The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1810-03-31 00:00:00

THE SCHELDT EN.PEDITION.

The Order of the Day, for taking this subject
into further consideration, being read,
Sir T. 'fulcrum premised what he hail to say, by
stating, that his opinion'extended to ell the Minis-
'tete of whom the Cabinet was composed, at the
time the Expedition was determined upon, and was
not invidiously confined to Lord Castlereagh.
They were all equally responsible, who voted for
the measure, with the Minister who proposed it.
The snbject seemed to divide itself into three dis-
tinct heads. and to these he would successively di-
rect his attention: first, to the object in view ;
secondly, to the means employed ; and, thirdly,
whether Ministers were justified, hi the retention
of Welcheren, after the ulterior 'dejects of the
Expedition were abandoned. The first of these
heeds, again, presented itself in two points of view,
as a diversion in favour of Austria, and as a British
object. fie was utterly surprised. that it could
ever have been considered as n diversion, when
there was not the slightest possibility of its operat-
ing as such. Austria did not think it was of any
service to her, and would have been better pleased
with the ai,lshe asked for, namely, for cavalry and
artillery, in Sicily. the lediterranean, or the North
of Dermal. The feet was, that so far from act-
, ing as a diversion, it did not draw a single man from
the Dantil,e, or keep one from being marched thi-
ther. As to the British object• the question here
turned on this, whether the risk was more than
ought to 'owe keen run for its attainment ? The
object was, to destroy the Greeted, shipping, he.
at Antwerp, the navigation of the Scheldt, and to
roinpier Walcheren. And what were the means
taken to accomplish all this? The person, who
wee to command the Expedition, was not con-
sulted. Here, ton, he might ask. why an Expedi-
tion was not sent out in March ? The answer
was dreadful; because, out of 105,00(5 mew.
we had not then 10,000 fit for service. The Noble
Lord (Castlereagh) knew, in the middle of June,
that the enemy's fleet had been moved up the
river. out of the reach of the Expedition he could,
therefore, have nothing in view, but Flushing ; and
this was an in:shakiest ground for the equipment of
so vast a force. It was said that Antwerp would
fall, as there were no men in the garrison to defend
it. Bnt this was very silly reasoning; for, though
there might be few men at Antwerp, they might be
collected from the country, and fortresses round. in
so short a spare, as to isedveseer the retreat of our
army. This ens the opinioa of ell the officers pre-
viously cousolted on the subject. In other respects,
tile Expedition was lamentably conducted. No
pilots were prepared, and commanders were chosen
unfit to be sent in the command of such service.
He meant no disrespect to either, but Lord Chat-
ham, it appeared in evidence, knew nothing of Ant-
werp—knew nothing of the situation of the arse.
nals--knew little of Lino and Leif kenshoeik—and
nothing of thc7r garrisons. Here. then. was a
mighty Imminent, sent out tinder an Admiral. who
thought there was not grimed toe' and on for a chance
of success. and 14 Cieneral utterly ignorant of the state
of the country. This added heavily to the respon-
sibility of Ministers. Such was the Expedition,
and it was filled with instructions with which it was
impossible to comply. What Was required could
not be done its the time necessary to obtain success.
The vitriol's iee rations In be carried on, before
_reaching Antwerp, would have reduced the main
body of the army to In,Sttn, a force with which no-
thing could hare bevu mcliteved iiesiest that place.
The I lon. Baronet then ininmented 'on General
Cninfisnrs campaign, and observed, that, sanguine
as that lion. Getter.' was, lie had not ventured to
state, that he could have token the enemy's ship-
ping. fie neat canoe to the retention of Walcheren;
and coieletnerd Ministers for be. ing kept it a single
day niter the des'gn against Amery was alien-
tinned ; and the more sv, as they had the opinion
of Sir Eyre Conte, on !ttli September, that there
was an alt,nlitte necessity against it, end already
the numbers of ',irk tiasossnied to nix thousand.
It was hue. Sir Maier I !•tineltell. on 1711. Sep.
icinber, spoke of retaining it ; but then the advice
he gave was altogether with the view to future Con-
tinentsl operations, every prospett of which was
ktassto to Msoetera to have vanishes'; and when he
nag ex.:mined in the House, lie told them. (het, in
any other posts' of view, it was the moat
able thing in the world. Ministers .nid, that they
rereiesil it et time desire of Ans, t ie ; hut they were
omit borne out in thst assertion. (In the contrary.
i• new-tired, that, as soon as A11+1,114 nndrrstn,wl the
d.--,Lo against Antwerp to be aliatitlstorol, and that
setnfined unrorli PP to the emptier.. of Walcheren,
site tea. lodlo'nent, and considered herself ill-treated
by England. Minister, then were answerable for
..ery life Inst. utter further operntions against the
Continent v. ere given UP. The N nide Lord wished.
he told them. to keep alive the military and 1/31111:111
sing;: it of the I.lllllltrY, and for this, and to keep him-
self in plate. it Wit.. 1114 t he stimuli! k.rep the 1.1111111
try in evetlavtiitg ',rode with his disestrons Expedi-
tmas. Ile told thlem, that, under the 411f11,. vorvllM-
%tang cc, he would do the 4111111 P P:111114. Ile, trusted
he woul) never return to niTi -e, to hoer it its his
1411Iter.'Cite Noble Lovirtbon .001. if iii were to

