ought to be restored to Denmark. The house divided. For lord Sidmouth's motion, 51.-Against it, 105. by a despotic government were balanced by advantages on the side of freedom ten thousand times greater. This proposition Mr. Sheridan ilHouse of Commons, Feb. 25. lustrated in a very happy manner. Mr. Sheridan submitted to the Supposing that a case could be house a proposition, which appear- made out against Denmark, the ed to him of the first importance, house was without information reHe had hoped, that strong informa- specting the real cause of the war tion would have proved the attack with Russia. He took it for granton Copenhagen to have been an ed, that it was not simply the atact of necessity; or that some un- tack upon Copenhagen which had equivocal instance of the hostility alienated the emperor of Russia from of Denmark would have been this country. It was owing to someshewn; or lastly, that some argu- thing that had occurred posterior ment would have offered some to- to that attack, that he had arranglerable pretext for their conduct. ed himself in the list of our eneBut when he found, that instead of mies: the communication imparted this, they only made an awkward to the court of Petersburgh, of the attempt to form something out of foul, treacherous, and base propoall the three; that, they first pre- sals that were made after the capitended a strong necessity; that on tulation of Copenhagen, by minibeing driven from this ground, sters to Mr. Rist, the Danish agent they tried to point out a variety of in this country, desiring Denmark provocatious on the part of Den- to submit to any terms they might mark; that they then said, it was think proper to dictate, on the pain necessary to do some stout act, of having Norway wrested from which might prove to the world that kingdom and given to Swethat they could imitate Buonaparte; den. If he could trust to the paand that the result of the whole pers, which he held in his hand, was a total denial of all actual in- purporting to be the substance of a formation whatever, he could not conversation which passed between disguise the unfavourable impres- Mr. secretary Canning and Mr. sion which had been made upon Rist, and copies of a correspondhis mind. The allegation, that ence, which passed between the granting information was danger courts of Copenhagen and Stockous, was ever on the lips of those holm, it appeared that, at the very whose purposes required conceal-time when ministers were soliciting ment. Admitting, however, that the granting of information might be sometimes inconvenient, perhaps even dangerous, publicity was the vital principle of our political constitution. Despotic governments had some advantages from that secret lurking manner in which business might be there transacted. The peculiar conveniences enjoyed the mediation of the emperor of Russia between Great Britain and Denmark, they were threatening to despoil Denmark of a part of her territories, and, after having evacuated Zealand, according to the capitulation, to co-operate with a Swedish garrison in again taking possession of it. Flagrant and wicked, as lie conceived the first attack gentleman, he was not justified in stating, what might possibly be the consequences of a refusal on the part of Denmark, or to advert to any other topics to induce Mr. Rist to make the application to his court. As to what had passed between the courts of Stockholm and Copenhagen, after the capitulation of Zealand, Mr. Sheridan must be aware, that such correspondence could never be produced to that, house. Mr. S. had justly stated, that we had but one ally remaining, and that him we had brought into a situation of great peril. And what was the cure he proposed? what the acknowledgment of his fidelity? That we should lay before the public the whole of his most intimate counsels, not with respect to dangers long past, but to perils actually impending, and which would be greatly aggravated by the production of the correspondence now moved for. Mr. Canning, in the course of this speech remarked, that there. was a very "observable sympathy between the gentlemen in opposition to him and his colleagues, and the French newspaper, called the Moniteur. No sooner than they were run dry by a debate, than a number of the Moniteur arrived to supply them with a fresh topic. When their light was quite exhausted on any question, in came a Moniteur, from which a spark fell upon the gloom, and rekindled the heat of their arguments." This drew a smart reply from Mr. Ponsonby, who, though sensible of the just rebuke of the right honourable secretary upon himself, and those on the same side with him, that they were grown dry in the debate, that they were quite exhausted in language, and required the promethean fire of the Moniteur to rekindle them into activity, could never admit that any such imputation could be fixed on the right honourable secretary himself. His ideas were not so numerous but that they could in a moment be put in array. The man who had but few ideas could readily summon them into action, particularly, when by perpetual practice. they were drilled in all the evolutions of the disputant. The right honourable secretary was such an economist in his thoughts, and such a prodigal in words, that he could feel no embarrassment in debate. He could upon any occa sion bring forward that chain of words which jingles in the car, rarely affects the understanding, and never approaches the heart; but which some partizans might call eloquence. Mr. Pousouby pro ceeded to animadvert on various parts of Mr. Canning's speech.The conduct of ministers in negotiating with Sweden for the occupation of Zealand after it should be apparently evacuated, in con- . formity with the capitulation, excited his astonishment. It exactly resembled the conduct of two highwaymen, one of whom should first address a passenger, demanding his money, and threaten his life, and the passenger offer his