The National Register. — London, England, 1814-05-15 00:00:00

VIE NATIONAL REGISTER. Cur Zing, Censittution, anti tabu. PUELESIIED AT NO. 11 NEWCASTLE-STREET ) STRAtip. IV (1 5'29. SUNDA V,. MAY 15. 1811, PRIrE C?d. FOLITIC..a. DiSWILS'IIION. AiSiere.---•• I)EBATT:. 4 «ti Ti4E WAR WITH NOR WAY. Of f i ve year, it has Ikea customary to make the session of Pot hatneut r‘..-scinble a theatrical sea;ion as much a , pos , ib e. Ti:at ulifk.rtutia-e b. , (1% of men ludicrously (:11!...d tkv in derision e; their of abilitv, have greatly esti tcd thom• seftes to produce this elect. We know not whether it was thr o skill displa. , 2d by Mr. Whitbi ead in this way, that got Lion his situatiou at _Drury -line, but certain it is, he fo - ineriy n,ad.2 a peat tl . eattical figure among the Westmit,ster perfoi - me!s. Ile and I, s opposition friends, unable to get t..n.,-. : !;enents, Late oceasiona!ly ecurtcd the favour of Liu4,k-tt by taking a wit of benefit. Mr. Pon u,rd to choose the War i:: the Peninss!e, a tragedy, for r:ight ; Air. Oattan, the Catholic 2uestion, a senti- Inc wig eonic-dv, for his; Mr. Whitbread, perhaps out of r..spr•ct iend Mr. Arnold, generally tcok The is ni:PicaPA aitd !-;ir Burdett, if we may add hint to the " the T.dents," generally amused the town with " i'niknieorary liefol in," a farce. The predenee cif Ministers, and the happy course of rycne , , pre-. en ted these persoes in the present season from cotning forAard, a; mu:J. " Orange Boyen,'". The sai,ender of Cakis, - and The dw...0.fa1l of hart'," have caused the ordinary political dramas to 10 all their attrac tion. Mr. Potisonliv, * Mr. Grattan, - and Francis Bur- . dett, have Ja,.-.rdly made their appearance this season, and ?tr. Wh•tbread, who, like Grimaldi, used to take several benefit. in the coti se of Cue year, has hardly had one night, si!.ce the meeting of Parliament. I? 1 this di.ttessing state of thin..s, their admirets were in holies their atlaits might be retrieved by blitigiag forward a I , e w actor on the usage. Sir James Ma kiutosh was 1)1.,u;;Itt out with great pomp, and sonic were weak enough to lupe, that in him the party would find a political Mr. Kenn. A ctowd assembled to witness his thlu!, who left the lionFe with a feeling which might almost be compared will, that of the serious part of tie audience who first wit oesLed the exertions of Mr. Coates in RUIPCO. Whatever resiicet the public may ewe to Sir inmes ns an author, he is nA likely to gain much favour as a parliamentary orate r. If, indeed, the fa•ttlty of cloathing a meagre idea in a mul titude of big) sounding worths, aided by a terrific st remit, cdeulated perhaps more effectually to astound common souse, than Mr. Whitbread's roar ; if these qualifi , a ions, ethled to a happy knack of speaking on any thing but the question before the House, be valuable, the Parliamentary ex hii)it ions of Sir James may deserve praise. if a pettifogging t ,:ent fur quibble be that which should constitute a States ti•an or a Senator, even then Sir James Mcckintosh has no su perior in either House. When he fist came eut, his cut an..i dried speech, intended, as unquestionably it wag, for an P.wwer to one which he thought must he made, hut of v:hich. or-luckily for him, not one word was uttered, was praied 1, , y several of the party for the great knowledge of prd:lic law displayed in it, though it was uni vet sally admitted •to be somewhat out of its place.' By some fatality the same., Mina ((instantly attends The speeches to which Inv barrangues are intended to be answers; are MYrt pr."(. Sir ,Ezitne.s, after the trouble of preparing eing determincd to " have hi: :ay,'' cuts rather a ludicrous I;g,tre while reci;ing a st; ing cssap , , 1:cld to i e worth litee ,I;e;e ; th;,ll ; h .e , v pa tal.)!e, ;f t d in their proper place betw , ten tl.e " ,•n ' in :t Mortqly Magazine. and the rtiquii . its of iirelli;,t-tit corrtspo.:d.. nis respecting " the (;f milk and inat.krel" in church time on the Lord's day. With this prodigious acnnisition to their company, the party have reccntiy ut forth their whole strcn ;th in a drama founded on the recent Events in Norway. Here was cer tainly a very fine subject fur deel:mation. A whole COpn. plc stretching eut their hands for bread and denied by this euontry ! A Government nbo has strait e 1 every nerve to conquer and to secure the indere olence of Spain and Por tugal, preparing to oppose theme.voi to the claims, set up by the innocent Norwegians ! There Was cent Aids , a noble field for a display of oratory. To be sure Ministers had a tolerably ' ready answer to the qoestion " why do you, who succoured Spain engage to blockade Norway i-" if they chose to recri minate they might say, " and wily do you who advised us to abandon Spain, blame us for not taking up the cudgels for Nor way?" It was rather dangero is to say much on the subject of inconsistency. This by the -bye i 4 always tender ground with The Talents. Their former speeches on the subject of the war in the Peninsula, hung like mill stones ibout their necks. They felt this, and this appalling ceasideration checked theirs in the high career of their eloquence. To what dire distress must they have been reduced before they could bring them selves to venture on such a question. In both houses the supporters of the motions brought for ward by !,ord Grey and Mr. W. Wynne, !abou cd much to prose what nobody cared to deny, Ilea it is iaid down by the most esteemed writers of pub.ie law, that a nation when the king abdicates his authority has a r'ght to declare itself in dependent. This is admitted, but that a monarch to whom a country has been ceded by its legitimate Sovereign, is not justified in forcing it to submit to his authority if he can, it is not so easy to prove from Grotius, PuffendortY, or Vattel. Still more difficult will the party find it to establish this principle—that where a sovereign to save himself from utter ruin, cedes one part of his dominions to secure the rest, he may afterwards elude the treaty be has made by getting a kinsman, meting as his °firer, to set himself up as king, and by making the people declare themselves independent cheat the power to which the cession has been made. But this they would hardly take into their consideration. The King of . Denmark is such a favorite with the party that they could not not Suspect him of any underhand doings. The cession they assumed must have been made in good faith, and that which there is reason to believe is but a partial in- Fnrrection, they held to be nothing less than a spontaneous and universal rising of the people. They contended we ought not to consider what would be advantageous, but only what was just, and in the same breath endeavoured to persuade us that because Sweden Was naturally the ally of France. we ought to prevent the niedi -tated annexation of Norway. Butt then it was asserted we were not bound by the treaty to assist ie:weden if the Norwegians resisted. This was most J 1 J A ~~