The Sun. — London, England, 1812-05-21 00:00:00

ranement compntiblp. with our mutual and re. spedive honour wird duty. But. it appears fro:n Lofd Livrrponl'S candid and explicit sta!emenL, ti.at, u;-,on the important ques tion, which regards the laws atleCling the Roman Catholics, Lord Liverpool's opinions remain un changed ; nor is 'he aware, that the sentiments of Lis Colleagues, on - that subjea, have undergone any change. I must therefore conclude, that the policy which has been pursued respeaing the Roman Catholics, during the present Session of Parliament, is to be continued without abatement ; the general consti tuent parts of the present Cabinet are to remain un changed ; the highest and most of offices in the State, therefore, are to be tilled by personS who still conceive themselves to be bound by duty, he nour, and conscience, n'ot only to resist any miti gation of the present condition of the Roman Ca tholics, but even to prevent the Consideration of the ,laws which aged that large portion or the popula- ton of the empire. cannot concur in the principle on which thq present AdMinistration has conducted this important branch of pubic affairs : on this point, I have re cently expres•ed the strongest difference of opinion With the present Administration. The declaration ot Lord Liverpool precludes the Lope ot any such change in the policy of the pre sent Adminkira;ion towards the Roman Catholics as could sAisty my judgment. This difference is of the utmost importance : without any other ob st2ck, therefore, this alone compeis me to decline the proposition which Lord Liverpool has conveyed to me. .1 entertain a confiA:nt expatiation, that whun the Prince Regent shad have considered the nature of this difficulty, he will extend his indulgence to my humble representation, and will relieve we from tha pressure of commands, which I could not obey Without a sacrificing a public principle of the highest obligation. These observations comprise a sufficient reply to the communication received through Lord Liverpool. But I deem it to be a duty towards tht. Pr'nce Regent to declare, that the considerations which induced me on the 1911 of February', to resign the station which I had the honour to held in his Royal Highness's service, have accrired a,idiiitional force since that time, and would constitute an insJperable obstacle to my acceptance of any station in the present ad tainistration. I originally expre,sed my desire to withdraw from Mr. Percevars Administration, because my g:lieral opinions, for a long time past, on%arious importani questions, had nor suth knt weight ;n that Cabm::t to justify me towards the public, or towards my • 'own character, in continuing in office. My objetlons to remaining in that Cabinet a rose , in a great degree, from the imperfe& sale on which t he efforts in the Ptnin•uia were conducted. It was 41 ways sated to me, that it %as - .mpr.ielicable to en large that system. I thought that i► was perfeMtv practicable to extend the plan in the Peninsula, and that it was neither safe nor honest towards this coun try or the Allies to continue the present Inadequate scheme. From Lord Liverpool's statement upon this point, it is evident, that since my resignation, it has been tittd pratticable to make some extension of the s Yslem .in the Peninsula; but it is still intimated, t hat my VirWS are more extensive than the resources Of th e country can enable the Government to re , tl uLe to praciice. I, however, still entertain ihe 'rle views and opini(.ns, without diminntion or Itt•tation ; and .I am convinced, , that a considerable Ittension of the scale of our operations in the Perlin "a. and also an effectual corredion of many Ilr anches of our system in that quarter, are °b ites of indispensably necessity, and of easy at tainment: • With such a decided difference of of Won' in re, 1410 0 to the conduct and management of the war,, return into a Cabinet composed as .the present would offer to me no better prospect than the re newal of discussions which have hitherto proved Unavailing. learn from Lord Liverpool, that he has re te,ived no authority, in forming the iniended,Admi-. to make any proposal to any Of those Persons .now designated by the Millie of " The Op- Position." • „ My, inqui r y on t hi s paint or i g i nat ed i n . a s i ncere