The Sun. — London, England, 1801-02-03 00:00:00

.-. . . People,. out e;wn. People. ' the unitettwiida*.Of. this Parliament,' he doubted nor, would .guard against the recurren'te of a similar pressure: Upon the other topics of the Speech, he should not say much. He would content himself with expiessing his approbaJibn of every exertion in order to preserve our Maritime ascendancy ; he meant that. ascendancy which was necessary for security of 'our Commerce. But this could not be maintained • if the E ne my were suffered . • td receive supplies from Neutral Powers. He saw no ground eo dispond, when he considered the spirit of the . Country ' and the magnitude of our Navill Force ; and if His Majesty's wish for the restoration of Peace should be disapeointed, by-the gigantic-ambition of France, he; trusted thi Country would still -rely' one the wisdoM of Parliament, -and the spirit of the People, to resist the combinatioreof all our Enemies:. 'GgE I'—“ I must confess, Sir; that my feelings Are.stronvon the present occasion, but they are not those of despondeecy, but rather . they are such apprehensions 'aS the present state of' the Nation may naturally. excite in the most confident. Such confidence has not been increased in me, by the tenor of His Majesty's Speech, in Which I perceive no hope held out of any change of thatlolicy, which has brought' upon this Country. such calamities unexampled ; and still lesi can 1 hope for Peace, -when we 'are- calledao mist to the. same declarations of wishing . for Peace, which, :front year to year havedisappoint ed our hope, and increased the calamities of War. I agree,•Sir, that-it- 36--be . E44l-T not-toter-at pre sent, upon subjeas not immediately 'before the House: --a God knows,-there is enough . . within, ()tie -oveppi4tior, : .:, But if the Honourable: Seconder of the jarOposed Address has passerover stiSjett of the TriiibliTtrikh Ireland at - 11e;wishaa. others - also to pass it parer, I must :beg that .no improper - inference may ;be , drawn-, from, my silence, as if, althOugh I 'Opposed the Un ion when becatit6 'subjea of rarliammiiirydiscuslion, no :v cenfeased'My former error.l do not tvi - sh noiv to triter into a debate as- to the. policy which induced that inea- Sure,. bUt this I Mutt say, that notwithstanding all I have heard end seen on the subject, is con.. iin'ujs - to be my film and constieUtiont opinion, that the most likely Union 'to be peinvnicht, an union of heart andairettion; Would be "(Jule' formed on the basis of the udjiiiirnent;'of 1782. 1 have niVer been able to irate the 'Stated as the cause of the nekissiey of this Union;-to the Deela. ration of Irish _lndependence ; but I trace them to that systeni; .which, from the Moe - lent That the Irish Independence was.deelared, made the sub.., version of that Independence the °hie& of all its measores. Honourable 13aronit argueS the good effetl. Of the measure of Union, from the quiet of the r eoplt - of J Ireland ;" bui let me ask,. is that the quiet of affection ? Or, haVe we s hevtrii . any .dispositic , u . to repeal . aby of those Laws so obnoxious to the titilk. of the People of Ireland ? If, in virtue of the Won, any of those f ,evere Laws were to be repealed, the svptri of . iwperiouS . pOlicy tb be ee‘laxed,• and the blesiitigS of BritisitConstitution were to be extended 46-the 'People offirelatid;•-thtn indeed - we - Might 4 - title - from the toaeffea . of this' tneasore.--e -Ireland was quiet even a year before the Union rd's adeeddd to; • Shall it theabe argued on-a mea sure so recent, and' whilstanore rernaiiis yet to be settled, that this quiet is a proof of the•satisfae. lion of the Peeple-ef Ireland I lam, however, ty look forw;ard, ,rather thau- backward, • .and.l roust aa.y,• that I heartily wishany opinions _may prove to be mistaken, and that all the-good a ff e at s may result from this Union which are augured . crom.'iti. .by the. honourable Mover and Seconder of this Motion., --=- One thing of ‘‘,.•tizh am : persuaded is, that the inode be.,t calculated to .promote thoie'effe4l.s, :is by .adoption - a - system ,of *which , rtsay extend to all.deseriptions of People in Ire.: land; anti may impart to them the benefits of the British Constitution. 