tain papers to be presented that day which it might be material for him to refer to, and therefore he thought it right to move to have the order discharged and entered for the next day. He said, he hoped he should have no occasion to refer to the papers in question, but as it was impossible for him to say beforehand whether he should or not, he would move for the discharge of the order. It was discharged accordingly, and entered for this day.

Mr. Pitt, who happened not to be in the house at the time the foregoing motion was made, but came in just after, said he understood the hon. gentleman opposite to him had moved to put off the consideration of the two reports from the committees of finance till the next day. He hoped, however, the discussion would really be brought on this day; and, as the hon. gentleman had called the attention of the house to the subject, he gave him notice that if he moved any propositions, he should either object to them or move amendments on them; or, perhaps, move such other propositions as would bring the whole state of the subject fairly and fully before the public.

Mr. Sheridan, in reply, said, it appeared to him to be rather premature in the right hon. gentleman to talk of objecting to his propositions, or of moving amendments, before he knew what those propositions would be. He did assure the right hon. gentleman, that he would endeavour to make it as difficult as possible to the right hon. gentleman either to object, or move amendments upon his propositions, which would be resolutions of fact, founded upon figures, to which it would be almost impossible for the right hon. gentleman to object.

When the papers were afterwards presented, Mr. Sheridan moved to have them printed.

A short conversation then took place between the chancellor of the exchequer and Mr. Sheridan, on the ground of its being impossible to have all the papers printed in time for the next day. In the course of the conversation it came out that a material point in the discussion would be the consideration of the disposal of the money voted for the finishing of Carlton House, and that Mr. Pitt had yesterday morning received a letter on the subject, officially from Lord Southampton, which Mr. Sheridan wished to have laid before the house. Mr. Pitt said he really had not had sufficient leisure to consider what was proper to be done with it, or what answer to send, but the hon. gentleman need not be afraid of his wishing to conceal it; since, if he could have any such desire, it was not in his power to carry it into effect, as the person who sent it might furnish a copy.

JUNE 2.

SUMS VOTED FOR CARLTON HOUSE.

MR. SHERIDAN rose and observed, that the return made to his motion for papers relative to Carlton House was so far defec

tive, that a paper which he considered as of very considerable importance, had been wholly omitted. This omission he by no means ascribed to design, but merely to accident. To explain the nature of this paper he read a resolution moved some years ago by the right hon. gentleman over against him (Mr. Pitt), and agreed to by the house, namely, "That an address be presented to his Majesty, that he would be graciously pleased to issue from his civil list the sum of £20,000 towards completing the works at Carlton House, as soon as estimates of the whole of the expense for completing the same should have been laid before the lords commissioners of the treasury." From this resolution it appeared, that the money ought not to have been issued until estimates of the whole expense should have been previously procured by the treasury but the lords of the treasury had, in point of fact, issued the money, without having previously taken care to have estimates made out by the board of works. That it was by the king's, and not by the prince's servants, that the estimates ought to have been made out, appeared from this, that Carlton House belonged not to the Prince of Wales but to his Majesty; and, consequently, the money having been voted for repairing a house, which in reality belongs to the king and not to the Prince of Wales, it was by the king's surveyors, and not by those of the prince, that the estimate ought to have been made: the person, therefore, to whom the money was issued, ought to be considered as a public accountant, and bound to render to parliament an account of the expenditure. In this light Mr. Holland ought to be called to give an account of the expenditure of the several sums which had been voted for Carlton House.

This, Mr. Sheridan said, he thought it necessary to say, as a report, as strange as it was false, had got abroad, that the money voted for completing Carlton House had been taken out of the hands of those whose duty it was to apply it to the purpose for which it had been voted, and that it was applied to purposes of a very different nature. The unfinished state of Carlton House might induce people to believe this, who did not know that his royal highness, not considering the money as his, but as voted for the repair of his father's house, had made it a point never to touch a shilling of it. Mr. Sheridan then observed, that in a letter from Colonel Hulse, in the printed accounts, it was stated that several papers were inclosed to Mr. Pitt, one of which, marked No. 5,

contained Mr. Holland's estimate of the works, and an account of the money expended upon them. Now it so happened, that this paper, marked No. 5, had not been laid before the house; he moved therefore that it be laid before the house.

Mr. Pitt said that an estimate had been delivered to him for his Majesty's perusal, stating the amount of the sum necessary for completing and furnishing Carlton House; in which so few alterations were made by the king's surveyors, that he thought it best to pay the whole sum; and it was accordingly paid into the hands of the prince's treasurer. As to the paper for which the hon. member had moved, he believed it was actually in the printed accounts, though it was by mistake marked No. 6, instead of No. 5; for Colonel Hulse's letter mentioned no more than five inclosures; this No. 6 was therefore the precise paper which ought to have been marked No. 5.

Mr. Sheridan said, the right hon. gentleman was mistaken, for if he would read Colonel Hulse's letter again, he would find that it mentioned things as contained in No. 5, of which nothing appeared in No. 6. He still insisted, that the minister, in obedience. to the resolution of the house, ought to have ordered the king's surveyors to make out an estimate for work to be done at a house which belonged to the king, and not to the prince.

