The Sun.
London, England, 1810-03-06 00:00:00

spelt-o.step, but he would-point but the sort of_ modifi-
catkin- v. ireh he could wish to see'heicpted. He was
ot opinion that it wbuld have been' well to have
,tabitituted ottlethifig of this nature "'That this
Hou,,e cannot but epress regretatluch a report.
having 'been made to his Majesty, not through the
rcgiihsr' chabiael, but privately, without anyinfor,
ti,ioion on the subje& being communicated either to
lit Nlajtstfs'servants or to the Admiral comMand-
lig the naval part of the Expedition; and is of opi-
Tien voat such conduct
-ought to be discouptenanced
as highly injurious tolhe .Crown, Aid as -having 'a
&mgero'is tendency, &c."—Such, according to his
might have been, or might- even then be.
made:- As it stood he could not vote for it, as he
thainght it infinitely too severe-; he,!linwever, could
not' but vote against, the previous
.qttesitinn:"
Mr: BaTnuasz• spoke at sorrie„length on, the
.-to,ject„.but from the situation in which,: he stood, we
tiot- distinctly hear. the greater'part ot his
spi-cca. According to the views , lie had taken of
lie i,titution, the- condu&-Of Lord Chathain was
11,4 c.aistitutional. .The conduct of a Commander
in Chief who,.employed in a combined Expedition,
asie'-u.,e of the privilege of access to the King,
,which he enjoyed as a Privy Councillor, to submit
to
.his Majesty a narrative of his proceedings, un-
kr•oatl to his colleagues, and requesting that that
co,iimunication might be kept secret for a time,
without-any limitation, and which period extended.
•to More. than a Month, abused the privilege of ac-
cess to the Royal Perspn, and warrar ted the applica-
tion of the epithet ". unconstitutional" to his con-
duct. He thought •it:the duty of the H,,use to
take the strongest measures for preventinglhe re-
currence of such a. circumstance, and concluded by
de-cluing hiS intention of voting against the previous
que,tion.
Mr. Owati, adverting to the manner .in which
the profession .of which. be was a member in general
rock up charges of this rlature, observed,. that clear-
nOss and attention to the definite object. guided'
them -; but here the charges against the Noble Earl
were too vague and indefinite. He could not see
what principle ot the Constitution •A'as, difejted by
the (widget of the Noble Earl. The principle of
tes;hausibtlity was not affeaed, because it had been
said that the condud the Noble Earl' was merely
erroneous. On the:other side it had 'been. aigued
that it was unconstitutional: In this view of the
caie. his difficulty was increased', and he thought
that .the previous question would be the most pro-
-per mode of disposing of the question. • ,
, .Lord. CASTLEREAGH' observed, that there were
I,apers in theposseSsion of the. Noble Earl- which'
the HP'tise had not a right to'&naltd. With re-
sp. 6tto: the Narrative obtained 'front ahe Throne,•
tile House was bound to discharge the•diaty-it owed-
to the country, Looking a>< that paper, he did not
thit.k that the Noble Earl had any unjust or un-
ecoerous-inotive when he delivered it to the King. •
Willi no-Irlitation on his mind, he was disposed to,
look at the subject under:distussion as' a dryxonsti,
-totiettil question: Beyond this.--opinion he was
fixed not to go, and he thought -the House ought
not to :adopt any vindictive measure. He had no
hesitation in:saying, the conduit of the Noble Earl
wes not unconstitutional, and that if it was suffered
to oa:is unnoticed, 'might be dangerous 'to the Con-
:siltation. He had no wistr-to tr;ivet LAI Uugli
till, StIWI, but . he would say it was rat uncoristiL*
outional„ because.. he acquitted the Noble Earl of
any sinistr. niotive. The papef tiad been presented
as a mere confidential statement, and when: the
Noble-Earl gave it to the King, he did not give it
a Privy Counsellor, with advice to accede to it.-
What was the situation of the King with reipea to

on the present accasion. -But there were some p'oints
I to which he wished to advert. .His Rt. Hon. Friend,
Canning)
_had -stated, that he thought • the
course taken of moving the former question was an
improper one, and that it was not even favourable
to the-NOble Lord, because it would leave the-•cities-
tion respecting his conduCt in .a vague undecided
situation, which would be -mach More injurious to
the Noble Lord than a' resolution exaCtlrdaining
the extent. to which' bis conduct was repreheniible.
He certainly could- not agree to that .propositidn,
for-he could not conceive that'tord Chatham would
be placed in a better situation by having a direa,
L.:Vote of censure passed against him, than he would
'be if the House were to determine that this-was a
kind'of case which they might fairly dispose of by
the previoui question: His Right Hon. Friend
did not think that, striEtly speaking, the term un-
constitutional ought to be applied to Lord Chat-
ham's conduct, why then 1:vOnld he'vote for a Reso-
lution that conveyed- that charge ? He really'was at,
a lass to account for the line of conduct which some
GenTlemen seemed determined to ad'opt,they thought
:it of great importance that the House should express
an opinion upon Lord • Chathanfg" conduct, 'and
yet they were content. to give their support to Re-
solutions
which contained 'language. much stronger
than what they thought was proper. Some -Gen-
tlemen seemed to think that. these Resolutions.
' might be followed by severe consequences; • surely
then, if that were the case, 'it was most important
that Gentlemen should be careful that the Resolu-
tions should not be 'couched in language stronger
than they really thought the nature of ,the case re-
quired. He felt,.upon the best- view that he could
give to this, subjeet., that this was a case of error,
but it was a ease' of venial
_error; and -one, which
had not been followed by any practical Incon-
'venience, and under such circumstances he

thought. that the most proper course .for the
House to pursue would be to dispose of the

subje6t by the previous, question. He. :wished, dis-
tinttly to ask Gentlemen what were the grounds
upon which they attributed such. criminality to Lord
Chatham ; was it •from the' mere circumstance of

having delivered the paper to his Majesty ? He
was ready to meet them.upon, that ground, and to
contend, that if Lord Chathatii had for the first
time, .on- the 14th of February, delivered that paper
to,his Majesty, unaccompanied by a request of se-
crecy, there would. hae been nothing unconstitu-
tional in the act. .The application for secrecy tvas
certainly improper; but surely Oentlemen did n-ot
mean to contend that is make a coma unication to
his Majesty with
,a, request, of secrecy was, alr-`
straaedly speaking, an unconstitutional -aa. 'Sup-
pose a- person (whether a Privy Counsellor
.or not
was of no importance): should communicate 'to his
Majesty information conspiracrformed-for the

overthrow of the State, with a request 'that- his Ma-
jesty would' divulge the circumstance for the
present,' lest the Conspirators might find out their
designs were. detected, would any -man .Contend
that such couthi6l would be unconstitutional ? yet
; that was the natural inference that-might be deriv--
ed..from some of the arguments which had been
used by different Gentlemen. " He had before ad-
tnitted -that Lord Chatham's conclutl.was erroneous,
mi.as injudicious, but certainly it was not unconsti-
i tntion,i Annie Gentl;men on the orlier side of the
House. lead nrisundetstood °hint when- they sup-
posed him to.. say •
.that- he had -.formed the
determination never again
~to consent that-. a Ca=
• binet Minister should command" an 'Expe.

dition, in.. consequence of Lord Chatham's having
delivered that Narrative,-that was not the ground
upon which he formed that opinion. -He thought
great inconvenience resulted from unititigt the
two Characters, standing in the relation as it Were,
of tnaster and servant, the Governmenti6Command,
and Ili?. Officer to obey. -It was the inconvenience
arising from. this contusion of characters that in--
duced him to form the determination which had
been alluded to. Upon the whole he trusted that
.the House would look narrowly at the quality, of
the a& committed, before they passed a censure;
that if 'they did not think Lord 'Chatham's condu6l
unconstitutional, they would not say so, and that
if they thought that the
,Noble Lord had rrot been
actuated by bad nuitives,-- and that no.:had conse-
quence bad ensued from what he had done, they
♦would agrep' 'with him in voting for the previous
question.

information at the opening of Parliament His
Majesty had stated in his Speech, that h had di-
JeCted to be laid before both Houses information're-
., speaing the Expedition to the Scheldt, and when
he Narrative was' put in the- "King's hand, it was
vat *holy that the papers and information laid 'be-
ore Parltatnent could be affedte-d by it. He.diii not.
elusl to tote censure on the Noble Earl, and while
be whiled that censure to be mild, he did not hesi-
tate to say, he was persuaded that the Noble Earl
had acted inadvertently.
Mr. WINDHAM thought! the condu& of Lord
Chltitam improper and blameable, but he doubted
• whethCr it was unconstitutional. He, however,
thought that the House should mark its disappro7
bation, and therefore he should vote for the Resolu-
tions. . .

ITBR EA D replied,. and observed, that the
Noble'Lord had not tound one Gentleman to de-
fend his condua -in the course of the long debate.—
His conduct was contrary to the spirit and genius of
,the British COnstitution. The Right. Honourable
Gentleman who spoke last, .had desired Gentlemen
who did not like his Resolutions, to xote for the
previous question, He did not know the principles
•of the Constitution were to be, learned by rote, till
he heard, with amazement, .the speech of the
nourable Gentleman on the floor (Mr. Banks). . It
appeared now that there was, a secret between the
King and the. Noble Earl which was not known to
those men who still-wi,hed to 'keep the Ntble _Earl
in power% The .Narrative could never have been
• made public if. the, InqUiry had not been. Com.
menced. How, -then; were the, House to- know
that the Noble Earl desired publicity ? He had the
right to presume that the part Of the Narrative
erased contained "in• opinion t hat Sir R.,Strachan
'ought not again to be employed ; but that was a se-
cret still in the lloyel breast. lf,*ag an Honourable
and Learned 'Gentlemen said, those on his (Mr.
W.'s)'side of tlie. House were an 0. P. faction, they
were right, for the playhouse 9: P.'s had at least
law and justice on their side., Ai to turning the Mi
nisters out, he did not know where to find • them,
for it was only the semblance of an Adminiitration,
and it was uleless to pursue a phantom. They
were like Punch in th,e show, who,-, though stabbed,
always rose and exclaimed, ‘ I am not hurt." The.
Getaltmen evposite. were stabbed often enough,'
.but to no efl'ect. The Hon. Gentleman concluded
with declaring, that he stood up in that House as
fhe. advocate. of millions, to protect their birth-
right-J.-the Constitution. • •

