HISTORY OF EUROPE. 
patched to the relief of the tro ps 
in the islands, and not kept inactive 
at home. He would also :require 
a list of the officers and soldiers lost, 
Specifying the loss ofeach regiment. 
Such information would shew what 
adrain these expeditions had proved 
from the population of the British 
islands, and how much they tended 
to weaken them- Accounts.ougbt, 
hy the same reason, to be laid be- 
fore the house, of the pumbers 
carried off in the ports of South- 
ampton, Portsmouth,and Plymouth, 
were itunly to make known the ini- 
quitous negleét of those who could 
leave troops confined seven months 
on board, exposed to the infallible 
efleéts of such a close imprisonment, 
notwithstanding the remonstrances 
made to government. He moved, 
at the same time, for the produc- 
tion of other documents of the same 
nature, by which he pledged him- 
self to prove the misconduct of mi- 
nisters ; adding, that unlegs they 
felt a consciousness of the pnb 
of his charges, they would gladly 
seize the occasion, now offered them, 
of vindicating themselves from the 
imputations so loudly and generally 
laid to them by the public. 
The difficulty of the minister’s 
situation, was strongly represented 
by Mr. Dundas. Papers and docu- 
ments were demanded from them, 
of which official seciecy prohibited 
the communication to the public. 
The time would certainly come, 
when they would gladly meet the 
Stri€test scrutiny of their conduct, 
sure that it would stand the severest 
_ test. All bad been done in the West 
Indies that circumstances would per- 
mit, and reinforcements and sup- 
plies of all kinds had been trans- 
mitted without delay, on the first 
notice of their being wanted. 
[67 
In the course of this debate, the 
transaétions, under sir C. Grey, 
came into discussion. .Mr. Fox, 
Mr. Sheridan; Mr, Francis, and ge- 
neral Tarleton, inferred,from words 
spoken by Mr. Dundas, that he 
meant toinculpate the conduét of 
that officer; but both he and Mr. 
Pitt bestowed the highest enco- 
miums upon him. Mr. Grey, the 
member, declared, however, that 
sir C. Grey was earnesily desirous 
to give every elucidation respe¢ting 
the business with which he had been 
entrusted. 
On the twenty-eightb of April, a 
violent debate took place on those 
subjects. Mr. Dundas entered into 
a minute and elabovate recapitulae 
tion of the conduct of government, 
respecting the West Indies. He 
carefully detailed the forces of the 
kingdom, and what had been dee 
tached from them, on expeditions 
to those parts. Heyave a circum- 
stantial account of all that bad bape 
peied there, and exerted himself to 
shew that the disasters and disap- 
pointments, that had befailen us, 
arose irom accidents that were 
wholly unavcidable: the conduét of 
our comrmgnders had been judicious, 
and that of ministry irreproachable, 
This apology did not prove satis- 
faétory to the opposition. The im- 
putation of having neglected the 
troops, in the West Indies, Was Tee 
asserted, byM-. Sheridan,with much 
etter and the distribution of 
the forces assigned to the variqus ser~ 
vices that took place at that time, 
improbated as ill-judged ; and some 
of the services themselves repre. 
sented as unseasonable, and inter- 
fering with the others. The troops 
destined for the West-India expedi- 
tion were also described as unwore 
thy the name of soldiers: they con- 
[F2] sisted 
