nore necessary; but even if we could prize, or in those moments of imminent launch half our forests, and cover the wide danger which we experienced in 1779, ocean with our numerous fleets, he wished and in 1782. Granted: yet prudence was them to go forth for offensive war, for ex- a national virtue as well as magnanimity, tension of empire, protection of commerce, and the most fit to be exercised when we and for the glory of the British arms; but had a prospect of long continuance of strongly reprobated their being obliged to peace, as he hoped we now had, and when lie idle, stationary, and sheltered in our we might contemplate to advantage our ports, a mere defensive, inglorious, unpro- former dangers, and pursue the wisest fitable force.-Speaking of the bad conse- means to prevent the return of them. quences and imbecility of the American Fortifications, he observed, were not new war, he concluded by observing, that al- in this country; large sums had been though it had been said, the sun of Bri- lavished upon them during every former tain's glory was sunk in our Western he- war but this was the first time that a misphere, we had the consolation to see a regular plan had been laid before that glorious sun rise in our own horizon, which, House, not dictated by the pressure of though accused of not being yet in its immediate necessity, not dependent upon meridian, had already shed its happy in- the opinion of any minister, nor the cafluence on this island, so as to restore price of any master-general of the ordvigour to the constitution, and such nance, but approved by the first military strength to the roots of our resources as and naval characters in this country. This promised the fairest prospect of growing was to him, and must be to most members, prosperity, and of the future happiness in a great measure, a question of confiand welfare of the British empire. He dence. But, in whom were we to place inferred that there were no grounds for confidence, if not in the Executive Godespondency, nor for profusion; but that vernment, calling upon us for the public to grant the necessary supplies for so im- defence, and supported by the names portant a service, was state economy, as which appeared in the Report,-a Report well as sound policy. He remarked on to him perfectly satisfactory, and in the several parts of the Report, and insisted most essential parts unanimous? He conthere were but two negatives to some ad- cluded by pressing strongly upon the ditional fortifications being necessary. House, that if, in consequence of their reThat all admitted the noble Duke's system jection of this plan, and their refusing this would completely defend the docks in confidence, they should live to see our case of the absence or inferiority of our dock yards destroyed, and the seeds and fleets; but if we rejected that security, and sources of our future navies annihilated, kept an equal home fleet with the enemy how they could ever forgive themselves, for our defence, he feared such a measure or make atonement to their constituents must, in its consequences, eventually re- and the public? duce our Sovereign from being monarch of an empire, to be king of the single island of Great Britain. Mr. J. Hawkins Browne expressed the highest satisfaction at discovering that a zeal for the navy was universal on all sides of the House, and trusted that this would always be the darling service of the country; but he was astonished to hear the importance of the navy urged as an argument against these fortifications, when it was the only argument in their favour; for they were not intended to substitute a new species of defence for the kingdom in lieu of our navy, but to protect our dock yards, and our dock yards only, which were our vital and vulnerable parts, because they were the germ and support of our navy. A right hon. colonel had observed, that magnanimity was the best public virtue in times of vigorous enter Mr. Courtenay said, he hoped for the attention of the House on this very important, comprehensive question; as he would endeavour to compress what he had to say in as few words as possible. He begged leave to declare, to prevent all possibility of misconstruction, that in opposing the present system of fortification, he acted from no personal spleen to the noble duke at the head of the ordnance. He had always been treated with great civility and flattering attention by the noble duke, and should always esteem the approbation he had received of his official conduct from so discriminating a judge, as a singular honour. Mr. Courtenay then adverted to the very peculiar circumstances under which the Board of land and naval officers was constituted. certainly never was understood, when the House of Commons reposed that un It bounded confidence in the Chancellor of the Exchequer-he would appeal to gentlemen on both sides of the House, whether they entertained the most distant ideas at the time-of any intention to make the noble duke President of such a Board, whose sole object and express purpose it was, to investigate and report on the merits of a plan of fortification projected by the noble duke himself. If there was nothing reprehensible but the indecorum of such an appointment, he should take but little notice of it; but