S ANNUAL REGISTER, 1803. 
to suppose that France will be more 
favourable to Great Britain, than to 
Piedmont, Switzerland, &c. We had 
no claim to her partiality.” His 
Lordship concluded, by expressing 
his opinion that Great Britain might 
still be able to rouse the powers of 
Europe, if its councils were under 
the direction of a leader of courage 
and capacity, of the man (Mr. Pitt) 
to whom Europe looked up for the 
preservation of its dearest nights and 
diberties. 
Lord Pelham hoped that neither 
the house nor the country would 
believe that there was any thing in 
the speech which applied to the 
augmentation of our forces, as if 
war was inevitable. It was a mea- 
sure of prudence rather than neces- 
sity, and dictated by the present 
appearance of affairs on the conti- 
nent of Europe. As to our want 
of confidence mn France, it may be 
readily perceived that after such a 
Jong and dreadful war, a spirit of 
jealousy must long continue. This 
was of itself a suflicient ground 
for the watchfulness now recom- 
mended. 
Lord Carysfort expressed his re- 
gret that both the speech from the 
throne, and that from the noble se- 
cretary, admitted that we were not 
prepared at present to enter into 
a contest with France. The treaty 
of Amiens had certainly been vio- 
lated, but while France was in pos- 
sesion of the isle of Elba, and the 
principal strong places of the Me- 
diterranean, he could not conceive 
that she would make the possession 
of Malta a very important object. 
‘Lord Hobart vindicated the con- 
duct of administration from thé 
charge of incompetency, advanced 
by lord Grenyille; he thought it ne- 
ea 
cessary to recal to the recollection 
of the house, that they had not 
courted the situations they now 
held. He regretted, as much as 
any man, the resignation of the 
noble lord and _ his colleagues in of- 
fice, but that change was not pro- 
duced by the measures of his ma~ 
jesty’s presentservants. He thought 
that when the noble lord spoke of 
the perilous situation of the coun- 
try at the present moment, he had 
forgotten the state in which he left 
it, when he resigned; and if he 
and his friends then chose to aban- 
don their posts, when the country 
was in real danger, he did not think 
that on that account the house 
should be told that the interests of 
Europe had been sacrificed. His 
majesty’s ministers concluded a 
peace, when the objects of the war 
were no longer attainable. The 
noble lord so well knew the diffi- 
culties of office, that he thought in 
criminating the present administra~’ 
tion for incapacity, he was at the 
same time criminating himself for 
relinquishing his situation. 
The question was then put upon 
the address, and carried nemine 
dissentiente. 
In the house of commons, on the 
same day, a similar address was 
moved. 
The hon. Mr. Trench (member 
for Galway). rose, to propose an 
address of thanks to his majesty. 
He observed, that in a new parlia- 
ment, which had been the first 
called since the legislative union 
with Ireland, it was necessary to 
consider both the important conse~ 
quences of that event, as also of the 
change from a state of war to that 
of peace. After touching on the 
prosperous situation of our trade 
‘6 and 
