Star.
London, England, 1810-03-27 00:00:00

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. r,r.ttica. lie Hooke had Pen Up the'llfsiebece i Powerettektimiesetylair sthattealistastspaskpuh. ese,,,,_
of Lord madman what respect he paid to t wet. should not think it iecesenry, briefer to thisevidisee, ttlitidenc*,
mation upon, which his colleagues had acted, when I hitt leave it to the Hesse to decide, whether, on the. the Anstrian h.
he stated, that on his arrival at his destination he saw suppositions, the. ropeaacing suppositions on which it Owen Was, and
-no reason to believe or disbelieve the informition upon I had been formed, it dins possible that the expedition ' not desire the -
which his colleagues had decided to put to hazard_ , could ever reach Antwerp ? But if the Noble Lord. Holland,bat.
_.,
the whole of the disposable force of the country.— had ever entertained that expectation, the passages he Majesty's Ministers could not but be sensible then, that
Lord Chatham had said, 'that if even the whole of had quoted. from the evidence must spew him that the questionrespecting the diversion was not made out
the information were true, much of the probability of there was no co.operation. Upon- the subject of the by the papers. General Don had stated that this Ex-
success against Antwerp would have depended on the , conduct of the nava and military part of the expedi. pedition would have operated as a great diversion hi
circumstance of its being attacked without the inter. tion, 14 was of opinion that no blame rested with favour of Austria, -by making it incumbent on the
vention of preliminary sieges, as the army was not in either. But if any blame was to apply, that House French to send a large force to Brabant, which would
a state to undertake sieges, and a couts-ele-maia was im- i had no tight to interfere, unless it should• be necessary i otherwise have marched to the Danube t- as if any
practicable. The same was the oPtnion of Geheral .to apply, by Address, that the matter should be re- i feeble efforts of ours could, at that dreadful period,
Hope respecting the coup-de-nsain. Sir William Ers- furred to the proper tribunal. He had a full persua. i have controuled the destinies of the Continent. There _
kine, whose professional knowledge, displayed in his sion, that the House would agree in the Reso- : was also another opinion in favour of its having ope-
examination at the bar, entitled him to the admira- ; Intim, that no blame was imputable to the Na-' rated as a diversion, that of Colonel Mosheim. The
Lion of that Housean admiration that must be en- i val or Military Commanders. (Hear, hear, hear.) only instance which he was able to mention, was the
hanced by the consideration of the early age at which He had, until then, considered the Expedition in a return of a battalion or two from Louvain. But at
he acquired that'knowledge,.and the accurate recol. military point of view. It had been said that it had this very moment that Ministers were speculating in
lection he preserved of the result of his practical ob. the* elements to encounter, but it had a much more diversions, France had every whereas great a force
servations, after the lapse of a long period of time, 1 dangerous enemy to contend • with, in the disease as was necessary for.the complete defence of her vast
had stated, that, having been at Antwerp in 1794, he brought on by its having been sent to that pestilential : Empire. In estimating the value of these diversions,
knew it to be secure against a camp-de-main, and that in. climate at that pestilential season. That disease was lit was the duty of the Heuee to consider whether the
one week it might be put in a situation to stand a well known to professional men ; it must have been advantages likely to result from them to our al-
siege. It had been much inissted upon in the oral tes- known to his Majesty's Ministers. Lord Mulgrave, lies, were sufficient to outweigh the calamities which
timo'uy at thebar, that as there were no guns on the in the year 1791, commanded in Walcheten ; and the they had inflicted on our own country ? In stating
ramparts, Antwerp was incapable of defence. But brave troops he commanded suffered under the same the evidence en this subject, he bad necessarily
did Gentlemen not bear in mind that Antwerp had disease, and that Noble Lord knew that on their re- gone to great length, but the importance of the ques-
now been made a great naval depot, contained a vast turn they fell equally victims to the destructive in- tioe, be trusted, would entitle him to the indulgence
naval ursenal, and could, consequently, not be deft. fluence of 'the disease. Ministers had, however, not' of the House. It was now his wish to turn his eyes
dent in the ordnance necessary for its defence ? Sir consulted one medical man, either as, to the mode of away from the contemplation of the most :calamitous
William Erskine, too, had said, that it was not un- cure, or what would be better, for the prevention of and disgraceful Expedition in which this country had
usual to preserve the artillery provided for the defence this dreadful malady. It might be said that secrecy ever been involved : an Expedition which failed not
of fortified towns, by removing them, till wanted, . was necessary in the first 'instance ; but what excuse airough any defect of courage in the men who were
from a state of exposure to the injuries of the weather. I could they plead for not having taken such advice on employed in it, or of precaution or talents in the per.
This led him to notice how little his Majesty's Mini. 1 the repeated applications few medical aid, medicines, sons who commanded ; but entirely through the ig.
sters seemed to have attended to the use which might ' and warm clothing for the suffixing sick in the pesti- norance, rashness and impotence of those who plan-
-have been made of the seamen and marines of the I lential marshes of Walcheren. The Noble Lord then ned it. This fatal Expedition had terminated in na-
French fleet for the defence of Antwerp : how little I read extracts from the v .rious pressing letters received tional disgrace, almost in national despondency. It
they seemed to be aware that this description of per- 101 l this subject from Sir Eyre Coote, incloging the was the bounden duty of the House to visit such im.
sons were the best calculated to serve on a breach !-- urgent applications of Mr. Webb for assistance to be policy and misconduct with its utmost indignation.—
If they doubted of the fact, let them ask Sir Sidney I sent out in a fast sailing vessel, from the second of He would now submit a set of Resolutions -tor the
Smith—let them ask Bonaparte how a party of sea., September downwards, till at length, when half of the adoption of the House ; to the greater part of which
men and marines from a single ship, at the memo- army had perished, two medical men were sent out lie -could anticipate no possible objection, as they were
