become necessary I am fully persuaded, in spite of the great dinner, which, I hear, it is in contemplation to give him. That the noble Marquis has done all that is right, and nothing that is wrong, I am, at present, far from denying; but, if Mr. Paul does not most scandalously desert his duty; if he does not eat his words, uttered in parliament, we shall, all of us, soon be able to form a correct opinion upon the subject. In returning from these reinarks, which have been extorted by the indirect threat above quoted, and which threat, let us hope, every man concerned with the press will treat with disdain, I cannot refrain from once more expressing my anxious wish, that the new, ministry, the selection of whom has given such great and universal satisfaction, will neglect none of the precautions which I have pointed out. Great indeed is their stock of character and of talent; but, were it ten thousand times as great as it is, can it possibly bear up against the odium of a large unaccounted for addition to the present burdens of the people? I am persuaded it cannot. New taxes (supposing the interest still to be paid upon the funded debt) raust be lain on, to an amount much greater than that of the -taxes imposed last year; and, whatever any one may think to the contrary, the cry of the people will be, that, instead of better ministers, these are worse than the last. I have heard, and I hope it is true, that the ministers do intend to institute a solemn inquiry into the state of the nation, but, this inquiry, if the result of it be merely printed and piled up amongst die mountapous heaps of folios from the office of the king's printer, will be of very little use. The public will never see it. They will know nothing of it; and it will produce no more practical good than the strings of unmeaning resolutions, on the subject of finance, which, after having answered the amiable purpose of keeping some one for several weeks out of harm's way at home, generally drop in to prolong, for a few minutes, the yawnings of a House of half a score assembled to pass laws in the dog-days. This is not what it now wanted. We have new men; and the times imperiously demand a new spirit. Again and again, for it never can be too often repeated, I conjure the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, as he values his fame, as he loves his country, not only to refrain from all boastings about prosperity, but to tell the people the whole truth; to apprize them fully of what they have to expect; to attempt delusion, even were it not dishonpurable, would be useless? men have be gun to think, and, in thinking they seldom make a retrogade movement. There are, I again assert, two hundred thousand men in the kingdom who have seen to the bottom, and whose eyes are now anxiously fixed upon the new Chancellor of the Exchequer. His very first speech upon the subject of finance will teach them what they have to expect from him. No caution, no passing over in silence, will deceive them, or sus pend, for one moment, their decision. If his predecessor could no longer delude them, how can he hope to do it? But, I hope, and confidently rely, that he entertains far different views, and, I trust, that whatever my expressions may contain too much of earnestness will be attributed to my anxiety for the success of himself and his colleagues, and not to any want of confidence in their talents or their integrity.is The remarks, which it was my intention to have made, upon the proceedings, in parliament and out of it, relative to the debts and the monuments, must be postponed till my next,In a subsequent page will be found à letter upon the Fate of the Funds. I beg the reader to turn to it, and he will be at no loss to see how far it is an answer to what he has read upon the subject in the Register of the 25th of January. It would, however, be injustice to the blood suckers" to suppose that they have not more able advocates than this; and therefore, I take this opportunity of inviting them to the discussion, promising that their communications shall always appear in print at as early a day as possible. COBBETT'S PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES. Some ins No. 128 of the Parliamentary Debates, being the First Number of the SIXTH VÒlume, and of the Present Session, is ready for delivery, and may be had of the pubs lishers, Mr. Bagshaw, Bow-Street, CoventGarden; or Mr. Budd, Pail-Mall. formation respecting the mode of obtaining these Numbers appears to be necessary to persons who live at a distance from the Metropolis, and who, in many instances, seem to suppose, that they can be sent by the Post, in the same manner as the Political Register is. There is a mistake. Every Number is a Pamphlet, and can be procured only in the same manner, that Pamphlets, Reviews, and Magazines are; this is, generally, by application made to a Country Dookseller who has a direct and frequent communication, with London > cf which description, Booksellers are to be found in every country town of any importance. PROSPECTUS OF Cobbett's Parliamentary Register, Which, in the compass of Sixteen Volumes, royal octavo, double page, is to contain a full and accurate report of all the recorded proceedings, and of all the speeches, in both Houses of Parliament, from the earliest times to the year 1809, when the publication of Cobbett's Parliamentary Debates commenced. Whoever has had frequent occasion to recur to the proceedings in parliament, of former times, must have experienced those difficulties, which it is the object of the proposed work to remove. Merely to find the several works, wherein is contained an account of the parliamentary proceedings, is, at this day, no easy matter, some of them being very scarce, and others excessively voluminous. Hardly any of them, those of the last twenty years excepted, are to be purchased regularly at the booksellers'. The far greater part of them are to be come at by accident only, and, of course, sometimes not to be obtained at all,But, supposing them all to be at hand, the price of them is no trifling object; and, in many cases, must present a duficulty not to be easily, or, at least, willingly, surmounted. Of these works, taken in their chronological order, the first is, the Parliamentary or Constitutional History, in 24 volumes; the second, the Oxford Debates, in. 2 volumes; the third, Chandler's Debates, in 22 volumes; the fourth, Greys Reports, in 10 volumes; the fifth, Altions Debates, in 24 volumes; the sixth, Debrett's Debates (now in the hands of various booksellers), in 63 volumes. These works are not to be purchased, if to be purchased at all, under 1101. sterling, But still, with all these, the information wanted is very imperfect, without perpetually having recourse to the Journals of the two Houses, which Journals occupy upwards of a hundred volumes in folio: so that, the price of a complete set of the works, in this way, cannot, upon an average of purchases, be reckoned at less than 150 pounds.- These difficulties got over, another, and a still more formidable obstruction to the acquiring of information is found, not merely in the number and the bulk of the volumes, but also in the want of a good arrangement of the contents of most of them, and, further, in the immense load of useless matter, quite unauthentic, and very little connected with the real proceedings of parliament, to be found in inany of them. In the two first-mentioned works, we find a narrative of battles, sieges, and of domestic occurrences. The real proceedings of parliament form but a comparatively small proportion of them, whole pamphlets of the day, and very long ones, being, in many places, inserted just as they were published and sold; and, when we come down even to the Debates by Almon and Debrett (taking in Woodfall and others occasionally), we find, that, in numerous in stances, three-fourths of the volume consists of papers, laid before parliament, of mere momentary utility, repeated in subsequent and more correct statements, and now no thing but an expence, and, what is much worso, an încumbrance to the reader, and a' constantly intervening obstacle to his researches; to which may be add 1, with. respect to all the Debates from Almon's, inclusive, downwards, that there is a total want of all that aid, which is afforded by well contrived running-titles, tables, and indexes, and which is so necessary in every voluminous work, particularly if it relate to the transac tions of a long series of years.With á view of removing all these difficulties, and of putting the public in possession of an account of the Proceedings in Parliament previous to the year 1803, (when Cobbett's Parliamen tary Debates commenced) as complete as that which has met with such general approba tion in this last-mentioned work, the present publication is undertaken. The Sixteen Volumes, of which the proposed work will consist, and the first of which is now in the press, will be printed in the same forip and size, and with the same sort of character, as those of the Political Register and Parliamen tary Debates, with this difference only, that the character of this work will, in the same compass, introduce one-fifth more of matter. The volumes, respectively, are to embrace the periods here mentioned; to wit: Vol. I. From the Conquest, 1066, to the meeting of the Long Parliament in 1640. II. From the meeting of the Long 4 Parliament, to the death of have been the most fully and accurately recorded. The precise words of motions, resolutions, &c. &c. will be copied from the Journals themselves, and not from unauthorized publications. As a book of Parliamentary Precedents, the work, by the aid of its tables and indexes, will be even more complete than any one hitherto published. These tables, and indexes will be constructed upon the excellent plan (with some little improvements) recommended by the Committee of the House of Commons, and afterwards adopted by the persons employed to make the indexes to the Journals.With respect to information relative to those who have, at any time, made a conspicuous figure in parliament, or, indeed, who have been, for any considerable length of time, members of that body, it is not unnecessary to observe, that, in the parts of the work which will give an account of the assembling of the several new parliaments, since the time when records of this sort were first made, there will be complete Lists of the members of the House of Commons, and, from time to time, a state of the Feerage. These, together, with an Index of Names, will enable the reader, not only to know, who has, at any time, been in parliament; but also to trace the parliamentary history and conduct of every distinguished member Considered as a collection of Public Papers, this work will be more complete than any one extant, in this country. It will contain Copies of all the Treaties, conventions, &c. &c. to which the rulers of this kingdom have, respectively, been parties, and which are, any where, upon record. All King's Speeches, Protests, Conferences, Standing Orders, as well as all Petitions, Remonstrances,&c.&will be carefully inserted, in their proper places. At the close of the Parliamentary History of each reign, in the early periods, and of every session of parliament in the latter, will be given a List of the Acts passed during its continuance; also an account of the taxes imposed, of the supplies, of the subsidies to foreign powers, of the state of the revenue, of the value of money in relation to the price of provisions. &c. To prepare the materials for a work of such magnitude must necessarily require much labour and time. Nearly two years have already been, in great part, devoted to it is and, the reign of Henry VIII. inclusive, we have such has been the application bestowed, that the additional aid of the Journals of the a considerable part of the whole is in a state House of Lords; and from that of Ed- fit for the press. The first volume is actually ward VI. that of the Journals of the in the press, and will, at the latest, be pubHouse of Commons. As to the Speeches, lished on the 15th of May next. The printthey will, of course, be collected from theer has engaged to complete it by the 1st day several works, wherein, upon careful exami nation and comparison, they are found to From the New Parliament in 1774, to its dissolution in 1780. VII. From the New Parliament in 1780, VIII. to its dissolution in 1784. IX. From the New Parliament in 1784, X.to its dissolution in 1790. XI. From the New Parliament in 1790, XH. ( to its dissolution in 1796. XIII. From the New Parliament in 1796, XIV. to its dissolution in 1800.XV. From the New Parliament in 1800,to its dissolution in 1802. XVI. From the New Parliament in 1802, bukoto the commencement of Cobbett's Parliamentary Debates, Se volcane November the 22d, 1803, en ga Each of these volumes will contain considerably more print than is contained in the whole of Hume's History of England, which Occupies eight common octavo volumes. When, therefore, it is recollected, that so large a part of the several works, above-enumerated, are taken up with matter, as before described, wholly unconnected, or having but a very remote connection, with the proceedings in parliament, and entirely destitute of authenticity; when it is recollected also, how much room is saved by the abbreviation of words descriptive of titles and of constantly-occurring phrases of courtesy, the reader will not be surprised, that the whole of the authentic and useful records of the proceedings of the parliament of England, of that of Great Britain, and of that of the United Kingdom, down to the year 1803, will be comprised in the Sixteen Volumes of this work, which will, upon the best computation that can be made, contain as much print as 140 common octavo volumes. In relation to the earliest times, the work will be compiled chiefly from the Records, the Rolls of of Parliament, and from the most reputable ancient writers of English History From of that month; but, in order to avoid disappointment, a fortnight later, as the time of delivery from the publishers' has been fixed on. The second volume will be published m August next; and, so on, a volume every quarter of a year till the whole be completed. This distance between the periods of publica tion will have many conveniencies attending it, and particularly that of leaving the young. reader time to have gone through one vo lume before he has another to purchase.The price of each volume, containing, as was observed, more print than eight cominon oetavo voluntes, and bound in Russia leather, in the same manner as the Political Register and the Parliamentary Debates, will be 11. 118: 6d. which will, of course, be paid to the booksellers upon the delivery of each volume successively- -The first volume will be published at the time above fixed on, whether there be subscribers or not, and no difference will be made between the price to subscribers and to others; but, as it would be very grateful to the feelings of the compiler to see his arduous undertaking approved ot and encouraged by the public, and as the number of copies, of the second volume must, of course, be regulated by the degree of success that he can reasonably count upon, he will not attempt to disguise, that he is very anxious to obtain a respectable list of subscribers at as early a period as possible The work will be published by Mr. BAGSHAW, Bow Street Covent Garden; and will be sold also by Mr. Budd, Pall Mall, Mr. FAOLDER, Bond Street, Messrs/BLACKS and PARKY, Leadenhall Street, and Mr. ARCHER, Dublin; to any of which persons-subscribers are requested to send their names. Y such circumstances to effectual means of providing for its security. Unless the course of events respecting the internal state of France, or the interests of the other powers of the Continent takes a turn, of which there can be little hope at present, it is probable that an attack upon this country is not far distant.Op reviewing not only the last, but the former campaigns of Buonaparté, it will be found that the principal cause of his success has been his great activity, and the astonishing celerity of his motions. It is far from impossible, that knowing that a great part of our force has been sent on foreign service; and supposing, that from the great distance at which he is, and the other great objects he has to fix his attention, we may allow ourselves to be off our guard; his first enterprise now may be, to hasten troops back to the coast, and to attempt an invasion of this island: the feeble representative of the Houses of Habsburg and Lorraine, was congratulating his subjects that he would soon have two hundred thousand men on the theatre of war in Suabia, at the very moment that his Suabian army was pearly annihilated Of the two plans on which an invasion of this island may he undertaken, he seems to lay little stress on that by fleets of large ships, by which we were formerly threatened. The risk of convoying a sluggish fleet, with the time required for disembarkation, in the face of a superior navy is great, but it has a vast advantage, that of conveying any num ber of men in much greater security ahan the other against the elements. But this has been so long and so well known, that little need be said respecting it; it may however, be observed, that our administrations have often been negligent in opposing it, by sending a force only sufficient to combat the ships of war, whereas there ought always to have been enough not only for that purpose, but to destroy those under their protection. The other moder by a vast collection of small vessels is new, unattempted, and is yet but imperfectly understood: it is, probably, more dangerous both to those who undertake it, and to those against whom it is di¬ rected. In such vessels, however proper their construction may be for the service, the dan ger of the elements is great. It was, I believe, first suggested to the French government, by a foreign projector who entered into their service, and who, while the affairs of the Continent engaged their attention, was afterwards, as well as his scheme, neglected: if credit may be given to the information that has been circulated since it has been resumed, it will be evident to every seainan most prudent to provide the most effectual means of opposing them upon that element. -When the enemy first seemed to have resolved upon this mode of invasion, and some of their small vessels had eluded our ships of war, on some buccaneering expeditions, our administration thought it necessary to make use of vessels of the same class; they frittered away many of our seamen from strong and useful ships, into trifling craft which have been found of little avail even in interrupting the enemy's communication; they were even determined to trust the defence of the country to them, against the whole of the enemy's embarkation; it is a most danger. ous, and would probably be a fatal error. That project of invasion has been ridiculed on accouut of the insignificance of the vessels of which it is composed, but seamen accustomed to seek and to conquer their most powerful naval armaments, consider their force only as relative to their own element, as such they have reason to hold it in contempt, for as such it is truly insignificant; but to fight upon that element, cannot be their object nor ought to be their intention, but to escape from our fleets with as little loss 23 who is acquainted with naval architecture, which, however, is a knowledge more rarely combined than could easily be supposed in our navy, that a great part of them are ill adapted for the purpose, both in the construction and equipment, which fortunately adds still more to that risk. The times or rather moments in which it could be attempted with any hope of success, very seldom occur; with the most prevailing winds they cannot move, and with those which would drive our fleet from their station, they would probably perish upon this coast, even if they were able to reach it; but there are conjunctures in which it might be attempted, and there are two ways in which that attempt might be made. The whole flotilla that is said to be already collected, would probably, require three or even four days to get clear of the harbour, they might sail in divisions as they came out, if the first was intercepted, the enemy might postpone the rest, and still have the means of transporting a great force by the next opportunity; if it arrived safe, they would no doubt hazard much to reinforce it, which might prove the cause of their destruction; at the same time it would require no small exertion to anni-possible; it is not to beat them there that is hilate such a force, before they could have another opportunity of putting to sea. If they should resolve upon the other mode, that of transporting their whole army at once, it would subject both sides to new and greater dangers. It is, I believe, the prevailing opinion, that the first divisions that go out of port, might be destroyed before they could be joined by the rest; but, though they might receive some damage, it is to be feared, that among light vessels that could be so easily moved, that could haul so close in shore, and that could in some measure be protected from the land, nothing so effectual as to stop the expedition could be done in so short a time. But it would give time for a powerful fleet to come upon the station; when embarked they would be under the necessity either of putting to sea in the face of that fleet, or returning to port: it is impossible for a great number of men to continue long on board of such vessels; they might be destroyed piecemeal by our fleet, and if they remained there till a westerly gale came on, perhaps few of them might survive it. It is, therefore, probable, that unless they saw a force, that they were convinced would destroy them, and still more, which is not unlikely to be the case, if they were not sensible of the danger, that they would put to sea. It is, therefore, the most important of all points, or at least, whatever may be the opinion entertained of their getting to sea, the the difficulty, but to destroy, such a multitude of vessels, and to prevent them from reaching their destination. What mischief could forty or fifty light vessels, in a passage of a few hours do to fifteen hundred or two thousand, suppose them to take a hundred with very little resistance; they cannot sink them immediately, for they are not qualified for it; they must wait to exchange the pri soners, or the prizes would again pursue their course; by that time the great body of the enemy's fleet would be beyond their reach, with a loss so trifling as hardly to be percep tible in so great an expedition. Little more is to be expected from arms; examples without number prove that the best directed force especially from ships, seldom takes effect on vessels that are so low in the water in all the skirmishes they have had with ships of force, few of them have been sunk; even the boats of our navy in their numerous and rash attacks upon, armed vessels, have rarely suf fered from cannon. There is but one way destroying so immense a number of, small craft, but that is an effectual one, and that is, by the heaviest ships, for no others have weight sufficient, not chiefly by their guns, but by running them down, by a strong squa dron of such ships stretching off and on through them, with light vessels to pick up those which they miss, it is probable that few would escape; and,; it is upon a squa dron of such ships that work well, and com of |