236 | 
dition failed, the whole blame was 
_ thrown upon ministers, withont 
stopping to ascertain, whether they 
were, in fact, guilty. - Itwas sup- 
posed, that they could, at pleasure, 
command the winds and waves, and 
send a fleet up or down the chan- 
nel ata moment’s warning. It had 
been represented, though without 
loss on our part, as a national dis- 
grace: yet whatever failure there 
was, it was on the side of the ene- 
my; who had lost, in all, he be- 
lieved, ‘eleven armed vessels. It 
might have been supposed, from the 
manner in which some noble lords 
had spoken, that this was a com- 
plete triumph of the French fleet 
overours: whereas, infact, their only 
boast was, that they had succeeded 
in escaping from our fleet. When, 
before the administration of the pre- 
sent ministry, would the French 
have condescended to make such a 
boast ? When, before the existence 
of the present ministry, would they 
not have considered it as a disgrace? 
Noble lords had complimented 
ministry justly, though uninten- 
tionally. “ You have not, said he, 
been able to catch this miserable 
wreck of a French fleet.” Who, 
exclaimed lord Grenville, made it a 
wreck? The present government. 
In no former administration, he ob- 
served, bad this country ever been 
able to keep two fleets in the chan- 
nel; each of them equal to that of 
the French ; the one ready for sail- 
ing, the other blocking up Brest. 
But if noble lords supposed, that 
because our fleet was superior, the 
enemy, if the administration had 
directed it properly, could not have 
got to the coast of Ireland, he would 
refer them to two instances—one in 
1689, in which year the French 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1797. 
landed in Ireland, notwithstanding 
that lord Torrington was at sea 
with a formidable fleet: and one in 
the succeeding year, when the same 
attempt was made with success, al- 
though admiral Russel did every 
thing in his power to prevent it. 
As to Ireland, lord Grenville was 
ready to allow, that its defence, as 
well as that of England, depended 
on the fieet: but the internal state 
of Ireland, notwithstanding all that 
had been alleged, he had the satis- 
faction to assure their lordships, was 
by no means sdch as to render such 
an invasion at’ all alarming. The 
French affected to have some hopes 
of being joined in Ireland; but the 
event shewed how much they were 
mistaken. This was a convincing 
argument in answer to those who 
declaimed on the discontents in Ire- 
land, and would, he hoped, prevent 
or be recollected in all future dis- 
cussions on that subject. He begged 
leave, in justice to his majesty’s 
ministers, to bring to their lord- 
ships’ recollection, the different in- 
stances in which the naval under- | 
takings of the French had, in the 
course of the present war, been de- 
feated. The shameful and cow- 
ardly conduct of Richery, after he 
left. Toulon, and the manner in 
which he avoided the British squa- 
dron till he was strengthened by 
the accession of a British fleet ; the 
event of the first of June, one of the 
most memorable in the history of 
nautical affairs; and the late de- 
cisive victory, were evidence or 
which the defence of the country 
particularly depended. Whatever 
we might feel for the miscarriage of 
the undertakings of our allies on the 
continent, in our naval under- 
takings there was nothing but tri- 
umph 
