ters, in order to inflame the minds of the people against them. He concluded by moving, "That the attorney-general be ordered to prosecute the author of this libel;" but after a speech from Messrs. Windham and Dundas, the measure was immediately negatived.

Although Mr. Grey and his associates condemned the war, yet that gentleman professed on more than one occasion, that neither he nor his immediate friends deemed it proper to deny any aid that could strengthen the hands of government. They, however, opposed, and that strenuously, a number of subsidiary treaties, particularly the one entered into with Sardinia, when communicated to the house, in 1794. On that occasion he asserted, that the negociation was not only iniquitous and unjust, but absurd and impolitic. "The question now before us is, (said he) not whether the 200,000l. had been given as a hire, or as a boon, to animate those effeminate Sardinians in defence of their own territory; but whether a treaty, which went to such an extravagant length as that now before them, was such as either expediency or sound policy could dictate to any set of men employed in the service of their country."

In the course of the same month Mr. Grey, on moving," that it is the opinion of this house that the employing of foreigners in any place of trust, or foreign troops within the kingdom, without the consent of parliament first had and obtained, is unconstitu tional, and contrary to law," took an opportunity to express his just and equal abhorrence of despotism

and anarchy. "France, he thought, groaned under the most furious tyranny, and he would prefer the dominion of Nero or Caligula to the authority of those who now governed that nation." In respect to the policy or expediency of employing foreign troops within the realm, under given circumstances, he declined to express any opinion; but he contended, whether the measure was right or wrong, that it was highly unconstitutional to adopt it without the previous consent of parliament. He quoted a number of precedents, from 1698 to 1775, as pertinent to the question then agitated: he also quoted the Bill of Rights to the same purpose; and as the minister had intimated, that the previous assent of parliament was only necessary when his Majesty meant "to quarter and billet the troops," he ably and forcibly pointed out, that from the present extension of barracks this restraint would be totally evaded. The administration did not choose to get rid of this subject by a direct negative, but by the previous question, and the minority was now seen to shrink to thirty-five; so that from this moment no rational hopes could be entertained of stopping the career of the minister!

It would occupy a whole volume to detail the speeches of Mr. Grey in the house of commons. Scarcely any great debate has taken place, subsequently to his appearance in public life, in which he has not borne a distinguished part. Throughout the whole of the late war he testified his uniform disapprobation of the measures of Mr. Pitt, and helped by

his eloquence, as well as his habits of business, to render a small minority respectable. As one of the managers of the impeachment against Mr. Hastings, he added greatly to his former reputation; and, with a filial piety truly commendable, he defended his father, with equal zeal and eloquence, against the accusations relative to his conduct in the West Indies.

He has always been a strenuous advocate for a reform in parliament, as necessary to restore the vigour of the constitution, and prevent the degrading practice of corruption. So correct, however, has been his conduct on all occasions, that the voice of slander has never presumed to blast the character of Mr. Grey; and he must be acknowledged, both in public and private life, to have acted with an uniformity seldom to be surpassed, more especially in degenerate times, and amidst those temptations which have been so liberally held out for the encouragement of political obliquity.

Before we conclude this article, it may not be unnecessary to mention that Mr. Grey some time since formed an alliance with a respectable whig family of Ireland, by his marriage with the daughter of the right honourable Brabazon Ponsonby, and that he has a son and several daughters by that lady.

MAJOR-GENERAL MOORE.

IT can never be too often or too earnestly inculcated, that Great Britain is indebted to her free constitution alone for her boasted superiority. The effects

of this are evident in every department and every profession, and the churchman, the barrister, and the merchant, afford not more numerous or more conspicuous instances of this truth, than the men of the sword. During the old government of France, in consequence of a special decree, enacted in the reign of Louis XIV. none but the nobility could enjoy the honour of serving their country as officers in the army or marine. Even at this day, promotions, at least in the first instance, are chiefly regulated in many of the continental states by the college of heralds, and the number of quarterings not unfrequently determines the degree of advancement.

The revolution of 1688 struck a deadly blow at the feudal system, while the introduction of a commercial interest into the scale of our government gave birth to a more generous policy in this country. Merit of all kinds was admitted to a fair competition, and birth, for the first time in the history of modern Eu. rope, began to be considered as secondary to genius.

In consequence of this, our youth of every description have aspired to eminence and celebrity. If Howe was the son of a peer, Shovel was an apprentice to a cobler, and Churchill, although a man of family, would have lived and died in obscurity without attaining to the ducal honours of Marlborough, but for the victories of Ramilies and Blenheim.

Bravery, talents, and good conduct, then, are alone sufficient to attain advancement in our navy and army; and we have heard of but few instances when modest and unassuming worth have failed of success. Even

Our

our Hotspurs succeed to a certain degree, although ready to exclaim :

"By heaven, methinks it were an easy leap

To pluck bright honour from the pale-fac'd moon!

Or dive into the bottom of the deep,

Where fathom-line could never touch the ground,
And pluck up drowned honour by the locks."

King Henry IV. A&. I. Scene III.

"In thy faint slumbers, I by thee have watch'd
And heard thee murmur tales of iron wars;
Speak terms of manage to thy bounding steed;
Cry, Courage! to the field! and thou hast talk'd
Of sallies and retires; of trenches, tents,
Of basilisks, of cannon, culverin;
Of prisoners ransom, and of soldiers slain,
And all the currents of a heady fight.

"Thy spirit within thee hath been so at war,
And thus hath so bestirr'd thee in thy sleep,
That beads of sweat stood upon thy brow
Like bubbles in a late-disturbed stream:
And in thy face strange motions have appear'd,
Such as we see when men restrain their breath
On some great sudden haste,"

King Henry IV. Seene III.

But it is a character of a far different description of which we are now prepared to give an account: acharacter unassuming of itself, and calculated alike to disarm envy and concentrate applause. While the "spirit-stirring drum" excites our generous youth to arms, while we are prepared to combat and to vanquish a foe flushed with success and inured to victory, it is a task neither unpleasant nor unuseful, to designate the men who have not only bled in the defence of their country, but are formed by nature and education to point out