Star. — London, England, 1808-02-23 00:00:00

L . ~.. 4 to form a judgment upon the facts to which hho ll' ele rc i. te d ; and though he was pretty generally ac ri•: e l he had not met with three Gentlemen who 11""--tesd dwin. The course, therefore, which he recommend was , thiiethey should be referred ,rnmini t tee. He did not care how that Com °4ll 1 . r 0 . 0 formed. He had no objection that the ridbro hers of the N oble Marquis should he Menn of , an d It shoul d b e appointed exclusively by lits ITOnourable Gentl emen on the T r easury Bench. lie itatters not e goo, the House could not enter into question, because he was connected 41.6ices s ion of the a variety of others Which required a detailed 4i- ioption. Th e q uestion before t h e House. was the b y•of the treaty y which the Nabob of .D ude ' cisdithroned and stript of his territory. But this no t a solitary i nstanc e of . this species of policy. /Is *tad co ncluded ma n y treaties of the same kind, eac h was referred to m his in struct i ons to his agents A m odel for the other. If, for example, they were : ta ke the whole of the territory of independent' ?T i n os, he referred them to. the Caruatic treaty as id e i s model, and if they were obliged to be satisfied' ‘ s ith only a part, they were to model themselves upon eNaizan ease. They eould not, therefore, decide ... an one trea ty without also taking into considera the model upon which it was formed. The jus tification of some of Ahem was .the perfidy of the p r ince who wa s dethroned, but would it be contended, t hat all the Princes who had fallen the victims of his e were equ ally perfidious ? An d if a g eneral as, was taken of the whole policy of his admini v;nsoth i shat light, he' would ask, was there to guide thomse ,in forming its decision ? Mr. Creevey w, tea t he opinion of the Court of Directors, as it q a vas se/pressed inprinted dispatch that had been which that Court, while it exp i r esses a üblished, in lgh consideration for the talents of Lord Wellesley, condemns in the most pointed terrns, the he ioneral ten laws; or of his adm inistration, as contrary to t existing 0 an o pen defiance of the authority of the Directors, and a s an attempt, on his part, to convert the Go eirnment Of India into a simple despotism. In the t ame dispatch the profusion of his expenditure is cen /wed, and the whole of his conduct to foreign powers 'incubated, as a departure from those principles of 'indention by which they were desirous that the Go wrnor-General should be actuated. Here the Ch a ncellor one he Exchequer called Mr. Clayey to order, upon t gr ound that at the open ing of a proceeding, instead of arguing upon matters of fact, he was bringing forward the opinions of those w ho were to be considered in the light of accusers. Dr. I.A.WRENCE on the other side contended, that his Honourable Friend .vas completely in order, becaose in stating his objections to the proceeding, it s•as certainly competent for him to mention the gmunds of these objections; and his reasons for thinking tlet a different sourc€ should be adopted. 'The Chancellor of the Exchequer asserted, that it US irregular to refer to opinions which were not be fon the House. The Speaker said that it w as unq nestionably com petent fur the Honourable Gentleman to state any rounds of obje c tion to the proceeding which had been m oved for. But he wished to know whether the Dis patch which the H onourable Gentleman was quoting, was among the Papers that had been moved for, and which the House had determined s hould not be pro duced ? If this was the case, he did not think the Ho nourable Gentleman regular in referring to it. Mr. WHITBREAD said, that it had been moved UT and tefused by a former Parliament, but not by the present. The Speaker then gave it as his opinion, that the Honourable Gentleman ought to be permitted to refer to it as a matter of public notoriety. Lord FOLKSTONE considered it as a very grange position, that his Honourable Friend should be debarred from giving a r eason in support of his opinion, merely because that reason had appeared in Mr. CREEVEY proceeded to read another part of the dispatch, in which the system a dopted.by the Marquis Wellesley, for extending the territory an t in creasing the revenuesof th e Company, was reprobaed as unjust, illegal, and impolitic. He contended, that u would be extremely rash for the House, in the face of an opinion sa decidedly pronounced by those who were the best judges of the subject, and with an una nimity almost unparalleled (this dispatch having been signed by twenty4hree out of