392 PITT'S FIRST SPEECH IN THE CH. XXV. in this country, is seldom acquired, even by men of great ability, without years of painful and persevering practice; great therefore was the admiration excited by a young man of one and twenty, who, on his first appearance, showed himself a proficient in an art so rare and so highly prized. His tall spare figure, though deficient in grace and comeliness, had already an air of dignity and command. A fine sonorous voice completely filled the House, and gave effect to the long imposing periods which rolled forth with unbroken fluency. The sentiments which he uttered, in these early days at least, were worthy of the son of Chatham. He said, that the ministers of the Crown should have come forward, and, by proposing retrenchment, have at once shown that the Sovereign was willing to participate in the privations of his people, and thus have spared the House of Commons the ungracious task of retrenching the superfluous magnificence of royalty. It was, he said, the immediate duty of the House to guard the lives, the liberties, and the property of the people. The last obligation was the strongest; it was more immediately incumbent upon them to guard their properties, because they were more liable to invasion by the secret and subtle attacks of influence than either their lives or liberties. The tutelage of the House might be a harsh term, but the guardianship of the House could not be disgraceful to a constitutional king. An argument which had been used in the debate by the courtiers was thus felicitously disposed of. 'But it had been said, that the saving was immaterial; it was a matter of trifling consideration, when measured by the necessities or expenses of the time. It proposed to bring no more than 200,000%. a year into the public coffers; and that sum was insignificant in the public account compared with the millions which we spend. This was surely the most singular and unaccountable species of reasoning 1780. DEBATE ON BURKE'S BILL. 393 that was ever attempted in any assembly. The calamities of the crisis were too great to be benefited by economy; our expenses were so enormous, that it was ridiculous to attend to little matters of account. We have spent so many millions, that thousands are beneath our consideration. We were obliged to spend so much, that it was foolish to think of saving any. This was the language of the day; and it was by such reasoning that the principle of the bill had been disputed.' He then went on, with singular clearness and cogency, to expose the futility of the pretence, that Parliament was precluded from re-opening the question of the Civil List by the settlement which had been made on the demise of the Crown.* The promise of parliamentary excellence displayed in this remarkable speech was amply fulfilled; if not the hope which it held out, that the cause of economical government had acquired a powerful friend. *Parl. Debates, 1780. 394 ALLIANCE BETWEEN FRANCE AND SPAIN. CH. XXVL CHAPTER XXVI. SIEGE OF GIBRALTAR-CAPTURE OF ST. EUSTATIA-REVERSES OF THE AMERICANS-INVASION OF NORTH CAROLINA BY CORNWALLIS—RETREAT OF CORNWALLIS AND CAPITULATION OF YORK TOWN-RESIGNATION OF THE MINISTRY-NEW ADMINISTRATION-CONDITION OF IRELAND-BURKE'S ECONOMICAL REFORM-PITT'S MOTION FOR PARLIAMENTARY REFORM-DEATH OF LORD ROCKINGHAM-LORD SHELBURNE FIRST MINISTER-RESIGNATION OF FOX AND HIS FRIENDS. Alliance between France and Spain. THE alliance between France and Spain, notwithstanding the family ties which connected the two Courts, was by no means of a cordial character; and the cause of American independence was highly distasteful to the proudest monarchy in Europe. The failure of the great naval armament which had been fitted out for the invasion of England, and the want of co-operation between the Spanish and French Commanders, had rendered the Court of Madrid unwilling to prosecute the war. Accordingly, in the spring of 1780, overtures for a separate peace were made by the Spanish Government; but when it appeared that the basis of the proposed treaty was to be the cession of Gibraltar, this condition was peremptorily negatived by the Ministry of His Britannic Majesty, and the negotiations proceeded no farther. Hostilities were resumed at the beginning of 1781, by a descent of the French on the island of Jersey. A few hundred men, having effected a landing, marched to St. Helier's Attack on 1781. SIEGE OF GIBRALTAR. 395 Gallant con Pearson. and surprised the Lieutenant-Governor, Corbet, from whom the French officer in command obtained a paper, purporting to be a duct of Major capitulation. Major Pearson, however, a young officer in command of a small British garrison, treated the document with contempt, and, mustering his troops, attacked the invaders, and forced them to lay down their arms. Pearson did not survive to obtain the reward of his loyal and gallant conduct. He fell in the moment of victory. Corbet, who so shamefully betrayed his trust, was, by a mild sentence, only dismissed from his office. Meanwhile, the siege of Gibraltar had been vigorously prosecuted by the Spanish. The commodious harbours of Tangier, Tetuan, and Laroche, on the opposite coast, afforded shelter for their fleets, and formed a base for their naval operations. These ports had, in the first instance, been offered by the Emperor of Morocco to Great Britain; but the strange supineness of the Government had refused or neglected this offer, and a position of the greatest importance to the defence of Gibraltar was thus abandoned to the enemy. But the superior prowess of the British navy repaired the negligence of the British Government. Every effort on the part of the Spaniards to establish a blockade was frustrated by the British Commanders. The garrison of Gibraltar, though for a time subjected to severe privation, was at length relieved, and the supplies from England were landed without interruption. The siege was pressed both by sea and land; but such was the natural strength of the place, and such the resources and activity of General Elliot, that, though an incessant cannonade was kept up for seven weeks, both from batteries and gunboats, no lasting impression was made upon the fortifications; and the amount of killed and wounded on the side of the besieged did not exceed seventy. At length a well 396 INDECISIVE ACTION WITH THE DUTCH. CH. XXVI. French and planned sortie drove the enemy from their lines, destroyed many of their most formidable works, disabled their guns, and blew up their magazines. The combined fleets of France and Spain, after an ineffectual attempt on the island of Minorca, again threatened the coast of England. But this insult, like that of the preceding year, ended in an empty demonstration. The English Admiral, Darby, with an inferior force, did not attempt to drive the enemy out of the Channel; but retired into Torbay with twenty-one sail of the line, prepared to resist an attack, though declining to assume the offensive. The French and Spanish Commanders were still unable to agree in any plan of action, and, after cruising in the Channel for some weeks, the combined fleets returned to their respective ports. The Dutch, however, sustained their ancient reputation as a naval power. An obstinate engagement took place between a British fleet under Hyde Parker and a Dutch squadron under Zoultman, off the Dogger Bank, in which neither side obtained a decisive advantage. St. Eustatia taken by Rodney. The capture of St. Eustatia by Admiral Rodney was the first consequence of the declaration of war between Great Britain and the States-General. This island, one of the Leeward group, had long been the resort of trading adventurers of all nations, and had lately been used, not only as a depôt for the commerce of the American colonies, but as a harbour for their armed cruisers. The island, incapable of making any resistance, was surrendered at the first summons; and a vast amount of treasure, together with a fleet of armed ships as well as merchantmen, rewarded the promptitude of the English Admiral. A large proportion of this prize, however, belonged to British merchants; and those men, though avowedly en |