gentleman, Mr. Whitbread, had said, that Ireland was saved by the elements; but he should have remembered, that the same wind which dispersed the enemy, prevented our fleets from meeting them.

Mr. Dundas considered invasion as nothing but a bugbear; yet did not wish us to relax in our precautions on the one hand, or to despond on the other. Exclusive of our naval forces in the East and West Indies, the North Seas, and the Mediterranean, we had fifty sail of the line for the defence of Britain and Ire land. and upwards of two hundred thousand men under arms. Hitherto both the government and force of this country had been calumniated; he hoped he had proved satisfactorily that no blame was imputable to the admiralty, or to the of ficers, though he by no means wished to prevent inquiry; their conduct he thought could well sus

tain the test.

Mr. Grey observed, that ministers had for a long time laboured to create an alarm in that house, and in this country; they had so far succeeded as to secure the confidence of a majority of parliament, who upon all occasions during this war had uniformly voted against any inquiry into their conduct; but they had abused that confidence so much, and had brought the country into so deplorable a state, that even their most confidential friends and adherents began at last to speak of the necessity of inquiry: how far they were sincere would be seen by their votes. But ministers now began to be alarmed for themselves; that was, for their own safety; and, to restore confidence, they found it necessary to do away the alarm themselves had created: whilst it continued it suited the purpose of

the right honourable gentleman well enough; but when it was such as to make his adherents think it proper to inquire into the conduct of administration, it became essential to do it away as soon as possible,

But to pursue the idea of the "bugbear," invasion, Mr. Grey ob served, that in the place where an attack of the enemy was apprehended, and where it was actually made, there was neither a cavalry nor a supplementary militia bill; in the place where there was no apprehension of attack, there were both the place against which it was not expected to be made was to be defended in an extraordinary manner, and the place where it was likely to be made left perfectly defenceless! And he would say, that the enemy's not succeeding in Ireland, was not owing to the wisdom of his majesty's ministers, but to the interposition of Providence.

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The right honourable secretary had stated, that on the 21st of December instructions had been sent to lord Bridport to put to sea iminediately. Why did he not do so, when the wind was fair, on the 22d, 23d, and 24th? It was no excuse to say that his squadron was not ready, or that admiral Curtis had not returned from his cruize: the admiralty ought to be impeached for not having a fleet ready to sail on the 22d. Mr. Grey ascribed it wholly to the neglect of administration, that the enemy's fleet had remained fourteen days unmolested off the coast of Ireland; there was no adequate force in that part of it to oppose them. The expedition had been considered as a fortunate event, as it had proved the loyalty of the Irish in that quarter. Their loyalty, indeed, he said, was meritorious in proportion

to

that if a speedy remedy were not applied, the minister would not do justice to the British empire.

The grievances of Ireland were real, deep, and well founded: but whether they were so, or not, we heard the people in the south were loyal; yet all the reward they obtained for their loyalty was not a redress of grievances, not a cessation of exclusions. No! it is empty praise, and barren testimony! He admired the conduct which they had manifested upon the late occasion, and he should have expected it would have been deemed an unanswerable reason for giving the people, without delay, those privileges to which they were entitled by justice. No such project, however, had yet been adopted, and that country remained in the same state in which it was at the recal of lord Fitzwilliam. He left them after having had the authority of government for their tantalizing expectations, and the cup of happiness was on a sudden dashed from their lips. Would the right honourable gentleman assert, that those who supported lord Fitzwilliam were inclined to Jacobinism, of which the true patriots of England had been so often accused? Look, continued Mr. Fox, to men of as great respectability, and of as splendid talents in that country as any in this look to the name of Grattan, and say whether Ireland has no grievances! But perhaps I shall be told I am holding out an invitation to the French; far from it: he was inviting, he said, his majesty's ministers to remove that discontent, and to redress those evils of which the Irish had so much reason to complain. Mr. Fox ridiculed the secretary at war, who had asked how we possibly could be invaded, having a superior force,

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when the subject of inquiry was how came the enemy actually to invade us? Without expressing dissatisfaction at the conduct of admiral Colpoys, he said, we ought to have had a second fleet at home, ready to sail from Portsmouth as soon as the news reached England. Mr. Fox ended his speech with strenuously maintaining, that it was the duty of that house not to take the words of one set of ministers in defence of another. It might be injurious to the reputation of lord Spencer, as it had been to his predecessor, lord Chatham; for the former had a majority of the commons in his favour, when an inquiry was moved to examine his conduct, and yet shortly after he was compelled to resign his office of first lord of the admiralty.

Mr. Sturt complained of the repeated insults offered to our coasts, which he insisted fully justified inquiry. Admiral Colpoys' ship came into port short of provisions. He was astonished at nothing which Mr. Dundas asserted, well knowing his boldness, confidence, and assurance: his whole statement of the security of Ireland was a mis-statement; he read a letter to prove it; and he hoped that the present ministers would not much longer have the direction of affairs.

