The Statesman. — London, England, 1815-05-20 00:00:00

To THE EDITOR OF THE STATESMAN. —.R.— It is almost superfluous to say, that the affairs of Europe are at present In a more momentous crisis than they ever were at any former period ;and as this cr i s is has been produced by the misconduct of the men who had the fate of the whole civilized world in their hands, it may be worth while to enquire how they ought to act in order to repair, if possible, the errors they have committed. By. their violation of the Treaty of Foritainbleau, and by thei r ra p ac i ous policy in the Congress, it cannot be denied that the Allies brought about the return of BONAPARTE to France, and the suspicious conduct of the Bouneorts rendered that return acceptable to the majority of the French nation. If these facts are admitted, the injustice of the war on the part of the Allies cannot for a moment be denied. It seems to me, however, that war is by no means so cer tain as some people have imagined, as some have wished, and as others have feared. They who undertake it, subject themselves to a dreadful responsibility, and when they begin to be convinced of the unanimity of the French people, I believe ti riv will pause before they hazard the safety of ?heir own percale, and the existence of their Go. • or amelits. To this country, above all others, war mu,t be attended with the most frightful conse quences, even should it be successful ; and that it should be successful who can believe, that has ever attended to the event of all wars undertaken by coa 'kiwis against a nation united and determined to be free. 1 consider Europe as now placed precisely in 'Le same situation as in the year 1793. I perceive ' not an ati.m of difference, except that the force of Fiance is now directed by one powerful individual, ! and she was then the prey of faction and anarchy, till the force of terror united her under a sanguinary 1 Gr.vernment, nod enabled her to repel the ill-corn. ! pacted league nhich menaced her liberty and ! pendency. Should tke Constitution about to be pro posed to the French people undergo those modifica tions which can alone make it palatable to the friends of liberty, it will do more to unite the French against I their enemies, titan even the tremendous arm of 11°1mm:tutu; it will mite them in bonds of liar. molly sal affeetion, and render them invitteil.•:e by all the terrors of despotism. 1 hold the present Coa lition against France more profligate in principle, and mere dangerous in its consequences, than even that of 1793 ; for it not only attempts to dic tate to the French nation wham they shall have, but whom they shall not have for their ruler. It . goes to limit the rights of every nation within these narrow bounds, that before they can choose a ruler for themselves, they must first consult the pleasure and caprice of all surrounding nations, who are to he at liberty to punish other people for taking nil. vantage of their own breach of treaty. The Allies bloke the Treat) of Foittainbleau, and yet they wish to punish the French nation becaose BONA-. r RTE chose to take advantage of their perfidy. Butt it seems the war cannot be tarried on without moneyo and where is the money to come from ? Where, but from England. But can England supply all the de.' mands of the other Powers ? Will her people submit to 1)- taxed almost to their last chilling, to support foteif s iti armies, for purposes evidently against their ean interest—for is it not the interest and the po. ; licv,atid in the power of this country, more than ausy other, to he at peace, unless she chooses to embroil herself with the affairs of the Continent ? But Bitterer, dear Banover--Hanover is a millstone about our necks, that will bring us to the ground— Hanover will sink us like a talent of lead at our heels, in the sea of political ruin—rind .chat is Hanover to us, to the people of Engle: The king dom of Hanover may be a pleasing sound in the oars of our Government, but what is it to us ? Will it increase our trade ? Will it help to pay our taxes ? Will it help to lessen our debts ?• No ;it has diminished the first, inasmuch as it has increased, and will increase the two last to an enormous extent.— Ilanover has been the cause of almost all our wars! upon the Coatinent. and if we were rid of it to.mor row we should be richer and happier. It remains then to consider how the Allies ought to act, in order to avoid those tremendous calamities which war must inevitably bring upon all European nations. They , oast seek price in the spirit of peace—they must w} , .,11( of cultivating and improving the countries they ratty possess—they mast reader justice to those :1005 ,hey or their ancestors have injured—they mu , 4 treat with Rom te.s RTC upon equal terms, as a eign elected by the choice of his people and sup ated by their power—they must lay aside all ant , bitious thoughts of aggrandisement and domination — they must respect the rights of men, as well as the rights of kings—and finally, they must act upon V:e principle they professed when they first fo am! themselves strong enough to pass the hutindaries of France, and release the French f' orn the tyranny of Bo ear. t RTE—for Boss l'Aue was a tyrant, though he never can be one 'Pill. Should reason and redaction take place of inssion and violence in the bosoms of the three great hvideis of the Coalition, the consequences will be hiralculably beneficial to all Europe; but should V , "y persist in the principles avowed in the first De riaration, vengeaticc will certainly pursue them, till trey are forced to drink " the bitter ingredients of their own clpalice." ti4hton, Mly I remain, Firr. W. B. TlerroosagaDEN.—Friday a most distre , sing rate came before the Pilagistrates nt thiv Office, a bieh was that of a father, 4 010 .5 resort tibie tradesman, whose feelings we will not by mentioning his name. against his reprobate child, a girl Just turned ten years of age. The unforsusiate patent, wiln Itee%e i suffused is team :aid neatly deprived of the power of rra ltd die child by thr..httnd before she M igistraies. io half a °traces, he related heart-rending complaints h , r abandoned conduct, and then requested their advice and "''dance liliw to act by her, to prevent her coming to total !Istniction and an untimely end. The Magistrates very fed :o7 rompassi,nuted his Misfortune, but more they mould not site *asunder age to be admitted into the Magdalen. as try take none under ears of ; she did not come under the deseri tams of person,: admitted into the R Its4e. for she Dts , - 'srlditse essul.l not be re caved into the Philmthropie, ns saal *at far the rerept of the children of convi-ted felons. r. *as at length agreed upon, with the cement of the Church -441"1.-, 141ie her int., the W..tkhume, with orders to pre /' o 4 her risiee nut, and that her father should pay a weekly fu. h. r . aintruawc‘!. G • p te, bitint ey r th e i : bd t ! • te r fln m eA ttr 4gaits y Little inn o i • Choy rilra . th e y /44 rtt I.) berm e a tno onto, I, girl ,e etne it or Ot t tste c ▪ key irt ~. they the if t a t Chile, ▪ it Ita ihrwi as% 1., It, . ts , l'lth StATESMA&. . . IMPERIAL PARLIAMBNT.' form of a Tieaty, he should not be enabled to lay —am— I any Message on the subject bef ore th e H ouse . HoUSE OF LORDS, MAY 19. , ! Earl GREY remarked what an extraordinary state In the case of Warne r a n d C u n n i ng h am , t h e judgmect of the the House was pla c t•d i t' . Th e 'T reaty o f t h e 30th Court below was affirmed. of March agreed to maintain the arrangements con in.;ginent was postponed lathe eased Cochrane aguinst Lord , eluded and signed at the C ongress o f Vi enna , an d Minto. the House was to be called on to support that Treat -, rat O o o r l d wigh's Divorce Rill Como were heard , and the sere of the Court .. f Chancery relative 13 t h e Li me .f without bei ng i n possess i on o f t h e arrangerneo's a rt Mr,. Leigh. : which it was founded—not enl to suort (kern, but A Message f ro m th e C omm on s brought up the Irish Awash ' y pp Bill, the I r ish Eseise and Assesse I Taxes Bills, the Militia: to give large sums to our Alli es , ra i se d f rom t h e pen- Amendment Bilb the Foreigo Slave Trade Bill, ts hienwere I pie of this country. Il e wo u ld, t h ere f or e, i ntreat severally rmol n fir., time. 4 t the House to consider wheth er t h e H ouse can enter The Duke of R UTL A ND presented a Peti inn f rom L. t ter a g ainst the licrilyent Act. i into the discussion as ithout that information. There The E q uitable Tide It'll was rime a second time. wa lso one of (he Treaties oWq Welt had not been re. Tee Will and Power Bill went thro ug h » C omm ittee and s l its ; fit a l s i ; a he wished to kn o w wh a t P o i ret i t Was Whose reviled. rite Glebe Ii 11:%e5 Bill gent throu ; :h a Committee, wes re- I ratification hail not been received ? ported pro arena. and ordered to be printed. The Earl IA VER L POO—Austria ( liCai., Earl LA N HOPI.. presented a Petition ream the kJ/tour:trios ! ' of rer. and other, of th e C oun t y o f P ert h, prayin g for a repen t o f hear): but certain int e lli gen C e h as b een rece i ve d that the Treats. has been ratified by th a t P ow er .— the Cam Bill, oral statin g , amon g oth,c grounds of oject % km to troduced by 'hat measure, tde tosinjvasruurr,y to which, education toL;etite r which with had i the di,tiae n fact b e et! i The Noble Earl then stated, that h e sh ou ld not sub s 1 which hail been produced by il, would send tu ion tease a mit any proposition t o th e H ouse t o appease o f anym I vomit, eof et One, part of the arrangements at Congress, which were The East India Gratuities Bill was read a Ant time. not laid before them. FOREIGN RELATIONS. Earl of DARNLEY observed, that the Dsrlars- Earl GREY said, that as no objection had been lion of Louis XVIII. respecting which he had put made to the production of the overture which had n question when it first made its appearance, was iii been made by the present Government of France to efrect the same as that which has been issued by the this country, he wished to know whether it would Duke of Wellington, for that ;Monarch stated that' be laid before the House, and on what day ? .• ; his Allies would acknowledge bias alone as the Sore- Thereign of France. lie wished to know, th ere f ore ,' Earl of LIVERPOOI. said, it would be laid whether that Proclamation of Louis XVIII. was au- before the House on M on d a y. lie should at the theistic, and whether there was an y o bj ect i on to l ay same time observe, that he believed it was nearly word for word the same as that which hod bees, it before the House ? .• printed in the French Pap er s as a ci r c u la r overture ' No answer having been given, to the different Powers of Europe. I The Marquis of BUCKINGHAM observed, that • Earl GREY said, that he remembered having seen as the conduct of his Majesty's Ministers had in all respects been so irregular, that he was justified in such a documeut in the public Papers, though he did departing from the strict course of order, by making not exactly recollect its substance, but. it was eel.. tainly necessary that the more observations. The Declaration of the 30th of House should have it its an authentic shape before it sign of assent from the March stipulated to support the arrangements a hick ( had been signed and concluded at Vienna—not, it Earl of Liverpool); and also that some more time should be afforded the House for the consideration of was to be observed, the arrangements which might it than was now proposed to be given. Neither hereafter be concluded. It did not matter in what would any time be suilicieut to enable them to shape the Noble Earl (Liverpool) submitted his pro decide on the question which was to be submitted position to the House, but they had to look to the to them, in the present very defective state of their i Treaty itself, which they were to he called on to ap.' information. Nit only eras this country engaged to ,Prove of, and until tlie Noble Earl could " rase the seal from off the bond," the House, by approving the several Treaties of which, in substance, they of the Treaty, would approve the arrangements of were in posses s ion, but in the Treaty of the 30eh of the Congress to which it referred. He thought it March there was an article by which the Allies , was not too much that the House and the country agreed to maintain the arrangements which should have been signed and contracted at the Congress of , should ask what these arrangements.were. It was not now the time to consider whether the question Vienna : now before the House decided that it was expedient to enter into a war to support those en- i had been put off too long ; he believed it had been gngements by a war, and by subsidies to our Allies, , put off too long for the strength of the count r} ; but it was surely necessary that their Lordships should i it was imperative on the House to know what they be informed of the nature of them. Of those en- were to bind themselves to support. lip should again gagetnents, however, they were at that time& entirely enquire whether any copy of a D Plaration of his ignorant, excepting only those which had been made Most Christian Majesty had been issued at Ghent? Tl of LIVEPL as to Genoa. But as to the partition of Saxony, Gov he Ear ernment was not ans ß wer O ab O said, his Majesty le for any Declaration ' which, if it possibly could be made more important, issued by any Foreign Power t , I Stair. was rendered more important by the circumstances of the present time, no information whatever was Earl GREY wished to know whether there was any reason to clouts' the authenticity of that Decla before the House, nor as to any of the other ars raogements which had been made at the Congress, I ration' The Earl of although the House W3l to be called on to say that it of -. LIVERPOOL said, that he could I' . arat deny er arm the authenticity of any thing is vats just and expedient that the country thOttld" on sued by Louis XVIII. dertake a war, one of the foundations of which was to be the maintenance of those arrangements. Thfre ' The Earl of BARN LEY said, to bring the matter to the test, he •. mul e move art Address for the Copy was another article in the Treaty of .the 30th of of any Declar,,r,on of Louis XVIII. issued at Ghent, March, which stipulated that it.sbould be proposed : to the King of France, now at Ghent, to accede which might ki vo reached this country. • to that Tteaty, and to state what degree of assist- The Marquis of BUCKINGHAM observed, that ance he should be able to render to the common Louis XVIII. in the Declaration alluded to, had cause of (he alliance. Now it was proper that the spoken not only in his own name, but in the name House should be in possession, not only of the invis of his Allies. i tation which hail been made to Louis XVIII., but I Tile House then divided on the motion of the Earl also of his answer , and the extent of means which ,of Darnley -1 he possessed of co-operating with the Allies. The couttnis - - 98 Not t•fmtents - 59 propriety of our entering into an alliance with Louis Majority Roost the Mat im —SI X VIII. it was not then the time to discuss, but that THE GENERAL PETITIQNI (IF THE CATHOLICS OF the House should be in possession of the state of our IItELAND. engagements with that Monarch there could be no The Earl of DONOUGHMORE said, that the doubt. There was another point, which, though Petition of his Catholic countrymen, which had been not connected with the Treaties, on which he wished 'again confided to him, he should then solicit their to receive some explanation. A Declaration had Lordships' permission to lay upon the table of that been published, purporting to be the Proclamatioe i House. Upon its subject matter, which hall already of the Dike of Wellington, which, he had no doubt, and so often engaged the attention of Parliament, it would be found to be a forgery emanating from some • was equa ll y unnecessary, and inconsistent with the person or other, as it was totally inconsistent with present stage of the proceeding, that he should the declaration attached to the Treaty of the 30th of March. He, however, wished that the Noble Earl] offer any observation. lie thought it, however, not (Earl of Liverpool) would state that it was a for- it unfitting that he should apprize their Lordships that gery, and also whether be was possessed of any the signatures to that Petition were numerous and formation as to the person from whom that forgery in' l respectable ; not that he should wish to attribute to issued. I that consideration any very particular degree of i weight. It was not to the rank or number of the The Earl of LIVERPOOL had not the least hest- Petitioners, but the grievances of which they com tatinn in assuring the Noble Earl (Earl Grey), that plained, that their Lordships' attention would ne he had never seen nor heard of that Proclamation cessarily be directed : and where the disfranchise before he had observed it in an Evening Paper, in ment of a large class of the community, without any which it was copied from a F r en c h Pap er o f the 13th. imputed civil offence, constituted the weighty He could only say that it was highly improbable that ground of these renewed complaints, their Lordships any Proclamation should have been issued by the would not surely pause to count the number of those Duke of Wellington in the present state of th!ngs. who might have thought it expedient to raise their As to the source from which that Proclamation could voices up, at this particular crisis, against the general have originated, it was of course impossible that he grievance. The common principle of exclusion must could speak, as he knew of the existence of it, as be considered to unite, in pursuit of the same redress, he had before said, only from the public Prints. .As naturally and as a matter of course and of necessity, to the other points which had been mentioned by the every member of the proscribed cast, of whatever Noble Earl (Earl Grey), he did not wish then to en- description or degree, and how far soever those ter into any discussion ; but he co u ld state that the amongst them, the most distinguished for rank and communication from the Government of F r ance hay- ! property, for talent and discretion, hail agreed in ing been referred to the Allies at Vienna, it was de- sentiments with each other, or may, perhaps, have aided that no nogociation should he entered into on ; differed in opinion, respecting the manner in which it. Such was the fact, and he did n o t conceive that , these appeals to Parliament have been, or ought to any further information could be given. On the , have been, framed and conducted. other point mentioned by the Noble Earl, viz. the The Petition having been received and read, the accession of the King of France to the Treaty of Noble Lord appointed Thursday se'nnight; the Ist Alliance, the accession of the King of France had of June, for its consideration, and for which day the certainly not been received in this country, though House was ordered to be summoned. the Treaty had been submitted to him ; and as to the : CONGRESS. means of the King of France it would not be in his I The Marquis of EUCKINGITAM said, that as power to submit any information to the House ; but it appeared that this country had entered into stipu certainly it was not on the existence or extent of lations to maintain the arrangements at the Congress, those means he should ground the proposition which in the Treaty which was to be discussed on Tuesday, he had on Tuesday to submit. He, therefore, thought and as it was impossible to come to that discussion there was no reason for further delay, whether there without a knowledge of those arrangements, he had already been too long a delay was another ques- should give notice, that on Thursday, the only day tion. on which he could make that mntioo without delay [The Noble Earl here being about to sit down, ing the discussion of the Treaty, he should move for Earl Grey reminded him of his question as to the the production of the arrangements concluded at the proceedings at the Congress.] Congre ss. - -- - - .... HOUSE OF COMMONS. Rte 3,44i51n itreieut. it :.t the I;:rr a fPIIII , I f the estorf, neel imports of lrrtani for the ji•:r rne.ing oh hisos,r‘, , Orderri or, lie soo the tat,lr, es 44 11. ;.er1•1401 111 e-4 . 151.1 IrV Mr. IRVIN h, of the trif• Ariwren Crrat Brititio had 4iur 111,4 Av,ri the I:,v three I Mr. (:tali isreseroid a Petiliuri from the C of the Counts Hod eits or cork, pins itsitsAirf.—.o .!..led to lie 1111 the table, as on ; a P. titiisu prnislied •it ht 1;"*. Grut from Ire t...siirrt..is and itsocibi.ivris of DO'iii ut.i . orm tl.e Timber A. I, tro:rl: , er with a 44silur fruits %Vittri flied ine-ria,d bt So .1. N.. per., I \ SOLVENTS. Mr. D. GIDDY, adiertittgto the prev:sinn in Insolvency Bill before ilie !Inuie for compe'liee i h debtors to disclose and surrend er th e ir p ro p e rt y l ot I:ll(isfacciot) of their creditors, gave; orifice of Ilk move, it, the progress Of the that the principle of that prorision shoidd he ex : tended to persons ez entitled to the Ps iiilege of rat liatoelit. The le,lia Company Gratuisie4 1311 tree read a 'third time and pissed; as uas the Iriets• Gaols Con , tract after a short conversation between Sir J. Nee port and Mr. Peele. 't HE BANK. Mr. Gil ENEELL, after urging hew desirable it was to haie the accoents oadered some lime since with rel,ect to the Rink I:rotight forts arA in dye time to enable the Hotta/ to form it judgment neon ,the subject before the conclos:ors of the Session, moved, dist Accounts rely-cting Ilse B u ilt, which were ordered Ws the Stith of April last, Should be produCed forthwith. ' The motion *as agreed tb. The Report of the ComMitioe on the eXpeclieney of providing for the Improvement of [Milli, liar.; 'boor, by imposing a certstin tax upon the i ,, nsr.,e of iessels turfing theretn, was le ongit op, weed to, anti leave given td bring in a 1.1i:1 purs-;itit to the Report. The ,house, hn the motion of Mr. V. Frrz ,C; EKAI.I), resolved into a Committee Co (-molder the propriety of a Bill to regulate the pas men: of duties upon foreign gnmis imported into t o rero Bri- We from Ireland, and also from Ireland into Great Britain. Sir J. NEWPORT said, that he could not help thinking this Bill unnecessary, as the Article* of Union made ample provision for the purpose alluded to, and he could not hesitate to ptottounce it as yr tremply impolitic and unjust, if it were intended to , interfere with those Articles which ne;ht to be held sacred with a view to preserve nn harmonious con ' section betweeu the two countries. Nothing, in deed, was calculated to create more alarm, espe cially in Ireland, than to find those Articles meddled with from time to time, as if they were mere sta. tutahle provisions., liable to he changed at the Or , sure of the Legislature. But if any doubts existed upon the interpretation of those Articles, he hoped that such doubts would be removed to the satisfactiou of all parties. • ' Mr. FITZGERALD stated that his proposition was brought forward in consequence of doubts which arose upon this subject out of the construction of the Union, the sanctity of whirl, he rnuld assure the Right Hon. Baronet he was as anxious to mcisstaitt as any man. Mr. HORNER. deprecated strongly any attempt to interfere with the Articles of the Union, unless very great doubts indeed existed is to their construc tion. For the letter of those Articles should, on all occasions, be treated as the governing principle of the Legislature. Mr. FITZGERALD said, he was acting in con. formity to the opinion of the Counsel of certain pub lic Beards, who entertained doubts upon this snbje , ..t, With which doubts, however, he did not himself on !cur. Therefore he had. no wish to press the Bill as the doubts alluded to would probably he rerneved by a discussion in that House. But he trusted that no objection would be made to have the Bill brought in. The Resolution proposed was agreed to after it short conversation between Sir J. Newport.and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The House resumed, the report was received, and leave given to bring its the Bill. Ordered, on the motion of Mr. BENNETT, that a return should be laid before the House of the number of ships employed as convict hulks upon the Thames and Merle my, and also in Langston Harbour. A Committee was appointed for Morseay, on the motion of Mr. LUSHINGTON, to consider the charges of pickets and th. , expense of conveying let ters to the Cape of Good Hope and bur settlements in the East Indies. The Chapel Eiernplion Bill was read a second time and committed for I uesday. The House in Committee upon the Glass Duty Acts agreed to severel Resolutions.—Report on Monday. TFIE REGENT. Lord ALTHORPE said, that as the consideration of the expected Message from the Prince Regent was likely to take place on Tuesday, he should postpone until Friday the motion of which be gave notice yes terday, with respect to the application of the vote of 100,0001. to the Regent for the purposes of an outfit. Sir H. PARNELL moved for the appointment of a Select Committee to consider the means of facili tating the intercourse between the two countries:be improving the road from London to Holy head, and establishing certain facilities for the conveyance of the baggage belonging to Members of Parliament. This :notion was agreed to after a conversation be tween Sir J. Newport, Mr. l'eele, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Mr. V. Fittgerald. THE CRISIS. Mr:TIERNEY asked, whether the copy of the overture from Bonaparte, which was promised y ea _ terday by the Noble Secretory for Foreign AlTsir-, would be presented this day ? Ths CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER ap prehended that the paper alluded to would be pre. beefed on Monday. Mr. TIERNEY thought it probable that the No. ble Lord would not bring forward this paper instil the day of debate, siaith a view, as 'say usual with shit Noble Lord, to produce she , . 14.) The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQL Elt made some observations %bids were quite inaudible in the gallery. Mr. WHITBREAD said, that as notice Ised•been given some time since, that public business wee to commence at half after four o'clock, and as the How • - lie though' I proceedings at the Uongress..l Vongress. •-••• ••••• • •—•••••-• -•-• - At to the proceedings at the Congress the Noble The Lords were ordered to be summoned for that I was not again to meet until Itlotich‘v, he ilsno it ht it • • Y • Earl observed, that until they were re duced to the day.—Adjourned4 l necessary, in the absence of the :hole &clot. ry '''• , • ' I it t - 1 • 1 I ~, • '. iti l I I I i 1