Star. — London, England, 1814-11-09 00:00:00

ide last year was certainly made in contemplation u! meats which must .happen, and which any child niit;ht Service s bat nothing of the kind was noticed. He had heard that there had been blunders in &Ilan- vat c.JcuL►tions; and there had been great depres. siuns or the funds, from expectations, as he was told, of a loin to be made this Session ; but up to this mo rn , at no kind of explanation had been given, nor could he suppose that he shoald be able to wring any from Ministers. The calling of Parliament had made the anticipations of the public foreboding and gloomy. Hellelseved it would appear, after all, that they were only called together for more money. He hoped before they parted, that a just sense of public decorous would prevail, and that they would be told whether that was thecase; and, if it were not so, for 'what other particular reasons they were assembled. Let the Chancellor of the Exchequer say manfully that he had been mistaken, or else say why, to the dismay 'of their constituents, they were all brought together. One topic of the speech, notwithstanding the mode ration of the Noble Mover, was touched upon so as to make it impossible for him to agree to it. They were called back tv ancient questions respecting the provocations our war with America, and were again called do to vote, that the whole blame ldy upon America, and that we were perfectly free from all that pressed upon our interests, upon the rights of humanity, on the hearts of those who loved free dom, and who hated the sight of two free natioits committed together in war. He would not weary the House by restating his former arguments • but his opinion on the subject was quite unchanged. He wished to reassert his original opinions, that be might be excluded from the number of those who threw the whsle blame of hostilities uptat America. He be. Leved the war mainly to arise from our own weak councils; but the great point was, what was our pre sera situation ? The Noble Lord, in his opening speech, said, that he knew that nothing had been omitted by u, to preserve peace. How did he know that? Would hetell what the rase was now—what we were fight ing for now ? Before we paid the price of the pre-' sent contest, let us know for what it is continued.— Were we now at war on a question of a boundary, or of impressment, or - of our maritime rights ? .11 for the lass, , let us knowinhethei it is a matter to be con sidered in Congress, and whether we require of Ame rica no more than we require of any other nation ? The Noble Lord referred to the whsle correspondence between Great Britain and America for evidence of nor pacific disposition. If so, he supposed he must refer,- of course, to that part of it carried, oa on our side by a Right Honourable Gentleman (Mrs Can ning)-whom he was really astonished not to see there AU night. He (Mr. Whitbread) had often told that Right Hon. Gentleman to his fact in that House, that his part•of thetorrapondence bore any other appear. ante than that of pacific sad conciliatory. He re peated, he was real!) astonished at that Gentleman's absence on such a discustion. • There was certainly nothing incredible in hothan We ; and it might be still more positively asserted that there was nothing so in political life ; yet he mutt confess, after all he had heard, that to him it req aire,f tie positive evi dence of the London Gazette befrre he. could believe what he had been toid. Nay, even that was sce..-.c , ly enough. Had he not seen his Majesty's ship thz .Le viathan, with the blue-peter ffyiag on Friday, to take oust the Ambassador to Lisbon, tit mold w't +eve -believed it possible that the Riot Honourable Gentleman would have been away that day on a discussion so very interesting. He. must say, bow. ever, that the Right Honourable Gentleman had made the Most ample and honcurable amen& to bir Rimier colleagues in Office. (Hear.) He had accepted a situation under those, who, on a former occasion, he had not deemed fit persons for him to advise with...(Hear ) •If he admired the amends , which his Excellency the Ambassador to Portugal had now made, he could not the less admire the se lection of the situation which ,e had chosen, or to which he had been appoitted. When he first heard of what was going fi rward, he thought it was possi ble that he (Mr. Canning) might be going to take the place of my Lord Castlereagh at the Congress at Vienna, who, it was rumoured in some quarters, was td return, to attend business in Parliament. He (Mr. W.) should have deprecated such an appointment, thinking, as he did, that the-Right Hon. Gentleman vas disqualified for concerns of difficult diplomacy. HE might have been deputed to Ghent to arrange matters with the Commissioners from America ; but to that appointment he. should also have felt serious objections. But to send the Right Hon. Gentleman where he was now sent, he could not see what impot tut services he could render. It might, however; be said, that where he was going he could do no harm. Certainly, in this view of it, the appointment was one of the happiest ever made. He could not have gone out to receive the Prince Regent of Portugal, if it were true that his Royal Highness did not intend to return to Lisbon for some months hence. Yet the Right Honourable Gentleman, now Ambassador at Lisbon, might find out the means of amusing him self there. He mi tt employ his leisure hours in re vising the pages of the Anti-jacobin, or in writing a poem to emulate Camoens, or as it was said of Bona, parte , and like Mr. Bubb Doddington, in writing imarnoirs of the great things of his own times—(las/h.) But-after all, why send an ambassador to Portugal, where no such a personage had been sent for more than a century past He (Mr. W.) had been told, that - once, when such an appointment was proposed to the Right Hon. Gentleman, then Minister for Foreign Affairs. he said, in his official character, that such an appointment would be improper. On another occa sion, too, he had heard that a similar proposition was made to him; and in a similar way refused—(Hear.) That the Right Hoe. Gentleman went there was not liana! ter at which he was displeased, -were it not at the public expense. Let him have all the powers :mil honours, and stikiend, attached to it from his for mer colleagues; and let him, as it was rumoured, on t.ed Prince Regent's arrival from the Brazils, be de corated with the red ribband, to receive his Royal Highness with grace ; but not so much at the public 4.:spotice—(Jaugh.) Government would have the full benefit of his correspondence; but then he went out, leaving all the great questions he had borne a part in, en the hands of others. The bullion question, for stance, he now left, not, it must be supposed with Jim Right Hon. Friend opposite (Mr. Huskisson), 444 naturally with the Chancellor of the Exchequer. rho question of the Catholics of Ireland he must be 41figed to have in the hands of the Earl of Liver. pool. All the other quo bouts of :greater or less hil ts/mance he left perhaps. Oa .the .case ofikreiendst called the Sidusourli part of ilWadrOilliantioll He was led to rennutaallatho American question by. the opener's speech. .He hasi,takea all the pains he could respecting it,. while yet coociliatery measures seemed open ; and had endeavoured, according to his weak abilities, to expose the, evils of that.corresen dence, which he thought would, and ultimately did lead to the pending hostilities. The mover and seconder, in dwelling on the war with America, had deplored the fall of a hero. He, too, deeply lamented his loss, not so much for his own sake. as he fell glo riously, as for his family and friends, and for his country. Yet he was Pot the only hero lost. Drum mond also had fallen. All must recollect that he fell in an act of the most heroic bravery, and died, cheer ing on his brave followers to the confl et. But with those who thought that such valuable blood might have been spared, how much more poignant must be the grief ? Instead of the praises bestowed on the ad-. ministration, he thought that they, and the Admiralty in particular deserved to have their conduct strictly in vestigated; for it appeared, primafacie,veryblameable. So far from thinking them able and skilful in their management, the whole commercial world arraigned the conduct of the naval war. Would any of the Lords of the Admiralty, if present, or their Secretary who represented them all, or any Right Hon. Gen tleman, gratuitously inform him on the subject of the, protection afforded by the Admiralty to fhe British trade ? When they were told that the blockade of the long line of American coast was not a mere nominal blockade, but an effectual one, why did they find Ame rican privateers coming forth in shoals unchastised ? Was our navy so quickly debased and powerless ? What ! with all the rest of the world off her hands— nothing to do in the bleditiirranean or in the Baltic —nothing in the north, or in the east, or in the south —nothing but America to deal with, and a flotilla as it was called, so contemptible as to be worthy only of our derision ; nay, when we were desired even not to imagine that America had a navy— r yet, had we not lost our ships of war and thousands of, our tra ders ? Remonstrance