The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1808-03-22 00:00:00

cid It'. r.en r ct. ae tp.t- 11. , 1.11 Aug. Nu' pot. / ~ ..:,i le VI Ld 1.1 bei4 1160. I br 4,1.1 ur ew I.e ght to lota.k : h iiit- IMlllt II Ca in - Id ,le: upon their latiC ding !WIC If fn. ot i ' to I' Jo. t •1 'lb t: ir. my • I" it vi mr•illi tr. looted spots as •a trivial subject. The row .on we did ttet tell Russia that these S.teret Adis clot were the tease - of our attack ups, Copenha gea was, because we were then at peace with Russia. This too was the reason of our allowing three ittserian ships to loss unuoolested thiough the Baltic. It was not worth our while to aggra vts that power at that time, so as to provoke a w ar on such a trivial account ; and from a stud-. I s e cause we permitted several of her ships t o pals through the Mediterranean. One of the main points, however, upon whisk Ministers rested 1.114 the evident disposition of Denmark to join France. Fortunately for them and for the country, they were provided with ample docu ments upon that subject. Every line of e cor resporehisce with Mr. Garlick. ewed, that both that Gentleman and Lord How ick were convinced of that beanie turn. He did not melte, how, ye:, by saying this, to make any attempt at recriminu non apoit Lord Itiowick, for, on the contrary, be thought that that Noble Lord had acted perfectly WIK it to be supposed, that France. after ap proaching Denmark by Holstein, would be so slow is bringiug her forces forward as to allow us to have time to prepare is-fleet Denmark at the same time spewed an evident supitteoeto iu not doing her best against France ; and if she had not been able to do any thing, she would rather have com peontoted wit& France-thawaseiloisaced in the views of this country, for such was her best policy. Entice faring at any aline the means of overrunning ter territories witbout opposition. There moat necessarily have been a very great distinction be tween our conduct to Denmark and our conduct to Portugal. The latter we knew was disposed to be owe Mend, and therefore we naturally must Lave been much more mild towards her tlum to the former of three powers, she he ing avowedly hostile. The prinliple of our cuaduet to each of them, however, was somewhat similar. As to the alle gation, that we had,gaiued nothing by the expedi tion, on account of the ships toeing rotteu hulks., lie should only say, that they would hare been a great mean: of annoyance to us, in the heeds of our enemies, although they did not contribute much to the increase of our navy. For what maven should we doubt the danger that would have arisen to us, had it been otherwise, merely be mire a few months might have passed over in quiet ? From Antwerp to the North Sue, there would have been no less than ninety sail • of the line, and in the Baltic forty or fifty sail of the line, all ready to act against this amatory. The charge as to this action being an atrocious de parture from the Law of Nations, and of all lowl -human and divine, was one which ought not to he lightly made. Giovernment, however, were de feoded from the accusatioe, partly upon positive, and rarity upon preaamptive proof. They had introduced no new system of motility, or of ooli tic,. France haring trampled upon all neutral rights, we had a right to say we would not leave any means in the hands of any power that were likely to fall into the hands of our enemy, upless we maw a ailetennined hostility to thin. views. Upton these grown& he could not denounce this a btu thought Europe aud L7.:47 *" ..itrd "' ug i tho I lopes of Commons to agstrrove of the tomdect of Ministers. With this /Sew, should the Moose negative the present mo time he should afterwards move, tt That this Mouse. considering the declaration made by His • Majesty, the present state of the continent in con sequence of the peace and negociations at Tilsit, together with the determination of France to ex -elude us from the Continental ports, most highly approve of the coOduct of Ministers in regard to the expedition to Copenhagen." A you're, Member, whose name we could not learn, evid, that after the numerous alisCusnione this matter had undergone, he should have ex pected something of novelty in any arguments that could be used to induce the House to concur in such a condemnation of the conduct or Minis ten. The House having alresdy sequimeed in that conduct, upon varicose occasious, they were thereby likely to involve themselves in th e' same condemnation. Mr. 