lord Cornwallis's arrival, and to deliver over the government to him. Lord Cornwallis reached Madras on the 18th of July, 1805; his lordship arrived at Diamond harbour on the 28th, and at Calcutta at eight o'clock on the morning of the 29th of the same month; when he was received with all the honours due to his lordship's high rank. The ceremonial of his reception was arranged agreeably to his own wishes, after fall communication with the confidential officers of lord Wellesley's staff, who had been sent down the river to attend lord Cornwallis to Calcutta. Lord Wellesley remained at that city till the 22nd of August, when le embarked on board the frigate, which, (under the orders of the admiralty, in consequence of the arquis Wellesley having particuJarly requested, as early as 1802, for se of his majesty's ships,) had been prepared for his accommodation. On the 29th of July, ten days after lord Cornwallis's arrival in India was publicly known, an address was voted to lord Wellesley, by the inhabitants of Calcutta ; our information, however, from India, enables us to assert, that lord Wellesley did not wish to receive that address, natil he knew whether it would be agreeable to lord Cornwallis that he should do so. Lord Cornwallis expressed a wish, that the address should be publicly received at the government house, and his lordship held a levee on the occasion, immediately after the address had been presented to lord Wellesley. These facts are notorious, and are stated in this place, only in order to refute the false representations, which, for evident pu rposes, were circulated in England, on this subject, in the course of the year 1805. Justice and impartiality compel us also to state, without meaning to cast reflections on others, that previously to lord Wellesley's departure from Bengal, tranquillity had been completely restored to the company's possessions in every quarter of India. Peace with the rajah of Bhurtpore having been concluded on that chieftain's submission to the British power, on the 17th of April, 1805, when lord Lake immediately pursued Holkar, who had fled from Bhurtpore, and who never, from the month of May 1805, ventured to approach within 100 miles of any of the British detachments. Holkar was left without territory or resources of any description, Scindia's power was reduced to the lowest state, and Aumeér Khan, who was a common robber, never made any attempt against the company's possessions, after his expulsion from the Doab, by general Smith, and his ignominous flight, followed for 40 days by the British cavalry. Previously to lord Wellesley's departure, (as the papers on the table of the house of commons prove,) orders were also issued by his lordship, for the distribution of the army at its permanent stations, in different parts of the country; for the reduction of all extra expences, and for every arrangement necessary to the final and entire consolidation of our alliances, in every quarter of India; not an enemy had appeared in the Deckan for many months; and the company's paper, which, on lord Wellesley's arrival, bore a discount of 15 per cent. was nearly at par! During the course of the administration of the marquis Wellesley, P 2 the the general state of public credit in India, was improved in a proportion of more than twelve per centum, at each of the three presidencies: while the growing resources of India have not only kept pace with the demands upon them, and she has not only paid her own expences, but has actually contributed, (exclusively of the increase of commerce and duties,) upwards of ten millions sterling, in aid of the mother country. During the Indian administration of the marquis Wellesley, also, the various sources of commerce throughout India were materially extended and improved; the defective parts of our frontier, considerably strengthened; our political relations so defined and consolidated, as to preclude all probability of fu ture war, with any of the native, states; the permanent annual revenues of India raised from seven to upwards of fifteen millions sterling; (of which increase £1,349,531 was occasioned by improvement of the old revenues of Bengal, under lord Wellesley's immediate superinten. dance), and the general condition of our power and resources established on a firm basis, which may bid defiance to the hostile projects of all our enemies, and which, under a firm system of government, promises to Great Britain every benefit which may be expected to result, from the uninterrupted and progressive prosperity of her Indian empire. GHAP. CHAP. XVIII. Domestic Events.-Difficult Circumstances of Mr. Pitt's Administration. -Its Weakness.-Formidable Opposition thereto.-Of whom composed. -Necessity of strengthening itself.-Means adopted for that Purpose. -inefficacious, and why.-Mr. Addington raised to the Peerage-And appointed President of the Council in the Room of the Duke of Portland. -Age and Infirmity of the latter, oblige him to retire from Public Business.-Increasing Difficulties of the Ministry-Charges preferred against Viscount Melville.-Votes of the House of Commons thereon.— Final Decision for the Impeachment of Lord Melville.-The Adherents of Lord Sidmouth, support these Proceedings.-Lord Sidmouth resigns. -New Arrangements in Administration—Its increasing Weakness.Lord Melville resigns, and is succeeded by Sir Charles Middleton.— Excellent Naval Administration of the former.-The latter created Lord Burham.-Bad Health of Mr. Pitt.-Precipitancy of his Measures, in inducing Austria to open the Campaign on the Continent.-Its fatal Effect on the Affairs of Europe-and on the Health of Mr. Pitt-whose Life is in Danger.-Naval Events of the Year.-Spanish War popular in the Navy-Why.--Failure of the Catamaran System-Which sinks into Contempt and Disuse.-Gallant Action in the East Indies.—Admiral Linois beaten by a far inferior Force.-Gallant Exploit of two small Vessels in the Mediterranean.-Situation of the Navy much improved.— Causes thereof.-Project undertaken of making the Harbour of Falmouth a Naval Arsenal.-Absurd, and abandoned.—Extraordinary Efforts of the combined French and Spanish Fleets-Which escape the British blockading Squadrons and sail for the West Indies on a predatory Cruize.-Capture of the Ville de Milan French Frigate-Gallant Conduct of Sir Robert Laurie-And Generosity of Captain Talbot.Attack of the Island of Dominica by the French.--Steady Conduct of the Governor and Troops-saves the Island.-Shameful Rapacity of the French.-Their Cowardice and precipitate Flight over the Atlantic, before an inferior Force under Lord Nelson.-Action with the British Squadron under Sir Robert Calder.-French lose two Ships of the Line -And succeed in retreating to Cadiz.-Observations on the Conduct of the English Admiral.-His subsequent Trial and Sentence. The French Admiral Villeneuve with thirty three Ships of the Line put to Sea from Cadiz.-Fought by the British Fleet, of a much inferior Force, under Lord Nelson.-Glorious Victory of Trafalgar achieved by the latter. Further Success of Sir Richard Strachan, who captures four more Ships of the Line.-Death of Lord Nelson.-His Eulogy.Disastrous Fate of the captured French and Spanish Ships.-Ditheult Situation of Admiral Collingwood and his Fleet.-General Observations and Conclusion. P3 he late period of the year at which h though with small majorities, to get through the remainder of the session; and the autumn of 1804 was employed in the attempt to strengthen his hands, by various negociations opened with the different parties to whom we have already adverted. It should seem, however, that the minister was completely unsuccess ful in his attempts to wean lord Grenville and his friends from those principles, for the maintenance of which they had already renounced the highest offices, whether of state or emolument, which the crown could bestow; namely, their 66 of the year, we entered at some length into the causes and the probable consequences of the changes which had taken place in his majesty's councils, and took occasion deeply to lament the acceptation of office by Mr. Pitt, upon the principle of exclusion" to the severe disappointment of the country, and detriment of its best interests. In fact, this great statesman and minister was now to encounter, the arduous task of governing the British empire, providing its resources at home, and guarding its interests on the continent; but above all, of maintaining the war in which it was engaged, "single-handed," against France and her allies, unaided (with the exception of lord Melville, at the head of the board of admiralty) by any one man of ability, experience, or possessing the contidence of the country. In opposition to an administration so feebly. composed, the minister had to dread the weight of Mr. Addington, with the friends who still adhered to him," exception. +"-It may easily be and whom Mr. Pitt had so lately driven from office; of lord Grenville, his oldest, the most able, and most attached of his friends, from whom, and the host of ability, of which his lordship was the leader, Mr. Pitt had so recently separated; and of Mr. Fox, and his powerful adhe rents in both houses of parliament, to whose perpetual "exclusion" from his majesty's councils he had just agreed. Fortunately for the minister, the strong sense of the impropriety "of their becoming parties to a sys"tem of government, which was to "be formed, at such a moment, on "a principle of exclusion," and of the absolute necessity there existed of uniting in the public service "as "large a proportion as possible of "the weight, talents, and charac"ter, to be found in public men of "all descriptions, and without any supposed, that, in sentiments so favourable to themselves, Mr. Fox and his friends cordially acquiesced, and that any effort to detach them from opposition, without a direct and complete abandonment of the very principle upon which the minister came into power, would be equally fruitless with the former. No quarter then remained to be essayed, from which Mr. Pitt could hope to derive political assistance, save from that of the late minister; and here indeed Vide Annual Register for 1804, p. 124, History of Europe, for the reasous why lord Grenville and his friends declined taking any part in the admininistration about to be formed by Mr. Pitt. Lord Grenville's letter to Mr. Pitt. Annual Register, 1804, P. 124. indeed he met with all the success he could desire. Accordingly, we find, on the 12th of January, of the present year, Mr. Addington raised to the peerage, by the style and title of viscount Sidmouth, and two days afterwards succeeding the duke of Portland, as lord president of the council. The latter nobleman had long been considered as a minister in name only, his great age and infirmities having rendered him totally incapable of its functions. It was stated, however, in the gazette, that his grace retired on account of ill health. To the earl of Buckinghamshire, one of lord Sidmouth's most assured friends, was also given the seals of the duchy of Lancaster, and other near connexions of his were admitted to the privy council. The return of the Addingtons to a share in administration, did not cause much surprise either to the friends or enemies of that party ;— but that the minister should again ally himself to the man, whose conduct in office he had arraigned, in terms of the bitterest sarcasm, and severest invective, with reference to his general conduct of the public interests both at home and abroad; whom he had repeatedly held up to view as ignorant and inefficient, and whom he had 10 recently exposed, with all the bitteruess of the most reproachful scorn, indeed excited universal astonishment. That there existed a strong necessity for ministers to call in parliaentary and political aid, at this period, cannot be doubted, but we must be allowed to question the efficacy of the means adopted. What the terms of the convention were, which united parties recently en. ged in the deepest hostility to wards each other, we cannot presume to conjecture; but, had they even been such as would have ensured a stable and permanent union between them (which a very short period proved the contrary) still it must be considered an unfortunate measure for the interest of the existing administration, as, what it gained in point of numbers, it lost in credit and reputation; its manifest weakness becoming thereby notorious, and which, while it united and invigorated fan opposition, already too formidable, added nothing to itself in point of ability or character. An event, however, was approaching which threatened, and in fact actually produced, a dissolution of this strange and ill-assorted connexion. A reference to our account of the debates in parliament, of the present year, will shew the extreme difficulty which the minister had, in supporting his colleague, Lord Melville, under the charges brought against him by Mr. Whitbread,grounded upon the tenth report of the commissioners of naval enquiry: which menaced the removal of his lordship from the councils and confidence of his majesty for ever, and thus deprive Mr. Pitt of an able, experienced, and attached coadjutor. When the utmost efforts of administration failed, in screening lord Melvilie from the effect of the parliamentary resolutions, moved against him, we have seen that the mode of procedure against his lordship, as a delinquent, was warmly contested within the walls of the house of commons. The friends of the accused, who were at first adverse to the measure of impeachment, and had pledged the house to a prosecution in the courts of law: for reasons which it would be indelicate and imprudent |