whom, places, penfions, titles, and rewards of every kind were profufely heaped! then grudge either him or others the poor comfort of a little popular applaufe! Let them not complain that the people held his humble efforts to serve his country in fome degree of eftimation! and though they might in the warmth of their zeal and affection, ufe a few imprudent words, for fuch he granted thofe words were, which composed the resolution of the Westminster committee read to the House by the honourable gentleman, let it not be faid, that he was borne off his legs by popular honours, or that he was frantic with popular applaufe. Had he been anxious to court those honours, and to obtain that applause, opportunities had offered, which he should not have neglected. In the time of the tumults, when the people were madly riotous, had he uttered one word, or faid a fyllable in fupport of the proteftant affociation? On the contrary, had he not oppofed it firmly, and been among the firft to reprobate and cenfure those lawless proceedings which began with infult to that and the other House of Parliament, and did not end till the public prifons, and private property to an immenfe amount, had been burnt and deftroyed! Again, when a measure was in agitation within thofe walls, which was particularly the object of oppofition from thofe very perfons, whom it was at that time known, he wished should become his conftituents, had he with a view to court popular applause, meanly given up his opinion, and adopted that of those who had fince chofen him their reprefentative? On the other hand, was it not notorious to every gentleman prefent, who had fat in the last Parliament, that he ftood up in his place, and firmly fupported the measure, declaring at the fame time, that he trufted, it would be a proof to the electors, that if they chose him their reprefentative, they would fend to Parliament a member who at leaft was fincere, and who was at all times determined to fpeak his real fentiments.

After other inftances adduced in proof, that the popular applause with which he had been honoured, was the voluntary gift of the people, and had not been fought after by him, either induftrioufly or improperly, Mr. Fox took notice of the neceffary freedom of debate, and faid, that as it was the dearest and most ineftimable privilege of a British fenator, fo was it the laft right that he would abandon or give up; and here he muft obferve, that in his fpecch on the first day of the laft feffion, in his speech on the firft day of the prefent feffion, he had talked language, which however people might

chufe

chufe to conftrue it, was not, he would at all times maintain, in the leaft perfonal to any man whatever. As long as he had the honour to fit in that House, he would exercife that ineftimable privilege of fpeaking freely upon public matters, both as to the conduct of men in public fituations and of measures any way connected with the public intereft. He had fpoken freely hitherto, whenever he had taken the liberty to rife in that Houfe, and in fpite of every attempt to prevent him, of every fort that could be fuggefted, he would continue to use and fupport the freedom of debate. He thought it neceffary to fay thus much, and to fay it in the moft exprefs terms juft then, because he forefaw, that in fpeaking to the fubject which was prefently to be taken into confideration, as the order of the day, when a fupply for the support of the navy was to be propofed, he fhould have occafion to advert to the character of a perfon, who, if report was to be credited, and there could be found conftituents fufficiently abandoned and loft to all fenfe of honour as to chufe him their reprefentative, was fhortly to come among them. That perfon had been convicted by one court martial of having preferred a falfe and malicious accufation against his fuperior officer, and he had been tried for his own conduct by another court martial, who had neither acquitted him honourably nor acquitted him unanimoufly. Thofe trials were matters of publick notoriety, and therefore they were the fit fubjects for parliamentary allufion, and for free difcuffion within those walls; to thofe trials he fhould have occafion to refer, in what he should have to fay when the supply for the fupport of the navy came under debate, and as often as any matter relative to the navy was the topic of that Houfe's confideration, fo often should he moft undoubtedly speak of those trials, and the perfon to whom they had relation, without reserve. Nor had that gentleman, or any other honourable gentleman, any right to complain of being perfonally infulted by what he fhould then fay. If he were to prefer an indictment against any perfon accufing that perfon of a crime, none furely but the moft wrong-headed man in the world would deem the hard words, which conftitute the legal and technical phrases of the indictment, fo many private affronts to him as a gentleman; the cafe was exactly the fame as to his treating upon any public topic in that Houfe. He owned, he was a little aftonifhed to hear the honourable gentleman who spoke laft, congratulate him upon his having, in confequence of the Weftminfter committee's refolution, an exclufive privilege of speaking

speaking perfonalities within those walls-he had already faid, he never had spoken perfonalities-had he indulged himself with entering into a differtation on economy, and the well ordered arrangement of his private affairs, or talked of noble ancestry and noble vices, or alluded to his domeftic virtues, and pointed all these things at any particular gentleman, he fhould have fuppofed, he might with reafon have been accufed of having dealt in perfonalities; but fo long as he confined himself to public matters, and public matters only, he did not imagine the Houfe would think that the character of being fond of perfonalities belonged exclufively to him.

After gently touching on his affair laft feffion with Mr. Adam, declaring, it could never be alluded to without giving that honourable gentleman and himself great pain, and after many other remarks, ftruck out with all that wonderful quickness of conception, happy pofition, and force and poignancy of application, which generally diftinguifh the fpeeches of this gentleman, he concluded with declaring, that he was ready to defend the resolution of the Weftminster committee, though at the fame time he was free to confefs, that he thought it imprudently drawn up, and that it contained words which had better not have been used on the occafion.

