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prints. The fallacy, with regard to the wish of Mr. Windham, consists in this : he has been said to have wished for delay in passing the law, whereas he wished only for the delay necessary to the receiving of information sufficient to justify him in giving his consent to such a law; provided that information were given, he was ready to pass the law without a moment's delay. The part which Mr. Sheridan has acted, in prefering this charge against Mr. Windham, is curious enough, particularly when compared with his conduct in 1798. After the government of Ireland had been obliged to adopt the measures, of which I have spoken above, the first proceeding, on Irish affairs, in the British Parliament, was a motion of MR. SHERIDAN'S, made on the 14th of June,

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FOR A COMMITTEE TO INQUIRE INTO THE

"WE ARE NOW MENACED!!!!!!! This passage I take verbatim from the Morning Chronicle of the 11th instant, and I declare, that I myself heard Mr. SHERIDAN utter the words. Such facts beggar all comment. And now, Mr. SHERIDAN may, as Mr. WINDHAM suggested, go and make his bow to each of the Volunteer Corps. He may, too, if he pleases, make them an offering of his consistency; of his sagacity, or his eulogium on the principles of Arthur O'Connor; of his "true English feeling," or his exultation at the successes of France; of his humanity, or his flatteries of Talien; of his witticisms, or of the newest edition of Joe Miller; of his " respect for the Minister," or of the political "postilion" and the “ siz"ting part of Mr. Pitt;"* and, if they are not satisfied, even to surfeiting, with all this, let him present them with bis present abuse of Buonaparte, contrasted with his former bombastical praises of" the illustrious hero of "Marengo."—It remains for me to say a few words as to the motives, in which I presume the vote of thanks originated. The reader will, doubtless, recollect, that, on the bill, which was brought in to amend the General Defence Bill, Messrs. Pitt, Fox, and Windham, all expressed their opinion in favour of a force different from Volunteer Corps, such as those that heretofore existed, This concurrence of opinion, upon a point of such great importance, together with a further concurrence in censuring the ministers for the general tardiness and inadequacy of their measures, excited a suspicion in the mind of Mr. Sheridan, that there was about to take place in the great talents of the country, some such union as would completely ecilpse his feeble though spark

STATE OF IRELAND," und this, too, while the rebellion was still raging in the South, and when, according to the then-recived intelligence, it had just begun to appear in Antrim and the North! On the 18th of June, a message from the King was brought by Mr. Dundas, relative to the sending of a part of the English militia to Ireland. It was taken into consideration the next day, June 19th, and the original address was opposed by Mr. SHERIDAN, in a speech of great violence, during which he accused the ministers of stripping England of its constitutional force, and leaving it naked to the bayonets of the regulars !-This, this is the Gentleman, who now accuses Mr. Windham of clogging the wheels of government, and of endeavouring to obstruct the suppression of rebellion-But, says Mr. Sheridan, the PRESENT is a crisis of great peril; not only all party animosities should now be forgotten; not only should there beling light. When once suspicion is awake,

no factious opposition to the ministers, but there should be, neither in nor out of parliament, any censure whatever passed upon any part of their conduct. And all this, because it is A TIME OF SUCH IMMINENT DANGER! Now, mark his consistency. We have seen what his conduct was in 1798; and no longer ago than Wednesday last, the 18th instant, he said, in his place in the House of Commons: "The late Se. "cretary at War has maintained in the

course of this debate, and on other occa❤ "sions, that our situation was by no means so dangerous at any period of the late war as at the present. To this assertion the Noble Secretary of State has so ably an"swered, that I think it unnecessary to say

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much, but I insist that the perils of the "country in the year 1798 were MUCH SU"PERIOR TO THOSE BY WHICH

every trifling circumstance swells into a monstrous bulk; and accordingly, the debate and the division on the question of the Council of War, tended so strongly to confirm the notion already conceived by Mr. Sheridan, that he instantly resolved to bring forward such a motion as would, in some sort, compel the House to put an indirect negative on the joint opinions of Mess. Fox, Pitt, and Windham, and, as would, at the same time, give him an opportunity, if Mr. Fox happened to be absent, of decrying every attempt to remove the ministers from their places. That his standing object, po pularity, was not forgotten, it is reasonable

* Both these appellations were given to Mr. Addington by Mr. Sheridan, in the speech which the latter made, in the House of Commons, on the 14th of May, 1802. See Register, Vol. II p. 1366.

sian ships in the Baltic their force is far too small to render them an object of serious attention, on the one side or on the other.— Upon the whole, the dispositions of Russia may, we are now well satisfied, be looked upon as favourable to this country.

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to believe, and that he has views of emolument is also very probable; but there were other modes of keeping up his reputation with the multitude, and he would hardly think of sailing into office in the wake of Mr.Tierney. The motive first stated may therefore be regarded as the principal one. His popularity and his interest were, pro. bably, not unconsidered: but his envy; his dread of being over shadowed; his alarm at the prospect, or rather, at the possibility, of seeing a ministry who would contemn alike his enmity and his friendship; this was what he could not bear the thought of, and, therefore, with the views above-stated, he brought forward the motion, by which I have been led into this long, and, I am afraid tiresome rain of observations.-Here I should dismiss the subject of Volunteer Corps, but, from what I have heard, even since I sat down to write, I am led to express my earnest wish, that the ministers would instantly make the terms and the nature of the service of the Volunteer Corps clearly understood; and, above all, I conjure them to leave no room for present doubts, and for future altercation, as to the grand question, whether these corps are, or are not, to be subject to martial law; for, there is nothing I should so much dread, because I am certain that nothing would be so likely to annihilate the government, as the leading of these men on under the notion of their being exempt from martial law, and finally compelling them, or attempting to compel them, to submit to that law. There is yet time; the corps are not yet embodied; they will always be ready to abide by the The Letter from MR. COBBETT to MR. SHE

engagements which they make; let them, therefore, be instantly apprized of the nature of those engagements; let nothing be disguised, nothing palliated; let them know the full extent of all they have to do and all they have to suffer; and, if possible, let them have a foretaste of their duties before their engagements are ratified.

RUSSIA.In the last Register, p. 180, it was stated, that Russia had views upon Malta, and that Prince CZARTORISKY was devoted to France. From more recent and more authentic intelligence, this statement appears to be erroneous; and, it is believed, by those who are well acquainted with that subject, that COUNT ALEXANDER WORONZOW is by no means an enemy of England. One fact may be regarded as certain: Russia does not disapprove of our blockade of the Elbe; and, as to the Rus

IRELAND. -On the 11th instant, the Honourable MR. HUTCHINSON, pursuant to a notice which he gave some days before, brought forward, in the House of Commons, the following motion: That an humble "address be presen ed to his Majesty, "praying that his Majesty will be gra"ciously pleased to give directions, that "there be laid before this House such in"formation as has been received, respect"ing the late rebellious proceedings in Ire"land, and also respecting the present state "of that part of the United Kingdom."This motion gave rise to a long and interesting debate. It was introduced by an excellent speech, on the part of the Honourable mover, who was supported by Mr. Elliot, Mr. Windham, Dr. Lawrence, Lord Temple, and Colonel Crawford. The motion was opposed by Lord Hawkesbury, Lord Castlereagh, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the Attorney-General. After a reply from Mr. Hutchinson, the ques tion was put, and the motion negatived without a division.It clearly appears, from what transpired in this debate, together with what has been communicated through other channels, that the Irish government was completely surprised.

RIDAN, which would have occupied two-thirds of the number, we have been compelled to leave out, or to exclude matter of a more pressing and more important nature; but, the letter shall certainly appear next week.-In the mean time, we think it necessary to acquaint our Correspondent VERAX, who has (from motives of friendship no doubt) transmitted us a long list of anecdotes respecting MR. SHERIDAN'S private character and conduct, that he has mistaken the object of our intended investigation, which will certainly be strictly confined to the character and conduct of MR. SHERIDAN, considered as a public man, and even as a politician, for as to his plays, players, and play-houses, we neither know, nor care, nor shall say, any thing.

We thank AMERICANUS" for pointing out "the infamous libel upon Mr. Cobbett, which appeared in the True Briton and the Sun of Saturday the 6th instant," and he will, we imagine, not be either surprised or displeased to hear, that, in less than three hours after the libel was published, the libeller, Mr. HERIOT, received personal chastisement, in the very apartment where he had fabricated the libel.

LONDON,

LONDON, August 13 to August 20, 1803.

225]

LETTER I.

TO R. B. SHERIDAN, ESQ. M P. SIR,-All those who have read, or heard of, the debate, which took place in the House of Commons on the 5th instant, will, I imagine, consider it to be, on my part, not only a right, but a duty, to make some remarks on it; and, as you took the lead in cavilling against certain parts of my work, the reader will, I am persuaded, think it perfectly natural, that I should, on this occasion, address myself to you. Entertaining a profound respect for the Houses of Parliament, I must, before I proceed further, beg leave to state, that it is not on the speeches of members of the House of Commons that I consider myself as commenting, but on publications, which have appeared in the newspapers, purporting to be such speeches, and which publications have been made without being contradicted by any of the persons, to whom the speeches are attributed, and with whom, therefore, I have an undoubted right to re

monstrate.

