4] 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1812. 



test on the Peninsula. He advert- 

 ed to several of the questions that, 

 had been asked by Mr. Whitbread, 

 to some of which he gave general 

 replies ; and he affirmed that our 

 army in Spain was at this moment 

 ] 0,000 stronger than it had been 

 the last year. He defended the 

 conduct of government with re- 

 spect to America, and represented 

 the contingent evil of war as great- 

 er to her than to this country ; 

 and having noticed some other of 

 the honourable gentleman's objec- 

 tions to the address, he concluded 

 with hoping that the House would 

 not be prevented, by the gloomy 

 picture he had drawn, from con- 

 curring in it. 



After Mr. Whitbread had called 

 upon the last speaker for an expla- 

 nation of his meaning in quoting 

 upon him a satirical couplet from 

 Pope, and had received a disavowal 

 of any intention of giving offence ; 

 general Tarleton rose, and made a 

 number of observations concerning 

 the unfavourable state of affkirs in 

 the Peninsula, and the hopeless 

 nature of the contest in which we 

 have been so long engaged. He 

 •was followed by Mr. Creevey, 

 "whose remarks chiefly related to 

 the public revenue, which, accord- 

 ing to his information, had expe- 

 rienced a rapid and alarming de- 

 cline; and for the purpose thai the 

 returns of taxes for the last year 

 might be laid upon the table be- 

 fore the address was voted, he con- 

 cluded with moving that the word 

 «* now" be left out of the motion 

 before the House, and " this day 

 se'nnight'' be inser':ed in its place. 

 This called up again the chancel- 

 lor of the exchequer, who said, he 

 had the satisfaction to state, that 

 the honourable gentleman had 



taken a black and very unfounded} 

 view of the revenue of the coun- 

 try. He acknowledged a diminu- 

 tion in the year 1811 of two miU 

 lions from that of the preceding 

 year; but the receipt in the latter 

 was the greatest ever known ; and 

 that important branch, the excise, ' 

 had produced more in 1811 than 

 in the preceding year. 



After some further debate, in 

 which the former topics were re- 

 capitulated, Mr. Creevey's motion 

 was put and negatived ; and the 

 report was then brought up and 

 agreed to. 



The thanks of the Houses of Par- 

 liament voted on occasion of mili- 

 tary success, are generally such 

 mere matters of course, in which 

 ministers take the opportunity of 

 gaining reflected approbation of 

 their own measures, and their op- 

 ponents seldom choose to expose 

 themselves to the hazard of ap- 

 pearing reluctant to join in the 

 praise due to meritorious services, 

 that it is scarcely worth while to 

 record them in the register of par- 

 liamentary transactions. Some- 

 times, however, the motions for 

 this purpose call forth discussions 

 which it is not unimportant to no- 

 tice ; and one of this kind occur- 

 red in the House of Commons on 

 Jan. 10, upon the motion of the 

 chancellor of the exchequer for 

 thanks to lord Minto, governor- 

 general of India, on account of the 

 conquest of the islands of Bourbon 

 and Mauritius, and the operations 

 in the island of Java. 



The right honourable gentleman 

 introduced his motion with an eu- 

 logy of the wise and well-arrang- 

 ed plans of the governor-general, 

 which had given birth to these 

 successes. He went through 



the 



