guard. The candidates who have resorted to such means have always been found amongst the most wicked of men; men, who, having, by a life of adultery or of gambling, or of profligacy of some other sort, ruined both their character and their fortunes, have staked their last thousand upon an election, with the hope of thereby obtaining security from a jail, and of selling their vote for the means of future subsistence drawn from the sweat of the people at a bundred-fold; and thus expecting to pocket the profit of the corrupt speculation, sneering at their bribed and perjured constituents, as Satan is said to have sneered at the reprobate with whom he had bargained for his soul.. -Far from you, Gentlemen, be credulity so foolish! Far from you, disgrace so deep, infamy so indelible! Far from you, so flagrant a violation of the law, so daring a defiance of the justice and the power and the wrath of God! But, were it otherwise, and did I find in Honiton but as many righteous men as were found in Sodom and Gomorrah, I would tender them my hand to lead them from the rest. Very different, however, are my hopes; these hopes forbid me to believe it possible, that there should be, collected upon one spot, four hundred Englishmen, having the eyes of all England upon them, who will not, by their votes, freely and cordially given, sanction the great principle upon which I now stand; and, in these hopes, I will, if I have life, do myself the honour to meet you on the day of

election.

In the mean while,

I am, with great respect, Gentlemen, Your most Irumble and most obedient servant, WM. COBBETT.

1st of June, 1806.

SUMMARY OF POLITICS. Under this head I have not time, at present, to say much; but there are two or three subjects that I cannot refrain from just touching upon.

MILITARY AFFAIRS.-MR. WINDHAM'S PLAN has been discussed, in the shape of a clause in the annual mutiny bill. What with the weight of the taxes and the now openlyconfessed abuses in the expenditure, the attention of the public had been so much engaged that the regular parties in the House of Commons had good reason to fear that they would soon be totally forgotten; because, as to the imposing of taxes and the abuses of the expenditure, they are, of course, except in particular cases, all of a

mind. With great impatience, therefore, do they appear to have waited for the producing of MR. WINDHAM'S Plan about the army, a subject upon which they might, consistent with regular principles, differ widely in opinion, and dispute till a late hour in the morning. The Plan itself was not before the House on Friday last; but, there was a clause brought to be introduced into the mutiny act; and, as this clause contained a provision arising out of the proposed mode of enlisting for term of years, it afforded an excellent opportunity for a "grand debate,” upon which all the professional gentlemen entered with as much eagerness and as much regularity and fairness as a main of cocks. Mr. WINDHAM began, having SIR JAMES PULTENEY pitted against him. This IN Secretary of State and our General having finished, the next pair that came on were an Our Secretary of State (Mr. Charles Yorke) and an rs General (Craufurd). And thus the combat was continued till a late hour in the morning, when it was closed by the two champions, Messrs. CANNING and Fox. But, after this, there succeeded a sort of battle-royal, not without considerable confusion, and with some marks of what an inexperienced spectator would have taken for real anger. This, however, ended in an agreement to renew the combat on Monday last, which was accordingly done; but it was soon discovered, that the spectators came the second time with very little curiosity, and that the thing went off without having left any interest in the public mind. There were divisions both nights; but, as to the numbers either of the majority or the minority, it is of no use to be particular about them; it is a circumstance with which the people are fools if they trouble themselves; and it is worth while to observe merely, that, even upon these occasions, they were not present in the House more than one half of its members!——There was, as the news-papers tell us, a great deal said about who were the fittest people to be ministers; but, not a word that I have seen, about the immense power that MR. WINDHAM is placing, without any check whatever, in the hands of the Crown; not a word about the extreme danger that may arise from forming an army of 250,000 men, all the officers of which army are to be appointed by, and to be liable to be dismissed and disgraced, at any moment, by the King, without a trial, or a hearing of any sort, and all the men of which are to be separated from the people, kept in barracks, and are to have hardly any common feeling of interest with the people. Not a word

