Star.
London, England, 1809-01-20 00:00:00

. interference. Which was the fact he knew not ; but sally necessary, as they alone were rest:tensible for
it seemed to him an absurd thing for either side to ask the political conduct of the expedition.
of the other, and of course not to be expected that Lord ERS KINE having animadverted on the con-
-1 either should acquiesce in, and therefore not likely to duct of the campaign in Spain, which he found in se.
lead to a pacification- Having now stated in What veral respects highly reprehensible, entered into a re.
1 points he dissented fro' -. the Address, he should just view of the relative state of Great Britain and tile
! -say, that he most cordially agreed to the proposition- *United -States. His Lordship earnestly recominero
for augmenting our force ; he conceived it would be ded to Government to cultivate the good will and
highly proper, and would be most essentially neces- . friendship of America, which he contended 'milli
sary and useful under proper and wise management amply remunerate us for our Continental losses and
hereafter, and he feared at no distant period, in our privations. We are sorry we are not able to fellow
own defence. To that part he most cordially assented ; the Noble Lord on a variety of other important pare.
but he could by no means, viewing the conduct of culars, from the great length of the d:batc.
Ministers as he didi concur in the Address altogether : The LORD CHANCELLOR, in 'supporting the
as proposed. c ; Addre-s, expressed his decided disapprobation of the
The Earl of LIVERPOOL said, that the Address, introduction of subjects altogether foreign to the to.
as it was worded, pledged the House only to th4t ge. pits naturally presenting- themselves to the House.—
neral support of the Spanish cause, which was con- The American points in dispute had undergone full
sonant to the sentiments entertained by all ranks of discussion in the last Session of Parliament, and if tne
people in this country, whatever their opinions might system since adopted, were deemed objectionable, he
be as to the system of operations that had been was confident that Ministers would at all times be
adopted, as contrasted with any other which they ready to meet and answer the objections.
might think more eligible. With regard to the ques. Lord MULGRAVE gave his support to the Ad.
Lion of where the British troops should first act, he dress.
could truly'assert, that Sir Arthur Wellesley had pro- Lord AUCKLAND expressed his astonishment at
seeded on to Portugal,in consequence of the decision the silence of the Speech with regard to America,
of the Junta at Corunna, that the expulsion of the when we were, perhaps, on the eve of a war with that
French from that country was the most essential ser- country. With respect to the measures adopted to.
vice which lie could do to the cause Of Spain. They wards Spain, or the policy .of sending an army into
looked to the embarrassment that must have risen that country (a march of 600 miles from Portugal),
from having to combat the hostile armies entering on or of keeping that army in Portugal, instead of send.
the side of the Pyrenees, while a numerous French i ing it divided, and at such a season of the year, into
force was at the same time ready to fall on their rear I Spain, he would not now enter into any discussion;
from Portugal. The Noble Lord had recommended I nor would he state his ' opinion of the propriety of
coast expeditions, instead of penetrating into the heart sending that force sooner, and endeavouring to pre.
of Spin, and yet the only coast expedition which was t vent the march of more French troops into Spain:
practicable, and which had been successful in a degree i but to him it seemed, that the chance of success to
. almost unprecedented, was the subject of his censure. the Spaniards was now at an end. Ministers might
Was it not by the coast expedition of General Spen- defend themselves by saying, on this head, that a ca-
cer, who landed at Ayamonte, that the French in lamity had fallen on Spain, which it was not in their
Portugal were prevented from effecting a junction power to prevent. However, under the Parliamet.
with Dupont. As to the other objection of the Noble tart' understanding that no preclusion from future and
Lord, that of sending a large force into the heart of full discussion on those topics was implied by voting
Spain, he would say, that great risks mustbe run,where for this Address, he should not oppose it.
,great objects were to be obtained. But was there The Earl of LIVERPOOL then said, that before
not, in what the Spaniards had done—was there not, the question was put, Ira thought it necessary to ap.
in the moral and physical state of the country, every prize the House, that on Monday next it was his ia.
I thing that could form an inducement to the most vi- tention to move the Thanks of the House tQ Sir Ar-
gorous and extensive assistance. There were pro- thur Wellesley and the other Officers, and the army
vmces in Spain which had singly resisted a powerful under their command, in the expeditho to Portugal.
enemy in the country for centuries. If the,hearts of He also stated that on the Thursday following lie Li-
the people were resolutely bent on continued opposi- tended to bring before the House a question rcla-
, tion to the invaders, history afforded examples of tive to the correspondence between the two Ern-
, such a spirit proving finally triumphant, after a perors at Erfurth, on the subject of a negociation with
r struggle of many years duration. The expedition this country for peace, should the papers be in a state
to Portugal was not dispatched in an unprovided of readiness by that time.
state. On the contrary, when that came to be par- The Question was then put, and the Address was
titularly discussed, he would be ready to prove, , carried nem. con.and ordered to be laid before his
1 that its equipment was in every respect as complete Majesty to-morrow, by their Lordships carrying white
as any expedition that had ever sailed from the Bri. wands.--The House then adjourned at eleven, uat.il
tish ports. It was notonly sufficiently provided with to-morrow.
artillery, but in that particular department our mi-
1 litary character had acquired fresh lustre, and extort- HOUSE. OF COMMONS.
ed even the praise of our adversaries, two thirds of At three o'clock the House assembled, and shorty
whose artillery were in our hands in the course of a afterwards the Deputy Usher of the Black Rod
few days from the opening of the campaign, entirely brought down a Message from the House of Lords,
owing to our superiority in that particular depart- desiring the attendance of this House in the House of
went of the army. He would not now enter into Peers, to hear his Majesty's Speech for opening the
an examination of the merits or demerits of the Parliament read by Commission.
