PRINCE REGENT'S SPEECH,

IT

NOV. 4, 1813.

My lords, and gentlemen, T is with the deepest regret that I am again obliged to announce to you the continuance of his majesty's lamented indisposition.

The great and splendid success with which it has pleased divine providence to bless his majesty's arms, and those of his allies, in the course of the present campaign, has been productive of the most important consequences to Europe.

In Spain the glorious and decisive victory obtained near Vittoria has been followed by the advance of the allied forces to the Pyrenees, by the repulse of the enemy in every attempt to regain the ground he had been compelled to abandon, by the reduction of the fortress of San Sebastian, and finally by the establishment of the allied army on the frontier of France..

In this series of brilliant operations, you will have observed, with the highest satisfaction, the consummate skill and ability of the great commander, field marshal the marquis of Wellington, and the steadiness and unconquerable spirit which have been equally displayed by the troops of the three nations united under his command.

The termination of the armistice in the north of Europe, and the declaration of war by the emperor of Austria against France, have

been most happily accompanied by a system of cordial union and concert amongst the allied powers.

The effects of this union have even surpassed those expectations it was calculated to excite.

By the signal victories obtained over the French armies in Silesia, at Culm, and at Dennevitz, the efforts of the enemy to penetrate into the heart of the 'Austrian and Prussian territories were completely frustrated.

These successes have been followed by a course of operations, combined with so much judgement and executed with such consummate prudence, vigour, and ability, as to have led in their result, not only to the discomfiture of all those projects which the ruler of France had so presumptuously announced on the renewal of the contest, but to the capture and destruction of the greater part of the army under his immediate command.

The annals of Europe afford no example of victories more splendid and decisive than those which have been recently achieved in Saxony.

Whilst the perseverance and gallantry displayed by the allied forces of every description engaged in this conflict have exalted to the highest pitch of glory their military character, you will, I am persuaded, agree with me in rendering the full tribute of applause to those sovereigns and princes, who, in this

sacred

sacred cause of national independence, have so eminently distinguished themselves as the leaders of the armies of their respective

nations.

With such a prospect before you, I am satisfied that I may rely with the fullest confidence on e your disposition to enable me to afford the necessary assistance in support of a system of alliance which originating chiefly in the magnanimous and disinterested views of the emperor of Russia, and followed up as it has been with corresponding energy by the other allied powers, has produced a change the most momentous in the affairs of the continent.

I shall direct copies of the several conventions which I have concluded with the northern powers to be laid before you, as soon as the ratifications of them shall have been duly exchanged.

I have further to acquaint you, that I have concluded a treaty of alliance and concert with the emperor of Austria, and that the powerful league already formed has received an important addition of force by the declaration of Bavaria against France.

I am confident you will view with particular satisfaction the renewal of the ancient connection with the Austrian government; and that, justly appretiating all the value of the accession of that great power to the common cause, you will be prepared, as far as circumstances may permit, to enable me to support his imperial majesty in the vigorous prosecution of the contest.

The war between this country and the United States of America still continues; but I have the satisfaction to inform you, that the measures adopted by the govern→ ment of the United States for the

conquest of Canada have been frustrated by the valour of his ma jesty's troops, and by the zeal and loyalty of his American subjects.

Whilst Great Britain, in conjunction with her allies, is exerting her utmost strength against the common enemy of independent nations, it must be matter of deep regret to find an additional enemy in the government of a country whose real interest in the issue of this great contest must be the same as our

own.

It is known to the world, thatthis country was not the aggressor in this war.

I have not hitherto seen any disposition on the part of the government of the United States to close it, of which I could avail myself consistently with a due attention to the interests of his majesty's subjects.

I am at all times ready to enter into discussion with that government for a conciliatory adjustment. of the differences between the two countries, upon principles of perfect reciprocity not inconsistent with the established maxims of public law and with the maritime rights of the British empire.

Gentlemen of the house of

commons,

I have directed the estimates for the services of the ensuing year to be laid before you.

I regret the necessity of so large an expenditure, which I am confident, however, you will judge to be unavoidable, when the extent and nature of our military exertions are considered.

I entertain no doubt of your readiness to furnish such supplies. as the public service may require.

I congratulate you on the im proved and flourishing state of our commerce; and I trust that the abundant

abundant harvest which we have received from the bountiful hand of providence during the present year, will afford material relief to his majesty's people, and produce a considerable augmentation in many branches of the revenue.

My lords, and gentlemen,

I congratulate you on the decided conviction which now happily prevails throughout so large a portion of Europe, that the war in which the allied powers are engaged against the ruler of France is a war of necessity; and that his views of universal dominion can only be defeated by combined and determined resistance.

The public spirit and national enthusiasm which have successively accomplished the deliverance of the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal, and of the Russian empire, now equally animate the German people; and we may justly entertain the fullest confidence that the same perseverance on their part will ultimately lead to the same glorious result.

I cannot but deplore most deeply the continuance of this extended warfare, and of all those miseries which the insatiable ambition of. the ruler of France has so long inflicted upon Europe.

No disposition to require from France sacrifices of any description inconsistent with her honour or just pretensions as a nation will ever be on my part, or on that of his majesty's allies, an obstacle to peace.

The restoration of that great blessing upon principles of justice and equality has never ceased to be my anxious wish; but I am fully convinced that it can only be obtained by a continuance of those efforts which have already deliver

ed so large a part of Europe from the power of the enemy.

To the firmness and perseverance of this country these advantages may in a great degree be ascribed. Let this consideration animate us to new exertions; and we shall thus, I trust, be enabled to bring this long and arduous contest to a conclusion which will be consistent with the independence of all the nations engaged in it, and with the general security of Europe.

HOLLAND.

