Star. — London, England, 1811-02-13 00:00:00

. , . C hips that he should trouble them but witha very few Observetions; but there were a tew copies in the Noble Baron's speech which was impossible for.htm to pass ' ,e a at/ unnoticed. HP had the happitiess most cor dially to concur. however, with the Baron in two topics of his speech ; the first, where he said a due tribute of praise to the ability and eloquence with which his Noble nieed (Lied Aberdeen) had com meeted on the speech ; and the secoa i, whete he con• fesse.l what was doe to the sentiments and conduct of the i)itiv_rions Prince, by whose command that speech w a s delivered to the House. With reference to the fooo t es which influenced the conduct of thet illustri nes person on the present occasion, it was impossible the address could have been drawn up its terms too forcible and feeling. Those feelings must be justly appreciated by those oho stood in the sit t eition in which he stood ; Lot a similar impression must he ree d, b y them on all men who duly estimated what was alreedy hewn, and perticulerly when they came to contemplate what might yet be known. As to the general tenor of the speech, if it did not descend into u-re minute particulars, it was from a wish to avoid, as fir as possible, a difference of opinion on stet oc. cation like the present, respecting tonics upon which difference of opinion may have antecedently prevail ed. With a view, however, to the accomplishment of th aisa in treating the topics contained in the speech and in the address, no sacrifice is made of any public principle, but they are, as he had already observed, touched upon. pet terms, and in a manner least likely to create any of diet differeaee of or e_ tien which, on the present occasion, every Noble Lord must feel should he most earnestly deprecated without risking the sacrifice of any public principle, and accordingly none were here sacrificed. The oniy paragraph to which the, Noble Baron objected, was that which referred to Portugil and Spain. But whet alter all did that paragraph now hold out, to which Parliament had nut already been pledged ? Parliament was not celled upon for any new pledge to that effect, or any measure for attaining. Their Lordships.were only called upon to express an opinion as to our perseverance in a line of conduct in which we have already been engaged by the advice and approb ition of Parliament. It was not on the pro priety of his sentiments, or of the sentiments of his colleagues in office .that their Lordships were now to pronounce, but on the sentiments and opinions which their Lordship! have already more than once acknowledged and expressed, Even those who dif fered from him as to the patticuler mode of co. operati n with Spain, still agreed that assistance of some kind should be afforded to Spain and Poe. tugal. To the affording of assistance, in some de- gree at least, their Lordships were all committed. f'arliernent indeed stood committed to that extent. .;,:With what face then could their Lordships now hesitate to give our Allies the advantage of knowing that they were still to have encouragement and sup. Pitt from this country in their arduous struggleagainst the common enenty ? No specific mode or :system by ' which that assistance should be afforded. was now proposed ; their Lordships were merely required to give some general assurance that they were not pre pared wholly to desert our allies ; and such an assu eaace we were surely bound to give them by every precUle of justice, honour, and good faiek. When the subsidy was proposed for Portugel, what was the language held by some Noble Loris to dissuade the loose from agreeing to that measure ? Did they riot then say that in a few months the British army would he compelled to come home —that the cause in which fiey were engaged was hepeless, absolutely hopeless; and that nn advantage whatever could be derived from the employment of a Portuguese army? Had these predictions been v:-rifled ? Have not die. Portuguese troops been brought -to . a very high de cree of discipline? Have we not had the testimony of the Commander in Chief Lord Wellington, and of General Beresford, who more immediately corn. minds the Portuguese force, that the Portuguese troops arc perfectly competent to fight in the ranks whit British soldieis ; to emulate their discipline and steadiness, and emulate the glory of their exploits ? Their conduct on ell trying'occasiens has already obtained the approbation and applause of every mi.' !herr man. In what instance have the Portuguese disappointed our expectations ? and if in none, upon what ground could we now desert them ? •As to America, there was nothing new in the tone and lan guage which was now held