Star.
London, England, 1808-03-22 00:00:00

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sr. WHITBREAD maintained & that the exp.
on to Copenhagen was unjust and impolitic. A tarp
body cf the people of England had at first been saus-
rod viith the expedition, until the.y. discovered the
oak pretences by which j
thatrexgedtuon was jusufied.
This measure gill required ustincauon. If Ministers
~...,hardecl a town, and slaughtered men, women,
aniui'dsidren, tjley were called upon to prove the ne-
cessity of such acts. They had 'leen shabby in their
iscy, and bad either done too much or not enough.
unhappy Prince Royal of Denmark had suffered
..,„4 severely. It had been said, that there was but
171;ort interval between the loss of a Prince's domi-
aims, and the loss of his sife, and Ministers, by their I
conduct, had er.deavoureci. to make that saying good.
Vire h.d now put Sweden in the hands of France, and
the Swedish ships would probably be employed against
us, mannzd with the population of Denmark. A
Ole Lord, considered the first diplomatic charac-
to ofthe day, had said, that by. seizing 16 sail of the
hg without men, We had destroyed the strength of
the arthern Confederacy. Why not take the Swedes
the same time were they not equally dangerous ?
Could it he denied that they were now in the power
cgract I The truth was, monsters had been stab-
in& dark. After having censured the Noble
774, conduct, he concluded by observing, that he
d'rd-sotheheve. there were any secret articles in the
notifirih it to justify the attack on Copenhagen,
,fleaceld rather have seen the Danish ships in the
h7;iseithe enemy, thiln the national character should
foye heea degraded by that transaction in the eyes of
k,
Did Q, 1.. GOWER and the SECRETARY AT WAR

erpbioed•
gr. secretary CANNING rose at two o'clock, and,
r a very able speech, answeredl theb observations) of the
Honourable. Member (Mr.vhi t read with peculiar
The Honourable Member, on a former occa-
form
~ had said, that, during the discussions of that
la:o__ 11.....,1,0vc might to abstain from using harsh
The Honourable Gentleman 1.,1 given
Lagare.d
atwafi proofs of the sincerity of that assertion.
buil' le his last speech he had, contrived to use more
alimony and abuse than was ever expressed by any
Itglishman towards his country ; but this language
a from him, who only wished that harsh language
would not be used to the enemies of this country.—
lenpane was to be excused from invective, while
Ministers were to be treated like culprits on trial,
The Honourable Gentleman had followed the obser-
vations of those who had argued before him ; his
main argument was, whether or not the war with Rus-
sia was to be ascribed to the expedition to Copenhagen?
An Honourable Member to whom he ascribed a qua-
ky of weight, (Dr. Lawrence) had admitted that war
mild have taken place with Russia, if Copenhagen
had not been attacked, His Noble Friend had said,
Russia had evinced a determined hostility towards
England, and a disposition to manage England for
'certain time ; the Honourable Gentleman, there- 1
ise, might have maintained the probability that
%pities would not teke place, but the Honour- 1
as Member was not justified in indiscriminately
wing an odium on those measures which his Ma-
ears Ministers thought it their duty to adopt.— ,
tile there was a chance of peace, Ministers were'
ding to avail themselves of it, and when hostility
niunavoidable, it was met with resolution. He was 1
*le to vindicate the character of his Noble Friend 1
Gm aspersions. That Noble Friend had been blamed
km communicating to Government the true state
d the Russian disposition towards this country :
those communications were made, and Ministers did
ace neglect to provide to meet peace, and offered
security at the same time. Would the Honourable I
Member say, after Government understood that hosti-
Ity was likely to ensue, that they ought to have ne-
ed security ? or that they ought not to have taken
the benefit of suspicions, and made defence perfect ?
ly various instances, it was evident that Russia
had the seeds of war in her breast, and that war
us ready to arrive at maturity. Ministers relied
a their accredited agents. Public business could
ta safely go on unless they did so, and while they ad- i
heed to that system, it was impossible that any invidi-
%observation could shake them.TheKing of Prussia
%I given proof of this doctrine in his life. In the
PIE 1741, when that Minister was treating with a
Ilia Minister, he was told that a second Minister
by arrived, who wanted to have a confidential con-
'nation with him. The Ring, in a ludicrous style
Peculiar to himself, related how he treated the itine-
rant new Minister, whom he deceived, and sent away
bamboozled. He did place confidence in his Noble I
Friend, and he was proud to say that no man de-
layed to stand higher in the confidence of Govern-
** and Ifis Country. The Honourable Gentleman
loi ken of Copenhagen, and forgot that others
tofit as well as himself. The Honourable
treated that expedition with humanity, but
*Yale Friend considered it necessary, in case of 1
th‘er ,to seize the Navy, and prevent danger. He
MN alluded to the dispatches of tie late Govern- i
lent relative to the expediticei to Lisbon, and read 1
'reacts from instructions coynmunicated to the Corn-I
molders of the expedition. He deprecated the po-
rcy of that measure, and accused the Gentlemen on
;be other side of ieconsiotency. The Honourable
Pentleman opposite had signified a desire to carry on 1
° little It'ar• They wanted war to come out like the
'umbers of a book, or to be administered as the esa-
*mu could take it. Now a dose of armies, and then
?dote of navies. If we were compelled to go to war,
it sas necessary to carry objects into exeeution with
ilrength and resolution. He then followed the Ho-
nourable Members who had spoken on the other side
trough the whole of the arguments, and concluded
.3 speech by observing, that while Ministers coati-
tied to serve their country on principles of national
Itilefit, they had no cause to dread the menaces of
"4', or the loss of public approbAtion•
Dr. LAWRENCE explained.
Lord HENRY PETTY wished the House to
FCRSider the official documents before them with the
etiost attention, before they would come to a deal-
;kin en the present question. He Maintained, that
ete line of policy pursued by this country towards
4!"nark, prior to our attack upon their capita), and
lemire of their fleet, was very ungenerous and dhs-
. le, and that it was not in any manner simi-
!rb) that pursued by the last Administration towards
let Court of Lisbon, when Lord St. Vincent was sent
t3the Tagus with a powerful sea and land force.
Mr.-SHARP replied.
The SECRETARY at WAR en44hteti . ,