The Sun. — London, England, 1804-01-27 00:00:00

A VIEW OF TIIE RELATIVE SITUATIONS OF MR. PITT AND MR. 'ADDINGTON. PREVIOUS TO AND ON THE NIGHT OP Ma. PATUN'S MOTION. BY A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT• A Pamphlet under the -Above' title. has just been published by Mr. Stockdale, which we have read ' with the Most unmixed satisfaion. It does honour -both to the head and heait of the writer, whom we L'Vo"tint profess to know. As from its recent this Pamphlet may not be- in the bands of the gener4iity of our Readers, we shall lay before them a feW .Extraas from it, assuring them at' the same dine tha - t they w,ll derive high gratification from a perr,sal'of the work itself. . . lje.Writer thus,forcibly opens his subje6l— When Brertn.us,.the Gaul, marched into Rome, which he resolv:ed to destroy, for a flagrant breach -in the Law of - Nations,. the only man in whom they had any confidence, he who afterwards saved the City ; .ind restated •the tottering State, was in ba nishment at Ardea. ~ The Military Tribunes, who mien governed, had:lnc:l -told by: Marcits Czedicius . (warned by a :voice from heaven), .to. prepare for.. the Corni!,g.of the Gauls. But the Triburies laughed ar the,w?rning;:.and theiigh they afterwards 'made preparation,`they.were forced to meet-veteran troops with new-levies. They were routed with disgrace, • zriri the (.. - ;ty vvas sacked. . • l'here are .113e . r. in this Country, .by no means of unreeFetirig habits, or discontented dispositions; on the, contrarY, who upon deliberation; and . 1 conscientions wish to 261 upon principle; who thinic ! they See a degree of similitude between this. famous. period of . the days of Cziilius, and the present Crisis cif atittirs in Britain. 'They say that,, howev.er good - the - Cause of the Country must of ne .'ecSsity 'be, against the infamous injustice of the •• Councils; they _are dissatis,fied with the groan:la •upnu,Which it has been suffered to rest; , cdurs.e..cif the many complicated .causes (if discusion . whiCh leis. to 'the war, "Britain herself • !.-Nt•:1-perhaps .bioken the peace ; and though a voice • kid- as thit from heaven-had warned the Ministers of the intentions of the Gaul, yet that we were long t,; ‘iiliout preparation; - that . we even now trust to new levies, when we might be in possession of vete ran troops ; and that, .tunttist so much difficulty, the a biities7and best spirits-.of the Country are in banisk- stmt. " I certainly am not one of those who think the Ceuntry will be ruined.. I .think it too vigorously composed, throughciut. all its ranks, to die of neg lea. There are ten thousand minds, ,every one of them equal to the government of an Empire, who, were all cur present parties -extin4l, would be able to suppoTt and extend its fame.. But how such a Country comes to be negleEied at all.; how it comes to be negleCted at the most critical moment it ever saw ; how, when Brennus is at its gates, it,s wisest heads and most commanding talents, the abilities most fruitful and most practised in resources, the genius and 'the virtues most .capable of kindling enthusiasm, and -pointing the national spirit, are all of them, or almost all of them, excluded from the Councils of the . King ; this is a question which m ,ves our wonder ! " That this is pretty nearly our'situation in the present moment, seems to be as clear as that the moment itself requires a Government of the,most Opposite c.tsr. It is admitted by all but the Mini_ s tars t hemselves, the herd of common personages w h o d e p e nd upon them for bread, (a) and by a very few individuals of great private worth, who are per sonally attached to them." After taking a short but comprehensive review of the conduEt of Ministers, and the charaCters of ',.Vlinisters"theinselves, to the commencement of the war, he thus pursues his subjeCt.— " With a Ministry thus constituted, and in times confessedly the most arduous; with a greater stake to defend, and fewer means to -defend it, than ever was knoWn since Euglant was England, I again ask, was the Nation satisfied. with their Governors ? They refer you to the votes for the answer; and I aity„ from experience of myself,. that the votes deter_ tine nothing. For the first months of the Session there was no division : had there been one, attach ed as I was by•personal aff.:Clion to some of the Op position, and by admiration to almost all, I should nevertheless have given my vote to men against whom I. thought no case had been made, however little was to be stated in their favour. They were honoured by • their Sovereign's confidence, and pledged themselves to the preservation of Peace, a consummation which I ardently desired. Little aware of the hollowness