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

to contend with the armies which were coMpltUl n
Int. It was not imps- heetirento the borders of the 'Pyrenees, and which bra
sible, when the tinny came to be discussed, that he little exertion on our part might be drivetnbeyend
might approve it ; but until the documents were be- them, and they disembark the troops at .Lisbon,
fore him, be must suspend his opinion, and, above all ; where they could possibly be of no use in deciding
things, decline to pledge himself to an unreserved ap-1 the fate of Spain. Two months were passed before
probetioreof the niensiuse. Ilentembe c eultineame•to can army was _sent even there, to that country about
a pr neer decision onehis /subjo n die
i must also obtain !. which Ministers appeared so excessively anxious, and
eon! • information _respecting ehe.state of .Spain.. At., two months more before it reached the scene of acticn
no pe nod within his metnory was' there so rim& spi- ninSpeln. He vetsuld net say that all Spain was lost,
rit, sb much loydlty anllnztal'inteicietuttre; Cullen i butes, nian.conld Jeny that the North of Spain was '
at the same time, pearlueh dissatisfaction. it was a completely lost, without one British musket having
i
dissatin action not arlaingifitnn setuebulent disposition I ever been fired there. And this is the way Ministers
in the people of this countiy, un from any marked' seek to recover the character, and to re-establish the 1
reveres, or from the pressure of the public burthens, i honour of the country, which they say has been com-
but a dissatisfaction produced by a feeling most ho- f promised and injured by-their predecessors ih office. j
nenrifile to the nation. Thedissatisfaition was pro- • Was it possible for any Noble Lord to acquiesce in
gtortnenid to the zeal ante einettation of the country. j this Address, without understanding something of
Ity'as not content either with the extent of the exer- ' the nature of the information upon which Government
times-Ant had been made to aid the Snaniardsn,or proceeded ? Did Ministers know that their 40,000
with themanner in which theywete employed. Some men would probably be opposed to '200,000 of the 1
stisteheettn he trusted, -would be made to allay this enemy ; and if they did, what would be thought of
very laudable feeling of thepublic Mind. His Lord- them for seeding them there ? If they did not know
ship bere declared lest he etne chiefly for the purpose this,what conni they say in extenuation for themselves?
of qualifying the assent he should give to the greatest The gallant officerwho commanded the army in Portu-
Set of the Address. With the reservation he had gal stated as a reason for the inactivity of that army,that
Made, and that the means which would be liberally no arrangement had been made for receiving it. Why
given would not be misemployed i that the sacrifices were not the necessary arrangements made? Ministers
of blood and treasure that the people of this country had not been sparing of expence on this occasion. They
weri disposed, beyond all example, to make, would had Military and Civil Commissioners in the capital, in
be spent for the glory of the nation, and the honour ! the great towns, and almost in every village in Spain.
or ,his Majesty's crown, he would give his assent to I And yet, with all these means at their disposal, for'
the Address. He Wished, however, not to be con- ! two long mouths, not one preparatory arrangement
sidered as committing himself to its full extent, but I was made, not one step taken to march an army into
merely as concurring in that part which recommends I Spain. When they should co-operate with the Spa-
a rigorous ptbsecution of the war; and expresses a I wards at the foot of the Pyrenees, they land thetroops
determination to assist Spain, so long as Spain shall at Lisbon and Corunna, from whence they were to
prove true to herself. He also concurred in the ex-; proceed through almost impracticable roads, and a
nediency of increasing our military means in propor- ; country the most deficient in resources of any in Eu-
don to those ;of the enemy with whom we have to I rope. How could he coesider these instances of ig-
Contend. norance and misconduct, and say that their exertions
Lord GRENVILLE said, that there were many were vigorous and efficient ? The Speech noticed
Pe'sages in the Address to which it was impossible the Armistice and Convention. He wished Noble
&Thum to agree. He never addressed himself to their Lords would attend to the answer which was to be
Lordships under such feelings as he now did, because returned to that part of it. That House knew no-
the sentiments he was about to utter respecting the thing of the Convention—nothing of the Armistice—
whole course of policy which this country was purse- nothing of the disapprobation expressed by his Ma-
ing, were in direct contradiction to every thing he had jesty of these arrangements—and yet the House was
beard that night. He could not concur with the to be called upon to concur in this disapprobation.
