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The bill, as amended by the committee and ordered to be printed, contained a number of new clauses, the principal scope of which was, to appoint two separate commissions, one for Great Britain and the other for Ireland, consist ing of roman catholic ecclesiastics exercising episcopal functions, lay roman catholic peers or commoners, and privy counsellers, the principal secretary of state being one, to which board of commissioners the name of every person of the román catholic religion proposing to assume the functions of a bishop or dean shall be notified, and the said board shall report to his majesty, or to the lord lieutenant, whether they know or believe any thing which tends to impeach the loyalty or peaceable conduct of such person; after which, it shall be lawful for his majesty, or the lord lieutenant, by and with the advice of the said commissioners, to approve or disapprove of the said person; and any one exercising the above functions after disapprobation, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

To the same board likewise is to be delivered any bull, dispensation, or other instrument from the see of Rome, or any foreign person or body acting under its authority, or under any other spiritual superior, which is to inspect it, and if found to be unobjectionable, shall report the same to his majesty, or the lord lieutenant, when it shall be enrolled in the office of the secretary of state, and then returned to the person delivering it.

On May 24th, the house being called over according to order, it resolved itself into a committee upon the bill as above amended, VOL. LV.

when the right hon. the Speaker rose. He began with inquiring, whether by means of this bill, the desirable basis of general satisfaction and concord was likely to be established? As far as we knew of the proceedings of the Roman Ca. tholics, some of the most distinguished of the laity had declared against it; and the clergy were loud in their cry against its ecclesiastical provisions. Of the Protestants, it was needless to ask whether they could be satisfied with placing the government, if not the crown, of Ireland, within the reach of the Roman Catholics, and creating the means of surrounding the sovereign himself with ministers of state of a religion hostile to his own right of succession. The right hon. gentleman then proceeded to show that the principle of our constitution was exclusion of non-conformists to the established religion from political power, and that if it had been relaxed with respect to Protestant Dissenters, it had been maintained in full force against the Roman Catholics; and he went on to argue why it ought to be so. He spoke of their admission into the parliament, the privy-council, and the judiciary bench, as points that never ought to be conceded. He then noticed some matters of necessary restriction, and some of concession, which had been omitted in the bill; but were they supplied, he must repeat his strong protest against the larger innovations; they were departures from principle, and breaking down barriers against danger. He next adverted to the guards and securities proposed by the bill, and attempted to show their insufficiency; and [D]

he spoke of the papal supremacy, and its consequences, as a point of faith which will continue fixed and unalterable among the Roman Ca tholic population of this kingdom. He concluded with moving, that the words "to sit and vote in either house of parliament," in the first clause, be left out of this bill.

As the personal weight of the Speaker, and his train of argument, seem to have exerted the principal influence on that side of the question, it would be superflu. ous to notice the repetition of the same arguments by others: nor in the replies to them from the opposite side, was any thing important produced which had not been repeatedly urged in the long discussions of this topic. The clause in debate was by both parties regarded as of the most fundamental importance in the proposed bill; and whilst the dangers of admitting it were mustered in their most formidable colours by one party, the evils to be expected from leaving

the Catholics in a dissatisfied state after their long expectations, were as forcibly insisted upon by the other. At length, the question being loudly called for, a division took place, on which the votes were, for the clause, 247; against it, 251: Majority for its rejection, 4.

The numbers being declared, Mr. Ponsonby said, that as the bill, without this clause, was neither worthy of the acceptance of the Catholics, nor of the further support of the friends of concession,he would move that the chairman do now leave the chair; which was carried without a division; and thus the bill was abandoned.

The only further proceeding in the house relative to the Catholic question in this session, was a notice given on May 31st, by Mr. Grattan, that early in the next session, he should move for leave to bring in a bill for the relief of his majesty's Roman Catholic subjects in Ireland.

CHAPTER

CHAPTER IV.

Motion of Marquis Wellesley relative to the conduct of the war in the Peninsula. Motion of the Earl of Darnley for an inquiry into the circumstances of the war with the United States, particularly the naval part of it.

N March 12th, the Marquis Wellesley rose in the house of lords, to make a motion relative to the conduct of the war in the Peninsula. "What secret cause (said his lordship), what malign influence, amidst the rejoicings and acclamations of triumph, has counteracted the brilliant successes of our arms, and has converted the glad feelings of a just exultation, into the bitterness of regret and disappointment?" After some other questions to this purpose, which, he said, deserved their most serious attention, he concluded, that if their lordships should find that these events are not to be attributable to want of resources in the empire, but to the imbecility of those who direct them, it would be their duty to pronounce judgment upon the men who have enfeebled our means, and betrayed a mighty cause; but if it should appear that England has done her utmost, and her exertions are vain and hopeless, it would be for them to consider whether we should not tread back our steps, and cease to contend against an impossibility. He then stated the object of his inquiry to be, whether the ministers had adequately managed the resources of the country during the last year;

and to that end he first took into consideration the state of affairs in Spain, and the exertions of this country in her aid. The object of our policy, he said, was to admonish those nations which required our assistance, that they had only to assert their independence in order to obtain it. It was always his own firm conviction, expressed both in and out of the house, and in the cabinet, that the hope of Europe lay in the exertions of Spain and Portugal, aided by the British arms. It was perfectly known to his majesty's ministers, that as early as April, 1811, Russia was laying the foundation of the great effort she has made, and is now making. The disposition of a large part of the army and population of Prussia was in favour of the cause of Russia; and Austria was desirous of asserting her independence, but did not dare to do it. The situation of Sicily also, through the wise conduct of lord W. Bentinck, was become such as to set at liberty the great British force by which it was held, to cooperate in the common cause. These and other advantages rendered it now proper to make great exertions on the Peninsula, where the experiment had first been tried on a smaller scale.

On the opening of the campaign in that country, our situation became totally different from what it had been at any time before, since the commencement of the war. Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajos were reduced, and these advantages were accompanied with an extraordinary failure in the means, and relaxation in the efforts of the French. Nothing could be more contemptible than the central government of Joseph; and in the army, there was no mutual assistance or cooperation between the commanders of the north and the south. The British system, therefore, should have been, to have had a force able to maintain active operations in the field, and another competent to keep in check the main body of the French army. The important crisis was now come, in which the grand effort was to be made for the redemption of Spain. A comparison of the exertions made, with the nature of the crisis, was the next point to which the marquis would direct their lordships' attention; and it would be his endeavour to show, that in every instance in which the campaign had failed, and the expectations from success been frustrated, it was owing to the insufficiency of the means afforded to the general. He had abstained from holding any correspondence with his noble relation on the subject, and professed to know nothing but what the rest of the public know. He began with the sequel of the reduction of Badajos, when it might have been expected that lord Wellington would have seized the French dépôts at Seville, and destroyed the main foundation of their power in that part of Spain, and perhaps

have found an advantageous opportunity of bringing Soult to action; but he was under the necessity of marching northwards, in order to meet Marmont, and protect the fortresses of Almeida and Ciudad Rodrigo. If at this time there had been a sufficient force to keep in check the army of Marmont, as sir R. Hill had before done that of Soult, this necessity would have been prevented. Here then was a case in which a small addition of men and resources would have obviated the loss of a most favourable opportunity.

The Marquis then proceeded to the next stage, when the British general was called to the north. After victualling Ciudad Rodrigo, which operation required the whole force of his army, he advanced to Salamanca, where he was again encountered with inefficiency of means. He was opposed by Marmont, who had been joined by Bonnet, and he had heard nothing of the Sicilian expedition, on the co-operation of which he mainly relied. He found it necessary to retreat-not a feigned movement to deceive the enemy, but a plain and real retreat. During this operation, an accidental opportunity enabled him to attack the enemy at an advantage, and convert retreat into victory; but he could not convert a system of retreat to a system of advance; and instead of being at liberty to pursue the vanquished enemy, he was obliged to turn his attention to the corps of Joseph, reinforced from the army of Suchet. He entered Madrid, and if he had possessed the means of keeping Marmont in check, he might have pursued Joseph, and united with the English army at

Alicant, but he was obliged again to turn northwards. As to the siege of Burgos, if its success was important, and its failure was through want of means, whose was the fault? Here was again ground for inquiry.

Their lordships had been told from the opposite side, that the object of the campaign was, to compel the French to evacuate the south of Spain, and that this had been effected; but did it enter into the object of ministers, that in forcing them to evacuate the south, we ourselves should be obliged to evacuate the whole of Spain? Was it necessary for this that our army should advance to Burgos? The evacuation of the south had been already effected, and it must be with a view of some ulterior operations that the advance was made to Burgos. Lord Wellington was first compelled to withdraw from thence through apprehension for the safety of sir R. Hill's corps; and the force opposed to him in front then became so much superior, through the junction of the French army from the south, that the retreat of the whole allied army was rendered necessary, which, though not inglorious, terminated the campaign in a manner highly detrimental to the cause of Spain and Europe, and the character of our arms.

The Marquis then went to the next part of the question, which he said was merely practical, showing the actual force, which, in his opinion, would have averted all these misfortunes, and which he stated as low as 12,000 infantry, and 3,000 cavalry; and he would inquire, first, was there a force in the country to that amount which

could have been sent to lord Wellington's assistance? Secondly, were there financial means for the supply of specie? Of the detail which followed we cannot pretend to give a summary. It was concluded with an animated appeal to the feelings of the House, against the defence which he supposed ministers would make, that our resources and means were exhausted, and we had done all that we could do. He then moved, “That a committee be appointed to inquire into the circumstances and result of the last campaign in the peninsula of Spain."

Earl Bathurst rose to reply to the noble marquis. the noble marquis. He began with saying that lord Wellington himself had voluntarily expressed his satisfaction with the conduct of administration during the last campaign; but he admitted that this alone was not a sufficient reason against the proposed inquiry. He then went to an examination of the arguments and assertions of the marquis; and he first contended that the campaign, instead of being a disastrous one, had powerfully aided the common cause by the diversion it gave to the French arms. He made replies to the particular charges on the ministry respecting the supposed deficiency of force which prevented the advance to Seville, the want of co-operation by the force from Sicily, the failure of the siege of Burgos, &c. He affirmed that during the course of the year, very nearly the number of troops for which the marquis had expressed a desire, had been sent to the Peninsula, and that, from the disturbed state of this country, more could not have been spared; and he ad

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