GENERAL HISTORY. 



[905 



circumstance, that while our mi- 

 litary reputation was raised to the 

 highest pitch, our naval should 

 have sunk, and that during the 

 course of the war, with but few ex- 

 ceptions, victory should have been 

 on the enemy's side in actions be- 

 tween vessels of the same class. 



Lord Melville, in reply to this 

 observation, said that such gene- 

 ral and declamatory charges were 

 not capable of an answer, but he 

 would ask to what distinct failure 

 the allusion was made. He would 

 himself enter into a few details on 

 the subject. The Americans send- 

 ing no fleets to sea, but possessing 

 numerous seamen, and a multitude 

 of privateers, the question of suc- 

 cess or discomfiture was to be de- 

 cided by looking to the protection 

 afforded to trade against their means 

 of annoyance. We had now within 

 a few hundreds, 20,000 Ameri- 

 can seamen prisoners of war. We 

 had captured from them more 

 than 200 ships of war and armed 

 vessels, and had taken 900 other 

 vessels. Notwithstanding the in- 

 crease of their privateers, the pre- 

 mium of insurance was somewhat 

 less in last June, than in the June 

 preceding. The captures made 

 from us from the peace of Paris 

 down to the last month were re- 

 ported at 172 ; but of these 94 

 were running ships ; and of the 

 rest, 38 were separated from con- 

 voy, either through stress of wea- 

 ther, or wilfully ; and the whole 

 number of the coasting trade lost 

 was only 11. With respect to the 

 noble lord's assertion, that when 

 our ships met with an equal force 

 of the enemy's, they were beaten, 

 except in a few instances, he could 

 assure him that he was totally mis- 

 taken. If the events of the war 



in Canada were alluded to, when 

 the noble lord should bring on his 

 inquiry in a regular shape, he 

 trusted he should be able to satisfy 

 him. 



Lord Grenville said he was not 

 to be drawn off by this parade of 

 detail from the actual fact, that 

 there was a general impression in 

 the country of great mismanage- 

 ment in the naval administration. 

 The opinion of the community 

 could not be misunderstood, when 

 the merchants of England, after 

 having been repelled from the Ad- 

 miralty with flippant and empty 

 answers, were seen laying their re- 

 monstrances at the foot of the 

 throne. After some further obser- 

 vations to this purpose, he said he 

 hoped there would be an early day 

 appointed for the inquiry ; and 

 that it would be entered into with 

 solemn and impartial seriousness. 

 His Lordship then, adverting to 

 the address, acknowledged that 

 with all his desire to look favoura- 

 bly on the prospects of the coun- 

 try, they were clouded to his view. 

 The speech told them only of new 

 burdens, of severe additions to those 

 which were already severe ; no 

 economy, no husbanding, no re- 

 duction. He lamented its lan- 

 guage respecting the negociation 

 with America. He professed a 

 readiness to make peace on just 

 and honourable terms ; but these 

 were mere words of course, and he 

 should have expected a declaration 

 what were the grounds on which 

 peace would be made. He hoped 

 the war still carried on was not one 

 of resentment or revenge, much 

 less of punishment, in order to 

 make the people of the United 

 States feel the weight of our power. 

 This topic led his lordship to con- 



