The Sun.
London, England, 1803-05-24 00:00:00

. .
IMPERIAL PARLJAMENT.

-HOUSE OF PEER4''"'-
MONDAY, MAY 23. •
THE Marquis of SALISBURY, (a9' Lord Cham.
berhin) reported His Majesty's Answer to a late
Address of their Lordships respeCting the produc-
tion of certain Official Papers, which stated, that
he' would be )leved to give direllions accord.
ingly,
The Duke of QUEENSBERRY, the Earls of HAIL.
COURT and. LUCAN, and several other Peers were
• sworn and took their Seats.
The Earl of MOIRA made a few observations,
relative 10 a Bill then before the House, but in
such a tone of voice as precluded us from distinElly
hearing what his Lordship said; by what we could
collett, it 'related to the St. Pancras Workhouse
sill, which lay over fora third reading. The
.Noble Earl seemed to say, that a number of altera-
tions. had been made in the Bill by the Committee
to whom it was referred, and that the Noble Lord,
who particularly supported the Bill in that House,
appeared to have given it up. He concluded by
moving, that the Bill be rejetted ; which,' on the
question being put, was ordered accordingly.
After some Proceedings with respell to the Bills
on the Table, had obtained,
Lord PFLHAM laid- before the House, by com.-
Intd of Miijesty, some Additional, Documents
relative to the late Negotiation, &c. Ordered to
1404 the Table.
•
HIS tbIApESTY's MESSAGE.

The Order of the Day was then read for taking
His Majesty's Message into consideration, on which
Loed Pti ti d M rose, and addressed their Lord.
ships On, the occasion. He 'adverted primarily to
'the great importance of the sahjeCt they were about
to discuss, and expressed his
.hope that all their
LOrdillips had perused and doly considered the im.
POrtant Documents referred to in the Royal' Mes-
sages and which he had the honour of laying before
the-House by command of HiS ltllaisSty. The
body of information which was before their Lord-
ships telAtiee to the subjeet of that night's clis-
cusaion, would, he was confident, render it clear to
every eatridid and unprejudiced person, that ample
grounds were furnished by our Adversaries for the
line of co/Kluft adopted by His Aijetity's Govern.
tuent, and that the system pursued by the former,
tendered necessary the strong measures which.were
lately adopted. Under these circumstances, he
doubted not their Lordships would agree with
him in thinking, that it was the duty of that
14, bole. to set an example to their Country at. so
imPortant' a etisis, in stepping forward in the
joint support of the honour of His Majesty's
Crown—the undoubted rights and interests of his
subjeCts, and of the defence and security of his Mini-
pions. He. admitted that these considerations form.
ed distinct grounds of discussion, from the conduit
of His nijesty's Ministers, abstraEledly taken ;
and he was pleased that it seentol the general senti-
ment of the Houie so to consider it, which, on that
• . ground, seemed inclined to postpone the discussion of
latter subjeCt. He would detain their Lordihips
on'that :lead no farther than to say,.t.hat His Majes.-
tY'S Ninisters felt satisfied they had discharged their
duty conscientloosly, and to the best of their abilities,
and had always'adv4ed that, which under all the cir..
cuinstances of the .case, ',!,hey deemed most conducive
to the honour of His Majesty's CrOwn, and the
best interests of their fellow.SQl)jetis.
The Noble S
_ycititTAßy then proceeded to a de,
tailed exposition of the most mittesPl parts of the
rapers which had been laid before NI Houie, and
observed, that the reel question then at. issue was,
whether those Papers furnished proofs Rot there
existed in the late transaftions- with the French
Government a just cause of War.. On the delNery
01 His Majesty's first Message, the question 410
one of Confielefice, and in that view materially
lerea from the' present discussion, in, which every
document the; could properly he made public was
open to the perusal of their Loitiships. He ar.,
Flied, that the documents before the 'House, fist-
rushed proofs of a case sufficiently•strong to justify
the measures that had been adopted; indeed, a
stronger or clearer case, he Would venture to assert, -
had never, in any former instance; been made out ;
from the tenor of those documents, he asserted,
it would unequivocally appear that His Majesty
was satiated by the most sincere' and anxious desire
to avert the calamitielof War. Their Lardships.
would see, that not only the Honour' of His Ma;
jesty's Crown was affected by the eitniluet of. Our
Adversaries, but that. even the dearest rights
.and
interests of the Country-4ts commerce anti its
liberties, were menaced by the GovernMent of
France. 'lt (Vould be seen that in the course of the •.
Negotiation, a prominent and leading consideration
Was the provision of the zoth-Article of the Treaty
of Amiens, :mil which respeaetf the Island of Malta ;-
their Lordships Would perslve by the 'PaPets, . the
steps adopted- hy His Majesty's Government with
re_speel to that important point. The AppointmentOf Sir Alexander Ball, in the first instance, as. Mini-
-ster for carrying the arrangements with respell to
Malta into eff,a, manifested, in the outset, His
Majesty's strong desire to fulfil the Stipulations •
entered into on that head. The readiness Of His Ma.
jesty. to aelcoow edge,i in quality of Grand Master,
the person Seleeled by the Pape for filling that of.
bee,
.was another irrefragable proof of Fris 'Majes-
ty's wish to do every thing in. 'hii power,,consiit.
'nay With good faith, for the farther execution
of the arrangement—and, indeed, throughout the.
Whole course of the correspondence
-it would be'
teen, that 'His Majesty had omitted no steps what-
ever, to ttonciWite the growing difference, and to
in.dea our Adversaries to came tai 'ft speedy, rca.

i.. i neble, and amicable' conclusion upon the several
Hlints which, from the" intervention of citron).
1:
ta ices, were necessarily under dicussion : in wine
time after, as by tdrcl. Whitworth's Dialtioah
i.
of the z7th of January, it would appear, the
lrreoch grew pteLsing for the evacuation of the'
4slood, and by, subwquent parts of the cturelpond-
ence, the strong teinynts were ;et foul), which,
tipPn every point of view., with. a reference to the
intervening circumstances, rendered it almost ilia-
, possible that such a requisition could be complied
with. In this 'state of the discussion, a circum.
