The Statesman. — London, England, 1810-01-26 00:00:00

~_ For ducal by Ministers related gesterally to the Caos. paigns in Spain and Walcheren, or to particular txpeditions The Earl of LIVERPOPL said, that they would consist of those alluded to in Ibis Majesty's Speech—namely, of those respecting the Expedi. tion to %Velar:en, and which, as all.neans wen taking for the purpose, he intended to lay on the tabit on Monday. The Marque of Lansdowne's motion was fixed for Thursday next, the particular objects of which he would state as soon as the papers were produced. • Adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS. THURSDAY, dAv. After the appointment of the usual Annual Grand Com mittees of Trade, Manufactures, and Privileges, and some ether business of routine. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUra gave notite of hie intention to propose a further limitation of the time for • reeeising Private Petitions. It was necessary that they thoold he presented early in the Session, to allow every pos sible notice to the persons interested. PLACES IN REVERSION. Mr. fIANK ES gave notice. that hest hi move row for leave to bring in a Bi I, to prevent the granting of Offices in Reversiost He also gave twice, that it was his in tention. on Nlorulay next, to m we for the app oititimmt of a Select Committee, fb inquire into the general expenditure of the country. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said. that • it had been hi. intention Inhere messed on Monday nest, for leave to bride in a Bill, for the purpose of rem-wing, Fir an other sear, the Act for presenting the granting kerersioos, 10 ut not fur making the Bill perpetual. EMBE77..LEMENT OF PUBLIC MONEY. Sir JOHN NEWPORT mused, in pursuance of notice, the leave to bring in a Bill, the better to prevent the Ember 'dement of Motley, or Securities of Money, by any public officer. It was not sow necesmry fur him to address the Homo at any length, ns the Bill had gooe through the 'loose last Session, us few as the filling up the blanks, when the Seg. • WOO closed.—Leave was given. AMERICA. • Mr. WHITBREAD gave notice, that he should on Mon• • day nest, if there was time for it, more for the production of certain papers relative to the negociation hetween Mr. Erskine and the American “overnment. Ile meant in parti calor to move for the production of a nertaiii letter from Mr. Erskine to Mr. Canning, and could mot anticipate any danger to the public service from the production of the documents for which k• imended to move. Mr. MORRIS felt so much personal interest inn transac tion lunching so materially his Hon. rel *live (Mr. Er.kinel, that he begged penne6sinti of the !louse to make a few obser . matinee. It hod le-en c*orrectly stated, that the dispatch of • the 2:11 of Jams try last was the one Fr vn, this Country con taining t e express conditions upon which the Government were • Intent to give up the Order. of Couocil 11. i respecting America. Although this was undonht•ilty the fact, yet his Hon. relation hod ronceitel himself iu•tlited in referring to the whole body of the in-trth.tions be had received, and in ebtaininic what he conceived to he their spirit and meaning sabbiaoluttly, alihasich not :recordist^ to the evict letter of them. Thecase of his Hon. relation would certainly have tome before the Deane in a mare foveurable p"p of view, . if the whole of 1114 instructiosto had been stated ; and if Mi nisters should think that imprudent, from motives of general policy. he hoped that they would be eamli:l enough to admit such parts at would he tie. essary for his defence. It appeared fr 6 the correspondence of Mr. ENkine with Mr. Windt.. that the former Geotletuato had skean to the American Minis • ter* 'flatly letters of instnictioo which were not now before the Mouse. It was evidently imposslale that all the condi twortimsed is the din) Jets ovoid have been obtained ac cording to the Hier, as it wowiti he contrary to the nature • and cointhittion of the Ansericats floyeenineat :or tht presi dent to give thst sort of pledge th it scats required. He should nave a future opportunity of enierint bat; the gates • nun iu drtzil, it hen it nhoul I be re •itiorls ;miler dism-inn ; but he was 'ultimo to apprisr the ' . .llouse now, that it wad *pen ticepirit aid the vialotamee of his iastructions; and not ' epos the letter, tb.st the defence of Mr. Leskitie would rest. T 141.: ADDRESS. Lord BERNARD then bests;lll silt the Report of the Address. Upon the question for its being teethed, Sir FRANCIS BURDETT ruse and