Star. — London, England, 1815-04-13 00:00:00

.~.T--- . the payment of the stipend and for the security of the person of Bonaparte. The French Government disclaimed the obligation of paying the allowance, and the English Government did not think themselvet at all obliged to take any care of Bonaparte. It was notorious, that long previous to the escape of that -Terri; A -variety of rumours had been circulated, anticipating such an event, and it would be strange indeed if none of these reports had come to the ems of Ministers, and still more stra n g e it hearin g of them, they had taken no steps in consequence. Con sidering-then, as he did, Ihat it was the original duty of this country to take the lead in all those measures to which he had referred; considering the gene ral conduct of the Ministers as highly reprehensi ble, impolitic, and improvident, and that many 'of their engagements could neither be fulfilled withcut injury, nor departed from without disgrace, he thought it his duty to move " That an humble Ad dress be presented to his Royal. Highness the Prince Regent, requesting that he would be •pleased to or der that copies or extracts of copies of any instruc tions sent by his Majesty's Government to any of the Naval Commanders relative to the care of Bona. pane, and also copies or extracts of any communi cations which had been made to Ministers relative to the intention of Bonaparte to escape Item the Isle ot Elbe, be laid before that House." Earl LIVERPOOL said, 'the Noble Marquis was pleased to speak of the Treaty by which Bonaparte had been put in a condition to escape from the Island of Elba, provided he chose to violate the 'frosty which stipulated fur his security, as it that Treaty bad never been heard of till the present hour ; whereas it was published in substance long since, and had doubtless been read by every man of common sense. He never h id heard any objection to the Treaty till now, respecting its principle; and even this had been discussed, article by article, so as to be a matter of public notoriety.—Nuble Lords would, however, do wisely to reflect that we were only qua lified accessaries to the Treaty. The only true ques tion was, whether Bonaparte was to be considered as a prisoner, or to be entrusted with his liberty ? Had the Allies considered him as their prisoner, in that case he was ready to admit that security was the ob. ject to be looked after. Had the securing of Bona parte beenthe leading object, he felt no difficulty in saying it might have been obtained. But it should be recollected that this security, such as it was, in cluded no common risk; it remained to be nego cieted at a time when, however fallen, all his Mar shals, with the exception of four, still adhered to him; when Bonaparte was not merely in possession of France, but also of the fortified place* in 9er many, Holland, and Italy ;•and when a &lee top. must have ruined us. It was for the Allied Powers to consider what could be prudently done. TO judge fairly of the questioa now before them, their Lord ships ought to endeavour to piece themselves in the aituat;on of the Sovereigns who were parties to it. Whether the person still called the Emperor of France was stationed at f,lba, or in Germany, or America, the same facilities of escape must * be afforded ; and could any man seriously believe, that Bonaparte would not have escaped from any country v.ieee be could devise the means ? This country wee not act ing in the capacity of gaoler to that iodivauel ; and it it was so acting, the whole tleee of England could not have kept him safe. He was aware that many persons thought the island of Elba was ill chosen, as placing Bonaparte within sight of .Italy, the theatre of his former triumphs, and where he was certain to meet with support ; yet he could not perceive that Italy afforded more facilities for escape than aey other spot. It was therefore ridiculous, it wes pre posterous, to state, that any provision, by way of Treaty, could have prevented his escape from the isltnd of Elba, supposing that he determined to at tempt it. Were their Lordships aware of the fact, that if the war with America was terminated, we could have no right to search a r hii.g vessel hi the Mediterranean ; so that we possessed not the power to prevent his escape. It was objected to us, net wit:mending, that we. had treated with him at ail ; but Noble Lords did not consider that the question was different, inasmuch as it referred not to any Treaty with llur n q.arte himself, but With his Mar shals, who still remained attached to him e and who refused to consent to any Treaty which liad not