try at Mr. Fox's East India bill, and the violation of the rights of the East India company. That period had many striking features of resemblance with the present. The administration of that day was like the late administration, a most singular coalition of the most opposite political opinions They too were as confident in their own strength, as vain of their own abilities, and as ostentatious in their promises as the late administration. The indignation which Mr. Fox's East India bill produced, or, to use the phrase of the noble lord, that cry was so prevalent, and so powerful, that the firmest interests were compelled to yield to it, and many gentlemen lost their seats in that House, at the general election which immediately followed, on account of the support they had given to that measure. If the rules of the House would permit it, he should be glad to appeal to the memory and candour of those very gentlemen, whether, in their specches and addresses to their constituents, upon that occasion, they did not exclaim against that cry? against the dissolution of Parliament which took place, as now, during a session? whether they did not expatiate upon the interruption to public business which it occasioned? upon the unconstitutional conduct of ministers, upon the wickedness of secret advisers, upon the mischiefs of the change which had taken place in bis majesty's councils, with as much violence and asperity, and with as little effect, as has been produced by the addresses and advertisements, which have graced the columns of the daily press for the last two months, and which have been so faithfully repeated in the speech of the noble lord? It so happened that cry (to use the phrase of the noble lord) established the administration in which Lord Gren ville took so active and distinguished a part, and he, (Mr. Ryder) never beard that that noble lord, or any of his friends, either at the time, or since, ever shewed the slightest displeasure either at the cry itself, or at the effects of it, or at those who were supposed to have taken the most forward part in raising it. On the contrary, the noble lord and his friends contended, and contended successfully, as his majesty's present ministers might now contend, he trusted with equal success, he was sure with equal sinceri ty, and upon still stronger grounds, that that which was termed a cry, was nothing more or less than the true and genuine expression of the sentiments of the country, upon a great public question; that, however inconvenient the M2 dissolution

dissolution might be to individuals and the public, incone veniences which, though much exaggerated, were still considerable; however much it was to be lamented upon those grounds, yet that the state of Parliament and parties was such, as to make it necessary for his majesty to ap peal to the sense of the country, to decide between him and his late ministers upon points of the highest nationaļ. and constitutional importance; that it was a doctrine new and indefensible to argue that there was any thing un constitutional in the advice given to his majesty, under such circumstances, to submit the exercise of his undoubt ed prerogative to the approbation of his people. Now, though it was easy to understand that there might be many personal motives which might lead that noble lord and his friends to dislike the cry in one case, and to rejoice in it in the other; yet he was quite unable to comprehend by what mode of reasoning, by what rules of sound logic, or upon what principles of constitutional doctrine, the noble lord and his friends could defend the cry in one case, and condemn it in the other; unless indeed it was to be argued that the people ought to be alive to the charter of the East India company, but callous and indifferent to the interests of their religion, or to the conduct of the servants of the crown towards their king. But then the noble lord and the right honourable gentlemen say that the measure was withdrawn, the danger was over. But how withdrawn? It had been withdrawn with a distinct reservation on the part of his majesty's ministers to submit that, or any other measure respecting Ireland which circumstances might require. Why that reservation? Did it give them any new right which they had not before? Was it not at all times not only the right but the bounden duty of ministers to propose such measures as they think circumstances might require? Could any circumstances in their judgment more require the bringing forward such a measure, than those in which they had stated it to be a measure of indispensable necessity? Could any necessity be more imperious than that which was indispensable? Why then, was it not plain, though they found it expedient to withdraw it for the present, that they must have meant to reproduce that, or a similar measure, whenever they thought they coukl do it with any chance of success? And in their calculations of that chance, the opinions of his majesty upon the subject did not appear to have told

for

for much; since, with the full knowledge of his majesty's determination, clearly and distinctly expressed at the time, and upon the subject, that beyond giving his consent to the extension of the Irish act of 1793 to this country, he would not go one step further, they did, nevertheless, ims mediately introduce into Parliament, a measure of a more general and extensive nature. There was another point of resemblance between the times to which Mr. Ryder bad alluded and the present. Those expressions of the popular opinion, which the Foxite part of the late ad ministration condemned both in 174 and in 1807, which the Grenville part of the government extolled in 1784, and condemned in 1807, had this in common: that these sentiments of disgust and indignation were not confined in both cases, as the noble lord would have it supposed, to the lower and more uninformed part of the community, but they had spread as widely, and operated as powerfully amongst the higher and more reflecting orders of the state amongst those, who were as little likely to be under the ins fluence of prejudice and passion as the audience he had then the honour to address. The late ministers had con trived to place themselves in a singular predicament: they could not justify their own conduct without censuring their king; they could not condemn the conduct of their suc cessors, without involving the great majority of every class and description of their fellow-subjects in the same charge, as accomplices or dupes to the same system of delusion and imposture. The noble lord had more than once insinuated that, because his majesty's present ministers were supposed to differ in opinion upon the merits of the catholic question itself, they bad, therefore, only united for the purposes of ambition. What a charge was there brought by himself, against himself and the late ministers! for they had it upon the authority of one of the members of that cabinet, and, till the speech which they had just heard, it was never made a ground of accusation against them, that there was as fundamental a difference in the late cabinet, upon that subject, as any that could exist amongst his majesty's present ministers; that that difference of opinion was known and avowed at the formation of the late government, and yet neither Lord Grenville, nor Mr. Fox, nor any other member of that cabinet, conceived that difference was any obstacle against their uniting in the same administration,