said, Ulla upon the first day of the Session Ito heal been very . anxious to learn what isflect the recent emits bad. produced on the minds of the 'Members of that. House, and to hear the genii:smuts of the political, area expressed upon them. Ile uished to know whether the iuterevt of the public could be cam.. bum! with, Ow opinions and the feelings of many • distingukhed speakers in that Assembly ; And it was with the utmost mortification he perceived, that the unparalleled disasters which vse have. litety antlered, and the unparalleled waste Oblood anti treasure, had not made upon the Members of • that Assembly the' impressions which might (late rally be expected.: Nlinisters were still supported by the same kind Off maim itics which they turn. • ruatided in times of less disaster—they were still supported by the same men, and the same lila of argument. Seeing this, .he was the more tho roughly convinced of the necessity there was of taking into early consideration that great measure which he had recommended at the close of the late session. Re was the more and more convinced of the absolute and urgent necessity of Parliamentary Reform, from the whole of his parliamentary ex perience since he had obtained a scat in that room —but never had any circumstances occurrtal which I gave more strength to these impressions Abair the ! ci camstances under which Parliament had lately met. He did nut meats to compare the pretensions Of one set of public men to those of another ; but he never before witnessed in any debate, tile coca-'I 'urea of any set of Ministers so completely aban &met! as they appeared to be in the- last debate.ii The Minister really sector tl not to have a.word say in his own defence. Ile had nut, •however,V. been able to collect, (rum what hail beets- said the last debate, any thiog.that,lo z id ou t any views of such mewures as would be necessary to unite' the public at large with the Miniitch of the Crown. lie had nut heard any suggatietts for pressing upon the consideration of the Sovereign, the ahsolute necessity of tradin , g to the source those calamities with which the coiststry is now afflicted and oppressed. The great rout of all th , se evils and calamities was not hard to be discovered.— The copious source of all our foreign and domes tic misfortunes and disgracei might be found in the corrupt state of that Assembly. This was . ,nut• only the firm conviction of his mind, but . it wits beyond a doubt that it was the fixed 'remission of a vast mejority or the people of this country. — Under the circumstances of the present . times, what name could be given to that d egree o f imbe. eility wad folly which induced Ministers to give Ad: * me to hi, Majesty to treat with contempt and Insult the Petition and Address of the most impor. tint city in the empire ? ( Mar, hear! front many quarters)—a sty, which, from its autiquiti l l Its wealth, and great importance in the State, fled a l wa ys been treated'' with distinguished attention 1 Ivy all former sovereigns. This distingbished at. elution was dais to the City of London ; nut .less . ' 'S I. 4 ' I ~.. J • +_ L. "_.r Ir-, .em its ancient privileges than freitt itt real ,cot‘ sequence in the State. Ile could not conceive a more dignified act in the Sovereign of the country than to receive upon his Throne the Address of such an important city—and he could not dierceive any thing inure foolish than to advise his Majesty is entor Woo sting* 41gainst abe -privileges of the city of London. He could not avoid recol. lecting with what attention the City of London had always been treated by every Sovereign, from IVilliain the Conqueror dowii to ‘Villiam the Third. The Convention Parliament had even re ceived its confirmation from the City of London. An Act of Parliament had recognized the privi leges of the City of London, and enacted that they should not be forfeited even by disuse--aril yet his Majesty had now been advised to treat with contempt the privileges of that great city, which were sanctioned by antiquity, and respected by all former Monarchs, and which was in every point of view of the first importance to the country at large. He trusted, however, that the different counties of England would mike with the City of London in this great question, which so materially affected the privileges of the People, to make known to the Sovereign their grievances and corn. plaints by petitions and addresses. It was an ex. traordinery thing, that in a country where the Sovereign was nut permitted even to stop a foot. path prising through a Royal park (as in the case of Richmond 1)31k), his Ministers should as sume to themselves the power of obsteucting• the high road which led th'c People to the Throne, and bloating up every avenue by which the represen tations of his People could reach the hands of their Sovereign. It could not be asserted, that it would be Any fatigue to his Majesty to receive the Addresses of the City, because it was nut expected of him to give any answer at the time. All, that !Vat asked %tots / that the Petition might he placed In his Royal hand. Itdid appear to him, that the• insult which Ministers had advised his Majesty to offer to the City of London was only a part of a general system to treat with contempt all the pri. vileges which belonged to the People, and all the usages of respect which had hitherto been custom. ary. lie could net avoid noticing that even sumo slight had recently been shown to the Gentlemen of that Assembly. It hul heel' customary for merly to have the Nine's Speech read the .tsieelit before at the Cock-pit, and afterwards it ' was owl to send copies of it to the dif. terent Member., that they might have suf.. 6cient notice Of what was to be the subject of discussion. This usage was now abandoned.--1. There was another subject which he could not forbear mentiouing. In the last Session he hail brought before the consideration of that Assembly a insist foul and scandalous job, respecting. the gfeet to an individual, of certain lands in the WS. mediate vicinity of Chelsea Hospital. He had supposed, that, in consequence of 'the exposure, Ministers intended to abandon it ; and he thought that by not pressing the subject farther at that time, ho had allowed Ministers a decent retreat rfeenn what could not be considered otherwise than era Most scandalous and disgusting job. He now hetweter found that instead of abandoning it, Mi nisters had colifirmexl it previous to the opening V Abe present Session. What did Nlinistura mean Ify thisel Did. they imagine that they *maid by this' Ws avoid 11: farther discussion ? If they did; ►tbiertiewiaurt geiriolely mistaken ; for he errs taints shoistil refs it his deity again to bring that question forward. • 11 1 •Akrespect to the Speech which had.been delivered iribis Majesty's name, it appeared to him defective in Marey e poluts, He thutight that'a Speech- on the opening - *Tale., weld should be, as in former times it used dm a review of the measures of Ins Majesty's Goveris.' mint submitted to the consideration of Parliament:" It sae: nut to be a mere milk and wider pro thirteen, pledging the Government to nothing, and .milealated for no other object but to obtain a mere unmeaning complimentary address without opposition. How came it that the Speech men. Owed nothing about India? pear, hear!] Was it that we are to be told that we have nothing to do with India, as it is governed by a Company, or something else, for their own interests, and nut .for the interests of this country ? We, however, do Mad that disasters in India do affect this coun try ; and of the late events there, it must be al lowed that it was very distressing to hear that one body of British troops was sent to attack and dc struy another party. Events of this nature end magultude ought not to pen unnoticed in a Speech at the beginning of a Session. lie would wish to know, why was that recommendation of a grant to the 'poorer Clergy tucked to the Speech. It appeared to him to proceed from the same source as the cry' of No Popery. [Hear, heart.] De thought, however, that it would well become the dignified sad wealthy Clergy to take care of their .own poor; anal he would never consent to extort A Single sixpence from the hard bends of honest r o rmustry for such a purpose, lir c.ouparison to ;fie cauipaige which our enemy has rcceasigjoso +fueled, how contemptible wail the ceineaugnailkich . 4is r Ministers had 'coedits:tie! We Were told tli•tt that most disastrous 4 2;xpeditioti to the Senoldt wasintentled as a couptde-main; but it was Ma -o.lgcti in Such a loanner, that Bonaparte apprized his *nicer commanding in 111433 c parts, of , Ur in. tended coup-dc-main, no less than three months' before the sailing of our Expedition. lie hail lately read of the manat e e in a hich the Noble Lord who Oatmeal the Expedition occupied himself about the time of its sailing, which might perhaps make him forget the objects of it. The Noble Lord (Lord Castlereagh) was most actively intent opon preventing a certain individual from accom panying that Expedition, which individual (Mr. Finnerty) might perhaps have given a true ac count of it. Now, amidst the important care of preventing this individual from going to Walcheren, the Noble Lord might have forgotten the purposes for which he sent the army there. ludee,l, the very transport in which that individual sailed, ap peered' te have .been forgotten, 'although it con. tanned Wicket of great necessity to the meditated attack (we believe that .either Mr. Congreve's rockets or.the entrenching tools were here alluded to) ; and it was said by somee that the ineetion of 011111n117 for titteea day' was 11 cousuquencu of TH STATAMAN. tbih forgetruluess. There was an insinuation in •the'Speech that the Expedition to Wakheren had in . Wirt succeeded but it could hardly be ex pected that the public should consider .it in any other light than as a most complete, disastrclus, and disgraceful failure. The Expedition to Spain was as neatly destructiveto our army as that of Holland. A dispute with America, of a very se. nous stature, had been provoked by the impru dence of Ministers; and yet, notwithstanding all these misfortunes, and the strange occurrences in India, Ministers were supported with the same (tcadiness as tf these measures had been prosper ous. He could feel no asperity in considering this circumstance, as it only served to confirm that opinion with which his mind was intimately and strongly impressed, Of the necessity of a tote! change of system ; and, as the only meani of obtaining such a change, a Reform in the Itepre. sentation of .the People. lie thought those Gen tlemen wrung who itopt short to compare the me. rits of set of Ministers with another. It was the whole system which was wrong, and which ought to be altered. We ought to look beck to the system established in 1793. The present calamitous war, and the oppressive weight of bur taxes, ought to be considered as only the sequel and necessary consequence of that war which, in 1793, was commenced in fully and injustice. Parliament was then powerfully warned of the ill consequences which would re salt to this country from plunging into that war; and yet, in obedience to the will of the Minister of that . day, it despised that warning. No imagina tion could, : however, then suppose, or no inn._ _ .. . plictic warning could furetel the whole extent of the mischief which the authors of that war Were' bringing clown elicit' the country. However it was the custom of that Assembly to extol the :ha.' meter of the Minister of that day (Mi. Pitt), he could never view him in any other light than as the greatest curse whinh the country ever knew, lie could not now, after fifteen years experience in that room, unlearn in one mi nute all those terrible lessons which were im printed on his mind during the Administration of Mr. Pitt. He could not therefore bear to Sit silent, when he heard those who for many years had, with great perseverance and ability, op posed the measures of that Minister, now, upon every occasion, take an opportunity to extol his memory. This oppressed and injured people have even been forced to erect a monument to the me mory of their great enemy. It appeared to him, however, that there was no occasion to have voted • any particular monument to Mr. Pitt, as he had himself—as by thefaults otitis Administration, he had erected an eternal monumeat to his memory 1 in the ruins of Europe, and the misfortunes of , his country. However he disapproved of this sort of monument, there was another which lie • would approve of, and would be ready to sub. scribe for. He would not object to have a moue. • 1 ment of marble erected in the square before that House, and un one side to have inscribed Magna • Chart(' and the - Bill of Rights; and on the other side to have inscribed the many violations of those sacred laws and principles of the Constitution, which had taken place withahe advice abd deriug the Administration of Mr. Pitt. To the foot 0: such a monument, he should wish it was the • duty at the Speaker to conduct eery new Member, before he took his seat in that House. It was impoisible now to go into any part of the country without hearing the loudest corn-. plaints of the cruel and oppressive system of tax- • salon which now prevails. A host of men, un der the name of Surveyors, Assessors, and - what net, was now spread all over the country. They Were men who had an interest in making the sys. 'Arm oppressive;• and however unjust their snr. charges might appear to be, they were never pai. nished ter that injustice and oppression. While 1 such things were - allowed to g o on, it was rldicti. lour to expect all men to be unaninaleas in sup i porting the present Government. Every man was liable to penalties, which might be recovered by a common informer, for neglectii9; to enter a servant, or for not entering him ,by, the eight name. He himself knew a gentleman aillooinit- ted entering the natnt; of a servant for whets he had paid, and Was consequently surcharged. He appealed, and often attended on the appeal when it could nut be heard, and at last - it was heard at a time when it was impossible for him to attend, and was consequently given against him. Ile knew that farmers were assesaed over and over again for dogs which they never kept, but it was better for them to submit to the imposition than to lose so much of their time as would be consum e d in at. tending again and evils at a place some miles dis tant (rdm their residence, to prosecute their.ap- , peals. These evils were forcibly stat e d at Ilistaj late meeting of Berkshire. Ho hoped the time: : would come when no goods:man would consent to take the odious of fi ce of Cionmissioner under the present system. The oppressive means by which ' their money was stiimant fromi the peckers of the peaple were quite too bail 4 when it was considered with what shameful prodigality these stims were afterwards lavished and wasted. • The multitude of acts which had beets (rained to regelate the col lection of this part of the revenue, had not made it the less oppressive. When he recollected the situation of this country 15 years ago,.and how upon each successive year that situation was, beyond all comparison, wont) than it had been in the year precedine, it called forth the most painful sensations. Ile believed there was nut a single Geutlesnau in the House who would not, if it depended on him, most gladly ezchauge the situation of the country at present, for its situation at any former period.-- If this was the fact, and the situation of the court. try was constautly growing worse and worse, this regular deterioration Must lie to be traced to sa.rie certain causes which.produced.that elf,ct. It was the duty of every body to trace thoq, causes, when it was observed that !to change of Mioisters pro duced any material cliange iii ilie fustueet of • the country ; but that in all changes of Adminiora. !ion, end whot•vvr were the men in other, w he thee wise or simple, still the some practicel ef. fects followed from a perseverance in the told sys . teal. Haw Isdppy would we all conceive ourselves 3~w~ now, if we could but bring back. thiegs to th. situation which they were in at the time th e original dispute took place about the °p en i s of the Scheldt ! How happy w o uld we j if Ale could bring back France to what wa s ri l l utmost extent of her ambition under her eig Monarchs, or in her Republican times— O le h owl. darks of the Rhine toil the Alps ! Huw happ y would we think it, if we could go b ac k to th time before Bonaparte resolved to make himself master of the Spanish Peninsula ! How happy if we could be brought back to the period of th e Peace of Amiens, or to the time before we W e l t , that Treaty on false practices ! The Minister au, der whom that Treaty .bad been signed, and u lt . der whom it had been broken, had been since ti e . sated to 'the Peelhge : but he believed that the country had cause deeply to repent the breskisg of that Treaty. In all those transactions which had taken place since the year 1993, there va s not on l y a 1)1 . 0 ,00 waste of the treasures of the country, but of its honour alio. • We had hea r d on the last night, of Igtrren laurels (an expel. sion of Mr. Canning). Ile must, however, be leave to say, that true laurels are seldom barren; and if the laurels now said to be obtained wets barren, blame must attach goinee here. Ministers had confessed that there was no fault to be found with the army in Spain ; that consummate skill was displayed by the commanders, and cousinv iestt courage by' the troops. If such be the case, the blunts must light ',pen themselves, far seal. in.; such an army to places where it was impe l . sible gain any important success.. There were many otter evils grown -up of lat e rests, destrectice to the rights, liberties, and pri. vil sof Englishmen. Of these he would goe s . as amuse; the must dangerous to the liberties of the people, the building of barracks all user the land ; the occupying military stations; but s above all, the power which the Crown now ae ; sumed of introducing, at its pleasure, foreign seer. cenaries into this country. But what sort of mercenaries was it that Were latelyintrodueed into this country ? The corps of the Duke of Bruns. wick, which had been stigmatized by the Archduke Charles in his General Orders, previous to the bit. tie of Wagrusn. England wants nomads defenders as these. The next evil which occurred to him wasobe practice of inflicting secret and solitary imprisoe. meet, as a punishmeat for offences against the Go. 'eminent. In all the inventions of despotic power, there was nothing more odious, more dreadful to consider, or more likely to break the spirit of men,,thast a long 'period of solitary cese ' fineesent. Ho cunt& hardly conceive any thing more hurtful in the whole range of 'despotism, and yet this was an evil which was nowpermifttel to 'exist ,in this country. Considering then the n. tent of oift foreign calamities and disgraces, and of our domeitic evils and oppressions, it did au. pear to him, that the insult lately offered to the City 'of London, • iu the esercise of the un• doubted right of Eugliehmen ; null the privi. icier of that great and autient city, ought to be felt by all the people of Etiglaud, as an at. tack made by his Majesty's Ministers on sit On remaining privileges which Kiaglithmen cui,low , cedes. The City of London had, in the late ie. stance, spoken, the voice of the people of- Eng. land, cud therefore the different couuties euglit II lb es to unite-themselves hs the satac Geese; fat if the King was never to be informed of the grim. antes of his people, but through the polluted m . o. ilium of his Ministers, . who hate an .interest slitting i h voice of the people; thee could be no 'lo2ee of their grievances:being fiver redressed. When it was considered for what a great length of tiine this country had been ruled by a hi:limiest Sovereign, whose reign was constantly usifortuoite *:..who was every sliest s.ive year of his lung slip, compelled to regret the necessity of imposing frees burdens upon his people, some would attribseeiltis constant course. of misfortuiin to so:ne inalignant star which ruled ft the period of his aecesslue. It was riot, however, necessary for the Members 4.641 Assembly to look to any start, btat only to themselves. It was there', and on the door of that roans, that ho saw the organiz , il Causes of all the calamities and evils which afflicted sad op. ,• pressed this country—it was there• be saw that tree, under whose shade no salutary plant would thrive. The fruits of that tree were bitteraess and grief to the People of England. He had high authority for saying, that it was fair to : judge of the tree by the fruit ; and ". thit the tree which beareth nut good fruit should be 1 . hewn down." It was the corraption which I struck its root in that room and assembly, which had brought, anti which continued to bring, so many evils, upon this country. It was that which deitroyed our national Ismer abroad, by its interference with our artly,asid Davy. The principle being once established; that.the Mi nister must get by some means or other is majoilty in'that Mouse, was the cause that our honour eras sureladried- -tes Ahe enemy, ussit'oesqusiiple si pressed by the toad of taxes. This corruption, taialcfm was the 'WO of all' our misfOrtunes; he should constantly oppose. It had beekformerly urged by a Roman Senator, in every discussiun, That " Carthage must be destroyed." This saying had been sometimes applied by France to this country. Ile had the same opinion of the neces sity of Reform as the Roman Senator had of " the • destruction of Carthage," and therefore must again and again recur to this topic, whenever the great interests of the country were discussed in that Assembly.' It was to Parliamentary Reform that he looked to remedy all our evils , and heal the suf• ferings of this injured people. Mr. YORK E , said, that bef o r e he pr o ceeded to observe on the topics urged by fke H o n o u rable Baronet, he should request to call the alienti of the house to the terms ho used through air whole course of it. The Honourable Baronet had never addressed or alluded to them as the House of Commons; but he had always called that House " this Room," or " this Assembly," by which. he would seem to infer, that they were not the Representatives of the People; and the Honour. -able Baronet had but one bturilit n to his song, for he began and ended with the' same position, tbst• it was necessary to have a reform in Parliament; that was ) he (Mr. Yorke) supposed ) a systematic r iy:l4 r%irL, •ctio only Ion" peer WUE I , or Iterel mire otti r oief Row, IC ml 1,111