rviClion, (found e d upon, an attentive i observation the gen e r a l s t a t e o f p u bli c opinion, and of th e odition of the Empire), that • no AdMinist ra ti on , I:bleb shall not comprise some of those -persons„ can o l ave adv antageous to t h e P ri n ce R egen i , concilia thrY toward s Ireland, 'and equal to tire cond u ct o f e war on a sca l e o f sutlicient extent. r of has been stated erroneously, that: the first.a t c,t str . t he Pri nce R eg e nt upon , his approach to mire jCied authority, was to establish Mr. Perceval's w oli nistration : but the fact I', than bis it());11 14 9ess's• first ad at that crisis was to f o e r t Z v ai'l Administration ; and to endea., to as " a Cabinet upon a more extended' and liberal - 111e 18 - This endeavour was frustrated at . th:4. mo pren_t; and the formation of such a Cabinet e'as re letitctcl to his Royal Highness to be impral tlcable, fror.suas, however,. since :, ? .peared evid,nt nat., „ 44. . 44 tt)e cliscusttions and (I:el:nations which I have ~. Witnessed in ParliarncA; - Ikat Lls Iloyai Highness's bene..olent intentions on that subjea are now p.tr redly practicable; and that their accornplishment would toad to promote interna: peace and tranqui lity, and to invigorate the whelp system of cur ex ternal operation, Impressed with this sentiment I should be untrue to his Royal Highness's interests and honour, a 5 well as to the prosperity of the. Empire, if I condoned in any arrangement of an Administration which did not include a fair and full consideration of this most important point. After such a dispassionate consideration, my opi nion is, that a Cabinet might be formed, on ati in termediary principle respeOing the Roman Catholic claims, equa:ly exempt from the dangers of instant, unqualified concession, and from those of inconsi derate, peremptory exclusion; the entire resources of the empire might be applied to the great, objects of the war ‘ with general consent, upon a full un derstanding of the real exigency of the present cri sis; and concord and union at home might secure ultimate and permanent success abroad. (Signed) WELLESLEY. (CorY.) TO THE MARQUIS WELLESLEY. Fife-House, May r 9, 1 8 12. My DaAR Logo,---After the receipt'of the Paper which you sent to me in the afternoon of yesterday, I should certainly have felt it to be unnecessary and fruitless to trouble you with any further correspond ence, if I were not desirous to correct the misappre hension into which you appuar to have fallen re specting my opinions, and those of my colleagues, upon the. Roman Catholic question. In ihe communication which passed between us on Sunday, as well as that which I previously had with Mr. Canni.sr, I certainly stated my opinions upon the Rom an ° Catholic question to s remain un changed, and 'that I was not aware that these of tny colleagues had undergone any change. With respect to myself individually, I must pro test against its being inferred trorn any declaration of mine, that it is, or ever has been, my opinion that under no circumstances it wotild be possible to mane any alteration in the laws respeCting the Rom in Ca tholics. Upon the last occasion on which the subj , !et was discussed in Parliament, I exessly stated, that circumstances might arise, in wh;cb, in my judg ment, some alteration in those laws would be ad visable. I have always been desirous of hearing the specific proposition which w.ould explain dis tinctly, what part of the existing setunt , es it was intended to repeal. Wh,t part it Was iotended to preserve, and what were •he new securities which it has been woken declared, must bz. constitu ed in the place of some of those which ate at present in force. 1, have never heard any satk:actory expllnation on this point. I will fairly own, that in the present state of the opinions and feelings of the Roman enhol'es, I d not believe such a projoti to be prarAieAble, e‘nsist ently with the attainment of the avo..ed onjt•cis of satisfying - the Roman Catholics, and of af fording an adequate cecurity .to the Established Church and Constitution. Entertaining this opinion I have felt it to be my duty to continue to resist a Pirkirnernary Inquiry , on that st.bjeci, which, in m y ' ju d g men t wou ld b e ' productive of no other effed than that of alarming the Protestantson the one hard, and of deluding and deceiving the Roman Catholics on the other, With - resped to tie opinions of my Colleagues, there are some who entirely agree with me in the view which I have taken of this question; but I am sure it must be known to you, from discussions at which r,,u have been present, that there are others who have always entertained and avowed different opinions from those professed by rue upon some parts of this subjea. You must rccol►.eB that considerations of a very high importance, but which might be only tempo rary in their nature, induced us all, up to a very late period, to be decidedly of opinion . that it was not proper that tinder such circumstances the measure should be entertained. You may be of opinion that since the month of February List these considerations have ceased to be in force. But they are still regarded by others as not having l►►st their weight. -Be4ides the considera tions to which I have referred the condutt and temper which the Roman Catholics have been in duced to manifest, the principle upon which the question has been brought forward, thecircumstances of Europe at this time, gave rise to obje6lions which are felt in a greater or less degree by different per sons. I have thought this explanation due to my col leagues and to myself. In one point we are all agreed, that, this is not the moment at which the question ought to he en tertained, with a view to any immediate practical consequence. lam aware, that in this sense of our, duty, Our opinionl may be at variance with ymr's : but it is material that these opinions should not be misunderstood, or subjed to the interpreta tion to which my silence might render them liable, if I had not returned some answer to that part of vol3l' Jr . _ Upon the ssubjeEt of the manner in which the war in .the Periin , ula has been managed, I forbear entering into any particular* at present ; but I think it :material to observe, with resped to my declaration, that since your'resignation it, had been found practicable Ito make some extensicn of the military efforts in the Peninsula, that it has not arisen from any meanS'which • were in existence at the time when you were in office, and in which there ,had been th6n any indisposition, or chjedion ro direct to that objeci, but that it has gt‘own out of events which subsequently, occurred, and which may place at the disposal-of Government means Which weie at that time unavoidably applied to an whet service. As this letter is merely explanatory, I will not give you the trouble .of returning any answer to it ; but lanrsure you will see the justice and pro priei); consideri4 it as a part of the correspond ence which has passed between us on the subject to which, it relates. I - atn, &c. (Signed) 'Marciuis Wellesley, K. G. LIVERPOOL. Rd PERS RELATIVE TO LORD LIVERPODL's PROPOSiIL TO MR. CANNING, MA): 17,1812. L Minutes of Lord LIV ER roo L 's conversati o n with M r . CAN:: and Lord LIVE.R POOL'S subsequent ii-!ter to Mr. CANNING, dated Sunday night, May 17, are given in the preceding part of our Paper. Mr. CANNING'S an- Ewer to Lord Ltvz a root. is as follows : Gloucester Lodge, May it, i 312. MY DEAR LIVERPOOL, I have communicated to such of my friendi as I had an immediate opportunity of consulting, .the minute, taken hi your presence, of the proposition which you conveyed to me yesterday. In a case in which I felt that my decision either way might be liable to misapprehension, I was de sirotAs rather coiled the opinions of persons whose judgment I esteem, than to aft on the impulse of my own first feelings. Tne result of their opinions is, that, by entering into the Adminisration upon the terms propoSed to me, I should incur such a loss of personal and public charader as would diSappoint the obj,-.Ct which his Royal flighneSs the Prince Regent lies at heart and must render my accession to his Government a neW source Of Weakness, rather than an addition of strength. To become a part of your Administration with the previous knowledge of your unaltered opinions as to the policy of resisting all consideration of the State of the laws affecting hiS Majesty's Roman Ca tholic subjects; would, it is felt, be to lend myself to the defeating of my own declared opinions on that most important questiwi : opinions which are as far as those of any man from being favourable to preci