its foUndation in good frith towards their Chief, With the payment of Bonaparte's pension this country had nothing to do; yet he had no objection w state, that certain peoperty was assigned fur the purposes of the Treaty, and farther, that it was intended by the Go vernment of France, under all its difficulties, to fulfil this pledge. Reipecting the arrangements as to Verma, he should at present say nothing, since a fitter opportunity for explanation on this subject would scion offer, when, so far from shrinking from the duty thus imposed on him, he should be prepared to justily whatever had been done. The Noble Martinis would find, whenever that period was arrived, that he eever had aeviated from the princi ples of that illustrious Stetesnran (Mr. Pitt), wh st was understood lie his model.. He was . in terrogated as to ehether hi; Majesty's Government bad received inforinatiun of the escape of Bonaparte ; and lie experienced hot the 'rest difficulty in wiping, Out they knew nothing about ir, till the tact lit:Came ];down to eve; y one. Al arm' was created by shir e though no rational :nen, after the convulsions of the last 25 years, coeld soddenly expect peace. France was the seat of discontent ; but wetle lie said this, he believed that the' Majority of the people of Femur, excepting the military, were decidedly peace. Malcontents there doubtlese were hi Fret:Ke lt but. the great body of Gonstitiitionaliets were favourable to the Bouri,ons, in opposition to a militaiy despotior. If any blame cowed be imputed to the Allied Powers, it consisted in their not originally eriking the blow by *insisting on the detention and restraint of - 11 . 011 A. . pas te. He should not trouble their Lortfaiips farther than to remark, that recent events' had serve d to Make Noble L ecie wiser than hefere. • The Marquis of LANSDO'A N& was fearful of any new hope as to the, wisdom ot the *kosle Earl and his friends, when he considered the speech just delivered by the Noble ta' sal. The Nuble Earl had pompously clew:ll:rated the different garrisens of te em:tab wh:cO termed the-vieakneu cf BcnoPaite, who, at the "Treaty of For • itaiiileleau, had no' more th'an 2t6,004 mien upon eanioahe could . ely. ' 'At this epti e li . the Allies 144000' iii(antry end 30,600 o a e, ei e ; iLft sek cititctiuni:s a security against Le. naparte, the .root or tilt rail. As to Elba, wr might to have obtained a plat, of security ; we should have acceded to territory, we should have been *laded .with money, and never have given up the question of security. The situation of Elba just enabled him to contemrlate at leisure the 'theatre of his first con ' quests, and at any time to avail himself of his Italian popularity. But we might have provided a fleet sufficient to watch the Emperor of Elba, yet no such fleet was provided, no precaution taken. Bonaparte had, indeed, felt his ground ; be charged the viola. tion of the Treaty on the Allies,.by his Proclamation of the Bth of March last, and asserted that his pen. sion was withheld from him, that no indemnities were given to his wife and child, and that assassins were sent to penetrate the bosom of his retreat. With regard to the security of Europe, as connected with Bonaparte, it appeated to him that no just precaution has been taken ; and on these grounds he should sup. port the motion. Earl BATHURST was surprised to find Noble Lords now beginning to censure a Treaty, the in fraction of which only had opened their eyes, though it had positively been before them for several months. Misrepresentations were abroad on the subject of the Treaty of Fontainblcau. It was erroneous to say that Bonaparte was then in our power ; after the battle of Paris, he retained a considerable force ; and if treaty had been refused, and the Allies obliged to retreat, with a country rising upon them at every step, and all this had occurred in consequence of a refusal to negotiate on our part, what would Noble Lords op posite have then said as to the propriety of standing out for the security they now found it convenient to insist on ? It was not the army of Souk, nor of any single French Marshal, with which we had to con tend, it was the army of France that opposed us; and even the division of Marmont would not come in, ex cept on an understanding to secure the safety of Bo naparte. With respect to the stipulated payment to Bonaparte, as this country was never a party to it, he should consider it out of the question, The escape of Bonaparte ought as much to have been guarded against by our Allies as by us ; he was accustomed to cruize, and who was to discoier for what end ? In point of fact, however, no kind of preparation was necessary, nor was any preparation made by him ; he seized three merchantmen, which happened to touch at Elba, and embarked his troops.. Govern ment was charged with being well apprised of all this, by one Mr. Playfair, who stated he had great secrets to communicate; yet, after an interview, it was scarcely to be astertamed what that Gentleman aimed at, and whether he might not happen to prove a friend of Bonaparte I He wanted a passport for France on some errand or other, and this was the utmost to be collected from him. He believed that Government had acted %vial due circumspection in this case. Lard GRENVILLE.