of that ground, I passed . over what, to ignor'ance like mine, seemed trifling errors, and gave them credit for wisdom in their great general system; a system which, unhappily, such men were not, it seems, born to accomplish. Above all—yes, above all, I trustel to their assertions, re peated early and latein the Session ; ,repeated_up, to the very brink of War, when, according to their altered story, the provocations and the preparations. of the Enemy ought of themselves to have destroyed all power of belief in such assertions_; I trusted, I aav, to their positive assurances of tranquillity. . Had a vote, therefore, been necessary upon any Of the opposition topics of that time, in all proba bility my Note had been theirs. My voice, such as -it was, and the little power I possessed, were aEtu ally exerted in their service on particular questions; and while great • public measures were kept out of si ht, and the touchstone of foreign intercourse was a,;roitly evaded, I beheld undazzled the bold flights of ability which coursed adversely aroirid them, and. ,;tempted in vain to rouse them into aEtion. • To meet that ability in the fair field of argu ment ; to joust in the tournament with equal chival ry on. their - side; to oppose intelieCt to intellect, and genius to genius ; to present that feast of the mind, occasioned by the encountering forces of equal eloquence; all this was confessedly beyond them, and to this, .therefore, they did not even pretend. But ;bey relied upon their fidelity, their judgment, their wisdom, their foresight ; they demanded cre dit for firmness and vigour in secret council, con eeived in other places, and executed in other spheres .of anion ; their assertions were equal to the stispi- T.e ?rai Aniphytrion est ceini ou ron dine. . . cions of their opponents (1). The business or the State, it was said, niZght be carried on withou: elo. queriee; (God 'forbid . it should not !) their, llbours were - less brilliant, but more beneficial ; the : V.irances fiburished ; the National Defence was completely . . • . Provided for; the Peice was preserYed, and the Honour or the Country at the same time not corn.: promised " These topics, I own, had their fall weight wits me, and others, who. took a very conscientious, though perhaps a very limited view of things as they were passing, and who were of too little con sequence to be enrolled in a party. But this illusion could not long continue. It was melancholy at best to be forced perpetually to be making allowances ; to be always giving credit for intention; to hear things carried by assertions, which were often re trad ed, or explained away together with their explana. tions ; to see every thing in a sort of indefinite non descript state, ' A mighty maze, and all without ' a plan.' If we looked abroad, it was only to trem ble : the Articles of the Treaty had by no means been executed ; the strides of France were gigantic, yet we could not, or dared not oppose her ; and we seemed wilfully to shut our eyes, that we might have the con. solation of not seeing danger, and therefore of hoping that none was nigh. Mean time, some pretty strong affronts were passed unrevenged (c) : rumours were afloat of no very pleasant augury to the national honour, or the national interest; yet we went on disarming, hand over head. We were warned, that like that ill-fared nation of old, we broke down our very walls to let in the monster who was to destroy us, yet we despised the warning. At the same time,, there was the most fearful fluctuation in the councils on the sitbjeft of the peace establishment. Within a few weeks the seamen were to be 30,000 ; ~they. were,then to be 50,000, an increase of two thirds, without any assigned reason. The speech from the Throne had, indeed, a sort of lowering oracular ambiguity, which no one .could understand, and which Ministers refused to explain ; yet Mi. nisters themselves, particularly Mr. Addington, who on this, and on many points which I shall have occasion to mention, may be called the assertor of' his party, Were perpetually promulgating the tails , manic word Peace. " Devoted, as many of us.were, to thelnagic of that sweet sound, it was easy to observe, from the causes already enumerated, that the security. of those who supported 'the" Governnicrit_ was by . no means perfe& The House of Comm Ons displayed little -alacrity of front or countenance, large as was the muster of ministerial votes (d). During the little time I have been there, I have seen nothing but gloom, and doubt, and unsatisfied hope for a better state of things ; a sort of resignation to what can not, it is thought, be • altered, and what therefore, and therefore only must be endured. In the time alluded