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brought against his Royal Highness the Duke of York imputing to him personal corruption and criminal connivance in the execution of his office; and this House having referred the said charges to a Committee, &c. feels it its duty to pronounce a distinct opinion upon that subject."

If that should meet the concurrence of the House, it was his intention to propose another resolution, in which the House would express its distinct and decided opinion upon the accusation itself.

Resolved, That it is the opinion of this House, after the fullest and most attentive examination of all the evidence adduced, that there is no ground for charging his Royal Highness with personal corruption, or connivance at such practices disclosed in the testimony heard at the bar."

After the House had determined upon these resolutions, he felt it both due to their affection to the Sovereign, to the character of that House, and to the high situation of the Commander in Chief, connected with the near relationship subsisting between the illustrious Personage who held that respectable situation, and the Monarch of these Realms, to address the Throne on the subject of the Inquiry on which that House had been engaged, in order to relieve the mind of his Majesty from uneasi

ress.

"That an Address be presented to his Majesty, humbly representing, that, in consequence of charges against his Royal Highness the Duke of York, his faithful Commons thought it their indispensable duty to inquire into the same in the most solemn and public manner; and after the most diligent and attentive inquiry, his most faithful Commons, considering the lively inte rest his Majesty must feel in any inquiry into the conduct of his Royal Highness the Duke of York, thought it their duty to lay before his Majesty the following Resolutions:

(Here he proposed to insert the above resolutions.)

"And his Majesty's faithful Commons think it their duty further to state to his Majesty, that while the House has seen the exemplary regularity and method in which business is conducted in his Royal Highness's office, and the salutary regulations introduced by him, some of which were intended to prevent the very abuses complained of, and which have been brought under review, they cannot but feel the greatest regret and concern, that a connection should have existed which has thus exposed his Royal Highness's character to public calumny, and that frauds should have been carried on, with which his Royal Highness's name has been coupled,

of a most disgraceful and dangerous ten. dency; but it is at the same time a great consolation to the House to observe the deep concern his Royal Highness has expressed, that such a connection should ever have taken place; and, on the expression of that regret, the House is confident that his Royal Highness will keep in view the uniformly virtuous and exemplary conduct of his Majesty, since the commencement of his reign, and which has endeared his Majesty to all his subjects."

The House then adjourned the further discussion until next day.

Thursday, March 9.

THE DUKE OF YORK.

The Order of the day being read, for resuming the adjourned debate on the evidence taken before the Committee respecting the conduct of his Royal Highness the Duke of York,

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, after a few preliminary observations, took'a slight retrospective glance at what he had already stated, and proceeded to speak of the conduct of his Royal Highness the Duke of York, as far as it related to Col. French's levy. He thought that the circumstance of the levy having been discontinued, on a representation of the improper practices carrying on having been made to the Duke of York, was a sufficient reason for exculpating his Royal Highness. He then noticed the case of Colonel Shaw, who, he contended, was indebted for whatever favour he received, to the interference of General Burrard, which was proved by a letter of Colonel Shaw's to Gen. Burrard, thanking him for his countenance. No credit was therefore due to Mrs Clarke's evidence in this transaction. With respect to Mr Dowler, he observed, that he had undoubtedly paid her 10001.; but whether it was for the purpose of procuring him a place, does not appear. The Hon. Gentleman then adverted to the loan offered by Kennett, on which he dwelt for a very short time, contending, that no evidence appeared which implied the Duke of York's knowledge of the true nature of the transaction. Neither could he perceive any thing to blame in the case of Major Turner; and he could not help expressing his surprise, that after gentlemen had brought forward such evidence at the bar, they should pretend to say, that Mrs Sutherland's information against Major Turner was unworthy of credit. The case he now alluded to was that of Carter, towards whom he thought the Commander in Chief had displayed a degree of humane attention, which, in his opinion, must be ex. tremely grateful to every feeling heart. A

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teal object of compassion, worthy to become the object of Royal munificence, presented itself, and the Commander in Chief, awake to the liveliest feelings of humanity, had not neglected the opportunity of suc-couring the orphan son of an officer.