—After all our sacrifices, alter an expenditure that still weighed us down, and a profusion of blood poured out like water, after so• many- hopes alike desultory and delusive, England had a right to ask, Europe had a right to ask, what was the beneficial result ? In this new crisis of our fate, we had not (Goo forbid ! that we should be) been dt jected and dismayed ; omitting our duties be cause disanpointed in our hopes. Having cEscharged our duty by strengthening the arm of the Executive, in ar. Address to the Throne, it now became us, taking a retrospect of the past and anxiously looking to the future, to know whether our dangers might not have been averted, and peace as prudently pre served. After the reverses which Bonaparte suffered in Russia, after his subsequent defeats in Germany and France, there was every reason to expect that a permanent security would have been attained for Europe. tie had no hesitation in saying, that if the terms of the Treaty of Chatillon were such as he heard, and they had been agreed to by that country, lie should have given them his decided opposition whenever they were brought down to that Honse .(or hs approval, because he did not think they would have given the security which the successes of the Allies warranted them in expecting. Security result ing. from the exclusion of Bonaparte from France, Was the security required by the successes of the Allies, •inci if that security was not obtained, if Bona parte was not secured, the Allies failed in their efforts. —After the security was supposed to be obtained, we found this man re-assuming the Government of Feance, with all the same means which once made hint the scourge and terror of Europe. Therefore, hi contended, that all the promised security was done away, and that nothing was obtained. According to the description now given by the Noble Lord, it would appear as if Bonaparte was in a most fermi dable position at Fontainbleau—in a position to dic tate peace to the Allies. It might with much more propii.ty be said, that Souk in and Suchet were for midabie the South of France, where they were defeated. The army of Italy, the garrison of Hato. burgh, and other places, were mentioned as reasans to slim that Bonaparte was in . a forMidable state, whereas, these very garrisons constituted hii weak. ness. Could Bonaparte, with about 20 or 30.000 men, be formidable to an army of 250,000 belong.: in n ; to all the Powers who Were engaged in 014 great cause ? Was there any man who would say, that the arrangement of Fontainbleau was acquiesced in, because when it- was conimunicated to our Govern. ment, it was too lat.,- to be altered ? Then, in order to make an excuse for their negligence, the Ministers now gave Bonaparte a greater advantage than he himst-it thought he possessed. He was allowed to have his liberty and an independent Sovereignty. This was the manner in which he was now repro seined by Noble Lords; and this was made the ex. coo. for their negligclic. He fully admitted that tile 'Treaty would bear midi an interpretation ; and , it was the proof that could be given the folly and absurdity of this Treaty. He did imagine that the Treaty would be accounted fOr on the ground Chet sonic secret article had been agreed on, by which i i.s conserve:nos might be prevented. It had been i4id, Oat ivhen the Treaty was concluded, our Mini ver hastened to Paris to prevent its being carried into effect. What was the inference from this, but that tribseictioniof th e most milm&itoai fhipoitance took plaie wiibout the co•erration of England, which was wiipoied to have so iAlge a share in' what Was called . the deliver,nce of Europe—that the hii nisei Minister was tot itt hii pctstand that he was not even con. siihei lan • u ar:angeinent ir. snch magnitude ? Our GOveinnient then Was not a patty to' the Treaty of FontainMean. We bad a right; and we owed it to ilar ewe aignity, not to have maid asaTn o t meat of such magnitude to be