ing had countenance under the prefent adminiftration of the Lord Lifburne faid, he was always ready to answer with Lord the utmoft candour and fairness, to fuch queftions as he had Lines it in his power to reply to. That with regard to Admiral Keppet, Lord Howe, and fome other Admirals alluded to, he could only fay, that one of them, with whom he had the happiness to live in friendship, had been with him that day, and had authorifed him to declare, that he was willing to serve as fecond in command, upon any fervice, but that he did not chufe to accept of a command in chief. The reason Mr. B. the admiral affigned, was, his Lordship obferved, rather a proof of his own modefty, than any thing elfe, the admiral having excufed taking a command in chief, on the plea that his talents were not equal to it. Upon being called upon across the Houfe, his Lordfhip faid, he alluded to Admiral Barrington, who it was well known had been more than ence preffed to accept the command of the western fquadron. With regard to the other admirals alluded to, they from private motives, best known to themfelves, had declined to ferve. As to the half-pay lift, his lordfhip faid, he believed as many old officers, whofe age, health and abilities would allow them to ferve were in the fervice. In reference to flag-officers, he was pretty fure, (exclufive of those mentioned by the honourable gentleman, and whom he had already defcribed as officers who from private motives, best known to themselves, declined ferving,) that nearly all who were from the state of their health and faculties capable of being employed, were employed. And as to the promotions, of late years it had been a custom to promote the officers of the navy in general according to their feniority, unless in cafes of extraordinary merit. Formerly, he believed, the custom had been to elect fome and país by others, which, except under particular circumftances, was furely a little unfair. Mr. B. Gascoigne got up and faid as from his connection Gajesźne, with the admiralty, it might at times be in his power to fatisfy the Houfe, he should always be willing to give the Houfe information when he could do fo. The noble Lord had omitted a part of the answer due to the honourable gentleman, relative to the large half-pay lift, and that was, that all the captains upon the impress service, were ftill on the half-pay lift. It therefore feemed as if lefs of the old officers were in actual service than there really were; fince in all the great ports and towns, the duty of the impress service was committed to captains, who, according to the rule. of the fervice, received their half-pay as well as other pay: in finall places lieutenants did the duty. Another part of the honourable gentleman's fpeech feemed to merit fome notice, and that was, with regard to the report of our fleet's being in the chops of the Channel, not daring to keep their destined ftation, on account of a fuperior fleet of the enemy being at fea. Before he could credit this, Mr. Gafcoigne faid, he must have it well authenticated; at present he did not believe it, nor was he inclined to do fo, till he fhould hear it in fuch a manner as spoke good information. But from his knowledge knowledge of the bravery, zeal, and good wishes of the officers of the western fquadron now at fea, he was perfectly convinced, that let the force of the enemy be fuperior or not, the fleet of England, under its prefent commanders, would never juftify an accusation of skulking from its ftation for fear of an enemy. Mr. Townshend expreffed fome furprize at what he had heard Mr. Townfrelative to officers on the imprefs fervice, receiving both full bend. and half pay. He alfo begged the committee to recollect that he had not used the term skulking in what he had said relative to the present fituation of the fleet of England, as report ftated it to be, or of the motives which occafioned that fituation. He was exceedingly far from fuppofing, that the officers on board the fleet, would on any occafion act in such a manner, as to merit reproach. He therefore defired it to be remembered, that the pretty word fkulk had been applied to the fleet by the honourable gentleman who fat at the board of admiralty, and not by him. Mr. Gafcoigne acknowledged that he had ufed the word, but Mr. Gajhe believed no man would ferioufly imagine, that when he coigne. was speaking in juftification of the characters of the officers of the fleet, and in order to rescue them from the poffibility of a bad impreffion operating to their prejudice, he could mean himself by any word of an undignified nature to fix reproach and disgrace upon them. He had not picked his expreffions, but had talked of the fleet's fkulking, the more ftronger to mark his fenfe of their being incapable of fuch conduct: perhaps if he had called it a difcreet retreat, his expreffion would have been more fuitable. Lord North rofe to defend the admiralty from the fufpicions Lord North. which he faid, he was forry to fee the honourable gentleman, who spoke firft in reply to the noble lord near him, entertained, under an idea that more mafters and commanders, and more captains were made than was neceffary, or in fact, that their promotions were mere election jobs. His lordfhip declared, if the entire lift was referred to, the contrary would appear to be the cafe. That upon looking over thofe promotions of the last year, which he had in his hand, this was evident. In the courfe of the laft