The Sun. — London, England, 1806-12-22 00:00:00

IMPERJA.L PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF COMMONS, SA.TURDAY, DEC. 20. The SPEAKEr..took the Chair before four o'clock, when several Members were sworn in. Mr. JOHNSTONE, from the Commissioners of In quiry in Ireland, presented the Third and Fourth Reports of those Commissioners, relating to Fees of Offices.—Ordered to be printed. On the Motion of Mr. HOBHOUSE, the usual Corn mittee to inquire into Expiring Laws was appointed. On the suggestion of l e ord flowtcx, it was re solved that no Petitions for Private Bills should be received after Friday, the 27th day of February next. Mr. FELLOWES expressed his hope that a term would be fixed for the recep tion of the_ Reports of Private Bills. It was also understood, on the intimation of Lord How 10K, and with the acquiescence of the SPEAKER, that public business should commence every day at • half-past tour o'clock. A short conversation arose between Lord HOWICK. and Lord FOLKSTONE, respeaing the days . for bal loting the Eleaion Committees. It was decided that two ballots should take place in the week (both on the same day), until the Queen's Birth-day ; after which, as the attendance of Members would be More numerous, all possible dispatch to be used. UNDUE RETURNS. The SPEAKER having inquired whether or not there were any Eleaion Petitions to be presented, and having stated the order by which, according to the rules of the House, the several classes of these Petitions ought to be arranged, the following wore presented and read, and ordered to be taken into consideration on the days attached to them, viz. From Horsham - - Thursday, lan. 8. Penrhyn - Thursday,. Jan. S. Saltash - Tuesday, Jan. 13. Westminster - Tuesday . , [an. 13. Tregony - Tuesday, [an. 20. Malden - - Tuesday, fan. 20. Aberdeen - - Thursday, [an. 22. The Westminster Petition (presented by Lord FOLKSTOtk7O was from JAMES PAULL, Esq. com plaining of the undue return of R. B. SHERIDAN, Esq. The _Petition stated, that, regardless of the laws against bribery and corruption, Mr. SHERIDAN had been guilty of those offences, by giving re wards, in various ways, to many of the Electors who toted for. him ; that he had used threats to in duce those who would otherwise have voted for Mr. Paull to vote for him : that he had procured a considerable number of illegal. votes, and that by such means he had obtained a colourable majority, and was returned, with Sir Samuel Hood, as a Mem ber in the present Parliament for the City of West minster. The Petitioner concluded by praying re lief. HIS NAIESTY's SPEECH. Mr. LA msy.: brought up the Report of the Address to His Majesty, in answer to His Majesty's most gracious Speech. On the mete.: esr ,to being read, Lord HOWICK, unwilling that any thing which he might have said should mislead the House or the Country, rose to explain two circumstances in the debate of the preceding evening. It was certainly not extraordinary, in the new and important situa tion in which he found himself placed, that his em barrassment should be produCtive of some error, however unintentional. He certainly had last night conceived and stated, that Mr,yox's last letter re speaing any. negotiation with. Nance in which Rus sia should not he included, was dated as far back as the 26th of March ; but having since referred to the official documents, he found that the date of the letter to which he had alluded was the 2oth of April and therefore so far the argument of the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite (Mr. Canning) car ried with it more weight than in the other case it would he entitled to. Having said thus much in correetion of his statement, he should proceed to the explanation of another point in dispute. Very .heavy censure had been passed by the Noble Lord and the Right Hon., Gentleman (Lord Castlereagh and Mr. Canning), against his late Right Hon. :Friend, for not having repelled the accusation against - preceding Administrations contained in M. Talley rand's rem to his first letter. To prevent any mis apprehension that might go forth before the Papers should be laid on the Table of the House, he would distinEtly declare, that' his Right Hon. Friend had repelled , that accu sation, though the French Govetorbe n ment, in the publication which they caused made of the Correspondence, had thought proper to suppress that part of it. Mr. CANNING felt that lie was under the ut most obligation to the Noble Lord for the ex.