The Sun.
London, England, 1808-01-29 00:00:00

BALTIC

Lord HA IVK E:S B Rl' rose, pursiiant•to node's,
to move the Thanks of the House 'to the Military
and Naoal-offlcers to whom was entritsteil,
conduel, and execution of the Expedition that
been.sent:to --Copenhagen. He begged the pal tie:,
tar atteutiOn. of their Lordshil4 to thci.groandodsed
principles upon which he -Should 'r6st; ttie pi...---
priety of hit; Motion. fie wished above thitV,S
to impress upon the minds .of their •Lordthip,,-
how necessary it was to keep striCtly separate t 1 4
()We& of hi,i present Motion from any consitiet-
tion of tne-political, principles and motives which
had indticed his Majesty's Government to underta!
the Expedition, for the complete and successfill exec
curion of which be was • now . about ,to move the
Thanks of the House to those Oilicers -who had -
been employed on that important .e&rvice. Fie was
not indeed aware of any wcil-groinided ohjeakos
that could be urged against the Motion: • In what-
ever point of view he considered that service, it ap.
peered to him to be one Of 'very high magnitode,
and ,to have been performed With .great hkill, judge
anent, and celerity. On the maeilestation of these
qualities, and on the utility _of •the result, ho might.
safely ground the propriety of .his Motion, without
entering into any .comparison with 14)- nature and
extent of any Former' service, upon the performance
of which a similar honour had been bestowedt Such
honours had been, conferred; .not . only. where the
struggle was obstinate, and great the effusion (..f hu-
man Wood, but where the :conduet, skill, ail& mo
deration of our Generals and Addiraishad achieved'
great things without purchasing the performance,of
them by the loss of a great unntber of humeri lives.
He could never believe that such was the standard up
on which their Lordships could measure the merits
of any Expedition. The. more bloodless a viactiy,
while the importance of --its :.result . reniained th'e'
same, the moreacceptable,it. dooPtless vould prc,ye
to the humanity of their leoriVtips: toeling: Now,
the Expedition,- for tfie so,cccssful- execution of
which he would call for the; Thanks of that Howie,
was exadly of this descripiion. Those, to .witom it .
was confided kit nothing untried to can): it into etka
with the least possible sacriAce of lives on oithersidti
nut only was their condua praise-worthy. in their
mode of proceeding prepaiatory to the execntion of
it,. but their sy,i.secitient conduct; in cquiooine and
carrying home the Dant;li Fleet, and io
the kiritisli Yo'rees from the Island of Zealand, was
marked the skill, promptitude, and( judgmeut
which had eltar46terized the tenor of their previous
proceedings., fn iris opipion, both the,Ald:;;try and,
Naval,Officers eneaged in this important afiair had
acquitted thernierveo of every 'thing' committedlo
their charge,... to the fullest expectatiott of tliose,by
whom they were einployed, and he trusted to-the
complete satisfaelion of that House, and of • the
Country ; and As he rested the merits phis Motion
EqLtly upon these aonftds, ab4raetediy of any consi-
deratithi of 'thit .ptilitical 'work os upon which the
ExpeLlition had been been undei Liken, he ventured
to hope thilt, it would Meet with the unanimous
concurrence of their- Lordships. The Noble Se.:
cretary cooelndecl,:wiih Moving, 4, :tic of
the [Lase fa General Lord 'Viscount Catlic4t."
Lord tioLd.,44vp rose to perform whatle felt
to hica most p-ihihil duty, for painful certainly it
was to . him to refOse his assent to a Motion
of the nature of that, made by the Noble Secretary►
Of State.- But as a Member of 'Witt 'House, he
thought it incumbent on him to support Its dignity,
and not to allow; the highest honour it. could confer
On distinguished merit to become a matter oficourse,
and to sink into a.inere compliment. 'lhese were
his you:lids for his oppo'Sition. to the Motion, and
he did not imagine that any 'man I.voutcl think so
meanly of him as to suppose that his rote. on such
an occasion could be prompted by any personal dis-
like to the Otlicersin whose favour the Motion had
been made. Far was -arty such feeling from Mit
breast.; what aconaintance he had with those 'PAloble
Officers was indeed, bat .slender, but it was cue-%h
to fill him with esteem 'Or their private. 'thataiil
and professional merits. He perleAtly agreed with
the Noble Secretary' hi the propriety of `stwarattag.
the merits of the present Motion frum, the question
of the political principles upon which the Expedition
htid:been unders*gui an& he would endeavour to
observe that distioCaion. What he should offer v,'&;'
on the nature of.the,iorvice-it4elfe and on cluirn
it had to the distia4tieo %thigh it. was prolgTlt4, to
bestow upt,l it. Ilie,NObfe Secretary of Slate had
dwelt much oh Use ititportatice of the service, and
on the, skill, Judgment, and prouiptitude; •with
which it Was performed. As, to the' importatice
the Expedition, another opportunity, wou4d occur to
4elivt-r his opinion .of it ; hat ju the circtLestalc.", '
that attended the execution of it, he Coold.seten,x„.
thing that was entitled to the honour of -the l'oaoks
of that House. Granting that the service was impor.
tant granting that. it had been priformed with the
utmost ability, yet these cireurnstoncvs alone went:
not of a nature to Cindlenze jnstity st, lik,!lt
distinetion. Where,was the danger, wlier the.
difficulties that wlt'e- to, be encountered anti ot-er,
come in the fek,fortna;ic:e of that service ? it
in it any ef those brilitant triOS that excite adinioi-
lion and eomtnand respea it hi it any thiil7
that redonn_ied 40' rho torY of the CoL,titry,
ten ier its 'Via= ar dAiintlter

