The Sun. — London, England, 1802-03-26 00:00:00

IMPERI di, PA RLMMENT. HOUSE OR,,PERS, THURSDAY, MARCH 2c. Lo R D AL KaNLEY sat again this day as Speaker. Counsel were heard in continuation relative to the Scotch Appeal, Wilson .v. Henderson and Mel ville, namely; Mr:NOLAN on the part of the Ap pellant, and Mr, GuLtzs for the kespondents ; after which their Lordships deferred the further hearing till to-morrow. 'The Bills. before the House wel'e forwarded in their iespdliye stages... Lord HOLLAND acquainted the House, that it was not his intention to..bring forward a proposition relative to the affair of the .Civil List to-morrow, as he had proposed ; as- he understood it would be inconvenient ,to some Noble Lords to attend on that day. • He . also understood, that the Noble Lord who .had hitherto come forward ,on the -occasion, 'hag postPoned . his intended motion from tomorrow till Monday. :171e should, therefore, on that day take an oppOrtunity and come forward with a pro position,on ,the.subjet, to.the .general .efred which he had mentioned on a former evening. The Galway County Gaol Bill was brought up From the CommonS by- Mr. TRENCH, 'and read a • • first time. - • Four Private Bills were also brought up ; two by Mr. VANSITTART, and two_by Mr. joopitELL, which, being read a first tinie, their Lordships ad, journed till tomorrow.' - HOUSE OF.COMIII9,VS, THURSDAY, MARCH 25. Mr. SHAW' LEFEVRE moved to postpone the ,Committee relative to the Port of )...pndon till Monday.—Ordered, •Mr. ItzwlN, from the Commissioners of the Customs, presented an Account of the quantity of Grain and Rice imported into - the Ports of England and Scotland, from the loth of OdobeT, ISo r, to the sth of Jantiary, 18oz, which was ordered to lie on the Table. Alsoo - an Account of the quantity of Grain and Rice exported frotn the Ports of England and Scot land during the same period, which was ordered to lie on the Table. _ . . Mr. WiI:DHAM BOOTLE moved to postpone the Committee on the Parish Apprentices Bill till ,Thursday next.—Ordered. . . Mr. STEWARD presented a Petition from the Cor poration of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, stating the plentiful produce of the late Harvest, and the high price of Bread, and praying that an Account - might, be oaken of the Stock of Grain in hand.- - Ordered to lie on the Table.. SUPPLY. • Mr. Ar.ExANDEß.brought up the Report of the qommittee of Supply, which was read, • On the question for:agreeing •with the Resolution . of the Committee relative to the Grant of fs.,opol. -to the Earl of: ST. VI 1, c ENT ) and Lord Oa EY, • Mr. ROBSON said, he thought if required fur ther consideration. These Noble ComManders had, ,he said, Made seizures, and erected Courts of Ad_ miralty for the condemnation of the Vessels seized, of their own authority.. :the - money was, it ape Fared; invested in the Funds, and - . part of this • vote was to make gOod the loss occasioned by that. `Tie thought this Vote .wot;Ild establish an injurious precedent; and in the present case, there was not information to form a judgment upon, as there was bUt one' Paper relative to the. subjeCt, and that he had not been able to discover before. Mr. N. FANSITTART said, he should t rou bl e .•• • the House with but a few words, as the Hon. Gen tleman knew nothing ,of the subjeEt, except from a Paper, which he could not find. The alluded to had been for some time: lying upon the Table, as well as other Papers relative to the same snbjea. The lion. .Gentleman had contended, that these Noble Commanders had made the 'Seizures-Aif their own authority; but the fait was, that they merely obeyed the orders of Government, as they were bound to do, and in obedience to those orders, m::de the seizures in question ; and not only this, but they had also acted, in this instance, in strid conformity with the known Law of Nations.