The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1808-02-09 00:00:00

Mae sentiments were contained iu ltis ditputches
to Hiinges-ty'a ninistere, and why were they not
produced by them o the public 2 In Rutieiu, au;
many other 'countries, there were Many parties
and intereuted itrdividuabi, but be would tbk if

the Emperor of Ennio had no intermit to main-
tain the nentmtity of Denmark, and 41Ie coropltte
freedom of the Baltic, which . materially con-

•
trihnted to his d'rgnity-and to his politer.? The
reason that Russia did not declare war boomer, wits
is order to prevent the effect of the embargo ill:A
would immediately have been laid upon her ships.
Yet, notwithstanding all 'these circumstances' we
were holding out Russia to the contempt of Eu-
rope. This was only shewing our malevolence.
There was a time when inlets-a conduct would have

- _
been more violently resented. Had the fate of
Europe no concern in the Law of Nations? He
could assure the Muse. that our conduct was en-
tirely disapproved Upon the Continent. and the
event would prove it.
Lord EftSKINE spoke in favour .of the Mo-
tion. He was sure that Ministers roust :tare no

information upenthe subject of a hostile dispo-
sition in Denmark, otherwise they could not, with
any propriety, withhold it from the House, or at
all events they might at least say, whether or not
they hid any such. information. As to the secret
articles of the treaty of Tilsit, he had a right to
say, that there was not the smallest colour or foun-
dation for declaring that the) related to this country,
notwithstanding what had been stated on the first
day of the Session. Putting then aside any hostile
inclination in Denmark towards this country, or to
lean towards Fr-uice, yet independently of all that.
Ministers sought to maintain, that by the Law of
Nations they were entitled to pursue such a
line of conduct. . Now he should say, that

. -
with such materials as the House were 'as-
sessed of; it could not be asserted with justice.
that it was consistent with the law of nations.—
The [Lapse were anxious tli.t they should have
good de nee in the eyes of the world, and on
that &moil:tit they now called upon Ministers to
produce the documents sought for. ge Tar from
being our safety, as had been alleged, Ae thought
it likely to prove the greatest eslasult, that we
could be subjected to. The first great breach of
the hiw of nations had been practised by revo:it-
tionary France ; but what was our original motive
1n commencing the war against het', and in which
we had expended about 40u millions of tuisaey ?
France had ~.ts giod a right to ground her defence
upon the Articles of, the Treaty of Knits, es we
had to stand upon the Treaty of Tait. The
principle of the war was, that we should be the
great conservators of the public laws of the world,
and that we were to stand fin a as y reek la the All'd
which could never be overthrown. Hew were we

now to defend those rights, which we !were thus
violating? He agreed with the Noble Marquis
opposite, that nations as well at is lividnals, had
a right to attend to their security; but bow was
that to be effectea ? It was only to be done upon
the printi;le of law, justice, and mortlity, and not
by following a system of aggression and pluncleer
Suppose that the house of au individnel. was uAtr
one that was on fire, and seeing the conflagration
spreading, he might have a right to order the inter-
veiling house to be pulled down; was it from thence
to be argued, that an individual, who lived iu the
Haymarket, hearing of a fire nearHyde-ark-coruer.
should, upon the same principle,have a right to pull'
down his neighbour's house, lest the lire should
ultimately reach him ? Surely this could not be al-.
level as consistent with justice or any code of na-
tare! or of municipal laws. Our own security
! must, in every instance, be consistent with the se-
curity and welfare of others. lie wished that France
had actually taken the Danish fleet; fur, so far
from getting rid of a danger, we had rectually got
into the mitst or if. The history of this country
afforded an example, somewhat analogous to the
present case, as being connected with Dewitt:l,
hew far the swerving from those principles of mo-
rality, which ought to govern the conduct of na-
tions as well as individuals, ultimately contributed
to their downfal and destruction. Before any
established law existed in this country, and after
the first invasion of the Danes, when peace was re-
stored, by civil wars being st an end and their
intermarrying. with the inhabitants, Ethelbert,
the then reigning Prince, being at one time appre-
hensive of another invasion from Denmark, and
thinking that their countrymen here would be dis-
posed to join them, chose to order a general mas-
sacre of men, women, and children. It tutted out,
however, that the Danes in Norway had actually
no intention of attempting another tuvasien, bat
hearing of this dreadful and cruel massacre which
had taken place amongst his countrymen, Swene,
the King of Norway and Denmark, bethought
himself of putting an invasion into executin a, in
which he succeeded, and actually established a
more effectual footing in this country.
• Lord BORINGDON expressed his inability to
find any analogy in the treaty of Pitnitz, to which
the Noble and Learned Lord refyrevd, and the
Treaty of Tilsit, the secret arrangements of which
rendered it the duty of His Majesty's Ministers to
take such effective steps to defeat the deteitnined
object of France. It was generally denied ihat
the former Treaty ever had existence; indeed, hr
had heard front a Noble Baron ,Prenville), a si-
milar opinion, expressed iu that House. In %%hat
manner could those treaties be, there fore, compareit,
the one a Treaty almost generally denied, the latter
one, the existence of which there was no man could
deny ?
Lord ERSKINE--across the Table—" I alluded
to the secret arrangements of the Treaty of Tilsit"
Earl of BUCKINGHAMSHIRE contended,
that even on the partial documents produced for
the consideration of Parliament, they were aeces-
! airily driven from those secret articles of the treaty
of Tilsit, upon which so much previous stress had
' been laid. The recurrence to the dates of the
period at which the expedition to the Baltic sailed.
as well as to the treaty of Tilsit, must convince
every man that it was impoesible for Ministers to
have known those articles at the time when the ex-
. peditiou sailed from our poets. This circumstance
of itself rendered it necessary to serl for inf.:mina-
' tiou ou that subject. It was the first time in the
a history of the country, when the nation ass
plunged into • new war, upon such unexpected
l and unexplained grounds. It had no other precedent
' than the conduct of Pruuiain the? year: war, when