upon remonstrance had 'nee made to the Admiralty, and nothing had been re turned but the cold dry answer, that there was a suf. ficient force supplied. What means had we used on . the Lakes, where she had men, and ships, and strength, and valour, and activity ? We had, in deed, heard of our sending out frigates in frames to Quebec, to be sent up the rapids to be launched on the lakes. There was an instance of our total destitution of means and foresight. A Court martial was held on a gallant officer (Captain Bar clay) for want of success; and the Court Martial fully justified him in his attempt, and attributed his failure to the want of means. Some persons woeld scarcely look at the part of a newspaper or gazete where the name of America was mentioned, however important the subject. Captaio Barclay was tried in February last, in consequence of a letter of Sir James Yeo, wilt) cnisidtred his enterprize as injudicious; the Court thought otherwise, and attributed failure to wantiug natal equipments, which Sir James Yeo and . ethers bad not afforded. The sentence was pub lis.fed. he would ak whether Sir James Yeo had peen sir co called to account ? if not, where was the blame, iT it did not test with the Admiralty ? That seemed re br. tacitly admitted. Tt was then desirable and necessar) to enter upon a strict inquiry into the failures on the Lakes. During the last few weeks, great. blame had been thrown on an officer (Sir G. Prevost). An officer was never unsuccessfui, with out incurring great blame from some persona but he must desire those who expected miracles( and miracles, he admitted, had been wrought by the British army) to suspend their judgments until they knew circum stances better, before they condemned Sir George Prevost.-( Assent from the 'Treasary Burch.) — As to congratulations on the acquisition of Penobscot, he could not see how it tended to the termination of the war, or to the greater security of Canada. As to the question of boundary, it was the mere watchword for disputes, and the means of uniting the American States closer against us. It was a question, injudi cious, if ever introduced ; and if insisted upon, it would put the end of the war beyond any time rea sonably to be contemplated. The Speech advised by Ministers, and the speeches of the Mover and Se conder, dwelt on the affair at Washington as an ex ample producing deep impressions on the inhabitants. Did those who advised the speech mean such an im pression soa was favourable to this country, and to the return of peace ? Ike lamented that such a man as General Ross should have been obliged to be con cerned in acts sir discordant with all that we had lately heard cf, and praised on the continent of Eu. rope, so abhorrent to the usages of civilised warfare, so inconsistent with the character and attributes of great and generous nation, so much to be bared .!nd detested, unless compelled by circumstances difficult and painful to be imaginti. The effect was to con ciliate passions adverse to the American Government and reckoned friendly to us, to occasion the move ment of bodies of militia not before broUght forward, to pot in .the hands of Mr. Madison an additional weapon, to annihilate the remaining hopes of dis uniting and severing the States, which were ex. petted by some convulsion to check him and pre.,,, elude him from centinuing the war.— (Hear.)- -All were t.ow More liicely to be animated by re. venge, as well as by common interest; and the sen sation excited, to be the reverse of that held out in the speech. The evidence was before them. Every account from America tended to prove it. Even the Goth did not do this, when Belisarius told hits that to destroy the monuments of art was not the work of wisdom, but would be the erection of a monument to the folly of .the destroyers. It was said, that this was by way of retaliation for the destruction of vil lages on the Canadian frontier : but the Americans retaliate, and they say that their officers were brought to account for their improper conduct. One of them wait even dismissed without trial for suffering such improprieties. But was such retaliation fit for a great nation, as the destroying nt the works of art, the burn• ing of the Prcsident's Palace, the Capitol, and House of gepreseatatives; and, as the Americans say, pri .vgepilOge, contrary to the usages of war ? There was a remarkable mystery in these transactions of Sir Alexander Cochrane. He imputed no blame to Gs ' ncral Rot?, acting under his orders : but Sir Alex. nder ,Cochrane said, that at the request of General most, he came on a desolating warfare against the ,GovcrnMent and the inhabitants ; in consequence of atrocities committed by the enemy in Canada. Let the. Admiral make known these orders, and theh it will . become Sir G. Prevost to chew w:iy things were done so contrary to civilized usages, and in the teeth Of his own Procl AMR s. The correspondence of Sir A. Cochrane Aod.Mr.Mouroe was of the 2tith of August. On the 80th General Brisbane passed the frontier, vueral orders, enjoining, strict discipline, and repral to. private property, and publishiu t a procla moson,. that it was not ay ! ain.t the farmer, &c. that he made war. On the '2d of September Sir George Pre vost issued a procla:n..tion of a similar tf , striotion, stating that if the in::,,i;itants remained unarmed and at home they shouts' be protected, and that every vio lator should meet condign punishment. This was acting as a great Commander should act ; yet Sir A. Cochrane, professing to act under Sir G. Prevost's orders, carries fire and sword and desolation into the heart of America. He desired an enquiry into 'this, for it was inconsistent with our honour. We might have burned.the Capitol and Palace, stolen the Pi e sideut's plate, destroyed the tobacco, without any ap. parent result proportionate to the outrage. He hoped for enquiry, and that the Admiralty would give some account of their *newer to the merchants. He had been told that during the S,isnamer, an important mat ter had so engaged the Mini:thy as to disable them from attending to.A.'martig. A Civil Officer required a salute troth a'Naval Officer which he ~abtaioed, mad afterwards offered, him an indem ,nity tor doing so. This , grave. business took up the time of the Admiralty, as he was told, till at last the Secretat y was ordered to reprimand the Naval Officer for giving the salutation. Now, having ended that busin-ss, he hoped they would attend to the great concerns of the navy. He wouli not prejudge them more than Sir G. Prevost, but de manded enquiry. Respecting other parts of the ad drets there were some things palpable to all the world, and moch to be regretted. He thought the conduct of Lord Castlereagh, up to the Treaty of Paris, and after that period, with the exception of one instance (Norway), deserved the approbation of the country. —(Hear, hear.) He should not retract that opinion, nor would he now blame him ; he could not say he did not yet deserve it, but he could not shut his eyes to what was passing. Last session he had expressed his surprist at the strider making by some of the great Powers. He thenlsmented the apparent fate of Genoa. Austria had assumed the undisputed possession of Italy, and, by her proclamations, had made annexa tions which she called lasting. He had seen various other things which filled him with dissatisfaction, which augured future ill will, and impaired the lopes of permanent peace. He could have wished, atter whathad passed, that the governments had consider ed countries as the. propetty of their subjects, and not Oil( of certain families. He had hoped that the expe rience of misfortune would have improved their minds and mended their hearts, however cramped by educe. Lion, habits, ,or ignorance. He wondered still, that severe misfortunes had not taught them some huma nity and justice. It was true that they might try tri put it out of the heads of mankind—vain attempt I that such a thing as freedom exists. To one set of deputies it was said to have been answered, that republics were no longer in fashion, and that corn. pensatians and partitions must . be made to great kowers. If spch maxims. prevailed, freedom. would belast to the people, who would have no chance of acquiring it but to drive such sovereigns from their thrones. Saxony, it appeared, was in an unfeeling manner to be divided, and the larger part given to PiusSia; she was no longer to remain a Power. This was gross injustice to the Saxon people. What had they done? Saxony was the garden of Germany ; not only the garden of the human mind, but of hu man happiness. Where could they find such a happy people in Germany ? The very differences of telt eon did not interfere with it, though the Court was Roman Catholic and the people Protestant. It af forded a bright example of the benefits of toleration to greater States. What had the Elector, or the King, as he was called, done ? The other Kings of Bonaparte's making kept their titles and territories— What was the ontereace between the King of Saxony and the Emperor of Austria, or the Kings of Prussia, Bavaria, and Wurtemburg ? Prussia turned against Bonaparte first—then Austria—and, a little while before his final defeat, Bavaria; and this was a great cause of his overthrow, Saxony