defence of the fort; but we were now told the 52d regiment would have taken it, and the opinion of the chief engineer is again brought in. Here let it be observed, that the 52d regiment was under the orders of an officer of high rank and approved character, who had he found the garrison either evacuated, or left with a few men in it, would furely have reaped the advantage of fuch a circumstance: and as to the engineer, his opinion was in fact totally oppofite; he declared in the most unequivocal manner, that to attempt Fort St. Phillip either by affault or any other way was unadvifeable. no human prudence could foresee, Notwithstanding the outcry which Sir James Pulteney faid, he had He had been accused of forgetting to fummons the town: the fummons was ready; but on reviewing the place, he faw ftrong reafons for not fending it. Many gallant offers, it was faid, were made by the feamen; efpecially one to take a redoubt which checked our progrefs to the town. All thefe offers were kept a profound fecret from him. The converfation refpecting the French privateer he fhould be exculed for not mentioning. not mentioning. That fome might expect to make their fortunes, he believed; and their disappointment had probably occafioned the clamour that had been raised. Although he had taken up much of the houfe's time, he begged to add one word more. By an accident, which perhaps done his duty; and fhould have thought himself unworthy of the fituation in which he had the honour to be placed, if he had hazarded, even for an hour, the fafety of any part, of his corps, or thrown away the life of a fingle man under his command. Mr. Jekyll faid, that this country was under great obligations to his honourable friend for bringing forward this motion, The army in particular was obliged to him, as the afperfions on them would be wiped off. Above all, the honourable general was obliged to him, being thus enabled to exculpate himself. The charge must now be brought against minifters. motion had a double object to cenfure--the manner in which the expedition had been conducted, and, if there was no mifconduct in those who executed it, to condemn the imprudence and wickednefs of thote who fent an expedition with an ill-digetted plan. Minifters had the E 3 The moft ample means means of information. To what purposes were the immenfe fums annually voted for fecret fervices applied? This expedition had merely formed a voyage of difcovery, and had very much refembled that to Holland We had now learned that Ferrol was furrounded on three fides by the fea, and on the fourth that its ftrength was confiderable. Why were not measures taken to afcertain its internal ftrength? He was at a lofs how to addrefs minifters. They were men of ftraw. One of them, whofe ingenuity no one could queftion, could not define himself. The right honourable gentleman was indeed a non-defcript in politics. A right honourable gentleman had often faid, that the day would come when he would juftify the conduct of the war; but he would be only three or four days longer in office, and then would ceafe to be refponfible. Why had he fent a brave officer on an expedition without informing him of the dangers he had to encounter? Why did he not fay that the landing-place was difficult, that troops could be poured in from Spain, and that the works could only be taken by a regular fiege? Our troops were ient merely to exafperate the Spaniards against us. He difagreed with the honourable general on the laft topic to which he adverted. He thought minifters unjuftifiable in employing a large body of troops thus What had been the lofs by our attempt upon St. Domingo? and we trembled every day to receive difaftrous news from Egypt. He hoped that minifters would not be allowed thus to flink out of office. They were afraid of the refponfibility they had incurred. Unless the prefent minifters were made to feel the effects of their mif conduct, probably the 28,000,000%. which the house had voted would be expended in fuch projects. Upon the whole, the public had a right to fatisfaction on this fubject; the motion therefore had his hearty fupport. Mr. Dundas faid, the honourable gentleman who had juft fat down feemed to have forgotten what was advanced by the honourable gentleman who opened the debate, as well as what was faid by the general who followed him. From the letters read by the first honourable gentleman, it was the opinion of many officers that the place might have been eafily taken. But this honourable gentleman reprobated the expedition; and, turning his indignation from thofe appointed to execute it, poured it forth against those who had planned it; accufing minifters of folly, impradence, and cruelty. He was glad the debate had taken that turn. His former anxiety was, left an inquiry by the houfe of commons fhould make a breach between the two fervices. A military inquiry might be better made elsewhere. But the conduct of the officers had been unexceptionable; and every clamour fell to the