charges against the navy; for the narrative, which was not willingly produced, contained every thing short of direct charges. How far such charges might be well founded, would be a matter for future consideration. It had been said, that the narrative was drawn up as early as October-that it had been kept close till the other day, and had not been shown to ministers till now. They had no opportunity of giving their opinions upon it-but a cabinet minister, the military commander of the expedition, communicated directly with his majesty upon a great public question, without having thought it at all necessary to consult his colleagues. He had then a right to presume that papers had been presented to his majesty by lord Chatham, containing stronger accusations than those that were to be found in the narrative. In justice then to the gallant officer, sir Richard Strachan-in justice to the officers serving under him, and to the navy in general, he called upon the house to address his majesty for the production of these papers. Let the ministers find them wherever they were that was their business, and not that of the house. They would not, he hoped, be permitted to cast upon the king the imputation of refusing papers, the production of which was essential to enable the gallant officers concerned to meet the accusations brought against them, as well as necessary to satisfy the public mind. The king could do no wrong-the ministers were responsible. The task of finding the papers rested with them; he was sure it was the proper task and duty of the house to agree to the address which he would now move. He concluded by moving, "That an humble ad

dress be presented to his majesty, requesting that he would be graciously pleased to order that there be laid on the table of the house, copies of all papers, reports, memoranda, &c. &c. delivered by lord Chatham relative to the expedition to the Scheldt."

Mr. Ryder observed, that in rising to oppose the motion of the honourable gentleman, he admitted that the house had the right to accede to it, or to any motion of the same nature. But then he hoped that, in the exercise of this right, the house would never lose sight of a due discretion. It appeared to him, that one of the closing sentences of the honourable gentleman's speech was an answer to all the rest: for he himself seemed to be conscious, that the ministers did not know at what office to apply for these papers. He (Mr. Ryder) said, that there never was in any office any paper or narrative of this kind, and that no communication of any such had been made to the ministers. He wished to be heard, and again stated that no such paper existed at any office, and that no communication had been made to them of the narrative on the table till the fourteenth of this month. He believed, that, as far as precedent went, addresses had been for the production of official papers, or to ascertain who had been the adviser of any particular act. But still he admitted, that the house had the right of calling for these papers. He could not, however, conceive what return could be made to this address, supposing it should be agreed to. Could they search the private escrutoire of the king fo these papers? He knew not that such a thing had been ever done. While he admitted the right of the house

to

to call for the papers, yet he put the matter as a question of discretion, as to the exercise of the right; and upon the ground of discretion he would oppose the motion.

Mr. Ponsonby remarked, that if he had only heard the right honourable secretary's speech, without hearing that sentence where he said he would oppose the motion, he should have thought that he meant to support it, for all his argument was in favour of the address. The right honourable gentleman had admitted the right of the house to call for these papers, but said that he did not know how to get at them without searching his majesty's private escrutoire. Was this doctrine to be endured? Was it to be endured from a British secretary of state to a British house of commons? Was he to be permitted for a moment to main tain, as a legitimate objection, that he did not know where to look for a public paper, without searching the private escrutoire of his sovereign? Did he imagine that these communications were to be considered as private and confidential? If he did, he must maintain that a privy counsellor had the right to make private and confidential communications to his sovereign, upon a subject of great public importance, without any consultation with his colleagues. If this doctrine was to be maintained and acted upon, then there was an end of all responsibility. The right honourable gentleman said, he did not know where to find the papers -but where did he find the narative? It appeared the ministers heard, for the first time, of this narrative at the levee, at which it was presented and yet they found that paper, and it was now on the

table!! Was it to be supposed that his majesty would refuse to communicate to his servants whatever information he possessed on this subject? This was a most abominable doctrine; for here the sovereign's character was traduced, in order to screen his ministers, and to save them from the necessity of producing these papers. The sovereign would never allow the character of a brave officer to be assailed, without affording him every means of defending himself.

The chancellor of the exchequer opposed the motion: he denied that the narrative was a paper at all of a similar description to that which the right honourable gentleman opposite now supposed to exist. When the honourable general (Loftus) who moved for the production of that narrative, communicated to him his intention of making such a motion, he (Mr. Perceval) was ap prised of the existence of that document; he knew it was an official paper, and in official custody; and therefore it was that he had no objection in assenting to its production.

