The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1803-05-24 00:00:00

riff to oired before Holland conquest stele reign out of this et aor, would .as House ivhettier ' Vgregati of ace'. .itions by France be not „.ficient groilnd for not executing the treaty of Amiens ? I come row to the second point, whether the tenth article respecting Malta can be carried into tied, according to the letter and spirit of its pro visions. (Here the Noble Lord detaikd the ar ticle, after which lie proceeded as follows).—Now how due' the case stand?? Several of the /aariee have been abolished, and the Pope is to nominate the Grand Master. In times of old, when Popes made and erred Kings, when they deposed Princes and absolved subjeds from their allegiance, in such times a Grand Master, nominated by a Pope, .night be entitled to some resped and attention. Pin %Who is the present !lope ? I'he creature of the infallible Bonaparte, not a Pape who could depose him from his throne, but one who holds his authority at the First Co nsul's will and pleasure. Is he then a Pope, under whose care we should place Malta ? From the moment the infallible Consul of France should think fit to excommunicate such a Pope, there would be an end of the power and glory of his Holiness. The monkish history does not ley within the line of my profession, my attention has been lately called to it by the ioint in question, and I have happened to discover, i at, in monkish histo. iy, there is not so sore and to der a point as the in terterence of a Pope with the Knights of Malta : the noniination of the Order, as Grand Master, of the name of Valuta had ffended the Knights, who sumennaed him before them to answer for the Offence. He refused to appear, and the Knights Jr posed him, and appointed another in his place. Upon this, Villeret appealed to the Pope ; bat, al thoush every species of intrigue, influence, and cor ruption was used, his Holiness could not procure the rein stetement of Valuta until after the death of the Grand Master Appointed by the Knights upon his deposition. It is also .t pert of the con stitua n (.f the Order recognized by the treaty, thit the sevaal commanders shall support them seheisoind jointly conti iOute wale maintenance of the Paler ; but only a few now remain. and of that Few, their revenues are not sufficient to afford them a I uncheoli, much less to support the Order in a state of iedepenaence. Iron) thence it will be seen, how far ie. loth article of the Treaty of Amiens be predicable. Now, my Lords, we are conic to the third point ; I me= an avowal of hostility on the part of France. What has, I ask, been the avowed °Neel of the First Consul. respelling Malta and Egypt! In his insolent candour. in sincere impu dence, he avows his intention to seiee Egypt sooner or later, that is, the first opportunity. In corrobo ration of this avowal, neat comes the report of Co. lonel debastieni, the Commercial Agent. M. Tal leyrend, in a conversation with Lord Whitworth, declares that Sebastiani's visit was for a commercial purpose. But how does this commercial Consul proceed in his course of commercial rivalry ? He views the fortresses of the country, and he endea vours to excite the natives to rebellion. Such is the agent of Bonaparte, who calls for the execution of the Treaty of Amiens • a treaty which guarantees the independence of the lanian islands, and the in tegrity of Turkey ; both of which, in his tour, he endeavoured to violate. These are the grounds of aggression upon which I would not deliver up }Latta ; but are they the only grounds ? No, he began with desiring us to send certain persons out of the kingdom, to put down the liberty of the press, to alter our laws and constitution, and he has ended by insulting oar Ambassador. This is the precise course which the Government of France took with respell to Naples. These demands complied with, the next step would be to require olos to ab stain from any coersive measure against such of his ii .. /ajesty's subjects as should declare themselves partial to the present order of things in France. We aiould then have Napper Tandy ease of the French Commercial Agents iii, one of our ports, and Arthur O'Connor would be the Commercial Pro-Consul in the city of Landon. We are to put down the liberty of the.press, but the First Consul is to be at liberty eel publish a libel in a Foreign Gazette against this country. Upon this it is to be observed, M. Talley rand does not say that M. Rheinhard was not au thorized to insert the libel alluded to in the Hew lurk& Correrp edevos. lie only says to Lord Whit worth, that the First Consul was surprized on being informed of the subject, meaning thereby his .surprize at the clumsy manner in which Itheinhard had executed the order, hut by no means disavowing that he received instruetions for that purpose.— I trust this country will exert itself, and over throw the many headed hydra of French usurpa tion, ambition, and incroachment. Ad with that spirit which becomes you, and you will lay this monster at your feet. Teach the nations around you, that ii they have the spirit to defend their rights, dignity. and independence, this country will support Weal j but if they will not exert that spirit, tins country has within itself the power to repel the aggressions of the French G u s- c ement, and the time must come when Bonaparte will wish to blot from his memory the idle threats with which he has insulted anglaasi, and when be will dread the just indignetioa of offended Englishmen. — Upon a full review of all the circumstances which have led to the renewal of the war with France, I have only to add, that I never gave any apinion or vote with so much seuefeetion as for the address to his Majesty. Lead MELVILLE.--" My Lords, every thing I Mains to have :sic) has been so completely antics 'rated by the Noble bad who has just sat do - that I thall have occasion to trouble your L ships but for a very short time. I rise only to e press my own sense of the question upon which tilt war with France has been renewed. Nobody hes , railed in question the propriety of this country pre serving the independence of Malta. Nobody is dis r- - to contend there can be any dou bt , under all E .• ' circumstance, Telenet to this coun tr y and France, • the 10th article of she Treati of d Amiens is in --capable - -tapable of being carried kites execution. ibis I ei k au ta h ave thought i t D aceapiry to have proved, if a Way Noble Lord had thought proper to have called 7 .-"; haft point in question. The Treaty of Amiens, with -Meal 1 , 0 the /Oa article, was incapable of lee' . _ • • ~i • . —.scut:ed. and the. *otidtta if the French tiat:on hes revealed aisy adequate substitute for . it. Witlexesped to the guarantee ortipain, or the gua untied' Pittisia, wheat reliance tan 'be placed on r ; and as to rhos guarantee of what is it ? a the guarantee of France against :0 encroach of tnuece. The only possible guarantee have been the united efforts of Great Britain Bonaparte. I believe the jerkiest alliance be this Country and Russia is for the mutual be nefit of bath. I am convinced the best thing that can happen for Russia is, that Malta should be in possession of Great Britain, because it is the only country in the world which is in possession of a su periority of naval force. It is therefore the only safe custody under which that island can be placed. It we , merely for this purproe I wished t 3 say a re* words. On perusing the papers my chief difficulty was to relieve my mind from those prejedices I hal enter tained. I never can forget the melancholy hmirs felt, when, upon reading, the definitive treaty, I found that there was a question of giving up Malta. I conceive that our possessions in the East Indies depend on the possession of Melta.—lt was by the means of Malta that Bonaparte was enable.: to accomplish that gigantic enterprize which gained France the posseesioli of Et:yet. It was b.- gaining the island of Malta that Great Britain recovered possession of Egypt. It is iineossible that any great or gigantic en7eriniee cal ba conducted ageies. Egypt, while Bait is:lai is in the hands of Great Britain. Whim I Inn!: to our possessions in the East Indies, when I look at the island of Malta, as a great tower in the Medi:err:in:ail, where it can display itself, and hold out protection to the Medi terranean, the Adriatic, and the Levant ; when I consider the present situation of this country, the comedian it has with Egypt, and when 1 con sider the general interests of Europe, I cannot but congratulate your Lordships and the country, that there is an end of that part of the Treaty of Amiens, which, if it emitl have been executed, would have rendered it impossible for this country ever after to have rendered any assistance to Malta. If we are now going to war, and it is avowed the object of the war is Malta, I wish to speak my sen timents on the subjed. I hope we shall hear of the Island of St. John of Jerusalem being governed by no other but a British garrison. 