566 
jesty’s subjects have been called on ; 
it would, therefore, little become 
me, who am the first, and who 
stand at the very footstool of the 
throne, to remain a tame, an idle, 
and lifeless spectator, of the mis- 
chiefs which threaten us, uncon- 
scious of the dangers which surround 
us, and indifferent to the conse- 
quences which may follow.—Ilano- 
ver is lost—England is menaced with 
invasion—Ireland is in rebellion— 
Europe is at the foot of France. At 
such a moment, the prince of Wales, 
Yielding to none of your servants in 
zeal and. deyotion—to none ef your 
subjects in duty—to none of your 
children in tenderness and afjection, 
presume; to approach you, andagain 
to repeat those offers which he has 
already made through your majesty’s 
ministers. A feeling of honest am- 
bition; a sense of what L owe to 
myself and to my family; and, 
above all, the fear of sinking in the 
estimation of that gallant army 
which may be the support of your 
majesty’s crown, and my best hope 
hereafter, command me to perse- 
vere, and to assure your majesty, 
with all humility and respect, that, 
conscious of the justice of my claim, 
no human power can ever induce me 
to relinquish it. 
Allow me to say, sir, that I am 
bound to adopt this line of conduct 
by every motive dear to me as a 
man, and sacred to me as a prince, 
Ought 1 not to come forward in a 
moment of unexampled difficulty and 
danger? Ought I not to share in 
the glory of victory, when I have 
every thing to lose by defeat? The 
highest places in your majesty’s ser- 
viee are filled by the younger 
branehes of the royal family ; to me 
alone no place isassigned. Iam not 
thought worthy to be even the junior 
ANNUAL REGISTER; 
1805. 
major-general of your army. If 
could submit in silence to such in- 
dignities, I should, indeed, deserve 
such treatment, and prove, to the 
satisfaction of your enemies, and my 
own, that I am entirely incapable of - 
those exertions, which my birth and 
the circumstances of the times pecu- 
liarly call for. Standing so near the 
\ throne, when I am debased, the cause 
of royalty is wounded ; | cannot sink 
in public opinion, without the par- 
ticipation of your majesty in my de- 
gradation. ‘Therefore every motive 
of private fecling, and of public du- 
ty, induce me to implore your ma-- 
jesty to review your decision, and to 
place me in that situation which my 
birth, the duties of my station, the 
example of my predecessors, and the 
expectations of the people of Eng- 
land, entitle me to claim. 
Should I be disappointed in the 
hope which I have formed, should . 
this last appeal to the justice of my 
sovereign, and the aflection of my fa~ 
ther, fail of success, 1 shall Jament 
in silent submission his determina- 
tion; but Europe, the world, and 
posterity must judge between us. 
I have done my dniy; my con- 
science acquits me; my reason tells 
me that 1 was perfectly justified in 
the request which I have made, be- 
cause no reasonable arguments have 
ever been adduced in answer to my 
pretensions. ‘The precedents in our 
history are in my favour; but if they 
were not, the times in which we 
live, and especially the exigencies of 
the present moment, require us to 
become an example to our posterity. 
No other cause of refusal has or 
can be assigned, except that it was 
the will of your majesty. To that 
will and pleasure I bow with every 
degree of humility and resignation ; 
but I can never cease to complain | 
of 
