Observe, Sir, that the apology for my undertaking (an apology which, though long, is no longer than necessary) is not grounded on my want of the fullest sense of the difficult and invidious nature of the task I undertake.  I risk odium, if I succeed, and contempt, if I fail.  My excuse must rest in mine and your conviction of the absolute, urgent necessity there is that something of the kind should be done.  If there is any sacrifice to be made, either of estimation or of fortune, the smallest is the best.  Commanders-in-chief are not to be put upon the forlorn hope.  But, indeed, it is necessary that the attempt should be made.  It is necessary from our own political circumstances; it is necessary from the operations of the enemy; it is necessary from the demands of the people, whose desires, when they do not militate with the stable and eternal rules of justice and reason, (rules which are above us and above them,) ought to be as a law to a House of Commons.

As to our circumstances, I do not mean to aggravate the difficulties of them by the strength of any coloring whatsoever.  On the contrary, I observe, and observe with pleasure, that our affairs rather wear a more promising aspect than they did on the opening of this session.  We have had some leading successes.  But those who rate them at the highest (higher a great deal, indeed, than I dare to do) are of opinion, that, upon the ground of such advantages, we cannot at this time hope to make any treaty of peace which would not be ruinous and completely disgraceful.  In such an anxious state of things, if dawnings of success serve to animate our diligence, they are good; if they tend to increase our presumption, they are worse than defeats.  The state of our affairs shall, then, be as promising as any one may choose to conceive it:  it is, however, but promising.  We must recollect, that, with but half of our natural strength, we are at war against confederated powers who have singly threatened us with ruin; we must recollect, that, whilst we are left naked on one side, our other flank is uncovered by any alliance; that, whilst we are weighing and balancing our successes against our losses, we are accumulating debt to the amount of at least fourteen millions in the year.  That loss is certain.

I have no wish to deny that our successes are as brilliant as any one chooses to make them; our resources, too, may, for me, be as unfathomable as they are represented.  Indeed, they are just whatever the people possess and will submit to pay.  Taxing is an easy business.  Any projector can contrive new impositions; any bungler can add to the old.  But is it altogether wise to have no other bounds to your impositions than the patience of those who are to bear them?

All I claim upon the subject of your resources is this:  that they are not likely to be increased by wasting them.  I think I shall be permitted to assume that a system of frugality will not lessen your riches, whatever they may be.  I believe it will not be hotly disputed, that those resources which lie heavy on the subject ought not to be objects of preference,—­that they ought not to be the very first choice, to an honest representative of the people.