'feelr LIMIIMUTOK said. that the security which %Sinister% had adtkel to the country eas of the most transient kind : the sixteen hulks which they hail added to our naval force by this expedi tion, had been purchased at by far too high a price, the cowl violation of ail national good faith. We had been loud in exclaintitnt against the atrocities of France, while are were thus totally regardless of our own conduct. He thought the expedition to Portugal had so much of resemblance to that against Copeuliagen; as to form a complete condem natioo ~f it. It was the duty of the House not to take popular opinion for thou guide, but to give a pease ben t to the opinions of the people. He could never ap; rove of tbe conduct of Milliliters, as be thought it war in perfect unison with the mode in which they came into power, by raising the cri er!'" No Popery." lie could not be surprised thih such men violated their good faith. Lard Gaiety' tax L. Gowan said, he could not agree with this motion. tie thought we should have been involved in war both with Russia and Denmark, whether Ministers had attacked Den . mark or not. Denmark had ahewn every mark of hattility to this country, and partiality to Fiance. Upon occasion of the Order of 7th Ja nuary being issued, Denmark took every oppor tunity of making repfeeentations against it, al though it was merely upon the footing of retalia tion against the French Decree. They alio re fused to allow the letters from Merchants upon the Continent to Kiss through the Danish tern tones, aud Mr. i Thornton was under the neces sity of sending them by special messengers ; and even against this there were strong remittal strance..-- France wis:ted to establish the li berty of the seas, and to establish the principles of a new system of maritime law, to which the feelings of Denmark, from former specimens of her conduct, could not be deemed hostile. it was a principle which had employed the pen of the ablest writers in Denmark. The feelings of the Emperor of Russia too, however friendly lie might have been tnwanls this country previous to his late ch.asters, were attereards unfavourable. 'flue Em peror conceiving that we, as his ally, had used him ill, was disposed to joie, France against us ; and it was very contumely said at St. Petershurgh, in imitation of what the French had instilled auto the minds of the Russians-11 feat annusger L'Angle tem. The Russian 3liuister pressed him to per suade his Government to make peace with France, ar beiug .the only way of escapinJ injury from Russia cud France, and avoiding a muntiwe con federacy. In short, every thing chewed that the Emperor of Russia was not favourably disposed towards this country. He was sore that no set of Miiiisters, with such information as the present outs hwl received, could have avoided taking such Ines sines, if they at all acted for the safety unit' inter-, est of the country. He thought they were well entitled to the approhatioo of the House and of the country for their conduct. Mr. ABI6IICROMBY thought that the conduct of Mini:4er* was directly contrary to the know u cus toms and laws of nations, and before he could give any approval of it, he must see some evidence of the hostility of Denmark, and the intenti, , n , o f Franc' —ln the correspondence with Mr. Garlick% there seemed to be a well-grounded opinion, that Zealand might have been defended. He called upon Mi uistenr, therefore, to chew, that they had consulted Military and Naval ()dicers upon the suhjeet, and to lay some documents to that effect upon the ta ble. They must also ,hew, that the security which they imagined they had derived from it, waistrong, substaidial, and lasting. Was it to bt and, that the possession of the Danish fleet was to secure us against- invasion t Frans*. did .aos s. stared want of Powers upon the Coutiumit, so as to effect that favourite object, were it otherwise possible. The obstacles, however, which Abe had to eucounter in the invasionof England and Ireland, were not only to be found in our maritime superiority, hut in the attachment of the people to the Constitution. To what purpose hod Franee formerly added the fleet/ of Spain and Helloed ? and to what purpose could Bonaparte have converted the Danish fleet, but to , and to the of glorious heroes, such as Nelson, Howe and Duncan, &c. by giving us an opportu pity of defeating theta. ua look forward to the motile:it of entering into negociations for peace, will not Bonaparte make our own acts of cottage, the instrutnents of our punithinetit mos. degradation ? lu looking into Mr. Gorlicke's dis patches, be found that there were wo parties in Denmark, the one attached to France, and the other to England, but our acts of injustice had tended to unite them. Mr. It. TuoaN rot