compassed without concurrence t and Aven afterwards, measures might have been adopted by tir to prevent those dreadful evils which since took place. Bonaparte's retreat t o Elba might have been accompanied by such stiputa. dons and restrictions as should prevent his escape from Elba. It was said, that he was a Sovereign Prince, and ought not to be restrained.; yet directions were said to have been given to our Admiral to inter cepth responsibility ismoos and of ur ins n ol th v a in t g t Ad:i w ral orl w d o a u ga ld in re i s n t all the war. The Admiral had no - written instructions, and upon him was shifted the responsibility which ought nweaysertowldbe, l th o n a g t t t o h i a s g i r n e d a ep t Naval t O ffi so cer a House u tose have b F rriag a n av y France. c w e . i w liberty aasswe impossible to sail s a a n il e p fa ro ct o . i o n f th e e etoamiwp produce empire; tbeh w w a es P more allowed Elba glaring a an4l- m n a e n gli o g n en w ee ho of se Ministers exclusion th fro a l n th F i r s a verr nce. the peace and security of the world depended, was thus furnished with the means of doing the very many sv th g ywehairchh apd s w t h to rt , its had r a a d t e all now actually the t a exertions kea p o l a c f el For all these reasons he would support the motion. Lord MELVILLE observed, that there was no stipulation that Bonaparte should be confined or re strained in his personal liberty in the Isle of Elba.— Noble Lords argued as if Bonaparte was actually a prisoner, and should be confined at Form Ferrajo ; whereas no such thing was the case, and if such a thing had been attempted, it would have been con trary to the stipulations of the Treaty of Fontaill bleau. After he had been acknowledged Sovereign of Elba, it was impossible to restrain him, or prevent him from mating use of his vessel, or from sailing round his island, Suppose he had been sailing about for his amusement, would it have been fit for onr Admiral to go and seize him ? Nothing would have been more unwarrantable than to have givenin e bzsteruec lions to guard him in the island- It would have impossible to define beforehand all the items of the Treaty, and it would have been most unjust to throw on an Admiral the responsibility of guarding Bona parte in that island. The brig might hate sailed about any where, and it would even have been un warrantable to stop or detain that vessel. The Treaty would have authorises' the Officers to have prevented his escape, if it appeared to them that such a thing was intended; and it was on that principle the instruc tion alluded to was given; but they had no right to exercise a perpetual vigilance and restraint. The Marquis of BUCKINGHAM declared, that nothing could excuse the culpable and disgraceful ' negligence of Government in the whole of this trans.) action. Their blindness in agreeing to a Treaty which they themseives acknowledged to be incom patible with its object, and with the safety of Europe, exposed them to the condemnation of all mankind. It was not the conduct of the Allies, but of the Mi. nisters the House was now trying. He'asked, why should the Government of England suffer a Treaty to be acted upon to which they were not a party The pret&oled object of it was to secure the peace of Europe, and on what ground could they justify a conduct which completely frustrated this great ob ject I The disturber of Europe was placed in a si tuation in which he could, without difficulty, resume his former plans. He recollected the praises confer red on the Minister last year, and that he had even written over the door of his house—" the reward of perseverance." Every body now saw how his perse verance was rewarded. In the lame defence made by the Noble Lord who spoke last, he stitcd that no instructions had been given to the Admiral, but that there was an understanding that he was to act on his own responsibility. Nothing could be more shuffling or disgraceful than this conduct; and on this ground he would support the motion then before the House. Lord ABERDEEN sfid, a general idea had pre vailed among the Allies, that it by any extraordinary concurrence the army under Bonaparte had been cut off and himself destroyed, .it might produce such an irritation among the whole of the French troops, as must have bad a most unfavourable effect on the campaign. Besides, as the great wish of the Allies was to restore the B.iurbons to the Throne of France, they conceived it would be useful and even necessary to have an army in that country favourably disposed and in a good humour to receive them. A Noble Lord had made some severe remarks on the