The Sun. — London, England, 1806-01-29 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIA.M.E4VT. HOUSE OF PEERS. TUESDAY, JAN 'Mr. WILLIAMS', ota s yy to - th • Secre Board of Nava? • R • .. inquiry, presented the Twelfteport of that Board, acid 'Observations; by way of Supplement, to the First Report,--7which were ordered to be printed. FOREIGN TREATIES. - Lord MULO RAVE said, lie was commanded by His Majesty to lay befor'e the House Copies of Trea, ties entered into beb.veen His Majesty and the King of. Sweden, and the Emperor of RuSsia; and also of I the accession thereto of the Emperor of . c;ermany and AuStria. He wished there had been a fuller at tendance of their Lordships, in order that be might have fully explained tl‘e reasons of, expediency and necess'ATl,lchich be conceived to exist for withhold,- certain articles which formed parts of those Trea ties. This explanation he should, under the present circumstances, reserve until the remainder of the document's should be laid on their Lordships' Table. He thought it his duty, however, to state now to their LOrdships, that to the Treaty of St. Petersburgh, as it now existed, or at least as it came to this Coun try, there were attached fifteen Supplementary Ar ticles, oftbese the Tenth Article was never ratified ; it was of coarse; therefore, nugatory, and of no ; pf the remaining Articles,' the second, fifth, seventh, andTninth,• contained recitals, the publica tion of whjch might be injurious to the welfare or, the safety of other nations ; and, therefore, it had been thought expedient to withhold them. He could, at ,tbe same time, assure their Lordships, that the Articles he had just alluded to were merely conditional and prospe&ive, and did not bear upon any of the points of the question re spe&ing the late transa&ions upon the Conti nent, which their Lordships would have to discuss. With respeCt to the propriety of withholding these articles, he was convinced no other motive could be imputed to himself' and those with whom be bad the honour. to 'ael, than a desire to do nothing that should be in the least detrimental to any of those Powers to'whom the Treaties referred. They could, indeed, have no other motive, as those who, in all hurban probability, would shortly succeed to the offices occupied by himself and his , colleagues, would have an opportunity of investigating the documents themselves, and of judging whether or not His Ma je Sty's present Ministers had been ae - tuated by a pro per caution in withholding:- them. .With some Of those Noble Lords who Would probably soon succeed to office, he had not the honour of being personally,. acquainted—with respeCt to others, he could rely, , most confidently upon their candour andjustice, and even if they should be convinced that his Majesty's present. Ministers had been too cautious in, this in stance, he was satisfied they would . do ample justice to the purity of the motives ,which actuated himself and his colleagues when they inspeeted the docu ments which were now withheld; and which would then come into their possession. He was at the same time most anxious that every document which could with safety or propriety be produced, should be laid before the House, in order that the whole of the late transactions on the Continent Might be fully- developed and laid open for discussion. He: 3.1 as ready to admit that the unfortunate issue of the fate events on the Continent, that the unfortunate transaaion which put a period to the hopes derived .from the employment of vast resources, demanded investigation ; but he was equally ready to declare that His Majesty's Ministers did not shrink from the. discussion ; that they ,wished to meet it fairly and fully in every part. It was still more his anxious wish that the discussion might take place, in order that the cliamaer of that illUstrious Statesman, that earnest and _anxious ,patriot, whose loss they all deeply deplored, might be fully cleared, as it un doubtedly would be, from any imputation arising from the contemplation of the late unfortunate. events on the 'continent. He was fully convinced that the result of such a discussion would ,be a thorough justification of the plans of His Majesty's Ministers, and a complete refutation of every attack made upoli that illustrious Statesman, in consequence Of the unfortunate issue of a well-concerted plan.— He should:decline entering into any thrther discus sion of the subject at present; when the Papers were printed a day, would probably be fixed for the inves tigation..of. the subje&, when he should enter at large into its consideration. The Papers were then ordered to lie on the Table. The Duke of Norfolk. urged the necessity of their being printed. Lord Hawkesbury replied, that be ing 12 . ;Li .before the. House by His ]Niajesty's cola; Mand, they would be printed by the King's order. TO LORD COLLINGWOOD AND SIR RICHARD STRAC,HAN. Lord TIATYKESBURY said, he rose in pursuance ,cif the , potice he had given on the first day of :the 'Seision, to, move the Thanks of the House to Vice .. Lord ColEngwood, and the Officers and tie:amen-under the command 'of-the late Viscount Nelsen, at the period of gaining the late most. signal Victory ofl.' Cape Trafalgar. *fore he entered , ipon the immediate objea l of hiS Motion, he felt himself called upon to iiay that tribute to the memory of that illn4rious Commander, Lord Nelson, to which his cminen ' t services SQ justly entitled him. Untbrtu irately they had to deplore the loss, in the• short iince pi - three months, of two of the' greatest mili pry and, political Charaders this Country ever pro-. duced, and both nearly at-the same age. With re- . lipeert to. the latter, he . wduld not tioN.v say any thing, as the subieet was in some measure 'foreign to the present diScussion.. In , - taking a brief revibw of the tervices of the late Lord Nelson, he could not help ohaervltig, that he was early formed to the Naval Service, under the auspices of one of the ablest men 61 that period, 'one whom he (Lord Hawkesbury) and.eSteemed, he meant the late Constantine, Lord Mulgrave,' with whom Lord, Nelson went on 4 voyage towards the. North Pole. The .abilities of the lack Lord Nelson were early discovered ; and eery . opportunity was given ,for their, exertion by Lord Heed, by Sir Peter Parker, Earl St. Vincent, and 'other distinguished 'Officers, , Whc; derived the highcst honour from that penetration, which i‘tonce,tlie splendid talents of Lord Nelson, and af foroea every means of those, abilities being' exerted for . th . abenefit al'id advantage of their' Coun . try of Nelson' devoted himself With ardent and pa, zeal se :1 1-, : i6es formed a 30 ; cegsipn of the t Oost splendid and brilliant achievements that ever *were performed by any indi vidual, in any country. That illustrions Commander seemed to derive a new spirit from every • success, which incited him to gain a still greater and . mcire splendid, victory. Thus, of the three great victories which he obtained, each exceeded the other in splen dour ; and it was justly said of him by an illustrious Statesman, whose hiss they had. now to la meat, that the Vielory of Trafalgar bOre the same relative proportion to the Viclory of Co penhagen, 01 4 t tbe latter did to the Victory of Aboukir, which was, at. the period it was ob tained, the greatest victory that had then ever been ,achieved : the dualities which constituted a great Commander, were possessed, in the tidiest force and effea, by the late Lord Nelson. That Noble Lord foresaw and provided against every contingency, not merely fornung hi,s own plans to suit almost' every . possible event, but making them at once understood by every Captain who served under him ; thus in the heat of AC - 69n they were prepared for whatever circumstances occurred, every one havine , for his guide a well-digested and thoroughly understood plan for every situation in which he might find him self placed. • Prompt and,decisive, his orders had an eleCtrical effeEt upon those who served under him, whilst his conduct inspired them with an unlimited confidence in their Commander. On every occasion he evinced - that decision and energy which were the true characteristics of a great mind: merely to quote one instance, that, of the battle of Copenhagen, than which nothing could more forcibly shew - the benefits resulting from presence of mind and deci sion in a Commander. Every other quality of a great Commander were possessed by Lord Nelson, who,' by his liberal treatment of those who served under him, inspired them with esteem for him as a man, in equal 'degree to that unlimited confidence which they had in him as aCommander. Formidable to' the Enemies of his CountrY in battle, he dis played towards them afterwards the most amiable humanity. In thus attempting to do justice to the charaCter of Lord Nelson, he was conscious he had drawn but a feeble outline of that illustrious Corn- ,' mander, whOse loss could not be sufficiently la mented. It was, however, some consolation that such a man must, in the coUrse of his professional life, have formed others with similar views 'and si milar dispositions, eager to emulate his brilliant ex ploits, and to whose future exertions the Country might look forward with confident expeetation.— From his gallant - successor every thing might be expeeted, if an opportunity was aflbrdeql, that bra 'very and skill could effeCt. Lord Collingwood had served for a considerable "period with Lord Nelson, , and was.by that Noble Lord particularly esteemed. Lord Nelson, on sailing to take the command of the Fleet off Cadi, expressed his satisfaCtion in the strongest terms, that he was going to take the commandof a Fleet whichwas under the charge of so brave and excellent an officer as Adm. Collingwood. The exertions of Lord Collingwood after the ACtion of Trafalgar, demanded the highest praise. Not * withstanding one of the most tremendous storms that had ever been witnessed, every Ship of the British Fleet was preserved from its effeets, and the captured Ships of the Enemy destroyed ; the whole forming one of the most admirable examples of what • could be - effected by the skill, the coolness, and the intrepidity of the British Navy. After making the Motion Of Thanks to Lord Collingwood, and the Officers and Seamen under his command, he intended also to move the Thanks of the House to Captain, now Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Strachan : the victory gained by whom was certainly a great and important one to the Country. Coming so soon after the glorious Victory of Trafalgar, it was by that splendid achievement somewhat eclipsed; but he believed there was no former instance of such a , ViCtory having been gained where our force and that of the Enemy were equal. Sir. R. Strachan 'had also served with Lord Nelson, and was highly es teemed by that gallant Commander. The Noble ;Lord concluded with moving, in the usual terms, for the Thanks of the House to Vice-Admiral Lord Collingwood, Rear-Admiral the Earl of Northesk; and the Captains, Officers, Seathen, and Royal Marines under the command of the late • Lord Nelson. The Duke of CLARE ATE said he would not move any Amendment to the Motion proposed by the Noble Lord ; but he had framed Motions upon the same subject, which' he would read; and which, if the Noble Lord consented, might be incorporated with or substituted for the Motions of the Noble Secretary of State. He did not wish, however, to disturb in the least the unanimity which he trusted would.prevail upon such an occasion. He heartily concurred with the Noble Lord in every eulogium whicb he had passed upon the charader and con duct of the late Viscount Nelson, with whom, as he stated yesterday, he had been in habits of the most intimate friendship. His Royal Highness en tered into.a brief historical Narrative of the profes sional life of Lord Nelson, praising highly that de cittion which prompted him to, sail to the West Indies in quest of the French Fleet, who were frightened from thence at the terror of his name, Lord Nelson, he observed, in addition to all the great qualities of a Conimander,• had a most fervent sense of religion, and always evinced the most ex emplary piety. He had in his possession a paper containing, he believed, the last words that Lord Nelson wrote. His Royal Highness read to the House the paper, which .was a fervent prayer to the Almighty to grant a Victory to his Country. His Royal Highness then read the Motion which he had previously drawn up, and which went to thank Lord Collingwood in detail for his prompt obedience to the orders of Lord Nelson, for his gallant exertions &Ir . ingilie Engagement, and for his conduit after the ACtion in destroying the captured Ships. Lord Viscount HOOD expressed his entire con ! currence with the ealogium which had been passed by the Noble Lord (Hawkesbury) on Ole character and conduct of the late Lord Nelson, for whom he ever had .the highest esteem, apd whose loss he deeply deplored. He derived some consolation, however, from the high character of Lord Coiling woOd, whO,'he Was convinced, if an opportunity offered, would prove himself another 'Nei son: Lord HAUWESBURY doubted the Propriety of tlioMotion proposed by the Illustrious Duke, as by 44 - being in that •dctailed s`aape it might embarrass the House upon future c'ee,igns of a similar nature. It Tad besicis been the constant pra6tice to pass such vote s_in gene; - al It, _however, thr.; • . Dake..wished to press the latter part of his Mo;inn, respeaing the aoaduca of Lo,rd , CollingwOod aft t er the Mtion, he would not objeCt to it. The Duke (j . CLARENCE expressed his willing ness to give up the former part of his Motion, but thought the latter part, respecting the destruaion of the captured Ships, should be incorporated with the Motion of the Noble Lord. He believed there was a precedent for an Amendinent to a - Motion of this nature, in , the case of the Vote of Thanks to a Noble Friend of his near him (Lord St. Vincent). He saw however another Noble Lord in his place (Lord Spencer,) who perhaps recolleCted the circunistance. Earl SPENCER said, be had no recolle&ion of the circumstance alluded to by the'illustriocts Duke, and not being aware that such a point would come into discussion, he had had no opportunity of refresh ing his memory. He was glad, however, that ,the allusion of the illustrious Duke, in calling him up, had giveh him an opportunity of not - giving a silent vote upon this occasion. He concurred in every eu logium that had been passed upon the late Lord. Nelson, and would not, theiefore, detain the House by urging over again what had be - eh so ably stated by the Noble Lord (Hawkesbury). ---, • . 'Lord Viscount Su:mourn thought that some no tice ought to be taken in the Vote of Thanks of the echidna of Lord Colling.wood, after the action, as the destruCtion of the Captured Ships was a special and separate service, for which that Noble Lord deserved the highest praise. After some further conversation between the Duke of CLARENCE and Lord HAWKESBURY, it was at length agreed, to add to the Vote of Thanks to Lord - CollingWood, for his exertiqns dUring the Engage ment, and alSo for his condu& after the. Anion." The next Motion was also altered, on the bug, gestion of . the Duke of CLARENCE, for the purpose of giving separate Thanks to bear-Admiral the - Earl of Nortliesk, who was the only other Flag Officer in the-Fleet. The whole of the Motions for Thanks to Lord Collingwood, the Earl of Northesk, the Captains, Officers, Seamen, and Royal Marines, of the Fleet under the command of the late Lord Viscount Nel son, then passed nem. dis. Lord FIAWKESBURY then moved the 'Thanks of the House to.. Captain, now Rear-Admiral Sir Richard &radian, and the Officers, Seamen, and Royal Marines 'of the Squadron under his command. The Duke of NORFOLK, as the subje& of Thanks to Naval Officers was before the House, wished to say a few words, which he was sorry be .had not the happiness to-address to more Peers than were then in the House. There was a Commander, who though he had not. the opportunity of gaining' a splendid vi&ory, yet, in his opinion, deserved the Thanks of Parliament for his patient and unwearied attention to the duties of the situation in which he had been placed, and in which he had continued year after year, and storm after storm : he meant the gallant Admiral Corn Wallis. There was also another' subje& which he wished to allude to, although he should be sorry if any uneasiness should be created by his allusion, he meant the services Of Sir•Ro. bert Calder. That Commander had gained a vic-• tory, which at .the time was thought important; and though he was aware that the merit of that viaory might be supposed to be done' away by the • subsequent sentence of a Court. Martial, he yet could not help thinking that Sir Robert Calder was • entitled to the Thanks of the House for what .he did effect. He spoke upon this subject as a •land man, and he did not mean to throw the slightest imputation upon the Court Martial by whom Sir R. Calder was tried. , Earl ST. V. AtENT said a few words in . a very low tone of voice, In praise, as we understood, of Sir Robert Calder's condua whilst that Officer served under him. We also understood him to say that it would not be for thehenefit of his Majesty's Naval Service to discuss the subjea alluded to by the Noble-Duke. - - The Motions were then tarried nein. dis. and the whole of them were ordered. to be commit , - nicated by the LORD. CHANCELLOR to the re speetlye Commanders. Adjourned till to-morrow (this day). HOUSE OF COMMONS. TUESDAY, JAN. 28. NAVAL PAPERS. Mr. JEFFERY (of Poole) rose pursuant to notice to move that the Order of Wednesday last, for print ing certain Papers moved for by Admiral Markham, for the purpose of vindicating Earl St. Vincent from the charges brought against, him by Mr. Jeffery, be discharged. This Motion the Hon. Member sup ported principally On the ground of the great length of the Papers andthat procrastination and delay was the only obje& in view in producing them, as they did not at all bear pa the points in disputf:. In the event'of his succeeding in this Motion, the Hon. Member stated it to be his intention to move, that the Papers be referred to a Sele& Committee to ex amine the same, and report what part of them bore on the question, and ought to be printed. Admiral MARKHAM, fr. TIERNEY, Mr. PETER MOORE, and Mr. Serjeant BEST, expressed their astonishment at the line of condu& adopted by the Hon. Mover, NOt contented with bringing forward general charges of a serious nature against a Noble Lord, and moving for a variety of Papers to .sub stantiate those charges, he now, wished to arrogate to himself the province of judging what Papers ought to be allowed to be produced in exculpation of charges adduced by 4iniself, - On the recommendation of the ATTORNEY-GENE, UAL the Hon. Member withdrew his :Motion. TREATIES with AUSTRIA, RUSSIA AndSWEDEN. Lord CASTLEREAGH preseilted, agreeably to the order of his Majesty, the - Copies' 'of the Treaties between this Country and Austria, Russia, and Swe den. , The Noble Lord stated, that the Treaties now laid on the Table coutained every thing of a military na ture between the Countries with Whom we had been in alliance, -which it was deemed proper or becoming to make public. Those who at present composed his Majesty's Government .felt, that when the question came to be discussed it would be found highly credit able to this Country .; there were, however, circum stances in the course of the Ne. ,. g - ciOati on of too delicate a nature, even in ordinary situations, to be divulged, and \Ala, in the present state of things,might prove highly detrimental to the interests of other Countries. The Noble Lord, for one, was cxtremelysorry that the general dizenstien alluded to-the ether Edda did not then take place, as it . would have served as a land-mark to them how to shape their observations on the different parts .of the Treaties as to meet the objeaious which might occu t a The calamity, how• ever, which was then feared, and which had since taken place, laad prevented that discussion, - and, of of course, deprived them of the opportunity: of know ing to what parts of their conslua objeaions were to be urged. Wanting that clue, it would still be their duty to endeavour to meet whatever might be urged against them. They did not consider it their defy, in the first instance, to, lay before the House any part of them Which had not been act ed on. They thought it sufficient if they first sub mitted that which had been aaed on. It would be said that this was only military; but the House would see that a Military Confederacy was, in such circum stances, of greater consequence than a Political, and to it less delicacy attached: On this head, the first feature to be considered was, the number of men which this Country was given to understand not only would be furnished, but was actually ready to take the field ; and the second, What was the cause of the . failure, and to whom was it to be attributed ? It was important, in considering this, to state, that the Plan of the CaMpaign did not proceed from this Country, as indeed it could not. Neither did it proceed from Russia, whose remote situation might have made her less competent to judge on the sub- Jett. But it would appear - from the documents ma the Table that we were not entitled to doubt that, 'exclusive of any assistance which might be oweEted .from this Country.--exclusive of any force to be ex peeled from the Court of Berlitaa-there were actually to be depended on from Austria and Russia, ready to take the field, and a& against France, if she should not accede to reasonable terms, a force of 500,000 men. As already said, the Plan for the Campaign. did not proceed from this country, or from Rus sia, but frem 'Austria ; and it would be for the House to see if the failure and discomfiture of their plans did not also proceed from themselves. In evi dence ofthis, it would appear that the advance beyond the Inn was an absolute breach of ' the military plan pledged to Russia; and although the Noble Lord was not inclined to charge them, with an intentional breach, such was nevertheless the faa. Russia, on the contrary, conformed entirely to the stria letter of the plan of operations which had been agreed on, and her first Column of fifty thousand men ara rived three days sooner than had been bargained. He had troubled the House thus far, thinking it necessary that they should know the magnia tude of the "arrangemehts which the Government. of this Country had stipulated for. How far they had been acted on by other Powers, and whe ther those Powers had faithfully and scrupulously dis charged their part of the Treaty, was no a& or fault of those who had the management of affairs here. Al to the political parts of the Negotiations, he had no difficulty in saying they should be freely communi cated, so tar as could be done with safety, and with- out committing the interests ofother Countries. Those mho at present held the situations of his Majesty's* Ministers, so long as they continued in office, should be ready to give every information in their power on so important a subject. In a short tixna it would be for others to consider how far .they bad acted with a sound discretion, and to judge - for themselves as to the line of conduit which they should adopt. •There was nothing the Noble Lord so much de sired as that a transaiElion of so great a magnitude should not be allOWed to sink into the darkness of night, from whence there was a chance that it might never emerge, and that it should not be buried in oblivion, but that the Public should know, and have an opportunity of judging, how far the endea ' Yours of their servants had been satislaatorilly ex-. erted in promoting the interests of their Country ; and althouzh a l - .e felt that his I\lajestv's present Mia nisters laboured under a very heavy disadvantage in consequence of the melancholy loss which they and the Country had lately sustained, yet he hoped there were still in that House those who could satisfa&orily vindicate their conduct, and even assert their claims to 'public approbation. What ,would be the most agreeable to him, the NebleLord declared, would be an early discussion of the vestioq, But in the state in which the Country stood it was not his intention to propose any thing on the sub : jea. It certainly would not be proper that such a question should be brought forward when any of 'the distinguished persons belonging tq list House were necessarily called on to be out of it. It might happen ere long, that their being called to exercise some important trusts in the State might occasion a temporary cessation of their attendance in that. House. He , should only, therefore, at present, ,move that the .Copies of the Treaties in question do lie on the Table. As to the mode in which the discussion should be brought forward, he had no wish on the subjea,' other than to accommodate those Gentlemen to whom he had alluded. Hia only anxiety was, that the discussion should„ be brought forward. As, hoWever, he and those with whom he ailed would.nothave it in their power to expedite the business, he hoped, that as he should never be desirous to force the discussion at an incon venient time for those Gentlemen, they would be disposed to shew that it had fallen into hands who I would be equally ready to do every justice to the subject. With these explanations', he concluded by moving, "'That the Treaties do' lie on the Table." 111 r . -FOX said, if the Paperl were at present in a situation in which the House could be enabled to judge of them, the observations made by the Noble Lord might be perfealy correct. If they were not in that state, what had fallen from him was quite out of the question. If the Noble Lord ,had attend ed to the Amendment made by his Noble Friend, he would have fbund that it went to this : that when such capital mistbrtunes have occurred within the last year, unparalleled in their probable consequenoes, even to this Country, we should,in voting additional Supplies, take care that we do not entrust them to improvident hands,who may increase rather than di minish and avert the dangers by which we are threa tened to be overwhelmed. To enter into the details of such a subjea before the papers are printed that are to furnish the materials by which a judgment of the faa might be formed,would he improper and unnecessary. With respe& to the wish expressed by the Noble Lord, that the subjea should be fully discussed, and the ramie of discussing it, these were what the House, and the gentlemen to' whom the Noble Lord alluded, he they whom they might, must de termine, and whbrn they mia l t be he could not say.