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The Hon. Gentleman entered into a minute examination of the other cases which Mr Wardle had brought forward, controverting his statements, and endeavouring to shew that Mrs Clarke's testimony was unworthy of credit. He then observed, I am convinced that the House must be aware of much in the character and conduct of his Royal Highness the Duke of York, which will make them deeply regret the necessity (if, contrary to my opinion, such a necessity should be thought to exist) of taking such steps as may tend to remove his Royal Highness from a situation for which I conceive him peculiarly qualified. If there be a man who thinks, that during the fourteen or fifteen years that illustrious individual has possessed the Chief Command, the army has prospered in an unexampled manner;-that he has introduced regulations of the most wise and beneficial nature; that he has consulted the interest of the officers, and the comfort of the soldiery; that he has promoted merit, whereever it has displayed itself; that he has improved the general character of the army, and reformed its discipline; that he has watched with parental care over the interests of the troops, by the establishment of charitable institutions for their families, and of schools and colleges for the purposes of military education; if there be a man who thinks all this, that man, Sir, will see with the deepest regret any necessity that may be supposed to exist for adopting measures leading to the dismissal from office of the present illustrious Commander in Chief." Mr Perceval concluded with observing, that in voting the Duke of York innocent of the charges of which he was accused, he had not the least apprehension of forfeit ing the confidence of his constituents.

Mr Bathurst addressed the House at considerable length; and though he did not think that the Duke of York was guilty of any corrupt participation in those criminal transactions, he thought that the evidence adduced fully proved that he acted under improper influence. There was a part (he observed) not touched either in the Address of the Hon. Gentleman (Mr Wardle,) or in the Resolutions of his Right Hon. Friend, (the Chancellor of the Exchequer,) which many would think not the least important in this matter, and it was this, which did not go to the extent of corruption as to undue influence, that he had thought it his duty to point out to the

House. Unless some other Hon. Gentleman pursued this course, he would, at the close of the debate, suggest a resolution, to mark with the animadversion of the House the connection itself in which the Commander in Chief had been engaged, and also (without viewing it morally or religiously) its political bad consequences and dangerous example. Previous to this, however, he would deem it necessary to come to a vote on a resolution, such as the first proposed by the Right Hon. Gentleman, aye or no, whether the Commander in Chief was guilty of corruption or not. Afterwards he would propose an address,"That the House had observed with the deepest regret, that, in consequence of a connection the most immoral and unbecoming, undue influence had been exerted, which brought disgraceful charges against the Commander in Chief, and tended to give colour to transactions the most pernicious and indiscreet."

Mr Whitbread began his speech by complimenting the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the ability with which he had pleaded the cause of the Duke of York. He then proceeded to shew, that Mrs Clarke's evidence was fully as much entitled to credit as great part of the evidence constantly received in courts of justice, and instanced a case, in which the testimony of a woman of the same description was received relative to a will, which was proven by her evidence alone. The Honourable Gentleman here went into a defence of Mrs Clarke's conduct in this respect, and contended that there was no proof of a revengeful disposition towards his Royal Highness, and that the present discoveries might be accounted for on other principles. When she appeared at the bar, she certainly had displayed all that pertness, levity, wit, acuteness, effrontery, and impudence, with which she had been charged; but on being examined for three hours by a late Attorney-General, the present AttorneyGeneral, and others, with the SolicitorGeneral at their back, by way of corps de reserve, and being called in again and again, and re-examined, till she was like to faint through bodily fatigue, they had not been able to make any thing out. The Learned Gentleman (the Attorney-General) might have observed, that she had baffled him, and when he thought he had got her fast, off she went into a new beat. He then made some observations upon the mode in which she was treated, and did not think it strange, that if all the Members encouraged her by laughing at her an— swers, she should continue in a course that appeared so amusing, till she exceeded propriety and decorum. The Learned Attor

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ney General had questioned her for three hours, and made but little of it. He got out some stories which led to the disclosures respecting Gen. Clavering, Dr O'Meara, and the production of the correspondence which Mrs Clarke would never have produced but from these circumstances.

How then did Gentlemen exult in her having advanced falsehoods?-Gen. Clavering apply to her! Dr O'Meara apply to her! and give her letters from the Hierarch of the Irish Protestant Church, the Archbishop of Tuam! Oh! it was impossible But when these things were proved, and the letters from Nichols produced, they recorded Gen. Clavering's misconduct, and Mrs Clark's truth. From this he did not mean to contend that she was altogether a pure witness, but that some points, in which she was so strongly suspected, having turned out to be correct, it was but fair to allow her some credit in others. The Hon. Gentleman then endeavoured to show, that the, contradictions in Mrs Clarke's evidence were merely apparent, and that she had only desired Mr Knight to conceal it lest it should reach the Duke of York's ears through a different channel. From the nature of the establishments in Gloucester Place, it appeared impossible to him that the Duke of York should not have known that money was procured elsewhere. There was another strong point which must have awakened his suspicions on this head, and that was, Mrs Clarke's asking favours for persons unknown to her. If she had said, do something for my brother, it might have been so far excusable to comply with her request; but what could be said when an Irish Clergyman stepped in? What could she know of him, or the Archbishop of Tuam? He must have been known to be a stranger, and that was sufficient to inform the Duke of York of the nature of her interference. Sanden, who is now expiating his offences in Newgate, and French, and Clavering, a family man, were all in the same predicament, for what interest could Mrs Clarke have in their success? As for the case of Samuel Carter, he would only mention it, to say he wished it had never been introduced. It had been over-rated by the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite. Yet, as he had turned out a meritorious officer, he trusted what had passed on this inquiry would not prejudice his brother officers against him, in a country where we did not look to our ancestry. This circumstance, however, was a complete proof of the influence exercised by Mrs Clarke, and at the same time of her humanity. Let no man, on such an occasion, blame too much; for who could