Mr. Sheridan's motion passed without a division. He afterwards wished to know if Mr. Pitt had any objection to a motion for a copy of a letter written to him (Mr. Pitt) by Lord Southampton on this business. Mr. Pitt having in reply stated the letter to be private, Mr. Sheridan gave up his intended motion.

→ Mr. Grey moved for an address, imploring his Majesty not to prorogue the parliament without communicating some distinct information relative to the cause of the present armament.

Mr. Grey moved that an humble address be presented to his Majesty, to express the deep concern his faithful commons felt at being called upon for a promise to make good the expense of new preparations for war, after having been so recently obliged to impose on their constituents additional taxes on account of the late armament against Spain.

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Humbly to represent to his Majesty that in the answer which they gave to his Majesty's most gracious message, his faithful commons, acted on by a firm reliance that his Majesty's paternal care and regard for the welfare of his people would not suffer him, by a causeless interference in the disputes of other countries, to endanger the peace and tranquillity of this.

“That no inquiry was made into the particular circumstances which had induced his Majesty to arm, and a promise of support was given as indefinite as the object for which it was demanded.

“That since that period two months have elapsed. The preparations for war are still continued. The expense for which his Majesty's faithful commons must hereafter provide is daily increasing. No information as to its cause or object has yet been given; and if parliament should now be prorogued, his Majesty's

faithful commons will be placed in the disagreeable, and hitherto unprecedented, situation of returning to their constituents, after having subjected them, by a vote of this house, to new burdens, the extent of which they cannot limit, and the justice or necessity of which they cannot explain.

"For these reasons, and others, which the circumstances of the times may suggest, his Majesty's faithful commons humbly implore his Majesty not to prorogue the parliament till his Majesty shall have it in his power to communicate to them some distinct information relative to the cause of the present armament: in order, that if actual hostilities should take place, and it should be necessary for his Majesty to incur any further expense, his faithful commons may have an opportunity of exercising their hitherto undisputed privilege, and discharging their most important duty, in considering the extent and propriety of the same, as well as of assisting his Majesty, by their advice, to form a just judgment both as to the expediency of past measures and the policy of future councils; and they humbly beg leave to assure his Majesty that they will cheerfully forego the private benefits and comforts of an early recess to fulfil a duty highly necessary to the public satisfaction, and of the utmost importance to the policy, if not to the salvation of the state."

Mr. Fox and Mr. Sheridan both rose to second the motion.

Mr. Sheridan, in support of the motion said, that much as the right hon. gentleman was entitled generally to the praise of ability, he certainly had not on that occasion advanced any argument which could make it necessary for him, or any gentleman, to rise, especially after the clear and explicit answer of his right hon. friend. There was nothing to reply to; nothing to refute; a convincing proof that the motion which had been made so ably, and in support of which his right hon. friend (Mr. Fox) had wielded his Herculean club, was unanswerable. All the puny efforts of the other side to resist the blows of that club, served only to expose them more to the eyes of the house in the unequal conflict-they were exhausted in argument. But his right hon. friend was not exhausted. His rich and fruitful imagination had produced the new and irresistible arguments which had given conviction to every thinking mind. But the opposite side of the house, Mr. Sheridan said, were not only tired but exhausted. They were tired of being compelled to sit and hear accusations which, whatever might be the result, they could not refute; tired of enduring the scourge, and of being obliged at the same time to kiss the rod; tired of their own supporters, whose clumsy defences served not only to aggravate their suffering, but to disgust their taste; and thus, exhausted and spiritless, they sat in dejected silence, and left the field to their con

quering enemy. Ever till now, he said, the right hon. gentleman (Mr. Pitt) had at least made the show of ingenuousness; he had always said something in vindication of the measures he had taken, or in support of the confidence which he claimed; but now he looked round with a supplicating eye, and pressed allies into the service, from whose aid, however, he did not profit, and whose excuses even he was forced to deprecate. Such was the situation in which the opposite side stood, and with such complete triumph 'were the arguments of his hon. friends to go forth into the country.

He could not, however, say, that there had been nothing new advanced on the opposite side. The right hon. gentleman had imparted two pieces of important information; the one good, and the other bad. The bad point was, "that it was utterly impossible for him to say when the armed negotiation might be concluded, the answer might come in a week, but it might be a fortnight, a month, two months, or three months." Thus the house was told that there was no reason to believe, that though Britain had armed to give vigour, dignity, and effect to the negotiation of the cabinet, they had no knowledge, or even conjecture, of the time when it could be effectual. This was bad news, as it proved that firmness and decision, which ought to be the natural companions of an armament, were wanting; and, that though they had put the nation to all the expense, and had committed its character in the eye of Europe, they had not sent a message which must draw from the court of Russia a speedy and unequivocal answer. The point of information which he considered as good news, was a discovery which the right hon. gentleman had made, that in case of the apprehension of an invasion, his Majesty might convene the parliament in fourteen days. He had not been extremely accurate on the point; but it was his opinion, that if, when we had sent our fleet to the Baltic it should be discovered that there was an intention in the empress to invade this country, the king might exercise his undoubted prerogative and convene the parliament in fourteen days. This opinion was important; for, as the right hon. gentleman was going into the cabinet, it was of consequence to the house to know, that they would have the recommendation of the right hon. gentleman for this exercise of the power which was vested in the crown.

No man, Mr. Sheridan said, was disposed to deny the two