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

no dottht be forwarded by the measures. which his
Majesty's Ministers had felt it their duty to adopt.
The Right Honourable Secretary called upon the
House at one time to determine, by their vote, upon
the conduct of Ministers, and not allow itself to be
• drawn in by resolutions, the ultimate object of whiCh
was obvious. But that object he was ready to meet ;
and he trusted to the justice and good sense of the
House for a confirmation of the universal sentiment
of the country with regard to the conduct of Ministers
upon that transaction, which the Right Hon. Gentle-.
man would persuade them to censure.
Mr. WINDHAM said, he had heard of stage
effect, namely, grand,. steps, gestures, and trickish
voice ; he gave the Right Hon. Secretary applause
• for all those qualities. He also knew that those tricks
-.mould only please weak minds. He allowed the Hon.
' Secretary to be acquainted with stage effect ; but
• through the whole of his speech, call it acting, or by
any other name, there never was such inanity exhi-
bited. As to the orders sent to Earl- St- Vincent,
alluded to by the Right Honourable Gentleman, if
he had contrived a case, one could not have been
made more against Ministers than that which he had
produced. A fleet had been sent to Portugal; but
on different principlei Yds** that sent.to Copenhagen.
—The Administration, by whom the fleet was dis-
patched, ordered that the attack should be made only
en ?principles that justified their conduct. If the
French army had entered Lisbon, the attack would
have been made, and our conduct would have ap-
peared to the world on fair principles. Ministers had
assumed a new morality : himself, and others of the
. old school of morality, considered it necessary to state
facts correctly ; but these moralists of the new doc-
trine stated . former occurrences incorrectly. They
'had introduced a new system, and, like Prospero,
they would, perhaps, in a few days,- leave off their
new morality, and abjure their magic—
" This rough magic I here akuret"
Or like a celebrated Lady, who some time since cast
away her camphor bag, exclaim,
" Adieu, virtue, and.weleerne pleasure."
The Right Hon. Gentleman then deprecated all the
' measures adopted by the present Ministers, and ac-
cused them of sacrificing the reputation of the coun-
try. The ruins they had made at Copenhagen would
prove a lasting monument of our disgrace. We should
be objects of scorn and execration ; and it would be
to the interest of _our enemies to cherish the monu-
ment we have left. Ministers had shevrn themselves
a dashing, spirited Government, and had evinced fi
love of plunder, with the cry Of-
4. Oh, give us safety!"
But they might, perhaps, learn with their new mora-
lityithe old saying of school-boys—
" When house and land is gone and spent,
" Learning is moat excellent."
• Mr. MILNES expatiated largely on the line of
conduct adopted by the Gentlemen opposite. The
only change observable was, that it did not improve
•by repetition. It was attempted to impute to Minis-
ters i disregard for the abstract principles of justice.
No insinuation was more incorrect. It was not from
such principles he dissented, but from an improper
and culpable application of a refined and casuistic
morality. He knew that the measure had the appro-
val of that class of men who had minds to think for
'themselves, and never framed their opinion according
to that of a Noble Viscount or a Memberpf that House.
Mr. BRAGGE BATHURST argued against
the conduct of Ministers, in refusing to produce the
documents, on which alone the House could form a
roper opinion. He warmly defended a Noble Rela-
tion of his (Sidmouth) from the imputation of the
Noble Lord (Castlereagh), who had ascribed, on a
former evening, a similar motive to him for the tem-
porary possession of the Island of Madeira, as go-
verned his Majesty's Ministers in the expedition against
C°ltlll.l.haite;TEß (Member for the University of
Dublin) differed from those who seemed inclined to
confine the' question to the test of private information.
Much stress was laid by Gentlemen on the oppo-
site side, on the circumstance of Ministers not having
complied with the wish expressed for the production
of all the correspondence which had taken place be-
tween this Country and Russia, respecting the Treaty
Of Tilsit, as well as that the whole of the information
which led them to undertake the late expedition
against Copenhagen ; but whatever may be the opi-
nion of certain Gentlemen as to the propriety of hay-
• ing more documents before the House on this subject,
he certainly thought there was enough known to jus-.
tify the conduct of Ministers. From the relative si.
thation of France and Denmark, it must he evident
to any person who looked at the question without-pre-
judice, that Denmark could not resist the power and
influence of Bonaparte, even if she were seriously dis-
posed to preservtt..her neutrality ; but he did not ad-
mit that Denmark was at the time firm in her reso-
lution to oppose France rather than depart from the
line of policy which she had observed. Her dis-
position to hostility was manifested, according to
his information, more than once or twice against us.
In the very streets of Copenhagen, a short time before
our attack, an Englishman could not walk without
the risk of being insulted, and told, that the policy of
England had always been to shed the blood of others,
in furtherance of her own interest exclusively. Com-
bining this evidence of the public mind, obviously-
under French influence, with the conduct of. Russia,
what doubt could then be entertained of an intention
to form a hostile confederacy against our naval power,
and the independence of the
.country ? Under such
circumstances, and in the present degrading state of
Europe, who that felt for the welfare and glory a
the empire, but must acknowledge•that Ministers
ought to be impeached if they had suffered theyewer
- of the enemy to plan and mature an hostile combina.
tion, which they had the means of dissipating! Surely '
it-ill became those whose lethargy had proved nearly'
• ruinous, by relaxing and restraining the energy of the
country--it ill became such men to be accusers &the
present Administration, on the ground of having put
forth the strength and resources which we possess to
meet all occasions which require them to be exerted.
How could the House reconcile the conduct of those
champions of morality and justice, and their profes-
s;or.s of respect for the law of nations, with their
attack on Alexandria. • (Hear! hear 1) But they
could not bear the contrast, and therefore they natu-
rally attempted to question and vilify the brilliancy
of an atchievement which reflected disgrace on their
expeditions. It was stated inthe course of the debate,
that both expeditions had been undertaken on the