out to that country—the British Government had always been ready to treat her in the most conciliating manner—to express a desire to cultivate the most perfect amity, and enter into the fullest commercial intercourse with the Uni., ted States. But with regard to the nature of any degociation or adjustment of differences now pending between the two countries, it would surely be prema ture and improper now to enter into any discussions Our resolution to assert our maritime right was never intended against any particular nation, and if it af o frets any, it is not from design, but merely acciden-' tally. The Noble Earl then concluded by repeating that the present Address did not pledge their Lordships to any new measure or plan, but merely called upon them to acknowlege the sentiments which they had already repeatedly professed to entertain. Lord GROSVENOR offered a few words in ex plan tzion. Ti..! Earl of RADNOR entirely concurred in all the topics of the Address ; and it he saw any thing to object to, it was rather to the penury of praise which was bestowed on the sentiments and feelings which had characterised the conduct of kis Royal Higltnesc I:1;: Prince throughout the whcle of their delicate and piecing proceedings. The question was then put that their Lordstaips do aclipt the Address, and it was agreed to without a d:risix.—lt was next moved, and agreed to, that tHr Enrdships, in their white staves, do wait upon Pzil7e Re4cnt, to learn wh:-n his Royal Highness •will be pleased to receive the Address.—Adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS. 1 pez'rion was presented, complailing of an undue revt:9 being made for the county of Limerick, which t is ordered to be taken into consideration on Thurs.' day fortni v ht. Tile SPEAKER informed the House, that be had been is t..e House of Lords," and had there - heardi tile Teed. 0111 i: Royal , Highoess the Prince Regent,' C , 'taming further causes Ipr the Assembling of Par.; read by . t!le Lord Chancellor, of which, in! order to avoid risakes, he Ilad , procured a copy. zi.f4.tr Specs L..i been read, ~.~~ . . - Mr. . ~. .. . . , Mr. tittI.NEEI rite for ttli P urpose 4 0 1 00 x the Adgrese. He had tett a 'former occasion presented himself to the and had eiperionced their in cledgenee when proposing a similar motion to the one which he should no* have the hnnour of submitting. He feared much that his addressing them now would only privint.e an additional instance of his own un worthiness ; and, indeed, when he considered the ditheolties of his present situation, he felt sensibly that he should require a double portion ot their in dulgence. The bare occasion of their assembling presented unusual and additional difficulties. Tee 'case was new, but then it was jitstitiee bt an ienpe riot's necessity ; a necessity, in combating which much praise was due to the vigilance of Parliament, much credit attached to the enemies of Atiministre tion, much love and veneration to the Regent him. self. The great singularity of his own situation would, he feared, prevent the possibility of his doing jtistice to it. lie should be glad to have passed over the first words of the Speech, and in the course of it altogether follow what he was sure was the wish of the Regent, namely, to abstain from saying any thing to wound the feelings of his and their common father. (Hear, hear.) It was his greatest and most confideet hope, that they were now arrived at that period when unanimity mieht be expect ed; a period which more than any other clairned the pen= tection of Parliament. It would prove, he should hope, the commencement of peace amonet them, the date of thecessation of hostilities, the signal for the union of all parries, when one side of the House would offer its talent and its spirit, and the other carry an oblivion of ' all disputes into Tone common exertion for the service of the country. The speech sheaved them the necessity of that ttnion; it displayed,in faithful fea i ores, the situ ation of Great Britain. He should now content himself by g:ancing briefly at those. tooicks in itechich would of course hereafter become the subject of in ire mature discussion. The addition to our colonies be the c I pm: e of the islands of Bourben and A mhoyna, he w - asfartrom thinking inconsiderable. However, he dig not mean now to offer as a boast that we had taken much, when, we might have alm os t said before that we h a d tak en : , every thing. Wi t h respect to Sicily, and the f r ui t l e s s vaunting of the expedition to thatcountry s it might pee -1 haps contain an anal egy to the scheme of our own in vasitm. ' The defeat of the enemy seemed only to have inspired him w ith h ope ; an d w h en h is gun b oats v i e r s railed out on the future occasion for which he Was pee 'serving them, no doubt, our own shores would exhibit , that gallantry which our soidiers had evinced on a 1 foreign one. He now came to the affairs of the Pe , niastala ; and there, lie could say, without fear of con tradiction, that the plans of the enemy were completely imatrattd.