1. "That the thanks of this House be given to rear admiral lord Nelson, knight of the most honourable order of the Bath, for his able and gallant conduct in the memorable and decisive victory obtained over the French fleet, near the mouth of the Nile, on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of August last. 2. "That the thanks of this House be given to the several captains and officers in the fleet under the command of rear admiral Jord Nelson, on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of August last, who, by their bravery and good conduct, contributed to the glorious success of those days; and that rear admiral lord Nelson do signify the same to them. 3. "That this House doth highly ap -prove of, and acknowledge the services of the seamen and marines, on board the ships under the command of rear admiral lord Nelson, in the late glorious victory over the French fleet, near the mouth of the Nile; and that the officers, commanding the several ships, do signify the same to their respective crews, and do thank them for their good behaviour. 4"That the thanks of this House be given to Sir John Borlase Warren, baronet, and knight of the most honourable order of the Bath, for his meritorious and successful exertions on the 12th of October last, in the total defeat of a French armament, destined for the invasion of the kingdom of Ireland. 5. "That the thanks of this House be given to the several captains, and other officers, on board his majesty's ships which were engaged with the French squadron, destined for the coast of Ireland, in the month of October last, for their bravery and gallant conduct in the defeat of that armament; and that sir John Borlase Warren do signify the same to them. 6. "That this House doth highly approve of and acknowledge, the services of the seamen and marines on board the several ships engaged with the French squadron, destined to the coast of Ireland, in the month of October last, and that the officers, commanding the several ships, do signify the same to their respective crews, and do thank them for their good behaviour." Similar resolutions were moved in the Commons by Mr. Secretary Dundas, and agreed to, nem. con. together with the following: "That an humble address be presented to his majesty, humbly desiring that his majesty will be pleased to give directions, that a monument be erected in the cathedral church of St. Paul's, London, to the memory of captain George Blagdon Westcott, of his majesty's ship Majestic, who fell gloriously in the naval engagement of the first of August last, when a decisive victory was obtained by rear admiral lord Nelson over the French fleet off the mouth of the Nile; and that this House will make good the expense attending the same." King's Message for granting an Annuity to Lord Nelson.] November 22. Mr. Pitt presented the following Message from his Majesty: "GEORGE R. "His Majesty having taken into his royal consideration the signal and glorious service performed by rear admiral lord Nelson in the memorable and decisive victory obtained over a superior French fleet off the mouth of the Nile, in the month of August last, not only in the highest degree honourable to himself, but eminently beneficial to his majesty's kingdoms; and being desirous to bestow upon the said rear admiral lord Nelson some considerable and lasting mark of his royal favour as a testimony of his majesty's approbation of such distinguished service, and for this purpose to give and grant to the said rear admiral lord Nelson, and the two next successors, heirs male of the body of the said rear admiral lord Nelson, the title of baron Nelson of the Nile, and Burnham Thorpe in the county of Norfolk, shall descend, for and during their lives, a nett annuity of 2,000l. per annum. But his majesty not having it in his power to grant an annuity to that amount, or to extend the effect of the said grant beyond the term of his own life, recommends it to his faithful Commons to consider of a proper method of enabling his majesty to grant the same, and of extending, se. curing, and settling such annuity to the said rear admiral lord Nelson, and the two next persons on whom the title of baron Nelson of the Nile, and of Burn ham Thorpe, in the county of Norfolk, shall descend, in such manner as shall be most effectual for the benefit of the said rear admiral lord Nelson and his family. G. R." Nov. 23. On the order of the day for going into a Committee of the whole House on the said Message, The House then resolved itself into the committee, in which it was resolved, nem. con. "That the annual sum of 2,000. be granted to his majesty out of the Consolidated Fund, to commence from the 1st day of August 1798, and be settled in the most beneficial manner upon the present lord Nelson, and the two next succeeding Heirs Male of the Body of the said lord Nelson, to whom the title of Baron Nelson of the Nile, and of Burnham Thorpe, in the county of Norfolk, shall descend." Navy Estimates.] Nov. 26. The House having resolved itself into a Committee of Supply, lord Arden moved, "That it is the opinion of this committee, that 120,000 men be employed for the sea service, for the year 1799, including 20,000 marines." After a short conversation, the Resolution was agreed to. Mr. Jones said:-From no man can come | predatory army of Buonaparté (and such a more sincere acknowledgement of the I may infer they are, from their general's royal message before us than myself. address), may be cut in pieces, and not one The victory obtained by lord Nelson is man saved to tell the tale in Paris; that above all praise. The consequences are the armament (of transports) may be so eventful and eventual, that, if rightly wholly destroyed, and that there be not a followed up by his majesty's ministers, wreck left behind. the noble lord may be hereafter (I think I do not exceed the mark), justly called the Saviour of Mankind. As to the armament itself, which is connected nearly with the object of the message, when it lay at Toulon, I often hazarded an opinion that its destination was India, but I could not find three people to agree with me. I am sorry I was right, and I hope that his majesty's ministers, and the directors of the East India company thought as I did, and took their measures accordingly. Now, Sir, I shall pass from that long, awful, and solemn suspense which the nation laboured under; I shall pass, with the warmth of an Englishman, to the scene of action, that scene of glory to the British arms-that scene of confusion and dismay to the French-that scene of wonder and delight to the unlettered and paralyzed Arab-that scene of astonishment to the whole world! Here, Sir, I will observe on the immediate consequences of this victory as they strike me : from that moment the king of Naples felt easy on his throne, and ceased to temporize with the Directory. The cold Russian grew warm in the common cause against the common enemy; the proud and stately Porte forgot old animosities, their mutual jealousies subsided, their heart-burnings ceased, they shook hands, the tocsin was rung, the warwhoop was sounded through their distant regions with the rapidity of lightning and the tone of thunder, and thousands of armed men rushed forth, panting to crush an expedition engendered in horrible, diabolical ambition, concerted and carried on with hypocrisy under the mask of friendship, acted upon with extravagance and wildness of perfidy, unexampled in the annals of history, unparalleled since the creation of the world. I know not any word to call the expedition by, and I shall take the liberty to anglicize a word of their own for that purpose; the only one I think which can nearly reach its nature, Sir, I call it the last, though not least, monstrosity of that horrid, unaccountable, unfathomable revolution. I humbly pray that the Almighty may go forth with the combined fleets and armies, and that the Nov. 27. The Resolutions of the Committee of Supply being reported, Sir John Sinclair said, he hesitated not to declare his full conviction, that 110,000 was the utmost extent to which we could possibly go with any attention to propriety. The principal grounds on which he rested his opinion, were, the ruined state of the French navy: the skill and spirit uniformly displayed by our own; the assistance we were likely to receive from Russia, Turkish, Portuguese, and Neapolitan auxiliaries, not forgetting the new maritime power that was rising in America, and the aid which, according to report, we were to receive from Sweden and Denmark; the inoccupation of a vast number. of our ships undergoing repairs or rotting in harbours; the necessity of public economy; and the prudence of a gradual disbandment of our soldiers and sailors, and leaving hands sufficient for the purposes of agriculture and commerce. General Tarleton wished the House not to mistake what were the sentiments of gentlemen on his side of the House, respecting the importance of the navy to the country. He could assure them that not one of his hon. friends entertained the same sentiments on that subject, as the hon. baronet. The resolution was then agreed to. danger of invasion operated upon the public mind, and much of the expense was incurred to provide against that calamity. Now, the skill and valour of our gallant officers and the steadiness of our men, had removed all fear with regard to invasion; and yet ministers held out no hope of any retrenchment. He should not vote upon any of the resolutions of that night, nor should he deliver, in detail, his sentiments upon them. He would only notice the speech of the secretary at war, as far as it regarded the subject of economy. He was sure there was not a man who heard him, who did not think there ought to be the severest economy in every part of the state. But while he said this, he was one of the last men in the country who would wish, by an ill-judged notion of saving, to damp the ardour of the people of this country. He wished not only that their force should be