The commons who attended in the house of lords, having heard his
majesty's speech to both houses, returned to their own house, where a
copy of it being this day read to them by the speaker, Mr. H.A. HERBERT
moved for an address, in words to this effect:
Sir, to address the throne on the present occasion, is a custom which,
as it is founded on reason and decency, has always been observed by the
commons of Britain; nor do I suspect this house of any intention to omit
those forms of respect to his majesty, which our ancestors always
preserved even under princes whose conduct and designs gave them no
claim to reverence or gratitude.
To continue, therefore, sir, a practice which the nature of government
itself makes necessary, and which cannot but be acknowledged to be, in a
peculiar degree, proper under a prince whose personal virtues are so
generally known, I hope for the indulgence of this house in the liberty
which I shall take of proposing an address to this effect:
That we should beg leave to congratulate his majesty, upon his safe and
happy return to these his kingdoms, and to return our sincere thanks for
his most gracious speech from the throne; and assure him at the same
time, that with hearts full of duty and gratitude, we cannot but
acknowledge his majesty's regard and attention to the honour and
interest of this nation. To observe that the great and impending dangers
that threaten Europe, under the present critical and perplexed situation
of affairs, have been represented by his majesty to his parliament, for
their advice and assistance, with such paternal concern, and such
affection to his people, such confidence in his faithful commons, and
such anxiety for the general good of Europe, as cannot fail to excite in
us a due sense of his majesty's goodness and condescension; and,
therefore, to assure his majesty in the strongest manner, that this
house will, as often as these momentous affairs shall come under our
consideration, give his majesty such advice as becomes dutiful and
faithful subjects, and such assistance and support as shall be most
conducive to the honour and true interest of his crown and kingdoms.
That we thank his majesty for his royal care in prosecuting the war with
Spain; and that in order to answer these necessary purposes, we will
grant such effectual supplies, as shall enable his majesty, not only to
be in a readiness to support his friends and allies, at such times and
in such manner as the exigency and circumstances of affairs shall
require, but to oppose and defeat any attempts that shall be made
against his majesty, his crown and kingdoms, or against those, who being
equally engaged with his majesty by the faith of treaties, or united by
common interest and common danger, shall be willing to concert such
measures as shall be found necessary and expedient for maintaining the
balance of Europe.
This address, which in my opinion, will contain both a proper answer to
his majesty's speech, and a decent declaration of our gratitude and
duty, will not, I hope, be opposed. For surely it cannot be charged with
asserting any thing that is either false or mean, with bestowing any
unnecessary panegyrick, or with maintaining any fact that is not
generally allowed.
Mr. TREVOR seconded him in the manner following:--Sir, as the necessity
of an address to his majesty cannot be disputed, the only question on
this occasion must be, whether the address now proposed be such as it
may become this house to offer in the present conjuncture of affairs.
In an address, sir, it is necessary to preserve at once the respect due
to our sovereign, and the dignity which may justly be assumed by the
representatives of the people of Britain, a people whose birthright
gives them a claim to approach their sovereign, not, indeed, without the
utmost respect, but with language, which absolute monarchs never hear
from the slaves by whom they are surrounded.
This respect and dignity appear to me to be very happily united in the
address now proposed, in which we join with our professions of duty, our
offers of advice, and assert our claim to the direction of the national
expenses by our promise to grant the necessary supplies.
As there cannot, therefore, in my opinion, sir, be any thing added to
the address now offered, and there appears to me no necessity of any
alteration or omission, I second the motion.
Lord Noel SOMERSET spoke next, to this effect:--Sir, though I am far
from intending to repress, by sophistical cavils, or trifling
objections, the zeal which the honourable gentleman who proposed the
address has shown for promoting the publick business, yet, as it is very
inconsistent with the duty of a senator to prefer civility to truth, and
to sacrifice to ceremony or complaisance the interest of his country, I
think it necessary to declare my opinion, that though the address
proposed may admit of many amendments, which I leave to other gentlemen
to make, I think the addition of one clause absolutely necessary; that
his majesty may be desired not to engage this nation in a war for the
preservation of his foreign dominions; dominions which, as they are in
themselves independent on the crown of Britain, and governed by
different laws, and a different right, have been separated by an express
clause from these kingdoms, in the act to which his majesty owes his
title to the throne.
This request, sir, is at this time particularly expedient, when the
continent is in confusion, and the territories of Hanover are endangered
by the approach of the French forces. Besides, as nothing is more fatal
than groundless expectations of assistance, it may contribute to the
safety of that people, to show them that they are to depend upon their
own strength, to call their forces together, to fortify their towns, and
guard their avenues; and that, if they sit indolent and careless, in
confidence that the power of Britain will be employed in their defence,
they will only give their enemies an easy conquest, and enslave
themselves and their posterity to a foreign power: I move, therefore,
that his majesty be petitioned in our address, not to engage these
kingdoms in a war for the preservation of his foreign dominions.
Mr. SHIPPEN rose and spoke thus:--Sir, I know not with what success I
may assert, in this senate, positions, for which I have formerly been
censured, and which few other members have hitherto maintained; but I
rise with confidence that I shall be at least acknowledged to act
consistently with myself in seconding the noble person who spoke last;
and I am convinced, that many of those who differ from me in opinion,
would gladly be able to boast of resembling me in congruity of
principles, and steadiness of conduct.
But steadiness, sir, is the effect only of integrity, and congruity the
consequence of conviction: he that speaks always what he thinks, and
endeavours by diligent inquiry to think aright before he ventures to
declare his sentiments; he that follows, in his searches, no leader but
reason, nor expects any reward from them but the advantage of
discovering truth, and the pleasure of communicating it, will not easily
change his opinion, because it will seldom be easy to show that he who
has honestly inquired after truth, has failed to attain it.
For my part, I am not ashamed nor afraid to affirm, that thirty years
have made no change in any of my political opinions; I am now grown old
in this house, but that experience which is the consequence of age, has
only confirmed the principles with which I entered it many years ago;
time has verified the predictions which I formerly uttered, and I have
seen my conjectures ripened into knowledge.
I should be, therefore, without excuse, if either terrour could
affright, or the hope of advantage allure me from the declaration of my
opinions; opinions which I was not deterred from asserting, when the
prospect of a longer life than I can now expect might have added to the
temptations of ambition, or aggravated the terrours of poverty and
disgrace; opinions for which I would willingly have suffered the
severest censures, even when I had espoused them only in compliance with
reason, without the infallible certainty of experience.
