HISTORY OF EUROPE 
“ministers were not only acquiesced 
in, but generally popular? Had not 
the war been approved of by a vast 
majority of the ‘country; and prose- 
cuted, through all its’ various stages, 
with the concurring and most deci- 
‘sive approbation of parliament ? 
Was it not to his majesty’s ministers 
that the country was indebted: for 
the prevention of that anarchy to 
which the language of those who 
‘opposed them so strongly tended ? 
“When he considered the present si-_ 
- tuation of public affairs, and turned 
his thoughts to all the consequences 
likely to result from a base and ser- 
vile. compliance with the leading 
doctrines of the day, he’ should 
boldly say, that his majesty’s mi- 
nisters would nottamely ‘desert that 
bonourable post which they bad hi- 
therto so happily filled, by direct- 
ing all ‘their efforts to the ease, 
contentment, and happiness of the 
people. He confessed, that, were 
the motion to be carried in the af- : 
- firmative, it would impart to him 
the most serious concern and_re- 
~gret; not on his own persona} ac- 
count, but, that he would, thereby, 
be cut off from the best opportuni- 
* ties’ of contributing his talents, such 
~ as they were, to the security, in- 
terest, and bappiness, of his gracious ' 
| master and his country, it would 
- fot, indeed, become him, he said, 
to''make any comparison between 
his ‘own capacity and that of any of 
the noble lords who uniformly’ op- 
posed his :najesty’s ministers : but, 
_ on the ground of’ an active zeal for | 
_ the real interests of the state, and’ 
of a decided ard unaltérable: reso-' 
Ze lution to oppose, by the most un- 
‘wearied exertions ‘and the ‘most 
‘vigorous efforts, those principles 
_ which struck at the very existetice 
ef the: constitution, he would be 
Ss . 
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[263 
bold to maintain, that he was se- 
cond to none.’ As to a reform of 
parliament, the chief measure’ pro- 
posed ‘by noble lords in opposition, 
he had ever opposed that innovation, 
and even a temperate reform. “He 
concluded. by intreating their lerd- 
ships ‘to reflect) that,'1f they onte 
opened the’ flood-gates’ of innova- 
“tion, ‘the terrent’ of anarchy would 
spread so'forcibly’and wide, ‘that it 
would not bein the power of their 
lordships, ‘by opposing’ theit feeble 
hands'‘as a barrier to destruction, to 
prevent the constitution from’ being 
overwhelmed in general ruin. 
The duke of Leeds, with a dig- 
nified ‘modesty and candour,' ex« 
pressed, in delicate terms, a degree 
of dissatisfaction ‘at ‘the’ lofty tone 
of the speech the house had just 
heard: at the same time, that he 
did not wish, at the present crisis, 
to urge all that might be advanced 
against the conduct of administra- 
tion. ‘The abilities of the present 
ministers, he’ was ready to allow, 
nor would he ‘say that they had 
been intentionally wicked. He 
could not help conceiving, how- 
ever, that they had been pecu- 
liarly unfortunate, and therefore, 
he begged leave to submit to thes 
re-consideration of the right ho- 
nourable secretary, whether it would 
not be'more delicate and decorous 
to leave the task of praising either 
their. own talents or. virtues,’ to 
others, than taking it, and that, 
he could not but say, on so many 
occasions, particularly in that house, 
upon themselves. He could not 
help conéeiving that the ‘noble se- 
cretary had, as it were, made the 
constitution ‘depend for preserva- 
tion, not so much upon its own 
intrinsic. merit, ag upon the con- 
tinuance of the present’ miniéters 
m 
aad 
