with such insolent triumph, between the conduct of our navy and of his army. Α prince and his army are something like man and wife: they will pretty freely find fault with and reproach one another; but, they do not easily digest the interference of third parties, and especially if the lesson proceeds upon a comparison of their faults with that of the virtues of those who interfere. From the very onset of this contest, the papers, well known to speak the sentiments of office, have been dealing their reproaches out against every prince upon the continent, in whom they perceived a backwardness to oppose the French. There has been, in these reproaches, no consideration at all, as to the situation of the parties reproached; no account has been made of their danger; it never having appeared to enter into the minds of those writers, that, when the object was to draw the power of France off from England, the safety, the very existence, of those by whose means the object was to be obtained, was of any importance. In In short, like the cock upon his dunghill, they seem to have looked round over the states of Europe, and to have said: "all these were made for us." If we persist in this presumptuous, this ungrateful, this odious, this dishonourable, this detestable course; if we persist in abusing all those who will not join us, and all those who do join us the moment they fall a sacrifice to that junction, those that are yet standing, will certainly prefer our abuse without destruction to our abuse with destruction; and, in spite of the cheering paragraphs of those choice "young friends," Messrs. Huskie on and Ward, I cannot help being of opinion, that the king of Prussia will prefer the latter, though we were assured that he had been swearing upon the tomb at Potsdam, and though our young friends" almost swore, that he was, a month ago, actually upon the march, at the head of an army of one hundred and forty thousand men.

"PERISH COMMERCE."This is the title of an article in the Courier of the 6th instant, in which an attempt, by way of last shift, I suppose, is made to terrify the fundholders and the merchants with the persuasion, that, if the Opposition were to come into power, they would instantly overset the funds, that they would destroy all the manufactories, and that they would give up our ships and our colonies to the Emperor of the French, and that, too, because the monied and commercial influence have been the support of Mr. Pitt.--The words; "perish commerce," are put into the mouth of Mr. Windham, though every reader 'must new

let

know, that they, with their context, the constitution live," which expressed the proper sentiment, that, to preserve the constitution we ought to wish the loss of our commerce; it is well known, and it has been so stated more than once in the House of Commons, that Mr. Windham never used these words; but that they were used by Mr. Hardinge, who, in his place in parlia ment, owned, or rather claimed, them as his. To this fact, if the reader will add another, and that is, that the words were uttered at the time that Mr. Windham, even supposing him to have spoken them, was in office with Mr. Pitt, he will have tolerably good means of judging of the candour of this tool of the "young friends," as well as of the sincerity of that alarm for the safety of commerce, which alarm he would fain make us believe, arises, in part at least, from this sentiment having been expressed by Mr. Windham.- -After quoting, or rather garbling, several passages in the Register and one in the Morning Chronicle, rrelating to the funding and commercial influence of the nation, and more especially to the dangerous predominance of that influence over every other, over the spirit of the people as well as over the legal and constitutional prerogatives of the crown; but, at the same time, making such an arrangement of, and giving such a turn to, these passages as to make them convey a personal censure upon, and a personal hatred of, all monied and all commercial men; after this effort of candour, the writer proceeds as follows: "Such are the sentiments, the views, and "the expectations, of the two journals of "the two party branches, which, united, "make the coalition. Though disagreeing on

so many points, on the subversion of the "commercial system, on the ruin of com"mercial men, they are most cordially of opi'nion, for no other reason, than, that Mr. Pitt

having successfully cherished that system " and these men, who in their turn support "him, both must be swept away, that the "road to power may be made accessible for "the Opposition. It is for the King and "the Country to consider whether an Oppo"sition having such designs should be en"trusted with any degree of power, even "with the privilege of sitting in Parliament. "To nothing is this nation so much in"debted for its greatness as to its commer"cial system. Every commercial nation in "the world has been powerful as well as "rich. There never was a commercial na"tion in the world the twentieth part so "powerful or so rich as England now is; nor was there ever one the twentieth part

"so formidable as a military state. In our

navy we have more than 100,000 of the "bravest, of the most skilful, of the best "troops in the world; they are the bulwark of this country; but without the repro"bated commercial system that gallant race "of men would soon be extinct. It is for "the King and the Country to consider whe"ther they will give the reins of Govern

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ment to a party whose first object avowed ly is to destroy that system, for the pur"pose of crippling a political rival."— Of the tolerance and the truth of the direct assertions, here made, nothing needs be said; but, there is one opinion, upon which I cannot refrain from offering a remark or two. And, first of all, who has said, that commerce was injurious to this country? I have always said, that, without commerce, and particularly commercial navigation, that this island could not possibly continue to be great; that it could not possibly retain its consequence amongst the nations of Europe. With this qualification I have always spoken; but, it is the system of rendering every thing commercial; of making merchants and bankers into Lords; of making a set of fund-dealers the distributors of honours and rewards in the army and the navy; of the government, in its several departments, making official reports to Lords Mayor and Lloyd's Coffee-House; of a system, in short, which, day by day, is drawing every thing, in the way of influence, from every part of the country, and depositing it in the hands of those, who necessarily become tools in the hands of the minister of the day, be he who or what he will. It is the commercial system, thus distended, thus spread over the whole country, thus swallowing up and preventing all the influence of the aristocracy and the church and all the constitutional influence of the crown; it is this system that I reprobate, and that, most assuredly, has nothing to do either in creating or in supporting "that "gallant race of men," by whom the nation has been so 'long defended, and by whom her glories have been caused to shine forth in every quarter of the world. In what way is the creating or the preserving of this race of men connected with the commercial system, as now extended and perverted? How does gambling in the funds tend to support the navy? England was great; she was powerful upon the sea; she was queen of the ocean; all this was long, very long indeed, before her sons ever heard of funds. The real merchant, as I have a hundred times observed, is a person to be cherished; his calling is as honourable and as conducive to the good of the country, as

that of the farmer. It is only when his calling is perverted; when his trade becomes, as it must become under a funding system so extended, a species of gambling; when he trusts more to craft than to industry, prudence, and integrity; when he, if he be lucky, may become richer than a lord by the speculations of a few days; when his for tune may be made, when the means of bringing five or six members in amongst the representatives of the people, may be ob tained in consequence of one valuable hint from a minister, or a minister's favourite. Then it is, that the commercial system becomes dangerous to the liberties of the people and the throne of the king; and then it is, that it becomes an object of my reprobation. But, to suppose, that the Opposition would set about overthrowing the funddealers, because they have been, and are, staunch friends of Mr. Pitt, is to have a very great opinion of their vindictiveness, or a very little one of their discernment and their recollection; for, must they not have perceived, that it is to the mini.ter of the day; not, to this or to that minister, but to the minister of the day; the minister who makes loans and lotteries, and who gives bonuses; the minister who makes contracts for hemp and timber and tents and baggage and slops and corn and wine and brandy, and who expects, perhaps, to be treated civilly in return must not the Opposition have perceived, that it is this sort of minister that the money-lenders and merchants are attached to? And, must they not remember, that the money-lenders and merchants were as much attached to Mr. Addington as to Mr. Pitt? Or, if there was any little falling off in the case of Mr. Addington, might it not be reasonably ascribed to his not having afforded any of those little accommodations so judiciously afforded by his predecessor to those excellent persons Messrs. Boyd and Benfield? And, if the Opposition, thus perceiving and thus remembering, should harbour any designs hostile to the fund-dealers and the merchants, must they not be actuated by something other than a love of place and emolument ?-As to the way of lessening, or of removing, if possible, the enormous evils attendant upon the funds, I know, as I have frequently said, nothing of the sentiments of any one member of the Opposition; no, not even by hear-say; and, being fully persuaded, that the whole nation will think with me at last, I am by no mean anxious to hear their opinions. My own shall freely state, as often as it appears pro per and is convenient. In the next number but one I intend to do this somewhat as

large; and, in the mean time, I beg leave to refer the reader to a letter, which he will find in a subsequent page, and to which letter I propose to give an answer. I will just now observe, however, not by way of answer to the COURIER, whose paragraphs I only introduce as convenient openings to my remarks (and very convenient and useful they are in that respect), but by way of remonstrance to those, who seem to think me rash, upon this subject, and unaware of the consequences of the measures I have sometimes alluded to as necessary; and, I must say, that before such an opinion be expressed, something should be done, in the way of argument, to convince me of the erroneousness of the premises whence my conclusions have been drawn. This has been attempted by my correspondent; and, if I am not convinced by him, I shall, I trust, be able to shew that my want of conviction is founded on reason; and, at any rate, the reader will have an opportunity of deciding between us; but, to the conduct of those who bestow the term rashness upon my opinions, without giving me any, even the least, proof, that they have themselves ever taken the trouble to think upon the subject, I cannot bring myself to affix any epithet milder than that of presumptuous. I mean not this for the Huskissons and the Caunings and the Old Roses and the Wards: I mean it not for the men of the Two Bulletins; but for men whose opinions I respect, but whom I cannot permit to censure my opinions, unless they condescend to favour me with the reasons whereon that censure is founded.

CHANGE OF MINISTRY.-AS was naturally to be expected, the calamities upon the Continent have produced upon the men of the Two Bulletins an apprehension for nothing but their places; and, of course, all their endeavours, in all manner of ways, are bent towards the preservation of them. One of their efforts is directed towards bringing men's minds back to the political and parliamentary divisions of the last war, to revive the party animosities, the popular prejudices and passions, and, if it may, by any means, be possible, the party divisions, of those days, particularly with regard to the French revolution, and (as if the dangerous principles of that revolution were still afloat) with regard to peace with France. Amongst the attempts of this sort I shall select one only; but, upon that, when I have inserted it, I shall have to beseech the reader's attention to a few observations.-" We can"not see, therefore, in what way it can be "maintained, that the disasters and dangers " in which the Continent unhappily is in

"volved, are imputable to this country. "Those disasters are all to be attributed to

one event; the imbecility or treachery "that led to the destruction of that fine ar

my which was placed under the command "of General Mack;-an event in which "Mr. Pitt could have had no concern. 'But if we must fight the French singlehanded,' say the Opposition writers, must it be under those leaders whom the 'French have beaten?' They would give us "Mr. Fox, we suppose, for a leader; and how "would he enable us to fight France single"handed? He has no jealousy of Buonaparté; thinks him a harmless man, "who had no views against this country, "but those of innocent commercial rivali é. "In the character of a minister who is to "conduct a war against France, it has ben supposed that some degree of jealousy and suspicion of the designs of that power were necessary, but here the Opposition "would give us, to conduct the war against Buonaparté, a man who, if he be not the "admirer of Buonaparté, is at least not prepared to view him with that jealousy, distrust, and hatred, which ought deeply and invariably to influence the feelings of every man in the country. The nation, "thank God! is not reduced to such a state "of humiliation as to render it necessary "for it to look for its security and salvation

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to the friends of O'Connor."—As to the first part of this paragraph, there is nothing to be done, except merely to repeat, what we have said before, and of the truth of which the country is unanimously persuaded; namely, that our ministry were the great cause of the calamities upon the Continent, because they urged and precipitated Austria into the war, in spite of advice, founded upon clearly expressed reasons, to the contrary. But, this repetition is, in fact, useless; because, with those who think the present minister and his young friends capable of conducting the nation through the perils that await her, no argument in favour of a change need be urged. With those who do think a change necessary, a speedy change of councils absolutely necessary, in order to give the country a chance of preserving its independence; with those, very little, I should think, would be required to show the fallacy, the hypocrisy, and, when compared with what the same writer has so recently maintained, the profiigate inconsistency, of the remaining part of the paragraph." The friends of O'Connor." Now, supposing us all, on both sides, still to retain, in their utmost extent, all the opi nions, which we entertained during the

I

whole of the revolution, and, until the hour, and after the conclusion, of the Peace of Amiens; supposing us all to retain those our opinions (except Mr. Pitt, indeed, who, has shifted, and is allowed to shift, his backward and forward as circumstances may require), what ground would that be for an objection to Mr. Fox? I mean amongst us, who so widely differed from him, and by whom his opinions and his conduct were so unqualifiedly censured? The personalities must be buried in oblivion. We have, in this way, so much to atone for, on both sides, that I must always protest against their being brought to a balance of accounts. will, for my part, never retract one single word; and, if I ask no one to retract with respect to me, I think, I may rest satisfied of a clear conscience. If the French revolution were to return, we should, I am persuaded, stand, with respect to each other, just as we did before; with this exception only, that those, who, like me, were induced to give our support to the destructive power of Mr. Pitt, would not again be so induced. But, can this state of things return? Are not the circumstances changed? Are they not all changed? Instead of a wild democracy in France, is there not a perfect military despotism in that country? Instead of being all upon the alert for the rights of man, in England; instead of clubs and societies for the propagation of principles of liberty, is not the nation, as to matters of that kind. as silent as the grave? Is there? I appeal to the common sense of the reader: is there now danger to be apprehended from councils impregnated, nay, howsoever deeply impregnated, with the doctrines of liberty? And, is there one man, who will still call himself an Englishman, and who, while despotism is insolently staring us in the face; while the question is, whether we shall become slaves or not; while this is the question before us, is there any such man, who can seriously fear, that we have danger to apprehend from councils which have a strong, and, if you will, a too powerful, bias, towards the side of liberty?- -But, "jea"lousy and suspicion" of the designs of France are, we are told, necessary in a leader, at the present time. Jealousy and suspicion are the inmates of weak, of mean, and of cowardly minds; and, if they alone were sufficient in a political leader, there are few persons, I am persuaded, who would think, a change of ministry necessary. But, these excellent qualities are not all that are wanted in a ministry of a great state, at any time; and, at this time, we want them not at all, there being not one person in Eng

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land; no, not an underwriter, with his black short pen stuck behind his ear, nor an underwriter's wife in the family-way" pressing forward to touch the wonder-working minister, nor even a "young friend" with his imitative nasal croak and grin of conscious impunity; there is not one even of this race of beings, who stands in need of suspicion and jealousy wherewith to meet the designs of Napoleon, who has proclaimed those designs from one end of the world to the other, and who has given us a proof of his sincerity in his terror-striking preparations at Boulogne.Never did Mr. Fox say, that Buonaparte was a harmless man;" never did he say, that he apprehended nothing from the increase of French power; but, over and over again, has he, in the most explicit manner, declared the direct contrary; and, as to the personal hatred of Buonaparté, how long is it, to you who hear me I put the question, how long is it, since these very writers, taking their tone from Lord Hawkesbury, Lord Castlereagh, and Mr. Pitt, reprobated the perpetuating of animosity against this same Buonaparté, and applauded the prosecution of Mr. Peltier for having made endeavours to the contrary, which prosecution they themselves recommended?—But, whence this new-light as to the unfitness of Mr. Fox for the task of opposing France? Reader, need I recall to your mind the memorable occurrences of the spring of 1804? Need I remind you, that, at that time, when it was the anxious wish of the whole nation to see formed such an administration as would inspire confidence at home and respect abroad, at the same time that it put an end, for ever, to the political animosities engendered during the French revolution and its attendant war; need I remind him, that, at that time, when the hopes of this loyal and suffering and patient people were again blasted by low intrigue and by ambition still lower; need I remind him, that at that time, these very writers, who are now endeavouring to excite doubts as to the cabinet-worthiness of Mr. Fox, first most distinctly reprobated the formation of any ministry, of which he should not form a part; and, afterwards, defended the conduct of Mr. Pitt, by the assertion, that that gentleman spent three quarters of an hour in an uscless effort to persuade the King, to admit Mr. Fox into his councils; and, that, in a still later stage of the intrigue, and as a further means of defence, they asserted, that Mr. Fox had received an offer from the minister to go as a general ne gotiator, with unlimited powers, to France and to all the courts of the Continent, la