ground. Now, minifters alone were accufed for fending out fuch the fending out fuch an expedition. But had not the honourable general faid that he was furnished with all the intelligence that minifters poffeffed, and that he went out with a well-grounded hope of fuccefs? The honourable gentleman might indulge himfelf in thefe declarations; but after what had been faid, he muft not expect to make any impretion upon the houfe. He had no objection to ftate the grounds on which government had directed fuch operations. In the beginning beginning of the campaign, Ferrol was not the principal object in view. It was the intention of government to employ a force in the moft effectual way to afft our allies on the continent. It occurred that much good might be done by occafioning a divifion of the enemy's force; by annoying them in the Mediterranean, and conftantly alarming the coast of France. Bellifle was the place whence our operations would have been continued in the north, and the poffeffion of Minorca would have enabled us to execute important enterprifes on the Mediterranean. This fplendid defign was difconcerted by the fatal battle of Marengo. We had then two fources of uneafinefs. It was to be feared that Spain and France had formed the plan of marching an army into Portugal, and the northern confederacy began to dawn, which had fince fhown itself formidable. Our true policy was to counteract thefe projects; and what better method could be tried to defend Portugal than to diftrefs the power which threatened her? If we were to defeat the object of the northern confederacy, what way fo fure as attempting to take or deftroy the fhips of war which would have added to its strength? Who then would question the policy of attacking Ferrol and Cadiz? And how was this to be done? Why by laying all the information before the general officers, and afking their opinion of its probable fuccefs. This was done. The honourable general had told the house that he had had all poffible information, and had failed with a well-founded hope of victory. The officers were not fent out blindfold. Their inftructions left them a great latitude of difcretion, of which they made a prudent use. Much had been faid about the rapidity of the retreat; but it was not fair to take advantage of both fides of the queftion. If they retreated with undue precipitation, it could not be faid that they had been fent out blindfold. Our information proved to have been false: but it was as good as could be procured in fuch circumftances. He might have examined many perfons in England, but it impoffible even to ask a question without raising fufpicions, and exciting mifchievous curiofity. The general was to confult with lord St. Vincent, who would be allowed by them capable, of giving found advice. was He was glad to think that no one had found fault with the manner in which this expedition had been fitted. out; that the civil part was unimpeached. The military he had fully explained and juftified. He fat down fatisfied with the manner in which the honourable general had been vindicated, and refolved to give his negative to the prefent motion. - Mr. Horne Tooke rofe and fpoke in favour of the inquiry. He faid, in fupporting the prefent motion, he was about to do what was no doubt frequently done in that houfe about to facrifice intereft to duty. Surely the houfe would never trouble themselves about Old Sarum and its member, or enter into an inquiry about what was, or what was not, a priest, if they refused a committee of inquiry upon this great queftion, which involved the honour of the nation. In his obfervations he fhould facrifice his wifhes to the caufe of truth; for it would not be fuppofed that inclination prompted him to E 4 the exculpated by the statement of the honourable general who commanded the expedition. On the other hand, the right honourable fecretary juftified the general in the execution of the plan. This fort of mutual apology and defence might fuit the parties liable to accufation, but, when a question was fo difcuffed, truth was loft. Some gentlemen had been satisfied with the honourable general's explanation of his conduct; but this very explanation induced him to think that fomething was wrong in the execution of the plan. The principal authority of the honourable general's defence was the Madrid gazette, and the letter accompanying it. A free statement was there given of the preparations to receive attack, and the excellent pofition of every thing that could exalt his own reputation; but furely minifters well know that fuch pompous accounts are not to be relied on as true. But confider whither this fpecies of juftification would carry us. Would the house acquiefce in the compliments which a Spanish minifter pays himfelf, when this would infer a cenfure on our own? If the minifters of Spain had every thing in fo good a state of defence at Ferrol, the minifters of this country muft have been deceived when they refolved on the expedition. The house then