respectable, but that they might be made to stand in a proud and menacing attitude against the enemy. He would add, although by so doing he ha zarded some reproach out of doors, that it was not in the salaries of public offices that he wished to see a general reduction, for he was persuaded, that, with a few ex ceptions, they were not overpaid. Debate in the Commons on the Army Estimates.] Nov. 30. The House having resolved itself into a committee of supply, The Secretary at War moved the order of the day, to consider farther of a supply which being read, the House resolved itself into a committee of the whole House. Mr. Windham (secretary at war) proceeded to open the army estimates. The difference between this and the last year would, he said, be something more than one million. The objects which had created this difference were the supplementary militia, the provisional cavalry, the volunteer corps, and barracks. The estimates for 1797 amounted to 6,900,000l. Those of the following year were voted at two different times. The first sum (5,900,000l.) would have answered for the charges of the last year, were it not that other objects, not expected at the time the estimates were made, arose out of the situation of affairs that afterwards took place. The charges attendant upon those new arrangements, added to those already estimated for the year ending 1798, amounted in the whole to 8,305,9231. Besides these increased establishments, which were to be kept up for the ensuing year, there were some volunteer corps that had not been called out till the present time, and others that had considerably increased since the last estimate: on this account the estimate for the ensuing year would amount to somewhat more than 9 millions. There was one circumstance which had swelled the estimate of 1798 above that of the preceding year, and that was the augmentation of pay to the army; and, he apprehended, that was an increase which must continue. He declined entering into any arguments upon the necessity of it, because the subject had been amply discussed when it was first under the consideration of parliament. The right hon. gentleman concluded with moving his first resolution, "That it is the opinion of this committee, that a number of land forces, including 5760 invalids, not exceeding 52,051 effective men, commissioned and non-commissioned officers, be employed for the year 1799." Mr. Tierney declared, that the public had a right to say that the secretary at war had deluded them; for, last year, the Mr. Pitt said, he was inclined never to oppose economy where it was consistent with the due performance of public duty; but he would not lose sight of the senti ment which had been so properly expressed by the hon. gentleman opposite. That hon. gentleman had said, that this country should be put in a powerful and menacing attitude towards the enemy. But then he said that we had not the full advantage of our successes-successes which were felt and enjoyed by this country, while every other nation in the world beheld with astonishment and admiration the repeated exertions which produced them. It seemed that we were to forega every idea of an invasion of this country; and therefore we had an opportunity of attending to minute economy. He hoped the committee would not be so unmanly as to give way to that idea: he said unmanly, for he knew of nothing more unmanly than to catch at success, and to neglect all future exertion as unnecessary, Undoubtedly nothing could excel the splendor of our successes: they would in former times, and under former circumstances, have terminated any con fest; but what successes, what triumphs, what glory of her enemy could affect the disposition of that nation whose rulers counted as no- | chance of destroying this country, or inthing the interest, the treasure, or even deed of overturning the liberty of other the blood of their subjects? Therefore, nations. But, although they were at prewith the best wishes for economy, he sent discomfited in their scheme at the could not consent to carry it farther than Nile, they might not have given up all it could be accompanied by prudence. ideas of invading this country; and should We had yet to deal with an enemy of they entertain such an idea, how wild and whom it might be said, that they were chimerical it might be, it would gain not limited by rules of law, or justice, or ground in their minds, if they saw this prudence, or by any of the maxims which country, day after day, weakening that governed the policy of those states which force, which, while it was kept entire, were called regular monarchies; for they would remain invulnerable. He was therehad hitherto been totally uncontrolled fore most clearly of opinion, that we by remorse, compunction, prudence, or should increase, instead of lessening our humanity. They had shown a readiness efforts. to hazard their own existence for the bare The Resolutions were then agreed to. END OF VOL. XXXIII. Printed by T. C. Hansard, Peterborough-Court, |