Stance of the most important nature came to the
knowledge of His Majesty's Government, and
wHiCh not only, in a certain degree, affected the
honour of, but implicated the Chaiader of the
British Nation, and connefted itself with considera-
• dons, of the utmost importance, to certain, most
valtiable parts of His Majesty's dominions. He
alluded to the report of the •011ieer dispatched
to Egypt and Syria, on a mission of the most
• questionable nature, and which of course im.
mediately became matter of serious discussion with
the French Government. What transpired on
• this important point would be seen from the Do-
eutnepts before the House, and the little satisfaetion
which'was accorded •to the just kepresentations on
the part of His Majesty's Government, on that im.,
portant topic. 'He then alluded to the circumstance
of the publication which appeared in a foreign Ga-
zette,
.and adverted to the tendency of its contents,.
which were of that nature as sufficiently. spoke for
themselves. His Lordship then, adverted to the on.'
justifiable con'dua of France tvitit resped to the
Pitninan Porte, which, he contended, was in dired
violation of"the Treaty Of Amiens ; he adverted to'
the different , communication's which rook place on
chose points, and noticed with due effeCt, the decla.
ration of the First Consul, respeCting the value of
Egypt aka rOund fur War. He expatiated on the
peculiar and relative importance of Maltat under
the present ciretonstances of France anti ngland,
and pointed out, 'the strong necessity there existed
for our having ample security on the point in 'ques-
tion : this part inf his argument arose from the in.
controvertible principle, that the possession of Malta
was-on our part one of defence and secnrity,' but
for purposes_ of offence and aggradizemencon the
part of France ; anti he contended that the, deter-
mination to retain that post at ptesent,.was founded
not only in justice, but in true political wisdom.
Pursuing chi's 'topic of discussion still farther, he ex.
1 ressed his confidence that all who read and duly
considered the Papers must feel convinced that Hi,
Majesty's Government' were per fedly Instilled, with '
respeet to the detetitioo of Malta, as the best' secu-
rity against the 'obvious designs of France in the 1
East, and also, on the. ground'of its beiniCtotally'
iMpradicable to execute the proposed iirraizettients,'
on the principle•upon which they- were 'incorttesri. ''
bly farmed, on ittount of the intervention
.01 cir.
cumstances, beyond 'the power of this 'Country to
control. With resped to the other' points of the
Negotiation, the Noble Lord contended rather ge.-
nerally, that no endeavours had been wanting on
the part of Hie ',Majesty's Government,
.to con.
tintie the blessings of Peace, consistently with the
Honour of His 'Majesty's Ceown, and the real in.
terests of his. People ; while' -Minium had hopes of
preserving that blessing, they scrupled no sacrifices
which did not militate, against these great and para.
triinint considerations. 13raWing. to a conclusion,
he,recapitulated his several arguments, and placed
them in a condensed paint of view t he laid particu.
lae stress on the attempts made by the Govern.
went of ,Fraoce, with reaped 'to the internal con.
cerns of this Country, their Complaints made
with resin& to the freedom of publication and de.
bate, which went to atfed that essential part of
its freedom the Liberty of the Press. He hoped the
dispassion would be concluded with that temper and
.moderation which befit so serious and momentous
a subjea : Party disrindtions, 'in 'a crisis like the '
present, .should, be laid aside, as should the heat
and fervour of debate : their deliberations should
rather assume a judicial charatter, and the deci.
sion of -the House be formed solely , from the
consideration of the official Papers and Poeuments
' laid before them. 'His Lordship then moved an
Acidreo to His Majesty, to the following general
ettkd :—", That an' humble Address be presented
to ,iliii -Majesty, thanking. him, for his •gtacious
Mesirge, aad" for the infonnation His Majesty had
been pleased io order to be laid befiire the House of
Lords; to'cxpress to :His Majesty the just sense
the House of Lords entertains of His Majesty's an.
xious 'and unit aim endeavours to preserve the Wes.
sings
_of Peace,. and of this Majesty's inclination to
terminate the calatnities of War, whenever thatob.
jet can be attained consistendy-with.theNotbour laf
His Vajesti.',9 Crown, and the Rights and Interests
of hie 'People: that the House. of 'Lords saw with
great eatisladion His Majesty's ImOdable mica.
vtiurs to repell that spirit of ambition and , en:.
craachnient, which . the Government of Feanee
had so frequently manifested, as well as having .
advaneed the molt injurious pretensions, inconsistent
with. good faith, and militating
.against the most
essential interests of the British hanpiri, and on
which occasion His Majesty had in vain' demand-
.ed satisfadion and redress. ,

" Impressed With these important considerations,
the House of Lords felt itself called upon readily, to
concur in the measures, best calculated to call forth
the spirit and resources of the British Nation, in sup.
port of the Honour and Dignity of His Majesty's
Crown—the Rights and Liberties of the People, as
well as every other consideration 'which can be dear
to them, as a Free and Independent Nation."
Tho DUKE of CUMBERLAND rose to second
the Motion for the Address : He did not think it
nectsrary, His Royal Highness observcd, to take

1 up much of their Lordships'. time an .the, present
• torsion; but feeling, as he 'did, that in the present
crisis, every 'thing :dear to the Country was.. at
stake; - he could 'not avoid obtruding_ -himself far a
shOrt- time on their Lordships' :mention, The
question -which arose from -. a due consideraOcin
of the -Papers before the; House, was :neither more
nor nor leis . than,._ whether England was. to -remain
a Free and Independent -Nation; or: whatherit
was, like certain • other - Countries, -to:.becorne a
Province, and. subjed, to the' Arbitrary Will: and •
Despotism of France; !line ttf conduit which
the Noble Secretary of State had so justly atiributed
to France, had been lOng systematic ors the.parr of
that Country, which.' in the language of •extrava.
gain Gasconade, had advanced tiejust 'pretension's,
a restless ambition and spirit of eneroachstienrc an.
ambition which experience proVed to be instal dale,
• and employed in SeeleOng attrr new means of ag. •
ggrandizement. - But let the' Parliament Ind -the
People go hands itt' hand----let them wit, :di nt
and main put their shoulders to the wheel's of
the Country—let them throw' away all 'recolle.c-
--t ion- of Party Spirit—but unanimou,ly breathe
of old and genuine'Englishmen ; ler them unite
in support of their well,eariteci Rights, Civil, Reli-
giouie and Constitutional r for all these svete: now
- at stake, and they maylaugh to scorn.the•uonAt
efforts of their Adversaries.' He would repeat, that
every thing dear to theta as-free, independent,. and
civilized Men, was at stake. .With re pea to
the Injustice, Aggrandizement, and Foicroachments
Of 'France, they -w-ere too notorious to admit
of the least doubt or contraditlion, Let their Lord. I
ships look to what had been the e ondett of the
French Government even. to these .countries, • to
which it expressed friendship; let: hern look to the •
fate of Italy,; of Holland, 'of • Switzerland; plun.
