The Statesman.
London, England, 1814-05-11 00:00:00

not every one deem his conduct heroic? and
did not his execution for ever tarnish the renown of
the mighty Edward ?--•The work that be commenced
was consummated by Bruce, whom poets and histo-
rians have alike delighted to celebrate; every bosom
beat, and every heart grew warm with Burns's heroic
welcome of the Bruce of Bannockburn•—
•• scuts wha has w•i' Wallace bled,
Solis whim. Brute ha. An 104
Welcome 10 your gory bed,
Or in victory."

That bosom bad little sympathy with freedom or
with poetry that did not glow with the perusal of
that admirable poem. Another poet of the same na-
tion had nobly characterised independence, as

" Lord of the Lion heart and Eagle e)e,"
awl all the world concurred its applauding the ieli-
verao of Scotland, and execrating . the creel
Hey of is b•illied invader, whose. Tenor) .beep
for ever sallied by his treatment of the illustrioua,
Wallace. The Noble Lord complained of the
negligence of Clerks of the FOreigu-Dflice, in
making incorrect. returns of the military force.
which Sweden had produced.. in the field, con-
formable to the treaty, and represented that from
the pericd of the memorable battle of Leipsic,
Sweden had displayed much greater activity in pro-
secuting her designs upon Denmark than in asso.
ciating herself with the Allied • Monarchs in effect-
ing the deliverance, of Europe from oppression.—
The transfer of Norway to Sweden would.be pre.;
judicial to the interests of Europe; he did not know
bot it would be better to permit Norway to become,
an independent kingdom; and he thought, in jus-
tice and sound policy, it was incumbeut on Par-
liament to ac!‘ise the Regent to withdraw the block-
ade. His Lordship then adverted to the cession
of Spain by Ferdinand VII. observing at the same
time. that ii might be objected that it was made
under constraint, but continued he, was not that of
Norway also made under constraint? Was not
the King of Denmark placed precisely in the si-
tuation of a man who is desired to abandoo his pro-
petty,with a pistol held at his breast, to enforce com-
pliance ? He had-brought forward the present ques-
tion sooner than he would otherwise have done, at
the express desire of the agent sent over to this coun.
try by Norway. That person had assured him, that
the gallant people of that country were determined
on resistance, to a man—were determined to undergo
every privation, every evil, sooner than submit to the
loss of their independence. Resistance might be consi.
tiered as imporcticable, hut the vigorous resistance
they had fOrmerly opposed to the efforts of two
powerful and warlike Monarchs, Gustavus Adolphus
and Charles XII. should he 'remembered. It might
be iar puted to him and the party with which he acted,
that they wished to plunge the country in a war with
Sweden and Russia. Lie must MVO, that if the nu-
just aggres•ion were persisted in, he should like to
see this country engaged in active co-operation with
Norway. The Noble Lord then conclntled,, by
moving, •
•

" T.a► an bumble Address he presented to his Royal
Hißh-
peso+ die Prince Re►rent,prrying that he would be 'graciously
pleased to interpose his ihtluence with• the Allied Powers to
recue the unotlendiot people of Norway from the ahem..
live of famine or submission Is a Pulelo Power; and that
pem•los any orprintion. be would order all hostile opera-
tions to be suspended ugalust a people snuggling for their na-
tural rights." _ _

. The Earl of HARROWBY, at considerable
length, opposed the argument; of the Noble Earl,
which all must admire for their eloquence. He ad.
witted that the authorities which had been referred
to were striking marks in the ocean of politics ; but
they were not authorities which were.to be accounted.
infallible. They were, indeed,, sometimes contra.
dictory in the assertion of their own doctrines. He
was surprised at the observation of the Noble Earl,
that the two accounts of the number of men sup-
plied by Sweden on the 6th of June, were not sa.
tisfactory. He saw no difference but what was re.
concileable, from the small intervention of a few
days. The Crown Prince had acted in concert with
the ::''.es; but if this country,, or any other allied
against ai,ce, had been so ready to find fault with
the minutia of each other's proceedings, none of.
those events would ..ave occurred which had tended
to the liberation of Europe. If the Crown Prince
bad not marched as he did, to stir up the spirit atid
the confidence of the people of Gcrmauy, and after-
ward; kept his troops as a strong reserve for the aid
of the other allied forces, perhaps nowt instead of
debating upon the present question, they would have
been discussing w heater they should exist as a na.
tion. As to the comparison between Spain and Nor.
way, there was no similarity. Ite considered every
Sovereignty, fur its own preservation, had a right
to cede a part for the tafe of the rest. Upon the
argument of the Noble Earl, if any country was
likely to have any part of her, territories conquered,•
she.had nothing more to do than cede them to a
third rower, and their independence would be in-
*tautly respected. In this manner, Denmark might
divide herself into twenty parcels, for the purpose
of saving the whole country. Ile contended, that
the whole of the Noble Earl's statement needed
only, plain and practicable sense for iticomplete re-
futation.

Lord GRENVILLE observed, that the discus.
sion in which the House was then engaged, could
only have one object, and that was to prevent so
horrible a proceeding as the subjection of an inoffen-
sive and independent people to the dominion of a
power, which, as far back as the annals of Europe
extended, had been their constant, unchanged, and
unremitting enemy ; for however strong the love- •
teracy of other countries in Europe towards each
other might be, that inveteracy had not been ex-
ceeded by the hostile feelings which were enter-
tained by Sweden towards Norway. In remote
times it had been the pride and boast of Great Bri-
tain that she had protected Norway from the en-
croachments of Sweden ; and seeing what passed
every day in this country, he was satisfied no mea-
sure could be adopted by the King's Ministers,
more consonant with the wishes of the people, than
their recommendation to4the Prince Regent of a con-
tinuance of that protection. Unfortunately, however,
a different line of conduct seemed to have been
adopted by his Majesty's Ministers ; they seemed
determined to prosecute not a war agaiest these un-
fortunate people, but a blockade, calculated to pro-
duce submission by starvation. Deeply did he