- -treme candour which prompted him to come for .' rd a nd make the statements which he had done. With respell to the date of Mr. Fox's lettcy, certainly had surprised him very much yesterday evcoing, when the Noble Lord declared the date which he had just corrected; but he did not see that the alteration Of date made such a difference in the state of the argument as the Noble Lord seemed willing to allow. He had cnntended, that vet on pne particular day alone, but that on every day the situation of this country, with respe& to Russia, • ought to have been present to the minds of his Majesty's • Ministers, and to have influenced their pondua. With reapeCt to the suppression by the French Government of the defence, which it now appeared by the Noble Lord's statement had been made by Mr. .Fox, of the coiidu& of antecedent Administrations against the foul charges preferred against them; it gave hint great satisfaCtion t o f i nd that such a defence had been made. The House would recoiled, however, that he had last night only reasoned hypothetically on this subject—de airing, that if the chasms n the Correspondence w hich he had described should not be properly supplied, such and such knust be the conic gucuces necessarily to be deduced from that omis sion. In pointing out these chasms, he conceived that he had done a service ,to ~ibis Majesty's Mi- Lord, Howtcx added to his fqrmer statement, that `lr. Fox, in his letter, declaro, that what he did 'gas with the dired approbation i of all his col- tengles. Yr. PERCIZII; said, he did not :T to oppose •The chdress, but inerely,to notice one or two points , A•111c1 , . had lawn omiltvd.in hiss Wl.ajesticZpeech to the aouse. There were a few topics also to which I and topolucied with observinge respecting the West he shed .to advert on the present. occasion, just to • minster EleCtion, thet he did not think there W es t - let the Noble Lord who introduced them see that ariy thinincHon s iple or opinions of ou M ld Pa u l ! his triumph was not as com p lete as he had induced on whicri the e in the pr Right . Gentleman ce himself to imagine. The Noble Lord had, in the himself. course of his speech last night, drawn a-comparison Mr. CANNING called to order, not conceiving it between the fifteen years Opposition of which the right to mention, in teSins of indirect censure, the Noble Lord had been a distinguished Member, and name of a petitioning Candidate. the present Opposition, w hich he characterized as The SFEAKEE said he did not know of any Order faEtious and harrassing, while he complimented his p rohibitin g the mention of any name but that of a own, as one which had been uniformly a&uated Member of the House. by principle: Allowing the Noble Lord all the en- Lord H. PETTY vias glad to find he had not joyment which he could derive from his retrospea, transgressed the rules of order in mentioning the he should tell him, that however he may please to de- name of Mr. Paull, by doing which he did not mean nominate the present Opposition, he would find the slightest disrespea to thet Gentleman. He them at their post, attending to the progress of begged to assure the Gentlemen on tollte other side of public business, and paying particular..atteation to the b House, that he did not intend urt their feel the conduit and measures of Ministers. If the ings hy statin,,,,,in the Most mdirea manner, that there' Noble Lord thought that this kind of opposition, was any similarity between their principles or their founded on public duty, was harassing, he frankly popularity ; he knew they werenuite opposite e lie inforneed the Noble Lord in time, that he could begged pardon for having occupied the time of the indulgence or sound repose during House with this explanation, but seeing that the not expect much indul the Session—(ef great laugh). The Noble Lord Right Hon. Gentlemen mere sore upon this . It thought it right to give them the full `enefit of had laid great stress on the term popularity, which he emphatically declared the present Opposition did his testimony,. and to exculpate them front any'such not possess. This was a point, however, on which political connexion. be did not see that the Noble Lord kad great reason Mr. PERCIVAL explained, and stated, that in to exult. A reference to the contests in those alluding to the popularity of Mr. Paull at Westmin places where the largest share of popularity might 1 ster, be only meant to shew, Pau that comp had aring ten ti the p have been been manifested , would !Soon shew of whet larity with popularity, Mr. ll bea ty and description the popularity of the Ministerial Treasurer of the Navy until the Government cours- Candidates was composed. Look to Norfolk and Sat- Rightre harnessed to the car, by which means the folk, come then to Hampshire; but of the election Hon. Gentleman got a-head of his rival.