Mr. Adam rose to explain. He ftated, in antwer to what Mr. Adam, Mr. Fox had faid of the refolutions not being perfonal to him [Mr. Adam] the following words of the laft of thofe refolutions:

"Refolved, That this committee, being fenfible, that the firm, conftant, and intrepid performance of his duty will probably render him, in common with other diftinguished friends of liberty, the object of fuch attacks as he has already experienced, and to which every unprincipled partizan of power is invited by the certainty of reward."

He then added that every perfon, conjunctively and feverally of that committee, who approved of thofe words, was an infamous and base traducer of his character.

The Hon. Mr. Fitzpatrick rofe to corroborate and confirm Hon. Mr. what his honourable friend [Mr. Fox] had faid, relative to Fitzpatrick. his not being prefent when the Weftminfter committee came to the refolution which had been fo warmly complained of; faid he had the honour to belong to that committee, and a very great honour he thought it, becaufe he was convinced there were among the members of it, fome of the firft and most respectable characters in the kingdom; men as well read in the hiftory of the British conftitution, and as zealoufly VOL. XVIII. attached

N

Mr. Adam.

Mr. Fitzpatrick.

Sir James
Lowther.

Lord Lif

burne.

attached to that conftitution, as had lived in any period. of the existence of this country. Mr. Fitzpatrick declared, that he was abfent, as well as his honourable friend, when the refolutions, then the topic of converfation, were proposed, and carried; having therefore no hand in drawing them up, it was impoffible for him to say what or whom, the particular gentlemen who penned them, had in their view at the time; he was fure, however, from the known honour of the com- i mittee, that their intention was a good and a warrantable one, he therefore thought it right to fay, that the refolutions had his hearty confent.

Mr. Adam faid, in anfwer, that if either the honourable gentleman who spoke laft, or any other perfon approved of, and affented to the words in queftion, as perfonally applied to him, that he meant to apply to him and them, every epithet he had mentioned.

Mr. Fitzpatrick then said, that if the honourable gentleman chose to apply any part of the words used in the resolution of the Weftm nfter committee to himself, he could not poffibly help it. He muft ftill approve of thole refolutions, but he had not applied them to the honourable gentleman, neither had he faid, they contained any thing immediately applicable to him, or which the honourable gentleman was entitled to apply to himfelf. They certainly had his confent, nor did he feel himself at all obliged to give his reasons why he consented to them.

The

Sir James Lowther rose and faid, that the converfation had been a moft extraordinary one, and that he did not understand the time of the Houfe being taken up in that manner. honourable gentleman [Mr. Adam] had, once before, risen .and taken up words of a general import in a wrong fente; and fuppofing they applied to him perfonally, had expreffed himself in a warm and angry manner, contrary to the rules of the House.

This altercation was put an end to by the order of the day's being loudly called for.

As foon as the order of the day was read, the House refolved itfelf into a committee of fupply, and Mr. Ord took his feat at the table.

Lord Lifburne then rofe, and ftated to the committee, from official papers, which he held in his hand, what had been the number of feamen voted laft year, the increase of men employed in actual fervice, and what would be necessary for the fervice of the next year. His Lordfhip concluded his fpeech

with moving," that it is the opinion of this committee, that 91,000 feamen, including 20,317 marines, be the number of feamen voted for the fervice of the year 1781."

Sir Charles Bunbury was glad to hear fo many feamen moved Sir Charles for; he thought the navy the natural defence of this country, Bunbury. and reminded the Houfe, that laft war we had 18,000 American failors aboard our fleet, a number fufficient to man 36 fail of the line; this advantage our enemies now had over us it behoved government therefore to be as vigorous in their exertions, and as attentive to economy in their mode of manning, as well as of equipping and fitting out fhips, as poffible.

Admiral Keppel was alfo glad to hear 91,000 feamen were Admiral moved for; he wished the number had been ftill larger; the Keppel. Admiral spoke of the mode of manning fhips, faying that one third was ufually ordinary landen, one third marines, and one third feamen. The latter proportion was as few feamen as could poffibly navigate the fhips, it must not therefore be leffened on any account. The Admiral repeated his advice to minifters to be more early in their operations, and not to lofe their opportunities, as they hitherto had done very frequently. He alfo declared he was glad to hear we had now 90 fail of the line in fervice, but begged to know whether we Íhould have fo many, four months hence? Declaring that his reafon for putting this question was, becaufe it was a wellknown fact, that feveral of the ships now in the Weft-Indies, were fo much worn by the fervice, that it was a queftion whether the Admiral would truft them home in the winter.

Lord Lifburne faid, undoubtedly when the fhips in the Lord Lif Weft Indies came home, feveral would need repair, but then burne we had other new fhips in great forwardness, which would be ready for fervice in the courfe of the next year, and that France and Spain were under the fame fort of difficulty.

General Smith arraigned the American war in terms of great Gen Swith. energy.

Mr. Fox faid he should give his vote for the refolution, but Mr. Fax. he could not do it, without previoufly pledging himself, after the holidays, to move for the difmiffion of the Earl of Sandwich, and afterwards for bringing that noble Lord to condign punishment, and that he fhould found thefe motions on two different reasons ;-the first, because the Earl of Sandwich had advised his Majefty to promote Sir Hugh Pallifer to the government of Greenwich Hofpital,-the fecond, for the shameful neglect of the navy during the administration of the prefent firft lord of the admiralty.

N 2

Mr.