calamity and dis- grace.” Lord Harrowby observed, that the amendment went not only to determine that there should be an inquiry, but to induce their lord- ships now to come to a vote of in- discriminate censure, of absolute condemnation, previous to any in- quiry. Such a mode of proceed- ing was surely unusual and unpre- cedented in the practice of parlia- ment. His noble friend, lord Grenyille’s policy rested on the praginle of abstaining from making ourselves parties in a warfare which had long ceased to afford any hope of what had been so emphatically called—the deliverance of Europe. But he might remind his noble friend, that such a principle had not been exactly conformable to his sentiments on all occasions. Even in the course of the last ses- sion he had joined in the gene-~ ral enthusiasm in favour of the Spanish cause, and in the anxiety prompted by that enthusiasm, to afford it every aid in our power. Government did not stimulate and give birth to the exertions on the part of the Spaniards, but they felt it to be their duty, and con- ceived it to be the interest of this country, to encourage and assist them, Neither had they incited other powers on the continent to 1810. embark anew in hostilities with France. Austria was inclined to appeal to the chances of war, to the decision of the sword ; but she had been warned by his majesty’s ministers of the perils of the attempt, and of the inability of this country to lend her any effec- tual support. As to the points where, in the judgment of lord Grenville, powerful diversions in favour of Austria might have been effected by a large British army, what would have been the expence and difficulty of transporting 100,000 men, supposing it possi- ble to have found and collected them, to the Mediterranean or Adriatic ? Not less impracticable and unpromising wouid have been the plan of sending them to the north of Germany. There might have been men in different districts of Germany who were anxious to rescue themselves from.the op- pression and tyranny of the French, but they had neither arms nor uni- forms. Even if they had given greater demonstrations of their de- termination and power to resist, it would havebeen impossible for the British government to send such a force as had beenmentioned, and as indeed would have been necessary, to theirassistance; andevenif such a force had been at our disposal, how could government have found the means of subsisting and paying them in the north of Germany ?— After the armament had been pre- pared, intelligence was received of the armistice between France and Austria ; yet it was still uncer- tain whether that armistice would end in a definitive peace. The contrary, for a while, appeared the more probable. Looking at all HISTORY OF the points within our reach, and where our means might be eflec- tually exerted, there was no one which promised so fayourable a result as an attack upon Flushing and Antwerp. There the enemy lad for years been expending im- mense sums in erecting a naval arsenal and dépot, and in rearing up a navy, by which he might be _enabled to menace the most yul- nerable points of these realms. Accordingly it was resoived to make a well-directed effort to de- stroy both the navy and arsenal. The design, on account of unfore- seen difficulties, had not been wholly accomplished, yet the hos- tile design of invading this coun- _ try, from the Low Countries, had been frustrated, by the demolition of the harbour and arsenal of Flushing, Whatever disastrous effects had arisen from the opera- tions necessary to its attainment, were indeed to be lamented: but they were not, in the first instance, to haye been apprehended. The design promised to be executed in a short time, and before the sea- son set in, whose pestilential influ- enge was particularly to be dread~ ed, and most necessary to be guarded against. The expedition was ready to sail about the middle of July; but-it was detained nine or ten days by contrary winds; and other unforeseen and uncon- trolled obstacles occurred after- wards, to protract the operations till the unhealthy period of the year. But all these obstructions could not possibly have been fore- seen, or guarded against. This would be shewn by the informa- tion which his majesty had ordered to be laid before their lordships : before which it would be impossi-« EUROPE. 7 ble for their lordships to decide upon the subject, or to institute a fair inquiry. The other points very much insisted upon, and re- probated by his friend, lord Grenville, was the expedition to Spain and Portugal. But that ex- pedition had achieved great and important objects. 1t had rescued Portugal from the French—it had covered the character of the Bri- tish army with glory; and, by the position which that army after- wards occupied and maintained, it rendered infinite service to the Spanish armies. It covered them in several points—it secured the defence of Estramadura, and in a great measure that of La Mancha, To this expedition was also owing the deliverance of Gallicia, andthe securing of the ships at Ferrel, The Earl of Moira maintained, that the proofsdemanding notonly inquiry but condemnation, stood before them. The whole convic- tion of his mind, and the convic- tion of eyery one who considered the subject, called for judgment upon the face of the case, He would go the full length of the amendment, altheugh it only pledged their Jordships to inquir at present. ‘The noble eari ha not stated the case of Austria, as put by his noble friend lord Gren- ville, fairly. As no specific pro- mise of aid had been given to Austria, none was broken: but if that aid which our interests re- quired was not granted, ministers had equally neglected their duty. But although we were not pledged to Austria, it would not be con- tended that we were not pledged to Spain. The pledge to Spain was not only given by parliament, but confirmed by the universal 8 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. and enthusiastic voice of the coun- try. The case of Spain afforded the best opportunity of terminat- ing the war with glory. The en- thusiasm existing in that country could not be doubted: for nothing but enthusiasm could have kept armies together after so many de- feats and disasters. And how had our pledge to Spain been fulfilled? Ministers sent an army to Portu- gal, with instructions to deliver that country, and to consider Spain only as a secondary object. Sir Arthur Wellesley’s army, how- ever, did advance into Spain, and gained a victory: but, although the stronger and the victorious army, it immediately retreated. And two great Spanish armies, left to themselves, had been suc- cessively cut to pieces, while a British army remained idle and in- active in their vicinity. Either the instructions of that gallant general, sir Arthur Wellesley, had been erroneous, or he wanted means to carry his victorious army forward. After such scenes of calamity, their lordships would disgrace themselves, if they did not adopt the course recommend- ed by the noble lord who moved the amendment. ; Lord Sidmouth could not but acknowledge that there was much to regret, and perhaps to repre- hend, in the expedition to Spain, and especially in that to Walche- ren. He wished an early day to be fixed for going into the inquiry proposed, and he wished the in- quiry to be full and vigorous. But he was not for prejudging the con- duct of his majesty’s government, which would be the case, if the amendment of his friend, lord Grenville, were adopted without any alteration. Lord Mulgrave also reprobated condemnation without inquiry. With regard to the conduct of the war, he could safely declare that no one was to blame: neither the ministers who planned the mea~- sures, nor the officers chosen to execute them, Earl Grey, in answer to certain sarcasms that had been made by the earl of Harrowby, on the late administration, said, he was fully satisfied that the conduct of those with whom he had the honour to act at the period alluded to, was best calculated to promote the interest and welfare of the country, viz. to husband* the re« sources of the state, in order that, at a time when they should be most wanted, they might be ade- quately and advantageously em- ployed for the public security. But this was not the question now be- fore their Jordships. The question was, whether his majesty’s minis- ters, having determined on war, and a system of offensive warfare, had pursued this scheme of their vigorous policy by the best means. Were the objects attainable, and if attainable, were they material to the final result of the conflict, in which we were engaged? When he held the seals of the foreign department, an expedition to the Scheldthad been frequentlypressed * This argument of husbanding our resources was much insisted on, and, indeed, the great sheet anchor Grenville. in question of foreign relations, of the lords Grey and Money may be saved, but military spirit, skill, and valour, the main bulwark of a'state, are promoted, not by husbanding, but by exercising them. HISTORY OF EUROPE. 9 upon him. But, after making every due inquiry, he was convinced, that to destroy the arsenals at _ Antwerp, and the shipping in the Scheldt, was not an attainable ob- ject. The force of the country had been frittered into divisions : whereas, to effect any great pur- pose, it ought to have been made to act in a body, one and indivi- sible. To the project of opera- tions in the north of Germany, it had been objected, that it would have been attended with great ex- pence, and serious difficulties in the transportation of the troops. Was it to be endured, that after the prodigality of which the ser- vants of the crown hadbeen guilty, they should boggle at the expence of such enterprises? ‘Then, as to the transport of troops to Pied- mont, and from the Thames to the Weser : could the ruler of France send a powerful army to Egypt, and would great Britain, the mis- tress of the ocean, with 100 ships of the line, and 1,000 ships of war of various proportions, and an in-~ calculable commercial marine, be disappointed in such a purpose ? It had been asked how 100,000 men could have been provided for such enterprises? Were not 40,000 employed in Walcheren, 15,000 in Sicily, and 45,000 in Spain and Portugal ? How much, then, was the deficiencyof 100,000, men? Whether engaged in one, two, or three divisions, the difficulty of raising and paying such a force was nearly the same—lord Grey also observed, that so far back as September 1808, ministers had re- ceived proposals from the north of Germany for a rising in that coun- try ; and he farther believed, from what followed, that encourage~ ment had been given to such a scheme. This enterprise might have been undertaken in May or June. With all this appearance of advantage, it might indeed have been unsuccessful: but the mea- sures pursued by ministers had not a chance in their favour. Lord Grey next took a review of the campaign in Spain. He disapproved of the residence of Mr. Frere, as minister of the junta, so long after it had been an- nounced that he was to be recall ed. A great deal was to be done by the marquis of Wellesley. That noble marquis, however, whether from a negociation with his ma- jesty’s ministers, or some other cause, had, after his appointment, instead of proceeding to his post at Seville, remained for months in London. He saw much to blame in the conduct of lord Welling- ton, in a military point of view. With regard to the battle of Tala- vera, he condemned that uncandid calculation, which represented it as a victory gained over an enemy double our force. When the Spa- nish army was taken into the ac- count, the superiority was greatly on our side. He appealed to the honour, wisdom, and humanity of the House, while he urged it, by many considerations, to relieve the country, if possible, by sup- porting the amendment. The Earl of Liverpool, after re- probating condemnation without inquiry, insisted that our operations in Spain had been most wise and beneficial to the country ; which he pledged himself to prove when- ever the details came to be in- quired into. He instanced asa proof of this, that the provinces of Gallicia, Asturias, and Estrama- 10 dura, had been completely cleared of the French: and although it was true, that they had by surprise de- feated two Spanisharmies, yet they had not been able to gather any fruits of their victories ; for they had not advanced one step. With respect to the expedition to Wal- cheren, he admitted that ministers knew of the Austrian armistice be- fore it sailed; but he was ready to contend that it, nevertheless, ope- rated as a fayourable diversion for Austria, for it had diverted to the banks of the Scheldt a large body of conscripts, which were intended to have acted against her. And, for that purpose, he knew it was the desire of Austria that we should retain Walcheren until she should come to terms of peace. And hard as those terms were for her, whoever compared the threats of _ Buonaparte with the terms which he afterwards granted, must admit that some cause had reduced him to the necessity of relaxing from his threatened severity, This cause, in lord Liverpool’s opinion, was no other than our holding, at the express request of Austria, the island of Walcheren; and, in fact, that was the reason why we held it, after ulterior objects of the expedition were known to be defeated. But there was one im- portant object, in which the ex- pedition to the Scheldt had cam- pletely succeeded. It was known to be a favourite measure of our enemy to form a naval dock and arsenal at the mouthof the Scheldt; and it had always been admitted by professional men, that if an in- vasion of this country were ever to be attempted, it would never be effected but from the Scheldt. And in one great object we had ANNUAL REGISTER, i8i0. at least succeeded ; for in the opi- nion of professional men it would require much less time and ex~- pence to form a new harbour and arsenal than to restore the one we had destroyed at Flushing.—Some noble lords had said, that the destruction of Flushing was an -~ achievement of no importance, and as such considered by the ruler of France. He would ask those noble lords whether, if the case could be reversed, and a French fleet were to attack and destroy Sheerness, and afterwards make good their retreat, it would he considered by Buonaparte as a small triumph, or by us as a tri- fling defeat?-—The question being loudly called for, the House divid- ed on lord Grenyille’s amendment. For the amendment 92. For the address 144. On the same day, the Lords Commissioners’ speech was taken into consideration in the House of Commons. After the Speaker had finished reading the speech, lord Barnard, in what is called a mai- den speech, expressed his convic- tion that the House would think the exertions that had been made in the Austrian cause, not un- worthy of the character of the na- tion. On the subject of the expe- dition to the Scheldt he observed, that though the whole of its ob- jects bad not been accomplished, the advantages the country would derive from what had been eftect- ed, if not now generally acknow- iedged, would soon be generally experienced.—His majesty’s sen- timents on the Spanish war were suited to his dignity, While the brave and martial Spaniards fought with the spirit and perseverance of free men, he offered his aid to HISTORY OF EUROPE. 11 their first exertions. And he would not, in the day of their dif- ficulties, withdraw that aid which he had offered to their early cause, &c. &c. Lord Barnard concluded by moving an address, which was, as usual, an echo of his majesty’s speech.—The motion for an ad- dress was seconded by, Mr. Peel, who, in the course of an animated speech, maintained its propriety by the same kind of reasoning that had been used by speakers on the same side of the question, in the House of Lords, Having come to the affairs of America, he said, that it might be indecorous in him to advert to these in their present situation ; nor would he, after the observa- tions in his majesty’s speech, en- ter into any inquiry as to the con- duct of his majesty’s ministers ; but of the effects of a war with America, on the commerce of this country, we might be able to form some judgment from former expe- rience. During the embargo, the amount of exports to and imports from the United States, was un- questionably decreased ; but this loss was amply counterbalanced by the direct trade carried on by our merchants, to. Spain and her de- pendencies, England desired nei- ther peace nor war ; but she would suffer no indignity, and make no unbecoming concessions. With every engine of power and per- fidy against us, the situation of this country had proved to Buona- parte, that it. was invulnerable in the very point to which all his efforts were directed. The ac- counts of the exports of British manufactures would be found to exceed, by several millions, those of any former period, And with regard to our internal condition, while France had been stripped of the flower of her youth, England had continued to flourish. The only alteration had been, the sub- stitution of machinery for manual labour. The address contained nothing that could prevent its una- nimous adoption. It called for no pledge to approve of what had passed, and opposed no impedi- ment in the way of inquiry. The aggression, usurpation, and ty- ranny of Buonaparte, was a point on which all parties agreed, But, to resist him effectually they must be unanimous. Every heart and hand must be joined to give strength to the common cause. Lord Gowerproposedanamend- ment, nearly in the same terms with that which had been present- ed to the House of Peers. The arguments too by which he sup- ported it, were nearly the same, He exposed our plans of the cam- paign, bothin Spain and Germany. The failure of the campaign of 1808, in Spain, seemed to have no other consequence than to induce ministers to risk a repetition of its fatal issue, by a renewal of the same blind confidence in the co- operation of the Spanish armies and government, and a recurrence to the same destructive policy. What a plan of a campaign must that have been, when even victory led to inevitable and disastrous re- treat, in which our army was obliged to leave two thousand of its sick and wounded to the mercy of the foe, over whom we were said to haye obtained a decisive victory? As to the Walcheren expedition, they were told in the dispatches of lord Chatham, al- most in so mapy words, that the 12 plan was radically erroneous. Ant- werp, he told them, instead of be- ing a weak defenceless town, was absolutely impregnable ; that the ships had been moved out of the reach of attack, and that our force, great as it was, was insufficient for the attempt, and daily diminishing from the diseases of a pestilential climate. When the objects of the expedition were at last discovered to be clearly unattainable, and all farther operations prudently aban- doned, it was supposed by minis- ters, that the immediate return of the expedition would mark too strongly the complete failure of their plans, and therefore they de- termined that our troops should remain undera climate notoriously pestilential, and proverbially fatal. That it really was so, appeared in- disputably from two facts on re- cord. The late sir John Pringle, a man remarkably eminent in the medical profession, had long ago published an account of the ende- mic diseases of Walcheren, which were most destructive to our ar- miesin 1777, at which time the pro- portion of the sick to the healthy, was as four to one. The Swiss troops, formerly in the pay of the United States, always made it a stipulation, that they should not be obliged to serve in Walcheren. His majesty’s ministers, if they did not know the extreme insalubrity of that island, should have sought, or opened their eyes to, the easiest means of information on that sub- ject. The motion for the amend- ment was seconded, in a long and elaborate, yet eloquent and ani- mated speech, by The Honourable Mr. J.-W. Ward, who rose to support the amendment. Froma great variety ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. of observations by Mr. Ward, we select the following.—It appeared, that during the last seven or eight months, his majesty’s ministers had failed in three great and deliberate designs: and that, if we extended our view alittle farther, we should include the campaign which ter- minated in the death of sir John Moore ; which, again, was * pre- ceded, at no long interval, by the convention of Cintra; so that, on the whole, the result was this, that during the time that his ma- jesty’s ministers had conducted his government, they had attempted every thing every where, on the largest scale, and that in every thing they had failed; except in- deed in thatinstance, inwhich they directed his arms, not against his enemies, but his allies. Their en- terprises had all of them either a _ludicrous or a disastrous termina- tion. Now, to maintain that acci- dent had been every thing, and misconduct nothing, in those trans- actions, was to maintain that a species of miracle was worked against us. Accidents might ac- count for some detached failures in the course of along administra- tion; but a man must have a high opinion of the king’s servants in- deed, and must moreover have an understanding most singularlycon- stituted, who could persuade him- self that the convention of Cintra, the miserable expulsion of our army under sir. John Moore, the ludicrous capture of Ischia and Procidia, the second useless, ex- pensive, and destructive campaign in Spain, and, to crown all, the ex- pedition to Walcheren ;—that all these things following each other with the utmost rapidity, not a single success intervening tobreak HISTORY OF EUROPE. 13 the chains of calamity, happened by pure ill-luck, and without the smallest degree of blame to the wisest and best, but most unfortu- nate of administrations. We were required to believe in the fitness of those, who had pronounced upon each others incapacity. It was from discord at home, and disgrace abroad, that we were to infer wis- dom and good conduct. We had seen now, in the course of the first campaign in Spain, our army had suffered more than it could have suffered in a country decidedly hostile: that it was re- ceived with jealousy and unwilling- ness, and that its presence, instead of rousing the Spaniards to greater efforts, by an increased prospect of success, seemed only to chili whatever enthusiasm might have been supposed to exist among them before. Instead of gratitude and enthusiasm, all we met with was a bare preference of England to France, in a choice of evils; a mere inclination to expel their in- vaders, if it could be done without the expense and trouble of adopt- ing the necessary means. All we obtained from them was the gra- cious, though somewhat tardy per- mission of the Supreme Junta, to waste as many lives, and as much treasure as we pleased in their de- fence. Sir John Moore was or- dered to advance, and make com- moncause with the Spanish nation. He did advance, but the Spanish - nation seemed to dwindle away as he approached; and of all those numerous armies of patriots, on which he was taught to rely, not one ever appeared, unless indeed that name was to be bestowed on a few miserable bands of fugitive peasants, who crossed his way, in- terrupted his march, and encum- bered him with fresh difficulties. That general, one of the best offi- cers, and ablest men this country ever produced, in all he did, in all he wrote, in his life, and by his death, bore uniform testimony against the whole system of de- pending on the Spaniards, and of assisting Spain, by means of an army to be marched into the inte- rior of the country. Be it that he was over cautious, desponding, guided by a pedantic attachment to regular troops. Be it that he admired the military genius of Buonaparte, while he was slow to discern that of the marquis of Ro- mana. Be it that with unparallel- ed coldness and scepticism, he doubted the zeal of the inhabi- tants of Madrid, and the unshaken patriotism of Don’Thomas Moria. Let all the foolish objections, and ridiculouscalumniesavail, that had been invented, in order to blacken the memory of that illustriousman, who fell a victim to the folly and impracticability of the design, in which he was engaged. Setting sir John Moore aside: what were the opinions of all the other offi- cers who served in that expedi- tion? they surely were not all in- capable of forming a judgment. They did not all labour, from be- ginning to end, under the influ- ence of invincible prejudice and incurable despondency. And did any of them, if they were consult- ed, advise a second experiment ? The opinions of some of them were recorded along with those of sir John Moore, and perfectly coincided with his. Nay, he was persuaded that one might go yet farther, and defy his majesty’s mi- nisters to produce the name of 14 a single officer of rank and cha- racter, under his command, who either advised the second cam- paign, or who would have been willing to stake any part of his re- putation on that advice. He did not know what there was to put in the opposite scale. Perhaps one might form some idea of the na- ture of the information on which his majesty’s ministers proceeded, from that of the agents whom they spread over the face of the penin- sula, and who were understood to maintain a correspondence with government athome. These mis- sionaries were, for the most part, military mien, not very high in the profession, and whowere of course delighted with the honours they received, It was natural enough that persons of this description, and that without imputing to them any deliberate dereliction of theit duty, should represent only the fair side of things; give a little colouring to whatever was good, and extenuate all that was discou- raging. They might even deserve praise for their activity and spirit ; but he really believed, that out of the whole number there was scarcely a cool-headed, sound- judging man, scarcely one whose opinion was much better than that of the famous colonel Charmilly himself. The opinion of major Carrol stood on one side, the opi- ‘nion of sir John Moore on the other, and ministers preferred that of major Carrol. The flight of the Supreme Junta to Seville had not cured them of the inactivity they had displayed at Aranjuez. Of all their enemies the only one they had been able to subdue, was the press. They had done nothing for the people, and nothing to en- ANNUAL REGISTER, i810. lighten the people. No change could be expected in such a go- vernment, except from some great effort of the people themselves. And yet without such a change, how was it possible to hope for success ? The fundamental error which pervaded the whole of our opera« tions respecting Spain, consisted in supposing that the Spanish troops were capable of acting in conjunction with ours. Now it was clearly established, both by the events of sir J. Moore’s cam- paign, and by every other species of evidence, that the Spaniards neither had a regular army, nor any thing that was capable of co- operating with a regular army ; and that whenever the French chose to concentrate their force, at the risk of a rising in that part of the country, whichsucha move- ment would compel them to aban- don, and which they might easily re-occupy when they had obliged us to retire, they would meet with very little opposition from our al- lies, and that we should have vir- tually to contend with them single- handed. It was the art of that great general and politician, king William IIT. to render defeatharm- less. It was the art of ministers and generals of these days to make victory itself unavailing. The suc- cesses at Oporto, and afterwards Talavera, for which the highest honours and panegyrics had been bestowed on our general! were attended with no permanent ad- vantages whatever, and in their consequences resembled not vic- tories, but defeats, fi With regard to the expedition to Walcheren, whether we consi- dered the plan, the object, or the HISTORY OF EUROPE. / person to wliom the execution of it was intrusted, our history did not afford an example of any thing sodisStaceful andso absurd. Buo- naparte knew it was on the banks of the Danube alone that he was to fight, nct only for Germany, but for Spain, Italy, Holland ; for France itself, for al his conquests, and all his glories; and did his majesty’s ministers so far measure his mind by their own poor and inadequate Conception of affairs, as even to dream that he could be arrested in his career, through the fear of losing Middleburgh, or even Antwerp ? “There had been times when even the present ministers, ot any other persons of moderate uider- standings aid attainments, might have govertied the country, though not with much credit, yet without danger. But now that the whole “gedesh Europe was concentrated i France, and the whole power of . France concentrated in one man, and that man the greatest general and statesman the world ever pro- duced, and the bitterest enemy England ever knew, it was an ab- solute infatuation not to liave re- course to our best means of de- fence, moral as well as physical, to the wisdomand union of our cotihcils, as well as the strength of out fietsand armies. Perhaps we were already in a situation which defied the efforts of the wisest and best among us, and which would have defied the efforts of those wiser and greater men whom we had lost. But sure he was, that the country could not be preserved . by the remnant of a ministry, by something weaker than that which ' Was supposed to have obtained the utinost possible point of debility. 15 Mr. Herbert objected to_ the amendment, as it condemnéd the conduct of mitisters without evi- dence. Sir Thomas Turton thought that the House ought, without delay, to pledge theniselves to the country, to call for a rigid iiquity into the cohduct of an expedition which had terminated in disgrace and disaster. He was astonished to hear of a fresh army having been Sent to Spain, after the disasters that had befallen the former, which had a much fairer prospect of stic- cess. The most infallible mode of securing miscarriage in the con- duct of the war, had been resorted to by ministers, when they divided their force between Spain and Walcheren. Lord Kensington wished the House to present a du- _tiful address to the throne, desir- ing an inquiry into the conduct of ministers, but carefullyavoiding all expressions that might appear to prejudge one or all of them. Mr. Brand saw no good likely to arise to the country from an inquiry, as he was well aware of the manner in which it would most likely be carried on. He, therefore, liked that part of the amendment which at once condemned the expedi- tions toWalcheren and Spain, bet- ter than that which merely pro- posed an inquiry into them. Buo- naparte was enabled to withdraw part of his forces from Spain, and biing the war to a termination be- fore our expedition could reach Walcheren. Could not the same armament have been sent to Wal- cheren before this event happen- ed? Bat ministers had acted simi- larly towards Spain. The mar- quisof Wellesleyhad been appoint- ed ambassador, from this country 16 to the Supreme Junta, on the 29th of May last, but he did not depart from England till the end of July. In Spain there was not the least hope of ourarms having ultimately success. Whenever we succeeded by Jand against the French they were in an insulated situation, where their chief had no means of re-inforcing them : but into Spain he could pour his legions at plea- sure, and compel us to retreat.— Mr. Bathurst had come down to the house, with the hope, not only that ministers would have put into the speech a declaration of their readiness to afford every in- formation that could be required, but that the mover and seconder of the address would have intro- duced into it a pledge, on the part of parliament, to take the calamities and disorders that had befallen us into immediate consi- deration. The amendment, how- ever, went too far, and rather pre- cluded inquiry, by prejudging the case that was to be inquired into. It would have been a sufficient pledge to the country, to have stated, after thanking his majesty for the communication of the necessary documents, that they should immediately proceed to in- stitute a parliamentary inquiry into the failures of the late campaign, Mr. Bathurst objected particularly to the position in the amendment, that our last campaign had been ‘*marked only by a repetition of former error.” The battle of Tala- vera had placed the valour of our troops on a height on which it had never before stood. Mr. Ponsonby observed, that Mr. Bathurst had much misunder- stood the amendment. It did not criminate in the first instance any ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. particular person in any particular transaction. Its only object was to tell his majesty that that House felt deeply the calamities and dis- graces of the last campaign ; and that they were resolved to inquire into the causes of them, and to punish their authors. Did the ho- nourable gentleman now deny that the public had been exposed to calamity and disgrace? That it was never exposed to so great ca- lamity and disgrace, at any former period? What had been publish- ed by the enemy, on the subject of our last campaign, justly held ' up the British government to the derision of Europe. If our forces had been concentrated in thenorth of Germany instead of being dis- persed in Spain, Walcheren, and Sicily, Austria wouldhave received effectual succour, andperhaps been delivered from her perils, with great glory, inasmuch as the Bri- tish army, thus collected, would have been more numerous than that which defeated the French at Essling. What was the state of the country, and of Europe, at the end of the first campaign, in the peninsula? That general, who had been much and most unjustly tra- duced, fell in the month of Janu- ary 1809, in the battle of Corunna, at the moment of victory, which he sealed with his blood : a battle, notwithstanding what had been said by Mr. Bathurst, at least as brilliant and glorious as that of Talavera: a battle fought when the commander was carrying a retreating army out of the country; not one where the rashness and presumption of the general in- duced him to risk an engagement, which there was no call on him to hazard, and where there was not HISTORY OF EUROPE, even one good consequence to be effected by the result. After the departure of the Eng- lish army, Buonaparte also quitted Spain ; and it was known to them- selves that Austria had determin- ed on an attempt once more to stem the torrent of his ambition. Hisleaving Spain must have shewn the ministers of this country, that he considered Austria as the most formidable enemy, for it was. his rule never to trust his generals, however experienced, with the most important service, but to un- dertake that himself. They had not only general meansof informa- tion, but must have had what amounted to almost a perfect knowledge on this subject. And thus were they enabled to choose the best point for diversion that presented itself, either in favour of Spain or Austria; though the conduct of Buonaparte himself must have convinced them,that the cause aud support of Austria was infinitely the more important. If they had chosen such a point, and confined our concentrated forces to any one object, they might have effected some great operation. But, after all the notorious mis- conduct of ministers, it was still contended that the House should first enquire, and that all definitive judgment should be suspended till the result of deliberate inquiry was fairly beforethem. What was in- tended by all this? That they were to begin by taking those things as problematical, which were universally known, establish- ed, and acknowledged ? That they were gravely.to proceed in an in- quiry, whether the climate of Wal- cheren was, or wasnot, unhealthy? Whether the season at which the Vou. LII. 17 British army made its descent on that island was, or was not, unfa- vourable? Whether ministers were or were not wholly ignorant of the climate and circumstances of an island within twenty hours sail of England? Were they to inquire who was selected to take the com- mand of the greatest expedition that ever left the shores of Eng- land? Was that another of the notorieties of which it was so ne- cessary to ascertain the truth? But who was this commander? A general, wise from long experi- ence, and illustrious from the splendor of many victories? No! The flower of the British troops was committed, in an evil hour, to the guidance of that inauspicious andill-omenedofficer,of whom no« thing more was known than that he was once at the head of the admiralty 2? And such was his lazy discharge of the duties of that department, that the minister, though his ‘near relative, had not the courage to suffer the functions of the state to sleep beneath the indolence of even his own brother. —The situation of the country was extremely awful; and if they, whose ignorance and obstinacy had placed it in that situation, were now to be exempted from the re- sponsibility of having done so, it: | danger would not, on that account, be less alarming. After a repeti- tion of the same errors had pro- duced a repetition of the same dis- asters, the House could not content itself with doing merely that which it had thought sufficient in periods less critical, and under exigencies less pressing. ‘The present was no time for half measures. Mr. Pon- sonby did think it was a crisis that called upon the House of Com- 18 mons to put forth its penal powers. It was no time for civility. It was no time for ceremoniotisly waving the best interests of the state, in courteous compliance with the feelings of those who lad either betrayed or endangered them. The present was not a time for shaping amendments to the imagi- nary niceties of those gentlemen who revolted at all idea of punish- ment. It was the time to speak out; and pursue with unwearied zeal public defaulters of every description. Lord Castlereagh said, that, con- scious of the wise policy on which theexpeditions, on which so much ofthat day’s discussion turned,were formed, and the manner in which they had been directed to the at- tainment of their objects, he had more reason to court than to shrink from inquiry ; nor did he fear the exercise of that penal jus- tice, with which Mr, Ponsonby had threatened him. But he trusted, that the House would not, like the honourable gentleman, think it ne- cessary, in order to furnish the grounds of charge, or subjects of inquiry, to recur to the whole course of the administration, in which he had lately a share. ‘They would not attempt, he trusted, to bestow censure beyond the trans- actions of last year. It was not his intention to make any invidious comparisons ; but in the military and naval strength of the country, muchimprovementhadlatelytaken place. The Baltic was in our pos- session. The Brest fleet had been Hearly annihilated. And the fleet of the Tagus had been brought into our ports ; and, he would ask if Spain would have discovered that spirit of resistance and enthu- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. siasm against the common enemy, if she had not been conscious of acting in conjunction with this country? He would also ask whether, amidst the political mis- fortunes that surrounded us, this country was not only in a sfate of safety; but of unexampled pros- perity ? With all our power and prospe- rity; however, this was not, com- paratively speaking, a military country: We could not go to the continent as we did to sea. Our military efforts being directed to the continent, depended on the re- sults of the efforts and engage- ments of other powers, to whom we could only be auxiliary. But whatever might have been the re- sult of last year’s carhpaign, the military glory of this country had been much promoted. The prin- ciples on which the late campaign in the peninsula had been con- ducted, were far different from those on which the antecedent Spanish campaign had been. un- dertaken, being particularly con- nected with the security of Portu- gal. Lord Wellington had a dis» cretionary power; and that power he most judiciously exercised. Had he not advanced to ‘Talavera, he must have disgraced himself and the British army. Never had a greater victory been achieved than that at Talavera.—As to the ex- pedition to Walcheren, the means were wanting to move tt sooner, the transports not having arrived from Portugal till the 5th of July. It was .impossible to transport 40,000 men to the north of Ger- many ; and had it been possible, in a military point of view it would have been improper, from the si- tuation and the disposition of the HISTORY OF EUROPE. neighbouring powers. The Scheldt appeared the most eligible point of attack, as more neatly connect- ed with the commercial views of this country. Antwerp was an ob- ject of great political importance to France, and a descent there was more likely to call forth Biionaparte’s attention than an attack on any other place. It was his practice to slight any distant diversions that might be made, and stedfastly pursue his main ob- ject. But when he should thus be attacked in a vital point, it was reasonable to suspect that it would operate powerfully in favour of our allies. He was not ignorant of the nature of the climate at that Season of the year: but it was not intended that the army should be locked up there for such a length of time. It was a coup de main against the naval power of the enemy that was intended, and not the capture of Walcheren alone. It was expected that the army would be employed in a dry country, between Walcheren and Bergen-op-Zoom. No ob- ject of magnitude was expected to oppose our retaining Walche- ren. It had never been considered as an axiom, that the risk attend- ing the occupancy of that island should deter us from taking it. We held it thirty-one years, during the Barrier Treaty, and had sitice had it in our posses- sion. With respect to the eva- cuation of the island, he had had no share in the measures of go- vernment. General Tarleton thought that a most peculiar degree of respon- sibility lay upon Jord Chatham, who was at the same time a minis- ter and commander of the expe- dition to Walcheren. That expe- 19 dition had been attended with a greater expence of treasure, and sacrifice of human life, than al- most any other in our history; and yet it had most completely failed in its objects. The expedition to Spain was equally a subject de- serving inquiry. We first heard of Soult’s army being completely defeated, or dispersed, in the north of Portugal. And yet this army appeared soon afterwards in the field, and made lord Wel- lington retreat from ‘Talavera. The march to Talavera was most imprudent. When that able offi- cer, the gallant sir John Moore, was entering Spain, he was told that a body of 10,000 men would completely exhaust that part of the country of its provisions. The general stated, at length, the superior advantages which, he conceived, would have result- ed from employing 30,000 Bri- tish troops in a diversion in Italy, under sir John Moore. ‘This might not have been agreeable to the Wellesleys; but it might have prevented the army of Eu- gene Napoleon from joining Buonaparte, which would have been, in his opinion, the most important service that it was in our power to have rendered to Austria, and consequently to Spain. Mr. Canning, after a great deal of prefatory matter, particularly sarcastical allusions to the conduct of the preceding administration, said, that he never would have consented to the expedition, if he had conceived that nothing greater would haye been accomplished. But he did consider, that the pos- session of the naval arsenal at Ant- werp would have been an object of the first importance, as a British C2 20 object ; and also that no other point could have been sclected where the force which it was in the power of this country to send, could have rendered more service to the common cause. He then shewed the advantages to have been expected, if the expedition had succeeded. If it were true, as some gentlemen stated, that Buonaparte was never to be di- verted from the grand objects of his policy, by any. expedition that this country could send out, such an objection would not be applicable particularly to the isle of Walcheren, but to all ex- peditions. If, however, it were true, that no expeditions of ours could divert Buonaparte from his other projects, could we not give some material annoyance to an enemy ?—As to the north of Germany, we had no right to stimulate other people to strug- gle, unless we were previously determined to support them with our utmost means, whether it might suit our convenience or not. And it would have been most impolitic to have come to such a determination in the pre- sent state of Europe. Ifwe could have sent a great and substantial army, such as that which traversed Germany in the thirty years’ war, under Gustavus Adolphus, and afterwards his captains, carrying along with it its own magazines, then, perhaps, the north of Ger- many might have been the proper destination. With regard to Spain, Mr. Canning observed, that we did not pretend to commit ourselves tothe same extent that the Spanish na- tion was committed. It was al- ways understood that the British army was lent to them as a trust ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. to be restored, not as aloan to be expended. At present there was no question about this country raising a general confederacy against France. ‘That, in the pre- sent posture of affairs, would be an idle speculation. But if any country was resolved to make an effort to break its chains, that country became our ally. It had been said, why not endeavour to effect an internal change in Spain? Any condition almost might be coupled with assistance with less danger than an attempt at internal amelioration.. As to an inquiry into the affairs of Spain, however, he could give no opi- nion for or against it. If mi- nisters thought it proper, he had no objection. He feared, however, that an inquiry into the expedition to Spain, which might throw blame upon the Spa- niards for want of co-operation, might injure the interests of this country in its future connection with Spain.—He did not mean to speak against lord Welles- ley, when he said, that the march to Talavera was his own act. He approved of it, and of the honours conferred on that gallant officer, We ought not to undervalue the hero’s lau- rels, even though they were bar- ren. Mr, Whitbread said, that Mr. Canning had spoken on the pre- sent subject with his accustomed fluency; but when his speech was analysed, it would appear that he meant only to justify the expedi- tion which did take place, by com- paring it with expeditions which did not take place. The expedi- tion was so far from attracting the attention of Buonaparte to, the most vulnerable parts of his em- HISTORY OF EUROPE. pire, that he never deigned to look at it, or turn his head that way. The mighty lion which we went to attack, brushed us off with one sweep of his tail. Mr. Canning had argued, that if the expedition to the Scheldt could not have been useful, no other expedition could have been useful. His gallant friend, general Tarleton, however, had pointed out another expedi- tion, which would have promised much better diversion in favour of Austria. The attack on Flush- Ing, even if any beneficial result could have been expected from it, was not made in time; and the delay proceeded not from any other impediment than the charac- teristic vacillation of government : for it apppeared on the trial of _ general Monnet, that he had in- formation of the intended descent so far back as the 22nd of April. Ministers, itseems, were aware of the fatality of the climate. But this was one of the casualties of war, and therefore, in their opin- ion, to be cheerfully encountered. Certainly, if the object in view was worthy of the hazard. But here the object was contemptible, the means mighty, and the conse- quences ruinous. It was said that the object of the expedition was to be effected by a coup de main. What did the two late secretaries mean by a coup de main? Did they suppose that Antwerp and Lillo, the fortified forts, and the well-secured fleets in the Scheldt, were all to be taken by this mi- raculous coup de main? Even with all his respect for lord Wels _ lington, he could not approve of the battle of Talavera. It had no good end, and tended only to establish the great valour of our 21 soldiers, which was never ques- tioned. It was, at best, but an exhibition of rash confidence and victorious temerity. Our vic- tories at Maida, Corunna, Vime- ira, and Talavera, had been held up that night as monuments of our eternal glory : but Mr. Whit- bread beheld them only as so many gladiatorial exhibitions, None of them were happy in their consequences, or beneficial in their results. That of Maida left the inhabitants precisely in the same state in which ministers said, had we made a diversion in the north of Germany, we should have left the inhabitants of that coun- try—at the mercy of a cruel ene- my. Ithad been said by ministers last session, that a battle ought never to be risked in Spain until there was an efficient government in that country. Yet they now recanted the principle, by confer- ting honours on sir Arthur Wel- lesley; for whom, and for the country, it would have been more honourable had he never changed his name. - His conduct in Spain seemed the result of infatuation. After defeating, or rather follow- ing and harassing the retreat of Soult from Oporto, he re-crossed the Douro, for the purpose of forming a junction with Cuesta. Soult, in the mean time, recover- ed, recruited, and re-established his corps, which advanced, and menaced the allies on the Tagus. Sir Arthur fought, and gained the battle of Talavera, and, in three or four days thereafter, retreated to an unhealthy province, at an unhealthy season, for the purpose, as hé singularly termed it, of re- freshing his troops. In the marshes of Estremadura he remained some 22 months, and then retreated to Portugal, for the purpose of de- fending it. The excuse alleged for this was, that we would not take supplies as the French did. Tf the Spaniards had been really glad of our assistance, we should have received supplies without compulsion. But the truth was, that while we were starved, the French were fed; a presumption taht the Spaniards regarded us with jealousy. It was said that we might defend Portugal with 30,000 men. But would not Buo- naparte know our force, even toa drummer? Where we had 30,000 he would have 60,000. We re- mained in Portugal just at the will of the French emperor, and at his option he would drive us outofit. It had been said by our enemy, that “‘the genius of France guided our armies.” Alas! (said Mr. Whitbread) it now presided in our cabinet; for whether we considered their ignorance, their imbecility, their bigotry, or the fate with which Providence visited all their measures, our enemy, if he had had the nomination, could not have selected men more suit- able to his ends, or more perni- cious to our interests, The Chancellor of the Exche- quer, after a full account of the circumstances, manner, and views with which the present administra- tion was formed, and touching on the everlasting questions about orders in council, the Catholics in Ireland, and the expedition to Copenhagen, which was alleged to have been the cause of Russia’s taking part with France, adverted to the affairs of the peninsula. With respect to these, he could not tell how the gentlemen oppo- ANNUAL REGISTER, 18io0. site would have acted if they had remained in office ; but he was in- clined to think that upon every principle of policy and of feeling, they wouid have given every as- sistance in their power to Spain. Judging, as well as he could, of the state of the world, he was firmly convinced, that the state of Spain was much better now, as far as concerned this country, than it was when the duke of Port- Jand’s administration came into office. Even if France were ulti- mately to subdue Spain, she would possess diminished means of an- noyance to great Britain. She would not derive any revenuefrom her conquest. She would not be able to withdraw a single soldier from the Spanish territory. With regard to that part of the address which related to the expedition to Walcheren, it did not pledge the House to inquire into that enter- prise: neither did it pledge the House not to inquire into it. When the dccuments, promised in his majesty’s speech, should be laid before them, it would be for the House to decide whether they would call for more, and whether it would institute an inquiry or not. After the able discussion of that subject by his friends lord Castlereagh and Mr. Canning, little remained for him to say. It had beenaffirmed, that the damage sustained by the enemy in the de- struction of the basin at Flushing would soon be repaired. Now the fact was, that this basin had been two or three years in constructing; and it had been so completely destroyed, that the ablest engi- neers had given it as their opinion that it would be much easier to build it anew. His majesty’s go- HISTORY OF EUROPE. ' vernment had been accused of sending supplies to Walcheren after it was in contemplation to abandon it. It was to be recol- lected, however, that had the ar- mistice been broken off, instead of being confirmed, the evacua- tion of Walcheren would not have taken place. Whether it was worth the expence of a garri- son, however, was another ques- tion, which had been decided in the negatiye. The next subject to which Mr. Perceval came, was, the appoint- ment of lord Chatham to the ex- pedition. The gentlemen oppo- site had indulged in reflections on that noble lord, which might, with great propriety, have been omitted. Whenever it was pos- sible that the conduct of an indi- vidual would be subjected to an inquiry, justice demanded that the public mind should not be pre~ judiced against him. The result of the inquiry, if any inquiry should be thought necessary, would, in a great measure, decide the question of the propriety or impropriety of the appointment of that noble lord to the command of the expedition. He could not, on the present occasion, avoid ex- pressing shis regret at the manner in which lord Wellington had been attacked in his absence. If this practice of yilifying political adversaries were persisted in, it would damp the ardour, and check the spirit of our officers. The honourable gentleman who had seconded the motion, had also, in amost unjustifiable manner, com- mented on the conduct of several officers of a less elevated rank, whom he had chosen to term “ missioners.” But in the whole 28 of the speech of the right honours able gentleman to whom he was now alluding, there was no part which he more sincerely regretted, than that in which he spoke of the affairs of Spain, and the exertions of the Spanish people. For his part, he was persuaded, that nei- ther in ancient nor modernhistory - could an example be found of a country sustaining a contest like that which Spain had so long sup- ported. Never, in recent times, had 250,000 Frenchmen been in any country for such a length of time without subduing it. At every defeat anew army sprung up; and the Spaniards, animated by their hostility to the usurper of their rights would maintain a determined resistance to the last. With respect to the late cam- paignin Spain, Mr, Perceval could not admit that in any instance dis- grace had followed our arms. As the movements of sir John Moore, in the year 1808, and the battle of Corunna, had saved the south of Spain that year, so, he believed, the expulsion of the French from Portugal and Gallicia, the junction of lord Wellington with general Cuesta, and the battle of Talavera, saved the south of Spain in 1809. On a division of the House, there appeared, For the amendment, 167. Against it, 263. House of Commons, Thursday, January 25. Lord Barnard ap- peared at the bar, wih the report of the address to his majesty, in answer to his most gracious speecli. Sir Francis Burdett rose, and said, that he had listened with the ut- most candour and attention to the sentiments of the different gentle- men who had already delivered 24 their respective opinions on the va- rious topics which the full discus- sion of the king’s speech naturally embraced ; both to the sentiments and arguments of those who thought themselves still qualified to govern the country, and to the sentiments and arguments of those who thought themselves better fit- ted for that ardent situation. And the result of the whole was, to confirm more and more that calm conviction of mind, with which he had entered that House, of the necessity, sooner or later, of an entire change of system; and a thorough, constitutional, and temperate reform in parlia- ment. With respect to the lead- ing complaints made, against the present ministry, never were men in such a state of self-abandon- ment. They had nothing to say for themselves; and could have confidence in nothing but in that assembly, in which there seemed to be a mysterious something that might justify the most culpable in expectations the most extrava- gant, not only of impunity, but protection. Yet he could derive no hope of any benefit to the pub- lic from a change’ of ministry. Change of men could do nothing, while they would be necessarily obliged to act up to that fatal sys- tem in which all our danger lay. He enumerated several, among the many acts of administration since the commencement of the recess, which had been the subject of general complaint. Of these hejre was one more immediately growing out of the system to which he had alluded, than the rest. This was, the insult that had been inflicted, in his majesty’s name, on the corporation of London. The ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. king’s speech, at the opening of parliament, ought to be a gene- ral exposition of every prominent event and extensive operation that hadoccurred during therecess, and not a mere milk-and-water compo- sition, turning merely on general positions, not to be disputed, and so cautiously shaped and modelled by the apprehensions of ministers, as to slide harmlessly through dis- cussion. The present speech said nothing of the state of affairs in India. While in this respect the speech was defective, in another it was redundant. He alluded to what had been tacked tothe speech relative to the poorer order of the clergy. He should be sorry to oppose any method of relieving their wants, if this could be ef- fected without imposing additional exactions on a burthened and al- most exhausted country. If the poor clergy were so indigent, they could not derive relief from a fitter source than the wealthy part of their own calling. The higher order of the established clergy were, in all conscience, rich enough to contribute to the poorer class of their brotherhood; and while they were amply gifted with the means, it would be invidious to express a doubt that men of their profession would be wanting in the inclination. Mr. Yorke called on the House to observe the remarkable words made use of by sir Francis Burdett, whenever he spoke of the House of Commons, whom he always cailed “« this assembly,” ‘ this room,” or ‘this meeting.” If by this the honourable baronet meant to insi- nuate that they were not the legal and constitutional representatives of the people, he dissented from HISTORY OF EUROPE. any such monstrous doctrine, and gave it as his opinion, that the re- form recommended by the honour- able baronet would only increase the danger it was designed to re- medy. He would support his ma- jesty’s administration ; he meant, that he would never enter into any systematic opposition against it. He approved of the address, be- cause it did not pledge the House to any thing. As tothe Walche- ren expedition, that part of it which had succeeded, had been very much undervalued. The Scheldt, for four months of the year, was not navigable, and the French fleet had begun already to feel the want of their basin. The capture of Flushing was an impor- tant service—Here general ‘Tar- Jeton turned up his eyes.—Mr. Yorke lamented to see in his ho- nourable friend, on the present and other occasions, such a dispo- sition to withhold that defence from brother officers in their ab- sence, which it would so well be- come a brother officer to make. With regard to the advance of lord Wellington to Talavera, he thought there was no part of that illustrious officer's proceedings that _was not worthy of his exalted re- putation. Yet if there was any thing that might admit of the nicest investigation of military criticism, he would select two points, one was, the seemingly too great reli- ance placed by that gallant officer on the Spaniards ; the other was, his not having secured the pass of Banos, which sir Robert Wilson had so gallantly defended against a superior fcrce for nine hours. These were the only points on which he thought there could be any doubt. 25 GeneralTarletonstill maintained that the merit of lord Wellington was equivocal, He had blamed that noble lord, when present in the House, for the convention of Cintra; for to him it was almost entirely to be attributed. He might have known that it was first necessary to secure the supplies, From the days of Homer till now, armies could not march and fight without eating. General Tarleton admitted that the army had gained great glory at Talavera. But the conduct of the general was a totally distinct consideration, and that alone he blamed. Sir John Sebright thought the present ministers incapable of serv- ing the country efficiently at the present awful crisis. He did not blame the right honourable gentle- man at the head of the govern- ment, whom he highly respected, for the dissentions and bickerings, &c. that had lately occurred in the cabinet. But if there had been an efficient head, there would have been no such dissentions. With regard to the Walcheren expedi- tion, he could not see the neces- sity of waiting for the production of papers before they gave their opinion upon it. What could those papers contain? Could mi- nisters shew him a new map of Europe, essentially different from all that he had ever consulted ?— As to the glorious victory of Tala- vera, as it had been called, there was a glory of the soldier, and a glory of the general. The former had been displayed in all its lustre at Talavera. But although he admired lord Wellington, he did not think that he had, in the ad- vance into Spain, acted the part of a wise general. Before he ad- 26 vanced, he ought to have ascer- tained what was the strength of his ally, and what the position of the enemy. He beat the French; but then he was compelled to re- treat, as if he had been beaten, Sir John, after adverting to the disgraceful manner in which the high offices of the state had been bandied about, animadverted on the abuse of the term loyalty. He admitted the loyalty of Mr. Perceval, and that loyalty was a very high virtue. But he could not allow the right honourable gentleman to be the sole possessor of loyalty. No one had a right to identify himself and his party with the king, It was equally injurious to. the king, and incon- sistent with the constitution. The report being brought up and read, Mr. Whitbread, after some prefatory observations, mov- ed an amendment to the address, the substance of which was, ‘that in justice to the people, the House would, on the earliest opportu- nity, diligently apply itself to the effecting such economical reform, as might be consistent with the welfare of the state, satisfactory to the feelings of the people, and in some measure prove an allevia- tion of their burthens.” The Chancellor of the Exche- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. quer did not see the least occasion for this amendment, his Majesty having promised that the estimates for the current year should be prepared with the utmost attention to economy.——-Mr. Ponsonby sup- ported the amendment, on the ground that the estimates related solely to the war expenditure, while the amendment related to measures proper at all times, but particularly so at a time when the war expenditure was enormous.— Mr. Bathurst thought the para- graph unnecessary, as matters connected.—Earl Temple thought it important that the House should show a disposition to prove and examine into every abuse ; for otherwise the people would be apt to think that the abuses were greater than they were.—Sir A. Pigot put the question, what con- fidence parliament could place in the assurances of ministers, that the estimates for the present year should be framed with a strict re- gard to economy, when they op- posed an inquiry into the profuse expenditure of the year that was past ? On a division of the House, there appeared, For Mr. Whitbread’s amend- ment, 54: Against it, 95, HISTORY OF EUROPE 27 CHAP. II. House of Lords. Motion for the Thanks of the House to Lord Viscount Wellington, and the Officers and the Army under his command, for the Victory over the Enemy at Talavera—opposed—supported—carried.— In the Course of the Debate fresh Discusstans on the Affairs of Spain, both political and military House of Commons,— Thanks moved to Lord Wellington and the Army,— Arguments pro. and con., and Dis- cussions nearly the same as in the House of Lords.—Motion for Thanks to Lord Wellington carried without a Division of the House ;—that to the Army unanimously.— House of Commons.— Motion by Lord Coch- rane, for Minutes of the Court Martial held on Lord Gambier, and the Object of this Motion.—Debates and Discusstons—Lord Coch- rane’s Motion negatived by a great Majority.—Molion of Thanks to Admiral Gambier, §c. §¢.—The Motion for Thanks to Lord Gambier carried on a Division of the House ;—-that for thanks to the other Offi- cers, and Acknowledgments to the Seamen dnd Marines, unani- mously.— Motion for Thanks to the same Parties in the House of Lords— Agreed to. ; OUSE of Lords, January 25, Earl Grey, previously to the discussion of next day, on an in- tended motion for thanks to lord Wellington, thoughtit of consider- able importance, that some infor- mation should be iaid before the House, by which they might be en- abled to form some opinion with respect to the propriety of the mo- tion. It was necessary they, should know, whether the advance of lord WellingtonintoSpainwasthe exer- cise of his own judgment or the re- sult of theinstructions of ministers. It was also of importance that they should have before them the na- ture of the information communi- cated bylord Wellington, respect- ing the action of Talavera, there being strong reason to believe that ministers at the time they held out that battle as a victory, knew, from what was stated by lord Wellington, in his dispatches, that our army must retreat; and that the battle, said to be a victory, must be followed by all the conse- quences of a defeat. Lord Grey therefore moved for the instruc- tions to lord Wellington ; for the dispatches received from him, on his marching from Placentia ; for the dispatches which he sent from Talavera after the battle ; and also for certain correspondence be- tween lord Wellington and the Spanish government, respecting supplies for the army. These mo- tions were supported by the earl of Lauderdale, lord Erskine, the marquis of Douglas, and the earl of Grosvenor. They were opposed by the earl of Liverpool, the earl of Harrowby, and lord viscount Sidmouth, onthe ground that there was no preceden: for calling for papers in order to inquire into the general conduct of a campaign, when theonly object in contempla= 28 tion was, a specific vote of thanks for a particular service. ‘The mo- tions were put and negatived. House of Lords, January 26. The order of the day being read, the Earl of Liverpool rose, for the purpose of moving the thanks of the House to lord viscount Wel- lington, and the officers and the army under his command, for the skill and ability, the valour and bravery, by which they obtained a victory over the enemy at Tala- vera. In framing his motion, he had, with a view to conciliation, separated the conduct of the army, and the officer commanding, from every other subject connected with the general management of the campaign. Whatever opinion might be entertained with respect to the measures which led to the battle itself, or to the conse- quences which ensued, there could be but one sentiment as to the skill of the general, and the va- lour of the army that fought at Talavera. The thanks of both Houses had been given to sir John Stuart, and the army, for the emi- nent skill and valour displayed, and the splendid victory obtained by the battle of Maida; though the objects for which that battle was fought, were not obtained. It had been determined to make a concentrated attack on the com- bined armies. Although the Spa- nish army was present, and par- tially took a part in the battle, the ‘brunt of the attack was principally, if not wholly, borne by the Eng- lish, not amounting to more than 20,000 men. ‘The French army fell but little short of 50,000. The enemy, after repeatedly renewing their attacks, were repulsed with the loss of nearly 10,000 men, ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. twenty pieces of artillery, and four standards, It was of the last im- portance, that such victories as that of Talavera, should be re- warded by every tribute of honour and praise that House could be- stow. It had been the good for- tune of Great Britain to unite a military spirit with commercial pursuits, and every encourage- ment was due still further to pro- mote that spirit. No achieve- ment was ever more entitled to praise than the victory of Talavera. He admitted, that if their lord- ships were called upon to decide on all the circumstances of the campaign, it might materially alter the question. But he wished to direct their lordships’ attention solely to the conduct of the officer, and the army under his command, on the 27th and 28th of July. Lord Liverpool concluded with moving, ‘* That this House do re- turn their thanks to general lord viscount Wellington, for the skill | and ability displayed by him on the 27th and 23th of July, 1809, at Talavera. The Earl of Suffolk said, that, as a professional man, it was with pain to his feelings he rose to state his objections to the motion of thanks to lord Wellington. The noble ear] had alluded to the bat- tle of Maida. But that battle was decisive in its issue, and did not come in a questionable shape like the victory of Talavera. He could not denominate that a victory where a retreat immediately fol- lowed, and the wounded and the prisoners fell immediately into the hands of the enemy. As to the capture of artillery, this was not, in all circumstances, to be consi- dered as a‘signal of victory. It HISTORY OF EUROPE. might have been convenient for the enemy to leave -them on the field. With regard to the rein- forcement of 36,000 men, which was advancing to support the French, why did not lord Wel- lington know of their situation, and the probability of their ap- proach? It was the duty of every general to have such information. The earl of Suffolk, considering the amount of the British force in the peninsula, and that only so small a portion of it was brought into action at Talavera, there was here also much ground for repre- hension. And this conduct ap- peared to be in perfect confor- mity to that of the same general, in bringing up only half his forces to act against the enemy, at the battle of Vimeira.* The Earl of Grosvenor was ap- prehensive, that if the House were to be called upon to vote thanks for every instance of the display of valour, the proceeding would draw after it injurious results. If a single detachment, nay if an in- dividual had exhibited proofs of determined bravery, their lord- ships might be called upon to vote awaythanks. The battle of 'Tala- vera was one, which, in all its cir- cumstances, did not appear to him to be entitled to such a reward.— Lord Mountjoy maintained, that no general was better skilled in war, none more enlightened, none more valiant than lord viscount Wellington. The choice of a posi- tion at Talavera reflected lustre on his talents; the victory was as bril- liant and glorious as any on record. It was entitled to the unanimous approbation of their lordships, and 29 the eternal gratitude: of Spain and of this country. Earl Grey agreed with the earl of Liverpool, as to the pro- priety of bestowing rewards where rewards were due, and of con- ferring the high honour of the thanks of that House on transcen- dant merit; but not that the battle of Talavera was an event. that ought to be characterized in such a way, or remunerated by that dis- tinction. Before, however; he should enter into a discussion of the subject immediately before the House, he begged leave to say a few words relative to the victory of Maida. The objects of the ex- pedition to Italy, under sir John Stuart, had not completely failed, as stated by the noble lord. If they did fail, the failure was re- mote. A French force was, at that period, assembled on the Nea- politan coast, for the purpose of making a descent on Sicily. To destroy this force, was the object of the expedition of sir John Stuart; and in that object, in the battle of Maida, and the conse- quences that resulted from it, he completely succeeded. ‘The ene- my did not, after that action, re- tire in regular order, nor take up a position within sight of the field of battle. They were completely dispersed, and as an army, anni- hilated. The battle of Talavera had neither succeeded in attaining the general object of the cam- paign, nor the immediate object, namely, that of dispersing the enemy’s army. The general object of the ad- vance of lord Wellington into Spain, lord Grey took to. be that * See Vol. LI, 1809, History of Europe, p. 225. 80 of driving the enemy’s troops be- fore him, and obtaining possession of the capital, Madrid. The French troops, in Spain, at that time, occupied a defensive line of positions, from Toledo to Sala- manca. On the advance of lord Wellington into Spain, they left their positions, and concentrated their forces to oppose him.* Lord Wellington marched, in the direc- tion of Madrid, as far as Talavera; wliere le was obliged to stop for want of provisions, and the means of transport. The battle was ~ fought, and the enemy for the mo- ment repulsed. But the general object of the advance into Spain was lost. The enemy retained possession of the capital, and the British troops were obliged to re- treat. It had been said that lord Wellington had displayed great skill in the dispositions he made for battle. Lord Grey would not agree in that opition. The posi- tion on the left had not been suf- ficiently secured or taken advan- tage of—there was much also to blame in the conduct of lord Wel- lington; with respect to the Spa- nish troops ; though certainly the dispatch of the Spanish general, ave a very different account of he conduct of those troops, from that given in the dispatcli of lord Wellington. But if lord Welling- ton believed the Spanish troops to be of such a description that they could not be trusted to meet the enemy in a situation of such imminent peril at Talavera; if lord Wellington held such an opi- nion of the Spanish troops, why did he give the Spanish general the option, either of defending the ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. passes against the advance of the French army under the duke of Dalmatia, which threatened the flank and rear of the British, or taking care of our sick and woun- dedat Talavera? Whiy, also, had not lord Wellington better inform- ation respecting the defence of the passes? Why trust to thie in- telligence he received from the Spaniards neglecting even the ordinary precaution of sending an officer of his own to ascertain whe- ther the passes were properly de- fended? His majesty’s minister, at the time that they trumpeted forth the battle as a splendid and decisive victory, were in the pos- session of lord Wellington’s dis~ patches, in which he stated the unfortunate situation of his army, the necessity of retreating, and the difficulties he had to encounter in effecting a retreat. The Marquis Wellesley, after expressing his private feelings on the present occasion, when he was called on to perform a public duty, by vindicating the character and conduct of so near and dear a rela- tion as a brother, begged leave, in the outset, to observe, that the no- ble earl (Grey) did not seem very clearly to understand the objects of lord Wellington’s operations. On the arrival of his brother in Portugal, he found that the ete- iny was not only in possession of its northern provinces, but that a plan had been concerted, by which Victor and Soult were to advance from different points, into the south. ‘The first object, therefore, was the deliverance of Portugal. The operation by which he ex- pelled Soult was as able, as rapid, * See Vol. LI; 1809, History of Europe, p. 176. HISTORY OF EUROPE. 31 and conclusive, as any recorded in the page of history. It was there- fore unfair, as some noble lords had dorie, to describe such an ope- ration, merely as an affair with the rear guard of Soult’s corps. Af- ter this Jord Wellington immedi- ately proceedéd to the south, to oppose Victor, who had actualiy advaticed in that direction, but who, on the approach of lord Wellington, had thought it pra- dent to retreat. What was the situation of Spain when lord Wel- Hington advanced into that coun- try? The supreme central go- vernment bad been long establish- ed, and their authority was gene- rally recognized. The part of the country through which his march Jay; abounded in resources of every description, nor was it fair to en- tertain a doubt of the power and disposition of the Spanish govern- ment to render them available. The joint request of the supreme Junta and general Cuesta to lord Wellington, was, that he would co-operate with tlhe Spanish army indtiving Victorbeyond the Tagus. How could lord Wellington have refused his assistance for the at- tainment of that limited object ? Would not a refusal on his part have argued a supposition that the Spanish government was incom- petent to perform its duty? and that the country, though full of provisions, was unwilling to supply them? Besides, how could he have answered for the safety of Portugal, without striking such a blow against Victor, as might pre- vent him from joining and co-ope- rating with Soult or any French corps that might invade that king- dom from the notthward? The plan concerted between lord Wel- lington and general Cuesta, was briefly this : lord Wellington;sup- ported by general Cuesta, was to move against Victor’s corps. In the mean time Venegas, by a circuitous march, was to threaten Madrid, in order, by this demon- stration to draw off the attention of the French corps, under Sebas- tiani and king Joseph, and pre- vent them from forming a junction with Victor. From this plan, if duly executed, lord Wellington was justified in expecting every success. Accordingly, headvanced against Victor at Talavera, on the 22nd of July; and soon came in sight of the enemy, whom he pro- posed to attack on the following morning. Victor’s corps was then unsupported by any other, and consisted of no more than 28,000 men. If, therefore, the attack upon Victor had been made on the 23rd, as proposed by lord Welling- ton, must not the result have been most glorious and complete? Ge- neral Cuesta, however, refused to attack the enemy on that day ; for what reason had not been ex- plained. But tlie consequence was, that Victor retreated; and made his escape on the very night of the 23rd, and effected a junction be- tween Sebastiani and king Joseph. At the same time general Vene- gas, who ought to have been at Argonda on the 22nd, perplexéd with orders, and cotinter-orders, from the Junta, did not arrive there till the 29th. Against stich strange mismanagement what hu- man prudence could provide ? Lord Wellesley perfectly agreed with the noble lords on the other side of the House, as to the neces- sity of a radical change in the go- vernment of Spain; and his opi- 32 nions on thathead, hebelieved were not unknown.* But that change, however, could not be the work ofa day. But were we, therefore, to abandon the Spaniards to the mercy of their cruel invaders ? to desert them in the crisis of their fortunes? As to the battle of Ta- lavera, nothing more could be said of that battle ina military point of view, than that the British troops had succeeded in repulsing the attack of a French army almost double their numbers, the efforts of which had been directed chiefly against the British. And with respect to its consequences, he would boldly maintain, that thede- feat of the enemy at Talavera had essentially contributed tothe main objects of the campaign. For, un- less that blow had been struck against Victor it would have been impossible to prevent the enemy from over-running the south of Spain, or from making a fresh ir- ruption into Portugal. It saved the south of Spain from absolute destruction. It had afforded time to Portugal to organize her army, and to strengthen ber military posts. It also enabled lord Wel- lington to take a position, where he might derive supplies from Spain, at the same time that he drew nearer to his own magazines —upon the whole, he did not he- sitate to say, that his brother was as justly entitled to every distinc- tion that his sovereign had confer- red on him, and to every honour and reward which it was in the power of that House to bestow, as any noble lord, who, for his -personal services, had obtained the ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. samedistinctions, or wio sat there by descent from his illustrious ancestors. Lord Grenville observed, that the propriety of giving the inform- ation relative to the campaign, and especially the calamitous march into Spain required on a former occasion by his friend lord Grey, had been supperted by the manner in which his noble friend the marquis of Wellesley, had dis- cussed the subject. He had very properly taken a comprehensive view of the causes and conse- quences of that battle. Theevents of twenty-four hours might be suf- ficient to prove the merits of the soldier ; but the case of a gene- ral was widely different. The present question was, whether a British army ought to have been risked in an enterprise which de- pended so much on Spanish co- operation. This question was none of his seeking ; but he must say, that even a victory, if attend- ed with calamitous consequences, did not deserve the thanks of that House. He believed that lord Wellington was fettered by the nature of the service on which he had been sent, and by his instruc- tions, and that the plan and its calamitous circumstances ought to be attributed to ministers. The vote of thanks to Jord Wellington was carried without a division. The motions for thanks to the inferior officers and army were carried unanimously. Thanks to lord Wellington and the army at Talavera were moved in the House of Commons, February 1. * See various Extracts, from the Correspondence of the marquis of Wellesley, with Mr. C., Secretary of State for Foreign affairs, Europe, Chap, X., pp, 182—193. Vol, Li, 1809, History of HISTORY OF EUROPE. The arguments pro and con were, as might well be supposed, the same in substance as those that had been urged in the House of Lords. The motion was made by the chancellor of the Exchequer. Lord Milton observed, that their votes of thanks, from their fre- quency, lost their value, and ceased to bean honour. They had got so much into the habit of voting thanks, that it was now almost an insult not to vote them. It was not sufficient to say, that sir Ar- thur Wellesley had got out of the danger into which he had run, with great skill. He should have shown his skill in avoiding it. What thanks would the House be- stow on an admiral, who first ran his fleet among rocks and shoals, and then evinced great ability in getting it off again? The ambi- tion of sir Arthur Wellesley was conspicuous in both the battles of Talavera and Vimeira. In both he seemed to have fought merely for a peerage; certainly more with such a view, than was consistent with the conduct of a good and prudent commander. The whole campaign was wrapped in mys- tery, and he was determined to _ have information before he voted ‘honours. Lord Milton concluded with moving, as an amendment to the motion before them, “ That the thanks of the House should be given to the officers and troops whoserved underlord Wellington, for their undaunted courage and gallantry, on the 27th and 28th -of July, in the battle of Talavera. But while the House gave this ‘praise to the officers and men, for their undaunted courage and gal- Jantry, they had to lament, that the army, since that period, had Vou. LIT. 33 been unable to resume offensive operations. They had also to la- ment, that after the battle, they had suffered the enemy to pass two days in inactivity, without at- tacking them, and also for having allowed themselves to be cut off at the bridge of Arzobispo.” Mr. Vernon, ina maiden speech, seconded the amendment. — In proportion as he admired the firm- ness and bravery of the army, he regretted that it should have been not only unprofitably employed, but unnecessarily exposed. Lord Wellington might have learned more discretion from the expe- rience of sir John Moore’s incur- sion into Spain. Lord Welling- ton had not the same excuse, nor the same incitement as sir John Moore to penetrate into Spain. He was invested with large limits of discretion, which that admir- able officer, sir John Moore, was not, and had no officious and im- pertinent interference to encoun- ter. He had not to contend against the arrogant dictates of a rash and presumptuous diploma- tist; of blind but obtrusive zeal, seeking by the display of devotion to the cause of the Junta, to es- tablish a claim to a Spanish mar- guisate. It was stated, that if two things had occurred, we should have succeeded better. If the Spa- nish Junta had not acted as they did, and if the Spanish general had done his duty, the success would have been more complete. All this might have been foreseen. But if the object of the march into Spain was, to fall on general Victor single-handed, as soon as Cuesta refused the ;co-operation which was promised, it was the duty of lord Wellington to have D 34 retired.—On what grounds, Mr. Vernon asked, did Jord Welling- ton calculate that his 25,000 men would be able to contend with 100,000 Frenchmen, in the heart of the peninsula? It had been said, that the French armies had been checked by this battle; but the real result of the battle of Ta- Javera was, that our army was checked—checked in its proposed march to Madrid, for whichimpor- tant service Joseph Buonaparte had thanked his troops. The re- sources of Spain were stated to consist in her loyalty and religion. There were systems of religion, such as those which inculcate pre- destination, that inspire an extra- ordinary contempt of danger. He did not know that such was the character of the religion to which theSpaniards were bigoted; neither did he calculate much on their loyalty to such a sovereign as Fer- dinand VII., who had voluntarily thrown himself into the hands of the enemy, and might be said to have resigned his crown. If he -saw the crown and the altar sur- rounded with equai laws, and the spirit of liberty, the animating prin- ciple and bond of union among -the Spaniards, then he should not despair of that country. This he believed to havebeen the principle which dictated the heroic resist- ance of Saragossa and Gerona. He was not, however, for desert- ing the Spaniards altogether. He would wish to lend them every as- sistance except a British army. Lord Castlereagh supported the motion for thanks to lord Wel- lington, not only by a description of the battle of Talavera, but by ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. a brief review of the whole sam- paign, in the same manner as had been done by the marquis of Wel- lesley in the House of Peers. Mr. Whitbread observed, that while lord Wellington accused general Cuesta of delay, he ought to have stated the grounds of it; and in not doing it he did that ge- neral injustice. The Spaniards, whom he represented as taking no part in the action, he was, never- theless, necessitated tomention no less than five times in his dispatch; and it was rather too much to say that he had contended with double his numbers. He had even men- tioned a Spanish general, who was wounded in bringing up his inac- tive infantry to assist in the battle. Mr. Windham, too, was sor- ry that such a letter as had been sent by lord Wellington had ever been written. It proclaimed glory which did not belong to him. As in a sea engagement, it could not be contended that the hull of a vessel had nothing to do with the guns, which gained the victory. So with the Spanish army ; they did all that was required of them. -They kept their position.* But the victory itself must have been of use to the Spanish cause, as it showed them that a British army was invincible. And the victory well deserved the honour of the reward moved to be bestowed on it by the House. Many other members spoke on the opposite side of the question. The vote of thanks to lord Wel- lington was carried without a di- vision. Thanks tothe other offi- cers unanimously; and also, unani- mously, acknowledgments to the | * Compare Hist, of Europe, Vol. LT. [1809] pp..185, 186, os . \j / HISTORY non-commissioned officers and pri- vates. A An act of parliament was pass- ed forsettling an annuity of 2,000/. a-year on lord Wellington, though not altogether without opposition, ‘in both Houses, On the 26th of _ February, the day appointed for the second reading of lord Wel- lington’s annuity bill in the House of Commons, a petition was pre- sented from the city of London, against it. Sir J. Newport thought it would have been well if the services of lord Wellington had been re- warded with the vacant sinecure place of the tellership of the Ex- _chequer. That place, however, instead of being given to one who had fought for his country abroad, had been bestowed on a person who had distinguished himself only by fighting the battles of ministers at home.* Though he did justice to the prowess of lord Welling- ton, while no such acknowledg- ment had been made of the ser- vices of general Moore, it did not become ministers to propose such _@ grant to the noble lord who had fought the battle of Talavera. When it was known that there was an intention on the part of mi- nistry to move a vote of thanks to lord Gambier, for the victory’ in Basque Roads, in both Houses of parliament, lord Cochrane ex- pressed a determination to oppose the vote in the House of Com- mons, on the ground that the ad- miral had not done all that he might have done, and that through his neglect, or delay, part of the enemy’s fleet had made itsescape; _ which would have been destroyed, * See Vol, LI. [1809] Hist. Eur, p.'227. D2. OF EUROPE. 35 as well as the other ships, had lord Gambier done his duty to the utmost. Lord Gambier, at his _own earnest solicitation, was tried. by a court-martial, and honour- ably acquitted. ; In the House of Commons, Ja-: nuary 29, lord Cochrane rose to make a motion, of which he had: given notice, for the minutes of. the court-martial held on lord Gambier ; a document absolutely necessary, in orderto enable every member fairly and impartially to’ decide whether the thanks, now in the contemplation of his majesty’s’ ministers, were due to lord Gam- bier, for the part he took in what had been denominated by them a’ victory in Basque Roads. It had been asserted by the chancellor of: the Exchequer, on a former occa- sion, that the merits of this case had beenalready decided on; thata court-martial had proclaimed lord Gambier’s honourable acquittal, and displayed the zeal, ability, and anxiety he manifested for the wel- fare of his majesty’s service. How- ever this might be, all this, and an officer’s having done nothing wrong, did not entitle him to the thanks of the House; which if be- stowed ontrifling, orindeed on any occasion not marked by brilliant: achievement, would dwindle into’ utter contempt, even with those: on whom they shouldbe conferred.- They were already held lightly im the estimation of the navy, and such, lord Cochrane freely con- fessed, was his own feeling re- specting them. After a revision’ of the trial, lord Cochrane pledg-: ed himself, by every thing valu- able to man, if the minutes should ~ Mr. Yorkes » ud 36 be granted, to prove that lord Gambier’s defence was contradict- ed by itself—contradicted by his lordship’s official letters, and by his own witnesses; many of whom, as to essential facts, were at vari- ance with themselves and with each other; and, lastly, that the chart of the positions of the ene- my’s ships, on the 12th of April, a most material point, was false, and in every respect a foul. fabrica- tion. He concluded with moving, «« That there be laid before the House a copy of the minutes of the trial of admiral Gambier, on the 23rd of July, 1809; also the origi- nal minutes taken day by day, by the deputy judge advocate.” Sir Francis Burdett seconded the motion. A long discussion ensued.—Sir John Orde said, that Jord. Gambier’s conduct ia the affair of Basque Roads, had al- ready been investigated before two competent tribunals ; first, before the board of admiralty ; and, secondly, by a court martial. To try his lordship after this, would beas unjustto thenoblelord esinjurious te the service. —Gene- ralLoft, too, observed, that nothing could more injuriously affect the discipline of both the army and navy, than that parliament should take into its hands the revision of the proceedings of courts-martial. The chancellor of the Exche- quer concluded a speech against lord Cochrane’s motion, by mov- ing, as an amendment, “ That the word ‘ minutes,’ in the words of the original motion, be left out, and the word ¢ sentence,’ inserted in its stead.’—Mr. Wilberforce thought the motion of lord Coch- rane particularly important, as it threw a gross stigma on the whole ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. of the members of the court-.ar=: tial. All the evidence, howevery was one way. If the sentence had been conceived in dry er doubtful: terms, then the House might have called for the minutes. That was not the case. And all that re- mained for the House to suppose was, that the noble lord thought differently at the time of the court-martial, and that he did so still— Lord Newark spoke to the same purpose, adding that lord Cochrane’s motion carried with it a serious matter of charge, not only against the members of the court-martial, but almost every witness who had been examined. —Mr. Ponsonby could not agree to vote for the motion of the noble lord, because the adoption of it would be a violation of one of | the most sacred and fundamental principles of the jurisprudence of England. Lord Gambier had been tried by a competent jurisdiction, and acquitted. fie Mr. Lyttleton admitted that the: House ought not to take upon itself the revision of such sen- tences on light grounds. But still the proceedings of courts-martial were liable to revision in that House, as the court of dernier re~ sort; because there might be in the minutes of the evidence, abun- dance of matter to justify the House in withholding their thanks, though no actual blame might have been incurred by the noble admiral—Mr. Yorke observed, that the question was not whether the House had a right to call for the minutes, but whether it was necessary to do so under the cir~ cumstances of the case. He re~ gretted that a gallant officer, who had undoubtedly rendered great OHISTORY: OF ‘EUROPE: services to his country, should haye thought it necessary to set up his own opinion against the opinion and experience of so many others. —Mr. C. W. Wynnedidnot deny but there might be cases in which the House might think itself ‘called on to interfere, evenincases of courts-martial. Here, however, all the evidence was on one side; and opposed to it, the solitary opi- nion of the noblelord.— Mr. Whit- bread put the question, whether, after a court-martial had declared lord Gambier to be honourably acquitted, it followed that they must grant him the thanks of that House? From the disagreeable situation in which that House was now placed on both sides, they must unavoidably have the mi- nutes.—Sir Francis Burdett said, that lord Gambier’s plan, seemed to bea desire to preserve the fleet, that of his noble colleague to de- stroy the fleet of theenemy. He had never heard that the articles of war held out an instruction to preserve the fleet... What if lord Nelson, in the battle of the Nile, or that of Trafalgar, had acted uponthis principle? He had never heard that lord Gambier in the af- fair of Basque Roads, pretended to have done any important or hard service. His only merit seemed to consist in what he omitted to do. That omission might, indeed, have been wise and prudent, but could never be the object of a vote of thanks. | In the course of this long dis- cussion, the charge was attempted to be in some measure turned against lord Cochrane himself.— Captain Beresford said the noble Jord had forgot how he himself 37 formed his charts andlog-books in favour of the evidence to be ad- duced before the court-martial.— Sir C. Hamilton, said, that if his information was correct, the fault that more damage was not done to the enemy’s fleet, lay with the noble lord Cochrane himself ; and that if the minutes of the court- martial were produced, he should engage to bring evidence to that effect before the House. If the noble lord had followed the advice of a senior officer, in reserving some of his fire-ships, he would have been able to destroy all the ships of the enemy. — These charges, with some remarks from gentlemen on both sides of the House, called. upon lord Cochrane for an explanation, and a vindi- cation of his conduct. Having spoken for some’ time in his own defence, he said, in conclusion, ‘© Tf, Sir, there were no other rea- sons for the production of the mi- nutes which I have called for, but that Iam now put upon my de- fence; that accusations are made, which, in justice to my feelings and my character, I must refute, I humbly submit to the House, that, in justice to me, they ought now to be produced, and I trust, Sir, that for reasons more impor- tant to the country, they will not be refused. Sir, I shall not detain the House longer than to re-assert all that I have pledged to prove, and to stake every thing that is valuable to man on the issue. If the minutes are granted, I shail expose such a scene as will, per- haps, make my country tremble for its safety. I entreat the House well to consider that there isa tribunal to which it is answerable: 38 that of posterity, which will try all our actions, and judge impar- tially.” Mr. Tierney said that the noble lord Cochrane ought to be heard. His judgment and character, his signal gallantry, and signal honours {a red ribbon], deserved the se- riousattention of the House. Even his feelings, led as they were, pethaps astray, by an excess of strength and sensibility, deserved all the attention that could be paid to them. _ The question being called for, there appeared, for the amend- ment that had been proposed by Mr. Perceval, 171.—Against it, 19. So that lord Cochrane’s mo- tion was lost by a majority of 152. The chancellor of the Exche- quer then rose to propose a vote of thanks to lord Gambier, for his eminent services in destroying the French fleet in the Basque Roads. Having stated the prin- cipal circumstances attending the accomplishment of that service, he moved the following resolutions, 1.“ That the thanks of this House be given to admiral lord Gambier, for the zeal, judgment, ability, and anxious attention to the wel- fare of his majesty’s service, which marked his lordship’s conduct as commander-in-chief of the fleet in Basque Roads. 2. That the thanks of this House be given to rear-admiral the hon. Robert Stopford, captain sir H. Burrard Neale, captain of the fleet, and to -the several captains and officers of the fleet under the command of admital lord Gambier, for their gallantand highly meritorious con- duct on that glorious occasion, ANNUAL REGISTER, -tences of courts-martial. 1810. particularly marked by the brilliant and unexampled success of the difficult and perilous mode of at- tack by fire-ships, conducted un- der the immediate -direction of captain lord Cochrane. 3. That this House doth highly approve of and acknowledge the services of the seamen and royal marines, &c.”? On the question being put on the first resolution, Lord Cochrane warned the House that even their verdict was not conclusive upon character, and that the public would exercise a judgment, if the House would not. The argument of ministers, that wherever the subordinates deserv- ed praise, the superiors must re- ceive it, was frivolous and childish. Was admiral Parker thanked for the bravery of the fleet at Copen- hagen ?—Sir Francis Burdett de- sired to know whether the services of lord Gambier, admitting it to have all the value that could pos sibly be attributed to it, was wor- thy of the thanks of parliament ? or whether the motion for thanks could have flowed from any thing but the unblushing and profuse spirit of ministerial favouritism ?— Mr. Windham having doubts re- specting the vote he should give, wished to state what they were, but still more strongly what they were not. He was averse to the revisal of the sentences of courts- martial. The conduct of the ad- miralty, in appointing sir Home Popham to a situation of confi- dence, after he had been censured and reprimanded by a court-mar= tial, washighlyreprehensible-Such proceedings counteracted the na- tural and proper effects of the sen- But the HISTORY OF EUROPE... vote of thanks proposed, forced him to think a little. A motion for papers was unnecessary. The thanks of that House did not de- serve to be lavished en any man, unless his service was of that or- der which forced itself into uni- versal report and universal admi- ration. That lord Gambier never came into action, that he beheld it at the distance of seven miles, ‘was not a stain upon him. The immediate scene’ of action. was not his place. The greatest com- manders were careful of the lives of their men. It was their proudest boast that they accomplished their objects without the unnecessary expenditure of a single soldier. But in voting thanks it was time to pause. These old rewards had be- come worthless, for want of due discrimination in conferring them. It had been said that nothing had been left but the peerage; and, even of that high honour, minis- ters had been most lavish. They gave it away by two steps at once. It was time to stop. The House had in their hands the great pro- vision for national virtue.- They had the honours of the country entrusted to them ; and it became them, as legislators, not to suffer its streams to be idly diverted, nor to be prodigally and_ profusely poured forth to slake the thirst of undeserving ambition, still pant- ing, still insatiable. The House then divided : For the motion, 161. Against it, 39. The other resolutions were then passed nem. con. House of Lords, Feb. 3. Lord Mulgrave rose to move a vote of thanks to lord Gambier. He considered the operations of the 39 navy in Basque Roads under'the direction and command of lord Gambier, as contributing highly to the advantage and glory of the country. He trusted the report of opposition was unfounded. Our honour and our salvation depend- ed on parliament doing its duty to our brave military and naval de- fenders. He moved thanks to lord ‘Gambier, “ for his zeal, judgment, ability, and attention to his ma- jesty’s naval service.” Lord Mel- ville gave his cordial assent to the motion. He conceived that the admiralty had acted extremely wrong in giving lord Cochrane a command, which was contrary to the naval rules of the service, and which must have been so galling and disgusting to the other officers in lord Gambier’s fleet. He re- spected the zeal, intrepidity, and enterprise of lord Cochrane; but it was wrong to suppose that these qualities were wanting in the many brave captains of the fleet, who were of standing superior to his lordship. The making sucha se- lection naturally put that noble lord upon attempting enterprises by which great glory might be ob- tained by him personally, whereas lord Gambier was to attend prin- cipally to the whole fleet.—The earl of Grosvenor did not think the services of lord Gambier, though he had done his duty well, of such a nature as to require the particular thanks of the House. They should be given only on very signal and important victories ; such as those obtained by lord Howe, lord Duncan, lord St. Vincent, and the immortal Nel- son.—The earl of Buckingham- shire thought the services per- formed by lord Gambier in Basque 40 Roads important; and was per- suaded that the public thought more highly of that noble lord since the court-martial, than be- fore it. He, for his part, would give thanks to lord Gambier, not only for having destroyed the enemy’s ships, but also for having withstood that advice which was calculated to hurry him into a course of conduct, the conse- quence of which must have been great loss to the fleet which he ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. commanded.—The ear! of Darn- ley had no objection to the vote of thanks, but at the same time he thovght this one of the efforts now too commonly resorted to, by voting thanks to the officers employed, to throw a lustre on the government. The question was then put and agreed to. Votes of thanks to the other officers, non-commissioned officers, sailors and marines, were also passed nem. cone ony] HISTORY OF EUROPE. 4} CHA P. Ill. House of Commons.—Motion by Lord Porchester, for an Inquiry into the late disastrous Expedition to the Scheldt.—Long Debates.—Lord Porchester’s Motion carried by a small Majority A Committee of the whole House appointed to inquire into the Causes of the Failure of the Expedition to the Scheldt.— Motion for Papers relative to that Subject, agreed to.—Appointment of a Secret Committee, for the Inspection and Selection of Information of a Nature improper to be made public. BQNROM discussions concerning proper objects of honours and rewards, the House of Commons passed to others of a contrary na- ture: parties strongly suspected, and even loudly accused of con- duct deserving censure and punish- ment. In the House of Commons, Jan. 126, lord Porchester called the attention of the House to the ex- pedition to the Scheldt. When, fat the close of a former night’s debate, he gave notice of the mo- tion which he should that night have the honour of submitting to the House, it was his intention, he said, to propose the appointment -of a committee to inquire into the conduct of the whole campaign. ‘On reflection, however, he was -persuaded it would be much more conducive to the end he had in ‘view, namely, to prove the inca- pacity and total want of system, _ that pervaded all the military mea- sures of his majesty’s ministers, ‘to separate the different branches of the campaign, and institute a distinct inquiry into each; after which particular investigation, the several results might be more “clearly summed up, and a general conclusion drawn, with greater ac- curacy, justice, and truth. : He should, therefore, in what he had to address to the House, and the motion with which he meant to conclude, confine himself to the sole disastrous expedition to the Scheldt. The objections likely to be made to his motion, would, he supposed, relate to the time and the form in which it should be -submitted. His object was, that the inquiry should be conducted byacommittee of the whole House. He could not consent to delegate the right of inquiry, on this occa- sion, to any select or secret com~- mittee, by whom the course of in- vestigation might be misdirected, or its bounds limited: before -whom, possibly, garbled extracts, called documents, might be laid by ministers themselves, in order to produce a partial discussion. He would not expose the case to such a risk. It was in a committee of the whole House alone, that they could have a fair case, be- cause, if necessary, they could examine oral evidence at the bar. As to the objection respecting time, that his motion ought not to be entertained until the papers promised by ministers should be laid before the House, it was a de- lusive and shallow subterfuge, as his view was-simply to establish 42 the tribunal before he should open his case. The only end he had in view, was, to pledge the House to the institution of an inquiry. It was not his wish, at tliat time, to discuss the merits of the investi- gation. He did not desire to put ministers on their trial, before they had had full opportunity of pre- paring their evidence and their de- fence. Yet, could the country re- main in doubt whether such minis- ters should be tried at all? If we examined any or all of the cam- paigns which had recently taken place, we should find, in fact, the same character of weakness and fatuity ; the same features of tar- diness of preparation, ignorance in conduct, imbecility in combina- tion, and, of consequence, failure in result. In the expedition to which this motion referred, the calamities which attended it, were, in fact, to be equalled only by the magnitude of its extensive and ex- pensive preparation.* The truth ‘of this position, his lordship pro- ceeded to illustrate. Thestrongest as well as most obvious objections to the designs and plan, as well as the management of this expedi- tion, were stated, as we have seen, in the debates on the king’s ‘speech, in both Houses of parlia- ment. These, lord Porchester ‘urged in a clear and forcible man- ‘ner, with the addition of farther observations, of which the follow- ing acute remark is a specimen: «* We had been told, by the mi- nister, that before the troops could be sent to Holland, it was neces- ‘sary to wait for the arrival of ‘transports from Lisbon. But why ~were those transports at Lisbon ? ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. For the use of sir Arthur Welles- ley’s army, in case it should be defeated, and obliged finally to retreat. So that our ministers combined their plan with such pe- culiar judgment and felicity of ar- rangement, that a defeat in Por- tugal would have prevented the expedition to Holland.” But, lord Porchester asked, why the minister had not a sufficiency of transports ready for any operation that might be deemed necessary ? If ministers did not attend to their - duty, it was not admissible in them to plead their neglect of duty as a reason for not sending out an expedition, which, if proper to have been sent out at all, ought to have been sent out in due time. He was speaking of the means they had provided for acting on their own plan: not that he approved this ; but in order to shew the in- efficacy of these means to their own ends. For if it was really meant to assist Austria, by making a diversion in her favour; why choose a place for an expedition, where there was no possible point of communication with the power to be supported? In that situa- tion we had it not in our power to advance a step without meeting with a fortress, which, when cap- tured, we must reduce our force to garrison, before we advanced farther. But lord Chatham found it impossible to advance at all. What was the main object of this expedition? The French fleet at Antwerp. Did they goat once to Antwerp? No. The expedition sailed for Walcheren on the 28th of July. It was accompanied by heavy cavalry, which in fact never. * For an account of this Expedition, see Vol. LI. [1809] Hist. Eur, p. 223). » ] HISTORY OF EUROPE. Yanded, and other descriptions of force, appropriate to service dif- ferent from that entered on. On the 28th of August it was decided, by our commander, that Antwerp was not assailable, and that our troops must retreat. How was the long interval employed before it was thought advisable to come to that decision? Instead of proceed- ing at once to Antwerp, and leav- ing some part of our shipping to blockade Flushing ; which block- ade would have rendered the force in that garrison and all Walcheren quite useless, Flushing was regu- larly besieged. Thus the force which must have been kept as it were in a cage, was, by our lying down before Flushing, with dou- ble the number, rendered com- pletely effective against us. But this was not all. Before Flushing was reduced, a formidable force _was collected at Antwerp: and the fortress, according to the admira- ble plan, was to be taken by a coup de main, after a month’s pre- vious notice! It had been said, that Walcheren had been retained in consequence of a requisition from Austria, in the hope that Buonaparte might thereby be in- fluenced in his negociations with that power. If, however, it was meant to retain Walcheren only as a feint, why proceed to fortify the works of Flushing? Why con- struct new works elsewhere in Walcheren, and expend a consi- derable sum on such fortifications? That the retention of Walcheren was a feint, no rational man could believe. The fallacy of the pre- tence was obvious from the con- duct of ministers themselves, in being at the expence of fortifying it. But, supposing it to have been 43 indeed a feint, it was absurd to imagine that Buonaparte, in order to get possession of that island, or to avoid the delaying for two or three weeks his attack upon it, would be induced to lower his tone, or modify or moderate his terms with Austria. Lord Porchester having gone through the principal points, as they occurred, and appeared to be to himconnected with the policy or progress of this expedition, pro- ceededto considerthe choice which ministers had thought proper to make of a commander to direct its operations. Althoughhe wasmuch more conversant with the gaieties of London, or the business of of= fice, than with the annals of mili- tary experience or glory, yet he did not complain of the appoint ment of such an officer to the command of such an expedition. He was, in fact, the most appro- priate person that could have been chosen. Abortive and impracti- cable as the plan was, he should have thought it a pity that the cha- racter of an intelligent and expe- rienced officer should have been exposed to sacrifice, by rendering him responsible for the success of a measure, which it would have been impossible for such a man to comprehend or execute. Such an expedition could, in fact, be un- derstood by ministers alone, and one of themselves alone, was fitted to command it. Many other proofs of neglect and inattention, with regard to the conduct of the expedition, had been mentioned to lord Porchester. Among many others, he had been told that transports, with artificers, and ma» terials for the construction or re- pair of fortifications, were actu- 44 ally sent out to Walcheren, even after the order for its evacuation had reached the island.* | He had also heard of the sick and wound- ed soldiers being most severely distressed for want of bedding, clothing, and even necessary pro- visions and medicines. All these things might not be true, but yet they rested on the statement of such authorities as to form an additional argument for inquiry. Indeed the arguments for inquiry were so numerous and irresistible, that unless the House acceded to them, they could not hope to have credit with the country for acting under the influence of reason or argument. Lord Porchester con- cluded with moving, ‘* That a committee be appointed to inquire into: the policy and the conduct of the late expedition to the Scheldt.”” Mr, Windham Quin, in second- ing the motion, reviewed the con- duct of the expedition, which ap- peared to him to be remarkable only for ignorance, imbecility and mismanagement. He was parti- cularly struck on a perusal of the papers on the table, with the defi- ‘ciency of means to carry into effect the attack upon Cadsand, there having been provided no more boats than would be sufficient to land 600 troops, at a time when 2,000 troops were drawn up on the beach. It appeared that there had been transports provided by the wise planners of the expedi- tion, without boats, and soldiers sent without provisions. The con- sequence was, that though batte- ries had been opened on the 5th of August, the enemy had been ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. able, without molestation, to throw a body of three or 4,000 men into Flushing, across the Scheldt, be- fore the communication with Cad- sand was cut off, Mr. Croker, with regard to the delay of the expedition, observed, that his majesty had not incited Austria to hostilities—that he was even unwilling that Austria should precipitate herself into a war with France, and cautioned her against taking such a step, without ra- tional grounds of hope for a suc- cessfulissue. It would, therefore, have been imprudent and impolitic to have wasted our resources in preparations for supporting Aus- tria, in the case of an event which it was hoped would not take place, Lord Porchester had complained of many circumstances besides delay, connected with the expe-~ dition. Might not those circum- stances be satisfactorily explained by the papers which were yet to be produced? Mr. Quin had com- plained of a want of boats to land a sufficient force on Cadsand. Mr. Croker had no hesitation in con- tradicting the honourable gentle- man on that point. The state« ment of the honourable gentleman was unfounded in fact: and that single circumstance was sufficient to prove the propriety of waiting till all the documents should be produced. He had means of knowing more on the subject of the expedition than the hon- ourable gentleman. Mr. Croker wished the House distinctly to un- derstand that he did not oppose in- quiry, but only wished to defer it till they should be in possession of those papers which alone could * Vol. LI. [1809] Hist. Eur. p. 225. HISTORY OF enable them to decide whether an inquiry would be necessary. He concluded with moving the pre- vious question. ' Mr. Bathurst said, that he had voted for the address in answer to the king’s speech, but not against the inquiry; and he had opposed the amendment proposed, because it not only courted inquiry, but anticipated the result. The House owed it to the country that inquiry of some kind should take place ; and it could not take place in any other way than either in a se- lect committee, or a committee of the whole House. The papers re- maining tobe produced mightstate what was thought proper, with _Yespect to the number of boats, or the means of debarkation on Cadsand. But admiralty returns would not satisfy him. He must have viva voce evidence onthis, and every other important point con- nected with theexpedition. It was impossible for any papers to shew that a sufficient number of boats had been provided. It was alike impossible for papers toshow what the probability was, that Antwerp, on acoup de main, would be found ina different state from that in whichit afterwardsappeared to be. He wished to know what were the probabilities of the success of the expedition; upon what grounds it was expected that the expedition would arrive in a given time at a given point. These were subjects which no papers could explain, and which could be learned only from viva voce examination. The chancellor of the Exche- quer besought the House not to be led astray by any supposition, that, in agreeing to the previous ques- tion, it would decide on the point EUROPE. 45 of inquiry or no inquiry. The vote of that night would only de- cide whether the inquiry should be then voted, or not till after the documents should be produced. To shew that ministers were anxious that the questions depend- ing on them might be agitated as early as possible, he stated, that while the office clerks were em- ployed in copying some of them, others were actually in the course of being printed. He hoped not only to be able to bring them be- fore the House on Monday, but to put into the hands of each member a printed copy. It was hardly de- cent not to wait twenty-four hours for the promised information: to decide, knowing nothing aboutthe merits of the case: to say we know better than you, though we know nothing at all about the matter; to tell the sovereign, in effect, though you have promised us satisfactory information, we have anticipated that the informa- tion you have promised cannot be satisfactory. Mr. Windham said, that, in his opinion, the vote ought to be car- tied by acclamation. The inform- ation on which to ground opi- nion, at least inquiry, was already before parliamentand thecountry. It was not that the expedition failed, but that it could not suc- ceed, that the House and thecoun- try had to complain of. It would be a reproach for ever to the cha- racter of parliament, if it suffered its attention to be diverted for one single day from taking steps of in- quiry, by any delusive hope held out from the production of papers. By the way, those papers, had ministers been sincereintheir pro= fessions, should have been deli- 46 vered the first day the House as- sembled. They who could fore~ see nothing else, must at least have foreseen that parliament was to be assembled. Mr. Ponsonby observed, that the chancellor of the Exche- quer had been pleased to tell the House, that the questionthey were now called on to decide, was, merely whether it should proceed to the institution of an inquiry on Friday next, or on the succeeding Monday. That, however, was not the question. It was far more important—it was, whether the House should that night do its duty to the people of Great Bri- tain and Ireland, or wave it alto- gether, through deferential indul- gence to ministers. Mr. Stephen thought an inquiry proper and necessary, to satisfy the country; but as the papers would be produced, he should vote for postponing the inquiry for that time. It had been argued, by Mr. Windham, that because the motion only implied that there was ground for putting ministers on their trial, there was no need to wait for the promised papers. What evil could arise from a delay of two days, of such magnitude, as could justify the House in pre- cipitating a vote without hearing such evidence as was offered for their consideration? If not ma- terial to the question whether in- quiry was proper, it might at least assist them in deciding as to the mode and extent of the inquiry. He could not admit the mere failure of the expedition to the Scheldt, or the ill success of our arms in the peninsula, to be suf- ficient ground for inferring crimi- nal misconduct, or incapacity on ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. the part of government. Whena@ country is at perfect freedom of choice, either to abstain or to prosecute military enterprize, ill success might indeed furnish a reasonable presumption of miscon- duct in their authors or conduc- tors. But England was in a situa~ tion similar to that of a town be- sieged by a powerful army, which the garrison was too feeble to en- counter in the open field. In this case the best means of defence might be, frequent sallies, to delay the enemy’s ultimate success, and take the chance of contingencies, which might bring final relief, though there was no hope, bysuch sallies, of raising the siege. Our continental efforts against our too powerful enemy, were of this kind. Mr. Stepbenconcluded, withsome lively strictures on the eagerness of gentlemen on the opposite side of the House to turn the failure of the expedition to their own politi- cal purpose of getting into power, by the dismissal of their oppo- nents. The public, he said, was led to expect a redress of griev- ances, and punishment of delin- quents. But those gentlemen had the more substantial game in view, of obtaining possession of the go- vernment : and this was the true cause of their impatience. They reminded him of the squire of the valorous knight of La Mancha: The knight, like the people of England in the present case, was intent on generous purposes, though with mistaken views. But the squire had always his eye to the main chance ; and, as soon as an adventure was achieved by his master, he conceived, like the right honourable gentleman, that his-end was attained, and said, «* I HISTORY OF EUROPE. do béseech: you, .sir, give me im- mediately that same government.” _ Sir Samuel Romilly said, this was the first time in his life that he had heard the doctrine that we should be certain of criminality before we proceeded to inquiry. A great calamity had befallen the country ; could there be any se- rious doubt as to the necessity of inquiring into the cause or causes ? It had been said, by his learned friend, that the object of the mo- tion was to turn out the present ministers. How could inquiry turn out ministers, unless the result of the inquiry should shew them to be criminal? If, on the contrary the inquiry should prove that no blame wasimputable to them, they would only be more firmly esta- blished in their places. If it was of very little consequence whether inquiry should be voted that night, or Monday, why did ministers think it worth while to make a se- rious opposition. Was there an in- dividual present not convinced that it was the intention of minis- ters, if they could by any means, to evade inquiry altogether? If, in fact, it were a question of only twenty-four hours, it were better to vote for inquiry now, than de- _ lay such a vote for even twenty- four hours. The House was then on its trial before the world, and should Jose no time in acquitting itself in the eyes of the country. —General Grosvenor felt the most anxious wish to support the mo- tion of the noble lord. He owed it to the commander-in-chief, lord Chatham—he owed it to the army, officers and men—he owed it also to himself, as having had a com- 47 mand in that army, to declare: that he could not gratify the whole army more than by voting for the speediest and most effectual in- quiry.—Sir Home Popham said, that the same motives induced him, in the strongest and most ex~ plicit manner, to press the House to go into the minutest inquiry into the conduct of the fleet. He was perfectly convinced that such a course would be very congenial to the feelings of the whole, and particularly those of the gallant admiral who commanded it; whose whole life had been a tissue of the most active and enterprising ser- vices; whose achievements had been equalled by few, excelled by none.—Mr. Wilberforce wished to: obtain the point of inquiry now, that very evening, for he had been too long in parliament* not to know, that, if deferred till Mon- day, it would never be obtained at all—Mr. Canning said, that it would be better to postpone any direct motion for inquiry until the House should be in possession of the promised papers. This was a deference due to the government. But, whatever the contents of these papers might be, they would not supersede the necessity of an inquiry of some kind. Inquiry could not be avoided. It must take place sooner or later. Incon- veniences, however, would lie in the mode of inquiry, that would result from the adoption of the motion. If it should appear, from the papers to be laid on the table, that blame was imputable to the commanders of the expedition, an investigation at the bar of the House would certainly not be the ' * Upwards of thirty years.. : itu 4S most advisable or constitutional way, to ascertain what portion of misconduct fell to each. No in- quiry before the House, or any se- lection trom it, could embrace the misconduct, supposing any imput- able to them; of the commanders of the expedition. The case, how- ever, was different with regard to the share that ministers had in the transaction; and he put in his claim to a full share of the respon- sibility, which the ministry, that setit forward, might have incurred. He would give his vote against the motion of the noble Jord, but not in the hope of defeating inquiry, which could not be avoided. Se- veral other members spoke on the opposites sides of the question. But the main arguments, pro and con, have been already, perhaps, too often stated. Mr. Tierney ex- cited a laugh at the chancellor of the Exchequer. It had been fre- quently asserted, he said, that the object of the motivun was to turn out ministers. And it was whimsical enough, that the prime minister himself had stated that as an objection to the motion, Mr. Eyre, a very honourable gentle- man, raised a laugh against him- self. He said, that on the pre- sent occasion, he would not vote on the side of administration. But as to their general conduct, he was convinced that they possessed great merit, though the nature of that merit was not sufficiently understood by the country. On a division of the House there appeared for ' Lord Porchester’s motion 195, - Against it 186. ‘A committee of the whole House, to enquire into the causes of the failure of the expedition to ANNUAL’ REGISTER, 1810. the Scheldt, was then fixed for. Friday next. House of Commons, February 2. Lord Porchester, before he moved the order of the day, rose to give notice, that on Monday he should move for certain papers relating to the late expedition to the Scheldt, which, he thought, were necessary to render those already before the House complete. In the papers before them, two or three objects were named, as those of the expe- dition ; while one part of the force was to be stationed as a garrison, the other was to proceed to ac~ complish such of the ulterior ob- - jects of the expedition, as might appear practicable. From the pa- pers before them, it appeared, that a very few days after every obsta- cle, to the accomplishment of the ulterior objects had been re- moved (as stated by lord C.) by the seasonable fall of Flushing, the whole of those objects were abandoned. Could it be thought, that the general had received no instructions in the interval to di- rect his conduct. He was of opi- nion, that such communications must have existed. And, as they were not produced, he must con- sider the papers that had been laidby ministersbefore the House, as incomplete and defective. Pur- suant to this notice, lord Porches- ter, House of Commons, February 5. moved, that an humble address be presented to his majesty, that he would be graciously pleased to give orders, ‘‘that there be laid before the House copies of all the instructions given to lord Chat~- ham, and sir Richard Strachan, and the officers employed in the expedition to the Scheldt,” agreed HISTORY OF EUROPE. to.—“ Also, copies of all commu- nications, not already before the House, between his majesty’s mi- nisters and the officers employed in the expedition to the Scheldt, relativeto that expedition,” agreed to.— Also, the date of the re- ceipt of Mr. Bathurst’s dispatches, which bore date the 15th of Sep- tember, 1809,” agreed to. It was unanimously agreed, that it would be competent for the committee, from time to time, to instruct the chairman to move for all such papers as might be found necessary. Lord Porchester moved for the Vor. Lit. 49 appointment of a secret commit- tee, to whom should be referred the inspection and selection of certain secret information, and confidential communication, laid before his majesty’s ministers, with respect to the expedition to the Scheldt, and of a nature im- proper to be made public.—A committee was appointed, con- sisting of lord Porchester, Mr. F. Robinson, admiral Markham, Mr. Bathurst, general Ferguson, Mr. Wilberforce, Mr. Sturges Bourne, Mr. Yorke, captain Beresford, Mr. Davie Giddie, and general Crawfurd. 50 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. CHAP. IV. House of Commons proceeds in the, Inquiry into the Expedition to the Scheldt.— Found among the Papers on the Table, a Narrative of the, Expedition to the Scheldt, signed by Lord Chatham, and presented to _ his Majesty, without the Intervention of any responsible Minister.— The Purpose for which this was apparently framed,— This clandestine Proceeding of Lord Chatham arraigned by some Members as uncon- _ slitutional—defended by others.— Motion by Mr. Whitbread, for an | Address to his Majesty, for Copies of all Reports, &c. submitted at any Time to his Majesty, by the Earl of Chatham, relative to the late Ex- pedition,— Debates. — The Motion’carried by a small Majority.— The _ King’s Answer to the Address respecting Lord Chatham's Narrative,— Inserted in the Journals of the House. House of Lords.— Motion by the Marquis of Lansdown, for an Address to his Majesty, respecting his Majesty's Answer tv the City of London.—Cause and Object of this Motion.—Debate.— Discussions respecting the Policy and Con- duct of the Scheldt Expedition —Lord Lansdown’s Motion negatived. House of Commons.—Specific Resolutions moved by Mr. Whitbread, on the Narrative of the Earl of Chatham.—Long Debates —The Resolutions carried by a small Majority. OUSE of Commons, Febru- ary 19. The order of the day being moved, for going into a committee of inquiry, respecting the expedition to the Scheldt, Lord Folkstone said, there was a subject of great consequence, to which he thought it is his duty, on that occasion, to call the attention of the House. Among the papers on the table he found a letter of a most extraordinary nature, refer- ring to the matter of the present inquiry, A narrative of the expe- dition to the Scheldt, signed by lord Chatham, and presented to his majesty without the interven- tion of any responsible minister. This paper had been produced on the motion .of general Loft, of which he had given due notice. It was entitled, “Copy of the earl of Chatham’s statement of his proceedings, dated 15th of Octos ber 1809; presented to the king 14th February, 1810.* ‘The date of its presentation to the king was much noticed. It bore date only on the 14th inst., although it had been two or three months ago an- nounced in thenewspapers, known or supposed to have some under- standing with the ministry, that lord Chatham had presented a narrative of this description to his majesty. The objections which lord Folkstone had to this paper, on account of the manner in which it had been presented to his ma- jesty, were considerably aggra- * See this paper in State Papers, p. 433, HISTORY OF EUROPE. vated by a knowledge of its con- tents. It appeared to bea special address from the commander of one part of the expedition, appeal- ing to the judgment of his ma- jesty, and actually reflecting upon the conduct of his colleague in the command. He really didnot know how the House should pro- ceed, in order to get rid of sucha paper; but it seemed highly de- sirable that it should do so. To entertain such a document, weuld not only be inconsistent with the constitution, but, in his opinion, with common justice. He would be glad to hear from the chair; in what manner it could be disposed of.—Mr. Tierney said, that shad the paper in question been pre- sented in the ordinary and consti- tutional mode, through the secre- tary of state for the war depart- ment, with whom alone lord Chat- ham was directed by his instruc- tions to correspond, it would, no doubt, -have been communicated to;the first lord of the admiralty, who, would have equally felt it to be his duty to have communicated, its contents to sir Richard Stra- chan, and have apprized him that he was to be inculpated by the commander in chief of the land part of the armament, ‘for the failure of the expedition. But this secret, practice of poisoning the royal breast with doubts and sus- picions of his most zealous and ap- proved. servants, while it deprived them, of the knowledge, and, of course, the means of repelling them, merited, in his opinion, im- peachment,—Mr, €. W. Wynne did notidoubt lord Chatham’s right of giving advice, respecting his department, asa minister. As & commander in chief of the ex- jl pedition he had no such right; though, contrary to all canstitu- tional precedent, he delivered the narrative to his majesty, hiding it from the secretary of state care- fully. After a just eulogium on the conduct of the speaker, he said there was never an occasion, on which the house stood so much in want of his assistance, and called uponhimto give his opinion.— Mr. Whitbread observed, that the paper was moved for by a private friend of lord Chatham’s, and that it did seem as if it was formed for the purpose, to which it was ap- plied, of throwing blame from Jord Chatham on sir Richard Strachan and the navy. General Loft disclaimed any intention on the part of his noble friend, to reflect on the navy. The address referred to, his noble friend was impelled to present, in consequence of an unfortunate letter from sir Richard Strachan, dated the 27th of August.—Mr. R. Dundas said, that it could not be unconstitutional for a minister to deliver a paper to his majesty, or for a peer of the kingdom to go into his royal closet.—Mr. Yorke maintained the same doctrine.— The chancellor of the Exchequer contended, that there was no one circumstance connected with that paper, for which there was not an adequate responsibility. If there was any thing culpable in the cha- racter or constitution of the paper, lord Chatham was responsible for it; and he -himself (Mr. Perce- val) wasiready to declare, that this was the paper called for. by :the House.—Mr. Bathurst was of opi- nion, that the narrative should be put out of sight, or lie dormant on the table. When lord Chatham E?2. 52. ANNUATJ REGISTER, / 1810. came to'be examined before the commitiee, let it be put into his hand; and if he identified, the committee could act upon it, - The Speaker rose and said, that he trusted the House would not be surprised at his delay in giving his opinion. On his first opening the narrative before tiem, and finding the name of Chatham, he was doubtful whether it ought to be received and acknowledged by that House, on account of its not bearing the signature of any of his majesty’s secretaries of state. But, considering by whom it was presented, he waved his doubts until he’ sent for some papers. On perusing these, he found that lord North had pre- sented several similar papers, and that he was considered to be prima Jacié accountable ;a circumstance which, in bis opinion, left the House at full liberty to discuss the merits of the narrative. —The chancellor of the Exchequer then moved, that it should be referred to the committee of the whole House on the expedition to the Scheldt, which was agreed to. of the day being then read, for the House going into a committee on the expedition to the Scheldt, they proceeded in the course of inquiry, on which they had en- tered 2nd of February, and which was continued, through various ad- journments, to the 15th of March. The sittings of the committee em- ployed in the examination of wit- nesses, were in number eighteen. - The principal subjects to which the inquiry was directed were, the © policy or design and views of the expedition ; the manner in which : it was conducted; and the: evacua- tion of Walcheren. é ' The order - - The witnesses examined were,’ sir David Dundas, K. B. comman- der-in-chief of the army ; the earl. of Chatham; lieutenant-general> Brownrigg, quarter-master-gene- ral of the forces; major-general Calvert, adjutant-general of the army ; sir Thomas Trigge, lieute- nant-general of the . ordnance ; major-general Macleod,command-. ing officer of the artillery, on the expedition under the earl of Chat- ham; colonel Fyers, chief engi-° neer to the army in the expedi- tion; captain Paisley, in the royal engineers; colonel Gordon, secre-' tary to the commander-in-chief; lieutenant-general sir Eyre Coote; the marquis of Huntley ; lieute- nant-general the earl of Rosslyn;' lieutenant-general sir John Hope; major-general sir William Ers- kine; brigadier-general Mon- tresor; lieutenant-general Don; brigadier-general Sontag; lieu-: tenant-colonel Offney; and lieu- tenant-colonel | Pilkington ; rear- admiral sir Richard Strachan; rear-admiral lord Gardener;' captain sir Home Popham; cap- tain Owen, of his majesty’s ship the Clyde; captain Jones, of his majesty’s ship the Namur; Peter Praget, esq., James ‘Aberdour, esq., and Daniel Woodriff, esq., captains in his majesty’s navy ; sir Lucas Pepys, physician-gene- - ral of the forces: Mr. Keates, sur- geon-general of the army, with Mr. Robert Keates, his assistantand in- spector of hospitals; Mr. Francis Knight, inspector-general'of army hospitals; Mr. John Webb, inspec- tor of hospitals ; and Mr. William Lidderdale,. who . had - been in: charge of the sick in the hospitals of Flushing ; lord'viscount'Castle- . reagh, William Huskisson, esq. HISTORY OF and Richard Wharton, esq., all three members of the House, and attending in their places. House of Commons, Feb. 23. Mr. Whitbread rose to make a motion, of which he had given no- tice, respecting the earl of Chat- ham’s narrative. As many more members were now present than there were in the House when lord Chatham’s examination, beforethe ‘committee, closed, on the preced- ing evening, he would state some circumstances which occurred at that period. Those honourable members, who were present last night, would recollect that lord Chatham had been questioned on the narrative, which he had thought proper to present to his Majesty; and that the noble lord, after being repeatedly asked, whe- ther he had, on any former occa- sion, presented to his majesty any other narrative, paper, memoran- dum, or memorial, respecting the expedition to the Scheldt, de- clined to give any answer to the inquiry. This circumstance ex- ' cited a strong suspicion, that the noble lord had actually presented to his majesty some such docu- ment. Lord Chatham, as a peer of the realm, could not be pressed by the committee, with a question which he did not choose to answer. But the House might address bis majesty, forthe production of such a paper if it existed.—Lord Chat- ham, in his dispatches, had ex- tina his most unqualified appro- ation of the conduct of the navy. But in the noble Jord’s narrative, he had thrown imputations on the navy, calculated to pat the two services at issue. As the noble lord had not de- nied, that the narrative on the EUROPE. 53 table was not the only paper of a singular description, which he had presented to his majesty, it was reasonable to assume, that before the construction of that document, some other report had been made by lord Chatham to the king on the subject. Taking this for granted, the House, in justice to the navy, and in maintenance of the principles of the constitution, should determine to address his Majesty, for the production of that prior document. Themost de- termined democrats never brought a stronger charge against any mo- narchy, than that favourites had ready access to the ear of their so- vereign, and secret opportunitiesto poison his royal mind against brave and deserving men, who had’ no means of defending themselves, inasmuch as minions had always ready accesstothesovereign, when they had not. It was impossible that the House should allow, any feelings so insidiously- created, to exist in his majesty’s bosom, with- out asking him to communicate them to his people. If any other document than the narrative al- ready presented, existed, it was to be presumed, that it contained charges ; for that narrative con- tained. imputations, only short of charges. As the noble lord had refused to answer the questions putto him yesterday evening, the House of Commons were called upon to adopt the precedent of the gallant general, and to address his majesty, for the purpose of endeavouring to obtain any further document, if any such existed. Mr. Whitbread concluded with moving, «That ’an humble ad- dress ve presented to his majesty, praying that he would be gra- 54 ciously pleased. to order, that there be laid before the House, copies of allreports, memoranda, narratives, or papers, submitted at any time to his majesty, by the earl of Chatham, relative to the late ex- pedition.” Mr. Secretary Ryder admitted the right of the House of Com- mons to address his majesty ; but he was persuaded, that the present motion was wholly without ex- ample. For even supposing that such a paper as that described did actually exist, as it had never been communicated to his majesty’s mi- nisters, he did not know in what office to search for it, nor could he understand what reply they could possibly advise hismajesty to make to an address from the House of Commons, under such circum- stances.— Mr.Ponsonby,adverting to the declaration of Mr. Ryder, that he did not know where to look for such a paper, said, he would ask the right honourable gentleman where he looked for the last? And as to Mr. Ryder not understanding what answer minis- ters. could advise his majesty to return to such an address, did he suppose that his majesty would hesitate to deliver any papers he might havein his possession, of the nature required, for the purpose of submitting them to the House of Commons? Would he say, that his majesty was disposed to wink at the calumniation of a brave officer like sir Richard Strachan ? Such a supposition was as oppo- site to the integrity, to the virtue, and honour of his majesty, as it was conformable to the dark spirit of low intrigue which influenced the councils of his present minis- ters. He hoped that the House ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. would mark its reprobation of a practice so. unconstitutional and so base, by voting the address. The Chancellor of the Exche- quer said, that Mr. Whitbread’s argumentin support of his motion, proceeded on assumptions not true in fact: Ist. that. some communi- cation had been made to the king by lord C. before he had. givea in the narrative before the House; 2nd. that in this previous commu- nication he had calumniated -his brother officers. And on these two assumptions the honourable gentleman had stated, thatthe per- son of the sovereign had been dragged into discussion, in order to defend his servants: when all that his right honourable friend had said, was, that if the House were to ask his majesty for papers, the nature of which they could not describe, and even the exist- ence of which they could not as- certain, they might, with just as much propriety, demand the pro- duction of any other documents whatever. When the honourable general who moved for the production of the narrative on the table commu- nicated to him, on the 15th inst. his intention of making such a mo~ tion, he was apprized of the exist+ ence of the document. Heknew that it was an official paper, and tobe found in one of the offices of his majesty’s confidential servants, Ithad beenabsolutely denied, that the other paper now sought, had any existence in any of the des partments ofthestate. The ques- tion now was, whether the House would vote for an address to the crown, to producea paper, merely for the purpose of ascertaining whether such a paper was in exists HISTORY OF EUROPE. 58 ence or not; a paper, if in exist- ence, of whose contents and qua- lity’'those who called for it knew nothing; and which, whatever were its contents, could never be considered as an official document, it’ being merely a communication upon certain facts.— Sir H. Pop- ham felt it difficult to account for the resistance made to the present motion, upon any principle of fairness, candour, or impartiality. The narrative of the noble earl had been voluntarily produced on aformer night, fourteen days after theinquiry hadcommenced. Why now withhold a paper relating to the same subject, and necessary to the effectual prosecution of the present inquiry ? It had been said, that the narrative of the earl of Chatham contained no in- _ sinuation against the gallant ad- miral, or the naval part of the ex- pedition. (He knew, however, that sit Richard Strachan did feel, that serious ‘insinuations ae his conduct were contained in that paper. But what was still more grievous, if the gallant ad- miral should refuteandrepel every charge implied in the narrative of lord Chatham before the House, he could have no security that a second statement would not then bé produced, and. then a third, and so on, statement upon state- ment, and edition upon edition. — Géneral Loft defended the con- duct of lord Chatham, on the old ground of the letter of sir Richard Strachan, of the 27th of August. —Mr. R. Dundas too contended, that what was done by lord Chat- ham, ‘in “presenting his narrative,’ was purely in his own vindication. —Mr. R. Ward, in opposition to the ‘argument, that unless the pa- per moved for should be granted, sir Richard Strachan would not have an opportunity of vindicating his character against the insinua- tions said to have been made against it, assured the House, that the noble person at the head of the admiralty, the moment he had been acquainted with the circum. stance, of the narrative having been presented to the king, which was not till the night of the 2lst inst. communicated the transac- tion to the gallant admiral ; at the same time informing him, that if he should deem it expedient, in like manner, to make a statement of the naval proceedings of the expedition, it would be his duty to become the channel for trans- mitting it to his majesty.—Sir S. Romilly observed, that if a witness were asked, in a court of justice, whether he wrote a certain paper, and declined to answer, the judge would direct the jury to consider that paper as in existence. But if there should be no such paper in existence, that was’ a. still stronger reason foragreeing tothe motion ; for tlien all doubts would be satisfactorily cleared up, and the characters of thedistinguished officers, supposed to be aspersed, stand as high as ever.—Sir J. An- struther contended, that any paper relative to an expedition, which led to the waste’ of millions, and the death of thousands, could not be considered in any other light than as an ‘official’ paper. —Mr. Bathurst likewise said, that it was not the place Where a paper was found, but the nature of the pa- per, that nadé’it official. It had been said, on the other side, that those who supported the motion, were all along begging the ques- 66 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. tion. That Mr. Bathurst denied. ‘They were justifiable in assuming the existence of any papers called for ; justifiable in calling for them, in order to ascertain whether they did or did not exist. But, he -would ask, was there a man in the House who doubted the existence ofthe paper? Did his right ho- nourable friend, the chancellor of the Exchequer, for a moment contend that there was no such paper?—The same question was put by almost every one whospoke on the same side. The Attorney General, stand- ing on the same ground that had been taken by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, contended stre- nuously, that no paper should be moved for that did not exist in any public office of the state. In- deed no paper, he observed, had beenspecificallycalled for,orstated to exist. The motion was founded wholly on an assumption, or sup- position.