The Sun. — London, England, 1824-03-19 00:00:00

the time, blamer, circumstances, and condition, of each in terest should be regarded in their approach to a free trade, and. he believed that the removal, of these restrictions would really' ,promote and accelerate the removnl of all others. He should not make any opposition to the prayer fur hearing Counsel at the Bar. The Petition -was then -read and laid on the table, with an understanding that Counsel should be heard against the Billon its canimittarta-morrow. ASSESSED .TAXES Mr. MAMMY gave notice, that on Thurs-day,.Ahe 29th May, he would move for the repeal of the whole of the As sessed Taxes. 7—( Hear, hearl) EVACUATION OF SPAIN. _ _ _ Lord J. RUSSELL said, that beti;reheProceeded to say any thing in support of the motion he was about to lay before the House, he would state that it was not his intention to bring a charge or accusation against his Majesty's Ministers. His ob ject was to bring before the country, and to hear from his Ma jesty's Ministers, some explanation of the policy pursued by this country with reference to Spain. No longer than ten years ago it had been our policy to protect Spain against her Gallic neighbours, and now when French troops were pouring in, and occupying the very spots where so many great battles had been fought, and holding the very battlements which had cost us so much blood—St. Sebastian, Cadiz, and other places—it was impossible that the people of Great Britain should not feel a -deep interest in this question. He should first endeavour to skew how this state of things was brought about ; secondly, the danger to which we were exposed by it ; and thirdly, the way in which we were to get out of it. The course for Britain to pursue was described in the words of the poet— "To threaten bold presumptuous Kings with war, • And answer with her sword a neighbour's. prayer." • Instead of this, however, they had ventured nothir.g beyond a hope when the French entered Spain that some misfortune would light upon them. It had been stated that our Govern- inent did not know that the affairs of Spain were to be Can vassed at the Congress .of Verona, and he mentioned this to shew how steadily and silently the Holy Alliance pursued its favourite object, the slavery of mankind, while those who .ought to oppose them were asleep upon their post. The same -system had been evinced with regard to the Sanitary Cordon, as it was called, upon which the Marquis de Chateaubriand had expressed a degree of indignation that the British Cabinet • ..should suppose for a moment there was any ulterior view.— .-In like manner in the Proclamation of the Duke of Angou --leme, in passing into Spain, the Spaniards were told to believe they only came to give them a Constitution which the Spanish people desired. The French had found there two great parties. :The one was the friends of a liberal Constitution, and the other -those who had robbed on the high Ways, and who feared the Con stitution because of its honesty—he meant the Army of the -Faith—a band of m en di can t s an d ro bb ers f e d by th e Monks.— Whatever were the intentions of the Duke of Angouleme towards Spain, they were supported with so little firmness that they were entirely unavailing. He had, in short, violated -every promise expressed or implied. ,The consequence of the result or affairs in Spain, those men who, during the short reign of the Constitution, had spoken their opinions freely, had become known and marked as the objects of persecution.— In the late conduct of Ministers he saw a most extraordinary departure from the ancient policy of the country, as never since .this revolution till now—he might go back still further—had it :been considered a matter of 'indifference to us whether. or not -Spain-was under the dominion of France. Spain, if left in pos ... .session of her Constitution, it was well foreseen, would, in Caul -of a new war, have been found on the side of England.— Hence it became an object with our rival to make the Ca -binet of Spain subservient to that of France.—This, he had no doubt, was the wish of the Holy Alliance, as all the Mem "bers of it were much offended with the freedom of debate .which prevailed in England. The Lord Chancellor was said to be very sensitive on this subject, but he wst not half so sensitive as he (Lord J. Russell) believed the Holy Alliance -to be. • Were proof wanted of this, he would refer to what had passetlinSwitzerland, Which had been at peace ever since the treaty of Paris in DILI, vet from Switzerland individuals who had obtained regular passports had been dismissed at the instance of Foreign Powers. Such was the course pursued by Switzerland, which fifty years ago had been described by a writer to be " a place where a man might criticise things with out flattery or fear." If the - Members of the Holy Alliance acted thus by Switzerland, why did they not do the same by .England ? It was because they were afraid of her power; for the little discussions of Switzerland did not annoy them half so • much as the debates in this country, which made known the sentiments of the people and those of their representatives to .the world. The speakers in that House, though much opposed to each other, all offended the Members of the Holy Alliance, the .Hons Baronet, the Member for Westminster, the Hon. . Member for Yorkshire, and the Right Honourable the Secretary himself, were all considered by - them to be dangerous men as friends to revolution. In one of the State Papers which de fended the conduct of France, in interfering with Spain, it was set forth that some attacks had been made on the system =of France by writers in ..Spain. Now in this respect, France . had -a greater -cause for war with England than she had -against Spain... A feeling of this sort was manifested, as the sore= of the French Government never ceased to represent .England to be vulnerable to attack through Ireland. Many, • gentlemen accustomed themselves to think that the nations. of, ttie Continent regarded England with no feelings but those of - admiration and aratitude. If, however, the conduct of those ;States: were looked into, it would be found that all of them -Were aiming their darts at this _ country ; and one party in France, which was daily gaining ground, was constant in its . attacks on the British Constitution. Austria, whose Cabinet ;;ad been governed by fear for the last 50 years; first of Fredea rick the Great, then of Napoleon, and now of Russia, was, pledged to support all the views of the Holy Alliance; and , Russia , Pursuing her own objects, exercised the most direct influ ence inFrance,snding an order to one Minister, and withholding, ;that honour frum a second, because by these means he found they . were rendered more