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of peace,

Where sad Misfortune rears her drooping head,

And sees a brightening gleam of sunshine spread ;

He on whose name a thousand blessings wait,

At whose approach Hope, Pleasure, renovate,

With sacred throb the bounding heart employ,

And the eye speaks unutterable joy ?— Him the glad Muse's harmony shall hail, And bloom for him the pride of Learning's vale.

Grav'd is thy name on Fame's eternal shrine, For these fond gifts, O Macintosh! are thine.

And ye who own, where'er your footsteps roam,

The cheek that crimsons at the thoughts of

Home,

And all the nameless wishes that impart The sympathetic glow that warms the heart,

Forgot the pomp of India's brighter climes
For scenes that whisper tales of other times,
Like music warbling in the aerial shade,
And softer, sweeter still by distance made;
Accept the tribute of the Muse's lay,
Fond 'mid these pleasing mountain walks
to stray,

And court the dreams that raptur'd fancy

warms,

And decks thy banks, O Ness, with fairer charms;

Ness, that so oft, with all a mother's pride, Sees Beauty walk with Virtue by her side, And structures rising o'er the tranquil

wave

Bright with the hallow'd beams that Science gave,

And forming Art bid rugged nature yield, And Ocean's keels divide the cultur'd field.

While deeds like these true Glory's

Shall Conquest only point the path to fame? meed proclaim, Had Cæsar scorned the palm that Genius gave,

Ev'n Cæsar's self had filled a nameless grave.

Yet when tyrannic hosts your rights invade, Draw, sons of Scotia! draw the vengeful blade

No wrath so deadly, and no steel so bright, Shall ever meet you in the shock of fight, But Glory, Love, and Freedom, twine the. bay,

Triumphant Chiefs! and gild your setting day.

ODE,

ON WINTER.

THE wintery winds, awak'd from sleep
Loud o'er the land and turbid deep,
In Æolus' adamantive cave,
With boisterous blasts, begin to rave.

Bright Phoebus, in his fiery car,
Now, southward, bends his annual course ;
While Afric's tawny tribes, afar,
Fly to the shade to shun his force.

Thick, murky clouds, obscure our sky: Along the hills the vapours sail; No cheering prospect meets the eye; Stern winter desolates the vale:

The blooms lie wrapt deep snows among; On Patie's Hill no lambkins play; No blackbird chants his woodland song, As by the Esk I wind my way:

Stript naked, bend the birchen trees,
That smil'd in green round Mary's Bower;
The lonely muse now leafless sees
The haunt of many a happier hour.

Adieu, ye favourite scenes, a while!
Ye howling tempests, bluster on!
Till vernal hours, again, shall smile;
When all your rage is spent, and gone.

In yonder Cot, secure from harms,
I'll pass thy gloomy months away;
While love and friendship's soothing charms
Supply the absent sweets of May.
Carlops,
Decem. 1808.

}

J. F.

Erratum. In the ELEGY, in No. 60. for December last, 1808, p. 926. c. 2. for, the bloom that, read, the health that. PRO

Proceedings of Parliament.

HOUSE OF LORDS.

Thursday, Jan. 19.

"HIS day the House of Lords met, pur

Chancellor, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Camden, and the Duke of Montrose, took their seats in their robes upon the woolsack, as his Majesty's Commissioners; and the Speaker and Members of the House of Commons being in attendance, the Lord Chancellor delivered the following speech from his Majesty :

"My Lords and Gentlemen, "We have it in command from his Majesty, to state to you, that his Majesty has called you together, in perfect confidence that you are prepared cordially to support his Majesty in the prosecution of a war, which there is no hope of terminating, safe ly and honourably, except through vigorous and persevering exertion.

"We are to acquaint you, that his Majesty has directed to be laid before you copies of the proposals for opening a negotiation which were transmitted to his Majesty from Erfurth; and of the correspondence which thereupon took place with the Governments of Russia and of France; together with the declaration issued by his Majesty's command on the termination of that correspondence.

"His Majesty is persuaded that you will participate in the feelings which were expressed by his Majesty, when it was required that his Majesty should consent to Commence the negotiation by abandoning the cause of Spain, which he had so recently and solemnly espoused.

"We are commanded to inform you, that his Majesty continues to receive from the Spanish Government the strongest assurances of their determined perseverance in the cause of the legitimate Monarchy, and of the national independence of Spain; and to assure you, that so long as the people of Spain shall remain true to themselves, his Majesty will continue to them his most strenuous assistance and support.