be guided by these cold precautions, then, 'lobed,
Bonaparte would triumph. He thought that Lis
greatest triumphs were iu consequence of our Elite.
ditions; and one of the most joyful days of ins
life was that on which he saw a fine British st'tny
deposited union:; the uuhealthy swamps of Wal-
diesel). Had throe thirty-114re thousand men been
added to the 2ht,000 nutlet Lord Wellington in
Spain, they might have cleared the Periin-ula ; and
besides sending our sick soldiers to Portugal would
have contributed to their recovery. Him. undcr
these circumstances, cools( any man sheltie vote for
the proposal Amendment? There was anoilitr
point, which had not been mentioned in that !louse.
tu cases of 'mount' for brim hof privilege, the
member accused made his defence and withdrew;
now he considered Minister* in precisely a similar
situation, and was surprised to hear a Hight lion.
Gentleman (Mr. Quilling) say, that he would
rote for the Amendment. lie, with his late
colleagues. was accused, and had no right to
vote for their own acquittal. What would
they think, if u person tried on grave charges,
in a Court of Justice, should leap into the
middle of the jury-box, and insist on returning w
verdict on his own case? The practice was halt
consistent with bottom ; and, if they were acquit-
ted by a majority of six, could they say. they were
acquitted by a Vote of the House of Co ninons,
when they were, in fact, indebted to their min
rotes for a determination of their own innocence ?
Was not ministerial inluence enough, without
their appearing personally. not only to exculpate.
but vote approbation for themselves ? He hoped,
however, iu spite of this. that a. censure on them
would par.% that the country might be satisfied
thvir Representatives were doing their duty, laud
nut suffering the blood and treasure of the nation
to be wasted in useless projects. The divisions and
dissensions in the Cabinet acre the sources of that
delay, which had tilled the country with so many
widows end orphans ; and, writing for their eastern
star to illuminate them, our Councils permitted •
gallant
_army to be thinned by disease. in • spot
*brie their continuance was unnecessary. He
wished to extirpate the very name of Expedition
from the Cabinet. that no more men might be sent
to perish by the sword or pestilence in foreign
climes. The happiness of the country, iu his
mind, depended on the ►emoval of the present Ad-
ministration, whose whole system he utterly con-
demned ; and he called on the House not to be
so dastardly as suffer then; to escape Censure fur
this great failure.

Mr.CANNING explained. He had neither ranee!
for Austrian emir any other Papers. throughout this
Inquiry, nor 60
hejustified the retention of Wal-
cheren. on account of its being requested by
Austria.