twenty-four Directors) tb come to a decision with their present inadequate means of information, directly the reverse of this opi nion, which would be the effect of a resolution of ac quittal, passed in favour of Lord Wellesley. It ought to be considered too, that the very circumstance of the Marquis Cornwallis having been sent out to su persede Marquis Wellesley, then in the prime of life, in the Government of India, was a proof that a disap probation of his conduct was not cottfineki to the Court of Directors, but that Government likewise participated in it. It had been said, that any farther delay would be extremely hard towards Lord Wel inky. He admitted that it was hard upon Lord Wellesley. But was ther e not a .third party which likewise merited some consideration ? Would it 'not lse hard on the East India Company to be defrauded of their possessions, in consequence of his maladmi nistration ? or would it not be hard upon the coun trY if, in consequenc e of his measures, its Indian do. manor-; should be severed from it for ever ? What he wished was, that this question should be examined as all other Indian questions had been examined.— For if the Noble Marquis had during his administra aim, furnished more materials for discussion than any other Governor, it would scarcely be maintained, that, on that account, a decision shouldbe more speedily adop ted. He thought that one - of two expedients should • be recurred to, either that the House ought to follow' the same course that had been pursued in 1772 and 1782, and that a Committee ought in: he first place to be appointed tom ke a complete revision of the affairs a India, or tif Lord Welleslefs con duct was to be disci:ussed separately, that the evidence before them should be previously arranged by a Select Conunittee,so atto render it intelligible, which it was not in its present form. Were Parliament to come to a decision upon the conduct of that Noble person by this night's vote, be asserted that tlry would commit an act of injustice to the Noble Marquis, and that it ‘704 1 d. be wanting la its dutF both to itself and to the country ; and in proposing some farther delay, be fully expected the support of those Gentlemen wb w ho had not made themselve s masters of the papers, o, he wasconvinced,formed a large majority of the House. MINIIIINIMINIIIIIII. 1 . 1111 . 11111111 " m-- • •, • -• t - • Sir JOHN ANtigriturnEß, called tie attent4 geedinga Witt& hid been instituted by any ineceding, ofthe House to the prenit state of the proceedings. Pailiainent.' And when the 'P'LI - iod alluring which . tlfe Three Parliaments ago a charge had been brought praent signs had been pending was coereal; against Marquis Welle'siey, 'by an Honourable Gen- it certainly-did not a ff ord any reason for 'such a corn tleman who was no longer a Member of that House ; plaint, when it was coMpared with. the tim e that Was ill the evidenceriecessary for supporting the charge, Oeciipied with the proiecution either of-hfr. Hastings had beeremoved for and granted • an ingory had been or Lord Clive. Bat i!esti supposing that there he s t drill, ertged by the friends of the 'Noble Marquis--the been more delay than was necessary, this Was nu rea eharge • originally brought forward had been abaft. son Why the House ought to pass a premature and doned—but upon the papers that had been produced, .precipitateatecision. it be said, to be su that other accusations had been founded by a Noble*Lord, Members 'might havecarried the papers to the re, count and this night had been fixed for the House to pro- with them diring the recess ; but since Parliament 'pounce upon the justice or injustice of these accuse.- met there had been sitc'h a press of other busines as tions. Nothing had been said of any deficiency of completely to occupy their time. But even if s . h evidence, or any confusion of papers till_ about ten were chargeable with remissness, that was no reason days ago. He contended that the delay now proposed. why they now pass a judgment for Which they were was neither more nor less than an attempt to arrest the totally unprepared. In such circninstances an ac course of justice, in as far as the Marquis 'Wellesley was quittal would be no acquittal, and Condemnation concerned, for the purpose of entering into .a detailed would be no more than condemnation. He had made Oxamination of the affairs of India, and to blend two himself so far master of the subject as to have fornied subjects which were totally differentland distinct.