willing to obey him than their own natural .sovereigra The Manlius of the Holy Alliance had a force at -their command of not fewer than a million and a half of men. Stich being the case it was impossible for him to feel quite as-. sured that these would not be used to further plans of aggression. -After the declaration made a short time back on the subject of their intentions with respect to Spain, how was lie to be satified, whatever professions they might make that. they would not act against South America.. He indeed was persuaded that: they would not send aheir armaments thither, because they, .knew this could not betione without encountering the hostility; of this country and of the United States of America, but they, -would send agents to stir up a civil w a r, and introduce discord in the new States. It was not intended to prevent Spain front reducing her Colonies if she had the means of doing it, but it 'was not fo Ise permitted that. she-Should do this herself while foreign troops remained in her 'territory. -Let the French' -troops evacuate Spain, ands then let the whole ,army of Spain • • .proceed to South America, with King 'Ferdinand at their ilea& if -he-chose to go ; but he hoped they would not allow the French to attack their colonies under, false colours, by sending forth a -Spanish army while French troops, remained in -Spain. The - papers laid before the House by the Iligitt lion. Gent. proved that this Government had in effect ihund it necessary to say you cheated—yoti. betrayed—you took us in on false pretences, and we.can confide in_ .yousno more., This feeling was mani fested.in.the Papers, and he called Awn those who entertained . it not to abandon it—not to let the Continental Powers pursue -their "schemes unopposed by •this,cOuntry. The Noble. Lord,, -after come further observations, exalting the conduct and oba jeCtof the South Americans, and condemning the principles /and the actions of the Members of the Holy Alliance, concludedi Thy moving;--" That an, humble Address should be presented tce lii& lilaje:y praying that he .would be graciously pleased to. give directions - that copies or extracts from all communications: from France respecting the evacuation of Spain by the French army; should be laid before the House." • S:r R. WILSON seconded the motion. He felt it to be his doty td support the Noble Lord on this occasion, which he con-, sidered to be one of no small importance, as the debate of the, evening went to affect. in •some degree ten millions of souls. in Spain, and several millions in Portugal. He. agreed ge: - nerally 'with the sentiments ,of .the 'Noble 'Lord, and thought, la a man could Ajar from the:sentiments, he had . express .:(1 on the subject of the aggression against Spain—an aggression of which the StledeST seemed but to aggravate the horror, and; enormity ; and he agreed in the opinion which 7had been ex pressed as to ti,e coursetakew by the CounselC of Russia,. which seemed to menace a'.blow at the power, the honour,' and the interests of Great Britain. lie had read the Papers which had been laid on the .table of the House, and ad-. mired. the spirit 'Which generally prevailed .in them, but had looked with considerable jealousy at some passages. - had heard that Spain had agreed to make Great Britain arbiter on the differences existing between her and her Colonies, and that a , Minister was to come hither from Spain to meet nego ciators from South America. • If this were founded on the prin ciple that Spain was to be allowed some mercantile advantages, in the first instance, he thought the principle objectionable, .unless the evacustion.of Spain by .the French Were secured.— What he wished for Spain was, that she should be left to regu late her own affairs, and then the King would, be compelled to have recourse to measures of conciliation, or ; to descend from the throne which he would be no longer. worthy. to fill. H 9 could state that Ferdinand, when he was at liberty, the day, before he proceeded to Port St. Mary had, spontaneously, of his own free will, declared in the presence of-General Alava and others that he would offer a General. Amnesty in order to guard against all political re-action, and also that till pecuniary engagements should be faithfully observed. He then said though he could not pledge himself to the form of the Constitution which he might find it necessary to issue from the capital, yet convinced that Spain could only be governed by a representa tive system--a representative system it was his intention to grant. Thishaving been said spontaneously by Ferdinand, he (Sir R. Wilson) thought at present they had aright to regard him as a captive monarch, and consider that it was the French alone who had, he thought, prevented him from fulfilling the promise which he had made. The Right Honourable Gentleman had said he should deplore the immediate evacuation of Spain, if it could take place to-morrow, on the score of humanity. Ile wished to know how far this wish extended ? Whether it look ed but to the preservation of peace, or to the restoration by the King of Spain, of-something like the British Constitution ? Wishing to have dtii regard for the interests of humanity, he felt that there was such a thing as a belligerent humanity, and that a time must come, and who would not wish to see it, when humanity must partially suffer that a nation might recover its rights ? He took a view of the proceedings at Verona in 18:22, anti of the feelings with which they had been regarded. lie wished that England had not gone to Verona, or had ab stained from making a declaration of the course which she intended to pursue. He would merely have protested against the war with Spain, and reserved to ourselves to take that course which our interests might require, and then if France had gone into the war she must, he would have told her, with a knowledge of our feelings being hostile to her views, and also with a knowledge of the fact that we consi dered it to be our duty to assist the oppressed when we could. Our declaration of neutrality had relieved France from much embarrassment and aprehension, and had enabled her to do that which decided the fate of Spain, by combining maritime operations with her military movements. She had thus been enabled to blockade St. Sebastian and St. Antonio, to send a squadron to cruize off Cadiz, and to dispatch half a dozen frigates to Gibraltar to act against Alicant, Carthagena, and Barcelona. Had England takes a different course, would the French have dared t o do thi s , a nd to board even our ships as they had done, when on their way to our own dependencies ? When.the neutrality of this country was declared, the machi nery of the Court and ,Monks of Madrid was immediately set at