■Ifrfc' '1 '’O' 1ST 
-bread, on the 29th cf ‘February', rofe to make his an¬ 
nounced motion, for entering immediately into a nego¬ 
tiation for peace. After fome prefatory obfervations re- 
fpeCting the acknowledged danger of the prefent criiis, 
he faid, that his prefent intention was to take a review of 
the information now before the houfe, refpeCting the con¬ 
duct of minifters in refilling to enter into negotiation 
with France; thereon to ground a refolution expreflive of 
what the ftate of the country might have been, had a dif¬ 
ferent courfe been purfued. He had, a month ago, ftated 
fome of the fymptoms of the prefent crifis of the country. 
Since that time, feveral petitions had been prefented to 
the houfe, of which the ftatements were moll diftreffiug, 
the prayer mod; moderate, and the general tone moll pa¬ 
triotic. He did not bring forward the motion he was 
about to make, in confequence of thefe petitions; but he 
was not forry that they had been prefented, becaule he 
■was a friend to petitioning. Much good had been pro¬ 
duced by petitions. It was by the petitions of the peo¬ 
ple, that an end had Been put to the American war; and, 
if the petitions of the people had been attended to in the 
early part of the lad war againft France, our fituarion 
now would have been far diderent from what it was. 
All projects were at length given up of obtaining in¬ 
demnity for the pall, of dictating a conditution to France, 
.or of curbing the power and ambition of Bonaparte. 
Our only aim now, was to defend ourfelves. And what 
•probability was there of obtaining a more honourable 
peace than might be concluded at the prefent moment ? 
He called the attention of the houfe to the prefent fitua- 
lion of the country wdtli regard to foreign powers. The 
peace of TiHit had been treated in his majedy’s declara¬ 
tion, and in the fpeech of the commifiioners, as mod 
.difallrous to Ruffia, and reprefented as the effeft of de¬ 
spondency and alarm. But Mr. W. contended, that this 
•peace had prevented the Ruffian army from being totally 
and completely extinguifhed. Before the peace of Tilfit, 
however, was concluded, an offer had been made by Ruf¬ 
fin, to mediate a peace between Great Britain and France ; 
fen offer which he had always considered as an effufion of 
Alexander’s heart towards this country'. Here Mr. Whit- 
Bread entered into a detailed analyfis of the papers which 
had been laid on the table, relative to this offer on the part 
of Rufiia, and the refufal of minifters to accept of it. Mr. 
W. after expofmg the delufive hopes of conquering France 
through her finances, proceeded to fhow the futility of 
another delufion ; namely, that Bonaparte would he hated 
by the people and the army, and that the mafs of the po¬ 
pulation of the different countries he fltould enter would 
rife againft him. All this had been proved to be com¬ 
pletely unfounded. The laft point he would touch upon 
was the allegation that Bonaparte had fworn the deftruc- 
tion of this country. He alked, where and when he had 
done fo ? Was it during his confulate? Was it after he 
became emperor of France ? No. For then, alfo, he had 
made an offer of peace; yet it might be faid that in all this 
be was infincere. This might be the opinion of lbme ; 
but, before that opinion could be rendered general or uni- 
verfal, it would be neceffary to enter into a negotiation 
to prove it. He concluded by moving the following re- 
folutions: That it is the opinion of this houfe, that the 
conditions ftipulated by his majefty’s minifters for the ac¬ 
ceptance of themediation offered by the emperor of Ruftia, 
were inexpedient and impolitic. That it is the opinion 
of this houfe, that the conduct of his majefty’s minifters 
On the fubjeCt of the mediation of the emperor of Auf- 
iria, was unwife and impolitic, and not calculated to af- 
certain how far the relloration of the bldfings of peace 
might or might not have been attainable through the 
Cleans of fitch mediation. That this houfe feels it in¬ 
cumbent on itfelf to declare, that there is nothing in the 
prelent circumftances of the war, that ought to preclude 
•bis majefty from embracing any fair opportunity of ac¬ 
ceding to, or commencing, a negotiation with the enemy, 
fin, a .footing of equality, for the termination of boftilities, 
D O KT. 
on terms of jufticff and honour. —After long and am--. 
mated debates, the houfe divided upon each of the refo- 
tions: upon the firft, the numbers were, ayes 70, noes2105 
upon the fecond, ayes 67, noes 21 x ; upon the third, ayes 
58, noes 217. 
The metropolis, being the centre to which all the 
branches of trade naturally refort, was much affe&ed ojr 
the decrees of the emperor of the French declaring the 
whole iftand of Great Britain to be in a ftate of blockade , 
a moll curious application of a word which really means 
the preventing ingrefs and egrefs in and out of any for¬ 
tified place. However this was really a fort of paffive 
blockade, fince nearly all the ports of the continent were 
as if hermetically Ihut againft Englifh traders. By a fort 
of reprefailles, a protecting and felf-defenfive fyltem was 
interpofed by our orders in council; and trade began again 
to flourilh : yet there was no meafiure of adminiftration 
difeuffed in the prefent feflion that occupied fo great a 
portion of the time and attention of parliament, or occa- 
fioned fuch keen and pertinacious debates, the Baltic ex¬ 
pedition alone, perhaps, excepted. On both thefe fub- 
jeCts the members in oppofition had the advantage of 
Handing not only on what they maintained to be political 
expediency, but the plaufible ground of juftice and the 
law of nations; though there was not now, in facl, any 
law of nations, cr at lead any fitch law in force. Bona¬ 
parte, who fwayed a feeptre of iron on the continent, ac¬ 
knowledged no law but that of fuperior force. It was 
very generally remarked, that during the prefent feflion 
the oppofition to minillry was unufually keen, vigilant, 
and perfevering. The prefent minifters were not fuppofed 
to poffefs much ability—on the whole, there was allowed 
to be a fuperiority of powers, of both reafoning and ora¬ 
tory, among their opponents; who, fully fenlible of this,, 
feized every opportunity of hanging on the ikirts of mi¬ 
nifters, and diftraCting and worrying them with incelfant 
debates. Thofe concerning the orders of council poflefled 
very little intereft, were univerfally accounted dry, and at 
length became tirefome at the time. They cannot appeal’ 
more interefting now. See p. 165, 6. 
The tranfaCtions in the eaft, were next a fubjeft of ani- 
madverfion; the intereft of the Britifli empire at the 
mouth of the Ganges was deeply felt in Leadenhall ftreet, 
and ferioufly canvaffed in St. Stephen’s chapel. The con¬ 
duct of the marquis of YVellefiey, relative to the nabobs 
of Oude and Arcot, was minutely ferutinized; and tha 
fpirit of party, affuming the awful character of defender 
of the rights of nations, rofe to impeach the late governor 
of India. 
The queftion concerning the tranfaCtions of lord Wel- 
leftey with the nabob of Oude, gave rife to very Iona: de¬ 
bates ; which began on the 9th of March, and were ^con¬ 
tinued by various adjournments to the 15th. On the fide 
of the profecution there appeared Mr. Charles Grant, 
Mr. Lulhington, fir Thomas Turton, lord Milton, Mr. 
Sheridan, and Mr. William Smith. On that againft it, 
and in defence of the marquis of Wellelley, Mr. Whit- 
Ihed Keen, fir John Anftruther, colonel Allan, Mr. Wal¬ 
lace, Mr. Henry Wellefley, lord Calllereagh, and fir James 
Hall. 
Colonel Allan (member for Berwick), in a maiden 
fpeech, of considerable length, defended the marquis of 
Wellelley with ability and with fpirit. Other members 
alfo fpoke warmly in his praife: but that which made the 
greatell impreflion, and probably decided the vote, was 
the fpeech of fir John Anftruther, who, to the weight of 
his own character and abilities, added the advantage, on 
the prefent queftion, of having refided for many years in a 
high and important fituation in Bengal. Sir John entered 
fully into the fubject, and, in a fpeech clear and convincing, 
Ihowed, that the conduct of lord Wellefley was in perfect 
conformity to the willies, intentions, and ter.our, of that 
kind of conduCt approved by his employers ; and, that the 
fecurity of Bengal imperioully required and demanded it. 
The queftion being put on the refyiutiou of cenfure on the 
marquis’s 