— , for that place he should not now take any other (Cry of " Order ! Order !") notice than just mentioning that his Lordship would Sir JAS. PULTENF.Y and Mr. J. JOHNSTONE were hear more respeeting it, before the end of the Ses- also of opinion that the Viaory of Maida and the sion, than might be palatable. The Noble Lord state of Ireland should have been mentioned in his could not be ignorant of the sort of populaiity Majesty's Speech. which distinguished the Treasurer of the Navy from The Address was then read, and such Members as • the other Candidetes, at the eleaion for Westmin- were of the Privy Council were ordered to wait on ster. Observing that the Right Honourable Gen- i His Majesty, to know when he would be graciously tlentan was not in his place, he shoUld abstain, pleased to sty, receive the Address. • at present, from taking a view of the Ministerial On thes motion of Mr. VANSITTARTi his Mie popularity in that City. He would take the able fu iffier co jesty's Speec deration onh was also Mon ord day next.ered to be Adjourned• taken into' berry, however, of asking a Right Honournsi Gentleman (Mr. Tierney), whom he was glad to- . , see in the House, what he thought of the point at issue ?—Why was he unsuccessful at Southwark, if the friends of Ministers had been as popular as the Noble Lord would infer foam comparison ? The fact was, that as soon as the Right Honourable Gentleman conneaed himself with the negative quality of the popularity which belongs to the pre sent Ministers, he found that he could not be re turned. As to the Correspondence, he should only observe, that from what appeared, there was enough to shew that it was artifice on the one side imposing on the credulity of the other. He trusted, as well as his Right Hon. Friend, (Mr. Canning) that the whole of the Correspondence, when given, would be so conneEted as to remove the inconsistencies which existed at present : he particularly alluded to the letters of the 1-Ith of June, which could not be re conciled to each other in th eir p resent shape. He was also astonished that no mention was made in the Speech of the Duke of Brunswick, or of the Battle of Maida. He thought it very strange, like wise, that the state of our fu antes had been omitted. He had expelled that some allusion would have been made -to the state of the Neeotietion with America ; but in this, as well as in other points, tie was much disappointed : indeed, when one fairly i i estimated the character of the Negotiators, sanguine/ hopes could not be entertained for a favourable re sult. There was another topic of the most serious importance, which he was greatly surprised to find omitted, namely, the state of Ireland. He hoped, however, that the omission of the state of tines; in that Country arose from the, circumstance et the tranquillity of • thet Country : if this was the case, he congratulated .Ministers. • Repot is of a dif ferent nature were. pretty generally circulated, and even believed by a great many to be true he was happy, however, to find, from the sane:: of Go vernment on the subject, that the report of disturb ances in Ireland was false. But if, unexpectedly, it should turn out that a spirit of insurre4ton had unfortunately manifested itself in that Country—it disturbances had really broken out there, he re minded Ministers that lenity might be the worst policy. He did not mean to enter into the ques tion respe&ing the power of the Crown in such circumstances ; but should again tell Ministers, that forbearance was, in a certain state of things, a crime, and that the vigorous exercise of power, in time, might be mercy to the deluded them selves. It' Ministers found it necessary to resort to strong measures respecting Ireland, he assured them that they should find him, and those with whom be had the honour of aCting, ready to afford them every assistance. Lord H. PETTY observed, that, from the thin ness of the House, he should best consult the feel ing of the Members present by not entering into any detail °lithe topics introduced by the Right HOD. and Learned Gentleman, nor indeed should he have thought it at all necessary to rise, had not the Learned Gentleman made a personal allusion to him, in ad verting to the Finances. On that suhje& he should content himself at present with observing, that when he should have the.honour of opening the Budget, it would undoubtedly be his duty to state to the House his view of the resources of the country. It was said in His Majesty's Speech, that they remained unim paired, which general statement be considered fully sufficient, until the time should arrive for entering into a detail, which, he had the setisfaaion of say ing, would prove to the House that our finances were as prosperous and flourishing as could