The Sun. — London, England, 1822-04-08 00:00:00

charest (as has been mentioned above) has no right to claim the execution of that article. His Highness having besides, by this Treaty, liberty to name as Hospodar the person who shall de serve that favour, has already decided, that in future no Greek can be Hospodar either of Walachia or Moldavia ; for the Greek Princes, elevated to that post for a century, instead of *hewing themselves grateful and faithful, have accepted the pay of Russia, and have formed conspiracies, without reckoning that several of them, after having pillaged the people of Wallachia and 11Iolti.avia, have fled into Christian countries with the un j';st treasures, the fruits of their rapacity and tyranny. His Highness will name as Hospodar, either a Turk or a it ala ckion, as he has made known to the Boyars. " Finally, it is not for the Porte to send Commissioners to the Frontiers to negociate peace—she is not at war with Russia, .nz.twithstanding all the provocation 3; and if the Muscovite armies shall begin hostilities, she has taken measures to repel ht,r)." On the. same dayq Prince Metternich had a long conference with Count Golowkin, Ruisian ,Ambassador to the Court of Vienna, and the u Russia Senator, General Tatischeff. The latter, hose extraordinary i mission appears to be ter minated, is making preparations for his depar ture. Private letters say, •`that such was the arro ance of the Divan in the negc,)ciations with the Ministers of Austria and Englan?, that the latter, who has exhausted every diplomatic means of maintaining peace, felt himself offended. MARCH 25.—A report has been spread this .. . , — ntortring that our Cabinet had . receiyed fresh dis .yatches from Count Lutzow,..and that they were • more satisfactory nature ; but this hope was of a long duration. Doubtless 'hostilities '''a 'have not yet commenced, whatever certain jour "-:ralrniay say, but we expect decisive intelligence in a few 'days. It it certain that the defeat of Ali . precipitated the Ottoman Cabinet in a situation . which it was not possible for it to • cormna.nd. What makes all hope of an accom ./..Thlotlation vanish is, that the report of the deter -ruination of the Divan has been carried with the .:..: , rapidity of lightning to all parts of the Turkish dominions, and that it will have been in many ,•,.. places a signal for vengeance and disorder. We , -have already learnt that, for these two months post, the Porte has ordered the Bosniacks, the ,Yourocks of Macedonia, and the Albanians of -the Pachalick of Scutari, to the, camp near N_vssa. The army forming there was, i n case of war, to pass the Danube at Widdin, and to - occupy Upper Wallachia, extending to the Austrian territory. The army of the Grand - Vizier advances in two columns, one by Sophia, near Rudshuck, and the other by Scoumela on Braila. Notwithstanding the intention manifested by our Court to remain neuter, it is not believed that it will be able to avoid taking an active part in the approaching events. A report is already , current, that regiments in Bohemia and Moravia have received orders to march to reinforce the Corps of Observation in the Bannat of Temeswar and the Buckowina. Superior officers have been Pent by the Aulic Council of War to Czernowitz, with orders for the Generals who command there. From St. Petersburgh we have only news -which seems to make it believed that the Russian -Cabinet still preserves some hope . ; but mercan tile letters 'say-that gold has become excessively -.rare in that capital. This circumstance, though ,apparently unimportant, gives great weight to the speedy commencement of hostilities. It is well known how scarce gold was at Paris on the ap proach of a campaign. At the beginning of the war with Russia the French officers paid 20 :'-ants for 1,000 francs, and more, to procure it. (Extract of a Private Letter.)—Our Court has - .returned the warlike Note of the Reis-Effendi to our Internuncio, the Count de Lutzow, and has instructed him to declare to the Porte that the Note in question cannot be received,because it is' ,ir.o direct contradiction to the previotts language and assurances of the Reis-Effendi ; that our ,Court leaves henceforth the Divan to arrange itself its differences with Russia, and that Aus .,tria has withdrawn her mediation. Such is at least the report circulated on the Exchange by those who speculate for a fall in the Government "Securities. We do not perceive any movement among our troops, nor any change in the senti 4rents of our leading statesmen. IN'IJREMBURG, MARCH 29.—Accounts from Petersburgh, via Vienna, state that the same tictivity now exists in. the War Department, as liOs. been long exhibited in that of Foreign Af fairs. Couriers are daily dispatched to the Com manders-in-Chief .of the different Armies on the frontiers of Turkey, and many Officers belong ing to the Staff of the several Armies; particu larly those who belong to the - Engineers, have repaired to their stations. The report of the ap lircaching visit of the Emperor Alexander to the • southern provinces acquires additional strength. A/X-LA-CHAPI;LLE, APRIL I.—( Extract from a private comimunication.)—On the 2fith March there was at Berlin an Extraordinary Council of lllinisters at Prince klardenberg's, in consequence of important despatches brought by the Russian Limitenant .111umenthal„. who came express.from Warsaw. The Rame day a Cabinet Messenger was despatched to Vienna. The . morning expresses. were sent off to the Generals who command the troops in garrison in the fortresses in the Grand Duchy of Posen and the March of Brandenburgh. These dis positions show that, in consequence of the high probability of . war between Russi a and Turkey, the Prussian Government is , taking measures of precaution, either to maintain a system of • neutrality, or to take a more or less active part in the events of which the East of Europe is on the point of becoming the thetcre. Letters from Warsaw state, that news has been received in that capital that the Ottoman army on the Pruth was effecting movements, which made it presumed that it would very shortly attack the .Russians. This army has a considerable train of artillary, which -is partly served by Europeans of all nations, among whom- are remarked French, German, and English. The Russians, •on their side, are preparing to give the aggres sors a warm reception. Every thing gives reason to presage, that the first check will be terrible. . Our Correspondent on the banks of the Rhine tells us that the Ministers of several southern German Sovereigns have .again called on the Germanic .Diet to suppress the Central ' -Commission of Inquiry at Mayence. They also speak of an important proposition made .to that assembly by the Minister of Pfussia, but which is not assented to by the Minister of ...Austria, who is President. TaiEsTE, MARCH 23.