1)o not let the country think we arc going to fight for a small oh kit when the question is, Whether Malta is to he kept possession of by Great Britain, or is to be given to the French ? It. is a question on which all that is dear to us exists ; it is every way worthy of ani mating a great country. It is a question that ought to go to the country team paired ; wars mutilated, but stan.:iiiet thi tn. :no.td b isis t , f the right of this country to keep Teirriscreeh I congratulate your Lordship t 'eat the:'e is an end of the subject, ex cept as to keeping Ma:ta as a British possession, and that there is an end of the Knights of Malta. What was the situation they were in at the time a British force first landed at Malta? The Knights of the Order of ht. John of Jerusalem could not be restored without the greatest injury to the inhabitants of Malta; they were considered as a degraded Order who had sold themselves to the enemy. I believe, of the two evils, the people of Malta would rather be given up to the French Government itself than to the Knights of St. John. When we came to Malta the Maltese were blockading the French in that garrison, which had been given up to them by the Knights of St. John. Under these circumstances it would be a matter of deep regret to them aid us, if the Knights of the Order ofJerusalem were to be restored. There is an end of the question ; there is no existence of the Order; no right. no interest, therefore, to prevent Great Britain from asserting its own right to retain Malta, and give to the Mal tese that Government most palatable to them—a British Government. Let us settle the situation of the Maltese ourselves. There are no persons in terested in the fate of the Maltese but ourselves. We are the only persons interested in settling the Government. Let us then do it now, that in case any question should. arise in future we may say its Government is settled, and that our protec tion is pledged for its support. My reason only for rising is, that I may be expressly understood with regard to my apprehension of what is the ostensible °teed of the war. It is for retaining Maita for ever in perpetuity. that it may be garrisoned by a British garrison. If we vote an Address to his Majesty, let it be known that we do it under the idea that we are going to war for the sake of' Malta, and in or der to establish its Government on such a founda tion as will enable it to afford proteetion to the Me diterranean, the Levant, and the Adriatic. 1 repeat that there is no protection for Malta, but Great Bri tain, because she alone possesses a naval Corte. No other country, unless it had a naval force superior to that of France, could be adequate to giving pro , ten ion to Malta. The Duke of RICHMOND spoke in favour or the Address. His Grace delivered himself in so low a tone of voice, we could not distinctly hear his observations. The Marquis of LANSDOWN, after a few observations on the subjed of the freedom of the press. which he declared in many instances was carried to a degree bordering on licentiousness in this country, said, he should confine his observations principally to the points which were most prominent in the Declaration of War. With regard to the introduetion of Trench troops into Holland, it was nut so much our right to interfere ; there were other powers more materially interested : for instance, Austria and Prussia had also a right to interfere, and so had Russia ; for any arrangements on the Coati:tent must materially teed them. As to what has been stated as a just grounds of war, as far as respelled the mission of Sebastiani, and his letter, on which stlch particular stress was laid, he would ask if this and every other coun try were not in the habit of collecting information on similar subjefts, and, as far as could be colleded, with similar views. With regard to the views, as stated, which the French Government had on Egypt, he thought that they had been entirely frus e trated, and no longer - an oed of apprehension. He was ready to admit, that Europe was hi such a state that no man could call his property.his own. and that 'some steps should be taken for establish,' ing:matters on a better ground - of security. Base With . regar4 to .Malta, hi did not - attach suCh impor e 'twice as Was generally assigned to it ; for it may be renteibbeisel e thet,, (our or five years ago, an offer hairbeen made - by the brand' Mester to aide it to., thls Country,' 141 . kb* offer was refused. He does 'nee - prt!ond to' say, that Malta is of no importance ; bra s Wottld paiatePel s that it was imprudent of us .- ' .21 " •~ . ._. ~ o to war for what was Areal) , in our possession ; if in our possession, why go to war for it? He not wish for a protradion of the negotiation; but, e the door wa s s till open to accommodation, he f ' ght it should not too suddenly be closed. But, *hen once shut, there was no person would go to greaterkmigth to supporthis king,and royalfamilyahan he would: And if, ask was too probable, we should have to contend with France, he hoped we would pro fit by experience, and remove any grounds of unea sin-ss or disadeation at !some. 