Star. — London, England, 1805-02-13 00:00:00

all idea of the . I;thiltly, and only flatei the ar-1 . - va rlam. eat and the fate of prizes at the grounds of' .. remonaeance. The 'Renee. therefore, on the fob ; jell of the fubfidy might fairly be regarded as an 4 abandonment of the principle, and on no pretencr ' , old it be afterwards alledged that it was the Of . tn of Government to make war on the ground of If blidies. Spain, be contended, was extremely fair i t her explanations, and it was evident that the an. law of that Government, in refped to Portugal, re. jetted the terms propofed by England. From the face of the correfpondence, therefore, it WAS evident that, in the month of May, we had abandoned all idea of a war with Spain on the grounds of the lublidy. Here then we came to the armament, and here the might on the fide of England was not to be denied, &mild the cafe be fufficiently made nut- But the probability was, that this armament was for the put. pofe for which it was Ita•cd. The: e were at lean good reafour for frying it was not intended again(' England. The Governor of Ferrol had Slated that its objed was a ferret commiflion, and here the report flopped ; whereas it ought to have added silo, in the words of the Governor, that the (hips were ant balfmanned, and therefore could give no nneatinefs to any power in Europe. It was not unlikely that the Governor of Ferrol would have told, as a mere cover to the real defign, that this armament was in tended to quell the rebellion in Ilifcay, had it been the intention of Spain in contravention to her former faith, to unite dusk (hips with the French fleet in any combined expedition again(' this country. That no fuch declaration was made, although nothing could have been more favourable to fuch defigns, mutt be attributed to the honed and ingenuous in tentions of the Court of Spain. That the objet was not immediately avowed, however true, might be attributed, on the other hand, .to an hone(' feeling, which was not by any means unnatural. The Court of Spain was not fortvard to avow that her fubjeds were in fuch a Rate of infurredion. Such an avowal was not immediately to have been expelled, unkfs it bad been to love fome unfair or intereßed object. In addition to this, the utter want of preparation in every other part of Spain was another proof that by • this partial armament She could have no Inch views of hoßility, as had been alledged—a want of prepa cation and a want of vigilance, in great indeed, that the capture of the frigates, though taken not ten leagues from their ow coati, was long before it was known to Them. The Right Hon. Gentleman denied alto that the mardi of troops by land was more eafy than conveyance by fee, and that therefore the latter mode, without frame good reafon, would not have been relined to. A few hours by tea might accom plifb this objeift, whereas feveral days might be ne. ,ceffary by land. He inveighed alto in pointed terms a Ilion the mode in which a Right Hon. Gentlem an the Chancellor of the Exchequer) bad availed him a re of a double argument, resulting from an inv er- Son of the quetlion. It was hardly fair, he thought, thus in make a monopoly of argument, and by no means logical to imprefr into his Service bath She ay guments for and againft.—The Right Hon. Gentle man had argued, that it was more for the interell r,f France that Spain finalist obferve the Treaty, than that (he Should be at war with this country, and therefore by being at war with Spain we defeated the Views of France ; but he did ,not Slop here, he ar. geed alfn that France, anxious to have the coarpe• ration of Spain in the war againft this country, bad induced Spain to adopt fuch meafurca as ren dered :he war unavoidable without any with fur ho. fiilities on our part. This mode of reafoning, he obferved, war quite irrefutable, as a man was fore • by fuch means to be always in the right. He objed ed, in Into, to the manner in which the negotiations had been can ied on. In point of policy he condemn. ed the war in a hich we had engaged. He tainted his Majelly's Minifiers had weighed the evils on the one band with the advantages on the other. The refources of France wete daily riling. The lots of 2,oco,ocicl. could not be to her a great obje6. So long as Iht cond. nued to have an armed force of five hundred thoufand men, (he mug continue to be formidable; and the addi tional expense to which the new war would put this country, mull be more than two millions of which France has been deprived, labile we had afforded a pretence to France to introduce troops into Spain, which might terminate in the dellrudion of that