-4 Thar, Hear, Hear.) —Comparing the state of Spain now with the state in which it stood at the commencement of the lest Session, it was plain that we had every thing to hope. The ambition or France was checked, her threats dieappointed,and her predictions falsified. The very organ which had before prtclestine e l the fall of empires, and too fatally verified ittepenphecy ofruin-aettiet very organ, the Moniteur of Piance, which appeared to have had the gift of inspi ration, and the power of decyphering the scroll of futurity, had proved at length its own fallacy in the groundless vaunt that not a single Englishman should quit the Peninsula. Wehad made no such boast; but the absence of boasting was not to be considered a s the result of depression. We had no grounds for depres sion. There was nothia epre3s us in the erstduct of the campaign, nothint the battle of Busace, irno thing in the bravery andpetriotism of the Portuguese army, (Hear), animated as they were by their own ar dour, and disciplined by the guidance of our officers. They had, indeed, a noble exar4le set them by the sol diery,as well -telly the Cornmender of the. British troops. Lord Welling" n had ernieently displayed, throughout hiscainpaign in the Peninsula, those qualities for which he had been bet'. ire celebrated; and developed, also, every military qualification, his possession of which had been before dnulred.— ( Hear, hear.) —He was the more anxious to say thus ninth on this subject, when he considered ehe delicacy of his situation who was to follow him in the debate. Pottugal, then, offered every hope, and surely Spain was not the sub ject cf despair—Spain, which had tirade such noble efforts when her treasure was ebselu.ely in the hands of her enemy, and her Legislature even at this mo ment blockaded by his armies. The, hype, cheering as was the prospect it held out to all, ought to be a subject ot congreulation, not only to the country hut to e':e administration : it justified their Views and their measures, and rescued them from a serious weight of responsibility. Nn doubt in such a strife , gle Spain must have suffered, but there was as little doubt that France had also se tiered deeply. It indeed he was asked, in what campaign the ei,emy had lost most, he should point to the 'present. Perhaps it would not he in his piover to offer the distinct and precise docnnients for his assertion ; hut still from ge neral reeteoning and perticular dates, it would be found that France had poured into the Pyrenees no less than 650,000 men. If he could m t immediately point out the parts of Spain in which they had been disposed of, his excuse was to be found in the nature of the country itself ; a country of which it has been said, that it was in possession of the French by day, and the Speniards by night. Not only, however, had Spain been benefited by our interference in her cause, notonly had our own character and country been elevated and ass i ste d—but all Europe, all the world, perhaps, par ticipated in its advantages. From what he now saw going on in the North of rirope, he had little besi ration in saying, that had it not been for Spain, the powers which wive now debating her policy might have been suffering M her thraldom. Petersbitreh itself, so far from being the extremity, would have been the centre of *French dominion. ( Hear, hear, hear.) He had but one observation pressed upon his mind by the consideration of America, and that was, that i slier the conduct of France should have been known there, end the doubts with respect to her vessels pro mulgated, we had every right ne expect a favourable termination to our present negociations. The view of o u r •commercial and financial concerns was, as represented by the Speech, with only one exceptioa, particularly prosperous. Such a circumstance. at all times consolatory, was now, when the war had taken a new turn, especially so. In such a con test as we were engaged, ensue i nstances of par tial failure, even in our maritime exertions, where we were most successful.-trust be looked for. But these were natural, and we must be prepareB 'for them: we must nct, at all events, allow them to cloud the prospect of aur generally Prow:roue situation," -. mv .: I • . .. .•• • . . • i i . - . ' . •• ,I , •'• •- ' • ' ~ • • • ' isiossteaoh . eih '4 -1-...w.... 1 ' • - "Z l 4 •. I r ir7 '• , —, - 1. -.