40 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1809. 



wise but oracular, I am at a loss 

 to know what the difference is be- 

 tween British justice, and that jus- 

 tice which in every variation of 

 time or place, is immutable. Feel- 

 ing theprofoundest respect in every 

 case, in which his Majesty appears 

 to act, I still must say, that his 

 advisers put into his mouth upon 

 that occasion, an answer as little 

 congenial to the spirit of the 

 British constitution, as it was ill 

 suited to the dignity of the throne- 

 Ministers may talk with flippancy 

 themselves, they may pun and 

 epigrammatise, they may sneer, or 

 they may snoutch, — but when un- 

 fortunately the king of this country 

 feels it his duty to hint his dis- 

 pleasure to his people, or convey 

 to them a rebuke for their conduct, 

 there ought to be a dignity and 

 decorum observed in the language 

 of reproof from the throne, which 

 w/>uld make displeasure more se- 

 verely be felt by those for whom 

 it was intended. But, Sir, I can 

 easily conceive thatministers might 

 have been a little irascible on re- 

 ceiving that remonstrance, because, 

 notwithstanding the usual compla- 

 cency of the City of London to 

 their measures, it had within the 

 iast year on two important occa- 

 sions opposed them, first on the 

 Reversion Bill, and latterly on this 

 disgraceful Convention. 



The most material considera- 

 tions, however, are the employ- 

 ment of the British force in Spain, 

 the dilatoriness of those directing 

 it, and their total want of capacit}'. 

 If it were wise at all to send a 

 British army into Spain, that op- 

 portunity has been lost, which ap- 

 pears to have been the only favour- 

 able one that presented itself. In 

 giving assistance to the Spaniards, 



there were, as I before stated, two 

 modes of proceeding. What the 

 opinions of the Spaniards them- 

 selves are I profess myself totally 

 ignorant. The fact is, that this 

 ignorance does not proceed from 

 any want of diligence on my part 

 in making inquiries ; but for want 

 of any authentic source from which 

 information could be procured. 

 Did the Spaniards make applica- 

 tion for a regular force to be sent 

 into their country, or for money, 

 arms, ammunition, clothing, and 

 all other necessaries to enable them 

 to prosecute the war against such 

 armies as France had the power of 

 pouring into their country ? I ask 

 this question, because if Spain 

 with such assistance could not 

 carry the point of keeping out any 

 fresh reinforcements, there was 

 little probability of preventing that 

 country from being over-run. In 

 investigating this matter we should 

 have considered what was the 

 amount of the disposable force of 

 France. To guide us in regard to 

 this point, we have a recent docu- 

 ment to refer to for information. 

 In papers which were laid before 

 Parliament in the beginning of the 

 year 1806, just after the failure of 

 the third coalition, there appears a 

 memoir from the court of Vienna 

 to that of St. Petersburgh, stating 

 the amount of force which France 

 could probably bring against the 

 allied Powers. From this docu- 

 ment it appears that the French 

 force was then estimated at 500,000 

 men, exclusive of the imperial 

 guards, which consisted of 15,000 

 men. This was the opinion of the 

 court of Vienna before France had 

 over-run Germany and Poland, 

 and some other countries of Eu- 

 rope aud previously to her con- 

 nection 



