712 



BRITAIN. 



1810. 



Speech of 

 I/ird Cas- 

 tlereigh. 



Speech of 

 Mr Grat- 

 tan. 



qnished rather on grounds of military interest than 

 medical inexpediency. The unwholesomeness of the 

 climate of Walcheren, was not, however, to be impu- 

 ted to him, as involving the fate of the whole army ; 

 it could, at most, only concern that part of it which 

 was destined to the island itself, and did not involve 

 that part which was destined to Antwerp, a place 

 comparatively healthy. A hope had indeed been en- 

 tertained, that the ultimate object of the expedition, 

 the seizure or destruction of the ships at Antwerp, 

 might have been effected before they got above that 

 city, or even under the protection of Lillo. This 

 hope was frustrated by one of those chances of war, 

 which it was impossible to foresee, and for guarding 

 against which no ministry could be responsible. The 

 question then was, whether the advantages naturally 

 to be expected from the expedition, were to be put in 

 competition with the risk ? The effects of disease 

 had proved greater than even medical men expected. 

 Government had acted on the best possible informa- 

 tion. The enemy had, at the latest, a force of only 

 30,000 men in that quarter. We had, including sea- 

 men, 43,000 men to act against Antwerp. It was 

 confidently expected, that the navy would be able to 

 co-operate against the place. General Sir W. Erskine 

 had thought, that it could not be taken by a coup da 

 main ; but, with deference to that officer's opinion, 

 he conceived it to be outweighed by what he con- 

 ceived te be better authority. The fortifications of 

 Antwerp had not been repaired since the days of the 

 Duke of Parma. It was the opinion of Sir D. Dun- 

 das, that Antwerp might be reduced by bombard- 

 ment like Copenhagen, the latter city had out- 

 works, Antwerp had none. The time spent before 

 Copenhagen was ten days ; Antwerp should have 

 been reduced in half that time. In June, it is true, 

 the enemy were said to have 20,000 men in that quar- 

 ter; but the insurrection in the north of Germany, 

 the ferment in Holland, the general spirit which arose 

 in Europe from the news of the battle of Aspern, 

 immediately after obliged the French to reduce that 

 force to 1 1 ,000. * No effort appeared to be made 

 for the defence of Antwerp, till the arrival of the 

 British armament. We came upon them by surprise. 

 If evidence, amounting to mathematical demonstra- 

 tion, were always to be required to justify military en- 

 terprizes, what bold or great designs would be un- 

 dertaken ? there would be an end to enterprize, to 

 the brilliant achievements which had raised the fabric 

 of British glory. It was not on this cold principle, 

 that Nelson ventured to attack the Danes at Copen- 

 hagen, or that Wolfe ascended the heights of Abra- 

 ham. If such enterprizes were to be sanctioned by 

 official calculations, he would say, that the glory of 

 the British empire was at an end. 



Mr Grattan, in a subsequent debate, severely re- 

 prehended the ex-minister, for presuming to shelter 

 himself behind the authority of Lord Chatham, whose 

 wisdom and vigour formed so striking a contrast to 



the folly and weakness of his own administration. It Britain 

 had been avowed, that the armament was resolved '" '"v"" 

 upon, and prepared before ministers received intelli- "* OIIGE; I 

 gence of the fatal battle of Wagram, and the signing 

 of the armistice; and that even after that intelligence, Speech o 

 it was thought right not to stop it, but to send out Mr Grftt 

 the expedition ; that was to say, that it being proper tan ' 

 to send an army to create a diversion in favour of 

 Austria while at war with France, it was also proper 

 to send it after Austria had been compelled to make 

 her peace. The arguments on the other side amount- 

 ed pretty much to this, that having a disposeable ar- 

 my, it was absolutely necessary to make use of it ; 

 that was, to get rid of it. Ministers had said, that 

 they were not bound to abide by military opinions ; 

 and yet in effect they had relinquished that asser- 

 tion, by contending that the opinions of military 

 men were divided. He would contend, that the 

 opinions of the best authorities were neither dubi- 

 ous nor equivocal. Sir D. Dundas had stated great 

 risk. Sir John Hope had declared that, as soon as 

 he saw the state of things, he was persuaded that the 

 attempt was impracticable. Lord Roslyn was of 

 opinion, that the expedition could not at any time 

 have succeeded. Lord Chatham entertained doubts 

 on the subject, but those doubts were borne down by 

 orders from the admiralty. Sir Richard Strachan 

 had expressed his conviction to Lord Mulgrave, that 

 the expedition would fail. But ministers pretended 

 that they had secret information, which fortified them 

 against the fears and doubts of professional men. Take 

 an example of this secret information, as delivered in 

 the report of the secret committee. They had been 

 secretly informed that Cadsand was without troops. 

 On his arrival at Cadsand, the Marquis of Huntly 

 found a landing impracticable, from the superior force 

 of the enemy. Such was their secret information. 

 The same credit was due to the representations of the 

 dilapidated state of Antwerp, on which they found- 

 ed the ulterior object of this ruinous enterprise. Mi- 

 nisters had sent out an expedition of one hundred 

 thousand men, of the result of which the general had 

 great doubts, of which the admiral had no hopes, 

 without a plan of Antwerp or of Lillo, and without 

 a plan of co-operation. It was in vain for them to 

 say, that they hoped for every thing from the spirit 

 of British soldiers, for they sent them to encounter 

 the plague, over which no spirit could triumph. Long 

 after a necessity for retaining Walcheren had ceased 

 to exist, (if a necessity ever existed,) they had per- 

 sisted in retaining it. In the whole transaction, said 

 Mr Grattan, government could only be exceeded in 

 their guilt by that parliament which would excuse 

 them. 



The result of these debates was a resolution of the 

 house, (carried, however, by majorities smaller than 

 usual,f ) on the 30th of March, that, considering the 

 value of the objects of the enterprise, the apparent 

 probability of its success, his majesty's ministers were 



This statement of Lord Castlereagh was contradicted by Mr Ponsonby within a short time of its being uttered. The num- 

 ber of the garrison of Antwerp, on the 26th of August, was 26,000 men. 



f The debate closed on Friday, March 30th, when the house divided as follows : 



For censuring the undertaking of the expedition, ... 227 

 Against such censure, - ...... 275 



Majority, 