Noble Lord who seconded the address, that we stood This was that impartial justice, which was described
in that proud and exalted situation he had described ; in the petulant and offensive answer returned to the
sfs little could be agree, with him respecting the Address of the City of London, and which was meant
failure of the attempt to cripple our resources. It to cast a censure upon the whole body of the people of
was formerly the policy so to frame the Speech &min tngland. This was not the proper time to make any
the throne, and the Address in reply to it, that the observations on the Convention of Cintra, but it would
Legislature were.left unfettered as to its approbation soon arrive. The remark in the Speech imposed the
of the past, and not pledged to the future. Ministers,
.imperious duty on the House of enquiring into the
however, had, upon the present as on a former occa- circumstances of that Convention. The inquiry
lion, adopted a custom directly the reverse. They which had already taken place might have answered
wished to trepan the House into an approbation of the views of Ministers, but it should not satisfy Par-
their farmer measures, and to betray it into a plecke Lament. He would also refrain at present from say-
of unreserved support` in the measures they had in ing any thing respecting the naval part of the capi-
contemplation. He should only repeat the general tulation. He did not intend to express any opinion
sensation of the country, when he expressed the ut- respecting the conduct of the officer who commanded
most horror and detestation of the conduct of the on that occasion. These were all subjects for the
tyrant who was endeavouring to usurp the throne of consideration of Parliament. It appeared to him,
Spain. It was natural for the people of this nation however, an extraordinary arrangement, that, instead
to applaud the efforts of a people struggling to assert of following the old code of naval instructions, to burn,
the dignity and independence of their country. If he, sink, and destroy, an arrangement should be entered
however, were called upon to say whether it was wise into to bring home an enemy's fleet, and hoard it up,
in the past, or in the future, to send armies to Spain for the purpose of restoring it to its Sovereign when
to support that people, he must say that it was not• peace should take place. [His Lordship next alluded
His opinion last summer was, that there did not exist to what had fallen from the Noble Lord who se-
such a prospect as justified the sending an army into conded the motion respecting the American Em-
Spain. In making this assertion, he did not mean bargo and the failure of every attempt to cripple our
to be understood as condemning exertion of every commerce.] There was no one more competent to
kind for that people. There were ways in which they speak on this subject than the Noble Baron, and he
could receive material assistance. He would not deny trusted he would be able to prove, when the subject
that naval and small military expeditions should be came under discussion, that it did not produce the
employed in- their favour. These, properly directeJ, •inconvenience that was apprehended. He so far,
would have assisted the Spaniards more than any j however, would agree with the Noble baron, that
army we could possibly send to their support. In- 1 for this blessing the country was indebted to the firm-
stead of adopting this system, what did we do ?-1- I ness, as it was called, of Ministers. Their Orders in
Why, sent an army of 40,000 men to encounter the Council were the cause of that Embargo. If any one
whole force of France ! Whenever we acted on the doubted it, let him read the communications of the
Continent, we always appeared an auxiliary, but now President of the American Government, and the do-
we dropped that character, and came forward with j cuments by which it was accompanied. But to put
40,000 men ag..inst Bonaparte, at the head of four , the question beyond all cavils, let Noble Lords consi-
times that force. He regretted that the system con- ' der the proposition that had been tendered by the
tinned in that excellent paper, e Precautions," had ' American Minister. They would see that it was to
not been followed, and that the Spaniards, instead of the rejection of that that the continuation of the
carryingEm-
on a desultory war, should have been guilty of bargo, or the substitution of a measure equally hostile
the imprudence of engaging in pitched battles against to this country, was to be ascribed. -He knew that
the ablest Generals, and as well disciplined armies. the American Government were influenced by a
as any in the world. The moment we appeared on strong bias and partiality to Fiance ; but the ma-
the theatre of war, the Spaniards were necessarily • joints, of the people of America had no such partiality.
compelled to adopt our system and abandon their They were advocates for British connexion. They
own. They gave up all the advantages of a harass- I were too deeply impressed with the advantages result-
ing desultory mode of warfare. He had also to corn- ; ing from it to sacritiel them either to their Government,
plain that Ministers did not meet Parliament sooner, i or to any point which did not affect their honour ai a
and that some communication bad not been made ' people, and their independence as a country. He
from the throne at the conclusion of last Session. He was persuaded it was the intention of Ministers to
waited for that communication, being resolved to drive matters to extremity with America. This in-
come down and protest against sending an army tention was ill-disguised in that insulting and sophis-
into Spain, and exposing it to that fate which he tical answer which had been returned to the proposel
scarcely had courage to contemplate. It appeared of the American Minister. Hadthat proposal befin
to him as if Ministers had purposely concealed and adopted, we should, now have America in alliance
withheld from Parliament the - knowledge of what with England, and at war with France. From the
they intended to do. He had resolved before he moment that America offered to withdraw the Em-
came down to srate this, and he found additional tea- bargo, lie asserted, a new epoch 400 k place, and the
sons in the Speech for adhering to his resolution.— question assumed quite another aspect ; for, 1u that
He would so far coincide with the Address as to con- concession, he asserted, America, in fact, made com-
'cur in the propriety of augmenting our military mon cause with us against France ; and it was an in-
force, fir that measure became imperiotiely necessary fatuation in Ministers not to come to accommodation
in consequence of the great, and he feared fatal error with her. He knew there were many discerning
that was committed in ending troops into Spain.— people in this country who thought that we should
'rhe most that could have been done for them was destroy all commerce but our own, and not suffer
to afford them the means of arranging their defence any other ship on the sea. He knew not whether'
in the Pyrenees or th" lieigbourhood. There lay ministers had any affection for this absurd policy, '
her best chance of defending herself against the un- but it seemed by their conduct that they had. But
'just aggression of the enemy. The French had most miserable and deceived would they find them-
been driven oe: of Madrid, or at least compelled to selves, if they acted upon any such absurd and mad
withdraw from it. They retired to the provinces . speculation:.--Before hi sat down, he would just no-
contiguous to their frontiers, where they were can- tice the allusion to the overtures made from Erfurth.
. toned in small parties. Had the British troops been He was of opinion that those overtures could never
landed in Bismy, in any thing like an adequate force, have led to pcate,' situated as both parties then were
with the assistance of the Spaniards, they might have with respect to Spain. Neither side could well have
driven the French beyond the Pyrenees, and delivered treated on the Isti putirktir, 'Bonaparte expecting to
vp to the loaner the keys of their country. Instead reconquer Spain in two months, and we in possession
of co-operating in this way, it would seem as if Mi- of Portugal. But the proper time for discussing this
meters had explored the male: sief at what part of equestion would come hereafter. He should only
• the Peninsula, most remote the scene of action, just now notice a contradiction between the speech
they could laud the troops. At the period he men- and his -Majesty's late Declaration. That speech
tioned, time and local situation were every thing :and' states, that it was demanded as a preliminary that we
yet nommen appear to have proceeded in utter con- should not interfere in Spain, and -the Declaration,
tons aud defiance of both. They left the Spaniards that we demanded that the French should cease their

IPIPPPIPPIIIIIPP—
M.-* - --
which he warwholly ignoral