derel, outraged, 'or subjugated. • Nay, what was..
the fate of France herself, lias.'she not' SaCtifiCetl every
thing--her' wealth', her nobility, her commerce,
and every thing dear to her For what I For Li.
betty 1? No;
.1)„t to fall under the yoke of ,an arbi.
nary 'and despotic Government,. Was there a part •
of Europe in which France- did not use every elter.,
lion to bring it. under her power ? What Wive they
not endeavoured ,to• accomplish in
.the East, and
with a view to the destrudion • of ,our Indian
possessions ; and of this .projett the'spossesaion .
of- Malta was to be made, an important vart.,--:.
Ile would repeat • it, the 'safety, •of•ourtoEsiterwri
possessit)nis • would Ire se tionsFy., •IneitacktiliAVere,
Matra in the hands of France. . The.,-,Gbv.ern.. •
anent of that Country was:' not content with plum.
&ill; almost 'every Nation, in Europe,. thoeglLus..,
der the most specious pretences; but .it projected
an interference with the interior concerns of Grext:
Britain—the. intringement-of the most sacred Rights -
anti Liberties of the People was menaOrain by its .
attempts against the Freedom of the ;Press: ;Under
lite.e impressions he was. confident the .Address
.would experience the most general Sling,/ irT that,
House : they • were called upon to come forward
upon the part of. the Country. They, would :take
_into their consideration •the enorinous acquisitiotis
made by the French since the conclusion or Peace ;
they would consider *lO4 insatiable lustrof curb. .
minion, the.tyranny they exercised over the eon.
quered Countries,. their,adual •partititia of 4. great
part of Europe,• after having pluodeted itt:
further projeas of dismemberment, and .partitien,
arid their proceedings with: resist& to, transferring'
whole Distrids from their legitintate possessor 4, to
their own tools and partizani to .whickmay .well
be added, their system of. military. espionage: in this
Country, under themaak of Commercial Regulatioo.:
When these important fads, whichio unequivocally ,
proclaimed the, intentions of the .French Governs,
ment appeared,. he was confidiat, that the Merobeta.
of that. kitnise would go hand in hand in defence
of the glorious Constitution of the Country, and
transmit it unsullied and unfettered -to the latest
posterity they 4otild bear, in ..mind .that spirit
'of ambition, insolence,. and . encroachment, which
aduated the Enemy':. they -would hear. in. minal,
that if the Constitution- fell, every thing, must
sink with it Liberty, Freedom, Wealth, In,
dependence, Rank, Property, and • Commerce, ;
the glories of old England 'Would. _be extin.:
guislied for ever : but the prosper}, wouldinstantly
brighten were they all to' unite in support of the-
country, and bid defiance to the insulting For ; thee
Would this Country be tendered in perpetuity the,
envy and the admiration of all other Nations. He
could nor forget the •ihsolent boast of the Enemy,
than England 'could 'not face them single-hatuled--,-;
He flattered himself, the Dritish Nation felt,qther.
wise ; and he trusted, that throughout all times,•
England would he able to fact France 'successfully,
and any other foe single-handed, in the cause of
truth and justice, against- the caoseof injustice sand
aggression. • • • ' •
• The Address was. then read in the pssial forin,
and on the Question being put,
B4rISTANIIUPE rose and observed; that one
of his objetis in addressing the House was, to recall
it.to that tone of temper which should accompany.
the discussion of such a subjeCt as the present. .4n
one point of view the. House would do well to fol.
low the wise counsel, so eloquently • given by.
His Royal Highness, which ,was, to lay aside* ell..
Party considerations :. • God knows,.,: vltert the
Country was found in inch a situation her
present, Party motive; should :he ;•entirely :Oat
of the question. • They should, 'as had been in-
gested by' the Noble SICK ITARY of,' STATE,
proceed :to Stith a discussion, note in the usual tem.
per of Debate, but
as if they were ,ticcitling
judicially' upon a grave and important case. For his
part, he was determined so to, conduCt himself, as he
would, to a certain degree, consider himself as giving
judgment in referette to an Impeachment in West.

minster. Hall. He dilreted its his views_ of the real
state of the question,froni'ilNe44,4,vet s who Juld pte-
ceded him ;he thought the ea riot jia I.igjidy.
`stated -without aparticular reference to, the ,•mast
'portant Papers. • In this view,. he intended_ to pro,
eced : the Noble Earl first refered to Rage r oz. of
the printed copies.hefOre the ,House,wherein the pro:.
.positionfor-seccupying Malta by the Troops,.
.was• mentioned. He contrasted chi. with the. pro.;
'vision of, the Treaty of Amiens, rhat.Malta shoul&
• he evacuated withitt-three rnontlis from the date Of
its signature. However, he would admit that
,cumstances might 'intervene,' which wouhi ju,,tify
its; retention ; what he wished_ to inquire ,was,
whether, such was the fats or not In another parr .
.of the Papers, ,he observed,, there ,was,a ennsidera.
torn suggested as. calculated to save the honour of
the obje.ding party, and Also in another place, in
strongly marked words, means-referred to• as. the••
must tasy-• for., -adjusting the most material
the, present differences ; • these .proposi lions could
not, he thought, be easily reconciled, • How.
ever, there was an, objed, implicated iii thediscis.
elan, w.hieb•hellesl nearer .at -heart than Malca,,,,ci
any thing belonging to it t it WAS a point which, if
any,.Forecitts Piinee :ittempted,to attar*, he would
sooner !•die by the.grearest, torments than %agree, ro,
surrender it what was,he rnetint as: points conreOed
with the-Civil Liberties,ofllle Qcsuntry, ,which he
woulddie sooner titani give up. to any Power upurt
earth. Imartoilser part of. the l,apers w.as,st. Letter
from Lord Hawkeribory,-ip which a pridcipte,, Very
important in the consideration, of the st!lsj,:a,'-***,
laiddown ; namely', that.,since.the Treatkof,Peace,
France hod considerably
..e.xtesaled her Territory,.
and .therefore a 'claim existed :on the' part „of Ibis
Couluty, that some °filet-41 ritories should, he re..
linquished whet, as. ansqui.valot for such ,arquisi.
tion:01 territory on:the part of France. If this was-.
foitldown as,a principle, he for one would say [lsar
ft ought not, to. be. admitted.,. He, would- supposie-,_
for instance, that, in the ioterval. in question, Eng..
land had atquired-some great acquisition, such,' for
instance, as .the Island. of Cuba . from Spairyssr.any,
tptbcr extensive territory ; in such a cay.: ha would,
ask, was, 'there an Englihtnan would ero,ure it
to.bc.said,„on the-part of the Yirir Coßsttl, . that 3
inaterial.pactof the licitly should rrynain
rttil he had .received an. equiviilent for such an acqui•
i i:Qn on out pa rt;? :1-k10.43c edno.t. Bur, he ciiss side
the question in atlifferentsv:sy ttr prieciple
hakthven sts-tinullyfinsintsl on, miolit overate •
the4Treaty was pendin,e,i.but Ilse musneli: the..T,reaty.,
svars-conclutled the ptinciple , but, ,for the
sake of 'argument, lie, wnuld for ,a ,Toonter2t, admit t
.prineiple betrue,--that principle, ,•to his. so, .must,;be. fitoistleil:in posit Ve „Id( t—t ha tt he power ot Franoo,,,,
hati?ikreased Ina certain tesps.c.t in Furore,.,.Motet! •
thel;reaty, he would admit ; hut they sits/IAA etsnsi.;
der whist the power and extent of territory.possessed
by. Frefice, were.at,the,petiodol the baffles:of A 444•
iengo and liofienlintlen. ...They; were 'rise-Is, in [so-. ,
seasion..of a great part of Germany. and YfltalKs •
together with S.ss itz:Jland,.. What...slue ..lt,ad
quired since the Treaty ,wat, rathet nominal than._
,but to this, a .weighty counterpoise was to Ise
opposed,: She•bad lost,that.which. i 49.
portance- than the who of onr West India pt6,:ii!fi.,
signs, be. meant ,the Island of St. I.)onsingo —1,4„11
this its her passettskon„, rand... were. she to porsue-A
certain lime of ,condue,..all.,our -West India islands
would he at W..- mercy ; there WqfC .50P,,4cCt.1
Blacks ol that. Islander 141 the Frenckunited their ,
forol to these, what might •axat, they net have per..
formed in, that quarter,? 7.-That fvc*li
o,lack Recruits could be. procuyed, (night .ettstly. be
,conceivetl, st hen it was :proved at the Bar of that
liouse,• on the. coll4ider4titil), of the Slave Trade,
that iywas- ;carat:tic:di. to prevent, the impor..,
tarion of -Negroes ;Ivo the West bidii ,
-nWith- sock a force, guided. by
~the tu:litorr
genius, of, Bonaparte, might not Fiance, in....Lb*,
event of a ,quarrel with gain psissession--
oT Cuba,' or even: of .Pet and Mexico i—But
returri to the point s,, St. Domingo was. lost to!
France through the mistalc:en of the First'
Consul, and ,such anrunsuccessful'isstse he wished
might always attend, evetsp. atternp.t against
.11w,
Rights of Man ; and ;he. had no hesitation to say
that. France, was, beyond coriv;trisotl 4ave.lltcr stow
than she wakar .111; time, of
.signing the-Treaty
the pi inciple therefore was not touoded in 10.0 i Anti,
all coeclosions drawn: frotia it, 0101 t necessarily:fall.
to the ground., ,With respeet.to Malta, however, he.
woultigolarther than Ministers. andsay, they-should.
not have given up
,Nlaltaat• the rime., Were they
ignorant 01 .the designs ,of Itonaparte at that time ?.
Was his pi cd iledion for Egypt but newly discover--
,ed I Were the extraordinary resources of his niind,and
ehergies of his charaCter,,,unknown till that day ?
Were, laughing adivissible on Such• n.subjea, as the
ptpenr, he would say, the condu4 of Ministers
was truly. laughable wtth,respeti to. .Malta.
agree, to Jake a bald for the ,possessionof Malta
for 'ten ;years—Was it to go at the end of the. ten
years? . Was there to• be no peace for the East
Indies at the end of these ten years? What was
to .he done . then . To ;speak, serioudy, his opi-
nion was,. that if proper measures- were adopted:
in India, it would signify , little, whether Egypt
tuts -an the possession of ,France or not :—bur as
they, were not_ taken, it would have beets better to
proposekeeping Malta for ever,. In aoother p:sr
of the .papers, a proposition appeared respating our
holding Malta for ten years, and in a . subsequent
part,, that the FrencliGovernment were ineli',sesi to
treat. on the proposition of surrendering .it .in
perpetuity. The inconsistency of such pro.
positions, and the relevant conduct} of Miois.
tees, - appeared to him equally laughable with
any of the rest. Were he the umpire in an
affkir of arbitration between two private persons,

he should know, that if both parties wanted the
same thiag, he could not satisfy them ; but if they
coveted different chines, he could give one,thing to
the firsi, anchthe. oil, • os the second person, nod so
_ send both away satiafieda So was it with the French
anti British Govertnnents; with resped to the point
in question. There were other propositions upon
' which the Governments differed, such as the al-
!edged 'Libels, alai the Propaaal' to scud 'away -the
French Princes, certain T]migrants, and the
Bishops.—He meant no offence to the Reverend
Bench. With resped to the former proposition,
be had read the Papers, but could not ve.C, what in
his Mind appeared insolent'on the part of the. French
Government—did that appear--did they manifest
any inclination to limit the 'liberty of the British
Press ? He would not agree to confer a moment on
the point whether Malta should be kept ten years
or in perpetuity—but he would; were he Minister,
instantly recall the Ambassador, and roar his•can.
nob the very next day. The liberty Of- the Press,
with a reference to the domestic concerns of the
Country, and witleresped to Foreign Powers, were
undoubtedly distiod considerations, hut there were
instances of persons being punished here for libels on
the Queen of France, the Emperor P.ml,. &c. The
laws- ef the Country in those points drew the line
cf distinction between right and wrong. The cast.
dour with which the Noble Secretary had expressed
himself on those points Merited praise ; but in his
view cf what appeared in the Papers, what the
French Government meant, was no more than that
the alledged Libellers shoad be punished. by legal
meana used in England; It was unforttinate, he ob.
serve, that two nations should be led to destroy
each other in consequence of misconceptions • these
differences were never suflitiently explained; dis.
cusSion 'on that head was postponed, and Malta was
the sole object of Negotiation. He:11101%ln the
coniiud of Ministers reprehensible on 'this. head,
they should have demanded the punishment of
Libellers on the other side of the water, ttml co
-
have punished them here instead of suffering
both 'parties to go on. After commenting upon
somefutther parts of the Documents, his Lordship
' referred to the complaints or the French Govetn:
went, with resped to triniadions' alledged to have
taken place at Guernsey and Jersey. Those when
comgartal to the great objeft of Negotiation, would
resemble' the circumstance of any two of their Lord.
