liament, with want of wisdom, in the formation of their plans ; and with want of vigor and energy, in the execution of those plans. 2 " A connection with "the Opposition, and a resolution, assumed before " their departure from England, to frustrate every " measure of the " [then] " present Administration, " and, thereby, to bring them " [the Administration,'] "into disgrace with their Sovereign and the Nation," were, also, boldly charged on the two brothers ; 3 while others " shrewdly suspected that their poverty, not " their will, consented " -- they said that it was " ob- " vious to all, that, had the Admiral destroyed the " rebel ships, in their ports, or effectually blockaded " up their harbors, no valuable captures of Tobacco or " Indigo could have fallen to the share of the British " Admiral ; " and they did not hesitate to assert that large fortunes were accumulated, from that source. 4 They also took advantage of the friendship which had existed between the family of Howe and the Americans, during the French War ; and they boldly charged the brothers with positive friendship for the American cause. 5 All of these charges were, probably, more or less true. The two brothers were indolent men ; fond of company, wine, and play : they were, in fact, identified with the party of the Opposition : they did not attempt to conceal the sympathy, which, to some extent, they felt for the Americans : like other Commanders, in both ancient and modern times, they probably kept a sharp eye on the spoils. But there were, also, other circumstances, of which their accusers knew nothing and of which the world, to-day, knows only very little, which largely controlled them ; and it is only reasonable and fair, therefore, that the accused should, also, be heard on the subject -- when a Committee of the House of Commons was charged with the grave duty of inquiring into the conduct of General Howe, during his command of the King's troops in North America, that distinguished Officer made a written defense, in which we find the following words, relative to the operations of the Royal Army, in Westchester-county :