capable of exercising any civil office, incompetent to any civil function, and incapable of bearing arms in this country.

Mr. Fox confessed he saw the greatest reason in the world for adopting the measure of the Address, and not one against it. Remembering how fatal the last long recess had been, he could not conceive how any man, in the least interested in the welfare of his country, could think of trusting again to the management of the ministry. At the very instant, when the House were about to think of a conciliatory plan, it was adjourned for more than six weeks, and in that fatal time, what was the conduct of the ministry? Though they knew that they were about to yield up every thing they had before denied, and by the intimation of which, in due time, they might have prevented the effects that had ensued, yet they never made the least intimation, but gave time for France to conclude a treaty, by which every hope of bringing America back to dependency was lost for ever. They filled up that space in levying armies, without the knowledge or controul of parliament, and for that reason, truly, we were to trust them again, as fully and implicitly as we should do a majority of parliament. Ready on all occasions as that majority was to obey the will of the minister, inattentive and negligent as some, and dependent as most of them were, yet still he preferred their votes and measures to those of the administration. An honourable gentleman had said, that they were carrying on war at this very time, to the best of their understandings, against France and Spain. Looking back to their conduct, he found equal reason for being displeased with their understandings here too. What stroke had they struck; or what active enterprize had they executed? They had moved an address to the throne, and they had recalled their ambassador! This was the extent of what their understandings had produced. In more than two months they had been able to execute these mighty objects, and their understandings assuredly deserved credit for the happiness of the contrivance, as well as for the accomplishment of these two things. It was said, by a learned gentleman, that his majesty had it in his power to convene parliament in fourteen days; but so he had after an adjournment; and it was better to trust to adjournment, in this case, which would certainly convene us, than to a prorogation, which might not do "Aye, but," said the learned gentleman, "by a prorogation we shall have a new session, and then we may repeal the Acts of the present." Then, said Mr. Fox, it may be fairly concluded, that we are to repeal the Acts of the present session. That learned gentleman is the key to the cabinet ;

So.

he knows the secrets of state, and he says we must, in the next session, probably repeal every thing we have done in the present; he knows that the propositions of peace will not be accepted; he is not sanguine enough, to flatter himself that they will; he knows that the plan is inadequate; the concessions, however humiliating, not sufficient; we have brought ourselves so low, that kneeling before them, with concession in our hands, cannot procure us the peace we pant for, and we must repeal them before we succeed. I I agree with the learned gentleman, that the plan we have proposed is inadequate but if in the present session we cannot repeal, we may vary; and as we do not mean to restrain the Americans in any degree, the variation that may be necessary will be in our power. The situation of his honourable friend (General Burgoyne) was an incentive towards continuing the session, of the most powerful nature. The honourable general was unfortunate, singularly unfortunate; and it was the business of the House to enquire into the causes of his misfortune, and charge them on the true author, whoever he might be. It was to his honourable friend a matter of consolation, though he knew him too well to suspect that he preferred private consolation to the good of his country; yet, he said, it might console him to think, that he was not the only unfortunate man who had served the present administration. It was the lot of every man who had served them to be unfortunate. Every officer in America was an instance of the fact. General Gage had not reaped any laurels in their service, nor had Admiral Graves any reason to rejoice at his success. Sir William Howe had not escaped the misfortunes that had overtaken their servants; though crowned with repeated conquests, he had lost by his success. Lord Howe's character could not be much hurt by their insinuations, rancorous as they had been; but he had gained no additional honour from his exploits in their service. manner in which the other gallant officer, Sir Guy Carleton, had been treated, needed no comment; it was upon record, and would stand an example in future, for the instruction of all those who might be hazardous enough to attempt to serve their country, under the auspices of men who were obliged to cover their ignorance and inability, and screen themselves from ignominy and contempt, by throwing blame upon the men who were unwise enough to act as they were instructed. The concealment of intelligence delivered to them, under any form, was criminal to the highest degree, when the character of a soldier depended upon the disclosure. He knew not how to speak of their conduct and preserve his temper. He wondered how the people could hear of it, and withhold

