The Statesman.
London, England, 1812-10-30 00:00:00

Foote there
Ilad Parliament emanated from the Nap —7—'7'
Frenelt under the
could
littnidmiss,oibrtluyLial,yewcrrotitinott:e.rnanAce:mt:LseE
E-vitii
tare in which we have beeu so long eas.e.o. expend'.
It is no::, admit, quite impossible to aiti,d,aw Our
troops from the Peninsula, leaving the
laudable, Or 4el•aer(ril.;
s,t:onud.aervder;
nbaut,tirahln,fore ee engager! to perish, who have resisted the
shl:idropwr• 0 ot
ef
cortuorn
their invitation, we ought more cautt • •
ously to II3V(
considered, whether their deliverante, through out
means, was practicable ; and should .ash • e contem,
plated, besides, the dreadful Sufi', •
crt'lgs we 0..361(
at all events expose thorn to, bv a 1 • 1,1
•.g, and nib-
than doubtful, resistance. Perhaps the .11s, • t
ory 0:
the world has not furnished such a lo:;g_l;,otracta
scene of misery as Spain and Portugal I
taf c endured
and lam sorry to be obliged to ad,!. tin! hear be
too little of this afflicling suyect. The s: hole
drift
of the argument in favour of this branch
the war
is, that it IS 3 71:a TO THU WIIALL— h
t at it exhamts
the power and resources of Prance. That
our aid
to the Peninsula has given a more military charaver
to our army, and raised up genius to command it—
that it bus diverted the assault from Great
Britain)
and made us even fearless of the attempt.
My objection to the whole of this
argon, nt
that it is FALSE—and brutally selfish if it
were TRUE.
Lord Wettlnozorr would have been as great a Cm.
ral PERE, if his own country had been invaded, •,s
he has proved himself to be in Spain ; and our troops
would have fought as gloriously under 11 I '
M---11:1))
possible, with greater enthusiasm, if they had been
fighting for their independence upon their °v• sol • • •ia t
and utterly deny, that for British ohjecto it was '
ne-
cessary to thin British regiments i:tto skiifui soh.
fliers, by such a ruinous uaste of our r • esaurces, is
well as by the sacrifice of so many. brava men.
But it seems that it showed them the French iq
battler and thereby inspired confidence, and averted
the panic which might have arisen, if the first coo.
Ilia with them had been here. This reasoning, Sir,
is equally (envious—the whole course of the cam.
paigns in the Peninsula, gives the lie•to this man
upon British soldiers. The battle of Salamanca, ex-
cept that it was on a larger scale, and its consequen.
ces comparatively important, was not more brilliant,
nor decisive of superiority, than all our former col-
lisions with the enemy in battle. They were all
equally glorious to our Commander, and to the
whole body of our officers and men. Would to
Coo that Awe we have lost of both, and who are yet
to perish at a distance from their country, had been
preserved ; or might yet be saved, to protect her on
the day of danger.
But it will be said, no doubt, that although the
arguments which I condem, have been used by the
favourers of the war on the Peninsula, yet that they
have only been employed more stronest to Instill
our support of it ; but not as the principle which in-
duced our Government originally to bestow it, sit.
to maintain the cause of freedom and independence.
Sir, if we had adopted that principle in the outset
the troubles in Europe, we might, indeed, have dc.
livered a suffering world from unutterable calamities.
Now—it is too late. To illustrate this melancholy
truth, would be to write the history of our own times.
To a future age such a history will be most instruc!
tive—but useless to the present. There is not a man
In the kingdom capable of reading and of reflecting
on what he reads, who does not impute the par!
tentous power of France to a series of mistakes (to
say the least), in the Government of this country.
But supposing this great contlict on the Pitinsuln
to have been originally advisable, as the only re•
mining hope of restoring the balance of Europe ; is
it not a reproach to the late Farliamput, and to this
nation which suffer it, that such a momentous cont
cern yet remains under the auspices of those who
now conduct it ? If the contest &serves the chit•
racter on which it can only be justified, surely ail
the force and vigour of this country ought to karn
been consecrated to its success; and next to the
mightiest pressure of force—the earliest point of
time was critical to the extreme. Wheit Lord Vist.-
LINGTON shall return from Spain (as I pray Goo he
may), to receive the reward of his glorious exertions,
in the bosom of his family and his country, let him
be asked this question in his place in the House of
Lords, where his merit has so justly platted him.
QUESTION TO LORD WELLINGTOV.
, •
the disastrous Etipedition to Walcherrn been lauded in the
Had that mighty army, my Lord, o Web was sent to perish in
North of Spain, and placed under your command, not merely
at the time when it left the coast of England, but whit, with
only ordinary dispatch, it might have left it; can you nor,
from the experience you have had since in service on the Peais•
sula, be able to say, that you believe, you could have loog3g)
delivered It from the invasion of France?
time (lot
any thing I know, for I am not a lawyer), may Le
matiz.c, the
If Lord WELLING 1'07;, on his return, should an
swer that question in the affir
each
at lost
gone by for punishment, but not for public reps
and execration. The season, however, may
many cal*.
Parliameot
jest returned, is not very likely
when the people of this country will nit ,sb.
mit to be governed by the authors of so
• ter
to administer
which the
amrirtiivees'; but I am sorry to say that the
tans
redress ; and I seek no other than that
law and constitution may administer.
%ott
which has not yet entered upon its franchise, e hpo
WO'
You will not wonder, at my distrust of R Parliament
S brOgir
are informed, that I am a Monet; axr 01
distresses ll
P 901., well nigh ruined by the
this great manufacturing community) I