Of truth it has been always observed, sir, that every day adds to its
establishment, and that falsehoods, however specious, however supported
by power, or established by confederacies, are unable to stand before
the stroke of time. Against the inconveniencies and vexations of long
life, may be set the pleasure of discovering truth, perhaps the only
pleasure that age affords. Nor is it a slight satisfaction to a man not
utterly infatuated or depraved, to find opportunities of rectifying his
notions, and regulating his conduct by new lights.
But much greater is the happiness of that man to whom every day brings a
new proof of the reasonableness of his former determinations, and who
finds, by the most unerring test, that his life has been spent in
promotion of doctrines beneficial to mankind. This, sir, is the
happiness which I now enjoy, and for which those who never shall attain
it, must look for an equivalent in lucrative employments, honorary
titles, pompous equipages, and splendid palaces.
These, sir, are the advantages which are to be gained by a seasonable
variation of principles, and by a ready compliance with the prevailing
fashion of opinions; advantages which I, indeed, cannot envy when they
are purchased at so high a price, but of which age and observation has
too frequently shown me the unbounded influence; and to which I cannot
deny that I have always ascribed the instability of conduct, and
inconsistency of assertions, which I have discovered in many men, whose
abilities I have no reason to depreciate, and of whom I cannot but
believe they would easily distinguish truth, were not falsehood
recommended to them by the ornaments of wealth.
If there are in this new senate any men devoted to their private
interest, any who prefer the gratification of their passions to the
safety and happiness of their country, who can riot without remorse in
the plunder of their constituents, who can forget the anguish of guilt
in the noise of a feast, the pomp of a drawing-room, or the arms of a
strumpet, and think expensive wickedness and the gaieties of folly
equivalent to the fair fame of fidelity and the peace of virtue, to them
I shall speak to no purpose; for I am far from imagining any power in my
language to gain those to truth who have resigned their hearts to
avarice or ambition, or to prevail upon men to change opinions, which
they have indeed never believed, though they are hired to assert them.
There is a degree of wickedness which reproof or argument cannot
reclaim, as there is a degree of stupidity which instruction cannot
enlighten.
If my country, sir, has been so unfortunate as, once more, to commit her
interest to those who propose to themselves no advantage from their
trust, but that of selling it, I may perhaps fall, once more, under
censure for declaring my opinion, and be, once more, treated as a
criminal for asserting what they who punish me cannot deny; for
maintaining the inconsistency of Hanover maxims with the happiness of
this nation, and for preserving the caution which was so strongly
inculcated by the patriots that drew up the act of settlement, and gave
the present imperial family their title to the throne.
These men, sir, whose wisdom cannot be disputed, and whose zeal for his
majesty's family was equal to their knowledge, thought it requisite to
provide some security against the prejudices of birth and education.
They were far from imagining, that they were calling to the throne a
race of beings exalted above the frailties of humanity, or exempted by
any peculiar privileges from errour or from ignorance.
They knew that every man was habitually, if not naturally, fond of his
own nation, and that he was inclined to enrich it and defend it at the
expense of another, even, perhaps, of that to which he is indebted, for
much higher degrees of greatness, wealth and power; for every thing
which makes one state of life preferable to another; and which,
therefore, if reason could prevail over prejudice, and every action were
regulated by strict justice, might claim more regard than that corner of
the earth in which he only happened to be born.
They knew, sir, that confidence was not always returned, that we most
willingly trust those whom we have longest known, and caress those with
most fondness, whose inclinations we find by experience to correspond
with our own, without regard to particular circumstances which may
entitle others to greater regard, or higher degrees of credit, or of
kindness.
Against these prejudices, which their sagacity enabled them to foresee,
their integrity incited them to secure us, by provisions which every man
then thought equitable and wise, because no man was then hired to
espouse a contrary opinion.
To obviate the disposition which a foreign race of princes might have to
trust their original subjects, it was enacted that none of them should
be capable of any place of trust or profit in these kingdoms. And to
hinder our monarchs from transferring the revenues of Britain to
Hanover, and enriching it with the commerce of our traders, and the
labours of our husbandmen; from raising taxes to augment the splendour
of a petty court, and increasing the garrisons of their mountains by
misapplying that money which this nation should raise for its own
defence, it was provided that the emperour of Britain should never
return to his native dominions, but reside always in this kingdom,
without any other care than that of gaining the affections of his
British subjects, preserving their rights, and increasing their power.
It was imagined by that senate, that the electorate of Hanover, a
subordinate dignity, held by custom of homage to a greater power, ought
to be thought below the regard of the emperor of Britain, and that the
sovereign of a nation like this ought to remember a lower state only to
heighten his gratitude to the people by whom he was exalted. They were
far from imagining that Britain and Hanover would in time be considered
as of equal importance, and that their sovereign would divide his years
between one country and the other, and please himself with exhibiting in
Hanover the annual show of the pomp and dignity of a British emperor.
This clause, sir, however, a later senate readily repealed; upon what
motives I am not able to declare, having never heard the arguments which
prevailed upon their predecessors to enact it, confuted or invalidated;
nor have I found that the event has produced any justification of their
conduct, or that the nation has received any remarkable advantage from
the travels of our emperours.
There is another clause in that important act which yet the senate has
not adventured to repeal, by which it is provided, that this nation
shall not be engaged in war for the defence of the Hanoverian dominions;
dominions of which we can have no interest in the protection or
preservation; dominions, perhaps, of no great value, into whatever hands
chance and negligence may throw them, which their situation has made
entirely useless to a naval power; but which, though they cannot
benefit, may injure us, by diverting the attention of our sovereign, or
withholding his affections.
Whether this clause, sir, has not sometimes been eluded, whether the six
thousand Hessians, which we once supported, were of use to any of the
British dominions, and whether a double number of the same nation, now
paid with our money for the defence of the queen of Hungary, have not
been stationed only where they might defend Hanover, without the least
advantage to our confederates; whether the nation has not been condemned
to double expenses in the support of this alliance, by raising, for the
queen's service, troops, which were only employed in the protection of
Hanover, and then in succouring her with pecuniary supplies, it is,
perhaps, at present unnecessary, though, I hope, not yet too late, to
inquire.
