The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1808-05-21 00:00:00

Collingwood, stating the iieceasity of sent iug troops,
was ties best answer to such a charge. That
commuuicatioa was dated the sth of Febru-
ary, and there was uo ince who could deny,
that if it was thought prudent to comply wield
its tenor, the reinforcement could have arrived
before one inortle that would be on the sth
of April. In the Mean time, the whole line of
the Dardanelles. was pot into a state of com-
plete defence. The French Anthasiador, Selets-
tarsi, with • number of Freuch °Seers then at
Constantinople, had, according to the statement
of Admiral 113uckworth, under their direction and
command an army of 260,000 men. It' then
such an army was not in Constainiunple, there
was no necessity fur teems, in order to forward
the objects of the expedition. For surely it was
not new to the Hunourable Member to know that
it was' the distinguiehing characteristic of the gal-
lant hero who commanded the British nave, to
despise the dangers of the most tremendous belt&
ries. But if it was true. as wise stated by the gal-
officer, Admiral Duekworth, then he would
ask what could, he effected by one troops, her-
in.; to oppose the') a forte as eaw the* in C.).)-
4.4011,14 e Were the troops necessary to tutre
of the forts at the entrance the'
llhrdatselles ? It snrel could not be considered
eery judicious to have stet troops for that purpose,
with such au hn, tile army wahin fifty miles of
them. With respect to the loss ru se:Med. however
every man mud sympathise in the fate of the brave
flank She had fallen, yet even were the result pre-
viously ascertaiued, it would be the painful duty to
have undertaken the measure. Still the loses on
which such stress had been laid did not exceed. in
passing the Dardanelles. 10 killed ar..l 77 wounn:e
and in re-passing, tf.s killed and 13.5 wounded.—
The Hon. Gentleman who has sulenitted the
present resolutions, next proceeded to comment on
the expedition to Alexandria. And on this heart of
his head of charge, it was necessary to advert to
what had, on a previous case, fallen from the King's
Ministsrs, when in defending the attack against
Copenhagen, they referred to the expedition
against Alexandra as a precedent. To refute such
a position, and to deny any thing like a similitude
in the two transactions, it was only necessary to
adhere to the documents then in the hands of the
Members. By these documents the House would
sod, that an express order want issued by the late
Government to the Hon. General Fox, not to ens-
bark the five thousand men destined for the expe-
dition against Alexandria, until he had received
positive official advice of the conuneucement of
hostilities against Censtantinople, in consequence
of the refusal of the Ottoman Porte to give a seta-
factory security to the remonstrance of the British
Minister at that Court. With respect to the
polic7 of taking paisessiou of Alexandria, with-
out any contemplation of following it up by the
conquest of Egypt, it was rather a whimsical
*ism on that measure, to arraign it because the late
Government did not subsequently do that whi• h
they had originally determused not to do. let
the next point asserted by the Henoumble Mover,
whets he attributed its ultimate emessation to the
inability of victualling it, he bad to answer, in
the most peremptory enanner, that, on the plea
of a want of victuals, during the whole time
Alexandria was in our possession, there was
neither difficulty in keeping it, or a necessity
fur its evacuation. To substantiate this us.
sertion. he stated a fact, to which he challenged de-
nial, namely, that during the whole time the Bri-
tish army was in Alexandria, it was fully and corn-
pleely victualled. That beside a reserve of rice
sufficient for twenty months, and corn for six
months for the inhabitants, together with six
mouths consumption of provisions for the army,
and four for the navy, there had been, by the mu-
tual consent of the British Commander and the
Native Chiefs, greet quantities of rice exported
from Alexandria. But CVen had no such plenty
existed, from the situations of our fleet Ml' the coa-t
of Egypt, and from the position of sonic of our
ships of war in the Rosetta and Damietta
branches of the Nile, the British army could he
provided from the Grecian isles by the resources
of our naval means. Why thee have the King's
Ministers, allowing for a moment that its original
possession was wrong, evacuated it ? Was it to
• prevent such a waste of troops, which they (amid
employ upou more useful and beneficial service?