9 ANNUAL RE 
conceive, how the honorable gen- 
tleman who spoke last, could now 
accuse, for weakness and incapa- 
city, an administration which he 
had declared, had always enjoyed 
his confidence ;. although, in the 
same breath, he declared it to be 
his opinion, that all the ability of 
the country was excluded from it. 
He, and all his majesty’s ministers, 
felt the great responsibility under 
which they acted. ‘They had been 
uniformly consistent in the princi- 
ples, which had induced them to ad- 
vise his majesty to conclude the 
peace; they sincerely wished its 
continuance ; but should, unhap- 
pily, the war be renewed, he was 
convinced, that even then, they 
should be able to prove their con- 
sistency, and justify themselves to 
the country. 
Mr. Dent considered, that the 
number of seamen, now proposed, 
was insufficient; especially as we 
had, by the peace, restored so 
many thousand seamen to France. 
He concluded, by moving, as an 
amendment, that ‘ instead of ten, 
there should be twenty-five thou- 
send seamen and marines, now 
voted.” 
Mr. Fox said, he was as ready as 
any other member in the house, to 
vote for the proposed additicn of 
_seamen, if they were necessary for 
the public service ; but with so lit- 
tle information as the house now 
possessed, he could not pretend to 
give an opinion, whether it were 
10,000, according to the original 
motion ; or 25,000 according to the 
amendment; or whether it were not 
stil a greater number that were 
wanting, for the public service ? He 
for one denied, that the sovereign 
has in theory the uncontrolled 
GISTER, 
1S08. 
right, of making war as well as. 
peace; but in practice and ip, subs, 
stance, this house possessed the pri-, 
vilege, hy which alone, such decla- 
ration could be carried into effect ; 
and therefore, although it was only 
this privilege of the purse, that the 
house was possessed of, yet that 
was sufficient to prevent any wars, 
being entered into, which parlia- 
ment disapproved of. Not to speak 
of the eflect that the voice of par- 
liament had on the American wars 
the parliament of Charles the se- 
cond did compel that sovereign, to, 
relinquish the Dutch war. As ar- 
maments must necessarily precede 
the declaration of war, he feared the 
effect of granting supplies for those 
armaments, would be to make the 
house a party to wars, that it might 
hereafter disapprove of. Perhaps, 
when ministers had plunged the 
country into a war, the house might 
be of opinion, that negociation 
would have been better, or that 
more vigorous measures should have 
been taken ; ; he therefore cauld 
never consent, that that house 
should hachee. the mere echo, of 
whatever communication, ministers 
might please to sead down, in thé 
shape of a royal message. Le was 
not content to rely me rely upon 
the good intention of ministers; he 
wished the house to be enabied to 
judge, whether their conduct was 
right or wrong. Te still approved 
of the treaty of Amiens, and prin- 
cipally, because it freed us from 
those detestable and abominable 
principles, upon which the late war 
was conducted. He hoped that 
we should never hear again, of wars 
begun for the pretence of the pro-. 
tection of religion and social order. 
He trusted, that such hypocrisy wag 
OF 
