The Statesman. — London, England, 1823-04-15 00:00:00

tl e'r sep - ration from the mother coup ry ; although the for- • mid recognioion of ulate provinces. at indepett tent sittes,by his Majesty, ms y be histeile4 or retarded by various external c•rcumstances, as well as by the more or less satisfactory pro wrest, In each state towards a regular and settled form of go re •.'meat. Spain a . long been apprised of his Majesty's (simians upon this eject. Disclaiming in the most solemn manner any intention of appropriating to himself the portion of tile late Spanish possessions in America, Ms Nlajeqty is sati-fled that no attempt will be made by France, to bring en ler her dominion any of those possessions, ,ither to% co;.quest, er by cession. from Spain. This frank expla nation upon the point: 011 which perhaps alone the possibi lity of stay collision of Frani:o with Great Bo stain can be ap prehended In a war bet n cen France and Spain. your Excel lency will represent to M. de l'hatesubriand, as dictat.d by an earnest desire to be enabled to preserve, in that war, s t r i c t and undeviating oeutrarity—a neutrality not liable to alteration towards either party, so long as the honour and just interests of Urea% Britain are equally respected by both." With respect to whet regardeonr relations and engree ment with I'ortngal, the Government of France has is•• way• known that sny unprovoked attscli on Portugal would call forth resietunre from Greet Britain. But on this subject it aptlys that m :eh tnieronception preveile. It appears to bate been thought that our engagemews were °Neat nature that we were boned to fly to the a.- sistance of Portugal, even if it attsci,eil any other State; but this was putting into the hand: of Portugal the power oh milk' is; war or peace for us—the had only to go to war, and on this principle we were brAmil to enter into her contests. I confidently at.ert, hosteler, that we are b.lund only to assist Portugal, if unjnstl: :mailed.. If there is one principle of the lair of nations mute certain than another, it is that a defensive alliance does not per mit one Power u' commit another to a war by making as unjust attack. France his constantly oleolored that she shonlol not meddle with Portugal. either by word or deed, and therefore a War w,th Portugal is. not to he expected unless Portugal should attack France. If Portugal with out being attacked should force on oar, I am sore Clot we are under no obligation. I do nut state what our policy may direct, but am sure that there is no obligation on Great Britain to defend lhotogal 'abbe enter into offend a war. lam not stating what oar pelicy might dictate to us ender soch cirtatmstancee. butt what our Treaties engage us to perform; and it ie only :spies! an un p rovo k e d mu ,. k that they bind Great Britain to defend Ps.rtugal. Never has the Government of this conetry contracted engage ments it did not fulfil; but becaese it correctly and faith fully adheres to its Treaties it is of much importance to know exactly what they hind its to Perform. With re •psct to the other point, th t Spanish possessions in Ame rica, which is likely to drive us from the. path of neu trality, in the present state of things there was no elsoice. So long as peace continued, and Spain bad no enemies in - Europe, it wasa matter of discretion on our part how far we interfered between her and her col m'es. And when we saw that ally efforts she could in die to conquer them were hopeless, we had recommended her to come • to an accotnmodation with them on the principle of re cognizing their independents., while they acknowledged I the. supciority of the Mother Collate!. We have never ceased to give this advice without any reference to our our own commercial advantages; for all that we hare • sought for or wished was to be . put upon the same foot ing as the most favoured nation. Even more than this, when our good offices to mediate between them had been asked, we had answered we were ready to under take it if they desired it, bnt that our interference could not depend on the invasion of Spain. Circumstances are now changed. Though Spain holds dotuthion de jure over her colonier, it is necessary for Great Bri tain to 'We that, de facto, a separation has taken puce; though not from glider her -dominion de jure, they are so separated in fact that no cession of them made by Spain can be regarded by Great Britain as valid, (bear.) We have been forced to make this declaration, io order that we might not hereafter look with regret to see these Colonies in a st re different from that in which we might wish or expect to see them. Sir, I am convinced that on all these points, and in all these proceedings, his.ll jesty's 'Moisten have provided for every thing which touches the honour of Great Britain. I know that there are gentlemen who bays given it as an opinion that we ought at once to have stated that an invasion of Spain would be war with England. But when the exieting Treaties are examined, such a line of conduct will be found neither borne out by justice; uor recommended by policy. Ido not say that such a war would, in its own nature, be unjust, but