'The Meyer hitited :itimething of a dubious tendency; wherrhe talked ..of's . ectiring the Liberties of Itelaed bY'maintain iitg the Protestant AscendCpcy. On this' poiet -I•tan only eepress My hope, that-the extending "ito Irish CathOlicS the 'Privileges of Other Irish stilijeets, will - lrebne Of the first measures olthe United - Parliament. The next tbpic'iiiiverted to, is the melancholy situation -in which-this Country is now placed reSpeaing the War •in -Which we at enow engaged; and which ,is• new enlarged into a contest with :eirrioseeVery - Power, iii Europe. And here `I think it is not fair to place the con dud of the . Courts of. Sweden Denmark, Denark, on a legal with that of ihe Court of Russia. -In my -opinion, the Etorlitoit'ofßoiSlA has.been guilty of an aft of great injustice and vidlence towards this COUntryi in'tho detention of-British-Ships and Subieets - eottdut% in direct violation of existing treaties ; an as requiring ample repara.- tion-and satisfaelioni And yet, I•eitottotaagree with the Hon. Mover, that His Majesty's Mi nisters are free from all blame. The conclua which has plodated violence, may' be censurable. I have seen, Sit:, a Manifesto by the Court of *-ittinitie - Containing an allegation that His Ma kitty's' Ministers have broken a precise:stipule 'llan,- that Malt a s h ou ld be surrendered" to Ruts . •, • ~ateßut disposed as I am to acquit Ministers, -yet, 'I think, the subjea,is deserving inquiry ; .and a ..,particularly,*hethe r the stipulation alluded to, 'Was, or was not of a reciprocal nature ; and must'say, that if they were apprized of the 'Per sonal charaaer, of the Eatisaoa of Russia (on the- importance - of-an alliance with whom,, anueh was formerly said) they should also have seen the prudence of avoiding a dispute with him, by kiiineeding to this ,Power a' Port in the Mediterra • mean s for stich,. I consider, would have been our true policy. • Our efforts lo preserve the Balance POWer an 'Europe, have . 'ended, Sir, in the total destruaion of that •Balatiee:,.. Eis• Majesty's Ministers ought to have considered hoW they could have found nut another- Power -to : have brought into. the stale, in order to :obtain this' balance. Such a P ower wou ld h a v e b een Russia, which, by gettittf albeting - in - the Mediterra. Lean, ty-the•cession of Malta, w ould have been a counterbaice to that'Of France, At all events, .hewever, 'Whether Ministers heti broken the ConvetitiOn with Rossia, or whether 'they had mistaken the , Charafter of PAUL, my opitii(o, is, 'that this Country is intitled to satistattic, , ,. : _ But my sentiments respeCting the other Pow,!r., is not similar to that . with regard to Rossia, Nothing in consequence of the difference with the latter Power, ought to have induced us io have taken measures against Denmark and Sweden, which we should not, otherwise have taken, had it not been for the difFerence with Russia. I shall not give a direa opinion with re_ spelt to the Maritime Rights of, Nations : I would only guard the House against assuming, as a fat:l,' that the condua of the two Northern Powers has been such a direct aggression, as to justify this Country, in an open war against them. I have not, Sir, been able to find in the Writeys- upon the Laws, of Nations, oti in the custom and pradice of . Europe, any thing like this assumed pra&ice .of European Na tions. It has been said, that the Right assumed by the British Nation, never had been disputed till the end of the American War ; but I find that it was questioned in the latter -end of the last Century, as well as in the year 1740, by the then KING of PRUSSIA, and also by the Dotal, in 1762 ;—and towards the close of ,the. Arnerican War, the contrary principle to that on which we relied, w►as maintained in a Convention which was then signed, and afterwards known by the name of the Armed Neutrality. The more chat qentlemen examine this question, the more they will see that; so far from the Right asserted, being -- a ckai and certain principle, that it .is:one to the Support of which they ought not , imme. diately to pledge themselves. The first inquiry wit, Whether our claim was -founded upon-im mutable Justice ? For my part, lam *convinced ,that there' can be no . true policy incompatible with Justice. It is a regard to this which makes all - the d;ffurence between a - sound enlightened Statesman and a