conduct which he has fince purfued. Of the conduct of the noble Lord I believe the public at large entertain the very highest opinion. They have witneffed the numerous fervices, which in the courfe of a long life he has rendered his country, and they cannot fail to acknowledge that few men have done themselves more honour than the noble Lord, in his exertions to raise himself to the station which he now fo honourably fills. I am convinced, Sir, that the noble Lord would lofe every thing fooner than the good opinion of his countrymen; that no honours which his Majesty could bestow, that no emoluments which he could derive from office could compenfate for any imputation thrown on the fair fame which he has fo honourably acquired. The fort of attack made on him this evening, muft hurt his Lordship's feelings more feverely than any fort of imputation on his conduct. The right hon. Gentleman does not bring any charge against the noble Lord for any criminality on his part, as far as the nature of his department is concerned. He does not accufe him of any unfair bias in the exercise of his power, but he calls on us this evening to fide with him.,. merely because he has thought proper to take up a particular opinion as to the naval defence of the empire. We are to place all on our opinion of the right hon. Gentleman's fkill in naval affairs. I am ready to do juftice to his great talents on many fubjects which come under difcuffion in this Houfe. As a volunteer, and a friend to the volunteer fyftem, I have liftened with pleasure to many of his fuggeftions for its improvement. The right hon. Gentleman may now have fome pretenfions to a right of fettling the land fervice, but I confefs it is rather asking too much to ask us to take it for granted, in the abfence of all proof, that Lord St, Vincent has been deficient in the exercife of his public duty. I am not an enemy to inquiry, but when inquiry in the absence of all grounds to justify it is called for, it becomes odious and ought to be refifted. The right hon. Gentleman has founded no charge against the noble Lord at the head of the Admiralty. He has not pointed out one crime in the difcharge. of his official duties. He has merely chofen to conceive that enough has not been done for the public fecurity, and on this ground fimply he requires of the Houfe to fupport inquiry: of fuch inquiries it is quite impoffible for me to approve. There is no fpecific act of criminality alleged. Those most interested are fatisfied, The moft meritorious officers are employed in the fervice. There exifts a general feeling of con

fidence

fidence in the energy and wifdom of the naval adminiftration of the country. But the right hon. Gentleman lays a great deal of ftrefs on the circumftances attending a fuppofed contract for twenty-three gun veffels. On this point I fhall, before I fit down, make a few observations. In the mean time I have only to fay of the first motion, that it is not my intention to refift it. I fhould only beg leave to fuggeft that, instead of one year of the late war, the account thould in clude three or four fucceffive years, and in this way the Houfe would be able to form a better notion of the conduct of the Admiralty than by one folitary example. As to the paper which it was the object of the first motion to procure, it ftrikes me that all party views ought to be put out of the question till it is fairly before the Houfe. All that I have at present to say of it is, that when it is produced I am convinced Gentlemen will find the naval force of the country much greater than they were prepared to expect. I have to ftate now, for the information of the Houfe, that the whole naval force of this country amounts to no lefs than fifteen hundred and ninety-fix, compofed of veffels of all the different defcriptions. There are 19 Trinity Houfe veffels, 373 gun brigs, in every point of view as efficient as thofe to which the right hon. Gentleman has referred. Nineteen EaftIndia fhips are employed in the naval fervice, and we have a flotilla of 628 veffels fully equipped, and ready at the fhortest notice to proceed on any destination. (Hear! hear!) Now, Sir, as to the twenty-three gun veffels, of which the right hon. Gentleman faid fo much in his fpeech. He blames the noble Lord at the head of the Admiralty, that three months have been allowed to complete a certain number of them, while the reft are not to be ready in less than nine months. He is anxious to contrast this arrangement with what happened in three cafes during the late war, though by the bye he himself admits that fourteen weeks were employed in building the gun veffels at that period. But, Sir, admitting the fact as to this contract to be true, though I beg it to be understood that I take it merely on the right hon. Gentleman's declaration, what nighty charge would it imply against the First Lord of the Admiralty? Whether is the noble Lord, or the right hon. Gentleman, to be confidered the best judge on the fubject of fuch an arrangement? If one part of the gun veffels was ordered to be ready in three months, and the other not before the conclufion of nine, is it unfair to prefume that the noble Lord acted on a conviction that this was the VOL, II. 1803-4. moft

moft politic mode of proceeding? The House will recollect, that the noble Lord had only a certain number of men at his difpofal; and till the contrary is eftablished, is it unjust to prefume that he regulated the contracts by a calculation of the time when the veffels would be wanted, and when he could, confiftently with the other branches of the fervice, fupply them with their complement of men? The right hon. Gentleman knows that the vote of feamen was a hundred thousand. By his own vote he allowed that this was an establishment of men adequate to the circumftances of the country, With fuch an eftablishment the noble Lord could not at once attend to every part of the fervice. The ports of the enemy were, therefore, in the first inftance, blocked up, their larger naval force was narrowly watched, and after thefe points were attended to, objects of lefs importance attracted a fuitable fhare of attention. I fee nothing to convince me that in forming this contract the noble Lord has been guilty of any impropriety, and till I fee this proved I will not take fo grave an accufation on light grounds. The Houfe has no proofs of criminality before it; but the right hon. fhipwright behind me tells us, that the noble Lord has been guilty of a great mistake in not getting these gun veffels built at an earlier period. He lays down the law to us, and by his fentence we are called on to abide. The right hon. Gentleman has, prima facie, made out no cafe on this point, and therefore I cannot see that the paper he calls for, as to the contract for thefe veffels, ought to be produced. If it is produced, it is evident that the noble. Lord would have a fair claim to demand a full inquiry. This inquiry, at fuch a moment, muft be injurious, as it would interfere with the imperious duties of fome of the firft profeffional talents in the country. For this reafon I fhall certainly refift this part of the right hon. Gentleman's general motion. The right hon. Gentleman has faid a great deal about the propriety of, and even neceffity for, laying down fhips of war in inerchant dock yards. He has argued that the dock yards of his Majefty are inadequate for the fupply of the fervice, and has even gone fo far as to fay, that during the war they must be nearly fufpended. Here again I feel myfelf called on, in juftice to the noble Lord at the head of the Admiralty, to contend that no cafe of criminality has been laid down fuch as can be a ground of inquiry. The right hon. Gentleman has not proved, that there may not be very good reafons for not carrying the fyftem of contracts to its former extent. The noble Lord has thewn a very laudable defire to be more anxicus for the interests of the public, than for the intereft of contractors;

