The National Register. — London, England, 1808-01-24 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER. 56 Because, The late attack upon Copenhagen, in a season of profound peace with the Crown and People of Denmark, and immediately following the solemn Declaration by the Crown Prince, of his resolution to maintain his neutrality, antif to con skier 'suss , nation as an enemy which should seek to disturb it, would, without somejost caw, which in O t i s case is who; y unsupported by proof, he a most manifest and unprincipled de parture front the w bole s vstem of moral policy and just ice,w h ich the. British Government had, as above, professed to act upon, het-mown as any contempt or violation of public law by the Government of France, though it might release (rent Britain from all observance of it, as far as regarded such offending loin emoild nut pootibly destroy or affect its protectit c sanc tions in her intereourses with friendly and peaceable stases. On the contrary, it ought to have invested the Law of Nations with a more binding and sacred obligation, since the professed object and j:mti flea (ion of our war with France at that very minaret Irng to restore to a suffering world the good faith and security ieh had been lost by a contempt .n' its dominion. liersuse, information of a projected confederacy between France and Denmark, assumed, without evidence, to have been comanmicated to Ministers through channels which called, ne their parts, for inviolable secrecy, might he a foundation for ac quittimar them front blame, if the question before the House had been the propriety of their acquittal or condemnation, yet it cannot possibly justify, in the absence of all proof, an Address to•his Majesty, pronouncing their attack upon Copenhagen to bet an act of intliitensible duty; becauot, giving credit to the deelaratititis of Minister , , that they hod informations of such projected confederacy, it is impossible for this House to know whether they ought to have been acted upon to so dreadful an extent, w ithoot having before it, most precisely and distinctly, the specific m•ture of such communications so as to he able to estimate the credit due to them, not only from the fates them selves, hut front the situations and characters of the persons by ho,n they were made. Ths condurt, besides, of in the whole transaction, is in manifest opposition to this principle of the attack.—The maGe such cuarge upon Dentiork when before Copenhagen, nor evtu pretended to have invaded her with the cause of war. Tie it language upon the spot, and even in the Address proposed !cis Majesty, is the ,language of regret, a language utterly inconsistent with the vindication of a proceeding, which would have been as mild and forbearing against an enemy, as it was bar:larous and treacherous against a friend. The position also of fseumark, when the assault was made upon her, is the strevest evidence to resist tile presumption of an understanding w:tti Prance. Her army was in Holstein, which France was menacing, whilst Zealand was left defenceless, and the ships dismantled, at a moment when the consciousness of a treaty or federacy must have suggested to all the contracting or con fed( rating par ies, the necessity of concentrating the whole force of Denmark, to deft n I h, r capitol, am d au secure her fleet. Bec:musC, No evidence whatever has been laid before the nous:, to estahlish auy hostile confederacy between Denmark end France, nor ally design on the part of the former to depart from •he strictest neutrality ; on the contrary, the above-men tioned solemn declaration of the Crown Prince to the British ' Minister, ought to have been received by his Majesty's servants a , the pledge of a firm resolution to maintain neutrality ; and because nothing short of a hostile design in the Government of Demaark (maid justify the demand of her fleet, or the bombard ment of Copenhagen to enforce the surrender of it. l'ecause, it was completely in the power of Great Britain to have protected the Danish Fleet front any hostile attack of Prance, which destroys the pretence of such an indispensible necessity as eoald alone justify even the slightest trespass upon a peaceable amid unoffending state. Beta' se, Still Lssuming, in the absence of all evidence to the en:iv:try, that the Govermoent of Denmark was faithful to her neutrality, no speculation of the probable fall of her fleet iuto the possession or power of France, could possibly justify its hostile seizure by Great Britain. Such a principle would be utterly subversive of the first elements of Public Law, as being destructi“., of the independaner of weaker States, in as much as it would create a jurisdiction in the stronger nation to substitute their own security nott convenience for the general rule, and invest them also with the 4:ole privilege of determining the nee:alma; upon which they might consider them to he en dangered ; and because, to justify the attack and plunder of a we ik unoaending Power, upon the assumption that a stronger Belligerent might otherwise attack and plunder her, would be to erect a new Public Law upon the foundations of dishonour and violence, waling the tyranny of one nation a warrant for JA N. 21. substituting the dominion of oppression for the sacred obliga ions of morality, humanity, and justice. B - cause, Supposing it to have bccn not only probable but even ^ertaiu, that France could hale succeeded in carrying away in t e n inter the ships and stores from Copenhagen, but w ithout the c msent of Denmat k, faithful to her neutrality, the iniquity of that act, in sound policy, independently of all considerations of mist iee, ought to have been left to the French Government to per p slra:e; because the carcases of the ships would ha% e hero the onl v f nit of an act of the deepest atrocity, whilst the indig nation eat a brave and generous people, now too justly direct ed against Great Britain, would then hale been pointed against France ; an 1 Denmuk, with the protection of our fleets, might have kept ovn the Baltic to our commerce, and extended our maritime mins of restoring the tranquillity of the world. Because, Until this attack upon Copenhagen shall reedy° vindication by proof of its justice, or condemnation, in Bleat). snee of it, from the Parliament of great Britain, she has lost er moral station in the world, since the very system of wrong , and violence, which she has so long confederated Europe to do roy, at the expellee of her blood and resources, will have been established and confirmed by her own example. Beeawc, A whole nation ought not in the mean time to be diThonoured, nor its immemorial characteristic brought into question for the acts of NI ini,ters ; and becauw it is the duty of those subjects, who, by the Constitution of the Government, have the high privilege of perpetuating, their sentiments upon the public records of their country; to vindicate themselves from the imputation of haysng acquiesced in acts of the great., est injustice. ERSKINE. PROVINCIALS. ~- LEEDS MEET G.—On Tuesday last a meeting of the Mer chants, Manufacturers, and Inhabitants of Leeds and the :1(1j:i -f-eat neighbourhood, w•ts held in the great area of the %Ned cloth flall, pursnant to public notice, for the purpose of peti tin ling Majesty for Peace. The meeting was compo: , ed chiefly of the manufacturers in that part of the country, and consiwd of between 8 and 10,000 persons. Mr. John Firth was called to the Chair. The Chairman addressed the Meeting in a neat and appropriate speech, disclaiming all party views or motives, stating the on- Jed of the meeting to be solely for the general and national good of the country at large, and exhortin the Meeting to quiet and peaceable demeanor. lie then proceeded to read several Resolutions, expressive of the feelings of the manufacturers, rize. Mr. fleicewell, of Wakefield, read a draft of the intended Petition, iaiubstance nearly as folloa s : The Petitioners assure his Majesty 411 their attachment to his person, an the principles of Government which placed hits Majesty and his august Family on the Throne; and represent to his Majesty the distressed state to which great numbers of our merchants and manufacturers were reduced by the long con tinuance of the war, depriving them of tnreign markets, whereby many workmen are left without employment, and the smaller manufacturers unable to provide for their families; and they express their apprehension of these calamities being h, creased by a war with America. They allude to the heavy taxes and addition to the national debt, and the increased annual expenditure of the country ; while the power and territories of the enemy have been enlarged, and our allies have deserted us to seek his friendship and protection. The Petitioners further express their fears, that should the war continue, many of the former allies of thisicountry will he drawn into closer connection with France, and make amity with this country very difficult to be resumed. It implores his Nlajesty, as the father of his people, to adopt such measures as may appear expedient to restore to us the blessing .of peace, and concludes with assuring his Majesty of their ' loyalty, et tichment, add support, should the restoration of peace be re tarded by any demand at the enemy, incousistent with the ho nour and security of the realm, &c..ke. The Petition was heard with approbation, and immediately afterwards the Meeting dissolved. Neither Mr. Fowkes, Lord Milton, Mr. Wilberforce, nor any leading Gentlemen of the county, were present at the Meeting. JA N. 20.—This day Lieut. Halifax, of the Royal Lancashire Militia, whose engagement to walk thirty miles per day, for twenty surcessive days, has completed his laborimis undertaking, and he was ushered into this city in triumph, pre ceded by the Regimental Rand of Music, and accompanied by an immense concourse at people, both on horseback and oaf's* who celebrated his victory with repeated hozzas. 711 -