DUTCH POTITICAL CONSTITUTION.

The Hague, March 3, 1814. We, William, by the grace of God, prince of Orange Nassau, sovereign prince of the United Netherlands, &c. To all to whom these presents come greeting! Invited to the sovereignty of these States by your confidence and your attachment, we from the first de-` clared, that we would undertake the same only under the guarantee of a wise constitution, which might secure your freedom against all possible abuses; and we have ever since continued to feel the necessity thereof. We regarded it, therefore, as one of the first and most sacred of our duties, to summon together some men of consideration, and to charge them with the weighty task of establishing a fundamental code, built upon your manners, your habits, and corre sponding to the wants of the present time. They cheerfully took upon themselves this office, performed it with zeal, and have submitted to us the fruits of their uninterrupted labours. After a careful examination of this work, we have given it our approbation. But this does not satisfy our heart. It respects the

concerns

!

concerns of the whole Netherlands. The whole Dutch people must be recognised in this important work. That people must receive the strongest possible assurance, that their dearest interests are sufficiently attended to therein; that religion, as the fountain of all good, is thereby honoured and maintained, and religious freedom disturbed by nothing of temporal concerns, but secured in the most ample manner; that the education of youth, and the spread of scientific knowledge, shall be attended to by the government, and freed from all those vexatious regulations which oppress the genius and subdue the spirit; that personal freedom shall no longer be an empty name, and dependent on the caprices of a suspicious and crafty police: that an impartial administration of justice, guided by fixed principles, secure to every man his property; that commerce, agriculture, and manufactures, be no longer obstructed, but have free course, like rich springs of public and private prosperity; that, therefore, no restraint be imposed on the domestic economy of the higher and lower classes of the state, but that they be confor mable to the general laws and the general government; that the movements of the general government be not palsied by too great a zeal for local interests, but rather receive from it an additional impulse; that the general laws, by means of an harmonious co-operation of the two principal branches of the government, be founded on the true interests of the state; that the finances, and the arming of the people, the main pillars of the body politic, be placed in that central point, upon which the greatest and most invaluable privilege of every

free people,-their independence, may be firmly fixed. Which of you can doubt of this truth, after the terrible experience you have had of a foreign tyranny, which acknowledged no right when it wanted means for its own maintenance by violence; after having sighed, of late years, under the most appressive yoke that ever was imposed since the Spanish times? Now at least you know the true value of those precious rights for which our fathers sacrificed their property and blood; of that happiness which they bequeathed to their descendants; and which we saw lost through the adversity of the times! Following, therefore, and deriving encouragement from their example, it becomes my duty, in imitation of those whose name L bear, and whose memory I honour, to restore that which is lost it is your duty to support me therein with all your efforts, that under the blessing of divine providence, who summons us to this task, we may leave our beloved country completely re-conquered and re-established to our children. In order to be enabled to judge whether the constitutional code thus framed, as before stated, be a means of attaining the above great object, we have thought it right that the said code be submitted for maturer consideration, to a numerous assembly of persons the most considerable and best qualified among you. We have for that purpose appointed a special commission who are to choose, out of a numerous list given in to us, six hundred persons, in due proportion to the population of each of the now existing departments. Honoured with your confidence, they shall, on the 28th of this month, assemble in the metro

polis

polis of Amsterdam, to come to a determination upon this weighty business. They shall in like manner, with the letter of convocation, receive the plan of the constitution, that they may be able to prepare their decision thereon with maturity and calmness of deliberation; and for the more effectual attainment of this object, a copy of the same,shall be sent to each member previously. And as it is of the first importance that these members be possessed of the general confidence, we order that a list of the persons chosen for each department be made public, and that to all the inhabitants of the same, being house-keepers, an opportunity shall be afforded, by signing his name without any other addition, in a register which shall lie open in each canton for eight days, to disapprove of any such person or persons as he may deem unqualified. No inhabitant is deprived of this right, with the exception of domestic servants, valets, bankrupts, persons in a state of nonage, or under accusation. When it shall appear to us, from the summing up of the regis ters, that the majority are satisfied with the persons thus submitted to their election, we shall consider them as the representatives of the whole Dutch people, call them together, appear in the midst of them, and salute them as constituting the great assembly representing the United Netherlands. They shall then commence their labours in freedom, and give us an account of their progress by a committee appointed to that effect; and as soon as the adoption of the constitutional code is the result of their deliberations, we shall make the necessary arrangements for taking the oath prescribed to us by the constitution with all due solemnity, in the midst 1814.

of the assembly, and after that be installed in state. In the adoption of these measures, worthy countrymen, you must feel convinced that the welfare of our beloved country is my first and only object; that your interests and mine are the same; and how can they be more manifestly promoted, than by the introduction of constitutional rules, in which you will find the guarantee of your dearest rights? They will furnish me with the advantage of conducting, on fixed principles, the charge and responsibility of government, assisted by the best and most intelligent of the citizens; and will secure to me the continuance of that affection, the expres sions of which rejoice my heart, animate my courage, lighten my burthen, and bind me and my house for ever to our regenerated country.

Given at the Hague this 2d of March 1814, and of our reign the 1st.

WILLIAM.

By command, A. R FALCK, Secretary of state.

THE HUMBLE ADDRESSES OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS ΤΟ HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE REGENT, ON THE AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE WITH HIS ROYAL HIGH NESS'S ANSWERS.

Tuesday, 3d May 1814. Resolved, nemine contradicenté, That a humble address be presented to his royal highness the prince regent, to assure his royal highness, that this house, relying, with perfect confidence, on the solemn assurances received by parliament in 1806, and 1810, that his majesty's government would employ every proper means to obtain a convention of the powers of Europe for the immediate and univer(N)

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