The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1808-02-09 00:00:00

tionally removed by the wind upon a sudden change of weather, afforded more opportunities for passing that sea, than any other in the world, aid therefore hi was entitled to contend, that n othing was more easy than. to pee an arm/ iisto Zealand, whenever trainee thonght lit to do so. The Danish army m Holstein never could have maintained itself against the French army. Could it be supposed that the Danish army, con sisting, as 11111 reported, of 15.000 men., (bit, as he really believed, of not more than 18,004 j could have beenoppOsed with any degree of effect against the immense French army that might have been beim eht against them ? He should therefore assume that the invasion of Zealand from France was not ' only a rational, but a probable project. Then, it !night be said, why did we offer our guarantee in a Treaty with Denmark. when France could have opposed to that Power such an irresisti tee force ? To this he should answer, that Den mark, when aided not only by her whole popu lation. but by British troops and by a British might well have withstood any attack from quarter. Under other circumstauees, Low e, er, the case was quite altered, and a French ill ' veion might have been accomplished even in the o etinary seasons of the year, without much dish eoltr. Add to this, Zealand does not furnish suf deent provision for her own muintenance, but re qiiiree -the aid of Jutland and Holstein. What then would have been the situation of the Danes, with a French army in these quarters? They might have been supplied, it was true, by Great iiritain; but the season might have been such as wseild have prevented the supply • caching them, even in times of the greatest dauger. The French would first have moved their army agaia-t the Coututental ter:stories of Denmark, which at any time they might have obtained by force, and even without proceeding farther, have demanded aid from Zea land. They might thee have propmed to Denmark. diet if she *mild join with them against England, all her territories would be saved to her ; but if not, they would seise both he:. territories and her fleet. As to the disposition of Denmark, either for a faithful or a fraudulent neutrality e it was needless to eel arge ; he had thought it sufficieat to ghee that she po aessie not the rm.:: of resistance to the will of France. It might. hewever, be p ro pe r to Podia, that it was seride.e. whatever might be her sincere e or insieeerity, in maintainine neutral princieice she never had, daring our connection, evint7ql a dispositioa to make those preparatiees which a viitomiss determination to resist an enemy vroald nat.:me; have indiseed a wise power to have effected. She sever was induced by the repre-. sentations of any of our Ministers to make provi sion for hostile attacks from the common enemy, or even to use exertions to pat her fleet in a state of forinidalde repair, for her own ieciarity. Upon the whole. it was pe.fectly evident that Denmark must be entirely depenrtent upon her good disposition towards France, and entirely at her will and dis posal: He coateuded, that the commercial interests of Denmark had for several years been hostile to this country, and that she had all along been acting in favour of the Armed Neutrality. His Majesty's Ministers would 'surely then have been most blame able, if they hed not been convinced that it was the kite: Lion of Franca to seise the vanish fleet ; that it was in her po-ver to tin to; and further, that no disposition ilia been evieced to resist it. The nrat poin t was, what would have been the danger likely to arise to Great Britain, had France been successful in her wild projects ? Was there ne danger at all to be apprehended from feel? attempts, and the whole fleet of Den merle and the maritime resources of that power, • falter into the hands of ,France ? Would they not have had not only the Danish one:, but alvo that 'of Russia, to effect the immediate subjugation of Sweden? What then %meld have been die result of an alien of the Russian, Daniels and Swedish na vies? Would any man think of the possessor of this force neeneciug not only the most vulnerable points ie Ire!aed, but also tile mast vulnerable paints of Great Britain. ant not suspect that dan ger was to be apprehended J It would have been extremely diffiettlt for the Admiralty of this coun try to • have defeetel and maintained all the dif frierit stetsons fer the desert:wee of the fleets of Fraaee and Spain, to have kept a sufficient force in the Mediterranean, or for the defence of ont Lebo sees, o: for thep:otection of our East India pose lesion.:. Under these circumstances, it was tin po,44ibie to coatead e that the danger was not .great guff tne.tazing, is order to effect the destrue • 3.1 of this etapkg. We were limited to a space of ti:ne, *linnet iiiceedililv contracted, and the Inger was thereby rendered most material and writ bpi:lent. bad wisely provided aping e, by making the demand of a deposit of the Danish flee! -into our hands, un to the pe riod of time wh 11 peace should be restored.— It remained uoiv only for him to advert to the Law or Tfeiiens. He ceat.ndel that that law, ahiett forinely honed mcietv, was burst asunder by the French II ale:lt:en. The short substaece of tie lee of natu?? public law was that which every sill nine f ref /11,11 t predominaat--the right of amine for war nen semi ray. This, whatever it tnigitt be, when applied to individuals. was inirt . Y• .c. ith a natioe, the rim,: sacred and him ee.ious of all duties. The rights of neatttlity cotifil never be eseged in competitiim with, the of security in •my of the belligerent parties. lie should wish to he told, in what period of a war, betweea two con ,?ading parties, some injury had not been done to aa innocent and apparently uncelending neutral? Seel). in fact, was the necessary result of war, thet if a neatr .1 power displtr j s its own weakens, and at the same time possesses the sinews of war, it insist be protected by nue or other of the belligerent powers, while both ealeavour to prevent its aggres isioe. In such n ease, whatever may be the injury offered, if not exceeding the strict observance of oar security, it is to be attributed steely to that party wiso tint attempted the violence. and not to that party who did it merely for his awn safety. This doctrine was in exact eoaformity with every law boak he had consaulted. He had heard it said that this country had, by this conduct , incurred the displea care and resentment of all Europe--(Hear! firer !front the Orpositime si le.)—But he would ask deer Lotelships this question, was the voice of Europe free and 1311C0itrouled at present, either as to the constraction and interpretation 61 Public lief, Or es to the propriety of the a It (f Kt enninet of Great Deitairq win that in: cl.:pendence now to be found, that riensld enwole nations to judge with impartiality of the conduct of others e wad it to he found is Russia, or was it existing in Spain, or iu any other part of maritime Europe ? Was there any one stilt, that entertained a sentiment contrary to the wi ll and dispositiou of the Ruler of Francs:? Could any eiriliaa, 'soldier, or statesman, dare to avow a sea- tiruent contrary to h;s pleasure, or derogatory to his dignity ? To refer to the opinion of Enrope, upon such a case, reminded iiiinnf the time when Greece was invaileci sse l Philip of YLaccelon, for it was then invariably "the t)raeleof Apollo speaks thus." He bad taken the liberty of expresiiing his senti ments thus ful4r, in order to show, thatajperfect case was already made out for the character, ho nour, and dignity, of the country, and that no fur ther informatio• was necessary. Upon these grounds his Lordship tested against the motions. Lord HUTCHI?iSON rose, and argued in fa vour of the Motions. The Noble Marquis had con tended, that it was both in the intention and the power of France to endeavour to subvert the mari time power of Great Britain. and that her fine step towards doing so, was to get possession of the Danish navy; now upon this he had tooleterve, that Bonaparte would. before attempting Holstein, have thought what would have been the effect upon the other powers by his doing so. He believed it I would have been difficult to have got Russia to consent to a measure that would heve put in the power of France the key to the Baltic. Whit would be the consequence if Bonaparte had driven the Danes from Jutland and Holstein ? He recol lected being in Cote, ithagen in September last year, when France had violated the neutrality of Hamburgh, it was then the avowed intention of Denmark, should she be uttacked, to evacuate Holstein and Jutland, .shicii were difficult to de fend, and to retire into their island, to maintain their independence, and preserve their fleet and foreign commerce to the last. The Danes them selves had a great portion of asin and mortar-boats, together with the finest flotilla in Europe. He challenged any man to prove that Bonaparte could possibly have assembled a sitfficient number of entail craft to pass the channel from the Island of Funen to Zealand, a space of 16 miles, and one of the most difficult navigation in Europe. He had lately returned from a most important; mission, and was hopeful that his conduct would have been generally approved. . Yet he found he had been alluded to in ante her !louse in a manner inconsist ent with his feelings and the whole teaor of his dispatches. By these he wished his opinions and actions to be judged collectively, and tea separate ly or partially. file snbjcct of Russia, during his last campaign, was sn intimately connected with the subject now under discussion, that he could not help entering upon it in order to jststify his conduct, and to coutra'lict those sentiments that had been attributed ao hint unjustly in another House. The treaty of Tilsit was signed upon the 7th of July, and shostly previous thereto, General Bennigsen had taken the field with 70,000 men, and a detached part of his army, amounting to 30,000 men. Against this force was opposed a French army of 160,000 men. The Russians were defeated upon the 13th of June, having lost 14,000 men. During that campaign, which lasted for i i days, there were IM4' officers killed and wounded, as.d 27 Generals. As far as human courage could go, it was exerted upon that occa sion ; hot it was well known that success in war did not depend upon courage alone. That he ever asserted in sly of his dispatches, that war would hare taken p!sre with Russia, whether Denmark had been attacked or not, was not the act. No man ought to attempt to put words in the mouth of another , which he had neither publicly nor pri vately stated ; for what would he the consequence, if garbled extracts were allowed to be read from im portant dispatches? He did positively state, that if Copenhagen had not been attacked, Russia would still have been friendly with this country. It be longed not to those who suffered a Russian line of battle ship, and four frigates, to pass through the Sound, to maintain that the secret articles of the Treaty of Tilsit were the cause of war between Co peithagen and this country ; but it is when their cause is weak, that they have to resort to such pu sillanimous reasons fer their conduct. He left Memel on the 20th of July, and arrived at St. Petersburgh :nom the 17th of the following inonth; the Emperor sent for him two or three days afterwards, and he went and had an audience of His Majesty. The Em pesos talked him if he thought it would be prudent to elect a general peace ? To this he assented ; and they were both agreed ns to the necessity of peace ; upon this the Emperor told him he had no ob jection to become the mediator, and soured him that he attached no false levity to his me diation, hut that it was his most anxious wish that England should make peace, as it weld be for his interest, and for the interest of Europe, sod would tend to establish the tran quillity of the world. Ile told His Majesty that a month must elapse before lie cold learn whether that mediation could be accepted, and assured him that the war hail been long favourable to this cauntry. His Imperial Majesty added, that as he scaa perfectly anxious to establish peace, it was not an object of consideration with hint what time should be taken up in its accomplishment ; that he was acqrainted with the disposition of the people of England, and also the feelings of Bonaparte ; adding, that they were such as he would not scruple to avow, and that he himself (Lord H.) would not hesitate to acknowledge them. After these conversations, he certainly was justified in main taining • hope that peace and amity might yet have been maintained between the two countnes, had not the attack upon Denmark taken place at that time. This he stated in his dispatch to the Secretary of State. When the Emperor heard of the expedition, he said, that the Prince of Denmark had always maintained a rigid neu trality, and was determined to persevere in it ; that his people flourished under him; and that therefore nothing could ever change him from pur suing that hoe of conduct which he lad adopted. The Emperor further added, that he must have satisfaction for this unprovoked insult, as he was bound to Denmark by the most solemn treaties and engsgementa. After this, could any one maintain that the attack upon Copenhagen bail bad no effect upon the Emperor of Russia ? A- • . Mae sentiments were contained iu ltis ditputches to Hiinges-ty'a ninistere, and why were they not produced by them o the public 2 In Rutieiu, au; many other 'countries, there were Many parties and intereuted itrdividuabi, but be would tbk if the Emperor of Ennio had no intermit to main tain the nentmtity of Denmark, and 41Ie coropltte freedom of the Baltic, which . materially con- • trihnted to his d'rgnity-and to his politer . ? The reason that Russia did not declare war boomer, wits is order to prevent the effect of the embargo ill:A would immediately have been laid upon her ships. Yet, notwithstanding all 'these circumstances ' we were holding out Russia to the contempt of Eu rope. This was only shewing our malevolence. There was a time when inlets-a conduct would have - _ been more violently resented. Had the fate of Europe no concern in the Law of Nations? He could assure the Muse. that our conduct was en tirely disapproved Upon the Continent. and the event would prove it. Lord EftSKINE spoke in favour .of the Mo tion. He was sure that Ministers roust :tare no information upenthe subject of a hostile dispo sition in Denmark, otherwise they could not, with any propriety, withhold it from the House, or at all events they might at least say, whether or not they hid any such. information. As to the secret articles of the treaty of Tilsit, he had a right to say, that there was not the smallest colour or foun dation for declaring that the) related to this country, notwithstanding what had been stated on the first day of the Session. Putting then aside any hostile inclination in Denmark towards this country, or to lean towards Fr-uice, yet independently of all that. Ministers sought to maintain, that by the Law of Nations they were entitled to pursue such a line of conduct. . Now he should say, that . - with such materials as the House were 'as sessed of; it could not be asserted with justice. that it was consistent with the law of nations.— The [Lapse were anxious tli.t they should have good de nee in the eyes of the world, and on that &moil:tit they now called upon Ministers to produce the documents sought for. ge Tar from being our safety, as had been alleged, Ae thought it likely to prove the greatest eslasult, that we could be subjected to. The first great breach of the hiw of nations had been practised by revo:it tionary France ; but what was our original motive 1n commencing the war against het', and in which we had expended about 40u millions of tuisaey ? France had ~.ts giod a right to ground her defence upon the Articles of, the Treaty of Knits, es we had to stand upon the Treaty of Tait. The principle of the war was, that we should be the great conservators of the public laws of the world, and that we were to stand fin a as y reek la the All'd which could never be overthrown. Hew were we now to defend those rights, which we !were thus violating? He agreed with the Noble Marquis opposite, that nations as well at is lividnals, had a right to attend to their security; but bow was that to be effectea ? It was only to be done upon the printi;le of law, justice, and mortlity, and not by following a system of aggression a n d plunclee r Suppose that the house of au individnel. was uAtr one that was on fire, and seeing the conflagration spreading, he might have a right to order the inter veiling house to be pulled down; was it from thence to be argued, that an individual, who lived iu the Haymarket, hearing of a fire nearHyde-ark-coruer. should, upon the same principle,have a right to pull' down his neighbour's house, lest the lire should ultimately reach him ? Surely this could not be al-. level as consistent with justice or any code of na tare! or of municipal laws. Our own security ! must, in every instance, be consistent with the se curity and welfare of others. lie wished that France had actually taken the Danish fleet; fur, so far from getting rid of a danger, we had rectually got into the mitst or if. The history of this country afforded an example, somewhat analogous to the present case, as being connected with Dewitt:l, hew far the swerving from those principles of mo rality, which ought to govern the conduct of na tions as well as individuals, ultimately contributed to their downfal and destruction. Before any established law existed in this country, and after the first invasion of the Danes, when peace was re stored, by civil wars being st an end and their intermarrying . with the inhabitants, Ethelbert, the then reigning Prince, being at one time appre hensive of another invasion from Denmark, and thinking that their countrymen here would be dis posed to join them, chose to order a general mas sacre of men, women, and children. It tutted out, however, that the Danes in Norway had actually no intention of attempting another tuvasien, bat hearing of this dreadful and cruel massacre which had taken place amongst his countrymen, Swene, the King of Norway and Denmark, bethought himself of putting an invasion into executin a, in which he succeeded, and actually established a more effectual footing in this country. • Lord BORINGDON expressed his inability to find any analogy in the treaty of Pitnitz, to which the Noble and Learned Lord refyrevd, and the Treaty of Tilsit, the secret arrangements of which rendered it the duty of His Majesty's Ministers to take such effective steps to defeat the deteitnined object of France. It was generally denied ihat the former Treaty ever had existence; indeed, hr had heard front a Noble Baron ,Prenville), a si milar opinion, expressed iu that House. In %%hat manner could those treaties be, there fore, compareit, the one a Treaty almost generally denied, the latter one, the existence of which there was no man could deny ? Lord ERSKINE--across the Table—" I alluded to the secret arrangements of the Treaty of Tilsit" Earl of BUCKINGHAMSHIRE contended, that even on the partial documents produced for the consideration of Parliament, they were aeces ! airily driven from those secret articles of the treaty of Tilsit, upon which so much previous stress had ' been laid. The recurrence to the dates of the period at which the expedition to the Baltic sailed. as well as to the treaty of Tilsit, must convince every man that it was impoesible for Ministers to have known those articles at the time when the ex . peditiou sailed from our poets. This circumstance of itself rendered it necessary to serl for inf.:mina ' tiou ou that subject. It was the first time in the a history of the country, when the nation ass plunged into • new war, upon such unexpected l and unexplained grounds. It had no other precedent ' than the conduct of Pruuiain the ? year: war, when that Power felted upon the dominions of the Elec. tor of Saxony. under the pretence that, the latter had joined an .ta treaty to partition the Prussian territories. This attack upon an nnotleadiag state excited the indignation of Europe, nor w.:s the I : reduc tion of tlie . copies of the alleged treaty, or t4e actual iwasession of the treat y itself, r,afficieat to airframe it. It had been stated as a matter of eourtre, that Zealand was unable to protect itself.— This heWar not eilling to wirnit ; indeed, from the dispatches, and from the groutal upon which the Resolutions of Thanks *ere` Voted by the House, it was impossible to conclude' but that island was competent to a stout resistance to Ilona parte. It had been said that -there were thirty five thousand military in Zealand, which, together with the twenty-five thousand in Holsteir, would have altogether presented a formidable force to any invasion from the north of Eitrope.— Highly as tie valued the talents and pre-eunnent services of the gallant officers who conducted that expedition, he should still eonsider their late ser vices not entitled to the thanks of that House, ut hkss the force they had to cons end with in Den mark was of much more efficie. t d scription than the servaats would admit, in irgiting the merits 'fwal principle of the expedition to the Baltic- The 'Noble Earl dwelt with ccmsidernhle strength on the unjustifiable nature of that measure, and felt Persuaded that the time world arrive, when even its tnostaarignine aspporters would regret its exe cntion, and vuialy wash that it never had taken place : " Turnn tempts reit, ammo cam uptaverit emtunt " Intactum Pall!ante, et cum .ptia iota, diet:slue • (Merit. - --- Lord Rt At' BY asked the House to relied on the midtary means of France, on the power she possessed of carrying her intentions of hostility into effect, and oft he unwearied perseverance witherhish she sought the ruin and subjugation of Engiand. In such a state of and with thatlniowledge, were Nliuisters to remain inactive until the mis chief was arranged ? Were they to leave ttic mist important interests of foe country to the fluctuation of winds and currents ? If they had, they would have justly deserved the reprobation of the House and the cotintry. There was notliicg in the past conduct of Denmark to justify the inference, that her resistance would be corn- • ineaserate to the desirs of France. The state of the continent of Europe was the best justi fication of the late seizure of the Danish navy, independent of those arrangements in which the plan of a nes - MilitiMit Lonfe4eriey - was formed again s t this country. The Earl of MOIRA, after some preliminary obscrcistions, isroceeded thus'—•• My Lords, all solid grounds, all real argument on the principle of necessity, have .been abandoned by Ministers, and all the e;.cuse, for they have dcacended to ex cuse, for their attack upon Deinnark, is nothing but speculative convenience. I grant that there is nothing in Europe towards which the Ruder of France has not bent his mind, with a view to consider how he might form it into an engine of destruction against this Country; but what spat torn, what appearance, I ask, has there been cf Denmark Navin.; entered iuto any collusion with France agiiinst the British Empire? Even this rat. h however, it seems, has not been required, ind it has been stated, that the possible chance of tl a Danish fleet being employed against us is deem( d sufficient for the pi aitication of the proceeding Now, it must be clear, that Denmark could not ha a taken that coarse, nor Eaglarid have acted as she has done, without Violating . her neutrality , and therefore we lied the seennty of centrality against that chance ; a security which appears from her conduct to have been conside:ed by her suffi cient against all attack on the part of England. But iu order to trace a hostile purpose to Den mark, Ministers have said, Cy the assembling of the army in Holstein c 4unenced with the views of this country for the; recovery of Han over : but this is not true ; the army of Holstein began to assemb le in that Duchy previous to the attadc of the French upon Hanover, arid at a time whea it would have been sided duplicity if it had not taken that position. I do believe that Dun mark felt secure against the attack of France, ou the ground that it was not the interest of France to attack her. From her own character, and that of the getout Prince at her head, I do believe that she would have fought gallantly ; aye, and per haps successfully ; _for success, in such a contest, depends more upon the public disposition and !limit of a couatry, than upon numbers. To that issue, the French, however, were not likely to push Denmark, for they must have been aware that their attack would throw the Danish army into the arms of England. (Hear! hear!) Admitting • the army in Holsteia to have been attacked by the French, there was nothing to prevent its retreat into Zealand, where the Danish forces, thus cone . tmted, would have mounted to 35,000 men. Now, I would ask, how was such a force to be attacked in such a situation by France ? A few individuels. I grant, ,might pass from the Continent into Zr a laud, but how was a great French army to be car ried over? What ways and means had France for such an expedition ? Admitting, • however, that under a fortuitous combination of circum stances, a French army in a chance moment should succeed in throwing itself into Zealand, that would not be decisive. It would hay.. no means of support ; it would be cut off from all its r&ssurees • for it would be too much to phourne, that the chance which favoured the descent would continue so furnish necessary and regular supplies. But what would have been the result of this, which' is the most unfavourable case we can presume ? Why, the Danes would ha...e then accepted ssF.tt you offered, and for their refusal of winch, they are now reduced to their present state. It would have been folly in them to have acted otherwise. It would have been worse than fully in them to refuse the means of preserving their neutrality with you, and maikiugsucceesful resistance against the attack of France. Bat what is the consequence now of all your success ? la my conscience. I think that seven times the number of ships seised at Copen hagen would not compensate for one half of the injury which this unfortunate eltpedition has he fleeted upon the country; and I do not think that the loss of seven times the number of 'hips wcu'd have so much affected its interests. Hitherto all the Powers of the Continent have givens rel u chat groar- I ~ _-- ,, ..e .