dour, induftry, and conciliating manners of that gentleman diftinguifhed him as a proper man for conducting the public affairs at a crifis when those qualities appeared to be most effential to the welfare of the state. Mr. Addington's appointment, as first lord of the treafury and chancellor of the exchequer, was followed by the nomination of lord Eldon to the of fice of lord high chancellor, lord St. Vincent to that of firft lord of the admiralty, lord Hawkefbury as fecretary of ftate for the foreign, lord Pelham for the home department, and colonel Yorke as fecretary at war. Lord Eldon was fucceeded by fir Richard Pepper Arden, who was created lord Alvanley, as chief juftice of the common pleas, and Mr Addington by fir John Mitford as fpeaker of the house of commons: fir William Grant was made mafter of the rolls, and Mr. Law and Mr. Percival attorney and folicitor generals. Before however the new minifters could regularly enter upon their refpective offices, and before their appointment was announced in the gazette, his majesty was feized (in the month of February) with an alarming illness, and continued fo far indifpofed as to be unable to tranfact public bufinefs to the middle of the month of March. Till that period the old miDifters continued to hold the reins of government, with the exception only of lord St. Vincent and lord Hawkesbury, who had been inducted into office previous to his majesty's indifpofition.

On the 228 January the imperial parliament was opened by commiffion, and the lord chancellor informed the commons that they fhould proceed to the election of a fpeaker; when they made choice of Mr. Ad

dington, who had not yet received the appointment which was noticed above. The parliament after this adjourned to the 2d of February, and on that day was opened by his majefty in person. The fpeech from the throne expreffed his majefly's great fatisfaction in being now able to avail himself of the advice of the united parliament of Great Britain and Ireland. This memorable æra, diftinguished by a measure calculated to confolidate the ftrength of the empire, he hoped would be equally marked by that energy and firmnefs which our prefent fituation fo peculiarly required. The court of Peterburg had treated our reprefentations of the outrages committed against the fhips, property, and against Englishmen, with the utmost difrefpect; indeed acts of injustice and violence had aggravated the first aggreffions.

"Under thefe circumftances, a convention had been concluded between Petersburg, Copenhagen, and Stockholm, the avowed object of which was to renew their former engagements for establishing a new code of maritime law, inconfiftent with the rights and hoftile to the interefts of this country.

"The earlieft measures had been taken to repel this confederacy, and to fupport thofe principles effential to the maintenance of our naval ftrength, in which firm determination there was no doubt of the vigorous affiftance of the united parliament."

The fpeech concluded with recommending an inquiry into the high price of provifions, and promifes of terminating the prefent conteft, whenever it could be done confiftently with fecurity and ho

nour.

In the house of lords, the duke of Montrofe moved the addrefs. This aufpicious union, he faid, was an event which tended eflentially to promote the welfare and profperity of both kingdoms, but particularly of Ireland. It was indeed of little confequence on which fide the chief advantage lay; the wealth, the ftrength, the population, the harpinefs of one, was that of the other; this great act made them an infeparable people: the benefits of union had been already tried in the cafe of Scotland; and though each country had enjoyed the fruits of them, yet Scotland had reaped the greater fhare. She had incorporated with a kingdom of more extent of dominion, larger capital, wider commerce than her own. Apprehenfions had been entertained at that time, that he would fuffer under the influence of her fuperior neighbour, from the majority of reprefentatives, and from other circunftances; but all thofe fears had been found to be chimerical, fince, from the liberality of England to Scotland, fhe had not in any one inftance felt the inferiority of her numbers in the legifla

ture.

On the contrary, there had been a uniform and diftinguifhing at tention paid to the weaker power: bounties had been granted for the encouragement of fisheries, communications by roads had been opened with the highlands, fums had been appropriated for the improvement of agriculture, the rents of forfeited eftates had been applied to national advantage, money had been moft beneficially lent to the completion of great works, a lower duty had been laid on malt in confequence of the inferiority of Scotland, and, much to the honour of England, the compact refpecting

the proportion of land tax to be paid by Scotland had not been broken; which it might have been, had the continued to bear only the relative charge fettled by the union. All this evinced that Ireland had nothing to apprehend from this country exercifing fuperior power to her detriment, but, on the contrary, that every thing advantageous would be conceded, and a vigour acquired by her incorporation with a kingdom of such skill and industry as Great Britain. The fertility of the foil of Ireland, its natural refources and aptitude for commerce, could not be truly af certained until they were developed by England, and they would now receive fuch an impulfe as would demonftrate their value; nor could the moft fanguine imagination conceive the extent of riches and power, to which, under these aupices, fhe would fpeedily rise. His grace faid, that on this point. he fpoke the more confidently because in him the fentiment was hereditary. His family had taken an active part in promoting the union, at a time when it was highly unpopular in their country to do fo; but they had the fatisfaction of feeing all cavils against the measure die away, and every objection practically refuted. They had the bleflings of their countrymen for their conduct, and all defcriptions of people in both countries were long fince convinced of its beneficial tendency. The first advantage to England would be a fupply of grain from the fuperabundance of Ireland. There were immenfe tracts of land of fuch a mixed tenure, as to reprefs and impede tillage; there were extenfive commons; and he had no doubt but that a bill of inclosure and allotment, by which they might be brought