'ships having two great estates, and two small fields,
ihout which they were contending—their anxiety
with reaped to the latter must be comparatively
little. In that view it might be proper td have
given up those island's, anti 10 have kept Malta as
the eon4ideratinti. It was the duty of the House,
its the' present issue, seriously to consider the cif. I
cumstancea of the Country, a Debt of goo Millions
already contended, 'the prosped of increased Taxi..
t ion, and a ditninution.of the Comforts of theaPoor ;
all these considerations they should serfoualy'bear:
in •mirid before they 'finally decided us to the im.
pcirtant subjed before them.
*Me DUKE 41' CLARENCE expressed 'his wish
to trouble their Lordships with a few observationson
the present (*lotion. 'With reaped to the Prelimi.
nary Treaty, however far he may disapprove of
some of the stipulations, seeing that, upon: the
whole, die 'measure was approved by the Country,
be voted for it. He regretted the' stipulations about
assthey went to leave the English without
a Port in the Mediterranean—;aHe likewise regretted
• what took place with regard to our respedable Ally
the King of Sadinia : with the exception of these
points, the Peace, upon the whole, had his support.
He was mete of the et rcumstancett which intervened
between Odober iSot , and-the conclusion of the•
Definitive Treaty--the acquisitions of France, the
state of Eutope, and these considerations had due
weight" on his mind. He was aware'of the relative.:
situation of this Country and France, which he should
ever consider her natural enemy.
His Royal Highness then adverted to the factious,
or isailier infamousl Report of a person who appear.
ell to be an atactedited Agent of the French Govern.
merit, and whose Report was published in their Of.
ficial Paper, he Meant Colonel Sebastiani. It was
not necessary to enter at any length into this Res
port, to chew the hostile spirit which it breathed,
the falsehoods which it contained, or the gross
sultsaipon the' British Aritsy and the British Cha.
rader, with
,which it was filled. Bait it was not to
Egypt alone that the Mission of Colonel Sebastiani.
'was—it extended ao the Republic of the Seven
Isles, the Independence of which was stipulated for
in the Treaty of Peace.'' Here the sacred nameaof
Religion' was called in to answer the purposes of the
French Government, and the First Consul was
graciously pleased' to 'take under his protection the
Church of this 'lndependant Republic. After, this
Report of ae Official Agent of the French Govern.
men,, published in an official manner, could any
rational man entertairl any doubt as to the hostile
views of Fraace opon Egypt but even if' it was.,
possible, after the perusal of that Document, to en.
Certain any doubt upon the. subject, 'it would be only.
necessary to refer to the Conversation which passed
6ttween Bonaparte and, Lord- Whitworth. This
Conversation, certainty was one of the most Strange
that ever was recorded itt-Dipiornatie History; an,,
the only way it could be accounted for, on the part of
flue First. Consul, was, that it waSatfter'Dinner.--a
To this conversation, however, the First Consul by
no means disguised his sentiments' about Egypt, and
tieclared,Ahat he might have taken it it he had
chosen to send '25,000 men there instead of scolding
diem. 16 Sr.- Domingo---Was this a proof of a dis.
position tO. Peace, or was it art inducement to the
British Mioister to give Op that possession which
was" so 'well
,calculated to operateas a cheek upon
designs against Egypt P—His Royal 'Highness
then prueeeded :to-comment with great ability 'upon-
stiff, rent parts of :that dispatch "of Lord Whit.
relative to the conversation, which,' he
said, he considered as one of the most important
Papers that ever called for the attention :of the
Proish Parliament.---With regard to the annexation
of a peat part of Italy to the French Republic,
end the attack and subjugation of Switzerlend,
- these were subjeds strongly' calculated 'to excite the
'Pjiprehensions and the'jealousy of Europe, -but these
tha. Firtit Consul of France treated as mere-
' • lingaleari, Ha seemed to consider that these
vioh;rioos :of the rights of nations and of the faith
of Treaties, by him were to go unnoticed and un-.

punished, and that . this Country had no:ttght to,
stop hi:n in his career. This was the conduit ot
France, while Great Btitein, sincerely anxious for
the maintenance of Peace, was, with that good .ltith
which she always had, and he hoped always would;
display, taking the. most•eTedual steps for carry.:
ing the Treaty of Amiens into execution. But, it
might be urged, that Great Britain had not eve.
cored Malta. Upon—this—subjedi: His Royal
Highness observed, that although by the Treaty of
Amiens, it was stipulated, that Malta should be
evacuated by His ntjesty's Forces,. yet the terms
and cenditioes uponavhich that: evacuation was to
take place were alsodistindly- stated in that Treaty.
These terms were ,not complied with, the, other.
Powers of Europe hed not consented to undertake
the guarantee of the dependence of that Island, and
.consequently Great Britain was guilty of no infradion
of the Treaty by not evacuating Malta; on the. con.
trail, she was ailing both according to its letter
-andspirit, and as a still further proof of her good
'faith, she had ,repeatedly and earnestly required the
guarantee of those Powers, whoseguarantee. elope
could have secured the Independence of Malta.—
Hit Royal. Highness said, he was present when the
Secretary of State _delivered His Majesty's Mes.