- - - • - - S , . , . .1 . . . . . h 4. • s is- ‘h wee • .. 1 .. ..• , . , • s o t r •' *0 Thilic suer theii is deskOr ail Optalenett hi f yet haw ripidir piahlki credtt . 124 pnh le .;pt the promise Which fttotrity afferded us. The chantes . kites, reentered from the WA - mune ot ti)e tiros/ of our fatture were few, the proofi of our success tiwt. it rate the fitili•st con6denee, that the late fiiloree rifest; and h was now, not only our own interest, wo u ld not he }'pit hy ;he 'conviercial interest of or the interest of nth- :rllies, but th e inter et tit Einhepe, ke e l me. Let the Br;tish merchant le•ira to bra nay, of the evorld itself, for ahlich we Were contending. the celarnities wiiieli pressed upon him, when ho No doubt Perliettieut would cmiside • t ?sell bound by I saw how mud, move heavily they .pressed upon every tie to suppert such a wintest. 'He now cline So the enemy ;---when he saw the restrictione s on corn.: ,the lest le:tone of"the speech -- the reoneptioe of tee meree iitnileting not intik an ill -si ill, bit a resin. sceptre by hi, Majesty, under the ce:e of Preeineocei tetice,•whiCh in no long time high; force the sholi- Such a Cahrrilty as had hcfall_ti the Sovereign proved ; tion of the inti•commercial decree!. •He (M r ., W.) at lean owe thing whi c h m u st h e Aweraig and crietio- } would now tee• hid e s he w as sens ibl e o f the kie.dness Lion yto his heart ; he mearit, the tiiiel ditty and ne. and attention with which the If use had inditird him triolistti of his Heir Apparent. Perhaps at that vets la whet he h.d to Say. and wo ild not trespass on then moment hit p 'rental mind w.ts receiving from his sin father. He wergild only sav, th ,t the ch trecter of himself the enidirmation of his affection lan affectieu the Prince Regent, the ch hooter • f the times, and the which contributed to the hepelitess of the one, and spirit of tile Ii ewe. cetinterienced him, in ceiling fo r tonstioned the glory of the other. It would be also en iinanimeus Vote in favour of the address, which he his enviable lot to learn the sincere ardour of every had the litatoite Of secendine. other branch of his family ; :red orbited to that, every .On the queirinn being put, proof of the devotion and esteem of his larger family, Mr. PON4ONBY rose Hecnngretulated theGen the - tlesnen wh hid moved and s •conded the address, on The Honourable Gentlerreau then concluded by the very creditable manner in which they had virile moving an Address, which was, as usual, an echo to forward to tee House. It was not his (Mr. P.'s) int:a. the Speech. thin to animadvert on t iny thieg th it hid fallen fr.,rtt Mr. RICHARD WELLE•ItEIt agreed most them. There were some of their stetemt Ina in which filly with the Hon. Member who had gorie before he cordielly coincided. In every thing that was sei4 him, in the sincere and ardent prayer for the perfect of his Royal Highness, of hie fitneshfor the Govern.. , restoration of his Majesty, There was, however, in talent, and _fits personal merits, he (Mr. p0n...4m 0 y) the conduct of the Prince of Wales, an omen the 'mist would most hilly agree. He agreed with whet. was 1 favourable of his capability to discnarge every duty said, of the dirty of that Howie to five the fullest and of the arduous trust which had devolved on him, most efficient support to the Government et tree R,.,. 1 This omen 'was to be collecttei from his repestecl de- gent He (Mt. P.) would feohne, give his hest as. clarati,ms that he would leppott the rights of the sistenee to every nieasere brought forward by the Throne, and the interests of the people Such decla- Regent's advisers, to whteh he could conscientiously rations reflected the highest honour on his Royal give his support ; whereby could ni)t, he would refuse; Highness; and in saying so, he was sere this expres- it with pain. On the present occaslon e he had no idea i sion of his individual feeliiig was but the echo of the of making any formal opposition to the address lit public teice--(Thee, hear.) With respect to the one thing, he would agree to adopt not y merely the war in which we were engaged, although perhaps a sentiments of the address, but the words of the moves difference of opinion might have existed as to the and seconder. He rejoiced that it was intended to ;ty policy of its comme n cem ent , still Ilene could arise as conc ili at i on w i t h Ame r ica. As to that part of it which to the Propriety of its continuance. That war oh the respected Spain and Portugal, he wodld say a few parr of our enemy commenced tsbt for any particulat words, bin it was only that he might not be misunder, or circumscribed object, not for any political or ter- stood in voting for The Address. He would wish to be ritoriat acquisition, but