rable defence of Acre, arrested the victorious career to investigate the nature of a malady which had founded on the Minutes of Evidence in the possession
-of the French army, and obliged it to retire in dis- been long a matter of notoriety in this country. of Members. His Lordship requested that the
grace from before that town. But iii order at once —He came in the next place to consider-the last, Clerk, as he himself was almost exhausted,might be
to shew the absurdity of any expectation of success though not the least, important part of the question:, permitted to read the Resolutions ; but this being
from a coup-de-main, it was only necessary to state that He wished to ask his Majesty's Ministers, for in the against order, Lord TENIPLE kindly undertook the
they had it in evidence, that by means of a line of te- evidence was contained no information, with what task. They were as follow ; - , ,
legrephs information could be conveyed to Antwerp hope, with what prospect, with what possible chance i I. That on the 28th of July last, and subsequent days, an ar-
-
of the approach of our Expedition before their an- of public advantage, they kept our brave troops in main_ event, consisting of 99,000 land forces, se sail of the line, s
chors.could be dropped in the Roompot. Sir Wil- that pernicious climate, perishing ingloriously by the h
:3i pgsuno zi,..13
sailed
dgnun t,ns 2
414
ehe bat eve:lit:slog:o lase' Sch deb, vhavis
liam Erskine too mentioned his doubts to Sir Richard' destructive ravages of its peculiar malady ? He wish- for its object the capture or destruction of the enemy's ships,
Strachan before the Expedition sailed • and it was by ed to ask how they could have reconciled such con- either building at. Antwerp or Flushing, or afloat on the Scheidt;
him mentioned to Lord Castlereagh, and it had duct to any notions of public duty, -or national into- , the destruction of the arsenals and dzick yards at Antwerp, Tor-
sinceFlushing;reductionof-the appeared that all the predictions of Sir Wil- rest, after the information received from Sir Eyre ;
possible, the Scheldt no longer navigable for
Liam Erskine had been verified. Sir Eyre Coote Coote, that there were 8000 sick in the island in the ,1,11,, or „,arn.g' P . .
- considered the attempt at a coup-de-main difficult month of September ? How could the delay in send-. 2.1. That Flushing surrendered on the 15th of August, whereby
and hazardous. The Marquis of Huntley did ing out relief have happened, when Sir Eyre Coote the reduction of the island of Watches-en was completed; and
that
nabs onal . the
th e
enemy
not think it practicable ; and General Calvert was wrote so pressingly for blankets, warm clOthing, andrt ofatAAugnetwst,e allwaetreteme:t.thoen thefteotu ando aria
of the Lieutenanyt.Gentrals,rpdeclar:d tyo be impracticable, and
of the same opinion with Sir Eyre Coote. The medicines; communicating at the same time that the
Noble Lord then proceeded to make some observa- sick were lying inhospitals without roofs, and almost i were abandoned. •
tions on the defective arrangements which had been without medicines, and would actually have perished!
ifoowunedoer.Fluerstesnag,desancltroof
3d, That the destruction of the basin; dock-yard, arsenal, spe-
cie. storehouses
as
snift twhass
made for the attack upon. Cadsend, and the impossi- for want of these necessaries if they had nor been re- I
i such ad p ,- anodf tnhaval e
sea
1)114 that Lord Gardner could conform to his in- lieved by the smugglers. He was not disposed to; ilavine been eCeeted on the t of of Decesuberp,thpe island of Way!!
structions by going into the Wieling Passage whhout attribute all the blame to Government, but to thel chervil was on the 93d of December, evacuated by his Majesty's
pilots. It had been said, that the-French force ap- effect of that miserable subordinationlif departments, I forces, and the Expedition ended.
peared at Cadsand by a fortuitous circumstance. But which required that such applications should pass 4th, That It
isdoes not appear to this House, that the failure of
this Expedition lmputable to the conduct of the r.rtny or the nand
that was a species of accident that reel-ally hap- through three or four officers before it could arrive at in the execution of their Instructions, relative to the military and
pened to the French armies. They had always a the department whose duty it was to comply with it. naval operations in the Scheldt.
force sufficiently strong, and at the pre per time, in The Secretary who conducted the affairs of the war sth, That on the 19th of August a malignant disorder sheaved
every place where it was wanted. These, however, should possess a controul over every inferior depatt -
ittlateram°tarsitiehismblielartsyi:skt rmepusn;tedandtothau t, on th
ards ofelitothmosf Sep-
were fortuitous circumstances which seldom occurred meat, and issue the necessary orders directly to each.
6th, Tharit appear by the report of thepwPhysician appointed
in our Expeditions. But in reverting to the intorma. 'lf the Medical Board had been efficient, he should to investigate the nature and causes of the malady to which his
Lion upon which his Majesty's Ministers had acted, it not blame his Majesty's Ministers so much ; but that
i
Majesty's troops were thus evosed, that the disease Is one which
prevails periodically in the Islands of Zealand, and is of peculiar
been
appeared to him that there were peculiarities in it.
;Board was known to have divided;
rid of malignity there, and which constantly follows a law of season,
which ought to have led them not to depend upon it. lieved the determination had been taken to get
appearing towards the end of summer, becoming more severe In
The person employed to procure this information, ;it before the Expedition sailed. When it was known the autumnal months, declining in October, and nearly ceasing In
had stated the number that could be collected at Ant- i that our soldiery were perishing in such a manner, November. That perfect recoveries are rare, convalescence never
weip in five days or one week, but the result of such 1 why had they been left to the ravages of the malady selnreor, andptlbalantte wthemh renderee:urren a large
quicklyceoffeverprnp lays
sufferers
the founda-
information went only to shew, that the towns were without immediate and effectual relief . ) When Lord u
cient
not garrisoned, not that a considerable force might not 1 Chatham relinquished the ulterior objects of the/ 7t inefficient
h, That of the for future military
army whipurposes.
ch embarked for service in the
in a larger period of time be assembled. In proof of Expedition, why had not Flushing been corn- Scheidt, 60 Officers and 3900 Men, exclusive of those killed by
this they had the report of the French General to his pletely destroyedeand the army withdrawn from that I the enemy, had died before the Ist of February last, and on that
. _
frightf; ' -tav 217 Officers and It ,Men were r.-- isick.

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Government, stating, that so early as the 3d of Au-
gust, he had collected a considerable force at a
point, where it might be seasonably directed to any
quarter attacked. He had thus shewn, upon all the
data which formed the foundation of all the calcula-
tions, respecting the Expedition against Antwerp,
that it was morally,if not absolutely, impossible that
it should succeed. It then rested with him to skew,
that if it was not impossible for the Expedition that
it should succeed, the nature and character of the
arrangements made by his Majesty's Ministers
for conducting it rendered success actually im-
possible. Upon this point "the evidence would bear
him out, by sheaving that neither a soldier nor a
'sailor could have gone up to Santvliet within .four
days after the arrival of the Expedition. The Noble
Lord then took a review of the various particulars
to the instructions to the different divisions, to prove
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.aul scene of contagion and death, whilst it could
yet be called an army ? They could not be told that
it was necessary to keep Walcheren as a military po-
sition, because it would cost more to retain it than it
was worth ; because our frigates could not at any
time remain in the Vere Gat, Ter Veer being within
range of the shot and shells of the enemy ; and be-
cause the island could never be maintained unless by
keeping up a large permanent naval force to secure
it. Could the population of this country supply the
waste that would be the consequence of retaining pos-
session of that unhealthy position ? General Don,
had, in the end, been obliged to apply for reinforce-
ments, in order to enable him to bring off his hospi-
tals, which would have been in danger of falling into
the hands of the enemy, if the naval line had been
I forced. What could have induced the Ministers to
) be so callous to the representations of the sufferings of

,269. were reportea...—
...al, That the Expedition to the Scheldt was undertaken tm4er
circumstances which afforded no rational hope of adequate success
and at the precise season of the year when the malignant disease
which has proved so fatal his Majoary's brave troops was known
to be most prevalent ;that the advisers of this ill-judged en- '
terprize are, in the opinion of this House, deeply responsible for
the heavy calamities with which its failure has been attended.
There was also a second set of Resolutions, as fol-
lows, relating to the retention of Walcheren :-
1 Ist That Lieutenant-General Sir Eyre Crete having, on the
1 9th of September, been left In the command of Walther's, with
an army of about 15,000 men, did, on that day, make an ofidal
rtpoet on the state of the island, the extent of force relLoired effec-
tually to guard it, the:keine* and condition of its defences, and
the number of men thee sick and sink for duty; representhig that
after suds his exposition, his Majesty's Ministers would be the
best Judi*, of the propriety or possibility of keeping the island;
and Odin& that the advantages must be great indeed which could
composee the loss of lives and treasure which the retention must
Demme* occaalon.
td, s That a the aid of "
_ _ _

till:point, by chewing, that the division of General
Coote was ordered to Walcheren ; that of Sir John
Hope to the East Scheldt, to wait till a solid footing
should be made in Walcheren by the reduction-GT
Vere, Armeyden, and Haak, and-then to take up
defensive position in South Beveland ; thit the
divi-
sion of the Marquis-of Huntley was ordered againat
Cadsand, and then to cut off the retreat of the French
from Flushing, brefflcting a lamling between Zout-
land and Flushing; and, drat the divisions of-Lord
Rosslv and Generat Grosvenor were ordered to re-

the army, which all the country sympathized in with
the most painful feelings ? Why had ,they delayed till
the winter the evacuation, which should have taken.'
place as won as the ulterior objects of the Expedition
had been.given up ? Were his Majesty's Ministers oc- '
cupied in considering the means of retaining Wal-
cheren, or of retaining their own offices ? (liearyhor.).
Had the heart-rending accounts of the sickness of the
troops made any impression upon their minds, key
never would have exposed the army to the;calamities
it had endured. That intelligence wouickiipstve,.4l-
. _

. September,
hifMajeuy's /Ashlers, that the Manning pregtess of disease was
ledh that If it should continue lo the same proportion far three
weeks longer (as ,be added there was every probability that ft
would), wit possession of the island must become very precarious.
3d, That on the 6th of October Sir Eyre Come, after stating
that the cumber of sick was increasing, and that the effective force
was thereby rendered so trivial, as to make the defence of the
island, if it should be attacked, extremely pricarious, did express
hit-anxiety to be Ihformed of the Intentions of his Majesty's Go-
'vetiniednt as to the haute state of Watcheren.
' utb, Tlmusetwkhstanding these, and many other pressing re-
seesestations, on the aiortnist condition of the troops, and the
dagger to, which they were exposed, his Majesty's Ministers did
-elect to come to any deeidon the 4th of November, and
- evanadaY. of - -