It is at present unnecessary, because the clause which is proposed
cannot be denied to be equally proper, whether the act of settlement has
been hitherto observed or violated; for the violation of it ought to
engage us in some measures that may secure us for the future from the
like injury; and the observation of it is a manifest proof how much it
is approved by all parties, since, in so many deviations from this
settlement, and an inconstancy of conduct of which an example is
scarcely to be found, this law has been esteemed sacred, the bulwark of
our rights, and the boundary which the sovereign power has not dared to
overleap.
As his majesty, sir, has, in a very solemn manner, called upon us for
our advice and assistance, what can be more proper than to lay before
him our opinion on this important question? War is, next to slavery, one
of the greatest calamities; and an unnecessary war, therefore, the
greatest error of government, an error which cannot be too cautiously
obviated, or too speedily reformed.
If we consider, sir, the present state of the continent, there is
nothing more probable than that the subjects of the elector of Hanover
may solicit the assistance of the emperor of Britain, and, therefore, it
is necessary to inform them, that their solicitations will be vain. If
we inquire into the suspicions of our fellow-subjects, we shall find
them generally disturbed with fears that they shall be sacrificed to the
security of foreign dominions, and, therefore, it is necessary to recall
their affection to his majesty where it is impaired, and confirm their
confidence where it has been hitherto preserved, by showing, in the most
publick manner, how vainly they have been disquieted, and how grossly
they have been mistaken.
It is certainly our duty, sir, to give such advice as may most truly
inform his majesty of the sentiments of his people, and most effectually
establish in the people an adherence to his majesty; as it is certain
that no advice will be seconded by greater numbers than that which is
proposed, nor can his majesty, by any act of goodness, so much endear
his government, as by a ready promise to this nation of an exemption
from any war in defence of Hanover.
I hope, sir, it will not be objected, that by such request a suspicion
will be insinuated of designs detrimental to the British nation, and
repugnant to the conditions on which his majesty ascended the throne,
because an objection of equal force may rise against any advice whatever
that shall be offered by the senate.
It may be always urged, sir, that to recommend any measures, is to
suppose that they would not have been suggested to his majesty by his
own wisdom, and, by consequence, that he is defective either in
knowledge or in goodness, that he either mistakes or neglects the
interest of his people.
Thus, sir, may the most laudable conduct be charged with sedition, and
the most awful regard be accused of disrespect, by forced consequences,
and exaggerated language; thus may senates become useless, lest they
should appear to be wiser than their sovereign, and the sovereign be
condemned to act only by the information of servile ministers, because
no publick advice can safely be given him.
That kings must act upon the information of others, that they can see
little with their own eyes through the mists which flattery is
continually employed in raising before them, and that they are,
therefore, most happy who have, by the constitution of the country which
they govern, an opportunity of knowing the opinions of their people
without disguise, has yet never been denied by any who do not separate
the interest of the king from that of the people, and leave mankind no
political distinction but that of tyrants and slaves.
This, sir, is the happiness of the emperour of Britain beyond other
monarchs, an advantage by which he may be always enabled to contemplate
the happy and flourishing state of his subjects, and to receive the
blessings and acclamations of millions, that owe to his care their
wealth and their security.
Of this advantage he cannot be deprived, but by the cowardice or the
treachery of those men who are delegated by the people, as the guardians
of their liberties; and surely it requires no uncommon penetration to
discover, that no act of treason can be equal in malignity to that
perfidy which deprives the king of the affections of his subjects, by
concealing from him their sentiments and petitions. He that makes his
monarch hated, must, undoubtedly, make him unhappy; and he that destroys
his happiness, might more innocently take away his life.
To exempt myself, therefore, from such guilt, to discharge the trust
conferred on me by my country, and to perform the duty which I owe to my
king, I stand up to second this motion.
Mr. GYBBON spoke next, to the following purpose:--Sir, as it is not easy
to remember all the parts of an address by only once hearing it, and
hearing it in a form different from that in which it is to be presented,
I think it necessary to a more accurate consideration of it, that it
should be read distinctly to the house. We may otherwise waste our time
in debates, to which only our own forgetfulness gives occasion; we may
raise objections without reason, and propose amendments where there is
no defect. [The address was accordingly read, and Mr. GYBBON proceeded.]
Having now heard the address, I find by experience the propriety of my
proposal; having remarked a clause, which, in my opinion, is necessary
to be amended, and which I had not observed when it was repeated before.
It is well known, that the speeches from the throne, though pronounced
by the king, are always considered as the compositions of the ministry,
upon whom any false assertions would be charged, as the informers and
counsellors of the crown.
It is well known, likewise, that whenever this house returns thanks to
the king for any measures that have been pursued, those measures are
supposed to be approved by them; and that approbation may be pleaded by
the minister in his defence, whenever he shall be required to answer for
the event of his counsels.
It is, therefore, in my opinion, extremely unreasonable to propose, that
_thanks should be returned to his majesty for his royal care in
prosecuting the war against Spain_; for what has been the consequence of
that care, for which our thanks are to be, with so much solemnity,
returned, but defeats, disgrace, and losses, the ruin of our merchants,
the imprisonment of our sailors, idle shows of armaments, and useless
expenses?
What are the events which are to be recorded in an impartial account of
this war; a war provoked by so long a train of insults and injuries, and
carried on with so apparent an inequality of forces? Have we destroyed
the fleets of our enemies, fired their towns, and laid their fortresses
in ruins? Have we conquered their colonies, and plundered their cities,
and reduced them to a necessity of receding from their unjust claims,
and repaying the plunder of our merchants? Are their ambassadors now
soliciting peace at the court of Britain, or applying to the
neighbouring princes to moderate the resentment of their victorious
enemies?
I am afraid that the effects of our preparations, however formidable,
are very different; they have only raised discontent among our
countrymen, and contempt among our enemies. We have shown that we are
strong indeed, but that our force is made ineffectual by our cowardice;
that when we threaten most loudly, we perform nothing; that we draw our
swords but to brandish them, and only wait an opportunity to sheath them
in such a manner, as not plainly to confess that we dare not strike.
If we consider, therefore, what effect our thanks for conduct like this
must naturally produce, it will appear that they can only encourage our
enemies, and dispirit our fellow-subjects. It will be imagined that the
Spaniards are a powerful nation, which it was the highest degree of
temerity to attack; a nation by whom it is honour sufficient not to be
overcome, and from whom we cannot be defended without the most vigilant
caution, and the most extensive knowledge both of politicks and war.
It will readily be perceived by the proud Spaniards, that it is only
necessary to prosecute their views a little longer, to intimidate us
with new demands, and amuse us with new preparations; and that we, who
are always satisfied with our success, shall soon be weary of a war from
which it is plain that we never expected any advantage, and therefore
shall, in a short time, willingly receive such terms as our conquerors
will grant us.
It is always to be remembered, how much all human affairs depend upon
opinion, how often reputation supplies the want of real power, by making
those afraid who cannot be hurt, and by producing confidence where there
is no superiority. The opinion of which the senate ought to endeavour
the promotion, is confidence in their steadiness, honesty, and wisdom.
Confidence which will not be much advanced by an address of thanks for
the conduct of the war against Spain.
How justly may it be asked, when this address is spread over the world,
what were the views with which the senate of Britain petitioned their
sovereign to declare war against Spain?
If their design was, as they then asserted, to procure security for the
commerce of America, and reparation for the injuries which their
merchants had received, by what fluctuation of counsels, by what
prevalence of new opinions, have they now abandoned it? For that they
have no longer the same intentions, that they now no more either propose
security, or demand recompense, is evident; since though they have
obtained neither, yet are they thankful for the conduct of the war.
To what can this apparent instability be imputed, but to the want either
of wisdom to balance their own power with that of their enemies, and
discern the true interest of their country, or to a mean compliance with
the clamours of the people, to whom they durst not refuse the appearance
of a war, though they had no expectation of honour or success?
But in far other terms, sir, will the Spaniards speak of the address
which is now proposed. "Behold, say our boasting enemies, the spirit and
wisdom of that assembly, whose counsels hold the continent in suspense,
and whose determinations change the fate of kingdoms; whose vote
transfers sovereignty, covers the ocean with fleets, prescribes the
operation of distant wars, and fixes the balance of the world. Behold
them amused with idle preparations, levying money for mockeries of war,
and returning thanks for the pleasure of the show. Behold them looking
with wonderful tranquillity on the loss of a great number of their
ships, which have been seized upon their own coasts by our privateers,
and congratulating themselves and their monarch that any have been
preserved. How great would have been the exultation, and how loud the
applauses, had they succeeded in any of their designs; had they
obstructed the departure of our fleets, or hindered our descent upon the
dominions of the queen of Hungary; had they confined our privateers in
our harbours, defeated any of our troops, or overrun any of our
colonies! In what terms would they have expressed their gratitude for
victory, who are thus thankful for disappointments and disgrace?"
Such, sir, must be the remarks of our enemies upon an address like that
which is now proposed; remarks which we and our allies must be condemned
to hear, without attempting a reply. For what can be urged to extenuate
the ridicule of returning thanks where we ought either to express
resentment, offer consolations, and propose the means of better success,
or cover our grief and shame with perpetual silence?
When it shall be told in foreign nations, that the senate of Britain had
returned thanks for the escape of the Spaniards from Ferrol, their
uninterrupted expedition to Italy, the embarrassment of their own trade,
the captivity of their sailors, and the destruction of their troops,
what can they conclude, but that the senate of Britain is a collection
of madmen, whom madmen have deputed to transact the publick affairs? And
what must be the influence of such a people, and such a senate, will be
easily conceived.
If I have given way, sir, in these observations, to any wanton
hyperbole, or exaggerated assertions, they will, I hope, be pardoned by
those who shall reflect upon the real absurdity of the proposal, which I
am endeavouring to show in its true state, and by all who shall
consider, that to return thanks for the management of the war, is to
return thanks for the carnage of Carthagena, for the ruin of our
merchants, for the loss of our reputation, and for the exaltation of the
family of Bourbon.
I hope no man will be so unjust, or can be so ignorant, as to insinuate
or believe, that I impute any part of our miscarriages to the personal
conduct of his majesty, or that I think his majesty's concern for the
prosperity of his people unworthy of the warmest and sincerest
gratitude. If the address were confined to the inspection of our
sovereign alone, I should be very far from censuring or ridiculing it;
for his majesty has not the event of war in his power, nor can confer
upon his ministers or generals that knowledge which they have neglected
to acquire, or that capacity which nature has denied them. He may
perform more than we have a right to expect, and yet be unsuccessful; he
may deserve the utmost gratitude, even when, by the misconduct of his
servants, the nation is distressed.
But, sir, in drawing up an address, we should remember that we are
declaring our sentiments not only to his majesty, but to all Europe; to
our allies, our enemies, and our posterity; that this address will be
understood, like all others; that thanks offered in this manner, by
custom, signify approbation; and that, therefore, we must at present
repress our gratitude, because it can only bring into contempt our
sovereign and ourselves.
Sir Robert WALPOLE spoke next, to this effect:--Sir, I am very far from
thinking that the war against Spain has been so unsuccessful as some
gentlemen have represented it; that the losses which we have suffered
have been more frequent than we had reason to expect from the situation
of our enemies, and the course of our trade; or our defeats, such as the
common chance of war does not often produce, even when the inequality of
the contending powers is incontestable, and the ultimate event as near
to certainty, as the nature of human affairs ever can admit.
Nor am I convinced, sir, even though it should be allowed that no
exaggeration had been made of our miscarriages, that the impropriety of
an address of thanks to his majesty for his regal care in the management
of the war, is gross or flagrant. For if it be allowed that his majesty
may be innocent of all the misconduct that has produced our defeats,
that he may have formed schemes wisely, which were unskilfully
prosecuted; that even valour and knowledge concurring, will not always
obtain success; and that, therefore, some losses may be suffered, and
some defeats received, though not only his majesty gave the wisest
direction, but his officers executed them with the utmost diligence and
fidelity; how will it appear from our ill success, that our sovereign
does not deserve our gratitude? And if it shall appear to us that our
thanks are merited, who shall restrain us from offering them in the most
publick and solemn manner?
For my part, I think no consideration worthy of regard in competition
with truth and justice, and, therefore, shall never forbear any
expression of duty to my sovereign, for fear of the ridicule of our
secret, or the reproaches of our publick enemies.
With regard to the address under our consideration, if it be allowed
either that we have not been unsuccessful in any opprobrious degree, or
that ill success does not necessarily imply any defect in the conduct of
his majesty, or debar us from the right of acknowledging his goodness
and his wisdom, I think, sir, no objection can be made to the form of
expression now proposed, in which all sounding and pompous language, all
declamatory exaggeration, and studied figures of speech, all appearance
of exultation, and all the farce of rhetorick are carefully avoided, and
nothing inserted that may disgust the most delicate, or raise scruples
in the most sincere.
Yet, sir, that we may not waste our time upon trivial disputes, when the
nation expects relief from our counsels, that we may not suspend the
prosecution of the war by complaints of past defeats, or retard that
assistance and advice which our sovereign demands, by inquiring whether
it may be more proper to thank, or to counsel him, I am willing, for the
sake of unanimity, that this clause should be omitted; and hope that no
other part of the address can give any opportunity for criticism, or for
objections.
Sir, it is no wonder that the right honourable gentleman willingly
consents to the omission of this clause, which could be inserted for no
other purpose than that he might sacrifice it to the resentment which it
must naturally produce, and by an appearance of modesty and compliance,
pass easily through the first day and obviate any severe inquiries that
might be designed.
He is too well acquainted with the opinion of many whom the nation has
chosen to represent them, and with the universal clamours of the people,
too accurately informed of the state of our enemies, and too conscious
how much his secret machinations have hindered our success, to expect or
hope that we should meet here to return thanks for the management of the
war; of a war in which nothing has been attempted by his direction that
was likely to succeed, and in which no advantage has been gained, but by
acting without orders, and against his hopes.
That I do not charge him, sir, without reason, or invent accusations
only to obstruct his measures, or to gratify my own resentment; that I
do not eagerly catch flying calumnies, prolong the date of casual
reproaches, encourage the malignity of the envious, or adopt the
suspicions of the melancholy; that I do not impose upon myself by a warm
imagination, and endeavour to communicate to others impressions which I
have only received myself from prejudice and malignity, will be proved
from the review of his conduct since the beginning of our dispute with
Spain, in which it will be found that he has been guilty, not of single
errours, but of deliberate treachery; that he has always cooperated with
our enemies, and sacrificed to his private interest the happiness and
the honour of the British nation.
How long our merchants were plundered, our sailors enslaved, and our
colonies intimidated without resentment; how long the Spaniards usurped
the dominion of the seas, searched our ships at pleasure, confiscated
the cargoes without control, and tortured our fellow-subjects with
impunity, cannot but be remembered. Not only every gentleman in this
house, but every man in the nation, however indolent, ignorant, or
obscure, can tell what barbarities were exercised, what ravages were
committed, what complaints were made, and how they were received. It is
universally known that this gentleman, and those whom he has seduced by
pensions and employments, treated the lamentations of ruined families,
and the outcries of tortured Britons, as the clamours of sedition, and
the murmurs of malignity suborned to inflame the people, and embarrass
the government.
It is known, sir, that our losses were at one time ridiculed as below
the consideration of the legislature, and the distress of the most
useful and honest part of mankind was made the subject of merriment and
laughter; the awkward wit of all the hirelings of the town was exerted
to divert the attention of the publick, and all their art was employed
to introduce other subjects into conversation, or to still the
complaints which they heard with a timely jest.
But their wit was not more successful on this, than on other occasions;
their imaginations were soon exhausted, and they found, as at other
times, that they must have recourse to new expedients. The first
artifice of shallow courtiers is to elude with promises those complaints
which they cannot confute, a practice that requires no understanding or
knowledge, and therefore has been generally followed by the
administration. This artifice they quickly made use of, when they found
that neither the merchants nor the nation were to be silenced by an
affectation of negligence, or the sallies of mirth; that it was no
longer safe to jest upon the miseries of their countrymen, the
destruction of our trade, and the violation of our rights, they
condescended, therefore, to some appearances of compassion, and promised
to exert all their influence to procure redress and security.
That they might not appear, sir, to have made this promise only to free
themselves from present importunity, they set negotiations on foot,
despatched memorials, remonstrances, propositions, and computations, and
with an air of gravity and importance, assembled at proper times to
peruse the intelligence which they received, and to concert new
instructions for their ministers.
While this farce was acted, sir, innumerable artifices were made use of
to reconcile the nation to suspense and delay. Sometimes the distance of
the Spanish dominions in America retarded the decision of our claims.
Sometimes the dilatory disposition of the Spaniards, and the established
methods of their courts, made it impossible to procure a more speedy
determination. Sometimes orders were despatched to America in favour of
our trade, and sometimes those orders were neglected by the captains of
the Spanish ships, and the governours of their provinces; and when it
was inquired why those captains and governours were not punished or
recalled, we were treated with contempt, for not knowing what had been
so lately told us of the dilatory proceedings of the Spanish courts.
In the mean time our merchants were plundered, and our sailors thrown
into dungeons; our flag was insulted, and our navigation restrained, by
men acting under the commission of the king of Spain; we perceived no
effect of our negotiations but the expense, and our enemies not only
insisted on their former claims, but prosecuted them with the utmost
rigour, insolence, and cruelty.
It must, indeed, sir, be urged in favour of our minister, that he did
not refuse any act of submission, or omit any method of supplication by
which he might hope to soften the Spaniards; he solicited their favour
at their own court, he sent commissaries into their country, he assisted
them in taking possession of dominions, to which neither we nor they
have proved a right; and he employed the navies of Britain to transport
into Italy the prince on whom the new-erected kingdom was to be
conferred.
Well might he expect that the Spaniards would be softened by so much
kindness and forbearance, and that gratitude would at length induce them
to spare those whom no injuries or contempt had been able to alienate
from them, and to allow those a free course through the seas of America,
to whom they had been indebted for an uninterrupted passage to the
possession of a kingdom.
He might likewise urge, sir, that when he was obliged to make war upon
them, he was so tender of their interest, that the British admiral was
sent out with orders rather to destroy his own fleet than the galleons,
which, in appearance, he was sent to take, and to perish by the
inclemency of the climate, rather than enter the Spanish ports, terrify
their colonies, or plunder their towns.
But to little purpose, sir, did our minister implore the compassion of
the Spaniards, and represent the benefits by which we might claim it;
for his compliance was by the subtle Spaniards attributed, not to
kindness, but to fear; and it was therefore determined to reduce him to
absolute slavery, by the same practices which had already sunk him to so
abject a state.
They therefore treated our remonstrances with contempt, continued their
insolence and their oppressions, and while our agent was cringing at
their court with fresh instructions in his hand, while he was hurrying
with busy looks from one grandee to another, and, perhaps, dismissed
without an audience one day, and sent back in the midst of his harangue
on another, the guardships of the Spaniards continued their havock, our
merchants were ruined, and our sailors tortured.