held to him longer. One might feel for one who could not quit, who count not give up the game. Bonaparte had his capital and his person to his last defeat : and on that ground only it appeared that the Saxon people were not to be considered. That House was almost the only place in the world in which a man could say any thing on the subject; but lie would say, that this would be an unprincipled partition, as bad as that of Poland, of which last, many wished for the resurrec tion and independence. There was a general feeling in favour of it, as essential to the restoration of the independence of Europe. It was mentioned, that one power was willing to restore it, if others would desist from their schemes of aggrandizement. All powers seemed disposed to be very magnanimous at the expense of others. But the Emperor of Russia was said to be willing to restore Poland, if Austria desisted from Italy, and Prussia ficim Germany. There liras, a fact which had lately transpired, which, he' thought, augured evil, and he was surprised nothing had been said about it. He believed, that if his present Majesty knew that he was made King of Hanover after the fashion of Bonaparte, nothing would more disgust him. He believedaliat that excellent person had nothing ntoie at heart than to keep all be could flee from Bonaparte's fashions. The reason assigned for this thew kiugly dignity was, because all the other Elec. torates were extinguished. How ? By Kings made by the late Emperor of France. Not one was left but Hanover. It was not said- 44 Let us descend from these mummeries of Bonaparte, and go back to our ancient dignities of Electors and Princes : let us , boast not of these novelties, but of the ancient blood and honours of the houses of Brunswick Lunenburg, kc. and take off the gay feathers of Bonaparte !" 44 No," says the Prince Regent, , s but I dress up my father in them !"--(llerir.)- 4, Like them, he shall be a King of Hanover !" And there was to be an arreadimuretit, too, of territory, which might involve important considerations to this waylay respecting future wars. This freak of making a King of Ha nover might lead to 'very serious consequences.— Genoa, it was rumoured, was to be extinguished ; Maria was to be augnaented. It was also rammed that Pawns ) tram arbom di, Allies had seltiaited !assigance—he d:d nor alluie to.annaiotte, but to a tnu"ehlteiiit:r associate of 13Onapirteere likely to meet with .no 'favourable return. The King of Naples was perhaps to be disregarded, because he .04 of lots origin, because he was a soldier of for. Ittrat,'Or perhaps because hisierVitory-was awkwardly .timited with respect tei . other nations whose Sfwe reigns were not equally vigtsentis and 'active. 84 subjects, however, were srr,lnkty attached to him. He had introduced many salutary reibrmations into his Stares, and thus, perhaps, his example was dr -night to present an obnoxious cuntr st to tither less 'en .. . lightened and neighbouri n g powers . Monarchs ought not to be magnanimous b y r halves—to be selfish in one quarter, and expect great sactihces or be made by others. One great Power must :lot ask for ag grandisement, nor another for arrondksement ; other wise there would be no peace, bat mutual jealousy and distrust. France might again wish to re-assert her conquests, and we might be plunged into another war, unless, indeed, Lord Castlereagh should be able to do what he no doubt wished to do, and should be able to adjust all these differences. To enable that Noble Lord to effect this gond, he should be strength ened by the voice of Parliament on this subject, as well as on the Slave Trade ; on which last subject be hoped, from the expressed feelings of this nation, and r from the known disposition of the Emperor of Russia, the most grateful results at f o r pending Congress.-- Mention was made of large arrears. Such an intima ' lion could not but excite wonder after so much blood ' lavished, so much glory acquired. It was to be la mented that much of this glorions exertion had been expended for the sale purpose of restoring to the throne of Spain 'the man who had learnt nothing horn misfortuede except ingratitude to his benefactors. No one could tee the persecution authorited by Fer• dinand, his attempts to stifle freedom and liberality of opinion, his violent proceedings against the best patriots of the country, without feeling deep indigna tion and disgust, without forming a momentary wish thatto such a government there might bra speedy end, though indeed that wish would b.: retracted t I.en the awful consequenees of such a procedure weie con. ternplated. It had been said that these calamities could not have happened, unless Ferdinand had been supported with money from Great Britain to subjugate his subjects. A wish had been expressed, that if a civil war in Spain should ensue, this country might not have to pal both sides : he heartily hoped that we should pay neither. Rumour goes that we had helped to support the despotic government of Spain. He trusted it was untrue : sure he was, that this country would never consent to purchase any trifling commer ciel advantage at the expence of the happiness of ano ther nation.