—The Solicitor General, too, asked, whether it was de- manded, that the minister should rummage the king’s escrutoire, in search for any communications that might be found there, re- specting the expedition to the Scheldt? Was it to be contend- ed, that if a private letter, upon a public subject, were addressed to the sovereign, that letter was to be laid before that House, if it had any allusion to the matter of the present motion? Such argu- ments were not to be endured. Mr. Canning said, that as soon as lord Chatham accepted the command of the late expedition, he became as responsible for his conduct as any other officer in the army, Or as any man in the ranks. He had no right to cut out for himself a royal road to anaudience of the king. He was, no doubt, responsible to the king, but only through the regular and ordinary channel. As one of the cabinet, he was responsible, equally witl the rest of his colleagues in office, for the wisdom or policy of the ex- pedition, to the country and to parliament ; but, as commander of the expedition, he was respon= sible to the king, through his se- cretary of state. If the other pa- per, which had been read, had taken the course of going through the medium of the secretary of state into the king’s hand, he should most certainly havethought that the papers now moved for did not exist. But when he consider- ed, that the narrative on the table had first got into the king’s hand, and was then made official, and that the same adviser had, perhaps, thought it proper not to make the other papers, if they did exist, official, his conviction was pretty strong, that they were not such as ought to have been made official. He did not, however, think that those papers could properly be withheld on the ground of their not being official. Mr. Whitbread spoke again at considerable length, and re-stated the principal arguments in support of his motion. To the defence of ministers, respecting the case of lord Chatham, by Mr. R. Ward, he applied the story of a lawyer at acoffee-house, maintaining very eagerly, that there was no dis- tinction between the words a/so and likewise ; when a wag denied his assertion, addressing him thus: ‘© Mr. Dunning is a lawyer, Sir, and you also, but not likewise.” Lord Chatham had presented a HISTORY OF EUROPE 57 narrative, and sir Richard Stra- chan. might present a narrative. But sir Richard’s narrative was to be put not into the hands of the king, but of lord Mulgrave. Upon a division of the House, the numbers were, For the motion 178, Against it, 171. . House of Commons, February 26th. The chancellor of the Ex- chequer reported to the House, that his majesty had been waited upon with their address of Friday last, to which he had been gra- ciously pleased to direct the fol- lowing answer to be given: “* The earl of Chatham haying requested his majesty to permit him to pre- sent his report to his majesty, and ‘having also requested that his majesty. would not communicate it for the present, his majesty re- ceived it on the 15th of January last, and kept it ‘till the 10th of this month, when, in consequence of a wish expressed: by the earl of Chatham, on the 7thof this month, to make some alterations in it, his majesty returned it to the earl of Chatham. The report, as altered, was again tendered to his majesty, by the earl of Chatham, on the 14th of this month, when his ma- jesty directed it to be delivered to his secretary of state, and his ma- jesty has not kept any copy or minute of this report as delivered at either of these times; nor has he had, at any time, any other report, memorandum, narrative, or paper, submitted to him by the earl of Chatham, relating to the late expedition to the Scheldt.” Mr. Whitbread requested to know who was the privy. counsel- lor, a member of that House, who took his majesty’s pleasure upon the address. The chancellor of the Exchequer said, ‘I was the privy counsellor who took his ma- jesty’s pleasure upon the address.” Mr. Ponsonby, without wishing to give any opinion at present upon the answer now given, trusted that it would be inserted in the jour- nals, in order that, if necessary, reference might be made to it on any future occasion. The speaker said, that this was the uniform rule of the House. The city of London had pre- sented, in December, 1809, a pe- titionto his majesty, that he would be graciously pleased to direct an immediate and effectual inquiry into the causes of the calamitous failure which had attended the expedition to Walcheren, The answer given by ministers was, that his majesty had not deemed it ne- cessary to institute any inquiry. House of Lords, March 2nd. The order of the day having been read, the marquis of Lansdown desired that the narrative present- ed to his majesty, by lord Chat- ham, might be read. The narra~ — tive was read accordingly. The marquis then rose, to submit to the consideration of their lord- ships the motion of which he had given notice for a previous day, but which he had postponed, in the hope that on the present day, the noble earl, the author of the narrative, would have been in his place. It was deeply to be re- gretted, that the author of the narrative, should have attempted to cast a blot upon the navy ; upon that profession, to weaken public confidence in which, was to dark- en the horizon, and dim the pros- pects of the country. The author of the narrative was one of his ma- 58 jesty’s ministers, with whom his colleagues had daily opportunities of communication, andfrom whom it was tobe supposed they must have learnt those circumstances detailed in the narrative, each of which imperiously demanded an inquiry.' An inquiry, however, had been deemed unnecessary by his majesty’s confidential servants; It would be recoliected also, that _ the ministers who had thus ads vised his majesty to refuse inquiry into the petition of his subjects, where inquiry was so imperiously demanded, were the same minis- ters) who, on a former occasion, when a petition from the same corporation called for inquiry into the disgraceful affair of the con- vention of Cintra, had advised his tnajesty to reprove the citizens of London for thus coming to ask for inquiry ; and to state, that his majesty was desirous at all times to institute inquiry, whereas, in that case the hopes and expecta- tions of the nation had been dis- appointed. Under the impression, therefore, that his majesty’s minis- ters could not have been ignorant of the facts and circumstances de- tailed by their colleague, the mas- ter-general of the ordnance, in his narrative, as commander in chief of the expedition to the Scheldt, of circumstances, each of which most imperiously called for in- quiry, as well for the purpose of satisfying the country and the public, as for clearing that profes= sion, which was so important and valuable to the dearest interests of the country ; he felt it his duty to move for an address to his majesty, ‘“praying that his majesty would be’ graciously pleased: to inform tle House who it was that advised: ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. his majesty to. return’ the answer to the city of London, respecting the expedition to the Scheldt, that his majesty had not deeniéd it necessary to ‘ institute any i- uiry.”” corse RIG’ » The earl of Liverpool said, if the object of the noble marquis was merely to know who it was that advised his majesty to return the answer alluded to, he had not the smallest’ objection’ to’ state, that the whole of his majesty’s ministers had concurredin advising his» majesty to give that answer, with the exception of the earl Of Chatham, who had not attended the deliberations on that subject. It was open, therefore, to’ the noble marquis to make tliat answer the subject of any accusation that he might think it proper 'to urge against his majesty’s ministers. He was prepared to meet the noble marquis on the ground of that answer. His majesty’s ministers had no more right to call on lord Chatham for papers ordocuments, than upon the commander of any other expedition. ‘There was no ground for a military inquiry ; nor any precedent for an inquiry in the case of conjoint military and naval service’; nor could it; ‘with any propriety, take place, where the: military and naval code dif- fered in so many material ‘points. The only place in which a casé of that kind could be fully goné into was parliament, and to par liament it had been referred: The original design of ‘the expedition was, that the attack upon ‘Ant- werp should be simultaneous with that on Walcheren, which pro- ceeded on the supposition, that Flushing might have been masked while the attack was made on Ant- HISTORY OF EUROPE. werp. He still thought, that to attempt the destruction of the nayal preparations at Antwerp was worth encountering aconsiderable risk. That this design was frus- trated, was not to be attributed to any fault or failure in the plan, or in the execution of it; to any neglect on the part of the execu- tive government, or to any mis- conduct in the army or navy, but to the elements.. The failure in the main object of the expedition was to be attributed solely to the difficulties arising from the unusual state of the weather at that sea- son. The earl of Rosslyn admitted, that considerable difficulties arose from the difference of the naval and military code, in instituting a general inquiry into the conduct of a conjoint expedition. But the existence of such difficulties ren- dered the duty of ministers to pave the way for practical inves- tigation, by calling on the com- manders-in-chief of the two ser- vices, for reports of the occurren- ces which fell within their respect- ive departments,which would furn- ish the details, out of which any prima facie charges might arise of a deviation: from instructions, or delay, negligence, or want of energy in theirexecution.—Minis- ters justified the late expedition, by saying, that it was intended to be a coup de main ; and.that the success of it essentially depended ou-rapidity of execution and si- multaneous co-operation. But if simultaneous co-operation was to be the life and soul of the enter- prise, how came: they to plan an expedition which was to sail in three or four successive divisions? And if it were so to sail, on 59 what data did they calculate that the wind and weather were to be exactly such as would favour the junction of the whole, at a given period, at the point of debarka- tion?» The fact was, to the doubts and difficulties suggested by sir Richard Strachan, they shut their eyes, and winked hard. To the admiral they said, *‘ Go, go; we have complete confidence in you. Every thing will go on well.’ From lord Chatham all these dif- ficulties were studiously concealed. To him they said, ** You will find every thing ready to your hand. You will find Flushing invested, and cut off from all reinforcements and supplies. And you will have nothing to do but proceed as fast as possible, upthe western Scheldt, to Antwerp.” That the failure of the expedition did not, in the ge- nuine opinion of ministers, pro- ceed from the want of simulta- neous co-operation, was evident, from lord Castlereagh’s dispatch of the 24th of August, in which he congratulated Jord Chatham on the fall of Flushing, and ex» pressed a confident hope, that he would proceed to accomplish the ulterior objects of the expedition with the same zeal, vigour, and perseverance that had been hither- to displayed.——Lord Rosslyn hav- ing stated several points ‘on which, in his opinion, his majes- ty’s ministers ought long ago to have called for explanation, pro- ceeded to consider the tendency of sir Richard Strachan’s dispatch of the 27th of August, the period when the ulterior object of the expedition was finally abandoned. He severely censured ministers for having published that dispatch without determining on inquiry ; 60 because, having been given ina “garbled shape, its immediate effect was, to point the censure of the public against lord Chatham. The gallant admiral had given the same satisfactory account of it at Walcheren that he’ had recently given in the House of Commons, namely, that he had never. con- ceived it was to be made public, and that he had no other object in it, than to pass a merited enco- mium on the force under his im- mediate command. But why did ministers publish only an extract of the dispatch? Sir Richard had therein informed them of an im- pending scarcity of provisions. Not a word of thishad come out ; because to have stated that there remained only a supply for ten ‘days in store, while our force amounted to 70,000 men, would have been to tell the public, that there was an end of the expedi- tion.—Lord Rosslyn disclaimed any idea, in what he stated, of throwing any imputation whatever on sir Richard Strachan, or the navy. He considered sir Richard as an ornament to his profession, ‘and was convinced that he, his officers, and seamen, did every thing in their power: nor was there any thing in lord Chatham’s narrative meant to convey an in- sinuation to the contrary. The facts there stated would ultimate- ly be found to fix the blame on the boardofadmiralty.—Healsospoke very handsomely of lord Chatham. Though he had not any connec- tion whatever with him, except what had arisen from the circum- stance of serving under his com- mand, he would assert, that he never remarked in that noble lord any want of zcal or energy, or avy ‘ ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. deficiency in the qualitiesrequisite fer the due discharge of the trust reposed in him. He concluded with some observations on the il- liberal treatment which Jord Chat- ham had received on the part of the public journalists, and parti-- cularly those that supported the ‘ministry. , Lord Vassal Holland observed, that if the minister had the in- formation communicated by lord Chatham at the time they gave the answer to the London address, then they were culpable in a very high degree ; for it appeared that one of the commanders did, in his official narrative, accuse the other, which was, unquestionably, a suf- ficient ground for inquiry. If again, lord Chatham had availed himself of his'situation, as a privy counsellor to give that narrative to the king without the knowledge, not only of the admiral and the public, but even of his colleagues, what were their lordsbips to think of such proceedings? Would it be asserted, in that ‘case, that there was not an influence behind the throne,differentfromthat of the ostensible servants of the Crown ? —The earl of Westmoreland said, that there were no reflections against either of the commanders of the Scheldt expedition in the public documents; and that there- fore there were no grounds for inquiry.—Lord Mulgrave declar- ed, not only that he had never seen or heard of lord Chatham’s narrative until the 21st of Febru- ary, but that he had never con- ceived the possibility of the exist- ence of such a document. He would, however, admit, that had he seen the narrative before the address of the city of London was t HISTORY OF EUROPE. presented, he might have advised his majesty to give so far a ditfe- rent answer, as to.declare that the result of the expedition was in a state of inquiry. For although he conceived that a complete an- swer to the insinuations contained in the narrative would be found in the original dispatches, it would have been but justice to require from sir Richard Strachan a coun- ter statement. It was this sense of justice towards the gallant ad- miral that had induced him to ap- prize him of the existence of lord Chatham’s narrative (even before he had time to ‘read it himself), although the rapidity with which the narrative was moved for, and produced in the House of Com- mons, did not permit him to send a copy of it to the gallant admiral, Lord Mulgrave repeated what he had said on the first day of the session, that in his opinion the failure of the expedition arose chiefly from adverse winds and unfavourable weather. The earl of Grey admitted that the question at present before the House lay in a very narrow compass, as it re- lated-merely to the propriety of ascertaining whether, on the 20th of December, when the answer was given to the address of the Londoners, ministers were, or were not, in possession of the in- formation which had subsequently come out on that subject. _ agreed that ministers ought only to have called upon lord Chatham, for information in the character of commander-in-chief. But he con- tended that, independently of the narrative of lord Chatham, there were various circumstances in the dispatches that called for inquiry, ‘ especially the change of measures” He > 61 after the sailing of the expedition.’ Instances of such cases were de-’ tailed by . Lord Grenville. At that period of the debate, lord Grenville did not think of entering into a con- sideration of the question, as it bore upon a service which was at once the pride and the bulwark of the nation. But he could not avoid looking at it in a constitu- tional point of view, when a noble’ lord, at the head ofthe admiralty, thought that his ignorance of lord Chatham’s narrative, and the ig- norance of the other members of the cabinet, would be sufficient, as it were, to non-suit his noble friend, or to induce him to with- draw his motion.—Lord Grenville’ said, that in all possible circum- stances, he must deprecate that system of double government, ’ which pushes forward one set of men to the ostensible administra-- tion, but invests another set of men, concealed from public view, with all the effective powers of go- vernment. ‘That was the first time their lordships had on their’ table any paper showing the exist- ence of such a system; and he had only to regret, that any set of men could be-found to counte- nance such a system. On a division of the House for lord Lansdown’s motion, . Contents, 90. Non-contents, 136. On the same day, March 2, Mr. Whitbread made a specific motion on the subject of the earl of Chatham’s narrative, in the House of Commons. Mr. Whitbread, ’ after many remarks on the disin- genuity of ministers, in setting” themselves to frustrate the object’ of a course of procedure of their’ 62 own recommendation, namely,that of addressing the crown, came to the immediate object of his pre- sent motion. John, earl of Chat- ham, he said, had, in a most un- constitutionalandclandestine man- ner, aS a minion and a favourite, abused the royal confidence, at the same time, and by the same act, that he violated the most sa- cred principles of the constitution. John, earl of Chatham, the late commander-in-chief of the expe- dition to the Scheldt, did, without any consultation with his col- leagues in the cabinet, as Mr. Whitbread most truly believed — without intimating his intention to his brother officer, who command- ed the naval force upon that ex- pedition, and wholly unkown, save to the royal personage, whose confidence he had abused, did communicate to that personage a narrative of his proceedings on that expedition, as far back as the 15th of January last. It lay in the possession of the king, wrapped up.in impenetrable secrecy—a se- crecy desired byhim whopresented it, until the 14th of February last. At least, it lay wholly undisturbed till the 7th of that month, when, for reasons as yet only known to the earl of Chatham, it was requested of the king to return,it to him for correction. His request was acquiesced in. The alteration that was made, consisted, Lord Chatham himself told them, in the omission of a paragraph, contain- ing an opinion. Yet, when soli- cited to declare the nature of that opinion, he declared his inability to make that most necessary infor- mation., The noble lord was, ask- ed when his, narrative, so altered, was again presented tohismajesty ? ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. It was tendered to his majesty om the 14th of February. Struck with the peculiarity of the term ‘* ten- dered,’ Mr. Whitbread himself had immediately asked the noble lord, whether the narrative had on that day actually passed. into his majesty’s hands? To this his an- swer was—That it had not. Here, then, was a narrative, presented on the 15th of January last, con- taining at least twelve -direct charges against the gallant..and, active officer who commanded.the naval force, with an opinion of the noble lord’s affixed. An opinion! Was he not bound to presume that such opinion, so communicated, now not recollected by the noble lord, went to inculpate the naval officer against whom .that very charge, now revised, contained, as he before stated, twelve direct charges of misconduct. The un- sullied and exalted patriot, who had acquired a. title superior to what united kings could bestow, namely, that of the first commoner of England: William, the firs t earl of Chatham, in power and out of power, in fayour and in disgrace, felt the malignant. influ- ence of that secret and monstrous conspiracy, which, he declared, existed behind the throne, and was greater than the throne itself. If its existence was before proble- matical, it was now before them unmasked and unrayelled. Strange, fatality,!, That in the son.of that very man who first made the bold and. awful annunciation,,.. they should find one of. the agents.of, that occult influence, «which the: father, so long deprecated,..and:s0 long resisted? .But, in the, pre~ sent instance, was the danger-of, such an offence limited to a mere HISTORY OF EUROPE. - abstract violation of the constitu- tion, and not aggravated by the consequences of any actual evil? See, said Mr. Whitbread, what the noble lord has done, and extend your thoughts to what might probably have been the con- sequence of such conduct. Could he have devised any thing more likely to produce. dissensions be- tween the military and naval ser- vice, and all that frightful train of evils, to which such a calamity would lead? But, as circum- stances. have now unfolded them- selves, I am not at all apprehen- sive of such consequences. Now, that the dark and clandestine in- trigue is exposed in open day-light, no difference between the two branches of the public service can exist. I will not charge the noble lord directly with the intention of creating any disunion between the naval and the military branches of the service, but I beg leave to call the attention of the House to the contradiction whichexists between his own statements, together with their variance with the truth which his majesty’s answer has unfolded. Mr. Whitbread having enumerat- ed instances of this, proceeded ! © Compare these statements with what we now know to have passed before, and there is, I contend, no necessity for comment. Com- pare his examination on the 22nd of February with his examination on the 27th, and there is, I con- an no necessity for comment. et, after all these statements, shall it be contended, that,. al- though twelye direct accusations are conveyed against the navy, here existed no intention or wish on the part of the noble lord, to, impute blame to that quarter 2 63 What! was the noble lord to throw fire-brands in sport ?” Mr. Whitbread concluded with moving, 1. ‘* That it appears to this House that Jonn ear! of Chat- ham, having requested his majesty to permit him to present his re- port to his majesty, and having also requested that his majesty would not communicate it for the present, did, on the 15th of Ja- nuary last, privately transmit to his majesty a paper, bearing date the 15th of October preceding, and purporting to be a narrative of his proceedings as commander- in-chief of his majesty’s land-forces in the late expedition to the Scheldt ; and that he withheld all knowledge thereof, both from his majesty’s ministers, and the admi- ral commanding in the said expe- dition, whose conduct is materially implicated in the said narrative ; that the same was, on the 10th of February last, returned to him by his majesty’s command, in conse quence of his own request ; and that, on the 14th of February, he again tendered the said narrative to his majesty, the same haying been altered, by the suppression of a paragraph, containing matter. of opinion, the substance of which this House, by the examination of the said ear! of Chatham, has not been able to ascertain.—2. ‘That the earl of Chatham, by private communication to his majesty, ac-, companied by a desire of secrecy, did unconstitutionally abuse the privilege of access to his soye- reign, and thereby afford an ex~- ample most pernicious in its ten-, dency to his majesty’s service, and to the general service of the SLAC ad. wit ae The chancellor of the Exche- 64 quer asked if Mr. Whitbread had not raised considerable prejudices against the individual whose con- duct he had so fully discussed, by contrasting the evidence given by him on the 22nd with that of the 27th, where it appeared to be of an unfavourable nature? Was it too much to require a short time to consider of it? What advan- tage could there be in passing the resolutions moved for on a Friday, that could not be gained if they were not decided on till Monday ? If the conduct of the noble lord had been such as had been im- puted to him, he should think the resolutions submitted to the House not sufficiently severe. If lord Chatham’s narrative was intended to injure the character of sir R. Strachan, why did he keep it back at all? The noble lord, acting as he did, was not, certainly, cor- rectly right. But he might, in some degree, have been driven into the measure by the popular feeling excited against him. Though, in the review he took of his conduct, he could see error, he could not accede to the resolu- tions. He did not wish to evade the subject. He merely-wished to give the House a fair opportunity of reviewing the whole of the evi- dence. He had no objection to state what line of conduct he in- tended to puysue on Monday. He should move the previous question. He concluded with moving an ad- | shila of the debate till Mon- ay. Mr. Brand said, that a splendid victory might apologise for a ge- neral’s overstepping his duty. But here a favourite of the court was seen availing himself of the ear of his sovereign to prepossess him ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. against another officer, in another branch of the service. His con- duct was highly unconstitutional. The question was, in fact, a ques- tion of constitutional law, not at all one of a personal application. If the evidence delivered that day had affected that constitutional question, he should have been the most eager to postpone the consi~ deration of it. As the question stood, he confessed it could have little effect on his decision.—Mr. Bathurst did not wish to procras- tinate, but he wished it to be im- possible to say that this had been treated like a party question. It was a question of great constitu- tional importance, in the consi- deration of which time was no object.—Mr. Whitbread was will- ing to consent that the debate should be adjourned till Monday, on the express condition that no- thing, so far as the chancellor of the Exchequer was concerned, should be suffered to interfere, to prevent that business from coming on first on Monday.—The chan- cellor of the Exchequer acceded to Mr. Whitbread’s proposition.— The debate on the earl of Chat- ham’s narrative was accordingly resumed on Monday the 5th of March. General Crawfurd said, that such an intention as that of poi- soning the king’s mind against a gallant brother officer, never oc- curred to lord Chatham’s mind. If the noble earl had incurred blame by putting his narrative in the hands of his majesty, without the privity or consent’ of his col- leagues, he trustedthatthe House, under ‘all the circumstances of the case, would consider it as a venial error. Lord Chatham foresaw HISTORY OF EUROPE. that some inquiry would take place. He knew that the moment the paper was in an official form, it would be called for. He wished it to remain private for a short time, and not to offer it officially before it became necessary to his defence. If it were possible that he could have harboured the views attributed to him, would he have kept it back from the time of his arrival in October, until the Ja- nuary following? Why did he de- liver it then? Because parliament was about to meet. Chatham daily opportunities of personal communication with his majesty? And, therefore, had it been his intention to prejudice the king against the gallant admiral, would he not have used any of those opportunities for conveying his accusations verbally, in a way which would have left no trace behind, instead of making his statement in a written narrative, which he knew must remain as a document, and which he meant to become official. _ Mr. C. W. Wynne observed, that it was now admitted, even by the honourable general who had just sat down, that the conduct of lord Chatham had been erro- neous. Was the House of Com- mons then, by not agreeing to the resolutions of his honourable friend, to put it on their journals that such conduct was not erro- neous? For that would be the effect of voting the previous ques- tion to be moved for. It would be to hold out to all military men an encouragement to follow the same practice with lord Chatham. It would, in any such. case, be open to them to give in any state- ment, containing any charges, Vox. LII. Had not lord 65 against other officers, with a re- - quest of secrecy, and without com-. municating it to the confidential servants of the crown, at least those who were formerly consider- ed as confidential servants. And then, if it was likely that the paper should be called for by that House, all they would have to do would be, to demand the state- ment back, and expunge such passages as contained the most objectionable charges. This prin- ciple, he was persuaded, the House would never sanction. It had been argued, that the statement was not official till the 14th of February, when lord Chatham, by his majesty’s command, had given it in to the Secretary of State. Mr. Wynne could not con- ceive any thing that could ever more satisfactorily prove thestate- ment to be official, than that it was given to his majesty, with the sig- nature, * Chatham, Lieutenant- General.” If it had not been an official document till the 14th of February, what:act of lord Chat- ham made it official then? If his majesty had directed the noble earl tu give the narrative in the regular way to the Secretary of State in the first instance, could it be said that the paper was not of- ficial? When they recollected how they had come at the know- ledge of such a paper having been presented to his majesty—when they weighedall the circumstances of the case, and looked to the conduct of lord Chatham, it was impossible for them to be so in- sensible to what was due to their own character and dignity, as to declare, by their vote, that such conduct was in the slightest de- exre justifiable. 66 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. Mr, Stephen observed, that the motion was founded on the mere abstract fact that the earl of Chatham did present a paper to his majesty, desiring, at the same time, that it might be kept secret ; and that on this foundation it was assumed that the noble lord, a cabinet councillor, had violated that sacred system, the British constitution. Ifthe principle was laid down, that the mere present- ing a paper, and requesting that it might be kept secret, was a vio- Jation of the constitution, he must deny that it was any violation of the constitution. in what law or charter, in what dictum, even of any theorist, could it be shown to have been laid down, that to pre- sent a paper to the king, and to require secrecy concerning it, was a violation of the constitution? In the practice of this country, and the progress of its constitution, he ventured to assert, that no such principle had been countenanced ; and it was only from our written law, and established precedent, that we could judge upon such a question. He did not stand there to defend the noble lord from the imputation of error. He admit- ted, with other gentlemen who had already spoken on that occa- sion, that the noble lord had acted erroneously, and unbecomingly ; and that he would have acted ina way more befitting himself, and more properly towards the House, if he had at first declared what had passed. — But he could not go the length of saying, that the noble lord had violated the consti- tution. It was not because a thing had a dangerous tendency,’ that it was to be visited in the way the present motion suggested. Luxury was ‘dangerous to the con- stitution, But it would rather be going too far to contend, that, because a man chose to give a vo- Juptuous entertainment, he should be severely censured, as guilty of an offenceagainst the constitation, He could mention other things, which were still more dangerous —party spirit—factious combina- tion. These were infinitely more dangerous than the influence of the crown, of which so much had lately been said. But he was sure gentlemen on the other side would not say that those who were guilty of such dangerous practices, were on that account to have their con- duct stigmatized in the manner now contended for. Mr. Stephen thought that there was another question of very material import- ance, namely, whether, thoughthe motion proposed might at one time or other be thought proper, this was the time? In his opinion, the noble lord had been hardly dealt with, in having been made the ob- ject of unfounded clamour, unjust prejudice, and unbounded ca- lumny. From what he had read of the evidence, he was satisfied not only that there was no ground for the censure re-echoed by various journals against the noblelord, but that he did all that could be done ; and that he had even had the merit of saving the army of which he had the command, on perceiv- ing that he had already done all that could be effected. He could not admit presumptions to weigh against the noble lord, who cer tainly had some hereditary claimg to a patient hearing in that House. He had’ also dispensed with his privilege, and come to the bar of the-House to be examined, there aor © HESTORY OF by clearly showing that he had no wish for the concealment of any part of his conduct. The accusers of Jord. Chatham turn » round on him even when making his defence, and tell him, *«‘ We will punish you even for the de- fence you wish to make. It isa libel.” In any court to do so would be deemed an act of injus- tice. Mr, Stephen had received no favours from the late Mr. Pitt. He was scarcely known to him. There were, however, gentlemen in that House who stood in a very different situation. He called on them to assist him—tosee that the son of lord Chatham, and the brother of Mr. Pitt, should at least have justice done him. He was not one of those who thought that the merits of an illustrious father should excuse the offences, or even the faults of the son. But, at the same time, he would not pluck stones from.the monument of the. father to bruise the head of the son. The error intc which the noble Jord had fallen, was, ina great measure, to be pardoned, when he found himself loaded with calumny, though in his anxiety to vindicate himself in the eyes of his royal master, he had forgot the mode and manner. Nor was it to be forgotten, that lord Chatham was not the first who had thought proper to offer what might be deemed justifications of them- selves. Dispatches from the naval officers had been received which could be construed into nothing else. Mr. Stephen concluded with observing, that the resolutions moved for were such as he‘could not assent to as an honest man, They would, at‘least,’be prema, ture, ifthey were themselves just, which he did not admit; and, EUROPE.A G6 therefore, he now moved the pre- vious question. 9 Mr. Brougham was ready to as- sent to every commendation that had been bestowed on the general: character and conduct of lord Chatham. True it was that lord: Chatham had been most grossly calumniated, and basely traduced, by the whole of the press under the control of the government. Until the commencement of the present inquiry, the impression on the public mind was, that the la- mentable disappointment of all the sanguine hopes of the country, from the powerful expedition to the Scheldt, was wholly owing to lord Chatham. Such was the ef- fect of the base and unprincipled calumnies against lord Chatham, asserted with confidence, and un- contradicted by authority. But it was admitted, by his honourable and learned friend (Mr. Stephen) that the conduct of lord Chatham had been improper and unbecom- ing. There was, then, butatrifling ditference between what was thus: admitted, and what was contended’ for by those who supported the resolutions. It was so minute and unpalpable, that he was surprised. it should produce any variance of opinion. Mr. Brougham came: next to show how the conduct of lord Chatham was a violation of: the constitution. There was no- thing stated in the resolutions’ charging any part of the contents: of the narrative as a breach of the’ constitution. It was the privacy: with which the affair was conduct-’ ed, coupled with the request of sectecy, that constituted the vio-' lationof theconstitution. It might’ be difficult’ for him, perhaps, to’ point out any’ particular act of a a making such conduct! 1 @ 68-5 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. a violation of the constitution. had the admission-of lord Chat-, But he could confidently appeal ham and the answer of lord Chat- to any one of those sound and es- ham to establish the fact. And tablished principles, of which the he should wish to know whether, constitution was made up, or ra- if they were to reject the resolu- ther which formed the constitu- tions, there would not be an end tion itself. Was it not necessary in future of all responsibility on that the constitutional ministers the part of his majesty’s; minis- of the crown should communicate ters? - , with each other constitutionally ~ Mr. Bankes reminded the ho- and confidentially, on all public nourable and learned gentleman, affairs? that they should.execute when he talked of the constitu- the business of the government tional obligation of the members with united councils, and mutual of the cabinet to act in concert, advice and co-operation? Under that the cabinetcouncil was wholly the influence of any other system unknown to the constitution. It than. that of mutual advice and was an institution of modern in- co-operation among ministers, if troduction, and might have been an expedition were determinedon an imitation, as it certainly was by the cabinet, one minister might an improvement, of the cabal of suppose that the object in view a former reign, But the learned might be best attained byartillery, gentleman, heapprebended, would another by infantry, another (as not easily find any act or statute, in the late case) by a coup de by which the relative duties of the main; whilst another might give members of the cabinet were de- the preference to a division of fined. In old times, the privy light horse. Every one might have councillors were the advisers of a.different opinion, and all agree the king... The ground on which only in one thing, that their ad- vice should be kept snug and se- cret in the possession of his ma- he had voted for the address, on a former night, was.not connected with any constitutional principle ; jesty. Was it possible to conceive but. simply this, that the House any degree of confusion worse having hadone narrative laid upon confounded than would resuitfrom its table, and having reason, to such a state of ministerial separa- suspect that another, and a-pre- tion? Jt had been argued, that vious one, was in existence, he it was impossible for the House to could see no. good ground why come to any final decision on the the House should call for the se- question before them, as the in- cond, and not for the first. With quiry was not yet brought to a regard to the questionimmediately conclusion. But Mr. Brougham under consideration, he should be, reminded the House, that the glad to be informed on what cone, charge against-lord Chatham, for stitutional grounds it was that a the secrecy of this unconstitu- cabinet minister, one of his majes- tional proceeding, formed a dis- ty’s confidentia) servants, should tinct and entire act, the decision not have direct access to his ma-: upon which could have no effect. jesty? If such a person should whatever. upon the progress or give his sovereign advice, without termination of theinquiry. They consulting or communicating with HISTORY OF EUROPE. 69 hiscolleagues, that would certainly be an offence towards them, but no violation of the constitution. Could not lord Chatham, after the termination of the expedition on which he had been employed, constitutionally give in writing that statement of his proceedings, which he might verbally commu- nicate to his sovereign? It had been said, that the part expunged contained serious charges against the gallant admiral who command- ed the naval part of the conjoint force. If that were so, it would be an immoral and criminal act, but not a violation of the consti- tution. Nor was this point ad- verted to inthe resolutions. The constitution, Mr. Bankes observed, was an old work. There were many editions of it; and every one had its own reading. He should tremble for the conse- quences, if once a majority in the House of Commons, on the first view of such a case as that under consideration, should take upon itself capriciously to declare what was the law of the constitution. The constitution: had powers to guard it from invasion. The re- sponsibility of ministers for the advice they gave to their sove- reign, was one of those powers, But for advice not acted upon, there could be no responsibility, because there was no practical re- sult, and, consequently, no guard provided. His majesty’s ministers were responsible, whether the ad- vice came from secret advisers, from the king, or from themselves. Mr. Bankes did not wish to shelter himself under the previous ques- tion, but would be ready to meet the resolutions with a direct nega- tive. He proceeded to contend, that the narrative, in its amended form, contained no charges against the admiral or navy, and that it had been amended at a time when Jord Chatham had no idea that he should: be examined before that House. Earl Temple was surprised at the constitutional ideas of Mr. Bankes. It had been triumph antly asked, what principle of the constitution had been violated by lord Chatham’s conduct? Wasit, then, nothing, that he hadassumed to himself the office of giving clandestine evidence, in his own cause, and for his own defence; or that he had put himself into the situation to poison the royal ear against the affection, the loy- alty, and the fame of his faithful people? As to the considerations due to the talents and virtues of the great earl of Chatham, and the late Mr. Pitt, when it was consi- dered, in what the merits of that admirable father, and lamented brother consisted, he was sure prised, that the House should be forced to look on that picture and on this. It was the similarity, not of name, but of principles, that was required to sustain the cha- racters of men,—Mr. Johnstone, after hearing the speeches of his learned friend, Mr. Stephen, and of Mr. Bankes, was converted to the opinion, that the conduct of lord Chatham had not been more unconstitutional than the conduct of the late duke of Portland, and Mr. Canning, in the secret advice given by them, respecting their colleague, lord Castlereagh. His idea of the affair was, that lord Chatham had acted improperly, not as a cabinet councillor, but as a general of the army, and he wish- ed that some resolution should be adopted, to prevent the recurrence 70 of such a proceeding in future. But he was not prepared to adopt the strong resolutions proposed. Lord Folkstone observed, that it was a principle in the constitution, that the king’s advisers should be responsible to the country for the consequences of theiradvice. Now he contended, that if advice was allowed to be given in the same manner as lord Chatham had com- municated his narrative, and with the same request of secrecy, it would be impossible to be furnish- ed with that overt act, the pos- session of which was indispensably necessary, to manifest the inten- tion of the individual. Much had been said of the unfairness of im- puting motives to lord Chatham. That noble lord must have been actuated by some motives or other, be what they might ; for his own part, he had no other way of judg- ing of any man’s motives than by his actions; and he confessed, that in the present instance, he thought lord Chatham’s conduct of a na- ture to warrant the strongest sus- picion of his motives. In the ca- pacity, not of a peer and privy counsellor, but of a general officer, he had obtruded on his majesty’s military report, exclusive in its nature, and yet hearing reference in every line of it, to a party that had not the same advantage ; and anticipating that judgment which was to be formed only upon the fair public sources of investiga- tion. ways, in this free country, been thought dangerous to liberty. It was most dangerous to counte- nance that illegal conjunction of the civil and military duties of the subject, by which one was made necessary to the other, and both ruinous to the general order of A standing army had al- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. regulated liberty. In addition to that standing army, we had now in pay an immense hody of fo- reigners, not less than thirty bat- talions, A district of Great Bri- tain had been lately commanded by a foreign officer, a man neither a native nor naturalized in this country. Might not such an alien, following the precedent of lord . Chatham, by virtue of his office as a general, poison the royal mind, and, while the nation were stupidly gazing on the daring act, which their weakness permitted, overturn the constitution ? It may here be proper to state the leading question now before the House, which had led very naturally, in such an assembly as the House of Commons, into much free digression. It was allowed, on all hands, that, according to the constitution, the king could do no wrong, and that ministers were responsible to the country, that is, to parliament, for their own conduct in carrying the mea- sures of government into execu- tion. But it was contended, that there was no law against giving secret advice to the king, and that then only were ministers respon- sible for any secret advice they might have given when it was acted upon; when there was a practical result. This was, in fact, the main point on which the de- cision of the most momentous question, before the House, turn- ed. And it was treated in a mane ner suited to its importance by a member distinguished for his pro- found knowledge of parliamentary law, and the constitutional or fundamental law of this country. Mr. W. Adam, after some pre- fatory matter, respecting the im- portance of the question, and the | HISTORY OF EUROPE. 71 ersonal regard he.entertained for ord Chatham, expressed his sur- prise and astonishment, that gen- tlemen of such knowledge, ability, and experience, as Mr. Stephen and Mr. Bankes, should ask, where is the charter—where the statute —where the written decree, vio- lated by the proceeding of the earl of Chatham? When the great body of the municipal law of the country, the common law of Eng- land, was technicaily character- ized as unwritten, did a lawyer ask that question? When the great and most valuable part of the law of parliament and of the constitution, had never been in- serted in any charter, statute, or written decree, did an old and ex- perienced member of parliament ask that question? It was from the practice of parliament, from the usage of our ancestors, con- firmed and perfected, by the in- valuable usage of modern times, that we were to derive the law of parliament, and of the constitu- tion. The practice of the consti- tution formed the law of the con- Stitution, From the history of the country, even the least settled and most uninformed periods of our annals, Mr. Adam showed, that it was a clear and well ascertained principle of the constitution, that to give bad counsel to the king, was in itself and by itself most criminal against the state ; prose- cutable and punishable, according - to the practice and usage of par- liament, . If it were otherwise, he asked, how could we come at any guilty adviser without coupling an act with theadvice? Heexamined the doctrine of the hon. gentle- men, by the analogy of the law of igh treason. Did the laws of treason require that the intention of the traitor should be carried into effect, in order to constitute that heinous crime? As to the allegation of Mr. Bankes, that a cabinet council was unknown to the constitution, Mr. Adam ob- served, that the king had, at all times, selected certain persons of the privy council, in whom he more particularly confided, and by whose advice he more particularly acted. That selection in the reign of Charles II, was nick-named “©The Cabal.” Now-a-days it was called a Cabinet Council. But in reality, it was a selection of the privy.council, who was at all times known to the law and the consti- tution. That the conduct of lord Chatham was against the practical constitution of the country, Mr. adam proceeded to prove from history, and great legal authori- ties. He pointed out also the evil effects in practice, attending such a course as the delivery of the narrative by the earl of Chatham —on the most conscientious con- viction, that he had delivered the true doctrine of the constitution, he felt himself bound to vote in the terms of the second resolution, «“ That the earl of Chatham, by private communication to his ma- jesty, &c.”’ . The Solicitor General observed, that the main ingredient, in the alleged criminality of Jord Chat- ham, was the secrecy requested. But this was only temporary. And what one object could that kind of temporary secrecy answer? His lordship had, of bis own free motion, made that secret paper public. Mr. Ponsonby contended, that the proceeding of lord Chat- ham was, most unconstitutional ; 72 and that there was no other word that could precisely express the nature of the offence which he had ‘committed, and which demanded the censure of the House. If there had been any statute against that offence, the proper definition of lord Chatham’s conduct would have been, that it was illegal, and that House would then have car- ried the matter to the House of Lords, by impeachment. Mr. Ponsonby, in the course of his speech, made some very just, as well as interesting observations, on the connection between na- tional character and government. It was to the constitution, he said, as established at the revolution, that we owed the character of the people of this country. It was owing to that constitution that there was less caballing than in any other European country ; that even in political hostility there was more openness and candour ; that this character was not confined to ministers and public men, but spread over the whole mass of the population. In the whole of the mation, there was more of pro- bity, and less secret intrigue and ‘duplicity, than in any other Euro- pean nation, and this we owed to the constitution ; of which, as had been observed by his learned and honourable friend, Mr. Adam, in his able and eloquent speech ; the grand foundation was the complete irresponsibility of the king, and the complete responsibility of the ministers. But if such proceed- ings, as that of lord Chatham, were to be passed over without notice, what would be the conse- quence? Instead of that candid and open frankness, which distin- guished the higher, as well as the ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. lower classes of the community, we should sink to that degraded character, which had been the ruin of so many nations of Europe. Mr. Canning was not prepared to go the length of the second re- solution. He was not, however, prepared to support the doctrine of Mr. Bankes, that thetransaction was not unconstitutional. The second resolution, therefore, he would wish to see modified. He had drawn up a few lines, not with any intention of moving them him- self, but for the purpose of sub- mitting them to the consideration of the House, for any honourable member to adopt, who might ap- prove of them. The modification he proposed was, “ That the House saw with regret, that any such communication as the narrative of lord Chatham, should have been made to his majesty, without any knowledge of the other ministers ; that such conduct is highly repre- hensible, and deserves the censure of the House.” Mr. Bathurst was perfectly prepared to vote a cen- sure, though not to institute any farther proceeding. Lord Castle- reagh agreed with Mr, Canning, that the most moderate expression of the sense of the House would be best suited tothe present occasion. Yet he could have no hesitation in pronouncing the act in question to be unconstitutional, and such an act, as if brought into precedent, might produce much serious mis- chief. Mr. Windham thought the con- duct of lord Chatham, wrong to- wards his colleagues in office, and still more towards sir ‘Richard. Strachan. But though he allowed it to be highly improper, he could not agree, that it was unconstitu- _ 29 HISTORY ‘OF EUROPE tional. He saw no reason for con- cluding, that the secrecy of the communication was to be indefi- nite, neither did he think the pa- per contained a charge againstany person, unless, in as far as an at- tempt, on the part of the noble Jord, to exonerate himself, might be supposed to imply blame in others. The best excuse for lord Chatham, in not communicating his narrative to his colleagues in the first instance was, that from the situation of the government at home, he did not know who his colleagues were, and therefore went to the fountain head. He would, however, vote for Mr. Whitbread’s motion. The chancellor of the Exche- quer expressed great surprise at the conclusion of Mr. Windham’s speech, as his arguments were all on one side, and the vote he was to give on the other. It was un- questionably lord Chatham’s in- tention in writing that narrative, which was his statement and de- fence, to make it public at some period. He did conceive that it was unconstitutional to communi- cate that statement directly to his majesty, with a charge of secrecy. This, however, was nota crime, but a venial error, from which no practical inconvenience had oc- curred. If so, the justice of the case might be satisfied, by adopt- ing the previous question ; which would imply, that the offence was of a nature so slight as not to call for a serious judgment. Mr. Whitbread replied to the chan- cellor of the Exchequer, and also to Mr. Bankes, andto Mr. Stephen. He was asked, ‘“ Will you be so inhuman as to tear the stones from the monument of the father, to 73 bruise the head of the son?” He would appeal to those, who had opportunities of judging of his ha- bits and feelings, whether in pri- vate life he was capable of violat- ing any of those social affections that bound man to man. But here he was not his own master.— He would discharge hfs duty as an honest and independent servant of the people, and hold up the proud, noble and unconstitutional conduct of William, Earl of Chatham, as a glaring contrast with the suspi- cious, clandestine, and unconsti- tutional conduct of John Ear! of Chatham. Mr. Whitbread, in the course of his speech, animadvert- ed, insome instances withseverity, on the inconsistencies in the evi- dence given by lord Chatham, on his examination. There were other inconsistencies, he said, which it was not now necessary for him to dwell on, as they had been so clearly pointed out by his right hon. friend Mr. Ponsonby. —He trusted, in conclusion, that the house would not suffer the right hon. the chancellor of the Exchequer to take refuge under the shabby shelter of the previous question, and give the country an opportunity of saying, that par- liament dare nat to doitsduty. Ge- neral Loft vindicated the conduct of lord Chatham, and assured the House, that the noble lord had expressed to him his readiness to come back, and answer to any points in his evidence, that were supposed to want explanation. General Grosvenor, as to the alledged inconsistencies in the noble lord’s evidence, said, he had hoped, that the noble lord, in the conversation he had held with Mr. Whitbread, at the bar, 74 ‘had satisfied the honourable gen- tleman, that there was nothing contradictory in his answer. His lordship gave his evidence, one of the days, he could not recollect which, under the disadvantage of indisposition.. He was fatigued by the length of the examination, In fact he was quite done up; On a division of the House, which had become exceedingly clamorous for the question, there appeared, For the previous question, 188, Against it, 221. Mr. Whitbread’s first motion was carried, and he waved the se- cond. Mr. Canning then pro- osed the amendment mentioned in his speech ; and Mr, Whitbread seconded it. This motion being also carried, Mr. Whitbread moved that the resolutions agreed to, be laid before his majesty, by such ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. members as were of his majesty’s most honourable privy council: on which some members exclaimed, ‘By the whole House.” This proposition called up Mr. Wilber- force, and Mr. B. Bathurst, both of whom concurred in the wish, that nothing of heat or personality might appear upon the proceed- ings of the House, The main ob- ject had been obtained, by record- ing on the journals the sense the House entertained of the transac- tion in a constitutional point of view; and proceeding any further would not be for the dignity of the House. Mr. Whitbread coin- cided entirely with this observa- tion, and, with the consent of the House, withdrew his motion. In consequence of these resolu- tions, lord Chatham resigned his office of master-general of the ordnance. jects. HISTORY OF EUROPE. st qr CHAP. V. Summary View of the Impolicy and Misconduct of the Expedition to the Scheldt,—Resolutions moved by Lord Porchester on thut subject.— Debate of four Days.—Lord Porchester’s Resolutions negatived.— The Conduct of Ministers with regard to the Policy of the Expedition to Walcheren approved—The Retention of Walcheren also approved. HE discussion respecting the earl of Chatham’s narrative, formed a kind of episode in the general inquiry intothe Scheldtex- pedition ; but that episode was of a nature still more interesting than the main action itself, as involving ® question on the decision of which nothing less depended than the liberty of the country, with all the blessings in her train, or the degradation, torpor, and vices of despotism. While theenergies of a country are preserved and fos- tered by liberty, errors in policy and war may be repaired. Where liberty is extinct, the victories of the despot serve only to rivet the chains that bind his unhappy sub- Under the impression of this great truth, our intelligent readers will admit the propriety of bestowing a greater proportion of space in our annals on the discus- sion of a principle, fundamental to political and civil liberty, than on the causes of the failure of any particular project, on the part of government; though this, at the time, might excite greater interest and livelier passions, House of Commons, March 21]. The committee appointed to in- quire into the policy and conduct of the expedition to the Scheldt, having finished their long and painful labours, lord Porchester, who was the principal manager, as well as mover of the investiga- tion, rose to submit a series of re- solutions, declaratory of his senti- ments, on that most important subject, which had occupied so much of their attention, since the .commencement of the present ses- sion. “ Of the expedition in gene- ral, lord Porchester said, he had hoped to find, that such dreadful failures were, at least, in part at- tributable to those uncontrollable causes which are incident to all the operations of war, and enter- prises dependent for their success on the state of the elements. But what had the disastrous issue of this expedition proved? To be the result of predicted and an- ticipated causes. It had verified every _ prediction, and realized every fear, expressed by all those most competent to decide upon its policy and practicability, but whose opinion, on this occasion, his majesty’s ministers did not deem it expedient to follow. This position lord Porchester proceeded to establish, by a clear and comprehensive analysis of the evidence, taken at their bar. The commander-in-chief, sir David Dundas, had given it as his opi- nion, June 3, 1809, that in what 76 ever way Antwerp was to be approached or taken, the service was one of very great risk, and in which the safe return of the army so employed might be very precarious, from the opposition made, and the time consumed in the operation, which enabled the enemy, in a short time, to assem- ble a great force, from every part of the Netherlands, and Holland, and even from Westphalia, and from the course of the Rhine, as well as from the frontier of France. General Calvert had stated the utter impossibility of laying down any thing in the shape of detuiled reasoning, without a knowledge of local circumstances, and. to what extent those circumstances would admit of a naval co-operation. Colonel Gordon had given it as his opinion, so far back as the 29th of May, that the first opera- tion necessary, would be to get possession of Cadsand and South Beveland. And yet it was not until the expedition had actually failed, that it had occurred to his majesty’s ministers, to consider of the necessity of taking possession of these places, or of hinting at it, in the instructions given to the officers entrusted with the exe- cution of this project. The inference, with which colo- nel Gordon concluded his ob- servations was, “ that this attempt would be a most desperate enter- prise, cannot be doubted; and that in the attempt, whether suc- cessful or otherwise, a very large portion of our navy would be put to imminent hazard.”? The next opinion taken by the commander-in-chief, was that of general Brownrigg, whose opinion respecting the ulterior and main ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. object of the expedition, the de- struction of the arsenals at Ant- werp, was, ‘“ That 2 force passing over from Walcheren to South Beveland, would take possession of Landvliet, on the main land; — and the distance from thence to Antwerp being only six leagues, might succeed in taking the latter place by a coup de main.” Of ail the plans proposed, Jord Por- chester considered this as by far the most extravagant and imprac- ticable. The next opinion taken was that of general Hope, who was of opinion, that an attempt to take Antwerp by a coup de main, in the only way which was at all practicable, would be “ attended with great risk to the force em- ployed, without, perhaps, any adequate security for the attain- ment of its object.” Here then were five military opinions, four of them decidedly adverse, and the fifth not favour- able to the expedition. His ma- jesty’s government next applied to two naval officers, sir Home Pop- ham and sir Richard Strachan, Sir Home Popham, in his memo- randa, particularly pressed two points, namely, ‘+ That the troops should be embarked in ships of war,as transportswere a great im- pediment to promptitude inattack, and that, as the season was ad- vancing, the expedition should be ready to sail by the 26th or 27th of June, about the time of the full moon.” The ships of war were not to proceed up the Scheidt, and the hopes of promptitude were _ enlivened by the vast number of horses sent out, as well as by not dispatching the expedition, which ~ ought to have sailed on the 27th of June, till the 27th of July. Sir - HISTORY OF EUROPE. Richard Strachan assured the noble lord at the head of the admi- ralty, that he entertained but very little hope of ultimate success at Antwerp. Nothing was commu- nicated to him on the subject of the difficulties of going up to Ant- werp: but he remembered, that when he remarked, that all he thought could be done, would be the reduction of Walcheren, lord Mulgrave replied, that the coun- try would be little satisfied with doing nothing more with such aa armament than taking Walcheren. Upon the repetition of his fears, the noble lord assured him that he had the fullest confidence of suc- cess; and that he had reason to think they should do very well.— As to the plan of the expedition, lord Porchester confessed that, with all his anxiety and industry to obtain information, he had not been able to learn what was the nature of the arrangement propos- ed.. His own conviction was, that there were as many plans, as de- partments, engaged in the expedi- tion. Lord Castlereagh’s plan, if one might guess from the outline, was to make a dash, which dis- dained to stop at even the most desperate risks and appalling dan- gers. The plan of the admiralty, at least that fixed on at the sailing, was much more prudent, as it did not hazard the navy in a most in- tricate navigation. The chancel- Jor of the Exchequer’s whole at- tention was absorbed in calculating on that arrangement which should convey the expedition with the least possible quantity of dollars. To what plan the secretary for foreign affairs (Mr. Canning) Was more particularly attached, he could not tell, But it was prob- 77 able that he, too, just at that time, had. some little plan of his own, which he did not communi- cate to his colieagues. The admi- ral appeared to have a plan; but the commander-in-chief appeared to have had no plan. From the whole of his examination it was clear that he had not, at any time during the campaign, consi- dered of any planat all. Neither was there any pointed out to him in the instructions of government. It was difficult, therefore, lord P. declared, for him to settle what plan he should proceed to discuss ; but he should, at all events, en- deavour to follow up what seemed to have been the intention of the government. ‘The general under- standing, he said, of the business seemed to be, that part of the army was, in the first place, to take possession of the island of Walcheren, and another corps to take Cadsand: the main body was to advance to Landvliet. This was so far the apparent plan, which, however, in some of the documents before the House, was said, in not very intelligible lan- guage, to relate to a ** second, ulterior, simultaneous, and subse- guent operation.’ But this ulte- rior, simultaneous, and subsequent operation was given up, because the commander-in-chief appre- hended that, before he could pro- ceed in it, he should have to un- dertake, perhaps, two or three preliminary sieges. Lord Por- chester proceeded to point out, and comment on, those parts of the evidence before the House, that bore most directly on the present question, and from all the data that formed the foundation of the expe- dition against Antwerp, contended 78 that it was morally impossible that it should.succeed. Ministers had calculated on every circumstance, as if it had been fixed beforehand that it should be in favour of their project. The whole of the disas- ters and disgrace of the expedi- tion arose from its having been sent out without knowing that it could not succeed but after several. sieges ; when the only chance of success rested upon the possibility of accomplishing its object without such previous siege, or rather without any siege at all. Lord Porchester having consi- dered the expedition in a military point of view, came to the reten- tion of our troops in the perni- cious climate of Walclicren, after the ulterior and main objects of the expedition were abandoned. When lord Chatham relinquished those objects, why had not Flush- ing been completely destroyed, and the army withdrawn from that frightful. scene of contagion and death, whilst it could yet be called anarmy? . Why were our soldiery left to the ravages of the peculiar malady of the marshes of Walcheren without immediate re- lief? Ministry were informed by sit Eyre Coote, that there were 8,000 sick in the island in the month of September. How could the delay in sending out relief have happened, when sir Eyre Coote had written so pressingly for blankets, and warm clothing and medicines? With regard to the idea of the expedition operat- ing as a great diversion in favour of Austriay it was most extrava- gant to suppose that any feeble efforts of ours, at that dreadful period, could have controlled the destinies of the continent. The ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. ‘only instanceof itshaving operated” at all in that way, that he could Jearn, was the return of a battas: lion or two from Louvain. At the very moment that our ministers were speculating in diversions, France had every where as great a force as was necessary for the complete defence of her vast em- pire. Even the gazette proved that the expedition was not in- tended as a diversion in favour of Austria. That country was sen- sible that it was never intended as such. The world knew it was not; and there was not a cabinet in Eu- rope that did not laugh at those who could be so weak and silly as to have projected it. Under all these considerations, he submitted to the House two sets of resolu- tions ; the first relating to the im- policy or folly of the expedition ; the second tothe retention of the island of Walcheren, after the. great object of the expedition had been abandoned as impracticable. No. I.—1st. ‘* That on the 28th of July last, and subsequent days, an armament, consisting of 39,000 land-forces, thirty-seven sail of the line, two ships of fifty, three of forty-four guns, twenty-four frigates, thirty-one sloops, five bomb-vessels, twenty-three gun- brigs, sailed on the late expedi- tion to the Scheldt, having for its object the capture or destruction. of the enemy’s ships, either build- ing at Antwerp or Flushing, or afloat on the Scheldt, the destruc- tion of the arsenals and dock-yards at Antwerp, Torneaux, and Flush- ing, the reduction of the island of Walcheren, and the rendering, if possible, the Scheldt no longer navigable for ships of war. ‘2nd. ** That Flushing surrender HISTORY OF éd onthe 15th of August, where-. by the reduction of the island of Walcheren was completed; and that on the 27th of August all at- tempt upon the fleet and arsenals of the enemy at Antwerp was, by the unanimous opinion of the lieu- tenant-generals, declared to be impracticable, and was aban- doved, 3rd. ** That the destruction of the basin, dock-yard, arsenal, ma- gazines, and naval store-houses, of the town of Flushing, and of such part of the sea defences as it was found proper to destroy, hav- ing been effected on the 11th of December, the island of Walche- ren was, on the 23rd of December, evacuated by his majesty’s forces, and the expedition ended. 4th. ** That it does not appear to this House, that the failure of the expedition is imputable to the conduct of the army or the navy in the execution of their instruc- tions, relative to the military and naval operations in the Scheldt. . Sth. “ That on the 19th of Au- gust a malignant disorder showed itself amongst his majesty’s troops; and that on the 8th of September the number of sick amounted to upwards of 10,948 men. 6th, “That it appears by the report of the physician appointed to investigate the nature andcauses of the malady to which his majes- ty’stroops were thus ex posed, that the disease is one which prevails periodically in the is!ands of Zea- Jand, and is of peculiar malignity there, and which constantly fol- lows a law of season appearing to- wards the end of summer, becom- ing more severe in the autumnal months, decliningin October, and nearly ceasing in November. That EUROPE. perfect recoveries are rare, con- valescence never secure, and that the recurrence of fever quickly lays the foundation of complaints which render a large proportion of the sufferers inefficient for fu- ture military purposes. 7th. * That of the army which embarked for service in the Scheldt, 60 officers and 3,900 men, exclusive of those killed by the enemy, had died before the 1st of February last, and on that day 217 officers and 11,296 men were reported sick. 8th. * That the expedition to the Scheldt was undertaken under circumstances which afforded no rational hope of adequate success, and at the precise season of the year when the malignant disease, which has proved so fatal to his majesty’s brave troops, was known to be most prevalent ; and that the advisers of this’ ill-judged enter- prize are, in the opinion of this house, deeply responsible for the heavy calamities with which its failure has been attended. No. I].—1st. ‘* That lieutenant- general sir Eyre Coote, having on the 9th of September been left in the command of Walcheren with an army of about 15,000 men, did on that day make an official re- port on the state of theisland, the extent of forcerequired effectually to guard it, the nature and con- dition of its defences, and the number of men then sick and unfit for duty ; representing that, after such his exposition, his ma- jesty’s ministers would be the best judges of the propriety or possi+ bility of keeping the island ; and adding, that the advantages must be great indeed which could com pensate the loss of lives and trea 79 A N N ei A L sure which the retention must ne- cessarily occasion. 2nd. « That on the 23rd of Sep- tember sir Eyre Coote stated to his majesty’s ministers, that the alarming progress of disease was such, that if it should continue in the same proportion for three weeks longer (as he added there was every probability that it would} our possession of the island must become very precarious. 3rd. ** That on the 6th of Octo- ber sir Eyre Coote, after stating that the number of sick was in- creasing, and that the effective force was thereby rendered so tri- vial as to make the defence of the island, if it should be attacked, extremely precarious, did express his anxiety to be informed of the intentions of his majesty’s govern- ment as to the future state of Walcheren. 4th. ‘That notwithstanding these, and many other pressing representations on the alarming condition of the troops, and the danger to which they were expos- ed, his majesty’s ministers did neglect to come to any decision until the 4th of November, and that the final evacuation of Wal- cheren did not take place until the 23rd of December. 5th, «That on the 10th of Sep- tember the number of sick in the island of Walcheren was, exclu- sive of officers, 6,938; and that the total number of sick embarked for England, between the 15th of September and the 16th of November, was 11,199, making in that period an increase of sick of 4,268. 6th. ‘« That although the great object of the expedition had been abandoned as impracticable, a 80 REGISTER, 1810. large proportion of the British army was (without any urgent.or determined purpose in view, or any prospect of national advan- tage to justify such a hazard, or to compensate such a sacrifice) left by his majesty’s ministers to the imminent danger of attack from the enemy, and exposed during a period of more than three months, under circumstances of aggravated hardships, to the fatal ravages of a disease, which, on the 31st of August, bad been officially announced to be daily increasing to a most alarming degree. 7th, “ That such the conduct of his majesty’s advisers, calls for the severest censure of this House.” Lord Castlereagh nowrose, and, as it requires more time to repel, or to answer to charges, than to make them, his speech was more than twice as long as lord Por- chester’s, though that took up se- veral hours. On the considera- tions that influenced his own con- duct, respecting the expedition he was very diffuse. He had courted an investigation of the present question, not less from a sense of duty, than froma deliberate and thorough conviction, that the me- rit of the expedition stood ona rock not to be shaken. Having examined, at great length, the professional opinions that were called for from the commander-in- chief, and the principal officers of his staff, he contended that they were by no means such, under the circumstances in. which they were required and given, as ought to have induced ministers to aban- don the object which they had in view. Lord Chatham’s opinion, too, was clearly in favour of the HISTORY OF EUROPE. expedition. That noble lord had stated in his evidence at the bar that his opinion was never given Sormally as an officer. Was it then _ to be supposed that Lord Chatham was never consulted on the expe- dition? or that he did not approve of the expedition? No. It was be- cause his Majesty’s government had the advantage of Lord Chat- ham’s opinion in a better and more satisfactory mode. Lord Castle- reagh rested very much on the opinions of General Brownrigg, who had expressed his regret that the whole of the armament des- tined for Santvliet, was not at once carried to the entrance of the West Scheldt, instead of being directed to rendezvous at the Stone-Deep. There was, however, one instance in which Lord Castlereagh did not agree in opinion with General Brownrigg. The General had cer- tainly stated that ten days might possibly have been required to re- duce Liefkenshoek. Was it pro- bable, however, that a work not casemated would have resisted so long? But upon the point imme- diately under consideration, Gene- ral Brownrigg had distinctly de- clared that he was, previously to the sailing of the expedition, and still continued to be, of opinion, that there was a fair prospect of success had the army arrived at Santvliet early in August.—In what page of our history had Lord Porchester convinced himself that the interests of the empire would be best consulted by banishing en- terprize in war from the service, and chilling the martial spirit of the country by the rigid principles of cold precaution and mathema- tical calculation? Had it been by the observance of such a principle- Vor. LH. 81 that our naval power had been raised to its present pre-eminence? or that the triumphs of our army had been brought to rival those of our navy? He was not contend- ing for rash and improvident ex- posure of the public force. What he contended against was the prin- ciple that nothing should be un- dertaken unlessevery circumstance bearing on the operation could be previously ascertained, and that nothing should be risked unless success could be demonstrated to be inevitable. Lord Castlereagh bad the House, if they wished to know what pros- pect of success ministers really had, in the enemy’s judgment at least, to look at the measures of precaution he had ordered to be adopted for securing Antwerp, since the attempt on that city was abandoned.—What, Lord Castle- reagh asked, would have been the verdict of their opposers if minis- ters had brought forward such a defence as might have been framed out of the materials upon which they were now inculpated. Could they have justified themselves from the speculative difficulties of the attempt for having left an ally unsupported, and a naval arsenal of such magnitude, and so situated unassailed? The claims of Austria alone would have justified the at- tempt. Its naval policy rendered it a paramount duty. But, when both considerations werecombined hesitation would have been crimi- nal. -He was conscious that, in common with the other servants of the crown, he had done his duty. And, however they might have failed in securing for the country all the advantages for which they contended, heshould always pride G 82 himself on the share he had borne in that important transaction— The house now resounded with cries of adjourn. Mr. Ponsonby had spoken for some time in an- swer to Lord Castlereagh, when the House became again clamor- ous for an adjournment. It was then moved that the House do ad- journ: which it did at twoo’clock. The adjourned debate on the expedition to the Scheldt was continued till three o’clock on the morning of the 28th of March. It was resumed on the 29th, and continued till about the same hour in the morning of the 30th of March. Towards the evening of that day it was again resumed and continued till half-past eleven on Saturday morning, 31st of March. _ It will be readily and rightly conceived that, in the discussions of such an assembly, on a subject so complicated as well as impor- tant, and connected by somany re- lations with other important sub- jects, there was, amidst much tire- some repetition, not a little enter- tainment in the way of argumenta- tion and eloquence, with some wit too. But it is not permitted in such a design as ours, nor is it at all necessary for theinformation of ourreaders respecting any essential points, to follow the course of rea- soning, or even the series of the speakers, in what may be styled a renewed debate, continued for four days, or rather nights, on a ques-~ tion that had been already much agitated on sundry occasions. .In the sitting of March 21st, General Crawfurd, in a speech of uncom- mon length, contended that. the expedition to the Scheldt. was a measure of great political wisdom ; that the utmost attention had been ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. paid to the wants of the army, both by government and the comman- der in chief, and that the attempt to retain the island of Walcheren was not only justifiable, but an in- dispensable obligation. He there- fore heartily concurred in the conduct of thearmy.andnavy. To the resolutions of fact he should propose the previous question, be- cause they were unnecessary ; and to the resolutions of censure a de- cided negative ; and he should beg leave to conclude with moving re- solutions of an opposite tendency. In the sitting of the 29th, General Tarleton replied to the speech delivered on a former night by General Crawfurd. He said, in conclusion, that the whole trans- action of the Scheldt expedition for absurdity of design, and profligacy of expenditure, among all the hol- low notions of ministers stood pre- eminent for ignorance and folly.— Mr. Rose maintained, that even stripping the affair of its merits as a diversion, the taking of Flush- ing alone, could it have been re- tained, was worth the whole ex- pence of the expedition.—Mr, Grattan asked how it was, that if 17,000 men could succeed against the fortified town of Flush- ing containing a garrison of near 10,000 men, an army exceeding 20,000 men, could fail in their at- tempt upon Antwerp without a garrison, with guns dismounted, and perfectly unaware, as minis- ters said, of the invasion of an enemy? Was it to be understood that local difficulties were to swell into importance, when they were to justify the retreat of an army, but to dwindle into trifles' when brought forward to exonerate the minister? Upon what fair pre- HISFORY OF EUROPE. sumption then could the minister call uponthat House toregulate its decision on evidence which it knew to be false, and to neglect evidence which it felt to be true ? In every part of the proposed ar- rangement the result falsified the intelligence on which the attempt was made. But whilst it cut away the ground on which the minister rested, it realized every prediction of the men who, foreseeing the failure, had foretold the fatal result, With what consistency could mi- nisters defend that diversion which, they said, afforded to Austria the chance of recovery from her mis- fortunes, in the same breath that they arguedagainst the propriety of sending a force into the North of Germany, with a view to assisting the numerous insurgents in that quarter? Why, said they,encourage those insurgents to an ineffectual resistance to the power of France, only tosubjectthem to more aggra- vated oppression? Why then en- deavour to allure Austria, after her fall, to a renewal of a struggle which would have for ever sealed her subjugation ?—Mr. Grattan said, in conclusion, ‘‘in my con- ception of public delinquency, there can be no conduct more re- prehensible than that of his ma- jesty’s ministers, exceptindeed the conduct of this House, if it should be so forgetful of its duties as not to condemn them. This House has Jately censured lord Chatham for an attempt to set aside the respon- sibility of ministers. Let it then take care that its conduct, on this occasion, does not tend to establish ministerial impunity.”—Mr. Can- -ning, in the course of a long and elaborate speech, endeavoured to - prove the practicability of carrying 83 such a place as Antwerp by a coup de main, by an enumeration of instances in which ‘stronger places had been so taken. In jus- tification of the policy of the ex- pedition, he said that the con- tinued occupation of Walcheren would have been as great a blow to the maritime power and pride of Buonaparte, as that of the Isle of Wight by France to the power and pride of Great Britain. In that view, in the contemplation of its moral effect on the minds of the people of France, as much as in respect to its solid advantages, he, as one of his majesty’s ministers, had concurred inthe destination of the expedition to the Scheldt. It would have been of incalculable benefit that the people of France should have seen that its ruler could not strip hiscoasts and coun- try of troops without subjecting his own territories to insult and invasion. Though he certainly should vote against the second re- solution of lord Porchester, he would move or suggest an amend- ment to the counter resolutions of General Crawfurd, namely, toomit the specific groundsof justification arising from the circumstances of Austria, andthe destruction of the basin at Flushing, and to leave the justification of having forborne to have kept possession of Walcheren on the obvious ground of the ne- cessity of collecting the materials for an opinion, and the danger of deciding precipitately on so great and important a question. He was ready to concur in the conclusion, that no blame was ‘imputable to government, but not in the ho- nourablegeneral’s statement of the premises from which that conclu- sion was to be drawn.—Mr. Whit- G2 84 bread,in the course of an animated speech, in reasoning withministry on their own grounds, observed that it had been asserted both by lord Castlereagh and Gen. Craw- furd, not only that the North of Germany was ripe for insurrection, but that Buonuparte had lost 50,000 men at the battle of As- pern. Could it then be doubted, if this statement was true, that an army of 40,000 British troops, landed in the North of Germany, would have turned the fortune of the campaign ?—Mr. Whitbread took an opportunity of stinging Mr. Canning for his inconsistency in pronouncing lord Chatham guilty for making an official com= munication to his majesty with a request of secrecy, while he him- self had made communications to his majesty which he concealed from his colleagues. He stung him also by contrasting the dupli- city of his conduct with the can- dour and manliness. exhibited by lord Castlereagh through the whole progress of the present ques- tion. Lord Castlereagh had de- clared that he did not shrink from responsibility, and had therefore consistently voted for inquiry. Mr. Canning had always pretended that he sought investigation, but voted steady and staunch against inquiry. He badgered him yet farther on another point. How could he commit so flagrant a breach of his public duty as to al- low his incompetent colleague (as he conceived him to be) to remain in office ? In the course of the last day’s debate, March the 30th, on the expedition to the Scheldt, sir Tho- mas Turton observed, that lord Castlereagh; against the opinion of ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. five generals of the first respecta- bility, who considered_the risk to be encountered too great for the advantages that might possibly ac- crue, and without consulting the earl of Chatham, the commander- in-chief, or even asking a question of sir Eyre Coote, the second in command, dispatched the expedi- tion without a plan; whilst the su- perior officers were destitute of that confidence which was the soul of energy, and the only basis on which the hope of success could rest. It was the common course of an individual, accused of a breach of privilege, to go out of the house, and leave the question to the dis- cussion of those who had to judge of the charge. He asked bis ma- jesty’s ministers whether, if they were acquitted bya majority equal to their own number, they would call thata justification ? Was it not a sufficient reason that there were so many others in the house who were, in some measure, bound to support their patrons, without themselves lending their aid, and not only assisting to acquit, but actually approving their own con- duct ? He would put it to their own honour whether they ought not to retire? The ministerial benches laughed. Sir Francis Burdett said, the defence made by or for ministers, amounted to no more than this, that because it was an object of vital importance to destroy Ant- werp, it was right to undertake it without the necessary information, and without means adequate to its execution. Among a number of pretences to preposterous management throughout, sir Francis took par= HISTORY OF EUROPE. ticular notice of the ignorance of . sir Home Popham of the naviga- tion of the Scheldt! To him was intrusted the conduct of the fleet up to Bathz. He attempted to go by the West Scheldt until, by his failure, he found out. that he ought to have tried the East Scheldt, &c.—At last they got up to Bathz on the 24th of August. They had now come to the grand point from which in future all their operations were to proceed. A council of war was called. What did they do? They set off home.—The commanding officers in both services were ignorant, and ministers both ignorant, im- becile, and presumptuous. Both the military and naval commander ought to be tried by a court-mar- tial for undertaking to direct an oe which, they confessed, they knew nothing about. As to ministers, they deserved to be punished much more severely than by a vote of censure. Nothing less than the impeachment of ministers, and trials of the com- manders by courts-martial, should satisfy the cruel effusion of the blood of its army. TheChancellorofthe Exchequer stated that, on the 10th of Octo- ber, ministers had received intel- 85 ligence to their mindssatisfactory, that hostilities were on the eve of recommencing between Austria and France. Now had ministers, notwithstanding this intelligence, determined on the abandonment of Walcheren, and hostilities on the continent had actually recom- menced, what a torrent of invec- tive would have been poured upon ministers, from the honourable gentlemen opposite, for abandon- ing, at such a period, a conquest before so dearly bought, and then so critically important ? From the report of Dr. Blanetooit appeared, that the endemial distemper of Walcheren, uniformly abated in October, and terminated in No- vember. On a division of the Housethere appeared, For the original resolutions of lord Porchester, 227. Against them, 275. Another division then took place on the amendment of general Crawfurd, approving the conduct of ministers with regard to the po- licy of the expedition: which was carried, Ayes, 272. Noes, 232. The last resolution of General Crawfurd, approving the retention of Walcheren, was also carried, Ayes, 255. Noes, 232. 86 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. CHAP. VI. The standing Order for the Exclusion of Strangers from the Gallery of the House of Commons, during the Inquiry into the Scheldt affair, enforced by Mr. Yorke.—Motion on the Subject of this standing . Order by Mr. Sheridan.—Who displays the Advantages of the Liberty. of the Press, and particularly the unrestrained Publication of the . Debates and Proceedings of Parliament.—Mr. Sheridan’s Motion negatived.— The Vote for enforcing the standing Order made a Sub- ject of Discussion in a Debating Club, and severely censured.—John: Gale Jones, the President of the Club, sent to Newgate by the. House of Commons.—In this Step, it is contended, by Sir Francis Burdett, that the House of Commons exceeded their Constitutional Powers.— Motion by Sir Francis for the Liberation of John Gale Jones.—> Debate.—The Motion negatived by a vast Majority.—Letter from . Sir Francis Burdett to his Constituents, published in a Weekly Paper, denying the Right of the House of Commons to imprison the People of England.— Brought under the Consideration of the House of Com= mons.—Long Debates.—Sir Francis Burdett ordered to be sent to the Tower.—Delay in the Execution of the Order.—Saucy Letter from Sir Francis to the Speaker of the House of Commons.—Sir Francis taken from his House by force, and sent to the Tower.—Tumults and Accidents.—Sir Francis Burdett’s Letter to the Speaker laid by him before the House.—Severe Strictures on the Conduct of Sir Fran- cis Burdett.— Resolution of the House of Commons on Sir Francis Burdett?s Letter to the Speaker.—Actions at Law brought by Sir Francis Burdett against the Speaker, the Serjeant at Arms, and the Earl of Moira, as Constable of the Tower.— These Parties defended. And the Privilege of the House of Commons, in the Cases to which they refer, recognized by the Court af King’s Bench, as Part of the Law of the Land.— Addresses to Sir Francis Burdett, and Petitions. to the House of Commons for his Release ; and also for that of Mr. Jones from Newgate.—A grand Procession arranged, intended as an Act of National Homage to Sir Francis Burdett, on the Day of his Liberation from the Tower.—Sir Francis Burdett slips away from the Tower by Water.— Discontents at this.—But the Procession goes on.— Remarks on the Conduct of Sir Francis Burdett in conniving at the Design, but declining to join in the Procession.—Reflections on the Practice of publishing Daily Accounts of what passes in Parlia- ment. e FTER the House of Com- took place which, though appa- mons had determined to pro- rently only of a trivial nature, gave ceed to an inguiryinto the expedi- rise to much important discus- tion to the Scheldt,acircumstance . sion. HISTORY OF EUROPE. 87 Mr. Yorke, February the Ist, gave notice that when the inquiry should be gone into, he would pro- ceed to enforce the standing order of the House for the exclusion of strangers. This he did, not from any wish to keep their proceedings from publicity,in due time, but with a view to guard against the possibility of any misrepresenta- tion or misunderstanding out of doors before the minutesshould be published.* The House having re- solved itself into a committee on the expedition to the Scheldt next day, Mr. Yorke, according to his notice, moved the standing order for the exclusion of strangers, which was of course enforced. On the subject of this. standing order, one of those settled at the commencement of every session of parliament, a motion was made, February the 6th, by Mr, Sheridan. There was no- thing in what he should propose that savoured of party motive or political bias. His sole object was, to impress on that House the vital - necessity of meriting by its con- duct, at that critical period more than ever, the confidence of the people. A Houseof Commonsthat regarded its own character, and respected the opinion of its consti- tuents and the public, ‘should not resist the feelings of the public at @ period like the present. What was there in the investigation in which the House was now engaged that called for secrecy, disclaimed in a recent inquiry which might have pleaded for that delicacy ? Would the House grant to an ac- «used ministry that protection whichconcealment could afford, on @ question of great political im- portance, after having refused it to the son of their king, in an inquiry where the House was compelled to put aside the veil which the imper- fections of humanity had thrown over the frailties of domestic life ? He was willing to believe that mi- nisters did not wish to screen their conduct by any such expedient, and he was sure, from the inde- pendent political career of Mr. Yorke; whohad enforcedthe order, that he would have disdained to be their instrument for any such purpose ; and he was at a loss to conjecture what could have in- duced the honourable gentleman to press that order at that most pe- rilous crisis —He begged leave to ask what was the sanctity of this supposed standing order? Inthe first place, he contended, that it was no standing order atall. It was passed at the opening of thesession upon question. It might have been rejected when proposed, and of course was liable to revision and repeal onany subsequent occasion. It wasa mistaken idea to suppose that that order empowered any member to call upon strangers to withdraw. The order, which Mr. Sheridan read, said, ‘“‘ That any stranger appearing in the House shall be taken into custody by the serjeant.” The powerandauthority rested with the serjeant-at-arms alone. And how was he to enforce it? If, in proceeding to obey the order, the serjeant should find two or three hundred persons collected in the gallery, it would be impossi- ble for him. to take them all into custody, and therefore he must shut them up in the gallery whilst he' went to collect his posse comz- tatus. Inthe mean time the de- * The minutes of the evidence were published every third day, during the pro- ‘gress of the investigation. 88s ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. bate goes on. The strangers are in possession of all thathas passed ; and thus, byits very operation, the object of that standing order was defeated. Butif that order claim- ed such particular reverence, it © should be remembered, that there were many others which any other member could move to have en- forced—instances ofthese Mr.She- ridan mentioned. ‘There was also, he observed, another order which held it to be the privilege of mem- bers to pass strangers through the House into the gallery, except while the House was sitting.— Here then were two orders wholly irreconcileable, unless it was in- tended that members shouldintro- duce their friends for the purpose of being committed to the custody of the serjeant-at-arms. Was it not, then, a duty to reconcile such orders to themselves, and to com- mon sense? It was not his inten- tion to move for the repeal of the order, or to maintain that there never couldarise an occasion when strangers ought to be excluded ; but he did wish the order to be so modified, that it should not de- ‘pend on the caprice or pleasure of any individualmember, but be fair- ly submitted to the decision of the House. When strangers were in- troduced by members they should be allowed to continue, except when the question was such that it was not proper to be discussed before strangers.—When the cha- racter of the king’s son was to be investigated, not a syllable had been heard of the exclusion of strangers ; but when the conduct and character of ministers were to be inquired into, then it appeared to be a subject too tender and de- licate for public inspection in that House. Mr. Sheridan thought that there never was a period in our history in which it was more ne~ cessary for parliament to conciliate the public ; therefore he moved, *« That a committee of privileges be appointed to meet to-morrow, in the Speaker’s chamber, to con- sider the order of the 25th of January last.” ws Mr. Windham wished to know in what manner the daily pub- lishing the debates was advanta- geous to the country. He asked what was the value to their con- stituents of knowing what was passing in that house ? Supposing they should never know, it was only the difference between a re- presentative government and a de- mocracy. Tillthelast thirty years, or a few years farther back, it was not even permitted to publish the debates of that House. So lately as the times of Dr. Johnson the de- bates were never published but un- der fictitiousnames. Hehad heard that proprietors of papershad talk ed of the injustice of closed doors. Thiswas to consider the admission of strangers into the gallery asa privilege. But though he might, perhaps, think it useful to let this practice continue, after having so long prevailed, he did not allow it to bea privilege. Were that the case, we should come into a state of democracy: a state like that of Athens. If admission into the gal- leries had been winked at, this was no reason that it should be conti- nued on all occasions, and that persons should make a trade of what they obtained from thegalle- ries : among which persons were to be found persons of all descrip- tions: bankrupts, lottery-office keepers, stockbrokers, footmen, and decayed tradesmen. He did not wish to establish such a power HISTORY OF EUROPE. in the press as to enable it to con- trol parliament. He now saw that the uniform and constant ad- mission of strangers led to a most mischievous tendency—no less than to change the character of a representative government, which presumed confidence in the repre- sentative body, into that of a de- mocracy, in which every thing was done by the people. The House ought to maintain those regula- tions and orders which had so long prevailed. He would assert that the rights of the House were now in danger of being lost from misuse. Lord Folkestone thought it de- sirable that the publicity of their proceedings should not experience any materialinterruption. Had the publication of these been in no in- stance connived at, he was by no means prepared to deny that he might, at thepresentmoment, have opposed the introduction of sucha practice for the first time. Yet as the public had been allowed regu- larly to receive a report of thepro- ceedings in parliament, he was de- sirous that nocasual interruption of that permission should occur. He was also solicitous that as a change had taken place in the circum- stances of the country, and even in thecharacter of parliament, that change should be accompanied by corresponding changes inother re- spects. Hisright honourable friend had said, that the idea of a repre- sentative body implied that of the confidence of the persons repre- sented. He wished it might be so: not only in theory but in fact. And yet there were many persons who concurred inthinking, notonly that the House had not the confidence of the country, but that it did not deserve to have that confidence. 89 Most assuredly it was anill-advised mode of obtaining the general con- fidence to shut the nation out from obtaining information on an in- quiry of the greatest magnitude, and towards the result of which every eye wassteadily and anxious- ly directed.— Mr. Yorke protested against the supposition that it was necessary for a member, who should move to enforce a standing order, to state the reasons which induced him to do so. He had moved the order on the present occasion, from a consideration of the many mis-statements which went forth to the public last year, on a very important inquiry be- fore that House. They were now performing their great function as the grand inquest of the nation. The grand jury of a country never admitted strangers during the time of their examining evidence. A right honourable gentleman had asked why they had not proceeded in the same manner in the course of a memorable inquiry last year ? He regretted most sincerely that they did not; and he took shame to himself that he had not then enforced the standing order. The standing order in question was a most ancient order; the principle on which it was founded was, perhaps, interwoven in the ori- ginal constitution of the House. Under God, the maintenance of the commonwealth was owing to the support of the privileges of that House, which privileges were essential to the support of their authority. Mr. Tierney observed, that be- tween the situation ofa grand jury and that in which the House now stood there was a striking differ- ence. The proceedings of the grand_jury were not published at 99 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. all; but, in the present instance, although the House might not choose to allow the newspapers to publish their proceedings from day to day, yet they themselves were aware of the necessity of their being published, and intend- ed to publish them in another manner. When it was considered that now a tenth part was de- manded of every man’s income, and when large standing armies were maintained in the country, it would be too much to say that the public should not know on what groundsall this was necessary. If, therefore, in a committee of privileges, any modification of the standing order for the exclusion of strangers could be hit on, in order to prevent its capricious en- forcement, would not such an emendation be highly advanta- geous ?—Mr. Lyttleton supported the motion, and conceived that the committee of privileges might easily find out a way of having correct reports published by au- thority of whatever passed in that house without excluding strangers. —Mr. Peter Moore asked if there was any thing going forward in that House of which they were ashamed ? Sir Francis Burdett said, that if he could see in that house a body of gentlemen fairly and freely se- lected by the people, as the guardians of their rights, then in- deed he should see no particular objection tothe inquiry being con- ducted in secret, and the evidence being given to the public in the manner now proposed. Unfor- tunately, however, the Housestood before the country in cireum- stances of great suspicion. It had been considered by some that, in point of character, they were on their last legs. As for his part he greatly feared that, in point of reputation, the House had not a leg to stand upon.— The Chancel- lor of the Exchequer thought it highly disorderly to assert that the reputation of the House of Commons had not a leg to stand upon.—The Speaker was of the same opinion.—Sir Francis Bur- dett said he had not made the as- sertion positively, but only stated it as his apprehension ; but, with all due submission, he had not ex- pected such nicety, when he re- collected the 11th of May last, and the acquittal of a minister de- tected in an attempt to introduce, by corrupt means, persons to seats in that House. He had not ex- pected such extreme delicacy from an assembly that had, last sessions, acknowledged itself to be contaminated, and that by an act of parliament ;* nor supposed such an extreme degree of affectation of purity, as that they must not allow their ears to hear what they were not ashamed to do. The motion before them branched into a threefold point of view: it respected their former situation ; the present practical effect of the enforcement of these orders; and also the particular case. As to the first, what became them for- merly to do, was not the question now, for they were no longer what they had been then. Inthe other two points of view he had no objection to the motion. * In allusion to the bill brought into the House of Commons, by the chancellor of the Exchequer, the 27th’of March; and passed into a law, for preventing the sale and brokerage of offices. HISTORY OF Mr. Sheridan stated, that the object he had in view, in the mo- tion which he had submitted to the House, was, notto prevent any individual member from clearing the gallery, but merely to require, that after he had done so he should condescend to give some reason for the step. It, after the exclu- sion of the strangers, the House should acquiesce in the propriety of the motives for that exclusion, the public would then be satisfied. To what was it owing that Great Britain was able to maintain a struggle, and he hoped it would be a successful struggle, with the vic- torious arms that had trampled on the independence of the prostrate nations of Europe: for the liberties of the world? To the liberty of the press alone, and most particu- Jarly and emphatically to the unre- strained publication of the debates and proceedings of parliament. It had been asked how such publica- tion could produce any public be- nefit, or conduce to the well-being or happiness of the nation? By shewing to the people the grounds on which public measures were resorted to, and particularly by convincing them of theirnecessity; thus inducing the public to sub- mit with patience to the heaviest burdens that had ever been im- posed upon a nation.—Mr. She- ridan was sorry to hear his right honourable friend resorting to a topic which he must be allowed to denominate the old bugbear, when he found him gravely asserting, that the practice of reporting the proceedings of that House, which had grown up of late, was likely to lead to a revolution. Was it the liberty of the press that brought France into that dreadful state of EUROPE. 9 anarchy and ruin which charac- terized the revolution? Was it not, on the contrary, the suppres- sion of all liberty of discussion ?— The prohibition of all publications not sanctioned by the permission of authority—the prevention of that rational and temperate considera- tion of public measures and inte- Tests which alone could excite and nourish patriotic feelings and pub- lic spirit ?—If the liberty of the press had existed in France before or since the revolution—if it had existed in Austria—if in Prussia— if in Spain, Buonaparte would not now find himself in a situation to dictate to Europe, and filling the throne of nearly an universal mo+ narch, As to the speech of the mem- ber who moved the standing or- der, that honourable gentleman seemed to have forgotten altoges ther that certain papers had been Jaid upon the table of the House, and ordered to be printed, and that the oral evidence to be taken at the bar, was called for only to supply deficiencies in those papers, or to invalidate or confirm the statements they contained. As to the analogy between the House of Commons in its inquisi- torial capacity, and a grand jury, grand juries did not publish the evidence on which they were bound to form a decision, because it could be only an ez-parte state- ment, which, however, might in- fluence the opinion or verdict of a petty jury. But it was essential to the proceedingsin which the House was engaged to publish documents on which it was, ultimately, to form its decision.—Mr. Sheridan, in conclusion of his reply, begged of gentlemen not to mistake his 92 motion, which was not by any means to rescind the order to which it referred, but to have it ascertained by a committee of privileges, whether any, or what modification of it was necessary. The Chancellor of the Exche- quer entirely concurred in most of what had fallen from Mr. Wind- ham, though he was not prepared to carry his concurrence to the full extent of that right honourable gentleman’s opinion. But he thought it necessary, for the dig- nity of the House, to maintain the privilege that any member has to call for the clearing of the gallery without argument. - On a division of the House there appeared For Mr. Sheridan’s motion 80. Against it 166. There is in human nature a very strong and active principle of imi- tation. It appears in earliest child- hood, and has the happy effect of exciting and strengthening the powers of both body and mind. In sea-port towns children amuse themselves with the construction of ships with paper or pasteboard: in military stations with drums and wooden arms, and wheeling like soldiers. At every period of life mankind have a strong propensity to imitate their superiors, In the metropolis, the seat of the govern- ment, the middling and lower classes ape the proceedings and debates in parliament, from much the same principle that the boys play the parts of soldiers and sail- ors. In every ale-house club, they ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. dispute on all political, and some- times other subjects, and are en- gaged in forming resolutions, mak- ing motions, seconding motions, and supporting or opposing mo- tions. Debating societies are in- stituted, meeting twice a week, _where any one, of either sex, is ad- mitted, and may have an opportu- nity of displaying his oratorical powers, oradmiringthose of others, at the small expense of oneshilling. This became a kind of trade or bu- siness. The president, ormanager, paid for theroom and candles; what remained of the admission money, after defraying this expense, went into his own pocket. Among these heteroclitical assemblies, was one which assumed the pompous title of the British Forum. The presi- dent was called John Gale Jones.* The vote for enforcing the stand- ing order for the exclusion of stran- gers, and what passed on that oc- casion in the House of Commons, was made the subject of discussion in the British Forum. The fol- lowing placard was every where stuck upon the walls of the metro- polis, ‘* WinpHAM and YorKE, British Forum, 33 Bedford-street, Covent Garden. Monday, Febru- ary 19,1810. Question. ‘Which was a greater outrage on the pub- lic feeling, Mr. Yorke’s enforce- ment of the standing order to ex- clude strangers from the House of Commons, or Mr. Windham’s re- cent attack on the liberty of the press?’ Last Monday, after an interesting discussion, it was una- nimously decided, that the en- * This, we understand, is the same Jones, the apothecary, that was wont, it may be recollected, to make a great figure among the field demagogues, and the mem- bers of the Corresponding Societies, from 1791 to 1794: for an account of which see Vol. XXXVI. of this Work (1794), p. 266. HISTORY OF EUROPE, forcement of the standing order for shutting out strangers from the gallery of the House of Commons, ought to be censured as an insi- dious and ill-timed attack on the liberties of the press, as tending to aggravate the discontents of the people, and to render their repre- sentatives objects of jealous suspi- cion.—The present question was brought forward as a comparative inquiry, and may be justly expect- ed to furnish a contested and inte- restingdebate. Printedby J. Dean, 57, Wardour-street.”’ Mr. Yorke having stated this in the House of Commons, February the 19th, John Dean was ordered to attend at the bar of that House to-morrow. He attended on that day, at the bar of the House ac- cordingly ; and being asked what he had to say for himself respect- ing the offence he had committed, declared that he had been employ- ed to print the paper by John Gale Jones. It was moved by Mr. Yorke, and voted nem. con. “ that the said John Dean, in having printed the said paper, had been guilty of a high breach of the pri- vilege of that House.” Dean was committed to the custody of the serjeant-at-arms, and Jones order- ed to attend to-morrow, February the 21st. John Gale Jones being brought to the bar, the Speaker stated to him what had been declared by the printer, and asked him what he had to say in his own behalf? Mr. Jones answered, «I acknowledge, Sir, that I was the author of that paper; and I am extremely sorry that the printer of it has suffered inconvenience on my account.” Jones, at the desire of the Speaker, repeated what he had said ; and the question being put to him, if he had any thing more to say in his own behalf, 93 declared that ‘“‘in what he had done he was not actuated by any disrespect to the privileges of the House, or the persons of any of its members individually. He had always considered it to be the privilege of every Englishman to animadvert on public measures, and the conduct of public men. But, in looking over the paper in question again, he found that he had erred. He begged to ex- press his sincere contrition, and threw himself on the mercy of that honourable House — that House, which, as an important branch of the constitution, had always had his unfeigned respect.” The Speaker then put the ques- tion, that the said John Gale Jones had been guilty of a gross breach of the privileges of that House; which was carried nem. con. Mr. Yorke then rose and said that, after the vote just passed, it was impossible not to follow it up by some further resolution, which should mark how sensible the House itself was of the insult of- fered to its high authority by the person now at the bar; and, by making a proper example, warn such persons against taking upon them to comment in such a way upon the proceedings of that House, and the conduct of its members. He therefore moved, “that John Gale Jones, for his offence, be committed to his Ma- jesty’s gaol of Newgate.” The question being put was carried nem. con.—As to John Dean, he was, at the intercession of Mr. Yorke, on presenting a petition humbly praying for forgiveness, and being reprimanded by the Speaker, discharged out of custody without paying any fees.—It was ordered, nem. con. that what had- 94 been said by Mr. Speaker, in re- primanding the said John Gale Jones, should be entered in the Journals of that House. The attention of the House of Commons was again called to Jones, March the 12th, by sir Francis Burdett, who lamented exceedingly that, in consequence of indisposition, he had not been present when John Gale Jones was committedto Newgatefora breach of the privileges of that House. He knew it was at all times much easier to prevent the adoption of a measure, than to induce the House to retract a resolution. He could not, however, discharge his duty if he did not still endeavour to in- duce the House to retract a step which they were not authorized to take.—The House, he contended, and parliament were different ; there must, consequently, be a dif- ference in the extent of the privi- legeswhich they might, separately, or in conjunction with the other house of parliament, be supposed to possess. On this ground, he maintained that the imprisonment of John Gale Jones was an in- fringement of the law of the land, and a subversion of the principles of the constitution.— The question was, if the, House of Commons had a right to imprison a person, not amember of that House, for an offence punishable by the ordinary course of law; and by a vote, for that purpose, deprive the people of their imprescriptible rights P—In this question there was involved the consideration of two distinct ualities: privilege and power. rivilege the House possessed for its own protection: power was a right to be exercised over others. Privilege they were to exercise to ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. prevent the crown from molesting them in their proceedings; as a shield to themselves, not as a scourge to the rest of the Com- mons. That this was the real na- ture of the privilege of the House of Commons, he deduced from a variety of cases in parliamentary history, up to the long parliament; when, from the peculiar circum- stances of the country, in order to resist the arbitrary encroachments of a despotic prince, the House of Commons found it absolutely ne- cessary in the struggle, net only to extend their privileges, but to assume powers, the exercise of which abolished the House of Lords, brought the king to the block, and ultimately dissolved the whole frame of the government.— But these surely were not sources sufficiently clear, nor times sutfi- ciently analogous, to countenance similar proceedings, under a legal, settled, and established system of government. Sir Francis stated a case,* in which the judges of the King’s- bench were summoned by the House of Lords to appear before them, and answer to a complaint made against them by a petition to the House of Lords, respecting a decision of that court. This the judges refused to do. They denied the jurisdiction of the House of Lords; insisted on their undoubted ° right as Englishmen to a trial by a jury of their equals, if in any thing they were accused of having done wrong, and claimed the be- nefit of being tried according to the known course of the common law. They relied on Magna Charta, which they said was made for them as well as others; and maintained, that all powers: and * That of Bridgeman versus Holt, in 1697. HISTORY OF EUROPE. privileges in the kingdom, even the highest, were circumscribed by the Jaws, and had their limits. In thecourts of Westminster, they said, the law was determined by ene party, and the fact ascertained by another. But in the jurisdiction assumed by the lords, in the pre- sent case, the fact would be ascer- tained, and the law determined by the same party; and, if they should be punished by the lords, that would not prevent their being called to answer again in the courts of Westminster-hall, or be used below as a recovery, or acquittal : so that they might be punished twice for the same offence.—A Court of Record only had a power of commitment: that House was not a Court of Record; therefore that House did not possess the right of commitment. Let the House then, said sir Francis Bur- dett, apply this reasoning to the case before them. In that case the common law, magna charta, and the trial by jury, had been violat- ed. They found Mr. Jones im- prisoned for anact, the illegality of which had not been proved—the facts not ascertained. A great va- riety of cases could be adduced where the House had interposed, but not one in which it had gone to the extent to which it had pro- ceeded in the present instance. It was unnecessary to multiply cases. They must all be acquainted with the case of the Middlesex Jour- nal, in 1771, when the messenger of the House of Commons was sent by their order to arrest the printer : instead of which, theprin- -ter took up the messenger, and brought him before Crosby, and the aldermen Wilkes and Oliver. —Notwithstanding this outrage, 95 the House did not presume to touch any of the offending parties, except its own members, the lord Mayor and Alderman Oliver; passing over the printer, the jour- nalist, and Alderman Wilkes, who was, at that time, not a member of the House: than which dis- affirmance of its power a stronger proof could not be conceived. The warrant of commitment, too, he contended, was illegal in all its parts, but eminently so in its conclusion. A warrant must conclude with the words, ‘‘till the party be delivered by the due course of the law.” The warrant for committing Jones ended with the words “ during the pleasure of the House.”—Lord Coke laid it down explicitly, that no man could be sent to prison without trial and judgment. ‘The privi- ledge taiked of would make the House as great as king, lords, and commons. He might be told this was a privilege of parliament. He answered, No. It was a privilege assumed only by one branch of the legislature. It resembled the by-laws of a corporation, suffi- cient to bind themselves, but not to overturn the law of the land. If gentlemen should show resolu- tions favourable to the exercise of that right as a privilege of the House, he could show others of a contrary principle. Sir Fletcher Norton had said, that he would _ pay no more attention to a resolu- tion of the House of Commons than that of a set of drunken por- ters at an ale-house. The obser- vation was coarse, but just. If the members were of opinion that a resolution of that House was equal to that of all the branches of the constitution, they would 96 ANNUAL REGISTER, agree in rejecting his proposition. But if, with him, they thought that they could not overturn the law of the land, and the acts of parlia- ment solemnly passed, by any assumed power exercised by that House alone, they would agree with him, that John Gale Jones must be discharged: with a mo- tion for which purpose sir Francis concluded. Mr. C. W. Wyne said, that if a. motion had been brought for-— ward for the liberation of John Jones, on the grounds of the con- trition for the offence which he had confessed at the bar, he should not have objected to it. But the proposal of that liberation was interwoven by the honourable ba- ronet with other topics, to which he could by no means subscribe. Mr. Wyane produced instances of commitment prior to the long par- liament. With regard to libels, he admitted that no instance of com- mittal on such a charge. was met with prior tothe reign of Elizabeth. But the fact was, that in the pe- riods which immediately succeed- ed the invention of printing, there was no such thing as the liberty of the press, which now existed, so happily for this country. To this valuable privilege he believed, that our present pre-eminence above all other nations was to be attributed. —The principle on which the pro- tection of members from arrest, lest by such arrest they should be prevented fromattending their du- ty in that House, was clearly in- disputable: and it appeared to him to be equally clear, that libels, or any other means of interfering with the due performance of a member's duty, should be equally provided against. ‘The same rea- 1810. sons which justified a court of law in punishing any contempt, or in~ terruption of its proceedings plead- ed in favour of the privilege exer- cised by that House in the case which gave rise to the present dis= cussion.— The Attorney-general cited a number of cases to show. the indisputable right of that, and of the other House of parliament, to commit for any contempt or breach of their privileges. Astothe words of the warrant of committal, ‘during thepleasure of theHouse.” so particularly dwelt upon by the honourable baronet, these words were also the subject of consider- ablediscussioninthe caseof Crosby. But the result was, that they were found to be those usual in all simi- lar cases.—Mr. Creevy thought that the right of committal, in such cases as had been referred to, justly and necessarily belonged to that House. Therefore, although he was disposed to vote for the liberation of John Gale Jones, he could not agree to the proposition as founded on the general doc- trines laid down by his honourable friend, A declaration to the same effect, in favour of JohnGale Jones, was made by lord Folkstone, though he could not go the whole length of his honourable friend’s proposition. Lord Folkstone main- tained that the House was compe- tent, by its ownauthority, topunish any contempt or interruption of its proceedings. He denied, how- ever, that the publication of a libel: was to be regarded as a contempt.. For, if a libel and a contempt of. court were held to be equivalent, how came Hart and White to be brought to trial for a libel on the court of King’s-bench? If they had been held equivalent to that © HISTORY court would at once have commit- ted those then without a trial. The Solicitor-general said, that the question before the House was, whether Jones, convicted on his own confession by the unani- mous vote of the House of a gross breach of privilege (which con- tained in itself a gross and scandal- ous" conertt), and punished for his offence in the way that appear- ed most fitting to the House, was guilty or not? As far as the pre- sent practice could be traced, it was found to be legal and consti- tutional. It was open to Jones to apply by petition; and, forhis own part, he might agree to his dis- charge in this way, the next mo- ment after the disposition of the question as it now stood: but he would not, and he trusted the House would not, relax now, after hearing the kind of arguments ad- duced by the honourable baronet. If they did, it would be said that they yielded because they doubt- ed their own right. Mr. Sheridan said, thatheshould certainly vote for the release of Mr. John Jones, but not on the ‘principles contained in the honour- ablebaronet’sspeech. Why should Jones fall an unwilling sacrifice to doctrines which he never propa- gated, and perhaps never enter- tained? Did he ever say, with the honourablebaronet, that theHouse had no jurisdiction over any per- sons, except its own members ?— Mr. Sheridan, in the course of his discussion of this subject, showed, as he had indeed done on other occasions, in a verymasterly manner, the advantages accruing from the liberty of the press. On this subject he told a very import- ant anecdote. Lord North had Vor. LILI. OF EUROPE. 97 attempted, at the conclusion of the American war, to exclude the public from the House of Com- mons. He had the power, and exercised it for above a session and a half. What was the con- sequence? Every county had its parliament, and every village in the empire its delegates. Clubs assembled, and societies sprung up for the discussion of their rights, and the examination of their grievances. The result, how- ever, was, thatthe minister, seeing his mistake, restored the usual opportunity of communication be- tween the people and their repre- sentatives. Ifhehad not doneso, no one knew what mighthave hap- pened. Heremembered well that much mischief was apprehended : but the danger was dissipated by the restoration of that freedom which was the most effectual fue to that kind of danger.—Mr, She- ridan being anxious to rescue the House from its warfare with the British Forum, moved the amend- ment, “that John Gale Jones should be discharged, in conse- quence of the contrition he had expressed for his offence against the privileges of the House, and the period he had been imprisoned in Newgate.” This amendment being delivered to the Speaker, he observed, in reply to a question that had been put to him by Mr. Sheridan, that an application should be made to the House, by petition, from the prisoner.-=The amendment being read, | The Chancellor of the Exche~ quer said, that he could not-see ‘why the House should he called upon on the very day on which they had heard a doctrine avowed that implicated the existence of H 98 their privileges, to dischargea per- son whom they had unanimously, declared to have been guilty of a breach of their privileges. —The Bill of Rights was intended to pro- tect constitutional meetings, le- gally convened, for discussing the eonduct of public men. But cor- poration meetings, or county meet- ings, legally convened by the she- riffs, were not to be confounded with spouting clubs.—Mr. Perce- val called on the House to weigh well the consequences of making the case of John Gale Jones a precedent. Some stress had been laid on the expressions of contri- tion made use of by Jones at the bar. But the House had unani- mously agreed, after that confes- sion, to commithim. Therefore, some subsequent acknowledgment was necessary. Sir Francis Burdett argued, that the legal meaning of contempt was that which throws obstructions in the way of the proceedings of any court. But how were the pro- ceedings of that House obstructed by alibel? He insisted that the lea parliamentaria, that had been so much talked of, was binding upon their own members, but not upon others.—It was likewise a most material objection to the right of commitment claimed by the House, that they could not proportion the punishment to the offence; as an individual might, possibly, be confined seven years, or, if a dissolution of parliament were to take place, only five minutes, The amendment was negatived without a division: but, upon the original motion, the House divided. For it, 14: against it, 153. On Saturday, the 24th of March, ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. thereappeared inCobbett’s Weekly Political Register, a Letter in~ scribed, “ Sir Francis Burdett to his Constituents, denying the power of the House of Commons to imprison the people of Eng~ land :’”? accompanied with the ar- gument by which he had endea- voured to convince the gentlemen of the House of Commons, that their acts, in the case of Mr. Jones, were illegal; laid before them, he said, in a more full and connected way, than could possibly be done ‘by parliamentary reporters, This publication was brought under the notice of the House of Commons; March the 26th, by Mr. Leth- bridge, at whose desire the ques tion was put by the Speaker to sir Francis Burdett, whether he acknowledged himself to be the author? Sir Francis having an- swered in the affirmative, Mr. Lethbridge gave notice of a mo- tion onthe subject. Next day, in consequence of this notice, Mr. Lethbridge rose, with a degree of pain and embarrassment, which, he declared, he had never felt be» fore, to make a complaint against one of the United Commons of Great Britain and Ireland, who, in his opinion, had violated the privi> leges of the House. He did not mean to enter upon the subject itself, but only to lay on the table the document which the honour- able baronet, who was the object of the motion he had to make, had admitted to have been published by his authority, For the purpose of saving the time of the House, he had marked certain passages in that dycument, which, in his opin- jon, more particularly justified him in the charge which he had preferred against the honourable HISTORY baronet, Mr. Lethbridge then ve in at the table, Cobbett’s eekly Register of Saturday, the 24th of March, 1810: and sir Francis Burdett’s papers were read by the clerk. Among the most offensive and obnoxious passages, pointed out by Mr. Lethbridge, in sir Francis Burdett’s letter and argument, were the following: “ the House of Commons having passed a vote which amounts to a declaration that an order of theirs is to be of more importance than Magna Charta, and the laws of the land, I think it my duty to lay my sen- timents thereon before my consti- tuents, whose character as free- men, and even whose personal safety, depend, in a great degree, on the decision of this question ; a question of no less importance than this—whether our liberty be ‘still to be sécured by the laws of our forefathers, or be to lie at the absolute mercy of a part of our fellow-subjects, collected together by means which it is not necessary Jor me to describe.” “If they (the House of Com- mons) have the absolute power of imprisoning and releasing, why may they not send their prisoner to York gaol, as well as to a gaolin London? Why not confine men in solitary cells, or load them with chains and bolts ? They have not gonethese lengths yet. But what is to restrain them, if they are to be the sole judges of the extent of their own powers, and if they are to exercise those powers with- out any control, and without leav- ing the parties whom they choose to punish, any mode of appeal, any means of redress?” “By proceeding thus, they may OF EUROPE, 99 have exercised a jurisdiction not vested in them ; a jurisdiction be- yond the limits of king, lords, and commons, while Magna Charta remains unrepealed; and repeal- ed it never can be till England shall have found her grave in the corruption of the House of Com- mons.” ‘‘ But no wonder when they have so entirely departed from the ends of their institution, as was offered to be proved by Mr. Mad- docks, andacknowledged by them- selves in the never-to-be-forgotten morning of the 11th of May, 1809, when from being the lower, or in- ferior (for it is the same sense, one being an English, the other a Latin word), branch of the legis- lature, they have become, by bur- gage tenure, the proprietors of the whole representation, and in that capacity, inflated with their high- flown fanciful ideas of majesty, and tricked out in the trappings of royalty, think privilege and pro- tection beneath their dignity, as- sume the sword of prerogative, and lord it equally over the king and the people.” Sir Francis Burdett said, that in writing the Address to his Consti- tuents, and the arguments that accompanied it, he had no idea that he was infringing any privi- lege of that House. Was it to be supposed that the simple act of arguing on the powers of the Commons was acrime? Would not the House endure even an ab- stract doubt of their powers? He was willing to abide by the fact and argument of.what he had written. He would stand the issue. But, if it was the pleasure of the House that he should now withdraw, he was ready to with- H 2 100 draw. The Speaker stated, that this was, in similar cases, the uni- form usage. Sir Francis Burdett accordingly withdrew; after which Mr. Lethbridge proposed the two following resolutions for the adop- tion of the House:— “Ist. Resolved, that the letter signed Francis Burdett, and the further argument which was pub- lished inthe paper called Cobbett’s Weekly Register, on the 24th of this instant, is a libellous and scandalous paper, reflecting upon the just rights and privileges of this House.” ~ «9nd. That sir Francis Burdett, ‘who suffered the above articles to be printed with his name, and by his authority, has been guilty of a violation of the privileges of this House.” ‘Fhe motion was seconded by Mr. Blachford. After enume- rating various precedentsforadopt- ing the resolutions, he asked how they could hesitate to adopt them when they recollected the spirit and the advocates of jacobinism that were in the country? Their numbers, whether in leaders or disciples, were but few. But their object was, to dispute, andto bring into discredit, the authority of that House. If that spirit should not be checked in time, it would not only take away the dignity, the character, and authority of that House, but destroy the very exist- ence of it as a branch of the legis- -fature. The discussion of the re- solutions was adjourned till next day, March the 28th; when Mr. Sheridan expressed his conviction that it must be equally the wish of both sides of the House that the discussion relative to the Scheldt expedition should not be inter- rupted. But, besides that’ very ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. weighty consideration, ifevertheré was a case in which precipitancy and-rashness were to be avoided, it was the present. It was nota plain and «simple question, on which the House could decide im mediately. There were two dis- tinct questions involved in it. Ist. As to the right of the House of Commons to imprison. 2nd. As to the character of the terms with which the argument had been ac- companied: terms, with respect to the precise import of which, there might be a difference of opinion. He contended, that the proper and constitutional course was, to refer the matter to a committee of pri- vileges. Mr.Sheridan concluded with moving, ‘that the committee of privileges should resume ‘its sitting on that day se’nnight, and that the paper complained of should be referred to it”? Some debate about the necessity of moving this, in point of form, as an amendment on the original question, was superseded bya mo- tion made by Mr. Brand, as an amendment to the original ques- tion, that the debate be adjourned till to-morrow se’nnight. A con- versation ensued on this question of adjournment, in which most of the speakers entered into the merits of the original question. Sir Samuel Romilly said, that any man had a right to discuss every great constitutional ques- tion, whether of original power or constituted authority. He might show his folly in arguing a point in which no other man could agree with him, but still he had a right to do so. There might be inflam- matory language in the paper in question ; but, at the same time, there was great ability in the rea- HISTORY OF EUROPE. soning, andallthe great authorities and precedents on the subject, were given and argued on with much learning. He agreed that there were offensive paragraphs in the paper : but did they amount to a libel? He dared to say that gentlemen, much better acquaint- ed with the nature of a libel than he could pretend to be, would be prepared to answer this question, and he'should be obliged to some of them to favour the House with an opinion on this subject.—He hoped the House would take some time to deliberate before they came to a decision on a question of such importance. ‘ The Chancellor of the Exche- quer could not conceive how any one, possessed of the sense and information of his honourable and learned friend, could doubt that the paper in question was distinct- ly a libel.—This opinion he sup- ported by an examination of the paper. « The main business of the argument, he observed, was to prove that the ‘House had not a right to commit a stranger for a breach of privilege: for the right of committing a member was ad- mitted. Now, that was a case of doubt on which the honourable baronet had a right to argue as fully as he chose in the House. But it behoved him to take care in -what manner he wrote or spoke on the subject out of the House. It did not follow that that which it -was lawful to say in the House be- fore a decision, was lawful to say out of the House after a deci- sion; and still less lawful was it to recommend resistance to that decision.— Where would be the ‘impartiality of the House, if, after committing Mr, Jones fora breach lol of privilege, they should treat a member who, with a better know-, ledge of those privileges, had violated them, with more indulg- ence? If they hesitated to pro- nounce that against the honour- able baronet, which they had not hesitated to pronounce against a poor and obscure offender, they would sink low, indeed, in the public estimation. Grossly libel- lous as the proceeding of John Gale Jones hadbeen, it was trifling and contemptible, when compared with that of the honourable baronet.—As to the right of the House of Commons to commit strangers to custody, it was con- firmed by precedents, a number of which he stated.—It appeared to-Mr. Perceval that the House could not hesitate in concurring in the motion for adopting the re- solutions proposed by his honour- able friend, and he was persuaded that they would not hesitate in doing so. The Attorney General contend- ed, that if an adjournment took place, it might, perhaps, be attri- buted to the influence of motives, to the imputation of which the House ought never to expose themselves. : It appeared to him that it was only necessary to read the paper in order to be con-~ vinced that it was a libel, and a gross violation of the privileges of the House. The Master of the Rolls observ- ed, that the present case had been forced upon the House. He was sorry for it, because he never knew any good to arise out of such contests that could counter- balance the disadvantages. But the House was brought to the al- ternative, that, either it must give 102 up its privileges, and, perhaps, in- cur the imputation of timidity, or assert those privileges with manli- ness. He would havebeen happy if means could have been devised for getting out of sucha contest. But that was now impracticable ; and, in order to bring to the decision as much weight and authority as possible, he would support the proposition for the delay required by those to whom so much weight and authority belonged. The Chancellor of the Exche- quer confessed that, after what he had heard, particularly from his learned friend who had just sat down, that it would appear obstinate and pertinacious in him to press an opinion, to which, however, he still adhered, and re- fused to accede to the repeated calls which were made for a furs ther adjournment of the question. Upon the question being put, the debate was adjourned till to- morrow se’nnight, the. 5th of April : on which day the resumed debate, on which the main points on both sides have been already discussed in the preceding pages, (though now placed innew lights) was continued till half after seven on Friday morning; and, in the course of which, speeches were made by not less than thirty members. ' Lord Ossulston maintained, on the authority of chief justice Holt, that neither House of Parliament could infringe upon the liberty of the subject; that the privileges of parliament were founded on the laws of the land, and could not be in contradiction to those laws. Sir J. Anstruther asked if no- thing was to be considered as an obstruction but what was person- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. ally so? Were there no such thing as constructive obstrac- tions? Impediments which were not really personal, but which had virtually the same effect. Libels come up exactly to the case of obstructive constructions. If the House of Commons was not judge of its own privileges, and the only judge of those privileges, he did not know how the House of Commons could be said to exist at all, In his judgment their independence was totaliy gone, when any other power than them- selves was allowed to be judge of those privileges. It was objected that, if they were the judges of their own privileges, they might make what privileges they pleas- ed. But had they done so? It would be found that for the last three hundred years, in the same proportion as their authority bad become more solid and extended, had their exercise of that power been calm, moderate, and pru- dent. Lord Folkestone wished gentle- men fairly to consider the nature of the whole paper. It was writ- ten by an honourable member to his constituents, explaining more fully the nature and extent of his arguments than they could have been given by parliamentary re- porters. He did not know to what extent members were to be per- mitted to publish their sentiments, The standing order forbad the pub- lication of the debates. Neverthe- less that practice bad been long connived at. In former times it would not have been considered as such a grievance, since Andrew Marvel wrote a full account of the proceedings of the House of Com- mons, to his constituents, every a a HISTORY OF EUROPE. week. Privilege was only ex- émption, not power. He did not think that the letter was a scan-. dalous libel on the privileges of the House. _ Sir Samuel Romilly observed, that the House had two ques- tions to discuss: first, whether the publication complained of was a libel ; and next, whether it was expedient to acquiesce in the reso- lutions proposed: For his own part, he still entertained doubts ; first, whether this publication was a libel, and next, that it intrench- ed upon the privileges of that House. Hethought the presenta case, on which it would be better not to adopt any proceeding, even if, by a severe construction, it could be contended that privilege had been violated. In matters of authority, as well as in religion, severity against heresy, only served to increase the number of its dis- ciples. Mr. Stephen expressed his as- tonishment, that those who were peculiarly attached to the demo- eratical part of the constitution, should be willing to allow that House to be trampled on, or to go begging for protection to the courts of law. He had not heard the present question met at all upon its real principles, and true merits. The Judges, though not now removable at the pleasure of the Crown, were still appointed by it. They, however, would no doubt act with impartiality. But then an appeal would lie to the House of Lords. And then the privileges of that House would de- pend on the other House of parlia- ment,—Mr. Wilberforce, too, con- tended that they had no right to give up their own privileges and independence ; that was, the pri- 103 vilege and independence of the people of England, of which the right of commitment was un- doubted. This argument was insisted on, too, by Mr. Whit- bread, and also by Mr. Adam, who, with his usual ability, and intimate acquaintance with parlia- mentary and constitutional history, vindicated the privileges of that House, by proving that they were of old standing, just and necessary. As to the authorities and precedents, on which it was contended that the publication of a libel was not a breach of the privileges of the House of Com- mons, Mr.. Adam shewed that they were not applicable to the present question. Mr, W. Wynn contended that sir Francis Burdett’s paper was: a gross breach of the privileges of the House, and charged the ho- nourable baronet with having al- tered and misquoted, in the argu- ment, precedents to serve bis own purpose.—General Matthews con- tended that sir Francis Burdett, in freely communicating with his constituents, was justified by the practice of the best days of the constitution. —The Chancellor of the Exchequer cou!dscarcely have expected that any man in that House would maintain that the paper was not a libel, considering the violence of the expressions, and that it was evidently publish- ed with no other view than that of bringing the House into dis-: esteem and disgrace.—Mr. Sheri- dan said, ‘if the House were broughtintoanunpleasant predica- ment, woe to the late member for Cambridgeshire! He desired to know, from the gentlemen who supported the resolutions, what conclusion they intended to draw 104 from their adoption ?—Sir Robert Salisbury said that, if the resolu- tions were agreed to, he should propose that sir Francis Burdett be committed to the Tower.— Several members announced their ~ intention of opposing the resolu- tions, since it was proposed to follow them up by a punishment not warranted by the offensive matter contained in the paper on the table. The resolutions, moved by Mr. Lethbridge, were agreed to with- out a division.—A motion was then made by sir Robert Salisbury for the commitment of sir Francis Burdett to the Tower. An amendment was proposed, that sir Francis Burdett be repri- manded in his place: upon which the House divided. Ayes, 152.—Noes, 190. In consequence of this vote, for the commitment of sir Francis, the Speaker, on the same morn- ing, at half-past eight o’clock, signed the warrants for commit- ment, and immediately delivered them to the Serjeant at Arms, to be carried into effect, if possible, by ten o’clock that morning. From the politeness of the Serjeant, in announcing the commission with which he was charged, it was not till about five o’clock in the after- noon that he went to sir Francis at his house, and saw sir Francis, who told him that he would be ready to receive him at eleven o'clock next morning; on which the Serjeant retired, conceiving that it was sir Francis’s intention to go with him peaceably to the Tower, at the time stated. About eight o'clock, the Serjeant, Mr. Colman, came again to sir Fran- cis Burdett’s. He was now ac- companied by one of the messen-= ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. gers, and told sir Francis that he had received a severe reprimand from the Speaker for not having executed the warrant, which he read, Sir Francis then said, that he disputed the legality of the war- rant, and that he was determined not to go, if not constrained by actual force, which he was deter- mined to resist as far as in his power. He stated, also, that he had written to the Speaker of the House of Commons on this sub- ject. : Meanwhile a mob had been assembled before sir Francis Bur- dett’s house, and was every mo- ment increasing. Mr. Colman, who had called several times be- fore, without being admitted, went again to sir Francis’s house, on Sunday morning, at seven o'clock, attended by a messenger, and some police officers, and knocked at the door several times, but it was not opened. The Serjeant and messenger, by turns, waited in the neighbourhood of sir Fran cis’s house, for the rest of the day and the night, thinking that he might come out again, as he had once done on Saturday, and that they might have an opportunity of apprehending him, It had be- come evident, from the number of the populace assembled in Pic- cadilly, that the warrant could not be executed without force. And the Speaker, having great doubts as to the power he was possessed of by his warrant, sent his war- rant to the Attorney-General for his opinion, and on that opinion he acted. Late on Sunday even- ing, the Serjeant went to the Se- cretary of State’s Office to re- quest civil and military assistance for carrying his purpose intoeffect. And on Monday, April the 9th, . | | | | | HISTORY OF EUROPE. at ten o’clock in the forenoon, he wenttosir Francis’s house, attend- ed with twenty or thirty police officers, and a detachment of ca- valry and infantry, to escort the carriage which he had in waiting, to convey sir Francisto the Tower. The Serjeant, attended by some police officers, forced an entrance into sir Francis Burdett’s house down by the area, and through the kitchen door. Having left a party of the foot guards in the hall, he went up, with the police officers, into a room, where sir Francis was with his family, and Mr. Roger O'Connor, brother to the noted Mr. Arthur O’Connor. Sir Francis was employed, at that moment, in making his son read and translate Magna Charta. Mr. Colman told sir Francis, that, however painful it was to him to proceed in such a way, he had such a force, that it would be quite in vain to make resistance: that he was his prisoner, and must immediately come intothe carriage that was prepared for him. Sir Francis repeated the objections he had before made against the war- rant, and declared that he would not yield to any thing less thanac- tual force. As the constables were advancing, by order of the Ser- jeant, to seize him, his brother, and Mr, O’Connor Jaid hold each of them on one of his arms, and conducted him to the carriage, into which they followed him ; but Mr. O’Connorwas obliged, by a number of people who had quickly assembled, to come out again. A messenger was left with sir Francis in the carriage. The Serjeant attended on horseback, and delivered him to the deputy lieutenant of the Tower. , The 105 escort proceeded rapidly to the Tower, by the northern skirts of the town, without encountering any material opposition. The mob, that had assembled near sir Francis’s house, in Picca- dilly, and in the adjoining streets, on Friday evening, obliged every one that passed to take off his hat and cry, “ Burdett for ever !’"— They broke the windows of a number of houses: among which were those of Jord Chatham, the duke of Montrose, Mr. Yorke, lord Westmoreland, Mr. Welles- ley Pole, lord Dartmouth, sir John Anstruther, and Mr. Perce- val. On Saturday, betweentwelve and one o'clock, the populace as- sembled in such great numbers, and grew so tumultuous, that a company of the foot, and another of the horse-guards, were sent to dis- perse them, and the riot act was read by Mr. Read, a police magis- trate.Somecompaniesof volunteers also presented themselves, in readi- ness to support the civil authority. Towards the close of the day, the mob, which had dispersed, began to rally. The detachment of troops was reinforced, and the cavalry had orders not to permit more than two persons to converse to- gether. There was some firing, without ball, for clearing Picca- dilly. Some pistols, charged with ball, were fired on both sides, by which divers persons, both of the soldiery and populace,werewound- ed, though only slightly. But, on the return of the escort from the Tower, the contest was more san- guinary. At the time when.the Serjeant -at Arms carried off sir Francis Burdett from his house, the num= ber of people assembled in Piceas 106 dilly was but small. But the re- port of his seizure spread rapidly. The streets, through which it was supposed -he would pass, were crowded with people, who, being informed that he had passed by a different route, proceeded, their numbers still increasing as they advanced, to Tower-hill.. The moment sir Francis entered the Tower, some pieces of cannon were fired, according to the cus- tom in similar cases. A report was spread that the cannon of the Tower had fired on the people, which was credited by numbers of thecredulous multitude. Scarcely had the military, on their return from the Tower, entered East- Cheap, when they were attacked with showers of stones, brick- bats, and other missiles. The troops, for some time, bore the assault with patience ; but finding that the mob grew more and more outrageous and daring, they fired several shots among them, by which two or three lives were lost, and. not a few wounded. This kind of warfare was continued till the guards crossed the Thames, by London Bridge, to return through Saint George's Fields, and by Westminster Bridge, totheir quar- ters. The letter which sir Francis Burdett had written, agreeably to what he had said to the Serjeant, on Friday evening, tothe Speaker, was communicated by him to the House, on Monday, the 9th of April. In this piece, after stating what he conceived to be his duty, both tohis Constituents and to the king. Sir Francis Burdett proceeds as follows: ¢< your warrant, Sir, I believe, you know to be illegal. I know it to be so. To superior ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810, force I must submit. But I will not incur the danger of continuing | voluntarily to make one of any set of men who shall assume illegally the whole power of the realm; and who have no more right to take myself, or any one of my constitu- ents by force, than I or they pos- sess, to take any one of those who are now guilty of this usurpation. And Iwould condescend to accept the meanest office, being more desirous of getting out of my pre- sent association, than others may be desirous.of getting profitably into it.