try; nor should we blame the French Princes for any species of war they can levy against Bonaparte: but to involve the British Ministry and on no better ground of proof than quotations from the COURIER de Londres is puerile indeed! As well might it be said that we were privy to the plot, because speculating on the uncertainty of the tyrant's reign, some few weeks since, we exclaimed "an ominous pe"riod is at hand. Let the modern Cæsar beware of the ides of March!"

PRUSSIA.-Letters from Berlin state that a large body of troops have received orders to hold themselves in readiness for marching.

CONSTANTINOPLE.-The Porte has got rid of one of its most furious enemies by the assassination of Abdu! Wechab, the ARABIAN FANATIC. This will, probably, produce a seasonable pause in the civil discords of this declining empire.

ALGIERS.-Mr. Falcon, the late British Consul, is returned to England, after Lord Nelson having in vain interfered, by a negociation with the DEY, for his reinstatement. His Lordship did not feel himself authorised to proceed to extremities without orders from his Court: and thus the battering of Algiers about the ears of this contumacious despot is for a while delayed, unless in the interim he should be well advised to make his peace with England.

POSTSCRIPT.

LONDON, SATURDAY, MARCH 10, 1804.

The gallant Sir Edward Pellew, who is just arrived at Plymouth, in the Tonant, left the remainder of the squadron at anchor in Arres bay, in the highest health snd spirits, anxious for an opportunity of measuring with the ENEMY, whom they have so long blockaded in FERROL-and it gives us the utmost satisfaction to add, that our squadron were on the very best terms with the SPANIARDS.

By a letter from Toulon, received at Ferrol just before Sir E. Pellew sailed from Arres bay, it was stated that the FRENCH Squadron was in Toulon on the 14th of February.

To account for the EMBARGO, it was yesterday reported that the French had possessed themselves of the Sound-Some said, by marching shrough HOLSTEIN; others, by sea, with the Texel fleet. The absurdity of these rumours, however, is self-evident, as they have had neither time for the one operation or the other, since the date of the last accounts from the continent, where it is certain that no such thing was in agitation.

NOTICES.

Argus's letter upon the Blockading System shall be inserted in our next.

We are in possession of a variety of original Documents, which we shall shortly lay before the public; to convince them that the abuses committed in the DEPARTMENTS under the late ADMINISTRATION were not confined to the ADMIRALTY. We propose to begin with the WAR-OFFice.

Printed by JAMES WHITING, FINSBURY PLACE Published by J. PARSONS, Bookseller, Ludgate Hill; by CLEMENT, 201, Strand (to either of whom all Communications are requested to be sent) sold-and by A. HAMILTON, at his Musical Library, 221, Piccadilly; by E. KERBY, 2, Stafford Street, Old Bond Street; SEATON, 40, Oxford Street; THOMAS, 35, Old Bond Street; WOODHAM, opposite Chancery Lane, Holborn; PECK, Lombard Street; and by various Booksellers and Newsmen in Town and Country.

[PRICE NINE-PENCE.]

In one of the former numbers of your Register, you adverted to a pamphlet, written by Mr. Ward, in vindication of Mr. Pitt's conduct, on the evening of the 3d of June. Had this publication proceeded from the pen of an obscure or anonymous writer, it would not have called for any particular notice, but might have been suffered to sink quietly into that oblivion, from which it certainly would never have deserved to be rescued, from any circumstance of real and intrinsic meritfrom any recommendation, either of language, of illustration, or of argument. As the work in question, however, is the avowed production of a British senator-of a person, who aspires, at least, to the confidence and friendship of Mr. Pitt-as the writer, with a decency peculiar to himself and his associates, endeavours to amuse his readers, by descanting upon the supposed incapacity of the present ministers, and, at the same time, glances with some significance at the superiority of his own extraordinary endowments-as he is said to congratulate himself, in a tone of great complacency, upon the eloquence and general merit of this performancethese circumstances have induced me, notwithstanding the contemptible style and conduct of the work, notwithstanding its insipid prolixity, and almost ineffable du!ness, to make it the subject of a few general, and, as I trust, candid and impartial, observations.

But before I proceed to offer any remarks upon the work itself, I shall, as a necessary introduction, take the liberty of saying a very few words, with respect to the author. Mr. Ward is, by profession, a lawyer. Although he has suddenly emerged into the character of a politician and a statesman, he has been, as I am informed, fifteen years at the bar, without having hitherto acquired either professional

reputation or pecuniary emolument. He is the author of a meagre and ill-digested compilation upon the law of nations, which is neither embellished by any graces of style, nor distinguished by any force or novelty of illustration. For his situation in parliament, he is said to be indebted to the patronage of his brother in law, Lord Mulgrave. He sits for the borough of Cockermouth, as the locum tenens of Lord Burghersh, who is not quite twenty one years of age.

As the parliamentary career of the learned gentleman was thus circumscribed, he felt the necessity of improving his time. In conformity, therefore, with this prudent resolution, he set out as the supporter and advocate of government; but having, as it is said, made an unsuccessful application either to or through Sir William Scott, for the situation of judge advocate, at Malta, he suddenly shifted his course, and has given vent to his feelings of disappointment and mortified pride, in the present feeble but personal and rancorous attack upon the ministers of the crown. He tells us, indeed, that he is influenced" by no party views; neither by envy, nor "hatred, nor hope, nor fear; and that every line of his work has proceeded from "the most unmixed public motives." The above statement of facts, however, will serve as a sufficient and ample commentary upon this passage; and the public will not find it difficult to determine, what degree of weight and credit is due to these stale and hackneyed professions.

But to proceed from the learned gentleman himself to his defence of Mr. Pitt. His heavy and opiate pen labours through upwards of eighty tedious pages for the purpose of informing the public, that, previously to the debate upon Colonel Patten's motion, some degree of coldness and estrangement subsisted between Mr. Pitt and the ministers of the crown. It appears that the suggestions of the Ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer had not been, upon all occasions, implicitly followed-that, proud of the supposed superiority of his talents-of a temper haughty, stubborn, and implacable, he considered this circumstance, as a ground of just and legitimate offence, and was, therefore, in Mr. Ward's opinion, completely excused, in the part which he took upon this great and memorable occasion. In other words, because his Majesty's ministers would not stoop to become the mere tools of an individual-because, being responsible to the country for their measures, they felt it incumbent upon them to follow the dictates of their own deliberate judgment, he thinks that it was, therefore, perfectly fair and honourable for Mr. Pitt to avail himself of the first favourable opportunity to display his spleen and resentmentthat, after having long growled in secret, it was fitting that he should, at length, shew his teeth, in order to convince ministers that he could bite--though he appears, at the same time, to have thought it prudent not to proceed so far as to preclude every hope of future reconciliation, and thus, for ever, to close that avenue to power, upon which his attention had been so long and so anxiously fixed. If, however, Mr. Pitt did take offence at the supposed neglect of his Majesty's ministers, he carefully and sullenly concealed his feelings-he entered into no explanation-he preferred no complaint-till, at length, for the first time, the imprisoned fire burst forth in this debate, to the surprise of the country, and to the utter and inexpressible astonishment of ministers themselves.

But to vindicate the conduct of Mr. Pitt, without, at the same time, indulging his resentment against the administration of the country, wo ld not have consisted

with the object of the learned gentleman, or satisfied his pure and patriotic feelings, In order, however, to estimate the importance of his hostility, let us, for a mo, ment, consider the nature of those charges, which he has preferred against the present servants of the crown. With a clumsiness of conduct, and want of address, peculiar to himself, he has selected the treaty of Amiens as an object of crimination and censure; forgetting, or, perhaps, expecting that his readers may forget, that the terms and stipulations of that treaty were, in every leading and essential particular, warmly and ably supported by Mr. Pitt-by that very person, whose wiss dom he so loudly extols, and whom he is so anxious to hold up to the esteem and applause of the country. But upon what principle can this important measure be adduced, as evidence to establish the impolicy and want of foresight of the present cabinet, without involving Mr. Pitt in the same censure without extending the same charge of weakness and incapacity to Mr. Fox and his friends, by whom the treaty was actively supported, in opposition to the hostile opinions of the GREN VILLES and the WINDHAMS? So much then for the consistency of the learned gen tleman, and for this his first article of accusation against the ministers of the crown. I shall now proceed to advert to another charge, no less grave and weighty, than the former. The learned gentleman, unmindful, as it appears, of the act of indemnity which was introduced and supported by the present ministers, has urged it as a subject of serious accusation against them, and against Mr. Addington in particular, that they were not prepared, on every occasion, to volunteer in defence of the measures and conduct of the late administration. But will he pretend to insinuate that the chosen circle of the Grenvilles and the Windhams, or that Mr. Pitt's imme➡ diate friends and associates were not fully competent to refute every charge which might be preferred against the system and policy of their own government 2 Can he, upon any reasonable principle assert, that the present ministers were bound by a perpetual obligation not merely to defend their own measures, but to present themselves upon every occasion as the advocates of their predecessors in office? Was their attention to the public service, and to the important and laborious details of state to be thus perpetually interrupted by a recurrence to past events-to events in which they had no immediate participation or concern?-The bill of indemnity, which was introduced by the present ministers, without any previous solicitation, and which measure has since been urged as a ground of accusation against them by the former opposition, is sufficient to evince the general friendliness of their disposition; but, to expect that amidst the various and complicated duties of their situation, they should be continually upon the alert to defend the measures of the late cabinet, is surely the very extreme of folly and extravagance.

But, Sir, this is not all. The learned gentleman has exhibited another charge against his Majesty's Ministers. He presses it as a subject of serious accusation against the servants of the Crowu, that they were not present (risum teneus?) at the dinner which was given in celebration of the birth-day of Mr. Pitt: that they did not assist in swelling those shouts of drunken joy, in applauding those hymns of triumph which were sung in praise of this distinguished Statesman-in honor of " the pilot who weathered the storm."-But I must not trespass too far upon the patience of your readers. The points to which I have already adverted may be considered as a fair and adequate specimen of the several articles of impeachment which this learned

advocate. this grave senator, this profound jurist, this candidate for judicial rank and dignity has thought it becoming his station and suitable to the decorum of his character to prefer against the Ministers of the Crown.

I shall now proceed to offer some general observations upon the style and language of this publication. I am sensible, indeed, that these may justly be considered as points of inferior importance; but they cannot be altogether without interest, when it is recollected that the author aspires to the character of a scholar, and is said to boast, with no little triumph, of his extensive and varied erudition. For myself I confess that I entered upon the perusal of this pamphlet, with prepossessions strongly in favour of the writer's talents. I certainly did expect to find a clear and luminous statement of facts, followed by strong, manly, and forcible deductions, all tending to one important point, the vindication of Mr. Pitt's conduct on the evening of Col. Patten's motion. How great then was the surprize I experienced upon the perusal of the work-how great was my astonishment at finding that it consisted of nothing but a wretched and incoherent jumble, of trivial and distorted facts, interspersed with a few trite observations and rendered offensive by the most unseasonable and disgusting egotisms.*

That the learned gentleman has at least read the common and ordinary rules of criticism, it is extremely difficult to doubt ;but the "simplex duntaxat et unum," is a principle of which he is either totallyignorant, or which, from his extraordinary selfconfidence, he has ventured proudly to despise.-For after fatiguing his readers with 100 miserable pages, connected in some degree with his subject, he suddenly wheels about, starts fresh game, and endeavours to make amends for his former dullness, by a still more insipid narrative of the leading political events which have occurred during the present administration; as if his sole aim and object had been to afford an apt and striking instance, in illustration of the figurative allusion of the poet,

"Amphora cepit,

"Institui, currente rota cur urceus exit.”

Blunders of this descrip

But the work is not even free from grammatical errors. tion require no comment; and I shall, therefore, content myself with referring to two or three instances, among many others which might be adduced, in order to prove the extraordinary accuracy and precision of this distinguished candidate for classical fame. Thus in page 9 he observes, "There was none of that burning spirit of unalloyed gladness, which, for a few moments, elevate the soldier to a level with the commander himself." And in page 15—" I might have made one of those good ministerial votes, which has been opposed to the acknowledged force of opposition speeches." Again in page 76-" It is sufficient to remark that, after his speech, the whole strength of his associates were diverted elsewhere."

But these, it may be said, are casual oversights, which a liberal and candid mind will be disposed to excuse in a work of such rare and extraordinary merit.

❝ ubi plura in carmine nitent non ego paucis

"Offendar maculis."

* An ingenious friend has informed me that he counted the little pronoun I, upwards of forty times within the compafs of about three fucceffive pages,