circum stance of our Plenipotentiary having been absent at the time when the Treaty of Fontaitibleau was agreed to, and declared that our country was degraded in consequence of the Alin having agreed to that act without our concurrence. Now the fact was, that the absence of the British Minister at the time had been occasioned by the events of the war; which obliged him to be separated at that particular time from the Allies. When Lord Castlereagh came to Paris, he found the Freaty had been made, and that the Emperor of Russia had pledged his word to the fulfilment of it ; and, under these circumstances, what could our Mi nister do He certainly did all in his power to pre vent its fulfilment. The object of the Allies was to remove Bonaparte from his Government, and not to Person- Before the hitter object could be effected, the French armies must have been in a very different situation from what they were in l c p i e di dr e e n a 6d sn fo fegwn de moment.theras, might that the e r fore havet h e ot i r en arisen e became , t tifraom been the i pres sing,fdoeul nady at the flute. • For his own part he had no intention to panegyrise r the T reaty idoc tt r ian o gn a d ta fot i rh n e b t l h e ree au ; it was a g s ason why it wi m e r e e r s r a e c t o o c st n hi h b c;l t u i witho ut t i w e o s a t. necessary to conclude the Treaty as speedily as pos sible ; but he could maws the house, that no notion whatever was entertained of a Secret Treaty. Lord GREY, so far from thinking Bonaparte was in a worse situation at present than he was in before he left France, quoted the authority of Marshal Marl most, who stated that he now bad 300,000 soldiers more than he had at the Treaty of Fontainbleau.— The Noble Earl (Aberdeen) had said he would not panegy rise the Treaty, but justified it as. aisilfffEr of 1 necessity. Was it a matter of necessity to conclude I that Treaty at 'a time when the allied forces had all the means of destroying Bonaparte's army ? And he would much rather have attempted that thin to try the experiment of putting the army tit goi:cl mour, in order to receive Louis XVIII. it was now admitted, that the Island of Elba was not a secure place for Bonip irte, and it was said that no Power could watch the island. But'wai that a r:ason %Qs ,y • I Moisten should hate taken no precautions whatever!. Was it to be supposed that he would not some time or other take the most favourable opportunity of suing to France or to Italy ?—and *Ny were n o r -proper measures taken to prevent this danger?— Ministers took no steps, they seemed wholly incliffw rent to public danger, and the House must see how far such men were qualified so conduct the affairs of this country. Under all the circumstances he cm ceived it impossible that the House could refuse . assent to the motion. The Earl of BUCKINGIISHIRE conceived to have been more the interest and duty of the lth! Government of France to have prevented Bonaparte', escape, than the duty of Enp,land, and France h:,d a Beet fully competent to do sq. Ad.feitir gtott e situation of Bonaparte, previous to the '1 feat) 0 Font ainbleau, he said it WAS by a very miaow chance indeed that he had brought himself into such a tuation as disabled him from preventing the march of the Allies to Paris. His object was to cut them off from their own counts Tht: Treaty w.is more to be considered as a military convention, than in any other light; and Lard Castlereagh felt, from the representations of Taileyrand, that the best tl.in4 he could do was to . ccele to it. It bad been sail that all the blood and treasure of this country Lad ben spent in van!. Let tle;f: who tiazarded Judi an opit.luii, liok ba..k to our efforts in Spain, and the &feels which those efforts had had upon the conduct of the Allies. The Earl of ROSSLYN wss clearly of opinion, that a much less force civil that which we had in the Mediterranean would have have bees std. dent to prevent the great danger in question ; it could not have restrained the individual from fining away in a haat or vessel; but if proper vigilance had been used, no military armament Could have salad from the island. On this ground he thought tht conduct of Government highly negligent and culpable, and he shod support 1;4 hic•tion, Their L.lrdships then d7v;e.- . 1 - . 7 -Contents, 21— Nur.•Contents, 53—MAjority,'32. The House adjourned at Half-past Elevca. *tOt'SE OF COMMONS. Sir J. MONTGOMERY presented a Petition front She Towr of Peebles, against the Scotch Jury Bill in its present form.