— They had been told by the Hon. Gentleman, th at part of this Vote w as to ma k e _ goo d a loss oCeasion ed by investing the money in the Ftnids ; but the fia was not so, as the proceeds of the Captures were merely invested in the Funds, until the Appeals were decided. - The Hon. Gentleman had said, that these Nobie'Commanders had ereaed Courts of Ad rniralty of their own authoiity ; but no one could contend, that these Courts were- not governed b y the principles of Equity ; or that Commanders, in such situations, were not empowered to erect such Courts. They had been told, that there was a ground of alarm on the Score of precedent : this however, could not.be the case, as the Vote would include the whole Fleet and Artny, and 'was an in aemnifiCation to the whole, as reoresented by the Commanders in Chief. These Comaianders were certainly entitled to an indemnity; as they had acted in - strict obedience to the orders of their Country. • Mr. N/CHOLLS observed, that no benefit would be co:net-red upon these N:thle Commanders, by this Vote, as it was merely to indemnify them from the consequences of obeying the orders of the Executive Government, which indemnification they were justiy entitled to. Mr. lONE,C said, he agreed with the Hon. Gentleman Miho had spoken last, as to the general principle ; but the question was, whether these Noble Commanders had not, in this instance, aeted v..rongfuly in the execution of the orders of Govern ment Mr. N. VANSI•ITART explained. Mr. _7Ol-INSTON said, he admitted generally that Naval and Military Officers obeying the orders of their.Cuuntry, were entitled to be indemnified from any consequences which might arise from the execution of these orders, but in applying it in the present instance, he must look at the circumstances of the case. The Order of Council issued in No.. ' verriber 1793, authorized these Noble Commanders to detain American vessels, but only authorized them. to detain such vessels, and not to proceed to adjudication"; and had they not . ere&ed Courts of Admiralty and proceeded to the adjildication of these. vesselsohe'revocation of that Order which was is stied in November 7794, might . have arrived in the West Indies time enough .to prevent any ill -con sequences resulting from the former Order ; he was of opinion therefore, - that they had exceeded their powers. It had been,said that their conduct was in stria conformity with the Law of Nations, but this law had been relaxed in some instances, and in this case, there had previously existed a trade between the States of America and the French Colonies. He thought the Noble Commanders had aded rashly, and what he would suggest in the pre sent instance, was, that considering their high cha raeter, and the splendid services they had rendered to the Country, an indemnification should not be wholly refused •to them, but that they sliduld be called upon for a statement of profit and loss with tespea to their commands; and if their prize money was not adequate to this sum, then that they should be indemnified with respeft to the remainder, but if it was more than equivalent, then that this sum should should be set offagainst those gains. The CHANCELLOR of the ,EXCII,EQUER said, if he understood what the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. JOHNSTON) had said, it was this, thrall the profits made by the Earl of ST. VI NCENT and Lord GREY in their commands should be stated, and that sum contained in the resolution should be set against this statement as A deduEtion. Did the Hon. Gen tleman mean to state that these Noble Lords bad acquired any part of their profits illegally, that he proposed thus to take it away from them, when they only claimed an indemnification from the con sequences of having done their duty ? But he sus peace' that the Hon. Gentleman meant, that if those, profits amounted to only 45,0001., they were to receive nothing. This was not liberality ; it was not justice. The Hon. Gentleman had said, that in consideration of their condua, he would overlook this instance : they wanted no such proteaion ; nor would they endure, that unjust and illegal condua, if there had been any, should be passed over in that way,. It had been alledged by the Hon. Gentleman, that the Order only authorized them to detain Ves sels ; the Order Was not upon the Table, but he was confident that it authorized them to bring the Vessels to adjudication ; and that under the words of the Order they would not have been justified in merely detaining, but were bound to proceed to adjudication, as they did, in obedience to that Order. The Hon. Gentleman (Mr. JOHNSTON) had, however, stated something still more degrading to these Noble Commanders ; he had said, that though they knew of- the Order being revoked, they still continued to aft in conformity, with the former Order, and