As the Hotel of the Embassy was under repair, Lord Granville had been forced to hire a temporary residence, and Mr. Huskisson found himself once again an inmate of the same Hotel de Monaco (according to the modern nomenclature l'Hotel d'Eckmühl), which he had quitted with the Marquis of Stafford in 1792. Under what different circumstances did he now revisit it! Thirty-three years had elapsed, and in the changes which had convulsed the world during that period, he might be said to have borne no inconsiderable part. He had left Paris private secretary to the Ambassador; he returned to it a leading minister of the Crown of Great Britain, with the proud satisfaction of being able to look back upon the space which had intervened, upon his own conduct, and upon the change which had taken place in his own situation, without encountering one recollection which could raise a single feeling of self-reproach.

Superior to the pressure of the times, and disdaining to attribute it to false causes, the Merchants of Liverpool, with that spirit of liberality which so nobly characterizes them, came forward to testify their sense of the advantages which had been derived from the alterations already carried into effect, and to mark their approbation of those yet in progress; and, early in 1826, Mr. Huskisson received the following Letter, which is too honourable to him in his public capacity, and to those from whom it proceeded, not to demand in

sertion here. It is scarcely necessary to add, that the Service of Plate to which it alludes was worthy of the greatness of Liverpool, both in taste and magnificence.

"My dear Sir,

"Liverpool, 4th February, 1826.

"As Chairman of the Committee, I have now the honour to request your acceptance of the Service of Plate presented to you by this great commercial town. The motives which led to this proof of public feeling are set forth in the following Inscription, and are also engraved on the centre ornament of the Service; viz.

The Service of Plate

of which this Candelabrum is a part,
was presented to

The Right Hon. WILLIAM HUSKISSON,
by a numerous Body

of the Merchants, Freemen, and Inhabitants of

Liverpool;

As a Testimony

of their sense of the Benefits
derived to the Nation at large
from the enlightened system
of Commercial Policy
brought forward by him

as President of the Board of Trade:
and of their Gratitude

for the zeal and ability with which,

as Member for Liverpool,

He has watched over the Interests of
His Constituents.
1825.

"Notwithstanding the embarrassment and distress which generally prevail in trade and manufactures, I am desired by the Committee to assure you, that their conviction of

the wisdom of the measures introduced by you, for the removal of Commercial Restrictions, remains undiminished, and that they confidently anticipate, from their matured operation, the most beneficial effects to the country at large. "It is very gratifying to me to have been selected by my liberal fellow-townsmen, as their organ on this occasion; and I have only to add, that

I have the honour to be, &c. &c.

"I have this day had the honour to receive from a deputation of the Committee of the Merchants and Inhabitants of Liverpool, the Letter, with which you, as their Chairman, have been desired to accompany the presentation to me of the Service of Plate, prepared under the direction of that Committee, in compliance with the resolutions of the subscribers.

"I receive with just pride, and acknowledge with the most lively gratitude, this mark of their approbation.

"However splendid this munificent testimony of their sentiments, the record of those sentiments, in the Inscription upon the Plate, will ever be considered by me as constituting its highest value.

"In this free country, it is the best recompense of the services of any man, filling a high and responsible situation (be his station in life otherwise what it may) to find himself supported by the cordial concurrence of those who, by their intelligence, as well as by the habits of their lives, are most competent to form a correct judgment, and whose welfare is most immediately concerned in the result of any important

measures, which it may be his duty to bring forward in Parliament.

“Valuable as the expression of such concurrence and support must be at any time, it is doubly grateful to me, under the present circumstances; and I hope I may be allowed to add (without risking the imputation of vanity), that the renewed declaration, by the merchants and inhabitants of Liverpool, of their matured and confirmed opinion, is not, under these circumstances, altogether useless to the public interest. Partial as their kindness to myself might render that opinion in easier times, it will hardly be imagined that in times of difficulty like the present, they would allow a disposition to employ the language of compliment to overbear their sound and sincere conviction.

"To such vicissitudes as those which have recently occurred, the commerce of this country has been at all times liable. They are, perhaps, the inevitable result of activity and enterprise, stimulated by unbounded credit; and by those perpetually increasing powers of machinery, which ingenuity has created in aid of the natural industry of our population.

"But, by whatever causes the present stagnation may have been occasioned, and however deeply I lament its pressure (more especially that portion of it which falls upon my constituents), I am fully convinced that it has in no degree been produced, or aggravated, by the relaxing of any of those restrictions which Parliament deemed it no longer expedient to retain.

"In this conviction I am supported, not exclusively by those who generally approve the measures of the administration, but by others of the greatest talents and authority, who look to those measures with a less friendly eye. By this coincidence of opinion, our present commercial system is (fortunately, as I conceive) withdrawn from the range of those questions which divide the two great political parties

of the State, upon other points of general policy; and I cannot but hope, that when confidence shall be again restored (as I trust it soon will be) in pecuniary transactions, the like general sense will prevail, among persons practically engaged in commerce, of the increased facilities, and encouragement, which the late changes are calculated to afford to the manufacturing industry and wholesome trade of the country.

"I cannot conclude without offering to you, my dear Sir, my warmest thanks, not only for the flattering terms in which you have expressed yourself personally towards me on this occasion, but for the unwearied kindness and active assistance which I have experienced from you during the whole course of my connexion with Liverpool.

"I have the honour to be, &c. &c.

"W. HUSKISSON."

Parliament met on the 2d of February 1826, and the recent embarrassments and distress became the subject of immediate debate. In the various discussions which ensued on the Bank Charter and Promissory Notes Acts, Mr. Huskisson, as might be expected, took a prominent part; and in answer to the abuse which was now scattered with no unsparing hand against the measures, of which he was considered the great champion and adviser, referred for the solution of the present calamitous state of domestic affairs, to the ineffectual warnings which he had given in the preceding year; while he challenged the most searching inquiry into the share which it was asserted the changes in our restrictive system had