demn his mode of examination, appeared to forget that the witness had represented herself, in her former examination, as the legitimate daughter of married parents, although it was now clear, by the imprisonment of her mother, that she never was married to the father of Miss Taylor. Mr. W. Smith disliked the tenor of the examination which was followed by the opposite side. It had in the previous part a tendency to cast Imputations upon the character of the witness herself, but that having failed, her veracity was to be questioned because she had the misfortune to be the offspring of an illicit connection. Her delicacy in endeavouring to conceal that circumstance, in his opinion, instead of weakening, strengthened her yet unshakened claims to credit. Mr. Whitbread considered the question for the decision of the committee was not, whether Miss Tay lor's birth was respectable, but a hether her testimony was creditable: -Besides, he believed Mr. Perceval had assumed more than the evidence would justify, when be asserted that Miss Taylor had represented herself to the committee as the daughter of married parents.--Her former evidence was then read, and it appeared that no such statement was made by her. Sir J. Sebright declared, that the impression which the first answer of witness, on her former examination, "that she was the daughter of a gentleman," made on his mind was, that she was an illegitimate child. Mr. W. Wynne said, it was not to be endured, that because, from an amiable reluctance, the explanation of the witness did not run before decorum and sensibility, that, therefore, a suspicion was to be enter tained of her veracity. Mr. Barham-Really this is an attempt to discredit a correct witness, not upon her own testimony, but upon the errors of her parents, and might tend to extinguish her means of subsistence. Mr. Smith, a brazier, being called, said that the reputed father of the last witness had been a stock-broker, named Chance, and that in consequence of his failure he assumed the name of Taylor. Generals Norton, Fitzpatrick, Sir J. Pulteney, Sir A. Wellesley, and Grosvenor, being called upon by Mr. Yorke, to give evidence of the superior state and discipline of the army under the Duke of York, generally spoke to its improvement; but General Norton was unwilling to yield the palm, as to discipline, to the period when General Wolfe com manded, and the question was altogether deemed irrelevant. Mr. Perceval suggested, that as the whole of the evidence was concluded, and the minutes would be printed by Monday next, it might be proper to fix Thursday se'nnight for the purpose of taking the report into consideration, which was agreed to. Thursday, Feb. 23. Mr. Eyre presented a petition from the inhabitants of the Hundred of Kesteven, in the county of Lincoln, praying public aid, in consequence of the 'devastations made by the late inundations. Mr. Yorke said he held in bis band a petition from the inhabitants of the fen countries, Ely, and the county of Cambridge, representing the great damage sustained by the occupiers and owners of these lands. He stated, that the damage done by the late inundations was nearly a million sterling, and that 150,000 acres had been laid under water, the young wheats had been ruined, and the old corn houses, &c. destroyed, to the great distress of the inhabitants. This petition prayed public aid, and was referred to a select committee, to examine the matter thereof, and report the same to the house. The Speaker rose and stated, that since he had come to the house, he had received a letter, the contents of which related to the inquiry now pending before the house respecting the conduct of his royal highness the Duke of York, and he wished to know whether it was the pleasure of the house that he should read it? A general exclamation of read! read! read! The Speaker then announced that the letter came from his royal highness the Duke of York; signed "Frederick," dated Horse Guards, Feb. 23, 1809. [For a copy of the letter see Pol. Rev. for Feb. p. xxxii.] The Speaker then said, that the usage of the house in ordinary cases had been, that all letters received by the Speaker, and which he should deem proper to be communicated to the house, in the first instance, were laid upon the table; but in the case of a letter from a subject of so much more than ordinary importance, he felt it his duty to suggest the propriety of immediately ordering it, in the first instance, to be copied on the votes and journals. This was adopted accordingly. Mr. Dundas rose to move the appointment of a select committee to inquire into the affairs of the East India company, and named the members of the committee, which were the same as those of last session, with the exception of two, who were not in town. Mr. Creevey objected to the committee being constituted of the same members as those of last year, by whom a report of only a very trifling nature had been made.-Ile urged the importance of selecting impar tial persons. Sir A. Wellesley and Mr. Wilberforce supported the nomination of the old committee. Mr. Whitbread objected to Sirs A. Wellesley and J. Anstruther, as per sons whose minds were made up on the subject, and considered them as better calculated to be witnesses than judges. The hon. gentleman concluded with an eulogium on Sir P. Francis. Mr. Grant spoke in favour of the committee, which was a court of inquiry, and not a court of judgment, as the hon. gentleman (Mr. W.) had contended.-The original committee, consisting of 21 persons, was then re-appointed. The house resolved itself into a committee on the corn distillery prohibition bill, when Mr. Perceval moved that it be given as an instruction to the commitee, to admit a clause into the bill, empowering his Majesty to prohibit, by proclamation,, the distillation of spirits from corn in Ireland, how and when he should think fit. Mr. Barham declared that the people of Ireland were not averse to the operation of the bill; he therefore should move, "That an instruction be given to the committee to extend the provisions of the bill to Ireland.”. Mr. Western and Mr. Wilberforce, deprecated the interference of parliament so widely in agricultural concerns, as to vest any such powers of continuation or discontinuation ad libitum in the privy council. The house then divided on the amendment, which was negatived; ayes 37, noes 40; majority for ministers 3. The original motion was then put and carried. The house then resolved itself into a committee, in which they went through the bill, and the report was ordered to be received on Friday. Friday, Feb. 24. A petition from 20,000 cotton manufacturers of Lancashire was presented, praying to have a minimum fixed for their wages. Mr. Whitbread said, that he was not in the house at the moment whenthe letter from his royal highness the Duke of York was first presented, and it now appeared to him that the letter struck at the very root of the privileges of that house as going to effect the mode of their proceed ings. Equally well might his royal highness have written a letter to the house before any proceedings had taken place, saying that he was perfectly innocent, and therefore that they ought not to procced, as, after they had gone into the inquiry, to suggest to them what ought to be the mode of proceedings which they should afterwards adopt. He should not now go any farther into the question. On an after day, however, he should move for a committee to examine into precedents on this subject. He should only at present protest against the influence which that letter might be supposed to have on the opinion of any of the members of that house. Mr. Perceval trusted that if any any objection should be made to the letter, that it would not be to its form, as he was confident, that when his royal highness wrote the letter, he had no intention of directly or indirectly attacking the privileges of the house. Lord H. Petty did not understand his honourable friend to object to the allegation. The part he understood him to object to was, his going beyond that allegation, and questioning the line of conduct the house was about to pursue. He coneluded by saying, that he thought a committee should be appointed to take the letter into consideration. After some further conversation upon the day for considering the conduct of his royal highness, it was fixed for Wednesday, March 8th. Mr. Perceval said the hon. gentle man who had originated the inquiry, might perhaps, in the interim, before the discussion took place, have something to say in regard to the company in Threadneedle-street, to which he had formerly alluded, as being in the use of disposing of commissions, in the army and navy, and also to civil appointments. The names mentioned were Pollman and Keylock, and these persons, it was also said, had boasted of being the agents of the Lord Chancellor and Duke of Portland. The hon. gentleman had, since his opening, given the house no information on this subject, but, probably, it might still be in his power to do so. In the mean time he was happy to assure the house, that government had omntted nothing to bring such practices to merited exposure and punishment. Previous to the bringing forward the present inquiry, on the 13th of Jan. last, having observed an advertisement for the disposal of an appoint ment under government, he had instructed the agent for the treasury to make every inquiry, and to lodge the deposit in the hands of a banker, This had accordingly been done; and a prosecution was now commenced by the attorney-general against the party concerned. Mr. Ponsonby rose, agreeable to the notice given on a former night, to make his inquiry respecting the late campaign in Spain, and in a very animated speech condemned the system that had been pursued, in the conclusion of which he said, I call upon you, as you value the glory of our country, of our future power and reputation, as well as our interest, by every thing that can excite the exertions of brave men, to institute this investigation for the satisfaction of all. The proposition I make to the house is not for this or that mode of inquiry. I care not whether you do it by a secret, a select committee, or a committee of the whole house, for either of these will satisfy me, and will gain the object which the country must have in view." The right hon. gentleman then concluded his distinct and impressive statement, by mo ving, "That this house should ap point a committee to inquire into the causes, conduct, and events of the late campaign in Spain." Lord Castlereagh rose to state as shortly as he could his motives for opposing the motion of the hon. gentleman; he hoped, that the house would not suppose that he had been anxious to spread obscurity over the conduct of the war, or to keep the course of the events out of its view; he could not help thinking that the hon. gentleman came for ward with rather an awkward grace that night to state the whole of his ignorance of the transaction, and offer that ignorance as a reason for inquiry. Mr. Tierney was surprised that the noble lord should have laid it down so forcibly, that there was no prima facie evidence against administration, so as to constitute any reason for inquiry. But after sending upwards of 53,000 men into the very heart of Spain, where they were placed in such a situation, that they were obliged to retreat, obliged to return to this country, under the fire of the French cannon:— Whether our loss was more or less, could any man doubt as to the situation of affairs when the first dispatch from Sir John Moore, of the 28th of December, appeared in the Gazette, containing the words I find I have no time to lose in securing my retreat." From that day, till the arrival of the army at Corunna, was a scene of woe such as had scarcely