work, and the treasons of Morino, Ballasteros, and Abisbal immediately followed. Despondency then fell on the Constitu tionalists, and the shipwreck of public credit and general dis organization ensued. The Constitutional Leaders, though not the best statesmen, were among the best hearted men in the world, and were entitled to our support, because they were the friends of civil and religious liberty. Some said that the Spanish Code was one of intolerance; but those who framed it felt, that if civil liberty were secured religious freedom must follow. France had felt this so far that the war which she had un dertaken partook of the character of a religious crusade. The French Church had thought the intolerant Church of Spain in danger, and Austria and Russia had felt anxious On 'the same ' subject. He would not say that the defence of Spain deserved all the admiration which some of the previous exertions of the Spaniards had won, nor would he assert that it had proved so Satisfactory as it had been hoped that it would be found ; but he still contended, under all the circumstances, that the Misfor tunes which had fallen on the Spaniards did not annihilate their claim to our syrripathy and regard. If he spoke what he thought, he could not say the previous governments had done their duty, as they had deprived the nobles of their privileges ; they had deprived the clergy of half their tithes; and, to supply the climax, they had mode war on that very army by means of which their authority had b een esta bli s h e d. Thi s l ast step he believed had been taken. with a view of conciliating the Holy Alliance. He could riot better spew what a state Spain had been in at the time of the invasion, than by describing the situation of Cadiz when surrendered. The lines round Cadiz were twenty-five miles in circumference, and were considered to. require for their perfect defence an army of from 20 to 25,009 men, even when defended by superior naval means. When the French came last against it, after the taking of the Trocadero, where 1,200 men were lost, the Spanish force was reduced from 9,700 to 7,500 men. There was no chevaux de frize about the place, and on the day of the surrender there were fifteen dollars in the Treasury. When the bombardment took place no disorder. was seen, men, women, and children came forward to encourage each other, and upon the whole he maintained the Spanish character had not been rendered un worthy of our esteem.. The Spanish Government had been censursd for deposing Ferdinand. That measure had only been resorted to in order to save the King's life, for Ferdinand having resolved to give himself up to the French when at Seville, it was the opinion of General Alava and the whole of the Cortes that the step which had been taken was necessary, to prevent asanguinary act of vengeance on the part of the people. He commented i with severity on . the Various artifices used by France, anti on the conduct of the Duke D'Angouleme, who had refused the offered mediation of England at Cadiz, and subsequently given up to the ' faries of " the faith," the brave but unfortunate Riego. The Duke had surrendered Riego, though it was known that he had twice saved the life of the King at Seville and at Cadiz. Riego had perished; but his name would live in the hearts of thousands, while that of the Duke of Angouleme, and of all his murderers, would descend to posterity with execration. It had been rumoured that Riego's life was forfeited by his having married within the degrees of consanguinity. This was a ca lumny, as no such charge appeared in the indictment which had been preferred against him. He hoped this country was about to be placed by the Right Hon. Gentleman in that situation which she ought to occupy in the face of the world. He did not call on the Right' Honourable Gentleman to gp to war.— Without doing that, means might be found to defeat that mighty confederacy, the Hely Alliance—against the liberties of Europe. That House and all Europe must know that the design of that eonfederacy—that monstrous incubus of modern 'policy, was solely to oppose the. liberties and civilization of mankind. Hitherto he had not touched on any thing which concerned him personally, not that he shrunk from any responsibility which alight attach to his doing so, but he owed to himself from that tribunal whence his voice would be heard by the proudest of his persecutors to repel the charges preferred against him, to refute •the slanders, and vindicate his honour.—(Hear, hey; !) The Honourable Gentleman then proceeded to describe the services which had obtained for him those orders of which he had recently been deprived. One of them had been for par , ticipation in a service, which (he would say it) was for dar ing enteiprise in the plan, for fortitude in the execution of it, and for brilliancy of success not exceeded by any thing that occurred in the course of the war. He then described the pe rilous situation in which a body of troops had been unexpect edly placed before ,two French divisions. The charge was tre menuous, but the enemy gave way, and the fruit of the vic tory was the :rescue of the Emperor of Austria from a situation of great . dahger. The IlroPeror ' in consequence, sent him a n honorary med a l, lent nfterwardsfinding that he could give the Order of Maria Theresa, .11e sent it, with a patent of Nobility, and wrote a letter, desiifing . him to keep them as a . memorial of his approbation and l as ti ng gratitude. The next was the Order of St e George, Which, in requital of his exertions, the Emperor of. Russia had taken from Isis own neck and placed over his— an honour, which at that time no officer had reedited. The next Order he had obtained fin his exertions .at the battle of Dresden. It was his good fe;rtune to be the first to mount 'the wall, in doing which he lost the Order ,of Maria Theresa. The Emperor, to requite him, sent him another Order with that which he had lost, and repeated the, assurances of his eter nal gratitud e : . Th e nex t O r d er was t h e *Spread Eagle of Prussia, given for Ids services at Leipsic. These services he described,' and the other distinctions which he' had received. Why, lie wielied to. know, had 'they been ivithdraven ? Was it because he favoured a cause with which they had no more to do than ! the Grand Seignior had with. what he, was saying ? Was it for saving the forfeited li ves o f hi s f e ll ow - creatures, or was i t t h at lie had given to the King, whose army lie had been invited to cohimand, a.promise that he and his family should be pro tected; which pledge lie had proved : would be redeemed ; was it fbr any of those offences that lie had been pursued ? Under' all the circumstances he fearlessly appealed to the House, whe ther, if the Allied Sovereigns had been able to take the insignia from his dress, it had been in their power to put the stamp of shame on his brow.