The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1808-02-16 00:00:00

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inistes most be untle with respect, to the Rro-
duction of paners•for the present iisqeiry, from the
mew circumstance of there being it change is His
Alsiirsty's Councils, before it wad Latussilsle for them
to know what were the dosnnientio of -wide+ Go--
yew/lent were possessed. He should have wished, •
however, that these were the only difficulties that,
presented themselves upon the present °e-
,:1111a u:i on this topic. '!'here was a promp-
titude in the former government to produce
all dot:lintel:La that could be available, or
that a reasonable man conk' deem importeut.
M there were many outlet:len nuaelnainted with
the manner in which the Beard of Admiralty was
touducted, be should take this opportunity of ad-
rcrting to it. The High Admiral being usually a
Cabinet Minister, a great deal of the most import-
wit communications of the Board of Admiralty
passes immediately through the hand; of the Find
Lord Coto inhalant himself, and indeed more so
than in any other public, Board, and a great deal of
!minims.; pusses also between the First Lord of the
Llmirakv and the Commauding Officers of His
gajesty'; fleets and sq unit roes. Ile was desirous to
know what papers had come more imme-
diately into his own poszesnon as First Lord
eutnissioner of the Board, and what were
likewise to be found at the Board. He knew
what papers bad bean tree heitted by the Com-
manding Officers of Squailrous at the time he
quitted the Admiralty. but evntleinett must re-
cellect, that a great deal of the eoiumunicatioua
with Admiral Lord Daekwortis, as to the Darda-
nelles Expedition, as well as with Sir Thomas
Louis, must have, in feet, arrived six weeks after
the change of the Goverinueut. lie quitted the
sid.iiinslty in April, and the papers must have ar-
lased iu May. He did not know whether the com-
iiinuication or report made by Sir Thaw.' Louis,
a. 'lea commanding a winadron of three sail of the
hue, the advanced guard, as he might can it, of Ad-
uu Duckworth, had been presented to the Board.
lit meant the report made by that officer to Lord
a.eilingwood, as to the state of the Dardanelles,
tie Turkish fleet, and this lueteries at Constanti-
nople, dated the Sth of December, 1801$. Six
weeks after the order was given for the expedi-
tion in question, it being signed upon the 2&h of
November, not knowing whether the Lords of the
Admirulty were powered of a copy of that docu-
ment, he took en opportunity of sending them '
ear. . From this the Howse would see, that if
there Were an- question as to the insufficiency of
the force of the expedition so sent, there could not
be any better document than the regular report of
the actual state of Constantinople at the time the
brat part of Visa fleet sailed for the Dardanelles.—
Ile stated to them, at the same time, that he did
not know whether any duplicate of that,cornranni-
cation hail been sent to the Board. The answer he
received from the Board of Admiralty was, that
this did not know whether any such pane? ezisted ;
but at any tate their Lordships thought it could be
of no further use to the public, the business to
which it related being concluded ; and they ac-
cordingly returned my communication. Now, he
begged to observe, that daring the time he was
attached to that department, there was a great va-
riety of papers prestincil to the Board, upon which
uo measure was to be taken, but being perfectly
harmless, remaiuediunocently iu that mansion, the
Ailtairaitrboarst% •wiahnnt any perm ever thinking
of throwere theta out of the window, or casting
them back in the face of those who sent them. This
document, however, together with two certified
copies of letters written by him to Lord Coning-
wood, were returued to him by the Board of Com-
miesionerr. He had heard suggestions that Alexandria
bad been attacked in tune of peace, and knowing
that a letter had been written by bite, as Fula
Lord or the Admiralty, to Lord Collingwood,
tilling his attention to the determination of Go-
vernment, that no ineasitve of hostility must be
bad recourse to until Mr. Arbuthnot, His Majesty's
Minister at the Porte, had declared to him that
the result must be war between the two countries;
with that knowledge he thought that that was not
en unimportant dncument to present to the Board,
certified, mate had not the original, it being in the
enatody of • Lord Colling.sood, who was then
in the Mediterranean. There could be, there-
fore, no difficulty in moving, with the accus-
tomed civility of a Member of Parliament,
that these additional documents be laid be-