year, the greater part of thofe promoted, at leaft one half, were promotions made by he commanders in chief at fea, who had a power of making poft captains, and mafters and commanders, as occafion of fered. That this power had long been vested in our naval commanders, but that the admiralty had done all they pof Mr. Fox. Lord Nugent fibly could to restrain the abuse of it, and had lately in a great measure effected this, by iffuing an order, that neither any poft captains, nor any mafters or commanders, fhould be made by commanders at fea, excepting only in the two cafes of death, and fentence of death, incapacity, or fufpenfion, by a court-martial. From the lift of the promotions of the laft year it appeared, that a full half were promotions at fea, and that the other half were promotions of gentlemen who had done their country fuch very fignal and eminent fervices, as made reward highly neceffary, and would have rendered it a matter of cenfure and blame in the admiralty, had they paffed the services over in filence, for which fervices the promotions were given. In order to fatisfy the committee fully, his lordship read over the names of all that had been made poft captains and mafters and commanders in the courfe of the last year, as well thofe promoted at sea, as those promoted by the admiralty. Among the latter, were the lieutenant of the Quebec, the lieutenant of the Serapis, the lieu tenant of the Apollo, feveral other officers who had greatly diftinguifhed themselves, and the honourable James Luttrell, whom his Lordship defcribed as a very worthy and deferving member of that Houfe. There was fcarcely one, the mention of whofe name and the fhip he had belonged to, did not call to mind fome glorious action, performed by the officer named, in the courfe of the present war. Mr. Fox faid, he thought it neceffary to repeat what he had ftated to the committee when they firft took the navy fupply into confideration on a former day, viz. that though he did not object to it, he acquiefced in it under an idea that it was generally understood that the late proceedings of the admiralty would be made the fubject of an enquiry, and that the House would proceed to examine on a future day, by whole advice it was, that his Majefty had conferred a poft of diftin guished honour and emolument on a perfon convicted of having preferred a malicious and ill-founded accusation against his fu perior officer. Lord Nugent spoke to order. His lordship, with great earneftness begged, for the honour and dignity of the House, that every matter which led to angry difcuffion and perfonal abufe might be avoided. He faid, it was gentlemen fuffering their good sense and fober judgment to be loft in the rage of party altercation, during the laft Parliament, which had difgraced that House in the eyes of all the world. Did gentlemen confider, that every thing faid within those walls walls was fent abroad, was tranflated, and was read by every man, foreigner as well as native, who could get at a common newspaper. From the perfonal abufe thrown out in the laft Parliament, the inhabitants of other countries were led no longer to regard the members of that House as the judicious and grave reprefentatives of a great, a mighty, and a free people; they thought the British Parliament had loft its honour and dignity, and that its ordinances and refolves were no longer the refult of that deliberation and coolnefs, which are the effential characteristics of national wisdom and true greatness. He hoped to God, therefore, that gentlemen would, from a fenfe of the honour and dignity of Parliament, not convert that Houfe into a Polifh Diet, and make the neceffary qualifications of an orator within those walls, not the best and most intimate acquaintance with the works of Cicero and Demofthenes, but the greateft proficiency and the moft perfect kill acquired in the fchool of Mr. Angelo and other masters of defence. If mattters went on thus, the whole scheme of political education would be turned topfy turvy, and that member only would in future be qualified to be firft lord of the treasury, who was the beft fencing mafter in the kingdom. Sir Robert Smith called Lord Nugent to order. He infift- Sir Rabere ed upon it, that his honourable friend had not been diforderly Smith. in what he had faid, and that the noble lord was not warrant ed in interrupting him. It was perfectly fair, perfectly in order (as his honourable friend had done) when a queftion refpe&ting the navy was before the committee, to go into a difcuffion of the rewards and punishments bestowed on naval officers. It was not merely hulks of fhips and guns that made the navy of England, it was the fpirit and honour of the offi cers and the men, and when they were damped, the navy was fure to be ruinede Lord Nugent rofe again and faid, the only reafon of his Lord Nagena interrupting the honourable gentleman had been from an innate and moft fincere wish to preferve that general peace, good humour, and temper, within thofe walls, which alone could give dignity to debate, and affift the public bufinefs, in the eyes of Europe, by fhewing, that the British Parlia ment was unanimoufly inclined to proceed in the war, and to forward its operations, however debates might arife as to the manner of doing this. He protefted he had a very great refpect for the honourable gentleman, and for his extraordinary talents; but it was from a painful remembrance of what had VOL. XVIII. already E e |