torate.

Prussia had then no choice but war, or compliance, at the risk of war, with England: she saw this risk but could not avoid it. She saw that France, in the words of the king of Prussia, "triumphed in secret at the thought of having disunited two courts, the union of which might have been dangerous to her." We either did not see this, or, seeing, did not regard it. We fell into the share; and the message from the king to parliament, April 21, placed us in a state of war with Prussia."

Buonaparte had apprehended the union of Prussia with the two great surviving powers of the confederacy. He wished to punish. Prussia, to insulate her, to have her at his mercy. In the space of three months, instead of Prussia plotting with England and Russia, jointly against France, he bebeld Prussia at war with England; and England and Russia separately negotiating for peace.

But, to continue and secure to Buo. naparte this beneficial state of things, it was necessary that the negotiation with England should be resumed. Otherwise we might have begun to see that war with russia, the only power by whose aid we could ever hope to make effectual head against France, was not precisely the policy most consonant with our interests, and we might possibly have corrected it be. fore it was too late. What, says lord H. "would your policy have aban. doned Hanover?" Had his policy, Mr. C. asked, recovered Hanover? "What, would you have nade common cause with Prussia while you had such a just complaint against her unredressed ?" Mr. C. hoped that we were making, or ready to make, common cause with her now, and he

did not see what great benefit wehad derived from waiting till now to do so. To prevent our recurring to this policy, however, at a period when it might have been more advantageous to us, M. Talley rand resumed the ne. gotiation. And then came the mes. sage through lord Yarmouth. And then the separate treaty of M. D'Ou.. bril: a treaty in which, most fortu. nately for us, Buonaparte and his mi nister were betrayed by the intoxica. tion of the success which had so fa attended their plans, into the demand of such terms as it was impossibli for the emperor of Russia to ratify And then came those tedious bicker ings, those perplexed and wearisom bickerings about the uti possidetis contrived as it would seem, for the express purpose which rance had a heart, of ang time, of absorbing our whole attention, and of mak ing the continent vanish from ou view. And thus was the negotiation protracted till tite fate of Prussia wa ripe.

And then Buonaparte lef Paris for the field of battle....Tc conquer Hanover for England, no doubt!--And the farce, as lord Lau. derdale had very properly called it, was ended. Mr. C. having made these explanations of his sentiments concerning the negotiation, willing to vote for the address.

was

Talleyrand,

Talleyrand, in which it is admitted that there was no longer any chance of organizing a combination against France on the continent, he would find the treaty of offensive and de. fensive alliance between Russia and France, was signed one month before the date of that letter.—It was difficult to discover on what ground Mr. C. supposed the French negotiators denied that the basis of the uti possidetis had been admitted. Let him look at the papers and he would find it stated by lord Lauder. date, that when the admission of that basis was urged by lord Yar. mouth, general Clarke did not deny it, but pretended it had been talked of only in loose conversations, which he described as romans politiques, This was certainly a very different thing from a denial.

incorruptible mind, had been be trayed into a private and confidential correspondence with such a man as the friend to whom he was attached, Talleyrand. He blamed ministers for not having sooner put an end to the negotiation, and declared his firm conviction that no peace could take place with France, at least, such a peace as would be worthy of the acceptance of this country, so long as the force and the counsels of that country were directed by two such men as Talleyrand and Buonaparte.

Lord Howick observed, that some honourable gentlemen blamed his majesty's ministers for having done too much in the way of negotiation, while his honourable friend and relation, Mr. W. blamed them for doing too little. But he thought it was not a little in their favour, that they had steered a middle course between two extremes.

Mr. Whitbread having withdrawn his motion, the address was put and carried, nem diss. And the house adjourned at five o'clock on Tuesday

of commons having resolved itself into a committee of supply, Mr. Calcraft moved, that the estimate of the charge of the office of ordnance, for Great Britain and Ireland, for the year 1807, be referred to the said committee, He had great sa tisfaction in being enabled to inform the committee, that there was a considerable reduction in the estimates he had now to submit to them, compared with those of the former years: which reduction, he candidly stated, was to be imputed, not to the board of ordnance, but to the adequate supplies of former years, which, in facilitating the progress of the public works, had lessened the grants of money necessary to support them. If the board of ordnance had any claim to merit, it was for the uniform zeal with which the board had resisted all the expensive projects that had been submitted to them, and consulted on all occasions the utmost œconomy that was practicable. The principal reductions were owing to the completion of those great works in Kent, and on the coast of Sussex, which, while erecting, were productive of an expence of no inconsiderable magnitude. The sum now required would be found to be £600,000. less than that voted last year; and this, too, notwithstand ing the increase of 1,400 men in one battalion of foot artillery; the increased expence of the establishments of engineers; and the augmentation of pay granted to the artillery, by his majesty. This threefold addition to our expendi. tures, would amount to £150,000: so that, had there not been a reduction of £600,000. the increase now required would be £750,000. In the ordnance estimates for Ireland, the diminution would be found to be

