The Statesman. — London, England, 1812-03-26 00:00:00

7 dstablishment 0 the kingdom had been Warted i tee controul of Lord William Bentinek, who would he enabled, from the confidence that wits reposed in him, and from the power with which he was invested, not only to apply the various means he possessed to tile protection of the island, but even to suression upon the common enemy. It would almost condescending too far to attempt s by any detail, to refute the foul calumny originated in France, that Great Britain had imitated the conduct of the Ruler of that country in their treatment of the Government of Sicily ; that she had assumed all the authority of t an independent State, for the pur pose of appropriating to herself the resources and produce of the island of Sicily. The only design the ' British Minister had in view was to discharge with strict fidelity the duties of an Ally, whose anxiety was to stop the progress of an overwhelming tf. twiny, which would sweep away in its progress every vestige of liberty. With this design they did feel themselves called upon, from circumstances of ut• • sent necessity, for the protection not only of the in. dependence of Sicily, but for the security of our own army, to produce a change of the system of Government ; and in consequence of the representa. lion of the British Envoy for that purpose, every thing that could be expected bad been conceded by the King of that island. In future, therefore, we might consider Sicily secure in itself, and as a spot from whence could be drawn most important means of.au. soyauce to .the common enemy. His Lordship con tluded by moving a Resolution for the grant of • 400,0001. to enable his Majesty to make good the Treaty entered into with his Sicilian Majesty. Sir JOHN NEWPORT thought that a much more satisfactory explanation was due from the Noble Lord, on a matter of so much magnitude.— He could scarcely believe that Ministers, who on former occasions had thrust themselves forward as the friends and supporters of existing establishments, should now attempt to justify the subversion of that of Sicily. Bid the Noble Lord mean to assert, that it Was not true that by means of the British autho-1 et* the King had been induced to abdicate his • throne itt favour of his Son? Uninformed as he was • sipeo the subject, judging wily from appearances, he' gbafessed that this proceeding did appear to him very ' similar to the - conduct of Bonaparte, who forced Charles XIII. of Spain, to abdicate his throne in fa vour of his son Ferdinand, and then took advantage of it to claim Spain as his own property. To whom ' *as this money now proposed to be voted, paid ? and to what was it applied ? These were enquiries, in the present condition of our finances, of much import. ante ; but Wave all, the British Government should take care to make it evident to all the world that its conduct was not similar to that of our perfidious' enemy, which Lad justly met with the reprobation of all that dared to be impartial. • Lord CASTLEREAGH replied, that if Parlia mentary enquiry were requisite, the [tight Honoura ble Baronet was too well acquainted with the forms df die House to need information how complaints were to be brought forward. If such a step should be taken; his Lordship was prepared to meet the most minute investigation. He was happy to assure the Committee that there was not the slightest ground V.r stating, teat it was even at the suggestion, much less upon the demand of the British Minister, that the King of Sicily was Induced to abdicate his throne in favour of his von ;. how it could be called ' an abdica tion he iris . at a loss to imagine, since it was merely a.. temporary delegation of power, which might at any time be resumed by his Majesty—on the mo tives to this act his Lordship would not give an opi nion, but certain it was that it was wholly voluntary. —The only claim made by Lord William Ben thick was, that the King of Sicily should put his Government upon such a footing as to make it com. patible with the safety of the British army, that it should remain in the island. As on her part Great Britain was anxious to discharge her portion of the treaty, so on the part of Sicily it was expected that she should perform hers. With r-gard to the clues -lion, to whom the money was paid, and by whom it was applied, it would ir sufficient to answer, that it was delivered to the Kin; of Sicily, and administered by his Government. If, as it seemed to be required, a general explanation of the conduct and policy to wards our Ally were necessary, the transactions not oaly of the last, but of mans preceding years, must be referred to ; and ulthwigh nis Lordship did not shrink from the investigation, he did not conceive that the present win the fit opportunity for entering upon it. By such a trial, he was confident that the sterling metal of the national honour and character. would ouly be reuderered more bright and pure. 