Sch were the principal debates, rich occupied the attention of pament, before the Christmas

In the slight, but we trust suffitally accurate and comprehenwe sketch, we have given of the ect matter of the public bills, ich came before the legislation in as first period of the domestic tury of the year; we have dwelt particularly, on the discussions vach arose from the consideration of the king's speech; and on those *h took place on the army and estimates; as being, not only y important in themselves, in monal point of view; but as unfolding the opinions of the at leading characters of the day; the outline of their political parations. We purposely waved, wever, any examination of the ter's financial statement: first, ase it passed in the house of

s without remark or comtent of any kind; and secondly, se an appropriate opportunity present itself, at a more adated period of the account of ** remaining proceedings of the -war of parliament, which comes

the limits of our present vo; and in which we shall exawith impartiality, whether this ett, satisfactory and flatteras it was in its details, deserved * credit and applause, which Mr. gton solemnly claimed as its ; or whether it were founded that fallacious and temporizing which had hitherto paralyzed 14 cappled us in our foreign rela

; and now threatened to exd its deceptive and deleterious Acts over our domestic concerns. At however public opinion might

be held in equilibrium, on those great leading features of the early part of the session; it decidedly manifested itself, as hostile to the last act of it; namely, the introduction of the bill for navy commissioners; and perhaps no subject of equal importance ever agitated the public mind, or produced more eager or animated debate within the walls of parliament. The introduction of the bill in question, was considered on all hands, as a measure at once nugatory as to the benefits it proposed; oppressive and arbitrary in its mode of operation; invidious with respect to the navy board, whose most material functions it usurped; and as being, as expensive as useless to the nation. While this bill depended in parliament, the reasoning for its being thrown out was supported on various grounds. It was convincingly proved, that there existed no necessity for such a measure; as the commissioners for executing the office of lord high admiral of England, possessed by their constituted authority, and within themselves, sufficient powers, if they chose to exert them, to correct the abuses complained of; since by authorizing the navy-board (which by patent possessed the right of administering oaths, and of punishing all frauds committed in the naval department) to inquire into the alleged causes of complaint, they might, and must have been effectually removed. force this argument, it was urged, that when in the year 1792, the grossest misconduct occurred in the ordnance department in the West Indies; recourse had not been had to the institution of a new board, in order to detect and punish the

To en

offenders.

offenders. They were detected and punished most effectually, by a commission, issuing out of the board of ordnance itself, without resorting to novelty, oppression, or expence. It was objected, that this bill had been framed, with the most profound ignorance of the fundamental laws of the country, inasmuch, as it contained within it. a compulsory clause to oblige offenders to accuse themselves! And indeed this fact was so evident, that every lawyer in the lower house, gave it his decided negative; the servants of the state, the attorney and solicitor general, differed most materially upon its construction; and even many of the warm friends of the minister, and pensioned by the crown, refused their support to the measure, upon the ground of its being too strong. Under these opinions and circumstances, at once discordant and inauspicious, the bill was pared down, the most exceptionable clauses were rescinded, various amendments made, and it was then transmitted to the house of peers. Here the opposition assumed a new and singular form: two of the cabinet ministers (one of whom was the lord chancellor) declared it to be, the most arbitrary and unconstitutional attempt that had ever been made: they struck out several parts, including even some of the amendments made by the commons: erased the compulsory clause altogether; reduced the bill with respect to its efficiency, to an absolute nullity; and in this shape, gave it a tardy and ungracious assent. The bill having passed both houses in this crippled and mutilated form, it was evident, that as to any object of public utility, it might as well

never have been committed; r therefore could by no means ans the professed intention, of those brought it forward; and that the ends of justice might h been obtained without an establ ment, which superadded to in ciency, an heavy increase of public burthen. Other objects, other motives, than those wh originated in views for the p lic weal, were now resorted to: the minister and the first lord of admiralty participated the cens It was not overlooked, that in former, whose professed obj were œconomy and disinterest ness, there was on this occa manifested a thorough derelic of both those vaunted qualities, or twelve thousand pounds yea from the public purse, distribu through the medium of this co mission, to his particular frie and connexions, abundantly pro his slender claim to either; whil the latter, who was ostensibly great promoter of the bill, m attributed the wish of establish delinquency, and affixing crimina on the navy board; an obj which was supposed to have ar from a desire to displace the excel and amiable character at the h of it, and place therein a follo of his own one in which he hitherto failed; and that vexatio the disappointment, had origina this, as it proved, very obnox measure. Others however ceived it to arise from purer mot they believed that the first lor the adiniralty had already much upon his hands, (when it considered, how trifling was assistance he derived,) owing t want of experience and knowl

:

from the junior members of his board: to undertake this investigaDonbaself; and that the infirmities induced by great age, as well as the consequences of a most afflicting ty, to which this great officer Sject, rendered him unequal to the task of going through more, the ministerial and political rations of his high office. He theretore not probably wished for a CET of this sort, as much w the purpose of lightening Heartbeasome part of his duty; for that of his own future exculpationscaldany inquiry ever occur, respecting his administration of the theters of Great Britain. Be the motives however what they mt, the means were completely te in themselves, and produGet a small share of odium to both Mr. Addington and the earl St. Valent, as statesmen and as indiis, in their consequences.

were the objections prima face to the naval commission bill. And here before we dismiss the alect, probably for ever, it may be necessary to consider whether in the result, it appeared that they were well founded, or the contrary. For this purpose we shall anticipate attle in order of time, and from ach of their proceedings as occurred within the year, collect all that 4:ars necessary to lay before our Taders for that purpose

In the reports of this new comon, generally speaking, there were not to be found any detail of ses, which had not previously been adverted to by the navy board; and the defaulters or delinquents bad either actually been punished, er were undergoing a judicial invesation of their conduct at that

moment, and set on foot for that purpose. Some regulations indeed were recommended,which could and certainly ought to have originated with the admiralty board itself: but even in these, the leading features of their deliberative opera, tions, bore the marks of hurry and precipitation, and of anxious cagerness to deteriorate, and affix blame on existing establishments. This was more immediately apparent in their report on the charity, known by the name of the Chest of Chatham; as in order to remove that fund to Greenwich, a great degree of unmerited censure was thrown on the officers, in whose administration and custody it was placed: the more unmerited, because it was notorious, that in no one instance of a public institution, have the accounts and property of the nation been conducted and managed with such true economy, as well as such disinterested honesty: and because, had the commissioners called for the necessary documents, and examined those officers themselves; which in the ordinary course of conducting business of such a nature as they were employed upon, was indispensibly requisite, but which most unaccountably was neglected by them; they would have found, and they would have done but a common act of justice in stating it to the public, that the estates belonging to this fund had been augmented considerably in their value, instead of remaining stationary; which is most erroneously affirmed by them in their report on this subject to be the case! It would be wholly unnecessary to dwell longer on these reports: we have endeavoured to shew the spiritin which this commission set out, and

the

the mode in which it operated. In short, on a thorough view of it, in all its points and bearings, there appeared in it nothing new or necessary, save in that part of its proposed functions which alluded to the abuses, and to the regulation, of the prize agency of the navy, over which the admiralty had certainly no previous controul; and of which we shall hereafter take occasion, when the debates on that subject occur, to ake more particular notice. But

even here it was evident that this subject was fixed upon, more as a popular vehicle, to carry through the objectionable parts of the measure, than from any other motive; as Sir Wm. Scott, who presided in the courts of civil law, where subjects of maritime jurisdiction are decided, had just brought in a bill, which provided for every case which the commissioners of naval inquiry had pointed out as an existing abuse,

CHAI