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Article PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS. Page 1 of 3 →
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Parliamentary Proceedings.
PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS .
HOUSE OF LORDS . IN the House of Lords no material business was agitated till Feb . 14 . When the House having been summoned upon a motion of Lord Lansdowne , respecting a peace with France , the noble Marquis rose to say , that an intimation had reached him from one of his Majesty ' s ministers , that public business of very great importance made them desire the discussion might be postponed . He would therefore defer his motion till Monday next . Lord Greniiillc expressed his obligation to the noble Lord for the attention which he had shewn to the accommodation of the minifters .
LORD MOIRA'S EXPEDITION . The Earl of Moira rose to take notice of some observations that had been thrown out by an Honourable Gentleman ( Major Maitland ) in another House , on the Expedition which he had the honour to command . His Lordship explained , at some length , the general outlines of the Expedition , the views of his Majesty ' s ministers , and the communications which had taken place with the Royalists on the subject . He had been sent for , he said , by his Majefty ' s ministers on the 17 th of October , and informed by
them of the succours with which it was intended the Royalists should be furnished . He did not hesitate to undertake the Expedition proposed , nor that responsibility which he considered as attached to it . The Royalists had demanded a certain force to co-operate with them , and his Majesty ' s ministers had appointed a much greater force than they had requested ; it only remained that a point of junction fhould be fixed ; and before that could be effected , some signals were agreed upon , and some frigates sent to repeat those signals ; but they were not answered by the Royalists . On , the . 10 th of November some persons were sent to concert measures with them . The
Royalists had required artillery and artillery-men , as they had scarce any one who understood the use of cannon . ' His Lordship had represented to his Majesty's ministers , who had entrusted him with a discretionary power on this Expedition , the necessity of bringing some persons from Flanders who were acquainted with the management of artillery ; and , as he hoped to have formed an immediate junction with the Royalists , lie had appointed two French officers of great merit his aides-du-camp , and another as his secretary ; and , under all circumstances , he thought himself justified in making
those appointments . His Lordship said , if it should be thought that he had done wrong ., he was willing that the whole expence attending that measure should be deducted out of the appointments which were attached to the command with which he had been honoured . He could not make known the names of these officers because they had children and friends in France , to whom such a publicity might be fatal . But , said his Lordship , whatever difference of opinion men may entertain of the French Revolution , " God knows these gentlemen have seen the measure of their sufferings amply filled ? Let it not then be said
, that the hand of a British gentleman directed the dagger to increase those sufferings , by adding another wound to the many which they have already received . He concluded by saying , that he took the whole responsibility upon himself , because his Majefty's ministers had fully approved of the appointments he had recommended to them . After a few words from Lord Lauderdale , in justification of the notice that had been taken in the House of Commons of these appointments , Lord Grenville said , that his Majesty's ministers , after having so fully approved of what the Earl of Moira had done
, would fhare the responsibility with him . 17 th . The Marquis olLansdowne rose to make his promised motion for promoting a peace with the Republic of France . It was , he said , the inviolable right of parliament , not to vote away the money of the people without due investigation . Thirteen millions were now called for to prosecute this ruinous war ; and it behoved their Lordships , instead of discussing the characters or pretensions of the persons who compose the Convention of France , to examine into the bonds and mortgage : ; that VOL . II . E e
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Parliamentary Proceedings.
PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS .
HOUSE OF LORDS . IN the House of Lords no material business was agitated till Feb . 14 . When the House having been summoned upon a motion of Lord Lansdowne , respecting a peace with France , the noble Marquis rose to say , that an intimation had reached him from one of his Majesty ' s ministers , that public business of very great importance made them desire the discussion might be postponed . He would therefore defer his motion till Monday next . Lord Greniiillc expressed his obligation to the noble Lord for the attention which he had shewn to the accommodation of the minifters .
LORD MOIRA'S EXPEDITION . The Earl of Moira rose to take notice of some observations that had been thrown out by an Honourable Gentleman ( Major Maitland ) in another House , on the Expedition which he had the honour to command . His Lordship explained , at some length , the general outlines of the Expedition , the views of his Majesty ' s ministers , and the communications which had taken place with the Royalists on the subject . He had been sent for , he said , by his Majefty ' s ministers on the 17 th of October , and informed by
them of the succours with which it was intended the Royalists should be furnished . He did not hesitate to undertake the Expedition proposed , nor that responsibility which he considered as attached to it . The Royalists had demanded a certain force to co-operate with them , and his Majesty ' s ministers had appointed a much greater force than they had requested ; it only remained that a point of junction fhould be fixed ; and before that could be effected , some signals were agreed upon , and some frigates sent to repeat those signals ; but they were not answered by the Royalists . On , the . 10 th of November some persons were sent to concert measures with them . The
Royalists had required artillery and artillery-men , as they had scarce any one who understood the use of cannon . ' His Lordship had represented to his Majesty's ministers , who had entrusted him with a discretionary power on this Expedition , the necessity of bringing some persons from Flanders who were acquainted with the management of artillery ; and , as he hoped to have formed an immediate junction with the Royalists , lie had appointed two French officers of great merit his aides-du-camp , and another as his secretary ; and , under all circumstances , he thought himself justified in making
those appointments . His Lordship said , if it should be thought that he had done wrong ., he was willing that the whole expence attending that measure should be deducted out of the appointments which were attached to the command with which he had been honoured . He could not make known the names of these officers because they had children and friends in France , to whom such a publicity might be fatal . But , said his Lordship , whatever difference of opinion men may entertain of the French Revolution , " God knows these gentlemen have seen the measure of their sufferings amply filled ? Let it not then be said
, that the hand of a British gentleman directed the dagger to increase those sufferings , by adding another wound to the many which they have already received . He concluded by saying , that he took the whole responsibility upon himself , because his Majefty's ministers had fully approved of the appointments he had recommended to them . After a few words from Lord Lauderdale , in justification of the notice that had been taken in the House of Commons of these appointments , Lord Grenville said , that his Majesty's ministers , after having so fully approved of what the Earl of Moira had done
, would fhare the responsibility with him . 17 th . The Marquis olLansdowne rose to make his promised motion for promoting a peace with the Republic of France . It was , he said , the inviolable right of parliament , not to vote away the money of the people without due investigation . Thirteen millions were now called for to prosecute this ruinous war ; and it behoved their Lordships , instead of discussing the characters or pretensions of the persons who compose the Convention of France , to examine into the bonds and mortgage : ; that VOL . II . E e