GENERAL HISTORY. 



[221 



ally, the Emperor of Russia. It 

 was ordered to be taken into 

 consideration in both houses on 

 the following day. 



In the House of Lords, on the 

 18th, the Earl of Liverpool rose 

 to move an address pledging the 

 house to concur in the object 

 of the message. He made an 

 introductory speech, in which he 

 stated the circumstances of the 

 French invasion of Russia, and 

 the system of defence adopted 

 by the government of that coun- 

 trj'^, an essential part of which was, 

 the sacrifice of habitations and 

 property, that the enemy might 

 be deprived of the advantage 

 of possessing them. Besides the 

 destruction of the great capital 

 of Moscow, which he represent- 

 ed as a voluntary act on the 

 part of the inhabitants, a num- 

 ber of towns and villages had 

 shared the same fate, by which 

 very great sufferings had been 

 brought, on the people; and as 

 the purposes of the invasion had 

 been, to strike a deadly blow at the 

 resources of this country, our gra- 

 titude was engaged to contribiite 

 to their relief. 



Lord Holland said, that he 

 found himself placed in a very 

 painful situation by the considera- 

 tions on which this motion was 

 urged ; for whilst he must doubt 

 whether this was a wise or poli- 

 tic grant, he felt, that when 

 once proposed, it might be un- 

 wise and unsafe to reject it. He 

 then stated some reasons why he 

 thought that it would have lit- 

 tle eflScacy in producing the in- 

 tended relief; yet he would not 

 oppose it, principally because he 

 would not have it imagined that 



any member of that house could 

 be insensible to the merits or 

 the sufferings of the Russians. 

 He further hoped that the pro- 

 posal might be regarded as evi- 

 dence of a complete co-operation 

 and concert between the two 

 governments, not merely for car- 

 rying on the war, but as to 

 its objects, and the grounds on 

 which a general peace might be 

 established. 



The address was then unani- 

 mously agreed to. 



In the House of Commons, 

 the House having resolved itself 

 into a committee of supply, the 

 Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 

 rising to move the grant, said, 

 that had it not been from mme 

 intimations of dissent given yes- 

 terday, he should not have thought 

 it necessary to preface his mo- 

 tion with many observations. It 

 had been suggested that the mes- 

 sage had taken the House by 

 surprise. The surprise was as 

 much upon government, as upon 

 the house : it arose from the 

 gratifying intelligence, that the 

 enemy had been driven beyond 

 the bounds of the ancient Russian 

 empire ; and it was thought bet- 

 ter that parlianicnt should not 

 delay a relief to the people who 

 had made such sacrifices to the 

 common cause, lest it should be 

 anticipated by the generous con- 

 tributions of individuals. Another 

 consideration was, that a great 

 subscription had been entered in- 

 to at Pertersburgh, and commit- 

 tees had been appointed in Rus- 

 sia, to inquire into the losses of 

 individuals, and to apportion the 

 relief to be distributed. As to 

 the sum which ought to be 



granted. 