— Urdere4 to lie on the table. Mr.ROB(N'iON moved, that the Haute should, on to-morrow, resolve itself i;4:0 a Committee on the SoutberoVilude Fuller) Mr. Wow, front the Custom-House, brought up an Account of all the Couon imported and exported to and from Great Bri le the year Int 1. The LORD ADVOCATE of SCOTLAND moved for has' to bring Ina Gill for the better Regulating the Judicial Record. of the Courts of Session In Scotland; also fc.r leave to loin:: It. a Bill to Regulate Madhouses In Scotland; and icr leave to lain, in a Bill to abolish inferior Commissary Courts in Scotland:— Leave being given, he brought In the several Bills, whith were read a first time,.4l ordered to be read it maxi unto. day _neat. Mt. I U tOODEN brought up the Report of the Irish Sugm Drawback Bill, which was received, and the Bill ordered to read a third time to-morrow. On the motion of Mr. V. FITZGERALD, the House weir into ; Comtuittee on the Acts relating to Prize Ships, w'sen was resolved, that Goods taken in Ptise ships may be tai.,-'. t- Ports in Ireland, and warehoused there.—Report to-rnurrow. The County Rate Bill was recommitte4, when several Rea lotions were agreed to, the Report was then received, and cl dered to be taken into consideration on Monday neat. The Highway Amendment Bill was read a second time, sal ordered to be read a third time on Wednesday'next. Mr. NEWMAN moved, that there be laid before the Hom du Amount of Exemptions grmited to Foreigners ur.Jer tr Property Tax Act, on funded and other Property, In use yea • 1513,1614, and 11115...-Ordered- Mr. WALLACE brought up a Bill to hnpower the Governs. of Ili.ita to alter, extend, mid dintir.lsh, the limits of the tom o' Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta, and to remove all pent ni n• being britisla subjects, if necessary, which was read a first rim and ordered to be read a second time on Monday next. The Greenland Fishery Bill went through a lommittee, obi several Renditions were agreed to.—Report to-morrow. SCOTCH JURY BILL. On the motion that the House resolve itself into 4 Committee on the Scotch Jury Bill, Sir S. ROMILLY rose—He said he did not meet to oppose the Bill ; it was one pregnant with the mo important advantages to the c,.,intry for which . was intended ; but he wished to make some obser‘ tions, and to give some information to the House c. the imperfect manner in which justice was admini tered in that country. According to the present sy tem of trying matters of tact in Scotland, the fac were ascertained with much more difficulty, and t! expence of trial was much wester than by 'frill t Jury ; for the evidence was taken by one set ot me: and decided on by another, who had no opportunit of knowing the manner in which witnesses gave the testimony. To this circumstance was to be attribute the frequent appeals which were made to the Heu: of Lords ; and to his knowledge several importat causes which depended on matter-of-fact evident were carried on for ten or twelve years, which, by t! Trial by Jury, would have been decided in less th 3 a month, He knew that the present Bill would t of the utmost advantage to Scotland, and be hop: it would also extend to England—he alluded to t!-.- great protraction of causes in Ecclesiastical Court and he hoped that no person would vote for this 13 who would not feel it hicumbent on him to exto some of its advantages to this country in the Co , to which he alluded. Many persons who washed • vote tor this Bill, thought that its great advantage Scotland would be the unanimity of the Jury did not think this would be its great advantage. 1 the first establishment of Juries, two things 1 ": sought for which he did nut 'think were alway , tamable, namely, that every Juior should come" tionslY give his opinion on the facts before him, that they should all be unanimous ; lie would entreat the House to consider the parts of the Ii which needed amendment, and that they would m4 l some clause by which the necessity of having the .1x unanimous may be clone away, as having it °Caen" would be productive of many personal inc3ms . niencies to Jurors. Mr. WM. DUNDAS defended the Bill and t, object of it ; at the same time, he said, he wol" pay the greatest respect to the conscientielis win+ ot the people of Scotland ; he would agree that the Jury could not come to an unanimous verdict twelve bouts, they should be dismissed from givin a verdict. The House then went into a Committee, and several Resolutions and Amendments were arce. tc, together with a clause introduced by Mr. ns<, by which it was enacted, a. That if the Jto did not come to an unanimous verdict in twel' hours, they should then be discharged and a iv trial had."...—k;epei t t to.mor T ow.—A djout tied . I i$