had been kindled at her will, she sent troops to attack Buenos Ayres."-Russian Declaration.

"Had England been desirous of proving her zeal in behalf of her allies, those 26,000 men, whom the British ministry sent to Copenhagen, should have been landed at Dantzic, at Stralsund, at the mouth of the Weser, and have endeavoured to make a diversion. It was expected, for it was impossible to expect so much bad faith."— French Article.

"But what sensibly touched the heart of his imperial majesty was, to perceive that England, contrary to her good faith, and the express and precise terms of treaties, troubled at sea the commerce of his subjects."-Russian.

"They every day insult the emperor Alexander; they pretend to impose upon Russia a treaty of commerce, similar to that which they wring from the cabinet of Versailles; they disallow the maritime rights of Europe, to substitute, in their stead, their own violence and caprice: they violate the sea, which is under the guaranty of the emperor of Russia."-French.

"Her fleets, her troops appeared upon the coast of Denmark, to execute there an act of violence of which history, so fertile in examples, does rot furnish a single parallel."-Russian.

"Human language has no expression to describe such an enterprize."-French. "The emperor still less foresaw that it would be proposed to him that he should guarantee this submission."-Russian.

"And the cabinet of St. James's still dares to talk of guarantee."-French.

"The emperor, touched with the confidence which the prince-royal placed in him, and having considered his own peculiar complaints against England; having maturely examined too the engagements which he had entered into, with the powers of the north,-engagements formed by the empress Catharine, and by his late majesty, the emperor, both of glorious memory,-has resolved to fulfil them," Russian.

It is impossible, without a smile of pity, to observe the English ministers expecting results from an operation which obliges Russia no longer to keep any measures; which draws that power from the state in which she was placed, by a simple treaty of - peace, to engage her to make a common cause with France."-French.,

"He proclaims anew the principles of the armed neutrality, that monument of the wisdom of the empress Catharine; and engages never to recede from the system.Russian.

"The English must, for the future, shew in their conduct, moderation, justice, and respect for neutrals, if they wish that there should be, in Europe, neutrals for them. All nations have a right to have their flags respected. They ought, every where, to cover the goods; and those powers are wanting to their neutral neighbours, who suffer their flags to be violated."--French.

"The emperor expects that his Britannic majesty, instead of suffering his ministers, as he does, to scatter the seeds of fresh war, listening only to his own feelings, will be disposed to conclude such treaty with his najesty, the emperor of France, as shall prolong, interminably, the invaluable blessings of peace."-Russian.

"Is it not well known, that the English ministry have established as a principle, the fitness and the necessity of a perpetual war?

"All that has passed in England, proves the advantages of a moderate monarchical government, and the dangers of an oligarchical government. If a monarch is actuated by proper feelings, the ministers, under such a guide, are just and enlightened, but an oligarchy considers neither the interests of the country, the rights of humanity, nor the rules of justice. Happy will England be when she becomes a monarchy ! express ourselves thus, because this country, with a monarch who has so long been subject to infirmity, fails in her first magistrate. History informs us, that when the government of a state has taken its last step towards oligarchy, that it is nearest its ruin. What means of safety remain to England? Are they to be found in parliament, which is purchased and prorogued, and dissolved at will? Are they to be found in that club of ministers presided over by lord Melville, whose malversations were denounced to his country and to Europe? When this oligarchical club shall perceive that it has fatigued the destiny, and tired the patience, of the people, it will look only to its own dangers, and abandon the safety of the state to other hands. A

monarch does not separate thus his interests from those of the country-it is with them he will perish, it is only with them he can be saved."-French.