brought into cultivation, would be a fource of future plenty to the empire. The drainage of the fent lands was another fource which he hoped would be opened by a public aid, and that farveyors would be appointed to inspect and report to parliament what could be done in this way. The system of the corn laws (he trufted) would be ameliorated; for though they might be right in their principle, it was a question whether the price at which foreign corn was importable did not difcourage the British farmer from growing it, and induce him to turn more of his land into pasture. From this view of domeftic points, his grace proceeded to examine our political affairs and relations; and here he acknowledged the afpect was fomewhat dreary: but there was no cause to defpond. Britain was ftrong in her own energies, and ftill more in the juftice of her conteft. It was faid to be the with of the French, and even of the chief conful, to procure the bleffings of peace; but this he did not believe the meffage fent by Bonaparte last year, and the whole tenor of the negotiation, proved that nothing was more diftant from his heart; and he trusted that the agents and advocates for French principles would not gain profelytes to their affertions, that the chief conful was fincere.

He was aware that the communications made on this subject to the courts of Vienna and St. James's would be loudly spoken of; but thefe, inftead of tending to general pacification, were for feparate negotiations, when neither court could treat feparately without breach of faith. But the French were now fo fituated, that they might fairly be brought to the teft. The events

of war had fo much reduced Auftria as to oblige her to treat feparately: this power therefore no longer being an obftacle with Great Britain, France had an ample opportunity of evincing her fincerity: as he was now greater than ever, it was more than ever the intereft of the nations of Europe to combine against her, inftead of which, they had combined to deftroy the maritime law in pure hoftility to England: if England therefore did not perfift in maintaining it, her naval prowess was at an end, and her rank and character in the scale of nations totally abrogated.

To effect this, was one of the views of Ruffia: it appeared their aim to force this country into a war: the armed neutrality they found would not effect it; the people of Ireland and Britain, who were politically the fame, were proof against this: the Ruffian minifters, by violating the property and treating the perfons of British fubjects in that country with indignity, fought to provoke hoftilities, and had proceeded to fuch lengths as the legiflature could not endure without incurring national difgrace. There was fome hope that the monarch of Ruffia might yet perceive he had been deluded by his minifters: and should he feel difpofed to make proper reparation, it would be the belt indication of a great mind.

Impreffed therefore with the conviction of the neceffity of England defending her incontrovertible rights as a belligerent power, and that in cafe fhe did not obtain justice, every man in the kingdom would have but one fentiment, and refolve to fupport the councils of his majefty, his grace moved an address of thanks.

The

The earl of Lucan feconded the motion, and faid that the very able manner in which the duke had expatiated upon it, would more powerfully imprefs the propriety of adopt ing it than any thing which he could urge.

Earl Fitzwilliam lamented that the course of events had made fo momentous a change in the aspect of Europe: he lamented that he could not join in an unanimous vote of thanks on the union of Ireland; a fubject on which his fentiments were fufficiently known: but, as the meafure was paft, he would fupprefs them now, and fincerely wifhed that the very fanguine expectations of the duke might be accomplished, But he could not withhold his aftonishment, that on a crifis fo awful, when we were about to be plunged in a new war, our minifters, inftead of giving information to the houfe, had called upon them for additional confidence and additional fupplies. It was the duty of that houfe to pause, and to inquire why we were to go to war, before it pledged itself to fupport the meafure. An investigation ought to be made into the caufes of this dangerous and calamitous predicament.

He had urged the house, perhaps more than any other individual in it, to the maintenance of the principles upon which the war against the French revolution had been founded; he had deeply felt the confequences of that fpirit which had broken out in France, and the destruction to which it led; no one had gone further than himself in oppofing the anarchy and confufion of the new doctrines; the nations of Europe had feen the policy of reinftating the ancient family of their kings in France; but he muft confefs his hopes were now disappointed, and the caufe was a loft one.

The anarchy however had in a great degree fubfided; France was converted into a monarchy under republican forms, and under a new ruler: it did not depend on the opinion of an individual, and he feared it no longer depended on the power of the nation, to withstand the establishment of the new order of things: the die was caft. But it was not confiftent with the duty which that houfe owed to its king and country to omit an inveftigation into the causes of our failure, when fuch large and unlimited powers had been entrusted to minifters, when all Europe was in friendship with them, and united in one common intereft. Surely it was a matter of importance to inquire by what means, instead of accomplishing this great object, they had plunged us into a contest with our own allies. The war, as far as Sweden and Denmark were concerned, was intirely of our own feeking; we had it in our power to fufpend the difcuffion of the neutral code, and by entering into a fubject leading to litigation we had confolidated the powers of Sweden and Denmark with that of Ruffia. Nothing could be more diftinct than the aggreffion of Paul and the northern confederacy, and it would have been political to have kept them fo If it was unjust in the emperor to detain our fhips and property, it was equally unjuft in us to feize and detain the ships and property of Sweden and Denmark. It had not been deemed neceffary to go to war with them for the neutral code in the year 1780, and we had fuffered nothing from our moderation. It furely then was incumbent on the noufe to examine the conduct of minifters, and to afcertain precifely in what manner they had used the extraordinary

powers