fore the Hodge. Ile took an opportunity of
bending back these documents to te Admiralty
Lords; not in his capacity of having formerly
titled that official situation, but by the privilege
which he enjoyed, along with every other subject
possessed of aieheette documents, of communicat-
e:, them to a public Board. He rather thought
it was extraordinary in that Board still to deny
these dezuments house-room ; the more especially
there was every nossibility of their being of
utility, both as a pulific document, and a justifica-
tion of the conduct of Lord Colliagwood.
Mr. WaraLxn.r.v P.n.s said., the Honourable
Gentleman who had just sat down, appeared a
great deal astonished at the refusal of the Board of
Admiralty to place upon their records certain let-
ters sent by that Honourable Gentleman to the
reed for that purpose. If that Honouruble Gen-
ieman had, at the time he was vacating the office,
which he filled at the Board of Admiralty, required
to have these letters, which it appears he was then
Pliv'ssed of, placed upon the records of that
lioattl, he, Mr. Pole, was satisfied there would
•e no difficulty in effecting it: if the Honourable
(Icatiensaa, in his situation of First Lord of the
Admiralty, had written thwae letters to Lord Col-
lingwood, which he has alluded to, it was his duty
to take care that they were put upon record pre-
vious to his vacating his office. He thought. the
Ho:pourable Gentleman ought to have very well
known that private +letters, wri.cen by a First lord
of the Admiral!„( y e, which be wished
to be made public, should, at the time of
their being written, be noon recorcl.
No Lord of the Admiralty could, consistently
with the practice and fume of that Board. re-
ceire letters uncle, the etrcnnuitancesnmentinned
by the Hoziourable Gaatleassan. lie thought
it rather strr.nge in the Hoot. Gentleman, after
being in posseasioa of letter from Lord Colling-
wood near tea months, now to co:ne forward and
demand to have them put upon the records of the
~13_3ard f tdm_irait,..v. He recollected that some
Past we non. ceratlaaaas bad written a letter

to Lord Mqtgrave, iaeloalog some communications
frtn Lord Collingwood to the Hoa. Gentleman.
He some time after, as well as he could recollect,
saw another letter of the. Hoa. Gentleman, in
which the Urn,. Gentleman requested Lord Mul-
grave to return him the letter and commuuica-
tious seat him (Lord Mulgrave) as they were not
fit to be seen by every body. Those letters, he'
multraood. were returned to the H. 311. Geutleinan.
Hf believed that those letters' were the identical
ones the Hon. Gentleman now required to be
placed upon the reconls of the Admiralty Board.
H 8 begged to ask the Hon. Gentlemati, if the
practice was admitted of recording letters at the
Admiralty Board, which were in the possession of
the party 'eluting then' for such' purpose many
months previous to t:seir transmitting them to the
Bonn!, what the consequence would be ? Ile begged
to 'smw what would preveut . auv Ho:mumble Geis-
tleaam from sending at any time letters to the
Board, and reqiiiriag them to be recorded ? It
would be a practice in his mind frauied with mis-
chief. The Hon. Gentleman has told us that he
had transmitted to the Board of Admiralty ha-
ant communications from .tilsnirnl Sir Thomas
portent cournunkationi from Adunirul Sir Thomsi
Loutv, and requested them to be recorded. Why
did not the Hon. Gentleman take cure to have
those important communitiationa, which he consi-
ders so essential in the defence of himself and his
Colleagues, recorded in the Rinsed of Admiralty
When be receiied them ?—And why now so unrea-
sonalsly come forward, and after the lapse of twelve
months require them to be recorded? Ile would
appeal to any Hon. Gentleman who bud ever tilled
the Office of. First Lord of the Admiralty, to say if
he lied ever heard of such a dema.,d? He would
beg the lion. Gentleman or any of his Colleagues
to say, whether they would consider it regular to
place those letters upon the records of the Admi-
ralty Board, under these circumstances I It would
be irregular and infornial in the highest degree so
do so, and could answer no purpose to the Hon.
Gentleman, as they could aot legally be acted on.
If the Hononrable Gentleman, in the plenitude of
hip power as First Lord of the Admiralty, would
think himself authorised to act in this way, he was
glad to find those at preseut filling that office did
not feel authorised to do so. He was satisfied the
House would think that the Admiralty Board acted
correctly.
Mr. Gatirettt.t confessed he was a little one-
prised at the remarks of the Honourable Gentle-
man opposite. He assured that Honourable Gen-
tleman, that he, Mr. Grenville, did not assume any
unreasonable authority in cooriquence of filling the
office he did, as First Lord et the Admiralty. He
however could not help saving, that Honour-
able Gentleinam had grossly mistaken hint. The.
Honourable Gentleman has mentioned that be had
seen two or three letters transmitted to Lord Mul-
grave, and that in the Honourable Gentleman's ,
opinion they were the letters alluded to this night.
He assured the llononrable Gentleman he waseu-
firely mistaken. He slid recollect sending letters
to Lord Molgrave, bat they were 'of a stamp
totally foreign to the present oafs. Was there a
man in that House, lie would ask, who had heard
of the unfonseled reports that had •been so iiidus-
triously circulated, as to Lord Collingwood having:l
got orders to attack Aleianciria in time of veace,
that could blunr him fur, making crepe' effort to
prove the falsehooX of such report He therefore
did feel, that the refusal of the linard, of Admiralty
to record the letters stated by him; was unfair and