yn .
main in the rear for IsTesatir hours. and not to proceed
to-the Ulterior objects till the investmeet of. Flushing
should be completed. The artillery too had-been
divided into two parts for the first and second objects;
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Downs

duced any other men to use their efforts to tave-a•t.ink-
ing, 3 perishing army ; but it was the signal to them
to renew their own disunion. (Hear, hear.) .14. Was
not against the enemy that they directed thmer-pPiTtits,
out-

i until
Mitt the —final - es. of Wakberen did not take place until
i the OW of December.
.50, That on the IQth of September, the of skk in the
404 of.,Walcherios eat, exclusive of officers, 6WB; sad that
the iinnber ofiick embarked for Enshisid, between the
mil of November, ,r -

they employed them ~. ty in preying upon theloselves. .- ...* 15th
f steplaiiibir. and the veKiel Hove... was 11,199, making in
~ Wilda' in viscera vertcre veres.7 lat 'perk's' SD Ilattiik-itilek of 40119: '
That time which they should have devoted to she cu. That *Amends gnat *ad the Expediting had been
public interests,ao the preservation of the army, they i ishwtsionedsis impracticable, &large pr ion ate* lidthlianiar
employed in their paltry intrigues and Cabinet hick- waelli'll_,9ll_,._,t my '''''°r act_tlvaialdurr!t.bl vigw_i_ or any
erings. The intelligence of the calamitous sickness 1 ormr"lrs"te'Zichma'a satitice7rg'ilk trfialrajeZro it;lt'irtf's,',:leimb.
of the troops was received on the sild of September ; dawn danger af atkiektras the away, and exposed darks a
on the Bth, Lord Castlereagh resigned ; and on the psried.et *see t199.01190' wombs. aad ear ritetwittowiss at
17th Lord Liverpool's letter was dated, so - that the Wratthlr_,- the fltal„...ravne,ofncots disseseste
be which as
whole of that period, which should have been taken . -1,=7'"=4.47:4 '77
upiu devising measures for the restoration of the , —VdT:Tee nick The---coadest at us hitalesty4a advisors, aft for
health of the army,was consumed in the inott.ditiraCe. the iscrareat imam cid* Hawn.
ful squabbles for office. The Noble Lord InisilhOlttoe The lit Reecdotio!ilacrim_lateereadtom the Cher,
mare twin to touch upon,. respeeting the lifeeifini • Lord CASTLFAMMIti wit notions to mho the
up by Ministers, en the ground thet they bellessefised earliest opportooki of sublattato, the UPON the.
Walcheren te,effcctn diversion in farciarifikoptiti— *anode tip* which he claimed tetchtlieen The
kle gkesectiquegied VW the laser of Mr. IleamMer : retabifct Plidir• du " 4:a SW" u""141 1118

and the sccood. Bart bad not sailed from -the
tilltheahird of August. • From all these-circiamst.m. i
cell, and a variety .of :other. passages in the mi. I
dance to the same effect). the ,Noble-. Lord inferred,
altar the army.could not haeoproceednd to theallterior
'objects according . to thearmagements of .his. Majesty's
Ministers until aver that period, 'when even the most
-sanguine looked upon success as impossible: These
enungements. were, first.that the ulterior objects were
sot to be. prosecuted till the investment of Flushing whole or uiaL p........., ---- -
the
was coollgeted ; 2dIY, that Sir John. Hope was or. up in devising measures for restoration of the • Stitt Mat mita sae swum.. - _ _
dered• to talte a defensive position in South Beveland ; health of the arnry,was consimsed in the mostdi . the orpoust, eimere of dia amiss..
il• I
6dly, That the war ships should not be involved in
the narrow and intricate navigation of the Scheldt ;
and 4thly, That the artillery and ordnance had been
divided into two parts, and the second had not sailed
from this Downs till!. Sd of August. As to the . _ _ - _ ..• .
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r

surbiltatosidateticasarla 'not have.had
iusillinclacialf the lessidian erWalchereni, as
istrian Minister did not even know whet*
Was, and tha letter from-the Court of Buda did
Giza the.continuance of hostilities on our p.trt in
4,bht a diversion in the north of Germany. His