that there is not inch a call for our interference as makes it unjust not to interfere. Those gentlemen who entertain an opinion that we should have immediately declared war, do not, perbapt, consider that the necessity f or it should nut only • hi argent, but that it should be consistent with our own interests to make us anzio:s to rush into it. — Mete Gentlemen judge only from their feelings, and are carried away by their hatred .of a strong power over-running and trampling on a weaker State. For such feelings I cannot ,blame them, they are highly honourable • but in their bosoms they are uncitastis- *by any other feelings, end there are some wh i ch weigh more powerfully than these with those persons, in whom in dignation is chastened by prudeno t. Rut though Ido not go along with those Gentlemen who declare for war, neither Ao I agree to the arguments which have been put forth in • support of aggression (hear, hear t). In trompariton with the conduct of the French Government in 1793, of which, • and of the conduct of Great Britain, at that time, much his been said in comparison v(ith that conduct ; what has Spain done ? What country has she openly appropriated like Ge neva or Savoy, 110 fore a sword iseleawn ? If Europe then united against France, it was not because the was disposed to amend her political institutions, butbecause she was anxious to propagate her own doctrines, and extend her dominion. But, was it for France, whose example has set Spain and ECrope in motion—was it for France, now totarn against Spain, and be the first to strike-at. her for doing what France had herself done and justified . But, though elo pot agree with those gentleinen 'who call for war, it is net my business to challenge disienssion tam this point— tiqr wtlh Ido it. Neither will I shrink from discussing this question whenever called on to'do so. There are, also, sortie persons of (Minion', Bar if ' , we did not are tually go to war, we should at least have menaced France with doing so ; but•this is an opinion to which a Bri tish Statesman can never • subscribe, Ile never can consent to threaten an act w h ic h he knows he does not mean, or has not the power to perform. Ma her opinion has been announced, which is, that we should wage only a maritime war; but 1 trust that we never shall, as I ant sure we never can, make war as an auxiliary, but as a principal ; I am quite sure, that if the War hid been proper, it would nothave been possible to have carried it on,on this mitigated scale,nor would such a war havebeen of advantage to Spain. Could the capture of Martinique, or souse other colony, either redress or come terbalance the invasion of Spain? If we did go to war, we should have entered into it with all our powers sad all our energies, and have taken all its burdens on our selves, as we did with the late war in the Peninsula. This, then, is the question . —ii Our honour safe? has that been done 'which our interest prescribes? The decision has been such as to secure our honour and preserve oar interests; anti accords am persuaded, with the general sense of the country. Our determination, then, is to re- Mails neutral, to preserve a strict neutrality, not a pro' reseed neutrality, which admits of hostile feeling' and boo tile conduct towards one of the parties. The line of new teality which weshall choose, I can deseribein a few word.. There is a gulden rule which is applicable in politics AS well as in morals, and it is this —" Do unto other' As saw would bedone unto;' and similar to this I say to England -- ole unto others as you have made others do unto yon.-- England as a Belligerent, laid down the basis of neutral, rights, her decisions stead unquestioned ois tote b;iiide the world, and will descend as a guide to the teutotett THE STATESM, pies: thatobject we have had in view is the preservation of the yeses , of the world: the principles which have guided us are those which were well described by an Honourable and Learned Friend of mine, whom 1 litment that I do not now see in his plaCe (Sir J. illackintosli) reepect for the faith of treaties, respect f..r the indepee., deuce of nations, respect for that established line of po licy known by the name of the balance of power in Eta • rope; and last, though, not least, a regard for the honour • and interests of England. Before I proceed to the nar rative of the transactiorm in question, I must briefly call to recollection what the state of Europe, and of this country in regard to it, was before the month of Septem ber last, when these negotiations originated. A meeting of the Sovereigns of Europe. of some of the Sovereigns of Europe, similar to several, other meetings which bad previously taken place, wns announced as about to be held, for onsnitation on some special affairs, and gene• rally on the preservation of peace in Europe. Alsout that time I received the seals.of office ; and I must here explain a statement which I formerly made as to the po licy which I hail then to pursue. I mention it Crain no desire to disconnect myself front my predecessor in office, bat! thick it necessary.to explain the ex pressieas, which • have been much narrowed by some,' and extended by others. I said that I found in the records of My office (and it was not in the records of that office m erel y , for it was known to the Mom and to all the world) a State• parer laying down the principle of non-interference in. all ter extent and with all the qualifications that belonged to it; ana when it was attribeteil.to me, that L had sp. , pe..