the fame as that for which the former bill ftood; and that both ought not to be difcuffed in one day.

The Secretary at War obferved, that as both the bills were upon the fame fyftem, Gentlemen on the other fide of the Houfe thould not object to the difcuffion of them upon the fame day.

The bill was ordered to be read a fecond time on Friday fe'nnight.

Mr. Calcraft moved an address to his Majefty, that he would be pleased to give directions for laying before the House a lift of the regiments of the Irifh militia, who had made voluntary offers of their fervices to be employed in any part of Great Britain during the war, fpecifying the date of each offer, and the number of men, &c. Ordered, On the third reading of the Irish militia families bill,

Mr. Corry obferved, for the fatisfaction of Gentlemen who took an intereft in this event, and in answer to the objection which had been taken to this measure, on account of the diftance the objects of it were to travel to obtain their allowance, that there were three perfons to which fuch parties. had an opportunity of reforting; the treasurer of the county, the collector of the excife, and the collector of the affeffments, &c.; fo that the families of the militia of Ireland had their relief and affiftance as it were at their own door.

The bill was then read a third time, and paffed.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer moved that the House fhould at its rifing adjourn to that day fe'nnight. Ordered.

CAPTURES AT TOULON.

Mr. Alexander brought up the report of the Committee of Supply of the preceding day, refpecting the compenfation to Lord Hood, and the officers and men under his command, for the value of the ships taken at Toulon in the laft war.

Mr. Calcraft obferved, that Lord Hood had applied to the Lords of his Majefty's Privy Council, who seemed to think that his right was established. The Chancellor of the Exchequer too had at first spoken of the grant as a matter of right, but afterwards he thought fit to appeal to the liberality of the Houfe. That was certainly a very noble and a generous feeling, but in fuch times as the prefent, when the country had fuch taxes and other burdens upon its fhoulders, he did not think that it would be right in members to vote away the money of their conftituents upon

claims of liberality only. It would not even be justice to themselves, who muft in confequence bear a part of the expence, however it might fuit Gentlemen who had other advantages befides their fortunes to look to. He then moved, that the report thould be taken into confideration on Monday fe'nnight, in order that there might be a more full attendance, and that Members might have an opportunity of confidering the fubje&t more minutely.

The Advocate General (Sir John Nicholl) observed, that he had trusted the difcuffion of the preceding day, would have prevented his troubling the Houfe; that he fully agreed in the general principle of ufing great caution, especially at times of preffure, in granting the public money; but the prefent occafion appeared highly proper and juft. Even as matter of legal right, he entertained a strong opinion, that Lord Hood would have been entitled to obtain the condemnation of the fhips, &c. taken at Toulon. What were the facts? Lord Hood appeared off that port with a British fleet-Toulon was part of the enemy's territory. He had a right to capture, and poffibly would have captured the ships in queftion; the inhabitants offered to furrender them conditionally. With a due regard to the public interefts, he accepted the furrender: the condition was, that the fhips should be held in truft for the Bourbon family, in cafe of its restoration, and till the end of the war. While the war continued the fhips could not properly be condemned; but when a peace was made, extinguishing the hope of reftoring the houfe of Bourbon, by recognizing the new Government, of which the inhabitants of Toulon were become fubjects, the condition was at an end; the capture became absolute. Poffibly the captors were, of legal right, entitled to the thips as prize; but there might be reafons of public policy for not puthing the question to a decifion. Lord Hood was content to apply to the bounty of the Crown, and the liberality of Parliament. His claim was understated, in being defcribed as an application to the liberality of the Houfe: it appeared to be a claim upon its juftice; for how did the matter ftand? The ships were acquired from the enemy. All pro perly acquired in war, in the nature of booty, belongs either to, the Crown itfelf, or to the captors as grants of the Crown, and not to the public. Thefe fhips however had been applied to the ufe of the public; what then was the application that the captors fanctioned by the Crown, in whom i alope the property vefted, fhould be paid by the public, who

had

had received a valuable confideration, in that to which it had no legal right. The public was in juftice, and not merely in liberality, bound to pay for thefe hips. In refpect to the amount demanded, the application on behalf of Lord Hood was equally moderate. The hips destroyed were not propofed to be paid for; the value of those destroyed at Aboukir and Copenhagen was given to the captors; and although the acquifition of Toulon was not to be compared to the victories of Aboukir and Copenhagen in point of fplendour, yet furely it was an important public fervice; it gave a blow to the French marine, from which it never recovered: there was alfo no application for head-money; nor for intereft, although the public had had the poffeffion and use of the fhips above ten years; but merely for the appraised value of the fhips and ftores, as they were originally converted to the public fervice. He concluded with faying, that he must applaud the forbearance and moderation fhewn on behalf of Lord Hood, in making the application; but fhould not admire the liberality of the Honfe, nor entertain a very high opinion of its juftice, if it should hesitate in granting it.

