The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1806-12-20 00:00:00

(don fel tin ifierenevinte only* inatfeel Of !men,- Yet, in '
inithstanot, ctitusons • these sacred communications
between a Sovereign and hie people, to-which you
are to took for the sentiments of the enamel,. In
mint/let view, it settee as A fledge of the Screeteiwi
'and his peer* to the far: of Europe, and t6e one
y Had it heen polithle that- this Speech could
!titre beet introduced tothie House, and the Address,
lel
is mere echo of it, conveyier nnthing mere than the
concerting of measteres f,- net deliverance, !Isl:tit./
P havejeen contented; but there are various eircum-
-1 mantes which prevent us passing it over in silence.
It is an opportunity afforded to Parliament if ex-
pressing their opinion, nut only with regard to its re-
lations to this Country, but to foreign Coonnrios, and
may be intimately cormened with the situation or
relation in which one state stands to another.—lt is
impossible to pass over the means by which we hare
been bro'ight to our present situttion lem of
opinion, that whether, 'when the papers are laid be-
fore the House, it shall Appear that there has been
any remissness, or any omission on the part of
Ministers, or that any part of the Negotiation
could hose been more properly or more quickly
performed. or that they had been trusting ten much
to delusive promises, or have not been sufficiently
expert in anticipating the failure of it, there can be
but one opinion, that the cause of this country, as
ago in*/ France, does not admit of any doubt. In
order to judge of the situation in which we find
ourselves with regard to public affairs, it is neces-
sary to revert to dm einie wheseids• lass ceilfederecy
was dissolved. It is clear, that after the dissolut inn
of that confederacy, and coisiderinf the state of
Reggie and Prussia, there was an &beton, policy for
France, and a clear and obvious policy for Etig.•
'•land. No man will hetitate to feel, that unfortu-
nate as that ceinterieracy was, there' would be dan-
ger in allowing Os limbs to be scattered abroad.
—No man will disallow, that it was the interest
of England to coiled and keep together its cbso
Icarded Memhers, by geinine a constant -inter
course and hortooninus confidence. It was the
interest of Prance, on the othet hand, to tied. the
seamier* dismemberment. 'or even partial aerisrmi
tine, of that c nfederacy. In this resped, what has;
been the course co the present Government. The dig-,
positinn which Prussia maintained was well known,l
and her Dectaratiem :hewed, that she a as forced un-
wilingly into the war with France. rhe loose
statement of the fade to this House, was sufficient to
make us unite in opinion on this othjeft ; bar were
.we. I ask, at that time apprised, that Prussia had
received the Electoral Territoiies at the hands of
France l or that there was a Negnciation going on
at that time, between us and France, for the
reiteration of the Eleftoral dominions ? If it had
been said that His Majesty had been entering
into a treaty with France, it would have 17n-
ntedieely struck every one that the Prussian -war
would have been rendered unnecessary. It was our
interest to peeservethe power of Prussia unimpaired.
in order that one whole force might have been di-
r.,Cied against 'France. This has Ism* our original
error, and oe shall now feel the consequences erOen
too late. We stood in the situation of having a
Minister at Paris demanding restitution of Hanover,
which France is to wrest from Prussia; and we are,
at the seine time, engaged in contesting the mine
matte, with Prussia, and threatening I war if slfe '
does not comply. Under these circumstances, it is
evident that we have been the cause of a war between
Prussia and France. and, by this means. him lot"
a good Ally. While, during the wh-le course
of our discussion with France, the resteration at
Hanover wee one of our particular densanh, we
were thus aiming to get it another way, without
c insiitering whether it was worth while to go to
war with Prussia. Such being the state of our fo-
rengn 'thence', one cannot but look with the ut-
most anxiety and uneasiness to the means which
have been provided for the continuance of this Con-
test." Here the Right Hon. Gentleman entered into
a consieleretion of the means which the Ministers of
the country had useJ, and denied that they were
such as procured any extraordinary degree of una-
nimity. 1-le nest adverted to the circumstance of
' Ministers having dissolved the Pailiement, which he
thought was a very stroag measure, under all t"e
existing circumstances ; tie last Parliament being
one which migl t he deemed. at least free from
the ordinary faults of Parliament. from their hair
ing impeached one Minister. It was an estraor.n.
tory circumstance too, that the Speech from the
Throne did not manifest that we were at war, by
proposing some effedual means to be adopted to re-
pel the common enemy. Great part of last Perlis-
mem was occupied in devising plans for improving
Odes military system of the oountry ; and one plan was
ilerought forward, and pressed with great eagerness ;
O,froin that plan, only one part of the kingdom
',' was exeFopt, because, it was said, there was ton
' time. Now he should be glad to knew, in what
part of the kingdom that extraordinary plan
had been more successful in its operation, than
in the part which had hitherto been wholly
et:emptied fmtn it After various orders. counter-
ceders, and revocations of counter-orders, the
*hole which had been effefted was the storming
of Plymouth, and the expedition to Liverpool.
After these experiments at home. he support' the
Right Honourahle Gentleman would attempt
the enemy with this small army. The whole of the
Right Hun. Gentlemen's plans, when brought be-
fore you. amounted to nothing more then this:
setting off tire-works before Boulogne, and his hay-
ing effected an embarkation of mops upon the Pad-
dington Canal (Lend larigh,vg). Where, he wiseed
to Know, was the contrast in pranice to that ma
nagemeat in military affairs which he had so
often found fault with in his predecessors ! 'I hese,
however, were rot the litaviest part of the
charges which lay against him. He (Mr. Wind.
ham) had occasioned much injury by his partial
appointments. He who had always insisted that he
did not wish to discourage the army. He then al-
luded to, and enlarged upon, the appointment of
General Craufurd to the command of an •snectition,
in preference to many more experienced officers.—
In pursuing this system of depressing meritorious
utficers, may be instanced the conduct of Admini-
stration is the focal of those gallant officers, Sir J.
Stewart, Sir David BairJ, and Sir Home Popham.
The House might be told, indeed. that their achieve-
ments, however splendid, entre not planned by, and
had nut received the sanction of, the merest Mini-
"it's ; but this ~tamely amid, been be adasittett as a