for the avow I i purpose of looked on, as giving it his entire approbation in all its uprooting our establishrnents-r—not for the impoves parts . H e wis h ed to keep himself at liberty for the rishment of our allies, or the destruction of our corn: , discussion of those subjects at another period of the merce, but the total and indiscriminate subversion of session, when he could come 'to thein with better op those free institutions on which our present prosperity portunities, and particularly when he had the means and ultimate permanency was founded. It was at of coming to them with fuller information. He would those foundations of liberty which he aimed those make do further objection to the Address, Which ap. noble principles, which enabled the Powers of the peared to him so f rame d as to ta k e away ' all offen. Hanseatic League to cope wi t h any P ower in Eu- wee topics. The mover and seconder had with great rope, and the absence of which levelled then, it to a propriety avoided all that might produce altercation province of France— (Them, /ware hear.) We had in the debate, and he would not excite it now. He nothing to expect either fienourabl e or permanent I only wished that liis general opinion should not be in peace, until we reduced the strength of an !emisidered as precluding him from any future opi. I enemy who was impeihof by such a motive.-- i &on on an particular point which might be brought The reverses of the Spanish war had' not relaxed the ! into discussion—(Hoer.) Spanish spirit. When the French army overrun An- j Sir FR ANCIS BURDETT shortly said that it was dalusia up to the gates of Cadiz, and when the most not his intention to t a k e u p t h e t i me of d ie H ouse; b ut sanguine admirers of Sp a ni s h h ero i sm d espa i re d of : there were one or two topics on which heteould slightly the contest, it was suddenly revived- The Duke o( i touch hehire lie sat down. He seas ready to giee the Albuquerque saved:Cadiz, and the French were re e Prince Regent credit for the best intentions, but it was • pulsed. Bonaparte had tried all the expedients of his' to he lamented that he was placed in such a situation policy with the Spaniards; gentleness and severity 'as his p res en t one . A t t h e en d of three months des were used in their turn, and e q ua ll y w i t h out effect- ! bate and discussion, the country was left withotit the Every attempt to crush the pubitc spirit had been Constitution of England. .He (Sir Francis Burnett) 1 unavailing. The Spanish flying parties, which were i could have wished, that the Prince It id refined his at first punished as robbers, were at length acktinsto . resent situation. His net meeting the House on ledged as regular sindiers of a power at. war. Whet) this day, was a proof of his dissatisactien. After they were t. km prisoners, they unitorroly deserve! to ' raising one plientom, we had raised another, and ' the standard of their country. Next, let the eye be ! celled it A Regent ; we had made a Olrernor, with ttlowd Pt) the effect of British assistance. The Cortes I out entrusting to him the power of Government. Ile .had been assembled. The Spaniards were about to ! (Sir Francis Burdett) must further observe on a prat,. possess a Constitution according t o law. 'The ; tree which had crept in oniy within these few years, great Council of the Nation were assembled with the 1 and that was, not acquainting the Members of the stational confidence. It was of the most signal Im- House with the substence of the Speech, before they porteece to have the public spirit thus embodied into were called on for their votes upon it. As t:.e prat. a constititionel form. The Cortes had never uttered tice was now, they were called on suddenly to give a wcrd of submission. They reminded us of that an- their votes on the whole mass of the Address, contain. s• cient Roman Senate who sat in the calmness and ma- , log, as it did, topics of the most various and highest jesty of national deliberation, while an enemy was importance. No good reason could be assigned for .' under their walls. By British assistance the great this deviation titan the ancient mode. It was not ' meritime provinces of Merck and Gallicia were treed hi s (Sir Preecis Bordett's) intention to proceed from the enemy, and cherishing their force for fu- at that menient, under such circumstances, to cdnsi. ture efforts. The interior of Spain was foil of par. der the Address. He would move for an adjourn- . tizsn troops, who sometimes pushed their incursions ment until to-morrow, for the express purpose of tale. h to the gates of the Capital. What_ was the pro. ing time to consider the subject. He a (mid not, ' greys of the French arms in Portugal, after the however, ress the motion, if it did not meet the ap. nigh sounding proclamations of the French Court, probation of the 'louse. Tee not meetiag the Regent and of the Gener a l s on t h e f ront i ers ? Wh at were to-day, was to him (Sir Francis Burdett) an ev ident those promises ? The expulsien of the British from proof of his dissatisfaction with the Ministry who had the Peninsula, and the utter reduction of Spain a n d been forced upon him. The Regent would not ate. Portugal. What was th e hi s t or y ? In July, Marshal pear in pt:hlic with them. He would not be seen by fvffassena crossed the Coa ;in danu try he was 50 miles the House in company with them, Like the lull. from Lisbon. The march through Portugal, which crous scene in the 01.1 where Falstaff musters his re. was to have merely paraded the Imperial Eaeles cruits, and finds upon inspecting them, that they through the country, took up from July to Octoher• are such ragentuflins, such a pitiful scarecrow set, A month was then lingered away nefo i • e th e British that he could never march through Coventry at the liner. Did the enemy then advance to Lisbon ? No!' head of them.—(/4 . ton laughing.) Sr Francis Bur their march was a midnight retreat, closely followed deft then said, that he was called on for 1 - 1;, vote with ue by our army : their retreat was to a fortified po- out being given time for consideration. He then sitinn, where, he (Mr. Wellesley) might, say, they concl'ided by moving that the house should be ad. were blocked tip by the Pertuguesr mid British troops journed till to-morrow. dating the last two months. He (Mr. tVellesley) • Mr. LAMBE agreed with the mover and secon. would not attempt to dwell upon the merits of that I der of the address, that there were many points in it ohiccr, whom as an officer and a rel a tive he was bound on which the House might he called on for an una' to venerate ; hut it would be admitted, that he had at mous vote ; but there were also some on which most least conducted the compaign without dishonour to mature consideration would be proper and necessary. the British arms. He had defended a small country, From the manner in which the speech had been and little abundant in resoarces, for a longer time brought before them, no time was allowed fer ext t . than had teen eliotreir fer the subversion of the gieat minin g its topic:, and he could not give the only vote Continentel Govt tenients. There was another view h e ev e r wished to give, a coescientions vole, on such hi which the wee in the Peninsula ought to be taken. short contidcrition. As to the Nt h % concerning Si. The safety of the Penin s ul a wa s good for England. oily and Porto ;al, lie lied no hesitation in saying, that The balance of power was new,pertetps,unatteinable; it was on the part of the French the most lagging but it was highly important for us to have, doer 41 war which they had car r ied o n si nc e 1905, d ie t ter - Frar.cc, a great Power, strong l y h ost il e to h er ; and rible year, when despair first seized upon Europe.-- by principle, and by ancient prejudice, strongly lean- Their late progress bad been slow, but what was the ...- ing to Engiand.. He (Mr. Wellesley) would not a dd f reason ? In the first four years after that time, they any thing to what had be n said by his Hon. Friend had subverted the tour great empires of the Coinia (Mr. Milnes) on the subject of Sicily. As to Ame. I fleet. It was this that made their coaquests now few rico there was every proof of the disposition of Eng- and slew. Ile (Mr. Lanibe) hoped that, as now Wild to adjust tin: existi ng differen ces in the 'post there was no great foreign caharrew, :wide no expbcta. friendly manner; but it was to be cautiousiy pressed d n on o f a ny gre a t domestic one, the House would that the maritime greatness of England should not be I make use of the time which hacibeen granted to them, r made the price of the adjustment. If there was no- for attending to the internal state of the country, and thing in the aspect of our foreign affairs to excite des- mere pahticularly for ecouemising the public expendi. jsondency or despair, there was not more in our 'do. ture. Ile further hoped, that the papers relating to mestic situation. .1f there had beets some failures public monies would be laid upon the table at the in Mercantile speculations, these were scarcely more purliest prriod,•And•in the fullest manner possible, this fhiti were 'incidental to the spirit and enterprise of the Reptesentetives of the peopte might be enabled British> commerce; and when the House would re- to seem al:d akaseisse the espenilitere of the people's collect tits heavy salaruntics of 17W and 17/07, Attd money. . L fen. oor. . .