— an opinion very unfavourable certainly to many parts The dispatch which had been read, ought to have no 'of the Noble hlarqu Administration, but what he more weight with the House than the opinion of 24 wished was, that some farther delay should be granted printers, and it would have been Only fair in the Ho- to those who had not made themselves masters of the nourable Gentleman when he read hi() the House, to subject.' He concluded with deprecating a hasty de have read also the answer to it which was made by .cision upon a question in Which the national character the Board of Controul, whose opinion he thought was was most deeply involved: Were the House by a fully as valuable upon such a question amenat of the vote this evening to give its sanctien to all the flagis ;Court of Directors. Upon the general its of the 'titans outrages which had been committed in India =Marquis Wellesley's Administration, he should be I against the rights of independent Princes, in violation ready to meet either the Honourable Gentleman, or I of all the principles of justice, houour, and good faith, 'any other person, when they came to be discussed. I he was afraid that, in the estimation of the world, „Eke present that question was not before the House, \ this country would stand chargeable with many of I And after the delay which had already taken place, he , those crimes which we had reprobated so much in 'thought the House could not consent to postpone 1 others, but of which we had in several recent in their decision uponthe particular and personal charges, '' stances, he was afraid, been too successful imitators. \ ,without committing an act of gross injustice to the 1 Mr. BRAGGE BATHURST said, that if the ,noble and distinguished individual whose character House was unprepared to decide upon the question was implicated in them. how, this want of preparation might be a good reason Mr. ROBERT THORNTON professed his de- for adjourning the debuts: to some future day, but it tided disapprobation most highly of many of the po- did nut appear to him fhat it flirnished ground for 'litical measures of the Noble Marquis, at ahe same instituting a new proceeding. In proposing to appoint time he wished that the. House -should decide upon i a Select Committee, one of two objects mast b: in view, \ the charges that had been brought against'him with 1 either that this Committee should. merely form an dispatch as well as with boldness. For this reason index to the papers, or that it should enter into an in he was against the a ppointment of a Committee,' be- vestigation of the whole affairs of India, and report cause that mode of proceeding would tend to post- thereupon to the House. But, in either case, what pone a decision which had already been too long de- security had they that those Gentlemen aVho had not wed. He animadverted with severity upon the back- read the papers in their presen wo,ll read wardness which had betel shewn lay some Gentlemen them after they were arranged, t e st a te, at they would at a certain period, to prosecute the charges which read the. report, which would probably be still more they had pledged themselves to institute, and alluded voluminous than the papers ? particularly to the coqduct of Mr. Sheridan, in de- Sir THOMAS TURTON exhorted the House not dining, while in the last administration, to bring to hurry a proceeding of suck importance. This was forward the Carriatic question, because he found that not a case in which a private person alone was iater it would not be agreeable to some of his colleagues. ested. It affected the rights of a .whole people, who ' His wish was, that the character of Lord Wellesley had no tribunal but this house to whom to apply for should be either cleared by vote of the House, or i justice. They had no friend but that house, and if that the censure should be passed uplm him which his i it slighted the appeal now made it forfeited its own conduct had merited. He denied that the Directors ! character and honour, 'and the Character and honour of the East India Company appeared as the accusers lof the country. At all events he trusted it was not of Lord Wellesley, but he o along with many of his ;meant to proceed to the consideration of the question colleagues, had disapproved of many of his. measures, to night. and it was necessary, in their own defence, that.they Sir SAMUEL ROMILLY admitted that justice to should state the grounds of this disapprobatien. the N9ble Marquis. required that no unnecessary delay Mr. S. LUSHINGTON contended, that the only' shquld take place.. Justice, however, could not be mode of doing justice either to Lord Wellesley, to the I done to him, and, what was of still higher