than SO many head of cattle. Gregory King's rabbits were beings of an order rauber superior to them. What folly, to suppose that such creatures would make a stand in defence of their country. And, for what? What could they possibly lose? How could they possibly become more wretched, or more degraded? The Courier reminds us, that MURAT is the son of a little ale-house keeper. Well, and what then? Is he an ideot, or a poor rascally, cowardly debauchee? Lord Nelson was the son of a country parson; and, yet it appeared that he had a good sort of blood flowing in his veins. A wise and brave man, particularly if he be a soldier (by sea or land, I mean, of course), may, at all times, bid defiance to heraldry.' It is only the insignificant that need be Is it not better anxious about their descent. taught them justice and modesty. The Floridas are inhabited by Spaniards; Louisiana by Spaniards and Frenchmen; the key of the Mississippi is in their hands. Without the aid of England, it is impossible for the Southern and Western States of the American union to maintain them selves against France, if attacked by her; and, to avoid being attacked there is but one way, that is, by doing what Napoleon shall command; in other words, yield to him without resistance What a fine field would, by this revolution in Spain, be opened for a grand co-operation of England and America, were it not for the rancour of the leaders in the latter country! The way for them to proceed is so plain, that it needs not to be pointed out How natural, how glorious, would such a co-operation be! But, it is not for us to endeavour to hasten it. The first motions towards it must come from the other side; and they will not come, 'till the people, the real people of America, shall rouse themselves, trample under foot the slaves of France, and resolve to act for their own interests. This event can be at no great distance. They know what French armies are. They, personally, hate the French; and, when once they have them in their neighbourhood, they will begin seriously to think of their means of defence. Drive them from the continent of North America they must; or they must themselves become subjects of France. There is no other alternative. They cannot drive them away without the aid of Eugland; and the giving of that aid will naturally and ueces. sarily lead to a connection, which may have a wonderful effect in the world. But, it cannot too often be repeated, that the first movenients towards such a connection, must not be made by us. SPAIN. The several papers, containing the history of the revolution, which now seems to be completed in Spain, shall foliow, in the Register, those relating to the dispute with America. In the mean while, the event itself furnishes but few topics for observation, nothing having taken place but what might have been naturally expected. When't was, i my last Register, ob-erving upon the toasts of Mr. Blackburn and his Pitt dinner associates, i little thought, that there was, in the post office, the news-paper which contained the intelligence, that what I anticipated had actually taken place. "The people of Spain," inde! There was no such thing as a people in Spain. There were some millions of animals, walking about upon two legs each; but, iney were, in a political point of view, no more for a nation to be under the sway of the gallant son of an alehouse-keeper than of a king's son, who is known through the world for a stinking coward? Before the Courier tells us any more about the ale-house-keeper's son, I should like for him to refer us to some youths of royal descent, who have discovered discretion and courage equal to Murat, who appears to me to be one of the most able as well as most valiant of those, who have been raised up for the purpose of chastising the cruel and cowardly oppressors of nations. We have, in this case of Spain, the contrast completely before us. We see, at one view, those who have been put down and those who have been raised (p; and, let the reader say, whom he would prefer to be under, Murat or the king, or prince, of Spain, seeing that the oppression of the former cannot be more complete than that of the latter.- There is one view of subjects of this sort, that such writers as the editor of the Courier never take. There lies the continent of Europe before us. Twenty years ago, it consisted of nations, governed by kings and princes and nobles of ancient families, who were supported, in the exercise of their authority, by laws and usages and habits of the growth of centuries upon centuries. They and their authority, with exceptions too trifling to mention, are now destroyed; and, in their stead, we see men, who, at the time when the change began to work, were totally nnknown to the world at large, and almost to their next-door neighbours. What must these kings and princs and nobles have been? And what must have been the nature of their governments? The cause has been said to be the perverseness of the people, stimulated by artful men. But, how came there to be matter for those artful men to work filial affection. Nay, when the young king is upon his route to Bayonne (never more to return to Spain), he is escorted amidst the huzzas of the people, who, we are told, contended for the honour of having him tarry a few minutes amongst them. Still more while this very journey is performing, there is a royal birth day celebrated, and we are told of those who came to the upon? And, by what magic of rhetoric did those artful men persuade the people of so many nations, that the sway of obscure, nay, of as yet unknown, individuals, would be preferable to that of those dignified per sons, whom, for ages, their ancestors had obeyed? MALLET DU PAN endeavoured to defend the nobles of France against the charge of having deserted their country; but, what did all his arguments prove? Why, that the people so hated them, that they could not remain, It is very true, that the people may be deceived, that a tumult may be excited against a good king, or a good nobility; but, this cannot be general, and of long duration, especially when there is no leader, as was the case in France. But, supposing it possible for a nation to be so completely blinded, and to act so strangely as to pull down their government, without the aid of a leader, and that, too, without any just cause; still the example of that nation would naturally be an object of