—Since youhave begun this correspondence with me, I must beg you to read this, my answer, to those under whose orders you have commenced it. I remain, Sir, &c. &c.? The Speaker having read the letter, stated, that the next thing the House had to dispose of was, whether it should be ordered to lie on the table ? The debate, on that question, on the suggestion of C.W. Wynne, was adjourned until the next day, April the 10th : on which day Mr, Curwen, thinking thatthe course most becoming the dignity of the House would be, to take no further notice of that let~ ter, moved, that the further con- sideration of it be adjourned to that day six months. This mo- tion was seconded by Mr. Davie Giddy. The Chancellor of the Exchequer said, that the punish- ment he had before proposed was for a defiance of the authority of that House. The present letter was bet a continuation of the same defiance, and a proof of the same offence. It was, however, a great aggravation to repeatit. He therefore proposed the following resolution: “That the letter which HISTORY OF EUROPE. eit Francis Burdett had written to the Speaker was a high aggrava- tion of his offence : but it appear- ing, from the report of the Ser- jeant, that the warrants for, his commitment to the Tower had been executed, this House did not think it necessary to proceed any farther on the said letter.” » A long conversation ensued, in the course of which, the gross im- propriety of sir Francis Burdett’s letter to the Speaker was admitted by all, though the whole of his conduct, in provoking a contest with the House, wasanimadverted on with much less severity by some of the speakers than by others; and, by sir Samuel Ro- milly, even defended. Sir Samuel contended that, according to his sentiments, there was no original offence. The letter to the Speaker could not, properly speaking, be called an aggravation. - Captain Parker, in a tone of great indignation, said, that the Jearned gentleman endeavoured to aid, by his counsels, the efforts of the honourable baronet, to exalt in the country a standard of seditious ‘tumult. But being called to order, ‘by Mr. Ponsonby, he readily ac- knowledged the impropriety into which he had been hurried, and made an apology, both to sir Sa- muel Romilly, and to the House. He could not, however, help ex- pressing his wish that the House ‘would adopt the proper course at once, and expel sir Francis Bur- dett. Theobjectionto thatseemed ‘tobe, that sir Francis would be ‘returned again. But he was satis- ‘fied, that when once the electors of Westminster knew all the par- Aiculars of: his late conduct, they - would neyer return him to repre- 107 sent them again in that House. Neither was Mr. Beresford afraid that the electors of Westminster | would re-elect that sanguinary man. He would use no other term, because, if he was not sanguinary, he might have main- tained his principles, without ba- zarding the effusion of blood.— Amongst the various grounds of complaint which Mr. Lyttleton had against the honourable baro- net, he could not pass over his implied promise to the Serjeant at Arms to accompany him to the Tower. He had lived on terms of friendship with that honourable baronet. But this was an act so wholly unworthy of him, that he must for ever abjure him, either as a private or a political friend. Another ground of complaint, on his part, against sir Francis, was, that from the first to the last mo- ment of his obstinate and uncon- stitutional resistance, he had been attended in his house by the bro- ther of a notorious and avowed traitor. He did not mean, by any means to say, that Mr. Roger O’Connor was a traitor. But if, what was impossible, he had been dn the situation of sir Francis Bur- dett, heshould not have associated ‘with any man liable to even a sha- dow of suspicion. He should not ‘have been attended by the brother of Arthur O'Connor, that vile traitor, who employed himself in writing in a paper, published in the English language, at Paris, the most foul, false, and scandalous libels upon the English govern- ment and nation: a paper printed in the English language, no doubt with a view to be circulated for the dissemination of -his sedition and treasons in these realms. Was 408 ANNUAL REGISTER, - 1810. it by the introduction of foreign libels and treasons that the liberty, or public spirit, of this country was to be asserted and animated ? All such proceedings of the ho- nourable baronet, he should, from the bottom of his heart, disclaim, and was determined to oppose him in-every instance.—Mr. Cur- wen said, that his object was, to obtain unanimity, and that, if it was the wish of the House, he had no objection to withdraw his amendment. Mr. Whitbread could not con- sent to the word “‘ aggravation” in the original motion, and proposed " $¢ flagrant,” as a parliamentary word, and, at the same time, a word sufficiently strong.—The Chancellor of the Exchequer be- ing extremely desirous of unani- mity, on the present occasion, wished to adopt this suggestion. In order, however, that it might not appear on the journals that the original words, relative to ag- gravation, had been left out, he requested he might be allowed to propose the words suggested by the honourable gentleman as a part of the original motion. Mr. Whit- bread consented... It appearing to be the general sentiment of the House, that neither the letter, nor the amendments moved, should appear on the journals, the Speaker said he would give directions ac- cordingly. And the question was put as an original motion, “ That it is the opinion of this House, that the said letter is a high and flag- rant breach of the privileges of the House : but it appearing, from the report of the Serjeant at Arms, attending this House, that the war=: rant of the Speaker, for the com- _ mitment of sir Francis Burdett to the Tower has been executed, this House will not, at this time; proceed further onthe said letter.” Agreed nem. con. Sir Francis Burdett brought an action at law against the Speaker of the House of Commons, for issuing the warrant for his arrest and imprisonment; one against the Serjeant at Arms, generally for executing the warrant, and, particularly, for breaking open the doors of hishouse, in the execution ofit ; and another against the earl of Moira, as the person who.kept him in custody in the Tower. The House of Commons ordered the Attorney-general to defend them. The plea of defence was, that the warrant being issued by the author- ity of that House was a legal war- rant, and therefore rendered the arrest and imprisonment. legal. This plea, as was foreseen, was admitted.* The privileges of par- liament were allowed by the judges of the King’s-bench not to be cognizable in a court of law, but to be a part of the law of the Jand.—Thus the attempts of sir Francis Burdett, to overthrow the privileges of the House of Com- mons, as is usual in all attempts to overturn. established authorities, only served to confirm them. It is possible, indeed, that the House of Commons, as well as any of the other two branches of the legisla- ture, might abuse the powers with which they are invested. Nor is it possible to provide against every possible or extreme case, by any ’ © For farther particulars respecting the arrest, imprisonment, and release of sir «Francis Burdett, see Appendix to Chronicle, p. 344; and State Papers, p. 439. HISTORY OF EUROPE. aystem of balancing the one against the other. Omne simile claudicat. ‘The metaphor of a constitutional balance of power does not come up to abstract precision. Were the three branches of the British legis- lature, on any question, to be ex- actly balanced against each other, and, like belligerent powers, each to be more concerned for the main- tenance of its own privileges than, foreven the public welfare and safe- ty, the wheel of government must stand still. The understanding between the kingly, the judicial, and the legislative authorities is not, properly speaking, a balance, but a harmonious concert. _Mon- tesquieu observes justly, that the spirit, or moving principle of re- ublics is virtue. The same thing, ina great degree, may be affirmed of our mixed-constitution. Solid sense, moderation, and a regard to the general interests of the coun- try, must be the arbiters in the case of any difference between the different powers that compose the state. It was the avowed object of sir F. Burdett, in the fracas he excited, to exalt the judicial power at the expense of the Commons. ‘It was fortunate for the people of this country, and to very few more fortunate than to himself, that the dangers of anarchy and’revolution were prevented by the firmness ‘and wisdom of the House of Com- ‘mons, and of the judges. The privileges of the House of Com- mons are equally necessary for se- curing the nation against the at- tacks, open or disguised, of the Crown, and of popular fermenta- tion.— But, it was alleged that the House of Commons may insti- tute a prosecution against libellers - through the Attorney-general. ‘What if a miinistry disposed to 109 humble that House, and bring it into contempt, should refuse to prosecute? Does the indepen- dence of the House of Commons depend on the favour of ministry, or the forms and fallible judg- ments of the inferior courts? Or, supposing both these suppositions impossible, must the House of Commons submit to insults dur- ing the whole of the long vacation, from June to November? This state of humiliation, for so long an interval, could not fail to ruin the purest and best disposed par- liament.—It is scarcely possible to imagine that sir Francis Burdett could expect any other issue of the contest than what took place. Sir Francis, it may be presum- ed, was abundantly consoled, and, probably, more than consoled, under his imprisonment in the Tower, by the addresses he re- ceived, from different parts of the kingdom, and the petitions that were sent to the House of Com- mons for his liberation. The first place that petitioned, as might be expected, was West- minster, - , On the 17th of April, lord Cochrane presenteda petition from a meeting at Westminster, held that day in Palace-yard. It was entitled a Petition and Remon- strance. It might have been more properly stiled a philippic. The ‘House was not petitioned, but called upon, to restore to the inha- bitants of Westminster their be- loved representative, and to take into their consideration a reform in parliament. Itcontrasted, among other contemptuous expressions, .the refusal of the House to inquire into the conduct of lord Castle- -reagh, and Mr. Perceval, when distinctly charged with the sale 110 of a seat in that House, with the committal of sir Francis Burdett to prison, enforced by military power. ‘The petition and remon- strance being read, lord Cochrane moved, that it should lie on the table. This motion was opposed by several members, on account of the great indecency and impu- dence of the language.—The Chancellor of the Exchequer. en- tered fully into the feelings of these gentlemen. Yet, in a case of petition, he would rather err on the side of indulgence than of severity, if the question could at all admit of a doubt. If the House should think, that the pe- tition was intended merely as a vehicle of abuse, it ought, un- doubtedly, to reject it. If not, then the petition ought in his opinion, to lie on the table: which, after some further consi- deration, was ordered. A petition from Middlesex, was presented, on the 2nd of May, by Mr. Byng, who moved that the pe- tition do lie on the table.—The Chancellor of the Exchequer ap- pealed to the House whether there was any member who heard that petition read, that did not conceive it to be rather an expe- riment to try how far the forbear- ance of the House would go, in the sufferance of language such as it contained; or whether it could have any other object than to insult, when it went to the length of a direct and declaratory censure of that House? senting to your majesty, that while the aifairs of the nation have been soshamefullymisconductedabroad, the most scandalous waste, profu- sion, and mismanagement, have prevailed at home; and your ma- jesty’s confidential advisers, desti- tute of all those qualities essential to good government, and regard - less alike of the sufferings of the people and of the honour of their “CHRONICLE. sovereign, and insensible or indif- ferent to the surrounding dangers and impending fate of the country, have been engaged in the most dis- graceful squabbles, intrigues, and cabals, that ever disgraced the councils of any nation ; and which cannot but be as disreputable to yourmajesty’s government, asthey are ruinous and dishonourable to the country. «« While we disclaim all interest in the views of contending parties, froma firm conviction that we can- not look for a reformation in the abuses of the state, from any per- sons or parties interested inthe pre- sentation of them; we cannot but express our ardent hope, that your majesty will be more fortunate in the choice of the men to whom you may hereafter confide the conduct of affairs; and that your councils will be no longer embar- rassed, nor the country insulted and dishonoured, by those dis- graceful occurrences; which, while they have exposed us to the ridi- eule of surrounding nations, may embolden the enemy to look for- ward with confidence to the sub- jugation of a nation so distracted in her councils, and so improvi- dently governed. «* That while we forbear enume- rating along train of internal griev- ances, we cannot but attributesuch a series of failures and disasters to the abuses and corruptions of the state, and the consequent want of constitutional control over the pub- lic expenditures, and the servants of the crown, whereby the respon- sibility of ministers appears to exist only in name. “We, therefore, humbly pray that your majesty will be graciously pleased to assure your loyal and affectionate people, that the object 247° to which their wishes are directed, is neither to be abandoned nor eluded ; and that your majesty will be pleased to institute a rigid, im- partial, and general inquiry into these national misfortunes; intothe plans upon which theseexpeditions were undertaken, and intothecon= duct of the commanders to whom they were intrustec. «« Signed, by order, «“ Henry WooDTHoRPE.” 11. The directors of the East India Company gave a splendid entertainment to the Persian am- bassador. 15. Berkshire County Meeting. —At a very large meeting of the freeholders of Berkshire the fol- lowing address was voted : “« We, your majesty’s most du~ tiful and loyal subjects, the nobi- lity, clergy, gentlemen, and free- holders of the county of Berks, beg leave to approach your ma~ jesty’s throne with feelings of sin cere attachment and devotion to your royal person, of anxious so- licitude for the honour of your crown and the safety of your do- minions, and at the same time with sentiments of the deepest affliction at the perilous situation of the public affairs of these king- doms. ««It is unnecessary to remind your majesty of the enormous burdens imposed upon your peo- ple for supporting the war in which we are engaged ; of the species of taxation it has given rise to, novel in its principle, offensive and invidious in its collection, and oppressive beyond all example in its magnitude. « Your majesty has nevert! less seen'‘that your subjects have patiently and even cheerfully sub- 248 mitted to sacrifices as unexampled in the history of this country, as they have been injurious to nume- rous classes of its inhabitants, in the hope and confidence that, the councils of your majesty being directed by wisdom, by prudence, and fidelity, the privations of your subjects would be but temporary, and that their zeal and sacrifices would be ultimately rewarded by the security of your majesty’s throne, the prosperity of your do- minions, and the confirmation of their own liberties and indepen- dence. It is, however, our duty and our misfortune to have it to state to your majesty, that we dis- cover neither wisdom, prudence, nor fidelity, in your majesty’s ad- visers ; that their acts are marked by every appearance of rashness, incapacity, and folly; and that, un- der the government of persons so apparently inadequate to avert the dangers and difficulties of the coun- try, we see no end to our misfor- tunes. “* We humbly crave leave parti- cularly to call yourmajesty’satten- tion to the fruitless efforts of your gallant army during the last year. Your majesty’s advisers and com- mandershad for their guidance and instruction in the last campaign in Spain and Portugal, the melan- choly experience of the ever-to-be lamented sir John Moore, and the sufferings of his brave followers : and yet a second British army, su- perior in numbers to the first, and alike conspicuous for its gallantry and zeal, was sent there, and hur- ried on into the heart of Spain, for no other purpose than that of mak- ing an useless display of valour, and meeting its own destruction. We crave your majesty’s gracious attention likewise to the fatalexpe~ ANNUAL REGISTER, 13810. dition to the Scheldt; when the flower of your troops, without the opportunity of performing any ex- ploit worthy of them, were per- mitted for months to perish by dis- eases peculiar to the climate, and which your ministers must have known to be prevalent there at the time when they thus doomed your majesty’s troops to destruction. “Itis with equal grief and shame we are compelled further to submit to your majesty’s attention, that, whilst the armies of your empire were perishing by famine and the sword in Spain, and diseases in Walcheren, your majesty’s minis- ters, regardless alike of the honour of their sovereign and the dangers of the country, have consumed the time (which ought to have been exclusively devoted to the public service) in the most disgraceful squabbles, intrigues,andcabals;and have not hesitated, by publishing these transactions to the world, to expose your majesty’scouncils,and the character of your government, tothe ridicule and contempt of sur- rounding nations; and to prove themselves the faithless and un- worthyservants of your majestyand the public. We humbly, therefore, supplicate your majesty, that you will be pleased to institute a most rigid inquiry into the causes of the calamitous issue of the two expedi- tions toSpain andthe Scheldt;:and we rest assured that your majesty will do all that Jies in your power to prevent therecurrence of similar disasters, by bringing to condign punishment theauthors of our mis- fortunes. We cannot conclude this our humble petition to your majesty, without alluding to your majesty’s gracious answer to a si- milar petition from the mayor and common councilof the city of Lon- —EE—— “CHRONICLE. don, in which your majesty is pleased to refer the petitioners to the wisdom of parliament. We presume to state to your majesty, that we have seen for years past, with the deepest concern, that at- temptsto procure parliamentaryin- quiry upon the subject of our na- tional misfortunes, have in all cases beenunsuccessful: andinthecourse of last sessions we witnessed with not less astonishment than indigna- tion, that a system was adopted, and almost proclaimed, of protect- ing public men from public inqui- ry ; asystem which is in direct de- fiance of the uniform practice ofthe best periods in our history, and the most undoubted and invaluable principles of our constitution.” The Old Bailey sessions closed when seven prisoners received sen- ‘tence of death, one was ordered to be transported for fourteen years, nine for seven years, two to be im- prisoned two years, six for twelve months, and seventeen for shorter periods, eight of whom were to be whipped. 16. At half-past two o’clock, the corning-house, No. 4, in the king’s powder-mills at Faversham, blew up with a most tremendous explosion. Of the six men em- ployed in the building at the time, four were blown to pieces, and their bodies and limbs were scat- tered to a distance of upwards of four hundred yards from the site of the building. The fifth man was taken up alive, but no hopes of his recovery were entertained. The sixth man, George Holmes, the foreman of the work, was found alive also, sitting in the midst of ‘the smoking ruins, with his clothes ‘burning ; but he was otherwise not ‘much injured, and is likely to do well. At the door of the count- 249 ing house, was standing a tum- bril, or covered waggon, with two horses and adriver. The waggon was blown to pieces, andthe driver and horses were killed. Of three horses employed within the build- ing, two have perished, but the third is living. The scattered re- mains of two of the men were col- lected for interment ; those of the other three have not been found. No circumstances have transpired from which an opinion can be formed with respect to the cause of the accident. 17. The Persian ambassador had his first private audience of her majesty. 18. Mr. Lyon Levy (an eminent Jewish dealer in diamonds) threw himself from the top of the monu- ment, and was killed on the spot. 21. A numerous meeting of the livery of London was held at Guildhall, to consider of the rejec- tion of their late petition to the House of Commons. Mr. Favell moved a string of resolutions, which was eloquently seconded by Mr. Waithman and others. A new petition, corresponding with the resolutions, was read to the livery for their concurrence, which was assented to with great accla- mations, and ordered to be pre- sented to the House of Commons by Mr. Alderman Combe. I. Resolved, That the rejection of the House of Commons of our late humble address, petition, and remonstrance, appears to us a vio- lation of our constitution and in- disputable right to state our com- plaints and grievances, and to call for relief and redress. ‘ II. Resolved, That such rejection is an additional proof of the shame- ful inadequacy of the representa~- tion of the people in the Commons 250 House of parliament; and more forcibly demonstrates the neces- sity of a speedy and substantial reform in that honourable House. IIT. Resolved, Thatwehaveview- ed with mixed sentiments of indig- nation, concern, and pity, the ad- dress of certain persons styling themselves, ‘an adjourned meet- ing of liverymen, held at the Lon- don Tavern, the 4th of May’? in- asmuchasthestatements contained in that address, imputing to the great body of their fellow-citizens, in common hall legally assembled, motives and designs to ‘‘villifyand degrade thelegislature:” to “alien- ate the affections of the people from the government,” to * pro- duce contempt and distrust of the House of Commons;” to “ intro- duce anarchy ;” and to ‘subvert the constitution ;” are false asser- tions, originating with individuals who derive influence and emolu- ment from the heavy burthens of the people. IV. Resolved, That amongst the names of those annexed to that address, appear the signatures of contractors, commissioners, and collectors of taxes; of placemen and place-hunters, with along list of their agents, and clerks of their dependents, emissaries of minions. V. Resolved, That it isundenia- ble, that power, influence, threats, and delusions, have been employ- ed, to prevail upon many to con- cur in the said address... VI. Resolved, That whilst we dis- claim any imputation against the motives of several, who, by gross misrepresentations, by arts of the basest kind, or by downrightintimi- dation, have beencompelledtolend their signatures to the said ad- dress; it is to us a source of high consolation, that the address car- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. ries within it its own refutation, consisting only of allegations un+ substantiated, and of calumnies, which those who have propagated them must know to be groundless, VII. Resolved, That the said ad- dress appears to have for its real object, the excitement of civil dis- sention, the increase of public abuses, and the further and fuller participation in the wages of cor- ruption by many of those who have signed it, and who, taking advan- tage of the present unhappy con- test between arbitrary privilege and constitutional freedom, have endeavoured to confuse and dis- tract the public mind, for the sup- port and continuance in place of a corrupt, weak, and wicked ad- ministration. VIII. Resolvedunanimously, That in the years 1679 and 1680, under theinfamousgovernmentof Charles the Second, the city of London,and other parts of the country, peti- tioned the king for the redress of grievances, and the sitting of par- Jiaments. That various counter- petitions were presented to his majesty, expressive of theirabhor- rence of the said petitioning, as tumultuous and seditious, and en- croaching on the royal prerogar tive. That onthe 21st of October, 1680, the parliament met, and its first acts were to expel abhorrors, and to.pass a vote, “ That it is, and ever hath been, the undoubt- ed right of the subject te petition the king for the calling of parlia- ments and redressing grievances; that to traduce such petitioning as a violation of duty, and to re- present it to his majesty as tumul- tuous and seditious, is to betray the liberty of the subject, and con- tribute to the design of subverting the ancient legal constitution ef CH RO NOC LAE: the kingdom ; and they appointed a Committee “to inquire after all those who have offended against those rights, and accordingly ex- pelled several of its members, and petitioned his majesty to re- move others from places of trust.” That on the 29th of October, 1680, the Commons voted, “ that sir F. Withers, by promoting and pre- senting to his majesty an address, expressing an abhorrence to pe- tition his majesty for the calling and sitting of peaiendeta hath be- trayed the undoubted rights of the subjects of England ; and that the said sir F. Withers be expelled the House for this high crime.” That, for the exercise of the un- doubted right of petitioning, the city charters were seized by a quo warranto ; and it: was argued for the city by sir George Freby, then recorder, ‘* That the constitution and the law of the land had given to the subject the right of peti- tioning, and access to the supreme governor, to represent tohim their grievances, andto praya redress of them ; and that the same law gave them also a right to state in their etitions those facts and reasons which caused their grievances, pro- vided those facts were true.” And further, ‘* That as there was one part of the constitution which gave theking power toprorogue, sothere wasanother partof the constitution that gave the subject an original tight topetition for redress of griev- ances; and thattherefore topunish - aman for shewing in his petition @ grievances which he desires to be redressed, and the causes of them, was the same thing as to de- ny him the right of petitioning ; and that such denial would infer eppression and the most abject slavery; for, when subjects are 251 misused and grieved, and are de- nied the hberty to complain, and pray the king to redress those grievances, or shall be punished for petitioning against them, they must necessarily be abject slaves. IX. Resolved, That these argu- ments having been overruled by yenal judges, judgment was ob- tained against the city ; the abhor- rors for a time triumphed; the liberties of the people, with the right of petitioning, was subvert- ed; and the succeeding monarch, in consequence thereof, driven from his throne and dominions, At the revolution of 1688, in the bill of rights, ‘the undoubted right of the subject to petition” was, among other things, claimed, demanded, and insisted upon. This right has of late been again invad- ed; the people oppressed with un- precedented grievances and cala- mities, have been denied access to the sovereign, their petitions have been rejected by the House of Commons, and their grievances remain unheard and unredressed. The exploded doctrine of passive obedience has been revived in all its extravagance ; and a new race of abhorrors have sprung up, who, like the abhorrors in the days of Charles the Second, by the foul- est calumnies, by villifying and traducing the petitions of the peo ple, are (in the emphatic language of the then House of Commons) ‘* betraying the liberties of the sub- ject, and contributing to the de- sign of subverting the ancient le- gal constitution of the king.” That asthe corrupt participatorsin pub- lic abuse, under the mask of loyal- ty, subverted the liberties of the kingdom, and involved James the Second in ruin, so the corrupt and unprincipled of the present day, 252 under the same legal pretence, would involve the country and sovereign in similar difficulties, if suffered to persist. Ittherefore be- comes the imperious duty of every real friend to the country to resist their mischievous designs, by re- curring to the genuine principles of the constitution, and by using every legal means for obtaining a full, fair, and free, representation of the people in parliament. X. Resolved, That, inseparably attached to our constitution, we admire, venerate, and will support and defend our king, our lords, and our commons, in their respec- tive and collective capacities, with all their just prerogatives, rights, and privileges ; but we can never consent to grant separatively to king, lords, or commons, a power contrary to, and above, the laws of the land, which are and must continue to be the results of their collective wisdom and authority. XI.Resolved, That notwithstand- ing therejectionofour late petition, we still feel it our duty to give to the House of Commons every op- portunity of hearing and redressing the grievances of the people; and that an humble address, petition, and remonstrance be presented to that honourable House. XII. Resolved, Thatthe said pe- tition be fairly transcribed, and signed by the Jord mayor, the al- dermen, and ten liverymen, and presented to the House of Com- mons by H. C. Combe, esq. one of their representatives. XIII. Resolved, That the thanks of the common hall be given to the right honourable Jord Erskine, sir Samuel Romilly, knight. M. P. and Samuel Whitbread, esq. for theirable, constitutional, andinde- pendent conduct on all occasions, ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. particularly for the stand they have lately made in favour of the dominion of the law, against ar- bitrary discretion and undefined privilege. XIV. Resolved, That the sLinilia of this hall be given to Hervey Christian Combe, esq. alderman, and one of the representatives of this city in parliament, for his sup- port, in the House of Commons, of the right of the livery to petition the House, and for his general conduct in the House. XV. Resolved, That the thanks of this hall be given to the right honourable the Jord mayor, for his readiness in calling this hall, and for his independent and ho- nourable conduct in discharging the duties of his office. XVI, Resolved, That the thanks of this hall be given to Matthew Wood, Esq. one of the sheriffs of this city, for the independent man- ner in which he has always dis- charged the duties of his office. The following resolutions, passed by the ward of Farringdon With- out, are inserted as a summary of the reasonings adopted in the po- pular questions at issue between the country and the majority of the House of Commons. I. Resolved, That in the 29th chapter of Magna Charta it is de~ clared, that no freeman shall be taken, or imprisoned, or be dis~ seized of his freehold or liberties, or free customs, or to be outlawed or exiled, or any otherwise de- stroyed; nor will. we not pass upon him, nor condemn him, but by lawful judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land. II. Resolved, That the commit- tal of Mr. John Gale Jones, and sir Francis Burdett, to prison, dur- ing pleasure, by the order of the CSH! R-O INITIC. LE. honourablethe Houseof Commons, for supposed libels, appears to this ward meeting an unreasonable and illegal assumption in their own cause, of the accumulated offices and power of accuser, juror, judge, and executioner. II. Resolved, That the late as- sumption of undefined privilege by the honourable the House of Com- mons will, in effect, abolish that bulwark of our liberties, trial by jury, will supersede the habeas corpus act, will annul the bill of rights, and the wholesome provi- sions of Magna Charta. IV. Resolved, That the exer- cise of illegal power naturally en- gendersviolence, riot, commotion, and ultimately revolution; thatthe introduction of the standing army to enforce the arbitrary warrant of the speaker of the House of Com- mons, has already produced the most deplorable calamities ; our sacred charters havebeen violated, the blood of peaceable passengers have been spilled, and our fellow- _citizens have been murdered in our streets ; and this ward-meeting en- tertain a fervent hope, that any fu- tureattemptstointroducearbitrary power, to excite violence and riot, and to goad the people into resist- ance and commotion, may, by the steady, firm, and wise conduct of our countrymen, be foiled. V. Resolved, That this ward- meeting trembles for the conse- quences probable upon this canflict between the people and the privi- Jeges of the House of Commons ; and they aver it tobetheir opinion, that this unnatural struggle is a certain evidence of the little influ- ence they possessinthat honourable House. That they believe the re- presentation of the people in par- liament is unequal, deficient, and 253 now manifestly inadequate to the security of the subject ; that it ap- pears uncontradicted upon their journals, that seats in the honour- able the House of Commons are notoriously sold and bartered; that a majority in that honourable house may be at all times, with perfect facility, procured and purchased, by any set of ministers, with the ready means of places, pensions, sinecures, patronage, and jobs ; as only 154 powerful individuals, peers, and others, return 307 mem- bers for England and Wales; and the representation of Scotlandand Ireland is equally corrupt: that by means of the majorities thus ob- tained, public defaulters have not only been exculpated, but suffered to enjoy the fruits of their nefari- ous conduct, and retain their seats in that honourable House. VI. Resolved, That this ward- meeting declares its entire appro- bation of the conduct, resolutions, and petition, of the livery of Lon- don, in their last common hall ; that this meeting availsitselfofthis first opportunity to express its ab- horrence of the seditious attempts of aband of contractors and venal jobbers, to decry all public spirit ; and to induce the timid and the weak to join in the libellous decla- rations against their fellow-citi- zens, and the venerable magis- tracy of our city. VII. Resolved, that for those accumulated evils and calamities, one only remedy offers itself ; namely, a full, fair, and free repre- sentation of the people in parlia- ment. VIII. Resolved, That this ward- meeting do hereby instruct their representatives incommon council 40 promote and support in that court all legal measures whatever, 254 ANNUAL that may be proposed to procure the liberation of sir Francis Bur- dett and John Gale Jones; and for that necessary and indispensa- ble object, a radical reform in the Commons House of parliament. 1X. Resolved, That the thanks of this meeting are due to sir Francis Burdett, for his manly and constitutional resistance to oppression, and for hislearned and legal argument in favour of the unalienable rights of the people. 23. Meeting of parliament (for his majesty’s speech see Appendix infra. 24. At Stockholm, the prince royal publicly and solemnly pro- nounced his oath of fidelity, and received the homage of the states. The ceremony took place in the hall of the throne. His majesty openedtheassembly byadiscourse, in which he declared his having adopted prince Christian Augustus for his son, giving him the name of Charles Gustavus. The hereditary prince mounted upon the steps of the throne, took off his crown, and upon his knees, withhis hand upon the Bible, took the oath according to the formula read to him by the minister of foreign affairs. The prince royal then delivered a short harangue, replaced his crown upon his head, kissed his hand to the king, and seated himself in his chair; when the states did homage to him, according to the formula read also by the same minister. 30. Mr. Wardle attended at Guildhall, toreceivethe thanksand the freedom of the city, in a gold box, of the value of 100 guineas, voted him by the corporation, for his able and patriotic conduct in the House of Commons, in bring- ing forward charges against the eommander-in-chief, REGISTER, 1810. Singular Legacy.— A gentleman of Aberdeen, recently deceased, has by his will directed his exe- cutors to offer a sum of not less than 1,200/. for the best treatise on “* The evidence that there is a Being, all-powerful, wise, and good, by whom every thing exists; and, particularly, to obviate diffi- culties regarding the wisdom and goodness of the Deity; and this, in the first place, from considera- tions independent of written re- velation : and, in the second place, from revelation; and, from the whole, to point out the inferences most necessary for and useful to mankind.” The ministers of the established church of Aberdeen, the principal and professors of King’s and Marischal Colleges of Aberdeen, and the trustees of the testator, are appointed tonominate and make choice of three judges, who are to decide, after the 1st of January, 1814, upon thecompara- tive excellencies of such treatises as shall be laid before them. There is also left, by the same testator, a further sum, not exceeding 4002, for a treatise on the same subjects, which shall be thought, pursuant to the same decision, next in merit to the first premium treatise. FEBRUARY. 1. Miss Elwes, daughter of George Elwes, esq. eloped with a _clergyman of Oxford, ofthe name of Duffield, who wasassisted in the plot by two other gentlemen of the cloth. Mr. Elwes, is perhaps, the richest ready-moneyed com- moner in England. He is heir to the peculiar virtues of his econo- mical father, and is: estimated to be worth near a million of floating CoHR ON TC L‘E. disposable cash, and she is his only child. She is under age, but was not made a ward of chan- cery. The plan was as follows : —One of the clergymen, under pretence of paying his addresses to a lady on a visitto Mrs. Elwes, contrived to be received into the family iu the character of herlover, where he was treated with the ut- most respect; and this gave him opportunities of arranging the mat- ter for his friend, Mr. Duffield. On Wednesday morning he pre- vailed on Mrs. Elwes to accom- pany his intended wife a shopping; and in their absence he handed, with the utmost openness, Miss Elwes to the door, near which a chaise and four was drawn up. He met Mr. Elwes in the hall, who asked them where they were going; _she was without a hat or bonnet, and said she was going to her mamma, who was waiting for her. The reverend gentleman proceed- ed with her, placed her in the chaise by the side of her gallant, and returned to the house with the utmost unconcern. Mr. Elwes had inquiredin the mean timehowlon Mrs. Elwes had been out, ae seeing her conductor return, in- quired where his daughter was. The clergyman, with perfect sang- Jrvid, told him he had delivered her to the man destined to make her happy ; and that she was offta Gretna-Green, where he advised him to follow, andassistin the cere- mony. The distress of Mr, Elwes, and still more of Mrs. Elwes, on her return, may be conceived. They both set off in a post-chaise and four, on the north-road; but we believe they proceeded no fur- ther than St. Albans, where not having heard the least account of 265 their route, they resolved to re- turn. 8. The surrender of Guadaloupe took place. * 9. On Monday and Tuesday a court-martial was held at Ports: mouth, onthe honourable capt. W, Lake, of his majesty’s ship Ulys- ses, for having, when commander of his majesty’s ship Recruit, on the 13th of December, 1807, at six o’clock in the afternoon, caus- ed a seaman of the name of Ro- bert Jeffery to be put onshore on the desert island of Sombrero in the West Indies. - It appeared, that in the month of November, 1807, Jeffery went into the gunner’s cabin, and took out a bottle with some rum in it; that on the day he was sent on shore he broached a cask of spruce-beer, which had heenbrew- ed for the ship*s company; and that his general character was that ofa skulker. The Recruit being off the isle of Sombrero, captain Lake asked the master what island it was, and if there were not some thieves on board? To which the master answered, “Yes, there were two.’? Captain Lake then desired him to send Jeffery up to him: the man soon came up, and captain Lake said he would not keep such a man in the ship. He then ordered lieut. Mould to land the man, and return immedi- atelyto theship. Assoonas admi- ral Cochrane heard of the circum= stance, hereprimanded capt.Lake, andsent himto take the manoff the island. Some of the officers of the Recruit landed, and explored the island, but they found only a barren spot, covered in the middle with akind of rough grass-weed, There was no house or inhabitant on 256 it: it appeared, however, by the American newspapers afterwards received, that the man had been taken offthe island by an American ship, and landed in America. Capt. Lake, in his defence, admitted that he put the man on shore, but de- nied that he ever intended to put his life in jeopardy, as he thought the island was inhabited ; that in landing him he thought he would be more sensible of his want of conduct, and would reform in fu- ture. The court agreed that the charge had been proved, and sen- tenced capt. Lake to be—Dis- missed from his majesty’s service. 11, The spire of St. Nicholas’s church, Liverpool, fell down with a tremendous crash, just before divine service began. Not more, pethaps, than from fifteen to twen- ty grown persons were in the church at the time, and of these, the greater part escaped ; but the children of the Moor-fields chari- ty-school, who are regularly marched in procession from the school to the church, somewhat earlier than the time of service, had partly entered. The boys following last, all escaped ; but of the girls, who were either entering the porch or proceeding up the aisle, we lament to state that a great number were instantly over- whelmed beneath the falling pile. The whole number of bodies taken out from the ruinsistwenty-seven, Of these, twenty-two were either dead or died almost immediately after their removal; fiveweretaken to theinfirmary, and one of these is since dead. The hideous crash of thesteeple, andthe piercingshrieks which immediately issued from those who Sed} in the church, orwere witnesses of thecatrastophe ANNUAL REGISTER, > 1810. in the church-yard, ,immediately, brought a large concourse of peo- ple to the spot; and we notice, with pleasure, the prompt exertions which were immediately madefor rescuing the unfortunate victims by the immediate removal of the fallen masonry, which were conti- nued with unabated attention until the whole of the bodies were ex- tricated, notwithstanding the me- nacing appearance of the remain- ing part of the tower, and the roof of the church, which every mo- ment threatenedasecond fall. The scene was, throughout the whole of the forenoon, deeply affecting ; the parents of the children in the school, and a number of others, hurrying from place to place, in- quiring the fate of their children or relatives, in the utmost agita- tion, heightened, in many cases, by along and awful suspense, and. terminating in the extremes of joy or sorrow, as they found the objects of their search in safety or among thesufferers. Accidents ofthis kind usually give rise to many hair- breadth and surprising escapes. We havecollectedthefollowingfromau- thenticinformation:—The ringers, though apparently exposed to the greatest danger, were all fortunate enough to escape, with the excep- tion of one, who was caught in the ruins, along with a boy of fourteen years of age, who was inthe steeple atthe same time. They were, how- ever, both immediately extricated by the exertions of the other ring- ers, The man was but slightly wounded, but the boy issince dead. The alarm, it appears, was given to the ringers by the fall of a stone upon the fifth bell, which prevent ed its swinging : upon which they immediately ran out. A moment CHRONICLE. did not elapse before the bells, beams, and upper floor fell to the bottom of the tower; and their escape would have been im possi- ble, had not the belfry been upon the ground-floor. 12. At Paris, on the 17th ult.a senatus-consultum passed, for unit- ing Rome to the French empire. 23. Mr. Waithman, at a court of common council, brought for- ward a motion for a petition to parliament, against granting a pension to lord Wellington, for his services, which, after two divi- sions, was carried bya majority of seven ; and a petition to the house of commons agreed to according- ly. The sheriffs, attended by the remembrancer, directed to pre- sent the same. 24. Mr. Perry, proprietor of the Morning Chronicle, tried and ac- quitted, in the Court of King’s Bench. He conducted his ownde- fence, on the charge of having published a libel, in that paper, copied from the Examiner, re- flecting on his majesty’s character. 28. The general fast. MARCH. 1. The body of the Hon. Frede- ric Eden was found off Mill-bank, bya bargeman: it was conveyed to a publican’s house on the bank; and, on a coroner’s inquest being held, the jury returned the follow- ing verdict :—* Found drowned in _ the river; but, by what means it came there, there was no evidence before the jury.” Eugene Beauharnois appointed successor tothe Prince Primate, in the Grand Duchy of Frankfort. The Old Bailey sessions closed, when sixteen prisoners received sentence of death ; two were order- Vou. LIT, 257 ed to be transported for fourteen years, twenty-four forseven years, and twenty-six to be fined and imprisoned. 3. The king held a chapter of the most noble order of the garter at Windsor, when the marquis Wellesley was installed a knight, in place of the late duke of Port- land. 6—8. A violent tempest at Ca~ diz, which caused great destruction among the shipping, and drove a prison-ship ashore, when the French prisoners effected their escape- [ 11. Bonaparte was married, by proxy, at Vienna, to the arch- duchess Maria Louisa daughter of Francis II. emperor of Austria. 16. Treaty concluded between France and Holland. 18. Hanover formally annexed, by Bonaparte, to Westphalia. 21. Eliab Harvey, whohadbeen broken for disrespect to Admiral Lord Gambier, was restored to his former rank of rear-admiral. APRIL. 1. Bonaparte married, at Paris, to the arch-duchess Maria Louisa. 6. After sir Francis Burdett had intimated his intention of resisting the execution of the speaker’s war- rant for arresting, a tumultuous mob assembled in Piccadilly, near and around the baronet’s house, with the apparent design of pro- tecting him and his family. They committed great outrages in the neighbourhood.—For an account of the reselutions, &c. connected with this affair, see the Parlia- mentary History, and Appendix to this Chronicle. 7. The mob continued their vio- lent proceedings; themilitary were S 958 ANNUAL.REGISTER, 1810. called in, to maintain peace, when a life-guardsman was shot through the cheek by one of the mob. 9. By virtue of the speaker’s warrant, the serjeant at arms (sup- ported by the military) forcibly entered sir F. Burdett’s house, arrested him, and conveyed him along the road, skirting the town onthe north tothe Tower. On the return of the escort through the city of London, the military were repeatedly assaulted, fired at, and at length were compelled to fire in return upon the mob; by which - several lives were lost. 10. The coroner’s jury returned a verdict of justifiable homicide,in the case of Thomas Bryant, an old man shot by the military which had formed the escort of sir F. Burdett on the preceding day. 11. A proclamation issued, call- ing on all justices of the peace, &c. to aidand assist in suppressing all tumultuous meetings; and offering a reward of 500/. for the apprehension of any person who had been concerned in firing at, or wounding the military, in the discharge of their duty. 12. Another proclamation is- sued, offering a reward of 500/. for the apprehension of the person who had fired at Ensign Cowell while on duty, on the night of the 9th instant, 13. The coroner's jury return a verdict of wilful murder, in the ease of Thomas Ebrall, a young man shot by the military in Fen- church-street, on returning from the Tower on the 9th instant. A stone, with the following inscrip- tion, has since been erected to his memory :— ; Sacred To the memory of _. THOMAS EBRALL, Who was shot by a Life-guardsman, on the $th of April, 1810, In the shop of Mr. Goodere, Fenchurch-street, And died on the 13th of the said Month. ‘Thecoroner’s inquest brought ina verdict, Murdered by a Life-guardsman, = Unknown. “Thus saith the Lord God, My right hand shall not spare the sinners, and ny sword shall not cease over them that shed innocent blood upon the earth.” 2 Esdras, chap. xv, ver. 21, 22. Capture of the East India Com- pany’s settlement of Tappanoolly, by the French. 14. The sword, buckles, and straps, fell from the equestrian sta- tue of Charles I. at Charing Cross. 15. A grand military inspection in Hyde Park. 16. General review, in Hyde Park, of all the cavalry in and near London. 17. Meeting of the inhabitants of Westminster ; the coriduct of sir F. Burdett approved, and the fol- lowing petition was prepared and agreed to. To the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in Parlia- ment assembled. The petition and remonstrance of the inhabitant householders of the city and liberties of Westmin- ster, assembled in New Palace Yard, the 17th day of April, 1810, by the appointment of Arthar Morris, esq. the high bailiff, in pur- suance of a requisition forthat pur- pose. We, the inhabitant house- holders, electors of the city and liberties af Westminster, fee), most sensibly, the indignity offered to this city in the person of otir be- loved representative, whose letter to us has fallen under the censure of your honourable house; but which, so far from deserving that censure, ought, in our opinion, to CHRONICLE. have led your honourable House to reconsider the subject, which he had so ably, legally, and consti- tutionally discussed. We are con- vinced that no one ought to be prosecutor and juror, judge and executioner in hisown cause; much less to assume, accumulate, and exercise all those offices in his own person. We are also con- vinced that the refusal of your hon- ‘ourable house to inquire into the conduct of lord Castlereagh and Mr. Perceval, then two of his majesty’s ministers, when distinct- ly charged with the sale of a seat in your honourable house,evidence of which was offered at the bar by a member of your honourable house ; and the avowal in your honourable house, “‘ That such practices were as notorious as the Sun at noon-day”—practices, at the bare mention of which, the speaker declared, that our ances- tors would have startled with in- dignation; and the committal of sir Francis Burdett to prison, en- forced by military power, are cir- cumstances which render evident the imperious necessity of an im- mediate reform in the representa- tion of the people. We therefore most earnestly call upon your ho- nourable house to restore to us our representative; and, according to the notice he has given, to take the state of the representation of the people into your serious consi- deration ; a reform in which is, in our opinion, the only meansof pre- serving the people from military despotism. This petition was reject- ed by the House.—Sce History of Europe. 19. Dinner of a part of the li- very, atthe city of London Tavern, to commemorate the triumph of 259 colonel Wardle, in the case of the duke of York. The Old Bailey sessions closed, when nine prisoners received sen-= tence of death, two were ordered to be transported for fourteen years, several for seven years, two to be imprisoned two years, and others to minor punishments. 23. Allthe Turkish vessels in the porte of Trieste placed under sequestration. 26. A meeting of the freehold- ers of Middlesex, at Hackney, to complain of the conduct of the House of Commons, respecting the committal of sir F. Burdett and Mr. Gale Jones. Copy of the petition agreed to. To the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in Parlia- ment assembled, The petition of the freeholders of Middlesex, agreed to in full county, this 26th day of April, 1810: Sheweth, that we have observed with concern, that in the cases of Mr. Gale Jones, and sir Francis Burdett, bart. your House assumed and exercised a power unknown to the law, and unwarranted by the constitution. Your speaker’s warrant has been executed by military force; an Englishman’shouse, his sanctuary, has been violated ; and the blood of unoffending citizens has been shed in the streets. , Against the existence as well as the exercise of this power, we solemnly protest —a protest the more necessary, ' because your votes in its support are entered on your journals— not so the letter of sir F. Burdett to your speaker, denying you such jurisdiction. In the early part of this reign, in the case of Mr. Wilkes, the rights of this county, $2 260 and of the nation, were repeatedly and grossly violated by the House of Commons. Atlength the law triumphed. After a struggle of nearly twenty years, the House abandoned the pretensions they had arrogated and “expunged from their journals all their de- clarations, orders, andresoiutions, as being subversive of the rights of the whole body of electors of this kingdom.” You have, during your pleasure, deprived the citi- zens of Westminster of their share in the representation of the public at large, of the exertions of a faith- ful servant, in whose ability, firm- ness, and integrity, they pre- eminently confide. We view with jealousy and suspicion theshutting up sir Francis Burdett in prison, when the attention of the nation is directed with anxiety to his in- tended motion for a reform in the representation ofthe peopleinyour honourable House; that House in which the traflic of seats has been avowed, in the case of Mr. Per- ceval and Jord Castlereagh, ‘to be as notorious as the sun at noon- day ;” a practice, at the mention of which, inthe emphatic language of your speaker, ‘‘ourancestorswould have startled with indignation.”— We, therefore, pray you to follow the example of your predecessors, ‘“‘ toexpunge all yourdeclarations, orders, and resolutions on the sub- ject, as tending to the subversion of our liberties,” and to the intro- duction of a military despotism ; and to recall sir Francis Burdett to the service of the countryin parlia- ment, that he: may there enforce that plan of reform which, last ses- sion, heso powerfully recommend- ed, and which, in our opinion, is absolutely necessary for the stabi- lity and honour of the throne, and ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. the safety and well-being of the people. Signed in the name and on the behalf of this meeting. This petition also was rejected by the House. MAY. 1. An act was passed by the American government, respect- ing the commercial intercourse between the United States, Great Britain, and France. 2. Middlesex petition rejected by the House of Commons. 4. A meeting and counter meet- ing of the livery of London, to con- sider of the discretionary power of imprisonment, claimed by the House of Commons.—See Ap- pendix. 7. Meeting at Reading, to con- sider the case of sir Francis Bur- dett, Gale Jones, reform in parlia- ment, &c. ; 8. House of Commons rejected the petition of the livery of Lon- don, respecting the right of the House to the power of imprison- ment, Meeting of the Whig Club. 9. The sheriffs of London, ac- companied by a deputation of the livery, in pursuance of the resolu- tions of the last common hall, went from Guildhall to the Tower, to deliver to sir Francis Burdett a copy of the proceedings of the li- very upon that .occasion. Lord Moira, as constable of the Tower, attended, and admitted. only the sheriffs and deputation, on foot, at the wicket-door : the mob waiting without. Revolution in Spanish Ame- rica.— The Musette, which arrived on Thursday at Spithead, from Cu- racoa, brought dispatches for go- vernment of a most important na- ture. They state that the whole of CHRONICLE. the inhabitants of the Caraccashad roclaimed themselves indepen- dent in consequence of having re- ceived intelligence of the sudden departure of the Spanish junta, and of the approach of the French to Seville. In their proclamation of independence, the inhabitants of the Caraccas have expressed, in the strongest language, their de- termined hatred to the French, their attachment to Great Britain, and their desire to form an alliance with us. Several private letters respecting this transaction have reached town, by which we learn that the revolution took place on the 19th of April. 15, 16. Escape of a number of: French prisoners from one of the hulks at Cadiz. 16. A meeting of the freehold- ers of Middlesex at the Free Masons’ Tavern, for the purpose of voting resolutions counter to the proceedings of the meeting of the freeholders convened at Hack- ney, on the 26th of April. 21. Duke of Albuquerque, am- bassador from Spain, landed at Portsmouth. Meeting of the livery of Lon- don, to consider of the rejection of their petition by the House of Commons, on the 8th inst. 22. Dinner of the liverymen, who signed a declaration counter to the proceedings at the common hall on the subject of sir Francis Burdett’s committal to the Tower. 27. French papers received, de- veloping a pretended plot of the English government for liberating Ferdinand VII. from his prison at Valancey. 28. Dinner of the electors of Westminster, at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, to commemorate 261 the return of sir Francis Burdett to parliament. 29. Sudden death of the Crown Prince of Sweden. The Dey of Algiers declared war against France. $1. A most extraordinary and atrocious attempt was made early this morning to assassinate the duke of Cumberland, His royal highness dined on Wednesday at Greenwich, returned to town in the evening, and went to the con- cert for the benefit of the royal so- ciety of musicians. He returned home about half past twelve, and went to bed about one. About half past two he received two violent blows and cuts on his head. The first impression upon his mind was, that a bat had got into the room, and was-beating about his head ; he was soon convinced to the con- trary, by receiving a third blow: he jumped out of bed, when he re- ceived a number of other blows: from the glimmering light, and the motion of the instrument that inflicted the wounds, reflected from a dull lamp in the fire-place, they appeared like flashes of light-. ning before his eyes. He made for a door near the head of his bed, leading to a small room to which the assassin followed him, and cut him across his thighs. His royal highness not being able to find his alarm-bells, which there is no doubt thevillain had concealed, called with a loud voice for Neale, his valet in waiting, several times, who came to his assistance, and, together with his royal highness, alarmed the house. ‘The dukede- sired Neale not to leave him, as he feared there were others in the room. His royal highness, how- ever, shortly afterwards proceeded 2062 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. to the porter’s room, and Neale went toawaken Sellis (a Piedmon- tese ) another of the duke’s valets. The door of Sellis’s room was lock- ed, and Neale called out to him, saying, ‘* The duke is murdered.” No answer being given, the door was broke open, and Sellis was found dead in his bed, with his throat cut from ear to ear. It is supposed that Sellis, conscious of his own guilt (for there appears no doubt that he was the assassin) imagined, when the alarm was given at his door, that they were about to take him into custody, and immediately cut his throat. His blue coat was found folded up onachairin one corner of theroom, theinside of which wasstained with blood; and as hehad cut his throat, in another part of the room, the blood must have been that of his master. A pair of his slippers were also found in the closet ad- joining the duke’s chamber, where he had concealed himself until his royal highness was asleep. The as- sassin seems to have stood rather back towards,the head of the bed, which was placedin a small recess, in order to avoid discovery, and was therefore obliged to strike down at the duke’s head in a slant- ing direction ; in consequence of which, the curtains which hung from the top, impeded the action of the sword; and to this alone can his royal highness’s preserv- ation be imputed—several of the tassels of the curtain were cut off. The sword was alarge military sabre of the duke’s, and had been lately sharpened. The whole edge appeared hacked and blunted with the force of the blows. His royal highness’s shirt was cut through in several places, and a great splinter wasshivered fromthe doorthrough which he made hisescape. Adjoin- ing the room itself, and communi- cating with it, is the little closet where the murderer secreted him- self. There is in this closet a small press, in which the bolsters were usually put, and in which he hid himself, as the scabbard of the sa- bre was found in it. Sellis had five different rooms to pass through from the duke’s bed-room to his own, and his traces were distinctly marked bythe blood left by his left arm upon the sides of the nar- row door; and when his coat was examined, the left sleeve wasfound to be covered with blood. His royal highness, we understand, re- ceived six distinct wounds: one upon the forehead, towards the top ef the head, another down the cheek, one upon the arm, ano- ther by which his little finger was nearly severed from the hand, one on the front of the body, and ano- ther on the thigh, besides several punctures in different parts with the point of the sabre. Mr. Home, — the surgeon, was immediately sent for, who pronounced that none of them were mortal. Sir H. Hal- ford was also called in. The prince of Wales went to the pa- lace early in the morning to visit his royal brother ; and about eight eight o’clock set off for Windsor, to communicate to the royal fa- mily the intelligence of the attack made upon the duke. A coroner's inquest was held on the body of Sellis, who, after sitting four hours, to hear evidence, &c. deli- berated about an-hour, and then returned a verdict of Felo de se. In pursuance of a petition to the House of Commons, from the trustees of the British Museum, CHRONICLE. Mr. Greville’s minerals have been valued by Drs. Babington and Wollaston, C. Hatchett, esq. and four other gentlemen, who report that the whole collection consists of about20,000specimens; that the series of crystallized ra- bies, sapphires, emeralds, topazes, rubelites, diamonds, and precious stones in general, as well as the series of the various ores, far sur- pass any that are known to them - in the different European collec- tions: and that the value of the whole is 13,727/. including that of the cabinets, which cost 1,600/. JUNE. 4; His royal highness the Dake of Kent, conceiving that Mrs. Clarke's publication tends to im- plicate him as being the first cause of the recent inquiry into the con- duct of his royal brother, has thought proper to publish the fol- lowing assertions of Major Dodd. The questions were proposed to that gentleman asearly as July last, but from some cause or another, have notbeen made publictillnow. Queries put to Captain Dodd by his Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, and his answers thereto, 26th July, 1809. + Query—Have I either directly or indirectly sanctioned, advised, or encouraged any attack upon the Duke of York >—A. Never. (Signed T. Dopp.) Query—Have I had, to your knowledge, any acquaintance or communication with Colonel War- dle, or any of the persons concern- ed in bringing forward the inves- tigation respecting the Duke of York’s conduct, which took place ‘in parliament last winter, either direct or indirect?—A, I feel con- 263 fident that your royal highness has no such knowledge or ac- quaintance, (Signed T. Dopp.) Query—Have I, to your know- ledge, ever had any acquaintance with, or knowledge of, Mrs. Clarke, or any communication with her, direct or indirect, upon the subject above-named, or any other.—4. I am confident your royal highness never had. (Signed T. Donn.) Query — Have I ever expressed to you any sentiment which could induce you to believe that I ap- proved of what was brought for- ward in parliament against the Duke of York, or of any proceed- ing that would tend to his obloquy and disgrace ?—A. Never. I have heard your royal highness lament the business vivd voce ; and you madethesamecommunicationtome in writing. (Signed T. Dopp.) Query— Have you ever, to your recollection, expressed yourself, either by word or writing, eitherto Colonel Wardle or Mrs. Clarke, or to any other person connected with the investigation of the Duke of Yorke’s conduct, in any way that could give them reason to suppose that 1 approved of the measure, or wouldcountenancethoseconcerned in bringing it forward?—A.Never. Batlhave,onthecontrary,express- edmyself, that your royal highness would havea very different feeling. (Signed T. Dopp.) Query—What were my expres- sionson the subject ofthe pamphlet which appeared, passing censureon the conduct of the Duke of York, and others of my family, and hold- ing up my character to praise; and what have been the sentiments which I have uniformly expressed on similar publications, whether in the ewspapers or otherwise? —A. 264 I have invariably heard ‘your royal highness regret that any person should attempt to do jus- tice to your own character at the expense of that of the Duke of York, or any other member of your family. Signed T. Dopp.) Query—During the ten years youhave been my privatesecretary, when, in the most confidential mo- ments, I have given vent to my woundedfeelingsupon professional subjects, did you ever hear me express myself inimical to the Duke of York, or that I enter- tained an expectation of raising myself by his fall?--A. Never: on the contrary, I have frequently heard your royal highness express yourself very differently. (Signed T. Dopp.) The above questions, written in Col. Vesey’s hand, were all dictat- ed by me. (Signed) Epwarp. Inthe presence of lord Harrington. _ (Signed) Harrineton. J. A. VESEY. 6. A court of common council of the city of London held, ‘to consider the extraordinary and alarming power lately assumed by the House of Commons, of im- prisoning the people of England for offences cognizable in the courts of law, and to adopt such measures as may be deemed ne- cessary for obtaining a redress of grievances, and to reform the cor- rupt and inadequate representa- tion of the people in parliament. 8. A meeting of the freehold- ers of Middlesex, at the Mermaid, Hackney, at which a petition, was agreed to, justifying the former petition, which had been rejected by the House of Commons on the 2nd of May; and -praying fora ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. reform in parliament, and the re- lease of sir F. Burdett. 12. General Sarazin arrived in London, having effected his es- cape from Bologne. 14. Persian ambassador made a freemason, at the Thatched-house Tavern. At the close of the Old Bailey Sessions, eleven prisoners receiv~ ed sentence of death, nine were ordered to be transported for life, and thirty for seven years. 15. Mr. W. Cobbett, was tried in the Court of King’s-bench, and convicted ofa libel, respecting the German legion.— See Appendix. 19. Jeffery the Seaman.—The following deposition was this day received by government :—* This is to certify, that personally ap- peared before me, John Adanis, master of the American schooner Adams, belonging to Marblehead, in the state of Massachusets, and voluntarily made oath, that in the month of December, 1809, he did, whilst passing the island of Sombrero, in the Sombrero pas- sage, in the West Indies, discover from his vessel a man waving his hand on the said island; where- upon the said deponent hove his vessel to, and sent his boat on shore with the mate, who found a man on the said island extremely reduced and exhausted, so as not to be able to speak, That the man having been brought on board the schooner, and somewhat recover- ed, declared that his name was Ro- bert Jeffery, a seaman, belonging to his majesty’s brig of war Re- cruit,- commanded by captain Warwick Lake, and that he had been eight days on the said island. This deponent further said,thatthe said Robert Jeffery became quite recovered, and went to Beverly, CHRONICLE. where he resided, working at his trade of a blacksmith, when depo- nent saw him last. “ Joun DENNIS. ** Sworn before me, at Corunna, 19th May, 1810. «« J. L. MAnsac, vice-con. “ Done in the presence of George Digby, captain of his majesty’s shipCossack, andGeorge White, assistant-commissary. ** (A true copy.) ‘¢ Gro. Diasy.” 20. Orders issued by the Swed- ish government, for cessation of intercourse with England. 21. Prorogation of parliament, and consequent liberation of sir F. Burdett, who evaded appearing in the procession; and Gale Jones. The following arethe principal cir- cumstances connected with this affair : The prorogation being ex- pected to take place this day, great interest was excited on ac- count of the procession, which it was intended should have taken place for the purpose of conduct- ing sir Francis Burdett from the Tower. The town was all ina bustle during the whole of the forenoon. Due precautions for _ preserving the peace were taken by the civil magistrates, and the number of military assembled in and about the metropolis was very considerable. The 12th light dra- goons arrived from Woolwich. A park of artillery was stationed on the parade in St. James’s park. A regiment of horse was stationed in Somerset-House. The volunteers mustered strong in their respective arishes, in consequence of circu- ar letters having been sent to the whole of the volunteer corps, re- quiring each volunteer to appear with arms, in full uniform on their respective stations, for the purpose ‘eadilly, 265 of assisting the civil power in the preservation of peace, should their services be required. A detach- ment of the queen’s dragoons was stationed near the Asylum. The fineness of the day afforded a favourable opportunity for the populace to assemble on Tower- hill, which they did at a very early hour. Crowds were collected there at eight in the morning, and all along the line of streets from the Tower to sir F. Burdett’s house, in Piccadilly, every point was thickly planted with people to- wards the afternoon. Every win- dow and elevated station was oc- cupied, and all eyes were eagerly turned toward the east, whence the spectacle so much desired was expected to come. The display of beautiful females could not have been equalled in any other city in the world. Most of the ladies wore the gar- ter. blue ribbon. From many houses rods with ribbons of the same colour were suspended. In every convenient situation, wag- gons, carts, and chairs, were filled with well-dressed females. In Pic- &c. scaffoldings were erected. A severe disappointment was, however,experienced,in con- sequence of sir Francis Burdett having declined to join the pro- cession. Numerous bodies of the Westminster electors began to re- pair to the Tower about one o’clock.~ A party of about 500, from Soho, with blue cockades and colours flying, proceeded down Catherine-street and the Strand, for the city. They march- ed two and two, and invited every passenger whom they met to join them. They were met in the Strand by the 12th light dragoons, on their way to Hyde-Park corner, 266 The 14th light dragoons followed ; _ both regiments mustered very strong. The one body was pre- ceded by a military band of music, and three blue silk banners. On the first was inscribed, «‘ The Con- stitution ;” on the second, ** Trial by Jury ;” and on the third, “‘Bur- dett and Freedom.”” About 300 gentlemen assembled on horseback in different parts of the city, and arrived on Tower-hill about two o'clock. Among them we observed Major Cartwright, and a number of gentlemen who compose the Westminster committee. In the Minories thecarriageswere arrang- ed about two hundred in number. There were about twenty gentle- men’s carriages, the remainder were stage and hackney-coaches. The latter were crowded outside and in with menand women, who wore blue favours and other tokens of their attachment to sir Francis Burdett. Asearly as twelveo’clock the greater part of the shop win- dows by which the procession was to pass, were shut, and the other front windows were left for the accommodation of persons who wished to witness it. The sides of all the streets were also nearly lined with teams and carts, which were filled bymen, women, and children. Thenorth and west sides of Tower- hill were immensely crowded by people of every description, which absolutely prevented the proces- sion from being arranged in that regular order which was originally intended. The ramparts of the Tower were filled by soldiers, chiefly in their slop-dress, and without arms. They were fre- quently cheered by the people on Tower-hill, but did not once re- turn it. After a long and anxious suspense for the appearance of sir ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. Francis Burdett, a soldier in the Tower called several times through a speaking trumpet—‘ He is gone by water :” but no person seemed ‘to give any credit to what he had said tothem.. A little afterwards, one of the constables, with much difficulty, assured the people that sir Francis Burdett had gone by water; but he received no more credit for his assertion than the per- son who spoke from the Tower. At half past four o’clock, however, three placards were suspended over the gates of the Tower, with the following inscription: —* Sir Fran- cis Burdett left the Tower by water at half-past three.” The appearance of this notice soon spread the utmost astonish- ment and consternation among the whole people assembled ; and gave rise to very different and contradic- tory surmises. Some asserted that sir Francis Burdett never would de- part by water, and disappoint the goodintentions ofhisfriends, unless he were compelled todoso. Others said he had withdrawn himself pri- vately, lest his appearance should excite tumult, and he should after- wards be blamed for the conse- quences ; and many even asserted that he had been ordered to attend the House of Commons, where he was to receive a reprimand pre- vious to his discharge. Mr. Sheriff Wood and Mr. She- riff Atkins at last came to the Tower-gate on horseback, and ap- peared as little able as the rest to account for the non-appearance of thehonourablebaronet. They then entered the Tower, where they re- mained about a quarter of an hour; when they returned, and informed Major Cartwright and the other gentlemen who were appointed to conduct the procession, that sir CHRONICLE. Francis Burdett had actually left the Tower in a boat, accompanied by two gentlemen. Mr. John Gale Jones was liber- ated from Newgate about four o’clock, when he took a hackney- coach, and proceeded to join the procession at Tower-hill. His name was chalked upon the pan- nels, and he repeatedly addressed the people ; but the confusion was so great, that we could scarce hear a word he said, excepting that he complained he had been turned out of prison at two minutes’ no- tice. The following letter was receiv- ed by Mr. Sheriff Wood, while in waiting, on Thursday, at the Tower, in expectation of sir Fran- cis Burdett : “© Tower, June 21, 1810, half-nast four, p.m. “ Sir—At fe pr vy the bearer, John Stock, Esq. of Pop- lar, I beg leave to assure you, upon my honour, that at half past . three o’clock this afternoon, I saw sir Francis Burdett, accompanied by three friends, get into a boat, and he was instantly rowed down the river. I have the honour to be, « Sir your obedient servant, “¢ DANIEL WILLIAMS, « Magistrate at the police-office, ‘«* Whitechapel. “ Mr. Sheriff Wood.” British Herowsm—Report by the Minister of War to his Majesty the Emperor and King of France. “J have the honour to inform your majesty, in consequence of the orders I received, that the number of English prisoners who distinguished themselves at the fire that broke out at the town of Auxone is twenty-one: to wit, twelve of the first class of captains of merchant vessels; three of the 267 second class; four passengers ; one merchant, detained as an host- tage, anda sailor. Ten of them received hurts; viz. Messrs. West, Humble, Dobbins, Hurst, Fenil, and Topping (rather severe ones); and Messrs. Mosely, Welsh (who had before saved a child from the flames at Arras), Robinson and Davies, less severely ; they are all recovered. ‘Those who appeared to have exposed themselves the longest, without having received any injury, are Messrs. Atkinson (Robert) Macginnis, Pemberton, Delivet, and Smaile. Great praise is due to Messrs. Thornhill, Holl- by, Miller, Atkinson (Thomas) and Collins. They also gave proofs of zeal, and afforded great assistance. The account trans- mitted by the prefect of the Cote d'Or, will put your majesty in possession, if you will deign to look at it, of fuller particulars respecting the conduct of these prisoners, and the nature of the reward which your majesty seems inclined to bestow on them. “ Parts. Duke of Ferre.” | «“ The minister of war will ex- press to them my satisfaction ; will order them to be paid a reward, amounting to six months’ pay, and will send them to their own coun- try, under their promise not to serve until they are exchanged. “Antwerp. | NAPOLEON.” Insurrection at Stockholm, on the day appointed for the inter- ment of the Crown Prince. Count Ferzen, who conducted the pro- cession, killed, _The cause of this is very obscure ; but supposed to be connected with suspicions of the Crown Prince being poisoned: several persons were afterwards arrested and examined on this suspicion. 268 JULY. 1. Louis Buonaparte abdicated the throne of Holland, by a re- script of this day’s date. Calamitous féte given at Paris by the prince of Schwartzenburgh: when many persons were burnt in the building erected for the ball. ‘The following are some of the details received from Paris, concerning this melancholy event: ‘«* The emperor and empress had scarcely retired at the commence- ment of the tumult, when thecrowd precipitateditselftowardsthe three doors which led from the hall. It is impossible to form an idea of the despair and terror which seized upon every body when the cry of * Save himself who can,’ was heard; they crowded together, they ran against each other ; some persons were trampled under foot. The lustres, the ceiling, and the beams fell, and wounded the unfortunate, who issued frightful cries. The heat caused the glasses and lustres, with which the hall was decorated, to crack with an explosion as loud as that of a pistol. Prince Kura- kin was thrown down by a lustre, which broke his arm, and in this condition was trampled upon by those who endeavoured to save themselves, Many ladies experi- enced the same fate: others were overtaken by the flames, which set their robes of gauze and lace on fire, and either consumed or da- maged them. away the mainmast. No assistance coming, after her repeated signals, the captain put off to obtain it ; but when about half way between the wreck and Dunkirk, his vessel drove on the outer edge of Dun- kirk brake, Dunkirk steeple bear- ing S. by W. and instantly went to pieces, when all on board perish- ed except twenty-two, who landed at Dunkirk. [297 APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. GAZETTE INTELLIGENCE, CHRONOLOGICALLY ARRANGED. Dispatches, &c. from the London Gazettes. JANUARY. 2. Capture, by the Royalist, captain Maxwell, of La Francoise, of fourteen guns and sixty men ; and re-capture of two English ves- sels by the same. 13. Captures.—Le Saratu, of fourteen guns, by the Plover, cap- tainBrowne; and L’ Aimable Nelly, of sixteen guns, by the Cherokee, captain Arthur. FEBRUARY. 3. Capture of Le Général Prig- non, of fourteen guns, by the Amazon, captain Parker. _ 6. Dispatches, of which the fol- lowing is the substance, from sir A. Cochrane, commander-tn-chief at the Leeward Islands.—A letter from captain V. Ballard, of the Blonde frigate, stating the destruc- tion, on the 25th of September, of an enemy’s privateer off Basse- terre, in the West Indies, by the boats of the Blonde, Falcon, and Scorpion. Mr. Thompson, master, and one sailor of the Blonde (since dead) were severely wounded. A letter from captain Cameron, of the Hazard sloop, announcing his having destroyed, on the 17th of October, under the battery of St. Mary, Guadaloupe, a French privateer, of 100 tons, by the ~ boats of the Hazard and Pelorus. The Hazard had three men killed, and four- wounded; the Pelorus three killed, and five wounded. A letter from captain Miller, of the Thetis frigate, stating that the French corvet Nisus having taken shelter under the battery at Hayes, Guadaloupe, captain Elliott, of the Pultusk, at the head of the marines of his own ship, of the Achates and Bacchus, with a party of seventy-five sea- men, landed, carried the battery, and brought out the corvette. A letter from captain Hawker, of the Melampus, stating the cap- ture of Le Bernais, abrig corvette, carrying sixteen twenty-four- pounder carronades, with ware like stores for Guadaloupe. A letter from captain Walker, of the Rosamond, announcing the capture of Le Papillon brig, of fourteen twenty - four - pounder carronades. A letter from sir A. Cochrane, 298 giving an account of the destruc- tion of the French frigates, La Loire and La Seine, off Basse- terre, Guadaloupe, December 18, by the ships of his squadron. A letter from captain Ballard, praising the captains, officers, and seamen, employed in the above service : and also stating the loss of the Blonde to be, seven killed, including the first lieutenant, Jen- kins, and Mr. Freeman, master’s mate; seventeen wounded, in- cluding Mr. Richardson, and a midshipman, severely. The Thetis had seven men wounded. A letter from captain Bouverie, of the Medusa, stating the capture of L’Hirondelle, French'privateer, of fourteen guns. A letter from captain Mudge, of the Phoenix, stating the capture, by the boats of his ship, and of the Jalouse, of the French pri- vateer brig, Le Charles, of four- teen guns. Members returned to parlia- ment.—Borough of Malmesbury, A. Smith, of Woodhall Park, Hertford, esq. in the room of sir G. Bowyer, bart.—Borough of Cockermouth, W. Lowther, esq.— Borough of Milbourn Port, lord viscount, Lewisham, in the room of lord Paget.—Borough of Camel- ford, H. Brougham, junior, of Brougham Hall, esq. in the room of lord H. Petty (now marquis of Lansdown ).—Borough of Boss- ney, the right honourable J. Ot- way, earl of Dysart.— Borough of Scarborough, theright honourable C. M. Sutton. 10. Order in Council of the 7th inst. for regulating the inter- course between this country and the Ferroe islands. Captures-—The French frigate, ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. Cannoniére, of 137 men, by the Valiant, captain Bligh; Le Comte de Hunebourg, of fourteen guns, by the Pheasant, captain Palmer ; and Le Transit, of fourteen guns, by the Clyde, captain Stuart. 13. Dispatches from admiral Bertie. and _ lieutenant-colonel Keating, giving an account of the attack on the Isle of Bourbon. “At five A. M.” says colonel Keating, ‘‘ on the 23d of Septem- ber, the troops were disembarked to the southward of Point de Ga- lotte, seven miles from St. Paul’s, and immediately commenced a forced march, witha view of cross- ing the causeways that extend over the lake, before the enemy could discover our debarkation or approach to the town, which we were fortunate enough to effect ; nor had they time to form in any force till we had passed the strongest position. By seveno’clock we were in possession of the first and second batteries, Lambousiere and La Centiere ; when captain Willoughby, of the royal navy, who commanded a detachment of about a hundred seamen on shore, immediately turned the guns on - the enemy’s shipping, from whose fire, which was chiefly grape, and well directed, within pistol-shot of the shore, we suffered much. From the battery La Centiere, captain Imlack was detached with the second column, composed of 142 of the second battalion of the second regiment of Bombay native infantry, and twelve Kuro- peans, to take possession of the third, or battery of Le Neuf, deserted by the enemy. On his way thither, he fell in with and was opposed by the entire force of the French, which had con- APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. centrated, and taken up a very strong position behind a stone wall, with eight brass field-pieces, six-pounders, upon their flanks. This point was instantly charged in the most gallant manner by that officer and his men. The enemy, however, maintained their position, and captain Hannor, of the 56th regiment, was ordered to proceed with the third column to his support, who charged and took two of the enemy’s guns. The action now became warm, but never doubtful. The enemy being reinforced from the hills, and hav- ing also received one hundred and ten troops of the line, from the French frigate La Caroline, and the squadron not being able to stand in to support us, our move- ments being endangered by their fire, except at intervals, which they always took advantage of, captain Willoughby was directed to spike the guns of Lambousiere and LaCentiere, and with the sea- men to man the third battery Le Neuf, continuing to fire upon their shipping. By this arrange- ment captain Forbes, who with the reserve had covered those batter- ries, was enabled to advance against the enemy, who, after an honourable resistance, were com- pelled to give way, their remaining guns being carried by that ex- cellent officer, and a sufficient number of men were ordered to act as light troops, and to pursue theenemy, whilstthe third column, with part of the reserve, advanced against the fourth and fifth bat- teries, La Pierre and La Caserne, which fell into our hands without opposition, and whose entire fire was immediately directed against the enemy’s shipping. By half past eight o’clock, the town, batteries, magazines, eight brass 299 field-pieces, 117 new and heavy iron guns, of different calibres,and all the public stores, were in our possession, with several prisoners. The instant the squadron per- ceived that the object in landing had succeeded, and that they could, with safety to the troops, stand in effectually, they immedi- ately anchored close tothe enemy’s shipping, which, after a short firing, surrendered. The entire of the batteries being destroyed, and the town completely commanded by our squadron, the troops were re-embarked by eight o’clock the same evening.’—‘On the 24th, all the remaining public stores were delivered over by the head of the police, and fatigue parties from the squadron and troops, were ordered to embark them on board the honourable company’s re=captured ship Streatham, which, together with the Europe, were placed under the orders of their former commanders. From the 25th to the 28th, the whole of the guns, &c. were finally destroyed, our guards continuing to mount regularly in the town, for the pro- tection of the inhabitants and their property.” Killed: Raisonable, one able seaman, one private marine ; Boadicea, one private marine; Sirius, two private marines ; Ne- reide, one able seaman ; Otter, one private marine. Total, seven. Wounded: Raisonable, onelieu- tenant (4th); one able seaman: one lieutenant of marines (2nd) ; three private marines; Boadicea, one lieutenant of marines (Ist) : one corporal, two private marines; Nereide, onecorporal, four private marines ; Otter, one able seaman ; Sirius, two private marines : total, eighteen. Missing: Sirius, one ordinary seaman. 300 Return of the guns, ammunition, &c. found at Port St. Paul’s, Island of Bourbon, 1809. ‘Total, thirty-seven iron guns, twenty- four-pounders ; sixteen iron guns, eighteen-pounders; nineteen iron guns, twelve-pounders ;twelve iron guns, nine-pounders; one irongun, six-pounder ; nine iron guns, four- pounders, four carronades, twelve- pounders ; eight brass field-pieces, six-pounders; two thirteenandhalf inch mortars, two eight-inch mor- tars, one five and half inch mortar, 5,170 balls of different sizes, 155 thirteen and half inch shells, 135 eight-inch shells, twenty-four five and half-inch shells, 320 one to four inch shells, 260 bar shot, seventeen boxes of ammunition, eight barrels of ammunition, two barrels of fuzees, twelve barrels of gunpowder, 290 cannisters of grape shot, 127 rounds of grape shot, 320 pikes, forty rammers, forty spunges, one stand of arms. Subsequently to the making out of this return, a battery of five eighteen pounders was found and destroyed. Return of killed, wounded, and missing, of the force under the command of lieutenant-co- lonel Keating, 22nd September, 1809, Island of Bourbon. Royal marines: seven rank and file, killed ; two lieutenants, seventeen rank file, wounded. First battalion 56th regiment: one serjeant, five rank and file, killed ; one serjeant, twenty-six rank and file, wounded ; one drummer, two rank and file, missing. Second battalion of the second regiment of Bombay native infantry - two rank and file, killed ; one lieutenant, one soubaltdam, two havaldams, one drummer, seven rank and file, wounded. Total: fifteen killed, fifty-eight wounded, three missing. ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. 17. Captures.—Le Gascon, of sixteen guns, by the Unicorn, captain Kerr; and L’Amiable Josephine, fourteen guns, and Le Duguay Trouin, fourteen guns, by the Narcissus, captain Aylmer. Appointment. of W. Manley, esq. to be a commissioner of the excise, vice C. T. Maling, de- eeased. ‘ An order in council, dated the 7th February, for prolonging to the Ist of December next, the allowance contained in the orders of council of the 12th of April and 16th of August, 1809, and 10th of January, 1810, for the importation into the West India islands, of staves, lumber, live stock, and provisions (ex- cepting beef, pork, butter) by neutral vessels, till the Ist of December, certain duties being chargeable upon such of the fore- going articles as may be the pro- duce of the United States of Ame- | rica. 24. A notification from marquis Wellesley, his majesty’s principal secretary of state for foreign affairs, to the present ministers of friendly and neutral powers, that his ma- jesty has judged it expedient to blockade the coast and ports of Spain from Gijon to the French territory. 27. Captures.—La Modeste, eighteen guns, by the Raleigh, captain Sager; and the prince Eugene, fourteen guns, by the Royalist, captain Maxwell. MARCH. 3. Member returned to parlia- ment.—-Borough of Plympton- Earle : Henry Drummond, of the Grange, in the county of Hants, APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. esq. in the room of the hon, Wil- liam Asheton Harbord (now lord Suffield). 10. Captures.—L ’Eole, oftwenty guns, bythe Weazle, captain Pres- cott; L’Aigle, of fourteen guns, by the Pylades, captain Ferguson ; and Le Scipion, of four guns, by the Cephalus, captain Harvey. 13. Member returned to parlia- ment.—Borough of New Wood- stock: hon. George Eden, in the room of the hon. W. F. E. Eden, deceased. Captures.—The Capricieux, of sixteen guns, by the Echo, cap- tain Keen; and the Carrilla, of fourteen guns, by the Owen Glen- dour, captain Selby. 17. Captures.—Tuyncellaar, of eight guns, by the boats of the Modeste and Baracouta, under the direction of lieutenant W. Payne, of the Modeste: and L’Oreste, of fourteen guns, by the Scorpion, captain Stanfell. Destruction and capture of two convoys, by the Christian VIIth, captain sir J. S. Yorke; destruc- tion of the Wagster, of eight guns, by the Procris, captain Maunsell ; and destruction of the batteries at Bay Mahaut, Guadaloupe, and of a ship and schooner at anchor there, by the boats of the Freiga, captain Haves. Member returned to parliament. —Borough of New Windsor: John Ramsbottom, the younger, esq. in the room of R. Ramsbot- tom, esq. who has accepted tlhe Chiltern Hundreds. 20. Regulations respecting fu- ture promotions and appointments in the commissariat department : — That the gradation of. rank be, commissary-general, deputy-com- missary-general, assistant com- 301 missary-general, deputy assistant commissary-general, clerk. That no person be allowed to enter the commissariat, but as clerk. That no clerk be eligible for promotion until he has served at least one year as clerk. That no deputy assistant commissary-general be eligible for promotion until he has served at least four years as de- puty assistant, or five years from his first entering as clerk ; in which latter case, only one year’s service as deputy assistant would be re- quired. That no assistant commis- sary-general be eligible for pro- motion until he has served at least five years as an assistant, or ten years from his first entering as a clerk ; in which latter case, two years’ service as an assistant com- ~ missary only would be required. That no deputy commissary-gene- ral shall be eligible for promotion until he has served at least three years asa deputy. That no per- son be appointed a clerk under the age of sixteen years, Captures.—LaNécessité, French frigate of twenty-eight guns, by the Horatio, captain Scot; and destruction of three vessels, and capture of a gun-boat, by the boats of the Christian VIIth, Seine, and Armide. 24. Captures—A French pri- vateer schooner, by the Drake, captain Mounsher: and a French privateer schuyt, by the Quebec, captain Hawtayne. 26. Member returned to parlia- ment.—Borough of Westbury : John de Ponthieu, esq. of Esher, in Surrey, in the room of Francis Whittle, esq. who has accepted the Chiltern Hundreds. 30. Licence to sir H. Jones, bart. member of the Order of the 302 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810, Crescent, and ambassador to the court of Persia, to bear certain honourable augmentations to his armorial ensigns. Supplementary.———Dispatches from lieutenant-general sir G. Beckwith, and sir A. Cochrane, containing the details of the cap- ture of the islands of St. Eustatia, St. Martin’s, and Saba. Capture of l’Impératrice, of fourteen guns, by the Quebec, captain Hawtayne. APRIL. 7. Captures.—La Levrette, of four guns, by the Arethusa, cap- tain Mends; and La Belle Etoile, of eight guns, by the Emerald, captain Maitland. 14. Dispatches from lord Wel- lington, dated Vigo, March 28, containing particulars of a partial action fought on the 19th, be- tween four companies of the ninety-fifth regiment under the command of lieutenant-colonel Beckwith, and a French force of 600 men, at Barba del Puerco, on the frontiers of Portugal. The enemy were repulsed with the loss of two officers and seven men kill- ed, andsix prisoners and thirty fire- locks. Lieutenant Mercer of the ninety-fifth, and three men, were killed, and ten were wounded. Captures.—The Navarrois, of sixteen guns, by the Rhin, cap- tain Malcolm; and the Tilsit, of eighteen guns, by the Drake, cap- tain Mounsher. Member returned to parliament, —Borough of Marlborough ; hon. Edward Stopford, in the room of lord viscount Stopford (now baron Saltersford) a peer of the United Kingdom, Order in council of the 10th in= stant, allowing the importation, duty free, of corn, live stock, &c. till the 25th of March, 1811, by vessels belonging to countries in amity with Great Britain. 21. Capture of L’Espérance, by the Unicorn, captain Kerr. Notice from the lords of the treasury of their intention to ex- tend the acts of the forty-sixth and forty-seventh of the king, for abolishing fees received at the custom-houses in England, and for regulating the attendance of custom-house officers to the seve- ral ports in Scotland, including Grangemouth (intended to be constituted a port) from and after the 31st of May next. Member returned to parliament. —Borough of Callington: Wil- liam Stephen Poyntz, of Midg- ham-house, Berks, and Cowdray Park, Sussex, esq. in the room of Thomas Carter, esq. who has ac cepted the Chiltern Hundreds. MAY. 1. Appointments.—The right hon. Henry baron Mulgrave, the office of master-general of his ma- jesty’s ordnance of the United Kingdom; and the right hon, Charles Yorke, sir Richard Bicker- ton, bart. vice-admiral of the Red; Robert Ward, esq., James Buller, esq., William Domett, esq., vice- admiral of the Blue; Robert Moor- som, esq., and William Lowther, esq. (commonly called viscount Lowther) to be his majesty’s com- missioners for executing the office of high admiral of the United Kingdom. Captures.—LeGrand Napoleon, of sixteen guns, by the Helena, APPENDIX to captain Worth; and L’Alcide, of four guns, by the Surly, lieutenant Welsh, accompanied by the Firm and Sharpshooter. 5. Member returned to parlia- ment.—Borough of St.Germains : right hon. Charles Philip Yorke, of Bonington, county of Hertford, in the room of sir Joseph Sydney Yorke, who has accepted the Chiltern Hundreds. 8. Member returned to parlia- ment.—Shire of Renfrew: Archi- bald Speir, of Eldersie, in the room of William M‘Dowall, esq., deceased. 12. A dispatch from lieutenant- general Graham, at Cadiz, con- taining an account of the fall of Fort Matagorda, one of the out- works of Cadiz, on the 22nd of April.—List of killed and wound- ed: royal engineers, one major killed; royal artillery, one lieu- tenant, oneserjeant, eight privates, wounded ; royal marines, two pri- vates killed, ten wounded; eighty- eighth regiment, two privates killed; ninety-fourth ditto, one corporal, three privates killed ; twenty-five wounded; seven sea- men killed ; two midshipmen, ten seamen wounded.—Total: one major, fifteen seamen, marines, and soldiers, killed; one lieute- mant, two midshipmen, one ser- jeant, fifty-eight seamen and pri- vates wounded. An order in council of the 2nd instant for the capture and con- _ demnation of all such vessels as be- long to parts that we are prevent- ed by France from trading with. 19. Capture of Le Dorade, of ten guns, by the Orestes, captain Lapenoatiere; the Favourite in company. An order in council of the 16th CHRONICLE. 303 instant, empowering the governor of Newfoundland to import pro- visions, stores, &c. from America in licensed British ships. 22. Member returned to parlia- ment. — County of Gloucester: William Fitzhardinge Berkeley, commonly called viscount Durs- ley, in the roomof the hon. George Cranfield Berkeley, who has ac- cepted the Chiltern Hundreds. Capture of La Cannoniere, of five guns, by the Nonpareil, lieu- tenant Dickinson. Account of the capture and destruction of seventeen vessels, under the batteries of the Isle of Rhe, by the boats of the Armide and Cadmus, and the Monkey and Daring gun-vessels, under the direction of lieutenant S. Roberts, first of the Armide. 26. Capture of the Dutch cor- vette de Havik, of ten guns, by the Thistle, lieutenant Proctor. Licence to lieutenant-general sir. J. Stuart, that he and his de- scendants may bear and use to his and their armorial ensigns the ho- nourable augmentation of a bend charged withasword, representing the sword, richly ornamented with various devices, in allusion to the brilliant and decisive victory ob- tained over the French troops on the plains of Maida, on the 4th day of July, 1806, which was pre- sented to the said sir John Stuart by his majesty Ferdinand the Fourth, king of the two Sicilies. 29. Notification of the block- ade of Elsineur. Account of captain Reynolds of the Tribune, of his having, on the 12th instant, fallen in, off Mandal, on the coast of Norway, with four Danish brigs, two of twenty guns each, one of eighteen, and one of 304 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. sixteen, which, after a severe action of two hours, made all pos- sible sail for the shore, and, owing to the damages sustained by the Tribune in her sails, and the want of wind, escaped amongst the rocks. Eight men and one boy were killed on board the Tribune, and thirteen men wounded. JULY. 2. Order in council of the 16th ult. farther prohibiting the export- ation of gun-powder, &c. for six months, from the 6th instant. 5. Licence to Francis Brian Hill, esq. his majesty’s secretary of le- gation at the court of Rio Janeiro, to wear the insignia of a knight commander of the royal Portu- guese order of thetowerandsword. Dispersion of a Danish flotilla, by the Raleigh, captain Sazer, in company with the Alban and Prin- cess of Wales; destruction of a Danish privateer by the boats of the Woodlark, captain Watts; capture and destruction of seve- ral armed vessels in the Vlie, by the boats of the Desirée, Quebec, Britomart, and Bold. 9. Destruction of a Danish pri- vateer of three guns by the Wood- lark; and capture of two Danish privateers, of three guns each, by the Prometheus, captain Robinson. 16. Capture of three chase marées, under the batteries of Belleisle, by the boats of the De- fiance, captain Hotham. 19. Captures—The Juliana, Danish privateer, of six guns; Zuka, ditto, of six guns; a small schooner privateer, of onegun; and a privateer, of two guns, under French colours, by the boats of the Fisgard, captain Mason. 23. Dispatches from sir. J. Stuart, with inclosures from gene- ral Oswald, detailing the proceed- ings of the expedition against St. Maura. The troops, with the naval forces, under the orders of captain Eyre, of his majesty’s ship Magnificent, with the Belle Poule and Imogene, sailed from Zante on the morning of the 2ist of March, and reached the Island of Santa Maura the same evening. Early the next day the army dis- embarked to the southward of the town. The enemy retiring from the batteries on the approach of his majesty’s ship Imogene and gun-boats, the troops immediately moved forward. Lieutenant-colo- nel Lowe, commanding the ad- vance, a portion of which (Greek lightinfantry) under major Church, was kept upon the flank, and drove a party of Albanians from theadja- cent heights. The town was found to be evacuated ; the French gene- ral, Camus, having with his whole force (above 1,000men)retiredinto the fortress and strong field-works contingent thereto. Lieutenant- colonel Lowe being left to watch the enemy’s movements from the town, supported by colonel Wilder and two battalions, general Os- wald proceeded with a portion of light infantry to reconnoitre the isthmus. Major Church, he found, had already, with four companies of the Greek light infantry, gal- lantly carried thefirst redoubt; the enemy retiring upon his next en- trenchments, whereheremainedin force,assiduouslyemployedincom- pleting its defence. It was obvious that no time ought to be lost in carrying this work. The line to be attackedextended from sea to sea, mounted with four pieces of can- APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. —— 305 non, well flanked ; had a wet ditch and abbatis in front; manned by about 500 infantry, and was so de- filed from the sea as to render it almost secure from the fire of the shipping. His majesty’s ship Leo- nidas came to anchor as close as the water would admit of; mean- while thetroops formed in columns approached, and were, to a certain distance, covered by the ground. On opening the front of the work, they became exposed to a heavy and well-directed fire of grape and musquetry. Captains Eyre and Ste- vens, oftheroyal navy, wereamong the most animated in the combat, and were both wounded in the dis- play of professional characteristic valour. Upon finding the head of the column could not be brought to the assault, general’ Oswald immediately directed major Clarke to bring up the battalion of de- tachments, consisting of two com- panies of the royal marines, under captains Snow and Stuart, two companies of the Roll’s under major de Bosset, and two com- panies of Calabrian free corps, under major Oswald. The royal marines, led by major Clarke, and headed by their officers, broke through the abbatis, and charged into the intrenchments ; they were nobly supported by the Roll’s under major Bosset. The contest was not of long duration ; the ene- my fied at all points, pursued with the bayonet from work to work; and such was the precipitation, that he not only abandoned the camp and cannon of the attack- ed line, but left the remaining strong position, followed by major Clarke’s command even to the gates of the fortress. The fortress surrendered to his majesty’s arms onthe 16th of April: nine days Vor, LI, after, batteries, consisting of two thirty-two-pounders, nine eigh- teen-pounders, four howitzers, and six mortars, were opened against it : aportion of this artillery, how- ever, had only been three days in action The garrison were to be prisoners of war ; the officersto be sent to Italy on parole.—Return of the French garrison: one bri- gadier-general, one aide-de-camp, two attached to the staff, one lieutenant-colonel, three _ staff, four captains, eight lieutenants twenty-seven serjeants, thirty- nine drummers, 638 rank and file, total, 714.—N. B. Seventeen sick, and sixty-nine wounded, not included.—Return of killed, wounded, and missing, of the troops under the command of bri- gadier-general Oswald: total, one staff, twelve rank and file killed; two field officers, seven captains, six subalterns, one staff, four ser- jeants, seventy-four rank and file wounded: seventeen rank and file missing, March 24.—Total, one serjeant, ten rank and file, killed ; one field officer, thirty-two rank and file, wounded, April 16. 26. Capture of Le Maitre de Danse, of four guns, by La Bonne Citoyenne. 30. Order in council of the 27th instant, directing ships bound to Liverpool, &c. from places whence quarantine is required to be performed, in future to perform their quarantine at Bromborough Pool. JULY. 10. Letter from captain Hart, of his majesty’s ship the Fox, to Admiral Drury, stating that the boats of that ship had cut out La Caravanne, mounting eight four pounders, from under the batte- ries of Saprara, in the East Indies. ».4 306 14. Account of the operations of the British force under the com- mand of capt. Wainwright, against the pirates in the Persian Gulf. In November, 1809, the prin- cipal town Ras Alkhyma, with other settlements, and upwards of fifty vessels, .were destroyed. Afterwards twenty more vessels, in the port of Linga; also eleven_ more in the port of Luft. AUGUST. 4. Dispatch from lieutenant- general sir John Stuart, dated Messina, June 11, informing of the destruction ofa convoy of enemy’s vessels, between Bagnara and Palmi, by captain Reade of the British flotilla, engaged in defend- ing Sicily. The capture was four- teen gun-boats, each carrying a long eighteen-pounder: the re- mainder was store-boats, laden with ammunition, in all to the number of forty. From Admiral Cotton commu- nicating an account of an action of the Spartan frigate, May 3, with aFrench force inthe bay of Naples, consisting of the Ceres frigate, of forty-two guns and 350 men; se- verely crippled, escaped under the batteries. —Fame corvette, of twenty-eight guns and 260 men ; lost her fore-top-mast, and other- wise crippled.—Le Sparviere brig, of eight guns and. ninety-eight men ; taken.—Achilles cutter, of ten guns and eighty men, escaped under the batteries.—Eight gun- boats, each with one twenty-four pounder and ten men ditto.—Re- capitulation, ninety-six guns and 1,108 men, Captain Brenton com- manded the Spartan, and was wounded. Killed ten; wounded twenty-two. _ This combat passed within ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. sight of the city of Naples; the inhabitants saw with astonishment their numerous vessels return. un- successful. Account of the capture of the island of St. Maura, by captain Eyre, of the Magnificent. Account from captain Maxwell, dated 26, of the Alceste, of the storming of several batteries on the coast of France, in the bay of Agaue, with an attack on the ves< sels, in which the following were captured: Santa Maria, of six guns, twenty men, and ninety tons, from Marseilles, bound to Naples, laden with wax, wine, leather, &c.— Porto Salno, of four guns, twenty men, and 100 tons, from Marseilles, bound to Naples, laden with wax, wine, leather, &c. and others. Account of a spirited attack on a French convoy, by the boats of the Success, captain Ayscough, and the Espoir (companion of the Spartan, captain Brenton) but not completely successful, owing to three of the boats striking, while pressing forward, on a sunken rock, by which misfortune two men were drowned. Their ammu- nition being wet, the officers and men swam to the beach with cut- lasses in their mouths, when the enemy fired upon them from two long six-pounders and four wall- pieces; they being secreted behind the rocks, were not perceived un-~ til the boats grounded. The ene- my’s fire served only to increase the zeal of the party, and their perseverance so intimidated the enemy, that they deserted their guns, and retreated to the houses which were near, keeping up a heavy fire of musquetry from the windows; but being also dislodged from them, they fled into the APPENDIX to mountains. The guns were spiked, carriages destroyed, two vessels set on fire, their cargoes (which consisted of oil) stove. They with difficulty launched the boats that were swamped, and returned on board. * Admiral sir Charles Cotton has transmitted to John Wilson Croker, esq. reports of the fol- lowing captures made by ships under his command, viz. Re- vanche, French schooner priva- teer, of eight guns and fifty- three men; taken on the 10th of March, by the Eclair sloop.—La Fortune, French letter of marque, of ten guns and fifty-three men ; taken on the 30th of March, by the Pomone.—Le General Oltavy, French brig privateer, of twelve guns and fifty men; taken onthe 10th April, by the Swallow.—La Stella di Napoleon, Neapolitan privateer, of two guns and forty men; taken on the 8th of May, by the Sea-Horse—Du Guay Trouin, French schooner priva- teer, of five guns and 116 men; taken on the 10th of May, by the Unite.—La Minerve, French cor- vette, pierced for eighteen guns, but only two mounted; taken on the 17th of May, by the Bustard. —La Jupiter, zebec of Genoa, of eight guns and sixty-eight men ; taken on the 5th of May, by the boats of the Pomone. 11. Lieutenant Warrand, com- manding his majesty’s gun-brig Bloodhound, the 6th instant cap- tured off the North Foreland, the Becassine, French privateer, of twoguns and twenty-six men; out one day from Calais, without hav- ing made any capture. Account from lord Wellington of an attack made by the army of Massena, on the corps of British, CHRONICLE. 307 which formed the advanced guard under general Crawfurd, near Fort Conception, on July 24. The Bri- tish repulsed the French; but being greatly outnumbered, were obliged to retreat across the river Coa. The loss was considerable. 14. Letters from captain Max- well, of his majesty’s ship Alceste, giving anaccount of the capture of two vessels in the bay of Martino, in the island of Corsica. Captain Wormeley, of the sloop Minorca, captured the Sans Peur, privateer of Genoa. Captain Pringle, of the Sparrow Hawk, captured |’Intrepide, pri- vateer of Marseilles. 18. The king has been pleased to cause it to be signified by the most noble the marquis Wellesley, his majesty’s principal secretary of state for foreign affairs, to the friendly and neutral powers resid- ing at this court, that the neces- sary measures have been taken by his majesty’s command, for the blockade of the canal at Corfou. The Chevalier de Seuza Cout- tinho, heretofore envoy extraordi- nary and minister plenipotentiary from his Royal Highness the Prince Regent of Portugal, had a private audience of his majesty, to deliver new credentials as ambas- sador extraordinary and plenipo- tentiary. 23. Court mourning ordered on Sunday next, for the late Queen of Prussia: to go out of mourning, Sunday, Sept. 16. 25. Lieutenant Templar, com- manding the Earnest gun-brig, has captured a Danish cutter pri- vateer, of two guns and thirteen men, in the Cattegat, on the 28th ult. The boats of the Censor, lieutenant Lucas, cut out a French privateer sloop from the X2 x % 308 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. harbour of Stralsund, on the 25th ; she is pierced for four guns, with a crew of forty men, three of whom were only on board.—The Marshal gun-brig has captured a, row-boat privateer, belonging to Bornholm, with twelve men; and the Swan cutter has this morning brought in another row- boat, of the same description, with eleven men, one of whom was killed, another wounded, in at- tempting to make their escape; and also recaptured a galliot which she had taken. 28. Convoy of Danish coasters driven on shore, by lieutenant John Nugent, of the Strenuous gun-brig. SEPTEMBER. 1. Captain Robinson, of his ma- jesty’ssloop Prometheus, chased on shore and destroyed, near Pillau, on the 2nd of last month, the French schooner privateer Messa- lina, carrying six guns and thirty- eight men. ? 4. Vice-admiral Bertie, com- manding at the Cape of Good Hope, transmits from captain Willoughby, of his majesty’s ship Nereide, an account of his having landed a party, May 1, on the south-east coast of the Isle of France, and running up to the bat- tery by which an intricate passage was defended, having taken it in ten minutes; they then, partly swimming, partly wading, crossed the river Jacotel, took prisoner the commandant of the enemy, spiked the gunsanda mortar, burntworks, magazines and stores, and retired to the ship with litile loss, having thoroughly sounded the harbour. Captain Hawker, of his majes- ty’s ship Melampus, in company with his majesty’ssloop Driver, on the Halifax station, captured the French letter of marque La Fan- tome, with ports for twenty heavy carronades. §. Captain Briggs, of his majes- ty’sship Clorinde, captured off the Basses (East Indies) the French privateer |’Henri, mounting eight twelve-pounders; pierced for four- teen. Captain Byron, of his majesty’s ship Belvidera, relates the capture of three Danish gun-boats, the Baldor, the Thor, and No. 5; the latter blown up, by the boats of his ship, July 22, without loss. Horse Guards, Sept. 9. His majesty having been graciously pleased to command, that, in com- memoration of the brilliant vic- tories obtained by divisions of his army over the enemy in the battles of Roleia, Vimiera, also in the several instances where the cavalry had an opportunity of dis- tinguishing themselves against the enemy in Spain, and in the battles of Corunna and Talavera de la Reyna, the (under-mentioned) officers of the army, present on those occasions, should enjoy the privilege of wearing a medal: by the general officer, suspended, by aribband of the colour of the sash, with a blue edge, round the neck ; and bythe commanding officers of thecorps(not being of rank inferior to lieutenant - colonel) and the chiefs of military departments, at- tached by a ribband of the same colour to the button-hole of their uniform. His majesty has also been pleased to command, that the medals which wouldhavebeen con- ferred upon the officers who have fallen at, or died since, the above- named actions, shall, as a token of respect for their memories, be deposited with their respective families, APPENDIX ro 18. Lord Wellington, ima letter dated Guarda, Aug. 29, gives an acecount of the fall of Almeida, which was hastened by the explo- sion of the principal powder maga- zine. The enemy opened their fire on the 26th, and the place surrendered on the 27th. The enemy immediately advanced on the outposts of the British army. 22. Captain Wolfe, of his ma- jesty’s ship the Aigle, relates that on the 12th, after a chase of thirteen hours, he captured Le Phenix, ship privateer, of Bour- deaux, last from Passage, pierced for twenty guns, carrying eighteen English eighteen-pounder carro- nades, and a complement of 129 men, burthen about 200 tons (French measurement) com- manded by M. Jacques Pertaud. The capture of this privateer is of great importance to the British trade; she has the best crew I ever saw, composed of strong, healthy, active, stout young seamen, and her commander a very clever ex- perienced officer, a Jieutenant de vaisseau, brought up in the French navy prior to the revolution, and received the orders of the Legion of Honour from Buonaparte, for the havoc he made in the East In- dies, being captain of the Bellona privateer upwards of nine years, and came to Europe captain of the Cannoniere; he tried us on every point of sailing ; but, thanks to a gale of wind, we caught her, having run 134 miles in thirteen hours. She is a very superior sailer, and has headed the Aigle ever since her capture; was chased by four different vessels, but es- ye ; she is copper-fastened. nformation from admiral sir R. G. Keats, at Cadiz, of the landing a force of Spanish troops, under the orders of general Lacey, in CHRONICLE. their way to Maguer, where it was understood the French were. The Spaniards surprised the French; but the combat lasted the whole day. The naval part of the enterprize was under the direction of captain Cock- burne, of the Implacable; who besides speaking highly of the cheerfulness with which the Spa- nish troops bore the fatigue of marching twenty-two miles, after being without rest for three suc- cessive nights, says, the steadiness and valour they displayed in the action that ensued, has excited my highest admiration, and made me more sanguine than ever in the hope, that such people in such a cause must be ultimately suc- cessful. Sir Home Popham, of the Ve- nerable, captured L’ Alexandre, a privateer ketch of St. Maloes, of sixteen guns, in a fog, Sept. 18. Lieutenant Streatfield, of his majesty’s ship Ruby, destroyed two Danish armed vessels of Lessae. The king has signified to the lords commissioners of the admi- ralty his royal pleasure that those post captains of his majesty’snavy, who, being commissioners of the navy, victualling, or transport ser- vice, may have been passed over at any flag promotion, by officers junior to themselves being pro- moted to the rank of rear admirals, shall be allowed to wear the un- dress uniform of a rear admiral of his majesty’s fleet, with the devi- ations undermentioned, viz.— The epaulettes to be without the star of those worn by rear admirals, and in all respects similar to those worn by post captains. The but- tons to contain the arms of the navy-office (three anchors) or of the victualling-office (two anchors 309 310 crossed saltier-wise) or of. the transport-office (one anchor and one cannon crossed saltier-wise ) as the case may be, respectively surrounded with laurel. — And also, that those post captains who may be commissioners of the navy, victualling, or transport service, but from their seniority have not been passed over, shall continue to wear the uniform of their rank, without any deviation whatever. 25. Dispatches from admiral Drury, communicating intelli- gence ofthe capture of Amboyna, by captains Tucker, Montague, and Spencer, of the navy, Fe- bruary 17. Since the English restored this island, in 1803, there have been numerous batteries erected, which command tlie fort and anchorage of Victoria, and Portuguese Bay. These anchorages are also fur- ther protected by the fort of Vic- toria, the sea-face of which is ex- tremely strong, a battery close on the beach, well to the right of the port, mounting four twelve- pounders, one eight-pounder, two six-pounders, and onebrassthirty- two-pounder, and a heavy battery built upon piles far out in the sea, mounting nine twelve-pound- ers (iron) and one brass thirty- two-pounder. The arrangements for the attack were, that four hundred men, troops and seamen, including offi- cers, under the command of cap- tain Court, should be landed a little to the right of Portuguese Bay, and advance immediately to the attack of the batteries on the heights commanding that anchor- age, as well as the town and fort of Victoria, and that at the same time the ships could commence their attack on the fort and such ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. batteries as they could be brought to bear upon. About two p. m, the boats being all out, and every thing in readiness for landing the party selected for that purpose, the ships were got under weigh, and stood across the bay, with the apparent intention of working out to sea; but by keeping the sails lifting, and other manceuvres, we contrived to drift in towards the spot fixed upon for a landing, at the same time keeping the boats on the opposite side of the ship, so as not to be perceived by the enemy. Upon a nearer approach, the preparative signal was made to bear up and sail large: the ships boreup together with a fine breeze, and passing within cable’s length of the landing-place, slipped all the boats at the same moment, per signal. “The tr¢ops, seamen, and marines were instantly Janded, and formed. Theshipsimmediately commen- ced an attack upon the fort and surrounding batteries, which was continued without intermission for. two hours and a half, by which time, having drifted very close in, exposed to an extremely heavy fire, particularly from the heights on the left of the town, with red-, hot shot, and the object of the. attack being accomplished by the unexampled. intrepidity of the troops, seamen, and marines, in storming and gaining possession of the heights commanding Portu- guese Bay, I took advantage of a spirt of wind off the land, and or- dered the ships to anchor there. During the night forty men were landed trom the Samarang, and two fieldpieces from the Dover, under the direction of captain Spencer, who volunteered on this occasiun, and succeeded in getting APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. 311 the guns up the heights, over a very heavy and difficult ground. ‘Day-light on the 17th shewed the very great advantage obtained over the enemy in the attack of the pre- ceding day, as he had abandoned in the night the battery on the beach, as well as the water battery, both of which being very low, had much annoyed the shipping. Shortly. after some shells were thrown from the fort at our posi- tions on the heights, without doing any injury, while the shot from our batteries, in return, were seen to have considerable effect. These decided advantages, with the progress making by the troops, Jed to a capitulation; by which the town, the island, and its de- pendencies, were surrendered. | This important colony was de- fended by 130 Europeans, and up- wards of 1,000 Javanese and Ma- durese troops, exclusive of the offi- cersand crewsof three vessels sunk in the inner harbour, many of which are Europeans, amounting to 220 men, aided by the Dutch inhabitants and burghers, who were stationed in the batteries on > this very formidable line of de- fence. A great number of ships and country vessels were taken on this occasion, or fell into the hands of the British by the course of subse- quent events. ‘Sir George Collier relates the cutting out of a vessel from under the French batteries, on the coast of Quiberon, by the boats of his ship, the Surveillante. Also the destruction of a small watch-tower, and a new battery on the same coast: thus, in less than five minutes time, rendering use- less the labour of some months. 19. Admiral sir C. Cotton, bart. relates the proceedings of the French fleet at Toulon: with their reluctance to engagea weak British squadron ; although by so doing they must have taken two British frigates. This flattering respect to the British navy gives the ad- miral peculiar pleasure. ; The French schooner San Joseph, of St. Malo, of sixteen guns, taken by captain Malcolm, of the Rhin, off the Lizard. OCTOBER. 2. The Danish schooner Horsp Mod, of six guns and four swivels, taken by the Pyramus, captain Dashwood. 6. The Indomptable, French privateer, taken in the middle of an English convoy, by captain Selby, of his majesty’s ship the Owen Glendower, off the Lizard. 9. The Danish privateer Ael- berg, of eight guns, destroyed by lieutenant= Nugent, off the Hare, September 10. Also the Danish privateer Popham, and the Danish brig Troforte. 13. Report from admiral sir H. Neale, of the Caledonia, of an attack on the French coast, in Basque Roads, by janding the ma- rines of that ship, capturing two brigs, and destroying two others, by the boats, notwithstanding they were under the protection of the land batteries, and field-pieces brought down on purpose. 14. Extraordinary.—From lord Wellington, detailing the march of his army. from Celorico towards Lisbon, from the 20th to the 30th of September. His lordship parti- cularly describes the battle of Busaco, fought the 27th. The Sierra'de Busaco is a high ridge, which extends from the 312 Mondego, in a northerly direc- tion, about eight miles, Atthehighest point of the ridge, about two miles from its termina- tion, is the convent and garden of Busaco. The Sierra of Busaco is connected by a mountainous tract of country, with the Sierra de Ca- ramula, Nearly in a line with the Sierra de Busaco is another ridge of the same description, called the Sierra de Murcella. All the roads to Coimbra from the eastward lead over one or the other of the Sierras. They are very difficult for the passage of an army, the approach to the top of the ridge on both sides being mountainous. With some exception, the whole army was collected upon the Sierra de Busaco, with the British cavalry observing the plain in the rear of its left. At six in the morning of the 27th, the enemy made two des- perate attacks upon our position, the one on the right, the other on the left of the highest point of the Sierra. The attack upon the right was made by two divisions of the second corps, on that part of the Sierra occupied by the third division of infantry. One division of French infantry ar- rived at the top of the ridge, when it was attacked in the most gallant manner by the thirty- eighth regiment, under the com- mand of the hon. lieutenant- col. Wallace ; and the forty-fifth regiment, under the command of the hon. lieutenant-col. Meade; and by the eighth Portuguese regiment, under the command of lieutenant-colonel Douglas, di- rected by major-general Picton. These three corps advanced with the bayonet, and. drove the ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. enemy’s division from the advan~ tageous ground which they had obtained, The other division of the second corps attacked farther on the right, by the road leading by St. Antonio de Cantaro, also in front of major-general Pic ton’s division, ‘This division was repulsed before it could reach the top of the ridge, by the seventy-fourth regiment, under the command of the hon. lieu- tenant-colonel French, and the brigade of Portuguese infantry, under the command of colonel Champelmond, directed by colo-+ nel. Mackinnon. Major-general Leith also moved to his left, to the support of major-general Picton, and aided in the defeat of the enemy on this post, by the third battalion royals, the ‘first battalion, and the second battalion of the regiment. Ontheleft, the enemy attacked, with three divisions of infantry of the sixth corps, that part of the Sierra occupiedby the left division, commanded by brigadier-gene- ral Crawfurd, and by the brigade of Portuguese infantry, command- ed by brigadier-general Pack. One division of infantry only made any progress towards the top of the hill, and they were immediately charged with the bayonet, by brigadier-general Crawfurd, with the forty-eighth, fifty-second, and ninety-fifth regi- ments, and the third Portuguese Cacadores, and driven down with immense loss, Brigadier-general Cleman’s bri- gade of Portuguese infantry, which was in reserve, was moved up to support the right of brigadier-ge- neral Crawfurd’s division, and a battalion of the nineteenth Portu- thirty-eighth APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. guese regiment, under the com- mand of lieutenant-colonel Me- chean, made a gallant and suc- cessful charge upon a body of another division of the enemy, which was endeavouring to pene- trate in that quarter. The loss sustained by the enemy in his attack of the 27th has been enormous. I understand that the general of Division, Merle, and general Maucum are wounded, and ge- neral Simon was taken prisoner by the fifty-second regiment, and three colonels, thirty-three offi- cers, and 250 men. The enemy left 2,000 killed upon the field of battle, and I un- derstand from the prisoners and deserters, that the lossin wounded is immense. The enemy did not renew his attack, excepting by the fire of his light troops, on the 28th, but he moved a large body of infantry and cavalry from the left of his centre to the rear, from whence I saw his cavalry in march on the road which leads from Montagoa over the mountains towards Oporto. Having thought it probable that _he would endeavour to turn our left by that road, I had directed colonel Trant, with his division of ‘militia, to march to Sardao, with the intention that he should oc- cupy those mountains, but unfor- tunately he was sent round by Oporto by the general officer com- manding in the north, in conse- quence of a small detachment of the enemy being in possession of St. Pedro de Sul; and, notwith- standing the efforts which he made to arrive in time, he did not reach Sardao till the 28th at night, when the enemy was in possession of the ground. Although, from the unfortunate 313 circumstance of the delay of colo- nel Trant’s arrival at Sardao, I am apprehensive that I shall not suc- ceed in effecting the object which I had in view of passing the Mon- dego, and in occupying the Sierra de Busaco, I do not regret my having done so. This movement has afforded me a favourable op- portunity of shewing the enemy the description of troops of which this army is composed; it has brought the Portuguese leviesinto action with the enemy for the first time, in an advantageous situation ; and they have proved that the trouble which has been taken with them has not been thrown away; and that they are worthy of contending in the same ranks with British troops, in this interesting cause, which they af- ford the best hopes of saving. British army.—Total loss.— One major, one captain, two lieutenants, one ensign, five ser- jeants, ninety-seven rank and file, killed ; three lieutenant-colonels, five majors, ten captains, sixteen lieutenants, one ensign, twenty- one serjeants, three drummers, 434 rank and file, wounded; one captain, one serjeant, twenty- nine rank and file, missing. N.B. The officers and men re- turned missing are supposed to be prisoners of war. Portuguese army.— Total, killed ninety, wounded 512, prisoners and missing twenty. 17. Two small Danish cutter privateers taken by captain Stud- dart, of the Pallas. 23. The Frenchluggerprivateer L’Hirondelle, of four guns, taken by captain Loring, of the Niobe. The Edward, of fourteen guns, captured by the Sybille. Also several small Danish pri- vateers in the North Sea. 314 20. Whitehall.—The king has been pleased to nominate and ap- point lieutenant-general William Carr Beresford, to be one of the Knights Companions of the most Honourable Order of the Bath. The king’ has been pleased to constitute and appoint Burton Morice, esq. barrister at law, ~ steward, and one of the judges of his majesty’s Palace court of Westminster, in the room of James Stanley, esq. deceased. 25. Extraordinary.—From lieu- tenant-colonel Keating, narrating the capture of the Island of Bour- bon, dated July 21. The force, consisting of 1,800 European and 1,850 native troops, arrived at Rodrigues June 20. On the 24th of June, commo- dore Rowley, commanding the blockading squadron before the Asles of France and Buonaparte, anchored in his majesty’s ship Boadicea, off Fort Duncan, in the island of Rodrigues. The plan of attack was for striking the first blow at the enemy’s capital, first, to prevent a protracted warfare in the in- terior of a country almost inac- cessible to an invading army; and, secondly, toensurethefinal reduc- tion of the island in the shortest time possible, by securing the principal garrison and the go- vernor, and commander-in-chief, whom I knew to be at St. Dennis. The first brigade, composed of his majesty’s 86th regiment, the first battalion of the 6th regiment of Madras native infantry, and a small detail of artillery and pio- neers, commanded by lieutenant- colonel Frazer, was ordered to land at Grand Chaloupe, and to proceed by the mountains direct against the west side of the enemy’s capital; whilst the se- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. cond, third, and fourth brigades were to land at Riviere des Pluies, and to force the lines of defence extending from the Butor redoubt on the north or sea side, to the redoubt No. 11, on the south, and from thence to cross the rear of the town to the river St. Dennis. About two o’clock, p. m. on the 7th, the several ships having reached their stations, the wea- ther being then moderate, and the enemy not appearing in strength, it was determined to debark the troops. Accordingly, lieutenant- col. Campbell, with 150 light troops of his brigade, and captain Willoughby, of the royal navy, commanding a large party of seamen, and appointed to super- intend the landing, immediately pushed off and landed their men about four o’clock. Lieutenant- colonel Macleod, of his majesty’s 69th regiment, commanding the third brigade, with 150 men effected a landing nearly at the same time; but at this moment the wind increasing with much vio- lence, raised the surf to an unex- pected height, and several boats being stove on the beach, the landing of more troops that even- ing became impracticable. This important object was not, how- ever, given up until an experi- ment, concerted with commo- dore Rowley, was put*in execu- tion. A small transport, the Udney, was run upon the beach, in hopes that the troops might be enabled to land over her stern, or under her lee. This service was performed by lieutenant Lloyd, second of the Boadicea, with the usual intrepidity which distin- guishes our navy; but the violence of the weather and natural difficul- ties of the situation were such as to frustrate the intention proposed. APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. it- now became necessary, if possible, to communicate with lieutenant-colonel. Macleod, the senior officer, with the detachment on shore, which in landing had the whole of their ammunition da- maged, and had lost a consider- able number of their arms. Lieu- tenant Foulstone, of his majesty’s 69th regiment, in the most hand- some manner volunteering to swim through the surf, his services were immediately accepted, and that officer, accordingly, conveyed my orders to the lieutenant-co- lonel to take possession of and occupy St. Marte for the night. I proceeded with the commo- dore in the Boadicea, on the morning of the 8th, with the re- mainder of the third and fourth brigades, and effected a landing to leeward, at Grand Chaloupe, about eleven o'clock a. m. With this force under my com- mand, I instantly moved forward by the mountains; the other bo- dies of the troops were also ad- vanced, and had passed the strong posts of the enemy. Two field pieces, and a howitzer were brought forward, and would have been in action in half an hour. Affairs were thus situated, when Ireceived a message from the left, that the enemy had sent out a trumpeter, with an officer, to de- mand a suspension of arms, and ‘on honourable terms to surrender the island. Thus, sir, in a few hours, has this rich, extensive, and valuable colony, been added to his gracious majesty’s dominions, with a po- pulation of upwards of 100,000 souls ; and with a loss on our part, comparatively trifling, the nature of the service considered. On the 9th, agreeably to lord 315 Minto’s orders, Mr. Farquhar was sworn in governor of this colony and its dependencies, at which ceremony commodore Rowley and myself attended. : Total loss: one subaltern, one serjeant, sixteen rank and file killed ; one major, seven subal- terns, two serjeants, two drum« mers, sixty-six rank and file, one seaman wounded. His majesty’s ship, Sirius, at anchor at St. Paul’s llth July, 1810. Sir,—In putting your order in force to anchor at St. Paul’s, I was fired at by the batteries, and. on shewing a truce, they repeated it with many shells; however, during my stay in the bay, I clearly saw that a brig was getting ready to sail that night. At eleven o’clock I dispatched lieutenant Norman in the barge, to bring her out or cut her off; he found, by boarding the other ves- sels in the bay, that she sailed about nine o’clock ; he pushed on, and after a hard row of nearly twelve hours came up with, and in a most gallant manner rowed through her fire, boarded, and took her. She is the Edouard, of Nantz, pierced for sixteen guns, has only. four twelve-pounders, and thirty men on board, was charged with dispatches for the Isle of France. I am happy to say, we have only _ three men wounded, and not dan- Lam, &e. gerously. x S. Pym. : (signed ) To Commodore Rowley. P.S. She is sixteen months old, 245 tons, coppered and copper- fastened, and, in my opinion, a very fit vessel for a packet. 30. Capture of La Comtesse d’Hambough, of fourteen guns, twelve-pounders, and six guns, 316 eight-pounders, from Dunkirk, by captain M’Kerlie of the Calliope. NOVEMBER. 3. The Loup Garou French privateer of Nantz, of sixteen guns, taken by captain La Peno- tiere of his majesty’ssloop Orestes, Oct. 27. 6. The Neptune, Danish priva- teer, of five guns, taken by cap- tain Payne, of the Cretan. The Norwegian Girl, Danish privateer of two guns, taken by captain Clay, of the Nymphe. 10. Account from captain Hall, of the Rambler, at Gibraltar, of an attack made by the people of that ship in the night of the 28th, on a party of French dragoons, with cannon, which covered a French privateer: the dragoons being beaten with the loss of seven men, and horses, the British swam off to the privateer, and took her by boarding. 14. Lord Chamberlain’s Office. —Last night, the body of her late Royal Highness, Princess Amelia, was privately interred inthe Royal Chapel of St. George, in Windsor. ( See the Chronicle, p. 288.) 16. Account from capt. Grant of his majesty’s ship Diana, of his having, in company with the Donegal, Revenge, and Niobe, driven on shore two French fri- gates on the coast of La Hogue. A boat was sent in which fired several of Congreve’s rockets. They were both left on their beam ends, 19. Lieutenant-general sir John Stuart, at Messina, September 22, reports, that, at day-light, on the morning of the 18th of Sep- tember, the enemy’s flotilla ap- peared to be preparing an attempt at landing between the Messina and the Faro, A debarkation ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. was in fact effected under general Cavignac, near St. Stefano, about seven miles to the southward, of about 3,500 men, Corsican and Neapolitan troops. Major-gen. Campbell repaired to the menaced quarter, where he found the German Riflemen en- gaged with the enemy, and the 21st regiment, and part of the 2nd Germans occupying the post of Mili, to prevent the advance of the French upon Messina, as well as the mountain passes above it. As day broke, he perceived the enemy already on the heights, and extending from thence to the beach; but shortly after they be- gan to waver, and those nearest the boats to commence a preci- pitate embarkation, in conse- quence of a sudden and vigorous attack made upon their flank by the 2nd battalion of light in- fantry, under lieutenant-colonel Fischer. Major-general Campbell ob- serving this movement of irreso- lution, pushed forward with the 21st regiment, and 3rd Germans, along the beach, and thus suc- ceeded in cutting off all the enemy’s troops who had gained the heights, besides some whom the boats abandoned, He took about 900 prisoners, including a colonel, and two officers of the general staff, together with the colours of the Corsican legion. 20. Extraordinary.—Accounts from lord Wellington of slight affairs of reconnoitering parties around his works in advance of Lisbon. Also of the capture of 350 French from the stragglers of their army—also of the diffi- culties of the enemy in procuring provisions—also of the capture of Coimbra, in the rear of the French army, with 1,500 sick and —_—_— APPENDIX tro CHRONICLE. wounded, and 3,500 troops, by colonel Trant; with other skir- mishes. Colonel Trant writes from Coimbra, October 7, that intending to join general Millar and colonel Wilson, he advanced to within three short leagues of Coimbra— was happy enough to surprise the French advanced guard of horse, and not meeting with any other troops of the enemy, I ordered the cavalry to advance at a gallop by the principal roads, and that cross- ing the bridge of the Mondego they should take post on the road to Lisbon, for the purpose of cut- ting off all communication with the army; which was executed with great spirit and bravery by lieutenant Doutel with the loss of only one dragoon killed. I or- dered that the divisions of infantry should march towards the princi- pal places in the city; in doing which they met with a resistance that lasted one hour. Our only loss was two killed and twenty-five wounded. There are about eighty officers among the prisoners, as well asI can judge. Nothing can exceed the state of misery that prevails in this city. The enemy, not content with having plundered every part of it, and robbing every one they met, set fire to some houses, and have heaped up in the streets, in the greatest disorder, all the provisions that the army could not carry along with it; so that it could scarcely be expected that about 800 soldiers, aatives of this city and its vicinity, surround- ed by their wretched relatives and acquaintances, could be patient witnesses of a scene of devastation in which their property was de- stroyed in so iniquitous and scan- dalousa manner. However, I beg your excellency will believe that I did all in my power to protect the 317 French that fell into our hands; and after the two first movements of violence, I succeeded in se- curing them against insult. 24. Captain Hoste, of the Am- phion, relates an action by the boats of that ship, the Cerberus, and the Active, in the Gulph of Trieste, June 1. It was necessary to row from several miles out at sea, because of the shallows which obstruct the port of Grao; and to pass that town, in order to get at twenty-five sail of vessels, which lay above it, and were protected by a party of French troops. The boats quitted the ships at about midnight, and landed be- fore day-break. The French fired heavily at them, and mistaking a movement to the left, for a retreat, charged with the bayonet: they were soon defeated, charged in turn, and surrendered; a second party of Frenchmen did the same. They were troops which had dis- tinguished themselves at the bat- tle of Wagram. Prisoners taken sixty; killed ten; vessels burnt eleven; brought out five; laden boats fifteen. The party was commanded by the second lieute- nant, Slaughter. Loss: four killed, eight wounded. 27. Admiral Drury gives an ac- count of the destruction of several Malay prows; and pirate vessels, in the Straits of Sunda, in the month of April: also. of the capture of several Dutch vessels laden with artillery, &c. Also of the dis- mantling the fort of Pulo, by cap- tain Tucker, of the Dover. The French privateer ketch Glaneuse, of fourteen guns, taken by captain Hotham, of the Norths umberland. DECEMBER. 1. Danish cutter privateer the 318 Bornholm, captured off Bornholm by captain Acklom, of his majes- ty’s ship Ranger, November 10. Danish cutter privateer Dan- neskiold, captured off Anholt by captain J. B. Perlet, of his ma- jesty’s gun-vessel Wrangler. No- vember 14. Member returned to serve in Parliament.—Borough of Agmon- desham, William Tyrwhitt Drake, esq. in the room of Thomas Drake Tyrwhitt Drake, esq. deceased. 3. Extraordinary—From lord Wellington, informing that Mar- shal Massena, after having been a month before the British lines, at Torres Vedras, had suddenly broke up and retreated towards Santarem. The French threw se- veral bridges overtheriver Zezere; and appeared to have designs on Abrantes, and the southern bank of the Tagus: his lordship had taken measures to render such at- tempts fruitless. His lordship praises lieut.-colonel Fletcher, and the officers of engineers, who had brought the enemy to a stand. 8. The French privateer Le Roi de Naples, taken by captain Dowine, of his majesty’s sloop Royalist, off Dieppe. December 5. 1l. Member returned to Par- liament.—Borough of Milborne Port. The honourable general Edward Paget, in the room of lord viscount Lewisham, now earl of Dartmouth, called up to the House of Peers. 14. Admiralty Office.—* Intel- ligence has been received, that on the 23rd of August, his majesty’s ships Nereide, Sirius, Magicienne, and Iphigenia, stood into the har- bour Sud-Est, in the Isle of France, with a view to attack an enemy’s squadron, of two frigates, a cor- vette, and an armed Indiaman, ly- ing at anchor there. In pushing for ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. their stations alongside theenemy; the Sirius, Magicienne, and Ne- reide, unhappily grounded, and it was found impossible to get them off, though the utmost skill and gallantry in endeavouring to save the ships, under circumstances of peculiar disadvantage, was dis- played. “< After two days unremitting but unavailing exertion, under the fire of the heavy batteries, captain Pym abandoned all hope of being able to get off the Sirius and Ma- gicienne, and they were in conse- quence burnt by their own crews. «‘ The situation in which the Nereide grounded, enabled the enemy to turn the whole fire of their ships on her; but even in this unequal contest, captain Willoughby continued to fight her to the last extremity, till every officer and man on board were either killed or wounded. « All the enemy’s ships were driven on shore, but one of the frigates was afterwards got off, and being joined by three others from Port Louis, they blockaded the Iphigenia at her anchorage under the Isle of Pas, on which island (it having been previously garrisoned by us) the crews of the Sirius and Magicienne were landed.” This gazette also announces the capture of a French privateer, Le Renard, of six guns and twenty- four men, by the Quebec, com- manded by captain Hawtayne; of the French privateer Le Caro- line, of one gun and forty-two men, by captain Bluett, of the Saracen ; and of the Mamelouck privateer, of sixteen guns and forty-five men, by the Rosario sloop, captain Harvey. 25. From lord Wellington, De- cember 8, giving an account of a panic-struck retreat of gen. Gar- APPENDIX tro CHRONICLE. danne, with a body of troops from an advance to the southern bank of the Tagus into Spain. They were followed by the Or- denanza, who did them much mischief on the march, and took much baggage from them. The enemy destroyed many horses and mules which could not keep up with them; and this march, if it was ordered by superior authority, and is connected with any other arrangement, had every appear- ance, and was attended by all the consequences, of a precipitate and forced retreat. Capture of the French privateer Le Hero du Nord, off the Texel, by captain Douglas, of his ma- jesty’s ship Bellona. December PROMOTIONS zn the year 1810. War-office, Jan.2. Lieutenant- Colonel George Vigoreux, of the second royal veteran battalion, ap- pointed lieutenant-governor of the Scilly Islands, vice Major- general Hewsgill, deceased. Foreign- Office, Jan. 9. Charles Stuart, esq. appointed to reside at the seat of the provisional go- vernment of Portugal as his ma- jesty’s envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary. Whitehall, Jan.9. Rev. George Gordon, B. D. Dean of Exeter, promoted to the deanery of the cathedral church of Lincoln, and - also to a residentiary’s place in the said cathedral, both vice Kaye, deceased. War-Office, Jan.20. Garrison. General the hon. Henry Edward Fox, to be governor of Ports- mouth, vice Pitt, deceased. . Whitehall, Jan.27. Rev. John Parsons, D. D. appointed Dean of 319 the cathedral church of Bristol, vice the Rev. Dr. B. E. Sparke, promoted to the see of Chester. Treasury Chambers, Jan. 27. The king has been pleased to ap- point Thomas Alcock, esq. to be treasurer of the ordnance, vice Joseph Hunt, esq. resigned. Treasury Chambers, Feb. 2. Alex. Osborne, esq. to be a com- missioner of the customs in Scot- land, vice Alex. Cochrane, esq. deceased. ‘ Whitehall, Feb. 10. Rev. John Garneit, M. A, deanery of Exeter, vice Gordon, resigned. Treasury Chambers, Feb. 13. Wm. Manley, esq. a commissioner of excise, vice Maling, deceased. War- Office, Feb. 27. His ma- jesty has been pleased to approve of the following officers being appointed, and formed into a board for superintending and con- ducting the whole medical busi- ness of the army, viz. John Wier, esq. from half-pay as inspector of hospitals, to be directer-general. — Charles, Ker, M. D. an inspector of hospitals, to be principal inspector,.—Theod. Gordon, M. D. from _half-pay as inspector of hospitals, to be principal inspector. War-Office, March 10. Rev. Archdeacon John Owen, chaplain- general of the forces, vice Gamble, resigned. Foreign-Office, March 10. Sir Gore Ousley, bart, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary at the court of the King of Persia. Foreign- Office, March 14. James Morier, esq. secretary of em- bassy to the King of Persia. War-Office, March 24. Rev. Wm. Whitfield Dakins, LL. D. chaplain to the forces. March 3. At a chapter of the most noble order of the Garter, 320 marquis Wellesley invested with the blue ribband, vacant by the death of the duke of Portland. Whitehall, April 7. Peter de Haviland, esq. bailiff of Guernsey, vice Robert Porrent le Marchant, esq. resigned.—John Dumaresq, advocate-general of Jersey, vice Joshua Pipon, esq. resigned.— Right hon. Francis Napier, high commissioner to the general as- sembly of the church of Scotland. War-Office, April 7. George Jenkins, clerk; and Sam. Briscall, clerk; chaplains to the forces. Downing-Street, April16. John Henry Newbolt, esq. a judge of the supreme court of judicature at Madras. : Admiralty-Ofice, April21. Sir Richard Bickerton, bart. major- general of marine forces, vice Collingwood, deceased. Downing-Street, April27. Hil- debrand Oakes, esq. major-ge- neral, his majesty’s commissioner for the affairs of Malta. Whitehall, April 28. Right hon. George earl of Glasgow, lieutenant and sheriff principal of Renfrewshire. Whitehall, May 1. Right hon. Henry Baron Mulgrave, master- general of the ordnance.—Right hon. Charles Yorke; sir Richard Bickerton, bart. vice-admiral of the Red; Robert Ward, Esq. James Buller, esq. William Do- mett, esq. vice-admiral of the Blue; Robert Moorsom, esq. and viscount Lowther, commis- sioners for executing the office of lord high admiral. Downing-Sireet, May 2. Ro- bert Gordon, esq. lieutenant- governor of Berbice.. Downing-Street, May 4. Vice- admiral sir John Duckworth, K. B. Governor and Commander-in- chief of Newfoundland. ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. Foreign-Office, May 10. John Phil. Morrier, esq. secretary of legation to the United States of America. War-Office, June 2. William Granger Cautley, clerk, late chap- lain of brigade at Madeira, achap- lain of the forces.—Thomas Wil- liams, clerk, late garrison chaplain at Landguard Fort, a chaplain to to the forces. Queen’s Palace, June 20. Cap- tain James Lucas Yeo, R. N. com- mander of the royal Portuguese military order of Saint Bento d’Avis, knighted. Whitehall, June 23. Right hon. Spencer Perceval, ‘right hon. John Forster, chancellor of the Exchequer in Ireland, hon. William Brodrick, hon. William Elliot, Snowden Barne, esq. and hon. Berkeley Paget, commissioners for executing the office of treasurer of the exche- quer.—Right hon. Charles Yorke, sir Richard Bickerton, bart. vice- admiral of the Red, Robert Ward and James Buller, esqrs. William Domett, esq. vice-ad- miral of the Blue. Sir Joseph Sydney Yorke, knt., and hon. Frederick Robinson, commission- ers for executing the office of high admiral. Board of Green Cloth, June 27. William Kenrick, esq. master of his majesty’s household. Whitehall, June 30. Right hon. Robert Dundas, earl Cam- den, earl of Liverpool, right hon. Richard Ryder, marquis of Wellesley, right hon. Spencer Perceval, lord Lovaine, lord Teignmouth, right hon. Thomas Wallace, and viscount Lowther, commissioners for affairs of India. Downing-Street, July 3. Vice admiral the hon. sir Alexander Forrester Cochrane, K. B. gover- = APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. nor and commander-in-chief of the island of Guadaloupe, &c. Whitehall, July 14. Captain R. ‘Moorsom, R. N. surveyor-general of the ordnance. War Office, July 25. His ma- jesty has been pleased to appoint major-generals P. Sinclair, W. O. ~ Huddlestone,G.Fead, J.Sowerby, sir T. Blomefield, bart. G. Mann, D. M‘Donald, J. Pratt, F. Cham- pagné, J. Champagné, H. Calvert, ‘G. Cockburne, E. Dunne, J. Drummond, W. Dowdeswell, A. Mackenzie, G. Moncrieffe, T. Meyrick, T. Graham, C. Crau- furd, G. H. Vansittart, hon. C. Fitzroy, and F. Hugonin—to be Jieutenant-generals in the army. Staff-— To be aides-de-camp to the king, colonel H. Davies, twen- ty-second light dragoons ; colonel -D. Pack, seventy-first foot; colonel lord R. E. H. Somerset, fourth dragoons; colonel G. Wilson, thirty-ninth foot; colonel F. W. Buller, Coldstream guards; and colonel R. Ross, twentieth foot. Foreign-Office, July 27. J. Parke, esq. consul in the island of Iceland. Admiralty- Office, July 31. This day, in pursuance of tine king’s pleasure, the following flag-officers of his majesty’s fleet were pro- moted, viz. Admirals of the White—Skef- fington Lutwidge, esq. George Montagu, esq. right hon. George lord Keith, K. B. James Pigott, esq. right hon. William lord Rad- stock, Thomas Mackenzie, esq. and sir Roger Curtis, bart.—to be Admirals of the Red. Admirals of the Blue—William Young, esq. right hon. James lord Gambier, Phillip Patton, esq. sir Charles Morice Pole, bart. John Vou, LI. 321 Leigh Douglas, esq. William Swiney, esq. Charles Edmund Nugent, esq. Charles Powell Ha- milton, esq. Edmund Dod, esq. sir Charles Cotton, bart. John Thos mas, esq. James Brine, esq. sit Erasmus Gower, knt. John Hollo- way, esq. and George Wilson, esq.—to be Admirals of the White. Vice- Admirals of the Red—Sir Charles Henry Knowles, bart. hon. Thomas Pakenham, Robert Deans, esq. James Hawkins Whit- shed, esq. Arthur Kempe, esq. Smith Child, esq. Thomas Taylor, esq. sir John Thomas Duckworth, K. B. sir Robert Calder, bart. hon. George Cranfield Berkeley, Tho- mas West, esq. James Douglas, esq. Peter Aplin, esq. Henry Savage, esq. Bartholomew Samuel Rowley, esq. sir Richard Bicker- ton, bart. and George Bowen, esq. —to be Admirals of the Blue. Vice- Admirals of the White— R. Montagu, esq. John Ferguson, esq. Edward Edwards, esq. and sir John Borlase Warren, bart. and K. B.—to be Admirals of the Blue. Vice- Admirals of the White.— Edward Tyrrel Smith, esq. sir Thomas Graves, K. B. Thomas Macnainara Russel, esq. sir Henry Trollope, knt. sir Henry Edwyn Stanhope, bart. Robert M‘Douall, esq. Billy Douglas, esq. John Wickey, esq. John Fish, esq. John Knight, esq. Edward Thornbo- rough, esq. Sampson Edwards, esq. George Campbell, esq. Henry Frankland, esq. Arthur Phillip,esq. andsir William George Fairfax, knt. —to be Vice- Admirals of the Red. Vice- Admirals of the Blue—Sir James Saumarez, bart. and K. B. Thomas Drury, esq. Albemarle Bertie, esq. right hon, William a of Northesk, K. B. James 322 Vashon, esq. Thomas Wells, esq. and sir Edward Pellew, bart.—to be Vice-Admirals of the Red. Vice- Admirals of the Blue.—Sir Isaac Coffin, bart. John Aylmer, esq. Samuel Osborn, esq. Richard Boger, esq. John Child Purvis, esq. Theophilus Jones, esq. William Domett, esq. William Wolseley, esq. John Manley, esq. George Murray, esq. John Sutton, esq. Robert Murray, esq. hon. sir Alexander Cochrane, K. B. and John Markham, esq.—to be Vice- Admirals of the White. Rear- Admiral of the Red.—C. Stirling, esq.—to be Vice- Admiral of the White. Rear-Admirals of the Red.— Henry d’Esterre Darby, esq. Edward Bowater, esq. George Palmer, esq. William O’Bryen Drury, esq. William Essington, esq. John M‘Dougall, esq. James Alms, esq. Eliab Harvey, esq. sir Edmund Neagle, kot. John Wells, esq. Richard Grindall, esq. and George Martin, esq.—to be Vice- Admirals of the Blue. Rear- Admirals of the Red—Sir Richard John Strachan, bart. and K. B. sir William Sidney Smith, knt. Thomas Southeby, esq. Na- than Brunton, esq. William Han- cock Kelly, esq. John Schank, esq. and-hon. Michael de Courcy—to be Vice- Admirals of the Blue. Rear-Admirals of the White— William Bentinck, esq. Paul Min- chin, esq. Philip d'Auvergne, prince of Bouillon, and John Hunter, esq.—to be Vice- Admirals of the Blue. ‘ Rear- Admirals of the White— Fr. Pender, esq. William Albany Otway, esq. George Lumsdaine, esq. sir Samuel Hood, bart. and K. B. Henry Nicholls, esq. Herbert ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. Sawyer, esq. Davidge Gould, esq, sir Richard Goodwin Keats, K. B. Robert Devereux Fancoutt, esq. sir Edward Buller, bart. hon. Robert Stopford, Mark Robinson, esq. Thomas Revell Shivers, esq- Francis Pickmore, esq. John Ste- vens Hall, esq. and John Dilkes, esq.—to be Rear-Admirals of the Red. Rear-Admirals. of the Blue— William Lechmere, esq. Thomas Foley, esq. Charles Tyler, esq. and Robert Carthew Reynolds, esq.— to be Rear- Admirals of the Red. Rear-Admirals of the Blue— Robert Watson, esq. right hon. Alan Hyde, lord Gardner; Man-~ ley Dixon, esq. George Losack, esq. William Mitchell, esq. George Hart, esq. Thomas Ber- tie, esq. Rowley Bulteel, esq. William Lake, esq. Isaac George Manley, esq. John Osborn, esq. Edmund Crawley, esq. Charles Boyles, esq. sir Thomas Wil- liams, knt. Thomas Hamilton, esq. sir Thomas Boulden Thomp- son, bart. and George Couniess, esq.—to be Rear- Admirals of the White. And the undermentioned cap- tains were also appointed flag-offi- cers of ‘his majesty’s fleet, viz,— John Laugharne, esq. William Hargood, esq. George Gregory, esq. John Ferrier, esq. Richard Incledon Bury, esq. Robert Moorsom, esq. sir Charles Ha- milton, bart. hon. Henry Cur- zon; Lawrence William Halsted, esq. Edward Oliver Osborn, esq. sit Harry Neale, bart. sir Joseph Sidney Yorke, knight, hon. Arthur Kaye Legge, Fran- cis Fayerman, esq. right hon. George, earl of Galloway, Tho- mas Francis Fremantle, esq. sir t APPENDIX ro Francis Laforey, bart. Philip Charles Durham, esq. and Israel Pellew, esq.—to be Rear-Admirals of the Blue. The king has been pleased to appoint Benjamin Hallowell, esq. George Johnstone Hope, esq. the right hon. lord Amelius Beau- _ clerk ; and James Nicholl Morris, esq. to be colonels in his majesty’s royal marine forces, in the room of William Hargood, esq. Robert Moorsom, esq. sir Charles Ha- milton, bart. and the hon. Henry Curzon, appointed flag-officers of his majesty’s fleet. Queen's Palace, Aug.8. Right hon. Richard lord Chetwynd, one of the clerks of the privy-council, vice sir Stephen Cotterell, who retires. Whitehall, Aug. 18. Lieutenant- general W. Loftus, lieutenant of the Tower of London, vice Vernon, deceased. War-Office, Aug. 18. Rev. E.’ Raynes, B. A. chaplain to the forces. ~ Queen’s Palace, Aug. 29. Right hon. sir John Sinclair, bart. sworn of his majesty’s privy council. War Office, Sept. 7. Rev. J. Hughes, a chaplain to the forces. Horse Guards, Sept. 9. His majesty having been graciously pleased to command, that, in com- memoration of the brilliant vic- tories obtained by divisions of his army over the enemy in the battles of Roleia, Vimiera, also in the ‘several instances where the eavalry had an opportunity of dis- tinguishing themselves against the ° enemy in Spain, and in the battles of Corunna and Talavera de Iq Reyna, the under-mentioned offi- cers of the army, present on these eecasions, should enjoy the pri- CHRONICLE. * vilege of wearing a medal; and his majesty having approved of the medal which has been struck, is pleased to command that it should be worn by the general officers, suspended by a ribbon of the colour of the sash, with a blue edge, round the neck; and by the commanding officers of corps {not being of rank inferior to lieu- tenant-colonel ) and the chiefs of military departments, attached by a ribbon of the same colour to the button-hole of their uniform. Hismajesty has alsobeen pleased tocommand, that the medals which would have been conferyed upon the officers who have fallen at, or died since, the above-named ac- tions, shall, as a token of respect for their memories, be deposited with their respective families. Lieutenant-Generals.—Sir John Moore, K. B. sir David Baird, sir John Hope, K. B. Mackenzie Frazer, lord Paget, and viscount Wellington, K. B. Major-Generals, —Sir _ John Sherbrook, K. B. William Payne, lord William Bentinck, hon. Ed- ward Paget, sir Brent Spencer, K. B. sir Stapleton Cotton, bart. Rowland Hill, Coote Manningham, William Carr Beresford, Ronald Craufurd Fergusson, Henry Warde, James Leith, John Randoll M‘Kenzie, Christopher Tilson. Brigadier-Generals.--John Slade, Moore Disney, William Palmer Acland, Miles Nightingall, Alex. Campbell, Henry Frederick Camp- bell, Richard Stewart,hon. Charles Stewart, Ernestbaron Langworth, Alan Cameron, Bernard Foord Bowes, Henry Fane, Robert An- struther, George Anson, James Catlin Craufurd, and Edward Howarth (artillery.) Ya 323 324 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. JURISPRUDENCE. & I. Abstract of the Public Laws enacted by the British Legislature.— Passed in the Fiftieth Year of the Reign of George the Fhird. Chap. 1.—For continuing cer- tain duties on malt, sugar, tobacco, and snuff, in Great Britain; and on, pensions, offices, and personal es- tates, in England ; for the service of 1810. 9. For raising 10,500,000/. by exchequer bills, for the service of Great Britain for 1810. 3. Ditto 1,500,000/. ditto. 4. To indemnifysuch persons in the United Kingdom as have omit- ted to qualify themselves for offices and employments, and for extend- ing the times limited for those pur- poses respectively, until the 25th of March, 1811; and to permit such persons in Great Britain, as ‘have omitted to make and file affi- davits of the execution of inden- tures of clerks to attornies and soli- “citors, to make and file the same on or before the first day of Hilary Term, 1811. 5. To prohibit the distillation of spirits from corn or grain in Great Britain, for a limited time; and to continue, until four months after such prohibition, an act of last ses- sion of parliament, to suspend the ‘importation of British or Irish ‘made spirits into Great Britain and Ireland. 6. To enable the Prince of Wales to grant leases of certain * Jands and premises called Prince’s ‘Meadows, in the parish. of Lam- beth, in Surrey, for the purpose of building thereon. 7. For punishing mutiny and desertion, and for better payment of the army and their quarters. 8. For settling and securing a certain annuity on viscount Wel- lington, and the two next persons to whom the title shall descend, in consideration of his eminent ser- vices. : 9. To continue, until the 25th of March, 1811, so much of an act of the 47th of his present ma- jesty, as allows a bounty on British plantation raw sugar exported. 10. For making perpetual cer- tain of the provisions of an act, 5 George I. for preventing clandes- tine running of uncustomed goods, and for frauds relating to the cus- toms. 11. To continue, until the 25th of March, 1815, several laws re- lating to the encouragement of the Greenland whale-fisheries. 12. To continue, until the 25th of March, 1812, an act, 46th of his present majesty, for permitting the importation of masts, yards, bow- sprits, and timber for naval pur- poses, from the British colonies in North America, duty free. - 13. To continue an act, 44th of his present majesty, for permitting theexportation ofsalt from the port of Nassau, in the island of New Providence, the port of -Exuma, -and the port of Crooked island, in the Bahama islands, in Ameti- can ships coming in ballast; and APPENDIX ro CHRONICLE. amend and continue an act, 48th of his present majesty, for permit- ting sugar and coffee to be export- ed from his majesty’s colonies or plantations to any port in Europe to the southward of Cape Finis- terre, and corn to be imported from such port, and from the coast of Africa, into the said colonies and plantations, until the 25th of March, 1813. 14. For the regulation of his majesty’s royal marine forces while on shore. 15. To grant his majesty duties upon spirits made or distilled in Ireland from corn ; to allow draw- backs on exportation thereof; to make further regulations for en- couragement of licensed distillers; and for amending laws relating to distillery in Ireland. 16. For further continuing, until the 25th of March, 1811, an act, 41st of his present majesty, for prohibiting exportation from, and permitting the importation into, Ireland, duty free, of corn and other provisions. 17. To continue, until the 25th of March, 1811, an act for regu- lating drawbacks and bounties on exportation of sugar from Ireland. 18. For further continuing, until the 25th of March, 1811, bounties and drawbacks on exportation of sugar from Great Britain ; and for suspending countervailing duties and bounties on sugar when the duties imposed by an act, 46th of his present majesty, shall be sus-. pended. 19. For further continuing, until the 25th of March, 1811, an act, 39th of his present majesty, for prohibiting exportation from, and permitting importation to, Great, Britain, of corn, and for allowing 325 importation of other articles of provision, without payment of duty. 20. For removing doubts as to the power of appointing superin- tendants of quarantine, and their assistants. 21. For amending, and continu- ing so amended, until the 25th of March, 1812, an act, 45th of his present majesty, for consolidating and extending several lawsin force, allowing the importation and ex- portation of certain goods and merchandize into and from certain ports in the West Indies. 22. For authorizing the lords commissioners of the treasury to purchase certain quays within the port of London. 23. For granting annuities to discharge certain exchequer bills. 24. To amend an act, passed last session, for completing the militia of Great Britain, and to make fur- ther provision for completing the said militia. 25. To amend several acts, re- lating to the local militia of Great Britain. 26. For granting a duty on fo- reign plain linen taken out of warehouses, and exported to fo- reign parts. 47. To continue, until the 25th of March, 1832, certain acts made in the parliament of Ireland, for better regulation of the silk manu- facture. 28. For increasing rates of sub- sistence to be paid inn-keepers and others, on quartering soldiers. 29. To amend an act of last. session, for amending the Irish road acts. 30. To regulate the fees paya- ble to coroners in Ireland, upon holding inquisitions. 326 31. For augmenting the salaries of the lords of session, lords com- missioners of justiciary, and barons of exchequer in Scotland, and judges in Ireland. $2. Fo repeal certain parts of several acts of the parliament of Ireland, so far as relates to limiting the number of persons to be car- ried by stage-coaches or other carriages ; for enacting other li- mitations in lieu thereof; and for other purposes relating thereto. 33. For enabling tenants en tail and for life, and also ecclesiastical persons, to grant land for the pur- pose of endowing schools in Ire- land. 34. For allowing exportation of British and [rish-made malt, from one part of the United Kingdom to the other. 35. For altering the mode of collecting the duty on insurances against loss by fire, upon property in his majesty’s islands and pos- sessions in the West Indies, and elsewhere beyond the seas; and for exempting certain bonds and receipts from stamp duty, for giving relief in certain cases of stamps spoiled or misused, and for explaining part of an act, 48th of his majesty, for granting stamp duties in Great Britain. 36. For granting annuities to discharge an additional number of exchequer bills. 37. For enabling his majesty to settle an annuity on the duke of Brunswick Wolfenbuttel. 38. To extend the provisions of an act, 48th of his present ma- jesty, intituled, “an. act to per- mit certain goods imported into Treland to be warehoused or se- cured, without the duties due on the importatron thereof being ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. first paid,” and to amend the same. 39. For repaying in certain cases the duty paid on the export of foreign plain linen. 40. For discontinuing the bounty on exportation of oil of vitriol, and allowing a drawback of a pro- portion of the duties paid on the importation of foreign brimstone, used in making oil of vitriol. 41. For placing the duties of hawkers and pedlars under the management of the commissioners of hackney-coaches. 42. For consolidating the duties of customs for the Isle of Man, and placing the same under the management of the commission- ers of customs in England. 43. For maintaining and keep- ing in repair, roads made, and bridges built, in Scotland, under authority of the parliamentary commissioners for highland roads and bridges. 44. To provide for a durable allowance of superannuation to officers of excise in Scotland, under certain restrictions. 45. For raising 12,000,000/. by way of annuities. 46. For encouraging the con- sumption of malt liquor in Ireland. 47. To extend and amend the provisions of an act, 37th of his present majesty, for relief and maintenance of insolvent debtors detained in prison, in Ireland, 48. To repeal three acts, 28th, 30th, and 46th, of his present ma- jesty, for limiting the number of persons to be carried on the out- side of stage-coaches or other carriages, and to enact other re- gulations for carrying the objects of the said act into effect. 49. To amend the laws for the : ‘APPENDIX tro CHRONICLE. relief of the poor, so far as relate to the examining and allowing the accounts of church-wardens and overseers by justices of the peace. 50. To explain and amend an act made last session, relating to relief and employment of the poor, So far as relates to the more effec- tual carrying the same into execu- tion ; and to extend the provisions thereof to parishes which shall not have adopted the provisions of an act, 22nd of his present majesty. 51. To repeal so much of an act, 7 James I. as relates to the punish- ment of women delivered of bastard ehildren ; and to make other pro- visions in lieu thereof. 52. To amend so much of an act, 8th and 9th William III. as requires poor persons receiving alms to wear badges. 53. For preventing frauds relat- ing to exportation of British and Irish made malt, from one part of the United Kingdom to the other. 54. Torevive and continue, until the 25th of March, 1811, an act, 39th of his present majesty, for more effectual encouragement of the British fisheries. 55. To prohibit importation of Italian silk crapes and tiffanies, and to increase shares of seizures pay- able to officers in respect of foreign wrought silks and manufactured leather gloves. 56. To explain and amend an act passed last session, for continu- ing and making perpetual several duties of 1s. 6d. in the pound, re- pealed by an act of Jast session, on ‘offices and employments of profit, and on annuities, pensions, and Stipends. 57. To revive and continue, until the 25th of March, 1815, an act, 25rd of his present majesty, for 327 more effectual encouragement of the manufacture of flax and cotton in Great Britain. 58. To amend several acts for redemption and sale of land-tax. 59. For more effectually pre= venting embezzlement of money or securities for money belonging to the public, by any collector, receiver, or other person intrusted with the receipt, care, or manage- ment thereof, 60. For permitting exportation to Newfoundland of foreign salt, duty free, from the import ware- houses at Bristol ; and for repeal- ing so much of an act of last ses- sion, as allows salt, the produce of any part of Europe south of Cape Finisterre, to be shipped in any port of Europe direct to certain ports in North America. 61. For making sugar and coffee, of Guadaloupe, St. Eustatia, St. Martin, and Saba, liable to the same duty on importation as sugar and coffee not of the British plan- tations. 62. For more effectual preven- tion of smuggling in the Isle of an. 63. To enable his majesty to authorize the exportation of the machinery necessary for erecting a mint in the Brazils. 64. To permit the removal of goods, wares, and merchandize, from the port in Great Britain where first warehoused, to any other warehousing port for expor- tation. 65. for uniting the offices of surveyor-general of the land re- venues of the crown, and surveyor- general of his majesty’s woods, forests, parks, aud chases. 66. To authorise the judge ad- vocate general tosend and receive 328 letters and packets free from duty of postage. 67. For better preservation of heath fowl, commonly called black game, in Somerset and Devon. 68. For raising 1,400,000/. by way of annuities, for the service of Ireland. 69. For raising 6,000,000/. by exchequer bills, for the service of Great Britain, for the year 1810. 70. To enable the commissioners of his majesty’s treasury to issue. exchequer bills on the credit of such aids or supplies as have been or shall be granted by parliament for the service of Great Britain, for the year 1810, 71. For appropriating part of the surplus of the stamp duties, granted 48th of his present ma- jesty, for defraying the charges of the loan made and stock created in the present session. 72. For improving and com- pleting the harbour on the north side of the hill of Howth, near Dublin, and rendering it a fit situa- tion for his majesty’s packets. 73. Toalter, explain,and amend, the laws now in force respecting bakers residing out of the city of London, or the liberties thereof, or beyond ten miles of the Royal Exchange. 74. To grant his majesty addi- tional duties upon letters and packets sent by the post within Ireland. 75. To grant his majesty, an additional duty on dwelling houses in Ireland, in respect of the win- dows or lights therein. 76. To repeal certain duties under the care of the commission- ers for managing the stamp duties in Ireland, and to grant new and additional duties, and to amend ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. . the laws relating to stamp duties in Ireland. 77. For imposing additional du- ties of custom on certain species of wood imported into Great Britain. 78. To repeal an act, 47th of his present majesty, for suppress- ing insurrection, and preventing disturbances of the public peace in Ireland. 79. For regulating the continu- ances of licenses for distilling spi- rits from sugar in the Lowlands of Scotland. 80. For reviving and further continuing, untilthe 25th ofMarch, 1811, several laws for allowing the importation of certain fish from Newfoundland, and the coast of Labrador, and of certain fish from parts of the coast of his majesty’s North American colonies, and for granting bounties thereon. 81. To continue, until the 1st of August, 1811, certain acts for ap- pointing commissioners to enquire into the fees, gratuities, perquisites, andemoluments,received in several public offices in Ireland, toexamine into apy abuses which may exist in the same, and in the mode of receiving, collecting, issuing, and accounting for, public money in Ireland. 82. To amend the Jaws relative to the sale of flax seed and hemp seed in Ireland. 83. To repeal several acts re- specting the woollen manufacture, and for indemnifying personsliable to penalty for having acted con- trary thereto. , 84. For augmenting parochial sti- pends in certain cases in Scotland. 85. To regulate the taking of se- curities in all offices, in respect of which, security ought to be given; and for avoiding the grant of all APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. such offices, in the event of such security not being given within a time to be limited after the grant of such office. ; 86. To amend two acts, 39 and 43 of his present majesty, for re- gulating the manner in which the East India company shall hire and take up ships. 87. To amend two acts, relat- ing to the raising men for the ser- vice of the East India company ; and quartering and billeting such men; and to trials by regimental courts-martial. 88. To make provisions, for a limited time, respecting certain grants of offices. 89. For defraying, until the 25th of March, 1811, the charge of the pay and clothing of the militia of Ireland, and for making allowances in certain cases tosubaltern officers of the said militia during peace. 90. For defraying the charge of the pay and clothing of the militia and local militia in Great Britain for the year 1810. 91. To revive and continue, un- til the 25th of March, 1811, and amend so much of an act, 39th and 40th of his present majesty, as grants allowances to adjutants and serjeant-majors of the militia of England, disembodied under an act of the same session. 92. For making allowances in certain cases to subaltern officers of the militia in Great Britain, while disembodied. 93. For the improving and com- pleting the harbour of Holyhead. 94. For granting to his majes- ty a sum of money to be raised by lotteries. 95. To enable the corporation, for preserving and improving the port of Dublin, to erect, repair, 329) and maintain, light-houses round the coast of Ireland, and to raise a fund for defraying the charge thereof. 96. To amend an act passed this session, intituled, “An act for increasing the rates of subsist- ence to be paid to innkeepers and others, on quartering soldiers.” 97. To continue, until the 6th of July, 1811, and to amend seve- ral acts for granting certain rates and duties, and forallowing certain drawbacks and bounties, on goods, wares, and merchandize, import- ed into and exported from Ire- land; and to grant his majesty, until the 5th of July, 1811, certain new and additional duties on the importation, and to allow draw- backs on the exportation, of cer=- tain goods, wares, and merchan- dize, into and from Ireland. 98. For raising 216,000/. by treasury bills, for the service of Ireland for the year 1810. 99. To amend several acts re- lating to the making of malt, and the granting of permits and certi- ficates, and the regulations of bra- ziers, and of persons employing more than one still in Ireland. 100. For respiting certain fines imposed on stills in Ireland. 101. For confirming an agree- ment forthe purchase of the prisage and butlerage of wines in Ireland, entered into by the commissioners of his majesty’s treasury in Ire- land, and the earl of Ormond, and Ossory and his trustees, in pursu- ance of an act, 46th of his present majesty’s reign. 102. For the more effectually preventing the administering and taking of unlawful oaths in Ireland; and for protection of magistrates and witnesses in criminal cases. 330 ANNUAL REGISTER, “pensions to be granted out of the 103. For repealing several laws relating to prisons in Ireland, and for re-enacting such of the provi- sions thereof as have been found useful, with amendments. 104, For altering the amount of certain duties of assessed taxes granted by an act, 48th of his present majesty, and for granting his majesty certain other duties of assessed taxes on the articles therein mentioned. ‘ 105. To regulate the manner of making surcharges of the duties of assessed taxes, and of the tax upon the profits arising from pro- perty, professions, trades, and offices, and for amending the acts relating to the said duties. - 106. For regulating the manner of assessing lands in certain cases to the duties arising from the profits of property, professions, trades, and offices, and for giving relief from the said duties on oc- casion of losses in other cases therein mentioned. 107. To regulate the examina- tion and payment of assignments for clothing of his majesty’s forces. 108. To amend and enlarge the powers of an act, 2nd of his pre~ sent majesty, for encouragement of the fisheries‘ of this kingdom, and protection of the persons em- ployed. therein. 109. 'To continue for two years, and from thence until the end of the then next session of parlia- ment, and amend an act, 47th of his present majesty, for prevent- ing improper persons from having arms in Ireland. 110. To allow, until the Ist of August 1811, thebringing of coals, culm, and cinders, to London and Westminster by inland navigation. Fi. Fo limit the amount of 1810. civil list of Scotland. ‘ 112. For abridging the form of extracting decrees of the court of session in Scotland, and for regu- lation of certain parts of the pro- ceedings of that court. 113. For enabling his majesty to raise 3,000,000/. for the ser= vice of Great Britain. 114. For granting his majesty a sum of money, to be raised by exchequer bills, and to be advanc- ed and applied in the manner and upon the terms therein-mentioned, for relief of the united company of merchants of England trading to the East Indies. 115. For granting his majesty certain sums of money out of the consolidated fund of Great Britain, and for applying certain monies therein-mentioned, for the service of the year 1810; and for further appropriating the supplies granted in this session of parliament. 116. To extend and amend the term and provisions of an act, 39th and 40th of his present ma- jesty, for the better preservation of timber in the New Forest, county of Southampton, and for ascertaining the boundaries of the said forest, and of the lands of the crown within the same. 117. To direct that accounts of increase and diminution of public salaries, pensions, and allowances, shall bea noually laid before pariia+ ment, and to regulate and control the granting and paying of such salaries, pensions, and allowances, 118. For regulating the offices of registrar of admiralty and prize courts. 119. For further amending and enlarging the powers of an’ act, 46th: of his' present majesty, for APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. consolidating and rendering more effectual the several acts for the purchase of buildings, and further improvement of the streets and places near to Westminster Hall and the two houses of parliament. II. Brief Reports of some import- ant Law Cases, determined in the year 1810. Feb. 12. — Court of King’s- bench.—The King v. Frances La- tham.—Mr. Bolland opened the case. This was an indictment for perjury, in an affidavit sworn by the defendant, charging Bar- rett, esq. with the violation of her person Mr. Serjeant Best, who, from apparent ill-health, addressed the court sitting, stated the case onthe part of the prosecution. He said that the crime imputed to the de- fendant was corrupt and deter- mined perjury, in a prosecution commenced against Mr. Barrett, to ensure a verdict, whose result must have been ruin to him—a death most certain and most igno- minious, Before he concluded he ' should show, not only that Mr. Barrett was innocent, but that the defendant was not deceived—that there was no mistake in the charge —that nothing could be imputed to possible misapprehension—but that the crime which he then was to prosecute, was wilful and inex- eusable. The prosecutor in this trial isa respectable trader in Lon- don ; the defendant is the daugh- ter of a most valuable and meri- torious man. The jury were pro- bably acquainted with the general features of the case:—Miss La- tham having gone'down to Worth- ing, for the benefit of her own, or oal her brother’s health, was, accord ing to report, insulted and brutally violated by a stranger who then resided near the town. A circum- stance occurred in connection with those facts, for which no explan- ation had been given. Ina few weeks after the alleged crime, a letter was sent to Mr. Barrett, de- tailing the transaction, and charg~- ing him as the perpetrator. He was then on the Kentish coast with his family. On returning to London, he was sent for by Dr. Latham ; the defendant was in the room. On being asked if he knew her, he answered, “ No ;” but that he had heard of the affair by let- ter. Onthis Dr. Latham retorted on him, “that it was evident he knew all,” and immediately gave him into the custody of an officer, who was then in the house. He was then taken before a magis- trate in Marlborough-street. The counsel here read from his brief the narrative of the imputed injury:—In the evening of the 10th of July, Miss Latham, walk- ing in Worthing, as she passed along a lane leading to the road, was accosted by a stranger, who said he had Jong wished to see her; after some similar language, he suffered her to leave him, and she returned homevery much terrified. On the day after, as she was stand- ing at her toilette, she saw him pass: before the house, without being observed by him, and re» marked his appearance distinctly. On the 13th, between seven and eight in the morning, returning te her apartments after bathing, she was disturbed by some: persons pressing against the door. She eonceived it tobe the son of a Mrs. King, who lodged in the house. She was so ntuch evercome by tere 332 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. ror, on seeing the stranger who had insulted her, that she swoon- ed, and fell off the sofa on which she lay ; on recovering, she found his silk handkerchief tied over her mouth, and that she had suffered the injury of which she afterwards ° gave a most particular detail. The ravisher then took off the hand- kerchief, and importuned her to fly with him, offering her the com- mand of money and servants: and telling her he had taken off the handkerchief in hope of a comply- ing answer. She screamed, and threatened him with her brother’s return. He seized her again, bound her own handkerchief on her mouth, and escaped. In at- tempting to stand up, she fell and fainted ; but on her recovery, still lying on the floor, and bound, she tore off the bandage by rubbing her head against the window-seat, and called for assistance. It was by this feeble tissue of improba- bilities that the guilt of the de- fendant was to be covered fromthe eyes of ajury. A stranger walks through an inhabited house, a house full of servants and lodgers —walks, as by intuition, directly to Miss Latham’s apartment ; and there commits a crime which ex- oses him to instant seizure and instant ruin. She swooned on see- ing him, but no violence was used inherswoon. The jury had heard the accurate observations which she made in the course of the as- sault. Whocouldconceiveawoman so circumstanced to be capable of such observation—to be collected, calm, particular—to remember incidents which might escape the mind most at ease? She could re- collect thechange of thestranger’s handkerchief for her own, the pro- position of going off with him, her reply,- and his rejoinder. She could remember the hurry of the. ravisher, on being threatened with her brother’s return from the shore, the improbable spirit of de- corum which worked upon his po-. liteness, to come back and raise the two chairs that he had overturned in his retreat. She could then de- vise a lucky expedient for freeing herself from her bonds, calmly call for Martha Lawrence, the servant, to complete the operation, and set her free. He, in his office as counsel for the prosecutor, had. no wish to load her with an un-, qualified charge; he concluded that she had been made the. tool of other and more artful persons. The case was accompanied by cir- cumstances, which, if they were correctly stated, must make its truth undeniable. | Were. they stated to the magistrate? If so, they were still forthcoming in his notes. The transaction occupied the 10th, 11th, and 12th of July. Witnesses were now waiting to prove, that his client was not, in Worthing on any of those days. The house in which the outrage was committed, was, like those hastily built at watering-places, small, but with few apartments, and thin partitions, through which, a scream, nay even a word, must: beaudible. Miss Latham screamed loudly !— Gentlemen (said the learned serjeant) it has pleased: Providence to make the scream of distress the most heart-rending, most piercing, most penetrating, of ali other sounds that can be formed by the human voice.” If Miss Latham was violated on the ~ 12th, why did she not communi- — cate her misfortune to some friend—not of course to a male acquaintance, for there- might ‘APPENDIX tro CHRONICLE. be a restraint of natural modesty ; but there was a femaleinthehouse, ‘Mrs. King, with whom she was on ‘terms of perfect intimacy. Why had not she been trusted ? why not brought to give her testimony be- fore the magistrate? The house “in which Dr. Latham placed his daughter must have been respect- able. Was not the mistress of that ‘house fit to be intrusted with the circumstance? Had she been in- trusted? Hadshebeen brought be- fore the magistrate? She should be at length brought, for she should be seen in court that day. Was Martha Lawrence, theservant, ac- - quainted with it? Where was the -indelicacy of mentioning it to her? - Had she been prohibited from tell- ing it? or could any prohibition ’ prevent her telling it, ifit had been told to her? The jury were now ~ to prepare themselves for all the - plausibility which genius and elo- quence could throwround a falling ‘cause. But he could bring twenty witnesses to prove his case. On the 4th of July Mr. Barrett came to London.with his family, and re- mained in London till the 14th. It ‘ could be shown with whom he had *done’ business during the time - when he slept in town ; public offi- ‘cers could be called to prove his being presentthere. The signature of bonds, executed within those peculiar days, could be adduced to - prove the point beyond all doubt. » The proof had already succeeded. - His client’s life had been saved, . he was now to vindicate hishonour. - On the 14th, in the morning, he - arrived at Worthing. If violence had been committed on the 12th, ~ were it possible thatheshould stay there? Advertisements had been » published describing the ravisher, 333 and offering a reward for his ap- prehension. Did he fly? This was posted up on every house ; he could not raise his eyes without meeting it, yet he remained in Worthing till the 18th or 19th un- molested. He went to all public places ; he exhibited no fear, he practised no concealment. Theact was said to have been committed between the hours of eight and nine in the morning, in Miss La- tham’s room; that room was im- mediately over the shop. The mistress of the house would come forward to prove the total falsity of the statement: she had been in the shop from seven that morning: she heard no shrieks, no fall of chairs, no fall of a body, and Miss Latham was of a form that must make her fall audible. If this misfortune occurred to her in the morning, in what situation must she have been afterwards? Would she not havebeen unfit toconverse . with any but her most intimate friends? .She would continue af- fected, agitated, overpowered by the mingled feelings of such an in- jury. This was human nature. Her countenance must have be- trayed, though her tongue were si- lent ;°she must have shrunk from the eye; she must have saddened and pined under the sensibilities of young and timed outraged inno- cence. Were those symptoms dis- coverable in her ? She came down stairs in her usual spirits, with her dress unruffed, and arranged with its usual care, to altercate with the landlady about some three-pence or four-pence ofa laundress’s bill, The learned counsel concluded by declaring, that his object was, to vindicate his client, not to ruin Miss Latham. - His client might 334 ANNUAL REGISTER, 18I0. have been justified in pushing the Jaw to its utmost extent. It was not owing to this woman but to the providence of God, that instead of coming to that court to assert his innocence, he was not now sinking under the punishment of his imputed crime, languishing in Horsham gaol, loaded with irons, and preparing only to exchange a bitter captivity for a death of pain and infamy. The Attorney-General, on the part of the defendant, said, he had no objectionte proceeding withthe case; hisevidence were ready, and they could satisfy the jury. But he had read the evidence given on the examination, with great atten- tion, and felt that no suspicion of the crime could remain on Mr. Barrett. Mr. Alicy.—“ 1 declared be- fore, that if the alibi were allowed, no further proceedings should be taken. Mr. Serjeant Best.—‘* My lord, Mr. Barrett is only anxious to de- clare, on oath, his own innocence; after that he puts himself in my hands, and I am in your lord- ship’s.” Lord Ellenborough.—“ I can- not change the course of proceed- ings ; the cause must be tried like every other cause.” The Aitorney-General.—* My lord, youseeinto what dreadful evi- dence we must plunge by proceed- ing; I can show sufficient grounds to exculpate my client. But it can- not be for the general good to pro- ceed. I should have interrupted .my learned friend but for the mo- deration of his commencement. But even now I have no hesitation to: withdraw all charge against his client, and spare the morality of the public, and the feelings of a- father.” Lord Ellenborough.—* Gentle- men of the jury, there has been no evidence adduced in this cause ; you will therefore find a verdict for the defendant.” Feb. 12. Maynard v. Gilbert.— This was a trial on an issue from the Court of Chancery to try the validity of a marriage. Mr. Park stated thecase. The defendant already named was a nominal one, and named only as connected with the deed on which the cause was originally moved in chancery. The real defendant was Mr. Daniels, lately a stockbroker, and now residing at Hampstead. The plaintiff wasalsoastockbroker. —Some months before the 8th of April, 1809, the plaintiff, going to the defendant’s house on businessof his father’s, a wholesale itonmon- gerin Castle-street, saw the defen- dant’s daughter. His connexion with the Exchange enabled him to . serve Mr. Daniels on some occa- sionsinhis business. Thisproduced an intimacy, in the course of which the plaintiff paid his addresses to Miss Daniels, and was desired to wait till she was a few months older. One evening, at supper, Mr. Danielssuddenly announced to his daughter his consent that she should be married to the object of her declared regard. She wasa de- licate girl, andtheintelligence pro- duced such an immediate nervous agitation that medical aid was ne- cessary. She recovered soon after, and trom her strong attachment, and her habitual irritability of frame, her friends advised that the marriage should not be delayed. If it were possible thataverdictshould go against him this day, he could APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. not conceive a man more hardly treatedthanhisclient: hisaddresses sanctioned, his marriage solemniz- ed by’ consent of both families, and this without any hope of emo- lument, excepting the distant one of a very moderate fortune, from the precarious and capricious . bounty, or rather from the invete- rate and unaccountable enmity, of his father-in-law. On the 27th of March Mr. Daniels, his daughter, and a Mrs. Newman, her aunt, came to town from Hampstead, to buy clothes and trinkets for the wedding. On her return, Miss Daniels went on a visit to the plaintifi’s father, who lives at Camden Town. She remained there from the Ist to the 7th of March, without any appearance of the insanity which was now alledg- ed as the cause of breaking off a marriage contracted in the face of the church, according to the forms oflaw. On the 3rd of April a din- ner was given at Mr. Daniels’ house, to which the whole of the. Maynard family was invited. Mr. Daniels was laid up in bed with the gout; but the females of the party were admitted to his apartment, and he expressed himself in terms of the warmest affection for his in- tended son-in-law ; said that no- - thing should now delay the match, and that he might have taken a horse and rode from one end of London to the other before he ‘could have met a man in every way so eligible. He afterwards went with his daughter to Doctors’ Commons, to execute the neces- sary papers for the marriage ; in short, went every where with her but to the altar. If he saw her insane before that, why not forbid the marriage ? if at the altar, why not stop her there? He attests the 335 marriage, he signs the register, and yet now comes forward to in- validate the ceremony to which he had given his full sanction. I can believe nothing low or insulting of the church; there was a clergy- man officiating — would he not have refused to go through the rite if he had seen insanity in either of the parties? The exhortationof the form of marriage was among the most solemn in the whole rubric. The clergyman read it so that it was heard by the parties; it was heard by the aunt, who was now to ‘be brought forward full of testi- mony to the insanity of her niece, and acknowledging, with a base and bold defiance of the feelings of a relative, and the faith of a virtu- ous woman, that she allowed her niece to go a sacrifice to the altar, to swear to the performance of du- ties of which she could not know the nature; to avow obedience toa husband, while her brain was dis- torted with madness! to contract a marriage which that aunt knew must be a nullity ; and to load an unhappy and doting husband with the shame, the burden, the misery of a lunatic wife, and propagate a race of unfortunates, cursed with the dreadful visitation of that ma- lady which had made their mother an object of mingled compassion and horror. No; this was not cre= dible; it was not in human nature to believe so weak a fiction ; it was not in human artifice to believe that fiction strong ; the jury would decide upon the simple question, whether at the time of solemniz- ing the marriage, the 8th of April, Miss Sarah Ann Daniels was or was not possessed of a sound and perfect mind. On the partof thedefendant, the Attorney-general ‘stated, that his 336 _objectwas,torelease an unfortunate woman from hands which could now only ill-treat her, and restore her to the protection and fondness of a father, who had consented to this disadvantageous match merely as a forlorn hope, to recover the lost mind of his daughter, and now was only anxious to have the _power of protecting and cherishing her. After the case had closed onboth sides, lord Ellenborough recapitu- lated the evidence. The issue which the Lord Chancellor had di- rected to be tried was, whether Sarah Ann Daniels was of com- petent mind on the 8th of April. It was recognized by the wisest principles of law, that the acts of a lunatic, done in the lucid inter- vals of his disorder, were valid. Particularity of conduct could not defeat those rights, so sacred in the eye of the law. There was _the late case of a noble lord, who distinguished himself by the most eccentric oddities, sitting during the day in a woman’s old red cloak in a window, having a particular dish every night for supper, and other deviations from the usual manner of society. But those would not invalidate the precious rights secured by the laws. Miss Daniels, doubtless must have re- tained the vestiges of her disorder. Madness left its deep impression on the countenance: there was the wandering of the eyes, the paleness, the wild and melancholy look, even when the mind had shaken off the weight of its last and direst ‘calamity. There could be no feeling for the defendant; his case was as weighty and as dark as ever came before the court. He had but an election of crimes. He had entered into a foul and infamous ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. conspiracy with the aunt, todo an act which drew down.the heaviest vengeance of the insulted laws, to violate the order which com- mands, that marriage should not be contracted where this dread- ful disease of the mind stood to prohibit its celebration; or he was guilty of the still more foul and in- famous crime ef conspiring with that woman to break. down a law- ful marriage; to tear a wife from her husband, tomake her marriage an illegitimate rite, and her chil- dren bastards before the world. He defied the genius of man to find out any other than the miserable option of one of those great of- fences against feeling, against so- ciety, against law, and against re~ ligion. The jury, after a short consul- tation, found a verdict for the plaintiff, Court of King’s Bench.—Millis v. Flower.—Myr. Parke, who ad- dressed the court, stated this to be an action for a breach of promise of marriage. ; He said, the plaintiff inthis case, a woman about forty years of age, is the daughter of a respectable ribbon manufacturer residing at Coventry ; the defendant is also a ribbon manufacturer at Co- ventry, and a wholesale dealer in Gutter-lane, Cheapside. The present action was brought to recover a compensation in da- mages, The circumstances which appeared in evidence were short- ly these: —In the summer of 1804, the defendant, who is a methodist, being in bad health, went for change of air to the house of a friend at Coventry ; whilst there he had the misfore tune to fall from his horse, by which accident his shoulder was APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. contused. Miss Millis, hearing of the accident, sent him a bottle of lotion to bathe the bruised jimb with, and, induced by kindness of disposition, afterwards visited him, to see it properly applied: this kindness made a very strong im- pression on the mind of the de- fendant, who having recently lost his wife, and being not more than ten years older than the plaintiff, felt persuaded that she would prove a proper person to fill up the vacancy in his heart: he de- clared his affection in due form, and, it appeared, did not meet with a repulse ; for on the defend- ant’s return to London, whichtook place soon after, a correspondence commenced betwixt them, which continued till June, 1805. - He would now proceed to read some of the letters: the first was dated the 9th of September, 1804, and was to the following effect :— “My dear Mary,—I received your letter of the 29th of August; the contents cheered my heart very much. You may think me too old for these professions, I could not help kissing your dear letter over and over again before destroying it: you are very cruel to bid me destroy them. The world is full of vanities, but you are the only thing in it I wish to realize. [‘‘Here,” said the learned counsel, ‘‘comes an instance of abominable misuse of Scripture Janguage—of an impudent prac- tice of conceiving that all his tri- fling and foolish movements are objects of immediate interest to a particular Providence.” ] “I have been much ruffled in spirit this morning, by fighting with an impudent maid-servant ; I sent her off, however ; but by the kindness of Providence, the Vot, LII. 337 trial has been made up to me in the sweetness of my girl’s ; I have been recompensed too by getting a maid from Oxford (rather a singular place of selection, said Mr. Park) : she is likely to be a good one; but, my dear, I am tired of leading a single life ; keep me near your heart.” [‘« And here,” said the learned counsel, ** is one instance of what we have all heard so much about —the ingenuity of love. Mr. Flower would not condescend to use the common mode of writing the word heart—he takes the trouble of drawing an aukward emblem, acheese cake heart, upon his paper, and sends this effigy of his passion to his only beloved.’’] «I don’t mind what the world says; I am accountable only to Providence. I don’t know how I shall go to Coventry, for I can- not return and leave you behind ; yet I would not wish to marry till March, as by that time my wife will have been a year dead.” He came to Coventry, quarrel- led with the plaintiff on some fri- volous pretence, returned to Lon- don, and finally married another. This was in 1805. “ I am not in- clined,” said Mr. Park, ‘to ap- prove of this delay; but much might be alleged for it; the un- certainty whether the defendant might not be prevailed on to do Miss Millis justice ; the shame and pain which a respectable female felt in becoming so much an ob- ject for the public eye as an appeal to public justice generally makes her; and Jast, though an inferior consideration, her wish to have him (Mr. Park) as her counsel. She might have found a much bet- ter; but’ such was her fancy, for he could call it nothing more. 338 Some casual obstructions had hitherto prevented hisbeing on the spot when the trial was to come on ; and she had delayed it until he could, as on this day, discharge a duty which he felt one of the most painful and most important that ever was imposed upon him. He felt that there could be no hope of throwing aspersions on her character : for if the attempt were made, it could only enhance the damages. A book-keeper of the defend- ant’s was then sworn to give evidence to the hand-writing of the letters. Examined by Mr. Marriot. Q. Do you know that hand ?— A.I can’t say that—I believe I do. Q. Do you swear you don’t know? —A.I1 am not sure that I don’t. By Lord Ellenborough.—Q. If you received that letter in your hand, would you act upon it as if it were the defendant’s writing ?— A. I believe not. Q. Answer me promptly, sir, a witness who hesitates as you have done only implicates bis own character !—A. My lord, I hope my character is well known in London ; but Mr. Flower used to write different hands ; he was often unwell; he used to write short- hand ; he was shy of letting me see him write. Q. What, sir! in his, ordinary business did he use short-hand? You must see the improbability, the gross improbability of your testimony where you attempt a fact, and its prevarication where you hazard a conjecture: Pray, sir, in what capacity were you connected with Mr. Flower ?— A. 1 was his book-keeper. Q, “ His book-keeper, and not ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. have the faintest recollection of his hand? Go down from that box, sir, you have told us enough. Go along, you may read your history in the eyes of the gentle- men around you.” Another witness was then call- ed, who proved the hand-writing. The letters were then read. The first was that which we have already given; the second was dated October, and was in sub- stance as follows :— ‘*My dear Mary,—This ap- pears a long silence; but as I was going out of town, I was afraid your letters might fall into other hands than my own; I am truly weary of living alone. Oh! for the dear comforts of a woman’s society ! I long to see you at the head of my table~-to see you my wife ; that is the only hope that can make life desirable.’’ The next was November, 1804. _ « My Dear,—Oh, how I long to see you! You say you have been too open with me. Don’t be afraid of being too open; I shall soon go to the country; then I expect to find you ready to obey. I must have you all passive obedience and non-resistance. We have preach- ing every day and night in town here, but I still find that I want a taste for divine things. Keep your hand in, my love; your first letter was very legible, but your last I could not make out. God bless you! Yours, Bubs Some of the succeeding letters were occupied with censures of the talkative spirit of the country people. The last was dated April, 1805 :-— ‘«‘ Dear Mary,—lI regret to hear that you are unwell ; but if ever I should see you in the flesh, I will make it up to you; | know you APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. feel reluctance at parting with your father and mother: but you will be used to that. Ihave, since I saw you, been offered two large sums of money in marriage: but if I fail of you, I shall remain as I am : I would not have the queen ! The moment I got your letter, I was consulting with the doctor about Maria’s health—for, as Dr, Watts says— ‘The dear delights we doat on now’ And fondly call our own, Are but short favours borrow’d now, To be repaid anon.’ Every part of your letter gave me great joy ; don’t think of any un- kindness in my answering younow. I am in great trouble. Yours, “3B. P This was followed by a note from Stoney Stratford, mention- ing that the journey disagreed with his daughter, and that he would be in Coventry next day to dinner. The rev. Mr. Brooksbank, dis- senting minister at Haberdashers’ Hall, was called to prove that the defendant was now a married man, and that he had a child since his last marriage. On his cross exa- mination by Mr. Garrow, he sta- ted that the defendant was re-— ‘ markably sickly, and had had a paralytic stroke. The defence set up was, that there was a concerted plan on the part of the plaintiff, to draw from the defendant, who was in a very infirm state, apromise of marriage, which neither the lady’s age nor his own constitution would permit him to fulfil ; and that he had since married a grave matronly woman, more suited to his age and infirmi- ties. From the defendant’s own evidence, however, it appeared, that the lady whom he had mar- 339 ried was several years younger than the plaintiff; and that since his marriage, notwithstanding his alleged infirm state of health, his family had been increased by the birth of a fine boy. After a reply by Mr. Park, Lord Ellenborough addressed the jury in a charge of great elo- quence and impressiveness. He peculiarly animadverted upon the language of some of the letters, which he termed a disgusting mix- ture of lasciviousness and fanati- cism, tending to degrade Christi- anity, by mingling its high and sacred names with the meanness and abomination of the lowest earthly impurity. After giving an able view of the innocence of the plaintiff’s objects, and the ma- nifest injury which had been done to her, he left the reparation to the jury. The jury after a few moments consultation, found a verdict for the plaintiff—Damages jive hun- dred pounds. March 1.—Court of King’s- bench.—The Earl of Uxbridge, Messrs. Hughes, Williams, and Grenfell, vy. Teed.—This was an action brought by the plaintiffs, proprietors of very extensive cop- per concerns, against the defend- ant, an inspector of the duties on income and property in the city of London, for a wilful and vexa- tious surcharge made by him, in respect of the plantiffs’ returns and profits for the year, ending the 5th of April last. It was stated that the defendant, withoutany in- formation or ground of surcharge, except the circumstance of plain- tiffs’ having the year before made a much largerreturn of profits, sur- charged them the sum of 28,3571. several months after their return of 340 ANNUAL REGISTER, -1810. profits had been, upon examina- tion, allowed by the additional commissioners, and the amount of the ten per cent duty, thereon paid into the bank; the inspector, at the time he made such a sur- charge, having been also aware that Mr. Grenfells, one of the plaintiffs, had appeared before and fully satisfied the commissioners, previously to their passing the as- sessment upon which this sur- charge was afterwards made. Upon hearing, however, before the commissioners of appeal, the sur- charge was disallowed ; and plain- tiffs, considering it a question of great public import to ascertain, by the decision of a court of law, whether the inspectors were justi- fied in making surcharges, as seems too much the practice, without any ground of information for doing so (taking the chance of putting a proportion of the sur- charge into their own pockets, in case of its being in any degree allowed) brought this. action. It however, appearing, that one of the additional commissioners (Mr. James Dixon who is since dead) had, in the present instance, advi- sed the defendant to make the surcharge, the court was of opin- ion that ithad removed from himall imputation of his having made the surcharge vexatiously ; and the plaintifis were of course nonsuited, It was, notwithstanding, distinctly understood, that a surcharge made without any ground besides an inspector’s own presumption is unwarrantable, and would be deemed vexatious. It also appear- ed, and was stated in court, that the circumstance of the inspector’s having acted under the advice of Mr. Dixon was wholly unknown to the plaintiffs. From this decision, it should seem that the subject is not pro- tected by the existing law against a false surcharge, provided the inspector acts under the advice, or at the suggestion of any one of the commissioners ; notwith- standing the assessment having been made by the commissioners ‘ before whom an investigation re- specting the same had previously taken place. Court of King’s-bench.—The King, v. Wm. Cobbeit, for a libel. —On Friday, June 15th, this im- portant case was tried before lord Ellenborough, at Westminster Hail. The panel being called over, the following persons were swornof the jury: Thomas Rhodes, Hampstead Road ; John Davis, Southampton Place, ditto; James Ellis, Tottenham Court Road; John Richards, Bayswater; Thomas Marsham, Baker-street ; Robert Heathcote, High-street, Mary- le-bone; Jolin Maude, York Place, ditto; George Baxter, Church Terrace, Pancras; Thomas Taylor, Red-Lion-square ; David Dean, 110, St. John’s-street ; William Palmer, Upper-street, Islington. Joseph West, (tales- man) was about to be sworn, but Mr. Cobbett cbjected to him, and he was withdrawn without assigning any reason, on the con- sent of the attorney-general. Henry Faver, a talesman, was thensworn,and made up thetwelve. The Attorney-generalthen open- ed the case on behalf of the crown. In 1808, lord Castlereagh brought in his bill by which the local mili- tia might be called out for twenty- eight days, though they had only beencalled outtwentydays. When theCambridgeshire militia was call- ed out, some disaffected persons in APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. the isle of Ely caused them to mu- tiny, and it was found necessary to call in the military in the neigh- bourhood, and five of the ring- leaders were sentenced to receive 500 lashes, partonly of which they received. The German legion, who were thus called in, is com- posed of a body of brave men, who, when Hanover was overrun, quitted their country, and enter- ing into his majesty’s service, have conductedthemselveswithbravery, ‘and. it was no disparagement to the British army to say, that the German legion even shared the glory with them. At the battle of Talavera the German legion took three standards. No troops had ever. conducted themselves in a more quiet, orderly, and sober manner, and he could not find that any complaint had been made against them. Mr. Wardle, in a motion in the House of Commons, had proposed to disband the Ger- man legion, against which, Mr. Huskisson offered sufficient rea- sons. A paragraph soon after appeared in the Courier, which he would read— “ The mutiny amongst thelocal militia, which broke out at Ely, was fortunately suppressed on Wednesday, by the arrival of four squadrons of the German legion cavalry from Bury, under thecom- mand of general Auckland. Five of the ringleaders were tried by a court-martial, and sentenced to re- ceive 500 lashes each, part of which punishment they received on Wed- nesday, and a part was remitted. A stoppage for their knapsacks was the ground of complaint that ex- cited this mutinous spirit, which occasioned the men to surround their officers, and demand whatthey deemed their arrears. The first di- 34] vision of the German legion halt- ed yesterday at Newmarket, on their return to Bury.’?—Courier Newspaper, Saturday, June 24, 1809. - With this paragraph, as a text to a sermon, had Mr. Cobbett headed his paper. The . Attorney-general read the alleged libel. “LOCAL MILITIA AND GERMAN LEGION. ‘‘ See the motto, English reader! See the motto, and then do pray recollect all that. has been said about the wayinwhich Buonaparte raises soldiers. —Well done, lord Castlereagh! This.is just what it was thought your plan would pro- duce. Well said, Mr. Huskisson ! It really was not without reason that you dwelt with so much ear- nestness upon the great. utility of the foreign troops, whom Mr. Wardle appeared, to think of no utility at all. Poor gentleman! he little imagined how a great genius might find useful employment for such troops. He little imagined, that they might be madethemeans of compelling Englishmen to sub- mit to that sort of discipline, which is so conducive to the producing in them a disposition to defend the country, at the risk of their lives. Let Mr. Wardle look at my motto, and then say, whether the German soldiers are of no use —Five hundred lashes each!—Aye, that is right! Flog them ; flog them ; flog them! ‘They deserve it, and a great deal more. They deserve a flogging at every meal time. ‘Lash them daily, lash them duly.” What! shall the rascals dare to mutiny, and that too when the German legion is so near at hand! Lash them, lash them, lash them! They deserve it. O, then 342 __ yes; they merit a double-tailedcat. Base dogs! Wnat, mutiny for the sake of the price of a knapsack ! Lash them ! fog them! Base ras- cals! Mutiwy for the price of a goat’s skin !—And then, upon the appearance of the Germansoldiers, they take a flogging as quietly as _ so many trunks of trees!—I do not know what sort of a place Ely is; but I really should like to know how the inhabitants looked one another in the face, while this scene was exhibiting in their town. I should like to have been able to see their faces, and to hear their observations to each other at the time. This occurrence at home will, one would hope, teach the loyal a little caution in speaking of the means whichNapoleonemploys (or rather, which they say he em- ploys) in order to get together and to discipline his conscripts. There is scarcely any one of these loyal persons, who has not, at various times, cited the hand-cuffings, and other means of force, said to be used in drawing out the young men of France; there is scarcely one of the loyal who has not cited these means as a proof, acomplete proof, that the people of France hate Napoleon and his government, assist wath reluctance in his wars, and would fain see another revolu- tion. I hope, I say, that the loyal will, hereafter, be more cautious in drawing such conclusions, now that they see that our * gallant defenders’ not only require physi- cal restraints, in certain cases, but even a little blood drawn from their backs, and that, too, with the aid and assistance of German troops. Yes; I hope the loyal will be a little more upon their guard in drawing conclusions against Napoleon’s popularity.— ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. At any rate, every time they do, in future, burst out in execrations against the French for suffering themselves tobe ‘chained together and forced at the point of the bayonet, to do military duty,’ I shall just re-publish the passage which I have taken for the motto to the present sheet. I have heard of some other pretty little things of the same sort; but I rather choose to take my instance (and a very complete one it is) from a public print notoriously under the sway of the ministry.” The jury would observe with how much reproach Mr. Cobbett mentioned thejword * loyal.””? He would not suffer it to be believed that Napoleon would use such means to raise an army. He not only rendered it a vehicle of attack on this country, butas adefence of the emperor of France ; he would not permit the country to believe the tyranny of Buonaparte. So that the author meant to represent that the treatment of ministers was as tyrannical as the chaining to- gether the conscripts of France. The object of the libel was, to give to allmen a distaste to the German legion, into whichsome must enter, and to persuade people, that the tyranny of the measure of the local militia was greater than that of Buonaparte. For these reasons he felt himself called upon tobring the publication before ajury. What- ever the author had to allege, he would be patiently heard. He had attentively considered the paper in question, and could give it no cha- racter, but that which he had de-~ scribed it to be. Mr. Cobbett defended himself, and the jury returned a verdict of uilty. On the 9th of July following, APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. theAttorney-General prayed judg- ment against Mr. Cobbett, T. C. Hansard (the printer) and John Budd and Richard Bagshaw (the publishers ) which was as follows: “ That you, William Cobbett, do pay a fine to the king of 1,000/. ; that you be imprisoned in his ma- jesty’s gaol of Newgate for the space of two years; that, at the expiration of that time, you enter into a recognizance to keep the peace for seven years, yourself in the sum of 3,000/. and two sureties in the sum of 1,000/. each. And, further, that you be imprisonedtill that recognizance be entered into, and that fine paid.” The judge then pronounced the sentence of the court on T. C. Hansard, the printer. He observ- ed, that the case of the other three defendents differed from thatof the defendant Cobbett, inasmuch as they had no share in the profits of the libel; but, as Hansard had seen the copy before it wasprinted, he ought not to have suffered it to have been printed. He was, there- fore, sentenced to three monthsim- prisonment in theking’s-benchpri- son, and at the expiration of that term to enter into a recognizance to keep the peace: himself in 4007. and two sureties in 200/. each; and to be further imprisoned untilsuch security be given. Messrs. Budd and Bagshaw, the publishers, were each sentenced to two months confinement in the same prison. Nov. 26. Court of King’s-bench. — The King v.John Gale Jones, for a libel—Mr.Jones was brought up to receivesentence; when Mr,Jus- tice Grose, after a few prefatory observations, said, that ‘the libel had already been commented on too ably from the bench and the bar to require any thing further to 343 be said of its nature. It was fla- grant and atrocious: it went to charge a public character with having abused his authority to the oppression of an individual. The manner in which Mr. Jones at- tempted to extenuate the offence was an aggravation. He had talked of his being an advocate for the liberty of the press; but the truest friend to that liberty was the most resolute opposer of its licentiousness. The law was, how- ever, strong and ready to protect the individual, otherwise every good man’s character would be at the mercy of those who had none ; miscreants, who, for base lucre or for other motives equally degrad- ing, set themselves to the work of calumny. It was one thing to judge of a man’s character, and another to drag him before the public and calumniate him. The modeof disseminating the calumny in question made it peculiarly ma- lignant. The court would now order and adjudge Mr. John Gale Jones to be imprisoned in the house of correction in Cold-bath-fields for twelve months ; and to find se- curities to keep the peace for three years, himself in 500/. and two sureties in 2501. The King v. Peter Finnerty.— Mr. Curwood stated that he was instructed to apply to the court in this case, the defendant having had notice to. appear to receive the judgment of the court to-day. He observed that he had an afli< davit, which he had handed to the Attorney-General, stating that Mr. Finnerty was confined to his bed by illness, labouring under a fever, and that it would be attend- ed with hazard to his life to ap- pear here. The learned counsel, therefore, humbly applied to their 344 lordships that the recognizance might be respited till the next term. The affidavit of John Stanton, of the Strand, surgeon, was read ; stating that he had attended Mr. Finnerty yesterday andthis morn- ing, when he laboured under a very severe fever, and that if he left his chamber his life would be endangered. » Mr. Attorney-General.—*« My lord, I leave this entirely to the discretion of the court.” Lord Ellenborough. — ‘* Then we must respite the recognizance ; itisswornthat hecannotbebrought up now without peril of his life.” Mr. Curwood.—“ Your lord- ships respite the recognizance to next term?” Lord Ellenborough.—* If the Attorney-General wished it, we would. give you only a rule to show cause why it should not be respited: if not, take your rule. Mr. Attorney-General, would you wish that they should take only a rule to show cause ?” Mr. Altorney-General.— No, my lord, I think not; in short I wouldnot interpose any difficulty.” Lord Ellenborough.—Then let the recognizance be respited.” 3. Liberty of the Subject.—Papers, &c. relative to the affair of Sir Francis Burdett. SIR F. BURDETT’S LETTER TO HIS CONSTI- TUENTS. “No freeman shall be taken, or im- prisoned, or be disseized of his freehold, or liberties, or free customs, or be out- lawed, or exiled, or any otherwise de- stroyed , nor will we pass upon him, nor condemn him, but by /awful judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land. We will sell to no man, we will not deny ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. or defer to any man, either justice or right.”’—Magna Charta, chap. XXXIX. «¢ Gentlemen,—The House of Commons having passed a vote which amounts to a declaration, that an order of theirs is to be of more weight than Magna Charta | and the laws of the land, I think it my duty to lay my sentiments thereon before my constituents, whose characters as freemen, and even whose personal safety, , de~ pend in so great a degree upon the decision of this question—a question of no Jess importance than this: Whether our liberty be still to be secured by the laws of our forefathers, or be to lie at the absolute mercy of a part of our fellow-subjects collected together by means which it is not neces- sary for me to describe. ‘In order to give this subject all the attention to which it is en- titled, and to avoid the danger to be apprehended from partial views and personal feeling, it will be advisable to argue the question on its own merits, putting the in- dividual (however we may de- plore his present sufferings) out of view; though, at the same time, every man ought to consider the case his own; because, should the principle upon which the gen- tlemen of the House of Commons have thought proper to act in this instance be once admitted, it is impossible for any one to con- jecture how soon he himself may be summoned from his dwelling, and be hurried, without trial, and without oath made against him, from the bosom of his family into the clutches of a jailor. It is therefore now the time to resist the doctrine upon which Mr.Jones has been sent to Newgate; or it is high time to cease all pre APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. tensions to those liberties which were acquired by our forefathers, after so many struggles and so many sacrifices. «* Either the House of Com- mons is authorized to dispense with the laws of the land; or it is not. Ifthe constitution be of so delicate a texture, so weak a frame, so fragile a substance, that it is to be only spoken of in terms of admiration, and to be viewed merely as a piece of curious but unprofitable workmanship; if Magna Charta and all the whole- some laws of England be a dead letter; in that case, the affirmative of the proposition may beadmitted: but if the constitution lives, and is applicable to its ends; namely, the happiness of the community, the perfect security of the life, liberty, and property of each member, and all the members of the society ; then the affirmative of the proposition can never be admitted ; then must we be free- men; for we need no better se- curity; no more powerful protec- tion for our rights and liberties, than the laws and constitution. «© We seek for, and we need seek for, nothing new ; we ask for no more than what our forefathers insisted upon as their own; we ask for no more than what they bequeathed unto us ; we ask for no more than what they, in the testa- ment which some of them had sealed, and which the rest of them were ready to seal, with their blood, expressly declared tobe the birth- right of the people of England: namely, the laws of England. To these laws, we havea right to look with confidence, for security; to these laws, the individual now im- prisoned has, through me, applied for redress in vain, Those who have imprisoned him have refused 345 to listen to my voice, weakly ex- pressing the strong principles of the law, the undeniable claims ‘of this Englishman’s birthright. ‘¢ Your voicemay comewith more force ; may command greater re- spect ; and I am not without hope that it may prove irresistible, if it proclaim to this House of Com- mons, in the same tone as the tongues of our ancestors pro- claimed to the kings of old, nolu- mus lezes Anglie mutari ; or, in our own more clear and not less forcible language, the laws of England shall not be changed. « The principle, fellow-citizens, for which we are now contending, is the same principle for which the people of England have con- tended from the earliest ages, and their glorious success in which contests is down upon record in the great charter of our rights and liberties, and in divers other sub- sequent statutes, of scarcely less importance. It was this same great principle which was again attacked by Charles the First, in the measure of ship-money, when again the people of England and an uncorrupted House of Com- mons renewed the contest ; a con- test which ended in the imprison- ment, the trial, the condemnation, and the execution, of that ill-ad- vised king. The self-same prin- ciple it was, that-was so daringly violated by his son James the Second; for which violation he was compelled to flee from the just indignation of the people, who not only stripped him of his crown but who prevented that crown from descending to his family. In all these contests, the courage, per- severance, and fortitude of our ancestors, conspicuous as they were, were not more so than their wisdom ; for, talk as long as we 346 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. will about rights, liberties, fran- chises, privileges, and immunities, of what avail are any or all of these together, if our persons can at the sole will and command of any man, or set of men, be seized on, thrown into prison, and there kept during the pleasure of that man, or set of men? If every one of you be liable, at any time, to be sent. to jail without trial, and without oath made against) you, and there to be detained as long as it pleases the parties sending you there (perhaps to the end of your life) without any court to appeal to, without any means of redress; if this be the case, shall we still boast of the laws and of the liberties of England ? Volumes have been written by foreigners, as well as by our own countrymen, in praise of that part of our law which, in so admirable a manner, provides for our perso- nal safety against any attacks of men in power. This has, indeed, been in all ages the pride of our country; and it is the maintenance of this principle which enabled us to escape that bondage, in which all the states and kingdoms in Europe were enthralled by aban- doning and yielding it up; and we may be assured, that if we now abandon it, the bright day of Eng- land’s glory will set in the night of her disgrace. « But I would fain believe that such is not to be our fate. Our forefathers made stern grim- visaged prerogative hide his head: they broke in pieces his sharp and massy sword. And shall we, their sons, be afraid to enter the lists with undefined privilege assuming the powers of prerogative ? I shall be told, perhaps, that there is not much danger of this power being very frequently exercised. The same apology may be made for the exercise of any power whatever. I do not suppose that the gentlemen of the House of Commons. will send any of you to jail when you do not displease them. Mr. Yorke did not move for the sending of Mr. Jones to jail, until Mr. Jones displeased him ; but it is not a very great compli- ment to pay to any constitution, to say, that it does not permit a man to be imprisoned unless he has done something to displease persons in power. It would be difficult, I should suppose, to find any man upon earth, how- ever despotic his disposition, who would not be contented with the power of sending to prison, during his pleasure, every one who should dare to do any thing to displease him. Besides, when I am told that there is little danger that the gentlemen in the House of Commons will often exercise this power, I cannot help observ- ing, that, though the examples may be few, their effect will natu- rally be great and general. At this moment, it is true, we see but one man actually in jail, for having displeased those gentle- men ; but the fate of this one man (as the effect of all punishments) will deter others from expressing their opinions of the conduct of those who have had the power to punish him. And, moreover, it is in the nature of all power, and especially of assumed and undefined power, to increase as it advances in age: and, as Magna Charta and the law of the land have not been sufficient to pro- tect Mr. Jones; as we have seen himsentto jail for having described the conduct of oneof themembers APPENDIX to as an outrage upon public feeling, what security have we, unless this power of imprisonment be given up, that we shall not see other men sent to jail for stating their opinion respecting rotten bo- reughs, respecting placemen and pensioners sitting in the House; or, in short for making any decla- ration, giving any opinion, stating any fact, betraying any feeling, whether by writing by word of mouth, or by gesture, which may displease any of the gentlemen assembled in St. Stephen’s Cha- pel ? * Then, again, as to the kind of punishment ; why should they stop at sending persons to jail ? If they can send whom they please to jail; if they can keep the per- son so sent, in jail as long as they please ; if theycan set their prison- ers free at the end of the first hour, or keep them confined for seven years; if, in short, their ab- solute will is to have the force of law, what security can you have that they will stop at imprison- ment? If they have the absolute power of imprisoning and releas- ing, why may they not send their prisoners to York jail, as well as toa jaol in London? Why not ‘confine men in solitarycells,or load them with chains and bolts ? They have not gone these lengths yet; but what is there to restrain them, if they are to be the sole judges of the extent of their own powers, and if they are to exercise those powers without any control, and without leaving the parties whom they chose to punish, any mode of appeal, any means of redress? «That a. power such as this should exist in any country it is lamentable to be obliged to be- lieve; but that it should be suffered _to exist, and that its existence CHRONICLE. 347 should be openly and even boast- fully avowed in a country whose chief glory has been its free con- stitution of government, is some- thing too monstrous tobe believed, if the proof were not before our eyes. Had the least doubt hung upon my mind of the illegality of the proceedings in the present case,it would have been altogether removed by the answers. given to the references made by me to the great luminaries of our law, and to the laws themselves. The argu- ments, by which I endeavoured to convince the gentlemen of the House of Commons that their acts, in the case of Mr. Jones, were illegal, I shall now lay before you, in a more full and connected way than it could possibly be done by the parliamentary reporters ; and in doing this, I shall do all that now remains in my power towards the correction of this, as I deem it, most enormous abuse of power, and most dangerous of all encroachments upon the rights and liberties of Englishmen—I remain, gentlemen, your most obedient, humble servant, « Francis BurDETT.” ‘‘ Piccadilly, March 23, 1810.” April 6. Narrative of sir F. Burdett’s commitment tothe Tower. —At half past seven o’clock in the morning, as soon as the divi- sion in the House of Commons was known, Mr. Jones Burdett, accompanied by Mr. O’Connor, who had remained all night at the House of Commons, set off in a post-chaise to Wimbledon, and informed sir Francis Burdett of the result. Sir Francis immedi- ately mounted his horse, and rode to town; the other two returned in the chaise. Sir Francis found a letter on his table from Mr. Colman, the serjeant-at-arms, ac« 348 quaintirg him that he had received a warrant signed by the right honourable the Speaker of the House of Commons, to arrest and convey him to the Tower, and he begged to know when he might wait on him; that it was his wish to show him the utmost respect, and therefore, if be preferred to take his horse and ride to the Tower, he would meet him there. To this letter sir Francis Burdett wrote an answer to the following effect : »* Sir, On my return from Wim- bledon I found your polite letter, and shall be happy to receive you here at twelve o’clock to-morrow. —I remain, Sir, your obedient servant, «Francis BuRDETT.” «FE. J..Colman, Esq. * Piccadilly, April 6, 1810.” Before this letter could be delivered, Mr. Colman came himself to sir Francis’s house, and told him he had a warrant to arrest him. Sir Francis said he had received his letter; and had written an answer, in which he told him, that he would be ready to receive him the next day at twelve o’clock; upon which Mr. Colman politely bow- ed and withdrew. About seven o’clock in the evening his friend, Mr. O’Connor, went to the Tower to see that preparation should be made to receive him, as sir Fran- cis entertained no doubt but that the next day the serjeant-at-arms would come with a force to compel him to surrender. Mr. O’Connor, saw colonel Smith, who told him that every preparation had been made for his recep- tion; that the house next to his own had been well aired: and that, from a sense of duty as ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. well as from respect, he might depend every attention should be paid to sir Francis. About eight o’clock the same evening, Mr. Colman and a messenger came back to sir Francis’s house, and the serjeant told him he had received a severe reprimand from the Speaker for not exe- cuting the warrant in the morn- ing, and remaining with «sir Francis; and he hoped that he would now submit to be his prisoner. Sir Francis answered, that he was sure the Speaker would not, upon consideration, think him to blame ; for that it would not have been in his power to remain with him; as, without any personal offence to him, he (sir Francis) would not have permitted him to remain. The serjeant-at-arms said ‘« T shall be obliged, sir, to resort to force, as it is my duty to exe- cute the warrant.” Sir Francis answered, “If you bring an overwhelming force, I must submit; but I dare not, from my allegiance to the king, and my respect for his laws, yield a voluntary submission to such a warrant—it is illegal.’ The serjeant again urged him to permit him to remain with him, Sir Francis said, “ You must leave my house; but I have written a letter to the Speaker, which, if you please, you may take with you, and deliver it—it contains my resolution as to your warrant.”” The serjeant begged leave to decline taking charge of any such letter ; he said he had already in- curred blame by not executing the warrant, and he should be consi-« dered as more criminal if he car- ried any letter in contradiction to it ; and he withdrew, : APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. Sir Francis then sent this letter by his own son, Robert Burdett, a youth of fourteen, and his brother Mr. Jones Burdett to the Speaker, and it was accordingly delivered at ten o’clock at night. On Saturday morning sir Fran- cis breakfasted at the house of his friend, Mr. O‘Connor, in Maddox- street, Hanover-square. After breakfast they walked to Half- Moon-street, where sir Francis mounted his horse and took aride in the park, accompanied only by his groom. On Mr. O’Connor’s return to sir Francis’s house in Piccadilly, he found one of the messengers of the House of Com- mons waiting for sir Francis. He said he had the warrant for his arrest in his pocket, and he wished _to see him, as he had orders to remain with him. On sir Francis’s return, he found in his room a number of his friends waiting for him, and he was told of the mes- senger in waiting. He. desired him to be shown up. «« Well my good friend (said sir Francis) what is your business ?” Mess.—*“ Sir, I am desired to show youthe order of the House of Commons upon which the war- rant is issued—to serve that war- rant upon you, and to remain with you.” He delivered the warrant to sir Francis, which he read, and put it into his pocket. It isas follows :— Veneris, 6° die Aprilis, 1810. ““ Whereas the House of Com- mons has this day adjudged that sir Francis Burdett, baronet, who has admitted that a letter signed, ‘ Francis Burdett,’ and a further part of a paper, entitled ¢ Argu- ‘ment,’ in Cobbet’s Weekly Regis- ter, of March 24, 1810, was print- 349 ed by his authority (which letter and argument the said House has resolved to be a libellous and scandalous. paper, reflecting on the just rights and privileges of the said House) has been thereby guilty of a breach of the privi- leges of the said House :' ** And whereas the House of Commons hath thereupon ordered, that the said sir Francis Burdett be, for his said offence, committed to his majesty’s Tower of London: «« These are therefore to require you to take into custody the body of the saidsir Francis Burdett, and then forthwith to deliver him over into the custody of the lieutenant ofhis majesty’s Tower of London: «¢ And all mayors, bailiffs, she- riffs, under-sheriffs, constables, and headboroughs,and every other person, or persons, are hereby required to be aiding and assisting to you in the execution hereof ; for which this shall be your suffi- cient warrant. Given under my hand, the 6th day of April, 1810. «* Cuas. Appor, Speaker.” ** To the Serjeant-at-arms at- tending the House of Com- mons, or his deputy ?” Sir Francis—‘* My friend, this is not a sufficient warrant. You may return and inform the Speak- er that I will not obey it.” Mess—“ Sir, it is my orders to remain with you, and I must obey, unless I am forced to withdraw.” Sir Francis—‘** You must in- stantly withdraw.” He wasaccordingly shown down stairs by Mr. O’Connor. The person wished force to be used. Mr. O’Connor said, ‘* There is the door open for you; you must go; but it is not my practice to be so uncivil as to lay violent hands on 350 any one, and I hope you will not make it necessary now.” The messenger bowed and retired. Between twelve and one o'clock a troop of life-guards arrived, and were drawn up before the house of sir Francis, and their horses were made to prance about on the foot- pavement as well as the street, for the purpose of dispersing the peo- ple. There was much hissing. In about a quarter of an hour, Mr. Read, the magistrate arrived. He mounted a dragoon horse, and read the riot act, and warned all people peaceably to depart. The guards were then planted across Piccadilly from Dover-street, on the one side, to Bolton-row on the other, so as to block up the thoroughfare. Mr. Jones Burdett was not suffered to pass through the line to his dinner until he pro- cured a constable. During all this time sir Francis was at home with his family. His colleague, lord Cochrane, Mr.O’Connor, and Mr. Jones Burdett, dined with him. In consequence of this demon- stration of military force, he wrote the following requisition to the sheriffs of Middtesex, which was delivered into the hands of Mr. sheriff Wood, in the street :— «¢ Gentlemen ;—In furtherance of an attempt to deprive me of my liberty, under the authority ofan instrument which I know to be illegal, viz. a warrant by the Speaker of the House of Com- mons, my house is at this moment beset by a military force. ‘¢ As I am determined never to yield a voluntary obedience to an act contrary to the laws, I am resolved to resist the execution of such a warrant by all the legal means in my power; and as you ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. are the constitutional officers ap~- pointed to protect the inhabitants of your bailiwick from violence and oppression, from whatever quarter they may come, I make this requi- sition to you, gentlemen, to fur- nish me with your aid, with which the laws have provided you, either by calling out the posse comitatus or such other as the case and circumstances may require. “Tt is for you to consider, how far you are liable should I, by any unlawful force, acting under an unlawful authority, be taken from my house. I have the honour to be, gentlemen, your very obedient servant, (Signed) «Francis BURDETT. ** Piccadilly ,April'7, 1810. «¢ Matthew Wood, esq. and John Atkins, esq. she- riffs of Middlesex.” On Monday morning he break- fasted in his drawing-room on the first floor, with lady Burdett, the countess of Guilford, and lady Maria, lady Jane, lady Georgiana North, Mrs. Coutts, his son, Ro- bert Burdett, his brother, and Mr. O’Connor. Mr. Coutts had just retired. Breakfast was finished, and sir Francis was employed in hearing his son (who had just come from Eton school) read and translate Magna Charta, when Mr. O’Connor observed a man’s face at one of the windows: he had mounted by a ladder, had already thrown up the sash, and was in the act of entering ; in the attempt to do which he broke some panes of glass. Mr. O’Connor ran up to him. Sir Francis called out not to hurt the man, as it would have been easy at that moment for Mr. O'Connor, by the mere shifting of the ladder, to have precipj- 4 | | | | at home; } APPENDIX to tated the person into the area, a height of at least twenty feet: but he contented himself with putting one hand to his breast, and with the. other shutting the window. Sir Francis, his son, and brother, shut down all the other windows—while they saw a body of troops drawn up in front of the house. During this mo- ment, so alarming to the deli- cacy of the sex and to the affec- tion of a wife and mother, seeing her husband and only son ex- posed to the possible discharge of artillery and musketry, both she and all the ladies maintained the most perfect constancy of mind; and both in this moment, and in the scene which ensued, displayed a courage that did honour to their understandings and their hearts. Mr. O’Connor ran down stairs to see if all was safe below. He met about twenty men with con- stables’ staves in their hands. They had descended the area, and had burst open a window, sashes, frame and all, by which they en- tered through a small servant's room. He asked them what they wanted 2? They answered — Sir Francis Burdett; Was heat home? He replied, that sir Francis was What did they want with him? They rushed up to the drawing room where sir Fran- cis and his family, with the ladies, still were. At this time there were constables only; the ser- geant-at-arms did not show him- self, nor was there any magistrate; but the sergeant-at-arms (Mr. Colman) followed the posse of constables up stairs, and said :— Sergeant.“ Sir Francis, you are my prisoner.” Sir Franciso—“By what author- CHRONICLE. 351 ity do youact Mr. Sergeant? By what power, Sir, have you broken into my house, in violation of the laws of the land ?” Sergeant.—* Sir Francis, I am authorised by the warrant of Mr. SpeakeroftheHouse of Commons.” Sir Francis.—“ 1 contest the authority of such a warrant. Ex- hibit to me the legal warrant upon which you have dared to violate my house?) Where is the sheriff? Where is the magistrate??? (at this time there was no magistrate, but he soon afterwards appeared. ) Sergeant.—“ Sir Francis, my authority is in my hand—I will read it to you: it is the warrant of the right honourable the Speaker of the House of Commons.” ( And here Mr. Colman attempted to read the warrant; but which he did with great trepidation. ) Sir Francis.—* I repeat to you that it is no sufficient warrant. No —not to arrest my person in the open street, much less to break open my house, in violation of all law. If you have a warrant from his majesty, or from a proper officer of the king, I will pay in- stant obedience to it; but I will not vield to an illegal order.” Sergeant.— Sir Francis 1 de- mand you to yield in the name of the Commons House of Parlia- ment, and I trust you will not compel me to use force. I en- treat you to believe that I wish to show you every respect.” Sir Francis.—“1 tell you dis- tinctly, that I will not voluntarily submit to an unlawful order ; and I demand in the king’s name, and in the name of the laws, that you forthwith retire from my house.” Sergeant.— Then, Sir, I must call in assistance, and force you to yield,” 352 Upon which the constables Jaid hold of Sir Francis. Mr. Jones Burdett, and Mr. O’Connor im- mediately stepped up, and each took him under an arm. The constables closed in on all three, and drew them down stairs. Sir Francis then said,—* I pro- test in the king’s name against this violation of my person and f my house. It is superior force only that hurries me out of it, and you do it at your peril.” The ladies were still present and betrayed no symptoms of alarm; no doubt from the confidence which they had in sir Francis’s temper, and in their persuasion that no outrage beyond the ac- tual arrest would be committed.” In descending the stairs, sir Francis hoped that his brother and his friend might be allowed to accompany him; which Mr. Colman promised. A coach was drawn up at the ‘door ; it was instantly surrounded by cavalry. The baronet stepped in first, followed by the sergeant and a constable. Mr. Jones Bur- dett and Mr. O’Connor also got in; but the latter was taken out, and the cavalcade instantly set off at a rapid pace. The procession moved from sir Francis Burdett’s house in the fol- lowing order :—two squadrons of the fifteenth light dragoons; two troops of life guards, with Mr. Read the magistrate at their head; the coach with sir Francis; two more troops of life guards ; a troop of the fifteenth light dragoons ; two battalions of foot guards, march- ing in open order; and a party of the fifteenth light dragoons form- ing the rear. In this order they proceeded to Albemarle-street, where they halted, and then turned ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. up that street, with the exception of two battalions of foot guards, who marched forward through Piccadilly, the Haymarket, and Strand, to the Tower. The escort proceeded along Al- bemarle-street, Bond-street, Con- duit-street,acrossHanover-square, into Oxford street, along Joln- street,GreatPortland-street, Port- land-road, the New-road, Mary-le bone, by Pentonville, across Isling- ton, along the City-road to Moor- fields, from thence by Sun-street into Aldgate High-street, and along the Minories to the Tower. The procession went on at its outset at a quick rate, and the capture having been made at an earlier hour than the crowd had been in the habit of assembling, the event was not immediately or generally known. The baronet had passed up Albemarle-street before a cry was set up, ‘¢ They have taken him—they have drag- ed him out of the house!’? The cry spread immediately far and wide: and an immense crowd soon attended the cavalcade, which increased to such an extent that, by the time sir Francis reached the Tower, the crowd had blocked up the Minories and all the streets in its vicinity, and it became im- possible for cart or carriage to pass. Additional preparations had been made in the contemplation of a disturbance near the Tower. Troops were stationed near it, and a fresh regiment came up by water from Tilbury-fort the same morning. They were quartered in the New Mint, Tower-hill. The foot-guards who had march- ed along the Strand and through the city, arrived upon Tower-hill five minutes before twelve. They came down Mark-lane, headed by APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. theCity-marshal and a civil officer. They drew up three deep in the _ line from the Tower gates, which were shut, covering the entrance. Ten minutes past twelve, an offi- cer of the fifteenth light dragoons rode smartly out from Jewry- street, by the farther side of the Trinity-house, making signals for the mob to clear the way. A _ quarter past twelve, arrived about twenty of the horse-guards, who rode up towards the Tower gates. At the distance of 100 yards, came about 300 of the 15th light dra- ng then about 200 of the orse guards, having in the middle of them the coach containing Sir Francis Burdett. The windows of the coach were all down; Sir Francis sat on the right, behind; he sat forward, and was well seen, After the horse guards, came about 200 more of the fifteenth. As the procession entered by the further side of the Trinity-house, it came on Tower-hill, in a serpen- tine form, and the military spec- tacle was very grand. Inthisstate things remained for half an hour, the carriage covered by about 200 horse guards, the line of foot guards stretching from it up Tower-hill, the fifteenth lining the sides of Tower-hill, to keep off the mob, which began to disperse. The two squadrons of the fif- . teenth light dragoons openedright and left, and cleared the ground in all directions, forming a circle, two deep around the entrance, through which the remainder of the force, with the prisoner, proceeded with- out any material interruption ; though there wasmuch hooting and huzzaing—* Burdett for ever!” Many of the mob were forced into Vor. LIL. 353 the Tower ditch, but without mis- chief, as there was but little water. On the arrival of the carriage at the gate, Sir Francis alighted, and was received with the usual for- malities, firing of cannon, &c. The gate was immediately shut. Sir Francis was admitted about one o'clock. Animportant question having arisen concerning the legality of Sir F. Burdett’s arrest, we give the fol- lowing opinion of the Attorney General, on the queries proposed to him, relative thereto. ‘© Query. — The Serjeant-at- armsattending the House of Com- mons having in the execution of this warrant been resisted, and turned out of Sir Francis Burdett’s private dwelling-house, by force. ««Your opinion is desired, whe- ther in the execution of this war- rant he will be justified inbreaking open the outer or any inner door of the private dwelling-house of Sir Francis Burdett, or of any other person in which there is rea- sonable cause to suspect he is con- cealed, for the purpose of appre- hending him. And whether he may take to his assistance a suffi- cient civil or military force for that purpose, such force acting under the direction of a civil magistrate. And whether such proceedings will be justifiable during the night as well as in the day-time.” f Opinion.—* Noinstance isstated to me, and I presume that none is to be found, in which the outer door of a house has been broken open under the Speaker’s warrant for the purpose of apprehending the person against whom such war- rant issued being therein. I must, 2A 354 therefore, form my opinion alto- gether upon cases which have arisen upon the execution of writs or warrants issuing from other courts, and which seem to fall within the same principle. “T findit laiddownin Semayne’s case, 5Co. 91, that where the King is a party, the sheriff may break open the defendant’s house, either to arrest him or to do otherexecu- tion of the king’s process; if other- ‘wise he cannot enter. So if the defendant be in the house of an- other man, the sheriff may do the same ; but he cannot break into the house of the defendant in the execution of any processatthe suit of an individual. This distinction proceeds, as I apprehend, uponthe greater importance of enforcing the process of the crown for the public benefit, than that of indivi- duals for the support of their pri- vaterights. Reasoning fromhence, I should think that the Speaker’s warrapt, which had issued to ap- prehend a man under sentence of commitment for a breach of the privileges of the House of Com- mons, might be executed in the same manner with criminal process in the name of the king, inasmuch as those privileges were given to the House of Commons for the be- nefit of the public only ; and the public are interested in the due support of them. If the act had been done, and I had been asked whether it could be defended, I should say that it could; but where it ispreviously known that the exe- cution of the warrant will be re- sisted by force, and if deathshould ensue in such conflict, the officer who executes the warrant would stand justified, ornot, as the break- ing of the house may be held law- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. ful or unlawful; I feel. myself obliged to bring this under his no- tice, leaving him to judge for himself whether he will venture to act upon my opinion, which has no direct authority in point to support it, but rests upon rea- soning from other cases, which appear to me to fall within the same principle.-—Should the offi- cer resolve to break into the house if it be found necessary, he must be careful, first to signify the cause of his coming, and make re- quest to open the doors, and not use any force until it appears that ‘those within will not comply ; and he should be assured that the par- ty whom he seeks to apprehend is within the house. For the pur- pose of executing the warrant, he may take with him a sufficient force of such description as the nature of the case renders neces-~ sary. If he has reason to appre- hend a degree of resistance which can only be expelled by a military force, he may take such force with him; but in this case it will be prudent to take. with him also a civil magistrate. «I do not think it advisable to execute the warrant in the night. The otlicer should understand, that when Sir Francis Burdett has once béen arrested, if he after wards effects his escape or is res- cued, his own house, or the house of any other person into which he retreats, may be broken for the purpose of retaking him. V. Gress.” ** Lincoln’s Inn, April 8.” Letter from the Electors of West- minster to Sir Francis Burdett. ‘« Sir,—We nominated you to be our representative, without your APPENDIX to knowledge, and we elected you without your interference. We were confident you would perform the duties of a representative in een with ability and fidelity. m every respect, you have not only fulfilled but exceeded our ex- pectation. We derive the utmost satisfaction from having pointed out to the nation the way to be fairly represented. Hadit beenpos- sible that our example could have been fellowed, and a proper repre- sentation thereby produced, the scenes we have lately witnessed would not have disgraced our country. «« We understood the nobleness of your mind, and were confident that you would not descend to bar- ter your trust for a place under government, nor be the partisan or leader of those who support or reject measures, just as they hap- pen to be proposed on this or on that side of the house. “© We feel the indignity that has been offered to you; but we are not surprised to find, when every excuse is made for public delin- quents, that the utmost rigour is exercised against him who pleads for the ancient and constitutional rights of the people. ** You nobly stepped forward in defence of a fellow-subject un- justly imprisoned ; and you ques- tioned, with great ability and knowledge of the laws, the war- rant issued upon that occasion. The House of Commons have an- swered your argument by break- ing into your house with a mili- tary force, seizing your person, and conveying you by a large body of troops to the Tower. “ Your distinction between pri- vilege and powerremains unaltered —the privileges of the House of Commons are for the protection, CHRONICLE. 355 not for the destruction, of the people. ** We have resolved to remon- strate with the House of Com- mons on the outrages committed under their order, and to call upon them to restore you to your seat in parliament, which the pre- sent state of the country renders more than ever necessary for the furtherance of your and our ob- ject—a reform of the represen- tation in that house. «« While so many members are collected together by means ‘ which it is not necessary for us to describe,’ we cannot but enter- tain the greatest apprehensions for the remainder of our liberties ; and the employment of a military force against one of their own body, is but a sad presage of what may be expected by those who, like you, have the courage to stand forward in defence of the rights of the people. “* When we reflect on your gene- rous exertions to destroy the hor- rors of secret and solitary confine- ment—to mitigate the severity of punishment in the army—to pre- vent the cashiering of its officers, withoutcause assigned—to restore, for the comfort of the worn-out soldier, the public property con- veyed bya job toan individual—to prevent the extension of the bar- rack system, the obvious effect of which is, to separate the soldier from the citizen—to prevent the in- troduction of foreign troops—to bring to light an atrocious act of tyranny, by which a British sailor was left to perish ona barren rock —and, above all, your unremitted exertions to obtain a full, fair, and free representation of the people in parliament—whenwe reflect onthe firmness, the unshaken constancy which you have invariably shown 2AZ 356 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. ¢in evil report and good report,’ we are eager to express the senti- ments of gratitude and attachment to you with which we are impress- ed, andwe are convinced that those sentiments are not only felt by the inhabitants of this city, but by every person throughout the land, who is not interested in the con- tinuance of public abuses.” (Signed) &c. The above letter was signed by twenty-five inhabitant household- ers, electors of Westminster, in the name of the meeting held in Palace-Yard on the 17th inst.; and was presented to Sir Francis Burdett by the high bailiff. The following is the Baronet’s Re- ply to the Letter in question. “ Tower, April 20, 1810. “Sir Francis Burdett presents his respectful compliments to the high bailiff of Westminster, and transmits to him his answer to the letter of the electors of that city, which he did him the honour to present to him this morning. “Arthur Morris, Esq. high bai- liff for the city and liberties of Westminster. « Gentlemen, —If any thing could increase or confirm the con- stant resolution of my life, never to betray the confidence you have placed in me, it is the kindness and affection which your letter of the 17th inst. testifies to me, and the wisdom and propriety of your conduct at the late meeting. ‘*A scrupulous adherence to the common law of this land, and the wise provisions of the ancient sta- tutes declaratory of that law, which together form what I un- derstand by theconstitution, raised our country to an unexampled height of happinessand prosperity; and in an exact proportion to the invasion and neglect of them has the country declined. ‘* In defence of these laws and this constitution, I smileat any pri- vation to which, personally, 1 may be subjected, thinking, as I do, that life cannot so well and so happily, because it cannot be sohonourably and usefully, expended, as in de- fence of this our best inheritance, andin the maintenance of the good old cause for which Hampden died in the field, and Sidney and Russell on the scaffold. ‘* Laws, tobe entitled to respect and willing obedience, must be pure—must come from a pure source—that is, from common con- sent; and through an uncorrupt channel—that is, a Houseof Com- mons freely elected by the people. Moreover, they who pay the rec- koning ought to examine and con- troul the account; and the only controul the people can have, is by a fair representation in parliament. The necessity of obtaining this check by constitutional reforra, is now acknowledged by all, except those who, contrary to law, have possessed themselves of a pro- perty, in the House of Commons, by whom this land, this England— ‘+. this dear, dear land, Dear for her reputation through the world, Is now leas’d out Like to a tenement, or pelting farm ; England, bound in with the triumphant sea, Whose rocky shore beats back the envi- ous surge : Of watery Neptune, is now bound in with shame, With inky blots and rotten parchment bonds.’ ; “ From this foul and traitorous traffic our borough-monger sove- APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. reigns derive an immense revenue, cruelly wrung from the hard hand of honest labour. I do, however, now entertain an ardent hope, that this degraded and degrading system, to which all our difficul- ties, grievances and dangers are owing, will at length give way to the moderate but determined per- severance of awhole united people. ‘Magna Charta and the old law of the land will then resume their empire—freedom wili revive —the caterpillars of the state, coil- ing themselves up in their own na- turally narrow sphere, will fall off, and perish—property and political power, which the law never sepa- rates, will be re-united—the king replaced inthehappy and dignified station allotted him by the consti- tution—the people relieved from the bitterest of allcurses, the curse of Canaan—that of being the ser- vants of servants ; and restored to their just and indisputable rights. ‘«« To effect these great, impor- tant, and necessary purposes, no exertions of mine shall ever be wanting ;—without their attain- ment no efforts of mine can avail. The people of England must speak out; they must do more; they must act; and if, following the example of the electors of Westminster, they do act ina firm and regular manner, upon a con- certed plan, ever keeping the law and constitution in view, they must finally succeed in recovering that to which they are legally entitled —the appointment of their own guardians and trustees for the pro- tection of their own liberty and property. They must either do this, or they must inevitably fall a sacrifice to one or other of the most contemptible factions that ever disgraced this or any other country, 357 ‘© The question is now at issue ; it must now be ultimately deters mined, whether we are henceforth to be slaves or be free. Hold to the laws—this great country may recover—forsake them, and it will certainly perish. ‘I am, gentlemen, *‘ Your most obedient humble servant, * Francis BURDETT.” * To theElectors of Westminster.” May 4. Further Proceedings on Sir F. Burdett’s Affair.—Meet- ing of the Livery of Lordon.—In pursuance of a requisition, signed by a number of liverymen, a com- mon hall was held, on this day, to consider the conduct of the House of Commons in the recent impri- sonment of Mr. Gale Jones and Sir Francis Burdett. When the re- quisition had been read, the lord mayor came forward, and recom- mended an impartial hearing to every person. Mr. Favell then pro- posed the following resolutions : I. “ Resolved, That the livery of London, impressed with the deepest sentiments of alarm, re- gret, and indignation, at the late extraordinary and unconstitutional proceedings of the House of Com- mons, which, by the arrest and imprisonment of two of their fel- low-subjects, have, as they con- ceive, superseded the laws of the land, and set up in their stead, © under the claim of privilege, an undefined, capricious, and arbi- trary power—feel themselves ir- resistibly called upon to express, at a crisis so new, so arduous, and so fatal to their rights and liber- ties, their unqualified reprobation of measures equally subversive of the first principles of the constitus tion, derogatory to the real inter- ests and dignity of the House of 358° Commons, and injurious to the honour, glory, and happiness of the sovereign, and the people of these realms. II. «« Resolved, That it appears to us, that the Commons House of Parliament, in committing to prison Mr. John Gale Jones, and in breaking open the house of, and also in committing to prison, one of their members, Sir Francis Burdett, bart. for alledged libels upon themselves (offences which, if established, were provided against by the laws of the country ) have been at once accusers, legis- lators, judges, jurors, and execu- tioners in their own cause, shel- tering themselves under the pre- tence of privilege, and exercising a partial and summary jurisdic- tion, without redress or appeal. III. «* Resolved, That the whole system of Britishjurisprudencehas been thus shaken to its foundation, anda discretionary power assumed over the liberties of the people, as declared and established by the great charter, repeated and con- firmed by the petition of right, and the bill of rights, and recognised, enforced, and illustrated, by a snultiplicity of statutes. IV. “ Resolved, that it has been idly and vainly enacted and re-en- acted, ‘ That no freeman may be taken or imprisoned, or be dis- seised of his freehold or liberties, or be out-lawed, or exiled, or in any manner destroyed, but by the lawful judgment of his peers, or of the law of the land,’ if the House of Commons, which is it- self but a single branch of the legislature, do, to use the lan- guage of the bill of rights against the detestable tyranny of James II. ‘ by assuming and exercising a power of dispensing with and suspending of laws, and the exe~ ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. cuting of Jaws without the con- sent of parliament,’ set itself above parliament, making itself greater than the whole, of which it is but a part, dispensing with the laws which give to alla re- medy against commitments by the king himself, and thus erect- ing itself into a new and mon~ strous executive, the more dan- gerous to the lives, liberties and fortunes of the subject, inas- much as it claims for its rule of action its own discretion, will, or caprice. ' V. “ Resolved, That the true privilege of parliament, meaning nothing more than a protective right, was really designed as an immunity and safeguard, to be wielded as asafeguard against the encroachments, usurpations, and tyranny of the crown; not to be converted into an active power of violating the rights of others— into an instrument of arrogance, and a sword of destruction against the people. VI. “* Resolved, That the cor- dial thanks of this meeting be given to that illustrious patriot sir Francis Burdett, for his upright and independent conduct in par- liament; for his truly constitu- tional and irresistible argument, disproving the power of the House of Commons to imprison the peo- ple of England; and for his legal and manly resistance to the Speak- er’s warrant, whereby he has given a practical illustration of its ineficiency, and demonstrated that, as there is no legal power without the legal means of execu- tion, it could not be carried into effect without the aid of a stand« ing army, a violation of the an- cient laws and rights of English- men, and whichin this instance was so lamentably exemplified in the APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. breaking open of his castle, and so fatally preceded and followed by the murder of peaceable and unoffending citizens. VII. «* Resolved, That this re- solution be communicated to sir Francis Burdett by the sheriffs, and a deputation of the livery, who are desired at the same time to assure him, that, however grate- ful his release from arbitrary con- finement would prove to the citi- zens’ of London, his liberation - would be no jubilee to the British people, unless obtained by the triumph of those grand principles which in his person have been so shamefully and flagrantly violated. VIII. ‘Resolved, That this meeting would become accom- plices in the ruin of their constitu- tion and country, were they to de-= cline stating, what appears tothem to be the fact, that the House of Commons, which has repeatedly rejected just and necessary in- quiry, screened public delinquents and speculators from punishment, encouraged the scandalous traffic of seats in their own house, a traf- fic, ‘at the mention of which their ancestors would have started with indignation’—sanctioned the most profligate waste of the public money, and approved and justified an expedition the most numcrous, formidable, and expensive that ever left the shores of England, but the most degraded, disgraced, and ruinous that ever returned ; alike destructive of the genuine energies of the empire, and hold- ing out to the contempt and ridi- cule of the enemy the folly and imbecility of corrupt and wicked ministers. IX. “ Resolved, That under all the evils and calamities, these ac cumulated and accumulating griev- 359 ances, it appears to this meeting, that the only means left to save the constitution and the country from impending ruin, is a reform in the representation of the people in the Commons House of Parlia- ment, which, to be efficient, must be speedy and radical. X. “ Resolved, That the people of the united kingdom are hereby entreated to co-operate by peti- tion, remonstrance, and all con~ stitutional means in the attainment of this salutary and indispensable object. XI. “* Resolved, That a peti- tion, founded on these resolutions, be presented to the honourable the House of Commons. XII. «* Resolved, That the pe- tition now read be fairly transcrib- ed, and signed by two aldermen and twelve liverymen, and pre- sented to the honourable the House of Commons, by H. C. Combe, esq., sir W. Curtis, sir C. Price, and sir J. Shaw, bart. ; and they are hereby instructed, as re- presentatives of this city to sup- port the same. ‘© To the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, tn parlia- ment assembled, the humble ad- dress, remonstrance, and petition of the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Livery of the City of Lon- don, in Common Hall assembled, this 4th of May, 1810. «‘ We, the lord mayor, alder- men, and livery of the city of Lon- don, in common hal! assembled, beg leave, with feelings of the most anxious concern, to present this our humble address, petition, and remonstrance; and we earn- estly entreat your honourable House to give to it a favourable re- ception; for how can we hope for 360 redress and relief, if the bare state- ment of the wrongs and griev- ances of which we complain be re- jected ? We also beg your honour- able House to believe, that, in the language we may have occasion, and are indeed, compelled to em- ploy, no offence is intended to your honourable House. «« The circumstance which most deeply afflicts us, and which most strongly impels us at this time to approach your honourable House, is, what appears to us to have been, on your part, a violation of the personal security of the peo- ple of the land. We humbly con- ceive, that without law, and against law, you have imprisoned two of your fellow subjects; and that, without a trial, without a hearing, you have condemned them. Law requires legal process and trial by jury of our equals; justice de-= mands that no person shall be pro- secutor, juror, judge, and execu- tioner, in his own cause. We beg leave to express our conviction that this eternal principle of im- mutable justice cannot beannulled by any House of Commons—by any king—by any parliament—by any legislature upon earth. But it appears to us that your honour- able House has, in the instances of Mr. John Gale Jones, and sir Francis Burdett, assumed, accu- mulated, and exercised all these offices. ** We feel it a duty which we owe to you, to ourselves, to our posterity, to state that, in our conception, this jurisdiction is un- founded; and we humbly but firmly declare our opinion against the existence of this power in any hands—a jurisdiction unknown— a power above the law, and which could be enforced only by military ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. violence—a violence made mani- fest by the breaking open of an Eglishman’s castle, and by the preceding and; subsequent mur~ der of peaceable and unoffending citizens. « Permit us humbly to observe, that the construction of your ho nourable House prevents our sur prise at this conduct of your hos nourable House. We will not enter into the details, so often and so ably stated to your honourable House, by which it appears, that upwards of three hundred mem- bers of your honourable House, in England and Wales only, are not elected ‘by the people, in any honest sense of the word people, but are sent to your honourable House by the absolute nomination or powerful influence of about one hundred and fifty peers and others, as averred in a petition to your honourable House in the year 1793, and which remains on your journals uncontroverted. This is the great constitutional disease of | our country. This is the true root of all the evils, corruptions and oppressions, under which we labour. If it be not eradicated, the nation must perish. « In support of this our sincere conviction, we need only refer to the never-to-be-forgotten vote of your honourable House, refusing to examine evidence on a charge against lord Castlereagh and Mr. S. Perceval, then two of the king’s ministers, for trafficking in seats in your honourable House. «© We remember well, that when it was gravely averred, and proof offered, in a petition which stands on your journals, and the com- plaints whereof are now unredress- ed for more than twenty years, ‘ That seats for legislation in the APPENDIX to House of Commons were as noto- riously rented and bought as the standings for cattle at a fair,’ the then honourable House treated the assertion with affected indig- nation, and the ministers threat- ened to punish the petitioner for presenting a ‘scandalous and libellous petition.’ But we have lived to see a House of Commons avow the traffic, and screen those accused of this breach of law and right, because it has been equally committed by all parties, and was a practice ‘ as notorious as the sun at noon-day.” At this vote, and at these practices, we feel as ‘ our ancestors would have felt,’? and cannot repress the expression of ‘ our indignation’ and disgust. *‘ Under these circumstances, may we not be permitted to ask, whete is your justice, where your dignity? Mr. John Gale Jones is confined within the walls of Newgate, for an alledged offence against yourselves, which, if com- mitted against any other subjects of the realms, oreven against the king himself, must have been judged by the established rules and laws of the land! Lord Castlereagh con- tinued to be a principal minister of the crown, and is now a free member of yourhonourable House! Sir Francis Burdett dragged by a military force from the bosom of his family, is committed to the Tower, for exercising the right of constitutional discussion, common, and indeed undeniable, to you, to us, to all, Mr. Spencer Perceval continues a member of your ho- nourable House, taking a lead in your deliberations, the first mi- nister of the crown, and the chief adviser of the royal councils ! _“ Under the agonizing feelings excited by the late imprisonment CHRONICLE. 361 of our fellow-subjects can it be necessary for usto recapitulate the many instances, as they appear to us, of refusals to institute just and necessary inquiry, to pursue to condign punishment public delin- quents and peculators, to eco- nomize the means and resources of the state, to administer to the people relief and redress for the various disgraces which the na- tional honour has sustained, for the lavish profusion of British blood and treasure, extravagantly wastedin ill-contrived and fruitless campaigns, and more particularly in the humiliating and ignominious expedition to the coast of Holland, in which the greatest armament that ever left our shores was ex- posed to the scorn, contempt, and ridicule of the enemy; the flower of our youth wastefully and wan- tonly left ingloriously to perish in the pestilential marshes of Wal- cheren, without succour, without necessity, without object, with- out hope? ‘«¢ These and similar proceedings of your honourable House require no comment; but we cannot by our silence become accomplices in the ruin of our country, and dare not conceal from you the whole- some though unpleasant truth, that they appear to us to have materially shaken what remained of the confidence of the subjects of these realms in the wisdom of your honourable House. «We therefore humbly, but firmly, entreat you to reconsider your conduct, to retrace your steps, and to expunge from your journals all your orders, declara- tions, and resolutions, respecting Mr. Gale Jones and sir Francis Burdett ; and that as sir Francis Burdett has not been expelled 362 from your honourable House, he be no longer prevented from ex- ercising therein all the duties of a member of the same. «* Above all, we earnestly pray your honourable House, in con- junction with sir Francis Burdett, and in conformity to the notice he ‘ has given, to devise and adopt such measures as will effect an immedi- ate and radical reform in the Com- mons House of Parliament, and ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. ensure tothe people a full, fair,and substantial representation, without which they must inevitably cease to exist as a great, a free, a glori- ous, and independent nation.” The petition was adopted una- nimously, with the exception of the votes of Mr. Deputy Kemble, Mr. Samuel Dixon, and another. [For the Westminster and Mid- dlesex Petition, see Chronicle, su- pra, p. 258. ] RIDGL Fh? Uy) BEM OS RTT Thai a OBITUARY for 1810. JANUARY. In his 68th year, at his house in John-street, Bedford-row, Natha- niel Newnham, esq. alderman of London, and colonel of the West London Militia. In 1774, he was chosen alderman of Vintry Ward ; in 1776 he served the office of sheriff: in 1780, he was returned one of the members for the city : in 1783, he waschosen lord mayor; in 1784, he was again returned for the city of London; and in the next parliament he sat for Lud- gershal, in Wiltshire. He after- wards withdrew entirely from par- liamentary business, and divided his attention between his regiment and the extensive concerns of his banking-house. He was likewise president at St. Thomas’s hospital, and at the time of his death was serving, for the second time, as master to the Mercer’s Company. Tiberius Cavallo, esq. F.R.S. This gentleman was the son of an eminent physician of Naples, where he was born in the year 1749. He was originally intended for a mer- cantile profession; and he came to England with that view, in the year 1771. In 1779 he was ad- mitted a member of the Neapoli- tan Academy of Sciences, as well as of the Royal Society of London. The publications of Mr. Cavallo have been as follows:— A com- plete Treatise of Electricity in Theory and Practice, with ori- ginal Experiments: one volume, octavo, 1777 (enlarged to three volumes in 1795). An Essayon the Theory and Practice of Medical Electricity ; one volume, octavo, 1780, A Treatise on the Nature and Properties of Air, and other Permanently Elastic Fluids (with an Introduction to Chemistry) ; one volume, quarto, 1781. The History and Practice of Aerosta- tion; one volume, octavo, 1785. Mineralogical Tables ; folio (ac- companied with an octavo expla- natory pamphlet) 1785. A Trea- tise on Magnetism, in Theory and Practice, with the Original Expe- riments; one volume, octavo, 1787. Description and Use of the Telescopical Mother-of-Pearl Mi- crometer, invented by T. C. a pamphlet, octavo, 1793. AnEssay on the Medicinal Properties of Factitious Airs, with an Appen- dix on the Nature of Blood; one volume, octavo, 1798, The Trea APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. tises of Mr. Cavallo on popular and interesting branches of physics, may be justly esteemed the best elementary works in our language. But Mr. Cavallo’s merit is not the merit of a merely judicious com- piler; he generally improves the stock of valuable facts by his own occasional experiments. He also communicated several papers to the Royal Society in whose trans- actions they have been published. FEBRUARY. In the London Road, St. George's Field’s, Andrew Robin- son Bowes, esq. whose marriage to the countess of Strathmore, thirty-three years ago (when cap- tain Stoney) occasioned much bustle in the fashionable world. Pursuant to the will of her lady- ship’s father, he ‘then took the name of Bowes (as lord Strath- more, her first husband, had also done) and for afew years the splendour of his establishments, both in Gosvenor-square and at the mansion of Gibside, in the county of Durham, eclipsed those of ali his competitors. Domestic broils, however between him and his noble consort, arose so high that the law was appealed to; he carried her off, placed her in con- finement, and therein was guilty of contempt of court. Her lady- ship made all advantage of this?in- temperate conduct; he was re- quired to give security for keeping the peace in so large a sum, that he never would ask any friend to be bail for him, and has ever since, for the long space of twenty-five years, been a prisoner in the King’s-bench prison, Lady Strath- more had afterwards interest to geta court of delegates appointed, which high court pronounced a 363 sentence of divorce between her and Mr. Bowes. During Mr, Bowes’sconfinement,his demeanor obtained the confidence of the dif- ferent marshals of the prison, who rendered it as light as possible. By application to the Court of King’s Bench, the demand of heavy bail was withdrawn; but during his long imprisonment his affairs were become too far de- ranged ever to be settled; he therefore remained a prisoner for debt, but in that situation obtained the privilege of residing any where within the rules. John Hoppner, esq., R. A. in Charles-street St. James’s-square one of the most eminent portrait- painters since the time of Rey- nolds. He might indeed have merited the praise of being the first, if he had not so closely imi- tated the style of that great mas- ter, as it related to the spirit and elegance of his touch, forcible ef- fect of light and shade, pictur- esque back-grounds, graceful sim- plicity of attitude, and especially the richness and harmony of colouring, in which he certainly excelled all his contemporaries. In some of his best coloured works, such as the Nymph,in the posses- sion of sir J. Leicester, the viva- city, truth, and delicacy of the various fleshy tints, have scarcely been surpassed by any master. But if he could boast of display- ing much of the merit, he pos- sessed the faults of his prototype, especially that of incorrect draw- ing of the human figure. Dr. Kelly, at Copford, in Essex, a native of the Isle of Man, upon which he reflected no ordinary de- gree of honour, by his abilities, his acquirements, and his truly ex« 564 emplary conduct, as a divine and a scholar. He prosecuted his clas- sical duties under the late Rev. Philip Moore, of Douglas; whose indefatigable coadjutor he after- wards became, in the important work of revising, correcting, transcribing, and preparing for the press, the manuscript translation of the Holy Scriptures into the Manks language; the impression of which, comprising all the books of the Old and New Testament, with two of the Apocryphal books, he also superintended at White- haven, in the capacity of cor- rector; to which, on the recom- mendation of the. last mentioned gentleman, he was appointed by the societyfor promoting Christian Knowledge. Dr. Kelly also super- intended an edition of the Book of Common Prayer, and Bishop Wilson’s Treatise on the Sacra- ment, all in the Manks language; and in the course of his labours in this vineyard, he had transcribed all the Books of the Old Testa- ment three several times, before he had attained his twenty-second year! On the completion of this charitable work, begun by the venerable bishop Wilson, and pro- moted by the active zeal of his successor, bishop Hildesley, Mr. Kelly was ordained, upon a title from the episcopal congregation at Air, where he resided, respect- ed by all who knew him, until the duke of Gordoa engaged him to be tutor to his son, the marquis of Huntley, whose studies he super- intended at Eton and Cambridge ; and afterwards he accompanied that young nobleman on the tour of the continent. Soon after his return, Mr. Kelly graduated at Cambridge ; and again visited the ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. continent, with two other of his pupils. In the course of a few months after his return, he was presented with the rectory of Arn- leigh in Essex ; and afterwards to that of Copford, in the same coun- ty: the former of which he re- signed some years since. From the time that he entered into the ministry, it might truly be said, that he made the vocation of holi- ness honourable. He has left behind him a monument of his erudition in the Celtic, in a Gram- mar of the ancient Gaelic, or lan- guage of the Isle of Man, which was expected to be followed by a much larger work, a Manks Dic- tionary, which was unfortunately consumed in the fire at Messrs. Nichols’s. At Greatness, near Sevenoaks, aged eighty-six, Peter Nouaille, esq., the oldest member of his majesty’s court of lieutenancy in the city of London, This gentle- man’s grandfather was descended from an ancient family in France, and came. over to this country from Nasmes, in Languedoc, at the revocation of the edict of Nantes, having sacrificed a consi- derable property in that country, in common with many others, who upon that occasion, voluntarily left France for the sake of their religious principles. Mr. N.’s father resided at Hackney, and was a merchant of considerable emi- nence, in the Levant and Italian trade. At the age of twenty-one, Mr.N. having previouslybeen taken into partnership with his father, set out upon a tour through Europe, with a view to establish correspon- dences, and to acquire general knowledge; atthe endof two years, having travelled through France, APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. Italy, and Sicily, he was obliged to return home without visiting Ger- many, on account of the continen- tal war, in which England was at that time engaged. Whilst abroad he gained a perfect knowledge of the French and Italian languages, which he spoke and wrote with the fluency and correctness ofa native, acquired a great taste for the fine arts, and brought home with him a valuable collection of pictures and prints, &c. which he conti- nued to augment for many years after his return to this country, in the year 1761, he married Eliza- beth, the only daughter and heir- ess of Peter Delamare, Esq. of Greatness, whose ancestors were likewise refugees from France, in 1686. He first introduced the manufacture of crapes into Eng land, which, before his time, were imported from Bologna; by his own ingenuity he discovered the process of their manufacture, and soon rivalled them in his manner of preparing them, In the year 1778, partly through the impru- dent speculations of a near rela- tion, in whom he placed implicit confidence, and partly by heavy losses, occasioned by the failure of a house with which he trans- acted business, he became a bank- rupt. The unkindness and op- pression which he experienced from some of his relatives upon this occasion considerably aggra- vated, and certainly tended to confirm this misfortune, which might have been averted, had proper time been given him to settle his affairs. He was, how- ever, amply compensated by the countenance and friendly offers of assistance which he received from many of the most eminent mer- chants in the city, among the fore- most of whom was his ever valued 365 friend Peter Gaussen, Esq. then Governor of the Bank. After the sale of his effects and collections, he prosecuted his business with unceasing energy. In 1800, hav- ing realised an independent for- tune, which was then considera- bly increased by the death of a near relation, he withdrew from business, giving up the manufac- tory and property connected with it to his son, and retired to Seven- oaks, where he resided till the death of his wife, which took place in 1805. He then returned to pass the remainder of his days with his son at Greatness. About this time his memory began to fail him; it was the only symptom he exhibited of old age, and was pro- bably occasioned by his intense application to studies of an ab- struse nature, at an earlier period of life. In the year 1792, when the mania of the French revolu- tion had nearly obtained a footing in this country, and it became ne- cessary for every one to testify their attachment to the constitu- tion, his name appeared almost the first upon the list of those public- spirited men, who at that critical juncture established the associa- tion at the Crown and Anchor. He attained to an advanced age without suffering from any of the infirmities which usually accom- pany that period of life, being able to read the smallest print without the assistance of glasses. He pos- sessed a highly cultivated under- standing, and a considerable por- tion of general knowledge, refined by an exquisite taste; the upright independence of his character and his high sense of honour, were manifested in every occurrence of his life. He had a strong sense of religion and piety, and a sensi- bility and tenderness of feeling 366 that renpered him ever alive to the misfortunes of others. To the poor he was a kind friend and be- nefactor, and no one was more deservedly esteemed in the neigh- bourhood where he resided: tie respect which attended him through life was equalled only by the sorrow which accompanied him to the grave. Dr. Adam, rector of the high school in Edinburgh. He was born in 1741, near Rufford, in the county of Moray, of respectable parents, farmers. He attended the grammar-school there, and by his own efforts, with little aid from the abilities of his teacher, attained a proficiency, in 1758, to fit him for attending the University of Edin- burgh, to this he was encouraged by Mr. Watson, then minister of Canongate, and a relation of his mother. In 1761, he was elected, on a comparative trial, master of Watson’s Hospital. On the ill- ness of Mr. Matheson, rector of the High School, he was applied to for assistance ; and, after teach- ing for some time, was, in June 1768, appointed rector, and ever since has personally discharged the duties of the office. He was twice married very respectably. He is survived by a widow, ason, and two daughters. Dr. Adam Was nocommon character. Strong- ly impressed with the importance of his public duties, the ambition of fulfilling them in the most su- perior manner became his ruling passion. The whole powers of his mind were dedicated with un- remitting exertion, to this favou- rite pursuit, and the labours of a most laborious life devoted to its attainment. After the most ani- mated activity, during the hoursof teaching, to render his pupils good scholars, and inspire them withthe ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. knowledge andadmirationof Greek and Roman excellence, the re- mainder of his time was rigidly devoted to the preparation of works of great labour, which ap- peared to him wanting for facili- tating the attainments of the youth, and exciting a relish for the study of letters, And though very susceptible of pleasure from the society of friends, and though the fatigue of great exertions re- quired from him, as from other men, some interval of repose, the former was ever considered by him as an indulgence, which it became him to sacrifice ; and the latter as a want, which was to be abridged as much as nature would permit: in short, he had imbibed the prin- ciples and fervour of the ancients, whom he studied, and a stoic as to all personal indulgence, he was an enthusiast as to the importance of his undertakings, and a zealot for their accomplishment. Thus he was enabled to produce works of first-rate utility and merit. His Latin Grammar, though for a time encountered by prejudice, ‘is, beyond all question, the work best adapted to those for whom it was destined. His Antiquities, comprehended within moderate dimensions, state, in good arrange- ment, and with excellent judg- ment, nearly every thing of value in the voluminous, tedious, and expensive Commentaries on the Latin Classics, and afford every requisite aid for studying the text with intelligence and satisfaction. His Biography, Summary of His- tory, and Geography, are supe- riorly calculated to furnish youth with a general knowledge of great characters, and great events, and of the scene of action on which man is placed; and the progress he had made in the preparation of a APPENDIX tro CHRONICLE. Latin Dictionary, which he had destined to form the consumma- tion of his labours, and the depo- sitory of the knowledge of Latin, which tlc indefatigable study of fifty years had conferred, suggests an additional and abundant source of regret that the intelligent pub- lic must experience from the loss of this valuable man. At Seville, in the seventy-fourth ‘year of his age, L. Geronimo de UstarizTovar, Marquis of Ustariz, Member of the Supreme Council of War, Assistant of Seville, and Intendant inCommission of Anda- lusia. He was employed in va- rious public situations for fifty years with the approbation of his country. When Intendant of Es- tremadura, he introduced a va- riety of reforms and improve- ments, the effects of which were soon manifest in the increasing prosperity of that province; and he had the satisfaction of seeing many of his agricultural, financial, and judicial regulations, adopted by the royal cabinet, and extend- ed to the whole of Spain. From Estremadura he was promoted to the Assistantship of Seville; but unfortunately for his country, he was removed, to make way for a cousin of the infamous Godoy. {n reward for his public labours, he was nominally honoured with a seat in the council of war, but was actually banished to Teruel; though the disgrace of this pro- ceeding was attempted to be dis- guised, by appointing him a com- missioner of mines in that quarter. Herehe remained manyyears;neg- lected by the court, but honoured with the attachment, esteem, and confidence of the Arragonese.. To his popular conduct, and thegene- ral admiration of his civic virtues, 367 is chiefly to be ascribed the patrio- tic stand made by the Arragonese in the present contest. This vene- rable, but proscribed, reformer, the instant the proceedingsat Bay- onnewere known at Teruel, sallied from his retirement, and with all the ardour of youth, traversed the province in every direction, to rouse the inhabitants to resist- ance. He recognized, and treat- ed with the utmost respect, the new authority of General Palafox, and accepted a seat in the junta of government. After ten months of indefatigable service in Arra- gon, he received a royal order from the Supreme Junta to re- sume the Assistantship of Seville, and his functions as Member of the Supreme Council of War. His death, though naturally to have been expected from his ad- vanced years and increasing infir- mities, was no doubt accelerated by the incessant labours to which he devoted himself since the commencement of the contest with France, Before, and after his arrival at Seville, every inter- val which he could snatch from his official duties was employed in digesting a plan of a new con- stitution for Spain. His papers are said to furnish, upon this sub- ject, an inestimable treasure of historical and political know- ledge, applied to the exigencies of his fellow-citizens with all the discrimination of a statesman and philosopher. Captain C. W. Boyes, comman- der of his majesty’s ship Statira. When in his sixteenth year, he lost a leg in the battle of the memo- rable first of June; and after a constant prosecution of the most honourable services, he was cut off in the prime of life, after a short 368 illness, in the prospect of the first distinctions of that profession which was his pride, and the full attainment of every other happi- ness. At Antigua, in thetwenty-third year of his age, Major George Gordon, of the eighth West India regiment, nephew of Colonel Gor- don, military secretary to the Earl of Harrington. His career was short, but brilliant. He served in the expedition to Zealand, was aid-de-camp to General Anstru- ther, in the memorable battle of Vimiera; and commanded, with great credit to himself, the sixth regiment, during the campaign in Spain, which corps was the last of the British army that embarked at Corunna. A higher evlogium cannot be pronounced upon Major Gordon, than to say, that he was patronised by those great and good men, the late Sir John Moore and General Anstruther, who honoured him with their friendship. Though snatched away at such an early age, he lived long enough to gain the af- fectionate esteem, as his immature death has occasioned the deepest regret, to all who knew him. MARCH. In hissixty-seventh year, Town- ley Ward, Esq. solicitor, of Hen- rietta Street, Covent Garden, and Monkey Island, Berks, one of the oldest and most eminent practi- tioners in the profession. He was the son of the Rev. Henry Ward, by Janet his wife, one of the three daughters and co-heiresses of Henry Townley, late of Dutton Hall, in the county of Lancaster, Esq. Mr. Ward commenced busi- pessin Henrietta Street, in the year ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. / 1766, and his eminent abilities, aided by a persevering disposition and strong mind, acquired him that distinction in his profession, which he maintained to his last moments. In politics, he was a staunch whig, and took a very active part in Mr. Fox’s first elec- tion for Westminster, and his zeal was unabated when in conjunc- tion with Edmund Burke, Esq. and other distinguished charac- ters, he warmly espoused the cause of his friend, Lord John Townsend, in his opposition to Lord Hood. Mr. Ward was mar- ried, in 1772, to Miss Eleonora Hucks, a lady distinguished for personal charms and accomplish- ments, who died in 1800, and by whom he had no children. Mr. Ward not having left any issue, or any consanguineous relation, he has devised the Willows, and all his real and personal property to Patrick Crawfurd Bruce, Esq. of Taplow Lodge, with whom he has, for many years, been on the most intimate terms of friendship. He has also bequeathed upwards of 20,0002. to his friends, confi- dential clerks, and old servants. Aged twenty-six, the Hon. William Frederick Eden, eldest son of Lord Auckland, M. P. for Woodstock, Deputy Teller of the Exchequer, and Lieutenant- Colonel of the St. John’s and St. Margaret’s volunteers. This gentleman had been missing ever since the evening of January 19th, and his body was found in the Thames on February 25th. During this interval, every pos- sible inquiry was made, and re- wards offered for the discovery of him, by his anxious parents. On thelast mentioned day, abargeman perceived the body floating in the APPENDIX To tiver, opposite to the Horseferry, Milbank, and conveyed it to the Brown Bear public-house. From the description of the person and dress, previously given in public advertisements, he was soon re- cognized. The melancholy fate of Mr. Eden is the more difficult to be accounted for, as in evidence before the coroner’s inquest, it ap- peared that there was no symptom of mental derangement in any part of his conduct; but that to the very hour of his leaving home, he was engaged in transacting busi- ness with that precision and punc- tuality for which hewasremarkable. At Edgeworth’s town, in thecen- tre of Ireland, the widow Burnet, aged 116 and upwards. She had been wife to an honest laborious mason, and she was awoman of un-: common shrewdness and activity. The winter before last she was seen mounted on a ladder, mend- ing the thatch of her cottage. Though she was thus careful of her worldly goods, she was un- commonly good-natured and cha- ritable. Her mind was never fret- ted by malevolent passions. She was always ready to give or lend what little money she possessed, and she was careful to do these services to her distressed neigh- bours when nowitness was present; so that accident alone discovered some of her good deeds and bad debts. In her habits of diet she was very temperate; she lived chiefly on potatoes and milk, and stirabout; never drank spirits or beer, but sometimes drank a glass of sweet wine, of which she was fond. She was (like most other long-lived alent) an early riser, and took regular but not vio- lent exercise. For the last twenty years of her life she seldom failed Vor, LIL. ° -CHRONICLE. 369 towalk from the cottage whereshe lived to Edgeworth’s town, a dis- tance of about an English mile, over a rough stony road. She pre- served all her organs of sense to the last ; could hear what was said in a low voice, could distinguish the changes of countenance ofthose to whom she spoke, as she plainly proved by changing her topics of conversation when she found they did not please her auditors; her sense of smell had not failed; the summer before her death she took pleasure, as she said, in the smell of a rose, and shewed that she per- ceived the odour, by asking where it came from, before she saw the flower. Her intellectual faculties were, at this advanced age, acute and vigorous ; she narrated with uncommon clearness and vivacity ; and it was remarkable of her me- mory, that it was not only reten- tive of things that had passed ninety years ago, but of recent factsand conversations, She had the habit, common to very old people, of continually talking of her approaching.death, and yet making preparations for life. She was as eager about the. lease or rent of her farm, as if she felt sure of continuing many years to enjoy what she possessed. She was very religious, but her reli- gion was not of a melancholy cast. The following epitaph is inscribed over her tomb. “Here lies, in hopes of a blessed resurrection, the body of Elizabeth Burnet, of Lignageeragh ; born 1693; mare ried 1733; died September 14, 1809, aged 116.” , At Surat, in India, in the prime of life, captain Henry Young, of his majesty’s seventeenth light dragoons, second son of the late bishop of Clonfert. This gallant 25 870 officer distinguished himself at the siegeof Seringapatam, Assaye,and Vellore, receiving, while serving with the nineteenth light dragoons at the latter place, at the head of his regiment, for most meritorious conduct, the thanks of colonel Gil- lespie. In 1800 he returned to this country with his regiment, after an ‘absence of eleven years; preferring however an active situation, he exchanged into the seventeenth light dragoons, then on their way to India, whither he proceeded to join them, and on the day of his reaching quarters was seized with afever, which, afterseventeendays, terminated anexistencehonourable to hismemory. The whole garri- son of Surat attended his funeral. At Arnheim, in Holland,.Mat- thys Bademaker, at the great age . of 110 years. He worked at his trade, as ashoemaker, until theage of ninety. He was only once mar- ried, and had no more than two children, both females. Both of these however, having married, the old man died grandfather to twelve persons, and great-grandfather to twenty, the eldest of whom was twenty-one years of age at the time of his decease. He retained his faculties and health until with- in three weeks of his death. When king Louis visited Arnheim last year, he settled a pension of 400 guilders on him. On his passage to Madeira, the rev. Lewis Roberts, the younger son of an opulent merchant settled at Lisbon. He was born in that city about 1772, and was brought up in the persuasion of the church of Rome, of which both his parents werecommunicants, At the pro- per age he became a member of a college of celebrity, where he was soon distinguished by the un- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. common vigour of his mind, the fertility of his genius, and the ap- titude with which he acquired all kinds of erudition, His passion for knowledge was unbounded; and he applied himself with un- wearied zeal in the study of the classics, of ethics, of diyinity, and all the higher branches of science. Having stored his mind with these important attainments, he did not disdain the lighter pursuits of li- terature. History, poetry, and the belles lettres, opened a wide field to his imagination; and such was the facility with which he acquired the modern languages, thatbefore heattained histwentieth year, he spoke and wrote with equal propriety and elegance the English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian. Thus quali- fied to fill any situation with credit, he was induced, by the ad- vice of a tutor who had early been intrusted with the care of his edu- cation, to become a Catholic cler- gyman, contrary to the inclina- tions of his family, who had hoped that his abilities might be display- ed in a more active scene of life. His exertions in the pulpit chal- lengedthe applauseofall whoheard him; and while the public did justice to his oratorial abilities, his private friends were not less de- lighted with the charms of his con- versation, which was at once amus- ing from itsvariety,instructivefrom the information itafforded, and in- teresting from the simplicity with which it was expressed. Having established a high reputation as a preacher anda man of letters at Lisbon, he removed with his fa- ther’s family to England, and set- tled in London, But though he henceforwardresided principallyin the British metropolis, he took op- APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. tunities of visiting Paris, Ber- in and other continental capitals, in the polished circles of which he was always an admired and a wel- come guest. Fond of the pleasures of refined society, for which he was particularly calculated by the urbanity. of his manners, thesweet- ness of his temper, and the bril- liancy of a ready but never offen- Sive wit, he still devoted the gyeat- er part of everyday tothedischarge of his professional duties, or the cultivation of letters. He was for some time an officiating minister at the Spanish chapel in Manches- ter-square ; but the continued at- tacks of a pulmonary complaint, to which he was early subject, soon compelled him to relinquish his situation as a regular preacher; . but, as oftenas aninterval of health occurred, he willingly lent his aid in the Catholic pulpits of this -town. Whenever he did so, the place of worshipwas crowded, and ebristians of all denominations, listened with pleasure and edifica- tion to his.discourses. In literary composition his abilities were not less conspicuous, but his modesty was extreme; and while most of his works were sent into the world anonymously, even their success did not persuade him to claim the praise to which he was justly en- titled. He affixed, however, his name to an admired Defence of the Principles of the Church of Rome, which he conceived had been misrepresentedin a pamphlet supposed to be written by an Irish prelate of high reputation, under the assumed title of «« Me- tancthon.” I] health marred his fairest prospects ; and the growing symptoms of decay, which neither e aid of medicine, nor the habits of extreme temperance were able. 37t to arrest, induced him, to try the effects of a warmer climate, and through the friendly recommenda- tion of the chevalier de. Susa, the Portuguese ambassador, he ob- tained permission to embark on board. the frigate which conveyed Mr. Villars, his majesty’s envoy, to Portugal. That gentleman soon discovered the uncommon qualities which distinguished his companion, and on their arrival at Lisbon, he offered him, in the handsomest manner, the situation of hisprivatesecretary. He cheer- fully accepted the appointment, and devoted himself with unceas- ing assiduity to the discharge of its duties. His weakened consti- tution sunk under the pressure of business; and the excessive heat of summer inPortugalcompelledhim, though most reluctantly, to take his leave of Mr. Villars and of Lisbon. He returned in August last to England, a greater invalid than ever;and as winter approach- ed, he determined to go to Ma- deira, with little hope of recovery, but anxious to save his family and his friends the pain of witnessing his dissolution. He embarked to- wards the endof October, onboard the Larkins; and, after interesting his fellow passengers by the admi- rable patience which he displayed under theincreasing attacks of pain. and sickness, and by the social spirits which amidst all his suffer- ings never abandoned him, he ex- pired on the thirteenth of Novem- ber, three days before the ship reached the island of Madeira. At Vizagapatam, in the East In- dies, Benjamin Roebuck, esq. (son of the late Dr. Roebuck, of Kin- niel) of the honourable company’s civil service. A more faithful and zealous; servant the company did 2B 2 372 not possess; hisactive, well-inform- ed, and enterprising mind, amply stored with ancient and modern li- terature, wasever exerted for their and the public good. The mint of Madras, and the public docks at Coringa, are monuments not less of his ingenuity than of his indefa- tigable and unceasing labours. Public and private charity ever met a most liberal support from hishands.In mechanics, chemistry, and mineralogy, he had few supe- riors; in other polite and useful attainments his comprehensive mind had acquired very consider- able knowledge ; Political econo- my had ever been with him a most favoured study, and few men were better acquainted with that inte- resting subject. Hospitable, with- out ostentation, his table was ever the resort of the best informed and most worthy members of society, and few everleftit without gaining some useful knowledge from his conversation ; his address was po- lite, agreeable, and engaging. Caleb Whitefoord, esq. of Ar- gyle-street. He was born at Edin- burgh in the year 1734, and was the only son of colonel Charles Whitefoord, third son of sir Adam Whitefoord, bart. in the shire of Ayr, in North Britain. He was placed, at an early age, under the tuition of Mr. Mundell, then a distinguished teacher in the capital of Scotland, at whose se- minary he soon eclipsed all his school-fellows, by his rapid pro- gress in the Latin tongue, and other branches of education, which he completed at the university of Edinburgh, the alma mater of so many eminent literary characters. This uncommon proficiency in classical knowledge, induced his father to breed him up for the ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. church ; but to the clerical pro~ fession he entertained such strong objections, that the colonel was obliged to relinquish his inten- tions, and tosend him to London, where he was placed in the count- ing-house of his friend, Mr. Archi- bald Stewart, an eminent wine- merchant in York-buildings, where young Caleb remained about four years, and then went over to France, and staid there near two years more, until he became of age. While he remained in Mr. Stewart’s counting-house, his fa- ther had died at Galway, in Ire- land, colonel of the 5th regiment of foot, bequeathing the principal part of his fortune to him and his daughter, Mrs. Smith. With this patrimony, on the expiration of his minority, he commenced busi- ness in Craven-street, in the Strand, in partnership with Mr, Thomas Brown, a gentleman uni« versally esteemed for his amiable qualities and convivial disposition, Mr. W. early in life evinced a lively wit, combined with a certain peculiarity of humour, which ren- dered his company and conversa~ tion desirable to the most celebrat- ed beaux esprits of his time. Nor. was it only in conversation that his talents were conspicuous. Hig essays were equally admired forno~ velty of idea, correctness of style, and sprightliness of satire ; and to those we are in some measure in- debted for the emancipation of our diurnal prints from that dulness which, till then, universally per-. vaded them. Mr. Whitefoord hav- ing conceiveda great friendship for Mr. Henry Woodfall, sent his pro- ductions to the Public Advertiser, which soon became the political arena where all the combatants en- APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. gaged, and all the squibs of party were thrown. He turned and moulded the various topics of the day into all sorts of shapes ; horse- races, play-bills, auctions, exhibi- tions, and female administrations, became the whimsical vehicles of his humour. The mirth excitedby these, as wellas his cross-readings, ship news extraordinary, errors of the press, &c. produced many imi- tators; butthey have seldom equall- ed, and never excelled, the origi- nal. The author was extremely careless of literary reputation. He amused himself in the moments of conception and composition; but afterwards paid no manner of at- tention to those children of his brain: he left them exposed and deserted sur le pave, till Almonand Debrett took them up, and gave them an asylum in the Foundling Hospital for Wit, where at least a score may be found. The shafts of his ridicule were so happily di- rected against the petitions, rewon- strances, and grievances of Wilkes and other pseudo patriots of the day, as to attract the notice, and to obtain theapprobation, of admi- nistration. Mr. W.had given a hu- morous history of petitions, from the first petition of the peruke- makers to the king, praying him to wear a wig for the benefit of their trade ; he then took up the subject of more modern grievances and apprehensions, answered all these grievances, and adyertised for a new grievance! His success onthis occasion was so great, that he was requested bya personhigh in office to write a pamphlet on the subject of the misunderstanding which subsisted betwixt this country and Spain, relative to the Falkland Islands. That task, however, he _ declined; but recommended doc- , 373 tor Samuel Johnson as the ablest and properest person who couldbe selected for this purpose. Mr. W. was accordingly authorised to ne- gociate this matter with the doc- tor which he at length happily concluded in concert with the late Mr. Strahan, the king’s printer, one of Johnson’s mostintimateand most useful friends. The doctor soon after produced his celebrated publication entitled the False Alarm; by which he gained both money and reputation. At this period he had conceived a high opinion of Mr, Whitefoord’s taste and political influence, and often expressed his approbation of his essays and squibs, pronouncing them superior eventothuse of dean Swift. But Mr. W.’s pen was not limited to prose compositions ; his verses on various subjects, and on different occasions, possess equal spirit and point, It has been as- serted that the fine arts have such an affinity to each other, that to have a relish for one, is to be sus- ceptible of all. Whether this be generally true or not, we shal] not heredispute, but content ourselves with observing that this combina- tion is remarkably exemplified in Mr. W. who, in his youth, was at once a respectable proficient both in music and drawing : but other avocations did not permit him to cultivate these to the extent which his genius was capable of attaining. Although prevented from reach- ing practical excellence he did not fail, however, to improve in taste; and his judgment as a connoisseur has frequently been appealed to in doubtful cases, when even artists have been divided in their opin- ions. His collection of prints and pictures, chiefly of the Italian school, dohonour tothe possessor, 374 both from their number and merit; but his admiration has not, like that of somevirtuosi, been confined to the ancient masters, for many living artists have experienced the benefit of his patronage and ad- vice. Such acquirementsnaturally pointed him out to the Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, as a proper person to preside in the committee of fine arts. He was accordingly elected chairman, and executed the office for several ' years with equal advantage to the institution and credit to himself, until he was chosen a vice-presi- dent, an honour generally confer- red on persons of elevated rank alone. Nor was this the only dis- tinction he obtained. The Royal Societies of London and Edin- burgh, the Society of Antiquaries, the Philosophical Society of Phila- delphia, and the Arcadian Society of Rome, all admitted him a mem- ber of their respective bodies. Few men have passed their time more agreeably than Mr. W., for he lived in habits of intimacy with some of the wisest and best men of the age. In the list of his friends may be enumerated many digni- taries of the church, more than one statesman, and some of the most eminent geniuses which our nation has produced. Adam Smith used to say, that the junto of wits and authors hated one another heartily, but that they all hada regard for Mr. W. who, by his conciliatory manners, kept them together. When any quarrel ordis- agreementoccurred, he wasaccus- tomed to invite the parties to call on him in Craven-street, to give them a very good dinner, and drink a glass to reconciliation. Garrick and Foote had long been at vari- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. ance, but Mr. W. contrived tobring’ them to one of those conciliatory dinners; and Mr. Garrick (who had much good-nature, and more ge- nerosity than the world gave him credit for) actually lent Foote 500/. to repair his theatre in the Hay- market. Mr. W.’s intimacy with Dr. Franklin and Mr. Oswald, ren- dered him peculiarly eligible for the purpose of assisting in treating for the restoration of peace with America. He was accordingly ap- pointed secretary to the latter, who, having bailed Mr. Laurens from his confinement inthe Tower, and become his surety to the amount of 50,000/., was also ju- diciously selected as a man ac- ceptable to the American commis- sioners, with whom, on the 30th of November, 1782, they conclud- ed and signed preliminary articles, declaratory of the independence of the United States; this being understood by the belligerent powers as an indispensable basis, previously to their treating with England on the subject of a gene-~ ral pacification. The articles were approved by the people; and the nation hailed the return of tran quillity with general gratulation. All differences being thus happily settled with the United States of America, Mr. Oswald returned to London, but Mr. Whitefoord re- mained at Paris several months longer with lord St. Helen’s (then Mr. Fitzherbert) who was the minister charged to negociate treaties of peace with France, Spain, and Holland ; and it is a curious circumstance, that three of the treaties above alluded to are in the hand-writing of Mr. Whitefoord. These services were such as entitled him to some re- compence from government ; but . APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. lord Shelburne having resigned before Mr. W.’s return from the continent, without making any provision for him, he was obliged to prefer his claim to the coalition administration, by which it was rejected; nor was it till seven years after, that a small pension was granted to him by his majesty, on the recommendation of those in power. Mr. W., rather late in life, married a lady of the name of Sidney, by whom he has left four children. The character of this gentleman is ably delineated by Dr. Goldsmith, in his well-known poem entitled Retaliation: “ Here Whitefoord reclines, and deny it who can, Though he merrily liv’d, he is now ‘a grave man.’ Rare compound of oddity, frolic, and fun, Who relish’d a joke, and rejoic’d in a pun ; Whose temper was generous, open, sin- cere, A stranger to flatt’ry, a stranger to fear ; Who scatter’d around wit and humour at will, Whose daily Jon mots half a column might fill ; A Scotchman, from pride and from pre- judice free, Ascholar, but surely no pedant, was he. What a pity, alas! that so lib’rai a mind Should so long be to newspaper essays confin’d ; Who perhaps to the summit of science could soar, Yet content if the table he ‘set in a roar 3” Whose talents to fill any station were fit, Yet happy if Woodfall confess’d him a wit. Ye newspaper witlings! ye pert scrib- bling folks, : Who copied his squibs and re-echoed his jokes ; Ye tame imitators ! yeservile herd, come, Still follow your master, and visit his tomb 5 To deck it bring with you festoons of the vine, And copious libations bestow on his shrine ; 375 Then strew all around it, you can do no less, Cross-readings, ship-news, and mistakes of the press. Merry Whitefoord, farewell! for thy sake I admit, That a Scot may have humour, I had al- _. most said wit : This debt to thy mem’ry I cannot refuse, Thou best-humour’d man, with the worst-humour’d muse.” - At Clapham Common, the hon- ourable Henry Cavendish, cousin of lord George C. and of the duke of Devonshire, and one of the most eminent chemists and natural philosophers of the age. He left funded property to the amount of one million two hundred thousand pounds; seven hundred thousand of which are bequeathed to lord G. Cavendish, two hundred thou- sand to the earl of Besborough, and the remainder in legacies to other branches of the Devonshire family. This gentleman was the son of the late lord Charles Caven- dish, great uncle to the present duke of Devonshire, and although not much heard of in the common paths of life, was well known and highly distinguished in the scien- tific world. He had studied and rendered himself familiarly conver- sant with every part of sir Isaac Newton’s philosophy ; the princi- ples of whichhe applied, near forty years ago, to an investigation of the laws on which the phenomena ofelectricity depend. Pursuing the same science, on the occasion of Mr. Walsh’s experiments with the torpedo, he gave a satisfactory ex- planation of theremarkable powers of electrical fishes ; pointing out that distinction between common and animal electricity, which has since been amply confirmed by the brilliant discoveries in galvanism. Having turned his attention very 376 early to pneumatic chemistry, he ascertained, in 1766, the extreme levity of inflammable air, now call- ed hydrogen gas. On this disco- very many curious experiments, and particularly that of aérial na- vigation, haye been founded, In the same paths of science he made the important discovery of the Composition of water by the union of two airs; and that laid the foundation of the modern system of chemistry, which rests princi- pally on this fact, and that of the decomposition of water,announced soon afterwards by M. Lavoisier. So many and such great discover- jes spread his name throughout Europe, and he was universally considered as one of the first phi- losophers of the age. Among the Jabours of his latter days, is the nice and difficult experiment by which he determined the mean density of the earth; an element of consequence in delicate calcula- tions of astronomy, as well as in geological inquiries. Even in the last year of his life, at the advanc- ed age of 77, he proposed and de- scribed improvements in the man- ner of dividing large astronomical instruments; which, though not yet executed, promise very great advantages. These pursuits, toge- ther with reading of various kinds, by which he acquired a deep in- sight into almost every topicof ge- neral knowledge, formedthe whole occupation of his life; andwere, in fact, his sole amusement. The love of truth was sufficient to fill his mind. From his attachment to such occupations, andthe constant resource he found in them, toge- ther with a shyness and diffidence natural tohis disposition, hishabits had, from early life, been secluded. His manners were mild, his mind ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. firm, his nature benevolent and complacent. He was liberal with- out being profuse ; and charitable, without ostentation. He possessed great affluence, which was to him rather matter of embarrassment than of gratification; but, however careless about its improvement, he was regular as to its management and direction. He was born Octo- ber 10, 1731, and his remains were interred in the family vault in All Saints, Derby. —On Saturday, March 17, Mr. Professor Davy, in his lecture. at the Royal Insti- tution, introduced the following character of Mr. Cavendish.— ‘© About 1766, Mr. Cavendish published his first papers on the subject ofair, He examined, with more accurate instruments than Black, the elastic fluid from the alkalies; and he ascertained that the same substance was produced during the combustion of charcoal. He perfected the pneumatic appa- ratus; and soon discovered two new elastic fluids, inflammable air and muriatic acid air. Mr. Davy said, in the next lecture he should exhibit some experiments of our illustrious countryman, of later date, and of still higher import- ance; but he could not, on this occasion, pass by the circumstance of his recent loss without a di- gression, which might enable him to offera feebletribute of respect to the memory of so great aman. Of all the philosophers of the pre- sent age, Mr. Cavendish combin- ed, in the highest degree, a depth and extent of mathematical know- ledge with delicacy and precision in the methods of experimental research. It might be said of him, what can, perhaps, hardly be said of any other person, that whatever he has done has been APPENDIX To perfect at the moment of its pro- duction. His processes were all of a finished nature ; executed by the hand of a master, they required no correction ; and though many of them were performed in the very infancy of chemical philosophy, yet their accuracy and their beauty have remained unimpaired amidst the progress of discovery ; and their merits have been illustrated by discussion, and exalted by time. In general, the most common mo- tives which induce men to study are, the love of distinction, of glory, and the desire of power; and we have no right to object to motives of this kind ; but it ought to be mentioned in estimating the character of Mr. Cavendish, that his grand stimulus to exertion was evidently the love of truth and of knowledge; unambitious, unas- suming, it was often with difficulty that he was persuaded to bring forward his important discoveries. He disliked notoriety ; he was, as it were, fearful of the voice of fame. His labours are recorded with the greatest dignity and sim- plicity, and in the fewest possible words, without parade or apology; and it seemed as if in publication he was performing, not what was a duty to himself, but what was a duty to the public. His life was devoted to science ; and his social hours were past amongst a few of his friends, principally members of the Royal Society. He was re- served to strangers ; but where he was familiar, his conversation was lively, and full of varied informa- tion. Upon all subjects of science hewasluminousand profound; and in discussion wonderfully acute. Even to the very last week of his life, when he was nearly 79, he re- CHRONICLE. 377 tained his activity of body, and all hisenergy and sagacity of intellect. He was warmly interested in all new subjects of science ; and seve- ral times in the course of last year witnessed or assisted in some ex- periments that were carried on in the laboratory of the Royal Insti- tution. Since the death of Newton (said Mr. Davy, if he might be permitted to give an opinion) Eng- landhas sustained no scientific loss so great as that of Cavendish. But it is to be regretted less, since, like his great predecessor, he died full of years and of glory. His name will be an object of more venera- tion in future ages than in the pre- sent moment; though it was un- known in the busy scenes of life, or in the popular discussions of the day, it will remain illustrious in the annals of science, which are as unperishable as that nature to which they belong; it will be an immortal honour to his house, to his age, and to his country !” APRIL. Mr. Charles Holman, surgeon, of Milverton. While taking some refreshment at the house of one of his patients, a greyhound entered the room, to which the deceased offered a piece of bread ; in taking it, the animal snapped at what was offered him so eagerly, that his teeth violently pressed the de- ceased’s fingers, but did not pe- netrate them. Inflammationshortly after ensued, to which a mortifi- cation succeeded, and terminated in his death. Lieutenant Darby, of his majes- ty’s ship Impetueux. He put an end to his existence, by shooting himself in the head with a pistol, 378 ANNUAL REGISTER, in his bed-room, at the New Lon- don inn, where he had arrrived on his way to joinhisship at Plymouth. According to letters found in the pocket of the deceased, love, and a quarrel with his rival, whom he had refused to fight, added to the dread of being deemed guilty of cowardice, induced him to the rashact. The coroner’s jury pro- nounced a verdict of felo de se, and on the following day his body was interred according to the form of law in such cases. He bore a very fair character, and was held in the highest esteem by his bro- ther officers, some of whom, im- mediately on hearing of the fatal disaster, went express from Ply- mouth to Exeter; but unfortu- nately, the verdict had passed be- fore their arrival, otherwise, we may reasonably suppose, their evi- dence wouldhave occasioned ama- terial alteration in the opinion of the jurors ; for they testified in the most positive terms, that the de- ceased had for a long time past been much disordered in his mind. MAY. In the seventy-sixth year of his age, William Havard, esq. of South Lambeth, one of the partners in the city and county bank of Here- ford, a gentleman whose industry, benevolence, integrity, and worth, entitle his memory to more than ordinary notice. Mr. Havard was borninSt.Owen’s-street, Hereford, wherehis parents kept asmall shop; and their circumstances were sore- mote from affluence, that when, (like his countryman Whittington) he left his native place to pursue his fortunes in the metropolis, he had not sixpence in his pocket on 1810. his arrival in Londof. From this period, such was the perseverance, ability, and success with which he applied himself to business, that he gradually rose, with increasing honour and esteem, from clerk to partner, in the house of Mr. Jones, M. P. for Devizes, in Mansion- house-street. Thus becoming en- rolled in the first class of British merchants, Mr. Havard was fre~ quently consulted in the most diffi- cult and important adjustments of mercantile accounts; and has now bequeathed to five daughters more than 10,000/. each, the fruits of his own exertions and personal indus+ try. Hishouse andthe hospitalities of his table were not only open to his countrymen in general, but many of his younger friends from Hereford, will gratefully acknow- ledge how materially they have ‘been aided by his powerful inter= est and valuable advice. On board his flag-ship, the Ville de Paris,admirallord Collingwood, commander-in-chief of the British fleet in the Mediterranean. Worn out with the toils and cares of a sea-faring life, his lordship expir- ed just as he was about returning home for the recovery of his de- caying health and constitution. Cuthbert Collingwood was born at Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1750; his family is very ancient, and was particularly distinguished in arms, and celebrated by the poets during the wars of the borderers, in the sixteenth century. The tradition- ary songs and tales of those wars made a strong impression on the young mind of our hero, as he sought the field of glory at the very early age of eleven, although not for the same reason which in- duced Nelson at that age to adopt APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. the like course, his father possess- ing a small but competent fortune. Cuthbert received the rudiments of bis education from the rev. H. Moises, M.A. After spending six or seven years under the tuition of this venerable master, who died about two years ago, he left his much-esteemed school-fellows, the present sir W. Scott, judge of the Admiralty Court, and his younger brother, lord chancellor Eldon, and entered the service in 1761. Like Neison, he went under the protection and patronage of his maternal uncle, captain Braith- waite, then commanding the Shan- non frigate, who died admiral of the Blue, in his eightieth year, in 1805. ‘To this officer he owed his great professional knowledge and skill in all the various branches of nautical science, and with him he continued several years. In 1766, _he was a midshipman in the Gib- raltar, and from 1767 to 1772, master’s mate in the Liverpool, whence he was taken into the Le- nox, captain (now admiral) Rod- dam, whose disinterested friend- ship for him and his family was nobly rewarded by the future con- duct of his protegé. Admiral Roddam also took his younger brother, Wilfred Collingwood, in- to his ship, and brought him to the rank of captain, when he died in the West Indies, about 1779 or 1780. Lord Collingwood has another brother in the customs, and two maiden sisters, who still live very retired at Newcastle. By admiral Roddam, lord C. was in- troduced to vice-admiral Graves, and afterwards to sir Peter Parker, and with the former he went in the Preston to America; yet it was not till after he had been four- teen years in the service, that he 379 was appointed fourth lieutenant in the Somerset. In 1776, he went to Jamaica in the Hornet sloop, where he became acquainted with Nelson, then second lieutenant of the Lowestoffe, captain Locker. This friendship of congenial minds continued the remainder of their lives ; Collingwood regularly suc- ceeding his friend Nelson in every appointment and ship which he left in the course of his promotion. From the Lowestoffe; Nelson was taken into the Bristol, admiral sir Peter Parker,andCollingwood into the Lowestoffe ; in 1778, Nelson was appointed to the Badger brig, and Collingwood to the Bristol; in 1779, Nelson was made post-cap- tain inthe Hinchinbrooke, and Col- lingwood in the Badger ; in 1780, Nelson was appointed to the Janu frigate, and was again sdpoueited by his friend Collingwood. Onthis occasion, Nelson was snatched from the jaws of death by beingrecalled fromthe destructiveQuixoticexpe- dition to St. Juan on the Spanish Main, and Collingwood whose con- stitution was less delicate, survived the effects of that dreadful climate, where, in four months, out of 200 men, whocomposed his ship’s com- pany, he buried 180! Of 1,800 men, who were sent at different times on this expedition, only 300 ever returned. In August he quit- ted a station which had proved equally fatal to the other ships that were employed. In Decem- ber of the same year, he was ap- pointed to the command of the Pelican of twenty-four guns, but his continuance in that ‘ship was not of long duration; for, on the Astof August, 1781, she was wreck- ed upon the Morant Key, during the dreadful - hurricane which proved so destructive to the West 380 India islands in general. The crew were however saved, as well as their commander. It was not long before an opportunity pre- sented itself to resume his station in the service of his country. He was appointed next to the com- mand of the Sampson, of sixty- four guns, in which ship he served till the peace of 1783, when she was paid off, and he was appointed to the Mediator, and sent to the West Indies, where he again met his friend Nelson, who at that time commanded the Boreas frigate upon the same station. The friend- ship which subsisted betweenthese two young men, who were here- after to make so conspicuous a fi- gure uponthe great theatre of naval glory, appears from the letters which were written during this period by the latter, to his friend captain Locker. In one of these, dated on board the Boreas, Sep- tember 24th, 1784, he says, ** Col- lingwood is at Grenada, which is a great loss to me, for there is no- body I can make a confidant of.” In another, dated November 23rd; ‘* Collingwood desires me to say hewill write you soon such a letter that you will think it a history of the West Indies. What an amia- ble good.man he is!” Off Marti- nique, March 5th, 1786, he writes: ‘© This station has not been over pleasant ; had it not been for Col- lingwood, it would have been the most disagreeable I ever saw.’’ In this ship, and upon this station, he remained until the latter end of 1786, when, upon his return to England, the ship being paid off, he took the opportunity to visit his native county, and renew his acquaintance with his family and friends, from whom he had been so long separated. In this retire- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. ment, after a service of five’ and twenty years, he continued to en- joy himself in Northumberland until the year 1790, when, on the expected rupture with Spain, he was again called into employ in the armament then fitting out, and appointed to the Mermaid, of thirty-two guns, under the command of admiral Cornish, in the West Indies. The dispute being, however, adjusted without hostilities, and no prospect of immediate employment again at sea appearing, he once more re- turned to his native county, and in this interval of repose formed a connection with a lady of great personal merit, and of a family highly respectable, Sarah, the eldest daughter of John Erasmus Blackett, esq. one of the aldermen of Newcastle. By this lady he has two daughters; Sarah, and Mary Patience, both living with their mother at Morpeth, the place of his lordship’s residence, during the short intervals of repose which he had been suffered to enjoy. On the breaking out of the war with France, in 1793, captain Colling- wood was called to the command of the Prince, bearing the flag of admiral Bowyer, with whom he served in that ship, and afterwards in the Barfleur, until the engage- ment of the Ist of June 1794. In this action hedistinguished himself with great bravery, and the ship which he commanded is known to have had her full share inthe glory of that day; though it was the source of some painful feelings at the moment, in the captain’s own mind, that no notice was taken of his services upon this occasion, nor his name once mentioned inthe of- ficial dispatches of lord Howe to the Admiralty. Rear-admiral Bow- 8 Sara Es APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. yer lost his leg by the side of cap- tain Collingwood, yet no epithet of approbation was officially be- stowed on the captain of the Bar- fleur! The battles of St. Vincent and Trafalgar have since pro- claimed his merit! Captain Col- lingwood was appointed to the Excellent, after lord Howe’s vic- tory, and went with lord Hood to Toulon. From that station he joined admiral Jervis, and follow- ing the manceuvres of his tried friend commodore Nelson, these two commanders, with the ill- fated Trowbridge, contributed to accomplish one of the most signal victories off Cape St. Vincent, ever recorded in the annals of naval war. The English consisted of fifteen ships, the Spanish of twenty-seven ; the former had only 1,232 guns, the latter 2,308; and, notwith- standing this inferiority, four of the enemy’s ships were captured, two by Nelson and two by Col- lingwood ; the San Josef of one hundred and twelve guns, and San Nicholas of eighty, struck to Nel- son ; and the Salvador del Mundo of one hundred and twelve, and the San Isidro of 74:to Collingwood. The prodigies of valour displayed by Nelson and Collingwood, on this extraordinary occasion, are well depicted by the former at a perilous moment of the engage- ment. “* The Salvador del Mundo, and the San Isidro,” said his lord- ship, “ dropped a stern, and were fired intoin a masterly style by the Excellent, captain Collingwood, who compelled the San Isidro to hoist English colours; and I thought the large ship Salvador had struck ; but captain Colling- wood, disdaining the parade of taking possession of a vanquished enemy, most gallantly pushed up with every sail set to save his old 381 friend and messmate, who was to appearance in a crippled state.” It was not the fortune of Colling- wood, although anxiously desired by both, to accompany his friend to fresh victories at the Nile, and he remained in the painful office of blockading the enemy’s ports till 1799, when he was made rear- admiral of the White, and in 1801 rear-admiral of the Red. In May 1802 he returned to Spithead, and proceeded tohis family and friends in Northumberland. But the pe- riod of domestic enjoyment was again very short; and in April 1804 he was made vice-admiral of the Blue, and resumed the block- ade of Brest with admiral Corn- wallis. The very irksome life of an indolent blockade always ap- prehensive that the enemy may escape, and yet without the hope of his coming to action, can only be understood by those who have spent some time aboard ship in such service. In 1805, however, admiral Collingwood was called upon to exercise his talents in the blockade of Cadiz, with only four ships, with which he had to deceive the enemy, and impress them with an idea that he had a powerful fleet. This delusion he effected with the happiest result, by means of well-conceived signals from two ships off the harbour to two others at a greater distance. The arrival of Nelson relieved him from the arduous task of watching a fleet of thirty-four ships of the line with only four, and prepared the way for the glorious, but melancholy, battle of Trafalgar, in which twenty-seven British were opposed to thirty-three French and Spanish ships. The particu- lars of this engagement are yet too deeply engraven on the minds of the public to require repe- 382 tition here. Lord Collingwood led the van in the attack, and Nelson exclaimed ;—* Look at that noble fellow! Observe the style in which he carries his ship into action !”’ Collingwood, enjoying the honour of his situation, with equal spirit said to his captain, ‘‘ What would Nelson give to bein our situation!” The loss of the Royal Sovereign, admiral Collingwood, in this ac- tion, was five officers, twenty-nine seamen, and nineteen marines, killed ; eight officers, seventy sea- men, and ten marines, wounded : in all one hundred and forty-one. Of nineteen vessels that struck, only three Spanishand one French seventy-four were sent to Gib- raltar ; all the others being either burnt, sunk, or run on shore. The humanity and piety of lord Collingwood after this battle, were not less conspicuous than they were in Nelson; and in his letter to the Admiralty, detailing the particulars of the action, he laments the fall of the commander- in-chief with great feeling.— «« My heart (said he) is rent with the most poignant grief for the death of a friend, to whom, by many years. intimacy, and a per- fect knowledge of the virtues of his mind, which inspired ideas superior to the common race of men, I was bound by the strongest ties of affection; a grief to which even the glorious occasion on which he fell does not bring that consolation which perhaps it ought.” The merit of this official dispatch struck his majesty, who observed, that ‘‘ Collingwood’s was an excellent letter.” The last fact we shall notice, was the admiral’s humanity after the action to the unfortunate prisoners, in shatter- ed vessels, and exposed to a tre- mendous storm. Lord Colling- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. wood’s proposal to the governor of Cadiz to receive them into hospitals, was most gratefully re- ceived; and the Spanish people, in a spontaneous burst of enthu- siastic admiration of the English, although their enemies, sent every assistance to the English fleet, in wines, fruit, and refreshments, to comfort the wounded and sick. The well-merited eulogiums which have been pronounced on lord Collingwood’s professional talents are sufficiently known. By lord Hood it was observed, that “he only wanted the opportunity to _ prove himself a second Nelson.’? After the battle of Trafalgar, he was raised to the rank of admiral of the Red, created baron Col- lingwood of Coldburn and Heth- pole, in Northumberland, and a grant of 2,000/. a year voted to him during his own life, 1,0002. to his lady, and 500/. to each of his daughters. During the last five years, he has scarcely ever been on shore; and in one of his letters to a friend, he observes, ‘¢since 1793,I have been only one year at home. To my own children Lam scarcely known ; yet, while I have health and strength to serve my country, I consider that health and strength due to it; and if I serve it successfully as I ever have done faithfully, my children will not want friends.’”? His natural diffidence and unassuming cha- racter induced a rather disadvan- tageous opinion of real merit ; he despised ostentation, and evinced a kind of patriarchal simplicity in his whole conduct. To the chari- table institutions of Newcastle he has beena most liberal’benefactor, and has also subscribed to raise a monument to his master the late rev. Mr. Moises. His noble title is now extinct; but therecords of his APPENDIX to brave achievements and his perso- nal worth, will be handed down to future ages, while naval warfare shall continue to engage the atten- tion of nations; and the names of Nelson and Collingwood be bla- zoned by posterity, as models of the most heroic and sublime pa- triotism. A relation of his lordship, the late E. Collingwood, esq. left him his estate worth about 2,000/. _ besides a handsome library. With this addition, it is presumed that his lordship possessed a very am- ple fortune. The body of the lamented admiral was brought to England in the Nereus frigate, and conveyed from Sheerness in the commissioner’s yacht to Green- wich. Here it lay in state for some days in the Painted Cham- ber in the Hospital, and was then deposited in its final resting-place under the dome of St. Paul’s, close by the coffin of lord Nelson; so that it may with truth be said, that even in death these great heroic friends are undivided. Lord Collingwood was of mid- dling stature, but extremely thin, and temperate in his general habits; ate always with an appe- tite, drank moderately after din- ner, but never indulged afterwards in spirits or wine. It was his general rule, in tempestuous weather, and upon any hostile emergency that occurred, to sleep upon his sofa in a flannel gown, taking off only his epaulet- tedcoat. He would appear upon deck without his hat; and his grey hair floating to the wind, whilst torrents of rain poured down through the shrouds, and his eye, like the eagle’s, on the watch. Bo- _dily exposure, colds, rheumatism, ague, all, were nothing to him when his duty called; and to this contempt of personal comfort and CHRONICLE. indulgence his country doubtless owes the privation of his services. In Great Ormond street, aged fifty-three, of a pulmonary con- sumption, Thomas Finch, esq. F, R. S., only son of the rev. Robert. Pool Finch, D. D. He was principally. educated at Mer- chant Taylors’ school, and was afterwards fellow of St. John’s college, Oxford, where his acade- mical career was marked by the most correct conduct, and con- siderable literary distinction. The loss of this truly excellent man and accomplished scholar will be long and deeply felt by the select eircle of friends, who well knew how to estimate his numerous good qualities. In his manners, and in his whole deportment, he never lost. sight of that elegant and gentlemanly- reserve, which might keep rudeness or imperti- nence at a distance, but which marked the true gentleman, and evinced a proper self-esteem, and laudable consciousness of that rank, which his birth and talents entitled him to hold in society. In the profession of the law he uniformly proved himself an up- right and discreet adviser; a sound and able advocate. Inthe early part of his career at the bar, he attracted the peculiar notice and marked attention of Jord Thurlow, whose discernment would, there is little doubt, had he filled the office of chancellor, have elevated him to a station where his merit would have shone more conspicuously, and his ta- lents have been more diffusely useful. The “ Precedents in Chan- 383 ‘cery,” which he edited with con- siderable care and ability, will not permit his name to be entirely forgotten in the profession. It is much to be regretted, that the 384 ANNUAL weakness of his health, combined with his great aversion to all spe- culative enterprise, deprived his country at large of that learning, judgment, and eloquence, joined to great political knowledge, which would have done honour to her parliamentary representation. As a scholar, he was highly capable of relishing the beauties and sub- limities of those works which are the great standards of classical composition: his grammatical ac- quaintance with the Greek and Latin languages was correct, and his taste perhaps almost too fas- tidiously refined. The Holy Scrip- tures formed a favourite branch of his studies, which his experi- ence and skill in the Hebrew language rendered more delight- ful to him. With the principal modern language he was well acquainted, and was particularly attached to the German. He conversedin French with great flu- ency and propriety. The unex- ampled care and attention which he personally bestowed upon the education of his son, proved that he was fully aware of the binding and serious duties imposed upon a parent. After a lingering and painful illness, at St. Valen, near Bray, Joseph Cooper Walker, esq. mem- ber of many literary and philoso- phical societies. The loss of this accomplished scholar will be long and deepy deplored by all true vo- taries of science and the fine arts ; but, those only who have had the happiness to be included in the cir- cle of his friends, can justly lament the qualities which dignified, and the numerous graces which adorn- ed his character. Few, perhaps, have united, in a higher degree, the accomplishments of thegentle- man, with the attainments of the REGISTER, 1810. scholar. His polished manners, his refined sentiments, his easy flow of wit, his classical taste, and his profound erudition, rendered his conversation as fascinating as it was instructive; the rare qualities of his heart procured for him the most devoted attachment of rela- tives and friends, the affectionate regard of all who knew him. A frame of peculiar delicacy inca- pacitated Mr. W. for the exercise of an active profession, and early withdrew his mind from the busy bustle of the world to the more congenial occupations of literary retirement. The intervals of ex- emption from pain and sickness, which are usually passed in lan+ guor or in pleasure, were by him devoted to the cultivation of those favourite departments of literature to which he was guided, not less by natural taste, than by early association. To seek for that ‘best of blessings—health, which his own climate denied him, -Mr. W. was induced to travel: the ardent mind of this young enthu- siast in the cause of letters, who had drunk deep from the classic fountains of antiquity, and had imbibed the most profound admi- ration for the heroes and the sages of old, regretted not his constitu- tional debility, but seized the occasion which invited him to that sacred theatre, on which the greatest characters had figured, and the noblest works had been achieved. He visited Italy ; he em- braced with enthusiasm that nurse of arts and of arms; he trod with devotion her classic ground, con- secrated by the ashes of heroes, and immortalized by the effusions of poets ; he studied her language; he observed her customs and her manners; headmired theinimitable remains of ancient art, and mourn- APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. ed over the monuments of modern degradation; he conversed with her learned men; he was enrolled in her academies ; and became al- most naturalized to the country. His memoir on Italian Tragedy, and his Historical Memoirs of the Irish Bards, may be ranked among the best productions of British Literature. At his house in Stephen’s Green, Dublin, John Law, D. D. Bishop of Elphin, and brother to lord Ellenborough. This truly venera- ble prelate was a man of profound erudition, and his whole life was devoted to the practice of those moral and religious duties which he so forcibly inculcated in his ex- cellent discourses from the pulpit. When he took possession of the see of Killala, and learnt that almost the whole of the population were Roman Catholics, he observed, “that it was a hopeless task to make them protestants, it would answer everypurpose tomakethem goodcatholics:”? and with this view he got printed, at his own expense, and distributed gratis through the diocese, a new edition of the works of the rev. John Gother, which breathethe piety, and, inplain and intelligiblelanguage, inculcate the morality of the Bible. The same liberality of his life, is particu- larly observable in his will. He has left to the rev. James White- law, vicar of St. Catherine’s, Dub- lin, 5007. Of this gentleman his lordship knew nothing but his vir- tues and literary acquirements ; but to such a man as Dr. Law they were the best recommendation. He had previously bestowed upon him the living in the diocese of Elphin, held by the late Dr. Sand- ford; and in hig last and tedious sickness, was often heard to ex- Vor, LII. 385 press his satisfaction, that he lived to lave an opportunity of showing him this mark of his friendship and esteem. To Dr. William Magee, senior fellow of Trinity College, Dublin, he has ~ bequeathed a like sum of five hun- dred pounds. This gentleman had also no recommendation but his literary talents. To Dr, Brinkley, professor of astronomy in Trinity College, Dublin, he has bequeath - ed five thousand pounds, with all his books, valued at three thou- sand pounds. His lordship died worth forty-five thousand pounds, and his legacies, including one thousand pounds to his brother, lord Ellenborough, amount in the whole, to sixteen thousand pounds. ‘The remaining twenty- nine thousand pounds is bequeath- ed, one-half to his widow, Mrs. Law, and the other half distri- butively between his four brothers and sisters. JUNE. On thie fifth of June, at Malta; in the twenty-seventh year of his age, Mr. Theodore Galton, second son of Samuel Galton, esq. of Dudson, near Birmingham. He was returning from a long voyage, undertaken from a classical taste, in search of knowledge, to the coasts of the Mediterranean, and particularly to Asia Minor and Greece. He had been daily and impatiently expected by his anxious friends ; and was ac- tually supposed to be on board the vessel that brought the ac- count of his decease. This young man is deeply and most deservedly regretted. Few persons have been sostrikingly distinguished forthose attractive qualities and graces of 2C 386 the mind that excite regard—and for thosedisinterested andgenerous perfections that retain it, Aschool may be considered as the epitome of the world, wherethe future cha- racter is first unfolded and made known. A native dignity thatscorn- ed a meanness or a misrepresenta tion orany plausible duplicity, soon distinguished him; a high sense of honour and all the magnanimous ' virtues that stamp the mind with true nobility, excited in his equals at school a kind of idolatry to- wardshim; evenhis preceptors felt the force of his character, His su- periors learntto respect andhonour him, communicating to his parents exultingly, from time to time, ex- traordinary instances of his great and feeling mind, and of that sa- cred observance of truth in its un- perverted simplicity, which raised him inafter-lite above little design- ing men. Such was the basis of his future character, a character which never abandoned him, but which might besaid to have grown with his manly growth, and to have strengthened with his advancing years, The same jnfluence of a superior nature that was felt by his early connexions and associates, was felt ever after in future life by all who approached him. Those who obtained dominion over the youthful mind through fear, could never succeed in debasing his, but many undue advantages were ob- tained through the medium of his affections. It was a pre-eminent excellence, and it distinguished him from the cradle to the grave, that to a Roman spirit he united the most affectionate sensibili- ties; he might perhaps in some instances, have merited that ob- servation which is made by Field- ing respecting Allworthy; ‘ that ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. the best of heads, was misled by the best of hearts.” The phleg- matic and cold may consider this censure; such censure is dislin- guished praise. Mr. Theodore Galton was never known to have lost the affections of a friend. The regard he had once excited was a feeling deeply established in the heart, and the boy who had been attached to him, how- ever early the period, became so imperceptibly more and more as life advanced. Nor was he re- membered with indifference even by those who had not seen or heard of him during long periods of time: he was thought of with regret, for scarcely was his equal to be expected in future life. He never had a personal enemy ; though upon one or two occasions of his life he had been ill usedfrom motives of interest, by designing and sordid minds. He was, how- ever, not capable of a malignant feeling; he was never known to have harboured a resentment; he was often known to have entirely forgotten that hehad beeninjured; he was capable of being made angry, but his anger was not the retaliation of low passions ; it was the indignation of a noble mind that spurned at a meanness, or at any injurious suspicion that cast a shade over the open daylight of his own conduct. His commanding figure, and the Grecian contour of his features, might have been con- sidered by the sculptor as models for his art ; the dark shade of his hair and eyes, and the manly red and white of his complexion, gave a brilliant effect and added a rich lustre to his face. These personal advantages were, however, forgot- ten, and as it were lost, in the cap- tivating influence of his manners APPENDIX and countenance. No human fea- tures wereever lighted up withmore beaming splendours, with more in- telligence, or with finer sensibili- ties, always awakened to the occa- sion. His mind was seen in its emanations, it shone forth exter- nally, and its brightness seemed like a light to surround him. In every society hewasa distinguished object, and his superiors in age, in class, and even in attainments, felt themselves flattered by his notice: this influence was never weakened by habit, it was felt by those who lived with him equally as by others. Almostevery person who had acci- dentally methim as astranger, left him with the feelings ofa friend ; this was exemplified in the follow- ing fact:—A gentleman who had never before seen Mr. Theodore Galton, spent one morning with him by chance, not long before he left England: when the same gen- tleman afterwards saw, in the pub- lic papers, an account of his death, he burstintotears. Those who pos- sessed a congenial nobility of mind, felt the influence of his cha- racter particularly. Mr. Simmons a merchant from Smyrna, and a stranger to Mr. Theodore Gal- ton, embarked in the same Tuni- sian vessel from Malta. When Mr. Theodore Galton was given over by the physicians, andthe fever declar- ed highlyinfectious, Mr.Simmons, who was performing quarantine in the same apartment, was offered another for his own preservation, but Mr. Simmons refused to aban- don him, and he continued to sleep where he was, and to attend him as he had throughout, with an as- siduous care until the last, being fixed to the spot by his anxieties, although Mr. Theodore Galton’s inyaluable friend and travelling to CHRONICLE. 387 companion, Dr. Sacheverel Dar- win, was there, and watched him unremittingly night and day at the hazard of his own life. This short account Hows from a heart warmed by the virtues of no com- mon character; and also from a wish inspired by a sense of justice, that such a character should not pass away unknown and unno- ticed, merely because coincident events are wanting to bring it more publicly forth. But the public can never fully know or appreciate Mr. Theodore Galton as he appeared in private life, bringing joy and animation, and diffusing brightness round a circle of friends at home, where he was an ornament and a pride to his family. He rarely sought pleasures in public, or spent an evening from home, but passed his leisure hours in the attainment of knowledge, and in the delights of elegant li- terature. He had been led to a love of study, after his school edu-. cation was over, by some events of his life, but principally by a mind which had acquired a dis- cerning taste, and that was capa- ble of the richest cultivation. It was necessary to have resided un- der the same roof in order to have seen howdeeplyhis deportment had interested every classthroughouta large family ; for his heart and be- haviour were governed by sym- athies that were in accordance with the feelings of those who wanted protection or who wanted support. Every friend and every domestic felthis gentlekindness, a kindness rarely combined with the strong energies of such a charac- ter; but he possessed very oppo- site perfections, and such as are not often brought together in bright assemblage in one mind, Those 2C2 388 who habitually resided with Mr. Theodore Galton were well aware how great he was upon allsmall, as well as upon the most important oc- casions of life; they saw and felt the sublime in all his actions, in his minute actions, even in his errors, for he never committed a fault but it was instantly repaired with such a noble candour as established him more firmly in the affections of the person inadvertently offended. His heart was warmed towards every friend, it was a heart that exulted in their joys and that met their sorrows. To his parents he exhibited a very uncommon and sublime example of filial duty and of filiallove. But he is seen no more! May he still be contem- plated in his character, like a fine model for imitation. Should this inadequate sketch meet the eye of any of his juvenile friends, from whom time and events may long have divided him, the heart of that friend will acknowledge the likeness, and the influence be re- vived of such feelings as probably no other individual has since ex- cited, He will dwell with a mourn- ful satisfaction upon the past; and recalling the image of his bright associate, he will embalm his me- mory with tears. In his seventy-ninth year gene- ral Hugh Debbieg, of Margaret Street, Cavendish Square, after a long illness. He received a regu- Jar military education, as an en- gineer, at Woolwich; and in 1746, at the early age of fourteen years, he, for the first time, saw active service, in the expedition against Orient, under general St. Clair ; he aftewards served in Brabant with the allied army, commanded by his royal highness William duke of Cumberland, by whom, ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. and by marshal Bathiani, he was much distinguished; and was at- tached to the staff of hisroyathigh- ness at the battle of Laffvelt ; after which he served in Bergen-op- Zoom, during the whole of that memorable siege. After the sus- pension of hostilities, he was one of the engineers appointed to make a survey of the late seat of war. In 1750, he was employed in making a survey and military map of Scot- land, and on many other occasions at home, till the year 1753, when he was sent to North America as second engineer in command, and at the siege of Louisbourg parti- cularly distinguished himself. In the following year he served under the immortal Wolfe, at Quebec, with the same rank, and his talents procured him the friendship and entire confidence of that hero. On his return to Europe, he was employed in several confidential, but very important and hazardous missions, which he executed to the satisfaction of his majesty’s go- vernment. Soon after the peace of 1783 he retired from public ser- vice, and occasionally employed himself in perfecting a system of fortification entirely novel, and peculiar to his extraordinary mind and attainments. At his lodgings in Pimlico, Mr. Sylvia, an Israelite, well known for his eccentric disposition. About forty-five years ago he used to at- tend the royal Exchange, mounted upon a beautiful charger, with a servant, who held the horse during the time his master transacted bu- siness. The lord Mayor, con- ceiving it a nuisance to introduce an animal of that description on the Exchange, one day ordered it to be taken away, and not brought there again, which order APPENDIX to the CHRONICLE. was complied with. He lent 5001. to Mr. Wilkes, upon his bond, which he afterwards increased, in consequence of non-payment, to 2000/. and the bond was burnt. Mr. Sylvia was the brother of the Jew who was murdered in Garden Row, Chelsea, by his nephew.— Through the death of his brother he got about 2000/. ' At his house in Pall Mall, the Right Honourable William Wind- thham, M. P. D.C. L. one of his majesty’s most honourable Privy Council, and a Governor of the Charter House. Mr.Windham was descendedfrom anvancient andhigh- ly respectable family in the county of Norfolk, where they hac scsided for several generations, and pos- sessed a considerable property. His father, William Windham, was one of the most admired cha- racters of his time ; and, in 1756, soon after the plan of a national militia was formed by Mr. Pitt (afterwards earl of Chatham) this gentleman, in conjunction with the late Marquis Townshend, was extremely zealous and active in promoting and carrying into exe- cution that scheme, which has since proved so salutary to his country. On this subject he pub- lished one or two very excellent pamphlets. He died in 1761, leaving his only son, then eleven years old, under the care of the executors of his will, the Rev. Dr. Dampier, then under master of Eton school, and Mr. Garrick. Mr. Windham was born at Fel- brigge Hall, the family seat in Norfolk, in March 1750. He received the early part of his edu- cationat Eton, where he continued from 1762 to the autumn of 1766 when heremoved to the University of Glasgow, where he resided for 389 about a year in the house of Dr. Anderson, professor of natural phi- josophy ; and diligently attended his lectures, and those of Dr. Robert Simson professor of ma- thematics, the well-known author ofa Treatise on Conic Sections, and of other learned works. Here first, probably, he became fond of those studies to which he was ever afterwards strongly addicted. In September, 1767, he became a gentlemancommoner of University College, Oxford, Mr. (afterwards sir Robert) Chambers being his tutor. During his academic course (on 1767 to 1771) he was highly istinguished for his application to ‘various studies, for his love of en- terprize, for that frank and grace- full address, and that honourable deportment, which gave alustre to his character through every period of his life. In 1773, when he was but twenty-three years old, hislove of adventure, and his thirst of knowledge, induced him to ac- company his friend Constantine, lord Mulgrave, in his voyage towards the North Pole ; but he was so harassed with sea sickness, that he was under the necessity of being landed in Norway, and of wholly abandoning his purpose. In 1778, he became a major in the Norfolk Militia, then quartered at Bury, in Suffolk, where, by his in- trepidity and personal exertion, he quelled a dangerous mutiny, which had broken out; notwithstanding he was highly beloved by the regi- ment. On one of the mutineers laying hold of a part of his dress he felled him to the ground, and put him into confinement ; and on his comrades afterwards sur-~ rounding him, and insisting on the release of the delinquent, he drew his sword, and kept them at bay, 390 tilla party of his own company joined and rescued him. Soon af- terwards, in consequence of his being obliged to remain for several hours in wet clothes, he was seized with a dangerous bilious fever, which nearly deprived him of his life. In the autumn of that year, partly with a view of restoring his health, he went abroad, and spent the two following years in Switzer- land and Italy. Previously to his leaving England, he was chosen a member of the Literary Club, founded by sir Joshua Reynolds and Dr. Johnson (who had the greatestesteem for Mr, Windham) and, notwithstanding his engage-~ ments in consequence of his parlia- , mentary business, and the import- ant offices which he filled, he was avery frequent attendant at the meeting of that respectable society (for which he always expressed the highest value) from i781 to near thetime of his death. Soearly as the year 1769, when he was at Oxford, and had not yet attained his twentieth year, the Jate mar- quis Townshend, then lord lieuten- ant of Ireland, whom he twice visited during his residence in that country, offered him the office of his principal secretary; but he declined it in a letter which is still extant, and which very forcibly displays that excellent sense, and thosehonourable sentiments, which afterwards uniformly regulated his conduct. In 1782 he came into parliament, where he sat for twenty-eight years, at first for Norwich, and afterwards for vari- ous boroughis ; and he so early dis- tinguished himself in the House of Commons, that he was selected by Mr. Burke, in June 1784, tosecond his motion for a representation to his majesty on the state of the na- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. tion, In the preceding year, he had been appointed principal se- cretary tothe Earl of Northington, then constituted lord lieutenant of Ireland; and in that capacity he visited Dublin in the spring of 1783, and intended to have accom- panied his excellency when he af- terwards opened the session of parliament there in October ; but being prevented by illness, he re- linquished his office ; and nis friend the honourable Thomas Pelham (now earl of Chichester) was ap- pointed secretary in his room. From the time of his coming into Parliament, to the year 1793, he usually voted with the opposition of that day; but he never was what is called a thorough party-. man, frequently deviating from those to whom he was generally attached, when, in matters of im- portance, his conscience directed him to take a different course from them: on which account, bis vir- tues and talents were never rightly appreciated by persons of that description, who frequently on this ground vainly attempted to undervalue him. After the rup- ture between Mr. Fox and Mr. Burke, in consequence of the French revolution, Mr. Windham attached himself wholly to the lat- ter, with whom he had for many years lived in the closest intimacy; and of whose genius and virtues he had always the highest admira- tion. Being, with him, thoroughly convinced of the danger then im- pending over his country, from the measures adopted bycertainclasses of Englishmen, in consequence of that tremendous convulsion, he did not hesitate to unite with the duke of Portland, lord Spencer, and others, in accepting offices under the administrationin which Mr. Pitt APPENDIX ro CHRONICLE. then presided. On this arrange- ment Mr. Windham was appointed secretary at war, with a seat in the cabinet, an honourable distinc- tion which had never before been annexed to that office. ‘This sta- tion he continued to fill with the highest reputation from that time (1794) till 1801, when he, lord Spencer, lord Grenville, and Mr, Pitt, resigned their offices; and shortly afterwards Mr. Addington (now lord viscount Sidmouth) was appointed chancellor of the exchequer and first lord of the treasury. On the preliminaries of peace with France being acceded to by that statesman and his coad- jutors, in 1801, Mr. Windham made his celebrated speech in parliament, which was afterwards (April, 1802) published, withan ap- pendix, containing a character of the present usurper of the French throne, which will transmit to pos- terity the principal flagitious pas- sages of his life up to that period, in the most lively colours. On Mr. Addington being driven from the helm, in 1805, principally by the battery of Mr. Windham’s eloquence, a new administration was again formed by Mr. Pitt, which was dissolved by his death, in 1806 ; and shortly afterwards, on lord Grenville’s accepting the office of first lord of the treasury, Mr. Windham was appointed secretary of state for the war department, which he held till his majesty in the following year, thought fit to constitute a new administration. During this period he carried into a law his bill for the limited service of those who enlist in our regular army; a measure which will ever endear his name to the English soldiery. The genius and talents of this illustrious statesman are well 391 known and universally acknow- ledged. He was unquestionably the most distinguished man of the present time, and not inferior, in many respects, to the most ad- mired characters of the age that is just gone by. He had been in his earlier years avery diligent student, and was an excellent Greek and Latin scholar. In his latter years, like Burke and John- son, he was an excursive reader, but gathered a great variety of knowledge from different books, and from occasionally mixing, like them, with very various classes and descriptions of men. His memory was most tenacious. In his par- liamentary speeches his principal object always was, to convince the understanding by irrefragable argument, which he at the same time enlivened by a profusion of imagery, drawn sometimes from the most abstruse parts of science, but oftener from the most familiar objects of common life. But what gave a peculiar lustre to whatever he urged, was his known and uniform integrity, and a firm conviction in the breasts of his hearers, that he always uttered the genuine and disinterested sentiments ofhisheart. His stile, both in writing and speaking, was always simple, and he was ex- tremely fond of idiomatic phrases, which he thought greatly contri- buted to preserve the purity of our language. He surveyed every sub- ject of importance with a philoso- phic eye, and was thence enabled to discover and detect Jatent mis- chief, concealed under the plausi- ble appearance of public advan- tage. ence all the clamourers for undefined and imaginary li- berty, and all those who meditate the subversion of the constitution, under the pretext of reform, 392° shrunk from his grasp ; and persons of this description were his only enemies, But his dauntless intre- pidity, and his noble disdain of vulgar popularity, held up a shield against their malice ; and no fear of consequences ever drove him from that manly and honourable course, which the rectitude and purity of his mind induced him to pursue. As an orator, he was simple, elegant, prompt, and ‘graceful. His geniuswas so fertile, and his reading so extensive, that there were few subjects on which he could not instruct, amuse, and persuade. He was frequently (as has justly been observed) ‘at once entertaining and abstruse, drawing illustrations promiscu-~ ously from familiar life, and the recondite parts of science ; nor was it unusual to hear him through three adjoining sentences, in the first witty, in the second meta- physical, and in the last scholas- tic.” But his eloquence derived its principal power from the quickness of his apprehension, and the philosophical profundity of his mind. Of this his speech on Mr. Curwen’s bill (May, 1809) is an eminent instance ; for it unques- tionably contains more moral and political wisdom than is found in any similar performance which has appeared since the death of Mr. Burke, and may be placed on the same platform with the most admired productions of that dis- tinguished orator. In private life no man perhaps of any age had a greater number of zealous friends and admirers. In addition to his extraordinary talents and accom- plishments, the grace and happi- ness of his address and manner gave an irresistible charm to his conversation ; and few, it is believ- ed, of either sex (for his address ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. tothe ladies was inimitably elegant: and graceful) ever partook of his society without pleasure and ad- miration, or quitted it without regret. His brilliant imagination, his various knowledge, his acute- ness, his good taste, his wit, his dignity of sentiment, and his gentleness of manner (forhe never was loud or intemperate) made him universally admired and re- spected. Tocrown all these virtues and accomplishments, it may be added, that he fulfilled all the duties of life, the lesser as well as the greatest, with the most scrupulous attention ; and was always parti- cularly ardent in vindicating the cause of oppressed merit. But his best eulogy is the general senti- ment of sorrow which agitated every bosom on the sudden and unexpected stroke which termi- nated in his death. During the nineteen days of his sickness, his hall was daily visited by several hundred successive enquirers con- cerning the state of his health; and that part of Pall Mall, in which his house was situated, was thronged with carriages filled with ladies, whom a similar anxiety brought to his door. Every morn- ing, and also at alate hour every evening, when his physicians and surgeons attended, several apart- ments in his house were filled with friends, who anxiously waited to receive the latest and most accu- rate accounts of the progress or abatement of his disorder. This sympathetic feeling extended almost through every class, and even reached the throne, for his majesty frequently enquired con- cerning the state of his health, pronouncing on him this high eu- logy, that “he was a genuine pa- triot, and a truly honest man.” Of the fatal malady which put an end APPENDIX 10 to his invaluable life, such erro- neous accounts have been pub- lished in the newspapers, that it may not be improper to give an accurate statement of that most distressful event. An idle story has been propagated, that the hon. Frederick North, on his last going abroad, left his library and MSS. in the care of Mr. Wind- ham, and had requested him to remove his books to Mr. Wind- ham’s house in Pall Mall; that he had neglected this charge, and thence had the stronger induce- ment to exert himself to save them. In all this circumstantial detail there is not one word of truth. The fact is, that on the 8th of Jast July, Mr, Windham, returning on foot at twelve o’clock at night from the house of a friend, as he passed by the end of Conduit Street, saw a house on fire, and, _with the same gallantry of spirit which on a former occasion induced him to exert himself to save a part of the venerable Abbey of Westminster from de- struction, he instantly hastened to the spot, with a view to assist the sufferers ; and soon observed that the house of Mr. North was not far distant from that which was then on fire. He therefore imme- diately undertook to save his friend’s library, which he knew to be very valuable. With the most strenuous activity he exerted him- self for four hours, in the midst of rain and the playing of the fire engines, with such effect, that, with the assistance of two or three persons whom he had selected from the crowd assembled on this occasion, he saved four parts out of five of the library ; and before they could empty the fifth book room the house took fire. The books were immediately removed, CHRONICLE. 393 not to Mr. Windham’s house, but to the houses of the opposite neighbours, who took great care of them. In removing some heavy volumes he accidentally fell, and suffered a slight contu- sion on the hip; but it made so little impression on his mind, that, not being apt to complain of any distress belonging to himself, in giving an account of the transac- tion the next day, he did not even mention this circumstance, nor for some months did he take notice of it to any friend. When he afterwards did mention it, it was in so slight a manner that it hardly attracted any attention from those who loved him best. By this accident, however, au indolent incysted tumour was formed in the part affected. For several months it was attended with no pain whatsoever; yet even in that state he had medical advice, and some slight applications were employed with no great effect. At length about the beginning of May, the tumour began to in- crease, and in certain positions of the body to give him some little pain; and on mentioning these circumstances to a friend, he strongly exhorted him to have the best surgical advice. According- ly, on the next day, the 6th of May, Mr. Cline, who had been consulted about two months be- fore, was again called in, to view the part affected; and he then pronounced the tumour to be of such a nature, that Mr. Wind- ham’s life might be endangered if it was not cut out. In consequence of this decision, Mr. Windham acted with the utmost prudence, propriety, and fortitude. He first consulted his own physician, Dr. Blane, who coincided in opinion with Mr. Cline. He then resolved, 394 before he submitted to the opera- tion, to consult six eminent sur- geons separately, besides Mr. Cline; Dr, Blane having previously given all of them (except one, who, it is believed, was consulted without his knowledge) an ac- curate account of his constitution and habit of body; and four out of the six: thus consulted, were decidedly of the same opinion with Mr. Cline; that is, five were clearly for the operation, and two againstit. Mr. Windham, having taken these precautions, acted as every wise man would have done, and resolved to submit to the operation. And so far was he from rashness or precipitation, which have been most untruly imputed to him, that after these opinions were obtained, Dr, Bailie, whose great anatomical skill is universally acknowledged, was also consulted; and he too agreed in opinion with Dr. Blane, and the five surgeons already alluded to. With manly fortitude he now prepared to submit to the requi- site operation; and after making a codicil to his will, he visited his friend and contemporary at Ox- ford, the rev. Dr. Fisher, Master of the Charter-House ; and, as appears from one of his diaries, received the sacrament from his hands, Mrs. Fisher being the only other communicant. He bore the operation with the most heroic fortitude ; and even when the pain was most exquisite, exhibited a vivid proof of the strength of his mind, by a playful allusion to the language of the vulgar in similar situations, With the most kind and anxious tenderness he had taken care that Mrs. Wind- ham, who was in the country at this time, should not have the slightest suspicion of what was ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. going on; nor was she apprised of the operation, till, on her arrival in town on the 18th of May, she was informed that it had been successfully performed on the pre- ceding day. But, unhappily, very soon afterwards appearances were such as gave very little ground for hope. A morbid ichor appeared, attended with a general inflam- mation, and with two abscesses ; and the wound never suppurated. A fever ensued, of course; but it was idle to suppose that this was the malady which proved fatal, it being merely symptomatic: and equally unfounded is the current opinion, that Mr. Windham’s most valuable life was sacrificed to this operation ; for the tumour itself was found to be of a schir- rous nature, and fully justifies the decision that was made; and the state of his whole frame shews that his death was owing to a morbid habit, and not to the operation. Had it been deferred for a month longer, it would still have been necessary ; it would have been performed at a less proper time, and have been at- tended, mean while, with the most distressful circumstances. Having never been guilty of ex- cesses in his youth, and having all his life been extremely moderate both in eating and the use of wine, that his constitution should have been thus suddenly under- mined is most extraordinary. For several days previous to his death he seemed to entertain little hope of life, submitting to Divine Providence with perfect calmness and resignation. On the night pre- ceding his decease, on the attend- ing surgeon, Mr. Lynn, placing himin themostfavourablesituation for sleep, he said, ** I thank you; this is the last trouble I shall give APPENDIX to you: he then fell into a doze, or ’ stupor,andthenext morning (June 4:) he expired, with so little pain, that it was scarcely perceived when he drew his last breath. Great as his loss is to his country and to his friends, it is some consolation that he died in the full maturity of his fame, and has left behind him an imperishable reputation. In 1798 Mr. Windham married Cecilia, the third daughter of the late commodore Forrest, a lady whose virtues are above all praise, and whose attainments, joined with the most amiable manners and sweetest disposition, rendered her a suitable companion for one of the most distinguished charac- ters of his time. His remains were removed from his house in Pall Mall, June 8, for the family-vault at Felbrigge, attended by his ne- phew, Robert Lukin, esq. and Edward Byng, esq. nephew to Mrs. Windham. At Portsea, Mr.James Hay, jun. sculptor, aged twenty-eight. From his earliest days he was much ac- customed to the study of the natu- ral history and antiquities of his country, in which he acquired a great proficiency, aswell asaknow- ledge of the learned languages. Being an able draughtsman, and possessing exquisite taste for paint- ing, he was put under Mr. West; but havioga greaterinclination for sculpture, he was very soon after pupil to Flaxman. Under this dis- tinguished master two years, he made rapid progress in the art, whilst he likewise studied anatomy and physiology under Sheldon, Brookes, &c, Too intense appli- cation to the various branches of science brought on alingering dis- ease, which terminated, by a pre- CHRONICLE. mature death, the life and labours ofa rising genius, who would have proved an honour and an ornament to his country. Whilst he was firm in his opinions and lucid in his representations, he always display- ed the mild and amiable features of a mind that believed and felt the doctrines of the religion he pro- fessed. He has left many drawings of the most remarkable antiquities in Hampshire; and a much greater numberofalmost thewholezoology of Great Britain, particularly a complete arrangement of all the shells, beautifully drawn and co- loured from nature, which were in- tended for publication. 395 JULY. At Turnham Green, Mr. Ogden, of sporting celebrity ; he was the most quick calculator of the long odds ever known on the turf, and could as readily hedge his bets, when many horses started, so as to secure himself a winner, by which peculiar talent he realized a fortune of 100,000/. Mrs. Sarah Anne Wynne, aged thirty-eight, at Hatton, near War- wick, the only remaining daughter of the rev. Dr. Parr. The bril- liancy of her imagery in conversa- tion and writing, the readiness, gaiety, and fertility of her wit, the acuteness of her observations upon men and things, and the variety of her knowledge uponthe most fami- liar and most profound subjects, were very extraordinary. They who lived with her in the closest inti- macy were again and again struck with admiration at the rapidity, ease, vivacity, and elegance, of her epistolary compositions. Whether upon lively or serious topics, they 396 were always adapted to the occa- sion; they were always free from the slightest taint of affected phra-' seology and foreign idiom ; they were always distinguished by a peculiar felicity and originality of conception and expression: and the genius displayed inthem would most undoubtedly haveplaced the writer in the very highest class of her female contemporaries, if she had employed her pen upon any work witha deliberateview topub- lication. Her reading in the most approved authors, both Frenchand English, was diversified and ex- tensive, her memory was prompt and correct, and her judgment upon all questions of taste and literature, morality and religion, evidently marked the powers with which she had been gifted by na- ture, and the advantages which she had enjoyed for cultivating those powers, under the direction of her enlightened parents, and in the society of learned and ingeni- ous men, to which she had access from her earliest infancy. With becoming resignation to the will of Heaven, she endured a long and painful illness, which had been brought upon her by the pressure of domestic sorrows, on a consti- tution naturally weak. Her vir- tues, as a friend, a child, a wife, and a mother, were most exem- plary; and her piety was sincere, rational, and habitual. _ At Ludwell, Mr. Robert Foot, jun. aged nineteen. Four days be- fore his death he was going out with a loaded gun, but stopping to converse with a friend, he incau- tiously rested on the muzzleof the gun, which went off at half-cock, and nearly the whole charge of shot passed through his left hand, ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. grazed his side, and lodged in his shoulder. He had just quitted an affectionate mother, in the full glow of healthand youthful spirits; he returned to her maimed and Streaming with blood! From the direction in which the shot had passed and lodged, little hope was from the first entertained of his recovery. Heenduredhis sufferings with great fortitude and patience, took an affectionate leave of his friends, and requested that this statement might be made public, in the hope that it would induce others to be more careful, and thereby prevent the recurrence of a similar accident, AUGUST. Mr.Joseph Sparshall, at Beccles in the eighty-seventh year of his age, one of the society of Friends ; who, during the whole of solong a life, devoted almost every moment he couldspare from the avocations of business and the affairs of his family, to the acquirement of use- ful knowledge, and was an instance of what may be effected by the powers and natural bent of the mind, unassisted by theadvantages of a liberal education. Of natural history, in its various branches, he was passionately fond; but botany, chemistry, and electricity, were his most favourite studies. He wrote some essays on philosophical sub- jects, one of which, giving an ac- count ofa remarkable Aurora Bo- realis, appeared in a volume of - the Philosophical Transactions, and procured him the offer of be- coming a Member of the Royal Society, an honour which he had the modesty to decline. Tosum up his character in a few words, APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. as a naturalist and a man of gene- ral knowledge, he was well in- formed and communicative ; as a moralist, he was exemplary and correct; and as a christian, he cannot be better designated than in the words of our inimitable poet, for ‘© He look’d through nature up to na- ture’s God.” In Horsham gaol, aged eighty- two, Simon Southward, formerly of Boxgrove, near Chichester. This singular character was a miller, which occupation he followed with industry and attention till about the year 1766, when, by a strange species of insanity, he fancied him- self earl of Derby, king in Man, assumed those titles, neglected his business, and becamevery trouble- some to many of his neighbours. In February 1767, he was arrested for a small debt, at the suit of the late duke of Richmond, and was conveyed to the old gaol at Hor- sham, from which he was removed (the first prisoner after its com- pletion) to the present gaol, and from which he was released, after a captivity of forty-three years, four months, and eight days, by the hand of death! Simon South- ward was in stature about six feet, was exceedingly well made, and had a commanding countenance ; his mannerswere generally affable, and his deportment polite; he was, however, when offended, exceed- ingly wrathful, and with difficulty pacified, particularly when his ire had been occasioned by doubts about his assumed dignity. He supposed himself a state prisoner, and would accept of no money or clothes which were not presented to him as coming from the king, his cousin. His dress was generally a drab coat of a very ancient cut, 397 anda cocked hat with a black cock- ade. Simon was addressed, as well by the governors of the gaol, as by his fellow prisoners and _ visitors, «* My Lord!” and to no other de- nomination would he ever reply. He had been supported for a num- ber of years by a weekly stipend from the parish of Boxgrove. At Formosa Place, sir George Young, admiral of the White, one of the oldest and bravest officers in the service. He was of Boscawen’s schoo], and during an honourably spent life, performedsome brilliant thingsin general as well asin single actions, both at home and abroad, which his intimate friends, the im- mortal Nelson and captain Edward Thompson, who were an honour to our nature as well as to our navy, have often witnessed. But having been either confined by gout, or bedridden for many years past, his kingandcountry have consequent- ly been deprived of his services. At Shaftsbury, Mr. John Hay- ter, cooper, well known by the name of the Old’Squire. Although often prosecuted and. persecuted by gentlemen tenacious of their game, he kept a pack of harriers upwards of sixty years, and was earth-stopper to various gentle- men who claimed the Duntley and Allin’s fox-hunt for nearly the same period. When quite a boy he kept a few beagles, and would often entice a neighbouring gen- tleman’s hounds from their kennel to assist his little pack, for which he was as often chastised by his own father and Mr. Hardiman (the gentleman alluded to) ; but such was his propensity for the chase, that he would sit up whole winter nights to get his work for- ward, in order to hunt on foot the next morning. Latterly he was 398 obliged to part with his hounds ; but even to the latter end of the last hunting season, he would meet the fox hounds on foot ; and almost to the hour of his death was fond of rehearsing the sports of the field. At Colyton, Captain Henry Wilson, late of the East India Company’s ship Worley, whose name is in the recollection of the public, as connected with that most interesting narrative, pub- lished from his journal, of the ship- wreck and providential preserva- tion of the crew of the Antelope packet,on the Pelew Islands,1788. On this occasion his intrepidity, discretion, and talents, as a com- mander, shone forth in a manner which has rarely been excelled. The most remarkable instance of his abilities appears, when,unarm- ed by authority or power, he was able to persuade his people to de~ stroy all the spirituous liquors re- maining on thewreck; scarcely any governor ever produced a greater act of self-denial for the public good. His comprehensive under- standing and persevering industry raised him, through every gradua- tion ofa seaman's life, to the high- est post in his own line;and he had the honour to be second in com- mand to commodore sir N. Dance, when Admiral Linois,in an eighty- gun ship, with several frigates, was baffied and discomfitted by a fleet of East Indiamen. In private life he was a firm and benevolent friend, a kind parent, and died a pious christian. Captain Wilson had not long enjoyed his retire- ment at Colyton; and, but for the distance, his remains would have been interred near those of his friend, Prince Lee Boo. At Aberdeen, in the sixty-ninth ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. year of his age, Mr. James Chal- mers, printer to the city and university, and printer and pro- prietor of the Aberdeen Journal, which he conducted with uncom- mon ability, and steady and loyal consistency of principle, for the long space of forty-six years, Few men have departed life in the city of Aberdeen with more unfeigned regret, by a most nu- merous and highly respectable circle of friends, to whom he was endeared by the best virtues that adorn social life—inflexible integ- rity, steady friendship, a disposi- tion elevated, humane and charita- ble, a temper unusually cheerful, and a memory rich in anecdote and information, chiefly of the literary kind. His father, who cultivated his profession for some years in London, in the printing-office of Mr. Watts (where he had the cele- brated Dr. Franklin for his fellow- journeyman) was afterwards rank- ed among the literary printers of his time, and at his death was re- corded as a gentleman * well skill- ed in the learned Janguages.” His father was the Rev. James Chal- mers, Professor of Divinity in the Marishal College, who died in 1744. About the year 1740, his son returned from London, and in 1746 established the Aberdeen Journal, at the close of the me- morable rebellion, during which he was a considerable sufferer, from his attachment to the House of Hanover. His son, the sub- ject of this article, was born in March 1742, and, after a classi- cal and academical education at Marishal College, removed to London, and improved himself in the typographical art, both there and at Cambridge, until September 1764, when the death APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. of his father put him in possession of the establishment in his native city. Although now engaged in a business which afforded but little relaxation, and with the cares of a numerous family, he found leisure to indulge his love of literature, by that extensive course of read- ing which rendered him a valua- ble member of theliterary societies of the place, With many of the professors of both colleges, and particularly with the late Drs. Campbell, Gerard and Beattie, he formed an intimacy which death only dissolved. SEPTEMBER. In Basinghall street, Thomas Loggen, esq. an eminent solicitor. By his incorruptible integrity in public, and his amiable manners in private life he was universally es- teemed beloved and respected; and in his profession his character stood deservedly high. Sir Francis Baring, bart: in his seventy-fourth year, at Leigh, in Kent. He was physically exhaust- ed, but his mind remained unsub- dued by age or infirmity to the last breath. His bed was surrounded by nine out of ten, the number of hissonsand daughters, all of whom he lived to see established in splendid independence. He was formerly member for Chipping Wycombe, Bucks, and wassuccee- ded in the representation of that boroughby hisson, Thomas Baring esq. the present member. Three of his sons carry on the great com- mercial-house, and which by his superior talents and integrity, he carried to so great a height of re- spect. His other two sons are re- turned from India with fortunes. His five daughters are all hap- 399 pily married ; and, in addition to all this, it is supposed that he has left freehold estates to the amount of half a million. This gentleman was born in 1736. His father was a merchant in the Virginia trade, which he began with a very incon- siderable capital; but his rigid honesty and dexterity in business, having recommended him to some great mercantile houses, they adopted his interests and by liberal loans enabled him to extend the circle of his commerce : from this assistance the house of Baring soon rose to consideration, in a city where wealth and talents for business are estimated at their proper value. With parental fond- ness Mr. Baring watched over the education of his son, in order to render him a complete man of business, till he was sent to a re- putable school undera Mr, Cole- man, the author of several mathe- matical treatises. It was here he acquired the talent for which he was most distinguished; for in calculations made on the spot ad- mitting of no previous study he was certainly considered as un- equalled. Upon the death of his father he was esteemed a most worthy successor ; and the richest houses, and the most wealthy heiresses, at the east-end of the town, considered him as a desira- ble partner. He at length married the daughter of Mr. Boston, an opulent merchant. Mr. Baring from a proprietor, having become a director of the East-India Company in the year 1784, can- vassed the Cornish borough of Grampound, and took his seat in the House of Commons. The na- tion was then just beginning to re- cover from the effects of the Ame- rican revolution and Mr. Baring, 400 had the honour of being consult- ed by the premier with respect to the means to be adopted on this occasion. His wealth, talents, and activity, augmented his favour and importance with Mr. Pitt’s administration. He was consider- ed as one of the strongest links of the monied aristocracy ; and was created a baronet in 1793. It is well known that the system of this country with regard to all its foreign possessions, has ever been that of exclusive monopoly ; accordingly when the whole body of English merchants demanded some participation in the East- India traffic, sir Francis came for- ward as the advocate of the com- pany. He insisted that their heavy expence and their actual public services, composed a debt to the discharge of which an eternal mos nopoly of the East-India trade would scarcely be sufficient ! It is needless to add that the charter was again renewed ; and the relief of the body of English merchants, from what their petition called ‘“‘ oppressive monopoly,” was left like other evils, to the gradual effect of time, or the shock of some revolution. In1796,upon sir John Jervis being rewarded witha peerage and vacating his seat for Chipping Wycombe, sit Francis Baring was elected for that bo- rough ; and at the general election in 1802, he was again returned for the same place. was esteemed not less amiable in domestic thanin public life. Al- though of a grave cast of mind, he was not without a relish for social enjoyments, and was till within a few years past, seldom absent from the parties and enter- tainments of his friends. The routs of his lady were reckoned Sir Francis © ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. among some of the most brilliant in town; buthe preferred the more tranquil enjoyments of a domestic circle, to those gay but promis- cuous assemblies. His table was such as became his wealth, and his solid hospitality was perfectly suit- able to the opulent character ofan English merchant. His talents were of a very superior cast, and highly improved by reading. Few men understood the reai interests of trade better ; and it may surely be added, few men ever arrived to the highest rank and honour of commercial lifewithmoreunsullied integrity. At his death he was unquestionably the first merchant in Europe; first in knowledge and talents, and first in character and opulence. His name was known and respected in every commercial quarter of the globe; and by the East-India Company, and other public trading bodies, he was con- sulted as a man of consummate knowledge and inflexible honour. At Seaham, near Stockton- upon-Tees, aged twenty-three, of a decline, Joseph Blackett, the extraordinary young man, whose talents and misfortunes recom- mended him to the notice and afterwards to the protection, of many very distinguished charac- ters, under the introduction and auspices of Mr. Pratt. About a year and a half since, Mr. P. as- sisted him in putting forth a volume of poems, under the title of “ Spe- cimens of the Poetry, &c.’? the whole edition of whieh was cir- culated by private patronage, very greatly to the advantage of the author. : AtTreepland,inCumberland, Mrs. Mary Jackson, aged eighty-two years, forty of which she had been awidow; and was greatly respected APPENDIX ro CHRONICLE. through life. She was the person who first discovered the method ot rearing what are now called the potatoe-oats, so generally cultivat- ed, and with such success, in va- rious parts of the kingdom. The circumstance which led to it was, the deceased’s observing a single stem of oats growing ona potatoe rig, the seed of which had been conveyed thither bythe wind. Ob- serving that the straw was uncom- monly strong, when the grain was matured, she preservedit, and used it for seed the ensuing season, which succeeding in a very extraordinary degree, the method was soon after adopted by numbers of farmers. At Nice Blundell, near Liver- pool, Henry Blundell, esq. in the twenty-seventh year of his age. Asa patron of the fine arts, and an encourager of deserving merit in whatever shape it presented itself, he stood unrivalled. Of his bene- volent and extensive charities, our public institutions bear ample tes- timony, and in private life he pos- sessed, in a most eminent degree, every social tie and endearing quality that human nature is ca- pable of. The remains of this much esteemed gentleman were interred in the family vault in Sephton church, attended to the grave by a numerous assemblage of the neighbouring gentry, te- nantry, and servants, amidst a con- course of spectators, wlio were gathered together to witness this tribute of respect to the memory of departed worth. The proces- sion extended nearly half a mile. There were forty-six carriages, only three of which were empty. At Venice, the French general Menou; celebrated in the cam- paignatEgypt. He appears to have been a favourite of Bonaparte; for Yor. LIT, 401 he protected him on his return to France against all his officers, who attributed the necessity of evacu- ating that country to his misma- nagement. Like his friend Bona- parte, he changed his religion, married an Egyptian woman, wore the turban, and took the name of Abdallah Menou. Bonaparte made him a count, and governor of Venice, but never entrusted him with any military command, where active operations were going on. During the defence of Fort Ma- tagorda, Cadiz, major Lefevre, royal engineer, by a cannon-ball. By his death the army has lost a mostintelligent officer. Uponevery occasion in which his services were demanded, he evinced the utmost bravery and zeal; but it was chiefly at the battle of Maida that he dis- played those qualities. The talents he manifested in a distinct com- mand which was entrusted to him in that ever-memorable battle, en- titled him to the honour of a me- dal, which was intended to be con- ferred only on officers of superior rank; but his claims were unde- niable, and the reward which was dueto his gallant exertions, was in justice granted, as a fair distinc- tion which he had earned on that glorious day. The reputation he had acquired attracted the notice of his majesty’s government ; and he was, with great propriety, se- lectedas an officer in every respect qualified to give the Spaniards the aid of his talents, and to obtain such intelligence respecting the state of things in Spain, as could be relied upon for the extent and the accuracy of its details. In the performance of both these services he gave the utmost satisfaction. Major Lefevre may be truly said to baie existed only for the service. 2 402 ANNUAL REGISTER, His passion for the army predomi- nated over every other, and al- most every thought of his mind was concentrated in that single point. He at last fell a victim to his heroic gallantry. General Graham, who entertained a just conception of his merit, had com- manded him to bring off the de- tachment that -had so long and so bravely defended the fortress of Matagorda. This fortress had been very injudiciously dismantled in part, previous to the arrival of the French. Sensible, too late, of the importance of its position, as it commands the entrance into the inner harbour, it was resolved to defend it; principally with a view to retard the approach of the French towards Cadiz. The de- tachment. employed for this pur- pose succeeded in keeping posses- sion of the fort for about three weeks. The French employed nearly fifteen days in constructing their batteries; and the first they opened was at the distance of about 1,200 yards. Their second battery opened at the distance of about 800 yards: they succeeded in making a breach, and it was their intention to have stormed it. The little garrison had suffered so much, having lost about half its number in killed and wounded, that it became necessary for the remainder to evacuate the place. Major Lefevre recommended that some gun-boats shouldbe employ- ed against the French batteries, both to annoy the enemy, and to divert their fire during the evacua- tion. This, however, was unfortu- nately omitted. The French, therefore, still kept up a tremen- dous fire uponthe fort. Theevacu- ation was effected in good order ; and major Lefevre continuing in 1810. it to the last, was, at the moment of retiring from it, struck between the shoulders by a_ thirty-two pound shot, and instantly killed. OCTOBER. InSoho-square, JonasDryander, esq. librarian to sir Joseph Banks, and to the Royal Society, and a vice-president to the Linnean So- ciety, aged sixty-three. His emi- nent attainment in that branch of science which hechiefly cultivated, had long placed him in the first rank among the naturalists of Eu- rope; and his catalogue of the Banksian library, which is before the public, will be a lasting monu- ment of erudition, perseverance, and sound judgment. At Ealing, John Williams, esq. one of the king’s serjeants-at-law, a native of Carmarthen, and for- merly fellow of Wadham College, Oxford. He was a man gifted by nature with extraordinary powers of memory, andanexcellent under- standing ; to these happy endow- ments he added the most patient and persevering application to the study of the law; his labours were crowned with success ; he became one of the most eminent lawyers of modern times. His luminous expositions, sound deductions, clear reasoning, profound and ac- curate knowledgein his profession, were justly appreciated in West- minster-hall by his cotemporaries, and will long be recollected by them with admiration and merited eulogy ; but his professional and posthumous fame will not rest on the frail basis of living testimony ; his edition of lord chief-justice Saunders’s Reports will remain to after ages a splendid monument of his intimate acquaintance with the laws of his country. APPENDIX To At Morden, Surrey, Abraham Goldsmid, esq. Mr. G. was the second son of arespectable Dutch merciiantof the Jewish persuasion, and came over tothis country with his father and elder brother. He was boro in the year 1757, and as soon as his mind had acquired sufficient powers, was initiated into the principles of merchandize. Tenderly attached to his brother, he became his partner when both were grown up, and when the death of their father left them in possession of a capital that enabled them to venture into bold specu- lations. Their iodefatigable in- dustry and natural acuteness soon improved their fortune, which was greatly augmented by the mar- riage of the elder Goldsmid with the daughter of Mr. Solomons, of Clapton, who brought him no less a sum than 100,000/. From that time their commercial undertak-~ ings became more considerable, and, in a few years, they were ranked among the first men in the monied world. Their increasing riches introduced them to the no- tice of the administration. When- ever a loan was wanted, the Gold- smids easily supplied a large por- tion of it; and as the terms on which it was obtained were always advantageous, their fortune kept pace with the facilities which they granted to government. In the purchase and sale of bullion, stock, navy bills, and exchequer bills, and in negociating foreign bills of exchange, they also annually dis- posed of millions, till at last the extent of their speculations, the greatness of their credit, and the Itberality of their dispositions, eaused them to be placed, without one dissenting voice, at the head of the stock exchange. Thus emi- CHRONICLE. 403 nently raised in the public opinion, they incessantly laboured, not to obtain the applause of men, which they already possessed, but that of their own hearts. Charity and benevolence marked all their ac- tions, and their munificence was not confined to the deserving ob- jects of their own nation and be- lief, but to Christians of every denomination. They supported every public-spirited institution with their subscriptions, and never closed their hearts or their purse to those who wanted assistance; whatever might be their religious principles. Mr. Goldsmid was joint contractor with the house of sir Francis Baring for the last loan, and, taking the largest pro~ bable range that he had dealt amongst his friends one half of the sum allotted to him, the loss sustained by.the remainder, at the rate of sixty-five pounds per thou- sand, which was the price of ‘Thursday, was more than any in- dividual fortune could be expect- ed tosustain, Ever since the de- cline of omnium from par, Mr. Goldsmid’s spirits were progres- sively drooping; but whenit reach- ed five and six per cent discount, without the probability of recover- ing, the unfortunate gentleman appeared evidently restless in his disposition, and disordered in his mind ; and, not finding that cheer- ful assistance amongst his_monied friends which he had experienced in his happier times, he was unable to bear up against the pressure of his misfortunes. Another circum- stance that is said to have pressed heavy upon his mind within the last week was, that he had bor- rowed of the East India Company half a million. He had given se- curity for this sum, but the pe- 2D 2 7 404 riod of redemption had arrived, it was to have been paid off on Friday and Mr. Goldsmid, it is reported, felt considerable difficulty in rais- ing the money. However, it is said there will be amply sufficient, when his affairs are arranged, to pay all debts, and leave a large surplus. His account with go- vernment is perfectly clear, and the only loss he appears to have sustained is by the fall of omnium. It is rumoured that Mr. Goldsmid had at one time determined, if possible, to put an end to all his dealings in the Stock-exchange, and to retire to privatelife. But this determination could not be executed immediately, and, in the mean time, heavy demands would come against him. His temper, hitherto so equal, became in consequence irritable. He lost all his fortitude. Despond- ency took possession of him, and drove him to the commission of that fatal act which terminated his life. Yet he so far mastered his feelings in company, that his friends and family had not the least apprehension of his commit- ting suicide. He came to town on Thursday, September 27, ‘in his carriage, from Morden, ac- companied by his brothers, Ed- ward and Isaac, and his son Moses; and several friends who met him did not observe any thing particular in his manner or appearance. He returned to Morden to dinner, and had com- pany. Inthe evening he joined in a party at cards, after walking a good deal in his grounds, and giving notice to several of the workmen employed in his large premises that he should soon dis- charge them. On Friday morn- ing he rose at his usual early ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. hour, and, about half-past seven o’clock, was observed to pass over the bridge to the wilderness or rookery, in his grounds; and there he perpetrated the fatal deed. His coachman having, as was usual, inquired what horses were to go to town, he was referred to Mr. G., being told at the time which way his master had walked. The coachman went in search of him, and was the first that found him, weltering in his blood, with the pistol grasped in his right hand. Life was not quite extinct, but be- fore the medical assistance which was sent for arrived, he had ex- pired in the arms of his afflicted family, but wholly unconscious of being with them. He has left a widow and several children. He was in his fifty-third year. An in- quisition was held on Saturday on the body, at his house at Morden. Among the jury were some of the most respectable and intelligent persons in the vicinage. The pro- ceedings lasted but a few minutes, when the following verdict was returned :—* Died by his own hand, but not in his senses at the time.’? His remains were inter- red in the Jews’ burial-ground at Mile End. The hearse which conveyed the body, passed over London Bridge, followed by the carriage of the deceased, and thirteen mourning coaches, in which were the high priest, the elders of the synagogue, and a great part of thefamily, excepthis brothers, who were too much af- fected toattend. On their arrival at the ground, a number of poor personshad collected to witnessthe interment of aman, who had prov- ed not only their particular bene- factor, but had studied to render himself useful through life to all APPENDIX ro CHRONICLE. elassesof mankind. The mourners werescarcely abletosupportthem- selves. Mr. Alison, the brother- in-law of the deceased, fainted over the body twice, and sunk on the grass, lamenting the dismal event. The high priest and elders paid every distinction in their power to the remains of their departed friend ; but in conformity to the Mosaic laws, they withheld from him the customary funeral rites. Mr. James Beattie, professor of civil and natural history in Maris- chal College and University, Aber- deen, aged forty-three. Asa man of science, his attainments were of the highest stamp. He possessed that enlargement and expansion of mind, without which scientific pur- suits never can be prosecuted with success ; that ardour which stimu- lates and facilitates every exertion; and that persevering industrywhich subdues every obstacle. His gene- ral knowledge was copious and comprehensive, and applied with sound judgment and accurate dis- crimination, to every subject which he had occasion to discuss. He commanded a great store of erudition, and was intimately ac- quainted with the Greek and Latin classics, whose writings he not only perused with critical skill, but had many of their most brilliant passages recorded in his memory. NOVEMBER. Atthe Vicarage House, Kentish Town, aged seventy-four, the rev. Dr. Champneys. He was entered of Trinity College, Cambridge, B. A. 1760, M. A. 1767. He was elected a minor-canon of St. Paul’s in 1760; and, after filling several offices in that cathedral, eventually became sub-dean thereof. For 405 nearly fifty years he was minor- canon of Westminster Abbey ; and for almost as long a period minor-canon of Windsor. He was successively possessed of the be- nefices of Kensworth and Cad- dington, Hertfordshire; Langdon Hills, Essex; and St. Pancras, Middlesex ; all in the gift of the dean and chapter of St. Paul’s. Dr. C. at one period also enjoyed a living from the dean and chapter of Windsor, who permitted him to resign it in favour of his eldestson, the rev. Weldon C. In the early part of his life, he was for a short time minister of the chapel at Mar- ket-street, Herts, which he resign- ed thirty-nine years ago. He also held for many years, under the patronage of sir Christopher Whichcot, bart. the vicarage of Deeping James, Lincolnshire. He was the oldest lecturer in London, having been chosen to the lec- tureship of St. Bride’s in 1767 ; and was for many years chaplain to the worshipful companies of Goldsmiths, Cutlers, &c. In all his various preferments, Dr. Champneys was very indefatigable in his attention to the duties of his profession. In Charles-street, Berkeley- square, Francis Baring, esq. se- cond son of John B. esq. of Mount Radford, near Exeter. He put an end to his life by shooting him- self, At the coroner’s inquest, it appeared, by the testimony of two witnesses, that he had been in a desponding state for some time past, arising, as it was suspected, from pecuniary embarrassment. Having sent out his valet to order dinner, Mr. Baring locked himself in his dressing-room, and shortly after the report of a pistol alarmed two female servants in the house. £06 The neighbours broke into the room, and found him lying on his face, dead; a ball having entered his forehead, and shot away part of his head. He had a pistol in each hand, and one was found loaded. Verdict—Insanity. At Fulham, agéd seventy-three, Nathaniel Kent, esq. an eminent Jand agent, whose morality, strict integrity, and urbanity of manners, added to a conscientious discharge of his professional duties towards landlord and tenant, had Jong en- deared him to numerous friends and acquaintance. At Windsor, Novemberthe2nd, her Royal Highness the PRIN- CESS AMELIA, the youngest child of their Majesties. She was born August 7th, 1783, and was from early youth of a very tender and delicate constitution, being fire- quentlyattacked with severe indis- position. In her person she was tall and slender, and her air was most graceful and prepossessing. Illness had impressed its marks on her countenance, and scattered lilies over her cheeks. In her manners she was so mild, elegant, and amiable, as to wir every heart. The frequency of herindispositions prevented her from studying as deeply as her eldest sistets, yet she cultivated the fine arts with great success. In music and painting she was a proficient. She met with few rivals on the piano- forte, and displayed a classical taste, both in her selection and execution of pictures. A model of filial piety ; her love for her father was revealed in all her ac- tions, and was so tenderly expres- sed a few days before her death, as to occasion the unfortunate illness under which he still continues to abour. Dignified, though conde- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. scending ; benevolent, without os- tentation; lively, though 4 prey to sickness, which usually quenches the spirits as well as the health of youth, she was beloved by all those who lived within the sphere of hearing of her virtues. Some symptoms of tbe ilNbess which terminated her existence, having revealed themselves early, her royal highness tried the effects of sea-bathing, and derived much benefit from that practice. Her favourite amusement was that of riding, in which she was conspi- cuous for her elegance and skill. Exercise, however, and all the re- sources of the medical art, could but delay the fatal hour; her dis- order began to gain ground in an alarming manner upwards of two years ago, and when the first jubi- lee of his majesty was celebrated, she was lying on the bed of sick- ness, with but little hopes of reco- very. Towards the middle of last summer, however, she regained strength enough to sit up in her apartments, and to take a short walk into the garden. About a month before her decease, her royal highness was attacked with St. Anthony’s fire, which brought on a relapse, which afforded her an opportunity of displaying the noblest christian faith and fortitude, during weeks of prolonged agony, uncheered by any ray of hope. During the last few days her strength had been rapidly wasting away ; and she closed her eyes as ina kindly sleep. It would be in- justice to the memory of this ex- cellent princess, to ascribe all her patience and fortitudetothenatural frame of her mind, as the habit of devotion to which she had been trained and Jed by parental ex ample, and the true principles of APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. religion which regulated the whole of -her conduct, strengthened the amiable and gentle qualities of her disposition, and made her submit with meek resignation to the divine will, through the whole ofthesevere probation which she was to endure in this life to prepare her for a better. At Kentish Town, in his ninety- fourth year, Charles Grignion,who flourished in this country, as an historical engraver, upwardsof half acentury. He had the good for- tune to pass a portion of his early youth at Paris, in the study of the celebrated Le Bas; and, though his stay with that artist was but short, yet it was of sufficient duration to enable him to imbibe such sound principles as laid the foundation of a style at once energetic and ele- gant. Having commenced his career in this school, he could draw as well as engrave ; and, as he pos- sessed that rare talent in his art, the power of giving a free and faithful translation ofa picture, the quality and cast of his productions were bold and original. His best works not only possess in an eminent de- gree, whatever constitutes charac- ter and expression, as the print he engtaved from one of Hogarth’s series of election pictures abun- dantly proves, but they partake of that happy carelessness of execu- tion, which is as much a character- istic beauty in the style of painting or engraving as it is in that of poetry. As Mr. Grignion ad- vanced in life, his pure old fashioned style was superseded bya moreim- posing, amore finished, but a less intelligent manner. Thisrevolution in engraving threw him into ob- scurity,andreduced himtopoverty; but a few artists and lovers of art, to whom his virtues and his talents 407 were equallydear, by aprompt and efficient subscription, smoothed the path of his declining age, and enabled him to close his daysin the bosom of his family, with a con- tented and grateful mind. This venerable engraver resigned his life without any pain or struggle. AtSidmouth, Devonshire,whither he had gone for the recovery of his health, the right honourable George Legge, earl of Dartmouth, and viscount Lewisham. He was called up as a baron to the House of Peers in 1801, during the life- time of his father, and appointed president of the Board of Control in the same year. In 1804, he succeeded his father in his titles. He was lord chamberlain to his majesty, and a knight of the garter; and was born October 2nd, 1755; was educated at Oxford, and obtained the degree of M. A. in 1775. In 1774, he was returned M. P. for the borough of Ply- mouth ; and, in 1780, for Stafford- shire; and, two years after was appointed one of the lords of the bedchamber to the prince of Wales ; and, in 1789, lord warden of the Stanneries. In 1783, he was nominated oneofthecommissioners of Mr. Fox’s new Board of Ad- miralty, who were to be assisted by a subordinate board of nine directors. In the summer of 1807, he resigned the colonelcy of the loyal Birmingham volunteers, on account of ill health. While member for Staffordshire he sup- ported the coalition administration, and voted for Mr. Fox’s India bill. His lordship wasaman of the mild- estand most amiable manners. He married Frances, sister to the earl of Aylesford, by whom he had a numerous family. He issucceeded in his title and estates by his son 408 William, viscount Lewisham, now in his twenty-sixth year. The fol- lowing lines were writtenon the late earl, by the earl of Carlisle, when they were boys at Eton school : “Mild as the dew that whitens yonder plain, Legge shines serenest’midst your youth- ful train ; He whom the search of fame with rap- ture moves, Disdains the pedant, though the muse he loves ;— By nature formed with modesty to please, And joins with wisdom unaffected ease.”’ _ At Mongeham parsonage, in the eighty-second year of his age, after a little more than an hour’s indis- position, the rev. Henry Dimock, of Pembroke College, Oxford, M. A. 1751; rector of St. Edmund the King, and St. Nicholas Acons, London, and of Blackmanstone, in this county. Of this good man, at the close of a long life, spent in the practice of every duty, pro- fessional, social, and domestic, it may be truly said, he fell asleep. The depth and soundness of his learning, the strict orthodoxy of his belief, and the primitive simpli- city and integrity of his manners, might have entitled him to the highest offices of the church; but, in this world, reward does not always accompany desert. At Deal, aged eighty-seven, John Carter, esq. the oldest ma- gistrate (perhaps with the excep- tion of lord Frederick Campbell ) of the county. He was brother of the celebrated Mrs. Elizabeth Carter, the poetess, and learned translator of Epictetus, who died February 19th, 1806, aged eighty- nine. He was born about Decem- ber, 1723, the eldest son of Dr. Nicholas Carter, minister of Deal, and rector of Woodchurch and of Ham, in the same county (a ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. native of Buckinghamshire) who died at Deal in 1774, aged eighty- seven, by Margaret, daughter and heiress of Richard Swayne, esq. of Bere, in Dorsetshire, by a daugh- ter of Thomas Trenchard, esq. of Wolverton and Lychet-Maltra- vers, in the same county. Mr. Carter, after having been educated at Cambridge, went into the army, and had a company in the ninth regiment of foot (if we mistake not) about sixty-five years ago. At this period his active and in- telligent mind made him much consulted and employed, particu- larly on the Kentish coast, when the rebellion of 1745 created seri- ous fears of an invasion. Some years afterwards he married a lady of good fortune at Deal, to whom some of his sister’s poems are ad- dressed; and retiring to the excel- lent house which formed a portion of her property in his native town, there passed the remainder of his life, and breathed his last. Soon after, he was put into the commis- sion of the peace for the county, and discharged the duties of it for a long period of years with eminent superiority, so as to entitle him to the elevation to the chair of the East Kent sessions, which he filled for some time with great credit. He was a man of very lively and acutenatural parts, veryhighlycul- tivated, an exact and elegant clas- sical scholar, an excellent linguist, and a man of extensiveand general reading ; in all which various de- partments he continued to exercise his admirable faculties to the last, his final illness not having attacked him for more than ten days before his death. ‘Till that period he en- joyed all the powers of his body and mind, with little apparent de- cay ; his memory and vivacity were APPENDIX to in strong force; he moved with agi- lity, and the marks of age had made little impression on his per- son ; he worked in his garden, he read with eagerness, he talked with his usual clearness and flu- ency, and he abated in none of the attentive politeness of the old court. He joined in all social circles, lived cheerfully and hospi- tably, and betrayed none of the peevishness of an octogenarian. His person was that of a hale man, of little more than sixty. He had seen much of life, knew its follies, and turned not with stern repulsiveness from an ac- quaintance or compliance with its humours. Inshort, he had all the polish, and all the agreeable know- ledge, of a man of the world, ad- ded to that of a ready and perfect scholar. In his literary taste, he was what some would deem too an- tique ; and many would deem too severe. Of the ancients, among his prime favourites, was Horace ; and of the moderns, Pope. He seemed to prefer wit and acute sense, to sentiment and fancy. His politics were those of whig- gism, perhaps a little extended with the times. He feared des- potism rather than anarchy ; and ’ corruption rather than licentious- ness. He saw two extremes of danger between which modern governments were vibrating, and Jeaned to the side of the people. The stores of his understanding were so abundant, and in such constant exercise, that it was diffi- cult to contend with him ; and his very years, which had all the vene- rability without any of the weak- ness of age, added the imposing advantage of high respect and awe. Rank never dazzled him; office CHRONICLE. and power he treated with indiffer- ence; and all the habits of his life were guided by a calm and manly independence. He was a master of the law (various and complex as it is) which concerns the duty ofa country magistrate, and wielded all its technicalities with astonishing readiness and skill. On these sub- jects he was firm, and sometimes, perhaps, a little tenacious in his opinions; but it was very rarely that he could be detected in an error. His pen was continually in his hand, and in the course of a long life, he was the author of se- veral pamphletsand political letters of a temporary nature, which have probably perished with the occa- sion. He was a most affectionate husband, and a most fond and at- tentive father ; dedicating much of his time to the instruction and ac- complishment of his children ; and applying his care and his fortune to their gratification. In his death, both they and his widow will ex- perience an irreparable loss, DECEMBER. At Whitchurch, Edgeware, the rev. Henry Poole, M. A. chaplain to his royal highness the prince of Wales, and formerly tutor to the present lord Southampton and the Fitzroy family, aged sixty-six. As a scholar, few of the present day, perhaps, could surpass him; and as a lover of truth, and of every vir- tue which characterizes the exalted Christian, he was eminently con- spicuous. In the pulpit he inspired reverential awe, and the plain, easy, yet nervous style of his discourses, never failed to make a due impres- sion on the mind of his hearers, and often awakened the feelings of those who had hitherto lived in a 409 410 state of thoughtless indifference respecting their future existence, At Gloucester, Mr. John Rus- sell, late keeper of the prison in that city ; a man who was remark- able for his kindness and humani-+ ty to those unfortunate persons who were committed to his care. It is a fact not generally known, that no adequate provision is made for the support of these per- sons, who, were it not for the con- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. tributions of the charitable and humane, must often experience the most severe privations. To the credit of Mr. Russell, it ought to be known, that he appropriated more than half his salary to this benevolent purpose: and to the humanity of the keeper, and libe» ral contributions of a benevolent lady, these poor creatures were often indebted for a comfortable meal. . rer “Ast TAv oa. ae inom A et: aa eae hes ss d oe Pe ie hae -. Saget ini wi). * rec 408 bet : rived Sn sya nll ce apa" hoot the ar is, Wa Mate De bis Rete yl ites pitilagsaoiiseO ey a ve Sa shin any; bre abet mes one ae eae dy Ly AR act yleriqanoD ¥ , ; sis aes i. od Hab, Sait ge bee gatande teat ek ty Aaa ie Hhinmiok yy Tapers aden *. : ‘ Phnnarinntarl loom net jo « vi Viens dra yet Spo. att , ‘ tt bee ree nb Rea giicesrdimesigeh ; : Bie « tities send ey 2 1 | i gydag Laney one seh at Pe | i be ati iy anesyath ‘3 m Bed ; Pi) iy Veco haere 2 heck roth Vo teat ¢ Cre See 8 prgh, {hy ahah ‘ia gata easaad ste Bhi ee ‘ nines Be pay ‘hie c be Pay Sextnt 4h ORT RMT henson ‘ ¥3 aivy ¢ Whey gripe? ‘ithsant, ms : Ths ' i a Bie) cas Bh vr cuyleg J St Ba rie lay be ee. AS ‘ : ers ea SOB Ns yas eres ssa 2 shee \ eaatenabeacaltiee BAU, Move Site Nie he » teil gifalena Ns a, aaa ass to vie SF vopeatPmer a i ' We aM ety Cees eat hyinivet Wake 2 ; yi. ite aoa at boar on ing cond yroddelt » Lie ae eon hi a] cooth RTH Oe ae cd | Alaies . Mee tila | OR Tho Berson FS sate j 2 ay : wi enna rf Law ies Kare Nah hgh > ag, z hs ae «af | < | gees |x 2 = = = —s| 5 ao as i] Arson, and other wilful burning ... 1 1 ee 20 jo on ao 6 is _—_— Bie Burglary .....-00-.s0eeseeeees 38} 88 BG : r oe ; mY ‘ os 3 eal es counselling another to comm - ne bc = i a of oe 47 2 7 Bank notes, forgery of, and uttering forged - 5 5 ae = 4 on of ] 17 A GE — forged, having in possession - 16 16 ; | oa a ay bs . a Bigamy ...-.0+seseeeree* 14 a 1 Wes y oe oc a “4 3 Coin, counterfeiting the current - : oo | 4 ma a0 { ‘3 Y PY 3 i st having in possession an engine coining. « i} 1 ite = a % Se . 2 : 2 : 9 putting off, and uttering counterfeit . : 72 Pa BA 7 | : 43 . 5 + ditto having “been before convicted as ? 6 . a ¥ Le 2) 2 26 5 common utterers -...--++e+-s200"* ay 6 se i sie - . . a co ? on d having in possesion counterfeit . 5d 1 an ae co a Fi oo 1 iG Cattle stealing .....++- ee ries foes 14) 14 6a . se 2 ee os 2 is : | 1 maliciously killing, and maiming - Bs ee oat ¢2 A) 2 a rt BSHB COGS 43 0 14 id iP 9 vale . ae 1 ‘ 1 mspiracy .. 29 a B i oo 5 oi H Deer stealing, and killing, &c- 2 é 2 q M7 4 1 oe ee Wn Ws oy Dicks Embezzlement (by servants, &c.). 8 eee 3 4 “9 i | 2 22 : - 4 = on Forgery, and uttering of forged instruments 22] 22 > ae | J i a 10 ) oS Housebreaking, and larceny --... 44) 44 in zs 35 4 15 i) oe Horse stealing...... BS Aatoeac 58} 58 ‘* i : po 6 12 § 15 Letters, secreting and stealing, &c 2 2 a i . : 16 : 1 z sending threatening 1 5 ‘elles ia a O35 fal “ 4 Toehy i. eseusleemte 2,267 . Te llhaeas al ites Be Mas ‘ ab = fig a ” s ii 2 . 2 86 02 Pi = 50 pis Mule ee ie | ie ea Nea tesa EST a em | eS rc : (females) of their infants. . - 25 4 > Z pee a, oe F me ei 6 13 a Eee ditto, concealing birth of infants. . 12 2 cn a . 6 wi Ms 9 punees = maliciously shooting, stabbing, and ad- Se pe 3 4 a cS ministering poison with intent to «- 10} 10 2 ob A we ; y ca * ss — attempt to poison.....--. 2 Fal 0 - 4 H 2 — assault with intentto ~ ae a . 2 co : Be Mansiausiten x . oa Oc i wil a ee ee bs cu isdemeanor . ou oa . : 0 12 P 5 Be 50 1 “ ee cee eee. on ole cea ea Nese eee ae cee ea Robbery from the person in streets and highways 38 x E Bo Se Gd a9 WO eis na S : 8 BT! ditto, in houses and other places ........ on ; oe : ne 7 as 30 : = 27 6 —~— ditto, by threatening to charge with an A i i zs k ee ry “ 3 2 a unnatural offence ....-. ss seeee t 1 oo . 1 . 5 ° 4 } ‘s rts 4 “ an O — oo - oo te : 2} 2 8 Beal gor 28 1 OF} a0 ea cca 1 3 : Rag tault on female infant, &e. Fl hese on || co. |jcocs | eie|| Saal ee i | ceiving and having in possession stolen goods ..| 27 oe *3 ye 1 4 1 2 4 eo aay itt, naval stores, &e,«. 0s. lees St | no |} oe 6 | 5 ne 52 ie io and pulling down a dwelling-house « 3 3 se es < a 1 on ie 2 . ee 5 5 a) 28 Oy sees | cae co . % 99 a o* oe. ae +. oe ie ae vr wo] 39 alee altri calc wean ee 6 - “ ge tl sn 04 ee ppplnelotebe: bel), Dhl “ xe ae Fe, ||. od bd ri &e.to the value of 40s.) 5} 5 Sg PO, | o “13 1 4 oe an = 4] 32 os i 25 APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. MISCELLANEOUS. SSaenEnetenes | =e 411 A GENERAL BILL of CHRISTENINGS and BURIALS, From December 12, 1809, to December 11, 1810. Males ..10,188 Females 9,742 Tn all, Chiistened j 19,930 5 Males Females 10,414 9,482 In ati, Baried § 19,893. Increased in Burials 2,932. Died under 2 years ......5,855| 50 and 69 .... 1,648]102........0 Between .. 2 and 5 ....2,430| 60 and 70 .... 1,587)103........0 5 and 10 4... 850} 70 and 80 .... 41,262|104........0 10 and 20 «4... 695} 80 and 90 2... 473)105 se... es008 20 and 30 ....1,218| 90 and 100 .... 70} 210. 2. 4440 0 ane AQsh mast 688) | 100 i op oot ae,ni2,0,0.0 OPTI. ss ote oO 40 and’ 56 ....9,016 [101..........2.08. 0 DISEASES. [Cramp ...... 3| Mortification 181|Burnt ...... 47 Croop ..-.s- 97] Palsy....s... 99|Choaked .... 2 Aborlive,Sull Diabeles .... 1|Pleurisy .... 28|Drowned .... 124 born .... 574} Dropsy.+...- 771] Quinsy...... | 6|Excessive drink- Abscess .;.. 42/Evil ........ 5|Rheumatim.. 6/ ing ...... 4% Aged .,....1,532|Fatigue...... 1] Scurvy ...... 4|Executed* .. 6 Ague ...... 5) Fevers of all Small Pox.,..1,198 |Found Dead.. 20- Apoplexy and kinds,....41,139| Sore Throat... 6|Fractured.... 3 sudden .. 234] Fistula ...... 5| Sores and Ulcers 9|Frightened .. 3 Asthma and Flux ....+..- 10|)Spasm ...... 22|Killed by Falls Phthisic .. 674| french Pox .. 29] St. Antliony’s Fire 2} and several Bedridden .. 1|Gout........ 36] Sloppagein the other Acei- Bile...c...- 4}Gravel, Stone and Stomach .. 12] dents...... 72 Bleeding .... 36} Strangury.- 16|Swelling .... 1}Killed them- Bursten and Grief....4... 5|Teeth........ 438] selves 4... 28 Rupture... 2%|Head-ache,... 1|Thrush ...... 55/Murdered..., 4 Cancer...... 77|Horse-shoe head 1] Vomiting and Overlaid .... 1 Canker .... Jaundice ...< 31) Looseness.. 1}Poisoned .... 2 Childbed.... 183|Jaw Locked... 2] Water in the Sealded...... 3 Colds ...... 16|Imposthume.. 2] Chest .... 7| Starved....., 4 Colick, Gripe, Inflammation 676] Water in the Suffocated .. 8 &e....... 6)|Inoculation., 1} Head...... 243 == i il 5,427 |Livergrown .. 31] Worms ..... Fala at Total. .333 fvulsions 3,860|Lunatic...... 193 Cough, & Hoop- ‘| Measles... ..,.1,031 da Aiba cEN So ing Cough 449|Miséarriage.. 3/Bruised...... 2 * There have been executed in the city of London and county of Surrey 10; of which number 6 only have been reported to be butied (as sireh) within the bills of mortality. 412 MARRIAGES zn the year 1810. Jan. 1. William John Danby, esq., to Anne, second daughter of Beckford Cater, esq. 8. Robert Smith, esq., to Miss Julia Pemberton. 15. Sir William Geary, to Mrs. Dering. 16. H. Combe Compton, esq., to Charlotte, second daughter to W. Mills, esq., M. P. 20. Captain Spicer, to the only daughter of the late sir George Prescott, bart. 26. Rev. Bryant Burgess, to Miss Rutton. 29. W. W. Whitmore, esq., to the hon. Miss Bridgman, only daughter of lord Bradford. Feb. 5. William Gordon, esq., M. P. to the youngest daughter of sir George Cornwall, bart. 8. T. Duffield, esq., to the only daughter of George Elwes, esq. 11. E. A. Welde, esq., to the eldest daughter of W. Norris, esq. 15. Rev.Dr.Claudius Buchanan, to Mary youngest daughter of Henry Thompson, esq. 27. Captain Platt, to Charlotte, widow of captain John Boucher. March 5. Right hon. Charles Vereker, -M. P. to the eldest daughter of J. Palliser, esq. 13. Wm. Norman, esq., to Miss M. Sparrow. 21. C. Mills, esq., M.P. to Miss Digby. 29, John M. Leake, jun. esq. to Helen, widow of captain Lacy. April 2. Hon, Joshua Vanneck, to Miss Arcedeckne, 4. Hon. George Cadogan, to Honoria Louisa, youngest daugh- ter of the late Joseph Blake, esq. 7. Samuel Hamilton, esq., to ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. Caroline Mary, eldest daughter of James Heath, esq. 10. James Montague, esq., to Letitia, youngest daughter of the late rev. Anthony Crole. 12. W. A. Garratt, esq. to the eldest daughter of James Stephen, esq., M. P. 13. Jedediah Strutt, esq., to Su- sannah, the onlydaughter of Joshua Walker, esq., ofClifton, Yorkshire. 14. T. A. Shuter, esq., to Sarah Frances, third daughter of the rev. Dr. Valpy. 24. P. T. Roberton, esq., to Mary, sixth daughter of vice-ad- miral sir W. Parker, bart. 25. Sir Rob. Graham, bart. to Elizabeth, only daughter of John Young, esq. May 4. John Berkeley Monk, esq., to Mary, eldest daughter of Wm. Stephens, esq. 8. Lord Bolton, to the hon. Maria Carleton, eldest daughter of the late lord Dorchester. 16. Thomas Kennedy, esq., to Miss Smith, daughter of the lord Mayor. 19. Lord Francis Murray, to lady A. M. Percy. 21. Marquis of Ely, to the hon. Miss Dashwood. 24. Sir William Oglander, bart. tolady MariaFitzroy, eldestdaugh- ter to the present duke of Grafton. 29. Wm. R., Cartwright, esq., M. P. to Miss Julia Frazer. June 2. Rev. G. Massey, to the eldest daughter of the late captain Frodsham. : 7.R. J. S. Stevens, esq., to the eldest daughter of G. Jeffery, esq., of Peckham. 12. Nath. Phillips, esq., to Mar- garet, eldest daughter of William Hibbert, esq. APPENDIX to {HRONICLE. 18. Rev. Robert Gutch, to Miss James. ‘26. Rev. Dan. Matthias, to Eli- zabeth, eldest daughter of John Lafont, esq. July 3. Hon. Samuel Hood, to lady Charlotte Nelson, daughter of earl Nelson. 5. Rev. John Rideout, to Mrs. Dring. 12. Baron de Steiger, to Miss de Tasset. 19. Hon. C. C. C. Jenkinson, to Miss Julia Shuckburg Evelyn. The earl of Guildford, to Miss Maria Boycott. 24, Lord Brownlow, to the eldest daughter of sir Ab. Hume, bart. , 26. Dr. Buxton, to the eldest daughter of Joseph Travers, esq. 31. John Downe, esq. to Anne, eldest daughter of T. M. Kelson, esq: aiaiiet 1. William Bolland, esq., to Elizabeth, third daughter of John Bolland, esq. 6. M. Hen. Perceval, esq., to the eldest daughter of sir Charles Flower. ; 13. Benj. Sharpe, esq., to Anne, eldest daughter of Benj. Kennet, esq. 1s. Mr. R. Herring, to the eld- est daughter of Jolin Morgan, esq. 19. Hon. P. S. Pierrepoint, to the widow of the late P. Edwards, esq. 27. Viscount Falmouth, to Anne, eldest daughter of Henry Barker, esq. Sept. 1. H. Combe, esq., to Eli- zabeth, eldest daughter of Charles Harris, esq. 5. J. Dickenson, esq., to Anne, the second daughter of H. Grover, esq. 10. G. P. Barclay, esq., to 413 Maria, fourth daughter of Henry Boulton, esq. 13. G. Proctor, esq., to Miss Hale, daughter of W. Hale, esq. 18. Dr. Wilkinson, to Elizabeth, daughter of the late Jabez Smith, esq. 19. Richard Jackson, esq., to Elizabeth, youngest daughter of the late rev. G. Sanby, D.D. 25. William Johnson, esq., to Charlotte, daughter of Matt. Consett, esq. Oct. 1. Rev. John Taddy, to Catharine, third daughter of Sam. Latham, esq. 11. Hon. George Lysaght, to Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Sam. Knight, esq. 13. Rev. James Worsley, to Sophia, second daughter of sir John Pinhorn. 14. Hon. Miss French,.and the hon. Miss Rose French ; the elder to Edward J. Beyragh, esq., and the younger to Francis Blake Porter, esq. 19. Sir Thomas Trowbridge, bart., to Miss Cochrane. 20. C. Coote, esq., to Caroline Lucy, second daughter of lord Douglas. 30. Rev. J. Haggit, to the eldest daughter of the late sir H. Peyton. Nov. 2. Rev. Gilbert Holmes, to Lydia, eldest daughter of Francis Sanderson, esq. 9. George Morgan, esq., to Miss Harrison. 10. Chevalier Bisson, te Miss Burdett. 21. Rev. William Price, to Miss Davies. 27. Henry Combe, esq., to Anne, second daughter of Charles St. Barbe, esq. : 28. Mr. T. Kennion, to Martha, eldest daughter of Dr. Winter. 4144 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. Dec. 1. Thomas Roworth esq., to Mary Anne, second: daughter of Dr. Valpy. 3. Sir Rich, Levinge, to the hon. E. A. Parkyns, daughter of the late lord Rancliffe, 8. James Wedderburn Webster, esq., to the right hon. lady Fran- ces Caroline Annesley. 15. Rev. C. H. White, to Eliza- beth, second daughter of the late Edw. Wise, esq. 20. The hon. Gerrard Vanneck, to Miss Lovelace. 30. Sir Charles Farnaby, bart., to Eliza, youngest daughter of the late T. Morland, esq. BIRTHS in the year 1810. Jan. 3. The lady of J.M. Raikes, esq., of a son. 6. Mrs. Dobson, one of the mid- wives of the Westminster General Dispensary, of three daughters. 10. Lady Ossulston, of a son and heir. 11. The lady of sir William Chambers Bagshaw, of a daughter. 24. The lady of James Dupré, esq., of a daughter. 28. The lady of sir James Du- berly, of a son. 29. Lady Gardner, of a son and heir. 31. The lady of Thomas Tooke, esq., of a son. Feb. 17. The lady of John Yel- lowly, esq., of a daughter. 21. The wife of Mr. Brown, of Pancras, of two boys and two girls. 23. The lady of W. Lushington, esq,, of a daughter. 26. Mrs. Onslow, wife of the rev. A. Onslow, of a son. March 3. Right hon. ‘lady Doune, of a.son. 8. The lady of Timothy Tyrrell, esq., of a son. 19. The countess Talbot, of a son. 21. Lady Romilly, of a son. 29. Hon. Mrs. E. S. Stewart Erskine, of a son. Lady Bantry, of a son. April 1. Lady Hawkins, of ason. 3. Lady Kennaird, of a son. 5. The lady of sir J. Wrottes- ley, bart., of a son. 11. Lady Grantham, of a son. The countess of Banbury, of a son. 15. Countess Loudonand Moira, of a daughter. 18. Viscountess Grimston, of a daughter. 20. The lady of colonel H. A. Dillon, of a son. 21. Lady Whichcote, of a son. 23. Countess of Castlestewart, of a son. 26. The lady of the rev. Hugh Percy, of a daughter. May 2. The lady of the rev. Thomas Powys, of two sons and a daughter. 8. Lady Elizabeth Fielding, of a son. The lady of sir Thomas M. Stanley, of a son. 12. The marchioness of Win- chester, of a son. 18. The lady of lord viscount Tournour, of a son and heir, 27. Lady Kensington, of a.son. June 4. Viscountess:Duncan, of a daughter. 9. The lady of rear-admiral Lechmere, of a daughter. 10. Hon. Mrs. Vaughan, of a daughter. 17. Lady Anne Ashley Cooper, of a'son. 23. Her grace the duchess of Bedford, of a daughter. APPENDIX ro 24. Countess of Jersey, of a son. July 10. The lady of sir J. C. Honywood, ofa son. 12. Lady Baggott, of a son. 21. The queen of Bavaria, of a daughter. 28. Hon. Mrs. Erskine, of ason. 31. The lady of George Bar- ing, esq. of a son. August 1. The lady of the hon. E. J. Turnour, of a daughter. 4. The lady of Dr. Crotch of twin daughters. S$. Lady Frances B. Riddell, of a son, 11. Lady Frances Ley, of a daughter. 14. The countess Dalhousie, of a daughter. © 18, Lady Isabella de Chabot, of a son. 24. The lady of sir Oswald Mosely, bart. M. P. of a daughter. Sept. 1. The lady of colonel Buller, of a daughter. 5. Lady Mary Ann Gage, of a son. 13. Lady Anna Beresford, of a daughter. 15. The countess of Pembroke, of a son. 22. The lady of Arthur Annes- ley, esq., of twin daughters. Lady Charlotte Gould, of a son. Oct. 2. The lady of colonel Gore Langton, M. P. of a son. CHRONICLE. 415 13. Viscountess Primrose, of a son. 14. Viscountess Templetown, of a son. 25. The lady of J. Finch Simp- son, esq., of a daughter. 31. The lady of G. Smith, esq. M. P., of a son. Nov. 3. Viscountess Hereford, of a son. 6. Countess Cowper, of a son. 18. The lady of Thomas Cadell, esq-, of a son. 19. Hannah Browne, of two girls and a boy. 25. The countess of Lindsay, of a daughter. The countess of Aberdeen, of a son. The lady of sir William Geary, bart., of a son. Dec. 10. The lady of Isaac Goldsmid, esq., of a son. 14. The lady of William Tooke, esq., of a son. 22. The lady of John Disney, esq., of a son. 28. Lady Wm. Beauclerk, of a daughter, 29. Duchess of Rutland, of a daughter. Lady Gardner, of a daughter. Countess Grey, of a son. On the 12th of October, 1809, at Madeira, the lady of the hon. major-general Meade, of a son and heir. 4146 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. SHERIFFS, ‘Appointed by his Majesty in Council for the Year 1810. Bedfordshire, Sir Gregory Osborne Turner, of Battlesden, bart. Berkshire, Peter Green, of Cookham, esq. Buckinghamshire, John Ayton, of Missenden Abbey, esq. Cambridge and Huntingdonshire, George William Leeds, of Croxton, esq. Cheshire, Thomas Brook, of Church Minshull, esq. Cumberland, Sir Henry Fletcher, of Clea Hall, bart. Derbyshire, John Crumpton, of Derby, esq. Devonshire, Sir Masseh Manasseh Lopez, of Mariston, bart. Dorsetshire, H. Seymour, of Hanford, esq. Essex, Jolin Rigg, of Walthamstow, esq. Gloucestershire, Paul Wathen, of Lypiatt Park, esq. Herefordshire, Robert Higginson, of Birchmill Park, esq. Hertfordshire, Thomas Howarth, of Boreham Lodge, esq. Kent, James Burton, of Mabledon, esq. Lancashire, W. Hulton, of Hulton, esq. Leicestershire, the Hon. Thomas Bowes, of Higham-on-the-Hill. Lincolnshire, Edmund Turner, of Panton, esq. Monmouthshire, Thomas Piikington, of Hillston, esq. Norfolk, Nathaniel Micklethwaite, of Beeston, esq, Northamptonshire, William Sawbridge, of East Haddon, esq. Northumberland, John Read, of Chipchase Castle, esq. Nottingham, John Chaworth, of Ansley, esq. Oxfordshire, William Henry Ashurst, of Waterstock, esq. Rutlandshire, William Gillson, of Wing, esq. Shropshire, William Lloyd, of Aston, esq. Somersetshire, Thomas Strangeways Horner, of Wells, esq. County of Southampton, Sir James Watley Smith Gardner, of Roche Court, bart. Staffordshire, Henry Webb, of Forebridge, esq. Suffolk, Joshua Grigby, of Drinkstone, esq. Surrey, Henry Edmund Austen, of Shalford House, esq. Sussex, Richard Wyatt, of Courtwick, esq. Warwickshire, James West, of Arlescote, esq. Wiltshire, Abraham Ludlow, of Heywood, esq. Worcestershire, Joseph Smith, of Sion Hill, esq. Yorkshire, Thomas Nynne Bellasyse, of Newbrugh Abbey, esq. SOUTH WALES. Carmarthenshire, William M‘Clary, of Manerfabon, esq. Pembroke, John Myrehouse, of Brownslade, esq. Cardigan, William Edward Powell, of Nanteos, esq. Glamorgan, Thomas Lockwood, of Dan-y-graig, esq. Brecon, James Jones, of Llanthomas, esq. Radnor, Harley James Hague, of Bailey House, esq. APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. 417 NORTH WALES. Merioneth, J. Davies, of Aberllefoni, esq. Carnarvonshire, Humphrey Rowland Jones, of Ystimyllyn, esq. Anglesey, Hugh Evans, of Houblas, esq. Montgomeryshire, John Owen Herbert, of Dalforgan, esq. Denbighshire, Richard Lloyd, of Branhaelog, esq. Flintshire, Francis Richard Price, of Brynypys, esq. SHERIFF appointed by his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in Council, for the year 1810, Cornwall, Rd. Oxnam, of Penzance, esq. NEW PATENTS. GRANTED DURING THE YEAR 1810. Mr. John Leigh Bradbury’s, Meath, for a method of spinning cotton, flax, and wool. Mr. Fred. Bartholomew Folscli’s, Oxford-street, for improvements on certain machines, instruments, and pens, calculated to promote facility in writing. Mr. John Davenport’s, Barrlem, for a method of ornamenting all kinds of glass, in imitation of en- graving, &c. by means of which any designs, however elaborate, may be executed in a style of elegance hitherto unknown. Mr. John Duff’s, Great Pulte-= ney-street, for aninvention of snuf- fers on a new and improved con- struction, communicated to Mr. Duff by a foreigner. Mr. Edward Manley’s, Uffculm, Devon, for a plough, termed the “ expedition plough.” Mr. John Barton’s, Argyle= Vor. LID. street, Westminster, for a lamp of a new construction. Mr. William Hutton’s, Sheffield, for a method of making sickles and reaping hooks, Mr. John Murray’s and Mr. Adam Anderson’s, Edinburgh, for a portable stove or furnace. Mr. John Jones’s, Birmingham, for improvements in manufactur- ing of skelps for fire-arms. Mr.JohnNanton’s, Dover-street, for an improved lock for guns and pistols. Mr. John Dumbell’s, Warring- ton, for new methods of flax spin- ning, &c. Mr. George Pocock’s, Bristol, for an invention of geographical slates for the construction of maps. ‘Mr. Mare Isambard Brunel’s, Portsea, for an invention of a new mode of cutting veneers or thin ma by machinery. 