62 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. 



own recommendation, namely,that 

 of addressing the crown, came to 

 the immediate object oF his pre- 

 sent motion. John, ear] of Chat- 

 liam, he said, had, in a most un- 

 constitutionalandclandestine man- 

 ner, as a minion and a favourite, 

 abused the royal confidence, at 

 the same time, and by the same 

 act, that he violated the most sa- 

 cred principles of the constitution. 

 John, earl of Chatham, the late 

 commander-in-ci)ief of the expe- 

 dition to the Scheldt, did, without 

 any consultation with his col- 

 leagues in the cabinet, as Mr. 

 Whitbread most truly believed — 

 without intimating his intention to 

 liis brother officer, who command- 

 ed the naval force upon that ex- 

 pedition, and wholly unkown, 

 save to the royal personage, whose 

 confidence he had abused, did 

 communicate to that personage 

 a narrative of his proceedings on 

 that expedition, as far back as the 

 ]5th of January last. It lay in the 

 possession of the king, wrapped 

 up in impenetrable secrecy — a se- 

 crecy desired by him who presented 

 it, until the llth of February last. 

 At least, it lay wholly undisturbed 

 till the 7th of that month, when, 

 for reasons as yet only known 

 to the earl of Chatham, it was 

 requested of the king to return it 

 to him for correction. His request 

 was acquiesced in. The alteration 

 that was made, consisted. Lord 

 Chatham himself told them, in the 

 opiission of a paragraph, contain- 

 ing an opinion. Yet, when soli- 

 cited to declare the nature of that 

 opiniqn, he declared his inability' 

 tQ inajje that most necessary infor- 

 mation.. The noble lord was ask- 

 ed when his narrative, so altered, 

 wasagainpresented tohismajesty ? 



It was tendered to his majesty on 

 the 14th of February. Struck with 

 the peculiariiy of the term •' ten- 

 dered," Mr. Whitbread himself 

 had immediately asked the noble 

 lord, whether the narrative had on 

 that day actually passed into his 

 majesty's hands ? To this his an- 

 swer was — That it had not. Here, 

 then, was a narrative, presented 

 on the 15th of January last, con- 

 taining at least twelve direct 

 charges against the gallant and 

 active officer who commanded the 

 naval force, with an opinion of the 

 noble lord's affixed. An opinion ! 

 Was he not bound to presume that 

 such opinion, so communicated, 

 now not recollected by the noble 

 lord, went to inculpate the naval 

 officer against whom that very 

 charge, now revised, contained, 

 as he before stated, twelve direct 

 charges of misconduct. The un- 

 sullied and exalted patriot, who 

 had acquired a title superior to 

 what united kings could bestow, 

 namely, that of the first commoner 

 of England : William, the firs t 

 earl of Chatham, in power and 

 out of power, in favour and in 

 disgrace, felt the malignant influ- 

 ence of that secret and monstrous 

 conspiracy, which, he declared, 

 existed behind the throne, and 

 was greater than the throne itself. 

 If its existence was before proble- 

 matical, it was now before them 

 unmaskedand unravelled. Strange 

 fatality ! That in the son of that 

 very man who first made the bold 

 and awful annunciation, they 

 should find one of the agents of 

 that occult influence, which the 

 father so long deprecated, and f!0 

 long resisted ? But, in the pre- 

 sent instance, was the danger of ^ 

 such an offence limited to a mere 



