The Sun. — London, England, 1803-06-04 00:00:00

THE ( • S N 0 ~~wKS„AS • : • rt - r 4 •A, ` t lC *. lyr- - "..; • . t g e: • s - • t vf 111 4 4 ' 47ti / 4 ‘u,': • i NUMBER 3342.] IMPERML PARLIAMENT. ROUSE OF COMMONS. FRIDAY, JUNE. 3. MR. flAwx tr:s Bit owNE brought up a Report crow! the Committee respeeling the Survey of the Highlands of Scot land, which was ordered to 'icon the Table and to be printed. Mr. Pot.r. brought up the Ordnance Estimates, which were ordered to lie on the Table; he gave notice of his in tention of moving them on Monday in the Committee of Sup p l y Sir ionN ANDERSON brought up the Report of the Ships 13 urning Bill which was reed anti agreed to, and the Bill ordered to be read a third time on Monday. The Ordnance Estate Bill was read a second time, and • eiimMitted for Monday. The Convoy Bill was read a third tune and passed. ; Mr. Gtt.as, after some observations upon the necessity of rendering the BMlery Oath, taken at Elettions,•tuore ettrc tual, Moved for leave to bring in a Bill to repeal so much of the A et of the 4td of His present Majesty, as relates to the Oath or Affirmation respeeting Bribery, to be taken at Elec tions, enacted by the ad George 11. CONDUCT OF MINISTERS. Mr. PATTEN said, it was with infinite reluc. tance :that he rose to address the house upon the aubjed to which he had now to call their attention, and which was certainly of the greatest importance... He felt, however, that he had some claims upon their attention, as this was, in the course of his Parlia. . mentary career, but the third time that he had. tres passed upon their indulgence, and upon thepresent oc. casion he should endeavour,to re-pay that indulgence . by detaining the House far as short a time as possible. It would' be recolleded that he had given notice of a Motion previous', to the Recess, the objet of which was, an inquiry into the state of the Na tion..' To this ,he was induced.from a variety of circumstances at that period r and it was certainly only a sense of Public duty 'that could induce hint • to depart from that very private charader which he had held within. those walls. He had felt the impropriety of the conduit of Ministers in with holding from, that House all information respeiing 'the State of the Country, from the period of the Definitive Treaty to that of His Majesty's Mes. sage. ,Subsequent .to that Message, the Pub- lic Mind was for a long period kept in a state of cruel suspence. During the period to which he alluded, between the Definitive 'Treaty acid the Menage, His Majesty's Ministers continued to hold 'out hopes of the permanence of Peace, though at the same rime, as it now appeired, that they bad, during that very period, been engaged, if not in adual Wattare with France, yet in a soft of Ne gotiation with that Power, in which the conduit of • the latter was extremely suspicious. He - had been induced to give the notice to which he alluded, from what he felt upon the subject, that the People; of Great Britain, loyal, brave, and generous as they were, were entitled to some communica tion by means. of which they might obtain some knowledge of the state of Public Affairs, and he thought that Parliament was , the proper medium of such a Communicatiort. It was upon these grounds that 'he had given that notice, bUt he was deterred from following it up by the. opinions of Gentlemen more competent than himself to form a: proper judgment upon such a question. He , had. looked at the injuries which resulted to this Coun. .try from the state of suspense in which it was placed; be had seen that our 'Trade was cramped and cm. barrassed, and that ,our Commerce was locked up in qur Ports : he had however given way with re. spat to that intended Motion, in deference to the opinion of others. It might be said, why undertake a task to which he confessed himself inadequate.. He Confessed his incompetence with sorrow and regret, but when Gentlemen of superior talents had taken up the cause which he now took up, the universal cry had been, that they were only anxious to remove those Ministers whom they opposed, in order to make, room for themselves - . .He wished that the Treasury Bench opposite should be filled with all the talents of the Country,. and that no man should withhold the assist ante of his talents at such a crisis as the present, but the imputation to which he hail salluded, could not apply to him ;• his humble‘taleots could not subjed "him to any such imputation...