The CHANCELLOR of the 'Excitop.uE,tt said, that
after listening with attention. to Tthe speech of the

%_
Right_ Hon. 'Gentleman, he. cerifinly, Kas surprised
al hi 3 determination to vote in support Of-theslielo-
. lutions, because his speech contained the. -strongest
and most convincing arguments against them. The
Right Hon. Gentleman_ had declared that, in his.

opritio'ti, the coriduet•of Lord Chatham was not un-
constitutional, except in a loose and, colloquial sense
of- that word, and yet he declared him Self deter4s
ed solemnly to record upon the Jourtials of
House a severe censure for unconstitutional con-
duct, and that too against an individual not actuated
..in bis opinio6 by.-any improper motive in the con-
duct whiCh he pursued, He could very well ander-
- staud the grounds-upon which; otrerGentlemen on the
opposite side of the House voted for the Resolutions :
they ,tbdught the. conclud. of Lord Chatham not
• constitutional, in delivering that paper to 'his Se-
they thought the applieatitin for secrecy,
'was highly improper, -they thought the paper deli-
vertxl, contained a charge against- the gallant Admi-
ral employed in the Expedition; upon these grounds
it-w.ts vet) natural that they should vote
.for the Re,.
siptions.i. but how the Right Hon. Gentleman, whO
did "bot thi-ok Lord Chatham's cqndUC-1 wasuncon7
.51 titional, except in .o. loose And.colloquial sense,
who did not think the applica!ji>9.- for secrecy :was

improper, wtio did not think er-
e i , any charge againaC.. Sir Richard
Stiachan, could notwithstanding vote for the; Reso-
lutious lie could not:conceive. It appeared _to him
quite obvious that it was Lord Chatham's objeel, its
dcawiog up this Nartativ.e, to give it. publicity,
though lie might wish that it should be kept secrot:
f r a time: Lord Chatham- meat.: that Narrative
• f r a defence, and it was absurd to suppose that •he
c uld derive any benefit from 4 defence which °was
n .ver to be made public. Having on,a former night
stated his sentiments generally upon the question,
I;tiould not occupy much of thelitne of the House

Generil iA)k-TUS and General .GROSVENOR- op.
posed tht.: Resolutions.

The quesuun aas nowloudly called for, and the
House divided •on the inotiou for ' the previous
question._

Ayes, sBS.—Noes, 221.—Majority against the previous
question, 33.

Government last night received dispatches from
Cadiz, dated the r,"th ult. They
'contain, we un-
derstand, nothing more than an, account of the ar-
rival of. 2500 British and 1500 Portuguese troops
at Cadiz.

We have, hoWever, been favoured with a Letter
from an Officer on board one of our ships of war in
Cadiz harbour, dated on the igth ult.-which states,
"that the French are.unremitting in their attempts to
obtain Cadiz by stratagem or by negociation; but
that the Spaniards'are most firm in their answers.—
The Letter addsi• that the enemy are going on
rapidly with theiT.preparationi,.and that their prin-
cipal force seems to bedireeted against the Bridge
at the Isla, which is very strong, and being
,now reinforced with wind English artillery, will;
it is supposed, be able to make a formidable resis-
tance to the enemy. The enemy are alsia endea-
vowing to repair the fortifications at Santa. Catalina ;
but the boats belonging to our squadron impede their
progress, and it is expected that one of the line of
battle ships will be brought to batter them. The
-British troops were,receired at Cadiz with the ut-
.
most joy, and so -far from evincing any jealousy up.
on. the occasion, the Spaniards only, seemed to re-
gret d •
that Vivre were not more of them. The
French have got possession of Algesiras, and have cut
off the communication between. Gibraltar and Cadiz.

L2tters were yesterday received from .Holland,
which state, that king Louis has been compelled
to resign the Crowo.'of Holland; and that the wilo,le
of the United Provinces are annexed to France:

Last night a long and interesting 'debate took
place in the House of Commons, upon Mr, WHIT-
BREAD'S Resolutions respeeling Lord CHATHAM.-
Tile pivicius question, which. was moved upon the
Resolutioni, was negatived 'by a majority of 221 to
188. The first Resolution, containing a mere de-
tail of faEts, was then agreed to without a division.

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