• improper.
Mr. WELLtstat• Pot.e was not conscious of
having mistated the lionourahle Gentleman—no-
thing could be more forcign froiu his intention. He
did think that wont In hal stated respecting the
letter+ to Lord Collinlarood was co:rect.
Mr. JoussTallifE said, that in his mind di, let;
ters looked for ought not to he granted. It ap-
peared to him that the ni of the mono:, was to
avrertain how far His Maiestr's late Ministers were
culpable in the te. ledition to Constantinople.
He thought it could answer no useful end, and
that it had not beta the practice of the House to
investigate the conduct of those that were out of
office. The present inquiry, he conceived. was of
a nature totally different from that instituted with
respect to the expedition to Copenhagen. If Mi-
nisters had been proved to have acted wrong in
the late attack upon Denmark. they could have
been impeached, and would have been put out of
office. In the present inquiry, it were useless
to impeach the late Ministers, or to say they ought
not to he employed.
.This he conceived could an-
swer no pr.actical.porpose. He reconciled at the
close of the American War it was not thought ne-
t cessary to enter into an inrestigittioo of the unfor-
tunate expedition nude, Lord Cornwallis. What
had been insinuated about the instructions said to
have been given to Lord St. Vintent, when that
Noble Lord ties ordered to Lisbon, he thought
was unhappily and improperly introduced into the
present discussion. He was an enemy to the pre-
sent inquire, which could answer in his opinion no
other enil than that of unnecessary tebuke, retort,
and recrimination.

Mr. We %DUOS said, he felt very differently on
the present occasion from the Hon. Gentleman who
had just sat down. That lion. Gentleman could
see no benefit likely to arise out of an investigation
into the conduct of His Majesty's late Ministers ?
‘Vhat I was there no necessity for Ifts Majesty's late
Government to vindicate themselves against the
foul, unfounded, and unjust charges that have
been made against them —Are they to he conti-
nually exposed to the attacks and rebukes of those
who are unceasingly barking against them ? He
considered the production of those docuoients in-
dispensably necersary to rescue Ills Majesty's late
Government from the insinuations that have been
thrown against them, and to expose the venality
and weakness of those who have endeavoured to
asperse them. Ile was sorry to be obliged to think
that what had fallen front the Hon. Gentleman
over against him (Mr. W. Niel, had no ingredient
in it, but that of having the misfortune to contain
nothing applicable to the present purpose. The
lion. GentlemosiadleVr the. private eorn-
munications of the Admiralty are
never made public. Dot:, it follow, because the:
could nor, aceonrjug to rigid rase, headed on, that
they should not beiveorded ? Does tlivitobAlemle!
maaamean to sap that *no transectinneArionid be re:

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itilsject offegre4 that inote atteotion had not been
paid to the rec4ring of every transaction. If this
object had been *more closely attended to, we
should not now have to combat against the d dicul-
ties which are atte apted to I.e thrown in the t. ay
of our complete jostideation iu the present inquiry.
lle contended, that the letters required by his
Hon. Friend unit hitta, Mr. Grenville,lo be Placed
upon the retards of the Board of Adiniraky. should
have been done so. He thought the Board of Ad-
miralty were bound to have colipiied with so rea-
+unable a deinaad. The Hon. Gentleman has said
that there are private communications which pass
between the Admiralty toad others, which they are
not boutid to record. Does it thence follow that
they are not bound to record any thing of a private
nature ? The question is not whether they are
boundto record every thing, but whether some com-
munications may not be of such importance as that
they are bound to record theta? if ever them was
a necessity for the recording a communication,it is
in the present ease. The moat foul and scan-
dalous iusiuuatiuns have been thrown oat against
my Honourable Friend and his • Colleigues.—
The Admiralty Board think proper not to record
those letters, which would rebut, in the most effec-
tual manner, thane fool uspersiorm ; amid, by refus-
iqg to do so, prevent, us far as iu them lies, that am-
ple justification which would otherwise take place.
If communications to the Admiralty Bourd could
be shewu to be useful to the public, he could ace
no reason why they should not be recorded when-
ever they were offered. The situatma under whit h
his lion. Friend stood, required th t those letters
should come in an authentic and regular form,
from the Admiralty Board, and not .iminediately
from under the hand of his lion. Friend, lie et,ul.l
not help thinking, that the air of delicacy, shewn
by the 'loom:treble Gentlemen opposite, in their
offers respecting the production.of those papers re-
lative to this expedition, appeared to bun tt good
deal affected. Why not behave iu an optii,.cati-
did, and manly maihser ? Ude/ not comply with
the request of his Honourable Friend, and give him
the benefit of haviug thole letters regularly re-
corded, and the advantage of their production in an
authentic manner.

Lord CAtTLEREAGH said, he considered the
conduct of His Majesty's late Government most to
blame in not having pEovided such a military force
as would have prevented the disasters that attended
the Expedition to Constantinople--Though he
did not consider it a puhlie benefit to discuss the
present question in the way it has been done, he
could not, at the same time, agree with the lion.
Gentleman opposite him. 'ffe considered the atr,
tempt to endeavour to have letters, said, to have '
been received from Lord Cullingwood, placed
upon the records of the Court of Admiralty, .in
twelve months atter the transaction to which they
refer had taken place, as one of the roost extraor-
dinary and unprecedented acts he had ever heard
.of. ii. was the inure surprised at this attempt
Coaling from Hon. Gentlemen who had complained
so much of extracts from letters being read in this
House, on the late important discussion of the Ex-
pedition to Copenhagen. Nothing, he conceived,
could be so injurious as to admit a Lord of the
Admiralty, after he hail retired from that office, to
select such papers nr letters ai lie thought fit,
and in twelve usauths,,Astrir to require them to be
Owed upon the records of that Board. No-
thing could be sre fatal to the public service,
as to allow private letters, which a Lord of the
Admiralty had received whilst in office, and.did
not think pivirei• to leave after him, to he recorded
at any period after, that may bestoirit his purpose.
Why require the 'auction of the Board of Admi-
rah/ ? Why did 'not the Iloaourable Gentleman
produce those letters, and read titian to the House i
'Bibs Noble Lord concluded by expr&ssing his de-
cided approbation of the conduct of the Board of
• Admiralty, who, 'spun this occasion, hi upon every
other, had acted lajth correctness and propnety,
Mr. Griativitti, in explanation, said, he lied
asked the Board of Admiralty for documents, and
the Board would not grant them. He had not had
the means of knowing whether Lord Cellingwood
had sent duplicates to the Board or not.
Mr. Caonea was corn,; the papers bad been
moved for ; because be did not see that any blame
attached either to the planners of the Expedition
to Conlitant'uOple' or to those who carried the plea
into execution. The hue Ministers might have
had anterior political motives for ordering the at-
tack. The Admiralty were justified in refusing
the application for. papers; for in so doing. they
resisted an attempt to fabricate evidence.
_ _

A Member, whose name we could not learn, op-
posed the production of papers, because it would
lead to a military discussion, which must occupy a
great portion of the time of the House, without at-
taining any object.
After some observations from Admiral MARK-
nsu, Mr. POLE, and Mr. TAY Lot, who spoke in
reply, the motions were severally put.
Mr. CANN! NG objected to that part of the first
motion, which proposed to lay before the House
the Secret Articles of the Treaty with Turkey, in
179, beams' he wished to have time to inquire'
whether any Secret Articles did exist, and whether,
if they did exid, it was fit to protluce them ? He
therefore moved, to omit that part of the motion,
which was done, and the remainder was agreed tn.
The motion or Lord Elgin's dispatch, notifying
the treaty with Turkey, was then agreed to.
On the motion being put for Mr. Arbuthnot's
Correspondence relative to the Expedition against
Constantinople,
Mr. Gamin C JOHNSTOII3 moved, as an amend-
ment, to leave out the words" expedition against,"
&c. and to substitute " muses of the present hosti-
lities with the Ottoman Porte."

This was objected to by Mr. WlLattaraltat. and
by Lord HaxaY PirrrY. whosuid it was incumbent
on the country to justify itself to the'world. for be-
ing at war with ITurkey at ull. The principle of
the war ought to he (hummed. as well as the mili-
tary service. He was therefore against omitting
any wards from the motion.

Mr. Cs/rut:set proposed that the ori•_;inal Mo:ion
should stand, together with the Auttodutent, wh:ch
was awry(' to.
The other Motions were then severally ugrred
to.
PATERS RELATIVE TO PORTVCAL.

Aarßl lonetir, poiA:aot to it untive !:r hal
Mae to wove tur pycl rel•stiVete

the tionsactions of this co entry with regard to Por-
tugal. He said, it was necessary that the House
should have full information on the proceedings
ithesid.4 to hare taken place in the Tagus, in or-
der to rescue the lute Ministers from the impute-
of having orzlered au act similar to the Copen-
hagen Expedition. He conceived web ioforma-
two be necessary for the charac*er of the coun-
try ; and that it was the duty of Peitilidotelst to of-
ford an opportunity to the late Miniaterufor jaitify—
log their conduct in that instance. The Hoodur4-
ble Member then moved an Address td His Mr
justy, for laying before the House a copy Of the in. ,
structiorn !coven to Earl St. Vincent, for the direc-
tion of his conduct, in regard to Portugal, in 18015.
A ko the instructions given at the same time to th.
Earl of Rosalyn and Gen. Simone. Amnion motion
was, for Copies of all. elEcial communications node
by them to the Prince Regent of Portogob in paw
suance of the instructions they had received &Oa
this country ; stud also the dispatches they had rent
home, giving en account of the pros, edingx thAt
took place during the audience they had with the •
Prince Regent of Portugal.
Mr. Ciiittirio--.‘ Sir, I never can agree to a
motion of so general a nature as this, *lnch 'canes
no discretion with the Executive Gnveniment, astu

what articles of information ought to be given, or
what ought to be withheld. If this mutun shank
be agreed to, Its Majesty would be oblig:d per-
haps to lay before Parliament many communica-
tions of the most delicate nature, tlist ought never
to be suffered to meet the public eye. Such a mode
of proceeding as this never was attempted until the
present time; and if it be suffered to be earned
into practice, it may Lead to infinite inimehiefircd
difficulties. If the Hon. Genthiman had consulted
cue in private upon this paracular motion, I would
have cheerfully pointed out to him the mode be
which he could attain his object, of receiving aft
the information he could desire, or all that was

uecesiairy for him to have, without any of the hi-
courenienciea which must result from the motion a