—According to letters - from the lonian Islands, the fortresses of Le . panto and . Patras, which have for some time past been closely blockaded, have just been supplied ' with provisions and munitions of war by the . English. .The English have also given sup , • plies to the Turkish garrisons in the- forts of Epirus. In the lonian Islands, Epirus, Acar nania, and EtOlia, there is but one opinion • respecting the partiality with - which they observe :-their pretended neutrality. .None of the corn ,plaints made on -this subject have been attended to ; and in the Islands a system of persecution has been established not only against the Russian , agents, but also against, those-who-declare more .-:arless iu favour. of the Russians. WEST INDIA INTERCOURSE. The SPEECH of the Right 'Hon.. GEORGE CANNING against the AMERICAN INTERCOURSE BILL, in 1806. . . " Mr. CasseaSsor rose, and spoke as follows :-,-The Iton. and Learned Gentleman, who has just sat down, seems to think that every suggeStion and advice from this side of the House is to be received with distrust by Ministers, unless accompanied with a declaration of friendship for Administeation.... I have always considered it a sufficient apology for every Member of Parliament who delivers- his' opinion in the fair execution of his duty, if he professes to have in. view, not the pleasure of the Administration of the day, but the interest of his country. Upon that principle I shall take the liberty . of considering the subject now before us. than which - ram confident there never was a matter brow,ht into this House of greater importance, not so much for its immediate effect, as on account of the poli tical principles connected with it. • Many propositions have been submitted to Parliament which have been liable to one or other of these objections, either that they were altogether unneces sary, or that being called for by a supposed necessity, they have been pressed to an. extent which would produce a greater mischief than that which they were intended to remove n but I do not recollect any measure which comprehended so much of both these Objections as the Present ; originating, as I think'has been most clearly shewn, in ns necessity whatever, andat the same time teeming with so much practical mischief. The he cessity in which it is contended that this measure originates, I take to be this, that under the circumstances of •waseit has been deemed impossible for Great Britain to supply the West India Colonies with the articles which it is absolutely necessary they should have, and that America alone can supply them. If it had been contended on this side of the House that the ' latter mode should in no case be adopted, but that measures should be taken to preclude the furnishing of supplies - from America; in cases where it was found impossible for the West India Colonies to do without them, I should understand the eagerness with -which this measure is supported. But in arguing this question, I think mys e lf a t lib erty to put t h e M est India supplies entirely out of my consideration, not be cause I think them of no importance, but because they are no= wise affected by this Bill. • Whether this Bill passes or not, the West India interest may . be equally well secured, as it has hitherto been, by the continuance of the discretionary power of ' the Governors of the (Monies. I desire - to know in what in stance the exercise of this discretionary power of the Governors has been either rashly 'checked or severely inquired into; in - what instance the responsibility attached to that exercise of power has prevented any Governor from exercising it in case of necessity ; in what instance the exercise of that power, with that responsibility attached to it, has failed to receive the sanction of Parliament, and an indemnity by law. So confi dently is this indemnity anticipated by the present Government,. that there is now on the table tit' this House a Letter of the Secretary of State, on which I shSill have occasion to remark bye and 7 bye, promising on behalf of Parliament what he calls the usual indemnity to all the Governors who are called upon to act under it. If then there has been no disposition shewn to prevent the exercise of this discretionary-power upon all occasions which appear to require it ; if there ba no intention in any quarter either to abridge that power, or to enforce more severely the responsibility attached to the exercise of it, there can be no necessity for the Bill now before us. These can be nothing like a neces s ity f or an A ct to provide for'the'doing of that which perpetually-has been done, and as constantly sanc tioned whenever the occasion for it has occurred. - -31y t! on. and Learned Friend (Mr. Perceval), is stated by the _Hon. and Learned Gentleman to have admitted (and as a general truth it undoubtedly must be admitted), that when a - necessity is so constant and so urgent that you cannot escape out of it, you should endeavour to provide some permanent remedy appli cable to the continuance of such necessity; and the Hon. and Learned Gentleman triumphs in this admission. But where . is the ground for that triumph ? The esidmission concedes no-- thing. iily.l'lon. Friend says, that where the necessity is con stant, some permanent remedy should be applied; but that is so far from being an admission of the propriety of passing this Bill, that it is a direct condemnation of it. For if the authors and supporters of this Bill are to be credited, it is according to their own statement nothing . more than a temporary remedy: they themselves say this Bill is not an abrogation, but a suspen sion merely, of the Acts of Parliament which regulate our Navigation System, not a pernianent, but a temporary law.