"His Majesty has renewed to the Spanish nation, in the moment of its difficulties and reverses, the engagements which he voluntarily contracted at the outset of its struggle against the usurpation and tyranny of France; and we are commanded to acquaint you, that these engagements have Feb. 1809.

been reduced into the form of a treaty of alliance; which treaty, so soon as the ratifications shall have been exchanged, his Majesty will cause to be laid before you. you, that while his Majesty contemplated, His Majesty commands us to state to with the liveliest satisfaction, the,atchiev ments of his forces in the commencement of the campaign in Portugal, and the deliverance of the kingdom of his ally from the presence and oppressions of the French army, his Majesty most deeply regretted the termination of that campaign by an armistice and convention, of some of the articles of which his Majesty has felt himself obliged formally to declare his disapproba tion.

"We are to express to you his Majesty's reliance on your disposition to enable his Majesty to continue the aid afforded by his Majesty to the King of Sweden. That Monarch derives a peculiar claim to his Majesty's support, in the present exigency of his affairs, from having concurred with his Majesty in the propriety of rejecting any proposal for negotiation to which the Government of Spain was not to be admitted as a party.

"Gentlemen of the House of Commons, "We are commanded by his Majesty to inform you, that he has directed the estimates of the current year to be laid before you. His Majesty relies upon your zeal and affection to make such further provision of supply as the vigorous prosecution of the war may render necessary; and he trusts that you may be enabled to find the means of providing such supply without any great or immediate increase of the existing burdens upon his people.

"His Majesty feels assured, that, it will be highly satisfactory to you to learn, that notwithstanding the measures resorted to by the enemy, for the purpose of destroying the commerce and resources of his kingdom, the public revenue has continued in a course of progressive improvement.

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mands most specially to recommend to you, that, duly weighing the immense interests which are at stake in the war now carrying on, you should proceed, with as little delay as possible, to consider of the most effectual measures for the augmentation of the regular army, in order that his Majesty may be the better enabled, without impairing the means of defence at home, to avail himself of the military power of his dominions in the great contest in which he is engaged; and to conduct that contest, under the blessing of Divine Providence, to a conclusion compatible with the honour of his Majesty's crown, and with the interests of his allies, of Europe, and of the world."

After the Commons withdrew, the House was cleared for a short time, when the Earl of Liverpool took the oaths and his seat on succeeding to his father. Lord Moira also took the oaths and his seat as Baron Hungerford, which he succeeds to on the death of his mother. Dr Mansell, as Bi. shop of Bristol, and the translated Bishops, also took the oaths and their seats.

The House then adjourned till five o' clock, when the Chancellor resumed the woolsack, and his Majesty's speech was again read.

The Earl of Bridgewater rose to move the address, but spoke so inaudibly that scarcely a sentence could be heard. We understood his Lordship to approve generally of the sentiments contained in his Majesty's speech, and to approve of his resolution to persevere in his assistance to the Spanish nation as long as that nation should be true to itself. With respect to the convention of Ciutra, his Lordship said there might be a difference in opinion, but there could be but one opinion respecting the bravery of our troops. His Lordship concluded by moving the address, which, as usual, was an echo of the speech.

Lord Sheffield rose to second the address, and dwelt with strong emphasis on the persevering exertions of his Majesty in defence of Spanish patriotism. That country, he said, had done much to preserve their liberties from the grasp of usurpation and tyranny; and, considering the completely disorganised state into which the treachery of France had hurled the nation, their ef forts had been highly meritorious. Bad men, however, would be found in every country, and Spain was not without its betrayers. Still he applauded the persevering spirit of his Majesty to follow up the assistance already afforded with energy and vigour. It was consistent with the principles the Sovereign had at all times shewn towards suffering humanity. His Lordship next adverted to the flourishing state of

our commerce, which, in spite of every artifice of Bonaparte, was still in a progressive state of improvement. His Lordship, after observing that the country felt the greatest confidence in the talents of the British General commanding in Spain, said, that whether he advanced or retreated, he was sure that he would not compromise the honour of the country, of sully the glory of the British arms.

