THE HISTORY OF THE PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE HOUSES OF LORDS AND COMMONS, In the FOURTH SESSION of the Eighteenth Parliament of GREAT BRITAIN, Appointed to be holden at WESTMINSTER, HOUSE OF LORDS. Tuesday, September 24, 1799. HIS Majefty being feated on the Throne, adorned with his Crown and regal ornaments, and attended by his Officers of State (the Lords being in their robes), commanded the Gentleman Ufher of the Black Rod to let the Commons know, "It is His Majefty's pleasure they attend him immediately in this Houfe;" who being come with their Speaker, His Majefty was pleased to Speak as follows: My Lords and Gentlemen, I have called you together at this unufual feafon, in order to recom mend it to you to confider of the propriety of enabling me, without delay, to avail myself, to a farther extent, VOL. X. B the voluntary fervices of the Militia, at a moment when an increase of our active force abroad may be productive of the most important and beneficial confequences. We have feen the happy effects of the meafure which you adopted on this fubject in the laft Seffion; and the forces which I was thereby enabled to employ have already displayed, in the face of the enemy, a courage, difcipline, and fleadiness, worthy of the character of British foldiers. In the fort interval fince the close of the laft Seffion, our fituation and profpects have, under the blessing of Providence, improved beyond the most fanguine expectation. The abilities and valour of the commanders and troops of the combined Imperial armies have continued to be eminently displayed. The deliverance of Italy may now be confidered as fecured, by the refult of a campaign, equal in splendour and fuccefs to any the most brilliant recorded in hiftory; and I have had the heartfelt fatisfaction of feeing the valour of my fleets and armies fuccessfully employed to the affiftance of my allies, to the Support of our just cause, and to the advancement of the most important interests of the British empire. The kingdom of Naples has been rescued from the French yoke, and reftored to the dominion of its lawful Sovereign, and my former connections with that Power have been renewed. The French expedition to Egypt has been continued to be productive of calamity and difgrace to our enemies, while its ultimate views against our Eaftern paffions have been utterly confounded. The defperate attempt which they have lately made to extricate themselves from their difficulties has been defeated by the courage of the Turkish forces, directed by the skill, and animated by the heroifm of a British officer, with a fmall portion of my naval force under his command; and the overthrow of that reflefs and perfidious Power, who, inftigated by the artifices, and deluded by the promises of the French, had entered into their ambitious and deftructive projects in India, has placed the British interefts in that quarter in a state of folid and permanent security. The vigilance, decifion, and wisdom of the Governor-general in Council, on this great and important occafion, and the tried abilities and valour of the commanders, officers, and troops employed under his direction, are entitled to my highest praise. There is, I truft, every reafon to expect that the effort which I am making for the deliverance of the United Provinces will prove fuccessful. The British arms have refcued from the poffeffion of the enemy the principal port and naval arsenal of the Dutch Republic; and although we have to regret the lofs of many brave men in a subsequent attack against the enemy, whofe pofition enabled them to obftruct our progress, I have the ftrongest ground to expect the fkill of my Generals, and the de-. termined refolution and intrepidity of my troops, and of thofe of my allies, will foon furmount every obftacle; and that the fleet which, under the ufurped dominion of France, was deftined to co-operate in the invafion of these islands, may speedily, I truft, under its antient standard, partake in the glory of restoring the religion, liberty, and independence of thofe provinces fo long in intimate union and alliance with this country. While you rejoice with me in the events which add so much luftre to the British character, you will, I am perfuaded, as cordially join in the fentiments so justly due to the conduct of my good and faithful ally the Emperar of Russia; to his magnanimity and wisdom, directing to fo many quarters of Europe the force of his extenfive and powerful empire, we are, in a great degree, indebted for the fuccefs of our own efforts, as well as for the rapid and favourable change in the general fituation of affairs. I have directed copies to be laid before you of thofe engagements, which have confolidated and cemented a connection fo confonant to the permanent interefts of my empire, and so important at the present moment to every part of the civilized world. Gentlemen of the House of Commons, The ample fupplies which you have granted to me, in the course of the laft Seffion, will, I trust, so nearly provide for the exigencies of the public fervice, even on the extensive scale which our prefent operations · require, as to enable me, without farther aid, to continue thofe exertions to the clofe of the prefent year :-But in order to afford you the convenience of a longer recefs, I recommend it to you to confider of providing for the expence which will be necessary in the early part of the enfuing year; and with this view I have ordered the proper eftimates to be laid before you. My Lords, and Gentlemen, In pursuance of your recommendation, I judged it proper to communitate to my two Houses of Parliament in Ireland, at the close of their laft Seffion, the fentiments which you had expressed to me respecting an incorporating Union with that kingdom. The experience of every day confirms me in the perfuafion that fignal benefit would be derived to both countries from that important measure; and I trust that the difpofition of my Parliament