he begged the house to pause before they adopted a line of conduct that would have that effect. He could not help regretting, that the parties did not seem more disposed to give way to each other, so as to come to some conclusion beneficial to the character of the house and the country. As it was perfectly necessary that some thing should be done, he should propose, that the house should come this night to a conclusion, only that a Committee be appointed, in order that a subsequent motion for an adjournment might be made upon it. 131 to 47. as full communications to the public as possible, consistent with the circumstances of the case to be stated. Nothing could have been more honourable to that gallant officer than the dispatches he has transmitted; and I believe it was his last wish, that government should use their discretion in regard to the publication of them. Mr. Whitbread. I certainly think that if that gallant officer expressed any wish upon the subject, that ought to have been an additional reason for a more ample publication of them. Lord Castlereagh. That hon. officer expressed no wish for a full publication. The motion," that a Committee be appointed, &c." was then put and agreed to. General Stewart. As it may appear that Mr. Wilberforce then moved, That the the lamented general may have commudebate be adjourned to Friday next.-Anicated his exact sentiments at the moment division took place, when there appeared, these dispatches were written, by their for the Adjournment, Ayes 62, Noes 124, becoming hereafter public, I think it may Majority 62.-We were not again admitted be necessary to state what he said to me to the gallery, but understand that the ques- at the time he sent them off. He said he tion was put on every alternate name in the was extremely hurried at the time of sendlist offered by the Chancellor of the Exche-ing home the dispatches; and he had not quer; against which another name was pro- leisure to write so fully as he could have posed by the other side. The house divided wished; and therefore as he had endeaseven times on these names, and those pro-voured to do his best in regard to the composed by the Chancellor were all carried,munication he was making, it must be the numbers on every division being about entirely confidential, leaving it at the same time to government to publish such parts of them as they might think right. rather expressed a wish that they should be published, for if it transpired that he had sent home dispatches, and nothing was to be published, it might appear extraordinary; at the same time leaving it entirely to the discretion of government. Certainly, some parts of the dispatches alluded to are of a delicate nature, but, asthe greater part of them do so much credit to that great and lamented character, I am satisfied my noble relation would have published them more fully, if he had been aware of the anxiety of that general himself, and if the hurry of business had permitted him to discriminate with accuracy what might be made public without detriment to the public service. I trust, therefore, that the greater part of these dispatches are such as ministers may approve for publication, as I am satisfied that it will be to the army the greatest gratification they can receive. [SIR JOHN MOORE'S DISPATCHES.] Mr. Whitbread. I would wish to put a question to a noble lord opposite (lord Castlereagh), which the non-formation of a house yesterday prevented me from proposing Booner. I would wish to know why in the London Gazette there have been no dispatches published as coming directly from the gallant and much-lamented sir John Moore? I hope that it is only an omission in the documents printed, which his majesty's ministers mean to remedy by a speedy publication of them. Lord Castlereagh. I think it is a novel mode of procedure to put questions to his majesty's government, as to the lineof conduct they should adopt. I can assure the hon. gent. and the house, however, that there has been no opinion given in the dispatches received by government as to the transactions in Spain, which we shall not be happy to communicate. The dispatch he alludes to was not a dispatch which that gallant and much-lamented officer considered as an official one when he framed it; although at the same time he thought it right to submit it to government, to give what parts of it they thought proper to the public. His majesty's government have always advised his majesty to make Lord Castlereagh. I certainly did not understand that the hon. and lamented officer had expressed any such anxious wish upon the subject: if I had thought so, I would certainly have endeavoured to discharge, to the utmost, that duty which appears due to his memory. I can, however, assure the house, that government made such a communication as they, at the time they received these dispatches, deemed expedient. Since it has been his wish, I certainly shall endeavour to execute it to the utmost of my power. HOUSE OF LORDS. Wednesday, January 25. his example, that the example of one command on sir John Moore's receiving [VOTE OF THANKS-BATTLE OF CORUNNA. The Earl of Liverpool rose to move the Thanks of the House for the defeat of the French before Corunna. The circumstances which led to the embarkation of our troops in Spain, were, his lordship observ-neral the hon. John Hope, who took the ed, not now the subject for discussion, but the manner in which that embarkation was effected, and the victory which preceded it. He had always understood, that an attacking army had, even with no more than equal numbers, a tenfold advantage over the army assailed, the former having all the benefit of a preconcerted plan of operations, and dispositions made to carry that plan into effect. How much more, then, must the enemy have the advantage