General Lorry. thought that a very little consi-
deratiou would convince both the House and the
country, that Ministers were right in sending out
the Expedition. It was not (as a Noble Lord had
stated on a former night, in a speech for which the
House was much indebted to him, and the impres-
sion of which would not easily he etilteed), it was
not sufficient to look at the insulated Expedition to
the Scheldt; they ought to direct their attention
to the state of Europe at the time it was sent out.
When the Expedition wets resolved on, Bonaparte
had received a check en the Danube, which furred
him to lie upon his arms for several weeks. Could
there ever be a better time for an effort from this
country, in favour of our allies, nod for our owu
preservation. Self-preservation was a great national
as well as individual object, and an Administration
was bound to look to the most effectual means for
the security of their country. Look, then, at the
overwhelming power of France; at her possession
of the Netherlands and pints of Holland; and look
at our own narrow seas; would any Gentleman deny
that the object in view, to be accomplished by
the Expedition, was of sufficient importance, and
well merited all the cost and pains expended upon
it Holland was not now as it was formerly, a kind
of out-post to this country, and necessary to the ba-
lance of Europe. It was virtually a part of France ;
and could they lay their hands on their hearts and
say that this attempt ought not to have been made for
the safety and salvation of the country. He thanked
God that we stillcoininanded the narrow S.W. lint
it was impossible to say how long we should do so.
The possession of the Flemish ports by France was
extremely daugerous, end should our ships, by a
gale, be driven from their stations, our North East
Coast would be easily accessible to invasion by the
enemy. He trusted the attention of Administra-
tion would be called to the part of our national
defence, which was of extreme importance. The
North-East coast was now more exposed than vier,
and the few fortifications upon it were so much out
of repair, that it might lie considered as bare of the
menus of resistance. Math had been paid on the
evidence adduced in this inquiry ; he would not
occupy their time by 'grin going over it, but con-
fine himself simply to fact.. Ile then tutee led the
equipment, tailing, and design of the Expedition ;
the.ohject of which was defeated by the fleets be-
ing driven into the lionmpot, and not getting op
the West Scheldt. Ile deified the Gentlemen op-
posite to chew that any thing but the wind and
weather prevented the complete success of the Ex.
!sedition. It was contended, that the enemy sere
in force at Antwerp, hut that could not be true.
if they had been in force at Antwerp, they would
never hove given up Bathe without resistance.
Government were entitled to rrestnne on the sur-
render of Atone: p, either from the enroll garrison's
being obliged, by the initabitm•v, to capitulate;
Or. by their beilig compelled to it, by the
and enterptize of the fluvial, army. To prove that
Ministers had a f it pound to expect this, the
lion. General read scveral extiacte from the his-
tory of the campaigns of Prince Engine and the
Duke of Marlborough ; which chewed, that Ant-
werp bad sterreudered to the latter, on his merely
obtaining prossessirm of the avenue., and that Os-
tend had been given up after a siege of three days.
From these historical facts. lie contended. that Mi.
meters were justified in entertainiag similar expect-
ations from the army under Lord Chatham. and'
concluded by giving his support to the amendment.
Sir FRANCIS IBLIRDLTT felt a considerable de-
gree of awe, in rising to speak on a euliject, to
which he was afr.iid he would not be Mile to do the
phone its importance demanded. He hail been
mot nst,ni.hed at many things daring the course
of this eiebate, at the arguments used, and the de.

&nee' set sp. fle was 10 iir•tr • N
Gcnerol, who had join Lit dosis,
because the (leo:ruction or the
a„,l
animals et Aotsverp woo tleviroble, 111,1 t
hlinioteroweie right in attempting, it uneer ',het;
euro.tances develoiseri to the, by the i,„:
on the table. Thai Hon. General hod, it. Li,
of the comiraigns or the Doke of Mor:!.ior,
~;,.
defended the practice of botnhording t 0311,, I ,
exonip!,. in our inotattice of that Cents:O. i;,

