The National Register.
London, England, 1814-05-15 00:00:00

310

north of the enemy's armies, circumstances might ha ,a: OCCUI
which would put us now in the situation of co:aside:bier bow tt
maintain °or existence as a nation. The S%vtdish move:limes after
the affair of Leipsie, were the concurrence of The pec-i!,
or No, way, dm lag the War, Ilr!Ver euiae t to a 4. oer
to pies( rye their nentrality ; !lot they co•operated with Deninat
which tiny hael now given them up. The pre6.ooptive heir to 11. e
crown loci gone to Norway. mid endo.Lyoured to set up a vtate, idle'
the King hod Cede! it. There was reason to think that the libel al
terms of Sweden ha:l been stioliooly coacealed limo 11:e Norwe-
gians. It Iva:, a sati,Cietioe that irstend of hoposhig Lictiships or.
NOrWaV, the ecritrary was the tact. The King of Swedeu offered
Norway freedom.
Lorti G o ENY 11.i.F had beard x%ith great pleasure on a limner
that wor.' rojt*Y”:: on bet w, CH his Milit2Nty's
anti tlic Allied Powers. itooti this ;moo bopott ant :4;ject. liie had
hoped that hove dissuaded other Pow-
er= fans U. isi!•!t. oi;o-tiec of sub.:a ;Ho: the virtimus and uncut-
femlioo people to the it lon of a Power riot only
hostile at the preseot ironociit, but to a l'o%ver which in ;.it periods
of the history of Ein o;.e had been 01,2 unremitting CIAM:y of Norway.
If found nov, that the poiot at which the exertioos of thi!. conntry
IV.is directed, was to compel the sohnlisio;) of Norway by a block•
ade. th.:l would oce:oion famine. Was this the first use which we
made of our soccesses, and of our newly establisi.ed influence in
Vo;rope ? Grotiuq, Pallendorf, and Valtel, were all agreed (Pi the
prineple, that a Sovereign had no riolit to transfer his sr hjects to
another, as if they were cattle and mere beasts of burden. it woo
always the ritz-ht of the persons trate.firred to coloider whet'ocy the
transfer was for their benefit, or whether it was not for their 111!CV-
CMS to resit it. With respect to this tree condition which was pte-
sni,ed thenr, w.is it not 0.-.teral for tl:rin to t•Tiret, that Fiatieo a!so
bad promi-ed flee corstitlitins to all ;hose nations which she in
Yodel and reduced to slavery ? The Nolde Lord had most eaotions!y
e%eded answeriog the question which bad been direetly pet to hie)
by his Noble Viierol *(Ear! Grey). By his silence he woo the more
cosiviticed, that the Cioiwo of Swedeo had forfeited all right to the
coopeiation of this country- from its 1:tot-performance of its own en-
gazements. Norwav twist either be emisidered as a part of the
kiugdoms of Deomara or Sweden, or eke as au it'd:T(l)4ot nation.
Hit was considered a part of Demnark, we were at. peace with that
power ; if an independent nation, slue had given us on cause of of-
fence ; it she was to be consid, led ,0 a part of smdco, it was
a strapge empl.o3:nent of tho navy of this country to be sent to chas-
tise the rebel-, of Sweden. Ile believed the Vt lefiedneP‘ this COUtitr,
was called upon to assist in, would be prejudicial to its interests;
and, therefore, he heartily concurred in the motion of his Nubia
Friend which would give time to Ids Mojesty* Ministers to consi-
der vklEther it was not possible stiff, by amicable (11:4..ussiorai, to
avert the injustice and the miseries with which Norway was now
threatened.

The Earl of Llvro root. said, that the question in the first place
Nevi, Low fa the cession of Norway was jtoititied by the law Or 11:1
tioms; and in the second place, how far vve were bound to enforce
it. as the ally of Sweden. The facts attending thc cm:ion were as
follow : A part of the troops comentuded by the Pripet! of Sweden
Istrd taken possession of Ilolstcin, and threatened Jutland ; and in
order to recover lioistcin and to save Jutland, Denmark consented
to give up Norway. '['he history of all negociations consisted in
determining what degree of cessi at was to be made by a weak, and
of resti tntion by a strong power. The King of Denmark had ceded
No rights which be tlid not possess himself, as he was the most abso-
lute monarch in Europe, in consequence of the voluntary act of the
Nation. No doubt could exist as to the power and right of the King
of 'Denmark to make the cession, nor that an alickpiate necessity
existed ; as, with the exception of Zealand awl Norway, the whole
id the dominiom of Denmark was in the power of the enemy. The
cession was also honourable to the country ceded, as every boon
xv.* profiled by its new Sovereign. But it wils alleged that the Nor-
wegians were averse to any incorporation with Sweden. and that
they should not be compelled to form au union to 'wind' they were
rootedly averse. To the general priesciple he assented; bnt it should
be.yecollected that fir eight years Norway had done us all the mis-
chief in her power ; that her harhonrs had affordesl refuge to the
ships of the enemy, bytwhiclt our trade had been grievously harrassed.
During the whole of the war, Norway had made a common cause
with Denmark against us, and now had no right to convvrt herself
Into an indenendaut state to disappoint our designs and those of our
Allies. (Hear, hear!) It was necessary for the argument of the
Noble Earl (Grey) to prove that the indisposition on the pat t of the
Norwegians was the free and spontaneous will of the nation, and
sot ereated• by foreign Mame. (Hear.) The Kites ofDenmark