The

their resentment. He could not avoid adverting to a circumstance, which he confessed was new to him. It was a subject of praise to a noble lord, whose ingenuity he seldom had cause to applaud; just, however, to merit in every instance, he could not be blind to it in this; where invention was so rare, it was politic to cherish the first appearance of it. A timely attention might promote its growth, as good husbandry and careful cultivation, made even a barren soil fruitful The noble lord in the blue ribbon had most ingeniously created a new species of oratory, and that of so divine and specific a nature, that it would serve every occasion, and refute every argument. When we attempt, said Mr. Fox, to charge to that noble lord's negligence or inability, the loss of America, and thereby the destruction of national grandeur, national interest, and national credit, he replies, in his newly-invented language, "Well, you may say this, and say that; but I do say again and again, I did not lose America." This reply is irrefutable. What can be urged against it? We must alter our accusation, and, instead of throwing it on the noble lord, condemn General Washington, as the only cause of our having lost America. His superior abilities had frustrated every effort; we did all that men could do, but he, like the arm of Heaven, overthrew our strength, and made us yield to his superiority. Arguing in like manner, we ought to say, it was not owing to the head or the heart of King James, that he lost the crown of Great Britain, but the wickedness of the times. He did all that man could do, but his enemies were the more powerful, and he was forced to submit. In the same manner, if the fleet that sailed six weeks ago from the port of Toulon, had attacked and aken the most valuable territory of the empire, destroyed our fleet, and made captive the army in America, we must not condemn the ministry as the cause of our misfortunes; they could not avoid it; they did all that men could do, but the winds of Heaven were against them, and the winds of Heaven were alone the destroyers we ought to condemn. It has been repeatedly urged by the noble lord, that it is not possible for administration to defend all our extended empire from the encroachments of the enemy. True: but is there any one part of the empire at this moment defended, except Portsmouth? Have the ministry put their own defensive plan into execution? Ridiculous and inadequate in our situation as a defensive plan is, have they even begun upon that? Nature has assisted them most materially in this task. The Gut of Gibraltar is a kind of general protection for our Mediterranean dominions; a fleet stationed there, prevents those of our enemies from sailing;-and yet, so blind and indifferent

have ministers been, that no fleet is stationed there for that purpose. We cannot, as the noble lord says, number ships with France and Spain. This superiority is multiplied by our acquiescence. It is not the greater number of ships that a state actually possesses, but the number employed in action that constitutes superiority. If France has twelve line of battle ships at sea, while we have forty-two in port, she is superior. Instead of defending, let us attack. One great stroke of policy must now be attempted, as one great, sudden, unexpected stroke can alone, in our present situation, save us: such a one as that which determined the fate of the last war, and such a one as might now be effected. Need I say that the capture of the Spanish flotilla would be an issue to the conflict. To effect such an object, the hands of government must be strengthened, great, prodigious supplies must be granted, the nerves of war must be strained to their extent, and, for that purpose, this House must and ought to continue to sit. Money will be wanted in the course of the summer, and it will be necessary for the House of Commons to find it somewhere. Deplorable as our situation is, it is nevertheless not desperate, for Great Britain cannot despair, provided her ministers are as able to plan as she is to execute.

AMENDMENT TO THE ADDRESS ON THE KING'S SPEECH AT THE OPENING OF THE SESSION.

THE

November 26.

"HE King opened the session with a speech from the throne, replete with complaints of the unexampled and unprovoked hostility of the court of France. With regard to the events of the war, it was short and inexplicit; grounding the hopes of success on future exertions, on the state of preparation, and on the spirit of the people, more than on the actions of the campaign;' which were alluded to with a coldness that might easily be construed into censure. Notice was, however, taken of the protection afforded to commerce, and of the large reprisals made upon the injurious aggressors. The professions of neutral powers were

represented as friendly; but their armaments suspicious: the failure of the conciliatory measures was regretted: the necessity of active exertions by sea and land, pointed out by the situation of affairs, was urged in general terms, without specifying any plan of operations: with regard to the American war, a total silence was observed. The Address of the House of Commons, with the usual professions of attachment and support, repeated, in nearly the same expressions, the sentiments contained in the speech. Mr. Thomas Townshend moved, to substitute in place of part of the address the following amendment: "To assure his majesty, that with the truest zeal for the honour of the crown, and the warmest affection for his majesty's person and family, we are ready to give the most ample support to such measures as may be thought necessary for the defence of these kingdoms, or for frustrating the designs of that restless power which has so often disturbed the peace of Europe: but that we think it one of our most important duties, in the present melancholy posture of affairs, to enquire by what fatal councils, or unhappy systems of policy, this country has been reduced from that splendid situation which, in the early part of his majesty's reign, made her the envy of all Europe, to such a dangerous state as that which has of late called forth our utmost exertions without any adequate benefit."

Mr. Fox rose and said:

I rise, sir, to second the amendment made by my right honourable friend, because I wish as much as he does to promote an enquiry into the misconduct and incapacity of his majesty's present ministers. I know that views of suc ceeding to some one of the offices filled by them, will be assigned as the motives of my conduct in opposing them, but we are now in a situation which obliges me to neglect all such considerations. I think myself so loudly called upon by my duty to my country, that I will freely expose my character to public animadversion, while I pursue that line which my duty marks out. Nobody is more sensible than I am of the necessity of unanimity at this juncture, and I wish I had the opportunity afforded me of supporting the ministry with justice to the country: but that, Sir, can never be the case with the present. I know them too well to do so, and shall feel it my duty to give them every opposition in my power. I know that doing so will be called clogging the wheels of government at a time when they ought to be assisted by every man; but, Sir, they have reduced us to that paradoxical situation, that I must choose one of two evils, for they have not left us the power of choosing any good: it is a paradox in fact, and I will take that part which appears to me to be, though bad, the best; I must, consequently, use all my exertions to remove the present ministry, by using every means in my power to clog them in this House, to clog them out