when, by this management, the country was deprived of the abilities and assistance of some very able and experienced officers, it deserved the severest animadversion. He did not profess to give any invidious preference to one military man over another, not being a judge of the competent merits of military officers; but this he begged leave to say, that in a general view, age, experience, and long service, gave a decisive superiority in the military profession. Still he acknowledged there were sometimes, but rarely, illustrious exceptions to be met with; there were extraordinary characters who mastered every science, rather by intuition than study. But surely the most partial of the noble duke's friends would scarcely venture to rank him among beings of this very uncommon and superior class. He would therefore submit it to the House, as he was sure it would incite indignant feelings in their breasts, when they were told, that general Conway, lord Amherst, and lord Townshend, found themselves at once degraded and excluded, by receiving a circular letter from the Secretary of of State, to place themselves under the control and command of the noble duke. The public were insulted by having their names ostentatiously displayed in the Gazette, at the very moment they found themselves obliged to decline the service. For how could general Conway and lords Amherst and Townshend, consistently with their own dignity, and with military honour, serve as members of a board of land and naval officers under the duke of Richmond? The only alternative left them was to decline the service, regretting at the same time, that the very disagreeable and embarrassing situation in which they were placed, obliged them to take such a step. The next thing the public had a right to expect was this-that able and experienced officers should be substituted in the room of those who were thus stu q C to in to W tr diously, and, perhaps he might add, assi duously excluded. Was this the case? 01 No. Why was not sir Henry Clinton's name placed on the list? Early dis tinguished for his military skill and spirit; N the friend and favourite of the Hereditary Prince; would it be suspected that he had adopted' the sentiments of the Prince of Brunswick, on the expediency and utility u of fortifying Portsmouth? Did the House know the opinion the Hereditary Prince gave on that subject? What he did say, probably did not apply to the noble duke; for he only said, after viewing the works and posts with a military eye, that no officer who knew how to manoeuvre and station a corps of troops properly, would dream of defending Portsmouth by fortifications. Let us now contemplate the noble duke, president of the Board, declaring ex cathedra, laying down his hypothetical syllogisms, proving his own data by the modus ponens, and confuting all objections by the modus tollens, amidst the applause of his own engineers, amidst the roar of his own artillery. The noble duke judiciously attacked them with the only species of weapons with which they were unacquainted, and obtained an easy, decisive, and glorious victory. Suppose we now revert to the probable expense of those projected fortifications, and observe their progressive increase, even on the noble duke's own estimate. In 1783, between 4 and 500,000l. was stated as sufficient to complete the in tended works at Portsmouth and Plymouth for the security of the dock yards. In 1785, 692,562. was stated as the probable amount, in the Military Memoir presented to the House, and signed by the master-general and the other members of the Board of Ordnance. In 1786 the estimate of the charge for completing the works, amounts to 760,0971. almost double the original sum, notwithstanding this last estimate had been reduced by the economical labours of the committee of engi neers at the Tower, who had cut off near 50,000l. from colonel Dixon's calculation. This able and experienced engineer had added a third, and assigned this reason for doing so, to provide for extraordinaries which he could not foresee. However, he was called upon to specify what he had already said he could not foresee, and on his not complying, 50,000l. was struck off his estimate by the committee of engineers, which at least was a short and compendious mode of deciding the IS Π 5 a 0 2 f C money, for the sole and express purpose of cementing an alliance between two such great personages as the Master General of the Ordnance and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. To establish an adequate fund for the payment of the interest, and other incidental expenses, he hoped the shop-tax would be made perpetual, and the produce of it unalienably applied to the building of fortifications. question. Now, if we add a third more on the whole of the estimate for 1786, it will amount to very nigh a million. The Chancellor of the Exchequer stated it so. Now supposing the fortifications completed, and a million expended, the bare interest of the sum is 50,000l. If we add to this 3 or 4 per cent. for repairs, (no unreasonable computation) besides the interest on that capital which still remains to be laid out in artillery, stores, &c. the whole annual charge perpetually entailed on this exhausted and impoverished country will be 100,000l. at least. To some gentlemen this might appear but a trifle, but let it be considered that every burthen is of a mixed nature, not solely to be estimated from the sum raised, but connected with the capacity of the people to bear it. Before the late unfortunate war, before the glorious prodigality of the German war, the people of the country were perhaps better able to bear an annual charge of 500,000l. than 50,000l. at present. Mr. Courtenay then alluded to what fell from an hon. gentleman, that the profuseness of the Chancellor of the Exchequer in this instance might induce the public to impute his conduct rather to private political motives than enlarged patriotic principles. For his own part, he reprobated such an idea; still he could not answer for the invidious construction of others, who might conceive it possible for the Chancellor of the Exchequer to sacrifice a million to gratify the whim, conciliate the obstinacy, and insure the precarious attachment of one capricious, projecting individual. However, if a political, he would not say, cordial, friendship could be promoted by such means, he had little objection. If the hands of Government could be strengthened by fortifying the dock-yards, a million was but a trifle to effect such a salutary purpose. If the principle was fairly avowed by the Chancellor of Exchequer, or any of his vouching friends, he would vote for the noble duke's fortification; confident as he was, that it would promote peace, unanimity and concord in the Cabinet, where it was sometimes so much wanted, and always so essentially requisite. Besides, the beneficial effects would not stop there-faction would be depressed and confounded; the petitions on the table would be withdrawn; the murmurs and complaints of the people would cease, if it was once avowed that the House of Commons had generously voted away a million of their constituents' Mr. Courtenay then begged leave to observe, lest the panegyric passed on the noble duke in an eulogium, by an hon. general (Burgoyne), should make too strong an impression on the House, that the noble duke's skill was rather problematical, and indeed held in very slight estimation by professional officers with whom he had conversed on the subject. He had been told that there was a battery erected at South Sea Castle by the noble duke himself; nobody disputed the honour of it with him; it was his own unclaimed dividend: many of the guns were so injudiciously placed, that they would not bear on the designed object; the buoy on the spit; on firing, their recoil endangered the battery; and the narrow enclosed casements were so well contrived to prevent the escape of the smoke, that, on quick firing, the gunners must perish like bees suffocated in a hive. What should we think of the noble duke's line of defence, from Stoke's Bay to Frater Lake, above three miles in extent? He would appeal to any military man, whether an enemy's column might not, with the utmost facility, and with very little danger, penetrate between his two projected forts; and his boasted works must then fall at once. Was it ever discussed, or was it ever moved as a proposition by the noble duke, and submitted to the board, whether magazines (bomb proof) might not be built in the centre of Portsea Island, at a very inconsiderable expense, and whether an immense sum might not be saved by confining our military works to that island alone? A bombproof magazine (he spoke from the unquestionable authority of an excellent, engineer) of about 400 rods of brick work, would almost hold double the quantity of combustible stores contained in the dock-yard at Portsmouth. In short, the very respectable Board of naval and land officers were attacked by surprise, and surrounded and besieged by the noble duke's new-raised corps of data, axioms, postulata, lommas, corollaries, and hypothetical syllogisms, and soon spirit and generous exertions of the country gentlemen of England, who had last found themselves reduced to surrender at discretion. Seriously, they found themselves absolutely precluded from consider-year compelled the minister, however reing the general defence of the kingdom, luctant, to suspend the noble duke's plans, combined in all its circumstances, on a and even put his office in commission, and large and comprehensive view; and only now, by their perseverance and patriotism, specially appointed to examine the noble would probably put an end to a scheme duke's plans for Portsmouth and Plymouth, pregnant with every mischief. If this miand report accordingly. The Chancellor litary projector was not checked in his of the Exchequer had always, and indeed, career, none could know what conserather triumphantly, laid it down as an quences might ensue. A master-general, incontrovertible datum, that the very with his committee of engineers, like the existence of our fleet depended on the Leputan philosophers, in their flying stores in our two dock-yards. Was the island, might hover over the kingdom in fact so? Thank Heaven it was not! an ordnance balloon, descend in a moment, The right hon. gentleman had again that and seize on any man's house and domain day, with his usual eloquence, in all the (Mr. Cary would not be the only fascinating pomp of declamation, ennobled sufferer)-draw out