HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



47 



do beseech you, sir, give me im- 

 mediately tliat same government." 

 Sir Samuel Romilly said, this 

 was the first time in his life that he 

 had heard the doctrine that we 

 should be certain of criminality 

 before we proceeded to inquiry. A 

 great calamity had befallen the 

 country ; could there be any se- 

 rious doubt as to the necessity of 

 .... ■' o 



inquiring into tlie cause or causes . 



It had been said, by his learned 

 friend, that the object of the mo- 

 tion was to turn out tlie present 

 ministers. How could inquiry turn 

 out ministers, unless the result of 

 the inquiry should shew them to 

 be criminal ? If, on the contrary 

 the inquiry should prove that no 

 blame was imputable to them, they 

 would only be more firmly esta- 

 blished in their places. If it was 

 of very little consequence whether 

 inquiry should be voted that night, 

 or Monday, why did ministers 

 think it worth while to make a se- 

 rious opposition. Was there an in- 

 dividual present not convinced 

 that it was the intention of minis- 

 ters, if they could by any means, 

 to evade inquiry altogether ? If, 

 in fact, it were a question of only 

 twenty-four hours, it were better 

 to vote for inquiry now, than de- 

 _ lay such a vote for even twenty- 

 four hours. The House was then 

 on its trial before the world, and 

 should lose no time in acquitting 

 itself in the eyes of the country. 

 —General Grosvenor felt the most 

 anxious wish to support the mo- 

 tion of the noble lord. He owed 

 it to the commander-in-chief, lord 

 Chatham — he owed it to the arnsy, 

 officers and men — he owed it also 

 4o himself, as having had a com- 



mand in that army, to declare 

 that he could not gratify the whole 

 army more than by voting for the 

 speediest and most effectual in- 

 quiry. — Sir Home Popliam said, 

 that the same motives induced 

 him, in the strongest and most ex- 

 plicit manner, to press the House 

 to go into the minutest inquiry 

 into the conduct of the fleet. He 

 was perfectly convinced that such 

 a course would be very congenial 

 to the feelings of the whole, and 

 particularly those of the gallant 

 admiral who commanded it; whose 

 whole life had been a tissue of the 

 most active and enterprising ser- 

 vices ; whose achievements had 

 been equalled by few, excelled by 

 none. — Mr. VVilberforce wished to 

 obtain the point of inquiry now, 

 that very evening, for he had been 

 too long in parliament* not to 

 know, that, if deferred till Mon- 

 day, it would never be obtained at 

 all. — Mr. Canning said, that it 

 would be better to postpone any 

 direct motion for inquiry until the 

 House should be in possession of 

 the promised papers. This was a 

 deference due to the government. 

 But, whatever the contents of 

 these papers might be, they would 

 not supersede the necessity of an 

 inquiry of some kind. Inquiry 

 could not be avoided. It must 

 take place sooner or later. Incon- 

 veniences, however, would lie in 

 the mode of inquiry, that would 

 result from the adoption of the 

 motion. If it should appear, from 

 the papers to be laid on the table, 

 that blame was imputable to the 

 commanders of the expedition, an 

 investigation at the bar of the 

 House would certainly not be the 



* Upwards of thirty years.. 