-a a new priasSple to W new esse."it:swis doe to my predecessor to refer to that document in which he had • stated the pliticiple of non-interference as clearly and de-. finitely. and aeith the necessary qualifications, as well ex pressed as any Statesman bad ever laid it down. Hiving premise 4 thie,l mint also state that the question which,. after all, turned out to be the most important one at Ve rona, the question as to the affairs of Spain, alas not an ticipated as a•umbject of diseussiotr.. So completely was this the case, that the first iu number Of the papers which I have laid on the table, was a deSpatch from the Duke ., of Wellington, written on his arrival in Paris, in which he stated thathe was under the necessity of asking as to ' the case of Stiain. The matter of which the Congress was expected to take cognizance, was the state of affairs in the East of Europe, and the complicated transactions Isetween Kiissie and Turkey. It was en his arrival at • Paris that the Doke of Wellington found, in conversation with the Fres:di Minister, that the case of Spain was to occuj a lea"ing tart of the deliberations of the Con gress, and be applied for specific instructions as to the language he should hold. The request of Mt j Duke of Wellington, who left Ep.lard (as far as I recollect) on the 4th ,of September, a few days after. I li of taken the seals of Office, was dated September 21; and the instructions which• I shall now read were dated Sept. 27 (Paper No. 2). With Ibis instruction the Duke of Wellington left Paris for Verona—an instruction notdoubt ' fat or overloaded with qualifications, but positive and pe remptory (hear), and from which, in the miAtest degree. his Gram on no occasion ever swerved.. In this statement I have anticipated an objection, which was stated with great force as well es ing•.tiaity by an Honourable Member op posite, viz. when England went to a Congress on the affairs of Spnin, that England was bound to take care that Spain•wase party to the deliberations of that Congress. The liOnonrable Giitlemen wilt see that England went to the Congress w th no expeetation'of the prominent part that would be given to the affairs of Spain. So far, too, was ' -• the British Government from anticipating that any hostile propusltiOnS Would be brought forward against Spin by France, that the French Government had, by their prates given every reason to - believe that their intentions were of the wiestpscific kind- I do not allude to any speci fic or private a ssurances to this filovernmeati but to papers publiei jurie...l particularly ,speak of the Speech of the King of Fromm on the closing of tin liossion of the Cham bers on the fftlsJune, 1822. In thst,Speech, in speaking of the Cordon Said/aim his Moak Christian Majesty stated that the season of the year, sod the danger of the return of the fever made it necessary for him to continue the line of troops near the Pyrenees, and that' malreillzmec alone could fled In those measeres a pretext to give a false ite• eiAlOll. as to his Majesty's intentions (hear , hear , h e ar!). uundoubtedly this. the last document which France had is stied respecting Spain previously to the meeting of the Coo gir,s, led the British Government to expect soy thing rather • • than warlike Intentions on the part of Franca (hear. hear !); and I state it here not to draw from it any hostile infer enres, hut account for the instructions of the British Government to its Plenipotentiary at the Congress, not being framed on any idea of such a proposition. It is but just to say. that when the propositions of France were first brundlit foriviid at the Congress; they were • not in a itostle shape, but defensive, conditional, and • hypothetical. It was not pre posed by France at first to bring forward one-half of E.turope in armed alliance against Spain, lint the French Plenipotentiary asked what would be the conduct of the (treat Powers in cer tain events, all of which supposed some act of a.Tence on the part of Spain ? To this tn4niry, the three .Con tinental Powers, in reply, gave assurances of their coun tenance, and, in certain cases, of their assistance to • • France. 'To the inquiry, however, the British Plenipo t..ntiary was disposed to give no such answer. He would not even give an hypothetical concurrence to an hypothe-• . tical primilse on an hypothetical case ; and lie demand ed, before he 'entered on such an hyputhesis, to' know what grounds of offence Spain bad actually (riven, and .• whit specific dangers were threatened or anticipated.— . (ilear, hear, hear!) -Phis propositioo of the French il• vernment was discussed in various forms in the conferences at Verona, and the, laoguage of • the lifltish Minister from the. first to the last mo ment of those diecassoas, was positive in declining to afford any encoaragement to the demands of France— . and when- the Continental posters-determined to transmit • ,„ a • ..to Madrid papers, in which theydeelarett changes in the Spanish Constitutibb to be the.aOndition on which Spain ...eomitittitien to be the ctuidl ; o)i which Spain could : • reserve their friendshin,the.uliiitiSh Plenipotentiary fie- - ' _Voted, time all , his Britannic •Mawaty would do wee to 'continue his Minister at 111 rirhid„ -to -allay the ferment and ireitoron which• the cosnmnnications of the other Powers toast occasion there; Md.." to dol all the good in his power." (hear, hear.) The French Minister retired to determine whether he should enter upon those hostili t ire fol . . 41iich he had laid an • hypothetical foundation ; Vie Allies proceeded t o prepare the despatches which were sent tritheir Ambassadors at Madrid, which were not con tained in the papers laid on•fki tate, but which are sof-. • ficiently known, as they have liePe published in every • Gazette of Europe; and than gritilla'Plenipoteutiary went Paris to renew the attempts iabieh had been ineffectual at Verona, and if they were again Ineffectual, to demand from his own Government taltrOtiOns for our Minitter. at filadcid to disavow all participetion in the projects of hostile interference, and to ciounaud them against any ex et;sses'ivhich might afford what Would be deemed a re trospective, justification for the hostile denunciations of the Allies. Tde Dolce of Wellington returned to. Paris at the beginning of December. At that time the. French t hiverninent, far from being more hostile in its dispose,; lion thin it had shewn 'itself •in the neer:dation, at Ve-' • runa, whether Wenn reconsideration of the circuitistaneei which if is not for me to state, sbewed itself more paci fic, a nd it had at one tithe dereintinedio send bid; to Veroria the &span:hes which had been, prepared at Verona, to pray she ~Soiereigns who 'wWer . yet there to ie consider them hears they'weris' forwarded to Madrid. --This is the enbstence of the first report •of the Deke :of . . Wellington from Paris. Up to this time no caufunicatiOn had takin• place on the sulsject of the negoations'at Verona, bitteeen this Country . and Spain, and the cause of this I tvrtl shortly explain. In the last Session -of Parliament the clamour, the just clamour, began to be heard through this country of the . . • . Impediments thrown in the way' of our commercial sac vigation in the West Indian Seas. It must he recollected by the Members of the House, that ships bearing the flags- sonic of the Colonies engaged in hostilities with sOme of Spain itself, had committed depredations to an enormous amount, under vircumstances loudly call ing for the interference of the Government. I certainly remember it well; becacsr, as a Representative of 'a great commercial town,. I had to bring forward complaints of what was deemed. the supineness of those who had the direction of the power of a great commercial nation, whose rights and inter , •sts were considered to hive been shamefully violated. At last ad armament was fitted out, by which this country was to take into its own bands that redress which had been in vain sought at Madrid Orders bad been given to Commodore Owen, in the event of the Pirates again finding refuge on the coast of Cuba, after asking assistance from the Commandant of Cubs, with his assistance if he granted it, and without his assistance if he withheld tt, to effect a landing on the coast of Cuba, and to root out the Pirates from their holds. In giving their orders, and taking this step, 1 hops it is unnecessary to say that the British Government thought it right to communicate its intentions to the Court °Madrid. About the same tune pretensions were renewed lvf some of the Spanish commanders on the Spanish Main—pretensions obsolete and forgotten for ma ny years, to Odare in a state of constructive blockade the whole of the coninent of Spanish America, and to capture ' all vessels whim should presume to violate it. There were ' instances in wlich this blockade bad been rigorously in forc ed, and more orders since ISO, there had been subjects of complaint oh the part of British commerce, and a series of unanswered representations, and unredressed grievances to the Court of Madrid. 'it was thought necessary, as eoe an gry discussion most take place, to taring all these matters to a point. That justice was on our side, is proved by the fact, that after the negociation, redress was specifically pro mised: that the injury was not small, is sufficiently shewn by the sum set aside for the purpose of compensation by the Spanish Goverment. The sum was half a million sterling, though not, I believe, half the original claim. Tim mission on which Sir William A'Court was first erne ployed, was in urging these remonstrances, and in com municating the instructions which had been sent to our commanders in the West Indies-Ist, as to the Island of Cuba, and 211 y, to make reprisals on Spanish ships, if compensation should be withheld for the losses of our merchants. Redress was promis dby the Spanish Go vernante, and in time fur instructions to be seat to Sir J. ()wen to stay reprisals, and it is bat just to saf that I believe that , promise of redress, was made by the Spanish Government with the fullest idea of faithfully performing I it. I have stated this un invitlionsl y , for wiled redress I was one promised, not a trace of hostile feeling sur vived ; but the House will see that it was cot amidst such negotiations that this Government could most ellec tu illy interfere in behalf of European Spain. It was not at the moment : when we were ourselves preferring claims in behalf of American grievances, that we could assume the best attitude in defending the independence of Spain against European invaders, and it was oven to reserve our commanications with Madrid, on the transactions at Verona, till the time should come when we might avoid the appinranoe of at once attacking and protecting her. have seen in various quarters, and hears that wan offence was found in our sending Sir W. A'Court to re present, at the Court of Madrid, tfie British Government. It was said that be came from Naples to carry his Neapo litan politics to Spain. Now it happened, whimsically enough (he bad set omit for Spain betore my appointment, and I have scarcely the honour of the slightest personal acquaintance with him). But l say, whimsically enough it happened, that at the very time the mission of Sir W. A'Court was represented as the greatest grievance to the Spanish Government, the minittete of the use Allied Powers s ending on me in Downing-street, to repre sent against the him, as calculated tu encourage the Spaniards. It was certainly , difficult to ; mete be tween objections so opposite; no matter what the answer was, Sir William Atourt has gone to Madrid, and there be has remained. I can well imagine, that as the cha t ratter in which Sir William A'Court was first employed, was that of an obdurate debtor calling for payment--I can well believe that as the Spanish Government was suffering under his daily demands, it might, nut know ing the course which the Government he represented was pursuing. as to the connexion of Spain with European politics, entertain an unfavourable idea of Sir W. At. in his official character. But as soon as the hope of in ducing the Allots to abandon altogether the idea of in terfering with Spain was extinguished, information was sent to hladrid of the whole course of the negotiations of Verona. It was then *hewn, that while Sir W. A'Court had been shewing the obdurate character of a creditor, his tiovernmeat had been ac ing towards Spain the part of unsolicited friendship. Since that time the feeling towards Sir W. A'Court has been considerably changed, and that Gentleman himself has displayed as earnest endeavours and as Spanish a feeling to do good to Spain as any one could possibly chew. While Spain was yet uncertain as to the course of the wegociations at Verona, an application was snide from Spanish Ministers to the British Government—tirst, to know the actual course of those negotiations, and then to induce this country to use its good offices in the maintenance of peace. In this, which was a written application, care was taken by the Spanish that nothing should be requested that might he inconsistent triclinic most strictly Conceived system of neatral:ty. —" Good offices, counsels, the reflec tions ofone friend in favour of another," which do not place a nation in concert of attack or defence with another, and which would rather entitle the party interfering to the thanks of the opposite party, than expose it to any hos tile feeling. Such was time nature of the intervention which theSpanisb Minister specifically requested. Af ter the receipt of' this communication his Majesty's Go vernment did not hesitate a moment to write to the Duke of Wellington to offer the mediation of his Majesty to accommodate the differences between France and Spain. The French Government, aft :r sonic deliberation, de-' :dined the proffered mediation, as the different ea,between .the two countries were not of that specific and . practical kind that t. m ediation could remove them , but that they had grown.out of the state of things in the two king tionise—lhat tberhad arisen from the influence which the state of things in Spain had had on his Most Christian Majesty's Government, and that the two countries had got in to such a state of irritation, that war would be pre ferable as affording some chance of a solution. (hear.)— ~ II am really stating as near as I can the substance of the argument of the French Government —it oyes added, ho 'ether, that his Most Christian Majesty could not accept • the mediation of England ; hewould willingly accept of a reciprocation of good offices, and begged his Britannia, Majesty to,coatinne his good offices at Paris and Madrid'. Here 1 admit was a case in which it May be said, that unless something tangible was brought forward, we should have begged to withdraw from further interfer ence ; but at the same time that the mediation was de .clamed, this step was accompanied with the most solemn assurances of pacific intentions, and, as au alarm beyond example prevailed as to the dauger of time war, not to I Spain only, but to France, and through her to all Ea- 1 rope, while there was even a chance of peace. and while it was through the exertions of this country only that the chance could he taken advantage of. I think it was our duty to try what could be done. At this stegeooo, there was this special advantage as compared with the time of the negociations at Verona, viz. that the question was reduced to a simple one between France and Spain. Of the cases is which the Allies were botiadto interfere in behalf of France none had arrived, and we at least hid the cettainty before ns, if we failed to prevent the war, that our interference could neither basien it or rat:. der it more dangerous. We did consequently use our good offices, and in doipg so we toak the utmost care no -wesser duly to dis inguish our conduct from that of the Ceta nentgl Powers and our principles from those which France avowe d ' in the despatch to her Minister, — but to guar 1 against the supposition of any thine like unfriendly interference. The Duke of Welling ton had sustained Spanish liberty against t attacks of France, and had ultimately made it triumphant ; the independence which he had established by his sword. he had endeavoured to p . inviolate by his diplomatic la bours at Verona. If ever there Vilna man who was entitled to honour in Spain, it was the Duke of Wellington. No thing, therefore, could he less invidious than the! the man who had earned a Spanish character by gratitude and by adoption, should speak what many of his private friends at Madrid knew to have been long his real sentiments. Tile Duke of Wellington, therefore, sent his friend to Madrid — the partner of the toils of tne Peninsular war.-the assi - ant of his labours at Verona, with his opinion of the course which it would be prudent for Spain to pur sue. This opinion was given in a paper delivered at Madrid, put together not with all the finesse of diplo macy, but honestly and plainly spoken. This opinion was given after Spain had asked for our interference and nu! counsels : It was after France had stated that it was through Eng:and alone that she could look for an accommodation ; it was at a time when it was through such a proposal alone that we could look for a pacification, that this lest expedient was resorted to; then it was, that not asking any thing for ourselves, not making this or that form of csnstitutionai re formstion the condition of our friendship, or even of our ex ertion!, but suggesting what we thought for tae advantage' of Spain, and echoing the voice of Spaniards, that the ad vice of the Duke of Wellington was sent to the Spaniards This advice was offered, and Lord Fitzroy Somerset was sent to Madrid. Looking on this proceeding at the distance of three months with a full knivrledge of whit had been its success, with the chance of all the misconceptions and a.l the hazard which attended it. I know not, if I had to decide again, how it might be decided, but this I know, that if I bad declined to take that step, and war had ensued, I should 'have had difficulty in shewing to England and to the world a satisfactory reason, having the powers I possessed, why I declined to avail myself of them. The application of Spain for the good offices of this country was made early in De cember, the offer of mediation to France, and the dis cussions on It began in December, and ended in Janu ary—into the particulars I shall not go, because the whole will be found in the papers on the tante. Lord Fitzroy Somerset arrived at Madrid on the 20th of January • and not long after his arrival the re an event occurred calculated to shake the determination of his Ma jesty's Government, and to remove almost every hope of a pacific result—l mean the extysor inary Speech with wlech the French Government thought fit •to open the Sessiou of the Chambers.—(l(ear, hear.) —Of the principles avowed' in that Speech with respect to• the Spanish Constitution. no one can think with more pain, to use no stronger expression, than 1 do.—(llesr, hear.) If the Spaniards had been called upon to make such and such modifications of their instil*. Lions because they threatened the safety of their neighbour, while they formed a bar to their own improvement, it le possible .to conceive that such a demand might have beers urged, and might have been listened to t but when it was broadly stated that Spain could only hold her institutions from the King, that she must reinstate him in absolute power. that be might divest himself of as sma:l a portion of it as he thought fit, this was putting the proposal in a shape Which no Spanish Minister could be expected. to Admit, and i which certainly no British Statesman could ever be found to recommend.—(Hear.) Ceder such circumstances, it was necessary to tell them plainly, that if such was the meaning of the Speech, there must be an end of all negotiation through as, and that it could proceed no further; that tide principle was one which no British Statesman could recom mend; it was a principle which struck at the British Con stitution.—(Hear, hear.)—and which see could never sub mit to acknowledge. It was added, that while on the one hand 'Great Britain did not pretend to put forward her own political institutions es the model on which the world was bound to reform their Governments, It could not on the other (at Ale. same time not question log that the people of France enjoyed considerable happiness under their Or/vestment) tolerate that Franca should impose its form of Government on Spain, and make it binding on that country. by virtue of 'the consan guinity of the Sovereigns. It was to be expected that this would have shut the door of all further communication. But, on the contrary, the negotiation was continued, and, I am bound to say, that even after that period there was still'its. a hope of its coming to an amicable conclusion. ladeed, tt was singular that that Speech when ceramunicated to me by the French Charge d'Affaires, was accompanied by profes• sions of a wish to preserve peace—Was accompanied by an expression of a warm desire to come to an accommodation, and it was in accordance with that desire that our efforts were still employed In erecting that accommodation. It is not neceisary that I should trace minutely tole these proceed. ings ; but, I shall at once state, that up riod, the French Government, in spite of all our demon strations to the contrary, continued to think that it had struck the right chord of feeling at Madrid, and there found the specific for Spanish accommodation.. Sir, while tiese thing w e r e passing, a new application was made to us by the Spanish Government —an application which will also be found in these papers for the renewal of the active employ ment of our good offices. If we had not attended to these requests, we should have been, not exercising our own discretion, but setting up our own opinion its contradiction to their declared hopes, that it was yet possible to.come to an accommodation, and that it was worth the trial. But from that time Great Britain took no further part is the ne gociations. No more instructions were sent to Lord F. Somerset. Sir W: A'Court being nearer Paris then London by three days, was necessarily acquainted with the neeociations carrying ova oefore they were known to the Government here, an itiv d conc n erning whih Scould ir William A'Court, having no pose istructions, c only state what lie auppeaed would be the views enter tained at home. At length, on the total failure of our hopes, I took an opportunity of frankly stating that cir cumstance to the House.—Nothiug remained for the British G over nment but in state to both p %sties the course it intended to pursue in so deplorable :c crisis—a coo se that should be at once consistent with the welfare of all parties, and with Its own, interest and honour; and never for a moment, from the beginning of our inter course with Spain, respecting the negotiations at Verona, never' fur a single mane. t had. the Spanish Government been led to believe— , ttevec.bacl the conduct of Great Bri tain been such as ,to,encotttage a hope that this course would be any other Battu that of soh: t neutrality (hear, hear!) We had aim+ aeted on the principle of doing all in our power to avert war, but had always declared, should it ensue, that It was our determination to take no part in it. It is not necessary for use to say that the seine communication was made to France. From the docu ments laid on the Table it would be evident, that when it was ascertained what the conduct of France would be, it was thought necessary to speak out plainly. As an evidence of this, Sir, I shall read only one of the Papers laid on the Table. It is the conclusion of the last des patch addressed by me to his Majesty's Ambassador at Paris, and communicated by him to the French Govern inent. It contains a resume of our whole conduct, and 'I wished that the French Government should see it, that they might know I had stated nothing of which that were ignorant. After referringto the whole of the docu ments and proceedings,:this despatch says: — It remains only to' describe the conduct which it is Ms Majesty's desire and intention to observe, itt a conflict be tween two nations, to each of whom his Majesty is hound by the ties of amity and alliance. The repeated disavowal, by his Most Christian Majesty's Government, of all views of ambition and aggrandisement, forbids the suspicion of any design on the part of France. to establish a permanent military occupation of Spain; or to force his Catholic Ma jesty into any measures, derogatory to the independence of his Crown, or to his existing relations with other powers.— The repeat assurances which his respect NNW> , has received, of the determeidnation of France to the dominions of his Most Faithful Nlejesty, relieve his Majesty from any apprehension of being called upon to falfil the obligations of that intimate defensive connection, whiCh has so long subsisted between the crowns of Great .Britsiti and Port ugal. With respect to.the . provinces in America; which bave thrown off their allegiance to the crown of Spain. time and the course of events appear to have sabstaatially decided .„ • ~ ..... .1 ' l l p 6 wt dl3 eti us. pa wI ex tli4 01 Fr eit au bu 'so Sp ob ag