The National Register. — London, England, 1816-02-18 00:00:00

FEII.IS. th e North Amerlvan coast, and nu the African the same stria shoo as in the last pence. With respect to our home station, there would be nine small vessels, in addition, for the purpose of protecting the revenue against omugeleri. Circumstances would call fur a larger number of men to man these vessels, .rhich, in point of site, had been increased from YR and :l_ gen frigates to 30 and 38. It was also intended to retain the 4th disision of marines, which, with the increased complement of stamen, would make a total increase of men Of .XMO. This was ow ing to the great increase and growing prosperity of our foreign trade. It was mider•tood that the permanent Peace Establishment was to be 23,000, which number was less than at the clo•e of any preceding war. The sate, which however he should now call for, was 33,0:d, from the circumstances he lad "just stated. He had to claim credit of the House for the Board of Admiralty, for the rapidity with which ships had been paid off, and also w ith which the peace ships had been manned, the mutter wanting to complete them being only 4,000. The number of ships maimed were, two 50 gnus, 14 frigates, and 27 sloops. The lion. Baronet then moved, " 'Phut 33,000 seamen, including 9,000 royal marines, be granted for the ser vice of the year." Mr. Poison nv would not object to the vote of 33,000, taking the necessity for the number on the responsibility of the (im vet-meat. He (mold not avoid observing on the call 14 33,000 as a permanent peace establishment. The regular bee in former wars was MAIO or P 5.900. There was no fear of at tack. We were differently situated at the close of the Ameri can war, win im the combined fleets of the enemy rode trium phant. aud compelled the British fleet to seek shelter in our harbours. France. at that time, hail as many ships as Great Britain ; united with Spain, more. It' 18,900 mien wet c vtion4h, why vote 23,n0u now. There was now no appearance of a formidable navy. The whole of the Powers, if they were to he unites], could not produce 25 sail of the line. The Right lion. Gentleman suggested the necessity of making sonic ad dition to the pay of naval officers, instead .nf keeping up so large an establishment. WAYS AND MANS. Mr. V iNserrAnT said, at that late hour, and in the thin state the House then was, he should only move the usual Taxes on Malt, Sm..,ar, and Tobacco ; and a sum of 11 millions of Exch.- truer Bills, to replace a like sum outstandiur and nnprovided tor. Ile then moved Resolutions to that effect; which wore agreed to, and the Report ordered to be received to-morrow. —Adjourn( d. THURSDAY. (FEBRUARY 13. Three petitions were presented by the Sheriffs of London. The first prayed for the modification of the City Tif!teif Laws ; the second called for the a holhion of Mock Anctions ; and the second the repeal of the Insolvent Debtors' Act. Read, and ordered to lie on the table. On the motion of Lord Lyn - Li - vox, a new writ was ordered for clic Borough of station', in the room of Earl Gower, who had vacat , 4l his seat, by sitting and voting in that !louse, with out havinz taken the oaths required by law. _ _ _ .... . Mr. Lvvrt.s.Tos afterwards obtained leave to brine in a Nil to relieve Earl Gower front certain pains and penalties to which he had rend( red himself liable, by sitting in the House without having taken the regular oaths. Mr. I)Avts pnKt•nted u pt 7 tition from Bristol, praying that aye might be given to hying in a Bill to establish a t:ourt for the recovery of small debts above 40s. and tinder 151. The petition was ordered to he referred To a Cimmittee. NIONIES RECEIVED PRIM FRINCE. Sir JAMES MACKI NTOSII, in consequence of what had fallen from the Noble Lord opposite on a former evening, with respect tu the sums paid by the French G ivernment for the support of our army in France, considered it to be his duty to take an early opportunity of bringing the subject before the House. Out of this circumstance, it appeared to him, a constitutional question rOSC, Of the highest magnitude. 1111! IS ROW new MHOe the day on which he wonld make 1114 motion, if it were not that he telt extremely desirous to wait in the first instance to see if any thing would lie dune by Ministers to make a debate on this subject unnecessary. The question was not as to the mere application of the money; no explanation en this point would, in his opinion, make the motion unnecessary ; as it appeared to him the sums advanced by the French Government for the pay of the army, and those which we wereto receive as indemnities, ought to be brought forward with the other resources of the country for the current year, and governed by the same rules as all otber slims placed at the disposal of Ministers. With this. impression no his mind, he should betray his want of duty to the 'unary, if he were to sutler that to which he had adverted to pass user in silenee. (Cries of order.) The SPEAKER here reminded the Hon. Member, that he mnst fur the present confine lihnsell to giving a notice. Sir M %CIS ATOSII 1.11191 gave notice that he would bring forward a 11104011 en the subject, but did not name the day. LATE 'I RANSACTIONS IN SPAIN. Mr. TiftoL76ll;ll t om, pursuant to the notice he had given. to *tier to the attention of the House a subject which he held it bound to take into its most serious consideration, by every principle of honour, justice, and strict political prudence. He Sias sore, that in opening this question, he should he spared the aisagrecable necessity of calling on the Horne to follow him through any great length of detail ; as that winch be had to mention was um notorious, and had already operated too strongly on their feelings, to demand that he should press it di on them now. The Hon. Gentleman quoted many cases, in which, he said, this government hadinsterposed in the con cern of other states, and added, if in these instances the House bad interfered for those to whom they were baund by no com mon tie, save that which binds all mankind together, surely there could be no reason for refiising it, as hen it was claimed in favour of the unfortunate Spaniards, with whom we had heen united in the Council and the field. It would be recollected, 'that in 1809, Admiral Apodaca, the nominal Minister of Ver. efinand, but really exercising the power of the Spanish Junta, concluded a treaty with this country on behalf of Spain. This treaty bound England never to negoeiate a peace with France to the surrender of the rights of Ferdinand ; and Spain en gaged never to make' a peace without the conenrrence of this errantry ; or, in any ease, to conclude one against its interests. Some time had elapsed with carious fortunes, when negociations were entered into with the Spanish Government, by Lord Wellesley : [and here lie offered the fitbute of his admiration -of the enlarged, liberal, and statesman-like views--of the rogeut reasoning and persuasive eloquence which bad dis tinguished the notes of that Noble Lord, and which 11.1;1 re fleeted so much honour on the principles of the British Govern ment.] The great object! of the negociatious carried on by ti:r 1 1 1;ittittiA of Wellesley had been this- to assemble the Cores. leis language had been. " Call the Cortes—lo not be satisfed with au itstperfeel Representative Body unis eon 0 to the co!, sfitution of Spain ; bur call the Cortes ot once, and let them lake lie whole mate of the country in 'ti cousOleratiaa, an ellen di nece ,, , , -y trfitrel in sour s y stem." In conscquene of the 4; aade by the Noble Marquis, the Cortes wire called together in the course of a f e w months, and a Regency was appointed. .Of the individuuls who formed this THE NATIONAL REGISTR. Regency (all the Members of which were selected from our interposition), two had lately been sentenced to punishment by Ferdinand, end were to be found in the black list of Iris victims. These wt re part of that Regency who had maintained relations of amity with us, who hail made common cause with us; the interest of Spain being considered the interest of Eng land, and the re-loureie of England being liberally resorted to in order effectually to sustain the cause of Spain. The real !allies of England were the Regency and the Cortes ; they had struggled for the liberties of their country. when tiny were as ignorant how Ferdinand was employing 1111130 f, tes he believed every one in that House was careless what might uhimatt ly be his fate. Towards the end of the vear Isl 3, or the beginning of the year 181 I, when the power of Ittioneparte liege:, to totter all over Europe, a treaty was begun between him and Ferdi nand his prisoner. By this treaty he bound himself to remove the English army from Spain, on the French army being with drawn; anti, in a word, co-operated, ns touch us was in his power, with Buonapartr, against this country and its allies. Mulch confidence had Napoleon in Ferdinant I, that be imme diately suffered his prisoners to go at large f seueible, perhaps, that he Could not do a worse service to Spain) ; and what did Ferdinand do on this occasion ? Did he revoke the treaty of Valency? No. Did he hasten to Isladrid ? No, he aeonleil it, and retired to Valentin, after refusing to sign the Constitution, and to recognise the existing authorities, without revoking the treaty width he had been induced to sign while in a state of duress. All his thoughts seemed devoted to the study of th e means by which he might overthrow the Regency and the Cor tes, which, as the ullies of England, had so effectually laboured for the salvation of Spain. The Cortes refused to ratify the tremy which Ferdinand hail concluded with Buonaparte, be cause it was inconsistent with good faith to England, as it went against the stipulations of that concluded with this country by Admiral Apodaca in 1809. They treaty of 1809 they adhered to ; and this it had been the object of Ferdinand to break, and indead to dissolse all the arrangements which had served to knit the two countries toeether. He apprehended it was ennecessary to pursue further the conduct of Ferdinand to prove the pi esent to be a case which called for our inter ference; when he had cruelly pitnislied those who were united with its in war and in council, in his behalf; who had not only made this liner:taut return to them, but who had given up the treaty which had been negotiated in fasour of this country. He wished not to bs unnecessarily minute in noticing the punishment, which had taken place. It was however right to state, thet 27 Member' of the Cortes, and two of the Regency, hail been consigned to dungeons ; and besides, a great variety of persons, in private stations, who had attached themselves to the patriotic cause. These, after remaining 19 or en months in confinement, without bring bt might to trial, Ferdinand, as it' to take assay that complaint, had ordered to be brought to trial, and had areerdinely signed a commission for that purpose. Three commissions,one after another, had beest siened by his Catholic Majesty, by Wiliell tIiOSP persons were sled to be tried, not be fore men selected front the great body of the people, but before creatures supposed t o be subservient to his views. and by them to be sentenced to punishment, or irequitted, according to the nature of their case, on inquiry. It had further pleased his Cieleeic :Majesty to review their sentences, and to proclaim to the world, either that these crea tures were not disposed to besufliciently suhservient to his viewt, or th a t they had miscalculated the poiut at which tile' , concluded his animosity would stop, by taking the work out of their hands. Some of the punishments would nevertheless have been thought sufficiently severe in this c try. Several of the patriots had been sentenced to two years' iinprisonmeut, and others were ordered to confinement for a longer period. One person, a poor tradesman, who had proved himself friendly to England on all occasions, and who had been active in promoting political discussions on the conduct of the Goverumeat, was sen tenced by these tribunals to four years' imprisonment.— " What !" said Verbatim], on seeing this sentence, " only four years' imprisonment, for a wretch who had presumed to speak in public on polities;'--(A laugh.) He immediately undertook to revise this sentence, and, taking a more ens barged and Iceitimate view of the subject, he immediately struck oat the first assigned &tont of this unfortunate mail, who was a cripple, with his own head, and offered him to he hanged. neer, lt•ar, hear.) The public, however—he meant the scum of Madrid, with whom Ferdinand was popular—(a mournful proof of the assertion that that country fa res ill where the Monarch hail the mob for his ally), even these, his Majesty's own rabbit., had rescued this poor ntau from death, and the punishment had in consequeuee been commuted for i:uptisori ment for ten years. While speaking of the cruelty of the punish ments inflicted. he thought it might be proper to mention the name of the virtuous, the patriotic Arguellas, whose fate could not be contemplated but with punt anti indignation. Argnellas, the most enlightened, the most eloquent of die patriot.:, whose eloquence had always been devoted to the right cause, who has always raised leis voice in praise of liberty; in fas our of the alliance with this country; against the Inquisition, and against the African Slave Trade ; Argnellas was eundemned to seise as a common soldier in the garrison of Ceuta, and had been sent ,to his pestilential dungeon °lithe coast of A frieu, within sight of a fortress heloneine to this emintry—that of Gibraltar. It was now for the House to determine, whether this was a cause which called for their interference. He hail shown that this cenutry had interfered times out of number in other cases; at this moment an army was maintained in France for the express purpose of interfering in the concerns of' that country, as they had it under the bend of the Noble Lord opposite (Lord Cas tlereagh ‘. This interference was most extensive, and the whole French police might be said to be under the control of the Duke of Wellington. It was then for the House to say, while this line of conduct was pnrsued in one quarter, whether we ought not to use our weight and influence to reli e v e t h ose who, by scenic in concert with this country, had been brought into distress elsewhere for the good faith which thi4 heti ob served with us. Mr. Ilnocoutast charred Minister not only with total in difference to the fate of the fortes and Liberates, but with har ing paid the troops whirls Ferdinand employed against them, and promoted the officers who executed his orders. In call ing for interference, however, he did not wish to break the re lations of amity which subsisted between this country and a I verson of the sort he had described. Ile Aid not mean that threats or menaces should he resorted to—he did not mean that we should tell him what we hail effected tier his interest and sc. ettrity—whielt would he mit:interims—no —he wished that an appeal should be made to Ireidi.iand's apprehensions, He ought to he led to consult his own prudential pieiry—a priori pie of whielt '•e did not suppose hint destitute. Such n lesson should be given as would mike him re.ect on a great and Seri •'S truth, which he t Mr. Brim:Nun) would express, not in his -,wit worh. lint in the words of a Minister, who hal whispered in lir ea- of one of Ferdimin•i's predecessors -" that Hi. 1 1 ,1 nit twe , neinies —one of whom was the whole sot Id -and the other his owa Ministers!" In rolichision, the leorned gentleman observed, that, happily for the interests of humanity, there was one place in which the truth Height boldly be spstken--whete the crimes of Sovereigns might be :orraignenT _where the oppressed might be • inelieutitil,and their oppressoi• called to an account—and that place was, the Collieliollef Haase of Great Britain ! —(herte.)--111. then moved— " Ilia all humble address be presented to flue Prince Regent, entreating Ills Royal Highness to take into Isis gracious consi deration, the sufferings of the late ‘;panish Kearney and Cortes; and representing to his Royal Highness, that the Alliance at present subsisting between his Royal lligne4s and his Catholic Majesty, :itiords the most fat (menhir opportunity for the inter ference of Creat Britain, with all the weight which belongs to the country and to flee sentiments of that House." Lord C ssarkai son.--in the whole course of his parliamen tary eaperieme, I. never recollected to have tart with any' thing that surprised him more than the nature of she motion with which the Hon. leether had concluded his speech. lion. Gentleman, although be had entered so tom li at largls into the doctrine ut interference—although lie had said so much to prove that interference might be effectual; yet in his motion there was not use word of ciitteaty to his Royal Highness the Prince Regent to act on the principles laid down in the Speech, —there was no prayer for interference. It was certainly most extraordinary that the lion. Gentleman, entertainhig the seta timents which he hail expressed, should litre spoken so strongly in favour of ioterference, without taking the trouble to male any enquiry whether or not the British Government had inter, freed ;—or, being aware that they had interfered in some way, should not have endeavoured to show, that the kind of inter ference which he recommended was better than what had been adopted. lie could not consider the speech of the lion. Geo- Benno as calculated to lay down any principles on the subject which it would be wise to practise, with a view to the interns** of either country. He had indeed heard it sometimes said, that in the profession to which the Hon. and Learned Gentleman belonged, it was not uncommon, in the defence of a client, to sacrifice his interests, for the sake of making a display of ta lent. Certainly in the present case, with a view to the inte rests of those individuals on %sliese unfortunate situation the question arose, nothing could be inure 'inadvisable than any interference on the principles which the Hon. Gentleman had laid down. It the lion. Gentleman thought of any thing short of interference by force of arms, there never was a speech snore calculated to defeat the end proposed, and to make Par liament see the utter inexpediency of the measures which it recommended. Without founding himself on any accurate in forniatiou, the Hon. Gentleman had made imputations against the personage on the throne of Spain ; and, substituting on this occasion a reasoned invectise fur the asserted one which he had on a runner occasion employed, he bad endeavoured to pre, that the King of Spain was acting on a course of settled hostility to this country ; that he was a voluntary party to the Treaty of Valency, against Great Britain and her allies; that he hail returned to Spain with the settled purpose of carrying that treaty into execution, and that he was now proceeding in the accomplishment of his design. This teas the ground out which the lion. Member called upon the House to interfere. ( /bur, hear, hear.) lint the Floase would feel, that in order to make interference cfreetval, it wag not the proper way to begin by insulting and degrading the le u son of the Spanish monarch. —(ltar,lutar.)