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to the Noble Secretary of State's rejoinder. Some Noble Lords, his Lordship obferved, had certainly had their patience taxed by him that day; but he was rather furprised at the extreme eagerness for the queftion expreffed by others, who had but just entered the Houfe.

Notwithstanding what the Noble Secretary of State had faid refpecting the fending of Sir Frederick Eden to negotiate for an exchange of prifoners a fhort time fince, he did charge, and feriously charge, his Majefty's minifters with a wilful and fcandalous neglect of their duty in not having during two years continuance of the war made any one attempt to procure an exchange of prifoners, till they found it neceffary to do fo on the fpur of the occafion immediately previous to the commencement of a naval campaign, and after their own measures in Parliament had announced to the French the extreme diftrefs of this country in refpect to feamen. Under fuch circumstances it was no wonder that the propofition for an exchange of prifoners was rejected; he thought the French acted wifely in rejecting it, and in saying as they did in fact by implication, "We understand what you mean; you never propofed an exchange of prifoners, when it might have been our mutual intereft that an exchange fhould take place; and now, when it is notorious to all the world that you want your feamen, you are ready enough to come forward with fuch a propofition, but we will not be fuch dupes as to let you have them."

Lord Grenville reftated the circumstances of the decree to put all British prisoners to death, and the feizing and detaining the cartel-fhips; and asked if either of the periods when thefe facts occurred had been propitious to the trial of fuch an experiment as a propofition for the exchange of prisoners? In fact, no one occafion that seemed likely to be attended with fuccefs had offered, and it was evident from the late trial of the experiment and its entire failure, that the French were equally incapable of carrying on war as a civilized nation, as they were of maintaining the accustomed relations of amity and peace. The Houfe divided on the question:

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Adjourned.

53

8

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

FRIDAY, June 5.

This being the day appointed for the Call of the Houfe, previous to the doors being opened, a converfation of fome

VOL. III.

3 &

length

length took place on the question, whether the Houfe fhould be called over.

The Houfe divided:

Aves
Noes

· 68.
182

Mr. Secretary Dundas pronounced an eulogium on the memory of General Dundas, in which he alluded to the treatment which his remains had experienced from the French: They had attempted to fix the charge of cruelty upon the character of a General who, to the greatest gallantry, added the most amiable difpofition, and the moft gentle manners. He faid, he had rifen to move that a monument should be erected to his memory; he was aware that those motions had only been made in cafes of brilliant fuccefs; but he was perfuaded that to the lofs of that brave General might in a great meafure be afcribed the calamities which had followed in the Weft Indies. He fpoke of the services and character of the late Major-General Thomas Dundas, who died in the Weft Indies in the fervice of his country. The Houfe, he was fure, was in poffeffion of enough of the General's character to refcue him from fufpicion of any partiality in the warm eulogiums he was in juftice bound to beftow on a deceafed and moft dear friend. The fervices he had rendered to this country, in a long military career, even before the prefent war, remained written in the memory of many Gentlemen then in the House, while all ranks of people bore teftimony to his merit and fervices in the war we were now engaged in-Thofe fervices were not more impreflively denoted by the applause and affection of the British army, even to a man, than by the rancour and animofity of his enemies, who, with a fury more than diabolical, carried their revenge beyond the grave, tore his body from the facred place of interment, and gave it a prey to the beafts of the field and the fowls of the air. He did not, it was true, actually die in the field of battle, but he died in the fervice of his country; and as his life was devoted to the fervice of his country, fo his death was fucceeded by many calamities. A character fo glorious, viewed in the light of public capacity, was rendered more illuftrious by his private conduct; for in all the various relations in which he ftood, his life was one uniform tiffue of excellence, in which it was difficult to fay whether the patriotic, the focial, or the domestic virtues were moft predominant.-To fum up his character in a few words, he was wife, yet unaffuming, brave, mild, and

generous.

Perceiving, as he did, that the feelings of the Houfe went hand in hand with his own, the Right Hon. Secretary faid he would (much though he felt interested in the subject) trespass

on

on the time of the House no farther with preliminary matter, but move,

"That an humble Address be prefented to his Majefty, praying that his Majefty will be graciously pleased to order a monument to be erected in St. Paul's Cathedral to the memory of Major-General Thomas Dundas, who died in the fervice of his country," &c.

Mr. Manning feconded the motion in a few words, expreffive of his fenfe of the merits of the illuftrious commander, whofe conduct, he faid, had impreffed the inhabitants of the West Indies with general respect and esteem for his character.

General Tarleton added his teftimony to that which had already been given in honour of General Dundas, and referred to an action in America in 1781, in which the deceafed General by his fuperior skill and determined valour particularly diftinguished himself, when oppofed to the Marquis La Fayette.

Mr. Wilberforce faid, that he rofe with fome difficulty in one refpect, though in another with no difficulty at all: He had no difficulty in agreeing moft cordially with the vote of thanks to General Dundas, of whofe conduct he spoke in the highest terms; neither had he any intention to impute particular blame to Sir Charles Grey or any other commander, by what he was going to add; he thought it his duty, however, to notice a claufe in the proclamation iffued in the West Indies, by which all flaves found in arms in the defence of a French island, on which we made an attack, were threatened with being tranfported to Africa, if taken, certainly not with the view of reftoring them to their respective homes, but "to take their fate," as it was expreffed in the proclamation; and it was even added, that all free blacks who might be taken in like manner fhould, on account of the impoffibility of diftinguishing them, be tranfported alfo. Mr. Wilberforce faid, he was perfuaded that the commanders in the West Indies having their minds occupied with the chief objects of their expedition, were not to be fuppofed to have deliberated particularly on the point he had fpoken of, but had admitted, perhaps inadvertently, the claufe in queftion, in compliance with fome fentiments in the West Indies. It fhould be confidered, however, that many flaves might be obliged to take up arms in defence of the French islands, by their own fuperiors, and perhaps under pain of death; and that many free people of colour, of refpectable character, and poffeffed of property, might be in arms for the defence of that property alfo. He thought it, therefore, very unbecoming in the first place, in point of humanity, for us to put the blacks under the diftreffing dilemma of either refufing to take arms, perhaps under the pain of death on the one hand;

3Q2

or

or elfe, if they should take up arms, of being thrown on shorę on Africa (a fate that might be nearly the fame as death), which was the only other alternative. He was proceeding to obferve further on the effects of his conduct, when

Mr. Cawthorne faid, that the Hon. Member was diforderly by diverging into irrelevant matter.

The Speaker faid, that if the obfervations of the Hon. Member had to make on the proclamation were connected with the conduct of the deceafed General Dundas, he was orderly in making them.

Colonel Maitland spoke to order. He expreffed his surprise at the digreffion, as he was convinced the Hon. Gentleman would be the laft in the Houfe to calumniate, by a fide wind, the conduct of the officers in question.

Mr. Wilberforce faid, that it certainly might be stated to have fome connexion, though he did not wish to put the Houfe in mind of that connexion, for obvious reafons. He had taken the prefent opportunity of mentioning the subject, because he wifhed not to make a fpecific motion upon it, but merely to notice it in the course of debate, with a view of preventing any like proclamation in future.

Mr. Wilberforce having been interrupted again, faid, that he did with to prefs the matter further on the House at prefent, and that he by no means meant to derogate from the praise given to the commander whofe conduct was under confideration.

Mr. M. Robinfon called him again to order. The tenor of the proclamation, he obferved, had nothing to do with the mo nument of General Dundas.

Mr. Grey faid, that whenever that proclamation was die rectly and fairly brought before the Houfe, he fhould find no difficulty, he trufted, in justifying it from the peculiar circumftances of the war in which we were engaged.

The motion then paffed nemine contradicente.

Sir Charles Dundas begged leave to return is warmest thanks for the honour they had done to the memory of his deceafed brother. He had left behind him a numerous family; he hoped that they would emulate the virtues of their father. By the motion which they had now pafled, the House had reftored to his family the comfort which had been wrefted from. them by the wanton attack of an individual, (alluding to the conduct of the French commandant at Guadaloupe.)

PROCEEDS OF THE DUTCHY OF CORNWALL.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer brought up an account of the proceeds of the Dutchy of Cornwall during the minority of the Prince of Wales, an abstract of the debts of his Royal Highness, and an account of the application of 25,000l. for

the

the finishing of Carlton-houfe.-Ordered to be laid upon the table.

General Smith faid, that the papers for which he intended to move having been laid upon the table, his motion would of course be unneceffary. He fhould therefore now content himfelf with moving that thefe papers be printed.

Mr. Rolle faid, that in confequence of what had dropt from the Hon. Baronet (Sir Charles Dundas), he fhould have fomething to move with refpect to a provifion to be granted to his family.

Sir Charles Dundas faid, that nothing which had dropt from him had been intended to lead to any fuch fuggeftion.

PRINCE OF WALES'S DEBTS.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, after fome preliminary obfervations, faid, that before the queftion could be fubmitted to the Committee, what proportion of the income voted to the Prince of Wales fhould be fet apart for the payment of his debts? it was neceflary that the House should ascertain whether they would incur the contingent risk of defraying such portion of thofe debts as might remain unpaid on the event of the demife of his Royal Highnefs-but from the best authorities with whom he had converfed, he found great difficulties in the way. Inftructions had been given to the Committee to form a claufe for the appropriation, with a blank for the fum; but in the prefent ftage of the bufinefs, the House were not cognizant to determine how that blank was to be filled up; the only way, therefore, of giving the Committee inftruction was in way of provifo. If then the House should agree to take the chance of burdening the Public with the refidue contingent on the life of the Prince, the Committee must be inftructed-but as it was a new burden, no inftruction could, confiftently with the rules of the Houfe, be given without the previous fanction of a Committee. It was intended, he faid, to propofe that the fum to be appropriated for difcharging of the debts fhould be the 65,000l. additional income voted, which, with the proceeds of the Dutchy of Cornwall, or 13,000l. in lieu of it, would pay off the whole in about nine years. In cafe of the demife of the Crown, the 65,000l. fhould be charged on the hereditary revenues of the Crown; but if both the King and the Prince fhould die before the liquidation of the whole (a circumftance fortunately not very likely to happen), it would not be thrown upon the civil lift, burdened as it would be with the amount of the jointure to the Queen, and another to the Princess of Wales, for in that event the civil lift would be fubject to greater burdens than it is at prefent: He would therefore move,

"That

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