By the above comparison, it is but too evident, that the emperor Alexander has dwindled into a contemptible tool of Buonaparte; and that he is as much subservient to the will of that despot, as any of the viceroys who, with crowns upon their heads, exercise his mandates in almost every country of Europe. It has been already admitted, that taken abstractedly, the charge is just which Alexander has preferred against the late ministry, for neglecting to afford the slightest diversion in his favour. This however, is a crime of which we are not all guilty; but it is our concern, not the office of Alexander, to punish those execrable impostors. If any thing can add to the public indignation already pointed against them; if any circumstance, more than another, can summon the spirit of vengeance from its drowsy bed, to smite them with the lightning of the state; it is the consideration that they have been the means of bringing upon us an additional enemy, and upon their devoted country, an augmentation of its dangers. Although I have repeatedly denounced them, in the name of heaven and earth, and for the sake of our endangered freedom, national establishments, and independence, I know where to draw the line between domestic interference and foreign dictation. As long as England retains a sense of her high renown, I trust, it will be impossible for any stranger to make our internal griefs accessory to his unjust ambition. When, therefore, the emperor of Russia accuses us of a selfish indifference to the public cause, he forgets the sacrifices which we have already made, during a sanguinary struggle of fourteen years, to sustain the falling fortunes of the European powers; sacrifices in a cause wherein Russia took no share. He forgets, or purposely avoids to do justice to, the public spirited cheerfulness with which we yielded up to their use, the treasures of our national industry, and encumbered ourselves with a monumental debt beneath the pressure of which this generation groans, and which it must bequeath, as a lasting legacy, to its descendants. He forgets that we have covered the seas with squadrons, which have intercepted the resources of the common enemy, and deferred the hour of public misery; while they afforded protection to those very neutral flags, which are now to be unfurled against us. Had the seas been left open to France, she would have exercised upon them her lust of rapine, murder, and tyranny, with no less violence than she has devastated the countries which her armies have subdued. He forgets, that in the midst of imminent domestic dangers, of the contention of rival parties of clandestine treasons, and undaunted seditions, that, with a mine so charged with combustible materials beneath our feet, we continued to wave the sacred banner of European independence, and to direct the energies and counsels of our country to the happiness and freedom of mankind. He forgets, that all this time, Russia stood at a distance from the scene of action, and looked with unfeeling indifference upon the fabrics that were breaking around her; while the rest of the confederates, instead of collecting their several powers into one united mass, were distracted by mutual jealousies, and animated by the most selfish principles. Lastly, he forgets, that when every other state had grounded its arms, in the vain hope of appeasing the wrath of the savage enemy, the spirit of England remained unbroken and invincible against the assaults of fear, hatred, and perfidy. Proof against the motives which led to the defection of so many communities from the noblest cause that ever inspired the souls of human kind, she maintained her proud position; and, while the vessel of every allied state was driving upon the breakers, she braved their tempestuous rage, and shone forth the Pharos of the civilized world.

From all these considerations, which impartial history will inscribe on the imperishable rolls of fame, it was natural to expect that Russia would have been the last power, upon the face of the earth, to accuse England of a dereliction of the public cause; more especially, as every wind that blows from the continent, wafts to our country the shrieks and curses of her blood-stained ally, who is incessantly brooding ⚫ over the downfall of British glory, as the preliminary to the slavery of mankind But . now, weakness, selfishness, and the loss of honour, conjoined with the base turpitude of the ungrateful mind, conspire to detract from the reputation of the only people who have remained faithful to their king, to their country, and to its allies.

It does not behove us to pry into the inscrutable ways of Providence, which so often educes positive good out of multiplied apparent evils; but, pondering over all

these unexampled aberrations from common sense and politic wisdom, I cannot avoid cherishing the belief, that England, in the midst of these downward gravitations of civilized societies toward the centre of barbarism, will finally be an instrument, under the outstretched arm of heavenly power, to replace social order upon its ancient foundations, and to recal nations, instructed by calamity, to the exercise of a manly courage, and to a due sense of virtue, justice, and religion. The ground of this belief is not derived from any sanguine temperament of mind, but from a sober contrast of our moral policy with that of other countries. England, with a world in arms against her, solicits not a temporary reprieve from the threatened vengeance of tyrants and slaves; confident in the innocence of her cause, she has become enamoured of danger in proportion as she has become enamoured of justice. The pledges of moral and physical security are in her possession; they are, under Providence, within heremployment; and to mortal eyes not unlike thestar of HEAVENLY LOVE that shone in the east, to indicate the birth of charity, and the triumph of a purer faith over the prophanations of a benighted superstition, and the vices of a degenerate age. If these pledges should fail, through any principle of disunion, through a levity of conduct, or a relaxation of fortitude, on our part, the consequent catastrophe will be our exclusive fault: and even, if they should disappoint our expectations ultimately, in defiance of our exertion of every national virtue, there will remain this proud consolation, that the foundations of the civilized world will have been loosened to accomplish our ruin, and that, in our fall, we shall bring down with us every thing that can render life desirable-the liberty, the justice, and the honour of mankind.* THE PARTY VERSUS SIR HOME POPHAM AND THE CORPORATION OF LONDON.

M

The proceedings of the court of common council, upon Mr. Waithman's motion to expunge from the journals of the court the vote of thanks, passed in honour of Sir Home Popham, are detailed in another part of this week's Review, more fully, and with greater correctness than have been bestowed upon them in any other publication. It was a question which excited no inconsiderable degree of interest and curiosity, because it implicated the character of that distinguished naval officer, as well as the credit itself of the corporation of London. We expected that some substantial ground would be alleged for a motion which went to rescind a resolution declaratory of" the very important services rendered by Sir Home in the capture of Buenos Ayres, at once opening a new source of commerce to the manufactories of Great Britain, and depriving her enemies of one of the richest and most extensive colonies in their pos◄ session." As the conduct of Sir Home Popham had been thoroughly canvassed; as he had been pursued by his personal enemies, with all the industry of which malevolence and rancour were capable; and as the public opinion was decidedly in his favour; it might have been expected, that the corporation of London would have been the last body applied to for the purpose of gratifying the unrelenting spirit of revenge. When the intended motion was announced, every one felt the greatest surprize, and many the highest indignation, not against the mover, but at an attempt to revive, which it must have done, had it been successful, that persecution which had been foiled and disgraced by the good sense of the nation. I do not impeach the right or the propriety of rescinding any resolution which had been previously adopted from misinformation, the intemperance of a momentary ebullition of a passion, or the intrigues of party. But, we require, upon such occasions, that the subsequent experience should be perfect, that the discovery of errour should be obvious, that the motive should be pure, and the object beneficial.

Consistency, the boast of zealots and of fools, becomes immoral, when it is maintained in defiance of truth and justice. Hence, if any circumstances in Sir

* I have not answered the foolish charge contained in the emperor's declaration relative to our troubling at sea the commerce of his subjects, and which, has "sensi bly touched his heart," as the wolf in the fable felt himself touched, when he accused the lamb of troubling the water which he drank. I have never heard of the least interruption which the commerce of the Russians has experienced from us. It is but too evident,. that the resumption of the armed neutrality is an act of submission subscribed by Alexander, in the secret articles of the treaty of Tilsit.

Home Popham's conduct had been detected subsequently to the vote of thanks, an which, in their nature warranted a revision of that vote; the rescinding of it, though it would have been more goading to the feelings of a man of honour, than if no vote at all had been conferred upon him, would have been praise-worthy, and an act of public duty. True magnanimity, which is an emanation from justice, consists in the abandonment of any resolution proved to be ill-founded. Upon this principle, the corporation of London displayed great impartiality in listening to an overture which was aimed against its deliberative judgment; and this is the more laudable, when contrasted with the conduct of another great body at an opposite quarter of the town, which, though not immortal, like the corporation of London, still retains upon its journals a resolution passed by a former body against the character of one of the ablest, and most faithful servants of the state, in defiance of the clearest, most positive and convincing evidence, that that resolution was the work of intrigue, malevolence, and falsehood.

The mover of this question in the common council cannot, therefore, be censured for suggesting what he, in his conscience, believed to be proper: but the public regarded its objects, without any reference to the mover, in a different light. It was considered, in the first instance, as the effort of an excluded party to try its strength in the city; secondly, as an operation of party zeal, in order to gratify the workings of personal animosity; and lastly, as an attempt to cast an oblique censure on the ministry, by whom Sir Home Popham has been recently, employed. The result has established the justice of all these suspicions.

On the day previous to the discussion, a morning paper filled two of its columns, with an inflammatory appeal to the passions of the commercial world, in support of Mr. Waithman's intended motion. The disappointment of mercantile speculations on account of the loss of Buenos Ayres, was imputed to the conduct of its conqueror, whose reputation, as an officer, it covertly assailed, while it exhausted its stores of sarcasm and invective, in branding him as the greatest enemy to the commercial interests of the country. This method of prejudication was too rash not to be seen through; and ought not to have been adopted by those who were so loud and bitter in their complaints against the distribution of a weekly paper, which contained opinions favourable to Sir Home Popham. When the most active measures were employed to corrupt the judgment, it was high time to apply the antidote. After all, what was done at the meeting? The debate degenerated, as is often the case, into a party squabble; and the little that was advanced in support of the motion was vigorously refuted by those who were the advocates of Sir Home Popham and the court of common council. The abuse lavished upon Sir Home Popham for his circular letter, was certainly not warranted by any subsequent disappointments that the commercial world may have experienced; for it should not be forgotten, that the order of council published by the late ministry, and dated the 17th Sept. 1806, invited and encouraged the trading world to go to Buenos Ayres. If, therefore, any evil has been sustained from speculations in that quarter, the late ministers are blameable for holding out the encouragements which are not realized.

Whether the members of the common council will feel themselves indebted to a newspaper, which pledged itself to exhibit in verse what it is pleased to call their coarse language, I do not pretend to determine; but I am confident, that the reflections which have been cast upon alderman Birch and Messrs, Dixon, men distinguished for their loyalty and patriotism, will be spurned at by every honest man, whether a member of the corporation of London or not. The heinous charge alleged against them in the Times of last Saturday, for making applications to the late administration in behalf of their relatives, was not meant, though it directly goes to prove, the integrity of their principles. Whatever their private views might have been, they certainly never permitted them to influence their public conduct. Alderman Birch may have solicited of the late ministry, a preferment in the church for his son, who is a clergyman, and such conduct is natural. He, as well as Messrs. Dixon, may have thought it necessary to strengthen the government, and to give no systematic opposition to a new ministry; but, upon all national questions, they have invariably supported the cause of the king and the church; nor is it a little curious to hear persons thus preaching against political

ingratitude, when it is well known that one of them has a pension, and the brother of the other holds a good situation under the government.

The proceedings in the court of common council develope more fully the motives which suggested this motion; and they prove that the whole was the work of party. But whether it were a party effort, or whether it were a point of conscience, which originated the motion, its supporters have good reason to repent of their imprudence in starting it. Their defeat has been so complete, as to exhibit their force in a very contemptible state; and, at the same time, they have afforded to Sir Home Popham a second triumph. For the decided majority which determined not to rescind the former resolution in his favour, have, a second time, conferred upon him, a signal mark of their approbation.