oO 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1804. 



CHAP IV. 



Lord Chancellor's Declaration on the State of His Majesty's Health. — Mr. 

 IHtt's Motion on the Mal-administration of the Navy — Debate- Motion 

 negatived. — Furious Debates in the House of Commons on the Volunteer 

 Consolidation Bill — in the Lords. — hish Militia xolunieer their Serrices — 

 King's Message thereon — Debate on the Address in the Lords — and in the 

 Cotnmons — Address earried. — Vote of Compensation to Lord Hood, and 

 the Fleet vndcr his Command, for the Ships captured at Toulon. — ■ 

 Adjournment. 



ON the ninth of March the royal 

 assent was given, by commission, 

 to several public and private bills : 

 before the commission was read, earl 

 l'''itzvvilliam expressed strong doubts, 

 founded on, he thought, good au. 

 thority, of his majesty's health being 

 such as to allow of his reassumptiou 

 of the regal functions. 



The Lord Chancellor declared, 

 ■that, having conceived it his duty to 

 have a personal interview with the 

 King, and having conversed with 

 }iim upon the subject of the bills now 

 about to be passed, the result upon 

 his mind was, that the lords com- 

 missioners were warranted in ex- 

 pressing the royal assent to them. 



A.S the political history of the 

 year will be separately considered, 

 we shall not here interrupt the course 

 of bur account of the parliamentary 

 proceedings, further than briefly to 

 remark, that, about this period, a 



mutual 



good 



understanding was 



per^'plible between that party of 

 wliich^ Mr. Pitt was the leader, 

 and those who Icoked to lord 

 Grenville and Mr. Fox as their 

 chiefs. Wliether this accordance 

 was directed solely by the wish to 

 snbvert the present administratioB, 



or by a sincere desire to co-operate 

 in the preservation of the country, in 

 the present awful crisis, were points 

 upon which time alone could decide ; 

 certain it is, that it put the seal uj)0H 

 the fate of Mr. Addington's govern- 

 ment, and gave to the country the 

 flattering hope of one, which 

 should unite in it, the talent, the 

 wisdom, and the character of the em- 

 pire. 



The first fruits of this union of 

 sentiment, was manifested in the 

 public conduct of Mr. Pitt, who, on 

 the 15th of March, made his pro- 

 mised motion, in the house of com- 

 mons, for an enquiry into the admi- 

 nistration of the navy. Tic began by 

 stating the object of the diil'erent 

 motions he had to submit to the 

 house. The first was, for an ac- 

 count of the number of ships of the 

 line, and armed vessels of all descrip- 

 tions, which were in commission on 

 the 31st of December, 17S3, on the 

 3()th of September, 1801, and on 

 the 31st of December, 1803. The 

 object of this account would be to 

 institute a comparison between the 

 state of our naval strength at tliese 

 different periods : and he thought, 

 tlie result would be a Gouviction, 



that, , 