terror. Not so has it been in this case. The other nations of the continent have followed the example of France; and, from any facts that reach us, it does not appear, that they repent of it. Besides, supposing the whole change to have been a work of ignorance and wickedness; still, we have to call upon the ancient rulers as being answerable for that ignorance and that wickedness; for, they had the power, and to them it belonged to teach their people wisdom and virtue. Therefore, puzzle about as long as we please amongst details of causes and effects, there has been a struggle of "ale-house keepers' "sons" against the kings and princes and nobles of the continent of Europe, and the former have decidedly beaten the latter, have driven them from their thrones and authorities, and have put themselves in their stead. Such being the fact, it is quite useless to complain of the taste of the people; it is nonsense to complain of it; the Courier may as well rail against the climate of the several nations, governed by ale-house keepers' sons. The thing is done. The doom of the kings and princes and nobles of the continent of Europe is irrevocable.There is one circumstance, in the events of this Spanish revolution, which is well worthy of attention; and that is, that the old king, to the very last, boasts, in all his pub-materjal; for, whether the Bourbons were lie acts, of the fidelity and affection of his loving subjects; the son, for the few days that he is upon the throne, does the same; and, in all the proclamations from the of ficers of state, generals, &c. the king is spoken of as being the father of his peo ple," andesberg on object of more than court to pay their gratulations upon the left upon the throne or not, the French; now that they have, for the present, settled the north, would have gone southward. There is a talk of expeditions to Spain and to South America but why they should have been thought adviscable merely don account of the revolution in Spain, there does not appear to me any solid reason. There may, possibly, be something done, in the way of getting a surrender of Spanish ships of war; but, the country must be safe enough against any attack of ours, in a short time; and, I should think, that a siege of Gibraltar would naturally follow. Much more than I am afraid of that, however. I am afraid of expeditions to South America, where the troops and the people are already under the guidance of French officers, where every attempt would be attended with dreadful slaughter, and where, if we succeeded, success would be followed by an insupportable burden, making a deduction from our strength of every description. As if we were too strong at home, the ministers are now urgently called upon to send forth, and to waste, our strength, in those distant countries. The project recommended is to make the people independent. What good would that do us, and what harm would it do Napoleon? Were there an independent nation formed in Mexico or Peru, it needs no spirit of prophesy to tell, that the West India islands would soon belong to that nation. It is the dream of some, that we are to have alliances with these new nations. If we had them, they would prove a new curse to us; and, as to the supplying of those nations with goods, what can we do more in that way than we now do? One thing is to be observed, that this revolution in Spain will assuredly cause a protraction of the war. The new sovereignty will be too green, for this year or two to come, to make a decent figure in a treaty of peace. Such a nation is not to be settled again in peace. There must be a sufficient time for men's ears to become accustomed to the new sounds, before peace can be thought of. "HIS MOST CATHOLIC MAJESTY' will probably, have made way for "JOACHIM I;' but, we shall be ashamed to adopt it just yet; and, this, joined to the natural desire, that Napoleon must, for some time, have to keep the continent in war, will certainly put off the hour of peace. We may, therefore, unless some accident befal us, count upon another five or six years of war. I think, that the conqueror has by no means done with Austria or Russia or Prussia; and, I am, in short, persuaded, that he will dispossess every ancient royal family upon the continent of Europe, that, perhaps, of Sweden excepted. Out of this opinion arises, very naturally, great alarm in my mind as to where we shall look for wives for our royal family. This is a very grave subject, rea 66 der; for, you are, I hope, seriously impressed with the necessity of our having persons of illustrious descent for our queens and princesses To marry into the Buonaparté family would be shocking; but, what shall we do it all the continent of Europe be stocked with nothing else? While Europe was in its former state, so happily were we situated in this respect, that the most agreeable of connections were formed, and yet all was kept, by one means or another, in the family. But, I will pursue these reflections no further, at present, trusting that some civilian, accustomed to Delicate Investigations, will favour me with a line or two, in order to tranquillize my mind. I cannot close this article without once more recurring to the adulatory language and conduct of the people in Spain to a king just about to be dethroned, and in whose defence nota single sword was drawn. A paragraph, dated Madrid, April 17th, says: king Ferdinand has commenced' "his journey to meet Napoleon. On the "12th of this month, he entered Burgos"in a magnificent equipage constructed for "the purpose at the charge of that city, "and drawn by sixty men, attired in the "ancient Spanish costume The city of "Victoria, and many others, intreated "that the ILLUSTRIOUS and BELOVED "traveller would visit them in his progress. "To all these petitions be answered in the "must condescending terms." →→ This puts one so much in mind of what one has read elsewhere, and about other persons, that it cannot fail to awaken a train of in-, teresting thoughts. "Illustrious and be "loved traveller"! Vile slaves! Detestable hypocrites! You hated him, and he despised you. This is, I suppose, what is called loyal language? Miserable will be the king, who, in an hour of danger, shall look for defenders amongst flatterers! All the kings that have been pulled down have been represented to us as being adored by their subjects. Will kings and princes never take warming? Will they never profit from experience? Will they go on believing in none but their parasites? Botley, 9th June, 1808. OFFICIAL PAPERS. AMERICAN STATES.