22 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. 



months, and then retreated to 

 Portugal, for the purpose of de- 

 fending it. The excuse alleged 

 for this was, that we would not 

 lake supplies as the French did. 

 If the Spaniards had been really 

 glad of our assistance, we should 

 have, received supplies without 

 compulsion. But the truth was, 

 that while wc were starved, the 

 French were fed ; a i)rcsumption 

 taht the Spaniards regarded us 

 with jealousy. It was said that 

 we might defend Portugal Vi'ith 

 30,000 men. But would not Buo- 

 naparte know our force, even to a 

 drummer ? Where we had 30,000 

 he would have 60,000. Wc re- 

 mained in Portugal just at the 

 will of the French emperor, and 

 at his option he would drive us 

 out of it. It had been said by our 

 enemy, that "the genius of France 

 guided our armies." Alas! (said 

 Mr. Whitbread) it now presided 

 in our cabinet; for whether we 

 considered their ignorance, their 

 imbecility, their bigotry, or the 

 fate with which Providence visited 

 all their measures, our enemy, if 

 he had had the nomination, could 

 not have selected men more suit- 

 able to his ends, or more perni- 

 cious to our interests. 



The Chancellor of the Exche- 

 quer, after a full account of the 

 circumstances, manner, and views 

 with which the present administra- 

 tion was formed, and touching on 

 the everlasting questions about 

 orders in council, the Catholics 

 in Ireland, and t!)c expedition to 

 Copenhagen, which was alleged 

 to have been the cause of Russia's 

 taking part with France, adverted 

 to the affairs of the peninsula. 

 With respect to these, he could 

 not tell how the gentlemen oppo- 



site would have acted if they had 

 remained in office ; but he was in- 

 clined to think that upon every 

 principle of policy and of feeling, 

 they would have given every as- 

 sistance in their power to Spain. 

 Judging, as well as he could, of 

 the state of the world, he was 

 firmly convinced, that the state of 

 Spain was much better now, as 

 far as concerned tiiis country, 

 than it was when the duke of Port- 

 land's administration came into 

 office. Even if France were ulti- 

 mately to subdue Spain, she would 

 possess diminished means of an- 

 noyance to great Britain. She 

 would not derive any revenue from 

 her conquest. She would not be 

 able to withdraw a single soldier 

 from the Spanish territory. With 

 regard to that part of the address 

 which related to the expedition to 

 Walcheren, it did not pledge the 

 House to inquire into that enter- 

 prise : neither did it pledge the 

 House not to inquire into it. 

 When the documents, promised 

 in his majesty's speech, should be 

 laid before them, it would be for 

 the House to decide whether they 

 would call for more, and whether 

 it would institute an inquiry or 

 not. After the able discussion of 

 that subject by his friends lord 

 Castlereagh and Mr. Canning, 

 little remained for him to say. It 

 had been affirmed, that the damage 

 sustained by the enemy in the de- 

 struction of the basin at Flushing 

 would soon be repaired. Now the 

 fact was, that this basin had been 

 two or three years in constructing; 

 and it had been so completely 

 destroyed, that the ablest engi- 

 neers had given it as their opinion 

 that it would be much easier to 

 build it anew. His majesty's go- 