—Oh! that Ferdlnand could hear the in- dignation of all mankind agaiost his uegriterous and despotic conduct. He had dragged the most upright deputies to prisons; they had acted with firmness; touch to their glory they had rejected with disdain the pardon that had been offtred to them, if. they would acknowledge that they bad acted wrong..— They had thrown back on their persecutors the charge Of misconduct, and had asserted that they them. selves had been the only true patriots and friends to Frdinand and their country. Gon grant. them towage to persevere in their manly determinations. They - had need of firmness, for death perhaps hung over theta under the renovated erwelties of the Inglis sition. One distinguished character had already pe thrhed : though fall of iatfirmities,• he had been torn from his bed to be culled to a dungeoli, and had ex pired before he reached his destined coetieement.— Mina (one of the most eminent of the patriots) had been forced to Ay to a foreign country : he had been 'arrested even there by the Ambassador of Ferdinand, lint Louis XVI 11. had honourably set him tree. Some of the patriots were refegeet, and some were abso lutely depending on the hospitality of this country.— The Spanish Government had the impudence to de mand that our Government would give up these de. pendents on our nation's honour ; but he was happy to say, that the demand was instantly rejected. But one circumstance had come to his ears, which, unless explained, would involve a serious charge against our Government. Two Spaniards had taken re fuge in Gibraltar, from the persecution of Go vernment : the offence of one sees, that he :iitd writ ten against the Inquisition ; the crime of the other was quite - unknown to himself or to any other person. rre Spanish Government had demanded the surrender of these two persons, and the Commander of Gibraltar had given them up. Here was a serious charge : let it be inquired into, or let it be disclaimed. He must now ask—whether, directly or indirectly, pecuniary assistance had been furnished to Ferdinand by our Government unknown to Parliament, to sup. putt him in his violent and despotic measures. Upon the whole, when he saw a restored Monarch making his country a victim to religious despotim,—when he saw the revival of the Inquisitien, and the resurrec tion of the Jesuits; and the plans of aggradisement which seemed to be adopted by most of the Allies, he confessed that he could not but fear that the results of the Congress would not be so conducive to the re pose of Europe as was fondly hoped. Such were his 'opinions on this state - of things, and, as an indepen dent Member of Parliament, lie did not think it right to let even the first day of the session pass, without giving utterance to his sentiments.— (Hear, hear.) The CHANCELLOR Qf the EXCHEQUER answered, that it would be highly improper in hint, as a Minister, to go over many of those topics which were extremely becoming in the mouth of the Hon. Gentleman, as an individual Member of Parliament. He would give information on such points as were consistent with his duty—and first, as to what related to his own department—The Honourable Gentls. man had asked if any pecuniary assistance had been given to Spain ? He could state, that no peculi.try aid had been given, except up to the amount of the subsidy for the Spanish troops serving under the Duke of Wellington—nor was any further aid to I.e given. With respect to the circumstances alleged to have happened at Gibraltar, he was at present Igno rant of the real state of the case : a lew days, how ever, would suffice for the inquiry, and he could, after that, give the necessary information to the Hous , . As to the war with America, he did n it wish to detail the causes of its origin, nor did tne speech makeitnecess sary: the address called upon the House-to do no mere, on this subject than what it had repeatedly acknowledge the justiie of this war. The Hon. Gentle. man had said, that the conduct of oar armies these would have been disgraceful to Goths and Vandals— . always painful to pursue a system of walla* rt