entered into a justification of the conduct of Ministers. and enumerated the various instances in which Denmark bad shown her hostility towards us. We Were vindicated by the Law of Nature, in having acted so in such a case of necessity, and as to the Law of Nations, be should only beg to ask, where wee there any Law of Nations to be found ? He should argue that there was now no such Lees to be recognized, as in fact there were no nations. The nations of the con tinent had all gone into the vortex of France. How **Writhe nation have charged Ministers, had they not done what they did ? They would undoubt edly here been charged with having slept upon their posts; w'iltie France was forming her projects, they had not protected us in proper time. France had never yet forgot the battle gained by Lord Nelson, although he knew from good authority, that they have the psessiaptiou to seelebterte the , day of that battle; tberefore France had every disposition to regain her lost honour, and to de rive every assistance in doing so by the fleets of other Powers. lie knew that English shipe had been carried into Copenhagen between 1781 and 1799, and condemned under the influence of a French Consul, and thezefore this shewed how much the Danes lent themselves to the interests of France, and evinced hostility to this country.— Upon these grounds he should vote for the ap probation of the conduct of Ministers. The SILCRETA ILY at W•R expressed himself as in clined to vote against the Resolution, as Ministers were not at all censurable for their conduct, there having been no breach of justice, nor violation of the lan of natio.i.i. The docaments upon the ta- We were suffici, lily explicit to chew a hortility on the part of Deniuork ageinst us. The Crow,' Prince must have known from the MoisitePr and other chrumels of information, that, owing to the pronarations making by France against hiw, It was impossible to retain his neutrality. By the Law of 111 , tions, he con ceive'', that when two Powers vier^ at war, and a third was possessed of mee•is of iNfence likely to be employed ierainst one of the Belligerent Powero, that Power had a right to seize these means, in or der to prevent them from being employed against her. Denmark had taken no measures either in her army or her navy, to defend Zealand crow the attack of France ; while Bernathite, the French General, was at Ilsotbsirg with 30u0 troops. Upon the whole, the conduct of Ministers, be thought, was highly cominendahle. Doctor L iwaexes defended the genuine prin ciples of the law of nations. These salutary prin ciples were not regulated by either the success of usurpation, or the overthrow of the states. They eters' grounded on the immutable spirit of justice— that feeling implanted in the heart of maim, for the mutual benefit of all; and, whilst one isolated na tion remained on the globe, it was entitled to the enjoyment and participation of all the Ides,iiirgs and benefits of that public code. Denmark had that claim ispii the justice and honour of Great Britain, and it was not by false represeutotions and distorted fart., that sit independent nation, such as Denmark was, ought to he deprived of the advan tage. He did not deny, that where a case of ne cessity was made out, such an aggression knight not be defended, but that necessity should be palpable, pressing, and undeniable. if a weaker power should be uttacked by a belligerent, the inability of her means to defend herself, both physically and morally, wits in the first instance to be a matter of evidence before the right tee injnre that power ad mitted of acknowledgment. What was the doc trine be had heard that night ? Ile hail heard, that any previous mainfestataciii of hostility, any approximat to such a date, was, notwithstand ing intervening treatios of amity, a sufficient pre text to justify :t sulesequeut act of :o pv e,..iou.— If such was the established principle on which this country ought to proceed, why did not Nis Ma jesty's Miuisters extend the sates system of reason ing to Sweden ? That kingdom had heretofore ex hibited n hostile feeling towards this onuitrr. It was Sweden that originated the tinarn!l of 1780 and Ail, and ur6.xl Denmark to looxintz a party iu the confederacy against the 'maritime sulseriority 1 of this couhtry. - It was that pewee that first origr- niited the position that free bottoms made free goods. But subsequent compacts of amity en tered :nto between the respective countries set at rest previous differences, and nothing but the spirit of interminable hostility could warrant or defend such an inference. The Learned Doctor ti ^n proceeded, iu