HISTORY OF i: U R O P E. 



35 



non-commissioned officers and pri- 

 vates. 



An act of parliament was pass- 

 ed forsettling an annuity of 2,000/. 

 a-year on lord Wellington, though 

 not altogether without opposition, 

 in both Houses. On the 26th of 

 February, the day appointed for 

 the second reading of lord Wel- 

 lington's annuity bill in the House 

 of Commons, a petition was pre- 

 sented from the city of London, 

 against it. 



Sir J. Newport thought it would 

 have been well if the services of 

 lord Wellington had been re- 

 warded with the vacant sinecure 

 place of the tellersliip of the Ex- 

 chequer. That place, however, 

 instead of being given to one who 

 had fought for his country abroad, 

 had been bestowed on a person 

 who had distinguished himself only 

 by fighting the battles of ministers 

 at home.* Though he did justice 

 to the prowess of lord Welling- 

 ton, while no such acknowledg- 

 ment had been made of the ser- 

 vices of general Moore, it did not 

 become ministers to propose such 

 a grant to the noble lord who had 

 fought the battle of Talavera. 



When it was known that there 

 was an intention on the part of mi- 

 nistry to move a vote of thanks to 

 lord Gambler, for the victory in 

 Basque Roads.f in both Houses of 

 parliament, lord Cochrane ex- 

 pressed a determination to oppose 

 the vote in the House of Com- 

 mons, on the ground that the ad- 

 miral had not done all that he 

 might have done, and that through 

 his neglect, or delay, part of the 

 enemy's fleet had made itsescape; 

 which would have been destroyed, 



as well as the other ships, had 

 lord Gambier done his duty to 

 the utmost. Lord Gambler, at his 

 own earnest solicitation, was tried 

 by a court-martial, and honour* 

 ably acquitted. 



In the House of Commons, Ja- 

 nuary 29, lord Cochrane rose to 

 make a motion, of which he had 

 given notice, for the minutes of 

 the court-martial held on lord 

 Gambler: a document absolutely 

 necessary, in order to enable every 

 member fairly and impartially to 

 decide whether the thanks, now in 

 the contemplation of his majesty's 

 ministers, were due to lord Gam- 

 bier, for the part he took in what 

 had been denominated by them &■ 

 victory in Basque Roads. It had 

 been asserted by the chancellor of 

 the Exchequer, on a former occa- 

 sion, that the merits of this case 

 hadbeenalreadydecidedon; thata 

 court-martial had proclaimed lord 

 Gambler's honourable acquittal, 

 and displayed the zeal, ability, and 

 anxiety he manifested for the weI-» 

 fare of his majesty's service. How- 

 ever this might be, all this, and 

 an officer's having done nothing 

 wrong, did not entitle him to the 

 thanks of the House; which if be- 

 stowed on trifling, orindeedonany 

 occasion not marked by brilliant 

 achievement, would dwindle into 

 utter contempt, even with those: 

 on whom they should be conferred. 

 They were already held lightly in 

 the estimation of the navy, and 

 such, lord Cochrane freely con- 

 fessed, was his own feeling re- 

 specting them. After a revision 

 of the trial, lord Cochrane pledg- 

 ed himself, by every thing valu- 

 able to man, if the minutes should^ 



•SeeVol. U.[1809]HUt, Eur. p.227. fMr.Yorke. 



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