purse, but beg that his life might be spared; on this, the highwayman accepts his purse, and promises not to injure him; but the moment he walks off, he whistles his companion from the hedge, and says, "Do you dispatch him.". Mr. Windham said, the character of the country had been seriously accused, and to that accusation Mr. Mr. Canning had returned a mere assertion; in which, as usual, he was confident just in proportion as he was deficient in proof and argument. He bad stated, that even were the papers applied for laid before the house, the gentlemen who supported the motion would not find what they wanted. They wanted some proofs to contradict the statements which appeared in the Moniteur, and to vindicate the character of the country; which would be very imperfectly vindicated indeed, if it rested on the mere assertion of the right honourable gentleman. If he thought the papers would support his assertion, was it not natural to infer that he would produce them? And was it not equally natural to infer the contrary from the pertinacity of his refusal? He took a view of the animadversions which had appeared in the Moniteur, and maintained that they were in some parts particularly just, though not expressed in very happy terms. The earl of Temple thought the matter under consideration might be decided by a single question. Was there, or was there not any negotiation with Sweden, or any other foreign power, to occupy Zealand after our troops were bound to evacuate it? Mr. Canning repeated, that it was the determined purpose of mi nisters to evacuate Zealand, and literally according to the capitulation: but when he said literally, he meant not according to the letter, but the spirit of the capitulation. The doubts entertained by ministers as to the construction of that capitulation, would not be considered as unreasonable by any candid man, who looked back to the period at which it took place, and who reflected, that it was concluded in the utter ignorance of the declaration of war by the Danish go. vernment. Lord Temple said, the question was, whether it was proposed to any other power to occupy Zealand, after our troops should have evacuated it? Mr. Canning asked, if the noble lord meant to enquire, whether after all hopes of a termination of the war with Denmark had ceased, ministers had it in contemplation, or had actually provided to take any hostile steps against that country? The question having been loudly and repeatedly called for, the house divided.-For Mr. Sheridan's motion 85-Against it 184. House of Lords, March 3.-The earl of Darnley, after a suitable preface, moved that an humble address be presented to his majesty, "That after attentively consider ing all the public documents before us concerning the late attack on Copenhagen, and the war which it has produced, we have found the information which they afford estremely imperfect and unsatisfactory. That in a matter in which both the honour and the interests of our country are so deeply concerned, we had hoped for the fullest explanations. The principles of our constitution, and the uniform practice of his majesty, and the sovereigns of his illustrious house, re quire that parliament should be distinctly apprised of the true grounds of entering into new wars, especially in a situation of our country wholly unprecedented. "Had Denmark been a party to any any hostile confederacy against the. rights or interests of the British empire, our resistance would have been necessary, and our warfare legitimate. Under such circumstances we should only have had to regret, that the ports and arsenals of that country should so lightly have been abandoned, when advantages so very considerable had been derived from their temporary occupation; and when, by our continuing to hold them during the war, all real danger from that quarter might have been effectually averted. "But we cannot doubt that Denmark, instead of engaging in hostile leagues, had resolved still to maintain her neutrality. This fact is proved even by the imperfect documents which have been laid before us, and is confirmed by the proclamation issued by his majesty's commanders immediately before the attack. *Certainly Denmark was no party, nor does it appear that she was privy, to any confederacy hostile to this country. We are not even satisfied that such a league did really exist. "The conclusion of any secret articles at Tilsit, affecting the rights or interests of the British empire, appears to have been uniformly denied both by Russia and France. "The correspondence of his majesty's secretary of state, and the dales of the transactions them selves, prove that his majesty's ministers could not be in possession of any such articles, when the attack was ordered against Copenhagen; and it has been distinctly admitted in this house, that they have not yet obtained a copy of them. "The king's ambassador at PeVOL, L. tersburgh, in an official note, rested the defence of the measures not on any hostile purposes either of Denmark or Russia, but solely on the designs, which it was said, the French government had long since been known to entertain. "His majesty's ministers not only forebore to advise such measures as would have been necessary to repel any real hostility of Russia, but. they actually solicited the mediation of that power to extinguish a war, and her guarantee to defeat projects, in which it is now pretended they knew her to have been a principal and contracting party. "Allegations thus inconsistent with each other, and contrary to admitted facts, weaken, instead of supporting, the cause to which they are applied. "With respect to the alledged necessity of the case, we beg leave to assure his majesty, that we cannot think so meanly of the power and resources of his empire, of the spirit of his people, or of the valour and discipline of his fleets and armies, as to admit that such an act could have been required for any purpose of self-preservation. |