tricking Politician. .But I say, that whatoter the advantges of our system may be, they cannot be put in competition with the successful vindication of the claim, accompanied With hostility towards other Nations ; and, however niuc - h I participate with my Country. men in the exploits of our Navy, I should be sorry to think that our ' Maritime ascendancy could depend upon . any thing .inconsistent with, the Rights of others, and' if we could only main.: tarn it by means of suety measures as must .make this Country,appear OcliouS to every other Power of Europe. But if Ido not succeed in deprecat ing a determination upon this point by an imme diate Address of Thanks to His MAJESTY, it is btst, justice to our fellow Citizens to prove, that 'even one Claim, valuable as it is, may be over.• rated, since the blood 'and treasure of our fellow SW) . iet - ls must be -spent to maintain it. I perfcCtly once - in sentiment with one tv i lio was a resreaed Member of this. House, that' "Ave ought never to go 'to War for all unprOfitable ,Right, any more tittni fclir a vrotitable wrong."—His. Majesty's Ministers ought to slicw wherein consisted the utilify'oP this -Right: They should prove that this Riglit is essential to the welfare Of the CoMitry,. I sad , Birove ought to make ; sober ektiinate of tile value of this Right, before. we, pay for 'it at the expense ofthe blood and trea. sure of this Country. - I wish the House to pause before they pledge themselves to 'a measure which will lead, in its consequeneesYto 'a Contest with almost every Power in Europe. There is another consideration ; I mean, Sir, that, existing cir. rums - titileCS may he such as to render a Right acknowledged to be such in point of justice and general utility, - and yet events may occur - to induce a 'partial infringement of it, and that the iltiget of insisting apon ii, may be greater ,than .eien the tlerelifiion of it. If' we could abstain from the discussion of this claini at the present inninent, -every kind Of policy ought to have indaced :us so to do.. • The injury, from allowing ethe'ilarrii of our Enemies, would be that of the -cmrrisgrof Naval Stores, &c. into the Ports of .Franee ;' but I say, that under the present cir jeumstances of the -War, the danger arising from -out not asserting the right of 'searching, would *net be -so great .as that of insisting upon it .;,-- for Sir, when, I consider the present• exhausted state of the French Marine, I think she could : not avail hrsell of thi s connivance : .to any great extent.. —. Even in the Convention -;of 'l7 So, in the Declaration of the EMP,R EU of }ktiisi A, the right. of supplying a blockaded Port -was "abandoned. Now, 'when I consider the present - state of the Navy of this Country, and the close blockade which It enables us to form of ,the. principal Ports of France, I feel little or no apprehension 'arising from the elfefts of this eon nivance. But supposing France should be enabled to import the Stores-of the Baltic to any; amount, that would not enable her to xaise a Marine in a day, a month, or a year,, nor give her Sailors, • &c. But the consequence of. this dispute is, 'that we , shall give as Allies to France ' the . Fleets Of our new Enemies . . from Archangel , .to -the' Tagus, and from the Tagns to the Gulph . of Veniee, there will notbe a single friendly Port out ;of OutownliossessiOns, where a British Fleet can take shelter : and here . I do not except , Naples, which I consider , as, already conquered, nor Portugal, nor 'Turkey, which,' before the end of the year, I expert will be connected with ) our Enemies. Will it, then, be possible for our Navy, with all its skill and 'prowess, to stretch ,alOtig such stn extent 'of Coast ? Or, will it pre vent an attack on that valuable part of our Etn:. • , pire, an Union with whichhas been the subjeCt of congratulation this,night ? Are Gemlemen so con fidentthat with the power of the' Enemy's -at tacking Ireland, both from the North or South, that we shall be able sufficiently to he on our . guard ? But great hopes may be -entertained of the superiority of our Navy, and of, the de. strutlion of the Trade -of our. Enemies. - But for -my part, • I have 'painful apprehensions, . that no. thing will sci . muCh threaten the, eXtioClion of our ' . Trade as the new War. Will not. these Northern _ ' Powtri'be able-almost entirely 'to shin us out, of the-European Markets ? , We .should donsicktal , so, what we get 'from them in the articles .of b Naval- Stores. And is it not probable , that these *ill be withhat4o,fron) ttp . L can be placed upon the argument, that by so (Wing, their own Littlest .w.esild suffer, esPeCially 'when the tharafter of the Ittnperor l'Aut is (:onsidered. Add to this, the benefit which we derive at pn!s,ent :from the supply "of. Grain from the Baltic, Scc. • . This, source of supply will at once be dried Up ; 'and I ask the House whether it will at once .divest the Country of any hope of such. relief ?-- But notwithstanding all this, it may he replied, that - unless we resent the recent injury, the na tional honour will be stained. But here it will be necessary first to inquire whether Ministers by their conduft have not aaually provoked .this aggression ? Their . former violent conduft and vexatious as towards Genoa,. copenhagen, &c. are well remembered 7 , -At all events, it ought to he inquired, whether this diSpUte might not have been avoided? In order to this,. a. mere instruc tion to our Cruizers might have been sufficient. True policy would haie been, for His Ma-. jesty:s Ministers to have avoided this dispute, as was the policy of Lord CiiAl:H AM in the war of 170, as stated by Lord Cistaim The opinion of Lord CAMDEN respeaing-the con do& to be pursued towards Neutral Powers was, that our Enemies must be cut off to the utmost from the Supply of Naval Stores ; but that great eaution should be taken not to alarm or, Offend Neutral Powers, that their complaints shoUld attended to, and great moderation exercised to wards them. But I may be told, that a Conven tion has aaually, been signed by the Northern Powers, and that the only alternative, is either to abandon or assert our right. But we, must first see what the nature of the Convention is--:---We are told, that it has been formed upon the ground_ of.the Convention of 1780 But i never heard that it had been objeacd to Lord.Noa - rn, that he did not. go ..to war with the same Powers in consequence of , this Convention : yet, Lord Norm's condua in .this respea was, in a mea sure, -sanaioned by the new Rock:INGHAM Ad. ministration, and that which succeeded it.---, In the Treaty of Peace, all mention of the Armed Neutrality was omitted ; the exercise of. our claim had been suspended. One. of. the first acts of the Right Hon. Gentleman's Administration was the Commercial Treaty with France. In 'it_ the full principles of the Armed Neutrality were' , carried into effea ; and'since we had acceded to thia'demand in the case of one great Maritime Power, was it a sufficient cause of War to object to' the same claim advanced by tither Powers ?, 1793, the Provisional Treaty was made be tween this Country and Russia, which renewed fotmer Treaties, granting to Russia the liberty of carrying all artmcles,.the produce of that Coen. try, to Enemies' shores, with an exception of Contraband. ' It may be said that this Conven.. tion being signed by Denmark and Sweden, . with Russia, - with whom we have another dispute,, shews , the hostility of the measure ; but the mere signature of a Convention by two Powers with a third with whom we may be at War, does not, give us a just ground of attack.- 7 It may be also replied, that we are Lot now in that state of sveaktiess we were in at the end of the American War.' It is true, our Naval Supe, riority is at present decided ; are. nor now, as at that time ; avoiding the Fleets of France and Spain in . the Channel ; but arc' there nut in the internal state .of. the Cowry. such circinn„ stances as would (if at any time) tocuieate every principle of forbearance, and to avoid every fresh aa of hostility.? On these accounts I think Hi Majesty's Ministers act a very impolitic part, and-are involving the . Country in great danger. I call upon the House to pause.and inquire, and not pledge itself to adopt their determination, at least till it has found their condua to be cwt. neaed with the maintenance of the National Safety and Honour. • When we consider our state at the end of an B,year War, which has brought unparalleled distress on this. Nation, and the ants carriages of Ministers, respeaing Belgium, Hol. land, &c. , I ask, what can be - expeaed from such men, but That after pew-. national humiliations for dending the presentllaitn, we ihall at last' he reduced to the necessity - of abandoning it; even when - the abandonment will prove ipeffeaual to restore 'tranquillity to Europe ? And I say, Sir, that we are bound to exaa from Ministers an ac count of that 'conduel which has extraaemi from almost every. Country iriEurope (although at fast leagued with us against France), nothing but hatred and revenge. But this Confederacy against us could not have been the work .of it . day. .11 Ministers foresaw it, why then did they rejed the overtures for Peace made by. BONAPARTE last year ? And if they did not forsee the ap.. proaching storm, where was their wisdom ? From what happened respeaing the detention of the Swedish • Convoy, the disposition of ~that Power was evident ; nor were the senti ments of Prussia much less doubtful. Ministers thought last year that time overtures made by France to 'Austria should be rejected. Austria meted accordingly, and what was the consequence, but that by their advice, a dreadful chasm was occasioned from the Map of Europe l - Nor was it one of the least fatal effeets of our policy towards Austria, that Austria herself may entertain hatred against, us, and become a party to this new Treaty. We refused to negotiate with France when a bankrupt in credit and resources, and now we' .are told' in, the Speech, that We are ready to treat with the Enemy when he spews a more moderate, disposition ; that is, °when France -is restored in powdr anti credit, and threatening us•with an invasion whilst we are de serted by ,our Allies! I might advert to the in ternal state of the Country, but shall only say, 'that in case of an alarm .of invasion, 'it is impossible not. to ;egret the condo i of Mi nisters, in frittering away_ and disposintomf the Militia and standing Force,of the Country in the manner they have done. Add to : all this; the depreciation of the raper Currency, the bey den of Taxes, and a Scarcity little short of Famine; yet 1 wish not to discourage the country, her rather that we may, form a just-appreciation of the circumstances in which_ave.atra-41404...ai1d: how to extricate ourselves from the danger : much ability and- adtivity. were wanted.; our towees tVerestillconbidetable, I trust a systern of stria economy will ihke - Once of a lavish ex;- penditure t and that the true prin,:iples of the C;mistituttcn•may becbme the sok ground broui.. proeeedin:ss. • Sir, the spirit of the . fioliTe 4 not extinguished, ; . ind 1 trust thl't our cow- rage will be raised proportion to our danger.. What. colificien - re may we- nit" place ill the efforts and industqofa great People, extrt- ing thethseives aullices of wisdom, justice, and rtoorl c<indoet lint I call . . upon the House to check the' career of IVlmAters:, , who, _althatsll etitiasteci kviih every means., have brought nothing but tliskraci., and' paved them seivri incapable of retrieving, tlw - alf.drs of the Nation ; and, I trust, •that rig) (i_ntlentan any longer continue to giie his assent to_rvlinil stets, who, at the some time, he secretly dish approves of. Ir had been seen in former instances, that the Minority in that Hattie had spoken the language of, the Majority of the People ; and 1 trust that, in the vote of this night, Gentlemen; lamenting what has been lost, and considering ivhat may yet be regained, will iti6ke the public interest Oleic. sole motive to guide their determi. 'nation." Mr. GitEv then concluded with moving at Amendment, in substance, to assure His MAj Om- " that theliouse would proceezl with all possible dispatch to inquire into the State of the Nation, and the Connedion subsisting with Foreign Powers ; and to assure His IVll:ntsry, that if the representations which His 1141;tEsTy had direfted to be laid before Foreign Courts, should be una. vaiiing to promote, an accommodation, and that the impossibility of an amicable adjustment should redder a Contest unavoidable-, that HiS Majesty's faithful Commons would give everysupport to main tain his just Rights, tee. in the just hope, from His Majesty's paternal care of his People, that he will be graciously pleased to 'give orders to pre_ vent an improvident waste of the Public Trea. _ure, anti to promote a provident Administration of Public Affairs.." The Motion being seconded by Mr. WHIT. BREAD, Mr. Plif---- 7 " Sir, in rising to make some observations upon whatlias fallen from the Hon. Gentleman, I cannot avoid noticing a curious pro. position which he Advanced in the early part of his Speech, and which he repeated towards the conclusion of it, but with less confidence, that the Minority, in point of faa, speak the sene of the Majot:ity. Upon what ground the Hon.' Gentieman has made that assertion, I am utterly incapable of guessing ; but if it is true, every one of these great ;ind honourable efforts by which, in the course of nine years, we have secured the Independence and exalted the Cha.: r.aaer of this Country ; which have enabled us to withstand the dangers and vicissitudes of this most arduous Contest which have a'frorded the neat's of security to Europe, at the same' time hat they h.lve hitherto saved this Country from heir LaiJmitieg which have visited aitiwit all he rest of the Globe—if, I say, the Hon. Gen. . _ tlenian's proposition is true, then all these noble efforts have been made fur nine years, 'not only without the consent, hut against' the opinion of a majority o( this House and of this Country. Before the Hon. Gentleman can establish that pinkasition he must convince the Majority that they ought now, to tip in dire& opposition to every `principle upon which their conde&has 'hi. therto been founded ; and I confess I do not ex. pe4 that he will - succeed in such an attempt. do not believe there are any alli'.)ll,fr ,Us' who sat in this House in 'the last 'Session ofParlia.. Meta, who do not reeollea the diseussions which took 'place upon every subjeo whiCh the Hon, Gentleman has commented iyob in his SpeeCh (6x. Cept one. which forms the more immediate question before the Hnuse, and : to which I shall come by and by); I do not believe, I say, that any of these Gentlemen can lightly forget the opiniOnt which 'they formed, and the principles upon which they kied. 'l do not believe, Sir, being one of those %Oho think as highly as my Hon. Friends who moved and seconded' the Motion for the Address, of ,that important measure which has consolidated the strength O the .Fopire, that. these Hon. Gentlemen whom we' havelhis day, for the first time, the'happiness of seeing among us, will disappoint the sanguine expelations that we formed of the benefits to result from that im eot event. lam sure they hive brought Nv ith thern the saute zeal, and the same prinetptn which have supported us against an host of 'F;ne- • mies. These Gentlemen have had,. in another place, the severe duty imposed . 'upon 'them of contending with Jacobinism on their own soil, and I am sure they 'would not wish to infuse that timidity into us, the least mixtureof whiehyould have been certain ruin to rhos. Wha"tever may be the confident language which the Hon. Gentle. man may think peoper to use upon this occasion, I cannot tut believe that' the present is a ,PrOper time for the discussion of that great and impur. rant question whieh is prepared for us by events, which we could not controul, btit which we must meet. The Hon.. Gentleman has, in the course of his speech, introduced several topics which, sayS, .have been frequently discussed before, and which he eitpreasei his hope will again to investigated. Upon both these grotmds, lam not dispoed to trouble the House at any length, upon any of these snbjeds, at present. There is, Indeed .but 'one new question before the House, • I mean that. which has been announced to us in• His Majesty's most gracious Speech from the Throne, respeaing ;our differences with the Northern Powers. Sir, 'I confess, that the manner which the Hon. Gentleman, has treated every part of this subjed, has really filled rilewith astonishment, both when I consider the I general plan Of his speech, and,the particularstatements into which he , went in support of his argument. The Hon. Gentleman thought it tight, in the first place, to eicpresS his doubts of the justice of our, claim With. respat to Neutral Vessel ittiaikt, the next place (which appeared to me full as„Sittilular) to question the importance the poitit now at issue. - But theine the Hon. 7Gentleman seemed 'disposed 'l6 ittertaiii doubts epon points upon. whitrlt 1e believed there was