GENERAL HISTORY. 



[45 



puted interests, and to guard 

 against making a sacrifice dispro- 

 portionate to the object to be at- 

 tained. He could not lose sight 

 of the principle so well expressed 

 by Mr. Burke, " as we ought never 

 to go to war for a profitable 

 wrong, so we ought never to go to 

 war for an unprofitable right." 

 Upon the subject of the slate of 

 the circulation, his wish was to re- 

 vert as much as possible to true 

 principles, and keep the circu- 

 lating medium within due bounds, 

 but it did not follow that he held 

 it to be indispensable that the bank 

 should immediately resume cash 

 payments. He avowed, however, 

 that an impassable line of separa- 

 tion existed between him and the 

 present ministry with respect to 

 the design of making bank-notes 

 a legal tender. With respect to 

 the policy advisable in the affairs 

 of the peninsula, he certainly was 

 not prepared to say that it was ex- 

 pedient immediately to recall our 

 troops, but he did not wish that 

 we should proceed on that expen- 

 sive scale of warfare without hav- 

 ing some military authority as to 

 the probable result. On this sub- 

 ject he dwelt at some length, for 

 the purpose of shewing that the 

 prospects in that quarter did not 

 encourage any sanguine hopes. He 

 concluded with what appeared to 

 him the most momentous of all 

 the objections against the present 

 system of government, which was, 

 the existence of an unseen and 

 separate influence behind the 

 throne. He said it was his root- 

 ed and unalterable principle not to 

 accept of office without coming to 

 an understanding with parliament 

 for the abolition of this destructive 

 influence. 



Lord Mulgrave denied the ex- 

 istence of the secret influence 

 alluded to, and avowed the hos- 

 tility of the ministers to the catho- 

 lic claims. Lord Moira, asserting 

 that he came to the House unde- 

 termined how to vote, said that 

 he was fixed by what had fallen 

 from the last noble lord ; for that, 

 if nothing else but the removal of 

 the present ministers could give 

 the Roman catholics of Ireland 

 any prospect of obtaining a re- 

 dress of their grievances, such a 

 change ought to be rapturously 

 hailed by the whole country. 



The House then divided upon 

 the amendment: Contents, pre- 

 sent, 90; proxies, 75; total, 165. 

 Non-contents, present, 43 ; prox- 

 ies, 29 ; total, 72. Majority for 

 the amendment, 93. The original 

 question was theu put, and nega- 

 tived without a division. 



The parliamentary proceedings 

 with respect to subsequent ne- 

 gociations for changes in the ad- 

 ministration will come under con- 

 sideration in the order of time. 



On March 20th, a message was 

 sent to both Houses from the 

 Prince Regent, respecting a provi- 

 sion for the Princesses. It stated, 

 that pursuant to powers vested in 

 his Majesty, the king, by letters 

 patent bearing date the 2d of Feb. 

 1802, had been pleased to grant 

 to their Royal Highnesses the 

 Princesses Augusta-Sophia, Eliza- 

 beth, Mary, Sophia, and Amelia, 

 an annuity of 30,000/. to take eft'ect 

 from the demise of his Majesty ; 

 and his Royal Highness being de- 

 sirous to provide for their establish- 

 ment by au immediate grant, re- 

 commended the subject to the 

 consideration of parliament. 



On March 23d, the message was 



taken 