Lord St Vincent next rose, and made a short but animated speech. He confessed there was little to find fault with in his Majesty's speech, especially as he had expressed his disapprobation of some of the articles of the Cintra convention; but looking to the whole of that affair, he could pronounce that, in his opinion, it was a most disgraceful act. The Portuguese, he said, as a nation, were a brave people (he did not mean the rascally inhabitants of Lisbon,) and if led on by British officers, were excellent troops. He would have lost his head, had the French crossed the Tagus, if they had ever got into Spain. The armistice proposed by Kellerman, he said, was nothing more than a French artifice to squeeze the British General; and the inquiry that had taken place was nothing more than a medium through which it was suspected the public dissatisfaction would evaporate. It had been said that his Majesty's Ministers had displayed great vigour; he could see no traces of it, unless it was in sending transports at an increased tonnage to Portugal. But how were they employed? Why, in conveying Junot and his rascally troops back again to France, to fight us at greater odds. In short, looking to the present state of the country, in his mind we were lost as a nation, unless a change took place in his Majesty's Councils; he therefore thought that an address should be carried to the foot of the throne, praying his Majesty, if he wished to preserve his kingdom entire, and his people from ruin, that he would remove his Ministers. Nothing short of such a measure could save the country. His Lordship concluded by saying, that, considering his infirmities, it might be possible that he should not come again to the House, but he had. spoken his sentiments, and he wished their Lordships good night.

Lord Grosvenor disapproved of the conduct of Ministers, though he did not mean to oppose the address. He said, they should imitate Bonaparte's conduct at Madrid, and do away useless places and unmerited pensions.

Viscount Sidmouth observed, that there was one point upon which there could not, he was persuaded, be any difference of opi-. nion among their Lordships, namely, the

pro

propriety of assuring his Majesty of the gratitude with which they received his speech. In expressing that assurance, a language was employed, which to him appeared to commit the House to certain points upon which they were not adequate ly informed. For himself, he would approve of continuing to support Spain so long as any hope remained; but he was not prepared to thank his Majesty for a treaty, of the conditions and engagements of which he was wholly ignorant. It was not impossible, when the treaty came to be discussed, that he might approve it; but until the documents were before him, he must suspend his opinion, and, above all things, decline to pledge himself to an unreserved approbation of the measure. Be. fore he could come to a proper decision on this subject, he must also obtain some information respecting the state of Spain. At no period within his memory was there so much spirit, so much loyalty and zeal in the country, and yet, at the same time, so much dissatisfaction. It was a dissatis faction not arising from a turbulent disposition in the people of this country, or from any marked reverses, or from the pressure of the public burdens, but a dissatisfaction produced by a feeling most honourable to the nation. The dissatisfaction was proportioned to the zeal and expectation of the country. It was not content either with the extent of the exertions that had been made to aid the Spaniards, or with the manner in which they were employed. Some statement, he trusted, would be made to allay this very laudable feeling of the public mind. His Lordship here declared, that he rose chiefly for the purpose of qualifying the assent he should give the greatest part of the address. With the reservation he had made, and that the means which would be liberally given would not bé misemployed; that the sacrifices of blood and treasure that the people of this country were disposed, beyond all example, to make, would be spent for the glory of the nation, and the honour of his Majesty's crown, he would give his assent to the address. He wished, however, not to be considered as committing himself to its full extent, but merely as concurring in that part which recommends a vigorous prosecution of the war, and expresses a determination to assist Spain, so long as Spain shall prove true to herself. He also concurred in the expediency of increasing our military means in proportion to those of the enemy with whom we have to contend.

Lord Grenville complained of Ministers pledging the country and the House to the extent of calling out the force of the coun

try, for a war in the interior of Spain. He had no hesitation in thus declaring it would be fatal in the extreme. They should reflect that they are about to send 40,000 to contend with 500,000. Scandalous delays had taken place, both here and in Portugal; two months elapsed after the battle of Vimiera, before a single soldier leaves Portugal for Spain; and two months more before a single musket is fired at the enemy. By that time the armies of Spain are overthrown, her provinces over-run, and the tyrant triumphs. As to the armistice and convention in Portugal, the sense of the country was so roundly expressed upon these, that all he could say respecting them, would be but echoing the indignant sentiments of the whole nation, so well, and so deeply, and universally expressed. All he would add to these expressions were, that if Ministers intended to meet the enemy in the plains of Portugal, they should have sent out cavalry, and if they intended that we should attack them in their fortifications, they should have sent out artillery in a greater proportion. The conclusion to be drawn from the report of the Board of Inquiry was, that it was not the Generals but the Ministers that were to be blam. ed. His Lordship then adverted to America. He signified in strong terms his as tonishment that Ministers pursued such crooked policy towards that country; so far from thinking that the embargo was beneficial to this nation, he considered it as one of the most unfortunate events attendant upon the war. His Lordship noticed a difference between the language of Ministers in the declaration, and that used in the speech, respecting the proposals from Erfurth; and concluded with observing, that if we sent our best officers and our

best troops to Spain, the country would be

lost.

Lord Liverpool said, that the address, as it was worded, pledged the House only to that general support of the Spanish cause which was consonant to the sentiments entertained by all ranks of people in this country, whatever their opinions might be as to the system of operations that had been adopted, as contrasted with any other which they might think more eligible. With regard to the question of where the British troops should first act, he could truly assert, that Sir Arthur Wellesley had proceeded on to Portugal, in consequence of the decision of the Junta at Corunna; that the expulsion of the French from that coun. try was the most essential service which he could do to the cause of Spain. They looked to the embarrassment that must have risen from having to combat the hostile armies entering on the side of the Pyrennees,

while

while a numerous French force was at the same time ready to fall on their rear from Portugal The Noble Lord had recommended coast expeditions, instead of penetrating into the heart of Spain, and yet the only coast expedition which was practicable, and which had been successful in a degree almost unprecedented, was the subject of his censure. Was it not by the coast expedition of General Spencer, who landed at Ayamonte, that the French in Portugal were prevented from effecting a junction with Dupont?-As to the other objection of the Noble Lord, that of sending a large force into the heart of Spain, he would say, that great risks must be run, where great objects were to be obtained.-But was there not, in what the Spaniards had done,

was there not, in the moral and physical state of the country, every thing that could form an inducement to the most vigorous and extensive assistance. There were provinces in Spain which had singly resisted a powerful enemy in the country for centu ries. If the hearts of the people were resolutely bent on continued opposition to the invaders, history afforded examples of such a spirit proving finally triumphant, after a struggle of many years duration. The expedition to Portugal was not dispatched in an unprovided state. On the contrary, when that came to be particular ly discussed, he would be ready to prove that its equipment was in every respect as complete as any expedition that had ever sailed from the British ports. It was not. only sufficiently provided with artillery, but in that particular department our military character had acquired fresh lustre, and extorted even the praise of our adversaries, two thirds of whose artillery were in our hands in the course of a few days from the opening of the campaign, entirely owing to our superiority in that particular department of the army. He would not now enter into an examination of the merits or demerits of the convention of Cintra; but was surprised how the Noble Lord could construe the censure expressed in the speech against some of the articles into an unqualified disapprobation of the whole. He could assure the Noble Lord and the House, that nothing was more remote from the intention of Ministers than to involve the country in a war with America. He should think that the admission made by the Noble Lord, that the Government of that country evinced a partiality for France, would furnish a solution of the circumstances which led to the present state of things between the two countries. The embargo could not have been, nor was it at first alledged to have been laid on in consequence of the orders in Council, because

the American Government could not then have known that such a measure was actually in agitation. But in a subsequent communication to Mr Erskine, Mr Madison stated that the probability of such orders being issued, was one of the causes of the embargo. If this was true, the probability I could only have arisen from their reasoning upon the threat held out in the order of January 7, 1807, and the principles laid down in the order of May 1806, both of which could be justified on no other ground than that of a right in this country to retaliate. But while this probability was of sufficient weight to impose the embargo as a measure of precaution against this country, not one word was said of the original injustice of the enemy, which had led to the issuing of our orders.-Even the proposal of July last to this Government, and that of France, shewed a bias in favour of the latter. To France the inducement to revoke the decree of Berlin was war with England; to us the advantage held out was only the continuance of the embargo with respect to France. His Lordship concluded with a few remarks on the flourishing state of our commerce and fi

nances.

Lord Moira decidedly differed both from his Noble Friend and Ministers, as to the conduct which should have been adopted with respect to Spain. There was a period in the war when the force which we now had there would have been sufficient to have stopped the passes of the Pyrennees, and led to the capture of every Frenchman in that country.

This was the only plan which presented any chance of a successful issue. It was the rock split in the desert, but we had neglected to drink of the fountain. The consultation with the people of Corunna, in the then state of things, was as ridiculous as if a Commander were to go to consult the inhabitants of Penzance what should be done if the enemy were to land in Scotland. His Lordship entered, at some length, into the question of the convention of Cintra, and declared, that his opinion, as a Member of the Board of Inquiry, was, that no blame attached to the Commanders in a military point of view. The only error of that transaction being of a political. nature, and therefore not within the constitutional scope of the powers vested in the Board. The result of their decision was to render an inquiry into the conduct of Ministers indispensably necessary, as they alone were responsible for the political conduct of the expedition.

Lord Erskine generally censured the conduct of Ministers, and more especially their rejection of the conciliating overture from. America; the effect of which, he conceived, would

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