be expect ed, under existing circumstances, and fully adequate to our exigencies. The Right Hon. and Learned Gentleman seemed also surprised that the state of Ireland had not been mentioned in - His Majesty's Speech ; but it was omitted for the best of reasons, namely, because the mention of it could do no good and be thought that a . similer reason should halve induced the Right Hon. Gentleman to ab stain from noticing the subject in the House of Commons. He assured the Right lion. Gentle men', that Ministers felt the importance and responsi bility of their situation, and should act accordingly. Whenever Ministers should think any extraordinary exertion of Government necessary for proteaing the 10) al, and putting down the disatThaed, in Ireland, the Right -Hon. Gentleman may be satisfied that they would not shrink from the di'charge of their duty. The Noble Lord then cursorily adverted to the other topics introduced by the Right Hou,Ger2.tiernan, 70 CORRESPONDENTS. We thank our Correspondent, A DUTCM MERCHANT, for hio iuggfstiors. lie will see that we endeavoured to obviate the danger be points out a day or two ago 3 4 and we assure bins eke it was previously our intention to observe the AgUibll be to re. peqy in-am:ends. MAILS. ARR IV ED-2 Dublin. Du E—s Gottenburgb, t Dublin, Watertord. PRICE O 1 STOCKS THIS DAY AT TWLLVE O'CLOCK. Consols - - 6o I f Red. Ann. • THE SUN. SOLZM QUIS DIOERZ VALSUM AUDEAT ? LONDON, MONDAY, DECUMBER 22, 1806. IT is with much surprise and concern that we ob servo the condu6,l of the opponents of Government at the present awful period. Never was Europe in so disastrous and melancholy a state as at this mo ment, and never before was danger so near our doors. Nor is the danger of the ordinary kind, but one that threatens a total destru&ion to that system of Government under which the people of this Country have so long been independent, happy, and secure. Is this then a time for the petty warfare of political r►valry, when every man should join hand and heart to resist an Enemy that menaces utter ruin to us as a Nation ? be inferred, that an undue exercise of that prorog - a- - tive had taken place. It should be observed, that a great and essential change had taken place in the Administration of the Country, and in such a si tuatioiL • Ministers aced with a wise and man ly policy in throwing themselves upon the Peo ple at large, and giving, them a full opportu nity of asserting their freedom in the choice of the Representative Body. Besides, the Rupture of the Negotiation with France was another and a strong ground for Ministers to recommend this measure to His Majesty. The restless and insatia ble ambition of the Enemy having rendered the re, storation of Peace, at least for the present, imprac ticable, and the continuation of the War having become a• matter, not of choice but of necessity, Ministers 'were certainly justified in making this' general appeal to the Nation. As to the other points urged against Ministers, they are of minor importance, and wero so ably., answered by Lord GRENVILLE and Lord floicic, that it would be only weakening their arguments is • dilate upon a subjea in which the condu& of Ad-- . ministration was vindicated upon such clear and satisfaaory grounds. We shall tomorrow resume this subjea, and make some observations upon the Amendment which was proposed. WE announced on Saturday the arrival of Duki Papers, containing the Thirty-sixth Bulletin of the operations of the French Army, from which it ap pears that the French have entered Warsaw, and the Russians retired to the other side of the Vistula.— We rejoice to find that the Russians did not risk a battle on this• side of the Vistula, because they must have engaged with a .great inferiority of numbers, and the consequences of a defeat would have been most disastrous. They will now have an opportunityof canceling the whole of their force, and of forming 'a junetion with the remnant of the Prussian Army under General KALKREUTH ; for we do not think that BONAPARTE Will at present attempt to pass the Vistula ; the bridges have all been destroyed, and all the small craft secured, so that we doubt whether he. bias: the means, even if he bad the inclination, to make the attempt. The Bulletin boosts of the enthusiasm with which the French have been every where received by the Poles ; but, we are inclined, to believe that this statement is colt siderably exaggerated, because it will be recol leaed, that in one of his former Proclamations, he declared that, as soon as 30 or 40,000 Poles were embodied, the independence of Poland as a Nation should be ,recognized yet we now find him ex pressing considerable doubts upon the subject. It . appears