The debate took place on the 4th instant. It arose in a committee of the whole House, on the National Defence Bill; or rather, on a bill to amend the National Defence Bill, and which amendment tended to destroy all the better part of the original bill, inasmuch as it transferred the defence of the country from Voluntary Service to mere lolunteer Corps, a measure of the folly of which I shall hereafter find an opportunity to speak more at large. Mr. Windham expressed his disapprobation of the amend ment, and, in the course of his observations, he made the following one, relative to the public prints: "I allow," said he "that, "amongst a great deal of execrable stuff, "one does, now and then, find a good re"mark in the public prints, and these prints

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de, at this moment, show a becoming activity in the public cause, though, for a long time, they remained buried in the YOL. IV.

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papers, there is now and then something "worth attending to. Sir, I cannot hear "with patience this libel on what I con"sider to be the boldest, and at the present moment, the most forward bulwark of our liberty and constitution. Among the provocations which our atrocious enemy "has given us to renew the present war, I "have considered his audacious attempt to "bully our ministers into a surrender of the "freedom of the British press to be the "greatest. (Loud cry of bear! bear!) And "I do not hesitate to say, that at the pre"sent crisis of impending peril to the safety "of the throne, the safety of the constitu"tion, the freedom of the people, and the "protection of property, no country on "earth through all its ranks and all its in"terests ever owed an equal degree of gra❝titude and obligation to any quarter or "to any protecting exertion as this coun

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try now owes to the spirited and princi"pled exertions of the general press of "Great Britain. The right hon. gen"tleman, however, I am sure, does not "mean to extend his censure or contempt "to all periodical political publications. "The poor daily prints are of low rank "which he may despise; but the aristocra"tic dignity of a Weekly Register, I suspect, "is exempted from his sarcastic animad" versions. There is no execrable stuff in "that paper. Exbortation to mutiny in the navy and the dock-yards, is loyal and salutary advice. Derision and contempt of the "Government, and of all the subaltern enI

66

trusted pervers is excellent and loyal coun"cil. I speak, Sir, fairly of that paper. "I have no reason personally to approve "it; but I will contrast my candour with "the right hon. gentleman's, when I say

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that though I disapprove of many things "contained in it, yet is there much matter "worthy to be attended to in it; I some"times find in it observations of an admi"rable quality.-(Mr. Windham here bow"ed)-The right hon. gentleman answers me with a condescending bow. I really "did not know before, that in speaking "sincerely what I felt, I was gratifying "the feelings of any writer in that paper. "I therefore forbear any comment further "in deference to the blushing modesty of a present author."

MR. WINDHAM." The hon. gentleman "(Mr. Sheridan) seems to be actuated with "all the zeal of a new convert, or rather "he conducts himself with all the precipi"tancy of a raw recruit, for he has no

sooner fallen into the ranks (Mr. Sheri"dan sat on the Treasury Bench) than he "fires off his musket, without waiting for "the word of command. Since, however, "the hon gent. has begun, he must not "be surprised to find his fire returned, nor must the corps, in which he has enlisted, expect to escape the consequences of an attack thus indiscreetly invited.-If it "were even true that I had changed my

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opinion upon this subject (which is not "the case) it certainly would be excusable

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upon a measure of so much importance, embracing such a variety of detail, and "passed with so much precipitation It is 66 not only possible, but very natural, that "gentlemen may have changed their opi"nich upon the subject. But this will af "ford no excuse to ministers for bringing "the bill forward at so late a period, or for making that the last step which ought to "have been the first. They should have "recollected that this measure would take up a great deal of time. It is like the

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seven ages of man; there is the notice, "the motion for the bill, the first, second, "and third reading of the bill, and after "that comes the whole detail of its execu

tion, which has thrown the country into "as great a bustle as if it was, every "where, a racing or an assize week. "There are county meetings, meetings of lieutenants, magistrates, church wardens, "overseers, and a long train of et ceteras. "There the tything man and the constable

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running to the school-master to read the "bill, the school-master going to the ma"gistrate to explain it, the magistrate writ

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ing to the Secretary at War to elucidate it, and the Secretary at War coming to "the House of Commons to amend it. But "in all this bustle and confusion, how long "will it be before we have soldiers ready "to seek honour in the cannon's mouth? "Whatever effect these measures may have "hereafter, they will do nothing at present. "If Buonaparte were to land (and we "know not how soon he may land) would "it be of any use to say to him: 'We have "county meetings, and ballotings, and "drillings, and if you will have the good"ness to wait a short time, we shall be "quite prepared for you?-The hon. gen"tleman has spoken highly of the exer"tions of the daily papers: they certainly "have contained some good sentiments latterly I only wish that some of them "had begun a little sooner, and then they "would not have now to repair the mis"chief which they had been doing for so

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many years, and which I am afraid can"not be repaired by a few paper bullets. "It is not, however, astonishing that the << papers to which I allude should become "the objects of the hon. gentleman's pane"gyric, for they have exactly followed his example After years of war, in which he and they professed and disseminated principles and opinions the most mis"chievous to the country, they now wheel

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suddenly about, and claim great merit for "desisting from their former conduct, and "for endeavouring to preserve themselves "from the fury of the storm, which they so "largely contributed to raise. At the end "of ten years, during which the hon. gen"tleman has been diligently labouring with "those who have set fire to the four cor"ners of the world, he now comes with "his little backet, with his thimble-full of "water, to extinguish the mighty confia"gration. Having sedulously assisted in "producing that complication of ills, which "has brought us to the verge of the grave, "he now exclaims, with DR. SYRINGE in "the play, who skall dare to talk of dying "whilst I am in the bouse-As to the

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weekly publication, to which the hon. "gentleman has alluded to, I entertain all "the sentiments of respect, which he sup66 pose me to entertain, both for the work "and for its author, of whom I had a high "opinion long before I personally knew "him. I admired the conduct which he

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pursued, through a most trying crisis in "America, where he uniformly supported "all those principles upon which the happiness of mankind depend; where he uniformly opposed all those principles

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(including such as were formerly professed by the hon. gentleman) which "tend to sap the foundations of civil so"ciety, and to spread misery and wicked"ness through the world; and where, by "his own unaided exertions, he rendered "his country services that entitle him to a "statue of gold."

MR SHERIDAN." The right hon. gen"tleman has pronounced a lofty panegyric "on the Weekly Register: he has declar"ed, that he agrees in every sentiment "contained in it, and that a statue of gold ought to be erected to the writer. Statues, now-a-days, are not voted by the Legislature, but upon private subscrip"tions. I hope the right hon. gentleman "will immediately commence one upon "the Stock Exchange of the City of Lon"don. The writer, with whose every sen"timent he agrees, having only maintained "that the co-existence of the funds and the

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ham), whether he recollects, in Mr. Cob"bett's publication, of which he professes

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himself such an admirer, a number, in "which the state of Ireland was repre"sented in a manner which was calculated "to make the very worst impression? It "stated that there were no more than "18,000 men in Ireland, of which 10,000 "were doing duty in garrisons, and that "France might send over, in four ships, "from Brest, as many men as would be "sufficient to run from one end of the "island to the other. I will ask, whether "that is one of the sentiments which the

" right hon. gentleman is ready to approve "and defend, and if it is one of those that "entitle the writer to a statue of gold?" -To these interrogatories Mr. Windham refused, of course, to give any answer.

Now, Sir, I shall, 1. Refute the charges, brought by you and Mr. Archdall, against certain parts of my writings in the Political Register: 2. 1 shall make an humble attempt to describe the source, the operations, and effect of that "true English feeling," that" sacrifice of party spirit to public good," of which you have lately made so ostentatious a display: 3. Your "constancy and consistency" shall receive, as is their due, my particular attention: 4. I shall make a full exposure of your connexion with the newspaper press, shall show the reciprocal dependence which subsists between you and the persons concerned in the conducting of that press, and shall point out the mischiefs which have arisen, and which will yet arise, from this reciprocity.

1. The charges brought, by you and Mr. Archdall, against me, as a public writer, were, First, that I published a statement, calculated to produce the very worst im pressions with respect to Ireland. Secondly, that I endeavoured to excite a mutiny in the Navy: Thirdly, that I was labouring to produce a national bankruptcy, and a violation of all public faith: Fourthly, that I held up to derision and contempt the Government, together with all the subaltern entrusted powers thereof.

The first of these charges, which was brought by that same Mr. Archdall, who, only about a month ago, drew a most enchanting picture of the tranquillity, the harmony, and the security, of Ireland, appears to have been founded on two passages of the Register, Vol. III. p. 539. The subject, upon which I was writing, was, the neglect and tardiness of the Admiralty, the fatal consequences of which I endeavoured to illustrate by putting a case with respect to Ireland, first stating, that it was childish in the extreme to suppose, that Buonaparté was not much better informed of our state of preparation than I could possibly be. "What," said I, "in our present disman"tled state, is to prevent an invasion of "Ireland? There are 18,000 men in that "country, 10,000 of whom are wanted, "and are absolutely necessary for garrison "duty; and, as to the militia, a single re"giment will not be fit for actual service "for these nine months, at the very soon

est. When, then, would be the conse"quence, if a well-appointed army of "15,000 men, escorted by four or five

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