— My lion. Friend contends, that for a permanent evil there ought to be provided a permanent remedy ; and that to ascer tain the extent of the evil, and to enable yourselves to judge of the fitness of the remedy, you ought, in the first place, to in vestigate the whole subj ec t care fully and diligently -_to get together and digest all the information that can 'be collected upon it. The authors of this Bill refuse all inquiry, reject all means of information, and propose to pass a law, of which their best defence is that it is only temporary ; and doing this, the Hon. and. Learned Gentlem an o pp osit e yet fancies that he obtains some advantage from what he calls the admission of my Hon. Friend. So tar from wishing tp retractor qualify my Hon. and Learned Friend's admission, I admit s or rather I contend with him, that you ought to go thoroughly into the discussion of the whole subject, and endeavour to find out some effectual - and lasting remedy to this perpetually recurring evil. But no• man has adlnitted or contended that the undigested, crude, .incompetent measure now before us, has either been founded on a sufficient investigation of the whole subject (the very reverse is notorious) or that it is to be considered as a per manent and adequate remedy for the necessity from which it is Said to arise. The adthission therefore of my Hon. and Learned Friend _is of itself an argument sufficiently conclusive against the passing of the present Bill. But considering this as what it alone pretends' to be, a temporary me asure , let us examine what is the difference between it and the usual indemnity granted to.the constant exercise of the discretion of the Gover nors of the West India Colonies ? lt is said that it is better that this power of a temporary suspension of the Navigation Laws should be lodged with his Majesty'a Ministers, than with the Governors of the West India Islands ; that Ministers are more competent to the task of judging of. the necessity of the case,' a - far as the West Indies are concerned • while, on the other hand, they will have the oppo r t u nity; which the Gover nors cf the Colonies cannot have, of hearing every thing th a t may be advanced on behalf of the 6)lp-01T/tiers, before they con sent to open the ports in the West Indies.' This, they say, is so manifestly for the interest of the Ship-owners, that it is al most inconceivable that the Ship-Owners - should oppose this measure. NoW, Sir, these are very fine words, but men of sense, and of business, are not likely to be deluded by them.— How does the case of the Ship-ow ners now s t an d ? l t has been proposed, that before you provide a measure which is to conti nue in operation during the Whole war, you should go into a Committee to ascertain what ar e th e claims, pretensions, and interests of the Ship-owners ? They tell you that, according to their belief, this 1 w will operate to their in ca l c ul a bl e pre j u d ice; that it will absOlut ly annihilate their trade ; and this they say they are ready to prove to you in a Committee above stairs.— Ministers answer, No ! We will consent to no such Commit tee. Why not ? Is it for want of time ? the time of ' bring ing forward this measure is of the Minister's Own choosing.— Nor do they now appear to feel themselves hurried in other matters. Much of their important military arrangements re main to be settled. There is therefore session enough remain ing, and there can be no apprehension of danger, even if this measure should go off until the next session ; for whatever the 'necessities of the West , India. Colonies may be, the Go vernors there can act upon their responsibility, and . will have their Bill'of Indemnity as heretofore. But for what ever reason, they are determined it seems to have no inves tigation now. They will have no previous inquiry into the nature of the case, for which they are now providing a law. They say, " leave the discretion in our hands," " let us be judges of the necessities of cases as they occur, and we will hear you, theiShip-owners, hereafter, upon each particul a r case , but i 'we will not hear you now." Th a t s, you will not hear them now, when you might receive useful information from them, and profit by their advice ; you will not hear them now, when you have the leisure for going into a full investigation of the case, without danger of mischief so the colonies from the delay of decision, as well as with the least injury to the interest of the Ship-owners. 'When this investigation might he pursued with the least possible inconvenience to any individuals, and with the least possible risque to the . public interest, you refuse to enter upon it; you wait until an application shall come to you from the West Indies, accompanied perhaps with an assurance • that the Colonies are starving, - that an insurrection is appre hended every hour, that immediate instantaneous relief can . 'alone avert a public calamity; that is the opportunity which you will take for hearing the Ship-owners expatiate on the na ture of the trade, and on the possibility of going from 'hence 1 with provisions to the West Indies; that, it seems, will be the time for going into the investigation of the whole matter, into a discussion of the best means for regulating the 'whole system of supplying the West India Colonies, by means of British shipping ;,then it is that the season will arrive for hearing coun sel, and collecting evidence, and balancing the advantages and disadvantages of adhering to, or relaxing the Navigation Laws. Ministers, undoubtedly, will enter into this cool deliberate dis cussion with great advantage, under the pressure of a sudden and immediate necessity, when the Colonies are starving ! Un doubtedly the Ship-Owners will then be entitled to a favourable hearing, when the question is not (as now) one of general prospective policy; but simply whether the Governors of the West India Islands, under the stimulus of immediate want, shall be permitted to let in supplies from America! Why, Sir, to say to Gentlemen who use this argument, that there is nothing in it, to expose to them the fallacy of it, I ain, sure is needless; they know it is fallacious, they know it full well ; bist they want to evade the present proposed inquiry; and