2 418 Mr. D. M. Randolph’s, Feather- stone Buildings, Holborn, for improvements in the construction of wheel-carridges of all kinds. Mr. James Baron’s, Well-street, for improvements in the apparatus used for rollers, window-blinds, maps, &c. Mr. JohnFrederick Archbold’s, Great Charlotte-street, Surrey, for a method of converting salt or sea water into fresh water, both on _ land and on board of ships at sea. Mr. William Murdock’s, Soho Foundry, Stafford, for a method or process for boring and form- ing pipes, cylinders, columns; and circular disks, out of solid blocks and slabs of stone of any kind. Mr. Joseph Manton’s, Davies- street, Berkeley-square, for im- proved time keepers. _ Mr. A. F. De Heine, East Smithfield, for improvements on printing and stamping presses. Mr. De Roche’s, for iniprove- ments in the art of brewing. Mr. Peter Warburton’s, Col- ridge, Staffordshire, for a new method of decorating china, &e. with metals, which method leaves the metals, after being burned in their métallic state. Mr. Jolin Marshall’s and Mr. John Naylor's, Norwich; for a new and improved method of ma- nufacturing salt Mr. Charles Le Caan’s, Llanelly, for an invention of certain appa- ratus to be added to the axle- trees and wheels, or naves of wheels, of carriages, so as to im- pede, resist or check their action. Mr. John Schmidt’s, St. Mary Axe, for a phantasmagoric chro- nometer, or nocturnal dial, ren- dering visible at night; to any ens - ANNUAL REGISTER, I8lo. larged size, the dial of a watch, against the wall of a room, &c. Mr. C. F. Davis’s, Pilchcombe, Gloticester, for an improvement in the manufacture of woollen cloths, Mr. James Goddard’s, New- man-street, London, for a method of niahufacturing a certain de- scription of wooden boxes, called chip boxes, or pill boxes, of va- rious sizes and shapes. Mr. Penwarne’s, Pancras, for an invention, or process, for giv- ing, statues, or othér ornamental works in plaster, an appearance nearly resembling marble. Mr. John Craigie’s, Craven- street, London, for an improved kitchen fire-place. Mr. Jobn Thomas Groves, Whitehall, for an improved mode of constructing buildings, by which expetise and labour are saved, and the building secured from the dry rot. Mr. Joseph Stephenson’s, Mor- timer-street, for an improved mar chine for filtering and purifying water. Mr. Richard Witty’s, Kingston- upon-Hull, for his invention of certain parts of rotative steam engines. Mr. William Docksey’s, Bristol, for improvements in the process of tnanufacturing ivory black, and for reducing other articles to an impalpable powder, Mr. James Hall’s, Astbury, Cheshire, for a method of making shivers atid pulley-wheels, of every description, from certain materials or compositions of earth and minerals, whicli render tlie said articles more durable than such as aremade in wood or metal. Mr. John Maiben’s, Perth, for improvements in the construction APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. of apparatus for making carbo- nated hydrogen gas, and for using the same in lighting mills, facto- ries, &c. Mr, J.Slater’s, Birmingham, for an improvement in hanging and securing grindstones from break- ing in the middle or centre. Mr. Benjamin Flight’s, St. Mar- tin’s Lane, for a metal nave, axle, and box, for wheel-carriages, to prevent the danger of overturning, and the concussion of carriages coming in contact at the nave, &c. Mr. John Williams's, Cornhill, for an apparatus to be applied to and used with wheel-carriages. Mr. Thomas Robinson’s, Sale- hurst, Sussex, for a mashing ma- chine. Mr. William Shakespear’s and Mr. Thomas Osler’s, Birmingham, for a new method of manufactur- ing glass or paste drops. Mr. John Onion’s, Brosely, for a machine for thrashing corn, &c. Mr. Joseph Anthony Berrolla’s, Coppice Row, Clerkenwell, for a warning watch upon a new con- struction. Mr. Michael Shannon’s, Ber- wick-street, London, for improve- ments in the art of brewing. Mr. Charles Williams’s, Gravel Lane, London, for a machine for grinding malt, &c. Mr. Stephen Hooper’s, Wal- worth, for a thermometer for as- certaining the heat of bakers’ evens, and various other purposes. Mr. Mayer Oppenheim’s, Lon- don, for a red transparent glass. Mr. Jonathan Varty’s, Liver- pool, for improvements in the axle-trees of carriages. Mr. Joseph Warren’s, America, for a new and improved method of splitting hides and shaving leather, 419 Mr. William Watt’s, Bath, for methods of combining and dis- posing of machinery, and apply= ing the different powers of wind, water, and cattle, to the improve- ment of mills. Account of livings in England and Wales under 1501. a year : Not exceeding 10/.a year... 12 From 10/.to 20/. incl... 72 From 20/. to 30l.....«+ 191 From 30l.to 40/....... 353 From 401. to 50l..00.+.433 From 50/.to G60/..+6+++ 407 From 601, to 70l....+++ 376 From 70/.to S80l...0e++ 319 From 80/. to 90/..++++s 309 From 90/. to 100/.....6« 315 From 100/. to 1102,..4+++ 283 From 110/. to 120/....+.¢s 307 From 1202. to 130/....2.. 246 From 130/. to 140/,.....+2 205 From 1402. to 150/. excl. 170 ToTraL 3;998. Of these very small livings three are in the diocese of Lichfield and Coventry, three in that of Nor- wich, two in that of St. David’s, one in that of Llandaff, one in that of London, one in that of Peterborough, and one in that of Winchester. The Thanksgwwing Prayer. Form of prayer and thanksgiving to Almighty God, for his mercy in having vouchsafed to bestow on this nation an abundant crop and favourable harvest. « O Almighty God! who open- est wide thine hand, and satisfiest 2E2 420 the desire of every living thing, we thank thee that thou hast reserved unto us the appointed weeks of harvest, and caused our valleys to be covered with corn. Sustain and keep alive in us, we beseech thee, such a sense of thy bountiful good- ness, that weforget not, in the pride of our heart, the hand from which every blessing flows. It is thy mer- cy, O God, that humbleth us in want. It is thy mercy that feedeth us with plenteousness. Protect and cover us, we pray thee, from the abuses of each ; lest we be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest we be poor and steal, and take the name of our God in vain. More especially at this time dispose us to acknowledge, with all humility, thy good Providence, in: supplying our wants at the moment of approaching necessity, in up- holding our cause against the in- creased aggression of our enemies, and in continuing thy protection to our most gracious sovereign, the father of his people, and the dis- penser of thy mercies. These praises and prayers we humbly offer at the throne of grace, through the merits and mediation of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.—Amen.” The prayer for the restoration of his Majesty's health. “©O God, who commandest us when we are in trouble to open our hearts, and to tell out our sorrows ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. unto thee in prayer, and dost pro- mise to listen with compassion to our humble supplications, give us grace so to approach thee, that we offend not in word or thought: put away from us every impatient feeling, silence every unworthy expression : let not our prayers assume the language of complaint, nor our sorrows the character of despair. Upon thee, O God, and upon the multitude of thy mer- cles, we repose our grief. ‘To thee alone we look for that blessing for which our hearts bleed. Raise, we implore thee, our beloved sove- reign from the bed of sickness and of affliction; soothe his parental cares; restore him to his family, and to his people. And of thy great mercy, O God! look down with pity and compassion on the accumulated sorrows of the royal family. Give them strength, and courage, and virtue, to meet with pious submission the grievous trial to which they are exposed : and, whether it shall seem fit to thine unerring wisdom, presently to remove from us this great calamity, or for a time to sus- pend it over us, teach both them and us, patiently to adore thy inscrutable Providence, and to bless thy holy name for ever and ever, These prayers and suppli- cations we humbly address to thy Divine Majesty, in the name and through the mediation of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, —Amen,” APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. 421 Statement of the Gold and Silver corned in England during every reign from the Restoration to the 25th of March, 1810, extracted from authentic documents : By Charles I], ....scesseseeeseseeees £.7,524,105 By James If. ..secccsevccnecccsccae 2,737,637 By Anne wccccescrccccccssccccccses 2,691,626 * By George I. .... cece ccccseeccsee 8,725,921 By George II. Gold ...-..11,662,216/. Silver ....-. 304,360/. 11,966,576 The great re-coinage of gold between 23rd August, 1773, and the end of 1777, amounted to 20,447,002/. From the commencement of the reign to August 1773, there were coined about 10,000,000/. making— By George III. before the 31st December, 1780— Gold 30,4.57,805/. ; Silver 7,126/. :—30,464,931/. From 1780 to the end of 1802—Gold 33,310,832/.; Silver 56,473. : —33,367,305/.° From 1802 to 25th March, 1810,—Gold 2,445,253. wee ener ese easeeetesessees 66,277,489 eee, \ Total Gold and Silver coined since the Restoration 99,923,354 Amount of Bank of England Notes in circulation on the 7th and 12th days of January, 1809 and 1810: Bank Notes of 51. | Bank Post | Bank Notes and upwards. Bills, under 5l. 1809. January 7. 11,718,010 796,250 4,24) ,420 12, 14,077,780 825,580 4,305,920 1810. January 7. 13,013,790 851,160 5,663,080 12s 14,668,640 | 884,120 5,854,170 An account of all the Dollars issued by the Bank of England, to the 8th day of February, 1810, inclusive : Dollars stamped in the year 1797, and issued... 2,325,099 Ditto stamped in the year 1804, and issued ....-. 1,419,484 Ditto stamped in the years 1809 and 1810, andissued 1,073,051 Dollars eeeoteoavece 4,817,634 The quantity of Strong Beer brewed by the first twelve houses in the London Porter Brewery, from the 5th of July, 1809, to the 5th of July, 1810 : Barrels. Barrels. Barclay, Perkins, and Co. 235,053 Combe and Co,......++ 85,150 Meux, Read, and Co. .. 211,009 Brown and Parry...... 84,475 Truman, Hanbury,andCo.144,990 Goodwin,Skinner,andCo. 74,223 Felix, Calvert, and Co... 133,491 Elliott and Co. ......++° 57;251 Whitbread and Co. eees 110,939 Taylor eocoreeeseseeee? 44,510 Henry Meux and Co... 93,660 Clowes and Co. .seceee 41,594 422 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. APPROPRIATION OF THE BRITISH SUPPLIES, GRANTED IN THE LATE SESSION OF PARLIAMENT BY THE ACT 50TH Geo. 11. c. 115. a For*naval s6rviges'/ + in cina.din.¥§ baie nee tank To take measures for defeating the enemy .. For the exigencies of Ireland ......+2-+0+0- For his Sicilian Majesty Peres see eeeeeseece To the government of Portugal......e+++ Por Jamg Forces. Ne. c's o ce eerecees Ordnance for ditto, Great Britain, 1810 .... dd ee oe 2 1808 eoese ee eeer ee eeeeiseeeeseoesesreses 1809 eene sccccccccccvce Areland, .cciccse ASO wae eee eer eevee eee nee eeseneecevee 1809 eece Paying off Exchequer Bills, issued 1809 .... Issued in pursuance of addresses of the House OF COnPMBs, Sikes 3b ok cierc swe wwje oes For civilestablishment of Upper Canada .... eo eee see oooesereseses Cape Breton eecvee vec cen reece cecceees NOVA SCOLIA seoese ce evecveeeecccseeses New Brunswick .... coehoe Moe oe hae sestes Bahama Islands seco oeveeecmesecesseeeee bermuda Islands .. a etolatslelee slo ee «.cie,0 0 cee MUONMMICH Gs © womw oop + SRR B ide Deispenichs om Newfoundland...... sistema oelveles es ce EW ASDLE. Wales sa’. ohduticbiict cclcececere DIEMIRULCONE 4.6050 ce ecceeecceseevceses Ste John’s (or Prince Edward’s) Island, América ...... British forts in Africa ..... > <5 Sa QHASRB OK For paying off certain annuities .....+es..0- _ To Sheriffs for convicting felons ....+.++es To law charges for Great Britain o+.eeseeee Bow Street Office ere eet es ses eeesese+seone Printing and stationery 1810 .....ee.eeeeee evceee Deficiency of 1809... . scccccecee Poor of St. Martin in the TIGIAG . oennieivicie es : 19,829,434 3,000,000 200,000 400,000 980,000 20,337,080 — 3,078,742 131,191 124,542 447,710 37,278 28,689,900 15,165 10,450 2,060 10,165 5,600 3,700 1,030 600 4,551 13,268 15,710 3,100 23,000 18,776 6,000 20,000 12,000 26,800 1,362 1,328 no ocoonut _ enoccocoooen CUWONMOOS UARACCCOWoCse cooooceoooan eonwonooocecooo® mmocoouce Lad APPENDIX 10 CHRONICLE. 428 £. & d. Prosecutions relating to coin, &C. oseseveee 3,500 O O Superintendance of aliens .essseseeseeeees 7,841 12 11 Employing convicts ....ecsssssscesesesees 56,450 6) 0 Emigrant clergy and laity of France ......., 161,452 2 0 Salaries of officers of both Houses of Parliament 5,500 O O Printing by order of Commissioners of public TECOWAS ace ctaviocceseesegienacpeee 3,162 7 4 To J. France, esq. for index to rolls of parliament 428 15 0 To T. Brodie, esq. for index to Journals of the House of Lords for 1809 ........-6-- 53313 6 To ditto for salaries and expences in making do. 1,151 8 O To lord Walsingham, as chairman of the com- mittee of the House of Peers, for 1809 2,698 13 O To W. Watson, esq. Serjeant at Arms to the ' — House of Peers, for 1809. .,...c0.00. 1,623 0 0 ToJ.Clementson, esq. Deputy Serjeant at Arms, IHew Of rent “sh. ese s ce eects cet 219 14 0 To E. Sealy, esq. for expences in the Elm-Bark BAP a. .6 ademdeaned’ Sowcectewnoces 182 5 $ To F. Nettleship, esq. for publishing the ave- : rage prices of sugar .....- vee se eee 838 17 0 To Dr. T. B. Clarke, for preparing returns of the non-resident clergy.....ceeseeees 269 19 8 To ditto for his trouble relative to the non- TESIGENCE ACIS ‘sge'ce's sie seve ecescees 278 6 6 To K. Mackenzie, esq. for making a road from Contin to Ullapool ...esesecescece : $24 18 6 Tothe officers of thetalley court for levying tallies 1,160 12 0 To the royal college of surgeons ....¢0.20-6- 12,500 0 0 To Wm. Chinnery, esq. to pay bills drawn from Sierra Weoness oi dee P55 seed lew eco os 20,125 2 11g For a new Mint on Tower-hill .......0..0. 16,500 O O For the Marshalsea prison ......secccecess 8,000 0 0 For the Lazaretto at Chetney-hill .......... 21,000 0 O For contingencies of three Secretaries of State 17,500 0 0 For messengers to the three Secretaries of State FOF US Olen « ced taitiatecctetete betes lee otis 14,000 0 0 For secret Services ..ccvccccessess Sitdic oda 175,000 O O For works done at the House of Lords «++e+. 5,000 0 40 To pay bills drawn from New South Wales .. 40,000 0 O For the deficiency of grant in 1809, for allow- ances to officers of the Houses of Lords and Commons ....esceeececssrsece 110 0 O For fees on passing public accounts ......6. 5,000 0 0 To E.Stracey, esq. forhis servicestothe chairman of the House of Peers, for two sessions 3,396 8 O For the repair of Henry the Seventh’s Chapel 1,500 0 O 424 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. For improving the harbour of Holyhead +++ For erecting buildings for a Naval Asylum .. For building public edifices in Trinidad+...«. For the Board of Agriculture .....+e.seeeee For the Veterinary College....+ssseeeeseee For Greville’s collection of minerals ........ For printing Vols. 38 and 39 of the Journals of the House of Peers ....-+seeseres For printing the Calendar of the Journals of ditto For the works done at the Houses of Parliament For the lighthouse at Heligoland ........5+ For exploring the interior of Africa ........ For Westminster improvements ..........-- . For compensation to the commissioners on public expenditure in the military departments For compensation to the commissioners for in- quiring into the state of Windsor Forest For the National Vaccine Establishment .... To R. Mitford, esq. to pay a bill drawn by the Governor of Fort George....seeeeeee To Bryan Bentham, esq. for erecting a prison at Sheerness ....cccccceceseveisccse To T. N. Wittwer, esq. for examining East India accounts ......+-++ssoeseceee To the magistrates of the Thames Police .... To E, Walmisley, for preparing Vols. 38 and 39 of Lords’ Journals ...-seeereeees To G. Dickens, esq. for stationery sent to the Cape of Good Hope...eceeesseeacee To J. Read, esq. for horse patrole, till April 5, TRIO: 52 ces anncconco nce siccvinaciese To W. Chinnery, esq. for Messrs. Gurney, for expences of committees ...-+e.eeee- To the Governors of Queen Anne’s bounty for the poor clergy....ssecsesccssavcce To J. Read, esq. to pay expences of special GONAEADIES be cadet senscenncccnenes To the representative of C. Morris, Surveyor General of Nova Scotia ...sesseceee To the commissioners for the sale and redemp- tion of land tax..2ccecscecencncuces For military roads in North Britain......+++ For roads and bridges in the Highlands of Scot- land enpeeSeoeseeeeeeetonete gsepeaeene GRAND TOTALeeeesece ease 10,000 O 46,788 10 25,000 O 5,500 O 1,000 0O 13,727. O 2,817 1,564 11,550 7,716 521 1 8,844 —_ o'o o ounocorO 21,000 8,000 3,000 44 11 389 16 426 12 316 16 249 8 336 10 1,546 17 371 12 100,000 0 1,034 5 193 13 12,000 O 5,696 11 10,000 0 78,387,451 5 APPENDIX ro CHRONICLE. “425 LIST OF HIS MAJESTY’S MINISTERS, 1810. CABINET MINISTERS. Earl Camden ..........0e++++ President of the Council. Lord Eldon........oeeeee+-+- Lord High Chancellor. Earl of Westmorland...... .... Lord Privy Seal. Earl Bathurst .....-.++++ee++» President of the Board of Trade. First Lord of the Treasury (Prime § Minister ) Chancellor and Under Right Hon. Spencer Perceval ..< Treasurer of the Exchequer, also . Chancellor of the Duchy of Lan- caster. First Lord of the Admiralty. Master General of the Ordnance, Secretary of State for the Home 3 Department. — Secretary of State for Foreign Af- fairs. : Secretary of State for the Depart Ss ee el Sr a { ment of War and the Colonies. Right hon. Charles Philip Yorke Lord Mulgrave @oeesssnsvoses Right hon. Richard Ryder .... Marquis Wellesley. ...++sseee 3 NOT OF THE CABINET. President of the Board of Control for the Affairs of India. Vice-President of the Board of °° +Trade and Treasurer of the Navy Viscount Palmerston ....++++.. Secretary at War. Righthon.RobertSaundersDundas Right hon. George Rose ...-- Lord Charles Somerset ....-++- Joint Paymaster General of the Right hon, Charles Long ...--- Forces. ea z ee apne ret ee ¢ Joint Postmaster General Richard Wharton, esq. .....ce- : , Charles Atbothnot, tq.” ssa. § Sorat OF the Treasury, Sir William Grant ...sseeceseee Master of the Rolls. Sir Vicary Gibbs .........+.. Attorney-General. Sir Thomas Plomer .......... Solicitor-General. PERSONS IN THE MINISTRY OF IRELAND. Duke of Richmond.......++.... Lord Lieutenant. Lord Manners .........05. .» Lord High Chancellor, W. Wellesley Pole.......++++. Chief Secretary. _ Right hon. John Foster.....++. Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1810. 4 ANNUAL REGISTER, 426 1B 4 #9 rL6 rote id. 1 |899. |F¢9 cg |§26 | "sip $9 | ad gI| 19. (299 aS aye |SIP TS [sip gz [199 |2F9 “SU 166 | {46 |-spzg | «1d o1lf99. [eo aoe (EEO ‘sip 9 |-stip ¢ it¢9 E19 SELIG | 19 | 86 |-sipte | dy |829 Bao v & . * xe} is soy azz [FLO |FLG [SIRS | ‘sips [E89 |$89 ST 166 |e19 \E16 | -ad‘fz. | sadg [$g9. P69 ra G . its 8 ‘ ‘ 799 |796 | SIP TS | ‘sips | 89 \FL9 SST 166 |eeg | 16 | ad | ud 2 $69) of SEL 166 | L9 | 16 ud $ | “sip Z F69 ‘S6L ‘743 |¥89 \FL6 | tad =r | ‘ad 9] OL 8 ad e v 8 i “sq pz, (929 (696 | “Ad Tt |. -1d% [for 69 9°1VG lego le76.| ad gz | “sd orifor 269 ¥ - 3 v Se RS 275 sip E l89. ¥ey, IVS [09 log “id 31/869. FHL ra a P 8 nie beg espn, [E49 fF 96 id ¢ |E19 |s 9 196 \es0 | 86 "ad 1g] 69. 749 & & i te aed | + = £99 |f86 “ad { Erg ST TS le 19 lege ado _(€g9 & . & - | Sj 6 Gee ee ad 7% | ade 19 Fo a1 16 Iago "ad_¢_|_ sad ¢1 289 (£69 . “d . . @ dower [dwanec] “emvemmo. || 8K | ok en wi Oi T= Sn el a li. a sues a ULIGOO |LGY |L9Y |LVVG ELL “id ¥@| 181] $21/266- is e18 199 a) SFG GL | 1d LZITSSTFFLT) OOT/FOOT|TSS [EL9 |e99 | $9 ade | bLI] FLL AG 218 %9 T99 ae _-_| ad ¥g|_ZS1|_ 81) {rootless |F99 |Z¢9 |_ +92 oot ICH 281 86 | as [Feo |fz9 | sez f84 | sad ga] O8'tst| |866_lé9s | 89 |2s9- ees ez, | ‘ad [zg IST] FST] 2 [£06 | 99 |F89: E89. [togz "tL | dzzl sstittst| ° [B66 [Sse [869 1269 | oz ia 8 "ad 01/841), £81,001 86 |788 89 369 ee SED Be. Gojse8l @S1|s001| ZOUE9s |FIA [204 F093 ad $1/f681) €S1 1001) #8 | 04 |F69 e204 ‘ad ¢2) $61/#81|_| O18 |e1L (FOL ez9% fed z 91] S811 (O01 |T #8 TOL ‘69 ae #91, | ad ozifostjttet|__fetotjegs | 12 02 |F69z fey | ad g |TSst| 291 66 |¥ss 189 #19 | 696 EbL | ad 0g|_L8Yts1|__(/266 [res [269 |769 | 922 $6 — |EL6 [Ese |EL9 [t99 | +22 fey, | ad 11) 981) 666 _ #8 |t69 |F89 |f91% rad ¢ TST = gos ‘iss {49 [589 set sad 11] SS81/*s81 \s66_|eb8 |e89 |Z89 |t91z Epp ad $ |ECLT ®g1 bes. +S ,89 189 ek evs | ad 9¢| 881] 231} rGO1ESS |fOL |F69 [FLL *yo01g “spuod -qoosg)suuy- *L6LI | Sarn "sud | ‘suod | "par *4901S vog*s| PIPUL |erpuy |Su0q |'y0°de -yo-de}"90 “dp|y0-de)j0 deg) yueg *YJUOPA] VY} Ul UMOP Jos VIB YUOJAT YORI JO VSIN0d VYF Ul Y90}g Ove Jo sedIsg JSOMO] pu ySoqSIY VY, “| “N ‘OISt HOA SMOOLS AO SHOMd “-aune ~ Key “dy reste eee "qa. “ure —$$—_——. “OTST 427 APPENDIX ro CHRONICLE. 626 29d ‘OLO'T ‘sa1oidnayurg jo saquinu [ej0y ‘son | 390 | 3dag |asnSny| “fing | coune | ‘Kew | pady |qoueyy | qed fAsenue -anasngour “OTST 0G *22@ 9 “60ST “0G 92 woaT ‘QNWIONG NI SAIOLGAYYNVE JO WAGWAN FTHL JO ATAVL 428 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. General View of the Confederation of the Rhine, exhibiting the Extent, Population, and Revenue, of each of the States of which it is composed, and also its Contingent of Troops. Extent “A conn Ge - 9 Troo STATES OF THE CONFEDERATION. | (at Square] POPULATION. | REVENUE. | furnish Miles. Fram | ee a Dom. of the Prince Primate ...) 43 170,000 136,364: Kingdom of Bavaria ..........+-| 1,636 | 3,231,570 {1,818,182 30,18 | Ditto Wirtemberg ....ssseerreee| 330 | 1,183,000 | 727,273 12, Ditto Saxony cecccsccsscsvevecevees| 723 | 2,085,476 11,272,727 20, Duchy of Warsaw .....,ss0e0000] 1,851 | 2,277,000 727,273 30,f Kingdom of Westphalia........-| 717 | 1,912,303 |1,272,727 25, Grand Duchy of Baden ,........| 275 922,649 590,909 8, Ditto Bets’ 2ap,.. sceesesntses-vabss 310 932,000 500,000 5f Ditto Hesse... ..sscssosreeseeere] 206 | 560,000 | 290,909 | 4 Ditto Wiirzburg ........ss00ee0| 96} 280,000 | 218,182 2, Duchy of Nassau Using ......... 65 166,600 Prin. of Nassau Weilburg ...... 40} 105,000 si 1, Ditto Hohenzollern Heching... 6 14,000 5,454 : Ditto Hohenzollern Sigmaring 10 39,000 17,273 | Ditto Salm-Salm ........ SUTIN 20 37,000 13,636 Ae Ditto Salm-Kyrburg ..........| 10 18,000 7,273 7 Ditto Isenburg...........00+ apheeh — y dae 42,000 22,727 Duchy of Aremberg ............, 50 60,000 27,273 Principality of Lichtenstein ... 24 6,500 3,636 Dito LG YON iisecus dencceecpancdsies 23 5,000 3,091 Duchy of Saxe-Gotha ......... 54 180,000 118,182 1,1 Ditto Saxe-Weimar ..........0| 36 110,000 90,909 8 Ditto Saxe-Meinungen .........). 18 4.0,000 31,818 3 Ditto Saxe-Hildburghausen .., 11 33,000 13,636 2 Ditto Saxe-Coburg ......... waenep 19 60,000 36,364 Prin. of Anhalt-Bernburg. ...... 16 35,200 $1,818 Ditto Anhalt-Koethen ........ i 15 30,000 27,274 2 Ditto Anhalt-Dessau ............ 17 52,000 40,000 3 Ditto Lippe-Detmold ,........... 25 70,500 22,727 | Ditto Lippe-Schaumburgh ...... 10 20,500 7,273 , Duc. of Mecklenburg-Schwerin| 226 328,636 163,636 1,9 Ditto Mecklenburg-Strelitz ... 48 70,000 48,182 4 Prin. of Reuss-Ebersdorf ...... 6 18,000 7,273 1 Ditto Reuss-Graitz eeeeeoneraceres id 25,000 10,909 1} Ditto Reuss-Lobenstein ......... 6 18,000 10,000 1¢ Ditto Reuss-Schleitz ............ 63 18,000 9,091 li Ditto Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt| 22 | 56,000 | $92,727 36 Ditto Schwarzburg - Sonders- | hausen Peoovecvassesseeenresserers 93 58,000 31,818 or Ditto Waldeck........-...seseceee-| 22 48,000 31,818 AQ Ditto Holstein Oldenburg......} 97 160,000 78,182 BL Torat] 7,0893]15,477,334 [8,653,091 _| 148,86) i an ; 429 APPENDIX to CHRONICLE. St tg avok ayy Baunp song aSesiay D's 6 Douuees teseeseggquiadaqy ¢ [Tou Pia Rea aune 46 I ee eee ene eesnens JOQUIIDAO NT to T soe eeeneeeeeeeereeues Ae ¥¢ I seer eenee seat enee 19401909 5 T See eee eee ee eenenes oe [udy xe T severe seeeeeeee Jaquaydag S I seeders sree eeseee YOITAT c T sere eeeeees terres anSny (0) T he eeeereeereee Areniga.t c I aoe ee nee eereeeeeerereres Ane ta I See ee Arenuee Be BL Pe "quUOJ YORa ut SOZISSY INOF IY} JO 9SvAgAv OY} Suryzey ‘O[ST wvax ay} A0J ‘NOGNOT Url pwaiq JO azIssY 94} 0) Surpsod9v JVO'T NUALUVND 2) Jo eB11G plea] 9 19|6 14/6 IZ] 096 0919 6g10 69/6 89 Pysng) 0. OZ} O 06; 0 OZ) O 04 O O06; 0. 06) 0 O06 0 06 | yugita pts pelto Lti9 e6Flts stor Lt] 6 LTS Lb & LVS: O14 8 a9 ter l Oo LA. 89 9 SGr see 5 ee 0-90 9:99 | 50-8 485-0 £971.90. -9°\" Se 9 Sa21/0 9/8 £10 S/F S|\¥ Glo 91% 919 9 D S & 77) oy °p *S We *s ‘p *9 Dp °*S ‘p *9 "p "9 ‘p "5 S3 é soaq | “AON 499 .| "3dag | “Suny | Ang aung | Avy 9 §8S'0 19) 0.9) 0. 9". s[keoD 0 02) 0 02/0 O02) O O6\""***’ 48S fp OS] 11 SS\s6 GgIFS GF*** aeBNg 8 9 0 4/0 810. L)°°°""xI0g P D9 SORES 9t-On 9 |> DORR 0 9% “97-9 . 9 | HG [o**se* Joo ‘P ci ‘Pp me "P °s ‘?P += tady | your} “qed | “wer ‘aaasnjout “OT QL “aquasagy 0} havnune wos7 ‘NOGNOT NI ‘STVOO GNV ‘LIVS ‘AVONS ‘LVAW JO SAOUd AHL AO ATAVL SL EE ee Nene a ee ee [450] STATE (PAPFERS, I. BRITISH. 1 His Majesty’s Speeches at the opening and concluding the Ses- ston of Parliament. At the opening of Parliament, Jan, 23, 1810. Y Lords and Gentlemen,— His majesty commands us to express to you his deep regret that the exertions of the Emperor of Austria against the ambition and violenceof France have proved unavailing, and that his imperial majesty has been compelled to abandon the contest, and to con- clude a disadvantageous peace, Although the war was undertaken by that monarch without en- couragement on the part of his majesty, every effort was made for the assistance of Austria which his majesty deemed consistent with the due support of his allies, and with the welfare and interest of his own dominions.—An attack upon the naval armaments and establishments in the Scheldt, afforded at once the prospect of destroying a growing force, which was daily becoming more formida- ble to the security of this country, and of diverting the exertions of France from the important objects of reinforcing her armies on the Danube, and of controlling the spirit of resistance in the north of Germany. These considerations determined his majesty to employ his forces ih an expedition to the Scheldt.— Although the principal ends of this expedition have not been attained, his majesty con- fidently hopes that advantages, materially affecting the security of his majesty’s dominions in the further prosecution of the war, will be found to result from the demolition of the docks and atse- nals at Flushing. This important object his majesty was enabled to accomplish, in consequence of the reduction of the island of Wal- cheren, by the valour of his fleets and armies.—His majesty has given directions that such docu- ments and papers should be laid before you as he trusts will afford satisfactory information upon the subject of this expedition.— We have it in command to state to you that his majesty had uniform! notified to Sweden his majesty’s decided wish, that in determining upon the question of peace or war with France, and other continental powers, she should be guided by considerations resulting from her STATE PAPERS. own situation and interests. While his majesty therefore laments that Sweden should have found it ne- ceéssary to purchase peace by con- siderable sacrifices, his majesty cannot complain that she has con- cluded it without his majesty’s par- ticipation. It is his majesty’s ear- nest wish that no event may occur to occasion the interruption of those relations of amity which it is the desire of his majesty, and the interest of both countries to presetve.—We have it further in command to communicate to you; that the efforts of his majesty for the protection of Portugal have been powerfully aided by the coti- fidence which the prince-regent has reposéd in his majesty, and by the co-operation of the local government, and of the people of that country. The expulsion of the French from Portugal, by his majesty’s forces under lieutenant- general lord viscount Wellington, and the glorious victory obtained by him at Talavera, contributed tocheck the progress of theFrench arms in the peninsula during the late campaigih.—His majesty di- rects us to state that the Spanish government, in the name aid by the authority of king Ferdinand the seventh, lias determined to assemble the general and extra- ordinary Cortes of the nation : his majesty trusts that this measure will give fresh animation and vi- géur to the councils and the arms of Spain, and successfully direct the energies and spirit of the Spa- nish people to the maintenance of their legitimate monarchy, and to the ultimate deliverance of their eoutry.—The most important _ edhsiderations of policy and good faith require, that as long as this 431 great cause can be maintained with a prospect of success, it should be supported, accordifig to the nature and circumstances of the contest, by the strenuous and continued as- sistance of the power and resources of his majesty’s dominions; and his majesty relies on the aid of his parliament in his anxious endea- vours to frustrate the attempts of Franceagainsttheindependenceof Spain and Portugal, and against the happiness and freedom of those loyal and resolute nations.—His majesty commands us to acquaint you, that tle intercourse between his majesty’s minister in America and the government of the United States has been suddenly and un- expectedly interrupted. His ma- jesty sincerely regrets this event : he has, however, received the strongest assurances from the Ameticab minister resident at this court, that the United States are desirous of maintaining friendly relation between the two coun- tries. This desire will be met by a corresponding disposition on the part of his majesty. | Gentlemen of the House of Commons,—His majesty has di- rected us to inform you, that he has ordered the estimates for the current year to be laid before you : his majesty has directed them to. be formed with all the attention to economy which the support of his allies and the security of his dominions will permit. And his majesty relies upon your zeal and loyalty to afford him such supplies as may be necessary for those es- sential objects. —He commands us to express how deeply he regrets the pressure upon his subjects, which the protracted continuance of the war renders inevitable. 432 My Lords and Gentlemen,— We are commanded by his majesty to express his hopes that you will resume the consideration of the state of the inferior clergy, and adopt such further measures upon this interesting subject as may appear to you to be proper.— We have it further in command to state to you that the accounts which will be laid before you of the trade and revenue of the country will be found highly satisfactory.—What- ever temporary and partial incon- venience may have resulted from the measures which were directed by France against those great sources of our prosperity and strength, those measures have wholly failed of producing any per- manent or general effect.—The in- veterate hostility ofour enemy con- tinues to be directed against this country with unabated animosity and violence. Toguardthe security of his majesty’s dominions, and to defeat the designs which are medi- tated against us and our allies, will require the utmost efforts of vigi- lance, fortitude, and perseverance. In every difficulty and danger, his majesty confidently trusts that he shall derive the most effectual sup- port, under the continued blessing of divine Providence, from thewis- dom of his parliament, the valour of his forces, and the spirit and determination of his people. His Majesty's Speech at the con- clusion of the Session. My Lordsand Gentlemen,—His majesty has commanded us to ac- quaint you, that, as the public bu- siness Is now concluded, he thinks it proper to put an end to the pre- sent session of parliament. ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. We are commanded by his ma- jesty to express the satisfaction he derived from the reduction of the island of Guadaloupe by his majes- ty’s arms; an event which for the first time in the history of the wars of Great Britain, has wrested from France all her possessions in that quarter of the world; and which, together with the subsequent cap~ ture of the only colonies in the West Indies which remained in the possession of the Dutch, has de- prived his majesty’s enemies of every port in those seas from which the interests of his majesty, or the commerce of his subjects, can be molested. Gentlemen of the House of Com- mons,—His majesty has command- ed us to thank you for the liberal and ample supplies which you have granted for the services of the present year. His majesty deeply regrets the necessary extent of the demands which those services have created; but we are commanded to express to youthe consolation which he has derived from observing that the re- sources of thecountry, manifesting themselves by every mark of pros- perity, by a revenue increasing in almost all its branches, and by a commerce extending itself in new channels, and withan increased vi- gour in proportion as the enemy has in vain attempted to destroy it, have enabled you to provide forthe expenses of the year without im- posing the burthen of any new tax- ation on Great Britain; and that, while the taxes which have been necessarily resorted to for Ireland, have been imposed upon articles which will not interfere with the growing prosperityof thatcountry, you have found it consistent with a STATE PAPERS. due regard to its finances to dimi- nish some of those burdens, and relax some of those regulations of revenue, which had been felt the most inconvenient in that part of the united kingdom. His majesty further commands ‘us to return you his thanks for the provision which you have enabled him to make for the establishment of his serene highness the duke of Brunswick. My Lords and Gentlemen,— His majesty has directed us to acquaint you, that Portugal, res- cued from the oppression of the enemy, by the powerful assistance of his majesty’s arms, has exerted herself with vigour and energy in making every preparation for re- pelling, with the continued aid of his majesty’s forces, any renewed attack on the part of the enemy ; _ and that in Spain, notwithstanding the reverses which have been ex- perienced, the spirit of resistance ainst France still continues un- subdued and unabated: and his majesty commands us to assure you of his firm and unaltered con- viction, that not only the honour of his throne, but the best interests of his dominions, require his most strenuous and persevering assistance to the glorious efforts of those loyal nations. His majesty has commanded us to recommend to you, upon your return to your respective counties, touseyourbestexertionstopromote that spirit of order, and obedience tothe laws, and that general con- cord amongst all classes of his ma~ jesty’s subjects, which can alone give full effect to his majesty’s pa- ternal care for the welfare and hap- piness of his people. His ma- jesty has the fullest reliance upon Vou. LIL. 433 the affections of hissubjects, whose loyalty and attachment have hi- therto supported him through that long and eventful period during which it has pleased Divine Provi- dence to commit the interests of thesedominions to his charge. His majesty feels that the preservation of domestic peace and tranquillity, under the protection of the law, and obedience to its authority, is amongst the most important duties he owes to his people. His majesty commands us to as- sure you, that he will not be want- ing in the discharge of that duty ; and his majesty will always rely with confidence on the continued support of his loyal subjects, to enable him to resist with success the designs of foreign enemies, und to transmit unimpaired to posterity the blessings of the Bri- tish constitution. II, Earl of Chatham’s Memorial and Sir Richard Strachan’s Re- ply on the Expedition to the Scheldt. (Extracts.) 1. Earl of Chatham’s Memorial : dated October 15, 1809. Pre- sented to his Majesty, February 14, 1810. In submitting to your majesty a statement of my proceedings inthe execution of the service your ma- jesty was graciously pleased to con- fide to me, and of the events which occurred in the course of it, it is not my intention to trouble your majesty with any further details of the earlier parts of our operations, but to bring under your majesty’s view the consideration of the two following points, as most immedi- asi applying to the conduct and 2 434 final result of the expedition to the Scheldt. Ist. The ground upon which, after the army wasat length assembled near Batz, a landing in prosecution of the ulterior objects of the expedition was not deemed advisable: 2ndly. Why that army was not sooner there assembled, in readiness to commence further ope- rations. —With respect to the for- mer position I am inclined to think that it is so clear and evident, that no further operations could at that time, and in the then sickly state of the army, have been undertaken with any prospect of success ; that it would be unnecessarily trespas- sing on your majesty to enter into much more detail on this point than has been already brought be- fore vour majesty, in my dispatch of the 29th of August ; and the chief object of this paper will be directed to show to your majesty, that the second point,namely, Why the army was not brought up sooner to the destination from whence its ulterior objects were to commence, is purely a naval consideration, and that the delay did in no shape rest with me, or depend upon any arrangements in which the army was concerned; every facility, on the contrary, having been afforded by their movements to the speedy progress of the ar- mament.—In the first place, it is to be remarked, that the occupation of Walcheren, which by some per- sons it had been thought possible to leave behind us, and the reduc- tion of Flushing, which it had once been proposed only to mask, were deemed indispensable to the secu- rity of the fleet, in case of disas- ter ; and accordingly a consider- able separate force was allotted to this service ; and, in this view, ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. it was besides distinctly agreed upon, that a vigorous attack by the navy upon the sea front should be made at the same time that the troops, after effecting their land- ing, advanced.to invest Flushing ; it being hoped that by a powerful co-operation from the sea, at the moment thetroopspresented them- selves before the place, the labour and delay of a regular siege might have been avoided, and-a consi- derable proportion of the force al- lotted to this service set at liberty to follow the army up the Scheldt. How far this expectation was ful- filled, or whether the assurance given that the whole of the arma- ment (the part to be landed at Walcheren excepted) should be at once transported up the Scheldt, in prosecution of the ultimate ob- jectsof the expedition, was carried into effect, or was wholly disap pointed, the information already before your. majesty will have in a great measure shown, and which it will be my duty to bring more particularly to your majesty’s view, when I detail the :subsequent course of our proceedings.—From what cause this failure ensued, whether it arose from insufficient arrangements on the part of the admiral, or was the unavoidable result of difficulties inherent in the nature of the expedition itself, it is not for me, considering it en- tirely as a naval question, to pre- sume to offer any opinion upon to your majesty.—Before, however, I pursue further the details of the proceedings of the army, govern- ed as they necessarily were (until a footing should be gained on the continent) by the movements of the navy, | must for a moment re- fer to two separate operations; STATE PAPERS. the one under lieutenant-general lord Huntley and commodore Owen, and the other under lieu- tenant-general sir John Hope and rear-admiral sir Richard Keats ; but both directed to assist and en=- sure a rapid progress up the Scheldt, had the admiral found it practicable in otherrespects. With respect to the former, which was destined to destroy the Cadsand batteries, and particularly that of Breskens, had it been carried at once into effect, and that the ad- miral could have availed himself of it, to take the ships up the West Scheldt by the Weeling pas- sage, it would have been of the utmost advantage : but it was cer- tainly rather fortunate it did not take place at a later period, as afterall the transports, store-ships, &c. were ordered into the Veere Gat, and the plan of running at once up the West Scheidt by the Weeling Channel seemed aban- doned, the object of destroying the Cadsand batteries ceased, and a landing there would only have been an unnecessary risk, and the very inconvenient separation of our force, and, of course, occasion great delay in collecting it for ul- terior operations. It must not, however, be forgotten, that the difficulties here turned out to be much greater than had been at all foreseen before we sailed.— When it was found that lord Huntley’s division could neither land nor proceed by the Weeling passage up the Scheldt, as I had intended they should, it was determined to withdraw them; but from the boisterous state of the weather, it was some days before this could be effected. As soon as it was ac~ complished, they were passed 435 over to South Beveland.—With respect to sir John Hope’s opera~ tion, it was more prosperous. It was conceived that, by landing on the north side of South Beve- land, the island mightbe possessed, and all the batteries taken in re- verse, and thereby the position of the French fleet, if they ventured to remain near Flushing, would be, as if it were, turned, and their retreat rendered more difficult, while the attack on them by our ships would have been much fa- cilitated ; and for this object the division of sir John Hope rather preceded, in sailing from the Downs, the rest of the fleet. This division was landed near Ter-Goes, from whence they swept all the batteries in the island that could impede the progress of our ships up the West Scheldt, and possess- ed themselves, on the 2nd of Au- gust, of the important post of Batz, to which it had been pro- mised the armyshould at oncehave been brought up.—Sir John Hope remained in possession of this post, though not without being twice at- tacked by the enemy’s flotilla, for nine days before any of the gun- boats under captain sir Home Pop- ham were moved up the Scheldt to his support.— Your majesty will be pleased to recollect, that the troops which sailed from Ports- mouth, under lieutenant-general sir Eyre Coote, were destined for the service of Walcheren, and had been considered as sufficient for that object, according to the intel- ligence received, andthe supposed strength of the enemy; though at the same time certainly relying for the first efforts against Flushing on the promised co-operation of the navy, and ontheir establishing, 2F2 436 as was held out in the first instance, a naval blockade, except on the side of Veer and Rammekins. Un- fortunately, however, this did not take place; and for several nights after the army was before Flushing, the enemy succeeded in throwing from the opposite coast, probably from the canal of Ghent, consider- able reinforcements into the place, which enabled him constantly to annoy our out-posts and working parties, and finally to attempt a sallyin force, though happily, from the valour of yourmajesty’s troops, without success. I have already stated that Rammekins surrender- ed on the evening of the 3rd of August. Immediately upon this event, feeling, as I did, great un- easiness at the delay which had al- ready taken place, and the depar- ture from the original plan, I wrote aletter to the admiral, then at Ter Veer, expressing my hope that the ships would now be able to enter the West Scheldt by the Sloe passage, and that no time should be lost in pressing forward as speedily as possible our further operations ; and I requested at the same time that he would commu- nicate to me the extent of naval co-operation he could afford, as well for the future blockade of Flushing, as with a view to pro- tecting the coast of South Beve- land, and watching the passages from the Meuseto theEast Scheldt, as this consideration would govern very much the extent of force I must leave in South Beveland, when the army advanced. To this letter he did not reply fully till the 8th of August ; but Thad a note from him on the 5th, assur- ing me the transports should be brought forward without delay ; and IJ had also a very long eonver- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. sation with him on the morning of the Gth, on the arrangements to be taken for our further opera- tions; when I urged, in the strong- est manner, the necessity of not tosing a moment in bringing up the cavalry and ordnance ships, transports, store ships, victuallers, &c. in order that the armament might proceed without delay to its destination; and I added my hopes, that they would receive the protection of the ships of war, none of which had yet entered the West Scheldt. The frigates, how- ever, did not pass Flushing till the evening of the 11th, and the line of battle ships only passed to the anchorage above Flushing on the 14th, the second day of the bombardment. These ships be- gan to proceed up the-river on the 18th, and arrived on the 19th; one division as high as the bay below Waerden, the other off the Hanswent, where they remained : the Courageux passed above Batz; the cavalry ships only got through the Sloe passage into the West Scheldt from the 20th to the 23rd, and arrived off Batz on the 22nd and 24th ; the ordnance ships and store ships passed through from the 22nd to the 23rd, and arrived at their destination off Batz on the 24th and 25th; the transports for lieutenant-general Grosvenor’s division only came up to receive them on the 19th, on which day they embarked; and those for major-general Graham’s division, on the 20th and 2ist ; and they arrived off Batz on the 24th. The corps of brigadier-general Rottenburgh, and the light bat- talions of the German legion, pro- ceeded to join the earl of Ross- ‘lyn’s division in South Beveland. From this statement your majesty STATE PAPERS. will see, that notwithstanding every effort on my part with the admiral, the armament was not assembled at the point of its des- tination till the twenty-fifth, and of course that the means of com- mencing operations sooner against Antwerp were never in my power. It now became at this advanced period my duty to consider very seriously the expediency of landing the army on the continent. On comparing all the intelligence ob- tained as to the strength of the enemy, it appeared to be such as to leave (as stated in my dispatch of the twenty-ninth of August) no reasonable prospect of success to the force under my command, after accomplishing the preliminary operations of reducing Fort Lillo as wellas Liefkenshoek, on the op- posite side of Antwerp, without the possession of which the destruction of the ships and arsenals of the enemy could not be effected, and in addition to this, the sickness which had begun to attack the army about the twentieth, and which was hourly inereasing to an alarming extent, created the most serious apprehensions in the minds of the medical men, as to its fur- ther progress, at that unhealthy season, and which fatal experience has since shown to have been too well founded. Your majesty will not be surprized if, under these circumstances, I paused in requir- ing the admiral to put the army on shore. That a landing might have been made, and that any force which had been opposed to us in ‘the field would have yielded to the superior valour of British troops, Ihave no doubt: but then, any such success couldhave beenof no avail towards the attainment of the ultimate object; and there was still 437 less chance that the enemy would have given us the opportunity. Secure in his fortress, he hada surer game to play ; for if ever the army, divided as it must necessa- rily have been in order to occupy both banks of the river, exposed totheeffect of inundation on every side, and with all its communica- tions liable to be cut off, while the force of the enemy was,daily and hourly increasing, had once sat down before Antwerp, it 1s unne- cessary for meto point out to your majesty how critical must In a short time have been their situa- tion. But when, added to this, sickness to an alarming extent had begun to spread itself among the troops, and the certain and fatal progress of which, at that season, was but too well ascertained, it appeared to me that all further advance could only tend to com- mit irretrievably the safety of the army which your majesty had con- fided to me, and which every principle of military duty, as well as the direct tenour of my instruc- tions, alike forbade. 2. Sir Richard Strachan’s reply to Earl Chatham’s statement, Contains many pointed observa- tions, general charges of inaccu- racy, and a refutation of the insi- nuations both against the gallant admiral and the navy, contained in hislordship’sstatement. After the first point to which his Majesty’s attention was called, namely, ‘that after the army was assembled near Batz, a landing in prosecution of the ulterior objects of the expedi- tion was not deemed adviseable,” Sir Richard declines making any remark, because the reasons which 438 are said to have rendered it ‘ so clear and evident,’ were not such as he was competent to appreciate. Upon the second point, Why the army was not sooner assembled at Batz, to recommence further ope- rations, the gallant admiral enters into a long, and we think satisfac- tory explanation. He says that the original determination of landing in Zoutland Bay was laid aside while at Deal, and another plan for landing on Domburgh Beach adopted ; but in consequence of a strong westerly wind, the landing there was impossible, and it be- came necessary to take shelter in the Roompot and Veergat, where the constant succession of gales for many days made it impossible, independently of other obstacles, to recur to the original intention of entering the western mouth of the Scheldt. The disembarkation was ultimately effected. Sir Richard then proceeds: ** When, therefore, Lord Chatham con- tends in his statement, that the second point, namely, ‘why the army was not brought up sooner to the destination from whence all its operations were to commence, is purely a naval consideration,’ his position is certainly true in words, but as certainly incorrect in its implied meaning. It is ob- vious that the army might have marched to Batz in the course of a few days; but it is also obvious that it could not be conveyed on board a fleet of 400 transports, be- sides frigates, sloops, and flotilla, through a very intricate channel, withoutsomedelay. The difficulty of conducting such a fleet at all through the mazes of such a na- vigation, can only be appreciated by professional men; it was very greatly increased by an adverse ANNUAL REGISTER,’ 1810. -wind blowing for some time with such violence as to render the expedient of warping (the only means of proceeding) totally im- practicable ; such obstacles to our progress were only to be overcome by great exertions and persever- ance, by a considerable, but not, as I trust, an unnecessary expen-~ diture of labour and time.” The gallant admiral totally denies the assertion that an agreement was entered into for a simultaneous attack by sea and Jand upon Flush- ing, for the purpose of avoiding the delay of aregular siege: it was impossible, he says, for such an agreement to have been made; as under the well-ascertained cir- cumstances of the garrison, it was too desperate an enterprize to be entertained. He thinks, however that if the plan he had suggested had been adopted, namely, to land the cavalry on South Beveland, and select a limited number of trans- ports—that a delay of only a few days would have resulted from the adverse accident which gave a dif- ferent course to the direction of our operations. The first part of the flotilla which got through the Slough were applied to the cut- ting off the communication be- tween Cadsand and Flushing. It was not until the 7th of August that the sea blockade of Flushing could be established, owing to the adverse winds; and all the other parts of the naval service were ex- pedited as soon as the various dif- ficulties could be overcome. Sir Richard then concludes: ‘* From this period I considered myself bound implicitly to accede to the wishes of the commander-in-chief. With himalone wasthere an option between a march of thirty-six hours and a voyage of indefinite Si A‘T‘E'-P A P-E- RS. length. I trust that it was owing to no defect of zeal on my part, and I am sure it was owing to no want of exertion on the part of the many excellent naval officers whom I have the honour to com- mand, that the progress of a fleet which it was necessary to warp, or,'in less technical language, to haul, by human labour, through the windings of a most intricate channel, and often directly in the teeth of the wind, appeared so tardy; that lord Chatham ‘saw no movement making to push for ward a single vessel tothe West Scheldt.? The exertions of the naval officers and men were not rendered less irksome by the per- suasion that the labour which, though incessant, often proved un- availing, might have been spared to them at the expence of a short march across the island of South Beveland. To impute to me or to thenavy, under the name of delay, the loss of time which was passed by me in constant solicitude, and by the men in unremitting toil, is not what I should have expected from Jord Chatham. It would have been more agreeable to my- self to have offered to their lord- ships a simple journal of the daily transactions of the fleet, as that course would have aiforded me that of paying a just tribute of gra- titude to the numerous, able, and zealous officers, by whom I was aided in the different branches of the service under my directions, and who may possibly consider themselves as unjustly subject, to- gether with myself, to some impu- tation from the marked, and per- -haps, invidious accuracy, with which the particular days of arrival 439 of different divisions are specified in Lord Chatham’s statement. But Tam convinced that it was not the intention of his lordship, ia collec- ting such a multitude of dates, to attribute any blame to those offi- cers. He has closed his report by pointing me out as the only object of hisanimadversions. He leaves me to account for the difficulties which prevented the investment of Flushing, as well as to show the obstacles which presented them- selves to the early progress of the armament up the West Scheldt. He was not aware, it seems, that the first point was renderedimpos- sible by the state of the winds ; he was not even aware that the circumstances of his being blown into the East Scheldt, had im- peded his progress up the West Scheldt. Concerning lord Chat- ham’s opinions, I have now ceased to be solicitous: but I am, and ever shall be sincerely anxious, that your lordships should not see cause to regret the confidence with which you have been pleased to honour me upon this.occasion.” III. Report from the Select Com- mittee of the House of Commons on the proceedings concerning Sir Francis Burdett’s arrest.* It appears to your committee after referring to the order of the house on the fifth day of April jJast, for the commitment of sir Francis Burdett to the Tower; the warrants of the Speaker for that purpose ; the letter of sir Francis Burdett to the Speaker, dated the seventeenth day of April last; the report and examination of the ser- * For other particulars connected with this affair, vide supra JunispRuDENCE, _ 8, Liberty of the Subject, p. 344, 440 jeant-at-arms, touching his pro- ceedings in the execution of such warrants;the notices of the Speaker referred to your committee; the demand made upon the serjeant- at-arms of a copy of the warrant under which he arrested sir Fran- cis Burdett; the writ served upon the serjeant, and the summons served upon the Speaker, and the notice of declaration filed against the serjeant ; which said notices, demand, writ, and summons, are all at the suit or on behalf of the said sir Francis Burdett, and all bear the name of the same solici- tor, John Ellis: —That the said proceedings have been brought against the Speaker and the Ser- jeant on account of what was done by them respectively in obedience to the order of the House; and for the purpose of bringing into question, before acourt of law, the legality of the proceedings of the House in ordering the commit- ment of sir Francis Burdett, and of the conduct of the Speaker and the serjeant, in obedience to that order. I. Your committee, not in con- sequence of any doubt upon the question so intended to be raised, but for the purpose of collecting into one view such precedents of the proceedings of the House, upon cases of breach of privilege, as might afford light upon this im- portant subject, have, in the first place, examined the journals, with relation to the practice of the House in commitment of persons, whether members or others, for breaches of privilege, by offensive words or writings derogatory to the honour and character of the House, or of any of its members ; and they have found numerous instances, in the history of parlia- ment, so far as the journals ex- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. tend, of the frequent, uniform, and uninterrupted practice of the House of Commons to commit to different custodies, persons whom they have adjudged guilty of a breach of their privileges by so offending. The statement of these prece- dents, which establish the law of parliament upon this point by the usage of parliament ; the utility of such law ; and the necessity which exists for its continuance, in order to maintain the dignity and in- dependence of the House of Com- mons ; its analogy tothe acknow- ledged powers of courts of justice, and the recognition of such rights in various instances, by legal au- thorities, by judicial decisions, and by the other branch of the legis lature; as well as the invariable assertion and maintenance of it by the House of Commons, are topics which may be reserved for a further report, And although there are some instances in which the House has thought fit to direct prosecutions for such offences, yet the committee confidently state, that the more frequent practice of the House, at all times, has been to vindicate its own privileges by its own authority. IJ. The subject which appearsto your committee to press most ur- gently for an immediate report, is the state of the law and the practice of the House in cases either of criminal prosecution or civil action against any of itsmem- bers, for any thing spoken or done in the House of Commons ; or for any proceeding against any of its officers, or any other persons act- ing under its authority. The principal instances to be found under this head arose out of thoseproceedings which, inthetime | of Charles the First, Charles the , STATE PAPERS. Second, and James the Second, were instituted by the officers of the crown, in derogation of the rights and privileges of the Commons of England. -Those proceedings were resisted and resented by the House _ of Commons; were condemned by the whole legislature, as utterlyand directly contrary to the knownlaws and statutes, and freedom of this realm; and led directly to the de- elaration of thebill ofrights, «« That the freedom of speech, anddebates or proceedings in parliament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of parlia- ment;” and your committee have no hesitation in stating, that this ar- ticle in the bill of rights extends as clearly to actions of indictments brought, or prosecutions by indivi- duals, as to informations or other proceedings directly instituted by the authority of the crown. The law of parliament on this subject, so far as relates to words spoken in parliament, was legisla- tively declared in a statute to be found in the parliament roll of the fourthof Henry VIII. By thatact, the rights and privileges of free speech in parliament are establish- ed, and a special action is given in favour of the party injured by any action brought against him for words spoken in parliament. And from this statute it appears that parliament, at that time, when the case occurred, which’ seemed to _ show the expediency of legislative provision to give fuller force and protection to its privileges, made it the subject of such provisions. In the fifth of Charles J. an in- formation was filed against sir J. Elliot, Denzel Holles, esq. and Benjamin Valentine, for their 44] speeches and conduct inthe House of Commons ; judgment was given against them in the King’s-bench ; they were sentenced to imprison- ment, and were fined. In the par- liament which met in 1640, the House of Commons, after a report made in the state of the cases of Mr. Holles, andthe rest of the imprisoned members in the third of Charles, came to several re- mi by which they resolved, at these proceedingswere against the law and privilege of parlia- ment; and condemned the authors and actors in them as persons guilty of a breach of the privilege of parliament. In the reign of Charles II. these proceedings were again taken into consideration, and the House of Commons came to several resolu- tions. On thetwelfth of November, 1667, they resolved, That the act of parliament in the fourth year of the reign of Henry VIII. above re- ferred to, is a declaratory law of the ancient and necessary rights and privileges of parliament. On the 23rd of November, 1667, they resolved, That the judgment above referred to against sir J. Elliot, D. Holles, and B. Valentine, esqrs. in the King’s-bench, was an illegal judgment, and on the 7th of December, 1667, they desired the concurrence of the Lords. The lords, on the twelfth of De- cember, agreed with the Com- mons in these votes. Your committeenext refer tothe case of sir William Williams ; the detail of which they proceed to in- sert from the report of a former committee of this House. “ The case of sir William Wil- liams, against whom, after the dis- 442 solution of the parliament held at Oxford, an information was broughtbythe attorney-general, in the King’s-bench, in Trin. term, 36 Car. Il. for a misdemeanour, for having printed the information against ThomasDangerfield, which he had ordered to be printed when he was Speaker, by order of the Honse. Judgment passed against him on this information, in the se- cond yearofkingJamestheSecond. This proceeding the convention parliament deemed’ so great a grievance and so high an infringe- ment of the rights of parliament, that it appears to your committee to be the principal if not the sole object of the first part of theeighth head of the means used by kin James to subvert the laws and lib- erties of this kingdom, as set forth in the declaration of the two Houses; which will appear evident ‘from the account given in the Journal, 8th of February, 1688, of theforming of that declaration, the eighth head of which was at first conceived in thesewords: videlicet, ‘ By causing informations to be brought and prosecuted in the Court of King’s-bench, for mat- ters and causes cognizable only in parliament, and by divers other ille- gal and arbitrary courses.’ ”” 11th of February, 1688.—** To this article the lords disagreed ; and gave for a reason, because they do not fully apprehend what is meant by it, nor what instances there have been of it; which therefore they desire may be explained, if the House should think fit to insist further on it.” 12th of February, 1688.—“The House disagree with the lords in © their amendment of leaving out the ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. eighth article. But in respect to the liberty given by the lords in . explaining that matter, Resolved, ‘ That the words do stand in this manner ; By prosecutions in the Court of King’s-bench for matters and causes cognizable only in par- liament, and by divers other arbi- trary and illegal courses.’ By which amendment your committee observes, that the House adapted the article more correctly to the case they had in view ; for the in- formation was filed in king Charles the Second’s time ; but the prose- cution was carried on, and judg- ment obtained, in the second year of king James.” «That the meaning of the House shouldbe made more evident to the lords, the House ordered, ‘ That sir William Williams be added to the managers of the conference;’ and sir William Williams the same day reports the conference with the lords; and, ‘ That their lordships had adopted the article in the words as amended by the Com- mons.’ And corresponding to this article of grievance isthe assertion of the right of the subject, in the ninth article of the declaratorypart of the bill of rights; viz. That the freedom of debates or proceedings in parliament might not be im- peached or questioned in any court or place out of parliament.” *¢To which may be added, the latter part of the sixth resolution of the exception to be made in the bill of indemnity, Journal vol. x. page 146, wherein after reciting the surrender of charters, and the violating of rights and freedoms of elections, &c. it proceeds in these words: ‘ And the questioning the proceedings of parliament out of STATE PAPERS. parliament, by declarations, infor- mations, or otherwise, are crimes for which some persons may be justly excepted out of the bill of indemnity.’ ”” On the 11th of June, 1689, the House ordered, ‘That the re- cords of the Court of King’s bench, relating to the proceedings against William Williams, esq. now sir William Williams, knt. and bart. late Speaker of this House, be brought into this House, by the custos brevium of the said court, on Thursday morning next.” On the 12th of July « The re- cord was read; and the House thereuponresolved, Thatthe judg- ment given in the Court of King’s- bench, in Easter term 2 Jac. 2di, against William Williams, esq. Speaker of the House of Com- mons in the parliament held at Westminster the 25th of October, thirty-second Car. 2di, for matter done by order of the House of Commons, and as Speaker there- of, is an illegal judgment, and against the freedom of parlia- ment.” “Resolved, That a bill be brought in to reverse the said judgment.” « This bill was twice read, but went no further in that session.” A similar bill was in the following session ordered to be brought in; and a third bill passed the Com- mons in 1695, and was sent up to _the House of Lords, but did not proceed there to a second reading. It appears further, that on the 4th of June, 1689, “‘ A petition of John Topham, esq. was read, set- ting forth, that he, being a ser- jeant-at-arms, and attending the House in the years 1679 and 1680, when several orders were made, 443 and directed to the petitioner, for the taking into his custody the se~ veral persons of sir Charles Neale, &c. and others, for several misde- meanours by them committed, in breach of the privilege of the House; and after that the Com- mons were dissolved, the said per- sons being resolved to ruin the pe- titioner, did in- Hilary term, the thirty-third or thirty-fourth of king Charles, sue the petitioner in the King’s-bench in several actions of trespass, battery and false im- prisonment, for taking and detain- ing them as aforesaid: to which ac- tions the petitioner pleaded to.the jurisdiction of the court the said several orders ; but such his plea was over-ruled; the then judges ruling the petitioner to plead in chief, and thereupon he pleaded the orders in bar to the actions: notwithstanding which plea and orders, the then judges gave judg- ment against him, &c.” ‘«‘ Upon the report from the com- mittee of privileges and elections, to whom the petition of J. Top- ham was referred, the House re- solved, ** That this House doth agree with the committee, that the judgment given by the Court of King’s-bench, Easter term, thirty fourth Car. II. regis, upon the plea of John Topham, at the suit of John Jay, to the jurisdiction of that court ; and also the judgments given against the said Mr. Topham at the suit of Samuel Verdun, &c. are illegal, and a violation of the privileges of parliament, and. per- nicious to the rights of parlia- ment.” Whereupon it was order- ed, ‘ That sir Francis Pemberton, sir Thomas Jones, and sir Francis Wythens do attend this House on Wedneday morning next.” 444 “ In consequence of this order, sir Francis Pemberton and sir Tho- mas Jones, who had been two of the Judges of the Court of King’s- bench, at the time when the judg- ment was passed, were heard in their defence; and afterwards committed to the serjeant-at-arms, for their breach of privileges of this House, by giving judgment to overrule the plea to the jurisdic- tion of the court of King’s-bench.” Your committee think it proper to state, That sir Francis Pember- ton and sir Thomas Jones, in de- fending themselves at the bar of this House for their conduct in overruling the plea to their juris- diction in the actions of Jay v. Topham, &c. defended the judg- ment they had given, by resting ‘upon the nature of the pleading, and not by denying the jurisdic- tion or authority of this House; and sir Francis Pemberton ex- pressly admitted, that for any thing transacted in this House, no other court had any jurisdiction to hear and determine it. Your committee in the next place think it expedient to state to the House, that there are various instances in which persons com- mitted by the House of Commons have been brought up by habeas corpus before. the judges and courts of common law: and in these cases, upon its appearing by the return to the habeas corpus, that they were committed under the Speaker’s warrant, they have been invariably remanded. - IIL. Having stated these instances of the manner in which the acts and commitments of this House have been brought into judgment ‘in other courts, and the consequences of such proceedings, your com- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. mittee further think it proper, and in some degree connected with this subject, to advert to the course which was adopted for staying pro= ceeding in suits brought against members and their servants, while they were protectedfrom such suits during the sitting of parliament. The roll of parliament, eighth of Edward II. affords the earliest trace which your committee has found upon this subject. It is a writ from the king, confirmatory of the privilege of being free from suits in time of parliament, and is in the following words: *« Rex mandavit justiciariis suis ad assisas, jurat. &c. capiend’ as- signat: quod supersedeant cap- tioni corundum ubi comites baro- nes et alii summonati ad_parl. regis sunt partes quamdia dictem parliamentum duraverit.”? There*have been various modes of proceeding to enforce this privi- lege. In Dewe’s Journal, p. 436, thirty-first of Elizabeth, 1588— 1589, Friday, the 2ist of Febru- ary, your committee find the fol- lowing entry :—** Upon a motion made by Mr. Harris, that divers members of thisHouse having writs of nisi prius brought against them, to be tried at the assize in sundry places of this realm, to be holden and kept in the circuits of this pre- sent vacation, and that writs of su- persedeas might be awarded in those cases in respect of the privi- lege of this House due and apper- -taining tothe members ofthe same ; itisagreed, that those ofthis House which shall have occasion torequire such benefit of privilegein that be- half, may repair untoMr. Speaker, to declare unto him the state of their cases, and that he, upon his discretion (if the cases shall so re- “STATE PAPERS. guire) may direct the warrant of this House to the lord Chancellor of England, for the awarding of such writs of supersedeas ac~ cordingly.” But the House used to stay also proceedings by its own authority ; sometimes sending the serjeant-at- arms to deliver the person arrested out of custody ; and sometimes by letter from the Speaker to the judges before whom the cause was to be tried. Of this latter mode of proceeding, your committee find many instances previous to the third of Charles I. Your committee find a decision against the authority of such a letter in the Court of King’s-bench, which is reported in the margin of Dyer’s Reports, p. 60, and in Latch pp. 48, and 150. And shortly after the refusal bythe Court of King’s- bench to notice this letter from the Speaker, the parliament was dissolved. ‘There are, however, manyother instances of this course of proceeding after the Restora- tion ; and in the instance of lord Newburgh (23rd of February, 1669) the House ordered the pro- ceedings to outlawry to be staid during the sessions, and the record of the exigents to be vacated and taken off the file. The last instance which your ~ committee find of such letters having been written, occurs in the lord Bulkeley’s case in 1691, in which the Speaker is directed to write a letter to the prothonotary that he do not make out, and to the sheriff of the county of Pem- broke that he do not execute, any writ whereby the lord Bulkeley’s ossessions may be disturbed, until r. Speaker shall have examined and reported the matter to the House; and this House take fur- 445 ther order thereon. By the twelfth and thirteenth of William ILI. e. 3, this privilege was curtailed ; and further by statutes two and three of Anne, c. 18—eleventh of Geo. II. c. 24—tenth of Geo. III. c. 50. Lord Chief Justice de Greysays, in Crosby’s case, ‘‘ If a member wasarrested before the twelfth and thirteeenth of W. III. the method in Westminster-hall was, to dis- charge him by writ of privilege, under the great seal, which was in the nature of a supersedeas to the proceeding. The statute of William has now altered this, and there is no necessity to plead the privileges of a member of parlia- ment.” All these acts merely applyto proceedings against mem- bers in respect of their debts and action as individuals, and {not in respect of their conduct as members of parliament; and therefore they do not in any way abridge the ancient law and privi- lege of parliament, so far as they respect the freedom and conduct of members of parliament as such, or the protection which the House may give to persons acting under its authority. IV. Upon the whole it appears to your committee, that the bring- ing these actions against the Speaker and the Serjeant for acts - done in obedience to the orders of ‘this House, is a breach of the privilege of this House. And it appears, that in the several instances of actions com- menced in breach of the privileges - of this House, the House has pro- ceeded by commitment not only against the party but against the solicitor and other persons con- cerned in bringing such actions ; but your committee think it right to observe, that the commitment 446 of such party, solicitor, or other persons would notnecessarily stop the proceedings in such action. That as the particular ground of action does not necessarily ap- pear upon the writ or upon the declaration, the court, before which such action is brought, cannot stay the suit, or give judg- ment against the plaintiff, till it is informed, by due course of legal proceeding, that such action is brought for a thing done by order of the House. _ And it therefore appears to your committee, That even though the House should think fit to commit the solicitor or other person con- cerned in commencing these ac- tions, yet it will still be expedient that the House should give leave to the Speaker and the Serjeant to appear to the actions, and to plead to the same for the purpose of bringing under the knowledge of the court the authority under which theyacted: and if the House should agree with that opinion, your committee submits to the House, whether it would not be ‘proper that directions should be given by this House for defending the Speaker and the Serjeant against the said actions. Extract of the Fifth Report of a Committee of the House of Com- mons on Public Expenditure. {Ordered by Hon. House of Commons to be printed, April 18, 1810.] Being informed that a consider- able default bad been discoveredin the office of paymaster of marines, the committee directed their first inquiries to. the nature of the regu- lations under which that depart- ment is conducted; witha view to ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. ascertain whether those regula- tions are insufficient in themselves or ill adapted to the service, or whether there has been a culpable or negligent departure from them. The paymaster, whose duty is confined to the payment of the marines while on shore, presents monthly accounts to the Admiral- ty,stating his receiptand expendi-~ ture during the last month with an estimate of the probable demands upon him for the current month, together with a statement of the balances remaining in his hands on the first and last days of the preceding month ; in consequence of which application, an order is forwarded to the Navy-Office, ac- companied by a copyof the month- ly account, directing an imprest to be issued by the treasurer of the navy, who is the general bank- er, as the Navy-Office is the gene- ral office of account, for every branch of naval service. A state- ment of the balances in the pay- master’s hands, included in the monthly account, is transmitted with the order for each imprest to the Navy-Office. This statement of the balances in these monthly accounts affords, in appearance, a secure and con- stant guard against any undue ac- cumulation of money in the hands of the paymaster; but this appear- ance isdelusive: for theseaccounts being necessarily unaccompanied with vouchers, donotadmit of any effectual check, until the delivery, at a subsequent period, of the ge- neral annual account. The conse- quence of which hasbeen,that they have unfortunately produced the effect of preventingrather than for- warding any useful examinationin~ to the rea] state of the paymaster’s balance; and seem to have pre- STATE PAPERS. cluded all suspicion, either at the Admiralty or Navy-Office, of any improper accumulation of money * in his hands. In the printed regulations and instructions relative to the royal marine forces while on shore, the seventh article directs “that the paymaster is to pass an account with the Commissioners of the ' Navy at the end of every year ; he is to deliver a general account of all money received and paid within that time.” If it was the duty of ‘the paymaster to pass, it became the duty of the commissioners of the navy to examine; and your committee cannot view without great dissatisfaction the delay which has prevailed in the delivery of the general annual accounts ; the causes of which will be noticed hereafter. The practice of the office with respect to the accounts of the pay- master of marines, appears to have been this: The monthly accounts already alluded to, which are trans- ° mitted by the Admiralty to the Navy-Office, receive no particular examination, and indeed, do not admit of being checked, as before stated, except in the articles of imprest and balances brought over from the preceding month ; but an examination of these items alone would obviously not ascer- tain the correctness of the balance remaining. The general annual account when delivered is examined with the impressed ledger on the one side, and with the accountant’s vouchers on the other, by one or more of the clerks in the office of bills and accounts; by them the balance stated by the paymaster is confirmed or corrected. A statement is then made out by the 447 person who has examined the ac- count, of the disbursements only, detailing the nature of them and of the vouchers, with observations on any irregularity in either, on the authority under which the pay- ments were made, or on any other circumstance deserving notice. The statement so made out by the examining clerkshould bechecked bythe chief clerk, and is then sub- mitted to the Committee of Ac- counts ; and it is their duty, after due consideration, to direct the sums disbursed and __ properly vouched to be allowed towards clearing such imprest as may be standing out against the account- ant. To what sum this imprest may amount, is not however brought under the notice either of the Committee of Accounts or the Board (unless especially called for) the statement itself not containing the imprest, or the balanceremain- ing: and the original annual ac- count never undergoing their re- vision. And here your committee cannot but express their surprise, that the general practice of the office should have sanctioned so ex~ traordinaryan omission in the state- ment of any account as that of the sum owing by the accountant to the public: and that, in this particu- cularinstance,the examining clerks should not have deemed it their duty to bring under the immediate notice of that committee an article ofsuch magnitude andimportance. They trust this practice has been at length effectually corrected by a minute of the Navy-board, dated the seventeenth of January, 1810. In other respects it appears to your committee, from the inspec tion of many of these statements which have been laid before them, that the disbursements in the pay- = 448 master’s account have received an attentive and accurate investiga- tion: and it further appears from a document produced by the Navy-board, that few of the ac- counts in the office of Bills and Accounts are in arrear, and none greatly so; and that the balances of none of them are so large as to excite suspicion. The Honourable George Villiers was appointed paymaster of ma- rines by the Board of Admiralty, the 1 9thof March, 1792, and re-ap- pointed as paymaster and inspec~ tor, the 9th of May, 1803 ; with par- ticular directions as to the mode in which his department was to be conducted, enjoining him to make frequent visits to the different divi- sions and stations of marines, from the want or neglect of which, great ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. abuses had prevailed. His salary was raised by that warrant to 1,000/, clear of al] deductions, with an allowance of 530/. for his clerks, 190/. for house-rent, &c. and afur- ther allowance for travelling ex- penses actually incurred. No ex- amination as to the state of his ac- counts, which remained unsettled for seven years at the period of this re-appointment, appears to have taken place, nor was the amount of his balance known or inquired into ; which is now ascer- tained to have been, at the end of 1802, 177,847/. His accounts, which had been passed with tolerable regularityand expedition in 1794 and 1795, fell into great arrear in the subsequent years, both as to the time of deli- very and the settlement of them. Mr. Villier’s Account, Balance due Dates. Received. Passed. from Mr. V. Jan. 10 to Dec. 31 1792.. '20th Sept. 1793. .|31st Dec. 1794...| £13,458 13 0 For the year...... 1793..|Not known ....|Difto .......... 59,317 15 9 meee es 1794... 28th July, 1795..|31st Dec. 1795.-| 33,540 11 6 escecese 1795.. (26th April, 1797../9th Dec. 1802..| 26,142 1 53 — 00-2 1796../Not known ..../4th Noy. 1805.. 65,150 8 6 GA OEE, 1797..\7th July, 1805../6th July, 1806..] 74,124 18 4 —. ve» 1798..{Not known ..../6th Dec. 1806..} 111,665 2 3 ——....---. 1799..|23rd Dec. 1806..|20thApril, 1807...) 95,393 10 64 seen eee - 1800. ./22nd Aug. 1807. ./24th Oct. 1808..| 129,118 15 54 ———.eeeeeee 180]../24th Oct, 1808..|24th April, 1809..| 166,298 11 7 ——~,ecceeee 1802..\2Ist Feb. 1809,.|24th July, 1809..| 177,847 9 8! ——seeeeees 1803..|11thApril,1809..|Ditto .....-..--| 256,539 7 § m—. eee 1804., [14th Aug. 1809../6th Oct.........! 285,038 15 43 \ From the time that annual ac- counts ceased to be delivered with punctuality, additional opportuni- ties were afforded for an improper accumulationofmoneyinhis hands, the increase of which became al- most continually progressive ; and > the commissioners of the navy, whose duty it was to call for and enforce the regular production of those accounts, neglected to do so. It is however inevidence before your committee,that thelatecomp- troller of the navy frequently re STATE PAPERS. presented to Mr. G. Villiers, that his accounts ought to be more re- gularly delivered in, and received assurances from him that they should be so; at the same time Mr. Villiers stated the necessity of having the imprests made to him in full, when the pressure of the public service, about theyear 1798, made it expedient to pay only in part ; and the comptroller was led to believe from his conversations with Mr. G. Villiers, thattherewas no balance of public money at that time in the accountant’s hands. It is to be remarked with great regret that the inefficient state of the Navy Office, for a period of no less than eleven years, is given as an excuse or palliation for this omission on the part of the Board; and some of the new regulations adopted under an order in council of June 8, 1796, at the recom- mendation of the commissioners of Inquiry, are alleged as a princi- pal cause of the defective state of this office. The strongest representations from the Navy Office to the Admi- ralty were made on this subject, at different times from 1800 to 1807 ; one great and obvious in- convenience was pointed out as arising from making the chief clerk in the office of bills and accounts, secretary to the committee of accounts (which was recently formed of three members of the Board, agreeably to the directions of that order in council) while the same person had the superin- tendance also of the foreign ac- counts ; this inconvenience the Navy Board endeavoured to re- medy by some official arrange- ments, which diminished but did not remove the evil ; and it con- tinued to be felt, untilthe duties of Vor. LII, 449 these separate departments were allotted to three distinct officers. The hardships suffered by the clerks in general from the low state of their salaries and the abolition of fees, the consequent inactivity and languor which prevailed in the different departments, and the dif- ficulty of carrying on the busi- ness, are enumerated in this cor- respondence ; but the actual evils from the accounts not being pass- ed are not perhaps set forth with sufficient force, or with those de~- tails which were calculated to im- press the Admiralty with a due sense of them. Your committee, however, cannot but remark the neglect with which these repre- sentations were treated. No an- swer whatever appears to have been made to them before June, 1806, and no remedy was applied by the Admiralty until November, 1807, to a case which involved the efficiency of this great and most important office of account. The balance exhibited in Mr.G. Villiers’s monthly account imme- diately subsequent to the Slst. of December, 1802, when the ba- lance was 177,847/. amounts to no more than 2,255/; and after the 31st of December, 1803, when the balance on the settlement of the general account for that year proved to be 256,539/. the ba- lance to which his name was sub- scribed amounted only to 12,055/. Your committee, notwithstand- ing some pains taken to discover the method by which these month- ly balances were made to exhibit so fallacious a view of the whole sum actually in‘ the -accountant’s hands at any given time, have not been able to satisfy themselves as to the particular mode by which the real balance was kept out of 2G 450 sight. It was suggested by one of the late marine clerks, that such parts of the imprests as were not received withinthe current month, were never subsequently brought to account; but with the ex- ception of 1,000/. (drawn ‘out on 10th of July, 1799) there is certainly no foundation for this suspicion ; and it seems probable, that the generality of the state- ments of expenditure in the monthly accounts, unaccompanied as they necessarily were by any vouchers, may have served as a cover for large sums of money, which in fact never may have been applied to the public service. Not deeming it essential to pursue this part of the subject further, your committee applied themselves to ascertain what steps had been taken on the dis- covery of these deficiencies to secure the public from loss; and they find that extents were issued to the whole amount of the ac- countant’s property ; which how- ever falls far short of the amount for which Mr. G. Villiers appeats to be responsible to the public, unless there should be articles of discharge unknown to your committee or to the Navy Office, in the present unsettled state of his accounts. The debt for which the extent was issued is 264,507/. 11s. 6d. the value of the landed property is estimated at 93,5071. 2s. 8d.— There is also 21,6192. 10s. 10d. three per cent. consols, and the security given on his first taking of the office, which was for 10,000/. The bond executed in 1792 is, however, not forthcoming ; and there is reason to think that no bond fas executed on his subse- quent te-appointment in 1803; ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. although it was made a condition of his holding the office, that he should give security in the sum of 10,000/., without reference to the security taken in 1792. Your committee cannot avoid observing upon it as an omission of duty in the Board of Ad- miralty, by whom he was re-ap- pointed, not to have taken a second bond; and the loss of the first, which remained in the Admiralty, about the year 1806, shows a culpable carelessness as to the custody of such important instruments. Securities ought to be taken more frequently than has hitherto been the usage, from all officers in every department who hold situations counected with the receipt or expenditure of public money ; and your com- mittee recommend that regula- tions should be established to that effect, under the directions of his majesty in council or of the com- missioners of the treasury. Large issues continued neces- sarily to be made between the end of 1804, and the time when* the late paymaster quitted his office, amounting to 2,085,892/. ; but though this sum swells most considerably thebalance of money to be accounted for, calculations which have been formed in the Navy office lead that board to conjecture that the whole of it has been applied to the service for which it was impressed. Money paid on the Royal Marine Service, between the first of Jan- uary, 1805, to the latest period to which the same is made up. From Jan. the Ist to Dec. 3ist £. gs. a. 1805.6 006500939,001 2 1g STATE PAPERS. : The account of this year ap- pears to be closed, but not . * examined by the late paymaster. From Jan. Ist to £. 5s. d. Dec. 31st 1806. .339,792 18 3 The contingent ex- pence of this year is not made out, nor includ- ed in this sum. From Jan. Ist to Dec.31st 1807. «337,599 14 64 Thecontingentex- pence, and sa- Jaries, paid in this year, are not made out, nor included in this sum. ——s £ 1,016,393 9 114 By the books of the late pay- master the accounts for 1808 ap- pear very imperfect, and those for 1809 are not begun to be made out. The whole amount of balances in - thehandsofsub-accountants trans- ferred by Mr. Villiers to the pre- sent paymaster, when he succeed- ed him, was no more than 20,1461. of which 8,258/. was drawn for, or due for service performed. The sub-accountants were the deputy paymasters of the four di- visions of marines, seven inspect- ing field-officers connected withthe recruiting service, and more than one hundred recruiting officers. In the course of these investi- gations it became a matter of consideration, how far the con- tinuance of the office of paymas- ter of marines may be necessary for conducting this branch of the 451 public service, your committee bearing in mind, that all useless offices ought to be suppressed, and that every additional channel through which public moneyflows, affords an additional hazard of the misapplication, detention, or loss of a part of it. Recent experience in the cases, of the acts for regulating the offi- ces of Treasurer of the Navy (25 Geo. 3rd, c. 31.) and Treasurer of the Ordnance (46 Geo. 3rd, ¢. 45.) induces a reasonable mis- trust as to the efficacy of all legis- lative provisions and directions ; in cases where the temptations to a contrary practice are great, the means of evasion have not been found impracticable. The commissioners on fees, &c. (in 1787) in their third report pp- 104 and 5, referred to, and printed in the proceedings in con« sequence of the finance reports, G, IL. pronounced an opinion as to the inutility of this office, which, ‘besides being anunnecessary ex= pense, tends to multiply accounts, and disperse the public money ; as there will always be a balance left in the hands of each officer to whom any portion of it is issued.;” they continue, that, «this office ought, in their opinion, to be car- ried on in the office of the Trea surer of the Navy, not only as being a branch of the pay of the navy, but that the officer may be contiguous to check the pay of the marines on ship board, the debts due from those who embark, and for other purposes.” There was at that time an agent as well as a paymaster, the former of whom acted as deputy, and transacted almost the whole of the business, and the commissioners recommended the continuance of 2G2 452 the efficient person in the office, with a salary of 600/., and the dis- continuance of the paymaster; but the Board of Admiralty, deeming it more expedient to reverse the suggested improvement, abolished the first and continued the second; the great diligence and regularity of Mr. G. Villiers, who was repre- sented inthe report from the Admi- ralty of August 1799, G. II. as an ableand attentive officer, by whom, since his appointment in 1792, the business of nearly the whole of the marine department had been con- ducted, being given as a reason for disregarding this recommend- ation of the commissioners. ‘The removal of the agent, afteraservice of twenty-eight years in the ma- rine department, wasattended with an annual expense in the nature of a compensation, paid out of the marine poundage and. stop- pages, and directed to be inserted in the paymaster’s annual account. The committee examined seve- ral persons of experience as to the propriety of abolishing this office. [Sir A. Snape Hammond, late comptroller of the navy, thought the office of no advantage. Sir ‘T. Thompson gave the same opi- nion less decisively. Mr. Rose, treasurer of the navy, thought the payments could be made at his office, together with the widows’ pensions. ] The present paymaster of the navy, Mr. Smith, did not point out any objection to placing the officers now in the Marine Pay Office un- der the control of the Treasurer of the Navy; who being in the course of paying about 120,000 seamen, could, in hjs opinion, without much inconvenience, pay 30,000 marines, Captain Varlo, one of the four ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. deputy paymasters, concurred in the same view of the proposed alteration. Captain Kempster, an agent for several officers of marines ; con- ceived it to be essential thateither the paymaster or agent should be retained, and that it would have been much better if the latter had been continued, and the former suppressed. Your committee therefore donot hesitate in recommending to the House, that this office should be forthwith suppressed; and that the business shouldbe transacted in the office of theTreasurer of the Navy, under whose direction drafts may be prepared of such regulations, and an estimate of such an esta- blishment as may be necessary for that purpose, which ought to be submitted to, andapproved by the commissioners of the treasury. It may deserve consideration, whether some of the houses in So- merset place, as they become va- cant, maynot be appliedto the ex- tension of such offices as are at present cramped for wantof room. Your committee being of opinion, that official houses are (except in some specialcases ) an improvicent mode of adding to salaries, or of paying public servants, inasmuch as the charges upon the public, for building in the first instance, and forcontinual repairs afterwards, are out.of all proportion to the benefit or accommodation which is deriv- ed totheoflicers who inhabit them. * 4 * ¥ HK The discovery of Mr. G. Vil- liers’s default, led to the detection of another of very inferior amount, but arising principally from the same causes, in the conductor’s department under the Treasurer of the Navy. STATE PAPERS. ~ The business of the conductor is, to pay all contingent and inci- dental expences incurred in the Treasurer’s office (amounting an- nually to 13,000 or 14,000/.) for which purpose money is imprested to him from time to time from the Navy Board, on the authority of letters from the paymaster of the Navy, stating that the balance stands according to the certificate of the conductor, which is en- closed in each letter. It is the duty of the paymaster of the Navy to examine and cer- tify to the Navy Board, the con- ductor’s half-yearly account, re- taining the vouchers in his own office. These half-yearly accounts do not exhibit the money imprest- ed to the conductor, nor the ba- lance due from him. The parti- culars of money imprested are kept in the books of the Navy Board ; but the applications for imprests pass through the paymas- ter’s hands, who keeps no account of those imprests ; nor did he con- ceive that it was his duty to com- pare the sums advanced to the ‘conductor with the sums expend- ed by him. The commissioners of the navy pronounced, after full delibera- tion, that the conductor was not an accountant with their board for money received, as they had no control over it; and as it was to- tally out of their power to ascer- tain, whether the balances stated in his application for money were correct, unless they were in pos- session of his accounts, and of the vouchers for his payments up to the date of his application. Mr. Charles Barrow (the late conductor) was responsible for the balance of 3,713/., at the end of 453 1808, which was increased to 5,689/. in January, 1810. An extent has been issued against him for the sum due, but there is no probability that more than 500/. will be recovered. No security was taken for the due discharge of his duty, nor has it been usual to require it in that department. A case has been laid before the crown lawyers for their opinion as to prosecuting him criminally. A mode of effectual check, with regard to the future balances, has been provided; and security has been taken in the sum of 2,000/. from the successor of Mr. Barrow, in pursuance of a minute of the treasurer, dated the 12thofMarch, 1810. i KKK HE The incidental and contingent expenditurewithin any office ought unquestionably to undergo a strict examination, in the first instance, by the superiors in that depart- ment; but its final audit and al- lowance ought not to rest there = as no oflice whatever should be suffered to remain responsible only to itself; and for this reason, as well as for those which are before stated with reference to passing the paymaster’s annual accounts, your committee consider that the practice, which was established by the order in council, the 9th of August, 1806, “By which the Navy Board, to whose examina~- tion and control the contingent expences were formerly subject, are directed to allow them on the certificate of the paymaster,” ~ (fourth report commissioners on fees, p. 136,) ought to be discon- tinued; and that the vouchers themselves should be transmitted, 454 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. together with each half-yearly ac- count, for final examination by the Navy Board. eK KK A default, to the amount of 93,926/. in the account of the treasurer of the ordnance, would naturally have found a place in the present report, if it had not under- gone the investigation of the com- missioners of military enquiry, who have lately presented in their twelfth report, an ample and dis- tinct detail upon this subject. Your committee however desire, in passing, to call again the atten- tion of the House to the practical inefficiency of the late act for the regulation of this office, and to enforce the observations of the commissioners * that upon the se- cond appointment of Mr. Huntin 1807, the not taking any security from him,” was a great omission of duty. Abstract of the Bullion Report. Your committee have found that the price of gold bullion, which, by the regulations of his majesty’s mint, is 3/. 17s. 104d. per ounce of standard fineness, was, during the years 1806, 1807, and 1808, as high as 4/. in the market. To- wards the end of 1808 it began to advance very rapidly, and continu- ed very high during the whole year 1809; the market price of stand- ard gold in bars fluctuating from 4/. 9s. to 4/. 12s. per ounce. The market price at 4/. 10s, is about 153 per cent above the mint price. It appeared to your committee, that it might be of use in judging of the cause of this high price of gold bullion, to be informed also of the prices of silver during the same period, The price of standard silver in his majesty’s mint is5s. 2d. per ounce ; at this standard price, the value of a Spanish dollar is 4s.4d. or, which comes to the same thing, Spanish dollars are, at that standard price, worth 4s. 114d. per ounce. It isstated in Wetten- hall’s Tables, that throughout the year 1809, the price of new dollars fluctuated from 5s. 5d. to 5s. 7d. per ounce, or from 10 to 13 per cent above the mint price of stand- ard silver. In the course of the last month, new dollars have been quoted as high as 5s. 8d. per ounce, or more than 15 per cent above the mint price. Your committee have likewise found, that towards the end of the year 1808, the exchanges with the continent became very unfavoure able to this country,and continued still more unfavourable through the whole of 1809, and the three first months of the present year. Hamburgh, Amsterdam, and Paris, are the principal places with which the exchanges are establish- ed at present. During the last six months of 1809, and the three first months of the present year, the exchanges on Hamburgh and Amsterdam were depressed as low as from 16 to 20 per cent below par ; and that on Paris still lower. So extraordinary a rise in the market price of gold in this coun- try, coupled with so remarkablea depression of our exchanges with the continent, very clearly, in the judgment of your committee, pointed to something in the state of our own domestic currency as the cause of both appearances. But, before they adopted that conclusion, which seemed agree- able to all former reasonings and STATE PAP ER S&S. experience, they thought it proper to inquire more particularly into the circumstances connected with each of those two facts; and to hear, from persons of commercial practice and detail, what explana- tions they had to offer of so un- usual a state of things. It will be found by the evidence, that the high price of gold is as- cribed, by most of the witnesses, entirely to an alleged scarcity of that article, arising out of an un- usual demand for it upon the con- tinent of Europe. This unusual demand for gold upon the conti- nent is described by some of them as being chiefly for the use of the French armies, though increased also by that state of alarm, and failure of confidence, which leads to the practice of hoarding. - Your committee are of opinion, that, in the sound and natural state of the British currency, the foun- dation of which is gold, noincreas- ed demand for gold from other parts of the world, however great, or from whatever causes arising, cannothavethe effect of producing here, for a considerable period of _ time, a material rise in the market price of gold. But, before they proceed to explain the grounds of that general opinion, they wish to state some other reasons, which alone would have ledthem to doubt whether, in point of fact, such a demand for gold as is alleged, has operated in the manner supposed. If there were an unusual demand for gold upon the continent, such as could influence its market price in this country, it would of course influence also, and indeed in the first instance, its price in the con- tinental markets ; and it was to be expected that those who ascribed the high price here to a great de- 455 mand abroad, would have been prepared to state that there was a corresponding high price abroad. Your committee did not find that they grounded their inference up- ‘on any such information ; and so far as your committee have been enabled to ascertain, it does not appear that during the period when the price of gold bullion was rising here, as valued on our paper, there was any corresponding rise in the price of gold bullion in the market of the continent, as valued in their respective currencies, With respect to the alleged de- mand for gold upon the continent for the supply of the French ar- mies, your committee must fur- ther observe, that, if the wants of the military chest have been lat- terly much increased, the general supply of Europe with gold has been augmented by all the quan- tity which this great commercial country has spared in consequence of the substitution of another me- dium of circulation, And ed committee cannot omit remarking, that though the circumstances which might occasion such an ins creased demand may recently have existed in greater force than at former periods, yet in the former wars and convulsions of the conti- nent, they must have existedin such a degree as to produce some effect. The two most remarkable periods prior to the present, when the market price of gold in this coun- try has exceeded our mint price, were in the reign of king William, when the silver coin was very much worn below its standard, and in the early part of his present majesty’s reign, when the gold coin was very much worn below its standard. In both those pe- riods, the excess of the market 456 price of gold above its mint price was found to be owing to the bad state of the currency ; and in both instances, the reformation of the currency effectually lowered the market price of gold to the level of the mint price. During the whole of the years 1796 and 1707, in which there was such a scarcity of gold, occasioned by the great demands of the country bankers in order to increase their deposits, the market price of gold never rose above the mint price. Your committee have still fur- er to remark upon this point, chat the evidence laid before them has led them to entertain much doubt of the alleged fact, that a scarcity of gold bullion has been recently experienced in this coun- try. That guineas have disap- peared from the circulation, there can be no question ; but that does not prove a scarcity of bullion, any more than the high price proves that scarcity. If gold is rendered dear by any other cause than scarcity, those who cannot purchase it without paying the high price, will be very apt to conclude that it is scarce. A very extensive home dealer who was examined, and who spoke very much of the scarcity of gold, ac- knowledged that he found no dif- ficulty in getting any quantity he wanted, if he was willing to pay the price for it. And it appears to your committee, that, though in the course of the last year there have been large exportations of gold to the continent, there have been also very considerable im- portations of it into this country from South America, chiefly through the West Indies. It is important also to observe, that the rise in the market price ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. of silver in this country, which has nearly corresponded to that of the market price of gold, can- not in any degree he ascribed to a scarcity of silver, The impor- tations of silver have of late years been unusually large, while the usual drain for India and China has been stopped. Since the suspension of cash pay- ments in 1797, it is certain, that, even if gold is still our measure of value and standard of prices, it has been exposed to a new cause of variation, from the possible excess of that paper which is not conver- tible into gold at will; and the limit of this new variation is as in- definite as the excess to which that paper will be issued. It may in- deed be doubted, whether, since the new system of Bank of England payments has been fully establish- ed, gold has in truth continued to be our measure of value; and whe- ther we have any other standard of prices thanthatcirculatingmedium, issued primarily by the Bank of England, and in a secondary man- ner by the country banks, the va- riations of which in relative value may be as indefinite as the possible excess of that circulating medium. But whether our present measure of value, and standard of prices, be this paper currency thus variable in its relative value, or continues still to be gold, but gold rendered more variable than it was before, in consequence of being interchang- able for a paper currency which is not at will convertible into gold, it is, in either case, most desirable for the public that our circulating medium should again be conform- ed, as speedily as circumstances will permit, to its real and legal standard, gold bullion. If the gold coin of the country STATE PAPERS. were at any time to become very much worn and Jessened in weight, or if it should suffer a debasement of its standard, it is evident that there would be a proportionable rise of the market price of gold bullion above its mint price: for the mint price is the sum in coin, which is equiva- lent in intrinsic value to a given quantity, an ounce for example, of the metal in bullion ; and if the intrinsic value of that sum of coin be lessened, it is equivalent to a less quantity of bullion than be- fore. The same rise of the market price of gold above its mint price will take place if the local cur- rency of this particular country, being no longer convertible into gold, should at any time be issued to excess. That excess cannot be exported to other countries, and not being convertible into spe- cie, it is not necessarily returned upon those who issued it; it re- mainsinthe channel of circulation, and is gradually absorbed by in- creasing the prices of all com- modities. An increase in the quantity of the local currency of a particular country, will raise prices in that country exactly in the same manner as an increase in the general supply of precious metals raises prices all over the world. By means of the increase of quantity, the value of a portion of that circulating medium, in ex- change for other commodities is lowered; in other words, the money prices of all other com- modities are raised, and that of bullion with the rest. In this man- ner, an excess of the local cur- rency of a particular country will occasion a rise of the market price of gold above its mint price. It is no less evident, that, in theevent of the prices of commodities being 457 raised in one country by an aug- mentation in the circulating me- dium, while no similar augmenta- tion in the circulating medium ofa neighbouring country has led toa similar rise of prices, the currencies of those two countries will no longer continue to bear the same relative value to each other as before. The intrinsic value of a given portion of the one currency being lessened, while that of the other remains unaltered, the ex- change will be computed between those two countries to the disad- vantage of the former. In this manner, a general rise of all prices, a rise in the market price of gold, and a fall of the foreign exchanges, will be the effect of an excessive quantity of circulating medium in a country which has adopted a currency, not exportable to other countries, or not convertible at will into a coin which is exportable. It appears to your committee to have been long settled and understood as a principle, that the difference of exchange re- sulting from the state of trade and payments between two coun- tries is limited by the expence of conveying and insuring the precious metals from one country to the other: at least, that it cannot for any considerable length of time exceed that limit. The real difference of exchange, resulting from the state of trade and payments, never can falllower than the amount of such expence of carriage, including the insu- rance. The truth of this position is so plain, and it is so uniformly agreed to by all the practical authorities, both commercial and political, that your committee will assume it as indisputable. Your committee are disposed to 458 think from the result of the whole evidence, contradictory asitis, that the circumstances of the trade of this country, in the course of the last year, were such as to occasion a real fall of our exchanges with the continent to a certain extent, and perhaps at one period almost as low as the limit fixed by the ex- penceof remitting gold from hence to the respective markets. And your committee is inclined to this Opinion, both by whatis stated re- garding the excess.ofimports from the continent above the exports, though that is the part of the sub- ject which is left most in doubt : andalso by whatisstated respecting themode in which the payments in our trade have been latterly effect- ed, an advance being paid upon the imports from the continent of Eu- rope, and a long creditbeing given upon the exports to other parts of the world. Your committee, observing how entirely the present depression of ourexchange with Europe is refer- red by many persons toa great ex- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. cess of our imports above our ex- ports, have called for an account of the actual value of those for the last five years ; and Mr. Irving, the in- spector-general of customs, hasac- cordingly furnished the most accu- rate estimate of both that he has been enabled to form, He has also endeavoured to forward the object of the committee, by calculating how much should be deducted from the value of goods imported, on account of articles in return for which nothing is exported, These deductions consist of the produce of fisheries, and of imports from the East and West Indies, which are of the nature of rents, profits, and capital, remitted to proprie= tors in this country. The balance of trade in favour of this country, upon the face of the account thus made up, was, £. 6,616,000 10,437,000 In 1805 about.. PEOG sci nvete 1807 wecce 5,966,000 1808 ..aee0 12,481,000 1809 ..e0e0 14,834,060 The following is an Account of the official Value of our Imports and Exports with the Continent of Europe alone, in cach of the last five Years: | : Balance in favour IMPORTS. EXPORTS. cal a Gu cial Value. £ End £ 140 10,008,649 15,465,430 5;456,781 I li Sead 8,197,256 13,216,386 5,019,130 1.) Ae 7,973,510 12,689,590 4,716,000 Oe, «ne 4,210,671 11,280,490 | . 7,069,819 Sweeps 9,551,857 23,722,615 14,170,758 iinet STATE PAPERS. The balances with Europealone in favour of Great. Britain, as ex- hibited in this imperfect statement, are not far from corresponding withthe general and more accurate balancesbefore given. The favour- able balance of 1809, with Europe alone, if computed according to the actual value, would be much more considerable tian the value of the same year, in the former general statement. A favourable balance of trade on the face of the account of ex- portsandimports, presented annu- ally to parliament, is a very pro- bable consequence of large drafts on government for foreign ex- penditure; an augmentation of exports, and a diminution of imports, being promoted, and even enforced, by the means of such drafts. For if the supply of bills drawn abroad, either by the agents of government, or by indi- viduals, is disproportionate to the demand, the price of them in foreign money falls, until it is so low as to invite purchasers ; and the purchasers, who are generally foreigners, not wishing to transfer their property permanently to England, have a reference to the terms onwhichthebills on England will purchase those British com- modities which. are in demand, either in their own country, or in intermediateplaces, with which the account may be adjusted. Thus, the price of the bills being re- gulated in some degree by that of British commodities, and continu- ing to fall till it becomes so low as to be likely to afford a profit on the purchase and exportation of these commodities, an actual ex- portation nearly proportionate to .the amount of the bills drawn can scarcely fail to take place, It 459 follows, that there cannot be, for any long period, either a highly favourable or unfavourable ba- lance of trade; for the balance no sooner affects the price of bills, than the price of bills, by its re- action on the state of trade, pro- motes an equalization of commer- cial exports and imports. Your committee have here considered cash and bullion as forming a part of the general mass of export or imported articles, and as transfer- red according to the state both of the supply and the demand ; furm~- ing, however, under certain cir- cumstances, and especially in the case of great fluctuations in the general commerce, a peculiarly commodious remittance. From the foregoing reasonings relative to the state of the ex- changes, your committee find it difficult to resist an inference that a portion at least of the great fall which the exchanges lately suffer- ed, must have resulted not from the state of trade, but from a change in the relative value of our domestic currency. But when this deduction is joined with that which your committee have stated, re- specting the change in the market price of gold, that inference ap- pears to be demonstrated, In consequence of ‘the opinion which your committee entertain, that, in the present artificial condi- tion of the circulating medium of this country, it is most important to watch the foreignexchangesand the market price of gold, your committee were desirous to learn, whether the directors of the Bank of England held the same opinion, and derived from it a practical rule for thecontvol of their circulation; and particularly whether, in the course of the last year, the great 460 depression of the exchanges, and the great rise in the price of gold, had suggested to the directors any suspicion of the currency of the country being excessive. Mr. Whitmore, the late governor of the Bank, stated to the com- mittee, that, in regulating the general amount of the loans and discounts, he did “ not advert to the circumstance of the exchanges; it appearing, upon a reference to the amount of our notes in circula- tion, and the course of exchange, that they frequently have no con- nection.” He afterwards said, ** My opinion is, I do not know whether it is that of the bank, that the amount of our paper circulation has no reference at all to the state of the exchange.” And on asubsequent day, Mr. Whitmore stated, that ** The present unfavourable state of ex- change has no influence upon the amount of their issues, the bank having acted precisely in the same way as they did before.’ He was likewise asked, Whether, in regulating the amount of their circulation, thebank ever adverted to the difference between the market and mint price of gold? and having desired to have time to consider that question, Mr. Whit- more, on a subsequent day, an- swered it in the following terms, which suggested these further questions :— “In taking into consideration the amount of your notes out in circulation, and in limiting the ex- tent of your discounts to mer- chants, do you advert to the dif- ference, when such exists, between the market and the mint price of gold?—We do advert to that, inasmuch as we do not discount at any time for those persons who ANNUAL REGISTER,- 1810. we know, or have good reason to suppose, export the gold.” ‘¢ Do you not advert to it any farther than by refusing discounts to such persons ?>—We do advert to it, inasmuch as whenever any director thinks it bears upon the question of our discounts, and presses to bring forward the dis cussion.” “The market price of gold having, in the course of the last year, risen as high as 4d. 10s, or 4/. 12s. has that circumstance been taken into consideration, by you, soastohavehad any effect in dimi- nishing or enlarging the amount of the outstanding demands ?—It has not been taken into considera- tion by me in that view.” Mr. Pearse, now governor of the bank, agreed with Mr. Whitmore in this account of the practice of the bank, and expressed his full concurrence in the same opinion. Mr. Pearse.— In considering this subject, with reference to the manner in which bank-notes are issued, resulting from the applica- tions made for discounts to supply the necessary want of bank-notes, by which their issue in amount is so controlled that it can never amount to an excess, I cannot see how the amount of bank-notes is- sued can operate upon the price of bullion, or the state of the exchanges, and therefore I am individually of opinion that the price of bullion, or the state of the exchanges, can never be a reason for lessening the amount of bank- notes to be issued, always under- standing the control which I have already described.”’ “Is the governor of the bank of the same opinion which has now been expressed by the deputy= governor ?”* STAT. E. PAP ERS: Mr. Whitmore-— ‘1 am_ so much of the same opinion, that I never think it necessary to advert to the price of gold, or the state of the exchange, on the days on which we make our auvances.” «Do you advert to these two circumstances with a view to re- gulate the general amount of your advances ?—I do not advert to it with a view to our general advan- ces, conceiving it not to bear upon the question.” And Mr. Harman, another bank director, expressed his opinion in these terms : “I must very mate- rially alter my opinions, before I can suppose that the exchanges will be influenced by any modifi- cations of our paper currency.” The committee cannot refrain from expressing it to be their opi- nion, after avery deliberate consi- deration of this part of the subject, that it is a great practical error to suppose that the exchanges with foreign countries, and the price of bullion, are not liable to be affected by the amount of a paper currency, which is issued without the condition of payment in specie at the will of the holder. That the exchanges will be lowered, and the price of bullion raised, by an issue of such paper to excess, is not only established as a principle by the most eminent authorities upon commerce and finance, but its practical truth has been illus- trated by the history of almost every state in modern times which has used a paper currency; and in all those countries, this princi- ple has finally been resorted to by their statesmen, as the best crite- riontojudgeby, whether such cur- rency was or was not excessive. In the instances which are most familiar in the history of foreign 461 countries, the excess of paper has been usually accompanied by an- other circumstance, which has no place in our situation at present— a want of confidence in the suffi- ciency of those funds upon which the paper had been issued. Where these two circumstances, excess and want of confidence, are con- joined, they will co-operate and produce their effect much more rapidly than when it is the result of the excess only of a paper of perfectly good credit ; and in both cases, an effect of the same sort will be produced upon the foreign exchanges, and upon the price of bullion. The most remarkable examples of the former kind are to be found in the history of the paper currencies of the British Colonies in North America, in the early part of the last century, and in that of the assignats of the French Republic; to which the committee have been enabled to add another, scarcely less remark- able, from the money speculations of the Austrian government in the last campaign. The present state of the currency of Portugal affords, also, an instance of the same kind. It was a necessary consequence of the suspension of cash pay- ments, to exempt the bank from that drain of gold which, in form- er times, was sure to result from an unfavourable exchange and a high price of bullion. And the directors, released from all fears of such a drain, and no longer feeling any inconvenience from such a state of things, have not been prompted to restore the ex- changes and the price of gold to their proper level by areductionof their advances and issues. The di- rectors, in former times, did not perhaps perceive and acknowledge 462 the principle more distinctly than those of the present day, but they felt the inconvenience,and obeyed its impulse; which practically established a check and limitation to the issue of paper. In the present times, the inconvenience is not felt ; and the check, accord- ingly, is no longer in force. But ‘your committee beg leave to re- port it to the House as their most clear opinion, that so long as the suspension of cash payments is permitted to subsist, the price of gold bullion and the general course of exchange with foreign countries, taken for any consider- able periud of time, form the best general criterion from which any inference can be drawn as to the sufficiency or excess of paper cur- rency in circulation ; and that the Bank of England cannot safely regulate the amount of its issues, without having reference to the criterion presented by these two circumstances. And upon a review of all the facts and reasonings which have already been stated, your committee are further of Opinion, that, although the com- mercial state of this country, and the political state of the continent, may have had some influence on the high price of gold bullion and the unfavourable course of ex- change with foreign countries, this price, and this depreciation, are also to be ascribed to the want of a permanent check, and a suffici- ent limitation of the paper cur- rency in this country. In connection with the general subject of this part of their report, the policy of the bank of England respecting the amount of their cir- culation, your committee have now to call the attention of the House toanother topic which wasbrought ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. under their notice in the course of their inquiry, and which, in their judgment, demands the most serious consideration. The bank directors, as well as some of the merchants who have been ex= amined, shewed a great anxiety to state to your committee a doctrine, of the truth of which they professed themselves to be most thoroughly convinced, that there can be no possible excess in the issue of Bank of England paper, so long as the advances in which it is issued are made upon the principles which at present guide the conduct of the direct- ors; that is, so long asthe discount of mercantile bills is confined to paper of undoubted solidity, aris- ing out of real commercial trans- actions, and payable at short and fixed periods. ‘hat the discounts should be made only ‘upon bills - growing out of real commercial transactions, and falling due in a fixed and short period, are sound and well-established principles. But that, while the bank is restrained from paying in specie, there need be no other limit to the issue of their paper than what is fixed by such rules of discount, and that during the suspension of cash payments the discount of good bills falling due at short periods cannot lead to any excess in the amount of bank paper in circulation, appears to your com- mittee to be a doctrine wholly erroneous in principle, and preg~ nant with dangerous consequences in practice. But before your committee pro- ceed to make such observations upon this theory as it appears to them to deserve, they thinkit right to shew from the evidence, to what extent itis entertained by some of STATE PAPERS. those individuals who have been at the head of the affairs of the bank. The opinions held by those ‘individuals are likely to have an important practical influence ; and appeared to your committee, moreover, the best evidence of what lias constituted the actual policy of that establishment in its corporate capacity. Mr. Whitmore, tlie late govern- or of the bank, expressly states, « The bank never force a note in circulation, and there will not remain a note in circulation more than the immediate wants of the public require ; for no banker, I presume, will keep a larger stock of bank-notes by him than his immediate payments require, as he can at all times procure them.” The reason here assigned is more particularly explained by Mr. Whitmore, when he says, “ The bank-notes would revert to us if there was a redundancy in circula- tion, as no one would pay interest for a bank-note that he did not want to make use of.”?” Mr. Whit- more furtherstates, ** Thecriterion by which I judge of the exact proportion to be maintained be- tween the occasions of the public, and the issues of the bank, is by avoiding as much as possible to discount what does not appear to be legitimate mercantile paper.” And further, when asked, What measure the court of directors has to judge by, whether the quantity of bank-notes out in circulation is at any time excessive? Mr. Whit- more states, that their measure of the security or abundance of bank-notes is certainly by the greater or less application that is made to them for the discount of good paper. Mr. Pearse, late deputy-gover- 463 nor, and now governor of the bank, stated very distinctly his concurrence in opinion with Mr. Whitmore upon this particular point. He referred “to the man- net in which bank-notes are issued, resulting from the applications made for discounts to supply the necessary want of bank-notes, by which their issue in amount is so controlled, that it can nevet amount to an excess.” He con- siders ‘* the amount of the bank- notes in circulation as being con- trolled by the occasions of the public; for internal purposes ;” and that “from the manner in which the issue of bank-notes is con- trolled, the public will never call for more than is absolutely neces= sary for their wants.’” ; Another director of the bank, Mr. Harman, being asked, If he thought that the sum total of dis- countsapplied for, eventhoughthe accommodation afforded should be on the security of good bills to safe persons, might be such as to pro- ducesome excess inthe quantity of the bank issues, if fully complied with? He answered, “ I think if we discount only for solid persons, and such paper as is for real dona Jide transactions, we cannot mate- rially err.’ And he afterwards states, that what he should consi- der as the test of a superabun- dance would be, ‘money being more plentiful in the market.” It is material to observe, that both Mr. Whitmore and Mr. Pearse state, that * the bank does not comply with the whole demand upon them for discounts, and that ‘they are never induced, by a view to their own profit, to push their issues beyond what they deem con- sistent with the public interest.” Another very important part of 464 the evidence of these gentlemen upon the point, is contained in the following extract : ‘¢ Ts it your opinionthat the same security would exist against any excess in the issues of the bank, if the rate of the discount were re- duced from 5/. to 4/. per cent. ?” Answer.—* Thesecurity of an ex- cess of issue would be, I conceive, precisely the same.” Mr. Pearse. — I concur in that answer.” “Tf it were reduced to 3/. per cent.2”—Mr. Whitmore, “ 1 con- ceive there wouldbe no difference, if our practice remained the same as now, of not forcing a note into circulation.” Mr. Pearse—*< I concur in that answer.” Your committee cannot help again calling the attention of the House to the view which this evi- dence presents of the consequen- ces which have resulted from the peculiar situation in which the Bank of England was placed by the suspension of cash payments. So long as the paper of the bank was convertible into specie at the will of the holder, it was enough, both for the safety of the bank and for the public interest in what regarded its circulating medium, that the directors attended only to the character and quality of the bills discounted, as real ones, and payable at fixed and short periods. They could not much exceed the proper bounds in respect of the quantity and amount of bills dis- counted, so as thereby to produce an excess of their paper in circu- lation, without quickly finding that the surplus returned upon themselves in demand for specie. - The private interest of the bank to guard themselves against a conti- nued demand of that nature, was a sufficient protection for the ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. public against any such excess of bank paper, as would occasion a material fall in the relative value of the circulating medium. The restriction of cash-pay- ments, as has already been shewn, having rendered the same pre- ventive policy no longer necessary to the bank, has removed that check upon its issues which was the public security against an excess. When the bank directors | were no longer exposed to the in- convenience of adrain upon them for gold, they naturally felt that they had no such inconvenience to guard against by a more restrained system of discounts and advances ; and it was very natural for them to pursue as before (but without that sort of guard and limitation, which was now become unnecessary to their own security) the same liberal and prudent system of commercial advances from which the prosperity of their own esta- blishment had resulted, as well as in a great degree the commercial prosperity of the whole country. It was natural for the bank directors to believe, that nothing but benefit could accrue to the public at large, while they saw the growth of bank profits go hand in hand with the accommodations granted to the merchants§ It was hardly to be expected of the directors of the bank, that they should be fully aware of the consequences that might result from their pursuing, after the suspension of cash pay~ ments, the same system which they had founda safe one before. To watch the operation of so new a law, and to provide against the in- jury which might result from it to the public interests, was the pro- vince, not so much of the bank as of the legislature ; and, in the opi- S: BigAs/T By Po A PBR. nion of your committee, there is no room to regret that this House has not taken earlier notice of all the consequences of that law. By far the most important of those consequences is, that while the convertibility into specie no longer exists as a check to an over issue of paper, the bank directors have not perceived that the re- moval of that check rendered it possible that such an excess might be issued by the discount of per- fectly good bills. So far from per- ceiving this, your committee have shown that they maintain the con- trary doctrine with the utmost con- fidence, however itmay bequalified occasionally by some of their ex- ‘pressions. That this doctrine is a very fallacious one your commit- tee cannot entertain adoubt. The fallacy, upon which it is found- ed, lies in not distinguishing be- tween an advance of capital to mer- chants, and an addition of supply of currency to the general mass of circulating medium. Ifthe advance of capital only is considered, as made to those who are ready to employ it in judicious and produc- tive undertakings,it is evident there need be no other limit to the total amount of advances than what the means of the lender, and his pru- dence in the selection of borrowers may impose. But, in the present situation of the bank, intrusted as it is with thefunctions of supplying the public withthat paper currency which forms the basis of our cir- culation, and at the same time not subjected to the liability of con- verting the paper into specie, every advance which it makes of capital to the merchants in the shape of discount, becomes an ad- dition also to the mass of circulat- ing medium. In the first instance, Vor. LIT. 465 when the advance is made by notes paid in discount of a bill, it is une doubtedly so much capital, so much power of making purchases, placed in the hands of the mer- chant who receives the notes: and if those hands are safe, the opera- tion is so far, and in this its first step, useful and productive to the public. But assoon as the portion of circulating medium, in which the advance was thus made, per- forms in the hands of him to whom it was advanced this its first opera- tion as capital, as soon as the notes are exchanged by him for some other article which is capital, they fall into the channel of circulation as so much circulating medium, and form an addition to the mass of currency. The necessary effect of every such addition to the mass, is to diminish the relative value of any given portion of that mass in exchange for commodities. If the addition were made by notes con- vertible into specie, this diminu- tion of the relative value of any given portion of the whole mass, would speedily bring back upon the bank, which issued the notes, as much as was excessive. Butif by law they are not so convertible, of course this excess will not be brought back, but will remain in the channel of circulation, until paid in again to the bank itself, in discharge of the bills which were originally discounted. During the whole time they remain out, they perform all the functions of circu- lating medium; and before they come to be paid in discharge of those bills, they have already been followed by a new issue of notes in a similar operation of discounting. Each successive advance repeats the same process. If the whole sum oe discounts continues out~ 2H 466 standing at a given amount, there will remain permanently out in cir- culation a corresponding amount of paper ; and if the amount of dis- counts is progressively increasing, the amount of paper which remains out in circulation over and above what is otherwise wanted for the occasions of the public, will pro- gressively increase also, and the money prices of commodities will progressively rise. This progress may be as indefinite as the range of speculation and adventure in a great commercial country. It is necessary to observe, that the law, which in this country li- mits the rate of interest, and, of course, the rate at which the bank can legally discount, exposes the bank to still more extensive de- mands for commercial discounts. While the rate of commercial profit is very considerably higher than five per cent, as it has lately been in many branches of our foreign trade, there is in fact no limit to the demands which merchants of perfectly good capital, and of the most prudent spirit of enterprize, may be tempted to make upon the bank for accommodation and faci- lities by discount. Nor can any argument or illustration place in a more striking point of view, the extent to which such of the bank directors, as were examined before the committee, seem to have in theory embraced that doctrine upon which your committee have made these observations, as well as the practical consequences to which that doctrine may lead in periods of a high spirit of commer- cial adventure, than the opinion which Mr. Whitmore and Mr. Pearse have delivered; that the same complete security to the public against any excess in the ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. issues of the bank would exist if the rate of discount were reduced from five to four, or even to three per cent. From the evidence, however, of the late governor and deputy governor of the bank, it appears, that though they state the principle broadly that there can be no excess of their circula- tion, if issued according to their rules of discount, yet they disclaim the idea of acting up to it in its whole extent; though they stated the applications for the discount of legitimate bills to be their sole criterion of abundance or scarcity, they gave your committee to un- derstand, that they do not discount to the full extent of such applica- tions. In other words, the direc- tors do not act up to the principle which they represent as one per- fectly sound and safe, and must be considered, therefore, as possess- ing no distinct and certain rule to guidetheir discretion incontrolling the amount of their circulation. The ‘suspension of cash pay- ments has had the effect of com- mitting into the hands of the direc- tors of the Bank of England, to be exercised by their sole discretion, the important charge of supplying the country with that quantity of circulating medium which is ex- actly proportioned to the wants and occasions of the public. In the judgment of the committee, thatis a trust, which it is unreason- able to expect that the directors of the Bank of England should ever be able to discharge. The most detailed knowledge of the ac- tual trade of the country, combin- ed with the most profound science in all the principles of money and circulation, would not enable any man, or set of men, to adjust and keep always adjusted, the right S BHAT EB! :P! A: PLECR: proportion of circulating medium in a country to the wants of trade. When the currency consists en- tirely of the precious metals, or of paper convertible at will into the precious metals, the natural process of commerce, by estab- lishing exchanges among all the different countries of the world, adjusts, in every particular coun- try, the proportion of circulating medium to its actual occasions, according to that supply of the precious metals which the mines - furnish to the general market of the world. The proportion which is thus adjusted and maintained by the natural operation of com- merce, cannot be adjusted by any human wisdom or skill. If the natural system of currency and circulation be abandoned, and a discretionary issue of paper money substituted in its stead, it is vain to think that any rules can be devised for the exact exercise of such a discretion; though some cautions may be pointed out to check and control its consequen- ces, such as are indicated by the effect of an excessive issue upon exchanges and the price of gold. The directors of the Bank of Eng- Jand, in the judgment of your committee, have exercised the new and extraordinary discretion reposed in them since 1797, with an integrity, and a regard to the public interest according to their conceptions of it, and indeed a degree of forbearance in turning it less to the profit of the bank than it would easily have admitted of, that merit the continuance of - that confidence which the public has so long and so justly felt in the integrity with which its affairs are directed, as well as in the un- 467 shaken stabilityand ample funds of that great establishment. That their recent policy involves great practical errors, which it is of the utmost public importance to cor- rect, your committee are fully convinced; but those errors are less to be imputed to the bank di- rectors, than to be stated as the effect of a new system, of which, however it originated, or was ren- dered necessary as a temporary expedient, it might have been well if parliament had sooner taken into view all the consequences. When your committee consider that this discretionary power, of supplying the kingdom with circulating me- dium, has been exercised under an opinion that the paper could not be issued to excess, if advanced in discounts to merchants in good bills payable at stated periods, and likewise under an opinion that neither the price of bullion, nor the course of exchanges need be adverted to, as affording any indi- cation with respect to the suffi- ciency or excess of such paper, your committee cannot hesitate to say, that these opinions of the bank must be regarded as ina great measure the operative cause of the continuance of the present state of things. Yourcommitteewillnow proceed tostate,from the information which hasbeen laid beforethem, what ap- pears to have been the progressive increase, and to be the present amount of the paper circulation of this country, consisting primarily of the notes of the Bank of England not at present convertibleinto spe- cie; and, in a secondary manner, of the notés of the country bankers whichare convertible, at the option of the holder, into Bank of Eng- 2H 2 ANNUAL Jand paper. After having stated the amount of Bank of England paper, your committee will ex- plain the reasons which induce them to think that the numerical amount of that paper is not alone to be considered: as decisive of the question as to its excess : and before stating the amount of coun- try bank paper, so far as that can be ascertained, your committee willexplaintheir reasons for think- ing, that the amount of the coun- try bank circulation is limited by the amount of that of the Bank of England. I. It appears from the accounts 468 REGISTER, 1810. laid before the committees upo# affairs, in 1797, that for seve- ral years previous to the year 1796, the average amount of bank notes in circulation was between 10,000,000/. and 11,000,000/. ; hardly ever falling below 9,000,000/. and not often ex- ceeding to any great amount 11,000,0000. The following abstract of the several accounts referred to your committee, or ordered by your committee from the bank, will shew the progressive increase of the notes from the year 1798 to the end of the last year. Average Amount of Bank of England Notes in circulation in each of the following years. Notes of 5/7. and upwards, including Notes under 5/, Torat. Bank Post Bills. Se £ Si 1798 11,527,250 1,807,502 13,334,752 1799 12,408,522 1,653,805 14,062,327 1800 13,598,666 2,243,266 15,841,932 1801 13,454,367 2,715,182 16,169,594: 1802 13,917,977 3,136,477 17,054,454 1803, 12,983,477 3,864,045 16,84:7,522 1804: 12,621,348 4,723,672 17,345,020 1805 12,697,352 4,544,580 17,241,932 1806 12,844,170 4,291,230 17,135,400 1807 15,221,985 4,183,013 17,405,001 1808 13,402,160 4,132,420 17,534,580 1809 14,133,615 4,868,297 19,001,890 Taking from the accounts the merchants upen the discount of their bills. last half of the year 1809, the average will be found higher than for the whole year, and amounts to 19,880,310/. The notes of the Bank of Eng- land are principally issued in ad- vances to government for the pub- lic service, and in advances to the Your committee have had anac- count laid before them, of ad- vances made by the bank to go- vernment on landand malt, exche- quer bills, and other securities, in every year since the suspension of cash payments; from which, as STATE PAPERS. compared with the accounts laid before the committees of 1797, and which were then carried back for twenty years, it will appear that the yearly advances of the bank to government have, upon an average, since the suspension, been considerably lowerin amount than the average amount of ad- vances prior to that event, and the amountof those advances inthetwo last years,though greaterinamount than those of some years immedi- ately preceding, is less than it was for any of the six years preceding the restriction of cash payments. With respect to the amount of commercial discounts, your com- mittee did not think it proper to require from the directors of the bank a disclosure of their absolute amount, being a part of their pri- vate transactions as a commercial company, of which, withouturgent reason, it did not seem right to de- mand a disclosure. ‘The late go- vernor and deputy governor, how- ever, at the desire of your com- mittee, furnished a comparative scale, in progressive numbers, shewing the increase of the amount of their discounts from the year 1790 to 1809, both inclusive. They made a request, with which your committee have thought it proper to comply, that this docu- ment might not be made public ; the committee therefore have not placed it in the appendix to the present report, but have returned it to the bank, Your committee, however, have to state in general terms, that the amount of dis- counts has been progressively in- creasing since the year 1796; and that their amount, in the last year (1809) bears a very high propor- tion to their largest amount in any -year preceding 1797. Upen this 469 particular subject, your committee are only anxious to remark, that the largest amount of mercantile discounts by the bank, if it could be considered by itself, ought never, in their judgment, to be re- garded as any other than a great public benefit; and that it is only the excess of paper currency thereby issued, and kept out in circulation, which is to be consi- dered as the evil. But your committee must not omit to state one very important principle, that the mere numerical return of the amount of bank notes out in circulation, cannot be con- sidered as at all deciding the ques- tion, whether such paper is or is not excessive. It is necessary to have recourse to other tests. The same amount of paper may at one time be less than enough, and at another time more. The quantity of currency required will vary in some degree with the extent of trade; and the increase of our trade, which has taken place since the suspension, must have occa- sioned some increase in the quan- tity of our currency. But the quantity of currency bears nofixed proportion to the quantity of com- modities ; and any inferences pro- ceeding upon such a supposition would be entirely erroneous. The effective currency of the country depends uponthe quickness of cir- culation, and the number of ex- changes performed in agiven time, as well as upon its numerical amount; andallthecircumstances, which have a tendency to quicken or to retard the rate of circulation, render the same amount of cur- rency more or less adequate to the wants of trade. A much smaller amount is required in ahigh state of public credit, than when alarms 470 make individuals call in their ad- vances, and provide against acci- dents by hoarding ; and in-a pe- riod of commercial security and private confidence, than when mutual distrust discourages pecu- niary arrangements for any dis- tant time. But above all, the same amount of currency will be more or less adequate, in propor- tion to the skill which the great monevy-dealers possess in manag- ing and economizing the use of the circulating medium, Your committee are of opinion, that the improvements which have taken place of late years in this country, and particularly in the district of London, with regard to the use and economy of money among bankers, and in the mode of adjusting commercial payments, must have had a much greater effect than has hitherto been as- cribed to them, in rendering the same sum adequate to a much greater amount of trade and pay- ments than formerly. Some of those improvements will be found detailed in the evidence: they consist principally in the increased use of bankers drafts in the com- mon payments of London; the contrivance of bringing all such drafts daily to a common recep- tacle, where they are balanced against each other; the interme- diate agency of bill-brokers; and several other changes in the prac- tice of London bankers, are to the same effect, of rendering it unnecessary for them to keep so large a deposit of money as for- merly. Within the London dis- trict, it would certainly appear, that a smaller sum of money is re- guired than formerly, to perform the same number of exchanges and amount of payments, if the ANNUAL REGISTER, 18{0. rate of prices had remained the same. It is material also to ob- serve, that both the policy of the Bank of England itself, and the competition of the country bank paper, have tended to compress the paper of the Bank of England, more and more, within London and the adjacent district. All these circumstances must have co-operated to render a smaller augmentation of Bank of England paper necessary to supply the demands of our increased trade than might otherwise have been required ; and shew how impossi- bleit is, from thenumerical amount alone of that paper, to pronounce whether it is excessive or not: a more sure criterion must be re- sorted to ; andsuchacriterion your committee have already shown is only to be found in the state of the exchanges, and the price of gold bullion. The particular circumstances of the two years whigh are so re- markable in the recent history of our circulation, 1793 and 1797, throw great light upon the prin- ciple which your committee have last stated. In the year 1793 the distress was occasioned bya failure of con- fidence in the country circulation, and a consequent pressure upon that of London. The Bank of England did not think it advisable to enlarge their issues to meet this, increased demand, and their notes previously issued, circulating less freely in consequence of the alarm that prevailed, proved insufficient for thenecessary payments. In this crisis, parliamentappliedaremedy, very similar, in its effect, to an en- largement of the advances and is- sues of the bank, a loan of exche- quer bills was authorized to be - SiTgaAgT se made to as many mercantile per- sons giving good security,asshould apply for them: and the confidence which this measure diffused, as well as the increased means which it afforded of obtaining bank notes through the sale of the exchequer bills, speedily relieved the distress both of London and the country. Without offering an opinion upon the expediency of the particular mode in which this operation was effected, your committee think it an important illustration of the principle, that an enlarged accom- modation is the true remedy for that occasional failure of confi- dence in the country districts, to which our system of paper credit is unavoidably exposed. Thecircumstances which occur- red in the beginning of the year 1797, were very similar to those of 1793; an alarm of invasion, a run upon the country banks for gold, the failure of some of them, anda run upon the Bank of England, forming a crisis like that of 1793, for which perhaps an effectual re- medy might have been provided, if the Bank of England had had cou- rage to extend instead of restrict- ing its accommodations and issues of notes. Some few persons, it appears from the report of the se- cret committee of the lords, were of this opinion at the time; and the late governor and deputy go- vernor of the bank stated to your committee, that they and many of the directors, are nowsatisfied, from the experience of the year 1797, that the diminution of their notes in that emergency increased the public distress; an opinion in the correctness of which your com- mittee entirely concur. It appears to your committee, that the experience of the Bank of PAPERS. 