HISTORY OF EUROPE. 9 
them on the assurances which he 
continued to receive from the em- 
peror of Russia, of that monarch’s 
determination to adhere to his alli- 
ance with Great Britain. He then 
signified to the house of commons, 
that he had directed the sum of one 
million, accruing to the crown 
from the droits of admiralty, to be 
applied to the public service of the 
year; and concluded by recom. 
mending vigilance and. exertion 
against the enemy, as by such means 
alone the present contest could be 
brought to a conclusion consistent 
with the safety and independence 
’ of the country, and with its rank 
among the nations of the world.* 
_ The address, which, as usual, 
was an echo of the speech, was 
moved, in the house of lords, by 
the earl of Essex, and seconded by 
lord Carleton, and in the house of 
commons, it was moved by lord 
_ Francis Spencer, and seconded by 
_ Mr. Ainslie. 
_ The speeeh, as was stated by lord 
Hawkesbury in the house ef lords, 
had been intentionally couched in 
such language, as, it was supposed, 
would create no difference of opi- 
nion, as to the terms of the address ; 
‘and, accordingly, the only part of 
it, which could lead to any discus- 
sion or debate, was a passage, in 
which his majesty, in allusion to 
the late war and coalition on the 
continent, had been advised to 
_ “express his confidence, that his 
parliament would be of opinion, 
_ that he had left nothing undone, 
on his part, to sustain the efforts 
of his allies, and that he had acted 
‘in strict conformity to the princi- 
ples declared by him, and reco- 
gnized by parliament as essential to 
the interests and security of his 
own dominions, as well as to the 
general safety of the continent,” 
But where, and in what manner, it 
might be asked, had his majesty’s 
goyernment sustained the efforts of 
his allies? Was it by landing an ar- 
my in the north of Germany after 
the capitulation of Ulm; or, by 
disembarking troopsin Naples, af- 
ter the French had evacuated that 
kingdom? or, by sending an expe- 
dition to a distant part of the globe, 
under sir David Baird, and sir Home 
Popham, instead of employing the 
whole disposable force of the em. 
pire in some effective diversion in’ 
favour of Austria? Had proposals 
of peace, of any sort, been made to 
France by the allies. antecedent to 
the recommencement of hostilities ? 
as from repeated declarations of 
his majesty’s government, and more 
particularly from the tenor of lord 
Mulgrave’s letter to Talleyrand, 
(14th Jan. 1805.) the public had 
been led to-expect. Whatever 
might have been the principics on 
which the late coalition was form. 
ed, could it be denied, that the 
cousequences to which it had led, 
were so disastrous as to eall for the 
enquiry of parliament? Could any 
acquiescence, however slight, in 
the late measures of administration, 
be expected from those, who, at 
the conclusion of the preceding ses- 
sion of parliament, taking it for 
granted that some term of peace 
would be offered to the enemy, 
had entreated ministers that they 
might be reasonable, and such as 
his majesty’s government, if in the 
place of the French goverament, 
would not think it unreasonable to 
accept? who had expressed an opi- 
* For the speech itself, see State Papers, page 654. 
nion, 