. indispensable Chitlls 10 the distinEtion with which he
propo,ed to rukv.ird the execution of the Baltic Ex-
-I,O;nilnit. In ':better times, many of„the tinportant
vioot:its gained by the Dilko of 'Marlborough, dur-
ing tie IVfir6 '`of thfr Succession`, %were pa-vied Over
-,,,,,itt lu stivit a- disthvlion, i'xliirh was only bestow-

-t1 titc ni6r:. splendid :Jcbiet.rnienis of that
great G,t1,,r.1; Jll.l,l3tt,Tly, the takug„„of the
town of 13.1 Jet procucd
tOr Lord flood 'the Thanks
hat lioui Th
e; air,ui!,h the same honour was not
Nits. him -tor the eip,nre of" Toulon, ao,ti of the
French Fleet of tiat port. -Tt. was not? therefore,
waglotul, ;nut itoportance nt the service
ak'ays, justified the granting dt this honour, hitt ra-
' titer the cir(-vostances dittithityyirnd danger
through with 'it was- accomplished. He should
prere.- princ!ults upon which our ancestors acted
itpo•t 6cca.,,ioth, to those which the NOitielt;-
v so anxious to establish on the pre-
si:nt but 11b,1ve all, he must, entreat'their Loidships
cothiler, that honours of this description were
Ito t t,tt depended on opinion ;iithat the wisest
('t ail the inteieet GoVerntnetM had -}e1:11 wore' tena-
cion:4 of them than 'of any other sort of distineion ; '
and that their yatue was gone the moment they be-
. cline counputh'or wire indiscriminately bestowed.
'the Earl of MOIRA :rejoiced . that the political
merits of the Expedition' were not to be involved
in the, pretent question.' itespeding the charaoer
of that Expedition, he had already recorded his
opinion on the joornals of the House, and he would
now forbear touching upon that subject. The House
mast feel how indispensably necessary it was, to the
maintenance of, that discipline,. that militaty men
sliould never inquire into the policy.or justice of any
service they were ordered to. execute.. if then they
must abst;tin from every consideration of. itat sort,
the only thing to be required of- them was, the full
and complete execution of the orders they had re-.
ceived. Even the tlegree of danger and difficulty,
with which a service might be attended, did not de-
pend on them; it was not, therefore, their fault;
if these circumstances of brighter glory did not
chance to adopt the performanceof the task unposed.
upon them. On these grounds,. be felt it his duty
to concur in the Vote of Thanks, as justice due to •
the Officers employed on the service : nor was it
every day we could have to reward such exploits as
those of Trafalgar, of Alexandria, of Maida, which
1;oont a 'stamp that must render them current every
• where. Officers may do their duty to the fullest
extent that can be expeaed, as the Officers in whose
favour the present Motion is made undoubtedly have
done, tholgh they themselves , may have to regret
that the service was not more arduous and perilous,
and attended with the circumstances. that might
have rendered it More glorious. In most of What
had fallen from his Noble Friend (Lord Holland) he
entirely concurred ; but he could not oppose the
Vote of Thanks to which be, thought . the Noble ,
Officer entitled.
Lord 4ucKcaNp pursued the same line of argu-
ment as the Noble For! who preceded hint.
Lard ilif/LGR4P'S very ably combated the argOo
ments adduced by Lord Rolland against the Motion.'
That respecting ronl9ll he- contended was not in
'point. Lord Hood was blockading the Port of Too-
lon at the time alluded tur and without any etlurt
on his pail, the place and the .fleet were delivered
into his hands by one of the contending factions
which then existed in that City. Of Lord Gambier's
iikill,•energy," and judgment, throughout the whole
course of the business in the Baltic, be was at a loss.
to speak in
...adecin.tte terms of praise. Indeed his