MAY 1I

;ad i st it eve) as Regent to Norway, the heir of his Crowe,
aid had at'tt-rwartis ceded boats ay to Sw eden. fir ir of the
Qtown of Dennsai k bad proclaiwed the irniepeffilence• of Norway,
stvlint, himself P:ince of Dei., anti Reront of Nnrway, pm!
.
ptoposing to treat with foreign powers. Wa• Denmark a party to
hi• condom ? Ifs it listed not ; and then it was a manifest act of
astulertion on the pa: t of Prince Christian. and. t a deb.:rated an-
tie :city. (Hear.) Ti.ere were a number of Danes in Norway Who
itettd nut!er the aoilhaity of the Prince of Denmark, who on his,
• part had convict( ly assunicd •the sovereign power. The question
li.ti.crto. had never been fairly stated to the Norwegians, as all the
provl;L:uation, of the of Sweden hail been industriously ritp.
ptecti. and Prince On islian had assured them of the sitppert of
Government. The pent conduct of the Norwegians
was no national act, but that of a fen designing individuals as many
ot the princi;ral parts of Norway were friendly to a connecticn %%Jilt
' Sweden. The ease of Spain that had been quoted by the Noble.
Earl %vas not at all in Isoint. 'lle treaty then toatle with Bu-naparto
was ',fade by the Kimt in a lurci2n country, and tweet* the is flnenee
of terror (IR heir !); and by the fatishonental laws of Le realm.
the Ring hint no power to alter the succession to the Crowu. whir
respect to Sweden, that country had amply paid for all the stipu-
lations in het favonr. En watching her troops to Holstein she had
beets guilty or no bat! faith. as that movement had taken place with
the consent of the Allies.? and a considi».-able body of troops had
lice» placed under the cuminand of the Crown Prince by the Hip-
p( rot of Russia. Never bad so extensive a confederacy taken placa
as that IA twixt the hied PolVers, iu which so few ground= of corn.
!.ad arisen. This Ras to he ascribed to the maqnanimity of
the !lies, ;Ind their ra to sacrifice all minor objects,
wiien put in competition with the ;;Peat oh;ects whirl) had been so
succe:-o.ni! aa.loCa. If any nielsure were vise: when first ad.'pted
this count's.; was bound in justice to ;,there to it, the state of
aifairs inight have since materially changed. Norway bad resisted the
cession to 'Sweden, and with that part of Denmark we were in a
slide of war ; and he trn-ted, that theliouse would be of opinion,
that ens ernment should be armed with powers sufficient to enal4lt)
them to filial the solemn obiigations of a treaty.
I,nrd lidLLA 1) supported the motion.
Lard Bosh NG 1Y) N said he should vote against the resolution.
Lord C FA replied.
The House divided—Ccr!ents 17', Proxies 7.—.5-1 ; Not Contents
86, Proxies 29-413 ; Majz.lity for Ministtig —AdjoUruCd.

WFDNESnAY, MAY 11.
THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON.

The Order of the Day brig read for taking into considerati:ne
the Message from the Priner Regent.
Tie. Earl of LI A' EV rOOl, 1, it wou!;1 be in the recollection of theif
Lordships, and of every twin in I;,e C:at not many yea's
had past since it was the scneral that our military character
was cenfined to one element ; nay, it hail been tauntingly said by
our enemy, that if we wi•lied to acquire military fame, except at
..ea, we must lead uue ships on land. We have seen, by the per-eve.
ranee, skill, and prudence of the illustrious person at the Lt ad
dour army, by the mean. he had taken to give it energy and c.f.i.:-
ciency, and under the
rßidance of the great man Whose services
they were then called upon to reward, achievements peiforiaed
which equalled in renown the actions of any former period of our
history. In considering our late triumphs,. it waa natural to cotn-
paic our present situation with that in which the country was
placed during a memorable era, the war of the snceession, and
whether they regarded the dangers that were then averted, or th!
renown acquired by the British arms under the Duke of Marlborotwb.
he :lad no hesitation in affirming, that the latter was equalled by the
victories of the Duke of Wellington, and the former surpassed by
the situation in which we were recently placed. Iu the War of the
Succession provinces indeed were sometimes overrun, but not
kingdomie We had seen almost the whole of Europe subverted,
tedneed to a blank, and scarcely any country upon which the eve
could rt st, except France. The liberties of Europe were conleudi'd
for, during nu inconsiderable period. in one corner of it only, and
even for a time within the lines of Torres Vedra.. There was no
comparison, therefore, as to the danger of the country at the two
epochs. if they looked at the circumstances also, the compai icon
would not be much stronger. The manner in which the Duke of
Ma:11)0E01mb commanded, and kept together the conti-derated
armies, always struck him as one of the greatest proofs of his consum-
mate military skill. He was indeed a successful General. It hail
been said of him, that he never fought a battle which he did not
win, or besieged a place that be did not ta,..e. But it should be
regicabervd timo he was opposed to Louis XIV. in the eleolins tit