in defiance of the Order ofßevdcation. Such a charge; so made, could not for a moment be endured; let the Hon. Gentleman prove it, and let him stare the authority on which he founded it. That the charge was unfounded, there.was not the least doubt. He thought it necessary to say thus much in answer to the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. JOHN sroN) ; with respeet to the case itself, he should add nothing to what had been so clearly stated by his Hon. Friend (Mr. N. VANSITTART.) Mr. MARKHAM said, he had himself aaed under - the orders of these Noble Commanders, and though he could not recollea the precise words of the Order of Council, under the authority of which they afted, yet he was confident that it authorized them to bring the vessels which they seized to ad- , judication. As to the _creaion of Courts of Ad miralty by the Com man d er i n Chi e f, i t cou ld not `be otherwise ; in such cases vessels were brought in with cargoes consisting of perishable commodi ties, and the cargoes must either perish whilst the Commander in Chief sent, to -England for instruc tions, or ,he -.must. ere& Courts of Admiralty, . The ATTORNEY GENERAL said, that the Order in question was founded upon a decision re lative to the Law of Nations, which was the pro_ duff of the colleEtive wisdom of the Court of Privy Council in ,the year 1756. The Order in this case was peremptory, in conformity with which these Noble Oflicers had made the seizures, and they could have recovered an indemnification by adion ; it was part of the contraCl with them, that they should be indemnified from the consequence of exe cuting a perilous order. Whether the condemna tion of the vessels was good or not, did not signify, the execution of the order was the same, and these Noble Commanders ought to be indemnified. With respetl to the appeals, he should only say, that the Americans were extremely lucky in having their vessels returned. He then made some comments on the Law of Nations, and concluded by observ ing, that in thus troubling the House, he had no expectation of making the smallest impression on the mind, of the 'Honourable Gentleman opposite to him (Mr. Roasox) : he should not attempt to operate any improvement on the understanding, the language, or the apprehension of that Hon. Gentle.. man, having been, for his part always unwilling to embark in desperate undertakings. The Resolution was then agreed to, 'as welt also all the other Resolutions. FINANCE OF IRELAND. Mr. CORRY moved the Order of the Day for the second reading of the Irish Revenue Collec tion Bill. The Bill was read,a second time, and ordered to be committed for to-morrow. Mr. CORRY presented a Petition from the Farm ing Society of Ireland, praying for Parliamentary aid, for which he said he was authorised to signify His Majesty's recommendation. The Petition was brought up, read, and ordered to lie on the 'Fable. Mr. CURRY moved for an Estimate of the Ex pences of the Fanning Society of Ireland, from the sth of January 1802 to the sth of January 1803. — Ordered. Mr. CORRY shortly afterwards presented the above Estimate, and also an Estimate of the Ex pellees of the Board of Commissioners for paving, lighting, and cleansing the City of Dublin, from the sth of January z Boz to the sth of January 1803-- which were ordered to lie on the Table. EXCHEQUER BILLS Mr. JoNEs moved for an Account of the Profit and Loss on all Exchequer Bills, distinguishing, those issued in pursuance of different Ads of Par_ liament from January 1800, -to the latest period to which the same could be made up.--,-Ordered. Adjourned at half past five till to-morrow. THE SUN. S.QLEW eUIS . PICE4E f.ALsUm LONDON, MARCH 26, zBoz. OUR Letters from Dover this morning state, " that according to private information received yesterday at that place from France, the Defini tive Treaty was actually signed, and that a Mes senger was hourly expelled with the intelligence." This account we believe to be a little premature, as no Messenger with such information had reached Town when this Paper was put to Press. IT is very generally thought that the Definitive Treaty will be signed in the course of the ensuing week, if not sooner, and from every thing we have heard upon this subjeet, we are inclined to think that this opinion will be verified:—We look upon the event as desirable, because we know that unless the Definitive Treaty, secures to us all that the Preliminaries held out, His Majesty's Ministers will not put their hands to the measure. We are well aware that circumstances have changed since the Signature of the Preliminaries, but they have not .altered in such a manner as to make us indifferent or averse to that now, which we thought advantageous in the month of Odober. The only circumstance which we have seen with regret in the course of this period, has been the proceeding at the Consata of Lvons.