—. He could have no, other consideration in view but the Public- Good. In the situation, however, in which •he had placed himself, he had.subjeded himself to a variety of calumnies. So far at relat ed to - himself, , he treated, those calUmnies with the the - greatest contempt, ,but to' others he. must do justice. At the time he gave the, notice to which .he had .alluded, he hid had no, coMmunica. tion with any. man whatever. It had been .said, that he was a tool.. anti an instrument on this occa. sion ; he despised the imputation, but he should. not do those Right Hon. Gentlemen justice with whom he was supposed to be conneded, nor should he do himself justice, if he did not wish to be classed with those men whose characters were looked ap to with resped and yeneratiOn; 'not only „in this country, but throughout Europe. There was lane topic to which lie could riot help adverting with • some astonishment, When an. Hon. Gentleman hose . Ott a former occasion to vindicate the' character of the First L or d of the Admiralty', who was .followed by a Right Hon, Gentleman on the - other. of the House, it was imputed to some Right Hon. Gen tlemen, with whom he was supposed to be con. netted, 'as if -they had arraigned the conduct of the First Lord of the Admiralty, but all that was said by them on the subject was, in incidental expression which was used relative to fifty sail of the line, and nothing farther. The fuel was,' that those calumnies on the First Lord• of the Admiralty .were to be found in the Ministerial Paper 4, or at least those which were understood to be conneCted with Ministry. On a former occasion an Hon: "entleman had adverted to the opinion which cer tain Gentlemen had formed. respeairg the Anna. n'tnis in at.: Ports of Fiance.. Thotie he was 'iT UR D 4 Y, JUNE - 4, .rBo3. perfeelly satisfied as to the hostile mind of France, yet from all the information he had been able to obtain, and particularly from persons who were on the spot,he did not think 'that these preparations were of sufficient importance to justify the tenor of His Majesty's Message. Still more ; the first in. telligence which Lord Whitworth received upon the subjetl was received by him at Paris, after the Message had been delivered upon this subjesq, he would appeal to Bonaparte and Talleyrand them selves, as well as to other,,authoriiies ; and it was not unworthy of remark, that previous to the Mes. sage, the Troops sent by Bonaparte to the Coast, were 'really fitted for Colonial 'Service, whilst those sent thither afterwards were 'Veteran Troops. He could not conceive that there was any man who possessed a spark of British. Spirit, or had a drop of British Blood in his veins, but must view,the conduCt of the First Consul with that in. dignatiun which his hostility towards this Coon. try called for. This Country, however, was not at that period menaced by the preparations of France ; the object of the First Consul was by means of Egypt to cur off the resources which we derived from our Indian possessions ; his' objeet also was to embarrass our Commerce, and *stow generally our resources. These were the imme.liate steps, but his ultimate objed, undoubtedly, was to• ► strike at the root of the Greatness and Independence of Great Britain. If however they looked to the condo& of His Majesty's Ministers, they found that the Peopie justly complained of being kept in a state- of abeyance, and of insult and aggression ► ' committed on the part of France. He conceived that where one injury was committed and not re dressed, it necessarily•invited more. He might be wrong, but he felt that if he had sustained an in. suit, and had obtained no redress, he should shrink 'from Society. Had His Majesty's Ministers made Representations ?—lf they. had, it was an additional-insult, on the paroof France, iii not listening to them. What was the conslud of Mini. sters with resped to the French Commercial Com missioners 1---Instead of aCting as. they did, they ought to have sent these persons out of the Coun. try, and then demanded reparation for the insult. With respeCt to Hislland and Switzerland, the People of those 'Countries had committed the crime of asserting that Independence which was so obnox.. ions to the First Consul. The independence of this Country Was obnoxious to the First Consul, but we had successfully maintained that Independence, aotthe trusted we should again assert it with that energy which the cause demanded, and with that, success which it : deserved. At the time Ministers sent coon. ter-orders for the surrender of the Cape, and other poi.. sessions, eves, •aa of violence that was urged, bad been offered to this Country, except the Mission and Report of Sehastiani. He would satisfy- him. self With the charge against Ministers of with holding all communication from Parliament upon the sullied of the ,state of Public Affairs, He charged them with having-held out hopes of Peace, at a time when they must be satisfied that they were not well founded ; -with not having made those remonstrances which ought to have been made, and , with having, by their inconsistent mad, de based and lowered the spirit of the People. With respell to the aduous Contest in which we were-en. gaged, he hoped the time would arrive when the general talents of the Country woUld be united, anti direCted to external objects, forgetting all, internal considerations and all party dissentious. At a moment when the People were called uporifur all their personal exertions, had they not a right to call for the exer. tion of all the mental-talents of the Country to di.'; reef them ? 