' 
MIST ORY ;OF. EUR OPE. 
umph. In the continental mis- 
carriage we had, indeed, suffered 
some pecuniary loss, which could be 
easily repaired : and he was. so far 
_ from regretting what had been thus 
expended, that were it possible to 
recall what was. passed, he would 
ote for the assistance that had 
been actually given over again. 
The marquis of Lansdowne said, 
_ that in Ireland it had been a preju- 
dice td represent the government of 
this country, as careless of the sister 
‘kingdom. At present a new dis- 
content had arisen, and gentlemen 
who were in the habit of corre- 
sponding with Ireland, knew very 
well that they who had formerly 
taken the part ‘of the government, 
were now forced to acknowledge, 
that Ireland had been neglected. 
Applications had been made from 
thence for protection ; and it must 
be confessed that country had 
been abandoned by- England.— 
‘Ministers had pledged to keep up 
@ great land force in Ireland, 
[237 
was the notorious want of intelli- 
gence. The noble earl had said, 
that he would resign when he could 
find a person daring enough to con 
tend against the winds. What the 
public wanted was, not a man who 
could govern against the winds and 
waves, but one who would govern 
with them: thisiwas the case in the 
present instance. The wind had been 
favourable; and all that had been 
wanting, was an admiralty capable 
of making use of it. On the 16th of 
December, admiral Colpoys receiv- 
ed intelligence of the French having 
sailed, the wind continued fair, and 
if he had proper orders, he would 
have been off the Irish coast. Had 
the ships under lord Bridport been 
ready, the wind would still have 
been fair. The noble earl had 
talked of long nights; was it so 
great a reach of foresight to know 
that there were long nights in De- , 
cember? But the French fleet, it 
seemed, might have gone up the 
channel. In the first place, the 
wind was against them; but if they 
had, what would have been the 
case ? They would have been under 
lock and key. The remainder of 
the subject lay in a very small com- 
pass; it turned upon two points. 
which they had withdrawn, In 
the last war, a pledge had been 
' made, that a naval force should, in 
all future wars, be kept off the Irish 
| coast; and were he minister now, 
‘he should think it necessary to sta- 
tion a fleet in the Cove of Cork im- 
‘mediately. An’ inquiry could not 
but be satisfactory in every point 
of view; satisfactory to admiral Col- 
‘poys, to lord Bridport, and to the 
ofession at large. ‘There were, 
Resides, other persons concerned 
in the inquiry ; the admiralty, the 
“commissioners of accounts, and other 
inferior boards, It would not im- 
pede, but accelerate operations. 
Riinisters, indeed, had shewn some 
consciousness of the necessity of a 
Back inquiry at least, by their pro- 
“ducing papers ; and the first thing 
to be remarked on these papers 
‘ 
Why were not orders given to ad- 
miral Colpoys to go off Cape Clear? 
And why were not more ships kept 
ready at Portsmouth? 
The ear] Fitzwilliam said, that 
where there had been blame, there 
ought to be inquiry. Some expres- 
sions that had been thrown out of 
‘‘ greater care being required for 
England than Ireland,” would make | 
a deep impression on the minds of 
the people of that country ; and he 
was sorry to have heard them, 
Lord Grenvilleassured their lord- 
ships, that they might get their minds 
at Mest on the subject of Ireland ; 
which, 
