GENERAL HISTORY. 



[95 



assumed to be vested in tlietn- 

 selves. Such proceedings would 

 call for severity ; but be hoped that 

 this society needed only to be no- 

 ticed to sink into oblivion ; and he 

 wished therefore that the House 

 should separate without any di- 

 vision. 



Lord Castlereagh entirely con- 

 curred with the last speaker. It 

 was but justice to the individuals 

 who composed the society in ques- 

 tion to say that they were not dis- 

 affected to the state; but the act 

 of 1799 stamped illegality upon all 

 such associations. They were al- 

 ways dangerous, but especially so 

 when extended to military bodies. 



Mr. Wynn said, that in com- 

 pliance with the general wish of 

 the House, ho would withdraw his 

 motion ; but he hoped that his ma- 

 jesty's ministers would be alive to 

 every attempt to carry the plan of 

 these societies into execution. 



On June 28th, the following 

 message was presented by the 

 Chancellor of the Exchequer to the 

 House of Commons. 



" The Prince Regent, in the 

 name and on the behalf of his Ma- 

 jesty, considering that it may be 

 of very great importance to pro- 

 vide for such emergencies as may 

 arise, and relying on the expe- 

 rienced zeal and affection of the 

 House of Commons, trusts that 

 this House will enable him to take 

 such measures as may be necessary 

 to disappoint or defeat any enter- 

 prizes or designs of his enemies, 

 and as the exigency of affairs may 

 reouire." 



The report upon this message 

 being brought up on June 3()th, 

 Mr. Whitbrend rose to make a 

 few observations previous to an 



address which he meant to move 

 to the Prince Regent, with a view 

 of putting his sentiments upon re- 

 cord. He first remarked upon the 

 unprecedented amount of the vote 

 of credit proposed, being the sum 

 of five millions, which he thought 

 infinitely too great. He then al- 

 luded to two different periods, that 

 of the French emperor's being pur- 

 sued from Russia almost within his 

 ancient boundaries, and that of 

 the retreat of the allies beyond the 

 Elbe, in which terms of negocia- 

 tion for peace appeared to him at- 

 tainable, but had been neglected. 

 He thought that the conduct of 

 the allies in their treaties for the 

 dismemberment of Denmark, and 

 their holding out no expectations 

 of the restoration of Poland, prov- 

 ed that they had not at heart the 

 real benefit of mankind, or a sin- 

 cere wish to establish peace on the 

 continent ; and he hoped that the 

 cabinet of St. James's would co- 

 operate in any future attempts to 

 effect that desirable end. Not, 

 however, having the confidence he 

 could wish in our councils, he 

 meant to move a temperate ad- 

 dress on the subject when the vote 

 of credit should be agreed to. 



Lord Castlereagh thought it 

 would be best on all accounts not 

 to enter into any details on the 

 points noticed by the last speaker, 

 whose views concerning peace 

 were rather peculiar, since he ima- 

 gined that negociation could al- 

 ways be entered upon, and never 

 was it attempted but he consi- 

 dered his own government as the 

 party placing impediments in its 

 way. If the hon. member were 

 not blind to what passed on the 

 other side of the water, he would 

 have read in an official instrument 