ever been heard of. Think of blowing up the ammunition -destroying 3 or 400 waggonsstaving the casks with the dollarsleaving the artillery to be cast away -and the Shrapnell shells to the French, who would thus be enabled to discover their composition. The hon. gentleman strenuously urged the necessity of an inquiry. General Stewart in defending the conduct of ministers observed, that with respect to the loss of the army, he would still adhere to his former statement, and assert, that from the best information he had been able to obtain, the casualties throughout the whole of the expedition, did not exceed 5000 men; a loss, which, in a military point of view, was more than counterbalanced by the advantages that the army obtained, in respect to experience and active service! Mr. Colborn thought some benefit had been derived from the campaign, for Sir John Moore had checked the progress of Bonaparte; nor did he look upon the losses sustained so great and alarming as they had been represented. Lord Milton expressed his surprise at the extraordinary reasons mentioned by the hon. gentleman in order to justify the conduct of ministers in the campaign in Spain. The noble lord could not see any reason to be against inquiry, and wished it had taken place upon other expeditions, upon those of Ferrol, and the Helder, Mr. Canning entered into a general defence of the conduct of ministers. To the charge against ministers for not sending out reinforcements, or rather for disembarking the troops which were intended for Spain, be admitted, that every feeling of his heart, and every calculation of his head, revolted at that proceeding, which was only acceded to at the particular and earnest request of Sir David Baird, and then as a submission to a hard and rigid necessity. But ministers were accused of not ascertaining what the ultimate intentions of the Spanish people were, relative to reforms and political amelioration. To that charge, if it could be a charge, he would make no defence. He did think that philosophic calculations of that kind were not suited to the great crisis in which Spain was placed. He would recollect that speculations upon the proportion of religious mysteries which Spain w as willing to retain, or how much of despotism she was satisfied to endure, were best reserved for learned leisure. He was content to stimulate their energies against France. For that object, he would co-operate with British armies although the grand inquisitor marched at their head! He had no objection to engage in direct alliance and assistance, even though monks commanded under the protection of the lady of the pillar. He still entertained hopes of the result, when he considered who were embarked in the cause. Amongst others who had attended their Sovereign to Bayonne, and who took the earliest opportunity to join their country, were Don P. Cevallos and the Duke d'In fantado. When the hoary wisdom of age, and the distinguished individuals of every rank were associated for the common defence of their country, who could doubt of their cause? The military part of the transaction may have disappointed expectation, but the cause is not desparate. The soldiers who conquered at Baylen, and those who rallied after the defeat of Rio Seco; those who defended Madrid before they were soldiers, and drove the French out of Castile, are still staunch in the cause. The spirit of the people is unsubdued; the boundaries of French power is confined within the limits of their military posts; the throne of Joseph is erected on sand, and will totter with the first blast; and Bonaparte, even should he succeed, instead of a yielding and unreproaching ally, will have an impatient, revolting, and turbulent nation to keep down. In this state of things be could not admit that the cause of Spain was desperate. Austria and Prussia had sunk under the fortune of Bonaparte; but though his career had not been stopped, it had been interrupted by an unarmed population in Spain. The cause of Spain and of Europe was not desperate, because our army had been obliged to withdraw from Spain; and it was not just to the country, or to the army, which he hoped would again prove the stay of Eu rope, to assert that its honour was in consequence gone for ever. All the energy of liberty, and all the sacredness of loyalty still survived ; and the Spanish revolution was, he trusted, destined by Providence to stand beteen posterity and French despotism. The object of the motion of the right hon. gentleman was to take the administration of the government out of their hands, in which it was at present placed. But he begged that ministers might be judged of by comparison. The right hon. gentleman concluded his speech, with committing the question to the sober judgment of the house. [Towards the close of the right hon. gentleman's speech, the reflection of the flames of Drury-lane Theatre illuminated the windows which front the river, and by the sudden appearance excited considerable apprehension in the house. There was a general murmur of fire! fire! both in the house and in the gallery.] Lord Temple recommended the propriety of adjourning the debate. There was a right hon. gentleman (Mr. Sheridan) whose anxiety on the calamity with which he had been just made acquainted, would of course prevent his taking the part he intended in the discussion. Mr. Perceval with regret for the calamitous accident, still did not conceive that a ground for the suspension of the public business. Mr. Sheridan.-Whatever may be the extent of the calamity, with which I have been made acquainted this moment, let not the business of the nation be delayed on that account. Mr. Ponsonby conceived that the disturbation excited by the accident, ought to induce the house to adjourn. Mr. M. Mathew delared his disinclination to appeal to the feelings of Mr. Perceval, because he believed that he was not troubled with any! |