their scales and com and dignified-hemp, tar, pitch and oakum, passes, or sketch out their works. The turpentine and sail-cloth, by the name, country gentlemen would find their terstyle and title of the seeds and stamina of races converted into bastions, their slopes the future navies of England. Was this into glaces, their pleasure-grounds and the language of a British statesman? Was shrubberies into horn-works and crownthis the language of a well-informed, en- works, to which they have hitherto borne lightened British minister? For his part, an irreconcilable aversion. But where was he had always formed a very different idea this system to end? Who could set bounds on the subject; he had always thought to it? If Portsmouth and Plymouth were that the seeds and stamina of our fleets to be covered with military works to preconsisted in an unbounded commerce, in serve the naval stores, London should be the superior skill and gallantry of our tortified on the same principle. Ridiculous naval officers, in the hardiness and intre- as this project might now appear, there was pidity of the British sailors; in the free- once a serious design entertained of carrydom of the British constitution, which dif- ing it into execution. For the truth of the fused a spirit of independence to the lowest fact, he would appeal to the venerable reindividual of the community. Such were cords of the Court of Aldermen, to the authe true stamina of our navy; of that navy thentic minutes of the Board of Ordnance. to which Britain was indebted for her When the Pretender in the year 1745, or, empire and her glory, and which had ex- to speak more courtly language, the tended her fame to the extremities of the grandson of James 2, had slipped the globe: Royal army and advanced as far as Stone, the board of aldermen took no false alarm. The lord mayor sent a circular letter to every member, commanding his attendance, constituted himself president, drew up a set of instructions to direct their proceedings; and, after a long debate, it was at last unanimously agreed to apply to the duke of Newcastle to send them an engineer; as, on such an arduous occasion, they did not choose to entrust the defence of the metropolis to the city surveyor: his office, therefore, like the noble duke's, was put in commission, colonel Lascelles was actually appointed for this duty, and was directed to wait on the lord mayor and aldermen with a plan and estimate; but an express critically arriving, with an account of the Highlanders' retreat to Scotland, put a stop to this wise project. If we were resolved to provide "In vain the nations have conspir'd her fall, “Her trench the sea, and fleets her floating wall." But could the right hon. gentleman be ignorant, that there are ten times the quantity of naval stores in the merchants' warehouses in the river, than were ever at one time in the King's stores at Portsmouth or Plymouth? How many ships of the line were launched last year from slips in the river? Where did the East India Company build the Asia, Ganges, and the Bombay? Did not a noble earl (of Lonsdale) contract with a private builder for the ship which he designed as a present to the King? but, to his great regret, was most unluckily prevented from accomplishing his patriotic design, by that necessary peace which a noble earl made, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer signed. Mr. Courtenay then expatiated on the He against all possible dangers by fortifica- | to freedom and the constitution. should take the liberty of offering to the However, he did not mean to draw any invidious parallel between those inglorious and the present auspicious times: but we might not always be blessed with a gracious prince; we might not always have a mild, unassuming virtuous minister. Still it was the duty of the representatives of the people to guard posterity against those evils which they were not apprehensive of suffering them Mr. Courtenay observed, that several gentlemen had justly stigmatized the fortifying system as dangerous and inimical [VOL. XXV.] Mr. Courtenay concluded by calling forcibly on every man, who felt for the rights and liberties of his country, who vencrated the glorious constitution of England, as it behoved every man, to reflect seriously before he gave his voice on a proposition of such dangerous tendency-a proposition which went directly to depreciate the British navy, and to substitute a new and fallacious mode of deOn his conscience and fence in its room. honour he believed the vote of that night would be decisive; fatally decisive indeed, if the amendment proposed by the hon. gentleman was not carried. Lord George Lenox begged leave to assure the hon. gentlenran, that he was not thoroughly grounded upon the facts In one into which he had adverted. stance he had erred extremely; for it was a truth, that at the fortification of SouthSea castle, built by the master-general of the Ordnance, neither the defect of let ting its guns run back at the time of firing, nor of smothering the men with their smoke, had ever taken place. The hon. gentleman had a manner of delivering his sentiments which might divert himself; but he must appeal to the hon. general, if the fact did not differ most materially from such statements. [4 D] |