471 England, intheyears1793and1 797, contrasted with the facts which have been stated in the present report, suggests a distinction most important to be kept in view, be- tween that demand upon the bank for gold for the supply of the do- mestic channels of circulation, sometimes a very greatand sudden one, which is occasioned by a tem- porary failure of confidence, and that drain upon the bank for gold which grows out of an unfavour- able state of the foreign exchanges. The former, while the bank main- tainsitshigh credit, seems likely to be best relieved by a judicious in- crease of accommodation to the country ; the latter, so long as the bank does not pay in specie, ought to suggest to the directors a ques- tion, whether their issues may not be already too abundant. Your committee have much sa- tisfaction in thinking, that the di- rectors are perfectly aware that they may err by a too scanty sup- ply in a period of stagnant credit. And your committee are clearly of opinion, that although it ought to be the general policy of the bank directors to diminish their paperin the event of the long continuance of a high price of bullion, and a very unfavourable exchange, yet it is essentialtothe commercial inte- rests of this country, and to the general fulfilment of those mercan- tileengagements whicha free issue of paper mayhave occasioned, that the accustomed degree of accom- modation to the merchants should not be suddenly and materially re- duced ; and that if any general and serious difficulty or apprehension onthis subject should arise, it may, in the judgment of your committee, be counteracted without danger, and with advantage to the public, 472 by a liberality in the issue of Bank of England paper, proportioned to the urgency of the particular occa- sion. Under such circumstances, it belongs to the bank to take like- wise into their own consideration, how far it may be practicable, con- sistently with a due regard to the immediate interests of the public service, rather to reduce their pa- per by a gradual reduction of their advances to government, than by too suddenly abridging the dis- counts to the merchants. Il. Before your committee pro- ceed to detail what they have col- lected with respect to the amount of country bank paper, they must observe, that so long as the cash payments of the bank are suspend- ed, the whole paper of the coun- try bankers is a superstructure raised upon the foundation of the paper of the Bank of England. The same check, which the con- vertibility into specie, under a better system provides against the excess of any part of the paper circulation, is, during the present system, provided against an excess of country bank paper, by its con- vertibility into Bank of England . paper. IPfan excess of paper be issued in a country district, while the London circulation does not exceed its due proportion, there ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. will be a local rise of prices in that country district, but prices in London will remain as before. Those who have the country pa- per in their hands will prefer buy- ing in London where things are cheaper, and will therefore return that country paper upon the banker who issued it, and will demand from him Bank of England notes, or bills upon London ; and thus, the excess of country paper being continually returned upon the issuers for Bank of England paper, the quantity of the latter necessa- rily and effectually limitsthe quan- tity of the former. This is illus- trated by the account which has been already given of the excess, and subsequent limitation, of the paper of the Scotch banks, about the year 1763. If the Bank of England paper itself should at any time, during the suspension of cash payments, be issued to excess, a corresponding excess maybeissued of country bank paper, which will not be checked; the foundation being enlarged, the superstructure admits of a proportionate exten- sion. And thus, under such a system, the excess of Bank of England paper will produce its effect upon prices not merely in the ratio of its own increase, but in a much higher proportion. Number of Country Bank Notes exceeding 21. 2s. each stamped in the years ended the 10th of October 1808, and 10th of October 1809, respectively. 1808. 1809. , ; No. No. Exceeding 2/. 2s. and not exceeding 5/. 5s. Exceeding 5/. 5s. and not exceeding 201... ade ee Exceeding 20/. and not exceeding 30/. .. ‘ 2.495 Exceeding 30/. and not exceeding 50/7... | “""*"* 674 Exceeding 50/. and not exceeding 100/. .. 8 TATE *P A: P-E RS. Assuming that the notes in the two first of these classes were all issued for the lowest denomination to which the duties respecfully at- tach, and such as are most com- monly met with in the circulation of country paper, viz. notes of 5/. and 10/. [although in the second class there isaconsiderable number of 20/.] and even omitting altoge- ther from thecomparison the notes of the three last classes, the issue of which your committee under- stand is in fact confined to the chartered banks of Scotland, the result would be, that, exclusive of any increase inthe number of notes under 2/. 2s. the amount of coun- try bank paper stamped in the year ended the 10th of October 1809, has exceeded that of the year end- ed on the 10th of October 1808, in the sum of 3,095,340/. Your committee can form no positive conjecture as to the amount of country bank paper cancelled and withdrawn from circulation in the course of the last year. But con- sidering that it is the interest and practice of the country bankers to use the same notes as Jong as pos- sible ; that, as the law now stands, there is.no limitation of time to the re-issuing of those not exceeding 2l. 2s.; and that all above that amount are re-issuable for three years from the date of their first issuing ; it appears difficult to sup- pose that the amount of notes above 2/. 2s. cancelled in 1809, could be equal tothe whole amount stamped in 1808 ; but even upon that supposition, there would still be an increase for 1809 in the notes of 5/. and 10/. alone, to the amount aboved specified of $,095,3401., to which must be added an increase within the same period of Bank of England notes to 473 the amount of about 1,500,000/., making, in the year 1809, an ad- dition in the whole of between four and five millions to the circulation of Great Britain alone, deducting only the gold which may have been withdrawn in the course of that year from actualcirculation, which cannot have been very consider- able, and alsomaking anallowance for some increase in the amount of such country paper, as, though stamped, may not be in actual cir- culation. This increase in the ge- neral paper currency in the last year, even after these deductions, would probably be little short of the amount which in almost any one year, since the discovery of America, has been added to the circulating coin of the whole of Europe. Although, as your com mittee has already had occasion to observe, no certain conclusion can be drawn from the numerical amount of paper in circulation, considered abstractedly from all other circumstances, either as to such paper being in excess, or still less as to the proportion ofsuch ex- cess; yet they must remark, that the fact of any very great and ra- pid increase in that amount, when coupled and attended with all the indications of a depreciated circu- lation, does afford the strongest ' confirmatory evidence, that, from the want of some adequate check, the issues of such paper have not been restrained within their pro- per limits. Your committee cannot quit this part of the subject without further observing that the addition of be- tween fourand fivemillions sterling to the paper circulation of this country, has doubtless been made ata very small expense to the par- ties issuing it, only about 100,000/. 474 having been paid thereupon in stamps to the revenue, and proba- bly for the reasons already stated, no corresponding deposits of gold or Bank of England notes being deemed by the country banks ne- cessary to support their additional issues. These parties therefore, it may be fairly stated, have been enabled under the protection of the law, which virtually secures them against such demands, to create within the last year or fifteen months, at a very trifling expence, and in a manner almost free from all present risk to their respective credits as dealers in paper money, issues of that article to the amount of several millions, operating, in the first instance and in their hands, as capital for their own benefit, and when used as such by them, falling into and in succession mixing itself with the mass of circulation of which the value in exchange for all other commodities is gradually lowered in. proportion as that mass is aug- mented. If your committee could be of opinion that the wisdom of parliament would not be directed toapplya proper remedy to a state of things sounnatural,andteeming, if not corrected in time, with ulti- mate consequences so prejudicial to the public welfare, they would not hesitate to declare an opinion, that some mode ought to be de- rived of enabling the state to parti- cipate much more largely in the profits accruing from the present system ; but as this is by no means the policy they wish to recommend, they will conclude their observa- tions on this part of the subject, by observing, that in proportion as they most fully agree with Dr, Adam Smith, and all the most able writers and statesmen of this coun ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. try, in considering a paper circula- tion constantly convertible into’ specie, as one of the greatest practical improvements which can be made in the political and do-' mestic economy of any state; and in viewing the establishment of the country banks issuing such paper as a most valuable and es- sential branch of that improve- ment in this kingdom; in the same proportion is your committee anx- ious to revert, as speedily as possible, to the former practice and state of things in this respect ; convinced on the one hand, that any thing like a permanent and systematic departure from that practice must ultimately lead to results, which among other at- tendant calamities, would be de- structive of the system itself; and on the other, that such an event would be the more to be deprecat- ed, as it is only in a country like this, where good faith, both pub- lic and private, is held so high, and where, under the happy union of liberty and law, property and the securities of every description by which it is represented are equally protected against the en- croachments of power and the vio- lence of popular commotion, that the advantages of this system, un- accompanied with any of its dan- gers, can be permanently enjoyed, and carried to their fullest extent. Upon a review of all the facts and reasonings which have been submitted to the consideration of your committee in the course of their inquiry, they have formed an opinion, which they submit to the House:—that there is at presentan excess in the paper circulation of this country, of which the most unequivocal symptom is the very high price of bullion, and next to STATE PAPERS. that the low state of the continen- tal exchanges; that this excess is to be ascribed to the want of a sufficient check and control in the issues of paper from the Bank of England; and originally to the suspension of cash payments, which removed the natural and true con- trol. For upon a general view of the subject, your committee are of opinion that no safe, certain, and constantly adequate provision against an excess of paper cur- rency, either occasional or perma- nent, can be found, except in the convertibility of all such paper into specie. Your committee cannot, therefore, butsee reason to regret, that the suspension of cash pay- ments which, in the most favour- able light in which it can be view- ed, was only atemporary measure, has been continued so long; and particularly, that by the manner in which the present continuing act is framed, the character should have been given to it of a perfect war measure. Your committee conceive that: it would be superfluous to point out, in detail, the disadvantages which must result to the country, from any such general excess of currency as lowers its relative value. The effect of such an augmentation of prices upon all money transactions for time; the _ unavoidable injury suffered by annuitants, and by creditors of every description, both private and public; the unintended ad- vantage gained by government _and all other debtors; are conse- quences too obvious to require proof, and tov repugnant to jus- tice to be left without remedy. By far the most important portion of this effect appears to your commit- tee to be that which is communi- 475 cated to the wages of common country labour, the rate of which it is well known, adapts itself more slowly to the changes which hap- penin the value of money, thanthe price of any otherspecies of labour or commodity. Anditis enough for your committee to allude to some classes of the publicservants, whose pay, if once raised in conse- quence of adepreciation of money, cannot so conveniently be reduced again to its former rate, even after money shall have recovered its value. The future progress of these inconveniences and evils, if notchecked, must, atno great dis- tance of time, work a_ practical conviction upon the minds of all those who may still doubt their existence ; but even if their pro- gressive increase were less pro- bable than it appears to ycur committee, they cannot help ex- pressing an opinion, that the in- tegrity and honour of parliament are concerned not to authorise, longer than is required by impe- rious necessity, the continuancein this great commercial country of a system of circulation in which that natural check or control is absent which maintains the value of money, and, by the permanency of that common standard of value, secures the substantial justice and faith of monied contracts and obli- gations between man and man. Your committee moreover beg leave to advert to the temptation to resort to a depreciation even of the value of the gold coin by an alteration of the standard to which parliamentitself might besubjected by agreat and long continued ex- cess of paper. This has been the resource of many governments under such circumstances, and is the obvious and most easy remedy 476 to the evil in question. But it is unnecessary to dwell onthe breach of public faith and dereliction of a primarydutyofgovernment, which wouldmanifestly be implied in pre- ferring the reduction of the coin down to the standard of the paper, to the restoration of the paper to the legal standard of the coin. Yourcommittee, therefore, hav- ing veryanxiously anddeliberately censidered thissubject, report itto the House as their opinion, that the system of the circulating me- dium of this country ought to be brought back, with as much speed as is compatible with a wise and necessary caution, to the original principle of cash payments at the option of theholderof bank paper. Your committee have under- stood that remedies, or palliatives, of a different nature, have been projected ; such as, a compulsory limitation of the amount of bank advances and discounts, during the continuance of the suspension; or, acompulsory limitation during the same period, of the rate of bank profits and dividends, by carrying the surplus of profits above that rate to the public ac- count. But, in the judgment of your committee, such indirect schemes, for palliating the possible evils resulting from the suspension of cash payments, would prove wholly inadequate for that pur- pose, because the necessary pro- portion could never be adjusted, and if once fixed, might aggravate very much the inconveniences of a temporary pressure ; and even if their efficacy could be made to appear, they would be objection- able as a most hurtful and im- proper interference with the rights of commercial property. , According to the best judgment ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. your committee has been enabled to form, no sufficient remedy for the present, or security for the fu- ture, can be pointed out, except the repeal of the law which sus- pends the cash payments of the Bank of England. In effecting so important a change, your committee are of opinion that some difficulties must be encountered, and thatthere are some contingent dangers to the bank, against which it ought most carefullyand strongly to be guard- ded. But all those may be effec- tually provided for, by entrusting to the discretion of the bank itself. the charge of conducting andcom- pleting the operation, and by al- lowing to the bank so ample a pe~ riod of time for conducting It, as will be more than sufficient to ef- fectits completion. To the discre- tion, experience, and integrity of the directors of the bank, your committee believe that parliament may safely entrust the charge of effecting that which parliament ‘may in its wisdom determine upon as necessary to be effected; and that the directors of that great in- stitution, far from making them~ selves a party with those who have a temporary interest in spreading alarm, will take a much longer view of the permanent interests of the bank, as indissolubly blended with those of the public. The par- ticular mode of gradually effecting the resumption of cash payments ought therefore, in the opinion of your committee, to be left ina great measure to the discretion of the bank, and parliament ought to do little more than to fix, defini- tively, the time at which cash pay- mentsare to become asbefore com- pulsory. The periodallowedought - to be ample, in order that the bank “8 THArT 3 oP A Pik oS tlirectors may feel their way, and that, having a constant watch upon the varying circumstances that ought to guide them, and availing themselves only of favourable cir- cumstances, they may tread back their steps slowly, and may pre- serve both the course of their own affairs as a company, and that of _public and commercial credit, not _only safe but unembarrassed. With this view, your committee . would suggest, that the restriction on cash payments cannot safely be removed at an earlier period than two years from the present time; but your committee are of opinion that early provision ought to be made by parliament for ~ terminating, by the end of that period, the operation of the se- veral statutes which have imposed and continued that restriction. In suggesting this period of two years, your committee have not overlooked the circumstance, that as the law stands at present, the bank would be compelled to pay in cash at the end of six months after the ratification of a definitive treaty of peace; so that if peace were to be concluded within that period, the recommendation of your committee might seem to have the effect of postponing, instead of accelerating the re- sumption of payments. But your committee are of opinion, that if peace were immediately to be ratified, in the present state of our circulation, it would be most hazardous to compel. the bank to pay cash in six months, and would be found wholly impracticable. Indeed the restoration of peace, _ by opening new fields of com- mercial enterprise, would mul- tiply instead of abridging the de- mands upon the bank for discount, AT] and would render it peculiarly distressing to the commercial world if the bank were suddenly and materially to restrict their issues. Your committee are therefore of opinion, that even if peace should intervene, two years should be given to the bank for resuming its payments ; but that even if the war should be pro- longed, cash payments should be resumed by the end of that period. Your committee have not been indifferent to the consideration of the possible occurrence of politi- cal circumstances, which may be thought hereafter to furnish an ar- gument in favour of some prolong- ation of the proposed period of re- suming cash payments, or even in favour of a new law for their tem- porary restriction after the bank shall have opened. They are, however, far from anticipating a necessity, even in any case, of re~ turning to the present system. But if occasion for a new measure of restriction could be supposed at any time to arise, it can in no degree be grounded as your com- mittee think, on any state of the foreign exchanges (which they trust that they have abundantly shewn the bank itself to have the general power of controlling) but on a political state of things pro- ducing, or likely very soon to produce an alarm at home, leading to so indefinite a demand for cash for domestic uses, as it must be impossible for any banking estab- lishment to provide against. A return to the ordinary system of banking is, on the very ground of the late extravagant fall of the ex- changes and high price of gold, peculiarly requisite. Tha talone can effectually restore general con- fidence in the value of the circulat- 478 ‘ing medium of the kingdom; and the serious expectation of this event must enforce a preparatory reduction of the quantity of paper, and all other measures which accord with the true principles of banking. The anticipation of the time when the bank will be con- strained to open, may also be ex- pected to contribute to the im- provement of the exchanges; whereas a postponement of this _era, so indefinite as that of six months after the termination of the war, and especially in the event of an exchange continuing to fall (which more and more would generally be perceived to arise from an excess of paper, and a consequent depreciation of it) ‘may lead under an unfavourable state of public affairs, to such a failure of confidence (and especi- ally among foreigners) in the ‘determination of parliament to en-~ force a return to the professed standardof themeasureofpayments as may serve to precipitate the fur- ther fall of theexchanges, and lead to consequences at once the most discreditable and disastrous. Although the details of the best mode of returning to cash pay- ments ought to be left to the dis- cretion of the bank of England, as already stated, certain provisions would be necessary, under the authority of parliament, both for the convenience of the bank itself, and for the security of the other ‘banking establishments in this country and in Ireland. Your committee conceive it may be convenient for the bank to be permitted to issue notes under the value of 5/. for some little time after it had resumed ’ payments in specie, It will be convenient also for the ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. chartered banks of Ireland and Scotland, and all the country banks, that they should not be compelled to pay in specie until some time after the resumption of payments in cash by the Bank of England ; but that they should continue for a short period upon their present footing, of being liable to pay their own notes on demand in Bank of England paper. ABSTRACT OF REPORT ON SINE- CURE PLACES. First Report from the select Committee of the Honourable House of Commons, appointed to consider what Offices in the United Kingdom, and in the Foreign dominions of his Ma- jesty, come within the purview of the second, third, or fourth Reso- lutions of the House, on the third report from the Committee on the Public Expenditure of the United Kingdom. [Ordered to be printed 20th of June, 1810.] The resolutions referred to your committee are as follow: II. Resolved, That in addition ‘to the useful and effective measures already taken byparliament,forthe abolition and regulation of various sinecureoffices,andofficesexecuted by deputy, it is expedient, after providingotherandsufficientmeans for enabling his majesty duly to re- compence the faithful discharge of high and effective civil offices, to abolish all offices which have reve- nue without employment, and to regulateall offices whichhavereve- nue extremely disproportionate to employment; excepting only such STATE PAPERS: as are connected with the personal service of his majesty, or of his royal family, regard being had to the existing interests in any offices so to be abolished or regulated. III. Resolved, That it is expe- dient to reduce all offices, of which the effective duties are entirely or principally discharged by deputy, to the salary and emoluments ac- tually received fur executing the business of such offices; regard being had to any increase which may appear necessary on account of additional responsibility, and sufficient security being taken for due performance of the service in all cases of trust connected with public money ; regard being also had to the existing interests in such office. IV. Resolved, That it is expe- dient, after the expiration of any existing interest in any officewhich is entitled to the sale of any ap- pointment in any of the courts of law, to make provision to prevent the sale of such offices, under such regulations as may be conducive to the public interest, by appro- priating a part of the emoluments of such offices towards defraying the salaries of the judges, or other officers on the establishment of such courts, or towards the be- nefit and dignity of the offices in which such right of sale is now vested. . The offices which come within the purview ofthese resolutionsare, ' J. Offices having revenue with- out employment ; 2. Offices having revenue ex- tremely disproportionate to employment ; and, 3. Offices of which the effective duties are entirely or princi- - pally discharged by deputy. . [Exceptingalwayssuchoffices 479 as are connected with the per- sonal service of his majesty, or of his royal family.] 4. Offices, the appointments to which are allowed to be sold in any of the courts of law. The saleable offices in thecourts of law mentioned in the fourth re- solution, constitute a distinct head of inquiry. The number of offices which have revenue without any employ- ment, either of principal ordeputy, is very inconsiderable ; and by far the greatest number of offices which are commonly described as “‘sinecure offices,” fall properly under the description of “ offices . executed by deputy,” or “ offices having revenue disproportionate to employment.” To some of these, great pecu- niary and official responsibility is attached ; and from the holders of some of them large securities are required. It may therefore be expedient that such offices should not at any time be filled by per- sons less responsible than those who at present hold them. In other cases, the deputy may receive a lower salary than that which might fairly be considered as an adequate remuneration for the services to be performed, and which might, indeed, be necessary, to ensure the due performance of those services, should it be found expedient to withdraw the super- intendance and authority of the principal. It appears therefore, to your committee, that in some instances it might be expedient to annex the duties of such of the offices to be regulated, as have great responsi- bility, without requiring continual personal attendance, to other of- fices of an efficient nature; by ANNUAL which means a saving of the whole revenue of such regulated offices might accrue to the public, while sufficient provision would be made for the responsibility of the person in whom they may hereafter be vested. In other instances it might be expedient, in adopting the prin- ciple of the third resolution, to ad- mit of some modification of that principle, according tothe peculiar circumstances of the case. ** KK Kk Offices, having emolument with- out any duties or responsibility, to which the principle of abolition might be applied without any qua- lification (excepting such as may arise out of existing interests) are, Chief Justice in Eyre, north of Trent, by whom no duties ap- pear to have been lately per- formed, either in person or by deputy. Law Clerk in secretary of state’s office. Collector and transmitter of state papers, Housekeeper in excise. Warehouse-keeper tothe stamp- office. Constable of the Castle of Li- merick. In Scotland the office of Lord Justice General, appears to have become a perfect sinecure. The duty of this officer was, to preside in the Court of Justiciary. For a long period this high office has been bestowed on persons. who have not been brought up to the profession of the law, and the duties of it have in consequence been suspended. Your committee think it neces- sary, on this subject, to call the attention of the House to anarticle of the Union; wherein it is enacted «« That the Court of Justiciary do 480 REGISTER, 1810. also, after the Union, and notwith- standing thereof, remain in all time ensuing within Scotland asit isnow constituted, subject nevertheless, to such regulations for the better administration of justice as shall be made by the parliament of Great Britain, and without prejudice of other rights of Justiciary.”’ ate EH F Those offices which have re- venue extremely disproportionate to employment ; or the duties of which are principally performed by deputy, form two classes, so intimately blended together that the committee have judged it use- less, if not impracticable, to keep them perfectly distinct. With respect to those offices, the duties of which are important, though requiring little personal attendance, but which, from their nature or responsibility, can only be discharged by persons of high official situation, the committee suggest the expediency of annex- ing them to other offices of high rank and responsibility ; by which means a saving df the whole emo- Juments may be derived to the public. Among the most important of- fices of thisdescription arethose of auditor of the Exchequer, and clerk of the pells. It is stated to bematerial that these offices should be preserved as essential checks on the issue of public money ; but it appears to your committee that such offices might with great pro- priety be annexed to those of pre- sident of the council, and privy seal for the time being ; or to any other office of high responsibility which is not connected with the Treasury or Exchequer. The office of master of the mint is found in the list in the supple- STATE PAPERS. mentary report, which your come mittee have adopted as the ground of their report. But your commit- tee conceive that neither this office, nor that of one of the joint pay- masters, which is also included in the same list, comes under that description of ‘‘ sinecure offices,” or offices executed by deputy, which is intended to be referred to their consideration. They are not offices held, either by patent or by custom, for life; nor given as the reward of public service. The division of the office of pay- master of the forces does not ap- pear to grow out of any thing in the constitution of that office ; and in point of fact, the whole duty of that office, now become very con- siderable, may be said to be per- formed exclusively by one of the joint paymasters. The office of master of the mint is undoubtedly an office requiring little or no attendance, though one of occasional responsibility ; but the present master of the mint dis- charges the duties of the president of the board of trade, a situation ofnoemolument,andrequiringcon- stant attendance and application. The duties of the office of vice- resident of the same board are in like manner discharged by the treasurer of the navy. This observation appliesequally to the whole business of the privy council, which is transacted by members, who, with the single ex- ception of the lord president him- self, are not entitled to any salary or emolument for their attendance at that board. The dutiesstill performed by the Chief Justice in Eyre, south of Trent, appear to be of a merely formal nature, which, so far as the Vor. LII. 48} continued performance of them is essential to the preservation of any of the rights of the crown, might, in the opinion of your committee; without inconveni- ence, be transferred to some other efficient office ; such as that of the surveyors of the woodsand forests. The government of the Isle of Wight appears not to be of a mili- tary nature. A part of the func- tions of the governor are similar to those of the lords lieutenants of counties, and like them might be discharged without emolument; the other functions appear to be per= formed by deputy; but with re- spect to this office, your committee have not yet been able to obtain sufficiently detailed information. *# * * * * Your committee have next pro- ceeded to examine, so far as their time and means of information would permit, the more numerous class of offices, which being per- formed entirely or principally by deputy, appear to them to come more immediately within the pur- view of the third resolution. Of this description your com- mittee have to notice the follow- ing offices : In the Court of Exchequer :— Clerk of the pipe, comptroller of thepipe, clerk of Exchequer pleas, clerk of foreign estreats, comp- troller of first fruits, the chirogra- phers, foreign apposer, king’s re- membrancer, together with which is held the office of registrar of deeds in Middlesex, marshai of the Exchequer, surveyor of green ‘wax. Register of High Court of Ad- miralty, Register of High Court of Ap- pens for prizes, 2 \ 482 Register of High Court of De- legates. ; Inthe Alienation Office: —Three commissioners, receiver-general, master in Chancery, two clerks. ° The duties of the four tellers of the Exchequerare performed alto- gether by their deputies; and as to their responsibility for the cus- tody of public money, your com- mittee observe, that the same amount of security which is requir- ed from the tellers is usually given to them by their deputies; from which your committee are led to infer, that, both with respect to their duties, and to their respon- sibility, these offices might be safely reduced to the present emoluments of the deputies. The office of clerk of the parlia- ment is performed almost wholly by deputy, and is one of those which would come within the pur- view of the third resolution. On the subject of this office, however, your committee think it necessary especially: to represent, that the clerk of parliament, though ap- pointed by the crown, is a ser- vant of the House of Lords. In the Mint, your committee have to notice the following offices : —Warden, comptroller, surveyor of meltings, and clerk of the irons. In the Privy Seal Office : —The four principal clerks. - Four clerks in the Signet office. Inthe Excise:—Comptroller ge- neral of accounts, inspector gene- ral of inland duties, register to commissioners of Excise. -Yourcommittee,havingadverted to the offices performed by deputy in the colonies, think it necessary to observe that their emoluments arise from fees and salaries paid within the colonies. Your com- ANNUAL: REGISTER, 1810. mittee have further to observe, that notwithstanding anact passedinthe twenty-second year of his present majesty’s reign, c. 75, the object of which was, to enforce residence in the principals, many of these offices continue to be executed wholly by deputy. That act con- tains a clause empowering the go- vernors of colonies to give such leave of absence as they shall see occasion to give. But that power appears to have been exercised to so great an extent as to frustrate what must no doubt have been the true intention of the legislature. Your committee have ascer- tained the following to be of that description : ' Secretary and clerk of inrol- ments in the Island of Jamaica, re- gister of Chancery inditto, receiver generalin ditto, clerkofthe Crown courts: in ditto, naval officer in ditto, secretary and clerk of the courts in Barbadoes, prothonotary of the court of Common Pleas in ditto, provost marshal in ditto, naval officer of Curacoa, secretary of Tobago, naval officer of De- merara. In ScoTLAnp, itappears toyour committee thatthe followingoffices come withinthe purview ofthethird resolution, as being wholly orprin- cipally discharged by deputy. The existence of many of these ancient offices appears to be secured to Scotland by the act of union ; but it is also provided in that act, that they should be subject to such re- - gulationsasthe parliamentofGreat Britain shall hereafter make: Keeper of the great seal, keeper of the privy-seal, keeper of the signet, lord register, director of the court of Chancery, clerk to ditto, receiver of bishops’ rents, STATE PAPERS. and king's remembrancer in the court of Exchequer. In IrELAND, the following of- fices appear to your committee to come within the purview of the same resolution : Chief remembrancer of the King’s-bench, clerk of the Pipe, clerk of Common Pleas office, court of Exchequer, prothonotary of Common Pleas, prothonotary of King’s-bench,Crown office, King’s- bench, filazer’s office, and keeper of declarations King’s-bench, tel- ler of the Exchequer, keeper of privy seal, keeper of records, two joint muster-masters general. The inconsiderable office of Cartaker te his majesty, is con- nected with the personal service of the royal family, and conse- quently does not fall under the cognizance of your committee, The office of keeper of records in the receipt of the Exchequer, appears to be an efficient office of trust, and not overpaid by a sa- lary of 400/. per annum. The places of office-keeper in the War-office, and of register of seizures in the port of London, are to be suppressed after the decease orresignationofthe presentofficers. Theauditor of Excise has been rendered an efficient office. The office of register to the commis- sionefs of salt duties has been al- ready abolished: the salary now paid is in the nature of a com- pensation. The receiver of stamps ap- peats to be a necessary and re- sponsible officer, and his emolu- ments not more than adequate. The distributors of stamps are ‘effective officers. The distributors for Buckinghamshire and Kent are 483 equally so with the rest; theyhave been inserted in the list of offices executed by deputy in conse- quence of an indulgence which is confined to the present officers, It appears by the evidence that the office of accountant-general of the Post-office is an efficient office, requiringpersonalattendance,with responsibility; and that the emolu- ments of this office will not admit of reduction. The office of the apothecary-generalhas been under the consideration of the Treasury ; and by an agreement concluded with him, his patent is to be sur- rendered on condition of receiving an annuity of 2,500/. a year for life: an agreement which appears to your committee to be eminently beneficial to the public. In Ireland, the allowance paid to the keeper of the late parliament house appears to be a compensa- tion for an office already suppres- sed. The office of joint solicitor of Ireland in Great Britain is also abolished, as well as that of exa- miner of hearth-money: and the offices of clerk of the quit-rents, treasurer of the Post-office, and accountant-general of the Post-of- fice, have been made efficient. The fees, which under the head of muster-master general of Ireland, are stated to be “due but sus- pended,” are in fact abolished. After parliament shal! have provided such other sufficient means for enabling his majesty duly to recompense the faithful discharge of high and effective civil offices, as to the wisdom of parliament shall seem fit, your committee are of opinion, Ist. That the following offices, having revenue without employ- 2T2 484 ANNUAL REGISTER, I810. ‘ment, might, at the expiration of the existing interests, be abolished: Chief Justice in Eyre north of ~ Ween: AT Hd Les, u've og ;'730 Law clerk in Secretary of State’s Office, Home Department ..... 300 Collector and Transmitter of State Papers, Foreign Department... 500 Constable of the Castle of Lime- rick, Ireland ..0....cess-s0eese-0- | |) 798 Not reported by Committee of Public Expenditare : Principal Housekeeper in the Ex- CISC-OFFICO sr. eccreesceece seers Asa Warehouse-keeper, Stamp-office 200 Per Annum,,......£3,628 2ndly. That the following offices might continueat the expiration of the existing interests to be ma- naged by the deputy, as at pre- sent, without any addition to his salary and emoluments ; but that from the peculiar nature of the re- sponsibilityattached to them, how- ever limited the actual duties to be performed, these offices would, in the opinion of the committee, be most conveniently filled by some of those persons who hold, for the time being, certain high official situations, leaving the annual amount now paid to the principal at the disposal of parliament : Auditor of the Exchequer.........£4,000 Clerk of the Pells ........s.sseeeee. 3,000 Chief Justice of Eyre, south of ETON vee ssescsceveccceecteccvevsese: «1,969 Per Annum..,,... £8,969 3rdly. That the following offices would admit of being left, after the expiration of the existing inte- rests,altogether under the manage- ment of the deputy, without any addition to the present salary and emoluments. Theemolumentsnow received by the principal being placedatthe disposal of parliament: Deputy. — Prin, Comptroller of the ; . Pipe, Excheq. ... £160.....£160 Chirographer’s Court Common Pleas ... 120...... 400 Clerk of the Exche- quer of Pleas...... King’s Remembran- cer, Exchequer... —1,500....... 991 Registrar of High( One third 663.0004 663 Court of Appeals _) profits Ditto of Delegates ) payable to 4p 3 Ditto of Admiralty ( principal Clerk of Parliament average 7 years... 3,617. 4440.4,946 Principal clerk, Sig- nei-Office ......448 110...... 260 Ditto ditto 110....... 260 Ditto ditto 110...... 260 Ditto ditto 110...... 260 Comptroller General , of Accounts, Excise 508... 446 Tospector gen. ditto MOs365 50 292 1,000......2,700 1,000. .....2,700 Teller of Exchequer Ditto ditto .....,.. Ditto ditto as limit- ed after life of the present possessor. Ditto ditto Chief Remembrancer Exchequer, Ireland Clerk of Common Pleas Exchequer Gitto, caavececcasciee Prothonotary. Com- mon Pleas, Freland, average 3 years... 1,000......2,700 1,000......2,700 507....4.3,694 uncertain,..8,259 1,906......9,530 ProthonotaryKing’s ( One third Berch, Ireland, \ of Fees average 3 years< for self 8,904 Crown Office, ditto and Filazer.........dilto( clerks Keeper of Privy Seal RVEIBNG wt cca caves tice Muster-master Gene- ral ditto seeorseeoces 130..... 1,300 uncerlain...4,000 £68,983 4thly. That the following offices would admit of being brought, at the expiration of the existing inte- rests, entirely under the manage- ment of the deputy as now consti- tuted ; but that the degree of re- sponsibility, or trouble attending STATE PAPERS. the discharge of the whole duties, would entitle the deputy to an in- crease of the salary to be hereafter settled, which renders the amount of ultimate saving to the public uncertain : Deputy. Prin. Clerk of the Pipe Ex- ms chequer .......... £100.....£720 Foreign Apposer, ditto.......... 160 Marshall, ditto ...... 20 .... 150 Surveyor Green Wax MIO: reveiiesocesee Is.in £94 Alienation Office : Commissioner......+0¢ 52....++ 116 HttO” ..eeesneeeeeee 50...0-6 107 Ditto js. sess acted £505 Ff. OTs. Receiver General .... 170.....- 281 Master in Chancery .. 1010s... 106 eins Sate ce scicte «LO serena 88 BGO Ni eres ct oe Seen 1,31 1085-2, 138 Warden of the Mint.. 66...... 365 Comptroller ditto .... 66...... 267 Surveyor Meltingsditto 28...... 103 Principal Clerk, Privy meal enlabasasicaes 0 200 Ditto ditt 107) Se 200 Ditto ditto... QeSBth- ) 900 Ditto _ ditto.... 200 - Register toCommission- ers of Excise, self and ere oe ecee, GkOseas se, 400 Comptroller FirstFruits 25....:. 96 Teller of Exchequer, Brel he a.saals pia oil's aiyratele esie!g GI000 Clerk of the Pipe, ditto ........ 750 Add, not reported by Committee of Public Expenditure, Regis- _ ter of Deeds for coun- ty of Middlesex .... Under this head may be classed the offices wholly or chiefly exe- cuted by deputy in Scot- land; of these, some must be retained by the provisions of the Act of Union, although subject- ed by the same Act to be regulated by Parlia- ment. What the ulti- mate saving would be after such regulations as may be thought expe- dient, is uncertain, Keeper of theGreat Seal er eeeee 2,441 — Carried forward... .9,996 50. eens 250 485. Brought forward.... 9,996 Keeper of the Privy.Seal ........2,758 Keeper of the Signet. ......+ 02,717 Lord Register . «2,000 Director of Court of Chancery ...... ease, 65... 01095 Clerk to ditto ...... 14th of Fees 779 King’s Remembrancer ..550 Receiver of Bishop’s Rents175,... 370 £19,955 With respeet to offices in the Cotontes, where the deputy re- ceives the whole emoluments, pay- ing to the principal, by agreement, a fixed annual sum, and giving’ security for the same, as well as for the faithful execution of the office abroad; your committee report, that the persons in Great Britain holding those offices enjoy perfect sinecures ; but that the in- come of them arising altogether from fees payable in the colonies, it does not appear to your com~ mittee that any sums would be placed at the disposal of parlia- ment by regulating or abolishing them ; they afford to the crown a very considerable patronage as at present constituted; but do not seem easily capable of being brought within the reach of any economical arrangements in aid of the resources of the empire at home. This class of officers is very . numerous, but your committee have only had time or opportunity’ to report upon the following ; viz. Jamaicde Value per Annum. Sec. and Clerk of the Inrolments £2,500 Register in Chancery ...-+-.. 1,052 Receiver General .......----- 2,000 Clerk of the Crown ...++++0++ 4; Naval Officer .....-eeseeeee 1,500 Barbadoes. Secretary and Clerkofthe Courts 716 Provost Marshal...... Sem ae * a OUe Naval Officer of Curacoa .....-. 400 Secretary of the Islandof Tobago 400 Naval Officer of Demerara ..... 250 11,818 486 Abstract. ist Head.......+£3,628 Gnd ..cvececevee 8,969 er eteseerere 68,983 81,580 5th The sum of §1,580/. being the amount of savings under the Ist, 2nd, and 3rd heads of the foregoing abstract, would therefore accrue to the public in proportion as the several offices enumerated under those heads might fallin. And this sum, together with whatever saving might accrue from regulations under the 4th head, would be to be placed against the expence of any fund which parliament shall have instituted in pursuance of the resolution of the House “ for enabling his majesty duly to re- compense the faithful discharge of high and effective civil offices.” 20th June, 1810. VII. Extracts from Papers laid be- Sore the House of Commons, re- lativeto the East India Company. The East India Company's re- ceipts for sales of goods from March Ist, 1803, to March Ist 1806, fell short of the receipts in the three years immediately pre- ceding 3,268,6711. This was owing ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. to the reduction of the prices of India goods in the home market, a consequence of thestate of Europe, and by large importations to Lon- don through the medium of pri- vate merchants. The saleamount of India goads : 1798-9 stood at . -£4,667,295 1805-6 reduced to 2,254,899 1806-7 fell to eooe 1,472,074 1807-8 «secceeee 1,309,080 1808-9 ....ee02 1,191,213 The unsold goods in their ware- houses in London on the first of March, 1808, and expected in the course of the season, at prime cost, amounted to 7,148,440. valued at the selling price at 13,086,3052. The India debt, according to the best estimate that.can be formed of its amount on the first of May, 1808, stood at 31,895,000/. There had been, on the whole, no diminution of civil and military expenditures to compensate for the heavier charge of interest; but on the contrary, while the revenues had from diferent acquisitions and annexations, been greatly enhanc- ed, the expenditure kept pace with the increase and had even outrun it; sothat although when in 1793-4* the revenues were only eight mil- lions per annum, there was @ sur- plus of 1,600,000/, now that the Revenues, of new charter 1793-4,. 1798-9.... Charges, | Interest. | Surplus. First year Se £ oF 8,276,770] 6,066,923) 526,205|1,683,649| .. .. 8,652,032] 8,417,812] 759,326 ‘ 1802-3... |13,464,537|11,043,108]1,577,922| 843,507] .. 1805-6... |15,217,516|15,561,330]2,070,792 1807-8... ,|14,614,261| 13,436, 198|2,197,160 Deficit. Debt. £ |April. & 1793,, 7,971,668 1798. .10,866,588 595,106|1799. 12,811,863 1803, 19,593,737 . .{2,414,606|1806, , 28,538,804 .. [1,019,097|1808 ..31,895,000 STATE PAPERS. - revenues are fifteen millions per annum, there is a deficit of 1,019,0972. What is most obvious and strik- ingin thisstatement, is the increase, not of the charges only but also of thedebt, as the revenues increased, and net merely in proportion to the increase of the revenues ; for whilst from the year 1793-4 to the year 1805-6, the amount of the re- venueshas not been quite doubled, that of the charges has been in- creased as five to two, and that of the debt nearly quadrupled, be- sides a very large sum of debt transferred in the course of that period to England. After all allowances and adjust- ments, which, according tothebest knowledge of the court, compre- hend every thing theaccount ought to contain, the balance is in favour of England, or of the Company at home, 5,691,689/. Before concluding, the execu- tive body of the company think it may be proper for them todeclare, that they are not conscious of having, by improyidence or mis- managerient, contributed to bring the company’s affairs into the em- barrassments in which they are now involved. They may be placed in a very material degree to the vast increase of the Indian debt—the consequence of various measures adopted abroad under the admi- nistration of control exercised by his majesty’s government since the year 1784. Those embarrass- ments proceed also in part from causes which it has not been in the power of this country to con- trol. An unexampled European war, which has already continued fourteen years, has in every way aggravated the expences, and di- 487 minished the profits of the com- pany at home and abroad. The increased charges of freight and demoragealone, occasionedby this war, have amounted, sinceits com- mencement, to more than seven millions sterling. Whenever Great Britain is involved in European war, the effects are always felt in India in increased military ex- pences, even when no European enemy appears in the field there ; but that war has been carried into India; and, at the desire of his majesty’s government, the compa- ny havehad tosustain the expence of various foreign expeditions against the French, Dutch, and Spanish possessions in India, and to Egypt, all chiefly on thenational account, in which,asis well known, the company expended very large sums, borrowed at high Indian in- terest, to the prejudice of their general credit and affairs, in ways which cannot be made matter of account. This war moreover has occasioned a gradual rise in the cost of home manufactures and metals, which the company, con- sulting the national interest, have continued to export for many years to theextent of 2,200,000/. annual ly, notwithstanding the known dis- advantage under which they pro~ secuted thattrade ; for the increas- ed cost could not be compensated by a corresponding increase in the selling prices abroad, nor by a de- crease in the prices of goods pur~ chased for Europe, and has there- fore been attended with positive and considerable loss to the com- pany. The progressive diminu- tions of profit on their Indian im- portations here, have been already shewn. All these evils are now followed by a stagnation in the 488 home sales of the company. In this they suffer with the nation, and with-Europe at large, but the consequences, as already describ- ed, fall with peculiar severity upon them in the other circumstances of their affairs; for the Indian finances, which are become of im- mense importance in the system of the company, instead of afford- ing relief, are in a state that im- periously calls for instant and ef fectual regulation. It is by no means to be concluded, however, that affairs would now have been better under any other supposable mode of Indian administration ; it is perfectly within the power of this country to afford the aids which are now required for the relief of the company’s finances, both at home and abroad, for con- solidating the credit of the com- pany,and strengthening the hands of the authorities at home, so ne- cessary to the well-being of the company’s affairs. The expected deficit for 1808-9, of 2,433,185/,, was supplied by re- ceipts beyond the estimate from the following sources, viz. Sales of im- ports. »+». £851,345 Charges and freight on private trade. .168,813 ——— 1,020,158 eceived on account of Company’s claims on the public, on report of the committee,» . «1,500,000 £2,520,158 ee ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. SUPPLEMENTARY: PAPERS. Prime Cost and Sale Value of Company’s Goods in their Warehouses, March, 1808, and eapected in the course of the Season,distinguishing Indiaand China: India. Prime Cost. Sale Value. Piece goods,,£1,880,350 £2,244,942 Raw silk..... 279,367 476,051 Saltpetre..... 175,332 439,792 Spice ...... 66,502 191,901 Drugs, sugar, &c. 183,748 290,656 Pepper .....-- 347,056 365,296 Tota)... £2,932,355 £4,008,638 China. ~ —sSe Teas....200+ £3,991,779 £8,810,347 Raw silk .... 116,562 166,320 Nankeens ,..- 107,744 101,000 Total...£4,216,085 £9,077,667 Grand Total. .£7,148,440 £13,086,305 Amount of the Indian Debt at several Periods. May, 1793 eecteeeseeer oe £7,971,668 May, 1799 scccveccccevos 12,811,863 May, 1802, deducting re- deemed by sinking fands 18,350,873 May, 1806, ditto. ditto 28,538,804 May, 1807, ditto ditto 30,244,344 May, 1808, ditto ditto 32,007,819 May, 1809, ditto ditto 30,876,788 N. B, Current rupees at 2s. y Pagodas 8s. Bombay rupees 2s, 3d. each. Ships that proceeded to India in each Sea- . Son since 1776 ; withthe number Lost, Burnt, or Captured in each Season : Season. Ships. Bums Captured. 17S! + 8g 1 0 V7 os a1 2 1 1976..\/5., (38 2 0 Fc ens = 2 5 tee"... ae 2 2} 1781 4. 29 4 o' 1782) 50) 98 1 0 1783.6763 nlS 0 0 1786 viacasn 1 0} 1785 1. 43 2 0 1786 .. 34 1 0 ra 0 0 1788 4. 032 1 0 1789) ir6«, (cme 1 0 STATE PAPERS. 489 — Ships. Burnt, Captorea. Ships Burnt, Lost, or Captured in the 1790 .. Ee ang Me following Seasons. W791... 28 1 0 cae 1792 3, 43° oO. 2 onatt, ide Ga 1793... | 46 0 0 Six years war, from 1794... 34 0 1 season 1776tosea-( j4) 43 8 1795 _.. 46 2 0 son1781 inclusive; 1796 .. 46 3 1 old system ...... W797... = 26 0 1 Six years war, from agg8e..'' 40 1 0 season] 792 tosea-( 94) 7 4 1799... 34 2 1 son1797inclusive; 1800 .. 49 0 0 old system...... 1801 .. 39 0 1 Six years war, from 1802 .. 46 2 2 season 1801 to sea- 358 8 7 1803 .. 54 0 2 son1806 inclusive; °” 1804 ,, 51 3 1 old andnewsystem 1805 °° 49 2 1 1306-<. 46 1 0 499 ANNUAL REGISTER, 18)10. Dr. Stock per Computation. Bonds bearing interest ..ccssscesscceveccecsscccssceseccesses 1s £4,900, 000 ‘onde mot DenRINEG Interest. <6.) se. cece e sce censcedececs capmos Bills of exchange unpaid, from China ........ccccececcccsetveseas Ditto REUNITE HU deals ors) s'e's aici sie scipsie se ccccac tees DUE MGA GN IUBINEs 215 tote cle oes a'es plone sie eieie ints, \a\e dui isislv divin ania d Ditto, interest on above ...,.- DB ihs eis iniuid aVRreiora al eoio care Gelsecseeepos POG PHipiaMeKGOrage (ooh Acc ascs. . claiisleclasieesaeses pe cecsee cine Supra cargoes commission ..........665 ovale pao eejceisaee Seeesoleg cs To private trade sold ........... oe oe cence ecceesercceccevscces Alms-houses at Poplar ............ oigve W's giuieighh/ 6 = / a onnea8uapens ccs avnswuduesuse paver estoncnye 5,2 Comptroller’s Office, May 14, 1810. CHARLES STEDMAN. Income and Surplus of Consolidated Fund. *,° Shillings and Pence omitted. Income. Charge. | Surplus. £: £: cL: 1808 _...ccessccovesssovesessesndsacssasqnacss> |, 32,013,750 | “26,077,009. 1 ’ 5,936,601 1804 ..ssessccsesseescrcsessssesstteserseees | 315388,569 | 26,827,566 | 4,561,003 1805 riisesceccorscsesnssrscessorersosseeees | 30,454,916 | 28,002,059 | 2,452,857 1806 ...sccersssesencseerssseccansenereseee | 33'903,685 | 30,344,094 | 3,559,591 1807 serseressosesecservssecveverseesseerers | 34,957,894 | 31,211,816 | 3,746,077 ! cr: ee a s . sess | 37,298,809 | 32,821,938 | 4,476,870 ABU hae * see | 36,466,080 | 33,304,252 | 3,141,828 ABIO vvvcrsbvessccenscdsnstecsisscorensesess | 41,444,971 |. 34,421,906 1" 1.019.775 Treasury Chambers, May 10, 1810, RicnaRp WHARTON. STATE PAPERS. II. Forrtcn STaTE PAPERS. I. FRANCE. 1. Report concerning Kolli’s Plan Jor liberating Ferdinand, King of Spain. Paris, April 27. informed your majesty that the Sieur Berthemy, officer of the staff attached to prince Ferdinand, and commandant of the castle of Va- lancay, had acquainted me with the introduction into that castle of a baron de Kolli, calling him- self minister of England to prince Ferdinand, in his pretended quality of king of Spain. This individual having been brought to my office, I transmit to your majesty, 1, The letter of M. Berthemy, an- nouncing the arrest and forwarding of Kolli;2, A copy of aletter from - prince Ferdinand to the sieur Ber- themy, relative to the arrival of Kolli; 3, A copy of Kolli’s exami- nation; 4, 5, and 6, copies of three letters, of which Kolli was the bearer. Two of these letters are addressed by king George to prince Ferdinand; one of them is in Latin. Nos. 7 and 8 are copies ofa letter from M. Berthemy, and one from prince Ferdinand. I have committed Kolli to safe custody. Heisa close prisoner in the castle. of Vincennes, and I wait the orders of your majesty upon this affair. The diamonds and other ‘effects of which this individual was the bearer, are deposited at the office of general police. (Signed) FoucueE. No. I.—Copy ofaletter addressed to the senator, the minister of general police, by M. Berthem vor. e 497 announcing Kolli’s arrest, and his being forwarded to Paris. Valancay, April 6. Monseigneur,—I have the ho- nour to inform your excellency, by a courier extraordinary, of the event which has just taken place at Valancay. M. D’Amezaga, intendant of the household to. the Spanish princes, came to apprise me, on the part of his highness prince Ferdinand, that an English emis- sary had introduced himself into the castle. I instantly repaired to the prince’s apartments, and found him in astate of great emotion. «“ The English,” said he, ad- dressing himselfto me, “havedone much injury to the Spanish nation. They continueto causeblood to be shed in my name. The English mi- nisters, deceived by the false idea that I am detained here by force, have proposed to me means of es- cape. They have sent to me an in- dividual, who, under the pretext of selling some objects of art, engag- ed to deliver to me a message from his majesty the king of England.” I speedily discovered and ar- rested this emissary, who stated himself to be the baron de Kolli, an Irishman, and minister from his majesty the king of England to prince Ferdinand. I forward him post to your excellency, with the pretty numerous papers of which he was the bearer. Theexamina- tion to which you will subject him, I have no doubt, must disclose all the details of his plans, and the accomplices he mayhave had. Ac- cording to the preliminary inqui- ries which I have made here, I am induced to think that he has come alone, and that he is totally unac- quainted with this place. K “a 498 I think it my duty, sir, to avail myself ofthis opportunity to repeat to your excellency what I have already had the honour to commu- nicate to you. Prince Ferdinand is animated with the best disposition; heis profoundly impressed with the opinion that his majesty the empe- ror is his only support and his best protector. A profound sense of gratitude, the wish and hope of being declared the adopted son of his majesty the emperor ; such are the sentiments which fill the heart of hishighness ; and undersuch cir- cumstances it was, and at the time when the prince had assem- bled every person of distinction in the province, at the castle of Va- lancay, to participate in the bril- liant entertainments which hegave in celebration of their majesties’ marriage,—thatthe baron de Kolli came to deliver his wicked and ri- diculous messages. Assuredly no- thing could have been more easily anticipated than the recep- tion he has experienced. I request that your excellency will transmit to me a detailed ac- knowledgment of the receipt of the various articles which I have addressed to you. I have the honour to be, &c. (Signed) Brrtuemy. No. II.—Copy of a letter from Prince Ferdinand to M. Berthe- my, governorof the castle of Va- Jancay dated April 6, apprising him of the conduct of Kolli. Sir,—An unknown personhaving introduced himself into this place, under the pretence of working in the turnery line, has subsequently ventured to make to M. D’ Ame- zaga, our first equerry and intend- ant, the proposition of carrying me ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. off from Valancay, of delivering to me some letters which he had, and in short, of bringing to its issue the project and plan of this horrid enterprise. Our honour, our repose, the goodcpinion due to our principles, all would have been’ singularly compromised, had not M.D’ Ame- zaga beenat the head of our house- hold, and had he not on this peril- ous occasion given a fresh proof of his fidelity and his inviolable at- tachment, both to his majesty the emperor and king, and tome. This officer, whose first step was to in- form you at the very instant of the enterprise in question, apprised me of it immediately after. I am anxious, sir, to inform you personally, that I am unac~ quainted with this affair, and to take this occasion of again mani- festing my sentiments of inviolable fidelity towards the emperor Na- poleon, and the horror which I feel at this infernal project, of which I wish the authors and abettors to meet with condign punishment. Accept, sir, the sentiments andes- teem of your affectionate (Signed) Prince FerpINAND. P.S. I request that you will come to M. D’Amezaga’s at half. past three o’clock. No. III.—Copy of Kolli’s exami- nation at the office of general Police. On the 8th of April, 1810, was brought to the ministry of general police, an individual arrested at Valancay on the 6th, who was in- terrogated as follows :— Q. What are your name, sur- name, age, place of nativity, pro- fession, and domicile? —A. Charles Leopold, baron de Kolli, aged 32 S BA TE OP A PiE RS: years, born in Ireland, minister from his majesty king George III. to the prince of the Asturias, Fer- dinand VIL. Q. To whom did you apply in London to propose, and to pro- cure the acceptance of the project which has brought you to France? —A. To his royal highness the duke of Kent, who mentioned it to his father, the king. The affair was afterwards conducted by the marquis Wellesley. Q. What were the means put at your disposal for executing this en- terprise ?>—A. There were deliver- ed to me—1, A letter of credence to remove all doubts as to my per- son and my mission to prince Fer- dinand. 2, Two letters from the king of England to the prince, which have been found among my papers. 3, Forged passports, routes, orders from the ministers of marine and war, stamps, seals, sig- natures of the officersin the depart- ment of the secretary of state, all of them seized at the time I was arrested, and which I carried with me, to convince the prince of the means I had. 4, As to the funds requisite for the undertaking I had about200,000francs, and eventual- ly an unlimited credit on the house of Maensoff and Clanoy, of Lon- don. Finally, the vessels that were necessary, viz. theIncomparable,of 74 guns, the Dedaigneuse, of 50 guns, the Piquante gallict, and a brig. This squadron, which is victualled for five months, waits for my returnonthe coast of Quiberon. Thus provided, after taking leave of the king and his minister on the 24th of January, I left London on the 26th for Plymouth, with com- modore Cockburn, to whom the ‘command of the squadron wascon- 499 fided. M. Albert de St. Bonnel, to whom I communicated my plan, remained in London to receive the passports, itineraries, stamps, seals, &c. that were ordered. The depar- ture of M. de St. Bonnel, was de- layed by the indisposition of mar- quis Wellesley ; he did not join me before the end of February, and we sailed some days after. I landed at Quiberon on the 9th of March. Q. What precautions did you adopt on your landing to conceal the documents explaining the ob- ject of your journey ?—. I put the letter of credence I mentioned in my cane. The two letters of bis majesty the king of England were concealed in the lining of my coat ;. part of the diamonds were sewed up in the collar of my surtout and the waistband of my small-clothes. M. de St. Bonnel had the remain- der, which he secreted in the same way, and in his cravat. Q. Before your departure from France for England, had you es- tablished any communication with Valancay ?-—A. None. Q. Where did you go after you landed ?—A. To Paris. I travel- led with the help of one of the iti- neraries, which was given me in England, and which I filled up. Q. Did you remain long at Pa- ris >—A. I was employed in selling the diamonds which marquis Wel- lesley gave me. I bought a horse and cabriolet from M. de Couvert, who resides at the hotel d’Angle- terre, in the street Filles de St. Thomas. M. de St. Bonnel pur- chasedtwohorses for persons whose names I do not recollect. He was to buy one from Franconia, after I set out for Valancay, and another from the Princess of Carignan. Q. How did you again admit- 2K 2 500 tance into the castle of Valancay ? —A. Under pretence of having some curious articles to sell. I was in hopes to have been able by these means to deliver, to the prince the letters with which I was intrusted, to put him in possession of my plan, and to-obtain his consent. I could only communicate with the prince don Antonio and the in- tendant, prince Ferdinand refused either to hear or seeme. Indeed, I have reason to believe, from the Strange manner in which my pro- posals were received, that he sent information to the governor of the castle, in consequence of which I was arrested. Q. What means had you pre- pared to convey prince Ferdinand to the coast, in case he consented to accompany you ?—. The ob- ject of my firstjourney to Valancay was to impart my plan to the prince : and in case he agreed to it, to fix with himatime whenI should return to take him up, Afterwards I would have proceeded to the coast, to apprise the commander of my squadron of theday appoint- ed. I would then have returned to Paris, to procure men and horses necessary for the relays onthe road. On the evening of the day appoint- ed the prince would have left his apartment, and by the help of the relays we would have proceeded to a great distance from Valancay before he was missed. Q. Whither did you intend to carry the prince after you got on board ?—, It was marquis Wel- lesley’s intention to send him to Spain. The duke of Kent was for sending him to Gibraltar, But this plan disgusted me ; it was in fact sending him to prison. I intended to proposes to him to make his own ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. choice, and to carry him wherever he pleased, for I was informed that captain Cockburn had orders to obey my directions. Q. Who are the persons you in- tended to employ ?—4. M. St. Bonnel was the only person ac- quainted with my design. I did not intend to look out for any one to assist me in executing it, until I became acquainted with the prince’s determination. I should have employed but few persons. Q. Are you acquainted with the neighbourhood of Valancayandthe country you were to pass through ? —A. Not in the least,; but I pur- chased some excellent mapsat Pa- ris onmy arrival, which would have afforded me ample information. Q. What was your reason for forming such a design ?—A. It ap- peared to me an honourable one. Q. Do you know this parcel ?— A. Ido. It contains the docu- ments, stamps, seals, and other things I have mentioned, and which were found upon me when I was taken up. (Signed) Ko.tt, No. IV.—Is a letter from Charles IV.addressedtotheking of Eng- land, in 1802, announcing the marriage of the prince of Astu- rias. It was given to Kolli, with a marginal note by the marquis Wellesley, to be used as a cre- dential to prince Ferdinand. On the back of this letter the following was written, in the hand of marquis Wellesley :— The secretary of state of his Britannicmajestydeclares, thatthis letter is the same that his catholic majesty Charles IV, addressed to his Britannic majesty, on occasion of the marriage of the Prince of S TRAIT i ‘PA PEARS Asturias, actually king Ferdinand VIL. This authentic document is confided to the person who will have the honour of laying it before his Catholic majesty Ferdinand VII. to verify his mission. WELLESLEY. Downing-street, Feb. 29, 1810. No. V.—Letter from King George III, signed in his proper hand, to Prince Ferdinand, intrusted to Kolli. Sir, my brother,—I have long wished for an opportunity to trans- mit to your majesty a letter signed in my proper hand, expressing the lively interest and profound regret I have felt since your majesty has been removed from your kingdom. Notwithstanding the violence and cruelty with which the usurper of the throne of Spain overwhelms the Spanish nation, it must prove a great consolation to your majesty, to learn that your people preserve their loyalty and attachment to the person of their lawful king, and that Spain makes continual efforts to uphold your majesty’s rights, and to re-establish the independ- ence of the monarchy. The re- sources of my kingdom, my fleets and armies, shall be employed to assist your majesty’s subjects in this great cause, and my ally, the prince regent of Portugal, has also contributed to it with all the zeal and perseveranceofafaithful friend. To your majesty’s faithful sub- jects, as well as your allies, your presence only is wanting in Spain, where it would inspire a new energy. I therefore intreat your majesty, with all the frankness of the alliance and friendship which bind me to your majesty’sinterests, to consider 501 of the most prudent and effectual means of escaping from the indig- nities you experience, and of show- ing yourself among a people who are unanimous in their wishes for your majesty’shappinessand glory. I annex to this letter a copy of the credentials which my minister in Spain is to present to the cen- tral junta, that governs there in the name and by the authority of your majesty. I intreat your majesty to rest assured of my sincere friendship, and of the true attachment with which I am, sir, my brother, Your worthy brother, (Signed) Grorce R. (Countersigned) WELLESLEY. At the Queen’s Palace, London, Jan. 31, 1810. No. VI.—Isa letter from George III. to prince Ferdinand, being a copy of the full powers granted to Henry Wellesley. No. VII.—This is a letter from M. de Berthemy, giving a descrip- tion of the festivities at the castle of Valancay, onthe Istof April, in honour of the emperor’s marriage ; upon which occasion the Spanish princes are represented as having studiously embraced every oppor- tunity of manifesting.their joy at the event. Theyattended the chapel at the castle, and at the conclusion of the Te Deum, prince Ferdinand was the firstto exclaim “Longlive the emperor !—Long live the em- press!’ The toasts after dinner were ; by prince Ferdinand, “* Our august sovereigns, Napoleon the Great, and Maria Louisa, his au- gust spouse.” —By prince Charles, “ The two imperial and royal fami- lies of France and Austria.”—By princeAnthony, “Thehappy union 502 of Napoleon the Great and Maria Louisa.’’—M. D’Amezaga, at the table of the officers of their house- hold, gave, ‘* Napoleon the Great, and Maria Louisa, the glory and delight of France and Germany: may divine Providence grant them a long and happylife!” The castle and park were illuminated in the evening with between eight and | nine thousand lamps. No. VIII.—Copy of a letter ad- dressed to M. Berthemy, by Prince Ferdinand, acquainting him with his wish to become the adopted son of his majesty. Valancay, April 4. Being desirous of having some conversation with you upon various matters which have long occupied my attention, I request that you will come to M. D’Amezaga’s, our first equerry, at three o'clock this afternoon. This individual, exclu- sively enjoys our entire confidence, which he has for a great length of time justly merited from his excel- Jent conduct in all respects, and the perfect knowledge he possesses of our affairs, which he has always directed to our great satisfaction and to our advantage, M. D’Amezaga, who has on my part had the honour of conversing with you upon the matters above alluded to, and other affairs which concern us, tells me that you are already acquainted with them. Our conversation, sir, will conse- quently be short, and will not in- terfere with your own affairs. That which at present occupies my attention, is to me an object of the greatest interest. My first wish is to become the adopted son of his majesty the emperor, our au- gust sovereign. I conceive myself ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. to be worthy of this adoption, which would truly constitute the happiness of my life, as well from my perfect love and attachment to the sacred person of his majesty, as by my submission and entire obedience to his intentions and desires. I am moreover, extreme- ly anxious to leave Valancay, be- cause this residence, which has nothing about it but what is un- pleasant to us, isnot in any respect suitable for us. I feel a pleasure in confiding in that magnanimity of conduct, and that generous be- neficence which distinguish his imperial and royal majesty, and in believing that my most ardent wishes will soon be accomplished. Accept, &c. (Signed ) FERDINAND. II. Bonaparte’s Decrees for annex- ing Rome and Hollandto France, and also the Hanse Towns. 1, Rome. Extract from the records of the Conservative Senate of Feb. \7- The conservative senate, assem- bled in the number of members prescribed by article xc. of the constitutional act of the 13th Dec. 1799, has considered the project of the organic senatus consultum, drawn up in the form prescribed by article lvii.the constitutional act of the 4th of August, 1802, after having heard the orators of the council of state, and the report of the special commission appointed in the sitting of the 14th of this month, the adoption being voted by the number of votes prescribed in article lvi. of the constitutional act of the 4th of August 1802, it is decreed as follows :—= STATE PAPERS. TrrLe 1L—Of the union of the Roman states to the empire. Art. 1, The state of Rome is united to the French empire, and forms an integral part thereof. 2. It shall be divided into two departments: the department of Rome, and the department of Trasimene. 8. Thedepartment of Rome shall send seven deputies to the legisla- tive body. The department of Trasimene shall send four. 4. The department of Rome shall be classed in the first series—the department of Trasimene in the second. 5. A senatory shall be establish- ed in the departments of Rome and Trasimene. 6. The city of Rome is the se- cond city of the empire. — The mayor of Rome is to be present when the emperor takes the oaths on his accession. He is to rank, as are also all deputations from the city of Rome, on all occasions, im- mediately after the mayors or de- putations of the city of Paris. 7. The prince imperial is to as- sume the title, and receive the honours, of king of Rome. 8. A prince of the blood, ora grand dignitary of the empire, shall reside at Rome, who shall held the emperor’s court. _ | 9, The property which composes ~the endowments of the imperial crown shall be regulated by a spe- cia] senatus consultum. 10. After having been crowned in the church of Notre Dame at Paris, the emperors shall, previous to the tenth year of their reign, be crownedin the church of St. Peter. 11. The city of Rome shall en- joy particular privileges and im- munities, which shall be determin- ed by the emperor Napoleon. 503 Tite Il.—Of the Independence of the imperial throne of all au- thority on earth. 12. Every foreign sovereign is incompatible with the exercise of any spiritual authority within the territory of the empire. 13. The popes shall, at their elevation, takean oath never to act contrary to the four propositions of the Gallican church, adopted in an assembly of the clergy in 1682. 14. The four propositions of the Catholic church are declared com- mon to all the Catholic churches of the empire. Tirte IL.—Of the temporal existence of the popes. 15. Palaces shall be prepared for the pope in the different parts of the empire in which he may wish toreside. Heshallnecessarily have one at Paris and another at Rome. 16. Two millions in rural pro- perty, free of all impositions, and lying in different parts of the em- pire, shall be assigned to the pope. 17. The expences of the sacred college, and of the propaganda, ~ shall be declared imperial. 18. The present organic senatus consultum shall be transmitted by a message to his majesty the em=- peror and king. (Signed) CAMBACERES, Prince Arch-Chancellor of the Empire. Francots, JANCOURT, CORNET, Secretaries. Count LAPLACE, Chancellor of the Senate. -The senate met on the 27th of February, at half-past one o’clock. The prince arch-chancellor, who presided on the occasion, read the following message from his ma- jesty :-— Senators,—We have dispatched to Vienna, as our ambassador ex- 504 traordinary, our cousin the prince of Neutfchatel, to solicit the hand of the archduchess Maria Louisa, daughter of the emperor of Aus- tria. We have given orders to our mi- nister of foreign relations to lay be- fore you the articles of the treaty of marriage between us and the archduchess Maria Louisa, which has been concluded, signed, and ratified. We have been desirous of emi- nentlycontributing tothe happiness of the present generation. The ene- mies of the continent have founded their prosperity uponits dissentions and divisions. They can no longer nourish war, by imputing to us projects incompatible with the ties and duties of affinity, which we have just contracted with the im- perial house reigning in Austria. - The brilliant qualities which distinguish the archduchess Maria Louisa, have acquired her the love of the people of Austria. They have fixed ourregards. Our people will love this princess from their love for us, until, being witnesses of all the virtues which have given her so higha place in ourthoughts, they shall love her for herself. Given at our palace of the Thuilleries, this 27th of February, 1810, NAPOLEON. 2. HOLLAND. Extract from the Registers of the office of the Secretary of State, Palace of Rambouillet, July 9, 1810. We, Napoleon, emperor of the French, king of Italy, protector of the Confederation of the Rhine, ANNUAL REGISTER, 18J0. mediator of the Swiss Confedera- tion, &c. have decreed, and do hereby decree, as follow :— TirLe I,—Art. 1. Holland is united to France. 2. The city of Amsterdam, shall be the third city of the empire. 3. ‘Holland shall have six sena- tors, six deputies to the council of state, twenty-five deputies to the legislative body, and two judges in the court of cassation. 4. The officers, by sea and land, of whatever rank, shall be con- firmed in their employment. Com- missions shall be delivered to them, signed with our hand. The royal guard shall be united to our imperial guard. Tire I1.—Of the administra- tion for 1810. 5. The duke of Placentia, arch- treasurer of the empire, shall re- pair to Amsterdam in the capacity of our lieutenant-general. He shall preside in the council of mi- nisters, and attend to the dispatch of business. His functions shall cease the Ist of January 1811, the period when the French ad- ministration shall commence. 6. All the public functionaries, of whatever rank, are confirmed in their employments. | Trrve I1].—Of the finances. 7. The present contributions shall continue to be levied until the Ist of January 1811, at which period the country shall be eased of that burthen, and the imposts put on the same footing as for the rest of the empire. 8. The budget of receipts and disbursements shall be submitted to our approbation before the Ist of August next» Only one-third of the present amount of interest upon the public debt shall be carried to the account of expenditure for STATE PAPERS. 1810. The interest of the debt for 1808 and 1809, not yet paid, shall bereduced to one-third, and charg- ed on the budget of 1810. 9. The custom-houses on the frontier, other than those of France, shall beorganized under the super- intendance of our director-general of the custom-houses. The Dutch custom-houses shall be incorporat- ed therewith. The line of custom- houses now on the French frontier, shall be kept up till the 1st of Ja- nuary 1811, when it shall be re- moved, and the communication of Holland with the empire be free. 10. The colonial produce, ac- tually in Holland, shall remain in the hands of the owners, upon paying a duty of fifty per cent ad valorem. A declaration of the amount shall be made before the 1st of September, at farthest. The said merchandize, upon payment of the duties, may be imported into France, and circulated through the whole of the empire. TitLe 1V.—11. There shall be at Amsterdam a special adminis- tration, presided over by one of our counsellors of state, which shall have the superintendance of, and the necessary funds to provide for, the repairs of the dikes, pol- ders, and other public works. TitLte V.—12. In the course of the present month, there shall be nominated, by the legislative body of Holland, a commission of fifteen members, to proceed to Paris, in order to constitute a council, whose business shall be to regulate definitively all that re- lates to the public and local debts, and to conciliate the principles of ‘the union with the localities and interests of the country. 13, Our ministers are charged 505 with the execution of the present decrees. (Signed ) By the Emperor Napoteon. (Signed ) The Minister Secretary of State, H. B. Duke of Bassano. Holland, in consequence of the above, has since been annexed to France ! 3. HANsE Towns. Project of an Organic Senatus Con- sultum. Art. 1. Holland, the Hanse Towns, Lauenburg, and the terri- tories which lie between the North Sea, and a line which shall extend from the place where the Lippe enters the Rhine, to its sources; from these sources to the Upper Ems; from the Ems to the entrance of the Werra into the Weser; and from Stol- zenau on the Weser to the Elbe, above the junction of the Sleek- niss, shall form an integral part of the French empire. 2. The said territories shall form ten departments, namely :— The department of the Zuyder Zee, of the mouths of the Maese, of the Upper Yssel, the mouths of the Yssel, East Friesland, the West Ems, the East Ems, the Up- per Ems, the mouths of the Weser, and the mouths of the Elbe. 3. Thenumber of deputies from these departments to the legislative body shall be as follow :-— For the department of the Zuyder ee e@eeeeeeoeee eoeed Mouths of the Maese. 4 Upper Yssel.....+08 3 Mouths ofthe Yssels. 2 506 For the department of East Fries- land sasistemts vistevaltsteld Ow West Ems..--esee-- 2 East Ems,..eecs000 2 Upper Ems.....- oe 4 —— Mouth of the Weser.. 3 Mouths of the Elbe.. 4 4. These deputies shall be ap- pointed in the year 1811, and shall be renewed in the year to which the series belongs, in which the department to which they belong shall be placed. 5. These departments shall be placed in the following series of the legislative body, namely :— First series, Mouths of the Maese and West Ems; second series, Friesland and the Upper Ems; third series, the Zuyder Zee and East Ems; fourth series, Mouths of the Yssel, and Mouths of the Elbe; fifth series, Upper Yssel, and Mouths of the Weser. 6. For the departments of the Zuyder Zee, Mouths of the Maese, Upper Yssel, Mouths of the Yssel, Friesland, and West Ems, there shall be an imperial court of jus- tice, whose seat shall be at the Hague. 7. For the departments of East Ems, Upper Ems, the Weser, and the Mouths of the Elbe, there shall be an imperial court of justice, whose seat shall be at Hamburgh. 8. In the departments which belong: to the jurisdiction of the imperial court of justice of the Hague, there shall be a council of senators; and another shall be erected in the departments which belong to the jurisdiction of theim- perial court of justice at Hamburgh. 9.: The cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Hamburgh, Bremen, and Lubeck, are placed among the number of good cities ; theirmayors ee ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. are to be present at the oath of fealty to the emperors at their coronation. 10. A communication shall be formed with the Baltic by a canal, which, extending from the canal of Hamburgh to Lubeck, shall make a communication between the Elbe and the Weser, the Weser and the Ems, and the Ems and the Rhine. III. Report concerning the Mar- riage of Buonaparte. In the year 1809, and on the 15th day of December, at nine o’clock in the evening, we, Jean Jaques Regis Cambaceres, prince arch-chancellor of the Empire, duke of Parma, exercising the functions prescribed to us by title the second of the fourteenth arti- cle of the statute of the imperial family, and in consequence of or- ders addressed to us by his majes- ty the emperor and king, in his private letter, dated that day, of the following tenor :— *¢ Paris, Dec. 15, 1809. ““My Cousin, —Ourdesireis, that you repair this day, at nine o'clock in the evening, to our grandcabinet of the palace of the Thuilleries, at- tended by the civil secretary of state of our imperial family, to re- ceive from us and the empress, our dear consort, a communication of greatimportance. Forthis purpose, we have ordered thispresent private letter should be sent to you. We pray God to have you, my cousin, in his holy and blessed keeping.” On the back is written: —“ To our cousin the prince arch-chan- cellor, duke of Parma.” : Weaccordingly proceededto the hall of the throne of the palace of STATE PAPERS. _ the Thuilleries, attended by Michel Louis Etienne Regnault (de St. Jean d’Angely) count of the em- pire, minister of state, and secre- tary of state to the imperial family. A quarter of an hour afterwards, we were introduced to the grand cabinet of the emperor; where we found his majesty the emperor and king, with her majesty the em- press, attended by their majesties the kings of Holland, Westphalia, Naples, his imperial highness the prince Viceroy, the queens of Holland, Westphalia, Naples, and Spain, madame, and her imperial highness the princess Paulina. His majesty the emperor and king condescended to address us in these terms :— «* My cousin, prince arch-chan- cellor,—I dispatched to you a pri- vate letter, dated this day, to di- rect you to repair to my cabinet, for the purpose of communicating to you the resolution which I and the empress, my dearest consort, have taken. It gives me pleasure that the kings, queens, and prin- cesses, my brothers and sisters, my brothers and sisters-in-law, my daughter-in-law, and my son- in-law, become my adopted son, as well as my mother, should wit- ness what I am going to com- municate to you. «¢ The policy of my monarchy, the interests and the wants of my people,whichhave constantly guid- ed all my actions, require, that af- ter me, [ should leave to children, inheritors of my lovefor my people, that throne on which Providence has placed me; notwithstanding, for several years past, I have lost the hope of having children by my marriage with my well-be- loved consort, the empress Jose- phine. This it is which induces me 507 to sacrificethe sweetestaflectionsof my heart, to attend to nothing but the good of the state, and to wish the dissolution of my marriage. «* Arrived at the age of forty years, I may indulge the hope of living long enough to educate in my views and sentiments the chil- dren which it may please Provi- dence to give me. God knows how much such a resolution has cost my heart ; but there is no sa- crifice beyond my courage, when it is proved to me to be necessary for the welfare of France. I should add, that far from having reason to complain, on the contrary 1 have had reason only to be satisfied with the attachment and the affec- tion of my well-beloved consort : she has adorned fifteen years of my life, the remembrance of which will ever remain engraven on my heart: she was crowned by my hand. I wish she should preserve the rank and title of empress, but above all, that she should never doubt my sentiments, and that she should ever regard me as her best and dearest friend.” His majesty the emperor and king having ended, her majesty the empress and queen spoke as follows :— «‘ By the permission of our dear and august consort, I ought to de- clare, that not preserving any hope of having children, which may ful- fil the wants of his policy and the interest of France, lam pleased to give him the greatest proof of attachment and devotion, which has ever been given on earth. I possess all from his bounty: it was his hand which crowned me ; and, from the height of the throne, I have received nothing but proofs of affection and love from the French people. I think I prove 508 myself grateful in consenting to the dissolution of a marriage, which heretofore was an obstacle to the welfare of France; which deprived it of the happiness of being one day governed by the descendants of a great man, evi- dently raised up by Providence, to efface the evils of a terrible revolu- tion, and to re-establish the altar, the throne, and social order. But the dissolution of my marriage will in no degree change the sen- timents of my heart. The emperor will ever have in me his best friend. Iknow how much this act, demand- ed by policy and by interests so great, has chilled his heart; but both of us exult in the sacrifice which we make for the good of the country.” After which their imperial ma- jesties having demanded an act of their respective declarations, as well as of the mutual consent con- tained in them, and which their majesties gave to the dissolution of their marriage, as also of the power which their majesties con- ferred on us, to follow up, as need shall require, the effect of their will—We, prince arch-chancellor of the empire, in obedience to the orders and requisitions of their majesties, have given the aforesaid acts, and have in consequence ex- ecuted the present proces verbal, to serve and avail according to law; to which proces verbal their majes- ties have affixed their signatures, andwhich, after having been signed by the kings, queens, princes, and princesses, present, hasbeensigned by us, and countersigned bythe se- cretary of state of the imperial fami- ly, who wrote it with his own hand. Done at the palace of the Thuil- series, the day, hour, and the year aforesaid, (Signed, &c.) ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. Having seen the projet of the senatus consultum, drawn up in the form prescribed by the fifty- seventh article of the act of the constitution, of the 4th of August, 1802—After having heard the motives of the said projet, the orators of the council of state, and the report of the special com- mittee appointed on the sitting of this day—the adoption having been discussed by the number of members prescribed by the fifty-sixth article of the act of the constitution, of the 4th of August 1802, the senate. decrees that :— I. The marriage contracted be- tween tie emperor Napoleon and the empress Josephine, is dissolved. Il. The empress Josephine shall preserve the title and rank of empress queen crowned. III. Her dowry is fixed at an annual income of two millions of francs, on the revenue of the state. IV. All the assignments which may be made by the emperor, in favour of the empress Josephine, on the funds of the civil list, shall be obligatory on his successors. V.. The present senatus consul- tum shall be transmitted by a mes- sage to his imperial and royal ma- jesty. IV. Exposé of the state of France. Report of the Minister for Foreign Affairs to his Majesty the Empe- ror and King. Srr,—Your majesty has exalted France tothe highest point ofgreat- ness. The victories obtained over five successive coalitions, all pro- moted by England, have produced these consequences; and it may be said, that we are indebted to Eng- —peraenen S THA TeEOP A P ERS land for the glory and power of the great empire. At every opportunity, your ma- jesty made offers of peace, and without considering whether it. would be more advantageous than war: you looked, sir, only to the happiness of the present genera- tion, and you always showed your- self ready to sacrifice toit the most flattering prospects of the future. It was in this spirit that the peace of Campo Formio, of Lune- ville, and of Amiens, and subse- quently of Presburg, of Tilsit, and of Vienna, were concluded ; it was in this spirit that your majesty has five times sacrificed to peace the greater part of your conquests. More anxious to adorn your reign by the public happiness, than toex- tend the frontiers of your empire, your majesty sets bounds to your greatness; while England, keeping the torch of war continually alive, seemed to conspire against her allies as well as herself, to create the greatest empire that has ex- isted for twenty centuries. At the peace of 1783, the power of France was strong in the family compact,whichcloselyboundSpain and Naples with her political sys- tem. At the peace of Amiens, the respective strength of the three great powers was increased by the © addition oftwelve millions of Polish inhabitants. The houses of France and Spain were essentially hostile to each other, and the people of the two countries were removed farther than ever from each other by the difference of their manners. One of the great continental pow- ers had her strength less diminish- ed by the junction of Belgium with France, than it was increased by the acquisition of Venice; the secularizations also of the Ger-« 509 manic body added more to the power of our rivals. Thus, at the conclusion of the treaty of Amiens, therelative force of France wasless thanat thepeace of 1783, and much inferior to that to which the victories obtained during the wars of the two first coalitionsgave her aright toexpect. This treaty, however, was scarcely concluded, when the jealousy of England displayed itself strongly. She took the alarm at the increas- ing prosperity and riches of the interior of France ; and she hoped that a third coalition would wrest Belgium, the provinces of the Rhine, and Italy, from your crown, The peace of Amiens was broken ; a third coalition was formed, three months after, it was dissolved by the treaty of Presburg. England saw ail her hopes blast- ed; Venice, Dalmatia, Istria, the whole of the Adriatic coast, and that of the kingdom of Naples, fell into the power of France. The Germanic body, established upon principles contrary to those upon which theFrenchempirewas found- ed, dropped to pieces; and the _system of the Confederation of the Rhine transformed inclose and ne- cessary allies the same nations, who in the first coalitions march- ed against France, and united them indissolubly to herself by their common interests. _ The peace of Amiens then be- came, in England, the object of every statesman. The new acqui- sitions byFrance,which there were no hopes of wresting from her at any future time, rendered the fault that was committed more evident, and showed the full extent of it. Anenlightened man, who during the short interval of the peace of © Amiens, visited Paris, end had 510 learned to know France and your majesty, was put at the head of affairs in England. This man of genius comprehended the situation of the two countries. He perceived that it was not in the power of any state to compel France to retro- grade; and that the true policy - consisted in arresting her progress. He perceived, that by the success obtained over the third coalition, ‘the question was changed; and that it must no longer be thought of contesting with France the pos- sessions that she acquired by vic- tory ; but that it was necessary, by a speedy peace, to prevent those new acquisitions which the conti- nuation of the war would render inevitabie. This minister did not conceal any of the advantages which France derived from the er- roneous policy of England; but he had in view those which she might stilt acquire. He thought that England would gain much, if . none of the continental powers lost more. He directed his policy to disarm France, and to have the Confederation of the North ofGer- many recognized in opposition to the Confederation of the Rhine. He perceived that Prussia could only be preserved by peace; and that on the fate of that power de- pended the system of Saxony, of Hessia, of Hanover, the fate of the mouths of the Ems, of the Jade, of the Weser, of the Elbe, of the Oder, and of the Vistula, ports necessary for the commerce of England. Like a great man, Fox did not deliver himself up to use- Jess sorrow for the rupture of the treaty of Amiens, and losses henceforth irreparable; he wish- ed to prevent greater, and he sent jord Lauderdale to Paris. The negociations began, and ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. every thing led to hope that they would have ended happily, when Fox died. From that time they languished. The ministers were neither sufficientlyenlightened nor temperate to perceive the neces- sity of peace. Prussia, excited by that spirit which England infused into all Europe, put her troops in march, The imperial guards re- ceived orders to set out; lord Lauderdale appeared terrified at the consequences of the new events that were preparing. It was proposed to sign the treaty; that Prussia should be included in it, and that the Confederation of the North of Germany should be re- cognized. .Your majesty, with that spirit of moderation of which you have given such frequent ex- amples to Europe, consented.— The departure of the imperial guard was delayed for some days, but lord Lauderdale hesitated ; he thought it necessary to send a messenger to his court and that messenger brought him an order to return. In a few days after Prussia no longer existed as a preponderating power. Posterity will consider that period as one of the most decisive in the his- tories of England and of France. The treaty of Tilsit put an end to the fourth coalition. After some further uninterest- ing remarks, the report proceeds thus :— The fifth coalition broke out, the new events of which again turned outadvantageoustoFrance. The only ports by which Eng- land preserved an avowed com- munication with the continent, together with the Illyrian pro- vinces, passed under the power of your majesty by the treaty of Vienna, and the allies of the STATE PAPERS. empire beheld their power in- creased. _ The British orders in council had overthrown the laws of the commerce of the world: England, whose whole existence is attached to commerce, had thusthrown dis- order into the commerce of other nations. She had contemned all its privileges. The decrees of Berlin and of Milan had repelled these monstrousnovelties. Hollandfound that her position was a difficult one; her government had not an action sufficiently energetic; her custom- houses afforded too little security to permitthat centre of continental commerce to remain much longer insulated from France. Your ma- jesty, for the interests of your people, and to secure the execu- tion of the system which you had opposed to the tyrannical act of England, saw yourself compelled to change the fate of Helland. Your majesty, nevertheless, con- stant in your system, and in your desire of peace, gave England to understand that she could not pre- serve theindependenceof Holland, but byrecallingher ordersin coun- cil, or adopting pacific views.— The ministers of a commercial na- tion treated with levity overtures so greatly interesting to its com- merce. They replied, that Eng- land had no power over the fate of Holland. In the illusions of their pride, they misconceived the mo- tives of that measure; they pre- tended to see in it an acknowledg- ment of the efficacy of their orders incouncil, and Holland was united. Since they would have it so, sire, I think it useful at this moment, and I propose to your majesty to consolidate that union by a se« natus consulta. - The annexation of the Hanse- a atic Towns, of Lauenberg, and of: the whole coast from the Elbe to the Ems, is commanded by cir- cumstances. ‘That territory is already under the dominion of your majesty. The immense warehouses atHe- ligoland would always threaten to inundate the continent, if a single point remained open to the English trade upon the coast of the North Sea; and if the mouths of the Jade, the Weser, and the Elbe, were not for ever closed against her. The British orders in council have totally destroyed the privi- leges of neutral navigation; your majesty can no longer supply your arsenals, and have a sure channel for your commerce with the north, but by means of internal naviga- tion. The repairing and enlarg- ing of thecanal betweenHamburgh and Lubeck, and the construction of a new canal, which will unite the Elbe to the Weser, and the Weser to the Ems, which will only require four or five years’ labour, and an expenditure of fifteen or twenty millions, in a country, the soil of which offers no physical obstacles, will open to the French merchants a cheap, easy, and safe route. Your empire can always trade with the Baltic, convey to the north the produce of her soil and manufactures, and draw from thence the articles necessary for your majesty’s navy. The flags of Hamburgh, of Bre- men, and of Lubeck, which at present wander on the seas, de- nationalized by the British orders in council, will share the fate of the French flag, and join with it, for the interest of the common cause, and in re-establishing the liberty of the seas. Peace will take place at last ; 512 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. for, sooner or later, the great in- terests of nations, of justice, and of humanity, will prevail over passion and hatred. But the experience of sixty yearshas shownus that peace with England can only afford to commerce a deceitful security. In 1756, in February 1793, in 1801, in the instance of Spain, as in May 1803, the period of the rupture of the treaty of Amiens, England commenced hostilities before she declared war. Vessels which navi- gated in the faith of peace were taken by surprise ; commerce was plundered, peaceable citizenswere deprived of their liberty, and the ports of England were filled with these disgraceful trophies. Should these examples be ever renewed, the subjects of England, travelling either for pleasure or business, whose properties and persons shall be secured in all our ports, from the Baltic sea to the Adriatic gulf, will be answerable for these at- tempts; and if the English govern- ment, for the purpose of making the people of London forget the injustice of the war, will gratify them with the sight of prizes taken in contempt of the law of nations, they will also have it in their power to show them the losses which most certainly result from it. Sire, your majesty will perse- vere in your decrees so long as England persists in her orders in council. You will oppose to the maritime blockade the continental blockade ; and to the plunder of the seas, the confiscation of Eng- lish merchandize on the conti- nent, It is my duty to acquaint your majesty that you can have hence- forth no hope to bring back your enemies to more moderate ideas than by persevering in this sys- tem. The result of it will be to place England in such a disagree- able situation, that she will be at length compelled to acknowledge that she cannot violate the laws of neutrals on the sea, and claim their protection on the continent ; that the sole source of her mis- fortunes is in her orders in coun- cil ; and that the increase of the power of France, which will long excite her spite and jealousy, is owing to the blind passion of those who have broken the treaty of Amiens, put an end to the negociation at Paris, rejected the propositions from ‘Tilsit and Er- furth, disdaining the overtures made before the annexation of Holland, have given the last blow to her trade and her power, and conducted your empire to the ful- filment of its high destinies. Cuampaeny, Duke of Cadore. Paris, Dec. 8, 1810. II. HOLLAND. 1, Address of Louis to his subjects on his abdication. Louis NAPoLEon, bythe grace of God, and the constitution of the kingdom, King of Holland, Constable of France, to all those who may see or hear, or read these presents, health. / Hollanders.—Being convinced that nothing more for your inter- est or your welfare can be effect- ed by me, but, on the contrary, considering myself as an obstacle which may prevent the good will and intentions of my brother to- wards this country, I have re- signed my rank and royal dignity in favour of my eldest son, Napo- leon Louis, and of his brother, Prince Charles Louis Napoleon. STATE PAPERS. Her majesty, the queen, beingof right, and according to the consti- tution, regent of the kingdom, the regency shall, till her arrival, be vested in the council of ministers, Hollanders.— Never shall I for- get so good and virtuous a people, as you are: my last thought, as well as my last sigh, shall be for your happiness. On leaving you, I cannot sufficiently recommend to you to receive well the military and civil officers of France. This is the only means to gratify his majesty the emperor, on whom your fate, that of your children, and that of your whole country, depends. And now, as ill-will and calumny can no longer reach me, at least so far as relates to you, I have a well-founded hope that you will at length find the reward for your sacrifices, and for all your magnanimous firmness. Lours NAPOLEON. Done at Haarlem, July 1, 1810. 2. Address of the Deputies of Hol- land to Buonaparte. id Paris, August 17. '.His imperial majesty being seated on the throne, surrounded by the princes and great officers of state, the deputies of Holland were presented to his majesty, and their president, his excellency admiral Verhueil, delivered the following speech :— - * Sire, —Your very faithful sub- jects of Holland, the members of the council of state, the deputies of the legislative body, of the land and sea forces, and the deputies of the city of Amsterdam, have the honour of presenting them- Vou. LIT. 513 selves at the feet of your majesty’s throne, respectfully to declare the sentiments of admiration, confidence, and obedience with which they are animated. “ The Dutch people, sire, known in the annals of history by the exploits of their heroes, by the spotless character of their statesmen, and the exertions made by them to obtain and maintain their independence, are still pos- sessed of a strong recollection of the virtues of their forefathers. “ The great events which Eu- rope has witnessed in the course of the present century, have com- pletely changed the political sup- ports and relations of states; and the independence, for the attain- ment of which our ancestors sa- crificed their property,their blood, and all that is most dear to men, from the pressure of circumstances could not but undergo certain re- Strictions, At length united with the first nation in the world, called by the greatest prince in the uni- verse to share in the favour which his exalted genius and paternal solicitude liberally bestow on his happy subjects, and of which Hol- land has already obtained so many proofs, the Dutch continue to flat- terthemselves, thatbytheirloyalty, their obedience, and their inviola- ble attachment to their prince and father, they shall deserve the pro- tection ofa mighty, generous, up- right, andbenevolentgovernment.” His imperial majesty returned the following answer :— «Gentlemen, deputies of the le- gislative body, of the land and sea forces of Holland, and gentlemen deputies of my good city of Am~ sterdam,—For these thirty years 2L 514 you have experienced many vicis- situdes. Youlost yourliberty when one of the great officers of the re- public, forced by England, employ- ed Prussian bayonets to interrupt the deliberations of your councils. It was then that the wise constitu- tion handed down to you by your forefathers was destroyed for ever. “© You formed a part of the coa- lition, in consequence of which French armies conquered your ccuntry—an event which was the unavoidable consequence of the alliance with England. After the conquest a distinct government was formed, yet your republic formed part of the empire. Your strong fortresses, and the principal positions in your country, were occupied by French troops, and your government was changed ac- cording to the opinions which suc- ceeded each other in France. «‘ When Providence placed meon this first throne of the world, it fell to my lot to decide for ever the fate of France, and of all the nations which compose this vast empire, to bestow onall, the signal advantages which arise from firmness, consist- ency, and order, and to destroy the baneful consequences of irregula- rity and weakness. I put a period to the wavering destinies of Italy, by placing the iron crown on my head. I annihilated the govern- ment which ruled Piedmont. By my act of mediation I justly appre- ciated the constitution of Switzer- land, andbrought the local circum- stancesofthe countryinunisonwith the safety and rights of this impe- rial crown. I gave youa prince of my blood for your ruler ; this was intended as a bond to unite the concerns of your republic with the ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. rights of the empire. My hopes have been deceived ; and on this occasion I have shown more for- bearance than my character gene- rally admits, and myrights require. Ihave at length put a period to the painful uncertainty of your future fate, and warded off the fatal blow which threatened to annihilate all your property, all your resources. I have opened the continent to your national industry: the day shall come when you are to con- duct my eagles to the seas, cele- brated by the exploits of your an- cestors; then shall you show your- selves worthy of yourselves and of me. From this moment.till that period all the changes that take place in Europe shall have for their first motive the destruction of that tyrannical and irrational system which the English govern- ment, unmindful of the pernicious consequences which arise there- from to its own country, has adopted, to outlaw commerce and trade, and subject it to the arbi- trary authority of English licenses. «« Gentlemen deputies of the le- gislative body, and of the land and sea forces of Holland, and gentle- men deputies of my good city of Amsterdam, tell my subjects of Holland, I feel perfectly satistied they possess the sentiments they profess for me; tell them that I doubt not their loyal attachment, and depend on their heartily join~ ing their exertions to those of the rest of my subjects, to reconquer -the rights of the sea, the loss of which five coalitions incited by England have inflicted on the continent; tell them, that in all circumstances they may reckon on my peculiar protection,” S TATE. P.A PER S. iII.SPAIN AND PORTUGAL. 1. Proclamation from the Superior Spanish Junta. Thesuperior Juntaat Castilehas addressed the following to the sol- diers of the enemy; it has been circulated in the French language. Frenchmen,—How long will you suffer a foreign tyrant to abuse your docility and patience ? How long will you expose your- selves, shed your blood to ensure still more slavery, and satisfy the voracious and criminal ambition ofan adventurer? It is time that you should undeceive yourselves, and recover from an error fatal to yourselves and to all Europe. At the time when you fought for your liberty, your friends, your allies, your enemies themselves applauded your triumphs; your cause was just, and every where you had admirers ; but now—what cause is it that youdefend? That of the most tyrannical despotism, and the most perfidious usurpation. Against whom do you make war? Against a nation which has long been your ally, and which has made for France the most gener- ous sacrifices. What do you pro- pose? or rather what does the monster who rules over you pro- pose? The debasement the en- slaving of thisnation. And what advantages do you expect from so unjust, so wild a project? Turn your eyes towards your country, enter into the bosoms of your families, hear the lamentations of your mothers, your wives, your brothers, and your sons! Look on those desolate widows, those de- serted orphans, those afflicted mo- thers, andaged fathers, from whom despotismhas torn the only support 515 of their decrepitude: every where you will meet with mourning, mi- sery, and despair. Yes, we repeat it, recover from your error, suffer not yourselves to be blinded by a vain glory, only useful to the tyrant who oppresses you. Be convinced, that every victory, every conquest, is a link which adds to the chain in which you are bound by Napcleon. Remem- ber you are Frenchmen; and cease to obey an adventurer, a Corsican. Abandon the standard of your op- pressor, and enlist under the ban- ners of liberty. Come over to us; the Spaniards are not your ene- mies, they are only the enemies of the usurper of a crown disgraced by his brow. They make no war against the French; they only make war against the Corsican and his slaves. Come then, and from us you shall receive the most generous hospitality; every one of you shall receive 160 livres Tour- nois, besides the value of his arms and horses. Our allies shail give you every kind of succour, and convey you in their vessels where- ever you may wish to go. 2. Massena’s Address to the Por- tuguese. Portuguese !—The armies of Napoleon the great are on your frontiers, and we are on the point of entering your country as friends, not asconquerors. ‘They do not come to make war upon you but to fight those who have induced you to take up arms. Portuguese! awake to your true interests. What has England done for you, that you endure her troops on your native soil? She has destroyed your manufactures, 2L2 516 your commerce, paralyzed your industry, for the sole purpose of sending into your country articles of her own manufacture, and making you her tributaries. What does she do at present, that you should embrace the unjust cause which has roused the whole of the continent against her? She de- ceives you respecting the issue of a campaign in which she seems de- termined to incur no risk. She puts your battalions in advance, as if your blood was to reckon for nothing. She is prepared to abandon you when it will suit her interest, however disastrous the consequences may be to you; and, to complete your misfortunes, and her insatiable ambition, she sends her ships into your ports to trans- port to her colonies such of you as may escape from the dangers to which she has exposed you on the continent. Does not the conduct of her army hefore Ciudad Rod- rigo sufficiently explain to you what you are to expect from such allies? Did they not encourage the garrison and the unfortunate inhabitants of that fortress, by deceitful promises ; and did they discharge a single musket to assist them? Again: lately have they placed any of their troops in Al- meida, except a commander, who is put there to invite you to as ill- judged a resistance as that of Ciu- dad Rodrigo! What! is it not an insult to place one Englishman in thescale against 6000 of yourcoun- trymen? Portuguese! benolonger deceived. Thepowerful sovereign, whose laws, strength, and genius, receive the grateful praises of so many nations, wishes to establish your prosperity. Put yourselves under his protection. Receive his troops like friends, and you will ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. find security both for your persons and property. You are not igno- rant of the miseries of war; you know that they extend to every thing that is most dear to you,— your children, relatives, friends, property, privateandpoliticallives. Come to a determination, then, that will secure to you all the ad- vantages of peace. Remain quiet in your habitations; attend to your domestic affairs, and consider those only your enemies who ex- cite you toa war, by every event of which your country must suffer. The Marshal Prince of Essling, commander in chief of the ar- my of Portugal. Massena. Ciudad Rodrigo, Aug. 1, 1810. 3. Lord Wellington’s Proclama- tion to the Portuguese. Lord Viscount Wellington, marshal general, &c. The time which has elapsed during which the enemy has re- mained on the frontiers of Portu- gal, must have proved to the Por- tuguese nation what they have to expect from the French, The in- habitants of some villages have remained in them, confiding in the promises of the enemy, and hoping that, by treating the ene- mies of their country well, they might conciliate and mollify them, and inspire them with humane sentiments: that their property would be respected, their females preserved from brutal violation, and their lives secured. Vain hopes! The inhabitants of these submissive places have suffered all the evils which a cruel enemy could inflict; their property has been plundered, their habitations STATE PAPERS. burnt, their women atrociously violated, and those whose age or sex did not provoke the brutal vio- lence of the soldiers, have fallen victims tothe imprudentconfidence which they placed in promises made only to be broken. The Portuguese must now see, that no other means remain to avoid the evils with which they are threatened, but a determined and vigorous resistance, and a firm resolution to obstruct as much as possible the advance of the enemy into the interior of the kingdom, by removing out of his reach all such things as may contribute to his subsistence, or facilitate his progress. These are the only and most certain means to prevent the evils with which the country is threatened. The army under my command will protect as large a portion of the country as is ‘possible; but it is obvious that the people alone can deliver themselves by a vigorous resist- ance, and preserve their goods by ‘removing them out of the reach of the enemy. The duties, therefore, that bind me to his royal highness the prince regent of Portugal, and to the Portuguese nation, oblige ‘me to make use of the power and authority with which I am fur- nished, to compel the careless and indolent to make the necessary effortsto preserve themselves from the dangers which threaten them, _and to save their country. In con- formity with this I_ make known and declare that all magistrates and persons in authority, who ‘shall remain in the villages or ‘towns, after having received orders from the military officer to remove from them, and all persons, of whatever class they may be, who -shall maintain the least commu. ‘ 517 nication with, or aid and assist in any manner, the enemy shall be considered as traitors to the state, and tried and punished as such an enormous crime _re- quires. WELLINGTON. Head-quarters, Aug. 4, IV. RUSSIA. Decree, or Ukase, relative to the Finances of Russia, February 2, 1810. } All the bank assignats (the paper money of the country) now in circulation, are once more declared to form part of the national debt, and guaranteed by all the wealth of the empire. From the present moment the bank assignats shall receive no increase In order to pay the national debt, a loan shall be opened in the interior of the country at fixed prices. In order to provide for all expenses, and to reduce the taxes to their former state, it is ordered, provisionally, for the present year, and until the publication of general regulations for the finances and taxes, that the following additional imposts shall take place :— An increase of 2 rubles a-head on the crown peasantry, Animpost of 3, 24,and2 rubles, according to the various govern- ments, on the peasantry occupied in cultivating the lands of the state. Citizens employed in the arts, and other branches of public industry, shall pay 5 rubles. Countrymen trading in both capitals shall pay for every shop 100, 50, and 25 rubles, according to localities, and besides those of the 2nd guilde, 13 per cent. of the capital they have declared them- 518 selves possessed of; and those of the 3d guild, 25 rubles. Foreign tradesmen of both capitals shall pay 100 rubles, their partners 40, and their workmen 20 rubles. In both capitals a duty of half a ruble shall be raised on houses, in virtue of the existing imposts. The tax on traders shall receive an increase of half a copeek on the produce ofindustryand the capital. The price of salt, formerly fixed at 40 copeeks per pood, shall be raised to one ruble. The impost on copper shall be augmented three rubles per pood. The custom-house duties on imported goods, shall be raised from 210 to 400 rubles, and in proportion. Stamps have also experienced an advance in price. The nobility shall assist in relieving the wants of the state, by paying a duty of 50 copeeks for every peasant in their possession. V. SWEDEN. Decree of Non-Intercourse &c with Britain. Know all men by these presents, that We, Charles XIII. having in the third article of the treaty of peace concluded with the emperor of Russia, dated the 17th of September last, agreed to adopt such measures as should be regulated by the treaty then about to beentered intobetween Sweden, France,and Denmark, forenforcing the continental system, ordered, in our circular of the 27th of October last, that no British vessels or ships of war should, after the time therein mentioned, be permitted ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. to enter our ports ; and further, in the third article of the treaty with the emperor of France of date of the 6th of January last, having fully and in every respect acceded to the continental system, bound ourselves to shut our ports against the trade of Great Britain, and not to permit the importation of English goods or manufactures, of whatever description, or in whatever vessel the same might arrive. And whereas, having relinquished the permission we reserved to ourselves in the treaty with his majesty the emperor of Russia, of importing colonial produce, we now only retain to ourselves the power to import salt, sufficient for the consumption of our kingdom ; further, to fulfil the treaties with the said powers, we hereby graciously command, that on and after the 24th of April next, no goods shall be imported, neither on paying the duties nor in transitu, which belong to Great Britain and Ireland ; the colonies or countries under the influence of the British govern- ment, or goods of any description whatsoever, loaded in vessels from Great Britain, or ‘any of her de- pendencies, be admitted into any of our ports ; and that all vessels, under whatever flag, which shall be proved to carry such goods as are not furnished with certificates and documentsto certify the origin and full particulars of theircargoes, from their ports of lading, shall, upon their arrival in our harbours, be ordered off, save and except such vessels asare solely laden with salt, the importation of which, from all foreign countries, we permit, in vessels not belonging to his Britannic majesty or his subjects. For the full execution of our de- SADT oP, A Pi RRs: cree, we command all officers and persons in our service to exert their utmost vigilance, in strictly examining the papers, certificates, ‘and documents, of all vessels that may arrive, agreeably to the graci- ous separate command, we, on this subject, shall or may issue. Given at our court of Stock- holm, &c. VI. AMERICA.—UNITED STATES. 1. President Madison's Procla- mation- PRocLAMATION.—Whereas,by the fourth section of the act of congress, passed on the first day of May, 1810, entitled, an act concerning the commercial inter- course between the United States and Great Britain and France, and their dependencies, and for other purposes, it is provided: That in case either Great Britain or France shall, before the third of March next, so revoke or modify her edicts as that they shall cease to violate the neutral commerce of the United States, which fact the president of the United States shall declare by proclamation, and if the other nation shall not, with- in three months thereafter, so re- voke or modify her edicts in like manner, then the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, and eighteenth, sections of the act, entitled an act to interdict the commercial intercourse be- tween the United States and Great Britainand France, and their dependencies, and for other pur- poses, shall, from and after the ex- piration of three months from the date of the proclamation aforesaid, be revived and have full force and effect, so far as relates to the do- 519 minions, colonies, and dependen- cies, and to the articles, the growth, produce, or manufacture, of the dominions, colonies, and dependencies of the nation thus refusing or neglecting to revoke or modify her edicts in the manner aforesaid. And the restrictions imposed by this act shall, from the date of such proclamation, cease and be discontinued in relation to the nation revoking or modifying her decrees inthemanner aforesaid. And whereas it has been officially made known to this government that the edicts of France, violating the neutral commerce of the Uni- ted States, have been so revoked, as to cease to have effect oa the first of the present month—Now, therefore, 1, James Madison, pre- sident of the United States, do hereby proclaim, that the said edicts of France, have been so re- voked, as that they ceased on the said first day of the present month, to violate the neutral commerce of the United States; and that, from the date of these presents, all the restrictions imposed by the aforesaid act shall cease and be discontinued in relation to France and her dependencies. In testi- mony whereof, &c. &c. James MApDIson. November 2, 1810. EEE 2, Mr. Gallatin’s Letters on Non-« Intercourse with Britain. Treasury Department, Nov. 2, 1810. Sir—You wiil herewith receive a copy of the proclamation of the president of the United States, announcing the revocation of the edicts of France, which violatedthe neutral commerce of the United States, and that the restrictions 520 imposed by the act of May the first last, accordingly cease from this day, in relation to France. French armed vessels may therefore be admitted into the harbours and waters of the United States, any thing in that law to the contrary notwithstanding. It also follows, that if Great Britain shall not, on the second of February next, have revoked or modified in like manner her edicts, violating the neutral commerce of the United States, the third, tourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, and eighteenth sec- tions of the act to interdict the commercial intercourse between the United States and Great Bri- tain and France, and their depen- dencies, and for other purposes, shall in conformity with the acts first above mentioned, be revived and have full force and effect, as far as relates to Great Britain and her dependencies, from and after the said second day of February next. Unless therefore you shall before that day be officially noti- fied by this department of such revocation or modification, you will, from and after the said day, carry into effect the abovemen- tioned sections, which prohibit both the entrance of British vessels of every description into the harbours and waters of the United States; and the importa- tion into the United States of any articles the growth, produce, or manufacture, of the dominions, colonies,and dependenciesofGreat Britain ; and of any articles what- ever brought from the said domi- nions, colonies, and dependencies. I am respectfully, sir, your obe~ dient servant, ALBERT GALLATIN. To the Collector of the Customs of the district of — ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. Treasury Department, 13th Nov. 1810. Your letter of the tenth instant has been received. All goods imported from the dominions of Great Britain, and arrived in the United States, subsequent to the second of February, will, in my opinion, become forfeited, accord- ing to the provision of the law of May the first, 1810. If Great Britain shall not on that day, have revoked her edicts to the ~ manner contemplated by that act, - it follows, that if no knowledge of such revocation shall have been obtained on that day, goods imported as aforesaid must be seized by the custom-house offi- cers ; although it be also true, that if therevocations haveactually taken place before that day, no forfeiture will have occurred, and the goods must in that case be re- sfored, whenever the fact of such revocation is known. The incon- venience of the detention of the goods in that case is understood, but cannot, under the existing law, be avoided, except through the in- tervention of the courts, who may direct an immediate restoration of the property on satisfactory bonds for its value being given, to abide the final decision of such courts. I have the honour to be, respect- fully, &c. (Signed) Atsert GALLATIN. VII. SOUTH AMERICA. 1. Declaration of the Provinces of the Caraccas. It has pleased Almighty God, to grant to every country alike, the natural right ofits own sovereignty. These provinces planted by Spain, fostered and protected by her power, have, and of right, ought to have submitted to her guidance and direction during the period of their infancy, when, from imbeci- lity and weakness, they were inca- pable of their own government and protection. But Spain, deprived of her king by the unparalleled perfidy of the emperor of the French, her European states vanquished by his treachery and his arms, and the ancient, lawful, and acknowledged government of the country de- stroyed by the violent outrages of his sanguinary policy, there exists neither reason, right, nor justice, for continuing our dependence on a power that has no existence but in memory ; policy and self preser- vation, therefore, demand that we should provide for our common safety, and the protection of these provinces, by taking into our hand the natural sovereignty of our country. The period has at length arri- ved, when these united provinces possess both the strength and the power to protect themselves. With a population of nine millions of inhabitants, with an extent of fertile territory superior to any empire on the globe, and abound- ing with all the riches that boun- teous nature ever bestowed on the human race, it would be contrary to sound policy, in the present state of the world, to submit, and we are determined no longer to submit to the domination of any European or foreign power whatever. _ For whilst a lawful government existed in Spain, and her legitimate king sat upon her throne, we have ever been loyal to his person, and faithful to his government; andour treasures have been the only sup- S RAMROP.APERMS 521 port of the European monarchy and its allies, whilst we had no in- terest whatever, and our country drained of those riches which na- ture has bestowed upon the inha- bitants of America, for their own happiness, support, and defence. ' Under these considerations, to prevent the inevitable and ruinous consequences of falling under the yoke of the emperor of the French, the tyrant of Europe, and the op- pressor of Spain, We, the Spanish Provinces in America, declare ourselves a free, sovereign, and independent people, not acknow- ledging the domination of any power on earth, refusing submis- sion and denying and repelling the authority of whatever nation may attempt dominion over us. This we unanimously engage and pledge ourselves to maintain and support with our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honours, calling upon every inhabitant of the provinces to aid and support in carrying into effect this our laudable and just resolution, and establishing for ourselves and our posterity, a free, equitable, and independent government, that shall secure our happiness, and give us a place of honour and respect among the independent nations of the earth. And we do earnestly entreat all foreign nations to guarantee our independence, and to favour us with such alliance and assistance as may enable us to defeat the designs of the enemies of our country. By thus disavowing our depen- dence on Spain, we solemnly ap- peal to Heaven for the rectitude of our intentions, and we do protest before the sacred majesty of God himself, that in all our measures we have ever been actuated by 022 motives pure and honourable, and that we have no other design in view than the preservation of our- selves, and the protection of our common country. Andwe do most humbly supplicatethat Being who decides the fate of nations, to smile on our exertions, and to bless and protect this our newly established empire. 2. Declaration of the Junta of La Plata. The provisional junta of govern- ment of the provinces of Rio de la Plata, in the name of king Ferdi- nand the Seventh, communicates the following order, respecting the modeofconductingpublicbusiness: 1, The junta will meet daily in the royal fort, where the president will reside, and business will be trans- _ acted from nine in the morning till two in the evening, and from five till eight at night, 2. All the con- cerns of the treasury will be con- ducted there in the offices of the respective department. 3. The de- partment of secretary of state is under the direction of Dr. D. Juan Jose Passo, and that of war under the direction of Dr, D. Mariano Moreno, 4. In the decrees on sub- jects relating to the capital, on in- ferior matters, and incertain cases ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. where great dispatch is required, the signatures of the president, authenticated byhis'secretary, will be sufficient. 5. In matters that are decided by the junta, the pre- sident and ten members will form a quorum, but in affairs of high import to the government, every member must concur in the mea- sure. 6. In statements and official papers, addressed to the whole junta, the members are to be styl- ed their excellencies, but no such distinction is to be paid to the members individually. 7. The military are to pay the same ho- nours to the junta, as before to the viceroys, and on other occasions they are to take the same rank, 8. The president is to receive the same compliments as is bestowed upon the junta in a body, and on all occasions and circumstances, 9. Matters relating to the disposal of places are to be laid before the junta as before to the viceroys, without prejudice to the altera- tions necessary from the alteration of affairs in the peninsula. 10. Each citizen is allowed to send to each member, or the whole junta, and to state what he thinks con- ducive to the cause of public hap- piness and security. D. Morrtano Moreno. Secretary. Buenos Ayres, May 22, 1810. [ 523 ] Ci Ac ade RS, Anecdotes of the Last Hours, with a Sketch of the Character of the late Right Honourable William Pitt. [From Mr. Gifford’s Life of Pitt.] R. PITT’S health experi- enced a rapid decline in the autumn of 1805; and he was re- commended to go to Bath, having, in a former illness, derived great benefit from the waters of that place, which, it was hoped, might still have a beneficial influence on a frame now reduced almost to the last stage of debility. He accord- ‘ingly went thither in December. Soon after his arrival he had a fit of the gout, and thought himself better for a short time. But the gout appeared again during his stay at Bath; and he never after- wards recovered even a moderate degree of strength. His appetite almost entirely failed; and, it being deemed improper for him to drink the waters, he left Bath, and was in such a debilitated state, that he was four days on the road to Put- ney, at which place he arrived on the 11th of January, accompanied by sir Walter Farquhar his medi- cal attendant. When a consultation was held the next day, with Dr. Baillie and Dr. Reynolds, they told the bishop of Lincoln, who had repaired to Putney, that they saw no danger no disease, but great weakness, in consequence of the gout, and they thought he might recover in a few weeks. They stated the necessity of quiet; but the approaching meeting of parliament, and the state of Mr. Pitt’s affairs, were such as to leave him little prospect of enjoying it. Mr. Pitt felt better on the Sun- day, and on the Monday morning he took an airing in his coach ; but in the evening, lord Castlereagh and lord Hawkesbury having ob- tained permission from the physi- cians to visit him, entered upon some points of public business, probably relating tothedissolution of the new confederacy, by the peace of Presburgh (which had been concluded about three weeks before) which visibly agitated and affected him. Mr. Pitt, after this interview, observed, that duringthe conversation he feltsome sensation in his stomach, which he feared it might be difficult to remove. On Tuesday, the 14th, Mr. Pitt again went out in his carriage, for the last time. His strength was mani- festly diminished. On his return, he saw his brother, lord Chatham; and on Wednesday, the 15th, Mr. Rose was admitted to him for a few minutes, and was very much stricken by his emaciated appear- 524 ance. He was able to take but very little nourishment ; his powers of digestion were greatly impaired; and scarcely any thing would re- main on his stomach. He seldom spoke, and displayed an anxiety to follow the directions of his physi- cians, “to be as quiet as possible, and completely to divest his mind ofall public business.” He desired the bishop of Lincoln, who re- mained with him from the period of his return from Bath to the day of his death, to open all his letters, and to communicate only such parts of them as he should consi- der it necessary for him to know. On the 17th, the physicians ad- mitted that Mr. Pitt was much weaker, but still maintained that there were no unfavourable symp- toms. Atthe same time, they de- clared their opinion, that he would not be able to attend to business in less than two months, and express- ed a doubt of his ‘ability to take an active part in the House of Commons during the winter. The bishop of Lincoln was, na- turally, very urgent with the phy- - sicians to allow him to apprise Mr. Pitt of the probable duration of his confinement, in order that he might decide on the propriety of resigning, or of retaining his office. But the physicians were unani- mously and decidedly of opinion, that nothing should be said to their patient on the subject. Mr. Pitt daily grew worse; and on Monday, the 20th, the physicians declared “ the symptoms were un- promising, and his situation was hazardous,” In theevening of that day he became much worse ; and his mind, as is usual in cases of extreme debility, occasionally wandered. Sir Walter Farquhar ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. passed the night by his bed-side, and at four o’ clock on Wednesda morning, he called up the bishop of Lincoln, telling him he was much alarmed, and could now no longer object to any communica- tion which the bishop might think proper to make him. The bishop, who appears never to have enter- tained those hopes which the me- dical attendants encouraged, had continually pressed the physicians to permit him to intimate to Mr. Pitt, that his situation was preca- rious, in order that he might re- ceive his instructions respecting his affairs and papers, and call his attention to religious duties ; but they had constantly affirmed, that they saw no danger, and could not sanction any proceeding which might create agitation of mind; as such agitation might be pro- ductive of serious mischief, The bishop immediately went to Mr. Pitt’s bed-side, and told him he found it to be his duty to in- form him, that his situation was considered as precarious, and re- quested his leave to read prayers to him, and to administer the sa- crament. Mr. Pitt looked earnest- ly at the bishop for a few moments, and then, with perfect composure, turned his head to sir Walter Far- quhar, who stood on the other side of the bed, and slowly said, ** How long do you think I have tolive?” The physician answered, he could not say, and expressed a faint hope of his recovery. A half smile on Mr. Pitt’s counte- nance shewed that he placed this language to its true account. In answer to the bishop’s request to pray with him, Mr. Pitt said, “I fear I have, like too many other men, neglected prayer too much CHARA to have any ground for hope that it can be efficacious on a death- bed—but”—rising ashe spoke, and clasping his hands with the utmost fervour and devotion—“ I throw myself entirely’? (the last word being pronounced with a strong emphasis) ‘upon the mercy. of God, through themerits of Christ !” The bishop assured him, that the frame of his mind, at this awful moment, was exactly suchas might reasonably be expected to render prayer acceptable and useful. The bishop then read prayers, and Mr. Pitt joined in them with calm and humble piety. He re- peatedly expressed, in thestrongest manner, his sense of his own un- worthiness to appear in the pre- sence of God; disclaiming all ideas of merit, but with a conscience clear and undisturbed. He appeal- ed to the bishop’s knowledge of the steadiness of his religious prin- ciples, and said it had ever been his wish and endeavour to act rightly, and to fulfil his duty to God and to the world; but that he was verysensible of many errors and failures. He declared that he was perfectly resigned to the will of God ; that he felt no enmity to- wards any one, but died in peace with all mankind; and expressed his hope, at once humble and con- ‘fident, ofeternal happiness through the intercession of his Redeemer. Mr. Pitt desired that the settle- ment of his affairs and papersmight be left to his brother and the bi- shop of Lincoln. Adverting to his family, he said, “I wish a thou- -sand, or fifteen hundred a-year to be given to my nieces, if the pub- dic should think my long services deserving it ; but I do not presume to think that [have earned it.” He CTERS. 525 expressed great concern about lady Hester and Mr. Stanhope; but his anxiety, on their account, seemed to be abated by the recol- lection that they had a father. He attempted to give some written directions respecting the disposal of his papers ; but finding himself unable to write legibly, he resign- ed the pen to the bishop, who wrote what Mr. Pitt dictated. Mr. Pitt afterwards read what was written, and signed the different papers, in the presence of sir Walter Farquhar, and several of the servants, who had remained in the room a part of the time in which Mr. Pitt was engaged in religious duties, and heard this great and good man profess the faith, and hope, and charity of an humbly pious christian. Mr. Pitt was much exhausted by these exertions, and very soon grew much worse. About two o’clock on the Wednesday after- noon he suffered much for some time and seemed to struggle for breath. He then fell into a kind of stupor, but remained sensible almost to thelast. About a quar- ter past four en Thursday morn- ing, the 23rd of January, 1806,— ‘the anniversary of that day on which, five-and-twenty years be- fore, he had first become a mem- ber of the British senate,—he breathed his last, without strug- gle, and without pain. He was then in his forty-seventh year. Asa statesman, the resources, as well as the firmness of Mr. Pitt’s mind, have been amply demon- strated by the measures which he adopted, to meet the various and unforeseen difficulties with which this nation was surrounded during 526 the period of his administration. Abroad, he had to struggle with the most gigantic power, which ever raised itself in opposition to the greatness of his country; while, at home, he had to support, at the sametime, commercial and national credit, to allay the turbulent spirit of mutiny, to extinguish the ra- ging flames of rebellion, to provide even for the importunate calls of famine. The energies of his mind were most eminently exerted upon those important occasions ; and, in spite of internal distractions, he carried the power of the nation to a greater height than ever it had attained at any former period. It will not soon be forgotten with what industry and effect he applied himself to the manage- ment of the revenue, and how speedily he restored order to the confused state of our finances. By simplifying the public accounts, he rendered a subject easily intel- ligible, which had before been in- volved in extreme intricacy; and, by pointing out the defects of former plans, and suggesting new and more approved systems, he carried with him the sense of the nation in providing for that heavy expenditure which the peculiar exigency of the times brought upon the state. Nor was he less fortunate in removing, upon diffi- cult occasions, those embarrass- ments in which the trade of the country was involved, and which, at one period, threatened it with total stagnation ; and when they, who, from their habitual pursuits, might have been thought’ best qualified, and most likely to sug- gest a remedy for these evils, were Jost in astonishment, distrust, and dismay, he dispelled their fears, as ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. it were, by a charm,—revived the confidence of our merchants and manufacturers, and restored our commerce to its accustomed acti- vity and enterprize. The plan of commercial exchequer bills, the establishment of the sinking fund, the suspension of cash payments at the bank, the system of war taxes, were measures which origi- nated exclusively with himself; and were calculated, with profound ability, to meet the various exigen- cies to which they were applied. Even his enemies, who were dis- posed to deny him almost every other merit as a minister, acknow- ledged him to be the. ablest finan- cier whom the nation had ever produced ; and, while they made thisacknowledgment, they did full justice to the pure disinterested- ness, and the inflexible integrity with which he conducted that branch of the public business. As a parliamentary orator, his powers were various. In statement he was perspicuous, indeclamation animated. If he had to explaina financial account, he was clear and accurate. If he wanted to rouse a just indignation for the wrongs of the country, he was rapid, vehe- ment, glowing, and impassioned ; and, whether his discourse was ar- gumentative or declamatory, it always displayed a happy choice of expression, and a fluency of dic- tion, which could not fail to delight his hearers. So singularly select, felicitous, and appropriate was his language, that it has often been remarked, a word of his speech could scarcely be changed without prejudice to its harmony, vigour, or effect. He seldom was satisfied with standing on the defensive in debate ; but was proud to contrast CHARA his own actions with the avowed intentions of his opponents. These intentions, too, he often exposed with the most pointed sarcasm ; a weapon which, perhaps, no speaker ever wielded with more dexterity and force than himself. He ad- mired much, in Mr. Fox, the happy effect with which he illustrated his arguments, by the application of well-known anecdotes, or by pass- ages from modern authors ; but he did not imitate him in this respect: on the other hand, he used to con- demn his habit of repetition. Mr. Pitt’s love of amplification has been sometimes urged as de- tracting from his excellence as an orator ; but it was his own remark, that every person who addressed a public assembly, and was anxious to be distinctly understood, and to make animpression upon particular points, must either becopious upon those points, or repeat them, and that, as a speaker, he preferred co- piousness torepetition. Of his elo- quence, it may be observed gene- rally, that it combined the elo- quence of Tully with the energy of Demosthenes. It wasspontaneous; always great, itshone with peculiar, with unequalled splendour, in a re- ply, which precluded the possibility ' of previous study ; while it fasci- nated the imagination by the bril- liancy of language, it convinced the raed theforceof argument: ike an impetuous torrent, it bore down all resistance ; extorting the admiration even of those who most severely felt its strength, and who most earnestly deprecatedits effect. It isunnecessary, and might bepre- sumptuous, toenter more minutely into the character of Mr. Pitt’s eloquence: there are many living witnesses of its powers ; it will be admired as long as it shall be re- CTERS. 527 membered. A few of his speeches in parliament were published by his friends, and some of them un- der his own superintendence ; but it has been observed, that they were considerably weakened in effect by his own corrections ; that if they gained any thing in accu- racy, they Jost more in vigour and spirit; and that he had not him- self the power of improving, upon reflection, the just and happy ex- pression in which his thoughts were conveyed, as they occurred in the course of debate. Asa public man Mr. Pitt trusted his character to his public con- duct ; he rejected those arts and aids to which inferior men have sometimes had recourse to prop their fame; and he disdained to court popularity at the expence of unbecoming condescension ; he never failed to be generally esteem- ed where he was generally known; but his public occupations did not permit him to enjoy much of the pleasures of private society, and his hours of retirement and relax- ation were chiefly confined to the circle of a few friends, which cir- cle he did not seem inclined to extend. Those hours, indeed, were few, for his life may be said to have been devoted to public service, and perhaps, to have been sacrificed by that devotion; for his health had gradually declined for the last five years of his life; but the vigour of his mind was unimpaired, and directed, in spite of a feeble frame, with the most unremitted anxiety, to promote the interests and welfare of the country. With him, indeed, his country was ever the first object, self the last: It would be highly unjust, how- ever, to dismiss the character of 528 Mr. Pitt without correcting the erroneous impression which has too generally prevailed, that he was, in society, cold, distant, and reserved. So far from it, that, in relation to private life, he was no less amiable, than he was eminent in his public conduct ; and, in the company of his select friends, none charmed more by the ease, play- fulness, and vivacity of conversa- tion.. He possessed a peculiar sweetness and equanimity of tem- per, which under all the varying circumstances of health and sick- ness, of good and adverse fortune, was never ruffed. The victory of Trafalgar, though he felt at it the honest pride of an Englishman, elated him to no unbecoming height; nor did the overthrow of his dearest hopes at Austerlitz, though it affected him most sen- sibly, sink him to an unmanly de- jection. Yet this calmnessand self- possession arose not from any apa- thy or coldness; on the contrary, the varied expression of his coun- tenance, and the fire of his eye, shewed him to be what he really was, exquisitely sensible to every feeling ; but they were the natural result of a strong and well regu- lated mind ; of the conscious rec- titude of his measures, and of the happy mildness of his disposition. The same benevolence and sim- plicity of heartstronglymarked his manners and deportment, which were in the highest degree prepos- sessing. ‘They bespoke the total absence of any thing like morose- ness in his nature. With the most playful vivacity he assumed no su- periority in conversation, nor ever oppressedanyman withthe strength of his talents or the brilliancy of his wit. It was matter of surprise how-so much fire could be miti- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. gated, and yet not enfeebled, by so much gentleness, and how sucha power could be so delightful. Mo- desty was a striking feature in Mr. Pitt’s character ; he was at- tentive to the humblest, and kindly patient to the weakest opinions. No man was ever more beloved by his friends, or inspired those who had the happiness of living in his society with a more sincere and affectionate attachment. In his conduct he was rigidly just, and strictly moral; and, as his virtues were greater, so his fail- ings were less, than fall to the lot of most men. A Day and a Night at Tongata- boo, illustrating the Manners and Customs of the Tongata- boos. [From an authentic Nar- rative of Four Years Residence at Tongataboo. | The house of Mulkaamair, with whom I resided, was very spacious; its length was fifty feet. It was of an oval form. One large and lofty post was fixed in the centre ; and round it, in an oval circle, were placed less posts, at equal distances, which formed the sides of the habitation, | Upon these posts layers were fixed, to which rafters were fastened, that extend- ed to the pillar in the middle, and united the whole building with it. The inside of the roof was orna- mented with warm beautiful mat- ting, which was sheltered on the outside with a skilful intertexture of thebranches of the plantaintree. In rainy weather, screens of mat- ting, called Takkabou, made of branchesofthecocoa-nut-tree,were fastened to the side posts, which al- most reached the eaves, and left CHARACTERS. only the door-way open, which was never closed, night nor day. Such spacious habitations are necessary for the chiefs, whose household, in general, is large, as composed of, many attendants. But there are generally small apartments contiguous to the house, in which his wives and childrenlodge. One of his wives, however, for the most part, slept with him in the same room, in a space separated from the rest by inclosures of takkabou, or mat- ting, three feet high, fitted up to the beams that went across to the centre post, to keep it upright. The household of Mulkaamair was considerable. He had at dif- ferent times from four to eight wives, eight sons, and five daugh- ters, besidesmany attendants. The children were all in great subjec- tion to him, and of different rank and dignity according to the rank of their respective mothers. For family dignity, in Tcngataboo, descends not from the father but the mother, owing, it is probable, to the frequency of divorce, and of illicit intercourse. When the day declined, about seven o'clock, if they were not disposed to dance, they would retire to bed, or, more properly, to recline on their mat- ting. But when they had retired, the most social employment of the day took place. As they lay reclining at their ease, Mulkaamair and his numerous household, that lay round him, would commence con- versations that amused them till they ali fell asleep. ! I have been delighted for hours in listening tothese nocturnal con- fabulations, and often very much surprised and improved by the shrewdness ‘of their observations Vox. LI, and the good sense of their reason- ings. When they were all lain down, the chief would say, ‘‘ Tou tella-noa.” «Let us have some conversation.’ Another: would answer, Tou tellanoa gee aha, 2. é ‘¢what shall we talk about.” A third would reply, ‘* Tou Tellanoa papalangee.” ‘ Let us talk of the men of the sky.” They called us “the men of the sky,’ because, observing that the sky appeared to touch the ocean, in the distant horizon, and knowing that we came from an immense distance, they concluded that we must have come through the sky to arrive at Tongataboo. I have heard them for hours talking of us, our articles, dress, and customs, and entertaining each other with conjectures re- specting the distance of the coun- try whence we came, the nature of it, its productions, &c. &c. Their patriarchal mode of life, in which the younger and inferior part always surround the chief, as the father of one large family, is calculated much to refine and im- prove their mental faculties, and to polish their language and be- haviour. The social intercourse, and the ceremonious carriage, which were constantly kept up in the families of the chiefs, produced a refine- ment of ideas, a polish of language and expression, and an elegant grace(ulness of manner, in a de- gree, as superior and distinct from those of the lower and laborious classes, as the man of letters, or the polished courtier differs from the clown. Thelower orders used terms of a much meaner or coarser import: the higher orders were so much refined, as often, for amuse- ment, to.take off the vulgar, by 2M 530 imitating their expressions and pronunciations. The family of Duatonga, if they spoke to any of the domestics or visitors, would al- ways beanswered, “ Ahee;” * Yes, sire,” but most others were an- swered with “Cohou,” “ Yes, sir;” this latter term, if pronounced as it is spelt, would be a polite reply, but if spoken as if it was spelt Cohaa, it would be very vulgar, and signify our broad expression, “© What ;” if spoken to a chief, the man would be struck down for his rudeness. Their nocturnal conversations would continue till ten or eleven in the evening, till they all fell asleep. Their conversation and comparisons, were sometimes so very droll and ludicrous, that I occasionally burst out into a fit of laughter, which would make them say, ‘“*Coe Kata gee aha Balo,”’ ‘‘Whatare you laughingat, Balo?” ‘© Mannogge abai eyette ge mou touloo.” ‘ Heis making game of us, I suppose.”? They called me by the name of Balo. If one chanced during the night to awake, he would renew the conversation with some neighbour that happened to rouse, and then they would call to each other till they all awaked, and enjoy another hour’s chat. As soon as the morning dawn- ed they arose; and then took place the important ceremony of drinking kava, and eating yams, &c. which formed their breakfast ; in which as much order and exact- ness was observed, as in the form- ing and exercising a regiment of soldiers. The kava is a root planted principally for the use of the chiefs, and too scarce for the lower orders. It is made into a spirit of an in- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. toxicating nature. The top and branches of this plant are thrown away. The root alone is used, and this is of a soft nature, that may be beaten topieces. Theroot is first scraped with a shell, and rubbed clean with the rough husk of the cocoa-nut, and then divided among the company, to be pre- pared for making the liquor. A large circle is formed by the | whole company, all sitting in the same posture, with their legs cross- ed. The chief sits at the head of it. .On each side of him are sta- tioned the tackhangers, or ministers of the chief, tosuperintend the pre- paration of the kava. The kava is then brought before the chief. The person who is to mix it, by order of the tackhangers, then splits the root into small pieces with a flat piece of wood, or whale- bone, which they procure from the bodies of dead whales that are sometimes thrown upon the coast. The pieces of kava root thus split, are then distributed amongst the circle, who hand them to the young people among them who have clean teeth, fit to chew if. Each person has a leaf by him, on which he lays his portion of masticated kava-root. When it is all chewed, a large bow] with three legs is handed round, and they empty their leaves, containing the prepared kava-root, into it. The’ bowl is then placed within the circle, opposite the chief; and on each side of it are seated two young men, with plantain leaves, to keep off the flies. ‘The person who has the management of the bowl having received the different portions of masticated root, turns it on one side to show it to the tackhangers, and with his face to- wards the chief, calls out to the ‘ x CHARA tackhangers, ‘“‘Gooch kava ana- ma. * All the kava is chewed.” If the tackhangers judge that there is sufficient for the company they say “Baloo,” “mix it.” Then one of the persons holding the fans of plantain branches, pours water outof cocoa-nutshells,whichstand near them in readiness, while the other keeps off the flies. As he pours, the tackhanger notesand re- gulates the quantity, and at length calls out, “ Moua,” 7. e. “stop.” The root, thuschewed and mix- ed with water, is then squeezed by handfuls held up for the tackhang- ers to judge of the strength of the liquor, as it falls into the dish: if it appears sufficiently strong, a strainer is brought, made of the inner bark of a tree, which, when scraped thin and fine, and well washed, is laid out to dry, and becomes very white and clean. With this they strain the liquor from the masticated kava-root. When they have repeated the straining three or four times, and perfectly cleansed it, the person who sits by the bowl calls out “Tooma kava,” the “kava is clean.” During this time, the company, who are sitting insilence, are not idle: they form dishes in a curious and skilful manner of plantain leaves. As soon as the kava is ready, appointed persons rise from the circle with their plantain dishes, and approach the bowl. The man who mixed it, then takes up a large strainer full, and another holds his dish under- neath, over the great bowl, till it is filled. The former then calls out, ** Kava go aga;” ‘ Whose is this kava?” The tackhanger re- plies, ‘‘ Havee ge Dabou.” “ Take it to Dabou,” or to any other per-~ son whose name was mentioned. C TERS. 531 In this way the name of every one of the company is repeated before he is served. The person whose name is pronounced then claps his hands, and the waiter, by this sig- nal informed which it is, takes the kava to him. The persons serv- ing it out to the company conduct themselves in the most becoming and orderly manner, arranging their apparel with the greatest neatness, walking with grace, and presenting it with ceremonious politeness. Ifaman were to con- ducthimself withthe least disorder or disrespect, the chief would order him to be struck down. When they present the kava to Duatonga, or any of his family, all of whom are considered sacred, they must sit down cross-legged before they deliver it out of their hands, During the preparation of the kava, the Tomaagee, or principal servants of the chief, are busily employed in an out-house, built for the purpose, in baking yams. These, as soonas ready, they bring in baskets,made ofentwined leaves, aad Jay them before the chief and the circle-of his guests, as far as they go. They eat these yams after drinking the kava, and dur- ing their meal talk with each other as they please, on differentsubjects. Whenever the lower orders can procure the kava they always drink it in companies in this festive manner ; in which they often spend the two or three first hours of the morning. They have this pleasure, however, but seldom, as the chicfs generally exact it of them, to drink it with their brother chiefs and their attendants. They exer- cise an arbitrary power over the lower orders, and have everything belonging to them in their power, which their sub-officers take from 2M2 532 them, without ceremony, as the chief may need. Though the provision they have by them be ever so scanty, they are required to cook a part. of it for the chief ; so that they are frequently oblig- ed to eat the root of the plantain tree for a wretched subsistence, or to resort to the chief and beg some food. The chief will send his attendants round the districts, in a time of scarcity, and order the people to dress a certain quantity of provisions for him by a limited time; with which he lays up a store for himself, and his. wives and household, and leaves others to get what - they can. They often drink the kava from break of day to eleven or twelve o’clock at noon, till their attend- ants are completely tired of wait- ing on'them. ‘They then go and lie down, and sleep for two or three hours ; when they rise they bathe, walk among the planta- tions, or amuse themselves in wrestling, boxing, or any other way that pleases their fancy ; but particularly in bathing, ‘in playing in the water, and shooting of ar- rows. Bathing is a very favourite amusement, in which they gene- rally indulge two-or three times a-day. Both sexes often play to- gether in the water at the follow- ing diversion:— They fix two posts, about a hundred yards distant from each other, in a depth of water about four feet, near the shore, and midway be- twixt them is placed a large stone. Then dividing into two compa- nies, the. game is, which’ side can first tug the stone® to their own post. In playing at this di- version with them, I have seen numbers at-the bottom of the “ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. water together, hauling and pull- ing the stone different ways with all the eagerness that contend- ing parties, in the northern coun- ties of England, exert them- selves to drive the shinney to its goal. When a diver return~ ed to the surface for breath, another of his party instantly dived down to take his place. I have seen one person carry a stone, of considerable weight, ten or twelve yards in this game, through the buoyant aid of the water. But they take particular delight in another amusement inthe water, called Furnefoo. They go down to the flat shore at high water, when the swell rolls with ‘great force to the land, and plunge in and swim some yards into the sea, then pushing themselves on the tcp of the swell, they ride in, close to the shore. It is asto- nishing to see with what dexterity they will steer themselves on the wave, one hand being stretched out as the prow, before, and the other guiding them like a rudder behind: and though they are riding in upon the swelling billow, with a frightfulrapidity, thatmakes you apprehend they will be dashed and killed upon the shore, they will, with surprising agility, turn themselves suddenly on one side, and darting back through the next wave, swim out to sea, till another swell wafts them on to- wards shore; when, if inclined to land, they will again turn them- selves on one side, and, awaiting the wave’s return, dartthrough the refluentsurge, and reach the shore in safety. Several hoursare often spent at one time in this sport, in which the women are as skilful as the men.’ I never attempted this CHARACTERS. . diversion myself, as the trial might have been fatal. But in another amusement, in which the chiefs often divert them- selves, viz. shooting rats, I became, after a time, almost as dexterous as the natives. To provide for this sport, they take out the kernel of the cocoa-nut, which being burned and chewed the servants are sent to strew it in places near the road, in fences, and in hollow trees, Meanwhile the chiefs, with, bows and arrows, take their station near. and making a squeaking Noise, exactly like the rats, these animals soon come out to feed upon the nuts, when the chiefs, ranged in order, each for his turn, shoot at them for a wager; he that kills the most, in the same number of shots, wins the game. They are a very active people, yet they often spend whole days, when they have no particular em- ployment, in Juxurious indolence. These days they generally close in dancing and singing, of which they are peculiarly fond. The chief will send round the district, and collect. together thirty, forty, or fifty young people -of both sexes, to dance with his attendants by the light of tomais, or torches, formed, as we before shewed, from-the unctious bark of the cocoa-tree. These dances are very beautiful. Young women of the most grace- ful figure and comely features as- ‘semble on these occasions, their dark ringlets bespangled with aro- matic flowers of a peculiar white- ness, their necks and shoulders en- circled with wreaths of variegated flowers, tastefully strung together Jike beads, their graceful limbs co- vered only witha thindrapery, and 533 in some cases, only shaded with an entwined garland of gee-leaves. Their dances are very much di- versified, and performed with ad- mirable grace and uniformity, by companies of eighty or a hundred, who all move together with the greatest exactness. .I1 never saw soldiersgo through their evolutions with more prompt regularity than these companies time the diversi- fied motions that compose their dances. They seem in their element when dancing: such is the ease, pleasure, grace and activity which they exhibit in every intricate part of this favourite amusement. Their music is not so pleasing. The principal instrument is a kind of drum, formed out of a log of wood, hollowed through with a long small aperture, and laid lengthways upon two pieces of wood. This is beaten whilst eight or ten bamboos, of differentlengths, with pieces of wood fastened and bound to the end of them, are struck against the barrel, and pro- duce a sound according tothe Jength of the stick. Of these drums they have two or three; which, with the bamboos and the singing, make a little rough con- cert. Their songs are beautiful and melodious ; partaking more of a lively than a plaintive air, but ra- ther monotonous.. These dances are often performed in particular spots where there are large trees. _To these places the young people resort for this purpose. . They are frequently kept up till midnight, when performed in a chief’s house, and sometimes till morning, by an interchange of performers, who alternately retire to rest, and rise again to dance. 034 So fond are they of this amuse- ment, that they dance almost on all occasions. However extrava- gantly they have mourned for the dead, they generally terminate their grief with this ceremony of joy ; in which I have seen the wo- men so eager, that they have for- gotten all sense of decorum, and thrown off all incumbrance of dress for greater freedom and di- version. This is the general mode of life at Tongataboo, ‘They never rise, but the kava is prepared, and dis- tributed in the exact order I have described ; and immediately the tackhangers call for the cooks in the badoo, or kitchen, who bring the baked yams, and present them to the guests. If there is no se- rious business for the chiefs, indo- lent slumbers or the amusements of conversation and choice, fill up the middle part of the day, which is, however, sometimes di- versified with boxing, or other athletic exercises ; and Juxurious festivities close the evening. Such an indulgent life, however, is only in the power of the chiefs. The lower classes, as will be far- ther shown, are obliged to Jabour, not only for themselves, but for their superiors; and, after all, their little stock is not secured to them by that inviolable right of private property and personal safety, which, in our unequalled Jand of liberty and law, renders the poorest peasant as secure and inde- pendant as the senate that guards, or the sovereign that rules it. Accustomed to these scenes of pleasure, luxury, and amusement, unrestrained by the presence of my companions, unassisted byanypub- lic means of grace, having singly ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. to stem the torrent of iniquity, it was not long before I felt the per- nicious influence of general exam- ple. This, however, was much owing to my own negligence of private duties, and my yielding to the corrupt inclinations of my sin- ful nature. - Indeed, when I look back,I perceivethat the unsubdued propensities of my heart, which began to operate before I came to reside with Mulkaamair, were not duly resisted. Instead of praying for grace to withstand and mortify them, I began to indulge in foolish imaginations, and neglect theneed- full exercises of private prayer, reading the bible, and meditation. These first steps out of the path of duty, which are generally taken by most backsliders, soon led me into still farther aberrations from the right way. I began to dislike the meansof grace; I never visited the brethren ; found delight in the company, manners, and amuse- ments of the natives; and soon took too large a partin them. As the religious impressions of my mind were weakened, the corrupt dispositions of my heart gathered strength. Yet, at times, my con- science troubled me with loud ac- cusations of inconsistency, which forced me to pray. At length, however, I became so hardened as to despise my convictions ; and totally absented myself from those appointed periodical meetings of the brethren, which might have revived them. My regard for them daily diminished, and I left off visiting them. My evil inclinations, now un- checked by law, and by the reve- rential sense of the Divine Being, gradually gained the dominion, As my sense of the turpitudeand guilt Ci ARR (Ay Cr. ERs: 535 of sin was weakened, the vices of the natives appeared Jess odious and criminal. After atime I was induced to yield to their allure- ments, to imitate their manners, and to join them in their sins. Modesty by degrees, lost with me its moralizing charm: and it was not long ere I disincumbered myself of my European garment, and contented myself with the na- tive dress. The dress of the chiefs principally consisted of a piece of cloth,several yardsin extent, wrap- pedround the body, and fastened by a peculiar kind of knot below the bosom, whence it hung down loose below the knee. This dress, by being tied close with a belt, was sufficiently long to throw the upper part over the shoulders. But however this wasdone at other times, it was always thrown off the shoulders whenever a chief came in sight. The women were not excused from this humiliating token ofsubmission, aslongas they were in the presence of a chief. A person who should neglect this would be instantly struck to the ground, as guilty of the greatest ‘disrespect. Thisfull dress, however, was too costly forthe generality toprocure, nor do the chiefs always wear it. The general dress, is the jiggee. This is made of the gee leaves, which spring up from a large root, and are very broad and strong, Theseareshredded fine, and being thickly entwined in a belt, of the same kind, and fastened round the waist, they hang down to the mid- thigh like a full fringe. On festive occasions this is a very common dress with the women as well as the men, especially in their public dances, when the only addition to this dress are encircling strings of flowers. There are none but can obtain the jiggee dress. The inferior classes, however, often wear only the maro, which is a belt about four or five inches broad crossed, and fastened round the waist. And indeed, when they are employed in fishing, or any other active business, or when they go to war, this covering generally composes the whole of their dress. At this time, Shelly, one of my former companions, came to see me: he was struck with grief and surprise at my appearance; and seriously reproved me for it. My conscience seconded his reproofs, I acknowledged my error, but ex- cused myself bya variety of empty pretexts, such as the warmth of the climate, the general custom of the natives; its convenience ina country, where, whenclothes were wet, it was difficult to dry them again, and when worn out impos- sible to renew them. Shelly heard my excuses with pity, but did not see into the long train of evils con- nected with this violation of pro- priety; nor knew that my con- science, while I spoke, condemned the excuses with which I had soft- ened his severity. In truth, the various temptations to which, till now, | had been an entire stranger were too pleasing to the inclina- tions, and suitable to the taste of a young man of twenty-five. Unhappily, as the companion of the chiefs, I was constantly ex- posed to tempiation, being present at every alluring scene. He that indulges an evil imagi- nation with amusements that tend to pollute the heart, will soon be seduced into criminality. No 536 wonder then, that the voluptuous attractions of several objects, thus daily presented to me, should in time allure me into the paths of vice. It was not long after I had be- gun to imitate the dress and man- ~ ners of the natives, and join their amusements, before Mulkaamair, the chief with whom I lodged, per- suaded me to take a wife, a near relation of his. My conscience loudly cautioned me not to be guilty of the sin of cohabiting with a women without the sanction of marriage, and of taking a wife who was a heathen, and perfectly desti- tute of every mental, as well as re- - ligious endowment; who would most probably lead me still farther from the right way. But all these reasonings my evil inclinations soon taught me to refute orsilence. *¢ Mulkaamair was my chief friend. and regarded me with parental af- fection. I should gratify, honour, and in some measure, repay him for his kindnesses, by taking a re- lation of his for my wife ; and thus also strengthen my interests with the rest of the natives, by forming an alliance with them.’’ Pleased with these considerations, I con- sented. He sent for her: she agreed, and came modestly dressed inher best apparel, at the head of a number of women; one of whom took her by the hand, and lead- ing her to me, seated her by my side. She was a handsome girl, of the age of eighteen. Mulkaamair entertained a large company, assembled on the oc- casion, with a plenteous feast, and they danced and sung till a late hour. ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. Literary Life of Dr. Hawkes- worth. {From Dr. Drake's Es- says on the Rambler, &c.] John Hawkesworth was born in the year 1719; his parents were dissenters, and, in the early part of his life, he frequented the meeting of Mr Bradbury, a celebrated preacher of his sect. He was in- tended for the profession of the law, and placed as a hired clerk with Mr. Harwood, an attorney in the Poultry. Soon disgusted, how- ever, with his employment, he de- serted it for the more precarious, though more pleasing occupation of literature, In what mode, or at what school he was qualified for the pursuit which he had now adopted, is not known. Sir John Hawkins has affirmed, that he was, a ‘‘ man of fine parts, but no learning :” his reading, he declares, ‘* had been irreguiarand desultory : the know- ledge he had acquired, he by the help of a good memory retained, so that it was ready at every call; but on no subject had he ever formed any system. All of ethics that he knew, he had got from Pope’s Essay on Man and Epistles; he had read the modern French writers, and more particularly the poets ; and with the aid of Keill’s Introduction, Chambers’ Dictiona- ry, and other such common books, had attained such an insight into physics, as enabled him to talk on the subject. In the more valu-’ able branches of learning he was deficient.*” Thereis reason to think that this account does not do justice to the acquirementsof Hawkesworth,and Hawkins’s Life of Dr. Johnson, p. 202, CHARACTERS. that even at the age of twenty-five he had obtained no small reputa- | tionasa literary character ; for at this period, namely, in the year 1744, he was engaged by the editor of the Gentleman’s Maga- zine, to succeed Johnson, in the compilement of the parliamentary debates, then deemed a very important part of that interesting miscellany. To. Mr. Urban’s pageshe was for four years also a poetical contribu- tor, under thesignature of Greville ; and of his poems in this work the following catalogue has been given by Mr. Duncombe. For 1746, the Devil Painter, a tale; the Chaise Percee; Epistle to the King of Prussia; Lines to the Rev. Mr. Layng, and to Dr. Warburton on a series of theological inquiries ; a Thought from Marcus Antoninus, and the Smart. For 1747, the Accident; Ants’? Philosophy ; Death of Arachne; Chamont and Honorious; Origin of Doubt; Life, an ode; Lines to Hope; Winter, an ode; and the Experiment, a tale. For 1748, the Midsummer Wish ; Solitude ; the Two Doves, afable; and Autumn. For 1749, Poverty Insulted ; Region allotted to Old Maids; the Nymph at her Toilet ; God is Love, and Chloe’s Soliloquy. Several of these little produc- tions, the occasional amusement of his leisure, are elegant and pleasing; but, like Johnson, the powers of his imagination are in a much higher degree displayed in his prose than in his verse. The domestic circumstances of our author, at this period, are little known ; aud it is remarkable, that not one of his relations, or literary friends, has thought it necessary to preserve or record the events of 537 his life. His pecuniary resources, during his early connection with the Gentleman’s Magazine, are supposed to have been very confined ; nor were they probably immediately or much enlarged by his matrimonial connection; for his wife kept a boarding-school for young ladies, at Bromley, in Kent. The friendship of Johnson, however, was of essential service to him; through his medium he became acquainted with many eminent scholars; and it speaks highly in favour of his literary talents, that when the club in Ivy Lane was constituted, of the nine members which originally formed its circle, Hawkesworth was selected by Johnson as one. The success of the Rambler, as soon as it was collected into volumes, the admiration which it excited in the breast of our author, and the wish, which he was known to entertain of pursuing the footsteps of Johnson, induced him, in the year 1752, to project and commence a periodical paper, under the title of The Adventurer. For a. work of this kind Hawkesworth appears, in many respects, to have been well qualified. His literature, though by no means deep or accurate, was elegant and various ; his style was polished ; his imagination ardent ; his morals were pure, and he possessed an intimate knowledge of the world. He did not, however, attempt the execution of his scheme, unassisted ; his first coad- jutor was Dr. Rich. Bathurst ; and he soon after, in the view of this resource soon failing, obtained the aid of Johnson, and, through his influence, of Dr. Joseph Warton. The letter of our great moralist, on the occasion, as developing, in K 538 a considerable degree, the plan of the Adventurer, it will be proper, in this place, to insert. “« To the Rev. Dr. Joseph Warton. “ Dear Sir, ** J ought to have written to you before now, but I ought to do many things which I do not; nor can I, indeed, claim any merit from this letter ; for being desired by the authors and proprietor of the Adventurer to look out for another hand, my thoughts neces- sarily fixed upon you, whose fund of literature will enable you to assist them, with very little inter- ruption of your studies. “ They desire you to engage to furnish one paper a month, at two guineas a paper, which you may very readily perform. We have considered that a paper should consist of pieces of imagi- nation, pictures of life, and dis- quisitions of literature. The part which depends on the imagination is very well supplied, as you will find when you read the paper ; for descriptions of life, there is now a treaty almost made with an author and an authoress* ; and the province of criticism and literature they are very desirous to assign to the commentator on Virgil. ‘**I hope this proposal will not ‘be rejected, and that the next post will bring us your compliance. I speak as one of the fraternity, though I have no part in the paper beyond now and then a motto t ; but two of the writers are my par- * This treaty was never executed. ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. ticular friendst, and [ hope the pleasure of seeing a third united to them will not be denied, to, dear Sir,’ “ Your most obedient, «« And most humble servant, «Sam. JOHNSON.§” The first of the Adventurers, on a folio sheet, was given to the world November the 7th, 1752; and the paper was continued every Tuesday and Saturday, until Saturday, the 9th of March, 1754, when it closed with No. 140, signed by Hawkesworth, in his capacity of Editor. The price of each essay was the same as of the Ramblers, and it was printed for J. Payne, at Pope’s Head, in Paternoster Row. The name, the design, the conduct, and the execution of seventy numbers of the Adventu- rer, are to be ascribed to Hawkes- worth. The sale, during its circulation in separate papers, was very extensive ; and when thrown into volumes, four copious editions passed through the press in little more than eight years. The variety, indeed, the fancy, the taste, and practical morality, which the pages of this periodical paper exhibit, were such as to insure popularity; and it may be pronounced, as a whole, the most spirited and fascinating of the class to which it belongs. To his essays in the Adventurer, Hawkesworth was, in fact,indebted for his fame, and, ultimately, his fortune ; and, as they are the most + Dr. Johnson had at this time only written one paper, and the profits were given to Dr. Bathurst. t Hawkesworth and Bathurst. § Boswell’s Johnson, Vol. I, p. 216, 217. CHARACTERS. stable basis of his reputation, a more minute inquiry into their merits will be necessary. It is scarcely requisite to ob- serve, that he formed his style on that of Dr. Johnson; he was not, however, a servile imitator ; his composition has more ease and sweetness than the model pos- sesses, and is consequently better adapted for a work, one great object of whichis popularity. He has laid aside the sesquzpedalia verba, and, in a great measure, the monotonous arrangement and the cumbrous splendour of his prototype, preserving, at the same time, much of his harmony of ca- dence and vigour of construction. Of the following paragraphs, the first and second exhibit a style elegant, correct, nervous, and per- spicuous, yet essentially different from the diction of the Ram- bler, while the third has been evi- dently formed in the Johnsonian mould, «‘ The dread of death has sel- dom been found to intrude upon _the cheerfulness, simplicity, and innocence of children ; they gaze at a funeral procession with as much vacant curiosity as at any other show, and see the world change before them without the least sense of their own share in the vicissitude. In youth, when _ all the appetites are strong, and every gratification is heightened by novelty, the mind resists mournful impressions with a kind of elastic power, by which the signature that is forced upon it is immediately effaced: when this tumult first sub- sides, while the attachment of life is yet strong, and the mind begins to look forward, and concert mea- sures by which those enjoyments 539 may be secured which it is solicit - ous to keep, or others obtained to - atone for the disappointments that are past, then death starts up like a spectre, in all his terrors, the blood is chilled at his appearance, he is perceived to approach with a constant and irresistible pace, retreat isimpossible, and resistance is vain. ‘¢ The terror and anguish which this image produces whenever it first rushes upon the mind, are al- ways complicated with a sense of guilt and remorse ; and generally produce some hasty and zealous purposes of more uniform virtue and more ardent devotion; of something that may secure us not only from the worm that never dies, and the fire that is never quenched, but from total mortality, and admit hope to the regions beyond the grave. ‘¢ Let those who still delay that which yet they believe to be of eternal moment, remember, that their motives to effect it will still grow weaker, and the difficulty of the work perpetually increase ; to neglect it now, therefore, is a pledge that it will be neglected for ever: and if they are roused by this thought, Jet them instantly im- prove its influence; for even this thought, when it returns, will re- turn with less power, and though it should rouse them now, will per- haps rouse them no more. But let them not confide in such virtue as can be practised withouta struggle, and which interdicts the gratifica- tion of no passion but malice ; nor adopts principles which could never be believed at the only time when they could be useful; like argu- ments which men sometimes form when they slumber, and the mo- 540 ment they awake discover to be absurd.*” One chief cause of the interest | which the Adventurer has usually ‘excited among its readers, has arisen from the inventive powers which our author has so co- piously displayed. His oriental, allegoric, and domestic tales, form the most striking feature of the work, and have, by their number and merit, very honourably dis- tinguished it from every preceding paper. ’ For the composition of eastern narrative, Hawkesworth was, in many respects, highly qualified ; his imagination was uncommonly fertile and glowing, his language clear and brilliant, yet neither gaudy nor over-charged, and he hasalways taken care to render the moral prominent and impressive. Than his Amurath, in Nos. 20, 21, and 22, no tale has been more generally admired ; its instructive tendency is so great, its imagery and incidents are so ingeniously appropriate, that few compilers for youth have omitted to avail themselves of the lesson. The story of Hassan, in No. 32, inculcating the necessity of reli- gion as the only source of content, and of Cosrou the Iman, in No. 38, proving that charity and mu- tual utility form our firmest basis of acceptance with the Deity, are wrought up with a spirit and force of colouring, which, while they delight the fancy, powerfully fix upon the heart the value and the wisdom of the precept. The histories of Nouradin and Almana, and of Almerine and Shelima, in Nos. 72; 73, and 103, * Adventurer, No. 130. ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. and 104, unfold, through the me- dium of a well-contrived series of incidents, the variety of human wishes, and the omnipotence of — virtue; whilst in the vision of Almet the Dervise, in No. 114, ~ the duties of resting our hopes upon eternity, and of considering this world as a probationary scene, are enforced in a manner equally novel and ingenious. Of the oriental fictions of Hawkesworth, however, by many degrees the most. splendid and sublime, is the taleof Carazan, the Merchantof Bagdad}. Themisery of utter solitude, the punishment appointed in this story to the vices of avarice and selfishness, was never before painted in colours so vivid and terrific. The subsequent passage, in which the doom of — Carazan and its consequences are described, no writer of eastern fable will probably ever surpass. The Deity thus address- es the trembling object of his in- dignation :— *<* Carazan, thy worship hasnot been accepted, because it was not prompted by love of God; neither can thy righteousness berewarded, becauseit was not produced bylove of man: for thy own sake only hast thou rendered to every man his due ; and thou hast approached the Almighty only for thyself. Thou hast not looked up with gra- titude, nor around thee with kind- ness.. Around thee, thou hast in- deed beheld vice and folly ; but if vice and folly could justify thy par- simony, would they not condemn the bounty of heaven ? If not upon the foolish and the vicious, where shall the sun diffuse his light, or t No. 132, CHA RACT-ERS. thecloudsdistil their dew? Where shall the lips of the spring breathe fragrance, or the hand of autumn. _ diffuse plenty ? Remember, Cara- zan, that thou hast shut compas- sion from thine heart and grasped thy treasures with a hand of iron: thou hast lived for thyself and therefore henceforth for ever thou shalt subsist alone. From the light of heaven, and from the society of all beings, shalt thou be driven ; solitudeshall protract the lingering hours of eternity, and darkness aggravate the horrors of despair. At this moment I was driven by some secret and irresistible power through the glowing system of creation, and passed innumerable worlds in a moment. As I ap- proached the verge of nature, I perceived the shadows of total and boundless vacuity deepen be- fore me, a dreadful region of eter- nal silence, solitude, and darkness! Unutterable horror seized me at the prospect, and this exclamation burst from me with all the.vehe- mence of desire: «O! that I had been doomed for ever to the com- mon receptacle of impenitence and-guilt! there society would have alleviated the torment of de- spair, and the rage of fire could not have excluded the comfort of light. Orif I had been condemned to reside in a comet, that would return but once in a thousand years to the regions of light and life, the hope of these periods, however distant, would cheer me in the dread interval of cold and darkness, and the vicissitudes would divide eternity into time.’ While this thought passed over my mind, I lost sight of the re- motest star, and the last glimmer- - 541 ing of light was quenched in utter darkness. The agonies of despair every moment increased, as every moment augmented my distance from the last habitable world. I reflected with intolerable anguish, that when ten thousand thousand years had carried me beyond the reach of all but that Power who fills infinitude, I should still look forward into an immense abyss of darkness, through which I should still drive without succour and without society, farther and far-~ ther still for ever and for ever.” All the allegories in the Adven- turer are the product of our au- thor’s pen; these constitute how- ever, if we except an allegorical letter from To-Day, but three ; viz. The Influence of the Town on Theatric Exhibition, in No. 26; The Origin of Cunning, in No. 31; and Honour founded on Virtue, in No. 61. A fancy playful and exuberant may be discerned in these pieces; but they possess not, either in style or imagery, the glow and richness of his Eastern fictions. In the conduct of his domestic tales, the genius of Hawkesworth appears again to great advantage: they indicate his possession, not only of a powerful mastery over the passions but of no common knowledge of life, of manners, and of the human heart. The History of Melissa, in Nos. 7 and 8, is a pathetic and interesting example of the soothing hope and consola- tion that await integrity of con- duct, though under the pressure of poignant distress. The wretch- _ edness and ruin so frequently at- tendant on infidelity are pointedly illustrated inthe story of Opsinous;* * Nos, 12, 13, 14. 542 and the fatal effects of deviations from truth, however slight, or ap- parently venial, receive a striking demonstration from the ‘narrative of Charlotte and Maria.* The injury which society has sufferered from the long prevailing and increasing practice vf duelling, has often been a subject of regret; and many efforts have been made, though hitherto in vain, to dimin- ish or suppress a custom so per- nicious. To contribute his aid to the efforts of those who have reprobated such a violation of the public law, Hawkesworth has written his story of Eugenia,+ which is calculated, by its moral and pathetic appeal, strongly to impress the mind in favour of the abolition of a usage that is un- doubtedly the offspring of a bar- barous age, and which has entail- ed upon mankind misery so in- calculable. As a preventive of debauchery and its destructive consequences, the Life of Agamus and his daugh- ter may be confidently recom- mended to every reader.{ It isa detail of which, in the Juxury and dissipation of a large metropolis, there are, we have reason to appre- hend, numerous counterparts. To expose the folly of wanton rudeness and indiscriminate fami- liarity, to show the danger of as- suming the appearance of evil, though for purposes apparently beneficial, and to display the dread- ful result of fashionable levities, form the purport of the narratives of Abulus,§ of Desdemona,|| and of Flavillag. They are construct- ed, in point of incident, with much * Nos, 54, 55, 56. § No, 112, + Nos. 64, 65, 66, 70. || Nos. 117, 118, ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. ingenuity ; curiosity is kept alive, and the dénotement is effected with every requisite probability. Still further to diversify the pages of the Adventurer, our author has interspersed several papers, the chief characteristic of which is humour; a humour, however, which is rather solemn and ironical than light and sport- ive, Of the essays in this province which are the product of his pen, we shall enumerate eight, as pe- culiarly entertaining ; No. 5, The | Transmigrations of a Flea ; Nos. 15 and 27, on Quack Advertise- ments; No. 17, Story of Mr. Friendly and his Nephew; No. 52, Distresses of an Author invited to read his Play ; No. 98, Account of Tim Wildgoose; No. 100, Gradation from a Greenhorn to a Blood ; and No. 121, The Adven- tures of a Louse. It is probable, that to a passage in Johnson’s Life of Gay, wearein- debted for the ludicrous distresses in No. 52 ; at least one of the cir- cumstances of the tale actually oc- curred tothat poet, when requested to read his tragedy entitled The Captives, to the princess of Wales. ** When the hour came,”’ records his biographer, ** he saw the prin- cess and her ladies all in expecta- tion; andadvancing with reverence too great for any other attention, stumbled at a stool, and falling forwards threw down a weighty japan screen. The princessstarted, the ladies screamed, and poor Gay, after all the disturbance, was still to read his play**,” Scholastic bashfulness had been the subject of an excellent paper + Nos. 86, 134, 135 136. | Nos. 123, 124, 125, ** Murphy’s edition, Vol. X, p. 241, CHARACTERS. in Johnson’s Rambler,” and, since the Adventurer, has again formed the topic ofan essay, in No. 22 of Repton’s Variety. If we advert to the moral tendency of the essays of Hawkes- worth, we shali find them uniform- ly subservient to the best interests of virtue and religion. Every fiction which hehas drawn involves the illustration of some important duty, or Jays bare the pernicious consequences of some alluring vice. Even incidents which ap- pear to possess a peculiarindividu- ality, are rendered, by the dex- trous management of our author, accessary to the purposes of uni- versal monition. As_ instances, however, of those numbers of the Adventurer which, dismissing the attractions of scenic art, are strict- ly didactic, we may mention, as singularly worthy of notice, No. 10, illustrative of the inquiry, How far Happiness and Misery are the necessary effects of Virtue and Vice; No. 28, On the Positive Duties of Religion, as influencing Moral Conduct; No. 46, On Detraction and Treachery ; No. 48, On the Precept to Love our Enemies; No. 82, On the Pro- duction of Personal Beauty by Moral Sentiment ; and No. 130, On the Danger of Relapse after purposes of Amendment. From the observations which we have now made upon the merits of Hawkesworth’s periodical wri- tings, it may justly be inferred that he holds a higher rank among our classical essayists. He takes his station, indeed after Addison and Johnson; and the Adventurer, which rose under his fostering "No. 157, 543 care, need not fear a comparison with the Rambler and Spectator. One object which Hawkesworth had in view, in the composition of his Adventurers, was that of prov- ing to the world how well adapted he was, in point of moral and reli- gous principle, for the superintend- ence of the school which his wife had opened for the education of young ladies. This object was fully attained; for the seminary rapidly increased, and finally be- came a very lucrative undertaking. From his customary attention to the academy, however, he was for a short time diverted, by a very unexpected promotion. Herring Archbishop of Canterbury, being highly pleased with the instructive tendency of his papers in the Ad- venturer, conferred upon him the degree of doctor of civil law; a dignity which suggested a new roadto emolument, by givinghim a title to practise as a civilian in the ecclesiastical courts. In the attempt, however, after some pre- paratory study, to carry this plan into execution he completely fail- ed, owing to the strenuous oppo- sition which he had to encounter. A still more unfortunate result of his elevation was the loss of Johnson’s friendship ; a depriva- tion which,we are sorry to remark, appears to have arisen from his own ill-timed ostentation, a weak- ness that few could suppose at- tached to a mind apparently so well regulated. ‘‘ His success,” says Sir John Hawkins, ** wrought no good effects upon his mind and conduct; it elated him too much, and betrayed him into a forgettul- ness of his origin, and a neglect é + Published in 1788. 544 of his early acquaintance ; and on this I have heard Johnson remark, in terms that sufficiently expressed a knowledge of his character, and a resentment of his behaviour. It is probable that he might use the same language to Hawkesworth himself, and. also reproach him with the acceptance of an acade- mical honour to which he could have no pretensions, and which Johnson, conceiving to be irregu- Jar, as many yet do, held in great contempt: thus much is certain, that soon after the attainment of it, the intimacy between them ceased.*”” That Hawkesworth’sacceptance of this degree should cause such forgetfulness of himself, as to lead to the neglect of those who had principally contributed to his lite- rary advancement is certainly an instance of deplorable folly ; but that Johnson was justified in reproaching him for his admission of the honour, and in ridiculing his. pretensions to it will hardly be affirmed. It was intended by Herring as the reward of exer- tions in support of morality and religion, not as the acknowledg- ment of abilities for the legal pro- fession ; and therefore the conduct of Johnson on this occasion might have justly roused resentment in a mind of much less irritability than Hawkeworth possessed. The reputation which the doctor had acquired by his Adventurer, held out strong inducements to the prosecution of his literary career; and in the year 1756, at the request of Garrick, he turned his attention towards the stage. His first production, in this pro- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. vince, was an alteration of Dry- den’s comedy of Amphytrion, accompanied by new music; and in 1760, he brought forward his “ Zimri, an oratorio,’ which was performed at Covent Garden, and set to music by Mr. Stanley. It was favourably received ; and though the fable from the peculi- arity of its incidents, is by no means calculated for public re- presentation, the poetry which is mueh above mediocrity, ensured its success. _ About the period of his produc- tion of * Zimri,” he altered South- ern’s tragedy of ‘“ Oreonoko’’ for Drury Lane theatre; and in 1761 brought upon the same stage an entertainment under the title of « Edgar and Emmeline.” This is a fairy tale and in the construction of which he_ has exhibited much elegance of ima- gination. It is to be regretted, that the dramatic Jabours of our author closed with this performance ; for from his powers of language, his fertility of fancy, and_ his knowledge of the human heart, there is every reason to suppose that he might have attained to distinguished excellence as a dis- ciple of Melpomene. He had been, however, some= time employed on the composition of an oriental tale, upon a scale much larger than that of his east- ern narratives in the Adventurer. It was published in the same year with his ‘Edgar and Emmeline,” and is entitled ** Almoranand Ha- met; it occupies twovolumes] 2mo,. andisdedicatedtotheking. Inthis fiction, whichsoon became popular * Hawkins’s Life of Johnson, p. 312. CHARACTERS. and passed through a second edi- tion in a few months, will be foundtheunited recommendations of a polished diction, an interest- ing fable, and an important moral. In April, 1765, Dr. Hawkes- -worth undertook the office of Re- ’ viewer in the Gentleman’s Maga- zine; a department which he filled with great ability until the year 1772. In 1765, also, he pre- sented the public with a revised edition of Swift’s Works, in 12 vols. 8vo., accompanied by expla- natory notes, and a Life of Swift, ef which Johnson, when he be- came the biographer of the dean, thus liberally speaks: “ An ac- count of Dr. Swift has been al- ready collected with great dili- gence and acuteness by Dr. Hawkesworth, according to a scheme which I laid before him in the intimacy of our friendship. I cannot therefore be expected to say much of a life, concerning which I had long since communi- cated my thoughts to a man ca- pable of dignifying his narration with so much elegance -of lan- guage and force of sentiment.” _Hawkesworth’s Life of Swift is, indeed, a free and unprejudiced inquiry into the character of the dean, written with his usual cor- rectness and beauty of style, and highly useful, from its seizing every opportunity of enforcing the purest morality. It offered, how- ever, no new materials to the world, and, in point of informa- tion, has been superseded by the full and elaborate details of Sheri- dan and Nichols. To the merits of Hawkesworth, notwithstanding, ~ sion. 545 every subsequent editor has been just ; and, since the encomium of Johnson, the following sketches of his biographical talents have been given to the public by She- ridan and Berkeley. «* He was an author,” remarks the first of these gentlemen, “ of no small eminence; a man of clear judgment and great candour. He quickly discerned the truth from the falsehood; wiped away many of the aspersions that had been thrown on Swift’s character ; and placed it, so far as he went, in its proper light.” * « For the task he undertook,’ observes Mr. Berkeley, “his ta~ lents were fully equal; and the period at which he wrote was friendly to impartiality. Swift had now been dead some years ; and Hawkesworth was the first man from whom the public could expect a totally unprejudiced ac= count of his life. To Hawkes- worth, except as a writer, Swift was wholly unknown. His mirth had never enlivened the hours, nor had his satire embittered the re- pose, of him who was now ta be his biographer; circumstances, these, highly favourable to impar= tial investigation and candid deci- But, alas! Hawkesworth contented himself with such ma- terials as the life by Orrery and the apologies of dean Swift and Dr. Delany afforded ; adding no- thing to this stock of information but a few scattered remarks, col- lected by Johnson. Of his per- formance, therefore, I shall only observe, that its information is sometimes useful and amusing, * Introduction to the Life of Dr. Swift. & Vor, LIL. 2N 546 and that its misrepresentations are never intentional.” * In a life so tumultuous. and va- ried as was Swift's, connected with so much political transaction, and associated with the most import~ ant events and characters of the time, novelty, extent, and diver- sity of information, might be rea- sonably required ; whereas in the biography of a mere literary man, the incidents are few, and gene- rally connected with publications that fix precisely the era of their occurrence ; whilst what is ex- pected from the biographer, either as matter of utility or amusement, is in a great degree drawn from his/own intrinsic resources. Ina detail of this latter description, where moral reflection, criticism, and’arrangement, where elegance of composition, weight of senti- ment, and literary disquisition are merely demanded, Hawkeswortl would have greatly excelled, and would have produced a work fully as valuable, perhaps, to the best interests of man, as the narrative of political struggle and ambitious intrigue, however connected with talent, wit, and humour. On the subject which he had chosen, however, as he failed in industry of research and originality of do-. eument, he has been nearly con- signed to oblivion. Yet, as an editor, the year fol- lowing the publication of his Life of the Dean, enabled him to oblige the world with ‘Letters of Dr. Swift and several of his Friends, published from the Originals, with Notes Explanatory and Histo- rical,” in three vols. S8vo.; a col- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. lection which had been presented by Swift himself to Dr. Lyon, and transferred by'this gentleman to Mr. Thomas Wilkes, of Dublia, and who again disposed of it to the booksellers. The preface which Dr. Hawkes- worth has written for, these vo« lumes, contains some very just ob- servations on the instruction and amusement to be derived from fa miliar .and confidential letters; the following passage, especially, most eloquently describes the va- lue which should be attached to the publication of a correspond~ ence such as he was then present- ing to his readers, “Ina series of familiar letters between the same friends for thirty years, their whole life, as it were, passes in review before us; we live with them, we hear them talk we mark the vigour of life, the ardour of expectation, the hurry *of business, the jollity of their so« cial meetings, and the sport of their fancy in the sweet intervals of leisure and retirement ; we see the scene gradually change; hope and expectation are at an end; they regret pleasures that are past, and friends that are dead; they complain of disappointment and infirmity ; they are conscious that the sands of life which remain are few; and while we hear them re-= gret the approach of the last, it falls, and we lose them in the grave. Such as they were, we . feel ourselves to be; we are con- scious to sentiments, connexions, and situations like theirs ; we find ourselves in the same path, urged: forward by the same necessity ; 4 * Inquiry into the Life of Dean Swift. CHARA and the parallel in what has been, is carried on with such force to what shall be, that the future al- most becomes present; and we wonder at the new power of those truths, of which we never doubted the reality and importance.” _ Soon after the appearance of Swift's Letters, our author com- menced a translation of Fenelon’s Telemachus, which was published in 1768, in one volume, 4to. No person could have been selected better calculated to do justice to the epic romance of the amiable archbishop of Cambray than Hawkesworth. The harmonious style, the glowing sentiment, the - elegant and classical imagery of the original, were transfused with- out any diminution of their wonted lustre; and the version may be pronounced not only far superior to any other which we possess of Télemachus, but one of the most spirited and valuable in our lan- guage. ; Thecelebritywhich Dr. Hawkes- worth had now attained, as a lite- rary character, was aided by the friendship of Garrick, who recom- mended our author to lord Sand- wich ; the mean of procuring for him one of the most honourable and lucrative engagements that has been recorded in the annals of literature. The anxiety of the public to be acquainted with the events which had befallen the navigators of the southern hemisphere, at the com- mencement of the present reign, was greatly increased by the re- turn of licutenant Cook from his first voyage round the globe, in May, 1771; and government, in the following year, entrusted to CTE RS. 547 Hawkesworth the task of gratify- ing the general curiosity. A few attempts, in the mean time, had been made, though with little success, to anticipate the au- thenticated narrative, which came forth so early as 1773, under the following title: “« An Account of the Voyages undertaken, by the Order of his present Majesty, for making Discoveries in the South- ern Hemisphere, &c. Drawn up from the Journals which were kept by the several Commanders, and from the Papers of Joseph Banks, Esq. By John Hawkes- worth, LL. D. Illustrated with Cuts, and a great variety of Charts and Maps relative to Countries now first discovered, or hitherto but imperfectly known.” Quarto, 3 vols. In order that a work, which might properly be termed na- tional, should appear with every requisite illustration, government withheld no necessary expense. Dr. Hawkesworth had the princely remuneration of six thousand pounds ; and the charts, engrav- ings, and maps, were executed in a very splendid, and, with a few exceptions, in a very correct man- ner. The first. volume includes the journals of Byron, Wallis, and Carteret; and the second and third are occupied by the still more interesting voyage of Cook. The merits and defects of Hawkesworth, in the execution of this work, are very prominent. Of his fidelity, as to matter of fact, there can be no doubt, since the manuscript of each voyage -was submitted to the perusal of the respective commanders, and received their correction and ap- 2N2 548 probation: the literary texture too is elegant, animated, and graceful. Of the faults which have disfi- gured this publication, one may be deemed venial, and was to be apprehended from the previous studies and character of the man ; though the narrative is given in the first person, the colouring of the style, and many of the obser- vations, reflections, and descrip- tions, are such as clearly indicate their origin, and betray the dis- ciple of the portico, with all his professional acquirements. Incongruities arising from this source, though they break in upon the verisimilitude which was meant to be supported, were readily for- given; but who could have ex- pected from the director of female education, from the author of the Adventurer, from the dignified defender of morality and religion, the metaphysical reveries, the li- centious paintings of the sceptic and the voluptuary ! To the charge of inaccuracy, of nautical mistake, or defective sci- ence, he was ready and willing to reply ; but against the strong and numerous accusations of impiety and indecency, against the fla- grant proofs, as taken from his preface and his journals, of his denial of a special providence, and of his wanton pictures of sensu- ality, he was unable to defend himself. To the vexations which he hourly experienced from these at- tacks, many of which took their source rather from a spirit of ma- lignity than a love of virtue and moral order, was added the ex- treme mortification of being ren- dered accessory to the purposes of ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. the most abandoned depravity : for shortly after the publication of his Voyages, notice was given by the infamous editors of a certain magazine, that “all the amorous passages and descriptions in Dr. Hawk th’s Collection of Voy- ages should be selected, and illus- trated by asuitable plate,” a threat which was immediately after car- ried into execution ; and thus was: the doctor condemned, after a life hitherto spent in the support of piety and morality, to subserve the iniquitous designs of the mi- nisters of lewdness and de- bauchery. ; That Hawkesworth ever meant, by his doubts, his queries, and de- scriptions, to shock belief, or in- flame the passions, cannot be ad- mitted. His practice was correct ; but his theory, both in philoso- phy and theology, was often in- consistent and unsettled ; and he was apt to indulge himself in spe- culations, the ultimate tendency and bearings of which, could he have accurately appreciated them, he would have shrunk from with abhorrence. His descriptions of sensual indulgence too, though probably correct representations, were, he should have reflected, not calculated for a popular work; there was no necessity for their introduction; and the Janguage in which they were clothed, by veil- ing, in a great measure, the gross- ness of the imagery, rendered the poison more subtle and perni- cious. The sensibility of Hawkesworth was keen, and easily wounded ; he felt through every nerve the envenomed weapons of his ac- cusers, and his peace of mind was. CHARA destroyed for ever. No addition to his income or his consequence could now soothe his feelings ; for though his circumstances were comparatively affluent, and he had the unprecedented honour of being chosen, on account of his literary talents, a director of the East IndiaCompany,inApril,1773: he died, exhausted by chagrin and disappointment, on the 16th of the November following. He was buried in the church of Bromley, in Kent, where, on an elegant marble, is the subsequent inscrip- tion, part of which, as the reader will immediately perceive, is taken from the last number of the Ad- venturer. To the Memory of John Hawkesworth, LL. D. Who died the 16th of November, 1773, aged 58 years. That he lived ornamental and useful To society in an eminent degree, . Was among the boasted felicities Of the present age ; That he laboured for the benefit of society, Let his own pathetic admonitions Record and realize. “The hour is hasting, in which whatever praise or censure I have acquired, will be remembered with * equal indifference. Time, who is impatient to date my last paper, ‘will shortly moulder the hand which is now writing it in the dust, and still the breast that now throbs at the reflection. But let not this be read as something that relates only to another ; for a _ few years only can divide the eye that is now reading, from the hand that has written,” Dr. Hawkesworth was, if not a man of deep learning, sufficiently acquainted with the classical and modern languages to maintain the character of an elegant scholar. His writings, with the exception CTERS. 549 of his last ill-fated work, have a tendency uniformly conducive. to the interests of virtue and reli- gion ; and we may add, that the errors of that unfortunate produc- tion must be attributed rather to a defect of judgment, than to a dereliction of principle. His imagination was fertile and brilliant, his diction pure, elegant, and unaffected; he possessed a sensibility which too often wound- ed himself, but which rendered him peculiarly susceptible of the emotions of pity, of friendship, and of love. He was in a high degree charitable, humane, and benevolent; his manners were polished and affable, and his con- versation has been described as uncommonly fascinating ; as com- bining instruction and entertain- ment with a flow of words, which, though unstudied, was yet con- cisely and appropriately eloquent. His passions were strong, and his command over them was not such as to prevent their occasional interference with his health and peace of mind; but to the heart- withering sensations of long-che- rished resentment, of revenge or hatred, his breast was a perfect stranger. He died, it is said, tranquil and resigned, and, we trust, deriving hope and comfort from a firm belief in that religion which his best writings had been employed to defend. The following little poem, com- posed but a month before his death, and dictated to Mrs. H. be- fore he rose in the morning, will prove how vividly he felt, at that period, the consolations arising from dependence on the mercy of his God. 590 HYMN. 1. In Sleep’s serene oblivion laid, I safely pass’d the silent night ; At once I see the breaking shade, And drink again the morning light, New born—I bless the waking hour, Once more, with awe, rejoice to be 5 My conscious soul resumes her power, Andsprings, my gracious God, to thee. 3 O, guide me through the various maze My doubtful feet are doomed to tread 5 And spread thy shield’s protecting blaze, When dangers press around my head. 4 A deeper shade will soon impend, A deeper sleep my eyes oppress 5 Yet still thy strength shall me defend, Thy goodnessstill shall deign to bless. 5 That deeper shade shall fade away, That deeper sleep shallleave my eyes; Thy light shall give eternal day ! Thy love the rapture of the skies ! Manners and Customs of the Tupi- nambas, exemplified in the ex- traordinary Adventures of Hans Stade. [From Mr. Southey’s History of Brazil.) Hans had a German friend set- tled at St. Vincente, as overseer of some sugar-works, whichbelonged to Giuseppe Adorno, a Genoese. His name was Heliodorus, and he was son of Eoban, a German poet of great celebrity in his day ; he was from the same country as Hans, and had received him into his house after the shipwreck, with that brotherly kindness which every man feels for a countryman when they meet in so remote a Jand. This Heliodorus came with another friend to visit Hans in his castle. There was no other mar- ket where he could send for food to regale them except the woods, ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. but this was well stocked. ‘The - wild boars were the finest in the whole country, and they were so numerous that the inhabitants killed them for their skins, of which they made a leatherthat was preferred to cow-hides for boots and chair bottoms. He had a Cairo slave who used to hunt for him, and whom he never feared to accompany to the chase; him he sent into the woods to kill game, and went out to meet him the next day, and see what suc- cess he hadhad. ‘The war-whoop was set up, and in an instant he was surrounded by the Tupinam- bas. He gave himself up for lost, and exclaimed, Into thy hands, O Lord, doI commit my spirit. The prayer was hardly ended before he was knocked down; blows and arrows fell upon him from all sides; but he received only one wound, in the thigh. Their first business was to strip him; hat, cloak, jerkin, shirt, were presently torn away, every one seizing what he could get. To this part of the prize possession was sullicient title; but Hans’s body, or carcase, as they consi- dered it, was a thing of more con- sequence, A dispute arose who had first laid hands on him, and they who bore no partin it amused themselves by beating theprisoner with their bows. It was settled that he belonged to two brethren ; then they lifted him up and car- ried him off as fast as possible to- wards their canoes, which were drawn ashore, and concealed in the thicket. A large party who had been left in guard, advanced to meet their triumphant fellows, showing Hans their teeth, and biting their arms to. let him see CHARA what he was to expect. The chief of the party went before him, wielding the zwara pemme, the club with which they slaugh- ter their prisoners, and crying out to him, Now, Pero (as they called the Portuguese) thou art a most vile slave! now thou art in our hands! now thou shalt pay for our countrymen whom thou hast slain! They then tied his hands ; but another dispute arose, what should be done with him. The captors were not all from the same dwelling-place ; no other ' prisoner had been taken, and they who were to return home without one, exclaimed against giving him to the two brethren, and were for killing him at once. Poor Hans had liyed long enough in Brazil to understand all that was said, and all that was to be done; he fer- vently said his prayers, and kept his eye upon the slaughter-club. The chief of the party settled the dispute by saying, We will carry him home alive, that our wives may rejoice over him, and he shall be made a kaay-pepike ; * that is, he was to be killed at the great drinking feast. Then they tied four cords round his neck, fastened them to the ends and sides of a canoe, and pushed off. There was a little island near; in which the sea-fow], called goa- razes, bred. The down of the young bird is of the grey colour of ashes; their feathers for the first year are brown, then: they become of a bright and glowing red. These red feathers were the favourite ornament of all the sa- vage tribes. hey inquired of their prisoner whether the Tupini- CTERS: quins had been that season to take the brooding birds; and though he assured them that they had, they made towards the island. Before they reached it, they saw canoes coming in pursuit of them. The slave of Hans, who had seen his master taken, fled and gave the alarm, and the Tupiniquins, and a few Portuguese with them, were hastening to his assistance. They called out to the Tupinam- bas to stop and fight, if they were men. Provoked at this defiance, they turned, loosened their pri- soner’s hands, and giving him powder and ball, which they had got from the French, made him load his own gun and fire at his friends ; the ropes round his neck prevented him from leaping over- board. They soon, however, per- ceived their cwn rashness, and fearing that other forces would speedily come against them, made off, As they passed within falcon- shot of Bertiorga, two shot were discharged at them, which just fell short; boats were put out from thence, but the Tupinambas pulled for their lives, and outstrip- ped them. About seven miles beyond Ber- tiorga they landed upon an island where they meant tosleep. Hans’s face was so swoln with the blows which he had received, that he could not see, and he could not stand because of the wound in his thigh; so he lay on the ground, and they stood round, telling him how they would eat him. being in this condition, says he, I began to think, which I had never done sufficiently before, what a miser= able life this is, and how full of 551 * As we say, a Michaelmas goose, or a Christmas ox. 552 changes and troubles ! and he be- gan to sing the 130th psalm, de profundis. Lo! said they, now he is bewailing his unhappy fate. The place which they had chosen not being a convenient station, they removed to the main land to some deserted huts of their own, drew their canoes ashore, and kindled a fire, to which they brought their prisoner. They laid him in a hammock, fastened the cords which were still kept round his neck, to a tree, and from time to time through the night in- formed him, in their mirth, that he was now their beast. The next day a storm arose, and they called upon him to pray that it might not destroy them. Hans obeyed, beseeching God to shew the savages that his prayers were heard, and presently he heard them say the clouds were passing off; for he was lying along in the canoe, and could not lift his head, so severely had he been bruised. This change of weather he wil- lingly attributed to his prayers, and returned thanks for it. A se- cond night was passed like the first, and they congratulated each other that on the morrow they should reach home: but I, says he, did not congratulate myself. On the third evening they came to their town, which was called Uwattibi. It consisted of seven houses (a town seldom had more), but each house contained twenty or thirty families, who, as they were generally related to each other, may not improperly be called a clan. They are about fourteen feet wide, and one hun- dred and fifty long, more or less, according to the number of the elan. Each family has its own ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. birth and its own fire, but there are no partitions whatsoever be- tween them. The usual height of the roof is about twelve feet ; it is convex, and well thatched with palms. These houses are built to enclose an area, in which they slaughter their prisoners : to each house there are three low doors, alltowards the area. The town is surrounded first with a close palisade, in whichloop-holes are left for their arrows ; this pa-- lisade is so constructed as to form alternately two sides of a triangle, and three of a square; and with- out this is a circular one of high, strong stakes, not so closely set as the inner, neither far enough apart to leave room for passing through. At the entrance they set up a few heads of those whom they had devoured, stuck upon spikes upon these pales. When the canoes arrived, the women were digging mandioc. The captors made Hanscry out to them in Brazilian, Here I am, come to be you meat! Out came the whole population, old men, children and all. Hans was deli- vered over to the women, who were, if possible, more cruel than the men on these occasions. They beat him with their fists, they pulled his beard, naming at every pluck and at every blow, some one of their friends who had been slain, and saying it was given for his sake. The children also were suffered to torment him at their pleasure ; and all expressed their joy to him at the thoughts of the feast they were to have. The nen meantime regaled themselves with potations of kaamy. ‘They brought out the rattles, which they regard as oracles, and thanks CHARA CT ERS: ed them for having truly said that they should return with prey. This lasted for about half an hour, during which time Hans was at the mercy of the women and children. The two brethren, Yep- pipo Wasu and Alkindar Miri, to whom he had been adjudged, then came and stated to him, that their uncle, Ipperu Wasu, last year had given Alkindar a prisoner to kill, in order that he might have the glory of making a feast ; but it was with this condition, that Alkindar should repay him with the first prisoner whom he took, He was the first, and therefore the glory of making a feast of him was to be Ipperu Wasu’s. Having explained this matter to him, they added that the girls would now come and lead him out to apprasse. What apprasse was he did not know; but this he ‘knew, that it could be nothing good. The young women came, and led him by the cords which were still round his neck, into the area: the men went their way, and all the women of the settlement, ga- thered round him. He had been _ stripped naked at the time of his capture: they handled him till they had satisfied their curiosity ; _ then some took him up in their arms, while others pulled the ropes till he was nearly strangled. Then, says he, I thought what our Lord had suffered from the perfidious Jews, and that gave me strength and resignation. They carried him to the house of their chief, Uratinge Wasu, the Great White Bird; a little hillock of earth had just been raised at the entrance, upon which they seated him, holding him lest he should 553 fall. This he expected was the place of death. He looked round to see if the slaughter-club was ready, and asked if he was to die - now. Not yet, they told him. A woman then approached with a piece of broken glass set in a stick, with which instrument she scraped off his eye-brows, and began to perform the same operation upon his beard ; but Hans resisted this, and declared that he would die with his beard. They did not persist now, but some days after- wards sheared it off with a pair of French scissars. Then they led him before the door of the tabernacle, wherein the Marica, or rattles of divina- tion were kept ; they fastened a string of little rattles round each leg, and placed upon his head a square coronal of strait feathers. Two women stood on each side of him, the rest made a circle round, and bade him dance to their singing. He could scarcely stand for the pain of his wound, nevertheless dance he must, and keep time in his steps, that the anklets may rattle-inin tune. This dance was the apprasse: it seems to have been a religious ceremony in honour of the Maraca. After it was performed, he was delivered into the hands of Ipperu Wasu, in payment for the prisoner with which that chief had accommo- dated his nephew. From him Hans learned that he had yet some time to live. All the Maraca were now brought out. This familiar oracle of the Brazilian savages is made of a fruit so called, which resem- bles a gourd, and is capable of containing about three pints in its cavity. This is fixed upon 2 004 handle; human hair is sometimes fastened on the top, and a slit is cut in it to represent a mouth, ‘through which their jugglers, whom they call Payes, make it utter its responses. A few pebbles are inserted to make it rattle, and it is crowned with the red feathers of the goaraz. Every man had his Maraca. They were now all produced; Hans was set in the midst of them, and the captors addressed them, saying, their pre- diction had been verified ; it had promised them a Portuguese pri- soner, and lo! they had brought one home. Upon this Hans spake up, and denied that the prediction could be verified in him. The Maraca, he said, lied if it called him a Portuguese ; he was a Ger- man, and the Germans were friends and allies of the French. The Tupinambas calmly replied, it was he who was the liar, for if he was a friend and ally of the French, how came he to live among the Portuguese? We know, said they, that the French are as much the enemies of the Portuguese as we are: they come to us every year, and bring us knives, scissars, axes, combs, and Jooking-glasses, for which we give them wood, cotton, pepper, and feathers, The Portuguese are a very different people. When they came first to the country, they went to our enemies, and made alliance with them, and built towns among them, wherein they still reside; afterwards they came in ships to us, to trade with us as the French do now, and when our people suspecting no danger, went on board as guests, they seized them, carried them away, and gave them to our enemies to ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. be devoured. Many of our bres thren have since been killed by their bullets, and we suffer great injuries from them. The two brethren then told him that their father’s arm had been carried away by a ball, of which wound he died, and that death was now to be avenged upon him. Hans protested again; there could be no reason, he said, to revenge it upon him; he was not a Portu- guese, but having been. ship- wrecked in a Castilian vessel, was by that means cast among them. The Tupinambas were not with- out some sense of justice. There was a lad among them who had once been taken by the Tupini- quins: they had surprised a set- tlement; and captured all its in- habitants; all who were grown up were eaten ; the children were made slaves, and this boy had be- longed to a Gallego at Bertioga. He knew Hans, and they called upon him to give evidence con- cerning him. ‘The lad said a ship had been wrecked there belonging to the Castilians, who were friends to the Portuguese, and this pri- soner was in the ship; but this was all he knew. Hans, when they began to inquire into the truth of this demurrer, saw some hope of escaping. He knew there were some French interpreters in the country, left there to collect pepper for the traders; herepeated, that he was the friend aud brother of the French, and protested against being eaten before he could be seen by some of that na- tion and acknowledged by them. This was thought reasonable, and he was carefully watched till an opportunity should oceur of sub- mitting him to this proof. CHARA It was not long before one of these interpreters came to Uwat- tibi; the savages hastened to their prisoner. A Frenchman is come, they cried, and now we shall see whether thou art French or not. Great was his joy at hearing this, I thought, says he, the man was a christian, and that it was not possible he could speak against me. He was led to him; the cannibals stood round; and the interpreter, who was a young Norman, addressed him in French. Han’s reply made it plain that he was no Frenchman; this the Tu- pinambas could not discover, but the wretch immediately said to them, in their own language, kill the rascal, and eat him; he is a Portuguese, as much our enemy as yours. Hans besought him, for the love of God, to have compas- sion, and save him from being devoured ; but the Frenchman re- plied, that eaten he should be. Then, said he, I called to mind the words of the prophet Jere- miah, Cursed is he who putteth his trust in man. He had a linen cloth over his shoulders, which the savages had given him, being his only covering ; in his agony he cast it off at the feet of the Frenchman, and exclaimed, If I am to die, why should I preserve . this flesh of mine to be food for them! They led him back, and he threw himself into his ham- mock. I call God to witness, says he, what my pain was! and witha sorrowful voice I began to sing ahymn, Truly, said the sa- vages, he is a Portuguese, for he is howling with the fear of death, That he was to die was deter- mined, and every thing was made ready for the ceremony. CT E Rs. While, says Hans, I lived in this misery, I experienced the truth of the saying, that misfor- tunes never come alone. The new misfortune which occasioned this reflection, was a grievous tooth- ach, so grievous as to emaciate him, by his own account; but fear and suffering would have done that without the tovth-ach. His master observed with concern that he did not eat, and when he learnt the cause, produced a wooden instrument with which he would have knocked the tooth out. Hans cried out the pain was gone; a struggle ensued, and he succeeded in resisting the opera- tion. His master, however, kindly admonished him to eat, telling him, that if he continued to lose flesh instead of fattening properly, he must be killed before the ap- pointed time. After some days had elapsed, Hans was sent for by Konyan Bebe, the chief of the whole tribe, who was then at a town called Arirab. When he drew nigh, there was a great noise of horns and rejoicings; and fifteen heads of the Margaias, whom they had lately eaten, and which were fixed upon stakes at the entrance, were significantly pointed out to him. One of his guards went before him into the house of the chief crying out, We have brought your Portuguese slave, that you may behold him. He and his companions were drink- ing, and were heated with their drink; they lookedsternly at Hans, and said, O enemy thou art here! He made answer, I am here, but not an enemy ; and they gave him of their liquor. Hans had heard of this chief, 509d 556 who was famous in his day, and a cruel cannibal. He addressed him- self to the one whom he judged to be him by his large necklace of shells, and asked if he was not the great Konyan Bebe? Being answered, that he was, he began to praise him as well as he could, telling him how greatly his name was celebrated, and how worthy his exploits were of all praise. A woman could not have been more delighted with flattery. The sa- vage rose, swelling with pleasure, and strutted before him to display himself. When he returned to his place, he asked what the Tu- piniquins and Portuguese were designing against him, and why Hans had fired at him from the fortress, for he knew that he had been the gunner. Hans replied, that the Portuguese had stationed him there, and ordered him to do his office; but the chief replied, that he was a Portuguese himself, and witnessed his son the French- man, as he called him, saying the truth was manifest, for he did not understand French. Hans admit- ted this, and alleged that he had forgotten it from long disuse. I have eaten five Portuguese, said Konyan Bebe, and they all said they were Frenchmen. Presently he asked what sort of a man the Portuguese thought him, and if they stood in fear of him. Hans answered, that they had good rea- son to know what sort of man he was by what they had suffered, but Bertioga was now made a strong place. Ah, they said, they would lie in wait in the woods, and catch others as they had caught him. Hans then told him that the Tupiniquins were soon coming to attack him with five- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. and-twenty canoes. He did not Sscruple at this sort of treachery, in hopes of winning favour by it, — and saving his life. By this time all the kaawy in that house was exhausted; the drinkers, there- fore, removed to another, and he was told to follow. The son of Konyan Bebe tied his legs toge- ther, and he was made to jump, while they laughed and shouted, See our meat is jumping. turned to Ipperu Wasu, and asked him if this was the place where he was to die. No, his master replied; but these things were always. done with foreign slaves. Having seen him dance, they now _ ordered him to sing: he sung a | hymn, they bade him interpret it; and he said it was in praise of God: they then reviled his God ; their blasphemies shocked him, and he admired in his heart the wonderful indulgence and long suffering of God towards them. The next day, as the whole town had had a full sight of him, he was dismissed. Konyan Bebe en- joined his captors to watch him well; and they pursued him with fresh mockeryas he departed, say- ing, they should soon come to visit his master, and settle every ~ thing for the feast. But his mas- ter took great pains to comfort him, and assured him the time was not yet near. The Tupiniquins made their expedition, and Uwattibi happen- ed to be the place which they at- tacked. Hans besought his cap- tors to let him loose, and give him bow and arrows, and they should see how he would fight for them, though they believed him to be their enemy. This he did, in hopes that he should be able to He | | CHARA break through the palisade and es- cape to his friends. They let him fight, but watched him too nar- rowly for him to effect this. The invaders failing to win the place by surprise, and being vigorously resisted, took to their canoes, and retired, Poor Hans had been frustrated in his hope, and met with no thanks for his services. They led him back to his place of confinement as soon as the assault ‘was over; and, in the evening, brought him out into the area, formed a circle round him, and fixed the time for killing him, in- sulting him as usual with their cannibal expressions of joy. The moon was up, and fixing his eyes upon her, he silently besought God to vouchsafe him a happy termination of these sufferings. Yeppipo Wasu, who was one of the chiefs of the horde, and as such had convoked the meeting, seeing how earnestly he kept gaz- ing upwards, asked him what he was looking at. Hans had ceased from praying, and was observing the man in the moon, and'fancy- ing that he looked angry; his mind was broken down by conti- nual terror, and he says it seemed to him at that moment as if he were hated by God, and by all things which God had created. The question only half roused him from his phantasy, and he an- swered, it was plain that the moon was angry. The savage asked who she was angry with, and then Hans, as if he had. recol- lected himself, replied that she was looking at his dwellings This enraged him, and Hans found it prudent to say, that perhaps her eyes were turned so wrathfully upon the Cairos; in which opi- CAT UBARIS, 557 nion the chief assented, and wish- ed she might destroy them all. News came the next morning, that the Tupiniquins had burnt the settlement of Mambukabe, which had been deserted at their approach. Yeppipo Wasu_ pre- pared to go with the greater part of his clan and assist the inhabit- ants in rebuilding it. He charged Ipperu Wasu to look well to the prisoner, and said he would bring back potters’ clay and mandioc flour for the feast. During his absence a vessel from Bertioga ar- rived, anchored off the coast, and fired a gun. The Tupiniquins had seen Hans in the battle, and given intelligence where he was, and this ship was sent to obtain his release if it were possible. See, said the captors, thy friends, the Portuguese, are come to look for thee, and offer a ransom. He replied, perhaps his brother was come, who lived with the Portu- guese as he had done; and this he said to remove their persuasion that he was a Portuguese himself. A party went off to the ship, and answered their inquiries in such amanner that the master returned, concluding he had already been devoured. Hans saw her sail away, while the cannibals rejoiced over him, exclaiming, We have him! we have him! he is what we would have him to be! they have sent ships to look after him ! And now the party from Mam- bukabe were daily expected to return. Hans heard a howl in Yeppipo Wasu’s house. It is the custom of the Brazilian savages, when their friends return after a few days absence, to welcome them with tears and cries; he 558 ANNUAL REGISTER, “1810. therefore thought they were ar- rived, that the feast was now to be made ready, and that his death would no longer be delayed. Pre- sently he was told, that one of the chief’s brothers was returned alone, and all the rest were lying sick; at which he rejoiced in se- cret, hoping that God would mi- raculously deliverhim. This man soon made his appearance, sat down beside him, and began to Jament for his brother and family, all of whom, he said, were stricken with sickness, and he was come to request him to pray for them; for Yeppipo believed that his God had done this in anger. Hans made answer, lis God was indeed angry, because they meant to eat him, who was not their enemy, and not a Portuguese: he pro+ mised, however, to do his best in prayer if the chief would return to his own house. The brother replied, he was too ill to return ; but that he knew Hans could cure him if he would but pray. Hans answered, if he had strength enough to come home he would cure him there. Accordingly, home they all came. Yeppipo called for Hans, and said to him, You told me that the moon looked angrily upon my house, and now behold: we are all stricken with sickness. Your God has done this inmhis wrath. Hans had forgotten the conversation about the mvon; being thus reminded of it, he himself believed it to have been prophetic, and replied, that God was angry because they meant to eat one who was not their enemy. The chief protested that he should not'be eaten if he would but heal them. In these protestations Hans: had but little confidence: the re- turn of that cannibal’s appetite was to be dreaded, but his death not less so; for the rest of the settlement would suppose he had occasioned it, and probably kill him, Jest he should bring upon them further evil. He therefore, as they desired, tried what the im- position of hands would do for the sick, not without some faith himself in the application. A child died first; then Yeppipo’s mother, an old woman who had been making drinking-pots at Mambukabe, to be used at the feast; two of his brothers died ; another of his children, and in all eight of his family. Instead of shaking his faith in Hans, this only made him more urgent with him to save him and his wife. Hans told him there might be some hope if he were truly deter- mined on no account to suffer him to be eaten, but otherwise there wasnone. The sick savage protested he had not the slightest intention of eating him, and call- , ed the clan together and forbade them ever to threaten him with death, or even to think of killing him. This contagion had made Hans a dreadful personage. One of the chiefs saw him menacing him in a dream, and came to him in the morning, faithfully pro- mising, if he would be pleased to spare him, that he would never be the occasion of his death, and, even if he were killed, that he would not eat a bit ofhim, An- other, who had never thoroughly recovered a surfeit from the last Portuguese whom he had eaten, dreamt of him also, and in like manner came and implored him not to be his destroyer. The very old women who had tormented’ _ did not extend so far. C HAAR A him like fiends, now called him son, and begged his favour. They said, that all the harm which they had done, or intended to doto him, was in mistake, because they sup- posed him to be a Portuguese, and they hated that people; but they had eaten many of them, and their God was never angry with them for so doing. The beard which Hans had been so unwilling to part with, now also appeared as good evidence in his favour ; it was red, like a French- man’s, and they observed that the beards of the Portuguese were black. This was a happy sick- ness for him. Yeppipo and his wife recovered; there was no longer any talk of the feast, but he was still strictly guarded. After some time, the French interpreter came again to Uwat- tibi; he had been collecting pep- per and feathers, and was now on his way to the port where the ships were to meet him. Hans told him. his plain story, and be- sought him to tell the savages what he truly was, and to take him with him to the ships; and he adjured him, if he had in him any spark of christianhumanity, or any hope of salvation, not to be guilty of his death. The man re- plied, that he had really taken him for one of the Portuguese, and those people were so cruel that they hung every Frenchman whom they took in the country. He now, however, said to the Tu« pinambas that he had been mis- taken, that their prisoner was a German, and a friend of the French, and proposed to take him in his company. Their gratitude No, they replied, he was their slave not- CTERS. 559 withstanding, for they had caught him among the Portuguese. Let his father or his brethren come for him ina ship, with hatchets, knives, scissars, combs, and Idok- ing-glasses, to ransom him like their child or brother, and he then should go. The Frenchman told them this should be done, and promised Hans to be his friend when the ships arrived. When the interpreter was gone, Alkindar asked if that man was his countryman; and being an- swered that he was, Why then, said he, did he not give you a knife, or something of that kind, which you might have presented to me? The wholesome effects of the contagion seemed to be wearing away. His mistress said, that the Anhanga, or evil spirit, came to her in the night, and asked where the slaughter-ciub was? where had they hidden it? There were some who murmured about him, and said, that whether Portuguese or French, the meat was the same. The inhabitants of Tickqua- rippe, which was.at some little distance, were about to kill a Mar- gaia slave; a party from Uwat- tibi went to the feast, and took Hans with them. He went to the prisoner the evening before the slaughter, and observed to him, that his time was. nearly come. The mansmiled, and said, Yes, every thing was ready ex- cept the mussarana (the cotton rope which was to be fastened round his waist) ; but the mussa- ranas here, he said, were nothing like what they were in his coun- try. And he spoke of what was to be done to-morrow as if it were a festival of which he was to 560 ANNUAL be a partaker. Hans left him, and sat down to read a Portuguese book; the savages got it from a prize taken by the French, and had given it him: but unable to drive away the thoughts of this Margaia, and not perhaps quite satisfied with himself for what he had said to him, he returned, and said, Do not think, friend, that I am come hither to devour you, for I also am a prisoner, and my masters have brought me here; and he endeavoured to give him the best comfort, by saying, that though his body would be eaten, his soul would enter into a better world, and there be happy. The savage inquired if this was true, and remarked that he had never seen God. That, said Hans, you will do in another life. A storm arose in the night. The savages cried out, it was that wicked con- juror’s doing to save the prisoner, because the Margaias and the Por- tuguese wete friends: we saw him yesterday, said they, turning over the skins of thunder (by which they meant the leaves of the book). Luckily for him, it cleared in the morning, and the feast was performed without in- terruption. As Hans and his master were returning by water, the wind was violently against them, and the rain incessant, and they called upon him to give them fair wea- ther. There was a boy in the canoe who had carried off a bone from the feast, and was now pick- ing it. He bade him throw it away ; but at this they all cried out that it was a dainty. The weather continued wet and stormy, so that having been three days on their way, though it was only a REGISTER, 1810. day’s distance, they were obliged at last to haul their canoes ashore, and go the remainder of the way by land. Every one took what food he had before they began their march, and the boy finished his bone, and having well polish- ed it, cast it from him. The clouds dispersed as they proceeded, and Hans then asked them, if he had not spoken truly when he af- firmed that God was angry with that boy for eating human flesh ? But, they replied, there would have been no evil consequences if he had not seen him eating it. They looked upon himasthe imme- diate cause, and looked no further. When he had remained five months in this miserable captivity, another vessel came from St. Vin~ cente, for the Portuguese and Tu- pinambas used to carry on trade and hostilities with each other at the same time. They wanted mandioc flour for the numerous slaves who were employed in their sugar-works. When a ship wassent to procure this, a gun was fired on her arrival ; two savages then put off towards her in a canoe, held up what they had to sell, and set- tled the price in knives, reaping- hooks, or whatever else was on board for barter. Other canoes kept at a distance till the ex- change was fairly completed. As soon as that was done, and the two brokers had returned, then they began to fight ; a barbarous, but convenient arrangement. When the two traders went off, the Por- tuguese inquired if Hans was yet alive, and said that his brother was on board, and had brought some goods for him. When Hans heard this, he besought them to let him speak to his brother, say- GHABAC TERS. ing, that he would desire him to beg his father to send a ship for him, and goods for his ransom. The Portuguese, he affirmed, would not understand their con- versation. This he said, because the Tupinambas had planned an expedition on the side of Bertioga for the ensuing August, and he feared they would suspect his in- tention of giving intelligence of it. They in their simplicity be- lieved him, and carried him within a'stone’s throw of the vessel. Hans cried out immediately, that only one must speak to him, for he had said none but his brother could understand him. One of his friends took upon him this part, and told him they were sent to ransom him if they could, and if that proposal.was rejected, to seize some of the Tupinambas, and so recover him by exchange. He begged them; for God’s sake, not to attempt either means; but to say he was'a Frenchman, and give him fishing-hooks and _ knives, This they readily did, and a canoe was sent to take them in. He then told them of the projected expedition; and they on their part informed him, that their allies designed to attack Uwattibi again, and bade him be of good heart. He expressed himself thankful, that his sins were to receive their punishment in this world rather than in the next, and implored their prayers for his deliverance. The parley was then broken off. Hans gave his masters the knives and fishing-hooks, and promised them more when the ship came for him; for he had told his bro- ther how kindly they had treated him. They wereof opinion thatthey had treated him with great kind- Vor. LI. 561 ness; but now, they said, it was plain he was a Frenchman of some worth, and was therefore to be treated still better: so they per- mitted him to accompany them to the woods, and bear his part in their ordinary employments. There was a Cairo slave in the town, who having been a slave among the Portuguese, had fled to these Tupinambas, and lived three years with them; a longer time than Hans had been in Brazil: nevertheless, from some strange hatred which he had conceived against him, he frequently urged his masters to kill him, declaring that he had oftentimes seen him fire at the Tupinambas, and that he was the person who had killed one of their chiefs. This man fell sick, and’ Hans was desired to bleed him’by his'master, who pro= mised’ him, if he cuted the pa- tient, a share of all thé game which he should kill, for his fee. Their instrument for bleeding is 2 sharp tooth, with which, not be- ing used to it, Hans could not open avein. Theythen saidhe wasa lost man, and that there was nothing to be done but to kill him, lest he should die, and so become uneat- able. Shocked at this, Hans re- presented that the man might yet recover ; but it availed not; they took him out of his hammock, two men supported him upright, for he was too ill tostand, or to know what they were doing, and his master knocked out his brains. Hans then endeavoured to dis suade them from eating hii, ob- serving that the body was yellow with disease, and might’ produce pestilence. They threw away the head and intestines on this ac- count, and devouredtherest. He 20 562 did not ‘fail to remark. to them that this slave had never been ill since he came among them, till he had endeavoured to procure his death. The time of their’ expedition, for which they had been three months making preparations,‘ was now at hand.. He hoped they would leave him at home with the women, and then he had deter- mined to fly. Before the time of their departure was come, a boat arrived from a French ship which was lying, at Rio de Janeiro; it came to trade for pepper, mon- keys, and parrots. One man, who spake the language of the Tupi- nambas, landed, and Hans in- treated him to take him on board ; but his masters would not permit him to go, for they were resolved to have a good ransom for him. He begged them then to go'with him to the ship; this also they re- fused, observing, that these people were no friends of his; for though they saw him naked, they had not even given him a cloth to cover him. Oh, but his friends were in the ship, he said. The. ship, they replied, would. not sail till their expedition. was over, and it would be time enough then to take him there. But when Hans saw the boat push off, his earnest wish.to be at liberty overpowered him; he sprang forward, and ran towards it along the shore. The savages pursued, some of them came up to him; he beat them off, outstript the rest, ran into the - sea, and swam off to the boat. The Frenchmen refused to take him in, lest they should offend the savages, and Hans, once more resigning himself to his evil des- tiny, was compelled to swim ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. back.’ When the Tupinambag saw him returning they rejoiced ; but he affected to be angry that they should have supposed he meant to run away; and said he only went to bid them tell his countrymen to prepare a present for them when they should go with:-him to the ship. Their hostile expeditions are preceded by many ceremonies. The old men of every settlement frequently addressed the young, and exhorted them to go to war. An old orator, either walking abroad, or sitting up in his ham- mock, would exclaim, What! is this the example which our fa- thers have left us, that we should waste our days away at home; they who went out, and fought and conquered, and slew, and devour- ed! -Shall we let the enemies, who could not formerly stand in our sight, come now to our own doors, and bring the war home to us?—and then clapping his shoulders and his hams,—no, no, Tupinambas, let us'go out, let us kill, let us eat! Such speeches were sometimes continued for some hours, and were listened to with the deepest attention. Con-~ sultations were held in every town of the tribe concerning the place which they should attack, and the time was fixed for assembling and setting off. Religious Ceremonies of the Tupi- nambas. [ From the same Work. ] Once in the year the Payes visited every settlement. They sent notice of their coming, that the ways might be made clear be- fore them. The women of the CHARACTERS. place which was to receive this visitation, went two and two through every house, confessing aloud all the offences which they had committed against their hus- bands, and demanding forgiveness for them; and when the Payes arrived they were received with song anddance. They pretended that a spirit which came to them from the,remotest parts of the world, gave them power to make the Maraca answer questions and predict events. The house was cleared, the women and children excluded, and the men were then told to produce their maracas, adorned with red feathers, that they might receive the faculty of speech. The Payes sat at the head of the room, and fixed their own in the ground before them; near these the others were fixed, and every man made a present to the jugglers, that his might not be forgotten. This essential part of the business being performed, they fumigated them with petun through a long cane; the Paye then took up one, put it to his ‘mouth, and bade it speak: a shrill feeble voice then seemed to pro- ceed from it, which the savages ‘believe to be the voice of the spi- rit, and the jugglers bade them go to war and conquer their enemies, for the spirits who inhabit the ma- racas delight to be satisfied with the flesh of prisoners. Every one then took up his oracle, called it his dear son, and carefully re- placed it. The savages, from the Orinoco to the Plata, have no other visible object of worship. On some occasions there is a greater ceremony, at which Jean De Lery happened once to be pre- sent. He and two other French 563 men went early in the morning to a town of the Tupinambas, think- ing to breakfast there. They found all the inhabitants, in number about six hundred, collected in the area: the men went into one house, the women into another, the boys into a third; the Payes ordered the women not to come out, but carefully to listen to the singing, and they put the French- men with them. Presently a sound was heard from the house into which the men had retired; they were singing He-he-he-he, which the women in like manner re- peated: the singing was notin a loud key at first, but they conti- nued it a full quarter of an hour, till it became one long and dread- ful yell, jumping the whole while, their breasts shaking, and foaming at the mouth: some of them fell down senseless, and De Lery be- lieved they wereactuallypossessed. The boys were making the same hideous howling by themselves and the three Frenchmen were, as they well might be; in grievous consternation, not knowing what the devil might think proper to do next. After a short pause of silence, the men began to sing in the sweetest and most delightful tones; De Lery was so charmed, that he resolved to go and look at them; and though the women endeavoured to prevent him, and a Norman interpreter said that during seven years which he had passed among them he had-never dared be present, he, relying upon his intimacy with some of the el- ders, went out and made a hole in the roof, through which he and. his companions beheld the cere- mony. - ; The men were disposed in three 209." 564 distinct circles, one close to an- other. Every one leant forward, the right arm resting on the small” of the back, the left hanging down straight; they shook the right leg, and in this attitude they danced and sung; their singing was wonderfully sweet, and at in- tervals they stamped with the right foot, and spat upon the ground. In the middle of each circle were three or four Payes, each holding a maraca in one hand, and a pipe, or rather hol- low cane, with petun in the other ; they rattled the oracles, and blew the smoke upon-the men, saying, Receive the spirit of courage, that ye may conquer your enemies, This continued two hours, The song commemorated: their ances- tors ; they mourned for them, but expressed a hope, that when they also were gone beyond the moun- tains, they should then rejoice and dance with them : it then de- nounced vengeance upon their enemies, whom the maraca had declared they should soonconquer and devour. The remainder of the song, if the Norman inter- preter is to be credited, related to a rude tradition of the deluge. The authority of their priests and oracles was, however, to be confirmed by other modes of divi- nation. They consulted certain of their women who had been gifted with the power of predicting fu- ture events. The mode of con- ferring this power was thus: The Paye fumigated the aspirant with petun, then bade her cry as. loud as she could, and jump, and after a while whirl round, still. shout- ing, till she dropped down sense- lessly. When she recovered, he affirmed that she had: been dead, ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. and he had brought her back to life, and from that time she was a cunning woman, When these women also had promised victory, the last appeal was to their dreams. If many of the tribe dreamt of eating their enemies, it was a sure sign of success; but if more dreamt that they themselves were eaten, the expedition was given up. About the middle of August Konyan Bebe set out with thirty canoes, each carrying about eight, and-twenty men: Hans was taken with them; they were going to- wards Bertioga, and meant;to lie in wait and catch others, as, they had caught him. Every one car- ried a rope girt round him, with which to bind the prisoners whom they should take. They were armed with a wooden weapon, called the macana: it was from five to. six feet long; its, head shaped like the bowl of a spoon, except that it was flat; this blade was about a foot wide in the widest part, about the, thickness ofthe thumb in the middle, and brought to an edge all round. Such an implement, made of the iron-wood of Brazil, was notless tremendous than. a battle-axe; and they wielded, it, so skilfully, that De Lery remarks, a Tupi- namba thus armed would give two swordsmen enough to do. Their bows were of the same wood, which was either. red or, black, longer and thicker than what were used in Europe, nor could any European bend them. They used a plant, called tocon, for.a,string, which, though slender, was, so strong, that a horse could; not by fair, pulling break it. Their ar- rows were above a full cloth-yard CHARACTERS. in length, and curiously construct- ed in three parts, the middle part being of reed, the two others of heavy hard wood; the feathers were fastened on with cotton ; the head was either of bone, or it was a blade of dry reedcut into the shape of an old lancet, or the sting of a certain species of fish. They were incomparable archers ;— with leave of the English, says De Lery, who are so excellent in this art, I must say, that a Tupi- namba would shoot twelve arrows before an Englishman could let fly six. Fire-arms terrified them till they comprehended their nature ; but when they learnt that the gun must be loaded before it could be fired, they thought little of such a weapon, saying they could dis- patch six arrows while a gun was loaded once. Nor did they con- sidet them as more destructive than their own shafts, against which no shield or breast-plate was of sufficient strength. In _ fact, fire-arms were not so deadly in their hands as they were when Jevelled against them. The French sold them gunpowder ; but it was such gunpowder that when three savages filled a barrel to the brim, one held it, another aimed it, and a third applied the match, there was no danger that the gun would burst. Their shields were pieces of the anta’s hide, about the size and shape of &@ drum-head. Their canoes were made of bark; they worked them standing, holding the paddle in the middle; and press- ing its broad blade back through ‘the water: they made no haste ; but took their pleasure as they went, and stepped to fish at the mouths of rivers, some blowing horns, others a rude trumpet form- 565 ed of a species of long gourd» others playing upon fifes which were made of the bones of their enemies. When Konyan Bebe halted the first night, the maracas were pro- duced; they rattled them, and danced till it was late, and then the chief bade them go and dream, Hans was ordered to dream too ; but when he said there was no truth in dreams, he was desired. to prevail upon God to’ let them take plenty of prisoners. At sun- rise they breakfasted upon fish, and when that was done every one related his dream,—it may be sup- posed of what materials they were composed ;—blood and slaughter and cannibal banquets. Poor Hans was trembling with hope that they might meet the stronger ex< pedition which the Tupiniquins were preparing, or that he might effect his escape when they reached the scene of action. Unhappily, instead of this, they fell in with five canoes from Bertioga, and after a hard chase came up with them. Hans knew all the ill-fated crew; there were six christian Mamalucos, as the mixed breed are called, among them. The Tupinambas, as they gained upon them, held up their fifes of human bone, and rattled their necklaces of human teeth, shouting and ex- ulting with the certain hope of victory. Great as was the dispa- rity of numbers, the Mamalucos kept off the enemy for two hours, till two of them being desperately wounded, and the others having expended their shot’ and: their arrows, they were finally made prisoners. The conquerors, as soonas they had secured their prey, rowed 566 back with might and main to the place where they had swung their hammocks the last night. Those prisoners who had been mortally wounded were then killed, and cut in pieces. Four forked stakes were driven into the ground, sticks were laid across, and on this they rather dried than broiled the flesh. This wooden frame was called the Jdoucan; food thus smoked and dried was said to be buccaneered, and hence the ori- gin of the name applied to that extraordinary race of freebooters who were so long the scourge of the Spaniards in South America. Two christians were slaughtered that night, Jorge Ferreira, son of the captain of Bertioga, and one Jeronymo, a kinsman to two of the other prisoners. When the cannibals wereasleep, Hans went to the survivors: there were among them Diego and Domingos de Braga, two of the brethren who first settled at Bertioga, and he had been intimate with them. Their first question was, whether they were to be eaten. He had poor comfort to give ; all he could say was, it was as God pleased, in whom and in his Son they must put their trust: it had pleased God to preserve him among the savages, as they perceived. They inquired for their kinsman, Jero~ nymo ;—his body was then upon the boucan, and part of Ferreira had already been devoured. Upon this they began to weep. Hans told them they ought not to de- spair, seeing that he had been mi- raculously preserved for eight months ; and he not very reason- ably attempted to convince them, that at the worst, it could not be so bad to them as it would have ANNUAL REGISTER. 1810. been to him, for he was a stranger coming froma part of the world where there were no such cruel and barbarous customs, but they were born in Brazil, and used to it. He might have fled that night, but he remembered that his flight would provoke the Tu- pinambas to put their prisoners instantly to death ; it was his duty therefore to await some other means of deliverance, because their escape was not impossible. It is greatly to his honour that he felt and acted thus. The next day he went into Konyan Bebe’s tent, and asked him what he designed to do with the christians :—to eat them was the answer ;—they were fools to come with our enemies when they might have remained at home; and he forbade Hans to have any intercourse with them. Hans advisedhim to ransom them; this he refused. There was a basket full of human flesh beside him, from which he took a broiled thigh, and put it to Hans’s mouth, asking him if he would eat; but Hans answered, that even beasts did not devour their own kind. The savage fixed his teeth in it, exclaiming, I am a tiger, and I like it. Konyan Bebe gave order in the evening that all the prisoners should be produced. The captors formed a circle ona level piece of ground between the woods and the river, and placed them in the midst: the maracas were rattled, and they sung. When this was over, the Tupiniquins said, We came from our land like brave men, to attack ye our enemies, and kil] ye and devour ye: the victory has been yours, and you have us in your hands. We care CHARA not; brave men die valiantly in ‘the land of their enemies. Our country is wide, and it is inhabited by warriors who will not let our deaths go unrevenged. The others made answer, You have taken and devoured many of our people, and now we will revenge them upon you. On the third day they reached their own border, divided the prisoners, and_ separated. Eight savages, and three of the surviving christians fell to the share of Uwattibi. The remain- ing flesh of the two who had been buccaneered was carried home to be reserved for a solemn feast ; part of Jeronymo was hung over a fire in the house where Hans was an inmate, for three weeks. They would not take him to the ship till their feast was over, and before that time she sailed. He had now -no other hope than the con- solation which they gave him, that ships came every year. There came, however, a time when he was grateful to Providence for this merciful disappointment. This vessel had captured a Portuguese one in Rio de Janeiro, and given one of the prisoners to the savages to be devoured: the boat’s crew belonged to her who had refused to take in Hans when he swam off to them, and the Norman inter- preter who had advised the Tupi- nambas to eat him, embarked to return in her. It may be some satisfaction to the reader, as it was to Hans, to learn that the ven- geance of God was upon them, and they perished in the sea. Hans was now transferred to another master, a chief of the settlement called Tacwarasutibi. Before he left Uwattibi, he gave the Portuguese prisoners the best CT E RS: 567 directions he could which way to travel, if they could find means to fly. He was dismissed with an excellent character for predicting future events, healing diseases, and procuring fine weather; and received with the respect which such qualifications deserved. He told his new master that his bro- ther was to come for him; and luckily in the course of a fortnight a gun was heard from the near harbour of Rio de Janeiro. He besought them to take him to the ship, but they were in no hurry. The captain, however, heard he was there, and sent two of his men to see in what manner he could be delivered from this wretched bondage. Hans told them that one of them must be his brother, and say that he had brought out goods for him, get permission for him to go on board and receive them, and feign that he must stay in the country till next year to collect a cargo for them, because he was now the friend of the Tupinambas. The scheme was well laid and well executed. Hans and _ his master went on board, and re- mained there five days: the sa- vage then asked for the goods, and. wanted to return. Hans ordered them to be produced, declaring that he was ready to accompany him, but begged a little longer time to feast with his friends ; and thus by plying him with meat and drink, they kept the chief on board till the ship had completed her cargo. Then, as they were on the point of sailing, the cap- tain thanked this Tupinamba for having treated his countryman so kindly, and said that he had in- vited them there to give him pre~ 568 sents in acknowledgment, and likewise to deliyer other goods into Hans’s care, that he might remain in the country as their factor and interpreter, But he had ten bro- thers on board, who could not bear to part with him now that they had recovered him. Ten of the crew played their parts well ; they insisted that Hans should re- turn to his own country, that their father might see his face before he died, Nothing could have been better contrived to effect his deliverance, and leave his master satisfied. The captain said he wished Hans would remain in the country, but these brethren of his were many in number, and he was but one. Hans himself said he would willingly stay, but his bro- thers would not let him. The honest Tupinamba and his wife wept over him, received a rich present of combs, knives, and looking-glasses, and departed per- fectly well contented. bay irond Effects of Education illustrated by Anecdotes of the Duke of Burgundy. [From Bausset's Life of Fenelon, trans- lated by Mr. Mudford. Vol. 1.] Louis XIV. saw the period ap- proaching when the education of his grandson, the duke of Bur- gundy, would require the cares of atutor. A prince, who had al- ways connected his own grandeur with the employment of men of talents, and who had appointed Montausier and Bossuet to be the governor and tutor of his son, was well qualified to make as good a choice for his grandson. In seek- ing a tutor for him he had only ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. one wish to accomplish, which was, to confide him to the care of the most virtuous man in his court; and he had the good for~ . tune to find a man, possessing virtue and every other quality ne~ cessary to form a great prince. This man was the duke de Beau- villiers, This was a choice which none could condemn. The duke de Beauvilliers was no less distin- guished for the good qualities of his heart and mind than for his birth. He was originally intended for the church. He had married theseconddaughter of Colbert;and he had the rare felicity of finding, in his wife, an entire conformity of opinions and of taste relatively to the discharge of the highest du- ties of piety. In being appointed by Louis XIV. to be the governor of the duke of Burgundy, his post became arduous and import- ant. In fact, the duty of provid- ing a good king for the French nation devolved upon him. But that modesty and simplicity which were inherent in his character rendered him diffident, rather than ambitious, of an employment, the difficulties and the delicacy of which he so accurately appre- ciated. Louis XIV. when he fixed upon the duke de Beauvilliers, wished to add, to so strong a proof of his confidence, every circumstance which could at all tend to. confer upon it additional importance. With the exception, therefore, of the single place of valet-de-cham- bre, which he reserved as a re- compence for the faithful services of a domestic (Moreau), who had attended the earliest infancy of the young prince with an unusual _ to the choice of a preceptor. nominated Fenelon to that office CHARA degree of propriety and of probity, he left to the duke de Beauvilliers the unconstrained disposal of all the other places, as well as the choice of the persons who were to superintend the education of the prince. Louis XIV, had not hesitated for a moment as to whom he should select as a governor for his grandson ; nor did M. de Beauvil- liers hesitate a single moment as He on the 17th of August, 1689, the - OWN appointment. very day after he had received his Fenelon knew not of his elevation. Bossuet heard of it on the 18th, while at his country house at Germigny ; and, in the first warmth of his joy, he wrote to the marchioness of Laval, that letter which does both him and its object so much honour. It is here copied from _ the original, in the hand-writing of Bossuet :— “ Yesterday, madam, I was wholly occupied with the welfare of the church and the state; to- day, that I have had more leisure to reflect upon the cause of your joy, 1 am myself rejoiced. The marquis, your father, who was so sincere and meritorious a friend, presents himself to my mind. I picture to myself how he would feel on this occasion, at the illus- trious dawn of that merit which has been hidden with so much care. In short, madam, we shall not lose the abbé de Fenelon: you can enjoy him; and I, though a provincial, shall escape from here now and then to visit him. Accept, I entreat you, the testi- monies of my joy, and the assur- CT E)R:S. 569 ances of that respect with which Iam, madam, your most humble ‘¢ And most obedient servant, “J. BENIGNE, «¢ Bishop of Meaux. “ Germigny, Aug. 19, 1689.” Madame de Maintenon fre- quently used to say, that she had contributed towards the nomina- tion of the abbé de Fenelon as preceptor to the duke of Bur- gundy ; and perhaps, indeed, con- nected as she was with the duke de Beauvilliers, the new governor had taken the precaution to secure her approbation as a necessary preliminary to obtaining the sanc- tion of the king. For it might be feared that Louis XIV. would re- tain some prejudices against Fene- lon since the time when he was prevailed upon, by injurious re- ports, torefuse his being nominated to the bishopric of Poitiers and to that of Rochelle. The choice of the new governor and preceptor was no sooner made public than all France resounded with applause. Yet this choice had fallen upon two individuals, of whom the one, though obliged, by his situation, to reside at court, lived there, however, in close re- tirement; and the other possessed no other title-than that of superior of a convent of women. But the one, in spite of his modesty, could not elude renown; and the other had disclosed, unconsciously, the secret of his character and ge- nius in two works, whose primary object it was to be useful to reli- gion and to friendship. But, in the midst of all those applauses, and of all those honour- able and flattering testimonies of admiration, in the midst of all the 570 bustle of courtiers, of that delight which is often excited in the pub- lic, by an unexpected prosperity and a premature elevation; in the raidst of the most sincere praises which this splendid triumph of virtue drew forth from the mouth of every friend of religion and of his country, one solemn, one aus- tere voice was heard; a voice, which the heart of Fenelon had been accustomed to interrogate with docility for many years. It came, to guard him against the dangerous ebriety of success, and to recall his mind to serious re- flections upon the duties and the dangers of his new condition. M. Tronson wrote to him the follow- ing letter :— “ August, 1689. « You will perhaps be sur- prised, sir, at not finding me among the crowd of those who have felicitated you upon the re- cent mark of royal favour which has been bestowed upon you. But I entreat you, very humbly, not to condemn me for this little de- lay: I thought, that on an occa- sion which so greatly interested me, I’could not do better than to commence, by adoring the designs of God towards you, and to im- plore for you the continuation of his mercies. I have endeavoured to do both according to the best of my ability ; and I can assure you, that I felt afterwards a sincere joy in reflecting that you had been chosen. “ The king has given, in this choice, a proof of his piety, and a striking testimony of his dis- cernment ; and these are surely very consolatory truths. The edu- cation which his majesty has ANNUAL REGISTER, thought fit to confide to yourcare |! 1810. has such an important connexion with the welfare of the state, and the good of the church, that every sincere lover of his country must unfeignedly rejoice that it is committed into such hands; but I very candidly confess to you, that my joy is considerably mingled with uneasiness, when I consider the perils to which you are ex- posed; for it cannot be denied, that in the ordinary course of events our elevation only renders our salvation more difficult. It opens the door to the dignities of the earth; but we should tremble lest it shuts us out from the eter nal greatness of heaven. It is true, you may perform much good in your present situation ; but you may also become guilty of great crimes. There can be no medium in such a post; the good or the bad success has, almost always, unceasing results. You are in a country where the Gospel of Jesus Christ is hardly known, and where they, who do know it, use it only as a means of recommendation among men, — You live now among persons whose language is pagan, and whose example leads too often towards things that are. perilous. You will behold your- self surrounded by a variety of objects which flatter the senses, and which are only calculated for awakening the most dormant pas- sions. A more than ordinary de- gree of grace, and an uncommon portion of faith, must be necessary to enable you to resist such violent and such seducing temptations, The dark mists which cloud the moral atmosphere of a court, are capable of obscuring the plainest and most evident truths. It is not — << ae = Se oe WC Ge Se “Ce ee oll cl SO OE SP —<—S. — +> necessary to remain there long be- fore we learn to consider, as un- atural and excessive, those very truths which had been so often felt, and so often acknowledged, when they have been meditated at he foot of the cross. The most stablished duties of life become radually either doubtful or im- racticable. A thousand occasions will present themselves, in which ouwill consider yourself as bound by prudence, and even by benevo- lence, to concede something to the world; and yet, what a strange state it is for a christian to be in, and still more for a priest, to behold himself obliged to enter into a compact with the enemy of his salvation! Truly, sir, your post is a dangerous one: confess, with sineerity, that it will be a dif- ficult task to remain unweakened, and that it will require a most consummate virtue to resist temp- tation. If ever the study and meditation of the sacred writings have been needful to you, they are now'so in an especial manner. Hitherto you have needed only to cultivate virtuous thoughts, and to nourish the love of truth; but henceforth you will have to shield yourself. from evil impressions, and to avoid falsehood. It is cer- tainly of the greatest consequence to you, that you forget not the hour of your death; that hour, when all the glory of the world will disappear as a dream, and when every creature in it, who may have been your support, will sink from beneath you. ‘¢ Your friends, no doubt, will console you, because you have not sought your employment ; and this indeed is a source of just con- solation, and a greatmercy of God CHARA CTERS:. 571 towards you ; but you must not rest too much upon it. We have often more to do with our own elevation than we are aware of. It is very seldom that we see the path which conducts to it, and that we fly from it with sincerity. Few persons have arrived at this degree of self-denial. We do not, indeed, always seek for our pro- metion with our usual eagerness ; but, at the same time, we seldom fail to remove the obstacles which are in our way: we do not, per- haps, solicit very urgently those persons who might be able to serve us; but we are not sorry when we exhibit ourselves to them under the most favourable aspect; and it is precisely to those minute discoveries of human qualities, that we may attribute the com- mencement of our preferment ; and thus, no person can be quite certain that he has not influenced his own promotion. This way of evincing the talents which we possess is often done without much reflection ; yet it should be avoid- ed, and it is always useful to ob- viate its effects by contrition and humility. ‘ Perhaps you will consider this letter as being somewhat too free, and a little too long; or, you may probably regard it as a sermon in- judiciously made, instead of a ju- dicious compliment. [I should certainly have been more laconic and more reserved, if I had been less anxious about your salvation. Read it as the language of my heart, which cannot be otherwise than tenderly interested about your real welfare. I entreat you to believe that I shall unceasingly implore God to fill you with an inviolable love of him, in order 572 that no temptation may change or weaken the pious sentiments with which he will inspire you. Such is the prayer made by the church to obtain the love of God for its children. “IT am, with respect, &c.” Fenelon was worthy of hearing such language, dictated by the best and most tender motives. He retraced in it all those principles in which he had been brought up, and which had been so useful in regulating his conduct. But this paternal voice must have awaken- ed in him painful recollections. Of the three persons who had guided his infancy and his youth, M. Tronson was the only one that now remained. His uncle, the marquis de Fenelon, had been dead since the year 1683; but he had to mourn a much more re- cent loss in the death of his other uncle, the bishop of Sarlat, who died on the Ist of May, in 1688, in the 83rd year of his age, There can be no doubt that two relations, so affectionate and so pious, and who had been as a father to their nephew, would have ex- perienced the highest gratification in-seeing all France applaud a choice which has justified their cares and their hopes; and Fe- nelon himself must have regret- ted that he had lost such tender witnesses of the purity of his in- tentions, and such useful guides to secure him from the rocks which now threatened his course, The duke de Beauvilliers had too much esteem for Fenelon, and too much confidence in him, to wish otherwise than that heshould be perfectly free in the nomina- tion of those who should act un- ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. der him in educating the, young prince, The abbé de Langeron was therefore appointed reader; he was one of the oldest of Fene- — lon’s friends, and he deserved to be so. The abbé Fleury was made sub-preceptor ; of such a — choice we need not mention the propriety. All his works are im- pressed with the qualities of his heart and genius. His virtue ob- tained the veneration of his con- temporaries, and his name is still pronounced with esteem, in an — age different from the one in which he lived. He knew by ex- © perience how to educate, and well educate, princes. Previously to his being called to his situation about the duke of Burgundy, he had been entrusted with the in« struction of the prince of Conti and the count of Vermandois, The death of the latter, in 1683, had restored the abbé Fleury to the freedom of his own stu- dies ; but his first desire was, to be useful to tke church ; and when, in 1685, Fenelon was charged with — the missions of Poitou, he called upon Fleury, and Fleury attended at his call. The more Fenelon knew him, the more he learned to love and esteem him; and he considered it as a fortunate cir cumstance with regard to himself, and an invaluable advantage to the duke of Burgundy, the con- currence of such an assistant to- wards such an education. The abbé de Beaumont, the son of a sister of Fenelon, was also associated with him in the capacity of sub-preceptor. His zeal and his assiduity sufficiently evinced that he was not influenced by motives of personal considera- tion. He was ten years the sub- | ) | CHARACTERS. preceptor of the grandson of Louis XIV. without receiving, and with- out soliciting, the smallest mark of his favour. Included in the proscription of Fenelon, he had the glory of participating in his misfortunes, his exile, and in his labours. All the persons who were con- cerned in the education of the young prince, entered upon their office in the month of September, 1689. Fenelon was then in his thirty-eighth year, and the duke de Beauvilliers was. in his forty- first. There never was an instance, and perhaps there never will be again, of such an unanimity as reigned, between all the persons about the duke of Burgundy. They seemed to have but one heart, one mind, and one soul, and. this soul was that of Fenelon. Such was the extraordinary charm of Fenelon, and. the irre- sistible ascendancy which he ob- tained) aver every one who ap- proached him, that neither differ- ence of age, nor pre-eminence of rank and titles, nor even the supe- riority of talents and knowledge in those branches of science with which he was unacquainted, were able to prevent his friends from becoming his. disciples, and from interrogating him as an oracle, which was invested with an au- thority to direct all their thoughts and all their actions. Such isthe characver of him as it is delivered down to us by his contemporaries ; and, their testimony is the less’ likely to be partial, as it proceeded from persons, whom difference of opinion, or a certain malignity of mind, would incline to judge Fe- nelon with severity. 573 The chancellor D’Aguesseau has given us, in his Memoirs of the Life of his Father, the follow- ing interesting portrait of Fene- lon :— “The archbishop of Cambrai was one of those uncommon men who are destined to give lustre to their age, and who do equal ho- nour to human nature by their virtues, and to literature by their superior talents. He was affable in his deportment and Juminous in his discourse, the peculiar qualities of which were a rich, delicate, and a powerful imagination, but which never let its power be felt. His eloquence had more of mild- ness in it than vehemence, and he triumphed as much by the charms of his conversation as by the su+ periority of his talents. He always brought himself to the level of his company; he never disputed, and appeared toyield to othersaithe very time that hewasleading them. Grace dwelt upon his lips; he seemed to discuss the greatest subjects: with facility ; the most trifling were ennobled by his pen; and upon the most barren topics he scattered the flowers of rhe- toric. A noble singularity per- vaded his whole person; anda certain indefinable and sublime simplicity gave to his appearance the air of a prophet. The pecu- liar, but unaffected mode of: ex+ pression which he adopted, made many persons believe that’ he pos- sessed universal knowledge: as if by inspiration : it might, indeed, have been almost said)that he ra- ther invented what he knew than learned it, He was’ always ori- ginal and creative ; imitating no one, and himself inimitable. His talents, which had been long hid- 674 ANNUAL REGISTER, i810. den in obscurity, and not much known at court even at the time when he was employed upon the mission of Poitou, burst forth at length in consequence of the king’s choice of him to educate his grandson, the duke of Bur- gundy. The theatre was not too spacious for the actor, and, if his predilection for the mystics had not developed the secret of his heart and the weakness of his mind, there could have been no situation to which public opinion would not have destined him, nor any which would not have ap- peared inferior to his talents.” , A man, much more severe than the chancellor D’Aguesseau; a man, whose misanthropy andsatiri- cal character naturally inclinedhim to censure rather than to praise ; the duke de St. Simon, the most observing of courtiers, andthemost bitter of historians, represents Fe- nelon to us in the same colours. He describes him as being “¢ gifted with a natural, a mild, and a florid eloquence; with per- suasive politeness, but yet digni- fied and discriminating ; and with a fluent, perspicuous, and agree- able power of conversation, which was combined with that precision so necessary for rendering the most complicated and abstract subjects intelligible. He was a man who always appeared to have just as much mind as the persons he might be conversing with; he stooped to their level, but with- out appearing to doit: this put them at their ease, and excited in them a lively sentiment of de- light, so that they could neither quit him, nor, when absent, help returning to hiscompany. To this rare talent, which he possessed in a remarkable degree, we mus? attribute the steady fidelity of his friends, who remained attached to him all his life, even after his fall, and which, when they were scat- tered through society, re-assem- bled them together to speak of him, to wish for him, and to at- tach themselves to him more de- votedly.’? The celebrity of Fenelon was such, that it obtained for him, at court, several distinctions to which his birth gave him claim, but which could not be said to belong to his situation as preceptor. Louis XIV. granted him permis- sion to eat at the same table with the duke of Burgundy, and to ride in the same carriage with him. These, indeed, were distinctions which could add nothing to the intrinsic merit of Fenelon, and we may easily believe that he ground- ed no pretensions of superiority upon them over Bossuet, to whom similar honours had not been ac- corded ; nor could Bossuet the less esteem Fenelon, or envy him for distinctions which resulted merely from the accident of birth. We should not, perhaps, haverecorded so trifling an event, were it not to show how minutely Louis XIV., who. possessed so eminently the art of reigning, attended to the maintenance of those honorary distinctions, the absence of which can humiliate no reasonable mind, and which discharges the grati- tude of the sovereign without costing any thing to the people. It was with this money of opinion that a king of France rewarded the blood and services of those an- cient families, “‘who,’? as Mon- tesquieu says, *‘ not being able to acquire wealth, hoped for honours, CHARA who consoled themselves for not having obtained the one, by re- flecting that they had acquired the other.” Fenelon was fully impressed with the magnitude and import- ance of his office. The idea of educating a king, the king too of a monarchy, which had obtained its highest point of splendor, and the almost absolute master. of twenty millions of men, whose welfare or misery was connected with the virtues or the vices, the energy or the weakness, the ta- lents or the incapacity, of the so- vereign, must, while it exalted his imagination, communicate an in- voluntary terror to his mind. His ewn age, that of the king, and that of the young prince, must also have impressed him with the idea that he was, perhaps, des- tined to receive the gratitude or the reproaches of many genera- tions. Whatever confidence he might possess in the purity of his own Intentions, in his talents, in his character, and in the fortunate concurrence of all those means, and that assistance which he saw united with him, yet he could not be without some alarm, lest he pet have to contend with an untoward nature, which would countervail all his efforts. Per- haps he might have to infuse a soul, a mind, a character, into a lifeless statue; to extirpate the germs of those vices which had been fostered by the interests and passions of individuals; and to re- strain the imagination of a child, whom every thing combined to impress with an idea of his pre- sent greatness, and of the power ‘which awaited him in the future. CTERS. 575 Fenelon had also before his eyes the father of his pupil. He was a mild and good prince ; but his character, equally remote from virtue and from vice, partaking neither of good nor bad, insensi- ble to glory, to the sciences, and to the arts, promised to France little else than an obscure and doubtful reign; yet this prince was the son of Louis XIV. and the pupil of Bossuet and Montau- sier. But neither of these precep- tors had to struggle with alarming dispositions of nature; with an untameable character, a disgusting pride, irritable desires, and all those violent passions which native vigour of mind, and an extreme aptitude to acquire every thing that can be acquired, might render fatal to the happiness of mankind. For such is the picture of the duke of Burgundy, as unanimous- ly transmitted to us by all histo- rians; and such was the prince that Fenelon had to educate. It cannot be supposed, indeed, that a child of seven years old was ca- pable of exhibiting such decided marks of character as are above pourtrayed ; yet, from his earliest infancy, and during the first five years of his education, he gave indications of every thing that was to be feared from him; for, they who have boasted, with admira- tion, of what he afterwards be- came, yet could not but remem- ber, with a sort of terror, what he once had been. “« The duke of Burgundy,” says M. de St. Simon, “ was by nature formidable, and in his earliest youth gave cause for terror. He was unfeeling, and irritable to the last excess, even against inani- mate objects. He was furiously 576 impetuous, and incapable of en- during the least opposition, even of time and the elements, without bursting forth into such intempe- rate rage, that it was sometimes to be feared the very veins in his body would burst; this excess I have frequently witnessed. His obstinacy was beyond alli bounds ; he was passionately addicted to every kind of pleasure; to the luxuries of the table; to the chase with extraordinary avidity ; music he delighted in with a sort of ex- tacy; he was also fond of play, but he could not endure to be con- quered, and they who played with him ran much risk. In short, he was the prey of every passion, and the slave of every pleasure: he was often ferocious, and naturally mclined to cruelty. In his raillery he was unfeeling, employing the force of ridicule with a precision which completely overwhelmed the object; inordinately proud, he looked upon men only as atoms with whom he had no sort of si-« milarity whatever. Even the princes, his brothers, scarcely seemed, in his estimation, to form an intermediate link between him- self and the rest of mankind, though it had always been studi- ously endeavoured to educate all three of them with perfect equa- lity. But the brillianey of his mind and his penetration were at all times evident, and even in his moments of greatest violence. His replies created astonishment in all who heard them: his obser- vations were never without’ just- ness, even in his most fierce anger ; the most abstract branches of knowledge cost him little trouble to acquire ; the extent and vigour of his mind were prodigious, and ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. prevented him from steady and individual application.” Such was the prince who was confided to Fenelon. There was every thing to be feared from such a character, and every thing to be hoped froma soul possessing such energy. Let us hear, once more, St. Simon. “So much mind, and such power of mind, joined to such sensibility, and to such passions ; every quality, in fact, partaking of such ardour, must necessarily have rendered his education no easy process. The duke of Beau- villiers, who was fully aware of its difficulties and its consequences, surpassed even himself in his ap- plication, his patience, and the variety of hisremedies. Fenelon, Fleury; and the other persons connected with his education, were all brought into action ; and they all, with one accord, acted under the instructions of the duke, whose plan, were it minutely de- tailed; would furnish a curious and interesting work. The pro- digy was, that in a very short time grace and devotion trans- formed him into quite another man, and changed such fearful vices into perfectly opposite vir tues. From that abyss issued a prince, who was affable, mild, hu- mane, moderate, patient, modest, humble, and austere towards him- self; wholly occupied with his future obligations in life, which he felt to be great, and thinking only of uniting the duties of the son and the subject with those which he saw himself destined afterwards to fulfil.” But what incessant vigilance, what art, what industry, what skill, what variety in the means CHARACTERS. adopted, and what delicacy of ob- servation must have concurred to produce such an extraordinary al- teration in the character of a child, of a prince, and of an heir toathrone! Nay, had not his tu- tors been the most virtuous of men; if their pupil, possessed as he was of such intellectual perspi- cacity, had discovered in them the smallest appearance of weak- ness or tergiversation, all their skill, all their care, and all their assiduity, would have beenineffec- tual. They were, in fact, less in- debted for their success to their genius and their talents, than to their virtues and their dispositions. Fenelon soon perceived, that that part of education which ge- nerally excited the greatest zeal in teachers, and the most self-love in parents, was what would give him the least trouble. He fore- saw that his pupil, possessing from nature such rare gifts of mind, would make a rapid pro- gress in every branch of know- ledge: but the most difficult task would be to subdue that fiery soul which he possessed ; to preserve allitsnobleand generous qualities, and to extirpate all its undue pas- sions; to form, in fact, a new moral being; to form a prince, such as the genius of Fenelon had conceived, for the welfare of hu- man nature. He wished, indeed, to realize upon the throne an ideal beauty of virtue, as the artists of antiquity endeavoured to impress upon their works that ideal beauty, which gave to the human form a celestial appearance. The child that was confided to the care of Fenelon was destined to reign; and Fenelon saw in that child the whole of France Vor. LIT. 577 awaiting its happiness or misery, from the success or failure of his endeavours. To obtain this suc- cess, he prescribed to himself no precise rule of action; he watched each moment the dispositions of the young prince, and followed, with a calm and patient attention, all the variations of his intempe- rate nature, and always extracted the lesson from the fault itself. Such an education consisted ra- ther in action than in instruction. The pupil never could anticipate what was to be his lesson, because he could not anticipate what faults he might commit; and thus ad- vice and censure became the ne- cessary result of his own exe cesses. They who wish to know the method which Fenelon adopted in educating his pupil, may read his Fables and Dialogues which he wrote for him. Each of these fables, each of these dialogues, was composed at the very moment when the preceptor judged it ne- cessary to remind hispupil of some fault which he had committed, and to inculcate at the same time the necessity and the means of amendment. These fables and dialogues have been printed, but without any at- tention to a consecutive series. Such an attention, indeed, was not necessary. Fenelon composed them without order; and yet it would be easy to ascertain their chronology (so to speak) by com- paring them with the gradual pro- gress which age and instruction must have produced in the educa- tion of the duke of Burgundy. It is immediately discernible that these fables and dialogues relate only " a prince, and to a prince 2 578 destined to ascend the throne. Every thing in them is made to connect itself with this almost exclusive object. The precision, the simplicity, and the . perspi- cuity of some of these fables, which were probably the first that were written, evince that they were addressed to a child whose mind should not be overburthened, and to whom such things only should be presented as could easily be apprehended. Others possess a more elevated character; and they contain allusions to history and mythology, according as the young prince became better able to comprehend and to apply them, The fables which Fenelon wrote for the duke of Burgundy, had almost always an allusion to some circumstance that had previously happened, and the impression of which being yet fresh upon his mind, he could not mistake the application. They formeda mir- ror in which he could not help beholding himself, and in which he sometimes appeared in a man- ner little gratifying to his self-love. But then, the tenderest wishes, the mildest hopes were added to these humiliating pictures, lest the child should naturally imbibe an aversion to a species of instruction which merely recalled to him painful recollections, or which contained severe reproaches, It was thus, with such delicate propriety, and with such imper- ceptible advances, that Fenelon gradually rendered his pupil sus- ceptible of the first dictates of reason, and of the first lessons of virtue. 5 But it was not in the power of Fenelonf » subdue, all at once, so ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. imperious a character. © It too often resisted the paternal hand which sought to restrain its im- petuosity. When the young prince broke forth into those violent excesses of passion which were so habitual to him, the governor, the precep- tor, the sub-preceptor, the gen- tlemen in waiting, and all the ser- vants in the house, concerted to- gether to preserve towards him the most profound silence. They avoided answering any of his ques- tions ; they waited upon him with averted looks; or if they directed their eyes towards him, it was with an expression of fear, as if they dreaded to be in the company of a being who had degraded himself by bursts of rage which were incompatible with reason. They appeared to attend to him only from that kind of humiliating compassion which is shewn to- wards persons who are insane. They merely performed those of- fices about him which seemed to be simply necessary for the preser- vation of his miserable existence. They took from him all his books and all his means of instruction, as if they would be henceforth useless to him, being reduced to sucha deplorable state. They then left him to himself, to his own reflec- tions, to his own regret, and to his own remorse. Struck .with such an entire desertion, and the distressing solitude to which he was consigned, the penitent prince convinced of his fault, was eager to fly once more to the indulgence and .goodness of his preceptor. He threw himself at his feet, con- fessed his errors, and declared his firm resolution of avoiding them in future; and he watered with CHARA his tears the hands of Fenelon, who pressed him to his bosom with the tender affection of a fa- ther, compassionate, and always "open to the repenting child. In these violent contests be- tween an impetuous disposition and apremature reason, the young prince seemed distrustful of him- self, and he summoned honour in aid to his promises. The originals of two contracts of honour which he placed in the hands of Fenelon are yet extant. They are as fol- low: “