gulate the feelings of men upon such a subject? In his opinion it was impoflible, and he hoped he fhould hear no more of it-a fort of argument that never had been used in that House before, and one that he never thought could have been urged against the motion of his Hon. Friend. But when the conduct of Captain Faulknor was admitted and known to them all, to be as gallant, heroic, and meritorious, as any that the page of hiftory could boaft of, it must seem rather extraordinary that upon fo extraordinary an occafion, a motion fhould be made for a Committee to fearch for precedents, as if that Committee could fearch into the minds of the House, and the minds of the Public, for the degree of honour the country had reaped from the conduct of a brave officer, the degree of gratitude which his country owed him for his fervices, or the degree of warmth with which that House ought to exprefs their feelings on fuch a cafe. An Hon. Friend had very properly brought forward the inftance of Lord Chatham. Did it enter the head of any man at that time to talk of rules and precedents for granting rewards and honours so justly merited? Certainly not, and the case was somewhat fimilar even upon the arguments of the Hon. Gentleman who wished to fearch for precedents, for though there had been many able and good minifters, whofe fervices had paffed unnoticed by monuments, yet that fort of negative rule was not even started, nor did he believe there was a man at the time that could have thought of it. As to getting rid of the original motion, he was extremely forry that any fuch idea had ever been entertained; but of all modes that could have been adopted, that of appointing a Committee to fearch for precedents, was the most unworthy, unprecedented, and, he must add, difgraceful to the Houfe, that could have been fuggefted. This Committee were to tell them, he fuppofed, what their feelings were upon the merits of brave men, and what feelings were neceflary to conftitute a wifh to exprefs a fenfe of gratitude, either by honours or rewards, for fervices performed to the Public; to decide upon the original motion, was the only way to do justice to fuch a cafe. And if they did not, and went into this Committee of Inquiry, he wished to know how the refult would affect the Houfe. If upon this fearch no precedent was found, which might be very likely, what would they do then? Perhaps they thought they enhanced the value of this tribute of refpect, by confidering the cafe after inquiry, as one upon which only fuch a teftimony of national grati tude ought to be bestowed. Again, upon the much argued point of rule and precedent, he would fay once for all, that he knew of no fuch rule as had been alluded to, and he even de nied that any fuch exifted. If it did, it never had been stated. In the cafe of Lord Chatham, the Houfe had, much to their credit, in his opinion, gone greatly farther than voting a monument to his memory; they amply and liberally provided for his family, and fmall as the fhare he had in that tranfaction, there was no vote he had ever given that afforded him more fatisfaction. What was the conduct of the Houfe upon that occafion? did any body think of fearching for precedents? No; the only precedent mentioned was that of the Duke of Marlborough; but in his cafe it was because he had been a fucceffful General, and by his victories had effentially ferved his country; the House of Commons, however, did not look to this as a rule or precedent, but confidering that Lord Chatham had likewise rendered effential services to the ftate, were unanimously of opinion that all who equally promoted the interefts of the nation were equally entitled to the honours and rewards which their fervices merited. He concluded by warmly exhorting the Houfe to fupport the original motion, and to refift the adjournment, for the purpose of appointing a Committee of Inquiry, as derogatory to the honour and character of a British Houfe of Commons, and highly unpopular and difgraceful in the eyes of the nation. The Secretary at War faid, that Gentlemen could find no difficulty in combating arguments which they themselves created for the purpose of oppofing them; yet nothing that had been faid could alter his opinion, that however meritorious and gallant the conduct of Captain Faulknor had been, and nobody felt more than he did a proper sense of that brave officer's merit, yet he must contend and infist that in all former times our ancestors had been guided by some rule and precedent; the question therefore was not now, whether that was a good or a bad rule, which might be afterwards difcuffed, but whether it would not be wife to follow the line chalked out by thofe who had gone before them. Some Gentlemen had defpifed negative rules, but he really thought a negative rule might be as ftrong as an affirmative rule. He recurred to the many inftances of bravery and good conduct that had paffed unnoticed, fuch as Captain Courtenay's. Why had that warmth to pay the tributes due to their valour never appeared? The words of this motion, by ftating the particulars of the fervices, feemed to indicate that the gentlemen themfelves knew that fuch motions were not common in fimilar circumftances. With regard to the inftance of Lord Chatham, it ought to be remembered that there were few or no instances of statesmen being rewarded in that manner then, and that inftances fimilar to Captain Faulknor's, of good and gallant conduct conduct in officers, were numerous, and happened daily both in this and former wars. He confidered his motion as not only prudent and neceffary, but as proper in every respect, and denied that the delay could be difgraceful to the Houfe or difhonourable to the memory of Captain Faulknor, whether the refult of the inquiry turned out that the object of the motion ought to be granted or refused. General Tarleton faid, he had never been a fervile obferver of rules or precedents, particularly with respect to the conduct of officers; it had always been his with that their conduct should be canvaffed when living, and honoured when dead. It did not belong to their character to court obfcurity the more notorious and public their conduct was made, the more it would be to their honour, and for example to others if right, and the more to their difgrace, if wrong; he spoke highly of Capt. Faulknor's merits, and ftrenuously for the original queftion. The Solicitor General paffed an high eulogium on the merits of Captain Faulknor, but thought the adjournment of the queftion proper; because when his cafe was fully investigated, if it was found that the fenfe of the Houfe was to agree to the original motion, it would rather add to than diminish the degree of refpect to be paid to his memory.. Sir William Pulteney was altogether against the adjournment of the debate, and for the original motion: The arguments he had heard respecting rules and precedents, Sir William thought were too bad even to be liftened to for a moment; and as to the other argument, that thofe, or the friends of those who had been neglected, would complain if this tribute was paid to Captain Faulknor's memory, he denied it. However great their fervices had been, could they rife from their graves to see this motion pafs, he was fure their ghofts would fay, "Certainly, erect a monument to this brave man's memory; though it is true, that we were neglected, yet none of us would with that he fhould be fo too." This was the military feeling, and he believed the feeling of the Houfe. He very much disliked the idea of getting rid of fuch a motion as the Hon. General's, by a fhew of good words, and a conduct fo diametrically oppofite to that which he thought the honour of the Houfe and the country demanded. Mr. Courtenay could not help remarking, that from a speech of a Learned Gentleman, it was neceflary that an officer, however gallantly he had behaved, or even if he had loft his life in battle, must make up fome fort of title-deeds to his merits before they could be recognized by that Houfe. And thus it was that the Gentlemen oppofite thought it neceffary to check the the growing fpirit of that Houfe, to pay honour to the memory of Captain Faulknor, whofe conduct was loudly praised from all fides; as if, by waiting for three or four days, it might be found that fomebody else had acted as well, and not been noticed, which would be a precedent either for rejecting the motion, or enhancing its value by the inquiry. He gave his Right Hon. Friend (Mr. Windham) full credit for his manly and liberal feelings; and believed, that if he had been placed in the fame fituation with Captain Faulknor, there was no man more likely to have acted as he did. He rather felt the more for his Hon. Friend, who confidered it as a duty impofed upon him to oppofe the motion. He regretted this for two reafons; first, the Hon. Gentleman being in no office which could make it his duty; and fecondly, the absence of the Secretary of State: And by the way he believed he was purposely abfent, wishing to expofe his Hon. Friend to all the difficulty and odium that must attend even an official oppofition to fuch a measure in a British House of Commons. He adverted to the difference between Captain Courtenay's cafe and Captain Faulknor's; the first was entirely the fingle cafe of an individual-the other was placed in a situation in which it was thought not individually poffible for him to do what he had done. He followed his Hon. Friends in what they had faid of Lord Chatham's cafe, and obferved that negative rules had not been thought of in thofe days. It might have been faid that Lord Godolphin, Lord Somers, and others, had been great and useful statesmen, and had paffed unnoticed by monuments or penfions; but no fuch arguments were used at that time, nor did they become the Houfe at prefent. General Bruce was decidedly for the original motion, and would have voted against the Order of the Day, but he could not fee any objection to the propofed adjournment, thinking that as the House would be better attended, it would add respect to the vote they gave. Mr. Robinfon faid a few words against the adjournment. Mr. Lechmere entered into a warm eulogium on the merits, services, and general character of his much lamented and inţimate friend Captain Faulknor, whom he had long known, and. whofe lofs this country would long have to regret. He was decidedly for the original motion; the pride of being handed down to pofterity for great and gallant actions, was one of the chief inducements to perform them. He reckoned it the glory of his family, that an ancestor of his had fallen gloriously. in an action at fea, in the reign of Queen Anne; and though he could not be pofitive, he rather thought that he might state as a precedent, that a monument had been erected to his VOL. III. memory F memory by Parliament, and was now to be feen in St. Andrew's Church,[the name of the town he mentioned was not heard in the gallery.] General Smith having replied with great fpirit and propriety to the remarks of different Speakers, and fully acquitted himfelf of taking the Houfe by furprife, ftated that an Hon. Gentleman had told him the Secretary of State would not be in the Houfe; he asked then if it was wifhed he fhould postpone his motion, and was told no; therefore it was unfair to make any fuch charge against him. The Houfe divided on the queftion of adjournment: Noes Majority 20 25 4 After fome further converfation, the original motion was put and carried: And the remaining Orders of the Day being gone through, the House adjourned at half past eight o'clock. HOUSE OF LORDS. WEDNESDAY, April 15. The Marquis of Salisbury having stated to the Houfe, that his Majefty had fignified his pleasure to receive the Address of Congratulation upon the Prince of Wales's nuptials this day, their Lordships went in the ufual form to St. James's to prefent the fame: Adjourned till "Friday. HOUSE OF COMMONS. WEDNESDAY, April 15. The Mary-le-bone Paving Bill was reported, and Bill órdered. Petition against Chelmer Navigation Bill was presented and referred to a Committee on the Bill. After fome private bufinefs was gone through, Mr. Rofe propofed a modification of the Bill enacted in favour of Friendly Societies.Thefe focieties, he faid, were found to be of infinite fervice to the induftrious part of the community, and not lefs than 300,000 people were members of them; but as there was one regulation which was detrimental to fuch of their members as entered into the fervice of the |