Star.
London, England, 1808-02-04 00:00:00

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A great majority of the persons of consequence in t.W
country rejoiced at the event which took place MI
Englishildth°(e partycons,isbtneelt onthterslntewrehlyo thofouvrill
wasCoten calledhage
the'n,
that Russia ought not to have entered into rwar with
France, and seemed to wish to insulate their country
from- the rest of Europe. These persons saw with
alar a
of Turkey,French an
army in
dthey were happy Poland, and anotheray at
car the
frontiers the
check which the expedition to the Baltic gave to the
views of Bonaparte,- for they dieaded his hostility
through Denmark. The Noble: Lord also pointed
out the increiveniencenrising from the publication of
whit passed-between his Majesty's Ministers and the
Governments of other countries. Foreign Ministers
had frequently expressed an unwillingness to commu-
nicate freely with him, because they did not know
but• that what -they Stated might, perhaps, ia the
...Course of-a year, be made public. •
Lord CA ST LE REA GH contended, that Ministers
were not bound to lay before Parliament all the infor-
mation on which his Majesty's Declaration had been
founded. The Honourable -Gentleman had dwelt
much upon the circumstance of his Majesty's pleasure
being taken on the expedition to Copenhagen on the
19th of July The fact howevei was, that what pass-
ed on that day related only to sending a force to the
Baltic, in order to ascertain the disposition of Den.
mark ; the final instructions to attack were sentiout
afterwards. The Honourable Gentleman admitted,
that France had the , disposition to seize the Danish
"Navy ; and the only question was the disposition of
Denmark, which must be judged of from circumstan-
ces. The Court of Portugal had given-repeated infor-
mation, - gut the demands cf France were, that the
Portuguese Navy should be joined to the other naxies
of the Contmenrby the Ist day of September. Besides'
this fact, he wished to call the attention of the House
to what had passed at ale of Bonaparte's levees ; in
one of those extraordinary conversations in which
that person was accustomed to indulge himself with
Foreign Ambassadors, he addressed himself to the
Portuguese Minister, and asked him whether he had
transmitted to his Court the,demand that the Navy of
Portugal should be ready to unite with the other Na-
vies of Europe against England on the lit OrSeptem-
ber ? Having said this, he immediately turned to the
Danish Minister, and asked him whether he had• made
the same communication to his Court ? The Noble
Lord, in answer •to the charge that Ministers
had not gone -far enough, observed, that after
it was found that Denmark could not be brought
to any amicable arrangement, the practicability
holding Zealand as a military station was taken int
consideration. But the reports of the officers, who
had been desired to direct their attention to this sub
ject, towed that the force necessary for the defence
of that island was far greater than this country could
spare in the state of military poverty in which the for,
mer Administration had left us. It was also thougl.
that it would have been improper to advise his Swe-
dish Majesty to furnish for this purpose a detachment
from his army, to make up the deficiency of ours,
the removal of that force would have weakened Swe-
den too much, in the evens of an attack from Russia.
The report of Admiral Keith was, that on the Jut-
land side, there were seven or eight forts, in which
troops, to the amount of sixty thousand men might
be collected, and that if the ninety pendant!
which were then flying round Zealand Were I
occupy the Belt, they must be five miles each dis-
tant from each other ; and as some of these might
be driven from their situations, the French could, on
that occasion, send over their forces, in the small
craft, of which there was sufficient number along
shores of Jutland.
The Noble Lord then proceeded to shew that
designs of the late Administration against Portugal
were of a nature perfectly similar to the Copenhagen
expedition, and had infinitely less'af the plea of .
cessity,to justify them.
Mr. !THOMAS GRENVILLE complained of the
constant practice of introducing collaterally charges
against the late -Administration. He thought, aftei
what had passed the other day, that this practice
would have been refrained from. The attack of Tur-
key, in a period of peace, had been alluded to, though
the Secretary of State must know that the orders
given by the last Administration were precisely the
contrary of attacking the Porte during peace. On this
subject, and on the Lisbon expedition, which had been
also alluded to, there was nothing which the late Ad.
ministration so much desired as investigation.
• Sir CHARLES PRICE regarded the Copenha-
gen expedition not only as just and necessary, but as
wisely planned, and gloriously executed.
Mr. DAVIES GEDDY was sorry the informa-
tion on which Ministers had acted could not be lad'
before the House. However, as that was the case, he
I thought himself bound to acquiesce in the conceal-
' ment which the Government thought necessary.
A Gentleman under the Gallery, whose name we
could not learn, spoke against the .motion, but in- la'
'kw a tone of voice, that we could not follow him.
• Mr. PONSONBY in his reply remarked, that alt
he had asked for was information, and that all the'
answer be got to that request, was details respecting
expeditions to Alexandria, the Dardanelles, and Lis-
bon, in order to prove-some supposed misconduct in
the former Administration, The Right Hon. Gen-
tleman had read extracts to prove the hostility of
Denmark, but to this he objected; on the wholesome
principle, sanctioned by Courtxof Justice, whici.was,l
that when you propose to read a document ig Year
if
defence, you must read the• whole of it,you•
were permitted to read extracts oulyy it is •probable
that you would read nothing but what was favoura-
ble to yourself, and that you would omit all that was:
against you.
. -
After some brief explanations berweren.Mr, CAN*
WINGIa:Mr. PONSONBIN and Ma T. Gttenvu.Li, • the
House divided on the first resolution--Ayes 108-;•i
Noes 253—Majority in fallow of Ministers'/45—Ad-
journed at half past six o'clo4k.