about this; and not a word about the 13,000 Hanoverians, who have foreigners for officers, and who are kept here, while the native troops are daily shipping off to the East and the West Indies. These, we must suppose, were not topics of regular debate. It is to be hoped, however, that, when the bill itself for creating this army comes to be discussed, that some independent member will endeavour to obtain an explanation as to the ultimate views of the ministers upon these important points; for while it is our duty to make every exertion and every sacrifice necessary to the defence of our country, it is not less our duty to take care, as far as we constitutionally can, that the country so defended remain what it formerly was; and to convince the people that it will so remain would, I am fully persuaded, do more towards its defence, in the hour of danger, than would be done by all the Hanoverian troops that ever existed since the beginning of the world. It would be very useful to obtain a pretty exact account of all the money that the Hanoverian troops, including their bands of music, have cost the country, since they were first raised. A little slip of paper would exhibit this account; and a very valuable one it would be. We should then be able to ascertain the price at which we purchase these our defenders; and having ascertained it, we should, probably, be induced, every one of us in his rank and degree, to make greater exertions for the raising of nafive soldiers. The experience which these Hanoverian veterans have had in defending countries may, indeed, be a considerable advantage; but, let us hope, that, having had such an example before us, five or six of us would, in time, particularly with the aid of that excellent discipline," which MR. WINDHAM has now discovered to proceed from the Duke of York, become equal to one Hanoverian.In the mean while, and in the face of all MR. Fox's resolute declarations; in the face of all MR. WINDHAM'S plans; in the face of all the Duke of York's skill and prowess; in the face of all these, Buonaparté is going on. He has made a king in Holland; and, greatly do I fear, that MR. Fox and MR. WINDHAM will acknowledge that king as a legitimate sovereign. Nay, I really fear, that they will not insist at last, upon the restoration of Hanover, notwithstanding the sturdy declaration above alluded to; and I fear this for a reason which I will more fully state another time. If my fears should prove well-founded, what becomes of the Hanoverian Legion? Where will their country be? This

will be a curious question in public law. will be a question to puzzle even such persons as Lord Grenville and Sir John Newport. It will require greater profundity than was so conspicuous in the implied propositions for restoring cash-payments at the Bank.

INCOME TAX.-Lord Henry Petty has given notice that he intends to bring in a bill so to alter the effect of the INCOME TAX bill, that persons with small incomes and large families shall meet with some relief. Thanks to you, my Lord! Better late than never; and, let us hope, that this change of purpose has been produced by the cries of the distressed; by the cries of those who dreaded complete starvation.There are, my Lord, one or two letters in a subsequent part of this sheet, which were intended to be presented to you; but which, in consequence of the writers not being able to come at you, have been sent to me, with the hope, that, through this channel, they might reach the eye of your lordship. I beseech you to read them. They will convey to you more useful information than you will ever receive from all your Secretaries and all the numerous swarm of expectants that hang about you like flies about a grocer's shop in the chill days of October.- -But, now the tax will be less productive. True; and you must, at last, my lord, come into the proposition of MR. FRANCIS. You must make foreigners pay the tax as well as we; and, you must raise the rate of the tax in proportion to the amount of the income; and, if you repeat the argument, that this would be acting upon a levelling principle, let me ask, my lord, what principle it is that has prevailed in apportioning of the tar upon windows; and why this principle should not apply in a tax upon income as well as in a tax upon things arising from that income? The amount of the yearly dividends at the bank is about 20,000,0001. About one half of this sum is annually paid to persons having 501. a year each. Take the tax from this half and add to this deduction the amount of the exemption to foreigners, and you will find a feartal defalcation in your present estimate. What is to be done, then? Why, you must take more from the higher incomes! and, with all my heart take it; but, first, I think, before you go any further with the funds, about half a million a year might be taken from the Sinecure and Pension List! Some of these Sinecures and Fensions are enormous; and, what is more, they are, in general, great in an inverse proportion to