import. \ injured natives of India, or to the character of the', ance to the national character, if the House came to British nation, was to institute a general inquiry into 1 a premature decision. A great deal had been said of all the measures of the Noble Marquis's. adminis- the number of Parliaments which had passed since the tmtion.. papers were. laid on the table ; let .it, however, be Mr. HALE said, that the impeachment which recollected, that there were many Members in had on former instances occupied the House sd the House who hacl sat there for not more t • han seven Public for so many years, had re fl ected no great cre- months, not one of whom, of 'course, had heard a dit.upon either. In the present instance, he should single word on the subject of these papers, which oppose any farther delay. could enable them to form any idea as to the.' facts Mr. S. IL LUSHINGTON also expressedhis bp i - which they were meant to substantiate ; and yet they neon, that the House ought to come to an immediate were riow called on to give a decision on.evidence of decision upon the question immediately concerning which they did not know the bearing. This was said Lord Wellesley. - • .tobe a question personal to the Noble Lord, but still Lord A. HAMILTON was not averse to a gene- it was no less a judicial question, and he had never ral inquiry into the affairs of India ; but in as far as • yet heard of any proceeding by which a fair result of \ Lord Wellesley was conce rn ed, he aid not see what such a question could be obtained, unless those who good would result from a Committee, for lie was were to judge of. it, were previously acquainted with afraid that those Members, . who had not made them- the facts . charged, and the nature of the defence.— \ selves masters of the papers in their present state, ' Was there a man in that House prepared.at the present would not read them after they were arranged,by .a moment to say, that he was reedy to come to a right C o m m . decision on the case ? He had, with great inconve- Mr. CHARLES GRANT was of .opinion, that nience to himself, gone through a considerable part the proposition for delay came too late. In reply to of these papers, and if . obliged to come to his decie the illation made by an Honourable Baronet (Sir John sion this night, he must give it against the Noble Anstruther) to the answer of the Board of Controul. 'Marquis, though he did not say, that in the mass of to the dispatch of the Directors, which had been quo- 1 evidence before the House, there might not be evi test by Mr. Creevey, he said, that a rejoinder had been dence in the Noble Marquis's favour, of which he made by the Directors to ld, the answer of that Board, was at present ignorant. He was of (pinion, that to and he hoped that the whole would be submitted to send the evidence to a Committee, to return a diges the consideration of the House. ' ted report of it to the House, would be . the only Mr. WINDHAM rising.amld a loud cry for the means of arriving at substantial justice. None, he , Qnestion, said, that he certainly should not be deter- was convinced, ought to desire this so anxiously as the red from delivering his sentiments or. this Jaccasion by friends of the Marquis, and nothing could be more any such cry, more•particularly as it was this impor- unsatisfactory than a premature decision. timity for the question which he was desirous to com- Sir A. WELLESLEY, as he had said on a for bat, and which he hoped to he able to do with some- mar night, left it to the House to decide how the busi what better argument than mere clamour. He con-. ness should be conducted. All he had to remark was, fessed however, that he had little to say on the pre l that , it was incumbent on the e ; ustice Of this House, sent occasion in addition to what he had stated on a. that they should come to a decion as early as possible. . . former evening. The question now before the House • Lord FOLKSTONE thought it quite possible to was, whether it would come to a decision now upona &aide ate Oude Question without entering into the subject of the greatest magnitude and importance, or general 'policy of Lord Wellesley's conduct in India, defer their decision till they were competent to judge and therefore he had preferred proceeding in the way \ of it ? If it was asked, why the House was not corn- , now proposed. 'He hoped, however, that it would not potent to decide upon it now, he would leave it t o be expected that he should proceed, at so late an hour every Gentleman to give an answer for himself. He • of the night, to bring forward the business. believed, that not one in twenty Members had read the Mr. H. SMITH deprecated going into the question Papers ; and if this was the case, 'it was a s ufficient to-night. reply to all that had been said on the opposite side.