Indeeds

Indeed, but for the speech of the noble lord, he (Mr. Ry der) should have apprehended that a difference of opinion upon the merits of any measure, might be perfectly con sistent with a complete union of sentiment on the impolicy of discussing it at any particular period. If the noble lord could not understand that distinction, he would beg leave to refer him to himself, to his own friends, the late ministers, to explain it: the principle which he condemn ed was that upon which, in that instance, they acted themselves; for, wishing as they told the House they did, that the prayer of the catholic petit on should be granted, they likewise told the House that they used all their influence to prevent its being brought forward, because they thought the time inconvenient for the discussion. But then this Concurrence in opinion which in the late ministers was right and laudable, in the present ministers was new, unprincipled, and merely to serve the political purposes of the moment. That supposition might be refuted not by assertion merely, but by reference to their former conduct; for whatever differences there might be upon the merits of the question, it so happened that it was now above two years ago, since they concurred not only with each other, but with the great majorities in both Houses of Parliament," some of them by their specches, and all by their votes, in refusing to agitate the question. But then upon the same subject of inconsistency, it was triumphantly asked, how could those who agreed to the act of 1801, object to the bill of the noble lord? (Lord Howick.) What was the act of 1804? it was an act enabling his majesty to grant any commissions in the army to foreign catholics during the war, and it was to expire in one year after its termination. And yet this temporary act enabling foreign catholics, persons who, from the very circumstance of their being foreigners, were without connexion, without means of influence, without the shadow of political or any other power, to propagate their religious tenets, to hold commis. sions in the army, was compared to a permanent act, opening for ever, all commissions in the navy, as well as the ariny, to all the catholic and all the protestant dissenters of this country, who have connexions, who have means of influence, and who must be naturally inclined, if not conscientiously bound, as honest and religious men, to exert whatever means they possess, to promote and extend

the

JUNE 26.]

ADDRESS ON THE SPEECH.

the interests of their respective religions. So that, ac cording to their triumphant argument, a temporary law, applying only to foreigners of one sect, and extending only to the army, was just the same thing in rea on, in principle, and in extent, with a perpetual law applying to natural-born subjects of every sect, and extending both to the army and navy. And they must be blind, or de voted to faction, who saw no mischief in the one, but who apprehended risk of mischief in the other. To whom might most justly be imputed the attempt to deceive the country, who best deserved the name, of impostors, those who gravely made such a comparison, or those who main tained that there were no grounds on which such a comparison could rest; the House and the country must determine, Another charge brought against his majesty's present ministers by the noble lord, and which was stated as a reason why Parliament and the country could place no confidence in them, was, that they were the same identical ministers who had themselves so little confidence in their own strength; that, from a consciousness of incapacity, they resigned office upon the death of Mr. Pitt. If that be so, at least it must be admitted that that resignation was no proof of that factious spirit, of that overweening ambition, which had been laid to their charge. The one accusation destroyed the other. If those ministers had chosen to make a struggle to remain in power, they had the means of a sharp one in their hands: butthey thought it far better to abandon every consideration, which might be imputed to personal motives, to spare the coun try that struggle, a d to give up the government to those who had so long and so loudly objected to, and opposed, every measure of former administrations, as to lead some to believe, that they, and they alone, had the power and the will to stop every abuse; to set on foot every reform; to remedy every evil; and to conduct our affairs under better aus ices, and with happier success. And it must not be forgotten that at the time the opposition had Mr. Fox for their leader. Of the stupendous abili ies of Mr, Fox there could be but one opinion, however widely opi nions might differ as to the application of them. In op. position he could not but do great mischief; in government he might do good. The experiment was worth the trial. Those Mr. Ryder believed to have been the rue motives of the resignation of that administration; though, to judge

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