..sagi to that ilousein March last, and althuegh no
,man. could be more sensible than hewas of the .hles.
sings of Peace, or'.was•more anxious to maintain
them, yet ender the circumstances of the case,. he
confessed he really heard that IVl4sage with plea.
sure. .it was reqaested by His Melesty'e Mini.
seers, that the House would suspend tiseir judgment .‘
upon the Merits of the. Negotiation, until all the
fails were laid before them, and they could at once
determine upon the whole case :—lle had examined
the whole of,these Papers with all the attention in
his power, and .he was. decidedly of opinion that
from that period that Ministers had done their
_duty, and supported the dignity and real interests
of this Country., If they had ailed otherwise, if,
under all the circumstances, they had 'not recalled
the .King's Ambassador,. from Paris, they would
..have disgraced both the King and the Country.
He looked forward with the most sanguine expede.
Lion, that the greatest advantages would result, not
Only to this Country, -but to Europe, frbm the line
of conduct which they had adopted ; and he trusted
he spoke on this occasion the unanimous _sense .of,
the House and the Country. But what disposition
had beensetiouslysliewn on the part of France to avoid ;
the calamities of War ? When His Majesty's Mini.
seer hail been in a most gross and unparalleled map,
nee insulted in Paris, when application for an ex.
' planation'of 'such extraordinary coraleft was made,
WAS it ever given ? No, not to the present hour.—
The other parts 'of this Negotiation relined_ prig.
cipally to Malta ; upon this point various proposi.:
titans were-Made, some that it should be retained
in perpetuity, and some that it should be retained,
&c. but what was the proposal of the,Government
of France at last upon this poira ? Why that -we
might retain Malta for-a certain number of years,
provided' the French were allowed to occupy Otran.
to intl. Tarentum, two important positions belong,.
ing to our Ally the King of Naples. Whether
this Country could consistently 'with its. honour and
good faith have agreed to such a proposition, he
would not insult their Lordships with' discussing,.
It was' not his intention at present to enter• into
a revision of the terms of. the Preliminary Treaty
of Peace, .or 'to dismiss how far they were ad-
vantageous or otherwise to.ahis Country, hut per. .
haps if -Malta had then been kept, it would have
preserved the Country from the: situation in Which
it was now placed. But he did not:mean to throw
any blame upon Ministers for not having retained,
Malta in the Treaty of Peace,: he supposed they
had very, good reasons for the stipulations which
they made with regard to that Island. When he,
saw the stipulations in•the Treaty, however, with
regard to Malta, he saw . in it the seeds of a
future War. He, however, as he ,before stated,
did not blame Ministers, because he supposed.
they had very good 'grounds for their conduit.
He pettedly agreed 'with the Noble' Secretary of.
State that Malta in the hands of England was. not
*port of offence hut merely of defence, but Malta
in the hands of Vance would, be a port of Offence
against Egypt in the first 'instance, and. through •
Egypt against our Indian possessions. Situated as
Malta was at present, he'did not see how it could
remain as an Independent State ; it must, in his
opinion, be 'attached to some attest Power. The
Order of Malta I.oarbow completely.destrOyed ; its,
meinsof'self.preservation weregone, and if it did •
notfbelont to Great Britain it. must belong to
France.' If Malta was the great objed of the First
Consul, If he was so resolutely determinedto obtain
it, the interest of Great Britain .to prevent hint
from' obtaining it was, proportionably obvious. .
Malta was, to be sure,. but a•rock, but its imeor.
tame was not therefore the less. Look at the His.
• torrof this Country, and particularly during the
American War, and it would he found that that
War was not -sb much determined by the vidory •
obtained by Lord Rodney in the West Indies,
on the lath of April,. 1782, as it was by the events
that took place on the Rock of Gibraltar. That
rock employed the forces, exhausted the resources,
and baffled the efforts of the 'United Armies and
Navies of France ind Spain. The Princes of the
Abuse of Bonrhon, who were stimathned to be wit..
ceases of its Fall, and to. partake in the triumph of
its Capture, arrived 'only to'be witnesses of their
national defeat and diageace. He therefore nbw
. considered 'Malta as equally important, and in some
degree as the Salvation of the. Liberties of Europe.
If- all the efforts which ihia-Country had made to
preserve Peace were ineffeelual, if the boundless •
ambition of France forced us _into a War,' we had
the advantage of going to War without any
division of .opinion'; the People of this Coun.
try were unanimous in their opinion t they were
attached to the Constitution of:their Country; 'arid
were determined to.defend itsrights, and he trust,
ed by their' •conduit upon this occasion, they
would open the eyes of Europe -to the dangers
with which they were threatened. A NobleTeirl had
contended that France was considerably weakened,
and that -she bad lost Si. Domingo ; trueit :was
.had deserved
she had lost it, anti he contended that: 11 her 6on;
drat 'she had deserved to lose it. She
it by treating with a anttn,• and . afterwards. gross;v
violating that Treaty with that man,' who, let his

eoinur he svhat it might, had a right. to etpeet that
France .vould adhere to an engagement scvsolemnly
• mode. But it was to Great Britain alone that it was
to be attributed that France was prevented from
haying possession of St. Domingo and Louisiana. It
was His Majesty's Message to his Parliament, that
prevented France from having Louisiana. It was
Great Britain that said to France, " you shall not
plunder the Possessions of your_Mlicsa. sh4l*.
not seize the Colonies of Holland and Spain, you
shall not have the Cape, you shalt not have their
West India Islands you—shall— have nothing:,
bat what Great Britain pleases in the East or in the
West, unless you conduA yourself in a very
li
different manner."—lt was, hOwever, far fruto his
wish, if it were in our power, that we shduld de-
stroy Irranee ; he did not wish that this country,
whatever her power or her sticeesses mightbe,"Shou'l
be insolent or oppressive : bur he wished' chew'
France that we could resist her aggressions, that
we could chastise her insolence.—When the sword
was once drawn, it was not for man to say when it
should be:Sheathed, or whit should be the issue of
the contest ; &it relying, upon the justice of our
cause, we might trust with confidence to Divine
Providence far success in the contest into which we
had been forced.--Upon theSe grounds he should
give his assent to the motion.