to, I speak hot merely of men who, like myself, were unconneaed with the Minister, and supported him from blind and uninformed duty ; but many, very many of those, or the relations of those who held places under him of profit and honour, conferred, indeed,' by another, but which obligtd them to consider themselves so far of his party; as to vote Against that other when oecasion.required. " To me therefore it appears but a vain illusion, a very phantom of hope, which like other phantoms, may vanish on a touch, to say because numbers have voted, that therefore they have approved. If originally the Ministers were Ministers of accident, such they remain ; if , originally the good-will of the public was (according to their own panegyrist, depressed by considerable a nxiety and doubt of ' their sufficiency,' (r) the anxiety and the doubt are by no means removed. Of .this, as to their measures since the War began, I want no other, proof , thart the state into which they have put the Country in proportion to the command that has been given over the very sum of its strength ; and as to their powers of defending those measures, no one need look far.thet than the debate on the army esti mates. " On that interesting night, (we may apply to it the words of the most celebrated funeral oration of its time) Oh ! night,' never to he forgotten ! (f) the powers of the Ministers of .England, in com parison with their opponents, were exadiy ascer tained. Their new Secretaries, (with very sincere respect. for most manly hearts and most excellent understandings be it said) totally failed them. The Secretary at War, from I know not what cause, would not put forth the strength he is acknoWledged to possess. The Secretary of State, whether op, preSsed by the real difficulties of his sUbjed, or diverted into an insulated part of by the warmth of fraternal feeling, was confessedly impar siti. I do him the justice to believe, that the increased zmbarrassment of the Ministerial cause alone was the reason why the ability he had shewn in his former capacity, <lil nut. keep pace with his recent eleva tion. Lord C3stlereagh only 'was any thing like respeftable. Lord Castlereagh, the Director Of India, the ;Manager of Asiatic Details, the Dis penser of Fate to a distant world, •to him strangely.' was confided the task of developing the true- state of our armies at home, with the Secretary of State for the Honie Department on the one side of him, and the Secretary at War on the other. But this is petty matter compared with the'real effel, compared with the appearance which was exhibited by the Government, taken as a whole, and then for the first time fighting alone! And let it not be disguised that they fought with all their power, and at 'the head of all their votes ; secure of the Sovereign's favour, 'and entrenched to the teeth in place ; with nothing to, divert them from the intrinsic merit of the subjed ; without even the expedation of an amendment or division ! To say they were beaten, is what all confess ; to say how beaten, is what few could undertake ! The stripes they received must (5) " My assertion is as good as their suspicion."—(Mr. Adclinvon, in reply to Mr. Canning,i,on-the Swiss remon strance.) How little did we know then that he had given legitimate cause for War to France, by Mr. Moore's mission, and was saved only by ignorance of that Gentleman's in struttions. (c) They tell you themselves it was a continued series of aggressor:., violence, and insult. See the King's Declaration. (d) Notwithstanding their victory over Mr. Pitt, in which I had.the happiness of dividing with that great man, an d t h .e foolish hopes that were indulged upon th at event, the melan choly appearance is still the same. (e) Near Observer. f) On the death of Henrietta of England, Dutchess of O rieu.s. • be for ever rerne:nbereci, even after they are forgiven ; and if that was their attempt to stand alone, or to walk without the leading string,' I can only say, that the consideration is melattcholy to thane who love their country." MAILS. DUI. Harnburgh 3 •Rt IVID. PRICE OP STOCKS, THIS DAY AT TWELVE O'CLOCK. Consols. - Own. _ 2 Dis. 