they hold out to the Ship-owners and Merchants, whose interests are to be sacrificed by this Bill, a prospect of indulgence, to be granted to them hereafter, at a moment when they know that the necessity will be so urgent as to preclude the possibility of deliberate invegtigation.. One main proposition upon which this Bill is to be supported is, though not in terms, in substance, this ; that an urgent, l oca l n e c essi ty can b e judged of by those who are at a distance, better than by those who are on the spot. I ask, whether it can be necessary to do more than state this proposition, in order to shew its absurdity ? But even this absurdity is only subsidiary to that other of which we have been speaking, the notion that the Ship-owners will be heard to most advantage when the necessities of the West Indies are im. mediately Under discusSion before the Privy Council. It' is plain that if you hear the Shin-owners now, yofir whole policy may be governed by their statements ; you will learn from them' what they Can do upon proper'encouragement, what means they possesS if it should be thought fit to bring them into activity, for meeting the necessities of the plantations. If they can shew that their means are equal to those necessities, or can be made so, then this Bill is wholly unnecessary ; if they can do so only to a partial extent, then the Bill would require modifica . dons conformable and commensurate to that extent. It may be said, no doubt, that:elle prospect of commercial gain may lead men to promise more than they can perform ; but it is true, on the other hard, that it must operate as an encourage ment to them to do all they can : whereas the passing this Bill, ' -which will put an end at once to all hope of employment, will slacken their exertions, and diminish their enterprize to such a degree ; that if they - should be called hereafter before the Privy Council to make their offer to carry on this trade, they must come there not.only with abated ardour, but with their general capacity for the purpose considerably impaired ; se that by this Bill we shall then have lost what 'can never be recovered. But neither is this the:- extent of the absurdity : Ministers will not hear now what the Ship-owners have to say upon the general state of the British-shipping, by the comparison of which, with the general amount of the demands of the West India Colo nies, they might be enabkd to draw their own conclusions as to the general policy which they ought to adopt. They will exa mine the Ship-owners from time to time, on the spur of each particular necessity. In the name of 00D, what can the Ship_ owners know more than I, or any other Member of this Douse may know of the state of things in the , West India Colonies, at any particular moment, when application is made for relief from a sudden pressure?- (Jr what probability is there, • that called upon,_ on a sudden, after ye a rs of ne g le c t a nd d e p r e s si on , t h ey will be prepared to come forward to meet the necessity of the moment ? So that now, when you might avail yourselves of the unbiassed intelligence of these gentlemen, when their pa triotism and adventurous spirit might be called into action for the service of the State, you will have nothing to do with them; and when that spirit is enfeebled by disuse, or soured by dis. couragement, and when the points under your inquiry will be confined simply to the existence or degree of a particular ne cessity in thel.Vest Indies, upon which their testimony can be good for nothing, then you propose to call them before you for examination, and to require from th e m exer ti ons w hi c h you will previously have disabled them from making. But we are told there is a more simple, as well as a more constitutional view in which this matte r i s to b e lo o k e d a t, an d thi s proceed ing recommended. It is said " that we have been under the necessity of subscribing to the repeated violations of a law, and that it is more prudent, as well as more constitutional, to pro vide by legal means for a necessity which we cannot obviate." Thelobjection to this proposition is that it assumes too much L-for it assumes that you cannot at any time supply your Colonies : it is.indeed stated to have been proved by tine practice of thir teen years, that we cannot supply our Colonies ; it is stated as a cheering piece of intelligence to the people of England, that they cannot supply their Colonies ; it is stated to the Ship owners, that they cannot, and shall not, even be-permitted to try what they can do towards effecting that object. The Hon. and Learned. Gentleman, the Attorney-General, exults and tri umphs in the supposed truth, that we cannot supply our Colo nies. I presume the Hon. and Learned Gentleman cannot mean to say that we ought not to be desirous of so doing if we bad the power. He cannot mean to deny, in one instance, that which is the fundamental law . L -f-every country, admitted to be so in all books and in all writingi of all authors on the law of 'nations; neverknown to be contradicted by any rule adopted by any nation in the whole history of the world;. namely, that a nation possessing colonies has a right to reserve to itself the exclusive trade with such colonies. This is a principle which it would be at least desirable to have observed . between this country and the \Vest Indies : whether it can be so or not in every instance, is the question which is row in agitation; but I own it was to me matter of some surprize, that the Attorney- General of Great Britain should appear to think it matter of triumph and exultation, that the united efforts.of Great Britain and the British American colonies should not be equal to the constant necessary. supply of the West India islands. . The Learned Gentleman, however, seems to imagine that all man kind have uniformly acquiesced in his doctrine, for that no en. demonr has ever been niatle . to prevent this practice of supply •ing the wants of the Colonies from America, instead cf supply- Mg them from G rea t B r it a i n , an d he particu:arly points this observation at the conduct of my Right Hon. Friend (Mr. Rose) who, he says, was in office - 22 years without making any at tempt to alter the practice of suspending the Navigation Laws, and he especially blames my Right Hon. Friend for not having made such an attempt towards the conclusion of the late war.