'l t o this he princi pally attributed tare causes of the American war, and if any claims or grievances remained unredress ed, he thought they should be immediately adjust ed, to insure unanimity in all•his Majesty's subjeds. The Duke of NORFOLK was not inclined to at tach that consequence to Malta which was in gene ral the case. He supported the peace of Amiens, on the simple grounds that it was the best peace that could be got, considering all the circumstances con ne.i.• I with the case. It was with a view of sup- , porting that peace that he rose; but if we were driven into a war with France, by the ambitions views of the First Consul, or instigated to war by toy other pawer whatever, he was confident there was no. A single E Iglishrnan that would not stand -marl against an invading army with that spirit 4 n I loyalty which cliaraderizes the nation. But at the smut" time he consida.red peace so invaluable a blessa.v., :liar it should be retained if possible. Lord MELVILLE explained ; he said, that the Treaty of Amiens Was incapable of execution, and that• it led to new arrangements, which arose from circumstances which those who framed that Treaty could not possibly inresee. Duke of NORFOLK explained. Lord KING agreed with the Noble Lord, who said that the door should be kept open as long as possible to negotiation. He also said, that we should not go to war for what was already in our posses sion. This country, he contended, could not expel to make any impression on the power of France ; we should not 'consider France as a nation consisting of in ailateeparts, but as one eat, united, and col- Wive empire. He trusted, that we would not en ter into a premature contest. He would wish to see proofs so clear and decided that all England, nay all Europe, if possible, should see that the aggres sion was on the part of France. He did not con ceive that Malta should be considered as a ground for war, if considering the whole of this case in a prudential point of view, and particularly as it re- gards our commerce. lie was of opinion that the war should be forced upon us, and that it should not be one merely to corre.st the errors of the last ministry. As the door to accommodation was still open, he would as an :amendment move, that after certain words, he should wish to have inserted, that his Majesty should be empowered to call forth the resources of the United Kingdom, and at the same tinie to express the satisradion with which his faithful Peers felt, in a hope, that yet, as far as the honour of his crown and the interests of his people would admit of, an accommodation may take place. Lord STANHOPE spoke to order. Lord KING repeated his motion, that after the words " his Majesty's commands," all the other words be left out, and that certain words be inserted therein. Lora ELLENBOROUGH denied that the ground of war, as had been stated, was the Island of Lampedosa. As to Malta, though the ostensi ble ground for war, yet the real cause was very different; for, was he asked as to the real grounds of war, he would say, that we were going to war for our dearest rights, our independence, and our privilege of legisLiting for ourselves ; and are we to be dktated to by any foreign power or foreign usurper (a cry of hear! hear!). Are we to say, that the island, which is the security of our East-India possessions, is to be given up, or retained, at the option of France. is the question reduced to this, that we are going to war because we retain what is essential to our happiness ? or, that power is to force us to relinquish it ? As to the Treaty of Amiens it was rendered incapable of being per formed, because we either retain what was essential . to our happiness, or that we relinquished it because they had not the power to force us to it. Austria was the only power that agreed to the guaranteeing . the independence of Malta. As to the conduct of . Sebastiani no person could view it in an indifferent point of view. If the First Consul had not declared that his favourite and ultimate views rested on Egypt, he would not be the first to promote the war ; but when this island was known to be the shield of our East India possessions, he did not think there was a Memoer in the 'louse that did not feel the necessity of the war. As to Swit zerland, it was certainly a violation of every right, . and his Majesty's Ministers regret that they could not, though inclined, oppose the progress of the . French army there. And yet we are asked what :we go to war fur. The subjognition of Swit aerland, and the annexation of Piedmont, arc not considered of any consequence, but the island of sLampedosa is struck upon as a subjesl of hos