have laid their heads on Dalilah's lap without being shorn? The Hon. Gentleman now went into the several cases mentioned. in the charge, and stated the points of the evidence which made an impression on his mind, that undue influence had been used and connived at by the Commander in Chief. The Hon. Gentleman then concluded with the following observations: -Now that all this evidence was before the House, would Gentlemen still continue to say, that infamy must attach itself somewhere, on the accuser or the accused? Would they continue now to say, that it must attach to his Hon. Friend, (Mr Wardle?) No! Where, then, will they place it-(A loud cry of hear! hear!)—This, at present, he would not pursue farther.— Where were the conspirators with whom we had been scared? Was his Hon. Friend a conspirator, was he a jacobin? No! the follies of Princes were the true food of Jacobinism. They held their meetings in Gloucester Place, and the Duke of York was the chairman. Drive it out of palaces, and you have nothing to fear from Jacobinism in the cottages. His Hon. Friend (Mr Wardle) was the real Anti-Jacobin; not such as flatter Ministers, and who tell the people that those who are against Ministers are against the Government, but one who points out the real and simple truth, and tells us we are saved, if we timely stop the progress of corruption. The Right Hon. Gentleman has talked of the virtue of public men. I join him in the eulogium. 1 believe that there never was a time when public characters were less impeachable; but then I believe that this is, in a very great measure, owing to the apprehension of exposure; I believe that it is owing, in a great measure, to the committee over which he once presided, but from which he is now separated. I hope that Gentlemen will have a sufficient regard for the cause of liberty and justice;hope they will divest their minds of all prejudice, and decide upon this important question, with the temper and the sentiments that become them. If you decide so, we may yet entertain hopes; but if you determine otherwise, with other views and other feelings, I must say, that the plague is amongst us, and that this country and constitution will be quickly at an end.

The Attorney General replied to Mr Whitbread, and accused him of showing too much partiality to Mrs Clarke, after which he controverted his views of the evidence at considerable length.

The debate was then (at four o'clock) adjourned till next day.

Historical Affairs.

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HE Emperor Napoleon having, after some sanguinary engagements near Abensberg, Hausen, and Dinglingen, in which the fortune of war favoured the Austrian arms so as to force the French garrison at Ratisbon to surrender, succeeded in cutting off the left wing of the Austrian army, and driving it back to Landshut, and afterwards in advancing by Eckmuhl with a superior corps of cavalry, taking the road of Eglofsheim, and forcing to retreat those Austrian corps that were posted on the heights of Lakepont and Talmessing, the Archduke, on the 23d of April, cros sed the Danube near Ratisbon, and joined the corps of Bellegarde, who had opened the campaign by several successful affairs in the Upper Palatinate, had reached Amberg, Neumarkt, and Hemau, and had by this time approached Stadtam-hof, in order to execute its immediate junction with the Archduke.

The Emperor Napoleon ordered the bombardment of Ratisbon, occupied by a few battalions who were to cover the

(*We have given the first place this

month to the Austrian official account of he march of the French army to Vienna, and of two desperate battles which were Fought on the 21st and 22d of May on the eft bank of the Danube, opposite to that city. It was published as a Supplement to the London Gazette of the 11th July, and s considered a most important document, s giving a plain and interesting description -f two battles, which were obstinate and loody in a degree almost unprecedented, nd in which Bonaparte exerted his ut1ost energy to recover his tarnished glory, nd to save his army from total destrucon.)

passage of the Danube.-On the 23d in the evening he became master of it, and immediately hastened along the right bank of the Danube to enter the Austrian States, in order, as he openly declared, to dictate peace at Vienna.

The Austrian army had taken a position near Cham, behind the river Re gen, which was watched by some of the enemy's divisions, while the Emperor Napoleon called all his disposable troops in forced marches, from the north of Germany to the Danube, and considerably reinforced his army with the troops of Wurtemberg, Hessia, Baden, and some time after with those of Saxony.