the public services of the persons by whom they are received. There are many of these which I will mention in detail at some future time, contenting myself, at present, with having just pointed out to your lordship this copious and yet apparently unperceived source of pecuniary means. Any Sinecure that has been given for real services performed, or real loss sustained, for the benefit of the country in general, ought to remain untouched; but, every other grant in this way ought, at such a time as this, to undergo a revision; and, surely, it legally may, as well as the funds, be taxed. Yet, strange as it may seem, this is a source that never seems to have presented itself to the mind of any minister or any Secretary of the Treasury! And, my lord, where would be the harm of imposing a tax upon the non-residence of beneficed clergymen ? There are 5,000 of them at this moment, the greater part of whom have two livings each. Why should they not pay a tax of 20 or 30 pounds a year each for a licence to non-reside? Is it reasonable, is it just, that the clergyman who performs constant duty for his income should be taxed as heavily for that income as the clergyman who receives his income without performing any duty at all for it? Many, my lord, are the objects of this sort to tax. Some of them have, I know, been pointed out to you in private; and, I think, you will excuse me for saying what I have to say, in public. say, in public. The funds must certainly be much more heavily taxed than they now are, especially if we adhere to Mr. Fox's declaration, and carry on the war, until Hanover be restored to His Majesty'; but, previously to that more weighty tax upon the funds, honesty as well as humanity call upon us to resort to all the other means of raising and of saving public money, which means shall not destroy the settled notions of property and of liberty. I grant, that all these means must, at the present rate, soon be exhausted; and that, with a heavier and a heavier hand, you must come to the funds; but, let us exhaust, fairly exhaust, these means first; and then, the coming upon the funds will be tilly justified, the holders having had, in the mean while, warning sufficient.

BREWING TAX.Upon this subject an excellent letter or two will be found in the subsequent pages of this sheet. The Erciseman-part of the plan will, probably, be given up for the present; but, the assessment must be left in the hands of Commissioners; and, what redress will there be as to the amount? But, money must be

"had," says Mr. Fox, and so say I; though, as to the means we differ. I am for saving. I am not for adding to the Income Tax in order to pay advanced salaries and enormous grants, and then for taxing those very salaries and grants. When I hear that barns in the Isle of Wight have been rented by government at five or six times their annual value, I feel little consolation in reflecting that the barn owner will have a greater income and will pay more to the Income Tax. I am for saving the rent at once. So with every branch of expenditure. So with the debts, or pretended debts, of the Nabob of Arcot. So with the immense sums expended upon the Staff of the Army. So with contracts of every description.The question is, and it is a question whereon for Mr. Fox seriously to reflect, not how far taxation can possibly be carried, but how far it can be carried without the immediate assistance of the army; and, as I am sure that neither he, nor any man in England, I hope, would wish to see it carried so far as to render such assistance necessary, I do most earnestly exhort him to turn his mind, not only towards the particular objects, which I have taken the liberty to point out, but towards objects of economy in general.

weighty and important nature. They "directly imputed to Lord Wellesley not only every species of public delinquency that could brand the character of a public officer, but every charge of private de"pravity that could stain the personal repu "tation of an individual. He had no

doubt that the Hon. Gentleman who "brought forward those charges, had done "so under a self-persuasion of their truth,

and a belief that he should be able to "substantiate them in evidence. He would "not pay the Hon. Gentleman so bad a "compliment, as to suppose he would bring

forward such charges against any man, "much less against the noble lord, unless "he was himself persuaded they were "founded in fact, and without being pre"pared with evidence, which he himself "conceived competent to sustain them. "But the hon. gent. must allow that, not"withstanding the strength of his own per

"

suasion upon the subject, it was still pos"sible the noble lord might possess a confi"dence in his own innocence, superior to every accusation of such a nature, and "inust feel extremely impatient for the op"portunity of his own vindication, more especially when those charges included " of a nature more atrocious than all "the rest, and such a one as called for the

"

"

one

most immediate investigation, namely, "the charge of a foul, deliberate, and cruel "murder. In this charge was also included a person, not a member of either house of parliament, for whose account also, much anxiety must be felt, though he had not "the honor even of a slight personal ac"quaintance with him, namely, Mr. Henry "Wellesley. But, from the nature of the "charges altogether, and more especially "the last, it became absolutely necessary, "that an early investigation should now "take place. If the hon. gent. had named any day for such an inquiry, it would not " be his wish to take it out of his hands: "for the present, however, he should move, ""That the House do, on to-morrow

fortnight, take into its consideration ""the charges of high crimes and misde""meanours, laid on their table, against ""Richard Marquis Wellesley, on the "28th ult. concerning the affair of Oude.". "If the hon. gent. should then have any "motion to submit to the House upon the subject, he would have an opportunity of doing so. If not, he (Lord Temple), "should certainly propose a motion on the subject. MR. PAULL adverted to the precedent of Mr. Burke's proceedings against Governor Hastings, and said, that

"