— 1 Sir FRANCIS BURDETT' said, as a great por- He •allowed that Marquis Wellesley was a man of , tion of the night had been spent one discussion which high rank, of considerable talents, and that his con- in no wise related to the merits the question, he duct had been arraigned ; but none of these circum- . hoped the Noble Lord ( F ol k sto n would withdraw stances was sufficient to counterbalance the material i his motion, or accede to the Amendment which he consideration of the incapacity of the tribunal in its I should propose, namely, instead of ~ now" to insert present state of inforrnation, to pass a decision upon ' the words " Tuesday se'nniglit... the charges which had been brought against him. I Mr. PERCEVAL thought it would .be sufficient The accusations which had been lodged against him 1 that the question were postponed till to-morrow. were what were incident to the lot of every.great man. I Lord FOLKSTONE acceded, and Sir F. Burdett They were taxes which greatness and distinction had ' withdrew his Amendment. to pay ; nor was tht Noble Marquis so destitute of 1 The gallery was then cleared, when the House di friends, or so run down in the world, that they bore 1 vided on the original motion, that the House do now upon him with any peculiar degree of weight. On the take the said Papers into consideration. —Ayes '2l0 — contrary, if his conduct was arraigned, it ought-to be ' Noes 34--Majonty 1'76. recollected, that it was in the nature of that conduct I The Debate was opened pro forma, while the gal. to beget friends. •He denied that there had peen any - lery was shut, and waa then adjourned (as we under this stand by.. =sent of Sir A. Wellesley) till Tuesday unnetessary delay. It was not fair in calculating to count the number of Parliaments since the subject se'nnight. was first introduced to notice, for the present Parlia. The other. Orden of the Day ware then disposed of, merit was not supposed to be acquainted with the pro- and the House adjourned. • . 11.....^ ...--_ •S^;'E P.IPERS. 11%1,0(3 Masc.-ryas •av rain iatift r ' i cos 1 -A nom nougassiWitialmigrirr, ru ntil;Alilfs tegit+ • bNr i IT.D STATF.g. • Dispatch from Lord Viscount Howick to the on. H . 'Erskine, datedDowninp atrest ,a t h January, 1607. SlR—Your dispatch No . 1, announcing }o or war, arri val at. Annapolis on board The As on sloop of wa's received here on the 6th of December, and, tc gether with Mr. Merry's dispatches, which were re ceived at the same time, has been laid before the 4ing. It is with great satisfaction that I inform you that the treaty of Amity, Navigation, and Commerce, be tween this country and the United States, teas signed on the 81st Ultimo. by Lords Holland and Auckland on the part of his Majesty. and by Messieurs Monroe and Pinckney on the part of their Government. Mr. Purviance, Secretary to-the American Lega tion here, who leaves London to-day, is the bearer of the treaty for ratification. I have, the honour here with to transmit a copy of this treaty for your infor mation, together with a copy of a note delivered pre vious to the signature, by the Lords Holland and Auc land, relative fo the complaints of the Canada mer chants, on the subject of the estiniatioa of the dutie s on the inland trade in certain parts of the United States. These complaints, which were communica ted by Mr. Merryin the early part of last year, but from various circumstances postponed for considera tion, certainly must not be lost si g ht of by his Majes ty's'Goverment, and every means will be taken to obtain redress for the removal of the inconvenience complained of. I transmit to you also the copy of another not e presented by their Lordships to the American Com missioners previously to the. signature f a the trations andreaty, on the subject of tile extraordinary • decl orders of the French Government issued at Berlin on the 16th November last. This note I must recom mend to your particular attention ; you • will state to the American Government, that his Majesty relies with confidence on their good sense and firmness in resisting pretensions, which, if suffered to take effect, must prove so destructive to the commerce of allneu tral nations..: • His Majesty has learnt, that the measures announ ced in the decree have arready in some instances been carried into execution by the privateers of the enemy, and there could be no doubt