Star.
London, England, 1824-03-19 00:00:00

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fionottrable and gallant Friend ; for
iff aiiitiiionizelitde its efeittit, 14_
tlisaYew the Senthitenta of 'kindliest:4ra itigitrd t Mott
always. 'entertained for .him";=.4Cheer4. But, ridaiat
Meaning to cast the slightest rellectiso upob my Ho-
notirable and gallant Friend, I must tinny
.him, that
amongst the many difficulties which the Government
has had to encounter, he individually was one of the
greatest impedithents to the observance of a strict nett
trality. My flonourable and gallant Friend fcrmetfin
himself no small breach of neutrality, but I can assure
the Haase that the Noble Lord opposite (Lord Nugent)
was a most enormous breach !—(Roars of laughter). I
well know how strange it may appear in those times of
modern liberty to direct the attention of the House to
authorities which may be considered obsolete ; but i
should wi:h to read to the House an extract from the
'writings of an eminent author on the law of nations;
and in &thief wish to apprize them that it is not a 8d.,.
kershoek. It may, be necessary that I should explain what
I mean by a Bynkershoek. I remember that some few
years back, a very important discussion took place in
this House, upon which occasion my Honourable and
Learned Friend opposite (Sir James- Mackintosh)
quoted, in auppert of the anpinions he advocated, the
authority of Bynkershoek, and I recollect I was very
anxious to discover whether the favourite autluir of my
Learned Friend was speaking the sentiments of the
States of Holland, to which he was Secretary, or was
delivering his own abstract opinions. However, in some
short time after, r laid my hands upon the work, and,
to my utter astonishment, found that they were merely
the opinions of the writer, and that the practice of the
States to which he was Secretary was quite the other
way—(hear, hear). So that afterwards, whenever any
principle -was stated from the ooposire side of the
House at variance with their own practice, the custom
was to calrit a Bynker..hock—(Much laughter). The
eminent Jurist whom he intended to quote on the
present occasion was Vette', who says, " As nature has
given to men the right of using force, only when it
becomes necessary for their defence, and the preser-
vatiori of -their rights, she inference is manifest, that
since the. establishment of political societies, a right so
darigerouslskits exercise no longer remains with private
persons, except- in those kind of tencontres where society
cannot protect or defend them. In the bosom of si •ciety,
public authority decides all the differences of the citizens,
Sepresses • violente, and checks the insult of revenge.
If a private person intends to prosecute his right against
the subjtct of a foreign Power, he nay apply to the
Sovereign of his adversary, or to tbe.Magistrates in-
vested with public authority ; and if he is denied justice
by them, he is to have recourse to his proper Soveteign,
who is obliged to protect him. It would be too danger-
ous to give every citizen the liberty of doing himself
justice against foreigners, as every individual of a nation
might involve it in a war. And how could peace be
preserved between nations, if it was in the power of.
every man to disturb it ? A right of so great moment,
the right of judging whether a nation has a real cause
of complaint; whether its case allows of using force,
and having recourse to arms; whether prudence ad-
mits, and whether the welfare of the State demands it :
-this right, I say, can only belong to the body of the
nation, or to the Sovereign, its representative"—(Hear,
hear ! ) In other times, I should not have felt it
necessary to support this opinion
,by reference to
authority ; but it. was satisfactory to be able to pro-
duce authority when the principle is disputed.-
1410.‘Y, it beirg recolleEted that both the Sove;eigu of
Eriglatid and -the body, of the English nation had de-
cided absolutely for neutrality with France, let the No-
ble Lord opposite put himself for a moment in the situa?
tion of that foreign Power when she heard that a distin-
guished individual from England had landed on the coast ,
of Spain, announcing the prompt arrival ofan array of
10,000 men,--(Hear). It would be answered that the
men never did arrive—(Laughter). Why he (Mr. Cana.
nlng) knew that; but it was riot quite so certain that
the French Government could be assured of it. Indeed
the effect of the statement had been to draw the war to
that part of the country in 'which it had been put forth.
As a blister put upon the foot drew the humours to that
point from other parts of the body, so the landing of the
gallant individual in question had drawn the contest
to the quarter in which he appeared—(Hear, hear, and
ktughter). He gave full credit to the gallant Gentle.
man in question for his spirited exposure of both fortune
and person ; for the determination with which he acted
upon his opinions and pi inciples, and the free expenditure
he was always ready to make of his personarsecurity.—
But it was the duty of Government to look at matters
with other eyes than the eye of an individual. He (Mr.
Canning) felt, as regarded the pledge of England, what
it was that the gallant Member was doing; and, if
France did not remonstrate, there was only the more
need for this country to disavow—(Hear, ear). Then
every word of disavowal so uttered, let it be recollected,
was pro tanto a humiliation—(Hear). It was saying at
least that we had something to apologize for—( Hear.)
And yet Honourable Gentlemen complained th4t Go.
vernment had not maintained a suffiCiently high tone !
It was not very easy, they must be told, to bluster in one
tone, while we had to extenuate in another—(Cheering).
Under the circumstances, he had felt it necessary to
write to Sir Charles Stuart, stating that he could not dis-
avow in terms too strong, both for the Government and
personally for every Membet of it, all connection with, or
approval of the enterprize of the Hon: and gallant Gen-
tleman. He had been compelled particularly to make this
abjuration with iespect to the individuals connected
with the Government, because the Hon.*Gentleman had
happened to send out his first dispatches to Cot unna
under his (Mr. Canning't) frank. That measure had of
course secured their safety. He had feltit incumbent
upon him most distinctly to disavow what the gallant
Gentleman was doing; and Inc had done so.. (Here the
Right Honourable Gentleman read an extract from a
letter to Sir Charles Stuart, in which he had desired the
disavowal in point to be made.) At the same time, he
had stated that the service of volunteers was not unau-
thorized by the law of nations, and that it did rof
expose the individuals rendering it to any penalty : arc
Honourable Gentleman world Etc, therefore, ti at al-
though he had been compelled to disclaim his measures,
he had not been unobservant of his interests—(!/car).
The Hon. Gentleman, however, was not the only per-
s who had helped to place the, Government in this
predicament, though other persons, who had deporti d
themselves with behaviour, had not reduced Mi-
nisters to the necessity of making excuses; for at the
time that he, with that generous' prodigality of his ser-
vices which he had lavished upon a cause not quite de-
serving ol it, was paying the penalty
.of his gallantly
add courage in one quarter, there arose in another quar-
ter of that country another luminary,, who, though he
Wright not have addressed himself to the state of, the
euturtry with as much military cEect as the Hon. Gentle-


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