"that right hon. gent., after five years deli"beration and repeated motions, had, upon "the 4th April, 1786, laid on the table seven articles of charge against Mr. Hastings; on the 12th of April, he laid four more; and on the 7th of May, three more; and notwithstanding the right "hon. gent. had taken five years to deliberate upon his purpose; that he had the "benefit of the Reports of the Secret Com"mittee, of various papers he moved for, "and of evidence examined at the bar for "the proof of his charges; yet it was not "in less than six weeks afterwards, that he "moved the House to any proceeding upon "those charges. Now he had given notice

66

only yesterday, that he had witnesses to "examine, and had also moved for a num"ber of papers, many of which were abso "lutely necessary in support of the charges "alluded to by the noble lord. Let those "witnesses be examined at the bar; let "those papers be produced in proper time, " and he should not have the smallest ob"jection to proceed to the investigation on "the day proposed. Indeed, it was his in"tention to have moved for that day, if the "testimony and documents had been fairly "before,the House: but until they were, " he should not be induced to move one

step to the right or to the left, or to 66 move one degree quicker or slower, in

consequence of the noble lord's mo"tion, or of any importunity from the "friends of Lord Wellesley: and with

respect to the charge of murder, alluded

to by the noble lord, it was a 'general "charge, and buly mentioned amongst "others, with a hope that, upon substan"tiating the preceding charges, he would "be allowed to bring a supplementary "charge upon that distinct head; and he "would be ready to go into the proofs upon "that point to-morrow, if the others were

66

gone through. LORD ARCHIBALD "HAMILTON could not let pass some ex"pressions which had fallen from the noble "lord, without making some observations

66

this, then, was not a charge of murder, "couched in as strong words as had ever appeared in the language of an indictment, he was at a loss to conceive what words could describe it more strongly." Certainly this is a charge of murder. Certainly, Sir John, it requires no great depth of noddle to find out that; and, whether the Marquis was really guilty of the particular crime here laid to his charge will depend, first upon the result of the question, whether he ordered the aforesaid Zemindars to be attacked, and, then again, remounting another step, whether he had a right to give such orders, whether he gave them in virtue of powers by him, the said Marquis Wellesley, awfully acquired. If, in riding a hunting I kill a man by accident, I am not guilty of murder; but, if I am breaking into a house, and kill a man by accident, I am guilty of murder, Sir John; and, if having broken

into a house, I wish to compel the servants to join me, and I kill them for refusing, what is then my crime?" Rebellion!" Sir Arthur Wellesley called the resistance of the Zemindars rebellion! But, what is rebellion? Resistance to the lawful commands of a lawful Sovereign. That is rebellion, Sir Arthur; and, if you can make it out that your brother, or his master, the East India Company, were the sovereigns, the lauful sovereigns of the Zemindars, then you may possibly make something like a defence. So that there is no occasion for this captious exception to words.As to the motion of LORD TEMPLE, it was perfectly useless. The consideration of the charge will come quite soon enough for Lord Wellesley, and for the whole of the Body-Guard. Of this Sir John Newport may be assured; and, therefore, it is really a pity that he should withdraw from the Irish taxing business any portion of the attention of that great mind, which seems destined to be one of the principal instruments in saving the sinking state. It is really a pity, that, though Lord Grenville is now Prime Minister and first Treasurer of both England and Ireland, he and his able coadjutors, Sir John and Lord Henry, have not yet been able to get. half an hour's leisure to order the Bank to pay in cash! Why not let Mr. PAULL and LORD WELLESLEY alone, and look to the Bank a little, especially as Buonaparté has expressly declared, that, when we pay our bank, notes in cash, he will acknowledge us to be safe from his power. Now, then, why does not this mighty Lord Treasurer do the thing at once? At any rate, until that be done, I hope we shall not see the great mind of Sir John Newport withdrawn from the subject

of the finances.

SLAVE TRADE. -But, I have no room. Let us hope that MR. Fox's declaration upon* this subject is a proof that he is returning to himself; that old professions are reviving in his memory; that we shall now hear and see what we expected. Let us hope this; for as to the SLAVE TRADE alone, that I, for my part shall never accept of, This project will destroy the West India Colonies; but, England, with the other things that Mr. Fox promised us, may still live. We must, however, have those other things. NO TUB will do. Give us the rest, and I consent to the abolishing the Slave Trade, though I am convinced it will utterly ruin the West India Colonies; but, as often as this question and its plea of humanity is agitated, so often will I remind the agitators of what other things they promised to do; things that they can do; things that would be universally ac