VOL. XII. No. 17.] LONDON, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1807. 641] [PRICE 10D. "What asses were we, to expect courage from a capon."- BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER. SUMMARY OF POLITICS. AMERICAN STATES.It appears, from the newspapers, that Mr. George Henry Rose, a son of Old George Rose so long of the Treasury, is to be sent out to America upon a special mission (the son of Lord Erskine of Clackmannan remaining as be fore), and, that Admiral Berkeley is recalled from the American stationAs to the first, supposing the person to be sent a proper one, and that party interest and self-interest and personal and party revenge have had nothing to do in the choice, we can say but little, except as to the unnecessary expense to the nation, because, as yet, we cannot know what the object of the mission is. From the circumstance of the negocia tion being put into new hands, I should be inclined to augur a proper result, were not this new appointment accompanied with the recall of Admiral Berkeley. This may, in deed, have been done from party motives, the family of Berkeley with all its interest being opposed to the present ministers in parliament, while Sir John B. Warren and his friends and connexions are on their side; but, whatever we may think of this motive, bad as it may be, the other motive, namely, that of appeasing the Americans, is a thousand times worse. It is most likely, that the muisters and their partizans will alledge no motive at all; but will wrap themselves up in mysterious silence, and plead only their right to do what they have done. But, while we shall be at perfect liberty to ascribe the former motive to them, the vanity and arrogance of the Americans will not fail to insist, that they have been actuated by the latter. This will tend to heighten their tone; they will the more rely upon the exertions of their faction of fundholders here, and, therefore, the means of an amicable adjustment, upon the only terms which we ought to think of, will be greatly enfeebled. What an example is this, too, for the officers of the British navy! What an encouragement to do their duty, in maintaining their country's rights! What admiral, or captain, will, after this, ran the risk of being sacrificed to political expediency? If indeed, the ministry were explicitly [042 to declare, that they have recalled Admir. 1 Berkeley, because he, in the latter part of his order to his captains, commanded them to permit the American captain to search their ships for American seamen, thus plac ing the two nations upon a footing of per fect equality upon the sea, I should applaud their conduct; but, as the recall now stands, without any such declaration as this, the conclusion of every one will be, that he is recalled, because he has enforced the right of search. .. I had written so far, when the king's proclamation, (which will be found below) dated on the 16th instant, and published in the Gazette of last Saturday, reached me. That proclamation leaves us no room to doubt, that, with respect to the point at issue, the ministers mean, not to concede, but to do what is much worse, to evade, and to sneak out of the question, without any decision at all. Upon this most curious document, I shall first insert the excellent remarks contained in the TIMES newspaper, of the 19th instant; for, as far as they go, they contain my sentiments." His Majesty's Procla"mation, which appeared in the Gazette "of Saturday last, is, at the present crisis, "an extremely important document; inas"much as it makes us acquainted with some "material facts in the existing state of the "negociation between this country and "America. This is the first moment at "which any of the propositions on either "side have seen the light: and there cer tainly is a degree of shamefacedness at "their exposure to view, at their first com"ing into public, that indicates a con"sciousness on the part of their authors, "that they are not quite so manly and ener getic, as we had reason to suppose. The "right of searching national ships for Brie "tish seamen, is receded from; that of "want of what is called in colloquial idiom, speaking out.' But further, we learn "from the clause just cited, that though "British seamen may not be pursued into foreign vessels, bearing a national flag, they may still be taken, if it be possible, "in transitu," they may "be stopped, " and made to stay," as the proclamation elegantly expresses, "when endeavour"ing to transport and enter themselves into "the service of any foreign state." Now "let us apply this permission of detaining "them to an actual occurrence:- Lord J. "Townshend states, in his letter to Ad"miral Berkeley, that the deserters from "the Halifax" were seen by him and "several of his officers parading the streets "of Norfolk, under the American flag." "These men, therefore, had not yet enter"ed the Chesapeake; could they, by the "tenor of this proclamation, have been ""stopped, and made to stay," or, in "less technical terms, have been seized so " "the Proclamation does not alter the law of "the land in this respect)—of what weight therefore have these threats been, against the offer of higher wages, and "the delusive promise of better treatment, "acting upon illiterate minds? One of "these denunciations of wrath against Bri"tish seamen engaged in foreign service, is "of so singular a nature, that we cannot "help mentioning it: it is this, "if Eng"lish mariners, so serving, should be taken "prisoners by any of the States of Barbary, the British Consul at Tunis, or Al of the Admiralty, the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to the Secretary of State; " and thus, having ascended the ladder of office in England, you have still to go down another ladder of office in Ameri ca, before you can get at your deserter. "Can any man see, in this circuitous pro"-cedure, a glimpse of hope,' that we shall "be able to prevent America from continu*ing to allure British mariners into her <service? Several threats, indeed, are de"nounced in the Proclamation, against the unhappy objects of American seduction: "but of what weight will these 'be, or in fact, of what weight have they been, (for giers, shall not reclaim them!" We must close our remarks, by allowing, in the "fullest sense, the many and weighty dif"ficulties which attend our pending con cerns with America; but from the in"sight which the Proclamation affords us "of the present state of the negociation, we cannot think, though we greatly "hope, that those difficulties will be sur"mounted, in a way beneficial or even "equitable to England. We should have " no objection to concession, provided it "would but conduct us to a clear and defin"ed state of things; but such a concession as leaves matters in the very state in which "it found them, must (as we know by expe"rience), inevitably lead to incessant jea"lousies, bickerings, and disputes, the "melancholy termination of which, will "be the very evil which it is thus attempt"ed to avert. Suppose matters to be for "the present amicably arranged between "us and the United States, and the basis "6 on our part to be the concession contain"ed in his Majesty's Proclamation above "cited; the most prudent conduct of eve ry British Commander on the American "station, will in future be, certainly to prevent desertion, if he can; but if in"stances do occur, neither to search for the "fugitives in American merchant vessels, nor to claim them from ships of war, "but to bear his loss quietly; for most as suredly, the contrary conduct will, in "most instances, either involve his coun"try at large, or himself personally, in an "endless train of squabbles and disquie"tudes, of accusations and retorts, of charges and denials; which, if the matter relates to himself only will end his recal; if to the British Government, in fresh concessions, or direct hostilities."This will assuredly, be the consequence. Our naval Officers will remember, that, for many, many years, the Admiral upon the Halifax station lived a very fat and quiet life, without attempting to make an exertion to recover British sea " in It men (thousands of British seamen), inveigled away by the Americans; but, that, the moment an Admiral came, who set seriously about preventing that evil, he was deserted by the government, and recalled; that is to say, disgraced, as far as it was in their power to disgrace him.--The proclamation, however, will have no effect upon Admiral Berkeley, who can produce his orders from the Admiralty to stop and search all foreign neutral vessels, without any exception, for British seamen. With this order the Proclamation is inconsistent; but, the order was in force first.--To be sure the blustering, at the close of the Proclamation, is ludicrous enough; but it is perfectly in character, and will pass for just what it is worth, and not a jot more. will not prevent a single man from entering the American service, or the service of any other neutral state; but, on the contrary, will operate as an encouragement thereto, it being now certain, that when entered, they will be safe from our power.--But, seeing that this sneaking was resolved upon, of what use to the nation was it to appoint "George Henry Rose, Esqr." to go to America upon a special mission? of what use can that mission be to us? To him, indeed, it may be of great use. It will give him about four thousand pounds a year of our money, while he remains there; he will have an opportunity of seeing the country; and, when he comes back he will, as a thing of course, be settled upon us, for life, to the tune of two thousand, or, at least, twelve hundred a year, in addition to the four thousand a year, which, after the death of his father, he is to receive from us, for life also, as Clerk of the Parliaments! Mr. Erskine, will be coming home much about the same time. There will be a similar pension for him, for, probably forty years yet to come; and, then, hey for appointing another! And so on, pension without end. And these are the vigorous ministers ! The poor hireling of the Courier, who thought that a stand was about to be made against the insolence of the Americans, and who had, accordingly, assumed a very high tone about the dominion of the seas, does, I must do him the justice to say it, seem ashamed at this falling off in his patrons; but," says he, it may be said, that, if (c we insisted upon searching American ships of war, they would insist upon "searching our ships of war;" forgetting, poor man, that in repeating my arguments, he had before maintained the difference between us and the Americans, and had asserted, that, though we had a right to search their ships, they had no right to search ours.-The truth seems to be, that there was a moment of vigour; a fit as it were; but that, the fit having gone off, the vigour evaporated along with it, and was followed by the native imbecillity of the body. I was all along afraid, that this would be the case; I have, from the first, expressed my fears of it; those fears are now verified, and I am now confirmed in the opinion, that all the vigorous" measures in Europe, will end in another peace of Amiens, if not a worse, accompanied with a new batch of ambassadors and a new batch of pensioners. 66 EXPATRIATION. My correspondent, S. V. whose letter upon the expatriation of British subjects, I answered in the Register of the 10th instant, has made a reply, which will be found at page 610, in the last Register.--He now agrees with me, that an occasional allegiance and alienage would be mischievous; and he does not insist upon his former construction of the law of England touching this subject; but, in support. of his principle, he makes use of an illustration, and quotes the opinions of Wicquefort and Vattel. As to these opinions, I have never appealed to them, I hold them to be erroneous, and I oppose my argument to them as well as to the doctrines of S. V. I endeavoured to show, that it was right, that every man should, all his life long, be held to owe allegiance to the country, in which he was born and reared up to manhood. There would be an exception, of course, to such as were born of alien parents; and I left undecided the point, whether, in extreme cases, such as that of our revolution, the subject might not withdraw himself from the authority of his king, or go. vernment. I insisted, that every man, during his infancy and youth, contracted an obligation with the nation; that the nation were not only prevented from killing him, or leaving him to starve with hunger or perish with cold or from want of care, but that they were compelled to nurse, cherish, support, and defend him ; and that, therefore, it would be unjust in the extreme, for him to have the right to say, when he was grown up to manhood, I will now not only carry my talents and strength elsewhere, but when it suits me, employ them for the nation's destruction.In reply to this S. V. says: "It seems to you to be the very acmé of ingratitude, because when I ar "rive at manhood, I desert the services of my nurse, who may, in my infancy, have "attended me, because, truly, I have been "in the nurse's arms, fed, administered "to, and unremittantly attended by her, it power ceases, when I am able to "elect my place of residence, just in the 66 same manner as does the power of the "Court of Chancery, the guardian_protec seems to taik of nothing but mariners and manner divest our natural-born subjects of "their allegiance, or in any degree, alter "the duty which they owe to us.' This is' very right, and very proper to be said at this time; but, why not have placed the word others in the first part of the sentence as well as in the last? Is it not notorious, that, where one mariner has accepted of certificates of citizenship, there are hundred, at least, of merchants, manufac one ter of infants."- Had not S. V. -mentioned the Court of Chancery, whose proceedings are well calculated to awaken inturers, land-jobbers, and fund-holders, who one's mind the awful idea of eternity, I should have thought him in jest; for, it is almost incredible that a man so clever, as he evidently is, should, in sober earpest, have had recourse to such a sophism. For an illustrative argument to have any force, there must be no question upon the score of the analogy; and, what analogy is there here? What resemblance is there between the nation and the nurse with regard to the circumstances and effects under consideration? The nurse is, in due time and roanner, rewarded for her services to the child; but are the nation rewarded, until he grows up to man's estate, and has, indeed, used his talents or his strength? The nurse comes voluntarily to his aid; but the nation are, some or other of them, compelled to support and defend him. The nurse, if he die in his youth, loses nothing by him (and the same may be said of his purents); but the nation lose all the food, raiment and labour that has been bestowed upon him. The nurse can, whenever she pleases, withdrawall her cares from the child; but the nation never can withdraw its cares, that is to say, the protection, the rights, and immunities, of the subject. S. V. complains, that I would not permit him to forego the kind duties of his nurse; whereas I object to the withdrawing of his duties from his country. My argument, above referred to, requires, I think, a better answer than this; and, until it receive a better, I shall be contented to leave the discussion where it is. must, however, just notice, that the proclamation, above spoken of, has, in an incidental way, made the declara. tion, which §. V. was so anxious to obtain in the shape of a law, or ʼn treaty. It :{,༄༄ have made such acceptance? The declara- tion. POOR LAWS.The only part of Mr. Whitbread's project that much has been said about, is that which related to the establish. ment of parochial schools, and that ton would, probably have been forgotten by this time had I not thought it right to resent the unjust aspersion upon the people of England, contained in the preamble of his bill. This has drawn forth a good deal of angry language from some of those Scotchmen, whose natural partiality is greater than their justice or their sense, and who, in indulging that partiality quite overlook the circualstance, that some degree of national partiality may be expected to be entertained by Englishmen as well as Scotchmen. Amongst the persons here described, my correspondent, SAWNEY, whose letter will be found in the present volume, at page 540, is, I think, the most conspicuous. He has now sent me another letter, by way of answer to my short remarks upon his former one (see page 531), a part of which last letter I shall here insert, leaving out more than two-thirds of it, which consisted of mere eflusions of wit and politeness, which, as my readers have had a sufficient specimen of them, in his former letter, it would be waste of paper to commit to the press. -He appealed to an estimate of Lord Buchan, in order to shew, that Scotland had surpassed England in increase of population; and, without attempting to stir the question, whether either of them had really increased, I observed, that I could not submit to be decided by any looseestimate; and that the Lord Buchan was no better authority than Gregory King, who, in his famous estimate, preserved with such care in the archives of that wise and useful institution, the British Museum, was minute as to include the number of rabbits in the kingdom-Upon this SAWNEY" remarks, that I question the correctness of Lord Buchan and Gregory King ony bocause they were too minute. This is true in words, but false in meaning. I question their correctness because I had a statement in their estimates, of the correctness of which it was impossible that they could possess, or come at, any proot; and, finding this, I have a right to conclude, that the whole of the estimate is mere random guess. If, for instance, a man were to tell us, that be bad ascertained the number of flies in this kingdom in the month of July last; should we not laugh at him? Should we cite his catimate as an authority wherewith to oppose an argument, built upon acknowledged, well-known, and undeniable facts? And to come at a kaowledge of the number of flies is not mare difficult than to come at a knowledge of the number of rabbits, because both are impossible.- But now for "SAWNEY's answer to my argument, founded upon the fact, that large sums of money were annually granted by parlia ment, that is to say, out of the fruit of the labour of the people of England, for the purpose of furnishing food and making ად work for the labourers of Scotland, in order to prevent those labourers from emigrating to America. This, I said, could not be denied, and, then I drew the conclusion, that the state of Scotland, with respect to its labourers, was not such as to be held up as an example for England; adding, that nothing ever was so outrageously impudent, and insolent, as to charge the labourers of England with laziness and vice, and to bid to look, for an example, to the industrious and virtuous labourers of Scotland, and that, too, at the very time, when the former were compelled to give up part of the fruit of their labour to furnish food for the latter, in order to prevent them from wandering away from their country.Let us hear "Sawney's" answer to this :-"I come now to the grants of money you speak of, as "drawn from the peopic of England for the support of the Scotch. This, I understand, is your Crown battery, from "which you are to maul us without mercy-it is a sunk battery to me," [he will be witty still "for the deuce take me if I know what you mean. For my 66 66 66 66 part, I am not aware of any annual grants "made to Scotland, but what are of a very "trivial kind indeed.-Do you allude to "the money advanced by government to "further that important undertaking the "Caledonian Canal, which is to be large 66 building of St. Paul's Church in London, at a time, too, when money was six "times more valeable titan it is at present, "and all, very probably, for a purpose not more substantial than to gratify the va "nity of her languid, gormandizing Citi sens.-In England, there are grants in "numerable of this description; "aud ver you choose to say, Nothing surely, was ever so outrageously impudent "" and insolent as this." Pray, Mr. Cob"bett, what is it? You must not expect |