in an attack with greatly superior numbers, and at a period when our army had been harassed by a long and fatiguing march. Yet, with all these disadvantages on our side, the valour and good conduct of British troops decidedly prevailed, and the enemy were every where repulsed. The defeat was so complete, that the enemy did not venture to make another attempt to interrupt the embarkation, which was effected in the most perfect manner, not only the troops having been embarked, but also the horses, the sick and wounded, and the prisoners taken in the action. We had to regret the loss of some valuable officers in the battle, but we had more particularly to lament the loss of the illustrious officer who commanded. The whole life of sir John Moore had been exclusively devoted to the service of his country, and there was scarcely any service of importance in the last two wars in which that gallant officer had not been employed. Sir John Moore had upon every occasion displayed the same zeal and ability, and by his skill and science, and latterly by his experience, had acquired the entire confidence of the officers employed under his command. The fall of such a man was, indeed, a loss deeply to be lamented, and which, he, to whom sir John Moore was personally known, sensibly felt. It was, however, some consolation that the memory of such a man would remain; that The Earl of Moira entirely concurred in the motion, and in every tribute of praise and gratitude that could be given to the army which had so gallantly achieved a victory, after suffering so much fatigue and so many privations. To sir J. Moore every tribute of gratitude was due for his able, skilful, and gallant conduct, and he deeply lamented his loss. But in giving this concurrence he could not avoid putting a question to ministers, and asking, how it happened that so heavy and lamentable a loss should have been sustained, without any one object having been effected, except the embarkation of the army? What! did our troops go to Spain only to make their escape? What was now to become of those great interests the protection of which was the greatest boon that Providence could have bestowed on a sinking country. British blood and treasure, and the invaluable lives of British officers and soldiers, had been sacrificed to no purpose, and without in the least assisting the great cause which the country had been pledged to support. Thus were we doomed to witness the extinction of our hopes in Spain, and with them we could expect nothing but the extinction of every hope of continental alliance and co-operation. After the conduct we had displayed towards Sweden and Spain, we could expect nothing but a general confederacy against us. To what but the ignorance and incapacity of ministers were all these calamities to be attributed? The circumstances which had led to them must necessarily become the subject of grave and serious inquiry, but he could not avoid now taking the opportunity of stating his opinion upon the subject, and whilst he concurred most entirely in the | defend us as those who had achieved the motion of Thanks proposed by the noble victory, for which they were now proper earl, he owed it to his gallant companions ly and justly called upon to vote thanks; in arms to call the attention of the house whilst we had troops who had now proved to that conduct which had placed them themselves superior to the French in inin a situation calculated only to produce fantry, in cavalry, and artillery, in short, in an useless sacrifice of life. all the branches of service. Lord Mulgrave expressed his surprize that any topic should have been introduced into the discussion, which had no immediate relation to the subject under discussion, and which he scarcely thought within limits of order. He should not now enter into the general question touched upon by the noble earl, with respect to the conduct of his majesty's ministers, but should only state, that when the time came for inquiry, they would be ready to meet it, and if they did not satisfy the noble earl, he had no doubt that they would satisfy that house and the country. With respect to the motion, he could add little to what had been said by his noble friend, nor with respect to the lamented loss of sir John Moore, could he add much to what had been said in the very excellent dispatch of general Hope, the sentiments contained in which must have come home to the feelings of every man in the country. His loss would be deeply felt, but he trusted his example would have the most beneficial effects. He hoped that nothing would be introduced foreign to the immediate subject of the present motion, and that it would be unanimously agreed to. Viscount Sidmouth thought concurrence too cold a term to use when stating his agreement in the motion; he viewed with admiration and gratitude the services rendered by the army in Spain, and by its gallant commander, whose loss we had unfortunately to deplore. Having his warmest feelings in unison with this motion, he must, however, reserve to himself the right and the duty of assisting in the institution of an inquiry by some means or other, into the circumstances which had led to the unfortunate situation in which our troops were placed. When that inquiry should take place, he trusted it would be proved that our army did not march from Lisbon at the worst season of the year to a part of Spain where their services could be of no possible use. He regretted to have heard one expression fall from his noble friend (the earl of Moira) that of a "sinking country." He could not agree that this was a sinking country, nor could it be so whilst we had such troops to Lord Erskine said, that whether the noble lord was out of order, in adverting to the misconduct of ministers in their plans of the campaign, upon a motion to thank the officers who had terminated it so much beyond the expectation of the public, was a question he was not particularly quali fied to determine. But of this he was sure, that his observations were inseparable from every honest or rational feeling on the subject. Was it possible to deplore the loss of friends whom we loved, and of men whose lives were precious to their country in a most awful crisis, without lamenting in bitterness that they were literally immolated by the ignorance and folly of those who now wished to cover their own disgrace, by the just and natural feelings of the public, towards men who had died for their country? But for their immortal renown, it would have been better for them, certainly much better for, their country, to have shot them upon the parade of St. James's park, than to have sent them, not to suffer the noble risque of soldiers--and in a practicable cause, but to endure insufferable, ignoble, and useless misery, in a march to the very centre of Spain, when they who sent them knew that Buonaparte had above 100,000 men before them, so as to render attack not only impracticable, but retreat only possible, by the noble, unparalleled exertions they were assembled to commemorate and what sort of retreat?-a retreat leaving upon the roads and in the mountains of Spain from 8 to 9,000 of our brave men, dying of fatigue, without one act of courage to sweeten the death of a soldier. What could, then, be a more disgusting and humiliating spectacle than to see the government of this great empire, in such a fearful season, in the hands of men who seemed not fit to be a vestry in the smallest parish.--The noble lord said, he felt as much for the fame of the immortal officer deceased as any of their lordships could possibly feel. He knew him well. He lived in terms of intimacy with his family, and he admired his superior talents. He had another interest in the fame of the victory. Though the two countries were united so as to have long put an end to all national prejudices, he might be forgiven. if he felt pride and exultation that his smaller country had more than contributed its quota to the glory of the united empire. He felt pride and exultation that sir John Moore was a native of Scotland; that Baird was a native of Scotland; that Hope was a native of Scotland; and that Fraser and M'Kenzie were natives of ScotJand; that Anstruther was a native of Scotland; and that Ferguson was a native of Scotland. But this national pride only increased his indignation, to see such men and such resources utterly thrown away and lost, by the total want of capacity in those who misdirected their efforts. Lord Grenville also entirely concurred in the motion, and praised in the highest terms the conduct of sir John Moore. They were called upon, it was true, to vote Thanks for a success, which was followed by a retreat, but the success belonged to the army and its commander, the retreat to those who sent them and who placed them in such a situation, that a safe retreat could alone be looked to; for the folly and incapacity which dictated such conduct, ministers must answer to their country. It was, indeed, a❝ sinking country," if such mismanagement was suffered to continue, situated as we were in the midst of perils and difficulties unexampled in the history of the country. The hand of Providence appeared to be on us; within three years we had lost two great statesmen, in whose talents the country reposed the greatest confidence; a great naval commander who had carried the navy to a pre-eminence which it never before enjoyed; and now a great military chieftain, whose talents were of the first order, and than whom no one possessed in a greater degree the skill and science of an able commander. He trusted that every tribute of gratitude would be paid to sir John Moore. The last expression of that excellent officer was a wish that justice might be done to his memory, and he trusted that that wish would be complied with and carried into effect, and that his last dispatches would be published in order to do justice to his conduct. The Earl of Westmoreland recalled to the recollection of noble lords opposite, the expeditions to Alexandria, to Constantinople, and South America, and expressed his surprize that they did not at those periods state that all the blame of unfavourable military events was to be attributed to ministers. The motion was agreed to nem. diss. as were also a motion approving of and acknowledging the services of the non-commissioned officers and soldiers, a motion of Thanks to rear-admirals De Courcy and sir Samuel Hood, k. b. for their assistance, and another approving of and acknowledg ing the services of the seamen and marines upon that occasion. HOUSE OF COMMON3. Wednesday, January 25. [MINUTES.] Sir T. Turton rose and said, he held in his hand a Petition from persons confined for debt in the King'sBench prison, to the number of 367, many of whom had families. He had intended to submit some observations to the house on the unprecedented number of persons at present confined for debt in the different gaols of the kingdom, and the hardships which were produced by the present system of confinement for debt; but as the subject had been taken up by a noble lord in another house, he should at present content himself with moving for leave to present this Petition.-Mr. Whitbread, seeing a right hon. gent. in his place, wished to ask, what was the nature of the Overture which it was said sir James Saumarez had made, on the part of his majesty, to the emperor of Russia? Mr. Sec. Canning replied, that the Paper alluded to was nothing more than a letter written by that gallant officer to the Emperor, filled with merely general assurances of the pacific inclinations of his majesty; but containing no direct proposal from his majesty's government, nor written under any authority whatever from that government.