— First, as to the fact. It is well known, though the Hon. and Learned Gentleman chooses to appear to forget it, that myßight Hon. Friend (Mr. Rose) was out of office a - considerable time before the end of the last war, and before - the experiment which he row recommends to this House, of trying what we may do by British shipping ::lone, could have been tried. It is worthy of remark, also, that my Right Hon. Friend, while in office, during the late war, was in a situation which gave him no power over measures of this nature, and it is fit that the Hon. and Learned Gentleman should be informed, that no sooner did my Right Hon. Friend return to office, and become Vice-Pre sident of the Board of Trade (in which situation he has render ed his country so much service) than he did take up the consi deration of this subject, and before he had been many days ,in office did make an effort to discontin ue th e p rac ti ce which both he and myself are now opposing. But whatever he did for this. purpose, the present Bill unquestionably is intended to destroy. The Honourable and Learned Gentleman is, therefore, incorrect in his apprehension of the fact, when he supposes my - Right Honourable Friend to have made no effort, while in power, to discontinue the practice of thus suspending the navigation laws, for the enforcing of which he is now an advocate, and therefore I may without offence infer that all the observations which the Hon. and Learned Gentleman has made, and all the sarcasms which he has attempted on that part of the subject, are wholly unfounded. Something of the same kind the Hon. and Learned Gentleman insinuated against the Hon. Baronet (Sir C : Price), one of the Members for the City of London : he was asked where that Hon. Member was when all these suspensions of the Navigation Laws took place, and when Bills of Indemnity were passed for those who advised such suspensions ? This question can be answered, I believe, on behalf of the worthy Baronet, as satisfactorily as it has been on that of my Right Hon. Friend. Surely it is in the recollection of those who are, or who ought to be, on the bench opposite to me, that that worthy Baronet did call the attention of the House to the very subject which the Learned Gentleman has accused him of neglecting, and did more than once complain of the suspension of the Navigation Laws; and if I am not misinformed, be, was prevented only by the promise of the Government itself; to look seriously into the question, from making it the subject of a regular motion in this House. All that the Learned Gentle man has said, therefore, of the supposed acquiescence of those who oppose the present Bill, and who support the interests 'of the Ship-owners, all that part of the reasoning of the Learned Gentleman falls to the ground, because all'the factsaipon which his reasoning. is founded are removed from . under him. So much for the Learned Gentleman's facts. Now f9r the general .policy which the Learned Gentleman recommends to us. , He says that rather than violate a law.fregnently, you should enact another to make that violation legal.' • When .you cannot en force an Act of Parliament - in. its . strictness, you should do what—pass another to amend- and medify\ it ? No, paSs another that is a direct repeal and :contradiction of it : when a law be comes difficult to be enfOrced to its full extent, when it be comes inconvenient, or troublesome, or distasteful to Ministers, what is the :lateral- course of a Government, at least of an om- nipotent Govertmient, such as this country is at present blessed with, a Government which abhors detail, which scorns to de.. scend into the little affairs and petty interests of any class of men ; what but to abrogate it at once, and for that purpose to bring before Parliament one grand sweeping clause to do the whole away, without the difficulty - of descending into particu lars ? This they are pleased to call the revising the system of our lakes ; but one way of revising a system is to examine it, and one way of understanding a thing is to examine it with de liberation, and after having so done, the result is what we call decision : in this case act with as much decision as you please ; but what I ask of you is, that your decision should not precede inquiry, but what you do should be the result not of arbitrary will, but of well-considered information. Bit the Hon. and Learned Gentleman thinks that the Navigation Laws will be found inconvenient in some particular instances, or incompa tible with the extent of empire which we may enjoy ; but must these laws be altogether repealed because they may be found inconvenient in some particulars ? I trust not. Do I mean to say, therefore, that it is better that our Colonies in the West Indies should starve than our Navigation Laws should be made to give way ? Nothing of the kind. I do mean to say, that there are means of moderating the rigour of these laws, and that, like any other laws, they may even be suspended in cases of absolute necessity ; and I say too, that' notwithstanding this same experience of thirteen years, I am persuaded there are, or may be, means of supplying the Colonies rrom this country in a manner nearly, if not entirely; adequate to their - necessi ties; and I contend that it would be extremely rash to suspend an entire system, because in some few instances you find that it cannot be enforced to its utmost rigour : revise the system, if you will ; but in that case what I contend is, that you ought to receive information upon the subject before you proceed upon your legislative enactments. But it seems the responsi bility of these suspensions of the law of navigation is hot to be abandoned any longer to the Governors of the Islands, but is to . be transferred to the great and wise' men at home who con stitute his Majesty's present Ministry. Now, I beg the House to consider of this responsibility. At present the Governors of the Colonies are left to act according to their discretion upon a view of local circumstances, of which they have perfect know ledge. They are bound to prove that they have acted under such circumstances with a sound discretion ; and upon this proof they are indemnified : a rational responsibility, inasmuch as it attaches to those who have the means of knowing precisely what they do. The alteration proposed upon this system is, to take the whole power and discretion out Of the hands of those who alone can have any knowledge how it ought to be exer cised, and whose conduct Parliament is necessarily to review, (for their conduct is of course brought under the view of Par liament the very next Session), and to put it into the hands of those who can have no knowledge whatever of any of the local circumstances by which discretion may be guided ; who are subject indeed to a responsibility, but a responsibility of a ve r y different nature, one which ne ver can lie enforced except in suet' momentous cases as may compel Parliament to call great Mi nisters of State to an account for high misconduct, a very cum brous process, and one which is nev er resorte d to except i n ex treme cases. I would ask, therefore, is it advisable to take away the responsibility of those whose conduct must come under the revision of Parliament every Session, and to fix it upon those whose conduct you can never examine, without grave suspicion of criminality ? In fact, upon a subject like this it would never be examined at all. But as we are speaking of the discretion to be intrusted to Ministers, let us see how that discretion has been - already used on this very subject. 'We find on the 2d of April, while this Bill was only in cot-item , plosion, but before it had been mentioned to Parliament his write to Secreta r y o f St a t e f or t h e C o l on i es thinks fit to to the Governors of the West India Islands, not to exhort them to take care how they exercise their power, not to, say that-they will be held to their responsibility if they should in any instance relax the Navigation Laws unnecessarily ; • but he sends out to the Governors of the West Indies one general sweeping di rection to suspend the Navigation Laws during the present war, during the whole war, without any qualification whatever ! A I most unusual, and, I will say, a most unjustifiable exercise of authority ; and with a confident anticipation of the decisions - of this House, he adds, that the Ministers will take care that the usual indemnity shall be provided !—(Hear, hear !)--This is before the Act of Parliament has passed. The Ministers assure the Governors of the West Indies they will take care that Parliament shall pass an Act according to what they-con sider " the usage of Parliament" Now Ido say, that no per son whatever is- entitled - to write in this manner prospectively of what Parliament will - do : " an Ad of Parliament shrill pass according to the usage of Parliament." I should be glad to know by what usage of Parliament any one of , the King's ser_ vont§ at home can tell the King's servants abroad that Parlia ment shall pass ail indemnity for an Act which when ordered to beslone was against law? I must say that it is a most ex traordinary and indecent exercise of Ministerial power. But have we any better security-for the safety of our Colonies by shifting the responsibility from the Governors of the islands to the Ministers at home ? Is it not obvious that the, evil of the discretionary power must be increased ? I will suppose. the case of a representation coming over from the West Indies, in which it should be stated that there was an absolute neces sity for a certain immediate supply ; suppose the Ship-owners, on being heard, were to persuade . Government that they would supply the wants of the islands, and that Government, yielding to their suggestions, send out an order to the West•lndies against opening the ports; suppose that before the supplies could arrive from hence the inhabitants of the Colonies were starving; I trust that the rigourof that order would not be obeyed by the Go-; vernor of any one of the islands in such a case ; but that every: one of them would consider it as his duty to his Sovereign and to his country, to disobey it;- but if he adhered to that order he could not be called to an account, for under the authority of this Bill there is no discretion left to him. Surely this is put ting the Governors in the most painful situation, a situation unjust in the extreme, at the same time that it exposes the Cos lonies to unnecessary hazard. So much for future discretion I and responsibility : at present, I defy you to call any Governor whatever to account for any the most wanton suspension of the Navigation Laws. The sweeping authority wh ic h th e Ri g h t Hon. Secretary of St a t e (Mr. Windham) has sent to the Co lonies, provides for the suspension of the whole of the Naviga tion Laws during the whole continuance of the war. Such is the foretaste which Ministers have given us of the use which they will make of the discretionary power which they require at our hands. We are now called upon to sanction the Right Hon. Gentleman's letter by enacting the substance of it into a law. For one, I cannot consent to do so ; nor can I hesitate in saying that Ministers ought to take more care than they have done in this instance that their own acts are right, before they make them the foundation of any legislative measure. At all times; and under all circumstances, the multiplying laws unne cessarily is a great evil. I think it is not contended on the other 'side of the house, that there is.that urgent practical necessity for the passing of this Bill, which would make ,you overlook all other political considerations; what you now propose to have an Act of Parliament for doing, may be done at any time without an Act of Parliament, if necessary to be done at all. If there be no instant and urgent call upon you, it is clear that you ought not to adopt such a measure without inquiry ; go into that inquiry you will find the measure unnecessary al together : we are not now providing for the urgent and imme diate supply of the Islands, that is secure. The principle on which any permanent provision on so important a subject should founded, is surely matter fit for the gravest deliberation of Parliament; and I wouldventute to ask whether, before coming to a decision on such a subject, it does not become Parliament to consider the political state of the world, to consider in what way the adoption of a permanent measure of this kind may bear upon any points which are; or may be, in discussion be tween us and America ; and how tar the Government of Ameri ca, or at least considerable parties and leading individuals there, whose sentiments towards this country are avowedly of the most hostile nature, may be likely to consider the passing of this Bill as a concession on the part of this country.—'The Honourable and Learned Gentleman who spoke last professes to be acquainted in a peculiar degree with the manner in which the trade is carried on between America and our West India Colonies . ; He has stated that no articles of any kind but lum ber and provisions are imported from America to those Co lonies ; but I understand that, in point of fact, other ar ticles, such as soap, candles, leather, and other manufac tured articles, do find their way from America into the West Indies ; and if so, if they do now find their way before the passing of this Bill, they will afterwards find their way still more ; for this Bill, wnatever prohibitions you may in seri in it, will obviously facilitate the intercourse; the ,trqs 7 ding, in the first instance, will be general, and you will be left to take care of your exceptions in each particular instance. Thus you will be giving to America a very great boon, not only to the extent which you . admit, - but much beyond it; it will be impossible to prevent many things from being done under colour of this act whiCh -cannot be done at present : and if you do in fact give.such a boon, it is idle to pretend igno rance or indifference about it ; either yo u m ean it, or you d o not--if not, why` pass the bill at all ? Our Colonies can get what 'they want without it. If you intend to gratify America, how does she receive it ? as a favour for which she is thankful, or as a concession which she claims ?—lt is notorious that there are points of great delicacy in discussion with America. Ido not wish to give or to ask any opinion upon them ; but I must ask the Right Hon. Secretary (Mr. Fox) whether he i s a l rea d y so weary of' the approbation and applause whickhe s received -for his conduct in the dispute with Prussia, that he cannot per suade himself to act in the same spirit towards America ? I know he will tell me, that this act has no direct reference to America--that America is no party to it. But however that may be, it is no less true that considerable advantages are af forded by it to America ; and that by this measure you may embarras yourselves in the consideration of any treaty you may have to enter into with that country. Suppose you should here after wish to repeal this bill, at a time when America might be again, as she is now, -in a state of ferment with regard to this country, would not they think the repeal of a law so beneficial to their commerce a measure so injurious, that the continuance of it may perhaps be made the price at which the friendship of America is to be purchased ? and they will rior.be Without ar guments to sustain their claim Was not the law necessary to your own conveni e n ce ," t h e y may say, " and founded on die experience of 13 or 14 years before it was adopted ? Did you not, upon deliberation, adopt it as a measure of state-poli cy ? Did not we receive it as a measure of conciliation ? Why, when the same reasons are still in force, should it be disconti nued, unless as an indication of hostility to us ?" Such may be, at some future, and perhaps no distant, time the language of America. Do ',therefore say, that all concession -is in its nature necessarily bad ? No, I do not ; but I do say, that con cession may be good or bad according to the circumstances of - the time in which it is made ; and Ido further say, that a worse moment for this country to make any concession to Ame rica could not be chosen. 'What greater sacrifices could any country, friend or foe, expect from you than this which you are now about to make to America ? Has France—has even France, with all the extravagance of her pretensions, ever been bold enough to ask you to suspend your navigation-laws ? I do not say that America asks you to do so ; but 1 do say that, in the situation in which you stand, you ought to take care to be above even the suspicion of an undue compliance. This mea sure, on the face of it, carries the appearance of a concession at a moment wherein it is your duty to stand upon your rights : it is at least liable to this construction ; and if you pass it at ' the present moment, it will be so thought of in America.--' Once again, where is the necessity for this measure ? Cannot our West India plantations be supplied with every thing they' want without it ? Will they not be supplied exactly in the same manner whether this Bill passes or not ? If there is IV necessity for it, think of the danger there is in passing this Bill into a law, not only on account of the injury you sustain by the suspension of your navigation-laws, while that suspension con' tinues, but also because you will, by such a suspension as this Bill provides, make it difficult, if not impossible, to revert tv your former system. It is not denied that it is an evil to sus pend the navigation-laws ; but the evil is in some degree un avoidable. Be it so—but why aggravate what you cannot al together avoid ? Why make that suspension permanent which, when temporary and occasional, has fully answered every pur pose ? You say, you are only doing what has been already done for many years—that you only mean to do the same thing in a different manner. You may mean what you will ; but cer tainly the effect of your Bill will be to suspend permanently laws which have hitherto only been suspended temporarily —to take responsibility from.those who acted from knowledge of the ne cessity of each particular case, and rendered an annual account of each act of discretion--and to place it in the hands of ethers who already have shewn us what an extravagant use they mean to make, and how little account they propose to render of it, who have already anticipated for the whole of the war the ex istence of a necessity. which has hitherto been ascertained an nually, and never acted upon until ascertained.—And you do this at a time, and under cirk,-Tistances, which induce inevita bly the suspicion that while Jt.. are thus sacrificing the lead ing principles of your navigation - system, as well as the inte-• rests of that class of men, by encouraging - whom you would encourage the maritime power of the country—you are malting this sacrifice to a foreign power at present no way favourably disposed to you, and in whom the appearance of , concession is likely to beget an increased spirit of encroachment ;—and all this you are doing rashly and precipitately, shutting your eyes against the facts which are offered to be proved to you, and re legating the evidence of those best capable of giving you infor mation, to a period when it can neither be received with the same confidence, nor listened to with the same effect—when the mischief will have been incurred—and ivhen the means of iv. , medying it will be incalculably diminished. This is the way in which you are passing this most unnecessary, ' and mischie vous Bill ;—these are the pretexts on whi c h y ou en d eavour to recommend it to this House ;—these are. the dangers to which it will expose you ;—these are the evils which it will produce. I think it likely to be fatal to the best interests of the country, and therefore I shall give it my decided opposition." FROM THE LONDON GAZETTE, APRIL 6. This Gazette notifies that his MAJESTY has granted 'his Royal license to Sir T. F. Fremantle to assume and use the title of Baron „of Austria, conferred on his father, the late Vice-Admiral Sir T. Fremantle. BANKRUPTCIES SUPERSEDED. J. White, Bletchingley, Surrey, farmer. • J. Stanstield, Ardwick, Manchester, merchant. • R. Holmes, Tottenham Court-road, linen-draper.- BANKRUPTS. J. Smethurst, sen. and R. Hindle, Torkington,. Cheshire, calico-printers, to surrender April 23, 24, and May 18, at one, at the Bridgewater Arms Inn, Manchester. Attornies, Mr. Edge, Manchester; and Messrs. Milne and Parry, Temple, London. W.:Watton, Lichfield, brewer, April 10, at six, 11, and May 18, at .eleven, at the Town-hall, Nuneaton, Warwickshire. Attornies, Mr. G. Greenway, Attleborough-ball, Nuneaton ; and Messrs. Constable and Kirk, Symond's Inn, Chancery : S. Miles, Ludgate-street, watch-maker, April 9, at eleven, 20, and May 18, at ten, at the Court of Commissioners. At tornies, Mr. A. Rosser and Mr. Jones, Great Ormond-street. F. Birmingham, Charles-street, City-road, common -brewer, April 13, 20, and May 10, at twelve, at the Court of Commis sioners. Attorney, Mr. S. Miller, Castle-street, Holborn. -T. Sanders, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, ,coal-mer chant, April 13, 27, .. and May 18, at twelve, at the. Court of Commissioners, London. Attornies,Messrs.:, Tyrrell and 6" Gbildhall-yard. • H. Reynolds, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, saddler, .April 10, 22, and May 18, at el even . at t h e R am Inn, Gloucester. Attornies, Messes. Williams and White, Lincoln's .Inn ; and Mr. Lovesay, Cheltenham. W. Ramsden, Leeds, Yorkshire, victualler, April 22, 23, and May.lB, at eleven, at the Court House, Leeds. Attornies, Mr. R. Battye, Chancery-lane, London; and Mr. Hargreaves, Leeds.. J. Peyton, Skipton, Yorkshire, innk ee p er , A pr il 2 5, at s i x; 20, and May 18, at eleven, at the Black Horse Hotel, Skipton. Attornies, Mr. C. Beve r l e y, G ar d en -court, Temple, London ; • and Mr. H. Adcock, Skipton. J. Friend, Bristol, maltster, April 19, 20, and May 18, at one, at the Commercial Rooms, Bristol. Attornics, Messrs. King and Lukin, Gray's I nn - square, London ; and Messrs. Cary and Cross, Bristol. IV. Hudson, St. • George's-terrace, Bayswater, ship-owner , April 13, May 4, and 18, a t t en , at the Court of Commissioners. Attorney, Mr. Seale, Covent-garden Chambers, Covent garden. J. Westlake, Moretonhampstead, Devonshire, serge-maker, April 23, 24, and May 18, at eleven, at the Subscription Rooms, Exeter. .Attornies, Mr. R. Brutton, Broad-street, L on d on; and Mr. C. Brutton, E xe t er . J. Pitsow, jun. Witham, Essex, miller, April 13, May 4, and. 18, at ten, at the Court of Commissioners, London. At tornies, Mr. Wilson, King's Bench-walk, Temple, London ; and Mr. Andrew, Coggleshall, Essex. J. Tomlinson, Bedford Bury, St. Martin's-in-the -Fields, woollen-draper, April 13, 23, and May 18, at ten, at the Court of Commissioners. Attornies, Messrs. Nethersole, Barron, and Nethersole Essex-street, Strand. W. Weisford, Tower-hill, merchant, April 9, 16, and May 18, at twelve, at the Court of Commissioners. Attornies, Messrs. 'Woodward, Overton, and Coombe, Tokenhouse-y ar d. .1. Steele, Li ver p oo l; map - se ll er, April 16, 20, and May 18, at twelve, at the Court of Commissioners. Attornies, Messrs. Smith and Weir, Austin-friars. W. Tate_, Cateaton-street, b oo k se ll er , A pril 9, 16, and May 18, at twelve, at the Court of Commissioners. Attornies, Messrs. Dickinson and Sadgrove, St. Swithin's-lane, Lom bard-street. [Dividends, &c. to.morrow.] • , TO CORRESPONDENTS- Wc....Arg 'Akita to postpone ManiTus, the Poetic a l Epi st l e from Brighton, written by the late Mrs. ROBINSON, and other interesting Articles intended for this day, till to-morrow. PRICE OF STOCKS THIS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK, . . 3 per Ccnt. Red nil 5 per Cent. Navy Ann. 1023 i,!i ex div. - India Bonds 63s 3 per Cent. Cons. pp Excheq. Bills 3 4 pr. 4 per Cent. 95,i3 ex div. Cons. for Ace. 78 79 78 7v HIGH WATER AT LONDOT Morning, 0 minutes after 4. I ST BRIDGE TO-MORROW. Evening, 24 minutes after 4. THE SUN. SOLEPI OUTS DICERE FALSUM AUDEAT LONDON, 1110.NDAY, APRIL The rupture of the negociations between Russia and Turkey is placed beyond a question by the contents of the French Papers of Thurs day and Friday, and as little doubt exists of the approaching commencement of hostilities. The Austrian Funds continue to fall, and it is gene rally believed that Austria will take an active part in the war, orders having been transmitted to her troops in Bohemia and Moravia to join the armies in the Bannat, and the Buckowine, which are prepared to enter the Ottoman territory.— The determination of the Turkish Government to persevere in her warlike courze is plainly shewn by the orders despatched to her different armies immediately after rejecting the Ultimatum, directing them to march towards those points near which the Russian forces had assembled. te a r , Tece Corl 0 il orn tart