-- The following Papers were communicated to the Congress, by President Jefferson, on the 22d of March, 1808.They are all the prin cipal Official Letters, which have been written upon the subject of the dispute now existing between England and the American States. They begin with 1807. sovereignty and flag of the nation, and the Sir, The documents herewith enclosed, from No 1 to No. 9 inclusive, explain the hostile attack, with the insulting pretext for it, lately committed near the capes of Virginia by the British ships of war Leopard, on the American frigate Chesapeake, No. 10 is a copy of the proclamation issued by the president, interdicting in consequence of that outrage the use of our waters and every other accommodation to all British armed ships. This enormity is not a subject for discussion. The immunity of a national ship of war from every species and purpose of search on the high seas, has never been contested by any nation. G. Britain would be second to none in resenting such a violation of her rights and such an insult on her flag. She may bring the case to the test of her own feelings, by supposing that instead of the customary demand of our mariners serving compulsively even on board her ships of war, opportunities had been seized for rescuing them, in like manner, whenever the superiority of force or the chance of surprize might be possessed by our ships of war-But the present case is marked by circumstances which give it a peculiar die. The seamen take from the Chesapeake had been ascertained to be native citizens of the U. States, and this fact was made known to the bearer of the demand, and doubtless communicated by him to his commander pre vious to the commencement of the attack. It is a fact also, afirmed by two of the men, with every appearance of truth, that they had been impressed from American vessels into the British frigate, from which they escaped, and by the third, that having been impressed from a British merchant ship, he had accepted the recruiting bounty under that duress and with a view to alleviate his situation, till he could escape to his own country; and that the attack was made du ring a period of negociation, and in the midst of friendly, assurances from the Bri-ged as a ground for declining or diminishing tish government. The printed papers herewith sent, will enable you to judge of the spirit which has been roused by the occasion. It pervades the whole community is abblishing the distinctions of party-and, re gardung only the indignity offered to the the satisfaction in this case, that the U. D by recurrences prior to the extraordinary ged in the proceedings against the American frigate is independent of the question concerning the allegiance of the seanjen taken from her, the fact that they were citizens of the U. States, and not British subjects, may have such an influence on the feelings of all, and perhaps on the opinions of some unacquainted with the laws and usages of nations, that it has been thought proper to seek more regular proofs of their national character than were deemed sufficient in the first instance. These proofs will be added by this conveyance, if obtained in time, if not by the first that succeeds. The president has an evident right to expect from the British government, not only an ample reparation to the U. States, in this case, but that it will be decided without difficulty or delay. Should this expectation fail, and above all, should reparation be refused, it will be incumbent on you to take proper measures for hastening home, according to the degree of urgency, all American vessels remaining in British ports; using for the purpose, the mode least likely to awaken the attention of the British government. Where there may be no ground to distrust the prodence or fidelity of consuls, they will proba bly be found the fittest vehicles for your intimations It will be particularly requisite to communicate to our public ships in the Mediterranean the state of appearances, if it be such as ought to influence their movements-All negociation with the British government.on other subjects, will of course be suspended until satisfaction) on this be so pledged and arranged as to renders megol result or the prospect, you will please to forward to us the earliest information ––– The scope of the uroclamation widis signify to you that the president has yieldedunahe presumption that the hostile act of the Bi tish commander did not pursue the iml Attor of his government. It is not indeed, easy to suppose that so rash and sacrifical a step should have originated with the admiral, but it is still more difficult td.believe that such orders were prescribed by any governs ment, under circumstances such as existed between G. Britain and the U. Stafes Calculations founded some datesco:are also strongly opposed to the supposition, that the orders in question conlchas e in engransnsitie₫ from England: In the same scale, are tote ment to the court of Portugal, with an apolo-ciation honorable. Whatever maybe the gy for the pursuit and destruction, by admi ral Buscawen, of certain French ships on the coasts of this last kingdom. Many other cases, more or less analagous, may doubtless be found; see, particularly, the reparation by France to G. Britain, for the attack on Turk's island in 1764, as related in the Annual Register, and in Smollet's continuation of Hume, vol. 10; the proceedings in the case of an English merchantman, which suffered much in her crew and otherwise, from the fire of certain Spanish xebecs cruizing in the Mediterranean; and the execution of the lieutenant of a privateer, for firing a gun into a Venetian merchantman, which killed the captain, as stated in the Annual Register for 1781, page 94. The case of an affront offered to a Russian ambassador in the reignput she apparent and declared persuasion of of queen Ann, though less analagous, shews, in a general view, the solemnity with which reparation is made, for insults having immediate relation to the sovereignty of a nation, Although the principle which was outra the British representatives Mr. Erkile that no orders of la hostile spirit, could haver been issued form authorised by hiszigovern=" ment and the coincidence of this Cast rance with the amicable professions of MP3 |