rejoice to see, by the treaties laid before us, that a strong barrier is erected against the inordinate ambition of France, and we presume to hope that the time may now be arriving which shall set bounds to her remorseless spirit of conquest.

In our contest with America it must be always remembered that we have not been the aggressors. Slow to take up arms against hose who should have been naturally our friends by the original ties of kindred-a common languageand (as might have been hoped) by a joint zeal in the cause of national liberty-we must now nevertheless put forth our whole strength, and maintain, with our ancient superiority upon the ocean, those maritime rights which we have resolved never to surrender.

But, sir, whatever doubts may cloud the rest of our views and hopes, it is to the peninsula that we look with sentiments of unquestionable delight and triumph; there the world has seen two gallant and independent nations rescued from the mortal grasp of fraud and tyranny, by British councils and British valour; and within the space of five short years from the dawn of our successes at Roleia and Vimiera, the same illustrious commander has received the tribute of our admiration and gratitude for the brilliant passage of the Douro, the hardfought battle of Talavera, the day of Busaco, the deliverance of Portugal, the mural crowns won at Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajos, the splendid victory of Salamanca, and the decisive overthrow of the armies of France in their total rout at Vittoria-deeds which have made all Europe ring with his renown, and have covered the British name with a blaze of unrivalled glory.

Sir, that the cause of this country

and of the world may not at such a crisis suffer from any want of zeal on our part to strengthen the hands of his majesty's government, we have finished our supplies with a large and liberal aid, to enable your royal highness to take all such measures as the emergencies of pub, lic affairs may require, for disappointing or defeating the enterprises and designs of the enemy.

The bill which I have to present to your royal highness for this purpose is entitled

An act for enabling his majesty to raise the sum of five millions for the service of Great Britain, and for applying the sum of 200,000Z. for the service of Ireland.

To which bill his majesty's faithful commons, with all humility, entreat his majesty's royal assent.

The speaker having concluded, and bowed to the prince, his royal highness moved his hat.

The clerks then made their obeisances, and the deputy-clerk of the crown read the title of the vote of credit bill. Mr. Cowper, the clerk assistant of the parliaments, made his obeisance, and the prince regent having moved his hat, Mr. Cowper notified the royal assent in the usual form and words, as applied to a money bill, namely, Le Roi remercie ses bons sujets, accepte leur benevolence, et aussi le veut.

The title of the remaining bill, The penitentiaryhouse bill, was then read; and his royal highness having moved his hat, Mr. Cowper notified the royal assent in the usual form and words as applied generally to a public bill, namely, Le Roi le veut.

His royal highness then delivered the following speech:

My lords and gentlemen, I cannot release you from your attendance in parliament without repeating

repeating the expression of my deep regret at the continuance of his majesty's lamented indisposition. The attention which you have paid to the public interests in the course of this session demands my warmest acknowledgements.

The splendid and signal success which has attended the commencement of the campaign in the peninsula,the consummate skill and ability displayed by field-marshal the marquis of Wellington in the progress of those operations which have led to the great and decisive victory obtained near Vittoria, and the valour and intrepidity by which his majesty's forces and those of his allies have been distinguished, are as highly gratifying to my feel ings as they have been to those of the whole nation. Whilst these operations have added new lustre to the British arms, they afford the best prospect of the deliverance of the peninsula from the tyranny and oppression of France; and they furnish the most decisive proof of the wisdom of that policy which has induced you, under every vicissitude of fortune, to persevere in the support of this glorious con

test.

The entire failure of the French ruler in his designs against the Russian empire, and the destruction of the French army employed on that service, were followed by the advance of the Russian forces, since joined by those of Prussia, to the banks of the Elbe; and though upon the renewal of the contest the allied armies have found themselves obliged to retreat before the superior numbers collected by the enemy, their conduct during a series of severe and sanguinary conflicts has nobly upheld their military character, and commanded the admiration of Europe.

I have great satisfaction in acquainting you, that there exists between me and the courts of St. Petersburgh, Berlin, and Stockholm, the most cordial union and con cert; and I trust I shall be enabled, by the aids which you have so liberally afforded, to render this union effectual for the accomplishment of the great purpose for which it has been established.

I regret, the continuance of the war with the United States of America.

My desire to re-establish between the two countries those friendly relations, so important to their mutual interests, continues unabated ; but I cannot consent to purchase the restoration of peace by any sacrifice of the maritime rights of the British empire.

Gentlemen of the house of

commons,

I thank you for the liberal provision you have made for the services of the present year.

It is a great satisfaction to me to reflect, that, by the regulations you have adopted for the redemption of the national debt, you have established a system which will not retard its ultimate liquidation, whilst at the same time it provides for the vigorous prosecution of the war, with the least practicable addition to the public burdens.

My lords and gentlemen, I entirely approve of the arrangements which you have made for the government of the British territories in India, and for the regu lation of the British commerce in that part of the world. They ap pear to have been wisely framed, with a view to the circumstances which have occurred since this subject was last under the consideration of parliament. By these arrangements you have preserved in

its essential parts that system of government which experience has proved to be not less calculated to provide for the happiness of the inhabitants of India, than to promote the interests of Great Britain; and you have judiciously extended to the subjects of the united kingdom in general a participation in the commerce of countries within the limits of the East India company's charter, which will, I doubt not, have the effect of augmenting the resources of India, and of increasing and improving the trade and navigation of his majesty's dominions.

The tried and affectionate loyalty of his majesty's people, the constancy which they have displayed during this long and arduous war, and the patience with which they have sustained the burdens necessarily imposed upon them, have made an indelible impression on my mind. Such continued and persevering exertions, under so severe a pressure, afford the strongest proof of their attachment to that constitution which it is the first object of my life to maintain.

In the success which has recently attended his majesty's arms, I acknowledge with devout gratitude the hand of Divine Providence. The use I desire to make of these and of all other advantages, is to promote and secure the welfare of his majesty's people; and I cannot more decidedly evince this disposition, than by employing the powerful means you have placed in my hands, in such a manner as may be best calculated to reduce the extravagant pretensions of the enemy, and thereby to facilitate the attainment, in conjunction with my allies, of a secure and honourable peace.

Then the lord chancellor, by

the prince regent's command, said:

My lords and gentlemen, It is the command of his royal highness the prince regent, acting in the name and on behalf of his majesty, that this parliament be prorogued to Monday the 231 day of August next, to be then here holden; and this parliament is accordingly prorogued to Monday the 23d day of August next.

PROCLAMATION OF MARSHALSOULT.

To be read by a commanding officer at the head of companies in each regiment.

Soldiers!-The recent events of the war have induced his majesty the emperor to invest me, by an imperial decree of the 1st inst. with the command of the armies of Spain, and to honour me with the flattering title of his lieutenant.” This high distinction cannot but convey to my mind sensations of gratitude and joy; but they are not unalloyed with regret at the train of events which have, in the opinion of his majesty, rendered such an appointment necessary in Spain. It is known to you, soldiers, that the enmity of Russia, roused into active hostility by the eternal enemy of the continent, made it incumbent that numerous armies should be assembled in Germany early in the spring. For this purpose were many of your comrades withdrawn. The emperor himself assumed the command; and the arms of France, guided by his powerful and commanding genius, achieved a succession of as brilliant victories as any that adorn the annals of our country. The presumptuoous hopes of aggrandisement entertained by the enemy were confounded. Pacific over

tures

tures were made; and the emperor, always inclined to consult the welfare of his subjects, by following moderate councils, listened to the proposals that were made. While Germany was thus the theatre of great events, that enemy, who, under pretence of succouring the inhabitants of the peninsula, has in reality devoted them to ruin, was not inactive. He assembled the whole of his disposable force, English, Spaniards, and Portuguese, under his most experienced officers, and, relying upon the superiority of his numbers, advanced in three divisions against the French force as sembled upon the Douro. With well-provided fortresses in his front and rear, a skilful general, enjoying the confidence of his troops, might, by selecting good positions, have braved and discomfited this motley levy. But, unhappily, at this critical period, timorous and pusillanimous councils were followed. The fortresses were abandoned and blown up. Hasty and disorderly marches gave confidence to the enemy; and a veteran army, small indeed in number, but great in all that constitutes the military character, which had fought, bled, and triumphed in every province of Spain, beheld with indignation its laurels tarnished, and itself compelled to abandon all its acquisitions -the trophies of many a well fought and bloody day. When at length the indignant voice of the troops arrested this disgraceful flight, and its commander, touched with shame, yielded to the general desire, and determined upon giving battle near Vittoria, who can doubt -from this generous enthusiasm this fine sense of honour-what would have been the result had the general been worthy of his troops? had he, in short, made those dis

positions and movements which would have secured to one part of his army the co-operation and support of the other?-Let us not, however, defraud the enemy of the praise which is due to him. The dispositions and arrangements of their general have been prompt, skilful, and consecutive. The valour and steadiness of his troops have been praiseworthy. Yet do not forget that it is to the benefit of your example they owe their present military character; and that whenever the relative duties of a French general and his troops have been ably fulfilled, their enemies have commonly had no other resource than flight.-Soldiers,-I partake your chagrin-your grief-your indignation. I know that the blame of the present situation of the army is imputable to others; be the merit of repairing it yours. I have borne testimony to the emperor of your bravery and zeal. His instructions are to drive the enemy from those lofty heights which enable him proudly to survey our fertile valleys, and chase them across the Ebro. It is on the Spanish soil that your tents must next be pitched, and from thence your resources drawn. No difficulties can be insurmountable to your valour and devotion. Let us then exert ourselves with mutual ardour; and be assured that nothing can give greater felicity to the paternal heart of the emperor than the knowledge of the triumphs of his army-of its increasing glo ry-of its having rendered itself worthy of him, and of our dear country. Extensive but combined movements for the relief of the fortresses are on the eve of taking place. They will be completed in a few days. Let the account of our success be dated from Vittoria

-and

Every one knows the relations which for eight years past have bound Bavaria to France, as well as the motives which occasioned them, and the conscientious good faith with which the king has fulfilled their conditions.

Other states gradually joined themselves to the first ally of the French empire. This junction of sovereigns took the form of an union, of such a nature as the German history exhibits more than one example.

The act of confederation, signed at Paris on the 12th of July 1806, although imperfect, stipulated the mutual conditions which were to exist between the confederated states and his majesty the emperor of the French, as protector of this alliance.

The foundation of this treaty on both sides was the interest of both parties; none other could exist; for otherwise this act of confederation would have been nothing else than an act of unconditional submission. Meanwhile the French government appears to have considered it absolutely in that light, because that, in every act which followed on that solemn contract, it never took retrospect in application of the fundamental points, which rendered the continental war mutual to the several contracting parties, neither

1813.

the spirit nor the intent which presided in its tenor, but gave to it, at her own pleasure, the most extended explanation; she required at her own will the military forces of the confederates, for wars which were totally foreign to their interests, and the motives for which had not been previously intimated to them..

Bavaria, which considered France as a main support for her preservation, but whose principles, nevertheless, caused her the most serious apprehensions, reflected on and fulfilled all her obligations to France with the most unbounded zeal and integrity; no sacrifice to her seemed too great to fulfil the wishes of her ally, and to contribute to the restoration of the continental peace, which was stated to be the end of these renewed undertakings.

When the emperor Napoleon had in the year 1812 determined on the war against Russia, he de manded of Bavaria to come forward with the maximum of her contingent. This war was unde niably entirely foreign to the interests of Bavaria; it was painful to her, in every respect, to suffer her troops to march against a state which had always been her friend, and for a long time past was the guarantee of her independence, and against a sovereign who is allied to the royal family by a double tie of consanguinity. Already had the French ministry expressed themselves in the most alarming terms, and even proclaimed them in diplomatic documents in the face of Europe. These expressions aimed at nothing less than to represent the confederated states in such a light as if they were the vassals of France, and their princes bound, under punishment of felony, to do every thing which his majesty the (Q)

emperor