At length, sir, the nation was too much inflamed to be any longer amused
with idle negotiations, or trifling expedients; the streets echoed with
the clamours of the populace, and this house was crowded with petitions
from the merchants. The honourable person, with all his art, found
himself unable any longer to elude a determination of this affair. Those
whom he had hitherto persuaded that he had failed merely for want of
abilities, began now to suspect that he had no desire of better success;
and those who had hitherto cheerfully merited their pensions by an
unshaken adherence to all his measures, who had extolled his wisdom and
his integrity with all the confidence of security, began now to be
shaken by the universality of the censures which the open support of
perfidy brought upon them. They were afraid any longer to assert what
they neither believed themselves, nor could persuade others to admit.
The most indolent were alarmed, the most obstinate convinced, and the
most profligate ashamed.
What could now be done, sir, to gain a few months, to secure a short
interval of quiet, in which his agents might be employed to disseminate
some new falsehood, bribe to his party some new vindicators, or lull the
people with the opiate of another expedient, with an account of
concessions from the court of Spain, or a congress to compute the
losses, and adjust the claims of our merchants?
Something was necessarily to be attempted, and orders were therefore
despatched by our minister, to his slave at the court of Spain, to
procure some stipulations that might have at least the appearance of a
step towards the conclusion of the debate. His agent obeyed him with his
usual alacrity and address, and in time sent him, for the satisfaction
of the British people, the celebrated convention.
The convention, sir, has been so lately discussed, is so particularly
remembered, and so universally condemned, that it would be an
unjustifiable prodigality of time to expatiate upon it. There were but
few in the last senate, and I hope there are none in this, who did not
see the meanness of suffering incontestable claims to be disputed by
commissaries, the injustice of the demand which was made upon the
South-sea company, and the contemptuous insolence of amusing us with the
shadow of a stipulation, which was to vanish into nothing, unless we
purchased a ratification of it, by paying what we did not owe.
The convention, therefore, sir, was so far from pacifying, that it only
exasperated the nation, and took from our minister the power of acting
any longer openly in favour of the Spaniards; of whom it must be
confessed, that their wisdom was overpowered by their pride, and that,
for the sake of showing to all the powers of Europe the dependence in
which they held the court of Britain, they took from their friends the
power of serving them any longer, and made it unsafe for them to pay
that submission to which they were inclined.
The Spaniards did not sufficiently distinguish between the nation and
the ministry of Britain, nor suspected that their interests,
inclinations, and opinions were directly opposite; and that those who
were caressed, feared, and reverenced by the ministry, were by the
people hated, despised, and ridiculed.
By enslaving our ministry, they weakly imagined that they had conquered
our nation; nor, perhaps, sir, would they quickly have discovered their
mistake, had they used their victory with greater moderation,
condescended to govern their new province with less rigour, and sent us
laws in any other form than that of the convention.
But the security which success excites, produced in them the same
effects as it has often done in others, and destroyed, in some degree,
the advantages of the conquest by which it was inspired. The last proof
of their contempt of our sovereign and our nation, was too flagrant to
be palliated, and too publick not to be resented. The cries of the
nation were redoubled, the solicitations of the merchants renewed, the
absurdity of our past conduct exposed, the meanness of our forbearance
reproached, and the necessity of more vigorous measures evidently
proved.
The friends of Spain discovered, sir, at length, that war was
necessarily to be proclaimed, and that it would be no longer their
interest to act in open opposition to justice and reason, to the policy
of all ages, and remonstrances of the whole nation.
The minister, therefore, after long delays, after having run round the
circle of all his artifices, and endeavouring to intimidate the nation
by false representations of the power of our enemies, and the danger of
an invasion from them, at length suffered war to be proclaimed, though
not till he had taken all precautions that might disappoint us of
success.
He knew that the state of the Spanish dominions exposed them in a
particular manner to sudden incursions by small parties, and that in
former wars against them, our chief advantage had been gained by the
boldness and subtilty of private adventurers, who by hovering over their
coasts in small vessels, without raising the alarms which the sight of a
royal navy necessarily produces, had discovered opportunities of landing
unexpectedly, and entering their towns by surprise, of plundering their
wealthy ships, or enriching themselves by ransoms and compositions; he
knew what inconsiderable bodies of men, incited by private advantage,
selected with care for particular expeditions, instructed by secret
intelligence, and concealed by the smallness of their numbers, had found
means to march up into the country, through ways which would never have
been attempted by regular forces, and have brought upon the Spaniards
more terrour and distress than could have been produced by a powerful
army, however carefully disciplined or however skilfuly commanded.
It was, therefore, sir, his first care to secure his darling Spaniards
from the pernicious designs of private adventurers; he knew not but some
of Elizabeth's heroes might unfortunately revive, and terrify, with an
unexpected invasion, the remotest corners of the Spanish colonies, or
appear before their ports with his nimble sloops, and bid defiance to
their navies and their garrisons. When, therefore, a bill was introduced
into this house, by which encouragement was given to the subjects of
this kingdom to fit out privateers, and by which those who should
conquer any of the colonies of the Spaniards, were confirmed in the
possession of them for ever, it cannot be forgotten with what zeal he
opposed, and with what steadiness he rejected it, though it is not
possible to assign any disadvantage which could have been produced by
passing it, and the utmost that could be urged against it was, that it
was unnecessary and useless.
Having thus discouraged that method of war which was most to be dreaded
by our enemies, and left them little to fear but from national forces
and publick preparations, his next care was to secure them from any
destructive blow, by giving them time to equip their fleets, collect
their forces, repair their fortifications, garrison their towns, and
regulate their trade; for this purpose he delayed, as long as it was
possible, the despatch of our navies, embarrassed our levies of sailors
by the violence of impresses; violence, which proper encouragement and
regulations might have made unnecessary; and suffered the privateers of
the enemy to plunder our merchants without control, under pretence that
ships of war could not be stationed, nor convoys provided for their
protection.
At length several fleets were fitted out, Vernon was sent to America,
and Haddock into the Mediterranean, with what coqsequences it is well
known; nor should I mention them at this time, had I not been awakened
to the remembrance of them by a proposal of thanks for the conduct of
the war.
The behaviour of the two admirals was very different; though it has not
yet appeared but that their orders were the same. Vernon with six ships
destroyed those fortifications, before which Hosier formerly perished,
in obedience to the commands of our ministry. How this success was
received by the minister and his adherents, how much they were offended
at the exultations of the populace, how evidently they appeared to
consider it as a breach of their scheme, and a deviation from their
directions, the whole nation can relate.