--11 the lion. Ge.utleman thought it was the duty of this House to embroil the country in any dispute as to the merits or demerits of tit members of factious in foreign coun tries, he trusted he would meet with few in this country to countenance such an opinion. With a view to the benefit of those individuals in Spain, whose sufferings he was Sure every alember of the House agreed in deploring, the course which the lion. Gentleman had taken, was the last to be expected from a maa of his undorstanding.—His Lordship stated, that from the first itininciit of Ferdinand's entrance into Spain, the British Ambassador, Sir Henry Wellesley, had applied to Mal of his own accord, and afterwards, with the full authorization of Government, to induce him to accept the Constitution of the torte', and to shiny lenity towards the Liberates. If any fanlt had been committed, it was in going farther than the rights et' an ally justitied. It had been officially notified to the King of Spain, that.no money slamtel be paid him, neither was any mo ney paid hint, in consequence of his conduct, with the excep tion of 441110 doiil ara for table.expenses elnring his imicbcY from France to Spain, which bad been advanced at the request of one of the chiefs of the Liberales. 'File representations in bc half of the persecuted, who, in their day of power, had also bet it perseemors, had not been confined to this eountry. The Mi nisters of the three great continental Pew, is, our allies, had been instructed at the Court of Madrid ; and the present mo tion was likely rather to dcleat than to forward the views with which we had interfered. As to General Whittingbain, who had distinguished !dinned' in several battles, anil sacrificed brighter prospects bete to the cause of Spain, which he had espoused at its earliest dawn, was he to be blamed for obeying the orders of his superiors, when he. did not even know what their object was? On these grounds, he never found himself called upon to give a more parainount or stronger negative to any motion.--t Lend and euntinurd cheering.) Lord JOIIN Russet:. saw no reason why intesferenee should not be carried a little further. Alderman C. SAI rim, on the authority of letters which he had received from the most respectable characters in Spain, ex pressed his conviction, that the people of this country were sptite mistaken as to the state of affairs in that nation. There "as not a mare popular mon ureb in Europe, nor one to whom les subjects w ere more devotedly attached than Ferdinand, Gen. Mtaft sAvs said, that F- was a n--r, au odiout and detestable to---r.—t The speech of the Noble lord was intended by his Lordship to close the mouths of all those who were not on the same side of the House : but no thing rank' be said by the Noble Lord to shin the mouths of t h ose on his (General Mathews') side of theifianse, or to alter their opinions.—(Laug;:tee.) 'they would raise their %Mr.% against the iniquitous acts oh' that iniquitous in—r F - whom lie hoped to see hurled flout his ill-gotten and blvoit stained t—e. Mr. 'SENNETT defended the conduct of the Liberales, who had not acted agaiint the interests of this country. Fie main tained the right of interference on the Nita' the Home. He also .houldlike to know what person, or oh.it Minister, had cnimselled the bending the Order of the Garter to Fer&nand VII. although, to be sure, an honour 1141 been received in return. Mr. Bent/Gni sst perceiseil, !loin the declaration of the Noble Lord, with nu small astonishment, that the conntrs had interfered all along, had sent instructions to her Minister., and wante-1 in nothing to t%e unthrtunate Liberates ; in fail, that the object which be bad thought to spein by his motion, hail at ready beer, attempted. gilt low could he divine that such NA , the reality!' When a notice had been gi ven . an d some coaversation had taken place on the subject, the Nob c Lord had preserved a dead si.ence, for the pile iosc,ino donut, of en:rap,:ing hi• opponents by their silence 'tut) the present mo tion; winch he sho.il I not ;tIV4S it the in. , . erence cr . ; . ern ment had taii.en pi. re after Di-ermine, ir.nin the I:At :iolcnt proceeding of Ferdinand against the Liberates had occurred; ae