'THE SUN. SOLEM QUIS DICEAL FALSUM AUDEAt? LONDON, JANUARY 27,1804. WE stated yesterday, that Captain SORRELL had arrived at the Admiralty with the intelli, gence of the Surrender of the French Forces in St. Domingo, and consequently of the total Eva cuation of that Island by the French. The situation of those unfortunate viEiims of the impolicy and treachery of the French Government, has for a long time been so desperate, hemmed in as they were by their numerous and implacable foes the Blacks, and cut off from all possibility of relief by sea, by the vigilance of a British Squadron, that it is only surprizing that they so long delayed to re lieve themselves from the horrors of that situation, by surrendering to the British. It appears that Ro. CRAMBEAU, being with his Troops reduced to the greatest degree of distress, and being threatened by DESSALINES, the Negro General, that the Cape should be stormed in six and thirty hours, if it was not evacuated within that time, dispatched one of his Aids-de-Camps to Captain LORING, who command ed the. Squadron blockading Cape Francois, with an offer :;rO surrender himself and all his Troops Prisoners of War to his BRITANNIC , MAJESTY. This offer was accepted, and measures were immediately taken for embarking the Troops and several of the principal Inhabitants, in all to the number of near SOOO. The French Ves sels in .the Harbour were of course all taken ; they consisted of four Frigates and seventeen sail of Merchantmen. It is riot known precisely what quantity of treasure has fallen into our hands the Military Chest of the French is said to have contained soo,ooo. dollars ; other: accounts say soo,ooo. General ROCIIAIVIBEALT, with the other prisoners, had arrived at Jamaica, and of course no time will be lost in conveying them to Europe ; indeed one Transport, with three hundred f of them, h a s already arrived at Portsmouth. Thus has France lost one of her finest Armies, and her most valuable Colony ; and we. now see, for the first time, an Independent Negro State formed in the midst of our \Vest Indian Possessions. The considerations suggested by this extraor dinary event, are of a most important nature : w hile we rejoice at -the failure of the most ex. tensive Expedition ever fitted out 'by France (ex cept the one sen t to Egypt); while we ar e hap py that she is thus fur ever cut off from the great sourc e of her Colonial Com merce , it is impos sible to contemplate without considerable disquie tude, a powerful Negro Establishment in the West Indies, and that too, after a long and sanguinary conflia with a large and well-disciplined European Army. Without entering into all the speculations that naturally suggest themselves upon this interest ing subjeil, we may be permitted to say, that this new state of things calls for the utmost pru. dence and wisdom on the part of our Government. We trust that no attempt will be made on our part, either by force or by negotiation, to obtain any other than a commercial footing in St. Domingo. Indeed, after the fatal examples we had, of the inef ficiency of force in that dreadful climate, we may al- Imost rest assured, that force will not be employed ; , and we entertain strong hopes that, by the adoption of measures of prudence and conciliation, such a connexion may be formed with St. Domingo, as may ultimately produce great commercial advan. Itages to - this Country. We cannot quit this subjea without calling to the recolle&ion of our Readers the opinion which we gave when that formidable Armament was first dis patched from France to St. Dorningo In opposition to the opinions then generally entertained, we prediled the ultimate failure of that Expedition, though the Army WAS composed of some of the best Troops of France, and - commanded by some of its most able GFuerals. Our prediaion was then ►, con sidered as chimerical, but it has been completely justified by the event. • A report was yesterday in circulatiOn, that-Mar t;n;co had surrendered, bur we Irlieve it to be ed tirely without foundation. This morning arrived a Mail from . the Leewaij Islands, brthight to Fahnotith b the Pri;lcos Char !tte racket, in 7 days from Tyr tAa. A D . 1,11 1 ,1 Mail of the 233 arrived this morning. Nothing of importance had occurred. We are happy to say' that His MAJESTY was able yesterday to ride for a considerable time in his . Riding-house. After which Has MAJESTY gave an audience to the DT.T“ of Yong, HER MAJESTY and the PRIgtrEMS AUGUSTA. and ELIZ A 3 ETH took an airing by Richmond and Tr Kew. PRINCESS AMELIA, attended by Lady C. WAt.. DEGRAVE, took an airing in tine neighbourhood of Fulham. PRINCESS SOPHIA Of GLOUCESTER. visited Hz& MAJESTY. In the evening TIC E IR MA j EST lEs had a Concert and seleft party. AmOng the company were - Earl HARRINGTON, Lord and Lady SUDLEY, .Earl DARTMOUTH, Countess of CHATHAM, &C. Sir EVAN PATE P FAN does not set off for Ireland till next week. He has not yet left his house at the Admiralty. Lord SOMERVILLE is gone upon a visit to the Duke of BEDFORD, at Woburn. Earl FiTzwiLLlAm, who is now at Wentworth House, Yorkshire, is not expeEled in town till the end of February. Flis house in Grosvenor.s'quare has been undergoing a thorough repair, at the esti mated eXpence of 50,000!. The Earl and Countess of DER BY are expeaea to leave the Oaks on Monday next, for the fashion able circle of the Metropolis. Sir JAMES MACKINTOSH has taken leave offici ally, and of his private friends, and leaves town in a few days for India. Several Gentlemen, whose testimony is necessary with resped to the case of General Ptcrorr, are ar. rived in the Chiiester Man - of War, from the Lee ward Islands. Lord HUTCHINSON has been offered the Command of the Southerp Distria of Ireland, in the room of Lieutenant. General MvEits, who left Waterford on Monday, preparatory to his setting out to assume the Command in the West Indies. His Lordship, we understand, has refused the appointment ; and; his refusal has been accompanied by a long Lettet to the DUKE. of YORK. Major-General MACKENZIE has. been appointed on t h e Staff of Great Britain, and to a Command in Yorkshire. Lord BEP.KEI,EY, in attending wit h 7i 6 ' 7' HW C promptitute to, the application of the Westbury ina Clifton Volunteers, has• served •the Country in ari essential manner, by moving HIS MAiesTy to ap- ' point to the Command of those united Corp - cer of experience, Colonel COKE, of the East India Company's Service, - who has often led Troops tO Vl6lO1 - Y. The" Ist Starkey Volunteers = under the command , of Colonel GAITSKRL- L , p a raded yesterday at their''; ground; and proceeded from thence to th e .j 'Montpelier ground., .where they had .a grand" fici 4 day. The reniainsf:Mr. Tifi'lttlEY'S Loyal Soutl • wok Corps - also paraded, but nothing particula, transpired. The Christ Church Corps, command ed 'by Major TouLmik, were out for several how*. and fired. • The . Royal Westminster Yelupteers are r to, tft inspetied on Monday morning.ori the Iluekdett i Hyde Park. , The Pancras Corps were yesterday inspeaed General Fox, in Harley Fields. - The Highgate and Hampstead Volunteers we t° inspeaed yesterday in Brigade, by Gen. Fox. The Fourth Regiment of Loyal London teers Kad a grand Field-day yesterday, preparatoti to their being inspeaed by Col. HARNAGE. Col. JENXINSON proceeds immediately in his l e ' - - - - - cond course of Inspeaion of the Volunteer Col' within his Distria. Next week also Col. HAI" NAGE comtnences a second Inspeaion of the Citi. Corps. On Fridiy last, the Perth Volunteers were re' viewed there by Gen. MtDoNALD, and his Grgc.!: the Duke of ATHOL. The day was unfavourablO .a heavy mist hung over the field, and it rained ,cessantly. Before the General came on thes:gro . 4o 4ll the men were completely wet, yet. they wentAbroLlil the Manual and Platoon Exercise, and 'perforrn e their evolutions, 'during two hours, in such a 50_ 1 ' 16 as deserved arid received the highest credi t frern,t l /' Officer.. The 4th Battalion of the Ist Brigade of Pa shire Volunteers marched into Perth for perinane t ' duty, on Wednesday se'nnight. It is a gratifyi fi r g , testimony of the spirit of the Country, that ( 13/ c Corps marched into quarters' above ;700 strong, . ° f a man being absent, but from sickness either. 96 themselves or their families. Before - entering ti ',' Town 'the Corps halted in the Barrack. Yard, vib e. f they were presented with a vary handsom e Stand t , Colours by Colonel MUIR MACKENZIE, who ad ' dressed them upon the occasion in a neat speech.; -, ifro t. Six ComPanies of the Fifeshire 'M 1113,ilitia oht, into Morpeth on Monday and Tuesday WO lll 0 to remain there. Four Companies are stationed Aln wick. Mr. ERSKINE's opinion, inserted in our Paper 135 . t week, and his reasoning in the recent cause, 1 0 KING V. DowLEY, have placed the nature of , `',. Volunteer Service in so clear a light, that it is 0 4: prizing to find there are s t ill any doubts on th e 50 `# jet. That Gentleman haS fairly illustrated his a te guments by the express words of the Statutes .../. which he referred, and the result is plainly this • j e The Volunteers, under specified descriptions, _„l i , exempt by their Voluntary Service from the Di 1 . 1 5 1 - tia and the Army of Reserve. \then they reline tt *: the Volunteer Service, they lose their exemPtil fi k and.become liable to compulsory Service. l *k m- vi c can be more clear, and yet certain Lawyer SAD . contrived to puzzle themselves and.readers upon , subject, as much as if they were attempting to '''' , plain, or to comprehend the:PropertyTax Bill . , Lieut. RICHARDSON, of the 20th Light D°l, h goons, has publicly contradieted a paragraph pith ho t h as appeared in several of the Papers, stating t o o . Ire, being in company with several Officers of o f same Regiment, was coniided, 'at - Dorcheste r ' o f riotously assaulting several of the inhabitant: t o that place,. He declares the paragraph allocte u tr y - , t o be . a malicious lib e l, originating in a Co o P.trer. . ,