men narchy,and by this means tend to the aggrandizement of France, which it was to much our nuerea to pre vent. Was it j u t, he afked, at the fame time, thus to expofe the interefls of our ally, Portugal, and thus to enter into a war that was not jutlifird by circum /lances of the Strongest neccflity, without any regard to her protection or fafety ? The Honourable Gen tleman concluded with °braving, that it was rather curious that we Should break aoh Spain on account of the fubfirly of t nrn millions, while it was well known that Portugal had given soo,oool. to the fame power, as the purchal: of her neutrality, and we bad laid limiting abnut it. . Mr. HILEV ,AD . DINGTON fait!, it was not his intentino to have It:ell:aged this night upon the atten tion of the Hoafe, had it not been for the very able fpecch delivered by an Honourable Member who fpoke lasi but one (Mr. Banks), to every Sentiment of which he role to camels his moll hearty concur rence. He wilhed to offer a word or two, in anfteszr to what had fallen from an Hnnoitrable and Learn- ed Gentleman (Mr. %tine), who had opened this debate this eveitivg, and who in the conrfe of his fpeech, had petty clofely fol hwed the around that had been taker. by another Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Grey), in the debate of lad night. If he did not at tempt any anfwer to the arguments of the Hun. Gent Tiernan who Inolfpokin bit, he hoped it would not' be imputed to any want of perihnal refped on his part 'for that Hon. Gentleman ; but becaufe molt of thole arguments flood already refuted in the very able de bate of that night, end that he felt relndance in trea railing long upon the attention of the Houfe, while engaged in the difeutton of a topic on which fo many perfons of high talent and confideration were anal on; to deliver their fentiments. The Hon. and Learn ed Gentleman (Mr. Raine), to whofe arguments lie wilhed lhortly and principally to apply himfelf, had endeavoured to thew, by deductions from the Law of Nations, that his Ma)elty's Miniflers were utterly unitalitisk in the commencement of the ex ;fling hotlilities with Spain. He did not pretend to be competent to contend with the Honourable and ipon fo estenfive a topic as the ley, it fectual to requite but a very moderate Rime of plain fenfe, to draw from the maxims quoted by that Member, deduaions quite oppofite to thofe which he had made. He contend. ed. that upon every principle of common policy, common jultice, and common fenfe, the treaty of §t. Ildefonfo gave to Great Britain an unqueflinnable right to commence holtilities with Spain the very moment that the war had commenced with France. The Hon. and Learned Gentleman had laid, that immediately on that event, the molt decifive Reps &mid' have been taken to demand from Spain an explicit and categorical anfwer with relpea to her intentions and adherence to that treaty, and oblige her to declare the extent of the contingent the meant to faritilh. On this point, however, he totally dif fered front the Hon. and Learned Gentleman; for what fort of anfwer could be expected to filch a toralion, thus abruptly and precipitately prelfed upon Spain, at 1' critical a moment ; and with loch an implied menace of an holt& alternative ?CertainlY not an explicit anfwer, if Spain really intended to abide by the treaty to its Well extent ; but filch an anfwer as would have taught the Britifli Govern ment to believe, that the would ufe every expedient in her power to avoid compliance with the treaty, and to preferve that tranquillity with this country, which it was fo much her inclination and interell to maintain : that her Government wilhed to avoid aging up to the treaty : that they wifhed to gain time, in hop e of a favourable opportunity of affect ing their own independence. Such an explanation it was not probable the Britifh Miniltry could have re• faired to acknowledge rat the moment as fatisfaftory; ' any, therefore, we Should Rand precifcly on the fame ground as we did at the early part of the late nego ciatiun. The very clear and able manner in which the conduet of Coe Bridal Government, through the whole of this negotiation, flood vindicated in the debate of IA night, rendered it unnecelfary for him to trefrafs now on the attention of the Horde, by any additional argument to that purpofe. He was one of chafe whu had looked up with die mmoll an• xiety for the production of Chore papers, refpeeting the dircuffion with Spain, which had been laid before the Hunfe by his Majefly's Minillets ; and it was ' with the sitrnott plealure and fatisfetion he now 'avowed, that after the molt minute and attentive per. teal of thofe papers, he was co•ivinc : J, that through- i out the whole of this negnciation, the fame (pith of jrill:ce, of moderation, and forbearance ham every .difpolition to Matility, that had from the beginning marked the conduct of his Majett)'s Government to wards the Spanifit nation, had 11-en fupported, lo long as hoflilities were avoidable upon any grounds crinfißent With the honour or the fecnrity of Great Britain ; and he found on particular, that a letter had been, in the month of Maher, dilpatched by a Noble Friend of his, to the Britith Retident at Ma drid, which marked to the very latt moment that difieclination to holtility, that define of amity, and that fpirit of forbearance and moderation, which every with of policy, as well as the voice of huma nity called for ; and thus made one etFmt more, to avoid thole extremities which it mutt be the with of every wife and jail nation to prevent. Feeling, there fore, as he did, that the Ihitith tiovernment flood fully vindicated in the eyes of Europe from any condoift which could bt'ing upon her refponfibility of holtile extremities, he fhould nut trefrafs longer on the indulgence of the Houle, than by intreating it to paufe, and well confider the confequences, betore it would content to ado it the Amendment moved by an Honourable Gentleman LIR night, to the propof ed Addrefs to his Makfty ; which Amendment was only calculated to lower the dignity,. and humble the . fpidt of the national charafter, and unnerve the arm of every brave Soldier and failor employed in the wife of his country, by impreffing them with an idea, that the war, enforced by juflice and inevitable neceffity, was totowartnnted and dilhosourable, but which' it mull be the with of the Honfe, and of every true friend of the Britifh Empire, to fupport with vi gour and fpii it, till brought wan honourable and ad vantageous s termination. Dr. LAWRENCE Paid, that it was•his intention Jail night to have noticed, in a few fentaees. what had fallen from his learned 6iend (Sir Jnhn Nicholls). Had he done fo, at that pfiiod of the night, and ex. hautted as he and the Hook in general were, he Should have confined hitnfelf merely to two or three points which had been touched on by his Learned Friend. Having, however, this right witnefred the confident tone in which an Hon. Gentleman who fat betide him had addreffed the Honfe, in a fpeech almoft every word of which was built an bold and glaring rnifcon ception—when be heard it Rated that Government had aged throughout with humanity and moderation, yet with vigilance, alacrity and firmnefs; and there fore that Gentlemen were not to fatisfy themftives of - the truth of filch allegations, WI they Should damp the public fpirit, he felt I ' fv,lf called on to enter more at large into the fubjeet, and in the firß place to enquire if this was really the flotation of that Houle. that if Minillers chafe to plunge iron a war on unjuflifiable grounds, they were not entitled to enquire into the caufes of it, left in fo doing they Should damp the fpirit of the country ? Hillis was really fn, he Should with to be informed for what reafon they fat there, and what was the meaning of the bundles of papers in the hands of the Members, and lying on the table of the Houle? The cliftuffions by which this war had been preceded, were laid by thole who difapproved of the way in which he thought, to have been niark.al by uncommon forbear ,atom and, at the fame time, by vigour and energy. —There was, however, within the ha century, hur one war in which this country was engaged, in which .the integrity of Great Britain had beta quellioned,, • and that was a war againft Spain. From this very v eafirn ought we to have been particularly cautious of commencing hollilities againll her,unlefs on theclear ell and molt undeniable grounds, left our motives Ibould be queflinned. Spain was at the time to which he alluded a more powerful nation than the was at , prefent, and the more were we called on to guard againfl our integrity being fufpeeleol. When a coun try, Hite Spain, rich in pillage and weak in power, was about to engage in war with a powerful !late, it was natural to feel fufpicious that her riches and weakncl might have contributed to involve her in that fituatinn : and if fo, was it not for the honour of the country, drat the enures of the prefent conteß Should be invettigated, and our integrity ettablifhed ? When the haft treaty of peace was concluded, he had unequivocally flared as an objeetinn to the recogni tion of it the fubfittence of the defenfive treaties be 'Meta France, Holland, and Spain, and had fubrnit• ted how far, while fuch treaties exiled, we could, in 'cafe or a new war with France, regard thole other iewo powers as in a Rate of neutrality. 11Enifiers then made light of that objection, but they themfelves Ratted it in the beginning of the prefent dircufEon.— The Learned Gentleman then went through the dif ferent points which had formed the fuhjefts of difeuf lions in the courfe of the correfpondence, and con tended that on none of them had our Governtnent put things in fo clear and regular a Rate as to make them the legitimate fobjefts of war. By the wavering po licy of the late Adminifiration, or by their weaklier, and imbecility, or by what other name the prefent Mi niftees chore to term it, the country had unquefliona bly been placed in a difagreeable flotation. But had the prefent Miniftersextricated themfelves or the coun try out of it, cr had they not rather added to the am biguities and doubts which formerly elided, others of a more extraordinary and more fatal kind. Lord Hawkefbuty had, in his communications with the Spanifh Minifler, recognifed conventions or commu nications which were now Rated never to have had any exigence; and for the refult of explanations for which Mr. Frere had been referred by the Prince of Peace to M. Cevallos, Miniflers would n6w refer the Houle to a letter dated the day before Mr. Frere had Rated his intention of applying for the explana tion l at leaß, if not to be found in that letter, Mini- Rers did not know where !itch explanation was to be had. The quellion then which remained was,in what flotation the faith of the country Rood, in feizing on the Spanith (hips. without giving any intimation to that effect. and without any declaration of hollilities? It had been maintained by the Learned Gentleman on the other tide, that though no pofitive declaration of war had been made, there might be a conditional one. In illuthation of this opinion, the Learned Gentleman had referred to the inliance of a capture of Tome Spanilh (tips made by our fleets in the year i 755, before the declaration of war ; this, however ; was an at for which, by the ben informed and m'oft• learned men who are accuilomed to judge on matters of this kind, our Government of that day are highly cenfured, to ufe no harfher expreffion. The Learned Gentleman' ton had alluded to an embargo laid on at that time by the Spaniards on our (tips. He tithed the Learned Gentleman had read the words in which that embargo was noticed, as it would have (hewn that it took place fubfequent to the capture of the Spanith veffels by our fleet, and was Rated as being the rearms of laying on the embargo, declaring, at the fame time, that it would be impale ever after to trod u'on the eve of a war. This (hewed the danger of throwing thelmnam ef a country on extra ordinary rules of law; and the learned Gentleman would recoiled, that to rapport his argumerit.he molt have been able to fheW as many exceptions from the general rule, which the cafe he had cited could al6ne be confidcred, as would themfelves make a rule in favour of his argument. He would alto find that the author on whom he chit liy built as (Importing hia ideas cf the law, fpea'ks only, in the paffages alluded to by the Learned Gentleman, of extreme cafes, and in general lay? it down, But all people and all fovereigns of magnanimity will not wage a war which has not been declared." The Learned Gentleman, he hoped, would not will, to deprive this country or the fovereign of this country, of the charader of mag nanimity ; t h ough, indeed, he confeffed the opinions of the Learned gentleman, if taken to be the Ran dard by which their conclud was to be regulated, would have that effed in the fulleß pollible link of the exprellion. The MASTER of the ROLLS Paid, that he would par. by thole points, upon which fo much had been Paid by his Learned Friend, who had jut( fat down, and by other Gentlemen in the courfe of the debate, with refped to particular precepts of the law of nations, becaufe whatever decition might be made upon thole point% appeared to him quite immaterial to the queilion immediately before the Houle. The queßion now to confitier was not what was or was not a legitimate tante of war, but what was the fittet tion of this country with refpetst to Spain at the com mencement of the war with France, or what had been the conduit of Spain towards this country fince that period, and whether that conduit was fuch as to jut - - tify the courfe of proceeding which our Government had adopted, and particularly whether it furnithed a fair and pofitic•ground for their engaging in dired holtility? The remote caufe of the war, upon which tlte Houk was now called on to decide, was the Treaty of St. Ildefonfo, and the proximate caufe was the armaments which had taken place in the Spanifh ports, and the refidal of the Spaniflt Govern, meet to explain to us Certain poises refpcding which we had a right to demand a full and fatisfadory ex planation It was not denied, but on the contrary ex. prefsly admitted by the Gentlemen on the other fide that the Treaty of Ildefonfo furnithed an unquee tinnable ground of war. and how was that ground affeeted by any thing that had °centred fince f To afcettain this it became neeelfary to inquire, fiat, whether that ground had been weakened or aban-• doned by any mark of approbation, or acqttiefcence on our part in the terms of that Treaty ? fecondly," Whether any agreement had taken place to fulpend the etereile of our right to go to war, and what were the conditions of fuch agreement? thirdly, If loch agreement 'milted, whether its conditions had been violated ; and, if fo, what was the explanation re quired and received in confcquence of fuels viola tion ? That the Treaty of Ildefonfo was as unam• biguoully as words could exrefs an offen fi ve treaty, he thought, could not he queflioned for a mo ment. In the hillory of diplomacy he never heard of any thing more explicitly binding both the contrad ing parties to an unconditional offenfive co-t•peration. It was, in fait, much more decitive than the family tom alt—for , according to the Bth article , it pre cluded the party requiring the execution of le trey ty from any right whatever, even to inquire as to the caufe or olljta of the war, which called for the execution of thts treaty. It therefore clearly formed a jolt castle of way, but then there was a difference between the exiitence of a cattle of war, and a refolu tion to go to war ; and to this difference we attend ed. If we refolved on war. our right to commence it againa Spain was unimpeachable the moment our hottility with France began, without any previous declaration whatever. For there could be no equita ble obligation on us to giv e any notice of our inten tion to the Spanifh dovernment which was from that period virtually in a Rate of holtility with us.— If it were other wife the Spanith Government, and that of France alb°, would have had an silvan! .1:-. t over 115. Such was our right at the commencemc t of the French war, and that right he could not co , : ceive to be in the leall dtgree addled by the Ittbil,' ary treaty between. France and Spain. That tree .) . which was quite a Riatterof arrangement and cons) , tation between the parties, left us upon the fame for-. ing as before. Still, however, we declined to clot our rights, bemire we were rellrained by motives of policy from fuch exertion. We did not with to go r,. war with Spain. We did not feel a Spanifh war to he definable. Therefore, althoOgh we felt great doubt , of the poffibility that Spain could preferve a com plete neutrality with us while we were engaged in ow with Fiance, yet we determined to make the experi ment. This expetiment manifelted the benevolence o our Government even though the profpeft of force . to be derived from experienee of the former condo - of Spain was not at all encouraging. It had, indeee, been matter ofgteat doubt among out itotefinen wit. ther, fence the family comprd Spain coal, nit, z the commencement of war, between this country and France, long continue neutral ;-d-and ano ther very natural doubt antic out of this, whe ther we Ihould leave to Prance the choice of the period when it would fuit her intered bed to put an end to that neutrality, or elude that period which might be moth favourable to our own views. In the war of 1778 all probabilities concurred in in ducing our Minifters to fuppofe that Spain would not join with France against us; but yet, although fuck tuation was againit the palpable intereas of Spain, it did take place, and Minifters were cealured by the Members of Oppofition for being fo blind as to entertain for a moment a contrary calculation. Still this was a calculation of fame nature as that which the Memberr of the prefent Oppofition would urge the prefent Minifters to perlift in, thrtwithfland ing. the altered circtimitanceseif Spain and the mate rial difference between the obligations of the family • compat and that'of the Treaty of Ildefemfo. Gen tlemen had obferved that inarations fufficiently chf tine and decifive had not been fent to our Ambalfa. dor at Madrid, with refped to the condo& 'that he fhould purfue upon receiving an anfwer to the appli cation he was directed to make to the Spanifh Go vernment as to its intention refpelting the execution of this treaty. Bat he could conceive nothing more unfounded than that obfervation. -Mr. Prete was inhaled to afk the Spanifh Miniftry, whether they meant to execute the obligations of the Treaty' of .11- defonfo, and to what extent ? The anfwer he %mild. ' receive, he was to trandrit to this court, without . delivering any opinion fo the Spaniffi Knitter, as to die refaltitian which our Government Might be likely to take upon fuch anfwer. in fuch inaralions there was nothing fingular I on the-cautery, nothing was more cgrhnitni than to preferilie foeh a conduit to Ambaffadors. He recolletied ono hundred inflanees of limiter letters. To forbid the Ambaffador fruits forming' any detifion upon the anfwer he alight re ceive, could not bt fait( to be inittdition* i for the . conduit proper to be purfued upon fuck awfwer rhuft depend upon various cireornitances, of which Go vernment would he Molt competent to judge, and therefore Government was right in refitting to themielves the deeilion of that tubjeCt. In 176 t the initiations fent to our Arnbalfador at Madrid, were precifely limiter to thoft forwarded to Mr. Frere.— , When that Ambaffador was directed tdapply to the , Court of Spain for an explanation of the family' eompad, his °Me:. was to make no comment on the explanation he might receive, but to tranfersit it im- . mediately to this Court—and yet Lord Egremont, who gave thole orders, was never pronotinced an inefficient or unwife Statefman. Many other pre- , cedents of the fame defaiption could be cited to i warrant the courfe adopted with refped to the initiations to Mr. Frere, which the Gentlemen on , the other fide had fo much complained of for indeci• Iron. flowerer, it turned out that the anfwer re ceived by Mr. Frere was, that an application had been made by the French Government to Spain for pecuniary fuccours, in lieu of the (hipping and troops hipulated for in the Treaty of Ildefonfo. Upon this propofition, it teemed that an intimation was given to the Spanith Government that the concurrence of our Government mull depend on the amount of the propofed fuccours, and, from the fuldequent conni vance of this country in the payment of a certain fuccour to'France, he übferved that an argument was drawn which feemed to imply that a nation's declining at any time to ailed a right was tantamount to the aban donment of fuch right. This would be a molt • dangerous doctrine indeed ; for it would go to thio that a nation elsould in nn cafe take advantage of the operation of chances, that it fhould not delay tor any confederations of policy the affertion of a right. but at the rift; of toting the right altogether. With , refired to the nature of our connivance in the pay r , ment of the fubildy to France ; it was clearly under- k flood to red upon the performance of certain condi- tions or the Oft of Spain ; thofe were the ceitation •• of all armaments in the Spanills ports, and the p r n- • hihition - of the march of ail French troops throo;:!1 / tire Spanini territory. In rate of a arid conformi y ;. ' to thole condition!, and alto the prevention of the • vt. fate of prizes in the Spanifb ports, the Spaniard: ~i 4 were to enjoy the advantage of what he would cad .. a furpenfont of hoflilities, hill bearing in mind, that • i t we. never gave tip our original right of war. i: thofe conditions should not he fulfilled. TI ed f- ferent denominations given to the agreement were really of little conVpience. M. Cevalos c,,, ed • , it a Tieaty of Neutrality, althorigh Mr. Frcrc, ;.: : '1 t ) the letter of the tB•4 of February, prop , ,fi!!o .. ' ' I that agreement, defcribed it as a propofitioa ,:t ! fotbearance. M. Cevallos, in his anfwer to that ! .•- • to of the z7th of March, termed it a convention, • neutrality, but the name was immaterial if the erre , - 4. :- of the thing was ohCerved. There WAS, bowel. . Come difference in the contirudion of this agteem , • and upon that point the 'Learned Gentleman v , fpoke late would loin, that the conitration of t Spanifh Government ought to have been reee:v. but this he denied. To os, from whom the prop• tion originated, belonged the right of defining it. the Spanifh Government wifhed for a different : rangement, it was competent to them to propor but they could not alter the conaration of t' which we offered. Ours was a Coyle propoi; of forbearance open certain fpecified terms, butt: Spanilh Minifiry thought poper to term it a Con' tion of Neutrality. This term was, it was to be ! fumed, more grateful to them, and it would be r boos to quarrel with them about words. We I - Learned Gentleman, ui Lavr of Nations; howc,