that BONAPARTE IS still endeavouring - to, threaten or to cajole the KING of PRUSSIA into a Peace, and for that purpose DUROC has been sent to His PRUSSIAN MAJESTY (who is atoesent at O. terode) with fresh propositions. A report was circulated on. Saturday, that Go vernment had it in contemplation to place all the Ports of France, and her Allies,, in a state of block ade. We are authorized to say that there is no foundation whatever for this report. --- His Majesty's Speech, it might be conceived, was construaed in such a manner as to demand a cordial unanimity ; and the objeaions that have been made against it savour much more of the zeal of Party than of true political sagacity, or the feelings of ge nuine patriotism. The grand point at present is the se- Yesterday the ROYAL FAMILY, attended . by Lady eurity of the Country from the attacks of an Enemy • CRANLEY, General SPENCER, and others, went to St. George's Chapel, Windsor, and heard a Sermen by who possesses the most formidab le p owers, and who . Dr. HEATH. will employ all possible means to dire& those powers The apartments in, Hampton Court Palace which against us; and the Opponents of Ministers will as were occupied by the Prince of ORANGE, have, we little consider their own credit, as the safety and understand, been prepared for the reception of tho Duchess of BRUNSWICK, as. soon as the state of her honour of the Empire, if they throw obstacles in the Royal Highness's health will admit of her removal way of those who are endeavouring to avert the to this country. storm that threatens us. This is not the language of The account in the Morning P sank apers of the Aven. Pof War having been in an Engage despeodency. We confidently rel y on the re- -ger Sloo m ent i s unfounded, as she has arrived safe in Port. sources of the Country; and the spirit of the Our information is derived from a person who \l l 3 People ; but it is impossible to foresee -what on board that vessel. misfortunes may arise if we should be divided American Papers to the 20th ult. have been re ceived in town. They state, that DESSALINES, Em among ourselves. The two principal grounds of peror or Hayti, had been put to death in the course charge which have been brought forward against of an insurrection excited by erial his tyDiad emrannical wad an ex ca- Mi n isters are the recent Negotiation w ith France, pricious ea conduct. The Imps Ded to be assumed by CHRISTOPHE , a person , b y and the Dissolution of Parliame n t .—As . to the Ne all accounts, of much superior talents to his prede gotiation, it would have been more discreet and cessor. . liberal, as well as just, in the Opposition Members, The Madrid Gazette of the 28th alt. received by the Lisbon Mail, mentions, that MIRANDA'S loss in to have waited till Ministers had submitted all the his late enterprizes against the Caraccas comprised Documents to Parliament, rather than to have 120 persons killed or made prisoners. reasoned upon those garbled and imperfea Papers It has been erroously reported that the Defiance had been run down by the Spencer, in consequence which the French Government have thought proper of the body of a Lieutenant having been washed to promulgate for their own e nds.—When these ashore on the Coast of Cornwall.' The Lieutenant, Documents are before the Public, we have no doubt ! we understand, had quitted the former Ship, and ; had embarked on board a Merchantma n ; but we that they will fully vindicate the condua of Admi- have nut heard by what accident his death was oc nistration, and manifest the artifices as well as injus- ! casioned. tice of our Enemy. Upon this point, then, it appears The letter from Cowes, stating the loss of Mr. to us the Opposition have been much too precipitate STRATFORD'S Company of Comedians, in the Sloop Ann, proves to be an unfounded fabrication. The and rash. The Dissolution of Parliament is another Company was performing at Poole a week after this measure for which Ministers have been censured. accident was said to have taken place. That it is the undoubted prerogative-of His, MAJES-. The Querqueis, or Esquerques, on which the Athenienn.e was lost, are rocks scarcely percep- Ty to dissolve Parliament cannot for a moment be tible above water, and in a ew:ranee like a lire questioned; yet, by the asperity with which the boat. They lie abwit 18 lea , e ue , N. N. E. by cum% • late Dissylutiva has been attached, it might Alr4Qst i pass, from, Cape Bona, near l'unise. TIIE rumour that his Grace the Duke of BED.. FOND has tendered his Resignation of the Govern ment of Ireland, and that it had been accepted by Ministers, as stated in a Morning Paper of this day, we have authority to say, is wholly unfounded.