there will be found to correspond with that which you have manifefted for the accomplishment of a work which would tend fo much to add to the fecurity and happiness of all my Irish subjects, and to confolidate the strength and prosperity of the empire. His Majesty and the House of Commons then retired; and after the speech had been read by the Lord Chancellor on the woolfack, and the clerk at the table, The Marquis of BUCKINGHAM rose to move an addrefs to His Majefty for his moft gracious fpeech from the Throne. He obferved, that he felt it incumbent on him to call the attention of their Lordships to fome of the leading points in the speech from the Throne which they had just heard read, and in this view what ftruck him moft forcibly were the juft and well-founded allufions which were made to the fteadiness and bravery of the British troops in the late glorious exploits upon the Continent, in which these levies taken from that part of the British forces to which he had the honour to belong, bore fo diftinguished and honourable a fhare. Yet it was not their conduct in action which most merited his approbation; when he contemplated the alacrity and fpirit with which they entered themfelves for foreign fervice, their merits in his mind. were confiderably enhanced. Though he could not withhold the honeft tribute of his teftimony to their deferts, yet their conduct was. no matter of surprise to him, who had been fo long a witness of their zeal, difcipline, and courage. Having faid thus much, he would beg leave to prefs to their Lordships' attention the obvious good policy of purfuing our late brilliant fucceffes in the moft folid and effectual manner, by fully and expeditiously adopting the meafures recommended in the fpeech from the Throne. By fuch a mode, he was of opinion that our late fucceffes could be most efficacioufly followed up. He did not, however, think that under the prefent circumstances of the nation, fuch meafures could properly create the flighteft degree of anxiety or alarm in the mind of any noble Lord. Circumftances, he thought, had recently occurred, which indeed rendered it proper to make fome material alterations in the Militia eftablishments: by the complete fubjugation of the Dutch navy, there no longer exifted a neceffity for a fleet in the North Sea, nor for a powerful Military force to be cantoned along our Northern and Eaftern coafts. Thefe may be confidered as perfectly fecure. It would be politic, however, to avail ourselves in other quarters of the forces which would be thus free to act in any other thape, and proceeding in that manner, he deemed it beft to do it through the medium of the Militia corps. In this part of the question, his Lordship obferved, that it ftruck him, that the present national circumftances would even warrant a reduction of the Militia force to its original establishment in point of numbers: That, he said, was fettled about forty years ago; and the establishment fecured to us an invaluable medium of national defence. He thought it more than poffible, that the like number now would be fully adequate to all the purposes for which the Militia was inftituted. By the adoption of the measure he alluded to, the nation would be placed in a greater degree of fecurity, by being enabled to follow up hoftile operations, to cement our continental alliance, and to meet the exertions of the enemy, and, above all, to recover one of our oldest and most valuable alliances. But to difmifs, or to difembody fuch a large part of the Militia force, would be obviously unwife and impolitic, in that the power was given to Government of availing itself of fuch voluntary offers as might be made from fuch disbanded troops, to ferve in another manner. The act of the 12th of July did not go far enough, it was too limited. A measure of the nature propofed did not appear to him to involve the flightest breach of parliamentary faith; fuch a confideration was to him one of the moft ferious nature. He had ferved too long in the Militia, and was too well acquainted with the inftitution, not to know that the parliamentary compact, by which they were raised, was the very effence of the whole; nay, even the corner ftone on which the whole superstructure was built. He would repeat, that, did he conceive the proposed measure to involve the flightest dereliction from the principles on which the Militia was originally raised, no confideration whatever would induce him to support, or take part in fuch a measure. Recurring again to the point of a farther reduction of the Militia, he proceeded to expatiate upon the policy of availing ourfelves of the farther voluntary offers from any of those who might wish to join their gallant comrades; and fo ftrongly was he impreffed with thefe ideas, that he should hold himself culpable, did he not, under the circumstances of the prefent moment, fupport such a propofition to the utmost of his power. He requested the pardon of the House for detaining their Lordships fo long on this point of the fpeech, it was one of thofe on which he felt moft interested. The noble Marquis then adverted to the other prominent topics of His Majesty's fpeech, respecting which, he lamented his inability to follow the animated detail, in language and in a manner commenfurate to the fubjects alluded to. The events of the late campaign were fuch as called for our moft grateful acknowledgments to Providence, for its manifeft interference in a caufe undertaken in defence of religion and its laws; and though no one particular point in the brilliant detail could with perfect justice be selected for peliar commendation, yet he felt himself irresistibly called upon to advert to a few of its leading features. And first, he would call the confideration of their Lordships to the wanton and unprincipled aggreffion made by the common enemy of all religion and governments upon a Power with whom they were then in the relations of peace and amity, by an attack upon one of its diftant provinces, |