—(Hear, hear !)—He would still, as he had hitherto done, speak of them while they adhered to their present system as being, in his judgm e nt, enem i es of th e; human race ; but he would not use harsher terms than were necessary. it was Isis duty to speak in respectful terms of the King of Portugal, a Monarch vilsons he believed to be ".. more sinned against than sinning." To that Sovereign Ise had sent the Order he had received from him, and six weeks afterwards he saw an edict depriving him of it as being a public disturber, Which edict was anti dated two days be fare the time of his sending it the King. He now came to speak of. the outrage committed against his children. He had two, who coming from a neighbouring country, were de tained at Calais for twenty-four hours. Their perthit was regularly made out, their luggage on board, and at the instant when they were stepping into the ship, and not before, they were taken into custody, and conducted as criminals to' the Court-house. There both their persons and their baggage were searched. Nothing was found to justify their detention, but the Captain had been told to sail without them. He un derstood the French Government, on being written to on this. Subject, had answered, that what had been done was in conse- quence of poSitive information that these children were made the instruments of carrying on a private correspondence. Ile did not know what information the French Police 1 . .4t1 received. but if it were meant to be implied that they assisted in carrying on a secret political correspondence, he would say the assertion of the French Police was a falsehood. He knew nothing, of any such , correspondence, . and could have been content that all his leiterS,should pass open through the world. .The papers, had the children been the 'bearers of any, might have been seized as they,came from their hotel. But this was not the object. Th'ei were to be allowed to proceed to the ship, that their feelings might be mortified by seeing them selves left as criminals, and; he might add, as orphans in a foreign land, exposed to all the indignities attendant on such a situation, and surrounded by a crowd to witness their dis tress. Another, part of the conduct, of the French Govern ment was most infamous. A female who attended his chil dren desired to be searched, that it might be known the in formation received was wholly unfounded, but the officers had orders not to let her be searched. Had it been really believed that a secret correspondence was carrying on, would such a course have been taken? The act he thought most unmanly and base. Had any apology been offered he should have been silent, but this not having been done, he must consider that his children had sustained a most ignoble and cowardly attack. The Right Hon. Gentleman, who felt as a Gentleman, would make allowances for his feeling on this occasion. He applauded the spirit with which he had acted,. and could not desire that. the Right Hon. Gentleman should do more than he had done on the occasion. Mr. LITTLETON said, that he could fully allow for the feeling under which the Gallant Member had acted, and con sidered his conduct to afford one of the brightest modern ex amples of courage, gallantry, and chivalry. No man had a better right to exclaim against the insulted honours of Spain than he who had so gloriously contributed to their support.— (Cheers from both sides of the House.)--The lion. Member contended at some length, that the Noble Lord could derive no advantage by the motion if complied with ; because he refused belief to whatever assurances might be given on the part of France. He concluded by moving an amended resolution to the effect that the House being satisfied with the principles of sound policy which guided his Majesty's councils in the late hostilities between France and Spain, and considering the de clarations which had been made by France upon the subject, saw nothing in the present circumstances to call upon the House to express any apprehension of the permanent military occupation of the Spanish territory by France. Mr. GOOCH seconded the Amendment, and said that the conduct of Spain had clearly proved her unworthy the assist ance of this country. The motion, with the amendment, having been put from the chair, no Memberpresented himself to the House, and strangers were ordered to withdraw, when Mr. Secretary CANNING rose, and said that lie had natu rally waited till the last moment at which any Member could deliver his sentiments to the House, before lie could persuade himself that a motion brought forward with so much of menace and preparation, and after the fate with which one hapless motion had been doomed to the sacrifice, that this should in its turn be sacrificed to the same inconceivable neglect. After that respectable victim had been devoted upon the altar, the common boast of his friends was, that the great struggle was yet to come, and that it would not have been prudent to break the effect of the grand and triumphant effort. He could not therefore expect that this mighty contest was to end where he found it was about to end, and that an amendment like that moved by his Honourable Friend should be suffered to pass without a struggle. But it was imp oss ible to regar d t hi s last attempt of the series—he begged pardon, it might not be the last—this third attack, in any other light than as an endeavour to take back something of that approbation of the conduct of the Government which the former efforts of the other sido had provoked from the House, and to dis turb that unanimous satisfaction and approval with which the whole country regarded it. Every one would remember the prophetic shouts of triumph by which the motion of last year was . preceded, when the first regular attack was made upon Ministers;. They were to be perfectly annihilated. Good God ! after the day of battle their very remains were to be lost, and their weeping disconsolate friends were to seek their ashes in vain. The hour arrived, and never was discomfiture so complete —never was defeat so signal. There did not exist in the annals of Parliament, search where they would in any age, the record of a defeat so inglorious ; there was none a thousandth part so great, if compared with the anticipations and the vauntings which preceded the encounter. After this decision upon the question of the war, parts of its conduct were taken as the subject of hostile attack, and a Noble Lord opposite brought forward, in what he (Mr. C.) conceived to be a very good speech, the manner in which this country had observed. Its professed neutrality. And