If compared with the paper now supposed, the two cases were directly the reverse. The first was one which, when called for by the vote of that house, he knew to be in existence, in one of the offices of his majesty's confidential servants; the other paper now sought, has been absolutely denied to have any existence in any of the departments of the state. Under such circumstances, it was impossible that ministers could give any answer to the address of that house, without a personal application to the crown. And it was a question for the house to consider, would it vote for an address to the crown to produce a paper, merely for the purpose of ascertaining whether such a paper

was

was in existence or not? a paper, if in existence, of whose contents and quality those who called for it knew nothing, and of which he must say, that, whatever were its contents and quality, it could never be considered as an official document, for the reception of which there needed any advice, it being merely a communication upon certain facts. It was upon such grounds that he felt himself disposed to oppose the motion for an address.

Sir Home Popham.-"I feel, sir, that unless the proposed address is supported by the decision of this house, and that the papers alluded to are produced for its' consideration and that of the country, much wrong will accrue where gratitude is owed, I mean to sir Richard Strachan. I may be asked, why it is I assume that such a paper is in existence? My answer is, that its existence has not been denied, and therefore my assumption is correct. Let any one of his majesty's confidential advisers deny that such a paper has been delivered by the noble lord, and the moment I am so informed I shall cease to press the necessity of this address. But in the absence of that information, I call upon this house to sympathize in the feelings of my gallant friend, wounded as those feelings have been by the production of the former paper. If then from that paper, so lately presented to the house, the character of sir Richard Strachan has suffered, how much more probable it is, that in the papers kept out of view, he has been subjected to greater suffering, and to a more aggravated reflection upon his character! Let the house review the facts. In the month of July an expedition was sent to the coast of Holland. From some causes it did not succeed to the extent in which 1810.

public expectation was warranted to indulge. An inquiry was instituted by the house of commons; numerous papers were moved for, and others voluntarily laid upon its table. For fourteen days had the house proceeded in its investigation, when we are surprised by a motion of an honourable general, (Loftus,) the friend of lord Chatham, calling for an address to his majesty, that he would be pleased to order a narrative of that noble lord, delivered but the day before, to be laid before that house. Would' it not, I ask, be at least more liberal, when the noble lord had determined upon such a course of proceeding, to have, at all events, presented it previous to the inquiry? Is that the extremity of suffering to which my gallant friend, the naval commander of the late expedition, is subjected? Have we not reason to think that other documents, prejudicial to his high character, have also been presented in the same secret way? But we are told this is an assumption not tenable upon good grounds. To this I unequivocally reply, If no other papers were presented to his sovereign by the noble lord, when the question was candidly put to him, how easy was it for him, if no such documents were delivered, to have answered in the negative! The right honourable gentleman the chancellor of the exchequer has stated, that he can by no means see in the narrative of the noble lord any reflection cast upon the character of sir Richard Strachan, or on that part of the naval force employed in the expedition to the Scheldt. I venture to say, that such paper has thrown upon both a great and grievous reflection. So feels the gallant and distinguished officer himself; and after what has been D elicited

elicited from the examination of the noble lord (Chatham) last night, sir Richard Strachan also feels the aggravated situation in which he is placed; for, as he himself says, 'How do I know, even if I repel all the charges conveyed against me in this narrative, that after all, a second and third document, similarly communicated, in fact edition following edition, will not be forthcoming? Is this a proper state in which to leave a man who has deserved so well of his country? Is this the reward which this house would bestow, for a life devoted to the nation's service? Deeply affected as are the feelings of my gallant friend, he suffers not alone: there is not an officer of his profession but sympathizes with him. Through all ranks of that profession it is the same, equally with those who have not interest to be employed, as with those whom other causes have lately kept out of the actual exercise of professional duties. This question, standing upon its own merits, cannot be benefited, and ought not to be injured, by party feeling. It is a question of justice of justice to a gallant officer, the idol of the service, covered with the honours be stowed by a grateful country, remunerated by the liberality of parliament, and invested by his sove reign with a red ribbon, as a mark of his royal favour. It is for such a man, now labouring under such charges as this narrative so communicated conveys, that I appeal to the house of commons."

A long and animated debate en sued; after which Mr. Whitbread replied, and his motion was carried by a majority of seven.

On the 26th the chancellor of the exchequer appeared at the bar, and read from thence the answer of his

majesty to the address of the House, voted on Friday last, for copies of all the narratives, memoranda, &c. delivered into his majesty's hands by the earl of Chatham, relative to the expedition to the Scheldt, which was as follows:

"His majesty has been waited upon with the address of this house, of Friday last, the 23d of this month, to which he has been graciously pleased to direct the following answer to be given:

"The earl of Chatham having requested his majesty to permit him to present his report to his majesty, and having also requested that his majesty would not communicate it for the present, his majesty received it on the 15th of January last, and kept it till the 10th of this month; when, in consequence of a wish having been expressed by the earl of Chatham, on the 7th of this month, to make some alterations in it, his majesty returned it to the earl of Chatham. The report, as altered, was again tendered to his majesty by the earl of Chatham on the 14th of this month, when his majesty directed it to be delivered to his secretary of state, and his majesty has not kept any copy or minute of this report, as delivered at either of these times, nor has he had, at any time, any other report, memorandum, narrative, or paper, submitted to him by the earl of Chatham relating to the late expedition to the Scheldt."

Feb. 27. Mr. Grattan rose to present a petition from divers Roman catholics in Irelan, praying for constitutional privileges. Upon some future day he would take occasion to call the solemn deliberation of the house, to sit in judgement upon the great question of giving all the defenders of the

empire the same dear interests in its security, of consolidating our means as a people, by making us an united people, cementing our strength by a more universal diffusion of the privileges that made us strong, and extending the defence of our rights by extending their participation. On that day he should rest his arguments upon two great claims which he would put in on the part of the constitution:-First, no religious disability:-Next, no foreign nomination. Upon the common ground of those two principles he would take his stand; for the present he should say no more. He deprecated in the present stage any conversation that could not embrace the question fully, and that might go too far upon detached points; and upon the future dis

cussion he trusted that there would not be betrayed, upon either, the one side or the other, any heat or violence. This was a question upon which transient effusions of ungoverned warmth might inflict permanent wounds. Passion and pre. judice should keep equally aloof from its discussion. The soothing progress of time had imperceptibly done much to heal, and change, and reconcile-reciprocal good-will had been gaining upon reciprocal recrimination. The question was a sort of protracted marriage. Both parties were growing wearied of asperity-they were learning to bear with one another's failings, to take the worse for the sake of the better, and would soon have a common sympathy in their sufferings and enjoyments. The right honourable gentleman then concluded with moving, that the petition do lie on the table; which, after a conversation between several members, was agreed to.

During one of the examinations of lord Chatham before the committee of the house, to which we have lately referred,

Mr. Fuller (member for Sussex) put several questions, which were not attended to, either by his lordship or the house. When his lordship withdrew, Mr. Fuller rose and said, that his questions had as much right to be attended to, as those of the chancellor of the exchequer. "G-d d-n me, sir," said he, "I have as much right to be heard as any man who is paid for filling the place he holds."

The chancellor of the exchequer moved, "That the words of the honourable member should be taken down;" which was agreed to.

The house resumed, and sir John Anstruther, the chairman, reported the expressions of Mr. Fuller.

The speaker then informed the house, that it had come to his knowledge that a member had used unparliamentary language, which was a breach of the privileges of that honourable house. He felt sorry that it would become his duty to name him.

Mr. Fuller." You need not be. diffident-It's I, Jack Fuller."

The speaker ordered the honourable member to withdraw; but he declined, until several of his friends interfered.

The chancellor of the exchequer moved, "That he should be taken into the custody of the serjeant-atarms;" which was agreed to, without a dissenting voice.

Mr Fuller, who was in the lobby, on the vote of the house being communicated to him rushed into the body of the house, and, in a loud voice, said, the speaker had not the power or authority to order him into custody; he was only the servant of the members, and, by. D 2

their