Colonel Wood obferved, that it was with extreme reluctance he opposed a measure which had for its object remuneration to our brave countrymen, to whom all of us are so much indebted; but the fame fenfe of duty which induced the right hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer to fubmit the confideration of this fubject to the judgment of the Houfe, impelled him to refift the propofition as an unneceffary facrifice of the public treasure, at a time when the most rigid economy was necessary to enable us to repel one of the most formidable attacks meditated against this country. He expressed his furprise at the arguments of the learned and hon. Gentleman (the Advocate General), who treated the hips brought away from Toulon as if a common capture, when in fact they were a facred pledge to the British Admiral for the Royal Family of France, and however improbable their reftoration may be, yet much more unexpected and more extraordinary events have happened within thefe few years past. With what justice therefore the country can be now called on to purchase those fhips which were brought away from Toulon, from thofe who by neither the laws of war, of honour, or common honesty, have any right to fell, has not yet been explained. He was ready to bear ample testimony to the very meritorious fervices of the noble Lord, but to fpeak of the bufinefs of Toulon as an honeft man, it was

one

one from which neither the noble Admiral nor his country could ever derive much credit. From every account he had read, it appeared to be a complete furprife, otherwise every fhip that was deftroyed, would at this hour have added to the ftrength of the British navy. Whatever might be the fentiments of Gentlemen within these walls, yet many without thought that the noble Lord, in place of being rewarded for the few ships brought away, ought in juftice first to pay for all thofe veffels which were left behind, and which, had measures of precaution been adopted in time, might undoubtedly have been fecured. He begged leave to exprefs his firm conviction, that in fubmitting this claim to the judgment of the Houfe, the right hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer was actuated folely by a fenfe of public duty, and of rendering juftice to a meritorious body of men, of whose merits no person thought more highly than himself.

Mr. Jones apprehended that great danger might arife from letting commanders know, that if they burned the enemy's fhips they would be obliged to pay for them. He thought the atchievement of that action, one of the most brilliant in the course of laft war, and that it fealed the destruction of the French navy.

Mr. Sheridan declared that he really thought he faw a great deal of brilliancy in the conflagration of a number of thips, or any other large article that was capable of being burned. In no other view could he fee the brilliancy of that fine atchievement. The deftruction of the French navy had been faid to be fealed at that time, and yet he could fee that it was fealed again at Aboukir in five years afterwards; and again, in two years after that, another feal was put upon it at the Helder. It was obferved, that all prizes were the right of the Crown; certainly fo, but of the Crown in trust for the people. Upon the whole view of the fubject, he thought that Lord Hood was to blame in that tranfaction, and he had refused him the thanks of the Houfe on that account. If any honour was to be claimed in the bufinefs, Sir Sidney Smith was entitled to it. The change in the opinion of Gentlemen from right to liberality reminded him of a part of a play, where Lord Foppington was applied to for fome money; first it was demanded as a right, and afterwards it was asked as a favour, to which he replied

"Then, if thou'lt take it any how, Tam, stab my vitals." The hon. Member then noticed, that there were in the statement of ships taken or destroyed at Toulon, 8 fhips

marked

marked with a little crofs, thus f, which were faid not to have been brought out of the harbour, or ever to have come into his Majefty's fervice. Thefe fhips were, however, included in the estimate. He therefore begged the Chancellor of the Exchequer to take particular notice of this circumftance, as he was fure that the paper was not his drawing up, nor indeed did it look like any act of the prefent Adminiftration. He hoped alfo that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, or fome other officer of the Crown, would look at the modefly of the prayer of the petition It prayed that his Majefty would be pleafed to order that fo much money fhould be paid by his Majesty's Advocate General. This was fo unconftitutional a manner of granting public money, that he really could not think who it was that could advise such a proceeding, and that too for fhips which never came into the fervice of the public.

The Mafer of the Rolls faid, that in the practice of states, as well as the conduct of individuals, there might be demands which they were bound to comply with, although there was no pofitive law upon the fubject; they were bound to do what they ought not to abftain from doing. From the reign. of Queen Anne to the prefent moment the country had never derived benefit from captures without remunerating the captors. What ground was there in this inftance for their breaking in upon the uniformity of proceeding in thefe cafes? If Lord Hood could have proceeded to condemnation in the court of Admiralty, there was no occafion to come to the Houfe, and furely it would not be contended that the Houfe was never to be liberal except in thofe cafes where they had no difcretion. The fhips in queftion were part of the enemy's force, and might have remained fo if it had not been for the exertions of Lord Hood. Lord Hood had ulterior objects in view, and therefore abstained from exercifing the ftrict rights of war; it thus became a qualified furrender, and this was an obftacle to proceeding in the court of Admiralty; but the prejudice to the enemy was not lefs. To poftpone this fubject, upon the fuggeftion, that if the old French monarchy was restored, the fhips ought to be restored to that Government, might be delaying it for ever, upon the mere poffibility of that Government being reinstated; but furely there must be a limit to fuch a condition. All the facts relating to the capture of the hips were notorious; all the papers which were neceffary had been laid upon the table, and he VOL. II. 1803-4. trusted

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