Mr. chancellor Pitt re-echoed all that his friend Mr. Dundas had said-affirming, that nothing more could have been done than to have one fleet on the French coast, and another ready for sea. The French admiral and general Hoche, he said, who were in the secret, and sailed in the same expedition, as well as other captains of the fleet, had never been able to join it from the same causes of weather. He expatiated on the prodigies of vulour which might have been expected, had

our

our fleets been so fortunate as to have met the enemy! He much complained, at the conclusion of his speech, of Mr. Fox's inflammatory language respecting the state of reland-especially of the catholics, who never had had more indulgences granted them than within these few years, and the allegation he declared was untrue, that they had been oppressed under the present government.

Mr. Whitbread animadverted on the arrival of admiral Elphinstone in Ireland, whilst the French squadron was in Bantry bay; which as he afforded no assistance against them, demanded explanation.

Lord Keith (late admiral Ephinstone) said, he had always discharged his duty to the best of his abilities, and for the service of his country. If he conducted himself ill as an officer, he was amenable to a courtmartial; if he had offended as a member of parliament, he professed himself ready, on any proper occasion, to answer any inquiry which might be demanded of him.

Mr Whitbread disclaimed the least intention of thowing out insipuations against the character or services of the gallant admiral, for whose valour and merits he professed veneration. The circumstance which he had slightly mentioned incidentally occurred among other facts which he thought it is duty to bring forward, without personal censure to the admiral, who was clear from all blame in the transaction alluded to.

The house divided on the previons question-For it 201, against i 62.

The same subject was brought under the consideration of the upper house on the 16th of the same month. On that day, the order of the day for their lordships being

summoned having been read, for an inquiry into the naval defence of Ireland, during the late attempt at an invasion; the earl of Albemarle rose to make the motion of which he had given notice on a former day, assuring the house, that he did not mean to hint the smallest disrespect to the officers, or to the admiralty. The object he bad in view was inquiry. The opinion that considerable blame lay somewhere was universal: it was necessary to ascert in where, and to whom imputable. The great importance of Ireland, as a component part of this empire, admitted no doubt: ministers must have been informed long before the meeting of the present parliament, that an invasion, either of this country, or Ireland, or both, had been meditated by the enemy. It is evi dent they did know this, from the language they held forth to the public in the commencement of the present session. How came it then, that with a perfect knowledge of this intention so early as September last, when an armament of the enemy was openly preparing at Brest, no fleet of ours should be stationed on the coast of Ireland for its protection?

Facts attested, that the French fleet consisted of eighteen sail of the line, several frigates, and numerous transports, all full of troops, actually sailed from Brest, anchored in Bantry Bay, remained there, some of them during eleven days, and af terwards (with inconsiderable loss, the whole of which was owing to storms) returned to their own ports without falling in with a single ship of the English navy to impede or molest them. His lordship said he did not doubt the anxiety of admiral lord Bridport to sail as soon as possible, and therefore his sailing

down

down the channel must have been in consequence of orders received from the admiralty. Another thing which appeared extraordinary, was, that after the admiral had found the whole of the enemy's fleet had left that coast, he still continued cruizing off Bantry bay for a day and a half, before he proceeded any where else in quest of them. It here struck him forcibly as negligent and blamable, that, after ministers had so long been informed of the armament at Brest, the fleet under lord Bridport was not more numerous, and all ready. He then adverted to that under admiral Colpoys; many of his ships were in want of those essential articles on ship board, water and fuel. Lastly, he adverted to the squadron under admiral Elphinstone, which, instead of joining the squadrons then at sea, came to St Helen's the very day lord Bridport left it. He moved an inquiry, therefore, into the measures of government for the defence of Ireland, when an invasion was at tempted by France.

Earl Spencer replied, in vindication of the admiralty, that a government might sometimes have too much as well as too little information respecting the plans of an enemy-and when, from different quarters, they derived different intelligence, it became a matter of uncertainty how they were to act. He confidently affirmed, they had acted in the best manner from the information they had received. He denied that the fleet of admiral Colpoys was obliged to come into port for want of necessaries; it was driven up the channel by tempestuous weather. Water, indeed, they had not in any great abundance but in some ships more was used than in others, and in this manner more consumed than was neces

sary; though he did not mean to reflect upon the gallant commander. After vindicating the conduct of lord Bridport, who could not, he said, know that there were seven ships of the enemy in Bantry bay, nor put to sea owing to adverse winds, he gave his decided negative to the motion of the noble lord.

The earl of Carlisle and the marquis of Abercorn voted for the inquiry; the latter observing, that for the justification of ministers four points ought to be proved :first, that this country had a sufficient fleet ready for sea; secondly, that admiral Colpoys' fleet was strong enough to keep the sea; that it was provided amply with stores; and fourthly, that he had received particular orders to turn his attention to Ireland, and proceed thither as soon as he had intelligence that the French fleet had sailed. None of these points had been provedbut, on the contrary, it was evident, a sufficient fleet was not ready; the admiral had been too long at sea; he was not provided with stores; and, above all, no positive orders had been given him to make the safety of Ireland his principal object.

Earl Spencer considered an inquiry as a censure on the admiralty board, to which no blame was imputable. If admiral Colpoys' fleet, together with lord Bridport's, had gone to Ireland, the channel would have been left open to the Dutch fleet, in which case the noble marquis would not have spared the lords of the admiralty. He contended that a discretionary power ought to be vested in those who had the management of naval affairs in this country.

The earl of Moira said that the generosity of the noble earl had involved and perplexed his own de

fence: