Star. — London, England, 1824-03-19 00:00:00

F ►:'4. w i e ffin rotes:kw netithlity, and highly. disrespect able to oth America, if her. Gbvernments agreed to i t . It was said, however, that Spain only wished, in doini this, to secure for herselicOmmercial advantages. y e s, brit what Would be the next abject? Why, merely t o raise money tarpaythat auxiliary army, which could no longer exist without it. Give Spain money and you give her the means of perpetuating oppression ; deny her money, and either the Spaniards will obtain their liberty, if they deserve it, or they will remain as they now are. The King of Spain, when leaving Port St. Mary's, declared to General Alava, thit there was no object .so near 'lnd dear to his heart as a general am nesty, and that the last thing he would cherish was any Vindictive re-action. Now, however, he was in the hands of France, and the system of proscription was un biended. He did not meat; to say that this Govern bent should go to war for the sake of Spain; but he leas lake satisfied that many in this country objected to the Spanish Constitution because they thought it too de- Inoctifical, and as likely to produce a revolution itv France, threatening the security of the House of Bour bon. He did not blame the Ministers of this country for not going to war ; but they should boldly denounce she, principle on which the war against Spain was un dertaken. The King of France was indebted for his throne to the Prince Regent of England; and the' Bri tish Government should tell France, that her efforts to subdue another nation's liberty, could not be silently tolerated. The Br itishGovernment, however, talked of their neutrality—neutrality they had determined upon; and from that very moment the ruffian band, called the Army of the Faith, was increased ; the treason of Mo rino, Ballasteros, and Abisbalfollowed, and despon dency was spread amongst the friends of a free Consti tution; public credit was destroyed, and the Spanish Government had not the means of paying the army, or throwing supplies into the garrisons. It was said that the Constitutionalists were a faction; but if they were, • they were a faction composed of the most amicable and enlightened men in Spain. There was another reason why they were entitled to our support: they were the friends of civil and religious liberty— ( Hear, hear). France, too, was so well aware of this, that it made the war a religious crusade. So felt the Church of France; they felt that the intolerant Church of Spain was in danger. The Constitutional party was not a fac tion. Why was the French army kept in Spain? The flag of despotism was flying in every quarter, yet still the army was kept there. • He admitted that the people of Spain had not made the ablest defence that a nation could have made in defence of their -liberties, but they must consider the circumstances under which that na tion was placeti; the formidable alliance against which they had to contend, and the trifling resources upon which they had to rely. He could not give a better description of Spain, of its state and constitution, than by stating briefly to the House the condition of Cadiz just before its surrender : Cadiz was considered, even in the times of the former war, to require a force of 25,000 men to defend it; now the whole force amounted to about 9,700 men. Not a • chevaux-de-frise was to be had : no provisions to be - procured, and in the Trea sury, the pay of :Le army on the day of surrender amounted to 15 dollars. Yet even on the day.of sur render there was no apprehension or alarm on the ,part of the people; they met the danger as it fitted men pro; pared for the worst, and there was no evidence, as there existed in reality no'apprehensionafor their fate. Let no man then supoose that there did not exist inthe Spanish people true feeling and courage. He hoped the Right Hon. Gentleman would be enabled to state to the House in what thedeiay in the evacuation of Spain originated. But cdfild hr tell the House that any reliance•was to be placed in the assertions of France? The praises so Un justly lavished upon the Duke d'Aagouleme were in his mind little merited. The House would remember that it was he who had given up to the scaffold the brave but unfortunate Riego—Riego, whose only crime was the vindication of his country ; and whose memory was charged with cruelty, which they never venturedto bring against him While living. And here - he should beg the attention*: the House to transactidns' with which he was permanally concerned. Not that he was desirous of shrinkingirom thetesponsibility of stating that part which he had acted in those scenes. When an attempt was made to strip him of the only remnant of honour left to him, as far as these Despots of Europe were concerned, it wa natural that his feelings should be some,. hat excited. It would be necessary for him to make a short statement, not with any vain or ostenta tious purpose, baktimply to describe the circumstances under which thesfhikaours were conferred on him. He described the various honours conferred upon him by the Sovereigns of Europe, and the brilliant exploits for which they had been assigned to him, and then asked for what injuries he had been deprived of these honours ? The Hon. Gentleman then described the situation ill which his children, his two female children, were placed by the. French Custom-house Officers. They were seized just as they entered the packet, and conveyed as cri- , urinals and searched, while the maid who accompanied them was not molested. For the conduct of the Right- Hon. Gentleman on that subject he merited what he shoulJever feel towards him, the greatest personal regard. Mr. LITTLETON observed, that he felt no dispo sition to deny the gallant conduct and distinguished spirit of the Honourable Officer who had just addressed them, and no ma,. Lad a more obvious right to assist Spain in her rem:. struggle. He was quite sure too, ; that in the inaptitude, and, indeed carelessness of liberty which Spain manifested, the Honourable Gentleman Was in no respect a 1,41: icipator, and that her degrada tion was to some extent stayed by his persevering efforts in the advancement of her liberties. He was sure that the House would not expect . him to follow the Noble Lord through hi; statement; his historical research sheaved industry indeed, but it seemed to him misap plied on this subject. It had no possible connexion with the present very .imple question—the occupation of Spain t and on the question of Spanish America his Right Honourable Friend had, four months before the American President's Speech was delivered, declared his sentiments, and the determination of England with respect to tho se pro .i nces; b ut h a d t hi s countr y any reasonable apprehension for jealousy ? He thought, en the contrary, that .if the - Right Honourable Gentle.. man were the bitterest enemy of France, he could not inflict agreater.punishment on her than by acq u iescing in the occupation of Spain. The liberties of England would never be affected by such an occupation. The Honourable Member moved an amendment to the fol lowing effect : a That this House, being satisfied of the firmness and sound Polity which have guided his Majesty's Councils in respect to the' 141 t hostilities between France and Spain, and considering t several conditions with which, his Majesty's declaration of nentralitr in that conical wet quaffed, sees nothing in the present circum , nacres that tent ;spec the House t 9 express any apprehension of a er guallent military wowed= of for Spanish territory by . Fiance." Mr. GOOCH seconded the amendment. tie-Agreed . with ..his llonore:able Friend - erho...spoke last, in the encomium that he had passed Upon the -gallant Officer; bnt.he resisted the motion of the Noble Lord, because he thought sufficient evidence . of its necessity had not been brought forward. He agreed with the Honour= able and gallant Officer in his hatred of the Holy i Alliance, and reprobated the unjustifiable system whichl sought to regulate the affairs of Spain by the introduc tion of foreign bayonets. The gallery was then ordered to be cleared for a division, amid cries of " Question!" Mr. Secretary CANNING rose, after the question had been put from the Chair, and while the gallery was clearing for the purpose of a' division. He had waited, he said, and naturally, until the very moment when the House was called on for its decision;, for he could scarcely persuade himself, that a motion, brought forward after such immense preparation, and a motion, to the effec tive pro-ecution of which one other hapless motion had already been sacrificed, was itself, in its turn, to be abandoned by all the accusto m ed supporters of the Noble Mover—(Hear, hear). He could hardly believe, seeing as he did before him a most considerable victim, who had, on a former night, been completely deserted— (Hear, and laughter)—and whose friends out of doors had given him as a reason for that desertion, that the great effort was to be made.upon a motion yet to come, and that it would not be prudent, by any previous dis play, to weaken the impression which was then to be produced (Hear, hear, and cries of NO— he really could scarcely be convinced, when he beheld and recollected these things, that the debate of the present night could have been about to close at the moment when he had taken it up ; and that not only the motion of the, Noble Lord was to go entirely unsupported, but such an amendment as that proposed by the Hon. Member for StafforJeAre suffered to pass without a struggle againstit. •But, - if he was surprised, he was not dissatisfied with the disposition-manifested by the House: fur it was impos sible to look at- the Noble Lord's motion by itself, or to considers it in any other light than as the last of a series —.no—he begged pardon—it was only the third, and it might not—(Laughter)—be the last—in which an at tempt had been made to take back something from the recorded approbation of the House. - He said from the recorded approbation of the House, and he thought lie might add, of the settled opinion of the country, in fa vour of the conduct of Government in the late contest between France and Spain— (Hear, hear). Twelve months back, when the first _great attack had been brought forward,it had been anticipated that thetriumph of those who put the Government upon its trial would bocomplete—(Hear). The debate was to be triumphant —not overpowering—but final. Hear, and laughter). All who had taken part, even slightly, in the impugned transaction, were to be swept away ; and for those pe culiarly responsible, their remains were not to be found —.their ashes to be collected by their friends—(Much laughter, and hear).. But hOW did the affair turn out ? Where was the victory and the song of joy ? Exitus 'ergo pis eat? ' 0 Hide blushing glory—hide Pultowa's day !" Never had rout - and overthrow been so complete (Laughter and great cheers). The records of Parlia ment afforded no example of defeat so unqualified—of - such utter ph/ligation of argument. In no age, at no period within the stretch of Parliamentary history, could any instance - bb" found of a failure so heavy ;or of any failure by a thtinsindth part so perfectly grievous and extensive, taking into account the comfortable anticipa tions' by which the er.zerprile had been ushered in— (Excessive laughter, and cheering). Upon that occasion (the first debate) the general policy of Government had received the approbation of the House. So far, there fore, as to the main'consideration, the question was at eta end. But in the course of the next Session, the war 'having concluded; it was thought that particular parts of the transaction might be selected, in which blame might, up to a ttertain point-, be fixed upon the Govern ment, without attacking--:.what would have. been in convenient,the &feral vote- of approbation : and on that occasion-a Noble Lord opposite (Lord Nugent), after bringing forward the 'question in the shape of *a most unreasonable- and untenable proposition, con "eyed in a most temperate and eloquent speech— (Hear, hear)—had been left in the deserted state to which he (M r. Canning) had already sufficiently adverted. The Noble Mover on the present evening had come for ward upon a second insulated point, and he, in spite of his Noble ally's fate, expected to make a considerable impression. But he (Mr. Canning) said again, that it bas impossible to view the Noble. Lord's proposition singly. The proposition was not that it was contrary to' the interests of this country that France should remain in possession of Spain. lii.that were the proposition, it would be a proposition self-evident—a proposition which no man could think of cbtitradicting—no man could suppose that it was the policy of England that France should remain in the permanent possession Of Spain ; but the preposition of therNoble Lord (Lord John Rus sell), taken fairly, tame tti this—that.when the House had come to the reSolution of deciding that it was not expedient for England, at the risk of compromising her neutrality, to prevent the war between France and Spain, it bad not contemplated a temporary occupation of-the latter country by the troops of the former. The ques tion then was, whether that occupation had been con ducted in such a spirit, or had continued for such a time, as to raise a fair presumption, on our parts, that it was meant for other purposes than those which were professed ; and if this could be made out, whether the Noble Lord opposite had a right to call upon the House for an expression of opinion upon the subject ; or whe ther, that fact not being made out, there was sufficient in the general proposition of she Noble Lord, applied not to the aspect of immediate circumstances, but to the received policy, ordinary con.luct, and probable views of France, whether there was sufficient in this state, to war rant him in calling upon the House for its interference ? Now the Honourable Member for Stafford had said,l and truly, that& the Noble Lord really thought that the occupation of Spain had continued longer than was consistent with the safety of England, he should have' moved, not for papers, as he had himself with' doing now, but, at once, for an Address to his Majesty, praying that he would call upon the King of France to' withdraw his army. But the Noble Lord set out by a course which was negative in itself. He began by say ing, "I will believe no assurances given by France," and concluded by desiring the Haase to get at those as• surances—(Hear, hear). Why lithe assurances were good for nothing, surely the'Ne;ble Lord ought to look tor some better security ; but, setting out by saying that nothing which was stated by _Fiance could be be lieved, he then fell short of his own inference, and was satisfied to stop with moving for French declarations. The question, however, was, whether the Noble Lord had laid a Parliamentary venni tias ef in question and he (Wfr. Canning) was any to argue the. point in any iithy—to suppoie either the existence of tech professions, or their non-exist :en". WOOld suppose Government to be in pos session of assurances from Prance that the occupation, of Spain wai to be given up at the first practicable mo ment ;_then, if those assurances were produced, the pobleLcird would Inbound to say he did not believe them. ' n the other hand, suppose such assurances not to ex ist, and . tuppose them not to exist because they had not been asked for—then, how did he (Mr. Canning) de fend himself? His defence was a short and a plain one. He said, that at the outset of the quarrel between France and Spain, this country had qualified her neutrality by three specific conditions. The first of them was that Portugal should not be attacked. The second was, that there should be no interference with South A me rica. The third was, that there should be no perma nent occupation of spain. And though th o• was no distinct declaration contained in the dispatches as to' what would be the consequence of any bre ich of these conditions, yet no man who was in the least degree versed in diplomatic affairs, would deny that it.. must have been fully understood that no vielatian of them Would be permitted by this country. For two, then, out of these three conditions, they were akeady virtually per formed. Portugal had not been moleqed, and South America was left untouched—for every one admitted the declarations of France ;i2on that last point to be sufficient. Then, if two of the 'French conditions had already been performed in course, what right had we to doubt the due performance of the third' " I say, Sir," continued the Right Honourable Gentleman; " that this gives. me a right to Lail on the House td repose con fidence in me, that the honour of the country will be carefully guarded as to the third condition; and I have a tight, Sir, to call on the House not to press forward a premature discussion. I think ti.ic. Sir, pa, ticularly be cause facts prove, and assurances prove, that France has no disposition to occupy Spain. 'I may he supposed,, when I declare it, a very weak man, ready to be duped by everybody; but I do declare, both as a Minister and an individual, that I am satisfied France is most anxious to give up the occupation. lam more satis fi ed of this being the case, than convinced of its propriety. If it were put into my hands to decide, I will not say that I should recommend to march the French.army out of Spain. The gallant General has asked, is France to re main •in possession of Spain till Ferdinand VII. gives free institutions to his subjects? I say, in one sense, would to GOD 'she might ; and, in another sense, Gon forbid, Sir, she should. I say, Sir, Gon forbid she should, because I look at the period to which the gallant General has alluded as far distant ; but I say, Sir, I wish' France may remain in the occupation of Spain till that country is more restored to order. Whatever there i. of peace in that torn and divided country, whatever there is of suspension of actual conflict, whatever there is of prevention Of all the horrors of civil war, is all owing, Sir, 1 am persuaded to French influence,,backed and supported by the French army"—(Hear, hear.) — lie desired not, however, to be misunderstood. He by no means intended to say—and Heaven forbid that he should say—that this fact redeemed France from the original sin Of her invasion —(Cheers). That question, however, was past; it stood in some s,. with the trans actions of former years. He did not defend the act he did not palliate It. He was against it upon every principle; and would resist it if it wet e to do again-- (kuch cheering). But events must judged of in some measure as they went on; and thus much he was bound to admit as an honest man—he did not heiieve that in the annals'of history there was any case of an in.- vading army—not a case even of a friendiy force in a foreign country, except it }'.'ere a force belonging to Great Britain—no other instance upon-record, in 'which either invaders; or allies, had themselves done so little mischief in a foreign State,and'prevented the cuing of so much—(Repeated cheers). The termination intended by France to her military occupation of Spain had all along been earlier than he cook; nave hoped for, and she stilt' intepded, if possible, to keep her day. With respect to the mode of the Occupancy,and even the seeming intento( it,he thought misapprehension in some quarters existed. An Honourable Member (Sir Robert Wilson) had adverted to the occupation of Cadiz ; and stated that Cadiz, to be useful as a military post, mast be cccupied by at least $5,900 men. Now, as it certainly was not occu pied by one-half that number, it would follow that it Could not be retained with a military view ; and, in .keuth, the political events connected with it—its having been a sort Of rival capital, and the point at which the Constitution was generated—would sufficiently explain its being occupied under the present system. In the same way with respect to Badajoz, there was a neces-, sity which explained the retention of it. The most emi nent General of the age had declared that he did not iconsider himself safe at Cadiz, unless he could hold Badajoz at the same time. But what was it that the French were doing in their occupation—in what way were they employing their influence ? Were they urging On the cruelties to which the party now having the ascendancy in Spain were but too much inclined? 'Were they fostering the gloomy vindictive prejudices 'Of the Monks, or exciting the blind fury of the popu lace? On the contrary, they were protecting the very people whom they had entered the country to subdue : lby a strange course of events, their whole si:uation and 'business in Spain had become changed. They had gone ;into the country to defend thelanaticalparty against the Conititutionalists; and now they were actually interfer ,ing for the Constitutional party with the fanatics. How long this system was to last, he (Mr.Canniog) did not know. Only a fortnight back, be had-hoped for its eAt ly rtermination ; but every successive post since had lessened that expectation. Of this, however, he did entertain the most decided conviction—that, whenever the time came that Spain might be left to herself with safety, France would be as much pleased in the prospect of withdraw ing her troops, as England could possibly be at seeing her evacuate the trauma y. lie should now come, then, shortly, to the objection which had been taken to the mode in which the neutrality of this country had been conducted. Neutrality, he trusted, had strictly been peeierved, but the preservation of it bad not been al together so easy as might be supposed; and it was worth while to observe, that some difficulties had been thrown in its way by those who were among .the most arde t sticklers for its Maiatenance—(Hear, Lear). —If two heads of families agreed with each 'other upon any course, and any of the inernberh of either of those fami lies chose to take measures' hi oppositift io the agree ment detided on, would not the - leading party, whose friends had thought it right to do this, be compelled to go a littlefarther, perhaps, than he would have otherwise 'done, in order to acquit himself of possible suspicion ? t` No man (Continae3 Mt. Canning) in this House could have heterd with morstrespect and sympathy than myself ,tom speoth of the Honourable—l will call him my •r , _ . , fionottrable and gallant Friend ; for iff aiiitiiionizelitde its efeittit, 14_ tlisaYew the Senthitenta of 'kindliest:4ra itigitrd t Mott always . 'entertained for .him";=.4Cheer4. But, ridaiat Meaning to cast the slightest rellectiso upob my Ho notirable and gallant Friend, I must tinny .him, that amongst the many difficulties which the Government has had to encounter, he individually was one of the greatest impedithents to the observance of a strict nett trality. My flonourable and gallant Friend fcrmetfin himself no small breach of neutrality, but I can assure the Haase that the Noble Lord opposite (Lord Nugent) was a most enormous breach !—(Roars of laughter). I well know how strange it may appear in those times of modern liberty to direct the attention of the House to authorities which may be considered obsolete ; but i should wi:h to read to the House an extract from the 'writings of an eminent author on the law of nations; and in &thief wish to apprize them that it is not a 8 d .,. kershoek. It may, be necessary that I should explain what I mean by a Bynkershoek. I remember that some few years back, a very important discussion took place in this House, upon which occasion my Honourable and Learned Friend opposite (Sir James - Mackintosh) quoted, in auppert of the anpinions he advocated, the authority of Bynkershoek, and I recollect I was very anxious to discover whether the favourite autluir of my Learned Friend was speaking the sentiments of the States of Holland, to which he was Secretary, or was delivering his own abstract opinions. However, in some short time after, r laid my hands upon the work, and, to my utter astonishment, found that they were merely the opinions of the writer, and that the practice of the States to which he was Secretary was quite the other way—(hear, hear). So that afterwards, whenever any principle -was stated from the ooposire side of the House at variance with th e i r own practi ce, the custom was to calrit a Bynker..hock—(Much laughter). The eminent Jurist whom he intended to quote on the present occasion was Vette', who says, " As nature has given to men the right of using force, only when it becomes necessary for their defence, and the preser vatiori of -their rights, she inference is manifest, that since the. establishment of political societies, a right so darigerouslskits exercise no longer remains with private persons, except- in those kind of tencontres where society cannot protect or defend them. In the bosom of si •ciety, public authority decides all