-Mr. Sec. Canning said, that in consequence of the question put by a noble lord yesterday, relative to the appointment of an hon. member of that house to the Consul-Generalship of Portugal, he had endeavoured to make himself more competent to satisfy the noble lord, than either he or his right hon. friend was yesterday. The appointment had taken place, and he imagined that the gentleman in question had, by that time, arrived at his destination. Lord Folkestone then gave notice, that he would to-morrow move for a new Writ for Poole. [MONUMENT TO THE MEMORY OF SIR JOHN MOORE.] Lord Castlereagh began by observing, that before he would call the attention of the house to the detail of the splendid services, which they were that night to be called upon to recognise, he could not help remarking, that there selI dom occurred an occasion when parliament was so called upon, in which the joy so natural on the event of a glorious victory, was mingled with sensations of deeper and more profound concern than that, which, in bringing to their attention a topic of great national triumph, brought along with it the remembrance of a national loss in the death of a great and invaluable officer. While the country had to deplore so serious a disaster, in being so soon deprived of one of her ablest generals-possessing in an eminent degree every valuable quality that can dignify the man, and enhance the superiority of the soldier; at once in the prime of life, and the prime of professional desert-giving in the evidence of his past life, the best assurance of what might be expected from his zeal, intrepidity, and talents; it was yet matter of grateful consolation, that there were circumstances attending the fatality they deplored, which would in a great degree alleviate the national affliction. Though wounded at an early period of the action of the 16th by a cannon ball, the gallant officer continued in the field, and it will be grateful to every man who can enter into the feeling of an intrepid soldier at such a moment, with whom life was but a secondary, a trifling object of consideration; it cannot but be grateful to such men to know, that he continued in the field till he saw success confirm the well-judged dispositions and admirable arrangements, he had previously prepared to secure it, in the event of a contest. He brought with him out of the field not only that consciousness, of which no defeat could have deprived him, that of having done his best for his country; but, that also of having been the means of asserting the military superiority of the British arms, in one of the most splendid and signal instances of unconquerable valour to be found among the annals of our national achievements; it would be further matter of grateful consolation to learn, that this great commander, to the very moment approaching his dissolution, retained the full possession of his faculties, that his mind did not droop with the faintness of his body, but seemed to derive new and increased vigour from the scene, as if the approach of death was forgotten in the approach of victory. (Hear! hear!) The house would know how to appreciate the generous principle, that in such an hour made death indifferent, when the sole and anxious wish of his departing moments was le that his country would think well of him, and do justice to his memory, and that whatever was the sentiment of the country with regard to him, that it would not fail to be marked at the present crisis. All that he regretted was, that he had not been able to fulfil all the duties imposed upon him, and finally to rescue from the tyranny of France, the gallant but oppressed nation, in whose cause he bled. did think that the house was called upon to give some lasting and distinguished proof of the country's gratitude, for the high and eminent services of this lamented officer, nor should he think it necessary to qualify what he had said, nor should he even rest the pretensions of that great officer upon his services during the late campaigu in Spain; for however that expedition had failed in its ultimate object, whatever disappointment or losses might have occurred with respect to it, there could be no doubt whatever, that the failure was not at all attributable to sir John Moore. (Loud cries of hear! hear! from the Opposition benches.) If by that outcry, gentlemen would be understood to mean that the blame devolved elsewhere, and that his majesty's ministers were culpable (hear! hear!)-those gentlemen would have an opportunity of bringing that question to an issue, when without mixing the venom of party-feeling with sentiments more suited to the present solemn occasion, they could enter at once into the inquiry with somewhat less reserve, and certainly more decency-(loud cries of hear! hear! from the Ministerial benches)—and strong as he felt himself in the cause of that great officer's fame and character, he was bold to say, that he felt himself equally strong in the case his majesty's government had to make out to the country with respect to the conduct of that campaign. It was far from his intention to enter into any detail of the many and signal services performed by sir John Moore, in the course of a life, though short, most active, because he felt that the faint picture his humble abilities enabled him to draw would fall infinitely short of the merits he designed to celebrate. They were sufficiently fresh in the remembrance of the house, and he should rather weaken than strengthen their claims on public gratitude, by dwelling upon them. Still, however, there were one or two points which it would be a failure in gratitude to pass by without particular notice. The |