tractors; and till it is proved by profeffional men, that the
new plan adopted by the noble Lord, of emploving the artifi-
cers in the dock yards, inftead of private contractors, is impre
per, I cannot take it for granted that any blame has exifted.
The noble Lord has earned his experience by the labours of a
long life. The right hon. Gentleman is hitherto quite raw
and inexperienced in the fhipbuilding line, and he inuft for-
give me if I cannot yet bring myself to bow to the law, which
he lays down with fo much confidence on the fubject. To
the motion for papers on this fubject I have therefore the fame
objection, that they could not be produced without going into
inquiries which it would, under the prefent circumstances of
the country, be highly impolitic to inftitute.
As to the paper
about the number of feamen, I have no objection to its pro-
duction. I cannot, however, help noticing the particular rea
fon which induces the right hon. Gentleman to move for it.
He has relied very much on the increase of feamen in the first
year of the war in 1793, and the firft year of the prefent war.
The fact is, that on this point his ftatement was not altogether
correct. He favs, that there were, at the beginning of the
prefent war, fifty thoufand scamen, and that the present
number is not more than eighty-fix thoufand. Permit me to
fay, Sir, that though, at the origin of the war, the number
was nominally fifty thoufand, it was not, in fact, above thirty-
fix thoufand. The circumftances of the increase in 1793 are
accounted for without difficulty. The country then had en
joyed peace for ten years. The evils of war were forgotten,
and the hopes of rich prizes operated powerfully as an induce-
ment to enter into the naval fervice. It was farther to be con-
fidered too, that at that tune there was fuch a general stagna
tion of trade, that thousands of manufacturers had no other
alternative than entering into the land or fea fervice. At this
time, on the contrary, men were to be raised for the navy
under every difadvantage. The militia, the army of referve,
and the volunteers, all operated as obftacles to the filling up
the fupplies of men for the navy. Yet in oppofition to all
thefe obftacles, the number of feamen was within fefs than two
thousand of the hundred thoufand men voted as fufficient for
our naval eftablishment. This fact alone proves the activity,
the energy, the zeal of the noble Lord at the head of the Ad-
miralty. The right hon. Gentleman, after a few remarks,
pointing out the mifchievous effects of the general motion of
the right hon. Gentleman, and expreffing his highest approba-
tion of the character and conduct of the noble Lord, whofe

J

adminiftration had been fo unjustly attacked, concluded with moving an amendment on Mr. Pitt's motion.

Sir Charles M. Pole rofe, not for the purpose of affenting or diffenting from the motion of the right hon. Gentleman, but to give an opinion, in the way of his profeffion, as to the merits and activity of the noble Lord at the head of the Admiralty. Of that activity he could not think too highly, when he confidered that within 48 hours after it was known that hoftilities were to commence, Admiral Cornwallis failed for Breft, and from that moment to this, with fcarcely any interruption, has held that port in a state of the ftrictest blockade. The energy, affiduity, and enterprize of every officer, and of every man in that fleet, from the gallant Admiral who commanded it, down to the cook's boy, was never paralleled in the naval history of this or any other country. But it was not only the ports of the enemy, of that power who particularly deserved that name, but even thofe of their allies, from, he might almcft fay, Toulon to the Texel, that were kept blockaded by the extraordinary perfeverance and enterprize of the navy of Great Britain. As to the objections that had been urged against the Earl of St. Vincent, for not employing a greater number of gun-boats, that was a difference between that noble Lord and the right hon. Gentleman on a profeffional queftion, on which, although he was not without an opinion, yet he would not then trouble the Houfe with it. But with regard to the employment of armed-cutters, he had no motives of delicacy, and he would not hesitate to declare, that the taking of them into the fervice was an arrant job; a job, because the men were rarely muftered, and the veffels were motly in port. He had his ideas with refpect to the proper mode of defending the country, and thofe were directly against the ufe of fuch craft as had been recommended; for our fhores, he was confident, would be much better fecured by the fervice of 50 gun fhips and frigates. There was one remaining point on which he wifhed to trouble the Houfe, and that was, the very confiderable number of men that the admirable arrangement, and indefatigable exertions of the Board of Admiralty had procured for the navy, and for which, in his opinion, they, and the noble Lord who prefided there, were entitled to the thanks and gratitude of the country. As he confidered the propofed inquiry unneceffary, he would vote against the production of the papers that had been moved for by the right hon. Gentleman.

Admiral Berkeley would not have offered himself fo foon to

the