Near Kirn and Nittenau, some affairs had happened between the out-posts, which, however, had no influence upon the armies.

However easy it would have been for the Archduke to continue his offensive operations on the left bank of the Danube without any material resistance, and however gratifying it might have been to relieve provinces which were groaning beneath the pressure of foreign dominion, the preservation of his native land did not permit him to suffer the enemy to riot with impunity in the entrails of the monarchy, to give up the rich sources of its independence, and expose the welfare of the subject to the devastation of foreign conquerors.

These motives induced the Archduke to conduct his army to Bohemia, by the way of Klentsch, and Neumarkt, to occupy the Bohemia forest with light troops and part of the militia, and to direct his march towards Budweis, where he arrived on the 3d of May, hoping to join near Lintz his left wing, which had been separated from him, and which was under the command of LieutenantGeneral Baron Hiller.

But the latter had been so closely pressed by the united force of the French armies, that after several spirited ene gagements, and even after a brilliant affair, in which he had the advantage near Neumarkt, and in which the troops atchieved all that was possible against the disproportionate superiority of the ene

my,

my, he indeed was able to reach Lintz, but was incapable of crossing the Danube, and obliged to content himself with destroying the communication with the left bank, and taking up a position behind the Traun near Ebersberg. This was the occasion of an extremely murderous engagement, during which the enemy in storming the bridge lost near 4000 men: Ebersberg was set on fire, and Lieutenant-Gen. Hiller continued his retreat till he got so much the start as to pass the Danube near Stain, without being disturbed by the enemy, and to wait the approach of the Archduke, who after having in vain attempted the junction of the army near Lintz, had marched from Budweis to Zwettel; still hoping, by a quick passage of the Danube, to arrest the enemy's progress to. wards the metropolis.

Meanwhile a corps of Wurtembergers had advanced from Passau along both the shores of the Danube, had occupied Lintz, and the bank opposite to it; had restored the bridge, and signalized itself by destroying the defenceless villages and castles, which could not be protected by the small advanced guard proceeding by the side of the main army.

The enemy, by marching through the valley of the Danube in the straightest line, had got so much a-head, that all hopes of coming up with him in front of Vienna vanished; still, however, if that city had been able to hold out for five days, it might have been relieved; and the Archduke resolved on venturing the utmost to rescue that good city, which, by the excellent disposition of its citizens, the faithful attachment to its sovereign, and its noble devotion, has raised to itself an eternal monument in the annals of Austria. All his plans were now directed towards gaining the bridges across the Danube near Vienna, and endeavouring to save the Imperial residence by a combat under its very walls.

Vienna, formerly an important for tress, was in vain besieged by the Turks, and would even now, from the solidity of its ramparts, the strong profiles of its works, and the extensive system of its mines, be capable of making a protracted resistance, had not, for upwards of a century back, the luxury of a large metropolis, the wants of ease, the conflux of all the magnates in the empire,

and the pomp of a splendid Court, totally effaced every consideration of military defence. Palaces adorn the ramparts, the casemates and ditches were converted into workshops of tradesmen, plantations mark the counter-scarps of the fortress, and avenues of trees traverse the glacis, uniting the most beau tiful suburbs in the world to the, corps de la place.

Although under such circumstances no obstinate resistance of the capital was to be expected, yet from the unexampled loyalty of the inhabitants it was confidently hoped that Vienna might for a few days serve as a tete de-pont to cover the passage of the river; whence all preparations amounted to no more than to secure the place against a coupde main; and for this reason the Arch. duke had some time before directed Field-Marshal Hiller to send part of his corps along the right bank towards the capital, in the event of his (the Archduke's) passage to the left shore.]

Field-Marshal Hiller now received orders to burn the bridge near Stain in his rear, to leave a small corps of observation near Krems, to hasten by forced marches with the bulk of his army to the environs of Vienna, and, as circumstances would permit, by occupying the small islands, to keep up the communication with the city and the debouche across the bridge.

The army of the Archduke now advanced, without interruption, by Neupolla, Horn, and Weikendorff, upon Stockerau; and in order to overawe such enterprizes as the enemy might project from the environs of Lintz, part of the corps of the General of artillery Count Kollowrath, which till then had remained near Pilsen, with a view to secure the north and west frontier of Bohemia, was ordered to march to Budweis.

Napoleon had used so much expedition on his march to Vienna, that on the 9th of May his advanced troops appeared on the glacis of the fortress, whence they were driven by some cannon-shot. From three to four thousand regular troops, as many armed citizens, and some battalions of country militia, defended the city; ordnance of various calibres was placed upon the ramparts, the suburbs were abandoned on account of their great extent; and the numerous islands

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