open to the assaults of the foe, we might, I presume, safely have committed to the defence of those arms, by which they had been conquered. From the abundance, and the consequent cheapness, of provisions of every sort, the land and sea forces, employed on this station, would have stood in no need of supplies from home, and would have been maintained even at less expense than in any part of Great-Britain. To all these advantages may be added, ten thousand seamen inured to the Southern Seas, the commerce of which constantly employs so considerable a portion of our marine.

Now, I ask you, my Lord; nay, the nation asks you, in a voice that will ere long be heard, how you have disposed of these inestimable acquisitions, purchased with the skill, the valour, the treasure, and the blood of her children.

MINORCA is given up to Spain-that is to say to France; PORTO FERRAJO to the King of Etruria-that is to say to France; MALTA to the Knights of that Order—that is to say to France-I am sure your Lordship's candour will spare me the trouble of proving the two former assertions, in consideration of which indulgence, I will give you an ample demonstration of the third.

The

The Order of Malta, my Lord, is a religious and also a military association, subjected to certain established rules, and consisting exclusively of Catholic nobles. This association is composed of eight tribes (commonly called Langues), to wit, the three tribes of France, two of Castile and Arragon, comprehending Portugal, one of Italy, one of Germany, and one of Bavaria, which has superseded the ancient tribe of England. Now, my Lord, you, who know these things so well, cannot doubt, that all these countries are directly under the influence of, or in a state of absolute dependance on, the Consul, or government, of France. The families and the patrimonial possessions of the Knights, together with the commanderships of the Order, are the surest possible pledges of a ready and blind obedience on their part. These Knights of Malta, or Knights of BUONAPARTE, which ever you please to call them, will be the sovereigns of the island, and will, of course, possess and exercise all the powers of government. They will be just as numerous as BUONAPARTE pleases; they will be chosen by him, and, in fact, they will be so many soldiers under his command. Will the garrison, kept in the fortress by the guaranteeing Power (if, indeed, that Power should

should have a garrison there), be able to resist a sudden attack on the part of France, favoured by a conspiracy of the numerous individuals invested with the supreme authority of the island? Can the fleets of Russia, frozen up in the ports of Revel and Cronstadt, during more than six months in the year, and separated from Malta by a voyage of two months, at least; can these fleets be expected to prevent a French coup-de-main, and preserve the independence of the island, in spite not only of the French but of its own lawful and reigning Sovereigns? Besides, what interest can Russia possibly have to induce her to undertake so distant and expensive an expe dition, in order to preserve the independence of a territory, from which she will derive no manner of benefit? And, if, tired of the mere guardianship, she should wish to seize on the sovereignty of Malta, and should accomplish that wish, what then becomes, my Lord, of your guarantee? The Ottoman Empire will then be placed between the Russian armies and the Russian fleets, while the Greek religion will soon enlist more than one half of the subjects of the Porte under the banners of its most formidable enemy. Should this event take place, you will have preserved, or, to speak more correctly,

G

our

our brave fleets and armies will have rescued, Turkey from the hands of France, that you might yield her to Russia, whose empire, now bounded by the Danube, the Black Sea, and the mountains of Caucasus, would then extend itself, without the least interruption, from the Baltic and the Frozen Sea, to the burning coasts of the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Persian Gulph; while Persia herself, more than half surrounded by this gigantic Power, and exhausted by an inveterate and devouring anarchy, must soon fall into its hands; and thus would the empire of Russia reach to the borders of India. This, your Lordship, with the gravity, so characteristic of your station, may probably treat as chimerical; but, my Lord, recollect, that the expeditions which I have here traced out for Russia, are by no means so difficult to execute, as those in which the republicans of France have frequently succeeded. It was doubtless, the dread of Russian ambition that prevented your wise predecessors from yielding to the popular voice, which was loud for the cession of Malta to the EMPEROR PAUL, who had, not without solid reasons, caused himself to be proclaimed Grand Master of the Order.

If, my Lord, you tell us, that it is the KING of NAPLES, to whom you mean to commit this important guarantee, we shall not trouble you with reasoning, but simply ask you, who is to guarantee the King of Naples? Not to sport longer with your feelings, my Lord, it is evident, that, which ever way we view the subject, Malta is delivered up to France.

There is, indeed, one precaution, my Lord, and only one, which is capable of giving something like reality to this guarantee, and which will secure, for some years at least, the independence of Malta, by giving time to the guaranteeing power and the other Powers interested, to come to its aid, în case of need. We have seen this fortress, undéniably the first in the world, snatched, in the space of two days, from the feeble or venal hands of a man, whose infamy will live as long as the glory of LILLEADAM. This precious deposit ought, then, in future, to be confided to the guardianship of tried firmness and integrity.

If the Catholic Nobility of Europe boasts a man, whose virtues, whose actions, and whose sentiments render him worthy of being the chief of a religious association, founded upon courage and honour, it