Lord AILILG R AVE said, he 'rose to pay his
tribute of aiiplause to those patriotic sentinaents'so
properly delivered by two-Princes of the Home of
Brunswick. Ife thought the Ministers were entitled
to the thanks of the House for their forbearance, fOr
their patriotic feelings, and for not mixing any thing
with the present question, which could give a
colour fur any difference of opinion in the vote of
. the House on this,ilay. There could be but one
'sentiment upon qi.is'questiOn, in the heart of every
man who lived under, and enjoyed the blessings of,
the British,,Constitution. He :should, therefore,
abstain from commenting upon any part of the sub.
left which related to the cunduft of His Majesty's
Ministers., ,Without,. however, entering into that
part of the subjeCt, there was abundant matter for
the consideration of the House—there was abundant
matter for deliberation. He wished to enter into
the discussion with all the temper and deliberation
Which so important a question deserved. It was
.eot for a grave and dignified assembly. like that to .
give way to those impression, of anger and indig.
,nation which every Engli'sfirrian .must upm the
perusal of the Papers which-had been laid before
them. was for that House to repress the indig.
nation which they must naturally feel,• and to give
a cool and dispassionate judgment upon the docu•
merits which had be,.n laid before them, and. upon
the whole of the conden of the French GoiernMent
to this Country.—The Noble Lord whO had spoken
last hut one had delivered a Speech which he should
feel the greatest difficulty in answering, because a
greater display of• English feeling, and 'French par-
tiality he never remembered to have heard. If the,
Noble Lord., had been a VentritOriuiit, and had
taken upon himself to give in his own person a spe.
cimen of a Debate in, the House of Lords, he could
not have dorie it better. At one thin. his Speech
was all English, at another :time. all French. It
was with the most profound estonishment, however, .
that he heard the Noble Lord', talk :of giving up
the Islands of Jersey and Guernsey, these Islands
which had been so long united to, and were so ain-
cerelyattached to Great Britain, the advantage' of
which we had so often experienced in war, the
benefit of which we had so constantly experienced
in time of peace those Islands 'Which made a vigo.,
urns defence ttpoo former occasions against the com-
mon enemy, and whose exemplary rejection of
.every, principle of Jacobinism, ought to endear
thein for ever to every Eeglishman. But the
Noble Lord wished the Country to forget their
services, to forget their attachment, to forget
the advaotage, that this Country derived from
• them, and to part with them upon the most dis-
graceful principle that could be conceived---What-
ever might be his .general feelingsfuoan the ierusal
of these fasters, of many grounds of War which the.
•conduel of France had given us, he was anxious, that
we'should suit*, adhere to the Treaty we had Made,.
that the National good faith should be 'inviolate,
and that we should' not violateany of the engage.
mots which we had entered into With France.—
, Upon the most minute and deliberate examination
which he had been able td give to. these Papers, he
was decidedly .of :opinion, that Great. Britain had
adhered to the Treaty, that s 1 had, aeted with lib'
usiialNational good faith, that she had not vio- .
laced:
any
Of her engagements ,with France—h'
was; ready to , ask, and ;o abide by the opiglOn
of all Europe, upon these points. Had thrfe not
been since the conclusion' of the Treaty of Peace,
ads committed, by the Governmeat of. France,
tending. to a great increase of her poWer—adit
in violation of all the, Rights of Nations, awl
manifesting an enormous ambitioo, which was
!checked only by the want of means, to eXeCtIV: it ?
Did there now exist, or had there at any time
hied, a possibility on the part of this Country, of
executing the letter °robe .spirit of the Treaty .of.
Amiens, with regard to Malta ? llad they. oat,: in
the Papers before them, .prooktif such repeated aas
of aggression on the patt.eallsratice, as made it im.
poisible for this Country to fulfil the Treaty of
Amiens, consistently with its safety and indepeo.:
dance ? France. had annexed to herself a large part
of ftalyi. yet this was considered by the Etat Con.
mil' as a mere Bagittelle,. not. worthy of notice
But this was not alt ; in' a very short time after.
wards came the,subjugation of,Switzerland, which
wasahe only barrier bet ween rrance_ and the accom.:
plishment of some of her must ambitious
To this was added, . in the last stage of the Negri-
dation, the conquest:of Holland. In the Treaty.
of Peace, the Independence of the Batavia', Re,
public '(for that was the name it was now 'to be
koown by) was stipulated. for ; but neither the
niek,name which France had given her, rl:4 the
solemn stipulations of a Treaty, could preserve her
Independancee--It had been said, that Ministers had .
not interfered by any official representation upon
the, sullied, 'but ,thvy. hat intetpoiied in a more
effedual maiinee—ohey had ioterpased by keeping
the Cape and our usher cnntrests. When he trier,_
tinned the conquest 4,1-I,4l9(tatti of Switzerland,
pahap* the congeniality' hertween the di-position of
an Englishman and a Swiss might induce the people

I Of this Cottntry to give . re
the preference to the latter;
hut ever eince the reign of Qeieeel Elizabeth, the
interests of England and of Holland had been, with '
few exceptions, united. He asked whether Be':
all these reasons there were not sufficient gr'ottilai
to justify • Ministers in leering Malta ? But net.:
withstanding all these insults and aggravetiein, the
Ministers of this Country declared that they wer
TS4cirio . eXcellit_.tite__Treety. with resEa M. th'''
evaeultion of Malta, provided the other soeuLte
~
tions relating to it could be carrked into I.T.zai
:.Here the Noble Lord entered- into some dei3il ""''
chat part of the Treaty w hick re:laced to.. t!'e •
Island of Malta : 'he skewed very clearly thet
gone of the arrangements' vt•hich ought to lee.,
cede the evacuation of.. Malta lid taken placee
and consequently
.that. this Country could note
riot was bound, upon any principle.. to deliver it V.
Sue their obje4 was to hove Malta; as, a meaei ei
facilitating their designs upaa Egept e and this IA
been openly avowed by France with a kind of inc•
pudent candour, enel insolent sincerity... 1..1ic,1C.4);
Lord then adverted to the system cif the First Ceeed •
in sending- Military Spies into other Countriese
the. name of qornmereiel., Agents. 'Col; Si""east
was, he said, one of this description : i'c w'" s''t
to,Egype under the pretence of demanditn; the ere-
thuimetsiconli.
ionf
erxlalemeienttitelogriat,hebustt:tne loa::i.ii2l:lepetta.',:lirit'ci,.
I
Forte, &c. He, then ;went to , the tueienWeet‘ltee
and theee:you find this Commercial Agent,L4l(e_te'lf.4'.
to excite discontents, and declarieg that 14; o°l-cr,, '
were reedy, at the first oeportunitye to tbrenv,
selves into the hands of,France.; ;t:situehl he o.o*
leeted, that the Independance,of the Republic ,elll'.
