40] ANNUAL REGISTE R, 1813. 



than sufficient.the blockading force 

 in many places being less than the 

 force blockaded. He had never 

 met with a naval officer who en- 

 tertained the opinion of the noble 

 mover respecting the possibility of 

 completely blockading the Ame- 

 rican ports. As to what he had 

 said relative to the ships which had 

 been opposed to the Americans, 

 lord M. observed, that we were 

 not to alter the classes of ships in 

 the British navj' merely because 

 there were three American ships 

 of unusual dimensions. All naval 

 officers agreed in the opinion that 

 it was not proper to multiply the 

 classes of vessels; and it was far 

 better to send out T^'s than to set 

 about building ships only fit to 

 cope with the American navy. 

 The advice to diminish the num- 

 ber of small vessels was one in 

 which no experienced person could 

 concur, since these were peculiarly 

 requisite toprotect our tradeagainst 

 the enemy's privateers. The ba- 

 lance of capture was so far from 

 being in favour of the Americans, 

 that it was the reverse. With re- 

 spect to not sooner issuing letters 

 of marque, the delay was for the 

 purpose of knowing the reception 

 given by the Americans to our pro- 

 posals of accommodation. As to 

 the charge of mismanagement in 

 the dock-yards, measures had been 

 taken to remedy defects. Some of 

 our ships, it was true, had under- 

 gone a rapid decay, through haste 

 in the building ; but it was neces- 

 sary that our exerfions should keep 

 pace with those of the enemy. — 

 For all these reasons he should 

 give his vote against the motion. 

 Earl Stanhope made a speech 

 chiefly relative to his own plans 

 for the improvement of naval ar- 

 chitecture. The most remarkable 



part was his reference to the con- 

 trivances of Mr. Fulton for blowing 

 up ships under water, whose of- 

 fers, he said, had been rejected by 

 Bonaparte, but had been accepted 

 by Mr. Pitt and lord Melville, 

 who after his failure at Boulogne, 

 made a compromise with him for 

 a considerable sum, with which he 

 went to America. Earl S. said, he 

 had given a plan to the admiralty 

 for preventing the effect of his in- 

 ventions, which he thought of a 

 formidable nature. 



The Earl of Galloiuay entered 

 into some professional remarks re- 

 specting the naval disasters of the 

 American war, which he attributed 

 very much to the power of the 

 enemy to man their few large fri- 

 gates with prime sailors; whereas the 

 great demand for men in our navy 

 had rendered it necessary to admit 

 a large proportion of an inferior 

 class. He touched upon the pro- 

 pensity of our seamen to desert, 

 which he thought might be best 

 obviated by an increase of petty 

 officers made from the best among 

 them, and by more liberal remu- 

 neration. He was also of opinion, 

 in opposition to lord Melville, 

 that ships of precisely the same 

 kind with those of the Americans 

 should be built, in order to contend 

 with them. He asserted that he 

 should have approved of the mo- 

 tion^had its objects been, not cen- 

 sure, but inquiry. 



Earl Grey began with adverting 

 to the contract of the admiralty 

 with Mr. Fulton, and the com- 

 promise which he himself had ne- 

 gociated, in the conviction that 

 his invention would not prove of 

 the smallest utility. He confessed, 

 however, that such was his dis- 

 like to this mode of warfare, that 

 he had passed many uneasy nights 