that his Majesty would have an indisputable right to exercise a just retalia tion. Neutral nations cannot indeed expect that the *King should-suffer the co mmerce of his bmit enemies to to • be carried.on throug h them, whilst they su the prohibition which France has decree d against the commerce of his Majesty's subjects. But though this right`of retaliation would unques tionably accrue to his jesty, yet his Majesty is un willing,- except in the last extremity, to have recourse to measures which must prove so distressing to all nat i o ns not engaged in t he war a g ainst France. . • His Majesty, _with that forbearance and modera tion which have at all times distinguished his conduct, has determined for the present to. cOnfin decided e himself to the exercise of th e p ower given him by his naval superiority, in such manner only as is autho rized by the acknowledged privileges of the law of nations, and has issued an order for preventing all commerce from port to port of his enemies, Conapre- , bending in this order, not only the ports of F cerance, but those of such na tions as, either in allianwith 'France, or subject to her durninioNtave, by measures of active offence, or by the exclusion of British ships, Taken a part in the present war. His Majesty feels an entire confidence, that the mo deration and justice of this conduct will be duly - • ap preciated by the U nited States ; and you will press to that Government, in the strongest terms, The regret his Majesty has experienced in being thus compelled, in kis own defence, to act in a manner which must prove in some degree embarrassing to the commerce of neutral nations ; and his /if • jesty's sincere desire to avoid any stronger measures, to which, however, if the injustice and aggression of his enemies 'should not be resisted by those nations whose r i g hts and interests are invaded by so flagrant a vio.• lawn of all public law, it may be ultimately neces sary for the King to have recourse. I am, with great truth and regard, Sir, & owlettc. (Signed) H. Honourable David Erskine. No. 2. Note from Lords Holland and Auckland to Messieurs Mon- • roe and Pinckney. The Undersigned , Henry Richard Vassal Lo rd Holland and William Lord - Auckland, Plenipoten tiaries of his Britannic Majesty, have the honour to inform James Monroe and Williamenc Pikney, coin ! m i s sioners extraordinary and plenipotntiaries of the United States of America, that they are now ready to proceed to the signature of the treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, on the articles of which. they have mutually agreed. But at the same time they have it in command from his Majesty to call t he attention of the Com missioners of the United States to some extraordinary proceed ings which have lately taken place on die Continent= of - Europe, and to communicate to them officially the sentiments of his Majesty's Government th ereu p on. The proceedings alluded to, are certain sued ra tio ns and orders of the F rench Government, isßer lin on '2lst of November last/ In these orders the French Government seeks to justify or palliate its own unjust pre she n sions, by ever im puting to Great Britain, principles w hi ch professed and practices which never existed. His Majesty is accused of a systematic and general disregard of the law of nations, recognized by civilized states, and more particularly of an w unwarrantable extension of the right of blockade ; whereas hiss uni Ma - jesty may confidently appeal to the world on hi form respect for neutral rights, and his general and sc rupulous adherence to the law of nations, without condescending to contrast his. conduct ` n om ese parti culars with that eof his enemy ; and iVegard to the only specific chage, it is notorious that he , ne ver declared any ports to be in a state of blockisis without allotting to that object a force sufficiait co. make the entrance into them manifestly dangerous. 1 By such aiegiions, turounded as are, the e n emy attempts to j ustif y his pretension s confiscat ing as lawful priza all produce of English industry or manufacture, though it be the property of neutrals; of excluding from his harbours,emy neutral vessel! which has touched at any port of his Majesty's domi uions, thottzh employed in an innocent commerce 1 Crum vii r, the red llt. CR ake Ta the lut cer.i Lon-cos co the ii ►de la and d ran° , made, the Acti was so Lion 14 g Of the ti tie then !ration_ iately uking Fapetsi [the Da 11% cone Wolk the go k:crii emen co 11 wvtv the AJ d of . by dife _ . . ic - h 1104 ord T 1 t iox ai ist gra Jued zip Papas )1e the, i peruidej' N