tilities, a ten year's war had just now been ter - urinated, under the particular protedion of Pro vidence. As to the war about Lampedosa, no person will give it a moment's credit, for the war we are now engaged in is a war of necessity, and notwithstanding the desponding tone of voice in which some Noble Lords may be inclined to speak, yet he would rest confident, that the justice of the cause would sandion the address. And when lie recolleded the names of Agincourt, of Cressy, of Alexandria, St.. Vincent's, and Camperdown, he had not a doubt but the right arm of Great Britain was sufficient to defend herself. , Lord MOIRA entered into the merits of the sub ea, and was peculiarly happy .in contrasting the „sings of peace with the horrors of war. War he' ; compared to the blict of the wilderness, which leave no trace behind except that of desolation. As to what had been said by those who were advocates fur . • the liberty of the press, he said there was a French Paper published in this country, most notoriously .tor the purpose of blackening the French Govern ment 1 and it was well known that the Government had powers to send those . 014 of the'coura. try. The point an which rose' was the Observa tion made by an illustrioos Prinste, who had very forcibly urged a question. whether 'British society was to remain the citric, or wait to be influenced by the pitiful influence of French capriole ? As to the in juries cm the pits Of Fiance, he was ready to admit that the whole prospect poortrays an incorrigible disposition on the part of that power. But why the stress should be laid on Malta he was at a loss so do;• . . . ....._ ~..~.......w .. , ..; .r. Zr-1r►:1 16'16 rto the Treaty of Amiens.. by that treaty to 41XieCUM allude, SwitAtainar.lll4 ihtawi4 wr. (Meek . pr, das independent powers. What 'ft:lowed next. ith.xt re two mouths were at an end ; the conqoest of rantee e .and was accomplished by France ; I say the • either ; 'nest of Holland, for what else can I call the It is dig of a rowury which is obl4ed to admit a foments soldiery and' to prueide for its maintenance would t If its own finances. I .?tall content nip& with and Bo enunteruims: but withnig going Tether, I tweets tl Id ask the House whether ken this aggregate nefit of eqmisitions by France be , not sufficient grrnind can hat ••• 1 4 I' s ~ ~~ .. , [ermine. Why not as well make lidiand the grounds for war ? France, he conteueed, wet vulnerable in , her internal resources as well as in her cuntinental coonetaioas ; stud at long as she Maintained that continental superiority, though we may capture all . her fleets, yet she will be cotes crippled, nut des troyed by us as to the point of war, 'era malt tgigke • it a short and decisive one —a errotraded • war is always a bad one. —He hid liearif • with pleasure the sentiments of an' illustrious pad he believed those sentinh'sitc would bait lea followed up by higher authority, but morel motives of delicacy in avoiding Any appearance of influencing the opinien of this Home. 'As for his part, he would rest now enter into the Merits or grounds of the war. We :lee nOw et war, and it was the ditty of every man to step forw:ird, that Great Britain may rise triumphain from the contest. He would enter into the aver with confidence, if the resources of the country were pro perly applied ; but he would beg leave to call to their recollection, that if the resources of the country were misapplied, they Would have the setisfa.ftion to know that they should not have an opportunity of • running any risk ageite ' EarrSPENC ER referred to his argument when the [louse had last met, and said he wee happy to find that the general course of the delnete had taken . the turn which he had taken the liberty to,point outs . by dividing the di(Fcrent considerations two . . ..„ questions, and reserving the second, that of the cause between his Majesty's Ministers and the ' Country, in respect to their conduct of the negotia- tion, for future discussion. Much, his Lordship said,- • • remained to be said on that head, but he woUltleon. fine himself for the present to the question'df the . „ debate of the evening, viz. whether the papers at. " • . forded a just ground of war, and he had no heiita tion in saying, that he was satisfied they did. H:s Lordship lamented the long persisting in the systene ', . • . of concession and" forbearance that had taken place, • and rejoiced that at last his Majesty's Ministers had put aft end to. it. The papers, he said, fully justified every thing that he had said respecting the irn-; practicability of the 10th article, respecting Malta, from the moment of the Definitive Treaty coming under consideration to the present night. With roe rand to what the Noble Lord below him, .(Lord Rawdon). had just said, as to the duration of the war, he differed totally. He did not think it would he a short war, nor did he approve of hold ing out such an idea ; it must be a war of a serious nature; a war entered upon in earnest, and in which every possible vigour and energy mast be exerted. It aught to be recollected by the country, that much as the re-commencement of hostilities WAS to be deplored, we were to fight for all that was dear and valuable, for our Rights, our Liber ties, our Independence, our Constitution, and, he might add, for our Ezistence, and therefore he should vote for the Address, as originally moved. The Earl of ROSSLYN rose, and in a most able speech supported the Address. His Lordship said, he differed partly from every Noble Lord who had spoken, although he agreed in much that they had said, as to the cause and obje.l of the war. He agreed with an old Friend of his, who he was glad to see in that House, (Lord Melville) that were there no other cause, M.slra along W2C a fit and legi timate ground for war ; but, in the present case. there were a variety of causes to be colic-tied from the pacers, every one of which, according to the law of nations, was a sufficient grhund of wet-. The whole conduCt of the First Consul, since the signing of the Definitive Treaty, was one uniform system of arrogance, insult, oppression, and injury, to this country, and formed, altogether, •it broad ground of war. The annexation of Piedmont and part of Italy to the French dominions was a justifi able ground of war. The now known and avowed . dc. sign of the Frit Consul, by one means or other; to seize upon Egypt, was a just cause of war. The plan of a partition of the Turkish dominions was in dire& violation of the Treaty of Amiens, by which France and England had guaranteed the integrity of the Turkish Empire. Upon that ground alone war was justifiable. His Lordship jus tified all his arguments on these he.ids by refer ring to the example of fornier wars. He refer red to the war at the close of the seventeenth century, to the war of the grand alliance, to the war of 1750, to the wars of a subseqUent period, and to the manner of the wars of the nnee modern times, all grounded upon causes comparatively weak, when contrasted with the present causes at . - forded by the proofs of provocation to be found on the table. With regard. to the extraordinary inter view which the First Consul had with Lord Whit worth, which his Lordship said he supposed he mine call diplomatic, it was the most unprecedented, and the most indecent, that ever was held with the re presentative of a crowned head. He could not but compare it with the conversation which Colonel Sebastiani in his report states to have held with Abdul Pacha in Tur;:ey, and he found, that in point of urbanity, decency, and politeness, Abdui Pacha had the advantage of the First Consul allee nothing. The report of Sabastiani alone, was, said, a sufficient cause of war. The Earl of WARWICK said, Tie thought the insults offered to this country by the First Consul, should be considered and id.. shared to be the true cause of the war. We had not had any thing like peace since the Treaty of Amiens was signed, het an armed truce. of two years.- His Lordship said, he should support the original Motion for the ad dress. Lord GRENVILLE said, he had great satisfacs then to find at last that hiiiiisters had found that they had pursued the system of concession and thr ee:sauce As far as it would go ; he was grad also to find that the ancient spirit of the country began to spew itself, and that we were arrived at the edopa tion of those measares that could alone save -the country. It gave him likewise • further satisfaction to feel, .that by confini4 what he had to say Fiat night to the single question of the justice and 'no cessity. of the war, -- he could- ivies' it vikhitt , a ear. tow compass. • - Idr felt the oat' in which we were now en mid to be just, becimua it .was necessity And it Congdttat be just tinkle it hatiji•Ni necessary. In what had Wen frieiVis Neisle;;ind Lesitna Lord-ooosite Whin: (Loyd Ellenistitoolib) he won ,. tieeed sot itt his attempt to justify and. Support the pc9 1 4 ,442 , _Of his Maieurt isters: litwi bro canie pas dub ariy. er than te ela , but he de fied die ?We Witi:Liatned Loed, 'with ilipsi f pro found khowkedie; to Prow* that the iloPrearoctheUT of tOo. ;elSit article 9f . the Treaty of Amien es . had arisen l * in the turd igt of Waage; - The bil "iiiLa:c4liiisof kbaraiiize lug preeisriy ties saws • - . I A . . ~.. - I 6 .' • • f . . T,, 11 -i ~~ . • . ~. t.. _ . •• • • . • ~,.: ~:.~ : • .. A l • 1,, , I IP oi 'I . . • • I