Seven Wands was positively stipulated Inf., 'O4 t
the Government that called upon tr. til
this was ;.1.
literal execution of a Treaty. Even if they tt tic P
' lay Malta out of their 'consideration, there. were.
ample' grounds for
.the, cantina which jeliilocis
had adopted in the : repeated acts 'of ies,'lt '"lt
I° '
aggression' which France had coMmi tied teeilile.
'
this Country,. and which no IntlepereLmt. St'
could for a moment ,submit to.: • Wiebisn'ieia-.
Short months after the Treaty of PeectClWH e,14,44.
demanded that all the Emigrants,. 13ishor+ l'e!'.
who had taken refuge in this Cciontrt:,4l4"
driven out of it. This was treatini; us ;as trier' hide:
treated the King, of Naples ; and if tl.ey h,id
eeilleel in this, the nem thing they would lave
'l,l
would have been . to. punis`h any persons %rho lee.
shewn an attachment to the c;in,c ~,s FrAnce'. NV'
per. randy, and O'Connor would .1136! beett sent _
over to this Country, and positive, Orders tv,ottla harv"
been given -that we_ should not melcst theta,
this was not all, we were called ur n to cliog.c 0"(
Constitution, to give.up the Palladium of oa l'i.
berries, the Liberty , of the Press, and this w"'
asked et a moment when the French Gev
Was antliOriZing tbC-rnOst licentionS attach °rill
thiEiiti,h Govcrnment in her Official. Fapeis, :I'"s
compelling. Ileutral States to insert in their
,r4i'cre.
libels. upon Qteatßritain—lei trusted ileit the ii.rar:
and 4.4140 Comliea which , this Country 11.4 7:,
thnioccitsiiin adopted, wouldst 14 es.iniPie .),of
trope, mod he tret;ted 'het we shou)d, by “,-:',,it
severe lesson, reach the 'Fir-st COnsul that
"r e
Britain 'alone w,s able - 1' ii"'''' l'•nic-'
~
to resist her aggtessions, and to pueis;i I,cr ll'irit; /*eel
• ' Len •AfELPALE said, .he a"." ~0:,1,,e eiive,
that no Npble Lold heel mkee.' in tne e•e.e.' ' • ,
se .. . to teep.,
who did not criesider Malt'', ',,itlt e vie' ' 'ivith
erentent
28 of essential impOrtanee to this CountrY;ti, it in
respea to; that Island, the article rel.ili"'e 'teemed
the Treaty of Amiens hid been renderea bY ~ ~,„la
in:caiAble of execution ;no reliance t` hate or
Ix placed On the prOpwed gent-a:flees of ."1". le re.
wilutosnsisa'evilemn9gthhehsel'igtlitioteught, 'het Perbar !sc'n witlt
Ifiicainacie
tomigthits beetp,:nicterld..sutpouaniiilliin;lllnta,ctcalwoßlsi"':' i—„,-.e_:
however,
should hear of the VP" fetch'
these eoceerlhos
placed; ofgtehneergatillaYran'teet oinfg'Frnaorecree?.-Ah6ce °c-c)::. tj'e! as,
k
n 00in g , the guava'
therefore left to Great .Britain alonC, CO sv the
Power it - nroperly I;eonged, as I")ss"s`n ritY
,greatest maritime steength,, and, eeereat sll.llFOleee
fof Naval power., "He thought, that the best.ti,nsit'3
. )r this Country si•ould'be the poisession or 1.1,1,c,i
in perpetuit,
.
a • we, were fairly c 1
- ,
to it by ee • -
•It supertorlty of maritime EP-trge,a; ; tin,- •
because.''Ue possession al it was ot: the ar"•'',(e, our.
tee! ea in tie. with. • view to tee' ypt: oi4- ',-,t't of
n0.'"19 PosseesiOns: In this respeelketh: l'cru'ieee
tee Papers upon the Table had tei,Xte4 1'4111,, iic
from a considerable weight that oppreqed .it, ...`,5 tats
show_ sal never forget the man meleachols/lire'eive
bad passed since Ate conclusion of Inc pe'',l,,o*
Treaty, by 'which .this. Catintry: give nll. this 4.
session of Malta. The. importance. of that ..o,iii.,
was great an,tl material ; that importance. vv3s
te,
cietitly proved during. War, whee tht 1;:c.
session of it by Bonaparte, enabled hiln toe u„,l',iest
tike his well-known adventurousenterPiii! t..;titi.
Egypt; and when the. possession icily ,th.i% at
try, enabled us afterwards to undertake, o!rcgotte,
and socceisini Expedition against the. 6!'qw„„treel
try, each of which Expeditioos Was .I•—siert
inein elicit through the means of the put ~tiff
PI
,Malta. Whether they considered the 'tc7i,e,
of v-gYrt,
,and copseqeently *lndia, from .i'tii we.
or whether they considered the gene,c,ar` tote.
terests of this
•Ceuntey, the. Article o 4 the ,
CO"
of Amiens which related teethat Island tlio ;ie et
no benefit to Greaußritain., Nothing less 1 tole'
complete British 'Gnatantee coughs VOW t° `4 01
rated ; Ist us now poreess it in perpetuitY 11,,a
ought not to consent toSicy other arrengernen!' ve,
we had now a den to begin where we Ott to
Much might be said of the right of this C9loll,,,citee
retain Malta, and it. would. be lay nu means tliw or
, idaoa it
Cu) prove that we had a right to retain tl'en•-•,. • els • i
British purposes. He.did not think that the IY),ligr i 0
of Saint John of Jerusalem ever coold or rushy
,t•
f
be restored to the Governnwnt of Maio, Pa"' is
. • o
abitat'
larly.if a proper regard m„„s. hewn to the t
._oire
of that Island • and it woultlhe reconciled char:4 of
we besieged iitlalta during the late War> vie `of 1,1
Maltese therniclves who' hlocic.ed up the las:ofTuo
Valft(e. With this proper regard iin"-3[le t!el.
for the rights of the Maltese, he did not.thin 1, to
et
the Knights .of 6:tint John of Jerusalem 04,
~,,,,
be restored to the possession of that ISPn.“,., tile
lv OW
could.thry now be reseored consittem..; I,„'nl rti) ,
ought it'y
i
rules 'tif the Order ; this Country t
.: