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The fact is, that their object was precisely what the object of the Register was, with respect to Ireland; to prevail on the ministers to make better preparations of defence; and, if this object had been accomplished, it is very probable that the rebellion in Dublin and the death of Ld. Kilwarden would have been prevented. But, it is a standing trick with all guilty ministers and their partizans to accuse of conveying information to the enemy, all those who expose the imbecility or wickedness of their characters or their measures; so that, the greater is the danger in which they place the country, and the more likely they are totally to ruin it, the more silent we must be; and, to say the truth, this is the practice which has invariably prevailed in those countries, where the people, after a long series of blind and cowardly submission, have witnessed the overthrow of their government and their laws. Lord Meadow. bank was particularly careful to "disclaim "all idea of faction," which appeared to be not very necessary, at a time, when he was accusing the ministers of having "shameful"ly neglected the security of the country." Why this superabundant caution? Why talk of faction at all? No apology of this sort would have been made towards a ministry of talents. Why are the inefficient and selfish mortals, who have brought on us danger and disgrace such as no nation upon earth ever before endured; why are these men, who have absolutely bartered their country for the emoluments of their places; why, of all the ministries that the country ever saw, why are they alone to be spared? The reason is, we are a fallen people, we are a base people, and we love these low and little minded men, because they resemble ourselves. There was a time, when one did hope to see them chased from their ill-golten power; but, when, after they had put an end to their 381 days of peace by a new war, ostensibly begun for the possession of one of the objects, which the arms of the nation had before conquered, and which it still possessed; when after the affair of the Cape and of Swisserland we saw the nation still enamoured of their sway, there was but very little hope left; and, most assuredly, it has not been augmented by recent events.With some of those, who support, or who, at least, do not oppose, the ministers, the excuse is, that this is not the time to change; a change now would create confusion; stay till the danger is over, and then we will call for their dismission. Stay till the ship is aground, or sunk, and then we will change the pilot! Stay till the battle is lost, stay till we are defeated, andahen we will change the general! Stay till the enemy has burnt-our

metropolis and our dock-yards, stay till we are plunged into beggary and ruin, stay till our property is placed in requisition, and till our persons are in chains, and then we will call for a change of ministry! Oh! cowardice, at once how fertile and how foolish thou art!" Stay till the danger is over!” Why the danger will never be over, while these ministers are in power; and, if they continue long in power, their power will end with the existence of the Monarchy. "Stay till the danger is over!" why their being in place constitutes the danger. You may as well talk of staying till your wound is cured, before you extract the ball. "Till the dan

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ger is over," indeed! The danger is hardly begun that Illiad of Woes, which, as Mr. Windham observed, began with the treaty of Amiens, will, it is greatly to be feared, never end, till those who left England in 1800, will, upon their return, scarcely believe that they are in England. Nothing can save us from the dreadful horrors, which menace us, but a change and a speedy change, in the ministry. Not a paltry patching up; not a miserable bargaining for places and pensions, and titles; but a radical change upon principle, a change that will embrace all the great character and talents of the country, a change that will inspire respect and confidence both abroad and at home. Such a change might, and would, save this country, but nothing else will, or can save it; and, if the present ministers continue in power, for only a little while longer, no change that can be made will be of any avail. In discussions of this sort, it is always of advantage to know the opinion of foreigners, who are not only likely to be impartial; but who are, in some respects, the only judges to whom we can appeal. From the continent of Europe no political publications reach us, except in German and in French. The opinions which the latter circulate, relative to the British ministry cannot, at present, be regarded as impartial, though it may be observed, that if even an enemy constantly expresses his cotempt of you, it is very little to your credit. In the German papers, the ministers are uniformly spoken of as low ignorant men, unworthy of trust or confidence of any sort ; and, at Berlin and Vienna, "Monsieur le Docteur A Daindon" is a standing jest. What the Americans think of them will appear from a passage, selected with no great pains from many that are to be found on the same subject in the news-papers lately received To succeed in the present war

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England must strain every nerve in her "frame: nothing less than the combined "wisdom, genius and spirit, and above all "the virtue of her very best and most virtu

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goes to war with these advantages, Eng"land has the means of being again what "she was in the time of Louis XIV. the rampart of the independence of Europe, and the scourge of a tyrant. But if is a "word which often causes us to sigh. In "her statesmen, as it seems to be the will of the Sovereign at present to have them, we see every thing to cast a cloud over this last hope of Europe. Natural imbecility of heart and head, the habitual vices of the mere trading politician, will be but "a wretched substitute for such qualities as "he must have who grapples with France "at this day. They may be assured that corruption and cunning, and all the low "tricking of court circumvention (and those

are the whole budget, the whole ways and means of the persons to whom we allude) "will neither bribe, nor deceive, nor out

wit, nor circumvent BUONAPARTE: we "hope, at least we wish, it may not be so: "If the gigantic power, cunning, and fero"city of the ruler of France is to be encoun*tered, it is not by a milk-and-water mix"ture of court vice and apathy that it ought "to be attempted. Never was there pre"sented to the moral eye a more glorious "spectacle than such a hideous object en"countered and vanquished by wisdom and "virtue. Those Great Britain can supply, "if its Sovereign will afford them."* Now, however, the Addingtons and Hawkesburies may affect to disregard the opinion here given of them, it behoves the country to consider how fatal it must be to its interests and to its reputation to be under the sway of men, whom all the world are unanimous in despising. It is easy to perceive, that the. writer of the essay, from which this extract is taken, is not only a man of talents, and a politician, but that he is, moreover, a friend of Great Britain and an enemy of France, as far, at least, as relates to the present contest; of such a person, totally unconnected with parties and persons here, the opinion must, by all reasonable men, be considered as of great weight. It is, too, the opinion of a whole nation, and that nation more closely connected with us, and knowing us better than any other on the earth. Where, then, shall we look for an excuse? All the world sees our shame; all the world is shocked at our baseness; every where our friends hang their heads, and our enemies are filled with

From the Charleston (South Carolina) Courier of the 30th of June, 1893.

exultation. In short, we bear all the marks of a degenerate falling people, and we excite those various feelings, which, in different breasts, such a spectacle usually excites.

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THE FAST. On solemn occasions, like this, great care ought to be taken not to suffer any inconsistency to appear in our conduct. The public will remember, and the world will not forget, that the nation, the very persons, whom, in our prayers, we are now representing as men, who have cast off "their faith in God, and, following the vain "imaginations of reprobate minds, have "plunged themselves into crimes and impieties, which astonish the nations of the "earth;" it will be remembered, that, on the 1st of June, 1802, only 476 days ago, we held a public thanksgiving for the blessing of having made peace with the French, and, moreover, that we did earnestly beseech the Almighty to" give us grace to be reunited in "the bands of Christian charity" with the men, with the very men, whom we now, in the face of heaven, characterise as reprobate infidels! It will not do to say, that the French have become infidels since the thanksgiving of 1802; for, it is well known, that, in whatever degree they have changed, the change has been in favour of Christianity.Further comment is useless. Were not the people besotted with fear and with selfishness, they would long ago have perceived, that church as well as state, that every thing, profane or sacred, is made the instrument, the sport of ministerial vanity and emolument.

THE FUNDS have, we are told, risen one per cent. in consequence of a report, that the soldiers of the French army had refused to embark for the invasion of England! And, is there a father, not insane, who will vest his children's means of existence in property like this? If the Funds rise one per cent. upon such a rumour, to what point will they sink, if the French army should not only em bark, but actually land in England, and advance towards London, than which there is nothing more probable?

THE MILITARY APPOINTMENTS to the chief commands, in Scotland and Ireland, have been dictated by motives of party intrigue rather than by any other consideration. Lord Moira is not only removed out of the House of Lords, but is banished from the court of the Prince. It was foreseen, that "every exertion would "be made to undermine the influence of "the Prince, and to lessen the number of "his adherents." No compliment, therefore, is paid either to Lord Moira or to the Scotch, in appointing that nobleman to command the district north of the Tweed.

--When, or where Lord Cathcart acquired the talents and experience necessary for the chief command in Ireland, at a time like the present, is a question, which, it is believed, very few will be able to solve. "His Lordship served during the "American war," say the ministerial newspapers. He did; and he actually served in America too; but, most persons, when they hear, that his whole service consisted in being acting quarter-master general for nine months, during which space of time he netted, as the shop-keepers call it, fifty thousand pounds; most persons, when they hear this, will acknowledge, that the experience his Lordship acquired in America, is not very well calculated for the scene where his knowledge is now to be displayed. Since his Lordship's American services, he has been chiefly engaged in riding from Windsor Castle to Frogmore, or in attending the gala-days at St. James's. It was, probably, right not to send over Lord Cornwallis, since his Lordship was well known to be obnoxious to a considerable portion of the people; but, as it was also well known, that he favoured the Catholic cause, he should not have been asked to go, unless it had been previously resolved to accede, in some degree, at least, to the prayers of the Catholics; because, to break off the negotiation with him, upon such grounds, was to plunge the Catholics into despair, and to render discontent interminable.--Lord Cathcart is, we must suppose, an honourable man, but we are certain that he is a mere court attendant; and, as to his ta lents, military or otherwise, no one will deny, that his letter to Lord Titchfield, relative to the fortification of London, affords very little ground of confidence to those, who are now committed to his wisdom.--But, Lord Cathcart was, doubtless, ready to adopt, and to act upon, the politics of the ministers, with respect to Ireland, an acquiescence which, perhaps, would not have been found in any commander of experience and of high military reputation, Let the whole nation be asked, one by one, who ought to have been sent to Ireland, and the unanimous answer will be, General Lord Hutchison; but General Lord Hutchison would not have answered the political purpose of the ministers, and, therefore, he is suffered to remain, where, indeed, he may be wanted, but where his place might have been supplied.

SPAIN AND PORTUGAL are, it seems, at last to be numbered amongst our enemies. Spain should have been so long enough ago. Portugal will be a rich prize to France; and, though subjugation will not be a pleasant state to the Portuguese, those amongst them, who feel a due degree of resentment against us for our perfidy at the treaty of Amiens, when we consented to 'he alienation of a part of Portugal in favour of Spain, in order that we might retain a Spanish Island; every Portuguese that recollects Olivenza and Trinidad, will feel, even in his chains, some consolation, when he reflects that his slavery is injurious to England.-It was vainly boped, that we should grow rich by an uninterrupted warfare on the commerce and colonies of France and her allies. This harvest of riches appears to be over with us, while France is placing whole kingdoms in a state of requisition. She holds up the spectre of invasion to petrify us, while she sends her armies into every corner of Europe, where we have a friend. The power of Britain was always considered as most usefully employed in protecting her allies. It was, indeed, only by the proper exercise of this power that she kept up her trade, and maintained her influence, consequence, and rank in the world. This power she can no longer exercise; she, in fact, no longer possesses it; it was, at Amiens, bartered away with the honour of her flag.Is it said, that it is impossible for us to have protected Hanover and Por tugal without the aid of other allies on the Continent? If so, why have we not those other allies? We were never destitute of them till now. It is of the not having of such allies that the nation has a right to accuse the ministers, who are, in this respect, pleading the heaviest of all their crimes in justification of its consequences.

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The Supplement to Vol. III. of the Register has been published some time It contains a complete and extended Parliamentary Register for the last session, much more complete than any hitherto published. It has a title, table of cons tents, index of matters, of names, and of places,

for the whole volume.-N. B. The Volume entire, as well as the two preceding ones, may be had complete, ready bound, of MR. BUDD, who has succeeded Mr. Harding, at No. 100, Pall Mall.

LONDON,

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"The city rings around with loud alarms, "And, raw in fields, its gay militia swarms; "Months without hands, maint r'd at vast expense, "In peace a charge, in war a weak defence.

LETTER VII.

TO R. B. SHERIDAN, ESQ. M. P.

SIR,In pursuance of the plan laid down at the commencement of this series of letters, I should now proceed to an examination of your "political consistency;" but, upon surveying my materials, I find, that a bare enumeration of the several instances, to which I should have to refer, would, together with my comments, occupy more room, than I could, for the space of several months, allot to that purpose, in the weekly part of my work. This discovery has made me determine, to publish the numerous proofs of your consistency, either in the next supplement to the Register, or in a separate volume, by way of appendix to these letters; and, in the mean time, to close the series with the remaining topic, mentioned in my plan, to wit, your connexion with the "London newspapers, the reciprocal de"pendence which subsists between you and "the person's concerned in the conducting "of those papers, and the mischiefs which "have arisen, and which will yet arise, "from this reciprocity." Before, however, I enter on this new subject, I think it necessary to revert. for a few minutes, to one which has already been brought into view.

In my last, p. 487, speaking of your desertion of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, I mentioned the negotiation, which had been carried on by you, relative to the appointment, în the army, of a near relation of yours. I, at the same time, stated, that your terms were believed to be higher than his Royal Highness the Duke of York would finally consent to, and, perhaps, than the officers of the army would have borne. It is now three weeks, since this statement was published, and, I have, as yet, seen no attempt at contradiction, in any one of the numerous vehicles of abuse and falsehood, whose eulogist you are, and who, in return, espouse your cause, whenever they can do it with even the slightest probability of success. In order, however, to mislead the public as to the light, in which the Prince views your conduct, great pains have been taken to keep us constantly informed of the VOL. IV.

"Stout, once a week, they march a blust'ring band, "And ever, but in times of need, at hand;

"Of seeming arms they make a short essay, "Then hasten to be drunk--the business of the day." DRYDEN. Cymon and Ephigenia.

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many times and the various occasions when you have latterly been in company with his Royal Highness; and, by way of indirect refutation of the statement relative to your negotiation with the Royal Duke at the head of the army, we are, at last, informed, that Mr. Thomas Sheridan is appointed 66 to a cornetcy in the regiment of dragoons, "of which the prince of Wales is colonel, "and that he," the said Mr. Thomas Sheridan, "is to go to Scotland, in quality of aide-du-camp to Lord Moira." While

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the public will naturally congratulate his lordship on the aid which he is likely to derive from this source, and will as naturally anticipate the satisfaction, which the Scotch will testify at receiving this mark of ministerial regard for their personal feelings as well as for their national security, there will, probably be found, some persons to express their wonder, that the same gentleman, who was once proposed as a colonel, should finally become a cornet; but, those who have observed the strange freaks, the whimsical malice, of disappointed ambition, will not be much surprised that the baffled coquetry with the Duke produced an unconditional surrender to the Prince, and that the aspiring youth, who aimed at the commanding of a regiment, should condescend to be himself commanded in a company. As to the quetion, whether the Prince ought to have accepted of your surrender at all, I leave that to be determined by others, just observing, in answer to those who are disposed to blame him on this account, that, all things considered, he has gained a victory, which is of some immediate importance, and which, if properly improved, may greatly conduce to his future personal happiness, and to the stability of the power which he is destined to exercise; for it is not to be disguised, that great moral integrity, as well as great political wisdom and great courage of every sort, must now be brought to the support of the royal authority. There is, however, another circumstance, connected with this transaction, on which I cannot refrain from saying a word or two. SWIFT makes an old Irish woman reprove one of her neighbours, who U

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was speaking censoriously of the gallows; for," says she," God ki ows what my own "dear children may come to!" Were it not well, Sir, that, in speaking of the "stand"ing army," you had always been governed by the principle which ruled this your prudent and pious country-woman, in her conversation with respect to the gallows? You have, Sir, been in the constant habit of treating the regular army with abuse. As often as an occasion has offered, you have expressed sentiments calculated to excite, as far as your influence went, a jealousy and hatred of it amongst the people, and to render the military profession odious, detestable, and infamous. To fifty, at least, of your speeches in parliament I could refer in proof of this statement; but, the most remarkable instance of your efforts in this way is, I think, to be found in one of those lessons, which your public spirit and loyalty have, from time to time, prepared for the improvement of the audience of Drury Lane Theatre.

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"My fluttering heart, and to myself I said,
"And if our loм had liv'd, he'd surely been
"This stripling's height! *"

-It appears, by the sequel, that the bodings of the lady were perfectly right; but, you forgot to tell us, Sir, whether she did not experience very keen mortification, and whether the justice did not hang his head for shame, upon finding, that the "youth, whose most opprobious fame and "clear convicted crimes had stampt bim sol"dier," was his own son Tom!”

Coming now, Sir, to speak of the connexion subsisting between you and the London newspapers, I must first refer to, and, indeed, repeat the passage of your speech, which calls for, and which will, I trust, be found to justify, every observation that I shall make upon the subject.Mr. Windham had observed, relative to the public prints, that, amongst a great deal of execra

Farce of the Critic, Act. III. Scene L.

ble stuff, one did, now and then, find a good remark in them; "6 and," said he, "these "prints do, at this moment, show a becoming activity in the public cause, though, for a long time, they remained "buried in the same supineness as his Ma

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jesty's ministers."- This, Sir, supposing it to have been confined to the daily prints, was, certainly, not very harsh it was no more than a member of parliament might, without the least imputation of severity, be suffered to say of the public prints, especially as the terms were general, and no particular paper, or even class of papers, pointed at. But, the fact is, that it was not confined to the daily prints; there was no distinction of this sort made; yet you chose, for reasons that will by-and-by appear, to make this part of the right hon. gentleman's speech the ground of a serious and heavy charge, on the part of those prints. "I cannot," said you, suspend the expression of the indig"nation I feel at the manner in which he "(Mr. Windham) has expressed his con"tempt of the use of the press of Great Bri"tain, as far as relates to our diurnal Jour"nalists. He has condescended to admit, "that amidst a mass of execrable trash in "the newspapers, there is now and then "something worth attending to. Sir, I can"not hear with patience this libel on what "I consider to be the boldest, and at the present moment the most forward bul"wark of our liberty and constitution."Mr. Windham had uttered no "libel" on the press; he had not "expressed his con

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tempt of the use of the press of Great "Britain, as far as related to the diurnal

journalists," not one of whom did he know, even, perhaps, by name. He had, on the contrary, expressed his approbation at the manner, in which the press was beginning to be used: "these prints do," says he, "at this moment, show a becoming activity "in the public cause." Where, then, was the ground for your charge; where was the reason for your taking fire so officiously in behalf of the diurnal prints? But, to proceed with your speech: "Among the pro"vocations which our atrocious enemy has

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given us to renew the present war, I have "considered his audacious attempt to bully our ministers into a surrender of the free"dom of the British press to be the greatest (Loud cry of hear! hear!) And I do not "hesitate to say, that at the present crisis of impending peril to the safety of the throne, "the safety of the constitution, the freedom of the people, and the protection of property, no country on earth through all its ranks and all its interests ever owed an

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