—lt appeared to us that such a step, t:iken between the signature of Preliminaries and a Definitive Treaty, indicated, on the part of the CHIEF CONSUL, an indifference to Peace with this Country ; but, it must also be observed, that this was a step in which the Con tinental Powers were much more interested than ourselves, and it was not a meastife which could have justified Ministers in breaking Off the .Nego tiation.—The firm tone which we knots? to have been held by them upon occasions which have arisen in the course of the Negotiation, will, we are satis fied, convince the world, that while they were anxious for Peace, they were determined to sacrifice to it none,of the interests of their Country. The business in which the CHIEF CONSUL is engaged in St. Domingo will naturally incline him to Peace ; and it certainly ought not to tender us less desiroUs of it. It may probably engage a con siderable Army for some time ; but the ultimate success of that Army will be advantageous to us, inasmuch as it is more to be desired by this Country that that Colony should -be under the Go vernment of France; than that it should continue in the state of continual disturbance, to which it will be exposed if the Negroes shoUld unfortunately gain the ascendancy.-The disposition to revolt would, in that case, be but too speedily uommuni. sated to our own Colonies. It is well known, that the views of the . CHIEr Comut. are peculiarly directed to the. revival and the increase of the Commeickal Relations of France. Great pains have been taken in the Inte rior, to increase its Natural Productions, and a diligent search has been made for Coal, as the ar ticle essential to Manufacture, under the encourage. ment of Premiums from the Government. Any wish which BpNAFARTE may entertain for Peace with this Country, is certainly connected with a general Plan of extending the Trade of France.— The Expedition to Egypt had no less Commerce for its object, than the Expedition to St. Domingo —the first, the CHIEF CONSUL thought, he could accomplish in spite of us ;—the latter, he knew, he could nor attempt, without,' at least, securing our Neutrality ; and he may stand in need of sorhe assistance, for the attainment of his object. In reviewing our Situation, we are satisfied that those persons do not speculate wisely for the Nation, who wish for the renewal of Hostilities— At the same time, we are far from condemning the Spirit which has lately arisen in the Country, under the idea, that the CH I 13F CONSUL had shewn an anti pacific mind in the condu& of the Negotiation.— If Peace is concluded with a fair and honourable disposition on the part of France, it will, we be lieve, long endure—and even if in this respel we should be deceived, if it should be made with a con trary disposition, we cannot admit the justness of those alarms with which we find some persons are disposed to frighten themselves. The Chapter of Accidents presents much more to thwart the designs of France, than to weaken the powers and energies of this Country.—She has much more to do to re vive her Trade, besides the conquest of St. Do. 1 tnzngo ; and it is yet to be seer, whether the ne. Plan of a considerable Nation, surrounding itself to w its ith ol o vn th , er c s on upon tain s Fo w r i m ti s lin of it G t o i s: c er i n ,r m in e c n i t pi s e i s mi o l f ar se, curity, or is only calculated to excite the jealousies of other Continental Powers.