'He concluded by stating his Resolutions (the.first•of which he moved) to. the following ef. fee, 4 ' Than it appeared to the House, Irvin His Majesty's Declaration, that there had been, on the parr of France, a continued series of aggressions : and insults towards this Country, from the period of the Definitive Treaty, in violation of every principle of good faith—that His Majesty's tiers had, during that period, withheld all communi. cation from that House with roped to the conduet', of France, of th'i 'steps taken by 'them in conse. ,quence of spelt cendutt. That it was the duty-of His Majesty's. Ministers to make timely and ade quate representations with respea to such aggressions arid insults on the part of France, which it appeared !shad- not been made. , That it appeared to the H ouse , 'that on -the 17th of Odobcr, orders were sent out revoking the former orders for the surrender of the Cape of Good Hope, and on the 16th of -November connter.orders were sent ,out fur its surrender, al., though the hostile views of France were then tho. roughly knows.; and that -by their t undoes His, Majesty's Ministers had proved themselves to be undeierving of the confidence of that House, and unfit to conduCt the:affairs of , the Country." On the first Motion being read:from the Chair, Cohn,/ GRAII.4III said, he wished to say a few' words, which he could have wished to have said before the Hon. Gentleman had made his Motions ; • but as this would probably be the last daton which he s)tould be present in the House during 'the Ses. sion s he .hoped for .their indulgence upon the present occasion. What he was about , to - say re lated to the Island of Malta. He held in his ,hand a Periodical Publication, which probably contained the same Paper relative to that Island . which had beets ordered -by the House on the preceding day, but which, belch. it his duty to,declate, contained a gross misrepresentation, respecting the conduct of General Vigor. It was there stated that the French Garrison had' .Offered hostages for the performance of the conditions of the Capitulations which was ' wholltunsrue. Capt. Maticusst - went to Malta ' to treat .with the GarrisPn, and he (Cols GRAHAM) accotopanied him lit, the s . good deal wasleft to his diaerctioo, sbutsame time Pcocral ,Pigot signed the C.apitolation.. Col. GRAHAM was pro. reeding when he was called to Order by General G,ASC6YNi who wisheil to know whether the lion. Gentleman argued front authentic docu ments, or mere Newspaper report? '_ • Colonel GI:AIIAM again threw himself upon the indulgenee'of the Howie, .and there being ,a loud cry of " Gong," he proceeded. It - was stated, he said, in the publication to which he had alluded, that the British Qeneral, 'though very well acrainted with the scarcity of provisions in the town, had yet al.. lowed the French Troops to take away provisions, in consequence of which they again plundered the inhabitants. 'Phis_ statement, he said,, seas so far true, that there was a very sthall quantify of wheat in the Garrison, and as it was Possible that in the course °fa tingle night ShipF might land wheat there; though, at the Mile' time, he do not mean to..throw the slightest blame upon those who coodtiaetl the blockade, with respeet to which it was admitted by the French, that they thought it impossible that a blockade could be so well kept up, yet in coose_ quence of these circumstances, Captain MARKHAM and himself thought it necessary to conclude the capitulation as soon as possible.. It , was true that the Garrison had only 24. hours provisions. ' There was one article in the Capitulation ,by which the "French were allowed to carry away their eifetts, but the French Admiral and General both pledged their honour that the Tcoops should carry away no. thing but their private property. As to.any p 1 tin. ' der before Capt. MisaitH Asa and hitnself arrived in the Island, they knew nothing of it. • . Mr. CANNING spoke to Order ;. he ahottght h was hardly fair that when an lion.,Geritletnati had just made a motion, that the attention of the House ' should be divertedfrom it in the manner in Which it had ben. The . lion. Gentleman, (Col. GR A' ilAVis) observations. would have come tatter when the .subjea of 'Malta . , was mentioned, which had not ' been the case. at present. . • . . . The SPEAKER pbserved•that it was entirely a matter of indulgence, .►nit Cot— GR.AIIAM concluded, by denyiog what Was stated in the Publication alluded to, with ri.soectt To the Maltese laying down their arms upon'the Glacis. Lord TEti►et.t? requested the Motion to he again read, after which Co10;iel - BASTARD complained of the substitti tion of these Motions for that of which notice had been given; respeCting the State of the Nation ; be.' cause, in his opitiion - , If the State of the Nation was fairly laid before Parliarhent, it would he the hest • justification of the conduct of Ministers.. The situation of the Country wai one of great anxiety, but was it to be attributed to the late Or to the. present Administration ? The present AdMioistra ;ion had come into power at tt most critical period,' and had add under difficulties unparalleled. They found the whole chain of connection with which this Country had tided, broken, and the Country dis. contented in a very high degree ; the circumstances in which they were placed compelled the rl'reaty of Amiens, and, in his opinion, mad:: it prudent' riot to push every poiht of aggression. We were no w forced into the Contest,. and he hoped we should carry -it •no With spirit and vigour, but un. less His Majesty's Ministers could have car. tied.' With- them the 'sentiment's' of . the Public, and could' sheW that they could , not ayoid the Wdr, he thought • they • Would not have done their dti!Y He did tint' think it necessary to go th roug h the'topics-which had been orged; but with respett.tri the want ofeomMunication, ail the mares. sions'of France were matters of public noloriery,` and it was in the power of every Member !ti for informati n. rfite !ton. Gentleman (Mr. P . A . T. TEN) had alluded to a Mgdtiation said to he car ried on for tilling the Treasury Bench with all the talents of the Country, but it -was understood that that NegotiatioO chiefly related to the. return to power of one Right Hon. Gentleman of whoth he had the highest opinion, and that it was broken off because that Right Hon. Gentleman would not re.. turn to power without others—(a loud c t _v ifOrdtr, • • Order),---Wilen he said' he heard two opposite' par. - ties;- the. one accusing Minister's of being too and the other of being t(43 timid, he conelm4d 'from thence that Ministers had acted jwit as they ought to.have done. It, reqoired more fortitude to bear an insult than to resent one. A man worn out ought not to attempt to combat with another in full health and vigour; We' required. time to renew our. .strength, he hoped to God the time: was come 'whew our strength was renewed.. ire likewise hoped that we should not go on In &fermi re tram' which nothing ,but ruin must resolt s but that it would be• offensive. Mr. PATTI N explain'ed. Mr. //. B - ROWNE said, he did not think our present danger was brought on by the condthtk of Administration. The Hon, Gentleman (Mr. PATTI N), had deliveted himself with considerable ability; but he :nust confess, that he never saw so strong a Motion as -tha t proposed so f‘tbly . sup. ported in argument : a much stronger Parliamentary ground ought to be brought forward in support of such a Motion. In one sentiment tittered by that Hon. Gentleman they must, however, all agree, that it was 'necessary to lay aside all party db:sentions, and, to unite with' one heart and one voice in the prosecution of the Contest in which we were engaged. It could not be doubted that the First Consul aimed at the It of Great Britain.-- With respell to the hopes of Peace alledged to be held out by His Majesty's Ministers, he never drew from those expressions any thing further than a slight hope of 'Peace. Under all tie circum. stances of the ,c ase he should have 'thought, His Majesty's Ministers highly blameable, if they had not acceded to the Treaty 91Aniiin9, aod he thought that tikuta,:circurnstazes justified their odeavoars fPRICE iXiIEN*Cr; to enitire.acOntinwice of dial Peace: . Thinking; as .he•Llikt, that, nothing could be better for 'the Countiy than an eini,ealour to preserve the Peac e of Atnier3,.; he..thought that whilst there was atiy hopes of preserving that.P.:Ce, consistently ;with. the Honour of the Country, that the Negotiation would be better edrrier,i_on by the Cabinet than by the two .Houses of Parliament: If War. had been inevitable, then Umi4ubtedly there ought to have beenaconununication to Parliainent, .but .if there was a chance of Peace no communication ought cer. tainly to be made. it was very trite that the spirit of the Treaty of Amiens was grossly violated long before the communication milde by His Majesty's Minister 9, but the spirit of a Trcety was a matter of :speculation, it waS 'necessary that the. Letter should be violated before 'a War took place :this was ,exadly the case in the present instance. If with respect to the Attnaments. in the Ports of France, Ministers were to blame, they were to blame on the right side ; it was better to give ,an alarm ton soon than too late. After the views of the First Consul bail boen disclosed, as they were, he thought, -,. it was by no means too WWI to sound tin alarm, and . he thaUght that Ministers were. entitled to praise rather than censure: . _ La J A ty.:Ns.A,PqroN said, he rose with