reduction of the interest of the derful in the matter. Debt, this country never could go to war again. The words which There re quired but, a very ordinary stock of understanding to foresee, that, situated as we were, the French nation would not long remain I addressed to you upon that occasion; that is to say, in defence of our Petition, which had been without making some attempt to so rudely attacked in the House inflict vengeance on us for the of Commons by JOHN SMITH, transactions of 1815. There reMr. CALCRAFT, and KNATCHBULL, quired very little sagacity to disthe brother of Captain CHARLES cover, that something like that KNATCHBULL, English Consul at which has now taken place would NANTES, of whose works in prison in London we read of the other day; these words, or at least, a small part of them, I cannot refrain from repeating here. You will observe, that the passage I am about to quote, was written in the inevitably take place in a short time. I had long been deeply impressed with the opinion, and the honour which I had in meeting you at MAIDSTONE, afforded me an opportunity of amply expressing it. It is useful to the public, as well as just to oneself, to recur to opinions, which events have so fully verified; and I month of June of last year; that is to say, full two months, if not three months before the assembling of the Congress at Verona; quote the following passage with and, of course, long before I could have the smallest idea that the French intended to invade Spain. When we consider these things, the passage that I am 1 about to cite, must appear, to singular pleasure; because it will recal to the minds of all my readers your sensible and manly conduct upon the memorable occasion referred to. "This leads us to another and some persons, really wonderful." larger and more terrific view of There is, however, nothing won-" the consequences of this all-cor "rupting, all-corroding, all-crip- " high prices? Would they make 66 pling, and all- ruining Debt." another Debt of eight hundred "Well have the Petitions of the millions? And would they, at "Hundred of Tapping in Norfolk" the conclusion of such war, "called it a millstone, dragging" again return to cash-payments, "down the British nation; for, it pass another Peel's Bill, and " is dragging us down, and down" raise a hundred and thirty mil"we are going at a greater rate" lions a-year in gold, with wheat «than nation ever yet fell! Are at four or five shillings a bushel? "we secure from the hostility of "Barely to ask these questions our neighbours? Yet it may now "be said of England, that she seriously would savour of a cracked brain; and, yet, there "dares not think of war; that she" are men to talk, like Mr. JOHN "dare not even to be providing SMITH, of paying the interest of a against it, while her enemies" this Debt in gold to the full "are growing to gigantic strength." amount, and not to admit the "Will any one say that additional" possibility of ceasing to pay; "taxes can be laid on to the " nay, and to deem it disgraceful amount of even one million a- "in you, that you do not concur in 66 year; much less to the amount" the frantic doctrine. One of the "of thirty or forty millions a-year," best means of obviating war, is “which a war would require. A to take care to be in a state that 86 war with America and France" makes you not fear it. To see "would see these islands invaded" you ready for war is always the ❝in two months, without forty" surest means of producing tem"millions a-year expenditure, in" per, prudence and patience in " addition to the present. And the adversary. Thus prepared; "is there any man mad enough" standing in an attitude like this, "to suppose that those forty mil-" you come to every negotiation ❝lions could be raised in taxes in" of every sort, with advantages " addition to the present taxes," far superior to all those with "and with present prices? Would" which you can be furnished by "the Government borrow again?" craft and by eloquence. Your "Would it make another string of " adversary looks at his man; and "loans? Would it get those loans" having measured him from head “in gold? Would it come back" to foot, he acts accordingly. No again to the paper and to nation fears England at the present moment; and in every" and eight ciphers and posted " contest that we have had; in" up in 'Change Alley, and there every dispute about navigation" it tells the King of England: "and commerce, this Debt has" DARE NEVER TO TALK "been a millstone about our "OF WAR AGAIN AS LONG "necks; a millstone visible to" AS I AM IN EXISTENCE! "all the world; a tremendous "It is unpleasant, it is painful "weight in the scale in favour of" in the extreme, to have to per"every one that has had a dispute" form the duty of foreboding the with us of any description. This" downfal of one's own country; "has been the cause of the pre- "and if painful to the rest of mansent projects for abrogating, in" kind, what must it be to an part, at least, those navigation" Englishman, who always feels laws; that system of maritime" for his country, even when he "management and jurisdiction "does not feel for himself? Yet, "which first gave us the prepon-" this is a duty to be performed, derance against France. The" and is imperious in proportion "bills at this moment in the "to the mind's conviction of the "House of Lords, and which are "fact. My wishes can avail no"about to pass into laws, are the thing; but my sincere opinion "result of vain attempts to obtain is, that if your prayer be not "profitable commerce by nego-"heard; if the interest of this "tiation. We want the money "Debt be not reduced, this nation "derivable from commerce; but "is doomed to become one of the "that very want deprives us of "most contemptible upon the face "the power of getting the com- of the earth. The American merce. Often has it been asked" statesmen, I know, regard our why we have no commercial" Debt as their best security. "treaty with France; why the" They rejoice at its existence "Dutch overreach us; why the and at the obstinacy of our Go"Americans take possession of "vernment in adhering to the "the Gulf of Mexico; and actually system they have so long pur"take a step upon the West In-" sued. In France, I question “dia Islands, while our Govern-"not, the same sentiments pre"ment seems stricken dumb? The "vail. Both those nations disen 66 66 66 answer is found in THE DEBT." tangled themselves from their "It is written in a figure of eight" Debts. They both took care to F ર get rid of the crippling load; now seem to be begging for eter“and while we are adhering to nal execration, if they were to "the enfeebling curse, they are demand that which they have growing strong by the migration called me a villain and a spy for "to their shores of the capital, recommending. Thus the thing “the industry and the genius of is most gloriously beset; it has "Englishmen." annen the Jews on one side of it, and it to jas is phot on the other. M to 2:00 Radicals looking has the French "Our aristocracy and their un MEMARMON to moizza LEY, would not hear of any reduc-derstrappers, our parsons, and the tion of the interest of the Debt, whole tribe of taxLING OR PRUCE tax-eaters; these are continually talking to us about T He was too honest a man, he said. Wise COKE of Norfolk, and no less wise SUFFIELD, whose name is EDWARD HARBOARD," and whose father-in-law left him five hundred French were, under the old Gopounds to purchase a seat in Par-vernment, most cruelly oppressed liament. These men abused me by the aristocracy; and to this as if I had been a thief, and the oppression we ought to ascribe the latter compared me to Oliver or far greater part of the horrors of Edwards, and was followed in his the these • but, grab to example by blackguard Parson oppressions were, France might Smythies of Hereford; because I have remained for centro sit had proposed a reduction of the interest of the Debt. Yet, without 14 centuries with out a revolution, if it had not been for the effects of the funding sysblow I such reduction, GIBRALTAR must tem; a system quite infernal in go! That is my real opinion; and itself; but at last, like most other the French Government is quite evils, producing its own cure. convinced that our Government read several years ago, a passage, dares not attempt such reduction. in Young's Travels in France, timberlan This is my own opinion, too; for, which attraeted my attention at Daddy Coke and SUFFIELD, the first reading, and which I have and the rest of that crew, would often thought of since. It appears 166 to have been written in the year" to other countries, it remains a 1791, just after the French revo" subject of infinite: curiosity, to lution had taken place. I insert" see how far the infatuated and it here, as worthy of the best at-"blind spirit of funding will now tention of one of my read-be pursued. Every hour, after ers, and an additional motive is, additional motive is, the great event in France, will to do an act of justice to the me-"make it more and more critical, mory of Mr. YOUNG. "and will inevitably involve in its It appears, from the preced-" train new revolutions, perhaps ing accounts (of the taxation)," of a complexion more dangerous "that France, under the old go-" to established families, than any "vernment, pursued the ruinous" thing we have seen in France "system of mortgaging its reve-" If peace is preserved in that 'nues, as regularly as any other other kingdom, the debt will extin"country, whose greater freedom" guish itself, being in a great "might be supposed to offer more" proportion annuities for lives; temptations to the practice. This" but were not this the case, and system, ho however, almost un-" should new wars add to the i "aided by any other cause, has "national burthens, the people t overturned that government, by "means of the most extraordi almost emancipated as they have. " been from taxation, will be "nary revolution upon record. If brought back to it with great "Louis XIV. amidst the splen-" difficulty; and other assemblies, i 10 21077on "dour of his reign and career of" feeling their power better esta-> "his conquests, could possibly "blished, will not pay, the same "have foreseen that the second attention to the public creditors "sovereign in descent from him" which the present has done; and the event might be similar 2 jects, on account of the debts he to what will happen in Eng “ was then contracting, he would “ land. No government will ever either have rejected with horror" think of committing a deliberate "the system he adopted, or have "manifested the most entire want "of those feelings which ought to "dwell in the breast of a great "after this memorable example "own power;-and the event may |