it now stands. lint tw lay before the pnhlic ail
the particulars of emery personal conference
which may. have taken place between a So-
vereign Prince, and an accredited Minister.
at his Court, is a practice that has never been
resorted so until the present times, and is a
practice thid roust produce infinite mischief and
danger. One of the .;rest advantages which
,
France enjoys, at this time, °yeti other countries.
is, that the /trench Ministers in foreign States con-
trive to hold personal conferences with the Sera-
reigns at whiime Courts they reside. The *net
etiquette is, that the conferences shall take piece
with the Ministers of the Sovereigns. let fedi
has been the astiendaney assumed by the Frnsich
Ministers, that they have frequently forced thihr
way into the closets of the Sovereign•, obtained au-
diences of them, and sometimes carried important
points, while the English Ministers had frequemily
to wait in the anti-chambers. The English wk.
nicer*, however, seeing what had been so often desie
by those of France, contrived also to Obtain admis-

siivn to the prevenee of the Sovereigns, and in that
respect got upoa an equal footing with the French
Ministers...l3l.a it' it than now be =ern that tint use

made of this intluixence, is to repeat in pul.lic all
the confidential communications made by a boors
reign to any of one Ministers, and to pnt the who*.
;substance of pitch coranintricatious into a news-
paper (Hear! bear !) a practice' unheard of MD flit
history of civilized nations, ty,e irevifa ebue•-
quenee must be, that every Sorel:snip it
.whose Court any British Minister MAY fedide, win
in future entrench himself behind Ida dltiomitte.
and never hold any personal commuuicalioirs with
ooe of our Ministers. The inonsii of the Hon.
Gentleman is one which it is not fit to Kraut, be-
cause it may lend to all the consequences I have
stated. lam disposed to give him every informa-
tion that may answer Lis purpose, but if he persi‘ts
in this motion I will oppose it."
Mt. ADAK said, that there was DO cireum-

stance more observable, than that. in almost every
debate in that Home, an allusion was made to
rometlitag which passed in the other House of Par-
liament ; and he trusted that ducts a practice
would not be suffered. But as the allusion was
now made, he thou4ht proper to take notice of it.
It was rather a singular thing that that person
should complain of innovations, who had himself
betrayed the documents which were in his posses-
sion, and that, too, by giving only parts and gar-
bled extracts of them. Vet after having done ell
ins, be makes a charge against a Noble Lord its
another House, for having, in cutler to save his
character and .reputation, stated the whole of the
documents which the Right Honourable Gentle-
mass had so partially and ingeniously adverted
to. He protested against that doctrine of re-
fusing to give necessary information, because
it might disclose some privase conferences. Herr
a Secretary of State had priva'e vassages, from ccr-
tali' documents in his possession, so selected, as to
support and carry his own side of the questiot'.
He afterwards refused to lay the whole of these docu-
ments before the House. *Had he then a right to
complain of their being produced elsewhere ? He
now gave notice, that he (Mr. Adam) would
shortly bring some specific question before the
House, the object of which would be, to know
what latitude was to be allowed to Ministers in such
cases, and whether they could tate the office of the
Executive Government on themselves, and make
use of documents in support of their argunieut,
which they would not lay before the House ?
The first motion was then put and *greed to.
The second motion, alteted in this form, was
agreed to ; namely, 4. fat copies of communications
from Lords St. Viticentand Rosalyn, giving an ac-
count of the execution of their instructions."

The third motion was that already noticed. for
copies of dispatches from the above officers. giving_
an account of the proceedings at their audience of
leave with the Ihince Regent of Portugal.
Mr. C•ti Num again opposed this manna.
Mr. SUERIDAK observed, that if an Ambit/calor
from England held conferences with. no other
snit hut the Sovereign at whose Court he resided,
we could have no other source of information con-
cerning his conJuct, but the conferences with -•ich
Sovereign; and wie it to be said that acne kon-
ferences should never be disein,cd ? At the time
when we made the late peace with France, we ac-
knowledged the First Consul as Sovereign of that
country.—(.lies..' Afar 0 When this reeve was pot