an able chain of rea toning, to refute the presumed hostility of Denmark to this country, and concluded by charting Ministers with committing the hitherto proud character of Great Britain, by becoming the plutider...rs arid pillagers of an ancient Ally. bound to the Illustlions Sovereign of these realms by two 4.eneration4 of friendship and consanguinity, at a 1110R/tilt that, contrasted a ith the unprincipled violeore of the enemy, It Wei as well the policy us the duty of this country to stand erect al. I upright in the sense honourable career of generosity and dis interestedness, which had previously marked its • progress. Mr. Ftrzocasts. (Knight of Kerry) argued with peculiar eloquence in favour of the address. lie diselinined all ideas of patty or partial feeling on sw:ti a very important question, and therefore it was his desire to confine lilesiself to the pipe's even produced by His Majesty's Ministers. The first consideration with the House was to =col- lect-.Mal Dessamrk laud segue sights,,...bad. some persoual feelings of honour and independence.— Whets such a principle was admitted, it was im possible to deny that a most gross aggression was committed upon an Snnocent and smoc k:ceding power. And for what cause? For persever ing in that hue of policy which secured the stabi lite of her own iudepeudeuce, and auguseuted the prosperity of her people. Still it was for Minis ters to prove that urgent necessity which could alone justify it, and without which it must be de sigmas! as a most fiagitiousand inexpiableatrocity. Daring the whole paod of Mr. Garlicke'e mission, Denmark had actedAmn the same principles of po licy. Great Britain had frequently reeognieed their propriety ; it admitted them because they were sot aloue,bobeervient to Danish interests, but because they were felt to.be, in a very high degree, advan tageous to our own. • curios'. mode of argu ment had been that night introduced, attempt ing to throw criminality upon Der:nark, because it had detaieed its military sieves in Zealand, when Holstein was menaced with :, It was rather irreconcileable in the fries t, of this attack, to eon ceive that when Derma-' .ed to march her troops from one Danish 1.• -.Moil to another, there then was diffieule. .eid miscarriage, but when it answered tneir :::gument, to infer that the French from i—vteiu would land in 7r.uland, then all was fa .lity and certain accomplielnuent. He next d ~ e nded the Emperor of Kuivia from the iinprt , Cr motives attributed to him, and said, no Me, tech in Europe ever displayed more sincere devce ..n to the commas cause. I-lad he not re fits. • frequent proffers of peace Lena the enemy' I , et) doing lie acted spots the fundamental policy of the Itueeian empire, inasmuch as its influence iu &Trope had a° greater enemy thisoFrench aggreu &inmost. teems the duty of I.'arliettiesitais pewee before it persevered in this impolitic course. Den. weak we bad alienated by our unjust aggressions ; Swedes was ruined by our friendship ; and His Majesty's Ministers had triumphed in that cause which nossaporte had in vain undertake. Mr. COOKER was astonished that, after the long and laborious discussion this question had under gone, any Hououruble Gentleman could be found to make use of the arguments now urged. The Honourable Gentleman has treated the !louse with a long harangue, in which he would have us believe that our war with Russia has been the consequence of our expedition to Copenhagen, and deprecated with no small share of warmth, that expedition. His speech, one would think, would be better fitted for the first day of the Session. He much dreaded that the majority of Europe, as looked for by the Hooourable Gentleman, would not he awed in favour of this expedition, but thoughtthe majority of this Howse ought to satisfy any impartial man. After having accomplished an achievement as eto- Cents as soy recorded in the Aflitak of the country ; and after the evidence produced in justi:sealitiii of that measure, perhaps not perfectly conclusive, (a load (5%16) he was at a lose to conceive how any !lon. (4entlemau could refuse kts assent to the ne cessity that was shewn to exist for it. The Noble Lord (Gower) had, this night, given the most tri umphaat proofs of vouch. An Honourable Gentle in lig (Mr. Ponanuhy) hail designated His Majesty's Ministers, for this act, as shabby in their iniquity; insionsting, one would think, that if iniquity WAS decked and gilded, it would be more parcluasble. He would leave that Honourable Gentleman to de signate this act as he thought lit, and would only say, that he considered it einifiently meritorious, under the present circumstances, and would, there fore, r.isist the present resolution. Mr. VlifttflataD wail at a loss to conceive which way to examine the arguineota•of the lion. Gen ftleman. He could not desist frost trespassing upon the House with a few obaereetions, in consequeuce of what had fallen from that Hurt. Gently. man.