eipminn• he could not here noticed shy
I ~,,, ottralde to the eh:lnouye of the I 'Ad..- ~•
Marlborough. It was runtime, that .0 compl, •
Expedition as that was described to he lir thy :
Gentleman, should have so completely tailed! ,
its parts, nod that anieitig all the extiaoreina•
I •tirs brought on the count fy.ley our Eritir dn„,
theof the Noble Lord's, so well provtled, a,„; :„'
wisely planned. sbeot,l have turned out air
monstrous. The Noble Lord, in his speech,
called on them to try this Experlition, by
Isis remarkable phraseology. he d. nottunet.il th.•
experience °film limo. Now, °fall the defence, ii„,,
could have been set me he should the least
expected this. That time Noble Lord should 'mot:.
your to palliate, justify, and excion. was very um,,
rid. but that he should appeal to the expenence nl
the fact, iu a disastic.us Expedition, so otomic,„,i,
against him, was truly womleiful. The Rt. 11,,,:,
(.eut. (Caniiite;,) in his lahoored • speech, 'clem,.„,i
late last slight, fad trti ll to direct their totemic), ~,
the North of Germauy, to Stvin, to u het
to any where- but IllY spot to which the 'ince aav
sent, the policy of *eliding which was now node,
their consideration. He seemed to conceive, th„t
having •the mama of sending an expedition,
it Was absolutely necessary that an expetlima,
should be sent to some part of the world. He then
eocriuntered all the dangers of the North of Ger_
many. and conversing the Gut of Gibreltnr tots
Scylla and Charybdis, would have endeavoured ~,
persuade them that an expedition thither would
have been attended with more direful onse goner.
than theM
present. But upon no
thoylvitniethseesiiwirdat,i.ll
he conceive a catastrophe more horrible an that
which attended the Expedition
An Expedition which, *lira IV:inkier* sent
they must have known it was not to meet no
enemy. but ass inviocibl- fever ; and to use tlii•
exquisite comparison of an- Honourable Member
of that House, human lives were consigu,tl
to that spot, where they would go out like a
die in a vault. Presumption was conspicuous
in every part of this ill-contrived attempt. It sus
uhdertaken in all the pride of vanity, on mere pr..
gumption. and without the slightest informatiou.
The Noble L4/111 took it into his head, that 1:r h.:id
• hirge disposahla force at his command. and
would drive the cot'reit nut of his bead. ll
was than determined to employ this Emend Nee
aomeyehere, no stutter where. lie must have soli-
expedition. In March he would have earned
wish into practice, lint, on sending to ihcConitnatei.
er-in-chief, he found that the disposable (nice wasall
in his own imogination and there was no such
thing in the country. tied it helm possible to ht cet
an armament, he was induced to believe, from the
best military authorities. Flushing might have been
taken. At any rate we should not have hail to ft-
counter the fever, more destructive than the oppo-
sition of any enemy. But Ministers seemed to have
waited for the time when disease was most likely to
be effectual. Why sums Expedition could not Le
prepared in March was, because, notwithstanding
what they were told in that House; notwithstanding
when they asserted the loseessustained in Soain,they
were contradicted, and assured, that they ex-
aggerated ; there was rot left, from tint unfortu-
nate campaign. the shadow of int army. This they
now saw was the one. and from this, he fairly as.
limed, that the same concealment and glossing
over were employed, and that they were rot ac-
quainted with the extent of the losses sustained in
Walcheren. The army was annihilated. and they
bad now to contend with the enormous Fowls(
Femme; France, which meant the Continent of
Europe—with the same Ministry; the same hands:
the same ends in view; end the same principles—
M'hat hope could they entertain of the resod( of surh
an unequal contest ? There was a letter of the
Noble Lord of the 29th May. with the contents of
which he had been considerably struck. This let-
ter contemplated the object. arid considered it in
highly important. It stated. that a time could ne-
ver be found, when the enemy could he expected
to be lees provide ti for defence, and we could have
trinel meanie of sending not a great armament to at-
tack them ; after this, it contained the remarkable
passage, desiring this great force might he wet
our, " to investigate wherea blow might be struck."
Thus they set out in ignorance, avid tit every !VW
step, further investigation into what they stint .4
do next, was necessary. They were compellef
have recourse to fresh investigation, in every
tnrn of their pretense; up the Scheldt; and
in almost every point, they were diwimininte
in the expectations end cuejec•niresthey had fore
They had expected their difficultira to emir
when thry 'ruched Baths, and that till they al
the re, the whole would Itr cosy ; *hat wit, thy

they were tlertroyeil liefore they reached the
■t which their difliculties were only to t
this childioh, foolish, null imbecile expedi
The Noble Lord consulted souse officers; ht

had previously determined to go, in spite of
opinions he should receive el:allot it..—Li'
man, he believed, in Horace, wbn fancied
gold of a certain monarch bdonged to him,
could not be dissuaded from it; so the I
Lord, having taken it into his he n.l, that ii
this gum force to dispose of, nothing could
dm-
idea out of his mind. The ignorance displayed
this, and the levity with winch the lives of c
were sported with, was matter of most sr
alarm. The Noble Lard, from the informed(
had received, was determined to try a catp-de•
of which be had given so curiiAls a definition
had heard there were few men it Antwerp.

therefore, supposed it would fell st once.
doubt, but this information ani4ht be cm
■nd, he dared to say, the ssroe would be
tained with rrgard to Toulon or Brest •
yet, if the Noble Lord were ro try his
de-main against them, although there we!
few men, yet, from simihr cause., he would
with similar defeat and
The

Lord. not knowing mnr thin, of the matter.
t 9 the COIDIUMIder-Itt.aver, who knot', 1111