Nor is it to be forgotten, sir, how invidiously the minister himself
endeavoured to extenuate the honour of that action, by attempting to
procure in the address, which was on that occasion presented to his
majesty, a suppression of the number of the ships with which he
performed it.
In the mean time, sir, the nation expected accounts of the same kind
from the Mediterranean, where Haddock was stationed with a very
considerable force; but instead of relations of ports bombarded, and
towns plundered, of navies destroyed, and villages laid in ashes, we
were daily informed of the losses of our merchants, whose ships were
taken almost within sight of our squadrons.
We had, indeed, once the satisfaction of hearing that the fleet of Spain
was confined in the port of Cadiz, unprovided with provisions, and it
was rashly reported that means would either be found of destroying them
in the harbour, or that they would be shut up in that unfruitful part of
the country, till they should be obliged to disband their crews.
We, therefore, sir, bore with patience the daily havock of our trade, in
expectation of the entire destruction of the royal navy of Spain, which
would reduce them to despair of resistance, and compel them to implore
peace. But while we were flattering ourselves with those pleasing
dreams, we were wakened on a sudden with an astonishing account that the
Spaniards had left Cadiz, and, without any interruption from the
Britons, were taking in provisions at Ferrol.
This disappointment of our expectations did, indeed, discourage us, but
not deprive us of hope; we knew that the most politick are sometimes
deceived, and that the most vigilant may sometimes relax their
attention; we did not expect in our commanders any exemption from human
errours, and required only that they should endeavour to repair their
failures, and correct their mistakes; and, therefore, waited without
clamour, in expectation that what was omitted at Cadiz would be
performed at Ferrol.
But no sooner, sir, had the Spaniards stored their fleet, than we were
surprised with a revolution of affairs yet more wonderful. Haddock,
instead of remaining before Ferrol, was drawn off by some chimerical
alarm to protect Minorca, and the Spaniards in the mean time sailed away
to America, in conjunction with the French squadron that had been for
some time ready for the voyage.
If we consider the absurdity of this conduct, it cannot but be imagined
that our minister must send Haddock false intelligence and treacherous
directions, on purpose that the Spanish fleet might escape without
interruption. For how can it be conceived that the Spaniards could have
formed any real design of besieging port Mahon? Was it probable that
they would have sent an army, in defenceless transports, into the jaws
of the British fleet? and it was well known that they had no ships of
war to protect them. It was not very agreeable to common policy to land
an army upon an island, an island wholly destitute of provisions for
their support, while an hostile navy was in possession of the sea, by
which the fortress which their troops were destined to besiege might be
daily supplied with necessaries, and the garrison augmented with new
forces, while their army would be itself besieged in a barren island,
without provisions, without recruits, without hope of succour, or
possibility of success.
But such was the solicitude of our admiral for the preservation of
Minorca, that he abandoned his station, and suffered the Spaniards to
join their confederates of France, and prosecute their voyage to America
without hinderance or pursuit.
In America they remained for some time masters of the sea, and confined
Vernon to the ports; but want of provisions obliging the French to
return, no invasion of our colonies was attempted, nor any of those
destructive measures pursued which we had reason to fear, and of which
our minister, notwithstanding his wonderful sagacity, could not have
foretold that they would have been defeated by an unexpected scarcity of
victuals.
The Spaniards, however, gained, by this expedient, time to repair their
fortifications, strengthen their garrisons, and dispose their forces in
the most advantageous manner; and therefore, though they were not
enabled to attack our dominions, had at least an opportunity of securing
their own.
At length, sir, lest it should be indisputably evident that our minister
was in confederacy with the Spaniards, it was determined, that their
American territories should be invaded; but care was taken to disappoint
the success of the expedition by employing new-raised troops, and
officers without experience, and to make it burdensome to the nation by
a double number of officers, of which no use could be discovered, but
that of increasing the influence, and multiplying the dependants of the
ministry.
It was not thought sufficient, sir, to favour the designs of the
Spaniards by the delay which the levy of new troops necessarily
produced, and to encourage them by the probability of an easy resistance
against raw forces; nor was the nation, in the opinion of the minister,
punished for its rebellion against him with adequate severity, by being
condemned to support a double number of troops. Some other methods were
to be used for embarrassing our preparations and protracting the war.
The troops, therefore, sir, being, by the accident of a hard winter,
more speedily raised than it was reasonable to expect, were detained in
this island for several months, upon trivial pretences; and were at
length suffered to embark at a time when it was well known that they
would have much more formidable enemies than the Spaniards to encounter;
when the unhealthy season of the American climate must necessarily
destroy them by thousands; when the air itself was poison, and to be
wounded certainly death.
These were the hardships to which part of our fellow-subjects have been
exposed by the tyranny of the minister; hardships which caution could
not obviate, nor bravery surmount; they were sent to combat with nature,
to encounter with the blasts of disease, and to make war against the
elements. They were sent to feed the vultures of America, and to gratify
the Spaniards with an easy conquest.
In the passage the general died, and the command devolved upon a man who
had never seen an enemy, and was, therefore, only a speculative
warriour; an accident, which, as it was not unlikely to happen, would
have been provided against by any minister who wished for success. The
melancholy event of this expedition I need not mention, it was such as
might be reasonably expected; when our troops were sent out without
discipline, without commanders, into a country where even the dews are
fatal, against enemies informed of their approach, secured by
fortifications, inured to the climate, well provided, and skilfully
commanded.
In the mean time, sir, it is not to be forgotten what depredations were
made upon our trading vessels, with what insolence ships of very little
force approached our coasts, and seized our merchants in sight of our
fortifications; it is not to be forgotten that the conduct of some of
those who owed their revenues and power to the minister, gave yet
stronger proofs of a combination.
It is not to be forgotten with what effrontery the losses of our
merchants were ridiculed, with what contemptuous triumph of revenge they
were charged with the guilt of this fatal war, and how publickly they
were condemned to suffer for their folly.
For this reason, sir, they were either denied the security of convoys,
or forsaken in the most dangerous parts of the sea, by those to whose
protection they were, in appearance, committed. For this reason, they
were either hindered from engaging in their voyage by the loss of those
men who were detained unactive in the ships of war, or deprived of their
crews upon the high seas, or suffered to proceed only to become a prey
to the Spaniards.