—At all events, o ur an policy is more clear and certain. —lt is fqr j.ls,..i ° 1 extend our Commerce, and support out ~N. 30 Power, both of which have been carried to a high er .... - - pitch during the Lite War; thin they ever reache d before---and if we-were to hazard,opinion on ' that line of condoa.which would be most likely t 0 ensure our future welfare, it would-be, by trusting to our own Naval Greatness—to rest-our Cause 0 1' 00 our own Individual Exertions, ,and to mix as litt le in the Views and Projeas of' the Continental powers, as is compatible with the . Faith of 4 Treaties we may have entered into. WE last night received .Pa;is jourvis .2d inst. inclusive. -These-Pape rs contain -tltellL -I.gence from Auitzeriand Of a very serious cies cri r don - . The Municipality of St. Maurice h a ve bad l y protested againit the violent measures of Ge ne. 3. TEIU RE AU ; and the Little Council ollicrfie hav, in consequence, transmitted a lette r to that' C eneral which he has answered in s tone .so diaatOrial, a nj unequivocal, as to leave doubt whatever; u ‘' th at PC has a6led agreeably .to the or d ers •o f his sepa l "; ; and that the Valais ,canton will b e the pre,' °f .. t hii French Republic. - He openly declares; 0 l , conduft has been remarkably:-moderate, " however great may be his.reipedfor.tlte. • cif, 'he cannot possibly comply with 'its - without departing front' the brdei-s which 1 , 11- a l- rl ys ceived," After such a c lecia ra don, Tour , rea d { 1, 0 must readily perceive that the fate of SwiterPitg decided. - aif° An article from .0rt104 9 of -the 4th of. - ra o states;7 - that its-qovernmeyt is - Oran - 1y 4 n 1 an -- new .orgitnizatibn, Whicli is to biar..a logy to its arrtient form of policy. The firs;. l . • 0 gistrate is to resume the title of Doge be /IS to sembled ; but Equality 7s to the Orto°J; the Day. On the other hand,there is a prel a/e / • h, itaf report, that qmpo is to form a portion of t" - lian Republic: a . Sen4t The Moniteur of the .22d. inst. contains a 14 PaP th article e*traded frgm_ a newly establishe— .4 ' o f entitled the Bulletin 4 14 Paris, on 'the O b i ragrA es Peace. '' After having 'descanted on_thel.do - 4 00 w'nich France and Great Britain 0 ,4 3 6 'this. desirable event, it proceeds to comment on t ; language which the journAs h a vC2ll° respelling the internal and financial stqte)P4 Republic, and by way o f retu r n i ng the con it animadverts on the weight of many of our t'?" ;$ especially the Excise, on which s u' bjeet, it passage of BLACKSTO;4E, in Confirmation of Prof ciples of which the French are wholly c'''are sag e ' It concludes with the following remarkable The people, whose.Governinent triumpliell - t. 11 4 $ Bth year, may, as formerly, de s ire Peace ; less reason than formerly to diead War' if necessary that it should be renewed.' , ' Another journal, entitled J ou rnal derr iv . b an de la Pattie, has likewise indulged We!' o f t ha ample comment on what it calls the ‘f SP irlt 0 t hi English Journals ;" but it s c r i t icism is u nsv-r of our notice. •,ot2l Accounts from the Hague, represent the t' r4' Expenditure of the Batavian R e public for t he A cre sent year, to amount to 65,992,569 florin s ' ' al is the revenue t 9 com e f r o m to an swer ttli s su- ce s, . An article from Sodin, of the 24th air' sidis, " That it is impossible to form an idea of t he po , orders which prevail in the greater part 01 vinces of European Turkey." the It is said, in an articl e f rom re-fina, that fiea GRAND DUKE of TUSCANY IS to be intleinni with ehc Ve net ian Territories ; and that this f or p rangement is the result of a c ommunica tion ac , the French Government, which aecompaP ied its aff s. r count of the proceedings of t h e Consulta at 0, It is inferred from this circumstance, that the binet of Austria approves of the recen t Otgani don of the Italian Republic. e An exposition of t h e mot i ves which 'l a ' e , fluenced the ELECTOR of BAVARIA in h is tat G c formations has been circulated till - 0 1 . 1 0 0hr de many. This publication is ascribed to l k. " jt MONCELAS, Prime Minister of the Eletiot. tits contains a very remarkable passage, which Weient the attention of every Statesman whose ben°evf°- the designs may be direded to the improv ement Moral Order of Society. cc The general P lan go the Government is, a salutaryreformation of :: 6111 but it is a Reform executed with mobra tian. The above is a correet analysis of eve r y t he. ' worthy of detail in the last French P a pers. F roil i remote Colony 'of St. Domingo, ind ividual : osti' written private letters, which evidentlY 1 ) ena ble cate that the Army must encounter inflamer be can P° ssjOf difficulties, before its enterp;ize ar- 1