100] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1800. 



CHAP. VII. 



Message from his Majesty, respecting the Employment of German 



Troops instead of Russians. — Debates thereon in both Houses — 



Motions for an Inquiry into the Failure of the Dutch Expedition, in 



both Houses. — Debates thereon. — Supplies required. — Ways and 



. Means for raising them. 



Message was brought down 

 from his majesty to the house 

 of peers, on the thirteenth of Fe- 

 bruary, stating, that his majesty was, 

 at present, employed in concerting 

 such engagements with the emperor 

 of Germany, the elector of Bavaria, 

 and other powers of the empire, 

 as might strengthen the efforts of 

 his imperialmajesty, and materially 

 conduce to the advantage of the 

 common cause, in the course of the 

 ensuing campaign. His majesty pro- 

 mised to give directions that these 

 engagements, as soon as they should 

 have been completed and ratified, 

 should be laid before the House. 

 But, in order to ensure the benefit 

 of this co-operation at an early pe- 

 riod, his majesty was desirous of au- 

 thorizing his minister to make pro- 

 visionally such advances as might be 

 necessary, in the first instance, for 

 that purpose ; and he recommended 

 it tQ the House to make such pro- 

 vision accordingly. — A similar mes- 

 sage was delivered to the house 

 of commons. — The secretary of 

 state for foreign affairs, lord Gren- 

 ville, in the house of peers, moved 

 an address to his majesty, thank- 

 ing his majesty for his gracious 

 communication, and assuring him 

 that the house, conscious of the ne- 

 cessity of prosecuting the war with 



vigour, would readily concur in the 

 wishesof his majesty, and give their 

 support to such measures as should 

 be deemed most likely to make good 

 his engagements with his allies. 



Lord Holland said, that if the 

 purport of the present measure were 

 merely to exchange Russian for Ger- 

 man mercenaries, to that he not 

 only should have no objection, but 

 even should think we had gained 

 by the exchange. We should 

 have the satisfaction of knowing 

 that those we employed, rendered 

 the horrors of war less heart-break- 

 ing, less disgusting, than those we 

 expected to employ. We should 

 also gain in point of soldiers ; for he 

 was happy to find that the troops of 

 the more enlightened and civilized 

 nations of Austria, Prussia, France, 

 and England, were greatly superior 

 to the Russians in discipline, in cou- 

 rage, in military skill, and all the 

 qualifications necessary to form a 

 powerful army. It was a matter of 

 sincere satisfaction to find, that skill 

 and civilization had so decided a su- 

 periority over ignorance and bar- 

 barity; that the enlightened nations 

 of the South had not so much to fear, 

 as had often been thought, from 

 the inroads of those savage and 

 ignorant barbarians of the North. 

 But it was not a mere exchange of 