the differences of the citizens, Sepresses • violente, and checks the insult of revenge. If a private person intends to prosecute his right against the subjtct of a foreign Power, he nay apply to the Sovereign of his adversary, or to tbe.Magistrates in vested with public authority ; and if he is denied justice by them, he is to have recourse to his proper Soveteign, who is obliged to protect him. It would be too danger ous to give every citizen the liberty of doing himself justice against foreigners, as every individual of a nation might involve it in a war. And how could peace be preserved between nations, if it was in the power of. every man to disturb it ? A right of so great moment, the right of judging whether a nation has a real cause of complaint; whether its case allows of using force, and having recourse to arms; whether prudence ad mits, and whether the welfare of the State demands it : -this right, I say, can only belong to the body of the nation, or to the Sovereign, its representative"—(Hear, hear ! ) In other times, I should not have felt it necessary to support this opinion , by reference to authority ; but it . was satisfactory to be able to pro duce authority when the principle is disputed.- 1 4 10.‘Y, it beirg recolleEted that both the Sove;eigu of Eriglatid and -the body , of the English nation had de cided absolutely for neutrality with France, let the No ble Lord opposite put himself for a moment in the situa ? tion of that foreign Power when she heard that a distin guished individual from England had landed on the coast , of Spain, announcing the prompt arrival ofan array of 10,000 men,--(Hear). It would be answered that the men never did arrive—(Laughter). Why he (Mr. Cana. nlng) knew that; but it was riot quite so certain that the French Government could be assured of it. Indeed the effect of the statement had been to draw the war to that part of the country in 'which it had been put forth. As a blister put upon the foot drew the humours to that point from other parts of the body, so the landing of the gallant individual in question had drawn the contest to the quarter in which he appeared—(Hear, hear, and ktughter). He gave full credit to the gallant Gentle. man in question for his spirited exposure of both fortune and person ; for the determination with which he acted upon his opinions and pi inciples, and the free expenditure he was always ready to make of his personarsecurity.— But it was the duty of Government to look at matters with other eyes than the eye of an individual. He (Mr. Canning) felt, as regarded the pledge of England, what it was that the gallant Member was doing; and, if France did not remonstrate, there was only the more need for this country to disavow—(Hear, ear). Then every word of disavowal so uttered, let it be recollected, was pro tanto a humiliation—(Hear). It was saying at least that we had something to apologize for—( Hear.) And yet Honourable Gentlemen complained th4t Go. vernment had not maintained a suffiCiently high tone ! It was not very easy, they must be told, to bluster in one tone, while we had to extenuate in another—(Cheering). Under the circumstances, he had felt it necessary to write to Sir Charles Stuart, stating that he could not dis avow in terms too strong, both for the Government and personally for every Membet of it, all connection with, or approval of the enterprize of the Hon: and gallant Gen tleman. He had been compelled particularly to make this abjuration with iespect to the individuals connected with the Government, because the Hon.*Gentleman had happened to send out his first dispatches to Cot unna under his (Mr. Canning't) frank. That measure had of course secured their safety. He had feltit incumbent upon him most distinctly to disavow what the gallant Gentleman was doing; and Inc had done so.. (Here the Right Honourable Gentleman read an extract from a letter to Sir Charles Stuart, in which he had desired the disavowal in point to be made.) At the same time, he had stated that the service of volunteers was not unau thorized by the law of nations, and that it did rof expose the individuals rendering it to any penalty : arc Honourable Gentleman world Etc, therefore, ti at al though he had been compelled to disclaim his measures, he had not been unobservant of his interests—(!/car). The Hon. Gentleman, however, was not the only per s who had helped to place the, Government in this predicament, though other persons, who had deporti d themselves with behaviour, had not reduced Mi nisters to the necessity of making excuses; for at the time that he, with that generous' prodigality of his ser vices which he had lavished upon a cause not quite de serving ol it, was paying the penalty . of his gallantly add courage in one quarter, there arose in another quar ter of that country another luminary,, who, though he Wright not have addressed himself to the state of, the euturtry with as much military cEect as the Hon. Gentle- L , 71 _ 1 S 1 is ), 4 4 1 t i .;* Ail . '