'That any comparison was to be drawn betwben the con-' dqct of Great Britain and that of Fratice,- it was ri diculous 'to contend, since while tie-latter had go.l verned by • lawless ambition,. the former had been guided by unshaken fidelity. The steps taken by t!terioyertipieut of this countr3s wens justified by the paramount necessity of the case. Sr 'JOHN NEWPORT again adverted to there. • si•taifee give-by She Ministers to his suggestion on a former occasion, that Skily should be governed by British authorities. Immediately afterwards, how ever, the ikitish Government was detected intermed dling with the organization and proceedings of tbel Spanish Ccrtes, and was now the declared pro moters of a revolution in Sicily. It was perfectly obvious, without any assertion from the Noble Lord, i tnat Ministers were anxious to shun enquiry, for if it were courted, where could a time be found more fit than the present for such a purpose. A full and complete exposition of their motives and conduct was due to the military, the pushy of whose national chantcter wig sullied by an imputation of the -black. ost kind, which it were the duty of the Government lopne.liaktely to.remove. • I Mr. WI FORCE pointed out the distincifoo between the conduct of Bonaparte with regard' 41 _ . LONDON: THURSDAY, SEARCH 6, 1812. Lisbon Pewit to the 3d, and Coranna to the 2d of March, reached us this forenoon. The major part the Allied Army is represent* to have reached Abrantes, and General HILL is to .. 'be entrusted with the seige of Badajos. MAnnosit 4 s head-quarters, which were formerly at Salamanca, are now said to be removed to Valladolid, in consequence of the fall of Ciudad Rodrigo; and the Imperial Guard, it is re ported, has received orders to proceed to France. — We do not, however, credit these rumours re verting the movements of the enemy, because oar private letter, confidently state, that Gene- THE STATESMAN. nt - into desereed disrepute, though It might "tie atilt uts.: derstood. This change had been peaceably Wrested ' by the interferetute of Lord W. Bentinck, impeed of !' being accomplished by men who, with barnets v were perhaps not the best persons to establis a nest ....- 1.1 •• -• • vernment. He principally rose to deprecate the adgptiost of thedisgustitig mid contemptible calemnies of the enemy in the British house of Commeses, since the comparison drawn would not hold ist" a aittgle point of view. Sir JOHN NEWPORT answered That it was of the utmost importance not only that 'our national ho. moue should in truth be perfectly pure, but that it should be unsuspected even by env enemies. It was not fit that Great Britain shoe id justify her injustice by asserting that the actiovs of France Were of a blacker dye. The Noble Lord maintained that para. mount necessity dictate; our proceedings in Sicily — necessity was the tyro nee plea—and how many coun tries had Bonaparte taken possession of arid over. run, on the grouv.ii that the safety of his empire and the tranquillity of Europe required it. Many facts yet remained %ti the dark, doubtless, because they would not bear the light—aMong which was the be nishment said restoration of the Barons suspected of intercouese with the enemy. Lord CASTLEREAGH re-asserted thatiteensak aloue had induced the British Minister, notote was supposed, to overthrow the system, but merely to make a representation to the King of Sicily against the existing form of Goveritruest. Theeaholethange that succeeded was voluntary, .nor wer British authorities coucertieff lit or responsibleforjt. Der, l ing these tratuactions theemidtidt of Lad:William Bentinck had been not less remarkable for s mildness and forbearance / than for a rigid execution of his in. sttuctions. Sir JOHN NEWPORT explained. • The CHANCELLOR. of the EXCREQtfER remarked upon the triumphant tone in which the Right lion. Baronet had reminded the HOuse that his recommendation at a former period' had at length been attended to by the alteration which had been produced in Sicily.. If, however, the British Go. vernment had not waited until the present time before ' it interfered, the object would have been defeated, inasmuch as matters were not until now ripe for the change accomplished, nor would it even at this time have been proper to have proceeded to the extent ad vised by the Right Hon. Baronet in his former speeches. If it were questionable at this time whe ther interference were right, surety at any former period (before the danger which lately threatened, the British army was apparent) it would have been , most unjustifiable. He admitted the fitness of re moving from the British character the greatest of ail j stigmas cast upon us by our enemies; viz. that we were actuated by the same principles that governed them, if that might be called goveriunent which ad.] Ikeowledged no)aw. tic was surprised, however, to ' find that the Right Hon. Baronet was the instrnment by which these unfounded calumnies were circulatid. I Sir JOHN NEWPORT maintained that it was a totally different thing to make terms•with our Ally when he was independent, and when wt had an army of 15,000 British soldiers in his territory. Perhaps, upon enquiry, he should tierce that it was important ' that the revolution shoul d be accomplished ; but he required, and the country required, that it shoild be •made evident to all the world that such conduct was justifiable. It was a very easy, though not perhaps a satisfactory way of answering arguments, to accuse the individual employing them, of improper motives ; under certain ,circumstances he might be proud of the disapprobation of the other side cf the lionse, more partiCularly when they endeavoured. to deter him from the discharge of a' public duty, which, as a Member of Parliament, he felt himself called upon to I perform. I The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER answered, that the objection just made, that we ought ' to have treated with our ally while he was free, could not apply, inasmuch as, at the formation of the Treaty, to fulfil which this grant was proposed ) there was a British army in Sicily. Colonel BASTARD and Mr. lIUME expressed their high approbation of the conduct of Ministers with regard to Sicily. The question was then put, and the vote agreed to without a division. MISCELLANEOUS I BTIMATES. Mr. WHARTON,. after some remarks from Mr. iMartin and Mr. H. Brown moved the following Re ; solutions 50,0381. for the Caledonian Canal. I Y0,007r. for maim.; Roads ant building Bridges in the 110 1 lands. 5,594/. for making Military Roads in the same. . - , 11,0,V. for Coutiogencies of the Or Ct• Secretaries of State. 6,000'. for Extra Clerks and Mew..yrs of ditto. 3,400". for the Civil Establishment to: the Bahama Islands. 1,030!. for ditto of Denied*. • 600/. for ditto of Dominique. 8,4"d!'11. fur ditto of Upper Canada. • 0,q51. for ditto of Novi Scotia. s,oud!. for ditto of -New Brunswick. t',o:".ot. fur ditto of Cape Breton. 3,9711. for ditto of Xewfttuctdbiod• • • • 11,0415'. for ditto of Sierra Leone. 11,701!. fur ditto of Now South Wain.. , ! ' • MR.CHINNERT'S DEFALCATION, • Mr. BANKES took this opportunity of petting 'a ',question to the Chancellor of the Exclieqaer, which I was not distinctly heard in the gallery upon this sub ! jest.- 'We understood him to complain. that the whole of the money voted for New South. Waled; was iu consequence of Mr. Chinnery's embezzlement He lamented that the public accounts were not more correctly and regularly audited. The CHANCELLOR. of the EXCHEQUER ad ' mated, that the case to which the Honourable Nem her had alluded, was of the gravest complexion, and ought to be considered as a very severe warning to those who were entrusted with the examination of accounts, in the department to which Mr-Chienery belonged. The fact was, that this person bad been concerned not only with this but with - . . m c niti o :u o souc l h d regi n thiki o d,g t ee be ascertained until an immense variety of accounts for many former years had been gone I rn A eudi t tyi l m a , sptitoast impossible rn individual iilnitot o i a n es q ccao u pr e s en t e lE s e , a di f o, te ni r 4: Mr. Perceval confessed that until the -.last momeat Mr. Chitruery had succeded in praeii.ing upon him a gross imposition. Mr. ROSE felt himself called up, connected as he I had been with the individual whose delinquency was ' under consideration, to give a short statement to the House. In the year 1783, upon a very strong re commendation from Lord Thurlow, to whom Mr. Chinnery had acted as Private Secretary, he procured him the place which be lately occupied. During three or four years the young man conducted himself j with the greatest propriety, but after his marriage, he involved himself in a traiu of expence, against which j Ihe (Mr. R..) remonstrated, but without effect. Mr. Chinnery seemed to increase yearly in extravagance, lio that Mr. Rose becarne - extremely uneasy as to the i funds out of which he thaintained• himself, although I Mr. Chinnery assured him, that besides his salary,he I had extensive means for his support. At lasi the j Right Hon. Crentleman, finding his advice npavap)ng, I abandoned him ; and about 14 or 15 yearl,Sps illj intercourse - ceciaed. In 1801, he (Mr. R. )' qtdtted the , Treasury, and from that period had never seen et spoken to Mr.. Chinnery but in the presence of his Honourable Friend (Mr. Wharton), who succeeded him. About a 'yea!' and 'it , half ago Mi. Rose felt it neoeassey to- call the attention of the Secre. , tart' of the-Treasury to the subject : the truth was, that 'Mr. Chinnery was then living in a scandalous j way, wholly inconsistent with any honest means.— ' Under these circumstances he (Mr. It.) wrote to the . delinquent a very strong letter, and received an an swer, both of which he had in his possession, and lamented that he had not brought them down to the House. Under all these circumstances, Mr. Rose was convinced that not a syllable could•be urged in favour of Mr. Chinnery, who, after repeated stern- fogs, had lived during the last fifteen years at an un- 1 warrantable expellee. Mr. Rose never set foot in his house, excepting once, when he stood Gad-father j to Mr. Chinnerv's son, although he was frequently invited to splendid concerts, attended by many per- sons of distinction. When Mr. Chinnery was asked; how he could afford to give such entertainments) he was in the habit of laying, that the performers were happy to come to his house, and that they would re. i ceive no pay. A arse. of snore deliberate guilt could not be conceived,. and Mr: Rose lamented that the Embezzlement Bill, now before the House, had not passed, arid included Mr. Chinnery's case, as a more ; j fit objeet for exemplarypunishment could not he se-_I lected. If the Bill contained no clause to corn- 1 p, ise a similar offence, the Right lion: Gentleman thought it would be highly proper that a provision for that purpose should be introduced, The CHA'NCELLOR. of the EXCHEQUER, after an observation explanatory of the nature of the grant then voted, said, in reference to the case of IMr. ' Chinnery, that for the future every possible precaution would be resorted to, on the part of Go-1 I I ernment, to present a repetition of such unexpected; losses as the- public had speedy experienced. The general principle upon which these provisions would rest, would be that of issuing no monies which j should not be audited at least every quarter. [Pear, t kw!] Mr. BANKES thought the only radical cure of such abuses was to by found in a strict and approved j system of auditing, systematically pursued and ri gorously adhered to. At present, the system was I defective, but such as it was, it bad been acted up to 1-by the two auditors, the third Under-Secretary of j the Treasury, and the principal First Clerk, with I commendable diligence. He thought, however, that the house should not rest, till they had obtained for the public an Audit Board. After some observations from _Messrs. Long and Martin, the resolutions were agreed to, when the House resumed, and the Report was ordered to be received to-morrow. • The third reading of the Charitable Donations' Bill was fixed for the sth April. ' The other Orders of the Day were then disposed of, and the House adjourned. • ' :5" Alt. Malts. • Dee. O ? Lisboa . „ 0 O O ..r • Swaney . 1 0 ,e •'' hilllr ••• I T 7XETC. PRICE - OF SOCKS TUN DAY AT ORR O'C., Rank Utile Bondi par 1 pr. • 3 per Cent. Coal, 590 Exchequer Rails. 2 die.rs p. • 3 per Ceut. Red. Ditto I pa Cente. thallium 5 per Cent. Navy 891 90 Comets for . Acct. 5911 Leug..tnn. Lottery Tickets £21:12 THE 87.14TESM4N. . many. other , mil M --. .- Spain, and of England wi t h regar d to-Sicily, The accounts, which rendered his statements e x t reme l y auritius., instead of retiring from the frontiers of Portagai, is collecting an immense army pretended abdication of the throne of Spain pre- complicated. The conduct or the auditors appointed cured by the forma ~ wag a mere hypocritical veil, upon investigation, would be found not so blameable in that quarter, and that an engagement is expected under which he concealea his Buse and treacherous as might at first be imagined, since Mr. Chinnery had soon to take place. At Salamanca, there were 60,000 designs. " ingeniously managed, so to balance one account troops ass em bl e d, w ith a petit of artillery, consisting Mr, S'ITYHEN corrested, whet he conceived to against another, as to render detection a matter of f IQ° 0 pieces of cannon, and the most active and be, a misrepresentation by Sir Jahr) Newport, of the much difficulty, .It was true, that the auditing of successfu . l exertions have been made by the enemy to arguments empleyFd in a previous Seselon upon this public accounts 'had formerly been grossly neglected, question,• He matntained, that previous t o th e l ate b ut o f l a t e years mac h ass id u i ty ha d b een employe d "procure a regular supply id provisions. Dispatches *gelation the people of Sicily were in a manner en- to balance them very nearly to the present time. it . were received yesterday by afiIdPITNIPIt from Earl eavrd, and were denied "'the rights of man," to use w a s paving to these exertions that the deficiency on - WZI.LIireToN, bat being dated io faelack as the IF i tifirrei which trent ke .dross perversiou, bad fallen the part 9r 31. i. Cbineery was discArveresli bet it liith °of Fabraaar t they somas*** aesbing new • • 'la- 1 . . _ . . . ... . • • • • • .%...i. , - , -.• -:.= ' -4 . _.,,...- :., ....-••. - • . ' `~_ . . „ . C , • ~~~ - - .;;ATE . -J d \.. •-., -,. • r • • \ •r . 1?~u • ~. respecting t_lo late operati ons o f the contending ary.4 . mies. 'he following are extracts from the Pap tri received this morning : PORTO, MARCH 2. Our army has made a move; it ii now Heir M. tes and Nivt, and the adjacent towns, except the lifth division, which is upon the• march, and will be is Coimbra to-morrow and the following day. SALAMANCA. Its is. The whole of th e Imperial Guard has received nr . ders to proceed to Fiance. On the 22d of Janua , v , M4axoNT had his head-quarters and army in S. l l l . manca ; but, on receiving intelligence of the fda of Ciudad Itodrige, Immediately retired r e Valladolid, leaving only six thousand m„ is that city. Goo. MAILMONT, after collecting cm siderable fo'rcts in Valladolid, advanced to Se a . manse; but the Allies seemed not only determin e d to wait for . him, but also give him battle, should reek it. • We knew lately that the 'French havers tired towards Toro; it is, therefore, presumed that our will very shortly undertake the sieg e o f liadajoe. .We know that the utmost activity plena, in thit. - place, in collecting provisions and military states. It is. reported that General WELLMTCoN will give General HILL 20,000 men, in addition tar those' he already bus, for the purpose of executing this order.—(Caronoa Diary, Fcb. 45.) PONFER,RADA, FE N. To.day, 60 dragoons entered %Titla:ion, taken by the party of MARQUES= j out of 166 men *hid. composed the enemy's force, six only escaped.—(Sa,:it PaPr-) SALkMkNCA, Fze.l7. The English maintain their positions between the Tormes and Agueda. We are assured, that at Chi%. cella Gen. 'nitres has completely defeated Mus. sum's• division, belonging to MARNIONT% a ray. qtte 6th division of MARMONT'S army has marched for Gastile, in consequence of which, in 'fabrers, din. there remain very short garrisens.,-(Same Paper.) CORUNNA. I?. The English Colonel, Sir EDWARD • DOTYGLA6, frieud to the Spaniard's, and one of the most active and glorious protectors of. oar holy cause, after hay. ing delivered to the 6th army, which covers the fron- tiers of Galicia; the aids lent by his generetis Go, ttrnment ; after having assisted, in a -scimitar mast, ner, the valiant parties of Ggarillas 'with arms, kc. has directed his attention, without losing sight of the army which merits his first con sideration, to the alarm of this faithful kingdom of Galicia, among the inhabitants of which he is going to distribute pu additional number of muskets, The Public will be able to judge of ' the number and description ,of these aids (hithesite it would not have been proper to medtion them), whet:fit is informed that during the last five monthl.3o,ooo muskets have been distributed by &ismer:ell Chief f so that this powerful succottriand dithers -which are 'about to 'be given, Galicia wiH tie played •in '.sac 111 raeral state of defence, as will makelts Wag sultdaedby the enemy impossible. Thanks to the generous Brit tish Nation.—(Coruinu Diary; Feb. " . 7.) LISIION, MARCIE 4. Our Government has issued an order, in conse, quence of the great scarcity of provisions h Spanish Estremadera, by the calamities of war, that rice and biscuits may be exported to all parts of that province, not occupied by the enemy.--( Lisbon G(r.elle ; March 3.) Souse American Papers reached town this morning, but of too old a date to bring any intelligence; the Norfolk PePiligs only reach to the 13th February. It cannot fitti to be in the recollection of o* Readers, that, as the eve of the appointment of ties httrect of Wend to be Regent of these kingclem‘. the columns of the &trier were filled with the melt scurrilous invective against his Royal Highness and the other Princes of the Blood, because it was at j that time thought it was the Reosn's intention to ;.call to his 'Councils, those men whom he had all I along declared his friends, and whose principles ha professed to have adopted as a guide to direct him its his future political career. As an experiment to counteract his Royal .Highness'i views, the restrih tions imposed by Mr. Ptacsvat, were resorted to; and, through the medtem of his hireling Journals, the Premier indulged in a strain of declamation, the tnnli indecent and opprobrious against the Heir Apparent,. with the view of bringing him into discredit with the f nation. Because the Royal Brothers gave a declare• tion to the world, of their opinion as to the measures pursued by Mr. PENCEVAL to limit the Royal Prero gative, they were insultingly denominated the "Col lege of Princes ;" they were spoken of individually as " Baby Princes, who had no comprehension for any thing beyond the childish amusement of a Battle." Every thing, in fact, which disappointment and Inn lice could devise, was promulgated in the Como' , r, and from thence copied into all the other no'r• coon,* prints, to calumniate and stigmatize 0 4 ')loyal Highness. Now, however, that Mr. PENCE- Tilt has " found favour" in the eyes of his Master, the Journal which was formerly devoted to his pur poses of scandal, every day teems with the most ful some adulatioti, the most disguring flattkry ecor shown to any mortal. Instead of the PRINCE iti# GENT being that inditidual whose conceptions were unfit for any other pursuit than that of a " bah)," he has become "-enlOtened," by the 4 '• brilliant ca reer" of his Father's Ministers. Instead of itolif ference to the true in'erests of his people, he is bemire all 0 oace WO with" anxiety for the pal lie * t* * L. ~. L, !';~ . Al Cm or fel