must choofe whether they would acquit the honourable gentleman upon a defence, which, if well founded, implies that the planners of the expedition were deficient in information. And fuppofing a general who had not done his duty to have been arraigned of misconduct, could he not, though guilty, have made the fame kind of defence? Who were to judge of an officer's conduct? Not the navy, fays the honourable general, for they could not fee the place. Not the inferior officers, for they were doing fomething else at the time. Thus the general is the only competent perfon to decide on the merits of his own measures. Therefore he had not fully juftified himself. He hoped the queftion would be carried, though the precedent might prejudice his perfonal interest in the fequel. If the house refused a committee of inquiry, how could they plunge themfelves into inqui ries and difcullions concerning the effence of priesthood, and whether thirty years quarantine was not enough to guard against the infection of its original character? But here again he facrificed his interest to his duty, as he had done his wishes to truth, in defending the right honourable fecretary-a fervice he never had done, and he ventured to fay never would do, for him. Lord Belgrave oppofed the mo tion. Sir James Pulteney faid, in explanation, it had been affirmed that he relied on foreign gazettes for his information concerning the enemy's force. This was not the fact. He ftated to the houfe his idea of the enemy's ftrength, and the grounds on which he founded the opinion, which he had communicated to the right honourable gentleman oppofite (Mr. Dundas). He had mentioned the enemy's account in their gazettes only to fhow that their force was not lefs than had been calculated; and he fill thought that their acknowledgment of more men than he ftated was a strong ftrong proof that the grounds on which he proceeded were true. It had been faid that his explanation refted folely upon his own affertions. He should only remark, he had unrefervedly stated the grounds on which he went and the opinions which were given, and which could not be materially controverted. The corps under his command confifted of 12,000 men, after receiving, the reinforcement. They landed with about 10,000. Colonel Gascoigne contended that the expedition to Ferrol called for inquiry. It had been faid that the army was difgraced. The inquiry was therefore neceffary to reftore its credit; and the army itself defired it, to allay the jealoufies which had arifen between the naval and military services. General Norton faid a few words. Mr. Ellison fupported the motion for the inquiry. He thought a military court would be beft for examining a fubject beft underftood by military perfons. In the navy, a fhip could not be loft without an inquiry into the conduct of the commander. This had been of great ufe, and ought to authorife inquiries into military failures. He thought minifters had cleared themselves from blame. The chancellor of the exchequer rofe; he agreed, that when blame was juftly fuppofed to exift fomewhere in military operations, a military court was moft proper for public public inveftigation. But though he admitted that every thing equivocal ought to be cleared up, yet he could not admit that mere failure afforded any ground for inquiry. It had been ftated that doubts and reports had gone abroad on the subject of the expe dition. These must be removed by the candid and diftinct ftatement of the honourable gentleman who commanded it. With respect to the plan of the expedition, fo far from its being prefumed unwife, most of the arguments on the other fide proceeded on the idea that the object was a fit one. The good effects that would have refulted from it were extolled, to magnify the failure. The capture or deftruction of eleven fail of the line, and of a great naval arsenal, would have been a glorious achievement.Minifters are faid to have wanted information. They had enough to juftify an experiment which could be made without risk, and whole fuccefs would have produced fo much folid advantage. If however it be thought, as it was ftated, that the failure of the expedition was a fair prefumption against the officer who conducted it-if it be faid that the object could and would have fucceeded-furely it was unjuft to infer that the minifters who planned the expedition were deficient in prudence, and without information, in its adoption. The fact was, however, that the information fatisfied not only ministers, but alfo the judicious officer who conducted it; and who, by his juftification of himself, had enhanced the juft opinion of his understanding. The information was fufficient to fatisfy a noble lord who had diftinguifhed himself in every branch of fervice-lord St. Vincent gave his fuffrage for the plan. If, then, an expedition of this kind was undertaken on good grounds, and was relinquithed when there was no chance of fucceeding without more than adequate rifk, how did minifters skulk from |