— The Hon. Gentleman set oat with masking a furious attack on an Hou. Gentleinaa from his own coun try, who had this night deliv.ired his opiiiious upon that subject with a dignity and ability which re flected the highest credit ou him. The arguments used to .hew that majorities in that Heuer were not always is conformity with the sense of the Ism a tty, seemed to have met the marked elisapprolettien of the Hoe. Gent. He would iuform him, that is many instances the decisions of that House were iu absolute contradictioa to the sense of the people, and without the salutary controtil of their opii.iou, little could be expected. Much bed been urged respecting a phrase made use of by au lineourehle Friend of his (Mr. Poasoishy), hut if ever there was a transaction that deserted the appellation which he bestowed upon it in one of the most able, logical, anti argumentative speeches delivered lib flint, House, it 11116 that Expedition. He denies that the old morality had been alluded to from that side the House in the manner stated, awl maintained, that a person filling a high office, Inel, on a former occasion, in the face of that House, told us, that in the present ein:ufmemees of Europe, it was oils tit for children. Whets lan guage like this was heard, it aes net to he endured. Let not tfloee, who, dosilitiewi with a greet tleel bt humapr, deal out tiled minutiae bit other occasions, think themselves intrusted ib deal"; ing with those pyincisilts in this manner, wbith hare their foUndation hi nature itself, end are the acknowledged rules that govern mankiede 1 him were a number of pemAe who did believe that .- pedit.ou capable of justification, and aro toes looked for the proofs that were to have established it; but when the evidence was produced, re titunced.that opinion. When the wretched case appeared, in which there was not the least volour of reason or authority *hewn for the destreC eon of a multitude of helpless women arid children, . the plunder of their capital, at.d the robbery of their fleet, greet indeed Was the astonishment of those who expected some sub stantial reason for these horrid outrages. He did not wean to betray any incivility to Ministers in speaking of this expedition in this way, but felt himself called upon to express his abhorrence of it. When he reelected epee the wretched resorts' attempted to prop up or make out some shadow of a cave—one time travelling to Portugal--another time to Constantinople--thee to Ireland—added to which the never-hiling topic of the hostile mind et Denmark, he could oot withheld his indignation and contempt : the unhappy Crown of Denmark, basely robbed of his and every attempt made and effort used destroy . his character. Well mitt r e i l iZtfiiinfili - riiiiriii4dify, every & it. and every subsequent occurrence goes to strate it. You have obtained sixteen hul manned. nut a single sailor, and this mi.:, quisitiou is the substitute for the surrender t national honour and character'in the eyes 0, rope and the world. Much bad been urged the fear of those ships fidling into the' I France ; but what will yon say to Sweden ship* that will in all probability be possesr.& That country, having the best equipped fir Europe, which would be much more likei, turned against you, and with greater effect the Danish ships, you have left at the mercy unparte. Why not seise upon that and ei swaths/1 navy ? The 'Noble Lord (Leveson has made assertions respecting the hostil of Ramis, without the least s' -- ..atino of lie knew•lie had been friendly to the late striation, and would therefore be Mel Mel ti those assertions, but other authority, of stronger satire, induced hies to dissent from them. —Did not Lerd Howick, so deservedly esteemed and admired by the country, express his decided disapprobation and reprobation of that measure ?---" Lord Grenville, mid all those composing Ininiatration—if they could for a moment cafes for a measure so profligate and htignit would forfeit all claim to bin esteem and fr. He regretted the Noble. Lori had made these assertions, as he feared'they would ' injurious to the country. He dnferad from his conclusion, and believed, nor the acquisition of these bulks, that the was not likely to be without hepps. nothing in the secret artisles of Tilsit w was convinced could warrant 'itch au tr-• ,The eiteasieu of the country is carious—Swedeu will be overpoirered bly our rummy : You have the whole • of . Denmark, with one heart and one wail You. and it may be added of Er been the fruit of that glorious has been so much extolled. Lord L. Gowea and Sir Jaws., Put:. plainer'. Mr. CAN tr ;so thought the Honourable Gentle man (Mr. Whitbread) who had just sat down, die tiuguished as usual as his speech had been with talent, had indulged a liberty of abuse and invec tive as acrimonious and as harsh as be had ever *Unbelted. This was the move extraordinary, eorniug from the person it did, who, it seems, does nut approve of harsh language, unless, perhaps, when employed against an enemy. He has fond great fault with what has fallen from my Noble Friend (Lord Gower), who urged that he kid discovered .au hostile mind in Russia, at the same time a wish to manage this country.— This he communicated, and Shia had been the key to the measures pursued by His Majesty's Ministers. He dweit particularly on the letter of Mr. Fox to Lord Rossiya, on the uecessity of communicating to the Court of Portugal the probable seizure of the Portuguese navy, grounded sus the principles of inevitable necessity. He still felt it his duty to as that though the necessity was commanding, he would not have sent a letter so replete with tints candour, hypocrisy, and fraud. Whatever opinion he gave °nisch a subject, never for a moment ens it intended to convey-airy attack upon that very great mail now no more, (Mr. Fox,) whose name, though alilsed to that paper, he had the hest means of knowing. was net the author. The Right Hon. Secretary eoncludlid an elegant and epigrum- Itretiv sneech, by deciariag his proud consciousness of the rectitude of the conduct which he, as a Mi nister, pursued. Lord Hexer Purr spoke - very vehemently in favour of the Motion, and answered several of the urqutnents of Mr. Canning. He deemed it peen. Earle unjustifiable in us to have gone to the Court of Copenhagen, coneealiug that which we consi dered die Danes to entertain—a hostile disposition t 'wards us, while we knew of the Secret Articles in the 'relay of Tilsit. ME. SHAW, rose to reply; he contended that elthosiab the Seceetary for Foreign Attain might :toe displayed all the ehicient qualities of a jester. he 86;1 must say, that no argument advanced by Hui was sutswerel, no solid or justifiable reason for the aggiessious against which he complained. Tliere still was one priuuplr adtTted by that 'tight II nioutohle Gentleman', sad he his o ffi cial Colluaeues, which could alone induc e . him at that late hour to reply. It had horn laid down as rule of policy, that two Eehigerents had a right. upon a ground of depriving a week's power M' the tueans of mischief. to crush that state and invade independence. Upou such • principle, he could never thr a moment gnaw the Home to fix a yule of actin.--(3e! Nei from the Millis. feria liertches 'J—Then, saki dr. Sharp, I feel !ri that Evan such a Ministry hare yet the elms i:tstice, to rhsclai , n such a pneeiple of policy. 'Fn.: question was then boldly culled for. when the house divided, sad there eppeerrd, Fee MO sercaisille . hit arrauted it. deed:. • I manner, wbith ielf, and are ihe iankimili. 1 hire believe that •. .- - • and ato ions . have establishes: s produced, Te- e wretched case t the least velour for the destruC- :se women arsd :ir capital, acid indeed as the • seed some sob- atrahes. He did ' to Milliliters in lin way, but felt lir abhorrence of r wretched resorts' it some shadow of 'ortugal--enother • Ireland--added to he hostile mind of Id his indignation t . • r Crown Prince of his fleet, ; 1 l effort used At mitt . I°...,Up r iik .. t I , every day p . i : ce noes to demote. ixteen hulks, on; 1 4 .... l this cni.ote ac. ~,' surrender of your a the eyes of Eyei ...... I been urged fro, ... into the' bawls of . , • ' to Sweden and by to po.tes-ed by ber? ntsined flotilla in I more likely to be • greater effect than • I it the mercy of Tio. that and upon the • I (Leveson Gowert ; the hostile wind ,hadow of proof.— to ~ . the late Admini- •I ', • inclind to believe i • thority, of a much • dissent from them. . . leservedly esteemed express his decided of dolt measure -....• !Imposing that Ad- a moment be adves- i I sud iniquitous, the' demand frie.. . had hey wo u ld naitle i differed . . ;'- ed, notwit.. - ...- that the con • ..1 ~ . hopes. There' ''• of Tilsit which he ueh au unjustifiable dry is extrecady ?AC - ' ' nowered slid prof. he. whole population ,nil one mind r , erope—and th in: 7. . i achievement ~... '...., ans Potarzx , OA