great reluctance., but in 'a moment like the present he rhought it incumbent tvon every Member to deliver' • his opinion. He could not agree o,ith,either of the two Hon.. Gtoticrwn who had just sat down, and lie thought it particularly occeisary to advert to . . an assertion made by one of tb . ose Hon. genital - 191, .that the:condkt .of His Majesty's late Ministers had led to: the 'present 'situation of the „Countty. At the time the, present Ministers Caine into power the. Country,. was en aged in a War, and there was also a powerful confederacy in 'the N , rth ngainit us, The Conteat id. ..the North was broirglif to a happy termination; and perhaps it might be said, by, the present Ministers, but it should lam. recolleded that the Expedition to the Bailie was planned and even equipped by the late . Ministers ; and with reyeet to 0)4, Expedition to Egypt, it was to be attributed the. measure; of the late Ministers that, it was brought to an issue so glari:„us. With re bpea to the (Asjeaions of the Qentleman (Mr. FIAwKINa BitowNE), to the. Motion of his tion. Friend, his answer was, read His, Majesty,'s Decla ration, read the Papers on the Table, it would there bt--lound that there had beer a continued series of aggresaions and insults ot), the part ql France. When the Definitive Treaty-was debated in May, in the , 1 last year, the. Revenues of the Spanish Losgue had already, been confiscated, and the tenth Atticle pf the Treaty of , ,Atniens rendeml , impossible to :he executed. .All the transaaionl restive to Piedmont, Parma, and Piacenza, l'lad taktri place previous to the 23(1 of . November, when Eli', Majesty's Speech was (sage to ,Parliament, and, ; 7. - Ainisters then said, that there was no reason to appi4en4 that tho Tscaty of Amiens would he broka. The whole of the :tggres&itnle and in.4.llcs tiyhich were now coat- Onissed of leave then heart coto4;iikti.L.,.with the eta ception of tho. Report of S:lLisii;k:d, and, that On, loided no awe .Of the views of qie t irst Consul . than w.e..keew befur;. ‘1,1,1) L s a that. with, •respetk, to the first I\eotiiin he • thought very' little need be' said, as it. was entirely founded upon His Mar jevy'S Declaration. In that Deelaration they, at lepgth had the avowal of His Majesty's Ministers, that. there had been a,continued Sy6le a of pg gression on. the pan of France towards this Country ever since the ,sigoature of the Treace of Amiens. The abominable policy„pursued by France, the hostile views of that Inuit, whO in Egypt, lad trampled upon every Jiang sacred, 'had inordered,the todortimate inbibitanis of, that unfortunate' Couotry, and had 3 poisoned his own defenceless Soldiers ; the princi pies that manaaed upon' were now evowed to their full. extent. But how His. Majesty's Ministers'. could now come' to the House with His Majesty's Declatation in . their hand, and say that-they now saw through the designs of,Fraeee—how they could:, Aay that they had now only fouild ntt.whatt hadbeeol. evident ever since the signature of the Treaty of ; Amiens remained f .r them to discover. 'What was the .staterneot of . the Ministers on the e3a of Nov. hut ? Theyshen said that there was no ground to suspect the' renewal of Hostilities with Fratice,,w4ilst there was not a single aa of aggression which had . nnt existed at. that moment, except the.. Report of Sebestiaiii. The aonexatioo c,if Patina, which was,, stated erotic : of the grOuotis of Wars taken place before that 4 peritid. The dare of the order, to one of the Corn. mercial CoMroissioners to quit the. Country—the, detention of our Ships —the .stay of the French: Tteops in - Holland; who, idler it was understood that they were about to evacuate that Count r y r • • i a.e , • niatneo n possession of its frontier towns—all this was previous to the 23d of November. The Tenth Article of the Treaty ',of Amiens was rendered im possible to be executed, at the very moment - when it W. 15 stated by Ministers that there was no' groulid to apprehend the renewal of . finstilities. N a y, even on the 23i1 of Ap r il„ t 80z, the King of Spain had annexed tei his Crown all the Revenues of the order of. Malta in that .Country, and whether Ministers knew of that. fad otE.eially or not, the fad was so, and so stated, and it was known at that period that that Article could not be executed, ieasmuch as the existenaeof the Order must depend upon its re... sources, and those were taken 'away. - In .his' Letter of the 22d of August, the Noble Secretary of State had expressed the readiness of this Government to fulfil that article of the Treaty respefting Malta, an d had required that exertions might be made to . obtain the guatantees of the other Powers of Eu. 'rope to an Article which it. must be known could not_be executed. • All this, too,. was 'previous to the 23d of November. He Would. not no w co n s id er whether the iOterferenee . of this country in the 0.1