But it was not, sir, a sufficient gratification of our implacable
minister, that the merchants were distressed for alarming the nation; it
was thought, likewise, necessary to punish the people for believing too
easily the reports of the merchants, and to warn them for ever against
daring to imagine themselves able to discern their own interest, or to
prescribe other measures to the ministers, than they should be
themselves inclined to pursue; our minister was resolved to show them,
by a master-stroke, that it was in his power to disappoint their
desires, by seeming to comply, and to destroy their commerce and their
happiness, by the very means by which they hoped to secure them.
For this purpose, sir, did this great man summon all his politicks
together, and call to council all his confidants and all his dependants;
and it was, at length, after mature deliberation, determined, by their
united wisdom, to put more ships into commission, to aggravate the
terrours of the impress by new violence and severity, to draw the
sailors by the promise of large rewards from the service of the
merchants, to collect a mighty fleet, and to despatch it on a _secret
expedition_.
A secret expedition, sir, is a new term of ministerial art, a term which
may have been, perhaps, formerly made use of by soldiers, for a design
to be executed without giving the enemy an opportunity of providing for
their defence; but is now used for a design with which the enemy is
better acquainted than those to whom the execution of it is committed. A
secret expedition is now an expedition of which every one knows the
design, but those at whose expense it is undertaken. It is a kind of
naval review, which excels those of the park in magnificence and
expense, but is equally useless, and equally ridiculous.
Upon these secret expeditions, however, were fixed for a long time the
expectations of the people; they saw all the appearances of preparation
for real war; they were informed, that the workmen in the docks were
retained by uncommon wages to do double duty; they saw the most specious
encouragement offered to the sailors; they saw naval stores accumulated
with the utmost industry, heard of nothing but the proof of new cannon,
and new contracts for provision; and how much reason soever they had to
question the sincerity of the great man who had so long engrossed the
management of all affairs, they did not imagine that he was yet so
abandoned to levy forces only to exhaust their money, and equip fleets
only to expose them to ridicule.
When, therefore, sir, after the usual delays, the papers had informed
the people that the great fleet was sailed, they no longer doubted that
the Spaniards were to be reduced to our own terms; they expected to be
told, in a few days, of the destruction of fleets, the demolition of
castles, and the plunder of cities; and everyone envied the fortune of
those who, by being admitted into their formidable fleet, were entitled
to the treasures of such wealthy enemies.
When they had for some time indulged these expectations, an account was
brought, that the fleet was returned without the least action, or the
least attempt, and that new provisions were to be taken in, that they
might set out upon another _secret expedition_.
But, sir, this wonder-working term had now lost its efficacy, and it was
discovered, that _secret expeditions_, like all other _secret services_,
were only expedients to drain the money of the people, and to conceal
the ignorance or villany of the minister.
Such has been the conduct for which we are desired to return thanks in
an humble and dutiful address, such are the transactions which we are to
recommend to the approbation of our constituents, and such the triumphs
upon which we must congratulate our sovereign.
For my part, sir, I cannot but think that silence is a censure too
gentle of that wickedness which no language can exaggerate, and for
which, as it has, perhaps, no example, human kind have not yet provided
a name. Murder, parricide, and treason, are modest appellations when
referred to that conduct by which a king is betrayed, and a nation
ruined, under pretence of promoting its interest, by a man trusted with
the administration of publick affairs.
Let us, therefore, sir, if it be thought not proper to lay before his
majesty the sentiments of his people in their full extent, at least not
endeavour to conceal them from him; let us, at least, address him in
such a manner as may give him some occasion to inquire into the late
transactions, which have for many years been such, that to inquire into
them is to condemn them.
Sir Robert WALPOLE rose again, and spoke to this effect:--Sir, though I
am far from being either confounded or intimidated by this atrocious
charge; though I am confident, that all the measures which have been so
clamorously censured, will admit of a very easy vindication, and that
whenever they are explained they will be approved; yet as an accusation
so complicated cannot be confuted without a long recapitulation of past
events, and a deduction of many particular circumstances, some of which
may require evidence, and some a very minute and prolix explication, I
cannot think this a proper day for engaging in the controversy, because
it is my interest that it may be accurately discussed.
At present, sir, I shall content myself with bare assertions, like those
of him by whom I am accused, and hope they will not be heard with less
attention, or received with less belief. For surely it was never denied
to any man to defend himself with the same weapons with which he is
attacked.
I shall, therefore, sir, make no scruple to assert, that the treasure of
the publick has been employed with the utmost frugality, to promote the
purposes for which it was granted; that our foreign affairs have been
transacted with the utmost fidelity, in pursuance of long consultations;
and shall venture to add, that our success has not been such as ought to
produce any suspicion of negligence or treachery.
That our design against Carthagena was defeated, cannot be denied; but
what war has been one continued series of success? In the late war with
France, of which the conduct has been so lavishly celebrated, did no
designs miscarry? If we conquered at Ramillies, were we not in our turn
beaten at Almanza? If we destroyed the French ships, was it not always
with some loss of our own? And since the sufferings of our merchants
have been mentioned with so much acrimony, do not the lists of the ships
taken in that war, prove that the depredations of privateers cannot be
entirely prevented?
The disappointment, sir, of the publick expectation by the return of the
fleets, has been charged upon the administration, as a crime too
enormous to be mentioned without horrour and detestation. That the
ministry have not the elements in their power, that they do not
prescribe the course of the wind, is a sufficient proof of their
negligence and weakness: with as much justice is it charged upon them,
that the expectations of the populace, which they did not raise, and to
which, perhaps, the conquest of a kingdom had not been equal, failed of
being gratified.
I am very far from hoping or desiring that the house should be satisfied
with a defence like this; I know, by observing the practice of the
opponents of the ministry, what fallacy may be concealed in general
assertions, and am so far from wishing to evade a more exact inquiry,
that if the gentleman who has thus publickly and confidently accused the
ministry, will name a day for examining the state of the nation, I will
second his motion.
[The address was at length agreed to, without a division.]
Mr. PULTENEY then moved, that the state of the nation should be
considered six weeks hence; sir Robert WALPOLE seconded the motion, and
it was unanimously agreed, that this house will, on the 21st of next
month, resolve itself into a committee of the whole house, to consider
of the state of the nation. But when that day came, sir Robert WALPOLE
having been able to defeat a motion which was to refer some papers to a
secret committee, the consideration of the state of the nation was put
off for a fortnight; but on the eve of that day, both houses adjourned
for fourteen days, during which, sir Robert WALPOLE resigned his
employments of first lord of the treasury, and chancellor and under
treasurer of his majesty's exchequer; and was created a peer, by the
title of lord WALPOLE, and earl of ORFORD.