Lord Castlereaghrose, in pursuance of the notice he had given, to move for the erection of monuments to the memory of generals Hay, Gore, Skerrett, Gibbs, and Gillespie. He wished that this mark of their country's gratitude to officers who fell in its service, should be connected with some general rule in the grant of such tribute. The principle hitherto was, that monuments should be granted to those officers only who fell in actions which had been objects of parliamentary thanks. This principle had hitherto been departed from in no more than two or three instances. But he wished to make the rule of granting monuments depend, on rank, and to lay it down that they should be granted to every officer of the rank of major-general who should fall in his country's service, and be recommended for that tribute by the minister of the Crown, without reference to the magnitude of the service in which he fell. This, he thought, would be beneficial to the country, and an incitement, if, indeed, incitement were necessary, to the valour of her officers. He would now come to the objects of his present motion. The first was major-general Hay, who fell in front of Bayonne, bravely leading on his troops. The next objects of his motion were major-generals Gore and Skerrett, who fell in front of Bergen-op-Zoom, and whose conduct and valour were conspicuous on that as on every other occasion. He should then 914 have to mention major-general Gillespie, for whom he might be conceived more intimately concerned, as he was not only a countryman of his, bat a native of the same county for which he had the honour of being a representative. He had served in most parts of the world, and in no part where his abilities, his courage, and his virtues were not conspicuous. He was beloved by the brave, and mourned by the valiant; and the country which produced him, in numbering the sons of her glory, would not mention him without feelings of proud, though melancholy recollection. He fell, in his usual career of honour, before Kalunga, in the East Indies. The last whom he should move the tribute of melancholy respect to, was major-general Gibbs, who fell with sir Edward Pakenham before New Orleans, in North America. The noble lord concluded by moving,
- 1. "That an humble Address be presented to his royal highness the Prince Regent, that he will be graciously pleased to give directions that a monument be erected in the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, London, to the memory of major-general Andrew Hay, who fell gloriously on the 14th of April 1814, while resisting a sortie made by the garrison of Bayonne.
- 2. "That an humble Address be presented to his royal highness the Prince Regent, that he will be graciously pleased to give directions that a monument be erected in the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, London, to the memory of major-generals Arthur Gore and John Byne Skerrett, who fell gloriously while leading the troops to the assault of the fortress of Bergen-op-Zoom, in the night of the 8thand 9th of March 1814.
- 3. "That an humble Address be presented to his royal highness the Prince Regent, that he will be graciously pleased to give directions, that a monument be erected in the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, London, to the memory of major-general Robert Rollo Gillespie, who fell gloriously on the 31st of October, 1814, while leading the troops to an assault on the fortress of Kalunga, in the kingdom of Nepaul.
- 4. "That an humble Address be presented to his royal highness the Prince Regent, that he will be graciously pleased to give directions, that a monument be erected in the Cathedral Church of St Paul, London, to the memory of major-general Samuel Gibbs, who fell gloriously
915] on the 8th of January 1815, while leading the troops to an attack upon the enemy's works in front of New Orleans; and to assure his Royal Highness that this House will make good the expense attending the same."
§ The said Resolutions were agreed to, nem. con.