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A N K UAL REGISTER, 179k 



fleet he was preparing at Brest, in 

 order to make a trial of his naval 

 process with the strength of 

 Great Bi^tain, on what is not im- 

 properly call-ed her own ele- 

 ment. 



To prepare for a contest, the 

 issue of which would be very seri- 

 ous to the losing party, was equally 

 the study of the British govern- 

 ment. On the 27th of January 

 1 794, Lord Arden moved, that 

 the number of seamen for the ser- 

 vice of the r.avy, during tlie 

 approaching season, should be aug- 

 mented to 85,000. The motion 

 was chearfuUy complied with ; all 

 parties, even those who disap- 

 proved of the war as unnecessary, 

 were alike convinced of the pro- 

 priety of carrying it on with vigour 

 after it had been undtrtkkfn, and of 

 supporting the honour of the 

 British arms, both by sea and land, 

 against an enemy who, flushed 

 v'ith his late successes, was become 

 more dangerous than ever, and 

 menaced Britain particularly, as 

 the chief agent in the coalition 

 against him. 



Mr. Fox, though he acquiesced 

 in the motion, was very severe in 

 his examination of the conduct of 

 the war. Ministers, he observed, 

 had boasted of the good condition 

 and great services of the navy dur- 

 ing the preceding year, particu- 

 larly of the attention shewn to the 

 commercial fleet ; and yet it ap- 

 peared that several branches of our 

 trade had greatly suffered ; seven- 

 teen of the traders to the Baltic 

 had been taken, and they had all 

 narrowly escaped : the shipping 

 from Quebec had been left to the 

 protection of only one ship In a 

 bad condition ; and their safe ar- 

 rival was owing to the circumstance 



of the absence of an enemy. In the 

 Channel, six French frigates had 

 been siutTl-red to take twenty-six 

 sail of rich me:chantmen. These 

 p«ticulaTs made him doubtful of 

 the care and vigilance professed 

 by the ministry. Nor was it cer- 

 tain that we had not lost as many 

 Vessels in the foregoing year as in 

 1771, when we contended alone 

 with Holland, Fiance, and Spain. 

 It was an undeniable fyt, that, 

 since the commencement of the 

 war, in February last year, the 

 French had seized near one hun- 

 dred vessels more than they had 

 lost. 



Mr. Pitt, in reply, stated, that 

 no ships had fallen into the enemy's 

 hands tbrough want of convoy. 

 Six French frigates had remained 

 uninterrupted in the Channel the 

 space of six days, while our fleet 

 just returned fiom a crui'z^, was 

 lying in port to refit; but they 

 were soon driven inio their own 

 harbours. Our successes at sea 

 had, on the whole, been great : 

 oar East and West India fleets had 

 safely arrived at their destinations 

 abroad, and sailed securely home : 

 our trade was immense, and pros- 

 pered in every quarter of the globe. 

 The.se were truths that could not 

 be controverted. The British na- 

 vy had, in the mean time, ruled 

 irresistibly in evxry sea. Many 

 years would elapse before the ' 

 French could recover from the 

 blow they had received at Toulon. 

 Our fleets were out everywhere in 

 search of the enemy, who con- 

 stantly avoided coming to action. 

 As to the intelligence brought from ' 

 France, relating to the advantages 

 of which the French were con- 

 tinually boasting, b.ut little reliance 

 could be placed upon it ; and the 



speakers 