exertions were most conspicuously manifested in the
jiliticioui wanner by which lie had so stationed hiS
tOrce,. and so encompassed the IslAnd‘'of Zealand,
,that it was impossible for Ow Danes to. send °yd!.
any, reinforcements to Copenhagen, and thus he
materially contribuled to the attaintnent of the ob 7.
jtel, while he prevented the necessity of the etfu3ion.
of blood on either side. • •

Lord GREY subscribed to every sentiment and
argument which had been so ahlY urged by his
Noble Friend (Lord Holland). lie too Must, like,
Kt), oppose the, Motion, which he did solely on
public grounds, and in vindication of the dignity of
that [loose, and'by 140 means with the intention
4t. deteadiu ftinn the merits of, thO Otbeers to
Within it -0/38 proposed to vote the Thanks of the
tioust!.

1/Ord Mu L.G Vshortly replied; after MIMI,
Lotd HA j
IIA ILS II URI' inuved the Thanks of
rho Houic, in sep,ir.ne Alotioni, to Lord Viscount
cdtticarr, and the ()Ulcers anti Men under his
Command ; concluding with moving, that the Lord
Chancellor do communicate the Vole of theHousq
to the Noble Viscount, when h next appeared it
his place._

Lord 1-IAwKII',BUTIY next mac.. sitnikr Motions
in.faveur of I.oid G4Mbier, and. the Officers and
Men employed under him. .

Some conversation arose respecting, tbe wording
of the Motion, when the Negotiations. before ,Co-
pcinh,tgen SA, ere introtince4. The Mkt of 'AMA,
Lord. Grey, and turd Lauderdale, contended, , that
voting thanks for this part of the tranuaion .was
prejudicing the quehtiott, that was to come under
discussion on a future, day.
Lords HAWKESIBURY and. MuLoaAva contended,
that the Negotiations here referred' to, were those
entered into by the Officers on the spot, and had no
connexion whatever with the political nature of the
Expedition. .

Some conversation also arose respecting the Cap-
tain the Fleet, Sir IL Popham. It was contend-
ed by the same Noble Lords, that it was it& usual
to introduce the name of the Captain of the Fleet
in Votes of Thanks, unless he had the rank of Ad-

.tniraL An ingtance o a'situilar case, h the person
of Sir R. Curtis, being a,dduced by Lord Mutgrave,
the conversation -Closed, am! the different Motions
were agrecd.to without a division.

Lord HOLLAND vivo ,notice, that On Alondy
next he should move for the eXplanation (if any
,luck was in the posieision Ministers), which waH
sent to the I%,finister4- of NeOtral Pwtrh., setting
furth the manner hi whicti:the.F6nicli Goyermpent
intended 4i) 'execute their Decree of the 214 t No-
vember, 18qt/.

,
1.011 ta 1 itEY also gave ngtice, that.he should ruovp
f,,,: the Atistver returned to the second Note of
6-tler:11 Lindberg by the Aiiiiiitcr at Sr.
Pcter6)iiigli, it any Answor he oo rettanet: to
out ,