Convention of Cintra—but was surprised how the The SPEAKER, accompanied by the whole
Noble Lord could construe the censure expressed House, went up forthwith, and returned in about a
in the Speech against sonic of the articles, into an quarter of an hour.
unqualified disapprobation of the whole. He Two new Members took the usual oaths and their
could asure the Noble Lord and the House, that seats.
nothing was more remote from the intention of The SPEAKER informed the House that in put-
Ministers, than to involve the Country in a war seance of custom, at the commencement of a Session
with America. He should think that the ad- of Parliament, the Clerk of the House had prepared
mission made by the Noble Lord that the Govern- and drawn no a Bill for the better preventing of clan-
ment of that country evinced a partiality for France, destine outlawries, and had now presented it. The
would furnish a solution of the circumstances which Bill was then read a first time, and the second react•
led to the present state of' things between the two ing was postponed .nine die.
countries. The Embargo could not have been, nor The SPEAKER also acquainted the House, that
was it at first alledged to have been laid on in conse- in-pursuance of the Act of the 24th of his Majesty, he
quence of the Orders in Council, becausa the Ame- had isped his warrant to the Clerk of the Crown fur
rican Government could not then have known that the election of Members to serve in the present Par-
such a measure was actually in agitation. lint in a liament for the following places : County of Hants,
subsequent communication to Mr. Erskine, Mr. Ma- in the room of Sir E. St. J. P. Mildmay, deceased;
dison stated, that the probability of such orders beinz ' and Bossiney, Cornwall, in the room of Lord Rea.
issued, was one of the causes of the Embargo. if dleshani, deceased.
this was true, the probability could only have arisen A new wr:: was also issued for the election of a
from their reasoning upon the threat held out in the Burgess to serve in the present Parliament for the
Order of January 7, 1807, and the principles laid • Borough of St. Alban's, in the room of the Honour.
down in the Order of May, 1806, both of which able James Walter Grimstone, now Baron Forrester,
could be justified on no other ground than that of a a Peer of Great-Britain.
right in this country to retaliate. But while this pro- The SPEAKER then informed the House, that
bability was of sufficient weight to impose the Em- this House had been in the House of Peers, and that
bargo as a measure of precaution against this coup- the Lords, authorized by virtue of his Mali ,ty's come
try, not one word was said of the original injustice mission, had made a speech to this House for open
of the enemy, which.had led to the issuing of our ing the present Parliament, a copy of which he had
Orders. Even the proposal of July last to this Go- been enabled to procure, and accordingly read.—
'
vernment and that of France, shewed abias in favour (For which see the Lords.)
of the latter. To France the • inducement to revoke The Honourable Mr. ROBINSON then rose and
the Decree of Berlin was war with England ; to us, .addressed the House to the following effect :—" Mr.
the advantage held out was only the continuance of Speaker, in adverting to the Speechof his Majesty
I
the Embargo with respect to France. His .Lord- st delivered,.l hope I shall not be led to detain the
ship concluded with a few remarks on the flourishing I THuuse longer than is required, or than may appear
state of our- oommerce and finances. to be consistent with what is due to the importano
Lord SIDMCiUTH explained. . . of the points which it embraces. I intreat, however,
The Earl of BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, in a short i that indulgence which the House has been unite= il
speech, approved, though in a qualified way, of the bestow ing upon those persons who stand in the sat
main points noticed in his Majesty's speech. atiun in which I am placed ; and, without further
Lord MOIRA decidedly differed both from his , apology, I shall proceed to state to the House such
Noble Friend and Ministers, as to the conduct which ; observations as have occurred to my mind upon de
should have been adopted with respect to Spain. There I different points of his Majesty's Speech. His My
was a period in the war when the force which we now ' jesty commences by expressing a confident belief the
have there would have been sufficient to have stop-. you will concur with him in opinion, that the end
ped the passes ()lithe Pyrenees, and led to the cap- ; way of obtaining a safe and honourable peace, is by
tore of every Frenchman in that country. This was : vigorous prosecution of the war in which we are eh
4
the only plan which presented any chance of a sue-' gaged. With the view taken by his Majesty's 1%.
cessful issue. It would have been to Spain as the .nisters of this unparalleled war, accompanied as
splitting of the rock in the wilderness—a stream of has been throughout by the most unheard of aggel
life would have flowed which would have revived the sions of the enemy, with a retrospect of the cause I
drooping energies of a desponding nation ! The con- the war, with the view which they had taken of di
sultatiop with the people of Corunna, in the then state negociation proposed to terminate the contest, -
of things, was as ridienlous as if the commander were with the view which they had taken of the ciretr
to go to consult the inhabitants of Penzance, what stances which occurred during the course of the L
should be done if the enemy were to land in Scotland? year, which has given such a new complexion to. I
His Lordship entered at some length into the question affairs of the world ; I say, viewing all these rota
of die Convention of Cintra, and declared that his I think it would have been a most singular antf i
opinion as a Member of the Board of Inquiry was paralleled instance of inconsistency, could his :kl,l'
that no blame attached to the Commanders in a mi- ty's Ministers have forborne to prosecute the •
litary point of view, the only error of that transac- against France with redoubled vigour and etas-,
tion being of a political nature, and therefore not ranee. Had any other course been adopted. '--
within the constitutional scope of the powers rested in mus; have abandoned those principles of justice
the Board. The result of their decision at,as to ren- t.rmness for which the country has been consoa
der an inquiry into the conduct of Ministers indisp nn- fsr ages. Nor in such a review of these c: