Star.
London, England, 1823-04-25 00:00:00

ing out its fitness for that or Cottony other country.—
For.the chltracter of that Constitution he might refer
to a publication which certainly bad not made itself
remarkable by its general accordance with de views
of his Majesty's present Ministers, the Edinktgh
Re-
view. In that publication, after many admirable re-
marks, it was stated that, with the erception of Ca-
diz and part of the Army, the Constitution met with
general reprobation.—Here the Noble Earl read a
description of the Constitution from the Edinburgh
Review, in which it was represented to be most ob-
jectionable in many respects, and injurious or offen-
sive to all classes, withdrawing advantages from some,
and conferring privileges on others, which they neither
understood nor desired.—lf we were now to go to
war with France, and his Noble Friend near him
(the Duke of Wellington) were again to command
an English army in Spain, he would find himself
in a divided country, and opposed by many of
those who had formerly given him their support.
It was fitting that he should state that Ministers had
never suggested to Spain the expediency of submit-
ting to take a Constitution solely as the gift of the
King. What had been suggested in the Memoran-
dum of the Noble Duke, merely indicated, that if
certain changes were made in the Constitution,
which would be for the happiness of the people of
Spain, such an alteration would be agreeable to
England. He, for his own part, was at a loss to see
how it could be inconsistent with the honour and
dignity of Spain to entertain such a proposition at the
instance of a friendly Power, because unreasonable
suggestions had been pressed' upon her. from another
quarter. When it was her intention to make altera-
tions for her own sake, he did not see that it was ne-
cessary for her to decline doing so, because at that
moment such alterations were desired by France.—
It was not true Ministers had wished the Members of

the Spanish Government to violate their oaths, but it
I was proper to remark that a great difference of opi-
nion existed with regard to the constitutional oath.—
Some conceived the separation of the colonies from
the mother country had so altered the Constitution,
that the oath was altogether void. All that the Eng-
lish Government had wished was this, that the Spa-
nish Government should lean to that interpretation
of the oath which would be most for its own advan-
tage, and such a recommendation he did not think
at alLdetr acted from the honoUr of the country which
received it,.or from that by which it was given. It
had been said that if the principles upon which France
now acted were suffered to go on without check, a
crusade might eventually be 'resolved upon to cor-
rect the Cqqstitution, of this country. If the Powers
of ebe-Continent should ever desire to improve our
system, as an Englishman he should be disposed to
say-4g Let them come and try !" He concluded by
repeating, that if England should be eventually com-
pelled to draw the sword in this contest, she would
do so at a future period with greater advantage than
at present. He trusted the House, instead of passing
the proposed censure on Ministers, would, on the con-
trary, consider them entitled to support and approba-
tion—(Hear, hear).
Lord HOLLAND thought he should be able to
• prove that the Noble Earl's strictures on the Consti-
tution of Spain-were proofs of the grossest ignorance
of the institutions of that country. When was it
known that a Minister brought down a mass of Papers
to prove the complete failure. of his own policy, and
yet expect that the British Parliament was pot toes.
press its fair and honest opinion ? Ministers had in a
Secretary of State, one of the ablest pens and .most
eloquent reasoner: in Europe ; they had a .broble
Duke as their negociator„ whose very name was.as-
pociated with the Auccess.of his country. .They had
the lkitish.Parliarnent and People with them: They
bad, .above all, a just cause; and .yet, they failed, be-
cause an honest intention was. wanting. The Noble'
Earl had for twelve years been telling them of the
resoorces and honour
.of the country. He, like Ti-
motheus, sat on high and shook the spheres; but
now he sung that • „ .
War was toil and trpuble, •
" Honour, but an empty bubble;—.
Lovely Thais tfurbtiide thee,
« Take the good the. Gods pve:ide tow
But lovely Thais did not, perhaps,. sit .beside them,
for their mistress, neutrality, might be a coy wanton..
It seemed, that all. through,. the Noble Lords oppo-
site had been actuated.by a sort of love for the Bour-
bons, and a carelessness of the honour and interests
of this country. Their. dissuasion was like that of
' Phcebur, to induce Phaeton to give up his mad and
presumptuous career, without shewing, , him the
dreadful consequences resulting from.his folly. For
the conduct of the Bourbons be could not cadertake
to describe it s—it had,. however,. been so well pic-
tured by a great. master of thehurnan heart of for-
mer times, that though the passage to which be al-
luded was almost too long to quote, be would veg•
tore to repeat it to their. Lordships. He would give
the lines as he found them, and say—.

" But shall it be that you--fint setlbe crown
Upon the heed of this• forguttui moo;
And, far his sake, wear the detested. blot
Of murcrrous subernation,—sball it be,
That you a world of curses undergo;
Being the agentsv or base *sound rowing, , •
The cords, the ladder„orthe hangman rather ?•--
0 pardon me that, I descend so low,
To show the line sod the predicament.
Wherein you range under this subtle King !
Shall it•for shame be spoken in them days,
Or Mt up chronicles he tiqustl 0411110,
That men of:your nobility and power,
gage them both in an unjust behalf
As both of you, Goa pardon it, have done?
• • • • •

. .1 • • • •

Arid 410.11 it in colors ahem be furthaspehee,
That you are fooled, discarded. and shook off
By him for whom these shames you underwent"
The course which the Noble Earl had taken to prove
that himself and his collesigues had, not been duped
was singular.. fie had compared their conduct to that
of a man in love.;nni in excuse for their folly, 'said
" That Love may hope where Reason most despair;"
and, acting thus, he would say, they
.had proved
themselves ready to become the dupes of all mankind.
—He was sure that the gross aggressions committed
on Naples.and Piedmont would not have 'occurred,
without the conniTancl or Oh country. When was
it heard, till now, that it was a matter of indifference
to us whether Prince held possession of Spain or not?
The Noble Lora did not like the word dupe, but he
confessed he hatbeen duped himself; for he had; et
otie time, thought that they had succeeded by cajolery;
but he now found that they werd like some sports-
men who took to lanes and gates; and irthey came