now, to-night, the Noble Lord called upon the House to 'adopt a measure upon the subject of the occupation of Spain by France. No man, he believed, could ever conceive that a permanent occupation of Spain was intended, or would be permitted ; but when the war had been once commenced, there was likewise no man who did not see that there must be an occupation for a certain period. The question, therefore, now was, whether the time and the circumstances had arrived under which the Noble Lord could make out a case that called upon the House for an ex pression of opinion as to the evacuation by the French troops. His Hon. Friend, who moved the Amendment had truly said, that if the Noble Lord was of opinion that the occupation of Spain was continued too long, the motion was manifestly unequal to his purpose. The course for him to have pursued was, that of moving an Address to the King, for an application to the King of France for the withdrawing of his army. The the e N laid obl e beforeijord had de laid flo s o e w . ' n h y e Noble Lord set out with :Baying that h e wou ld b e li eve no as n surances of the King of France, and conc l u d e d w i th asking that such s e t ainostnsaur‘ryvaans ce should ,whethers first ground sup posing them to ex i s t. He was prep are d to argue the gum tion either upon the supposition that there were such assurances, or that there were not. He would suppose that the Govern ment were in possession of one, two, three, or a series of such papers, and that thej were anxously looking forward to the retrieval of the French troops. %neat would be the use of pro ducing them when the Noble Lord - would say he would not be. lieve one word they Contained ? Supposing them not to exist, because they bad never been asked, how should he then meet the Noble Lord's demand ? Why, by stating that in the ne gociations between EnAland and France, there were three re cognized conditions- tirst, That Portugal should not be at tacked ; second, That there should b e no i n terference with South America ; and the third was, That there should be no ermanent occu of Spain. Two of these questions had p as.ed ; and if in the result it had been found that France had ation duped and deceived In, then there would be a ground to suspect thatthe s G us o p v i e c r io n n ilif id l l thd connived at such deceit, and a rea sonable distrust might be entertained upon the third. But if; on the Contrary, the there had been no interference with Portugal—if Papers relating to South America had given satisfaction on all hands (and every opinion which he had y th to e d g o o o o b d t fo th rt to bear concurred in the satisfaction ex pressed same promises, as relating to another ques tion, and to call for further assurances ? Of the three condi tions, two having s"s atisf actorilyaetorily issued from the trial, the House had a right to confide in the Government, and not press upon them prematurely f or information with regard to the other. However he might expos e himself to the charge of credulity and nevertheless declare verily and in sin cerity as a Minister and as an individual that he believed France tobe t a o t ridicule, he en moment anxious oxious for the evacuation of Spain. He was also quite satisfied in his mind, that if it were put into his hands to say whether France should march out to-morrow, he I n justice he would say that whatever tranquillity, and safety .in Spain, was ow ing to h w asof order, of the French Army. Carefully affirming s th h e o r u e ld t not e consent. presence that these acknowledgements as to the vicious character of the ements altered no opinion which he originally entertained aggression, as an honest' m an he must d ec l are that no ex ample could be found for such conduct on the part of an in vading army. He did not believe there was an instance in history where even the arm, of an Ally, excepting Great Britain, had passed through a foreign country inflicting so little misery. Nay, it was not only an example of re fraining from doing ill, but th e presence o f the French army had been prod uc tive of the most important good to the Spanish people. That the French Government were anxious for the evacuation he was convinced. If it were fitting, in.. deed, he could now state the period at which they hoped to effect it ; and it was one infinitely shorter, he was afraid, than could possibly be adopted. ,But he believed there did exist on the part of France a sincere,intention to evacuate the Spanish territory upon the day fixed, if it should be found practicable. He knew what was most forward in every British mind— the occupation of Cadiz. Upon: this part of the question the 'gallant General opposite had given him the means of supply ing an answer. Ile had stated that to occupy Cadiz for a military purpose required 25,000 men. Now he was sure that France had no such force in Cadiz. There was not half the French army there, and 25,000 men was more than half the French army. Nay, he believed there was not the half of 25,000 men in that fortress. It should be remembered that Cadiz had been the birth-place and support of the Constitution —upon whose merits he would not say a word—and had been erected into a sort of rival capital by that party. It was there fore necessary, for the sake of repressing faction that there should be some occupation of so important a place. The strength of Cadiz was materially connected with the possession of Badajos. He spoke the opinion of the most consummate General of.the age when he stated that a Commander ought not to consider himself safe in Cadiz unless he also occupied Badajos. But the charge was, that the French being hi pos session of Spain, all its miseries and distractions continued. It was true that the most rancorous feelings existed between parties, and there was this singularity in the situation of the French. Instead of being the oppressors of those whom they had subdued, they had to restrain those whom they came to assist and to whose hands they restored a power which threatened to be come, without controul, the instrument of persecution. He had hopes at one time that the Government of that country would adopt wiser and sounder principles, but he feared that every post diminished their strength.' If it could be brought to a better sense of action, he believed France would wish to have the opportunity of withdrawing, and he was sure this country would not be backward in promoting that object when its safe ness became apparent. He believed France to be as ready to withdraw her armies as the Noble Lord was to see them retire. When upon a former occasion, a question was raised for the House as to the manner in which this country preserved her neutrality in the contest, he took no part in the discussion which terminated in so extraordinary a manner. He would now touch I upon it to shew the preservation of that neutrality, on the part of the Government, was not so easy as some Gentlemen con ceived it to be ; very considerable impediments having been thrown in the way by some of the most ardent sticklers for a neutral course. With all the feelings of regard which no political differences could remove, and with the highest admiration of the motives that prompted him, his Hon. Friend opposite (Sir R. Wilson) must allow him to say nevertheless, that he had been one of the greatest impediments in the way of neutrality. The Noble Lord, too, was *an enormous breach of neutrality.— (Shouts of laughter.)--The Right Honourable Gentleman pro ceeded to quote a passage from Vattel, shewing that interna tional law admitted not the interference of private persons be longing to foreign nations. The Hon. General, as a private individual, did certainly appear in hostile array upon a part of the Spanish coast, and announced that he was. to be fol lowed by 10,000 men. He (Mr. C.) knew very well that the men did not go. But then the interfence of the Honour able General drew the war into that part of the country where it otherwise would not have penetrated.. Now,. all who, lik e him, were liable to the visitation of certain diseases, knew very well that a plaister applied .to the foot would bring the gout down from any other part - of the system.—(A. laugh.)-- So his Hon. Friend had been the blister to this part of the country.—(Laughter.)—The consequence of this interference was, that the Government felt themselves bound to explain upon this subject to the Court of France. That Government did not re monstrate upon the subject, but for that reason he felt the more anxious to offer the explanation.—(Hear !)—Thus they were re duced to the necessity of coupling their remonstrances with ex cuses, and of offering explanations when they ought only to have been seeking them.—(Hear, hear !)—He thought those who were foremost to censure the Government for not taking a high tone, ought at least to have taken care that they gave them nothing for which to apologise; that when they required them to bluster, they should have given them nothing which required extenuation.—(Loud cheers.)—He had felt it incum bent upon them to make these explanations, and he would tell the Honourable General what he said upon the subject. In a communication to Sir C. Stuart, he told him that he could not disavow in too strong terms all participation in, or approval of his conduct. He had, however, not been careless of his lion. Friend's person a l sa fe ty , f or he added that service as a volun teer in a foreign war was not unlawful in the subject of a neutral state ; that it had at all times been allowed, nor had at any time exposed such person to penalty or prejudice.—(Loud. cheers.) Among the difficulties which had arisen in the endea vour to preserve an honourable and satisfactory neutrality on the part of this country, out of the conduct of his Honourable Friend, it was not the least inconvenience that it had subjected his Government to the humiliating necessity of making such a disavowal.—(Cheers.)—The consequence necessarily was, that the Government found itself fettered and restrained in its march, and unable to assume the commanding attitude to which its own upright and candid measures entitled it. " But," con tinued the Right Honourable Gentleman, " my Honourable Friend was not the only person whose interference was con spicuous, as I have before had occasion to remark.—(A s ` laugh.)—But this other case did not reduce us to the necessity ' of explaining to the French Government. Another luminary arose, and although not attended by so much military effect, yet, as lam intbrmed, with, to the full, as much of military • intention. I should not state these circumstances to the House were it not in the discharge of my duty, and that I had au thority for the statements I am about to make. Some time about the middle of last July, as I am credibly informed, the heavy Falmouth coach—(great laughter)—the heavy Falmouth coach—(repeated laughter)—was observed travelling to its usual destination with more than its usual celerity, having two inside passengers. The one a Lady of very considerable dimensions, the other a Gentleman chivalrously carrying out the succour of his weight to the sinking Constitutionalists of Spain.—(Loud laughter.)—As I have likewise been informed by the van of that day a conveyance for the more bulky articles, not of the human species, there went down a box of meet portentous character and size. I know not whether like the Magician's, it possessed the power of transporting itself to distant places, at the will of its owner,—but it contained the uniform of a Spanish Ge neral, and a helmet considerably inferior in size to the fa bled helmet of the Castle of Otranto.--(Continued laughter.)— The idea of going to the relief of a blockaded fortress in a light horseman's uniform, chewed that however large was the Noble Lord's breach, it was by no means so skilful a one as that of the Hon. General. However, go he did ; and about this time the force which never existed but upon paper was expedted. I suppose the King and the Cortes thought it was now at hand, but I know not how they were informed of the Noble Lord's approach, unless it was in the language of a very witty and illustrious ancestor of his Georg; Duke of Buckingham, in his excellent farce of the Rehearsal. When King Prettyman and King Usher are besieged, a man enters and whispers to them, " The army's at the door, but in dis guise, and would bespeak a word with both your Majesties." —( Loud and continued peals of laughter.) —Th e Right Honour able Gentleman then proceeded to say, that events soon ter minated the war, and whether the Noble Lord threw his weight into the sinking scale of the Cortes or not, he could not under take to say. If individuals would make enterprises that em barrassed the proceedings of the Government, and shackled their exertions to uphold the character and the interests of the country, they must not expect to escape observation. The Noble Lord who brought forward the present motion, had stated a proposition, that if while France held p9ssession of Spain, any army should sail from that country to South Ame rica, it must be considered as a French force. Now he was not indisposed to admit this as a question of degree. If, while France occupied the Spanish territory, any extensive levy of Spainsh troops was made for such a purpose, that he conceived would be a proper subject for enquiry and explanation. But what they now had to do, was to look at the case as it stood. They had to determine whether there was any thing in the distribution of the Spanish forces, or in their qua lity—lie was convinced there was nothing in their councils which warranted the slightest suspicion of any such pros pective views. lie was satisfied that such a course would not be consistent with the policy of the French Government. There was less difference than Gentlemen seemed to imagine between the views which France entertained towards Spain and those which were supported by this Country. They ap proximated much more nearly than those of other powers.— He was convinced that France had no idea of a reconquest of South America on the part of Spain, and that she knew it to be impossible. For other countries to think of doing it was out of the question; they never could possess the power. He thought the Noble Lord had failed to shew any Parliamentary grounds upon which his motion could stand, and his lion. Friend (though it did not become him to say so) had only done justice to the Government when lie proposed to meet suspicion unjustly charged by a declaration of confidence. If that con fidence had been earned, the withdrawal of the suspicion would not be enough. It was not, therefore, claiming too much, when they asked the House to do them a further justice in saying that it confided in their further conduct.—(Great cheering.) Sir R. WILSON and Mr. Secretary CANNING mutually ex plained. - Sir J. MACKINTOSH expressed a satisfaction at the just and generous manner in which the Hon. Member for Stafford, and the Right . Hon. Gentleman had acknowledged the conduct . of his Hon. and Gallant Friend. He thought the Right Hon. Gentleman had been indulging in imaginary triumphs; and that in amusing the House with the facetious part of his Noble Friend's journey, he had omitted (from a want of knowing the circumstances no doubt) to acknowledge the glorious task of saving from the dun neon, and perhaps the scaffold, such men as Arguelles, and the patriots who had suffered the deepest misery in the cause of freedom, and their unhappy country. If the Right Hon. Gentleman could persuade the' House that France had given up guidance and dictation in Spain, he would do miracles. The proof that Spanish troops were sent to South America, could not be found in any papers before Parlia ment. If any body of Spanish troops were sent to South America, the measure could only come from France. The presence of French troops in Spain afforded the Government of Ferdinand the opportunity of sending out men to attack the Colonies, and the object of his Noble Friend's motion was to ascertain whether any information of such an intention on the part of Spain had reached his Majesty's Ministers. It was said, why did the Noble Lord make a motion express ing distrust of France ? His Noble Friend was justified. in calling for papers, which might justify or allay suspicion with respect to France. It was not with a view to arraign the con duct of the King's Ministers that the motion was made. His Noble Friend in his speech had declared he had no such inten tion. It appeared to his Noble Friend that France had hostile intentions towards the inteitst of commerce, and when he called for information, it was supposed he impugned the conduct of Ministers. A short answer was consequently given in a style peculiar to his Right Hon. Friend. That was not the old con stitutional mode of meeting such a motion. The Hon. and Learned Gentleman conceived that it ought to meet the ap probation of the House. Lord J. RUSSELL rose to reply. It was not his intention to occupy the attention of the House long. The Noble Lord observed, that it was too common, when motions were made for papers to hear a refusal mixed up with praise of Ministers. The amendment moved by an Honourable Member was, in his view, unimportant. He no disposition to try the numbers in the House, and certainly should not press his motion to a di vision. His object had been to ascertain the views of the French Government, and not to cast blame on his Majesty's Ministers. The Noble Lord's motion was then negatived with out a division, and the amendment carried. PRISON DISCIPLINE. Mr. Secretary PEEL moved that a Select Committee be appointed to consider the laws relating to Prisons, and report thereon to the House.—The motion was agreed to. THE NEW LAW COURTS. Mr. BANKES, after a few observations, moved that a Select Committee be appointed to examine accou'nts, and the expen ce incurred in building Courts o f J ust i ce in Palace-yard, and that a plan be furnished thereof. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he bad no notion that the course of business that evening would have enabled his lion. Friend to bring on his motion. Hit was the same to his Honourable Friend, he could wish it postponed t° another day. Mr. BAS'KES found himself pressed in point of time. His Right Hon. Friend would see by the haste with which the building was going on that the ti m b er wou ld b e soon laid if' that part whi c h he considered unfit consistent with public taste to stand. He suspected that some hint had been given to ace' lerate the work. . _ The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER. did not itn; puce any blame to his Right Hon. Friend for the , course he ha d taken, but if his Right Hon. Friend supposed any instructio n had been given to- accelerate the work, he could assure him se' veral Gentlemen of the legal profession pressed for expedition in - the work, on the ground that great inc9tivenience had n c , curred from the want o f L aw • Courts: No order had sin ce been given to hurry on the wor k. H e t h oug h t t h ere m i g ht be a suspension of pa r t o f th e work.for• two or three - days t) affor d his Right Hon. Friend an opportunity of repeating his motion' In the then state o f th e quest i on h e should vote against th' motion. He did not think there was any reason for pullin; the whole building down. • Mr. BANKES did not wish to pull down the whole. On the suggestion of the CHANCELLOR of the Excia QUO' the motion was then postponed to Tuesday. UNION DUTIES. The House went into Committee on the Union Duties Act. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said helia a a resolution for repealing the remainder of the Union Duties. Last year some of these duties were repealed, and others pro spectively repealed. The proposition made last year had beer' opposed as a matter which could not be carried into effect ; d' e repeal had been found practicable: The Right Hon. Gentle; man moved that the said duties on certain goods, wares, and merchandize, should cease and determine. Mr. HUAIE commended the repeal cf . the Union Duties as a measure he in 1820 - endeavoUred to bring about. He el'' pressed a Hope that the Chancellor of 'the .Exchequer w ould not Jet any popular clamour check him in his career for the benefit of commerce. He was c o nv i nce d t he silk trade nest year would derive increased prosperity from the late repeal of duties. Mr. V. FITZGERALD said, that he was requested hY certain Army Clothiers in Ireland, to represent that the Right Eton. Gentleman would greatly promote the interest of that class, by taking off the duty on stock in hand. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER did not think there was any ground for adopting the plan suggested. The Resolution was then agreed to, the House resumed, and the Report was ordered to be received to-morrow. The Penitentiary Convicts' Bill, after a conversation between Sir T. Baring, Mr. Dawson, Alderman Wood, Mr. Holford , Mr. Gilbert, and Mr. Mann, was read the second time. The other Orders of the Day were then disposed of, and the House Adjourned at a Quarter past Twelve o'Clock. COMMON COUNCIL. A Court of Common Council was yesterday held at Guildhall. It was agreed to petition Parliament against a Bill now pending, for making a Canal from the river Lea to the Regent's Canal, on the ground that the measure would have the effect of depriving the City of London of certain' ancient rights, dues, and tolls, to which it was entitled ; and a petition to that effect was read and adopted. FLEET-MARKET. The Report of the Improvement Committee, recommending a loan to be effected .to the amount of 150,000/., upon bends under the City seal, for the purpose of carrying the improvt• ments respecting Fleet-market into effect, was, after a shop discussion, agreed to. THE LORD MAYOR. Mr. DIXON rose to call the attention of the Court to certain expressions attributed to the Lord Mayor.—(we understood that the worthy member alluded to the report of a speech lately de livered by his Lordship at a Ward - note, containing observa tions upon some of the present City Members.) The Loan MAYOR—If the gentleman means, as J have been given to understand, to call the attention of the Court to what• I am reported to have said inanother place, I conceive that he is out of order. I have not read the report, and there fore do not know if it be correct or not ; but if it be a cornet report, it only contains observations that I have frequently made before, but which cannot be brought under the cog' nizance of this Court. I expressed no scmtitnents upon that occasion, but what I had frequently expressed before, an d shall express again, whenever an occasion calls upon me to do so. Mr. Dixox.—l am only anxious that 'the Lord Mayor should be relieved from the 'imputation which the report 13 question cast upon him. The LORD MAVoß—Unless the Gentleman means to com plain of a breach of privilege, he is out of order. From any imputation attempted to be cast upon me, I will thank him to allow me to defend myself. If the Gentlemen think it worth their while to waste their time on the subject, I have no objec tion to enter into an explanation of what I then : stated, and to repeat here the sentiments I expressed. Mr. FavELt..—Cour time is too precious to be wasted in this way_. _ _ _ Mr. Dix.ox—l could have told my story in bal f the time-- The LOUD MAzon—Sir, I dot sit here to hear stories. Yo►t need not troublo yourself about my defence ; you may leave it to myself. Mr. lixxox—lt is not the individual, but the Lord Mayor of this city, I wish to defend. 'When '1 nee expressions attributed to him which I know lie never could have uttered— Mr. PULLEN argued that the worthy member was out of order. Mr. DIXON justified the line of conduct he was pursuing,.bY a reference to the complaint made of-Alderman Bridges, dura his Mayoralty. The LORD MAYox.-I must set the.gentleman right.— . 1 1 1r. - Dixoy...-I see I - have touched - up - on a sore subject. The Loan MAYO R.—l Must set the gentleman right ; that was a complaint for a breach of privilege on the part o f the Lord Igayor, in, introducing armed men into the city. With respect to the report in-tluestion I iliredge my honour 1 hav e never seen it ; having been shown only a few lines of I 1 extract from it by Mr. Alderrnqn Wood, when I was cially engaged. if the 'report be correct, it only contet v ' what I have said before, and shall repeat again ; if it be incor rect, I will only say that I have not taken the trouble to correct a report these thirty years, Mr.: KavELL moved the order of the . dap. Mr..DixoN was proceeding. . Mr. FAV ELI. said he was out of Order; in proceeding with a subject after the Lord Mayor had expressed his opinion upon it.' He-again moved the order of the day. It then appeared that there was another question (of no im portance) before the Court, which was put by the officers,. and the present matter dropped. THE SPANISH VOTE. • Mr. JAMV3 rose to make.a motion, of which he had given,. notice some months ago, respecting the use to which th e sum of 1,0001. voted in . aid of the Spaniards; had been applied. Mr.ROIVTII said, that lie was a Member of the Comm'tte , and could state, that they had no objection to satisfy the in of the Hon. Gemlernan. . Mr...rAmEs then took a review of the circumstances that had attended the French invasion of Spain, as contrasted with the results promised by the advocates of this loan when it W 5 granted, and said that they. ought to render the Court iliz,trust fill of such representations in future. Ile concluded by mow ing, that, the Committee be ordered to report to the C.,urt sn what manner the grant had been applied by them ; a nd..to whom, apd by what means, it had been remitted. • Mr. UMW: seconded the motion. Mr. Alderman VENABLES defended the principle on which the grant had been made. It success by no means justified the aggression of the French. pon, the independence of Spain. • Mr. Dixon said, the simple question was, not the policy or the impolicy of the : vote, but what had been done with the money ? ;Th. FAVELL also justified the principles on which ,the vot e had been 'passed ; and reprobated the insinuation conveyed by this motion against the committee. Mr. nowx H, on general principles, would be disposed to op pose this motion, because it was not supported by aptmafaeie case ; but he was on the present occasion anxious for the in quiry, because he knew that the result would be most satisfac tory both to the Committee and the Court. .• • After a few obserVations from Mr. Welch, Mr. Taylor, and Mr. James, in reply, the motion was agreed to unanimously. - - Wedneschly a T iVleetini4 . of the Inhabitants of St. Leonard's, .Shoreditch was. held in the Vestry-room, p u rsuant to a Requisition signed by several Householders, and directed to the Churchwardens, for the purpose of taking into considera tion the propriety of petitioning Parliament for the total Repeal of the Window and House Tax when a petition was agreed to accordingly.