in the same proportion, and owing to the same cause. Next year the reduction would be still greater, as the lines of Chatham, and the great works carrying on at and on the coast, would by that time be com pleted.

Mr. Calcraft then moved, 1. That a sum not exceeding 2,278,1977. 08. 10d. be granted to his majesty, for the charge of the office of ordnance for the land-service for Great Bri tain, for the year 1807.---2. That 479,2467. 19s. 7d. be granted to his majesty, for the charge of the office of

ordnance in Ireland, for the year 1807.-3. That 301,406. 9s. 8d. be granted to his majesty, for defray. ing the expence of services performed by the office of ordnance for landservice for Great Britain, and not provided for by parliament in the year 1805.-4. That 262,3651. 14s, 2d. be granted to his majesty, for defraying the expence of services performed by the office of ordnance for land-service, for Great Britain, and not provided for by parliament in the year 1806. These resolutions were reported next day, and agreed to.

January 12.-Lord Castlereagh moved for returns of the present effective state of our military establishment. The first point on which he thought it necessary to call for information, was, the actual state of the army, regulars and militia. His first motion, therefore, would be, for a return of the present effective strength of the regular army, the militia, and the artillery, up to the latest period when returns had been made, and at the end of every month from the 1st of March 1806, inclusive. By this return, the house would be enabled to judge how far the army had undergone any in. crease, or diminution of its effective

strength

strength within that period. The next point on which he proposed to move for information, respected the sources from which the supply for keeping up the strength of the army was derived. The two motions which he meant to bring forward on these heads, would put the house in possession of full information respecting the general state of the army, and the means at present existing, for keeping it up to its proper establishment. His further motions related to branches of our military force, that were collateral with the regular army, and calculated to support it and keep it up: he meant the volunteers; and that other branch which had engaged so much of the attention of the house during last session, when the General Training bill was under discussion. And, if the papers should not prove, that the state of the army was more satisfactory, than, from the information he had been enabled to receive, he was disposed to believe it, he should never consent to a renewal of that fundamental change in the Mutiny act, which the right honourable se cretary at war had introduced into it last session.

Lord Castlereagh then moved, 1. That there be laid before the house, monthly returns of the amount of the effective strength of his majesty's regular troops and militia, from the 1st of March 1806, to the 1st of Ja. nuary 1807; distinguishing cavalry, foot guards, infantry of the line, garrison and veteran battalions, foreign and local corps, German legion, West-India corps, British and Irish militia; and distinguishing those serving abroad, from those serving at home. 2. A similar return of the effective strength of the artillery for the same period; distin.

guishing those serving abroad, from those serving at home. 3. A return of the men raised monthly for the regular army, from the month of January 1805, to the first of January 1807, exclusive of foreign or colonial levies, and distinguishing those raised by the Additional Forc act, by the regular recruiting, an those that were enlisted from the militia. 4. Copies of all orders o regulations that had been issued since the last session of parliament respecting the recruiting of the re gular army.

5. An abstract of th effective strength of the volunteerso the 1st of January 1806, distinguish ing infantry and cavalry: also like return at the latest period whe any return had been, specifyin within what period such return ha been made.

6. An abstract of suc instructions as had been issued, b his majesty's command, to the lier tenants of counties; and of suc proceedings as had been taken there on in execution of the act of la session of parliament, for the genera training of the population of the country.

Mr. Windham confessed a diff culty in stating the amount of blac troops employed in the West Indies But, as they were not the onl corps employed, the objection di not appear to him to be very mate rial, and therefore he should no press it. Lord Castlereagh con sented to have the black West-Indi regiments thrown into the gros amount of the foreign local troops The motions were then agreed to.

January 14.The secretary at wa presented to the house of common the army estimates for the presen year, and a copy of the warran for fixing certain allowances and pensions in pursuance of the act, 46