in at the death, were thought to hi-cleat:ooW; ;
but if they did not, they werw said to be thrown
out, and became the 'derision of the wholi field.
—He accused the Emperor of Russia of having
guaranteed the Constitution of Spain, which he now
wished to destroy. At one time the Emperor of
Russia was altogether liberal, and had a great de-
sire for Constitutions until he got the Duchy of War-
saw ; but now be found fault with all Constitutions.
The objections made by Russia, Prissia, and Aus-
tria, to the Spanish Constitution, were nothing else
than that these people, who have no Chambers at
all, sai4 to the Spaniards, you have only one Cham-
ber, why have you not two ? It was something like'
an hussar at Verona, telling the Noble Duke, that
he rode a very awkward horse. The Noble Duke,
with his usual good nature might say—" I have led
armies in Spain, in India, dtc. and I thought I had
been somewhat of a judge of a horse." But if a
Venetian Nobleman, who never had ridden anything
but gondola, had said—" I never saw such a
horse," the Noble Duke would have told him, " get
along, you impudent fellow, what do you know of a
-horse?" and for all his good nature, he would hardly
be able to keep from giving him a cut with his whip.
He respected the veneration which the Spaniards had
they'l to the Constitution, and their oath to maintain
it. Spain had also men to defend her both in argu-
ment and with the sword. Among these stood M.
San Miguel, a man of letters who only left his study
to hi ing back that Ferdinand who condemned him to
exile under the burning sun of Africa ; and now was
recalled, by no grace of that Sovereign whom be was
serving with all the splendid talents which HEAVEN
had bestowed upon him. The Noble Lords were not
for tear; but could they say that they were sure of
peace? Ilad they heed of the capture of a Spanish
by a French ship, in the West Indies? Would the
Noble Earl now say that he was not aware of a
Treaty between France and Russia, by which the
latter agrees to 'furnish the former with troops and
ships in the Mediterranean, and would lie then say
that we were in no dread or danger of being involved
in war? It was objected that the Spanish Revolu-
tion was brought about 'by force.; but did that
amiable person, King John, give Magna C'harta
of his own free will and grace?—(Neer, hear). The
Noble Lords opposite seemed to wish to banish the
phrase " balance of .power" from our vocabulary.
Would the Noble Lord say that we had not now as
much fear to apprehend from Spain being in posses-
sion of France as formerly ? or bad they forgotten
that this country, since the reign of Elizabeth, was,
never so near annihilation as from the combined fleets
of France and Spain, during the American war?—
He thought it a strange and preposterous notion that
this country could not assist Spain but by a large
army, and the Noble Duke at the head oft ? Was a
fleet in the Mediterranean nothing ; or were subsidies
nothing ? He believed Mr. Pitt was sincere in his
wish for neutrality in 1792 ; but in a year or two af-
ter he became the leader of a crusade to restore these
very Bourbons to the Throne of France. The failure
of our negociations and the loss of the great and glo.
rious opportunity of protecting the weak against the
strong, made him vote for the Address.
Lord GRANVILLE was satisfied that his Majes-
ty's Ministers, in the late negotiations, had taken
that course which was best fitted to maintain the ho-
nour, and farther the best interests of this country.
He ably defended the policy which they had pre-
ferred, and moved an Amendment, declaring the
conduct of Ministers in thi late negociation to meet
with the entire concurrence and approbation of that
House, as it embodied the judicious application of
those principles which it had been the policy of this
Country to maintain ; to acknowledge with gratitude
the unceasing efforts of his Majesty to prevent war
between France and Spain; to rejoice that his Ma-,
jesty was no party to a war which did not appear to
them necessary for the honour and interests of Ent
land ; but at the same time assuring him of theW
ready support whenever a war should be necessary'
to maintain the dignity of the Crown, and the rights
iand just interests of the nation.
The Duke of BUCKINGHAM not only objected
to the Address, but to the arguments in favour of it.
It seemed to be the object of the two Noble Earls to.
go to war with France-on account of Spain, and if
the Address were carried that night, it would be pro-
per to put the-army and navy on an efficient footing
for active service to-morrow. He defended the con-
duct-pursued by Government in the late negociations.
At Verona, the path to be pursued by England was
a straight forward one. Few instructions were wanted
for the guidance of his Noble and Illustrious Friend,
whO represented this country at the Congress. It
was only necessary for us, standing on that high
eminence to which former glorious exertions had
raised' s, to warn other nations against a renewal of
war, to declare it to be the intention of this country
to remain neutral, but at the same time to make
known our firm determination to sustain the cha-
racter, and assert, under all circumstances, the
honour and true interests of England. Claiming
the right to form an opinion of the Spanish Revolu-
tion for ourselves, we had no power to deny France
the right of doing the same. How she had used that
discretion was a perfectly distinct consideration..—
The Noble Duke, adverting to the arguments re-
specting the balance of power„,cited the opinion of
an illustrious Duke (Sussex) who had formerly dis-
cussed the subject. The importance to be attached
to that political balance, must depend on the actual
state of Europe; The balance of power at the pre-
sent day had a different meaning from that it bore in
the reign of Louis XIV. In that reign Spain and the
Indies-were in the scale. He could not. agree with
those who thought there was causeof war. What could
be the objectnUwar? Would a war insure the ba-
lance of power ? What would become of Hanover ?
Would it secure the East from falling into the hands
of Russia? He felt neutralityyras necessary, and-his
prayer was for the preservation of peace; but if the
country was forced into .a war, heptityed to GOD,
notwithstanding he might. meet with obloquy, that if
we were to be forced to take the field, „it might not '
be to support the principles tben,,prevalene in Spain.
He could not forget that the spirt ;Krevolution still
existed to undermine and.reduce l that' *as regular
in the moral establishments:of ' For thirty
'Years revolution had called qn.tliis otintry to spill
her blood, which had flowed like. water. -The Noble
Duke.expressed -a hope. that other countries might
not be called uPteibitraritt support of revolutionary
principles.