The Sun. — London, England, 1801-03-26 00:00:00

te which was formerly conceded to Holl-and, and other rowers,' - called surely for Inquiry. He 'would ask, whether agitation of this subjea -might not have been prevented now, as well as when the same claim was advanced by the Northern Powers in 1780, when Lord NORTH avoided the ,discussion of it, which was never imputed to him as Matter of blame, whilst, -- by so doing, we had evil sin& maintained our Maiitime Superiority. The only disputed question which remained on this sub jeCt, was the right of searching Neutral Ships under Convoy.' Here he thought the reason of 'the thing PM against us, for it was a monstrous idea, that a Convoy, under the protettion of a Fleet.of Men of War, should submit to be searched, even by a Re venue Cutter. It had been the custom of Spain,, itt her disputes with Algiers, to prohibit Neutral Ships from entering that Port ; but supposing a SpanishVosel had met an English Frigate.convoying Ships of this Nation into Aigiera., and had attempted to stop and search - them, he would dare to _say there was no British .Officer but would have blown the. intruding visitor out of the water. It had been said that the claim set up by the -Northern Powers was against:the acknowledged Law of . Nations, and particularly with the Treaty with Russia : he • doubted the former ;'and as to..the Treaty / with Rus. sia, after adverting 'to the peculiar circumstances under which it was entered into, Mr. Gat deem. ed that if the House went into a Committee, an op /sort:unity walild be afforded of examining the whole of this matter fairly and fully, But supposing that the right claimed by these Powers •ought to be resisted,' why, he mould ask, did the late Ministers pursue a different condiki with regard to Prussia ?, Had her conduit been lesi offensive ? A Prussian ;vessel going w ith cent raband 400ds into an Enemy's port had been seized....,..Priissia - then seized upon Cuxhaven.—Without resisting her conduCt, we in duceiii the City of Hamburgh to purchase the. Ship and restore it to the ICING of PRUSSIA. This was a mere quirk, but it would not do ; Cuxhaven was not abandoned . ; and the Danish Minister (Count BF,RNSTORFF) bad stated to,Mr. DatmisioNo, that the Convention of Armed Neutrality had been enter ed into betwixt Denmark, Sweden, Russia, an 4 Prus. sia. The difference of our condud towards Prussia and the other Powers could only be attributed to this, that we were more afraid of the power of Prussia. In the whole-of this business Ministers had neither aled with policy nor with consistent firmness. On all these grounds there was serious cause for In quiry. It would also be necessary to go into a Committee of Inquiry into the internal state of the CoUntry.—During the period of nine years of war, 270 millions had been added to the National Debt, exclusive of Loans, &c. whilst the Country 'found itself no nearer the termination of the War :• An addition of 17 Millions had at the same time been made to.out annual taxation. They had been told by the late Ministers that they lef t t h e C ountry i n 'extraordinary prosperity. But excepting,- those who - • may have immediately profited by, the War, what was it but to -add insult to tell the Country that it had prospered ?--Ask.the starving 3/Tanufaaurers of Yorkshire, dec. Was not the Table of the House loaded with 'Petitions owing to the increase of the Poor-rates ? In twenty-one Townships in Yorkshire the Poor-rates had pro gressively increased during the War from 60001. to upwards of t 8,0001. In sonic of these, the -Popr rates alnally exceeded the Rack-rents. In -Bir mingham also, the number of whose inhabitants was reckoned at 6a,000, from I r to 12,000 Poor were actually relieved. But it had been said, if great sacrifices were made, they had been well made; and that ooe half'of our Property had been taken for the preservation of the remainder. But what he would say was, that one half of our Pro. petty had been sacrificed, whilst the other remained in great danger._ And for what had one half of our fortunes been taken from us? Was it for prevent... ing the aggrandizement of France ? Or for the prevention of Jacobinism 'in that Country ? In, both respeCis the objet had failed.—Or was it for - the preservation of our Constitution ? He would:1 'say, ihat whilst the power-of the Crown had \ been upon the increase, the Briti s h Constitution had :•uf_ - bred in proportion' to the' losses sustained by the, ' -SubjeClg of this Kingdoin. The influence of the Crown bad been increased by 'the angmentation. of Patronage, and that, arising from the increase of Revenue Officers 'and Places, whilst at the same time the Liberty of the Press had been nearly ex. -tinguished, and Laws had been adopted trenching,, in his opinion, upon the genuine principles of the 'Constitution. Thus those who had cried out the most againstlnnovation, were themselves the great. est Innovators. The Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr., DUNDAs) had uniformly opposed a • Parliamentary' 'Reform, as inducing a change in the Representatio6, :and yet he with his Colleagues had strenuously push .ed forward an Union with Ireland, which produced the greatest change, and the effeCts of which Could not as yet be well ascertained.. During the Admi ins t ratien of the late Minister the House of Peers had - had 8Q new creations, besides the .change and addi : tion introduced into it' hy - Means 'of the Union. The hereditary Peers of the Realm, not holding Offices, Were become. a minority of that House. In short, the late MiniSter; whilst inveighing againsr•Ja'- cobinism, has acted upon Jacobin' principles, for there is nothing of the old remains of the•Consti, ;titian that he has not Unsettled. Let the House next view the conduit of that Minister with respeet to the Sister Kingdom. He 'agreed 'that the, trite, rests of Ireland were. inseparablyUnitedwith' those of this Country. For four years past, ,since - the. recall of Earl FITZWILLIAM I Ireland had been in an alarming state. It had been 'stated' but a few days ago, that Ireland, although not atually , de. luged with blood, .was in the s i tuat i on o f an assassin--that the mass of the 'Peopled Ireland was infeClea with jacobinism; and that nothing but the , inability of the. French to assist, could prevtnt the separation of Ireland from' thiS Country. Now, after four years the Country was found to be .in such a state, and notwithstanding all - the. power which had ken entrusted with' the'Executive Government, was it nOt titne for Inquiry ? A.Go vernm&lt always complaining of plots, disaffeelion, and conspiracies, in his opinion, furnished a pro-- stmiptive, prpof against -•overnment itself, - for.-he could not believe that a good Government would b*ve found its measures prove so little effeaual for re. 0 medying the evils complained or. .And was it not still more a fit and urgent subject fur Inquiry into , the conduit of the lateqViinisters,witli respeti to the encouragement held out by then) to the Catholics of Ireland I—ACeording' toreport, Marquis 'Coax watLl s had stated what was termed Catholic Eman cipation, to he necessary to prevent Ireland from being deluged - with blood.- I —He •wished. Ministers bad always thought. so. - But,wheo the House found . new Ministers coming into power, on the ground, that the late Ministers were now more disposed to conciliatory measures,' with respeCt to the Curb°. lies than themselves, was not this a fit `subject for Inquiry ? Mi% Gas then proceeded to advert to the late change of Ministers. The. House and the Country had been. surprized by their resignation, at a time when their power was thought to be the 'most secure. . An event, this, which happened but a few days after the KING'S Speech, which .was si lent on the subjeti• of the Roman Catholics of Ire land.. He asked, then, what had - produced this ex_ traordinary change in the Cabir.et. ? If, when His MA-J ESTY'S. 'Srwch was delivered, his Ministers saw no necessity for this measure, how came it theo to be so soon aftetwards embraced by them?. But if they had previously determined on the measure, what had soccasioned the sudden abandonment of it ?. In either case, the late Ministers were bound to explain. He was fat from saying, that finding their inability to carry a measure which they deemed of great importance, would not he a sufficient reit.: son for their Resignation... But. in that extraordi_ nary Publicaticin, which. had been attributed to the Rt. Hon..Gentlenan, and, which had been handed about as conveying to the Roman Catholics of Ire. land a pledge of Stipport, and .thos converting them into a party with •Ministers---in that 'Publication it was statek that Ministers had found innumetable obstacles in the way. What were these obstacles ? •It was not a majority in the Cabinet against the Measure, for it appeared that six out of the eleven . had resigned. Was it because they found this Mea. sure was , peeson'ally objeCted to by the KIN,? •He acknowledged it was adelicate matter to introduce the name of the KING in Debate, and what should, if possible, be avoided; but if any bad consequendes followed the discussion of this matter, • the blame must rest with those who had occasioned it. He thought the necessity must be of the first magni tude, which would - -either force the Sovereign into a measure .repugnant to his conscience, or else to force him to appear in an ungracious si tuation, as if he were personally the Enemy of any part .of His Subjects. If the late Ministers had the authority of the - KING for the promise held out by them to the Catholics, he could not believe that His MAJESTY would afterwards recede front the autho- rity he had given them ; but if, on the other hand, in holding out such 'encouragement, they .had atfled without the authority of the Sovereign, for Minis- .. ters so circumstanced, to pledge themselves officially to carry forward an At of such importance, must appear as one of the most daring violations of duty to their Sovereign; that was ever recorded in thee History of the Country. He would ask also, whe ther those individual Members, who had .since re signed, had made 'such an engagement .with the Irish Roman Catholics without the concurrence of their Colleagues in Office, and whether Lord CLART and others, who had joined with them in supporting the -Union, were made acquitinted;.:*ith such a stipulation ? for -surely, his Lordship anti others, His MAJESTY'S Ministers, -were entitled to good Faith with their Colleagues. . Another subjeet of Inquiry arose from the appointment of the new Administration. For his own part, he was free to' declare, that he could not give thoAe persons who composed it, his confidence. *"—He and . those with whom he usually acted, were desired not tO'prejUdge them; but he. would. put a case, and ask, whether' a -.Gentleman could be desired to leave the management of his al.; fairs in the hands of a person in :Whom 'he could, place no confidence'? And he wo uld as k,. h a d t h e ' House had no experience of the conduel of those per_ • sons; no rule by which it might judge of thepoli tical - conduCt, and principles of these , persons ? Did" not the part which these new Ministils haxce pre viously taken in both Houses of Parliament, from a fair criterion by which a judgment might be formed respefting them , ? Most of the. e Gentlemen were already known , by the support which they had given to the late " AdminiStration, and by. the-offices to which-they had been appointed under it. He meant nothing personally offensive, when he declared,' that he did not think they were such persons, , as, - under the present circumstances of •the Country, desered its confidence. Whilst.GAntlemen-were desired not to prejudge them, - they were also told that their principles were' the same withthoie of their pre decessors. What then had he• !to look to but the continuance of a War, carried on with the same vindiClive spirit ; and with respect to Negotiations, that they will be carried on:with the same•insin_ cerity ? The New Ministers had supported all the principles of the War ; they bad applauded the con_ dud of the late Ministers in all their late Negotia tions,-and-had rejoiced with -the late' Chancellor.of the Exchequer in the success of the failure of the Negotiation at Lisle, Butif any difference did exist between them and the old Ministers, 'that evening would give them an opportunity of declaring it, and of shewing the House that they afted upon different principles with respect to the Constitution, and by voting for the Inquiry which he should have. the ho nour of, moving. Mt. Gas r concluded with movi ng , " That the House • resolve itself into a Committee, to inquirtinto• the State of ilieNation." - Mr*. DUNDAS. "Sir, after the manner in Which . the. Hon. Gentleman has supported his Mo. tion, thelfouse will not be surprized that I feel myself called upon ;It chi; early . hour-in-the 'evening to trespass upon their indulgence. The Speech of the Hon. • Gentleman embraced .a great variety of topics. He has commented upon . the different Ex. pettitions• which have been undertaken' by this . Country `during the War, .upon- the - question re. spelling Neutral Nations; upon the Internal. State of this Country and of Ireland, and, lastly, he al luded to the changes which 'bast lately •taken place in AdMinistratic:). ,(Jr, the part, of the Hon. Gen.. tlernan's Speech to . which t mean more direaly to -confine my-attention, is that part, in which he Cen. sured the manner in which this War has been carried on, and in which be cbilsiders me as particularly iniplicatede tam thinkful to the Honourable ,Gentleman for, "the opporttinity he. has thus given ine; of making some observations upon this sub _ jea, and make thus early, . because perhaps I should not have ati opportunity Of doing it at a later holy. There have, at various times, many desultory attacks been made upon the conduct of the War; and upon these -oceafrions-L-have told the House, 'hat I now' repeat; that lam anxious the HOuse and the Country should know the princi ples upon ; which .the War has, hitherto been eon dilded ; and that with reference to these principles, this War, in point of success, -might be com Pared with any of the,most most, Wars ever carried on by this Country. With respect to the other topics, which were enlarged upon by she Hon. Gen tleman, I know not whether I shall be able to go through them, but that is of little, consequence, be-, cause. there are many Gentlemen much more ahle . to .discuss them than I am, who will have an. oppor tunity of stating their sentiments this night. With respect, then, to that part of the subject in which the Hon. Gentlentcan considers: me as more particularly concerned, I must beg leave to state (in order that we may consider .the question with accuracy) the principles ,upon which I contend this 'Country ought to. • act, in any War in which she may be en gaged, and it will then remai n f or u s t o exam i n e .whether the present War has been : conducted.-upon those principles. When the House has considered those two points, I think- it will agree with -me in, thinking that there is not the smallest foundation for the epithets " disgraceful" and " disastrous," which the Hon. Gentleman has so frequently applied to the-present War. 'The principle which I lay down as one which ought never to be departed frOm, be the object or cause of the War what it may, is, that its earliest attention ought to be directed to ;he ,destrudion of the Commerce and the 'Colonial Pos_ sessions of the Enemy : in-this I include the .Ma rititne Power of the- Enemy ; for it is obvious that their Maritime Strength must -almost entirely de_ • pend upon 'their Commerce. 1 therefore mean to assert, that the War will not be well conduced if its operations are not direCted against the resources which will enable t, the. Enemy to contend againSt yolk' I mean their Commerce and Colonial Posses sions. :This proposition 'appears to. me- to be.-so plain, and has. been . so- constantly • acted upon by every Administration, that I do not • think I,shall now hear it disputed. It is 'as much our objea to destroy the resources ; of the. Enernrby attack ing their Commerce and Colonial Possessicas, as it is that of a General to endeavour to capture or de stroy the Magazines of an -Enemy ; for hi fact the Commerce and . the .Colonies of a Country are the resources- from .which it draws the means of con tinuing the War. But this is not the only.rea3on _why this Country should conduct a War upon the prin c iples I have stated„ It is, hardly possible for this Country to belong. at War with France without being involved in disputes on the Continent, which may deprive us of many, of the, Markets which we •have for ourgoods, and therefore it is peculiarly our interest,to take possession. of the Colonies., in order to ! open to ourselves markets for our commodities. Now,'Sir, in order that we may judge how- far this War, haying been conduded upon the principles 'I have stated, can be called disastrous or disgraceful, I will state very 'shortly its progress, and the suc cess. with. which ir• - hAs been attended :—Hostilities commenced against France in' February, 1793,- in that year Tobago, St. Pierre, Miquelon, Podi , cherry, part of St; Domingo, and ; the .Fleet at Toulon, were taken ; besides our getting possession Hof the, whole of the Newfoundland Fishery., In the :year 1794 i 'we took Martinique, •Guadaloupe, St. Lucie, the . Sain ts, Corsica, and !Mar ie-Galante ; in 179 c," Trincomali and:the Cape.of :Good Hope; in 1796; Ismboyna, Berbice, and Demerara ; in , 197, Trinidada,..and Four Ships of the Line - were taken or. destroyed ; .1798; Minorca ;in 1799, Surinam ; in 1800, Goree, Malta, and Curacoa. During the whole - War there. has . not been_ ,year in which we 'laic not seen-the successful 4ppliCit tion of: the principle ..upon.. which ha-ye cooteral ed that this. and every., War' should be. Orried on by. this Country. :I- will now, -Sir,. say a few' words, upowthe failures. :which we have had during the presont War..' The -Hon.G-attlernan has upon this and many other occasionsconisnerited...upoo diet ExpeditiOhs to Ferrol,. to Cadiz, and to Hollatid.! With respeCt to the. Expedition to Holland, lam wil ling to admit to the Hon; Gentleinan, that which have afways admitted'• when, this snbjed was under discussion, viz. that it was not attended with' full success in all its objects ; but I do contend that . the suceess.of that. Expedition more than. counter balanced the disappointment . with .which one of its objects .was attended. I have upon former occasions stated-to the House, that the Expedition ,to Holland was 'undertaken with • three objects. In two of which we were completely successful. The first object which the.,Government had in contemplation in sending that. Expedition ,to Holland,.was to etre& a .diversion in favour of our Allies; 'by drawing a part of.their, force from Germany. The:second ob.:: jea which Governments. had in view: was, -thairord assistance to our friends 'in Holland,. attd ( to.gi:4 7 them . the . .means . .of rescuing themselves: from the yoke of France. -The third (Neel was (if Were unsuccessful in the second), to prevent them ftoni becoming tools in the hands of -our - inveterate Ene.: Inks. • In the first and last, of these objects, . the Expedition was .attended, with complete'sueceas : in the second admit, that, from causes-which, it was impo'ssible hdve foreseen, it was-not equally for, tunate. - There was - every reason tO-stipposetliat the. Expedition under Sir RALPH AB Eitelt("ll3Y would have reached the Coast of Holland by the ,'6th of August. If he had been able to effect a landing at that period, he would most undoubtedly have been in possession of Amsterdam before the Enemy could have ptepared any effectual force to resist him. If we had'sueceeded in gaining possession Of Amsterdam, it will not, I presume, be denied that ive shOullhave 'afforded the fairest means - of restoring -the indc 'pendence of Holland. It is 'true, that'; so -far the Expedition failed—but from what cause ? - The Fleet tvhigh, as I said before, left this - Country early in August, immediately encountered- a most. dreadful storm. This: I suppose, it will . not be - said Ministers could - .have prevented or fortsecti. The consequence of it was,. that the whole Expedi_ tion remained for several days on the Coast of Holland before: It was pr24iCable to eh ft a &sem..., barkition, and by this mans the Ene'tiny - became acquainted with the part•weete the Attack was to be made, and were consequently enabled to pre; pare the means of defence. I ask again, if the ac. cidental delay of the Fleet canthe attributed as nliS. condua to Government • and I also &sire to' knows if that. Expedition. can said to have completely failed, 'which endedin-ourtninging away Ten Sail of the Line and Thirteen Frigates, which would other.' wise-be - now emp l oyed . in ,augmenting the. Force of 'the Norihern•Confederacy . ? I have now stated -the observations I meant to make upon that Expedite tion: It appeais clearly, that out of three objefts • with which it was undertaken, we have completely succeeded in two ; and that with respea to the third, we were disappointed by accidents, which it . was •equallY impossible to foresee or prevent.— With , respc& to the Expeditions to Ferrol and Cadiz,_ I will trespass but a few - moments upon the attention of the HOuse - npon them; because they, particularly. the Expedition to Ferrol, have been already discussed. ,It is the more' unnecessary for me to Say much upon this. part of the subjeft, be.. cause, when it was, before debated, there was' but one Learned Gentleman (who had perhaps prepar_ ed a Speech. which -he thought it necessary to let off) , who did not concur in thinking that, with_ respeCt to the 'Expedition to Ferrol, His Majesty'-s Ministers were' free from any blame whatever.. •But the Honourable Gentleman says that Ministers are culpable. for having delayed so king to 'use the great Force with Which' --titey , were entrusted in the beginning of the year tßoo. This point may require some minuteness of detail; but I am very much mistaken, if I shall not be able to convince, not only - the House, but the Hon. Gentleman tiMself, that there is not the slight es t •foundation . for the 'charge which he has advanced. The Army returned from Holland about the end of 'November, 1799. It is necessary here to observe, that from the dispatch ‘with which' we were una voidably obliged to send that Army off to Holland, it was obliged to sail without many requisites, with which; under other circumstances, it would undoubtedly have been provided., When it return_ ed; it Waked' considerable 'preparation to make it again fit for service, It was-• the opinion of all the 'Oft - leers .that:this . Aftny; before it was sent upon any other service, ought to be trained to 41.Jogether in a body ; but such was the severity of the weather, that .it was I,llysically• impossible for them, till the:middle of March, to go through their exercises, in the field. ,On the zzd of ,Fe. bruary, tBoO, it was resolved by His Majesty's Ministers to advise His Mkt isry to send seplarge a body as _zo,otio men'to cooperate with our Allies in the Mediterranean., The very next day . the plan was submitted to - . His MAIESTY and his approba tion - was• given to it. In consequence of this de termination, an application was. Made on the zSth February to the Royal Duke ] at :the head of the Army, for. the necessary ,force. in answer to this application, he stated that it would require two months for instruaion, &c. before-the Troops would be fit for service. ;111;:;:rs therefore, that the force which it was determine:d to send to the Me. diterranean could not leave this Country before the 2 8! 1 .1 of April. A second,- applica' Lion.. was then made to His Royallifgl . t h n e e r s e s, i s il t e a y tin a g li , g .t ht ha be t i t would be expedient to , tend 5 or. 6boo. ,men. as soon as possible. to Minorca, w trained •and instructed until the rest of the Troops arrived., ACcordingly -6004 men embirked in the month of March, which, with a Detaehthent from the Gar. rison of Gibraltar .and the,,Garrison of Minorca, Made up a Force of - 960^ men.' I must b eg le ave here, Sir, to digress for. one moment, in order notice- some rumours which ',never heard till within. these few days, and which I then 'heard with - the - utmost astonishment. allndt; to.a rumour of • a - differeneetitavink taken 'place between the Ge neral who was to have. commanded. that &pt. ditiOn and - the. War Minister. .; and it was said that this 'Statement cattle - from good authority. What they'call , .good authbrity I do norknow, but them is one authority to Which I wish I could now iteal,. I mean to the only manwbo could confirmin e iA direaly i contradiaing thikstatetuent. • :The persoti - to: whom I allude is now unfortunately in ta bed il)f '"sickness, atitlp . ertiapi at the very;moment - that I arn speaking ; the:.etiAn try-may be for !ever- deprived o f the services of a 'most gallant and accomplished,Of.. fiver; and• soc i ety o f a most honourable Man-4 mean the General who was to have commanded that - Expedition - ... Twill, Sir, read a 'Letter from that General,' which _will shew that there' .is not the slightest foundation for this pretended difference.— [Mr. Df.II4DAS thenlead:a Letter from General Sir C. STUART, in which he -declined taking the Com.- 'nand of the Expedition, because he disapproved of the introciudion of Russian - Troops into Malt a.] This Letter, Sir, I. think completely proves that the gallant Officer in question (lid not decline the Cor n .. mand froth the Motives which -*ere stated in the report' I have alluded to ; and it suggests t , (17 an_ t other obsirvation whieh.4 -cannot pa T t o h r e iv yeLyti t:of tit s e Ac w e le r i it t G y t ,to ettl ß i u e s m si en a, i te tvarpepeaatrtsaetkhing us at were 40 anxious to keep our faith with That Power, that we .lost the service of a•most.gallatit and experi. enced Officer. It is . ,equally untrue, that anyunneces sary delay took place in the sailin of the Expedition, . g after Sir AllEiCßols.lßY Was appo i nted. Gener a resigned the command 'on the 22d of Apr il, 'and thel3th of May General l AsEackostaT was enabled to set sail. It h;ippened unfortunately, that although he sailed on the t3th of May; it was the 22d 'of June before he reached Mihorea. , This de. lay, which arose entirely'fron the state Of the wind, will nor, I presuMe, be -attributed to us as a crime. - But Gentlemen say, that if this Force had been sent earlier into the Meiliterraneani it might have pre vented the loss of Genoa. In the first place, I have shgwn that the 'Expedition could not have been sent earlier into the Mediterranean; and secondly, I beg- leave to state, that Genoa was not .at all the . 6hjeet of the Expedition. .It may be necessary to inform Gentlemen, that Austria was at that time by no means anxious for our assist.. ance:. Those who know the jealousy of the Conti. neural rowers, will easily believe. me when I state, that Austria . was not,- at least, at an early period of that 'Campaign, by any means anxious for our assist. aree in Italy. I know that, at a subsequent pe.