pitate and unqUalified concession ; but which rest on the 'conviation that it is the duty of the advisers of the Crown, with a view to the peace, tranquility, and strength Of the empire, to take that whole question into their early and serious consideration, and earnestly to endeavour to bring it to a final and satisfaCtory settlement. With this result of the opinion of those whom have consulted my own entirely concurs and such being the ground of my decision, it is wholly un necessary to advert to any topics of inferior im portance. After the expressions, however, with which you were charged on the part of all your colleagues, I should not be %%arranted in omitting to declare, that no objeaion of a personal sort should have prevented me from uniting with any, or all of them, in the public service, ill could have done so with honour ; and if, in my judgment, a Cabinet, so constituted in aff its parts, could have afforded to the country, under its present grew and various difficulties, an adeqUately efficient Administration. I cannot deny myself the satisfaction of adding, that the manner of your communication wilh me has entirely corresponded with the habits and senti meats of a friendship of so many years; a friend ship which our general concurrence on many great political principles has strengthened, and which our occasional differences have in 'no degree impaired. On the public grounds which I have stated, I must entreat you to lay at the feet of the Piince Regent, together with the warmest expressions of my dutiful attachment to his Royal Highness, and of my acknowledgment fOr the favouiable opinion which his Royal Highness has been graciously pleased to entertain of me, my hcmble but earnest prayer to be excused from accepting office on terms which, by a sacrifice of public chargier, must ren der me inefficient for the service of his • Royal Highness's Government. I presume, at the smile time, humbly to solicit an audience of the Prince Regent, for the plume of explaining in person to his Royal Higtineh the grounds..of my condua, on an occasion which I should be grieved to think, that his Royal High . • ness could, fo r a moment, consider me as wanting either in duty to his Royal Highness, or in . zeal for the public set vice and of assuring his Royal High ness that my inability to assist in forwarding his Royal Highness's purpose of procuring strength to his administration, on the plan which has been suggested by his . •ROyal Highness's confidential ser vants, does not arise from ,any disposition„ on moy part, to shrink from the encounter of those ditli culties which press, at this time, upon the country arid upon the Crown., J . am, &c. • (Signed) GEORGE CANNING. EXTRAORDINAIiY ,COINCIDENCE.--411 ibe Law List for 181 V, page tog, is the following statehleia (verbatim), wider the head of .6 COURT OF EXCHrQUER." " Chancellor—Right .Hen. Spencer Perceval." 66 Secretary to the Chancellor—Sit Wm: /3,:iiingham,Knt.." The name of " Bellingham" occurs in the print exaei ly as it does above, immediately under that of Pet ceval. There is a singular passage in MOOR E'S Alma pack for the present year, which May gratify the curiosity of our Readers. After stating the unfa vourable position of the Planets at the end of the Spring Quarter, it says " that their opposition may tend to frustrate the ablest designs for the public service, if not hasten the death of some great Luau. We are, indeed, fatten in evil days.". ANIIOLT .111.1 (OTfENBURGII, I\L 5.---The Vigo, admiral MORRIS, Willi a strong squadron, sailed yesterday for the Baltic, and immediately afterwards Cie Ori6o. and some smaller ships of war prgeeeded with the convoy from England. The Brise.'s sailed a few days' since, and the Zealous and hose this morni,tg . , for the Sound. It is reported that English cruizers wit! soon have the liberty of entering the Swedish 1:or;.s, and that orders will be gi •en to render them whatever assist ance they may require. The Russians are said to have giien in thcir, ulti matum, that they will 'not enter itao any negocia , Lion with the French, till the latter have completely evacuated Prussia. When the news of the fall of 133daioz reacLed Orebro, the Crown Prince immediately dispatched a special messenger to Petersburg with the gence. MAY W.—An embargo has been la;d at Liebau on all vessels, b•; order of the French, even on those which had cleared out. ALTONA, MAY 6.—We rts!nt , d in One Of our late Journals, that Baron GERADanltutnedia.elyafter his disctutmrkation at Nordes-Ong, had dispatched a courier to the Ambasadors of Fr-.nee and Austria at Copenhagen; we have good reason for believing this intelligence was unfounded. RATISDON, APRIL 30.—Count GOTTORP ycs. terd.iy passed through this city, on his way to Vienna. EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM VIENNA, DATED 29TH APRIL. The head-quarters of our army in Galacia will at StaDislawow. " It is reported that the Archduke CHARLES be command this army." AUGSBUR6H, APRIL 22.—Letters from Trieste of a recent date state, that an enemy's fleet has ap peared in the Gulph of Trieste ; it endeavours to seize upon all merchant vessels. The Efiglish have" also made some ottempts to pillage the vilia;es on the coasts of Istria, and cut out laden vessels from many of the small onfortified parts ; but their attempts have been frustrated, the troops of the line and national guards having in every instance drove them back, and forced them to reimbark with loss. NAPLES, APRIL 9.—The English guard the coast of Sicily, opposite Calabria, from Messina to Afr,osta and Syracuse, with so severe a vigilance, that a fish,. ing boat cannot proceed from the coast without Tur ning the risk of being obliged to return by cant in or musket shot from gun-boats placed along tyre coast for that purpose. FRONTIERS,OF PRUSSIA, APRIL s.,)2.—They write from Burg, near Magdeburgh, that the pass.4ge of troops, and vtaggons laden with anintututioo, s!,11. continues. The Polish cavalry, Portuguese and French hussars, as welt as a Wurtzburg corps t;1 780 men, have successively passed through this town; they were followed by 68 carriages of pow. der, each drawn by six horses, and 200 Aaggons of warlike stores. Extract of a lever from Vienna, April 29 An insurredion has just broken out in some (Fs trit.is of Servia, the inhabitants wishing to return un der the dominion of the Porte." . • CONSTANTINOPLE, APRIL 2.—TheGrareSeignior lately h s had another Prince horn, who has heel), twined BAiAZET. THE THENTRE.—Mr. TERRY, fiOM the Edin. burgh Stage, last night made his first appearance on the London boards, at the - Haymarket Theatre, in the character of Lord Ogleky. It could form a judgment on his general merits as an actor. fiom his representation of this Character, we slt , uki not only consider him as one of the best itoporta tious from / the provincial stage that we have seen • for along period, but entitled to 'take a high yank among the chief Performers of the metropolis. A, hoWever, Lord o;lety is an prtitit ift) and peculiar character, we 'cannot venture to form y decided opinion respecting tile general' tale:lts and tions:of Mr. TERRY. His Fertormrice of the gay and elegant old Nobleman, gallant amidst infirmi ties,. and generous under disappointed 'vanity, was throughout well-COnceived,, and suppOtted with so much spirit, jOdgment, and reg&ated taste, hat the audience glOe mini repeated applauses in dotail, and abundantly confirmed their approbation on the. .conclusion of the Comedy. Mr: TERRY is rather above the middle size in stature ; his figure 'is neatly draped; .Iris face is expresAve, and the general mould very like that of Mr.. REMBLE, Srid there seems often a'strong resemblance in his mari ner of direCting his eyes, though, not app ear at all the effect of imitation. • His voice, as far as we could judge under. the afF:teted. tones 9f a ; :e and debility,. seemed to' be dem- and manly. His depot tmerit is easy and natural. - Upon the whole, he acquitted . . himself very ably, and we are strongly disposed to think Ow he will prove no ordinary actraisition to the Londc;n Stage. Mrs. GLOVER was admirable in Miss , Steriine. • KariT Was a respectable Sir John Melville. A Mr. BENNET ph-ryed Love:well with feeling and good/sense: , Both, however, of these pt.rfurtners requite more polish of manners. The farce of Killing no Murder gave full scope. to the mimetic' humours of 'MATTHEWS ; and CEIVPENDALE, for merly an inferior actor at this Theatre, ga. e tokens of much improvement ill the part of Apollo Behq, though he laboured under great difficulty log so popular an flaw . as L4Tozi. The house weLl attended,