nancy throughout the kingdom, most peremptorily requiring, that all the regiments. of militia shall be completed to their full establishment immediately, on pain of having the fines levied for all short of the complement.-The regiment of Light Dragoons, commanded by his Royal Highness the Prince, of Wales, which has been for some time quartered at Brighton, has been ordered, from that station to Guildford. The reasons for which this change was made, are said to be a regard for the personal safety of the Heir Apparent.

and Batavian military force in Holland and Zealand, including the entire coast from the West Scheldt to the Texel, it is said, does not exceed forty thousand men, garrisons included. One of the principal bodies of the disposable force is assembled in the neighbourhood of the Helder, and consists of about seventeen thousand men, chiefly French. The army may, however, be, at any time, augmented by any part of the troops in Hanover. There is another small army of about eight thousand men collected in the island of Walcheren, apparently intended more for defensive than offensive operations. In conformity to some late arrangements, the Eatavian troops have been ordered to approach nearer to the coast, for the purpose of being more contiguous to the ports where the embarkations are to be made, Several corps will enter Holland,and lie in Delft; Leyden, Haar lem and Amsterdam, thus forming a line to embark as soon as orders may be received.— The legislative body of the Italian Republic, at the request of government, has agreed to measures for contributing to the expedition against England, by a direct aid of naval and land forces. The legislature has therefore provided means to defray the expense of these auxiliaries, and the law on that subject has been proclaimed. It orders the immediate raising of 5,500,000 of Milanese livres, by a land-tax, payable at a very short period; which sum is to be placed at the disposal of the executive power, for the construction of two frigates and twelve gun-boats, as well as for the equipment of troops.-The greater part of the Italian troops, intended for France, are already on their march; the sixth, seventh, and eighth columns have set out from Milan, on their march, by the way of the Simplon and the Valais, to enter the French territory by Geneva. The French troops in Italy still keep their old positions; the only thing new which has taken place is the reduction of the garrison of Leghorn to fifteen hundred men, in consequence of a request made to the First Consul by the Queen of Etruria. The corps which have quitted Leghorn have marched for the Neapolitan coasts of the Adriatic, to which place some others have repaired from Upper Italy.-In GreatBritain, ministers have given directions that the military preparations throughout the country, and particularly on the coasts, shall be expedited with all possible dispatch. Additional works are erecting in places which have been thought too much exposed; and all the troops in different parts have been ordered to be in a state of constant readiness. -Orders have, also, been issued from the War Office, to the different courts of lieute

NAVAL.-The council of marine of the Batavian republic has issued orders to the, respective commanders in the roads of the republic, for summoning all superior as well as inferior naval officers, and others absent on leave, to repair without loss of time to their respective ships, and to grant no furloughs in future; and also, that all the national ships and vessels of war be immediately put and kept in readiness to be employed in actual service at the shortest no-. tice. In consequence of remonstrances from the municipalities of Vlaardingen and Maaslois, the Batavian government has, for the present, abandoned the design of requiring a number of fishing hookers, on board of which it was intended to transport troops, &c. for the expedition against Great-Britain.. -On the 15th of September last, Captain Graves, of his Majesty's ship Blenheim, discovered a small schooner privateer endeavouring to get into Port-Royal: he accordingly dispatched his boats to cut her off, and after a long chase, they boarded and carried her. She proved to be the French privateer Fortunée, of two guns and twenty-nine men, -On the 26th of October, Captain Younghusband, of the Osprey, cruizing off Trinidad, discovered the French privateer La Resource; not being able to come up with her himself, Capt. Y. sent his boats to attack her, and notwithstanding the privateer kept up a heavy fire from the guns and musketry, they succeeded in capturing her. She mounted four guns, and carried forty-three men, two of whom were killed and twelve wounded during the action. - Capt. Younghusband having put Lieut. Collier and sixteen men on board the prize, she captured, on the next day, the French privateer schooner La Mimi, of one gun and twenty-one men.-On the 26th of December, Com. Hood, in the Centaur, cruizing between Tobago and Grenada, captured, after a chase of seven hours, the French privateer schooner Vigilante, of two guns and forty men, besides a great quantity of musquetry.-Admiral Cornwallis, for whose safety during the the late storms, the

public felt so much anxiety, arrived in Torbay on the 30th of December, accompanied by the San Joseph and Dreadnought. The gallant Admiral, it is stated, was blown off Brest, on Friday the 24th, and again attempted to regain his station but the gale of Tuesday the 27th, obliged him to return. The ships which came in, had suffered considerably in their yards, rigging, &c. besides being much strained; but the damage was soon repaired, and Admiral Cornwallis, after being joined by four ships of the line and a fiftygun ship, from Cawsand Bay, which were ready to reinforce him, again sailed for Brest; and it is believed, that he may be now on his old station, Admiral Cornwallis, who has now been so long at sea, did not quit his ship for an instant.-Several cruizers have sailed from the Downs for the coast of France; and, it is probable, that, by this time, the British squadrons in every quarter have resumed their blockading stations.

prove to France, to Europe, and to the "world, that British resources are as ex"haustless as the British spirit is inex"tinguishable. We may now retort on "the fell tyrant his charge of approaching "bankruptcy, and appeal to Europe to de"cide on which side the charge is best "founded. -Twelve millions of the sup

plies raised within the year, in addition "to an aggregate of taxes already in opera"tion, unexampled in the history of any "nation, furnish too convincing a proof of "what the finances of Britain are capable "of yielding, to be overturned by the art"ful representatives of French scribblers."

-Raised! no, no, not raised, enacted, imposed by law, if you please; but not raised vet. The first quarter produced little more than half a million; the second may, probably, produce three half millions, and not much more than that, though the produce to the 5th of this month was estimated at four millions and a half. Not a penny of the income tax has yet been raised; and this source was to produce 4.500,000!. out of the 12,000,000 1.- But, let us hear

him out :-" Whilst taxes are imposed

66

by the legislature, and chearfully acqui"esced in by the people, to an amount that "would appear incredible to even an Eng"lishman ten years since; the burthen is so wisely and so equally diffsued, that it "is comparatively little felt, and universally "submitted to without murmur. Every ad"ditional impost has been regulated in such a manner as to affect each individual in proportion to his means, and the greatest tenderness has been shewn to the poorer classes, by excepting them, in all cases where the operation of the tax might prove injurious or oppressive. The "boasted finances of France, on the contrary, are in a state of rapid decay. The "public revenues have, in many instances, "been anticipated, and their produce, for

some years to come, raised in advance, and "applied to the support of the present war. "Neutral nations have been plundered, "and allied states compelled to make ad

vances by way of loan, to prop the vaunt"ed rescources of the republic; yet, such "has been the extravagance of the French

66

government's plans, or the want of pru"dence and economy in the proscecution "of them, that it has been compelled to

resort to the most unjust, oppressive, and "shameless system of extortion, in the

shape of taxes, that ever disgraced the "administration of any civilized govern"ment."That the impositions of the French government are unjust and oppressive is very likely; but, that any thing, in the shape of a tax, can, by the French or any other government, be more detestable than the Doctor's income tax I utterly deny. It is not the amount of it; that is not too great; and, besides, it is as well to pay under that name as under any other name; it is the abominable principle of it that I dislike, that I abhor, and that. let who will differ from me in opinion, I shall always abhor.——1 he French revenues are anticipated; their produce, for some years to come, has been "raised in advance, and

applied to the support of the present war!" What, in the name of common sense, does the Doctor mean? Does he speak of a borrowing system? Has the French government been making loans? Has it begun to saddle the nation with a debt? If so, Buonaparté has my most hearty thanks; for, he will, in that case, give our grand-children a chance of seeing France such, in this respect, as England now is. But, I am afraid this notion is not correct; I am afraid, that the Consul has made no loans; and, then, it follow's, of course, that what the Doctor

calls an anticipation of the revenue, is, having made the people pay before-band, which may, as far as I know, be to deceive those people; but I am certain it is very far from proving that they are impoverished, and still less is it a mark of the " rapid decay" of the resources of the government. The Doctor thinks he has atchieved great things in imposing a considerable portion of the taxes that are wanted within the year ; were he to raise, during the year, nearly as much money as the necessities of the state demanded for that space of time, he would be regarded as the greatest of men; what, then, are we to think of Buonaparté, who raises in the year all that he wants during that year! But he raises them "in advance." Could the Doctor raise taxes in advance what a happy man would he be! He, poor man, is obliged to wait till they are due; and, he thinks himself well off, if he can get them then. The truth is, this ministerial paragraph has neither sense nor reason in it; but, its object evidently is, to revive that most foolish and dangerous notion, that France is to be beaten by the ruin of her finances; and, to defeat this object, to shew how fallacious is the notion, and to convince the people that France is to be beaten only by warlike exertions, ought to be the endeavour of every one, who writes or speaks upon public affairs.- Of all the nations upon earth the English are the greatest dupes; and, of all the English, the greatest dupes are those, who dabble in politics and the funds, and who are never to be cured. Their cullibility is of a nature not to be subdued by the effects either of time or suffering. Their folly is as obstinate as that of the bird, which, after having, for ten years together, made ten thousand attempts every day, to get through the wire of his cage, begins the eleventh year with unabted perseverance. How many times did Mr. Pitt tell them, that the last war was "a war of finance?" How many scores of pamphlets, how many thousands of paragraphs were written to prove, that, if we would but hold out a little longer, the resources of the bankrupt enemy must totally fail her? In order to convince us, that the assignats and mandats must inevitably produce the utter ruin of France, and bring her regicide rulers to our feet, how many reams of paper did Sir Francis D'Ivernois render still more worthless than even those assignats and mandats ? Sir Francis has lately, if we can trust to his advertisements, reproached Buonaparté with a breach of five promises. How many promises, alas! has Sir Francis broken! And, yet, were he to recommence his pro

phecies, it is a thousand to one but he would find believers in abundance. Such is the credulity, such the infatuation, of this enervated money-loving race. Of all the errors that we can adopt, this is the worst; this is infinitely the most dangerous. Our wealth will never save us. It will not give us a victory over so much as a foraging party it will not procure us a respite for half an hour; and, really, if we do hope to triumph in consequence of the drain which time may call for from the treasures of Buonaparté, we neither shall, nor ought, to escape that punishment, which such tolly and baseness have never yet failed, first or last, to bring upon its possessors.

PARTIES.]-Upon this subject the public anxiety is uncommonly great. All men of sense have long been convinced, that a change, not in the Ministry, but of the Ministry, is necessary to give the country even a chance of extricating itself from the great and numerous dangers, with which it is now surrounded. But, till lately, there no where appeared any hope. All the great men of the kingdom; all those to whom either the people, or foreign courts, could possibly look with any degree of confidence, seemed to be so completely divided, as to check every wish that arose in one's mind ás to their coalescing in the form of a ministry, or a party. It is an old saying, that, when things are at worst, they must mend; and, as our state was nearly, if not quite, as bad as it could be, hope, at last, seemed to grow out of despair. A change for the worse is impossible; and, I am inclined to think, that we shall see a change for the better. Not that I set so little value upon my reputation for political sagacity, as to hazard an opinion, that the Doctor will, before he has brought the Monarchy to the very gates of death, be driven from his ill-gotten and worse exercised power; but, it does appear to me, that he and his colleagaes will not be much longer suffered to sleep upon a bed of roses, while they keep the people of a mighty empire upon the rack.-Precisely what shape parties will take, how men will group together, and how, at last, the two opposite sides will stand, it is very difficult to say. With the minor politicians, amongst whom I include myself, the great subject of speculation is, what course Mr. Pitt will pursue. Supposing Mr. Fox, Mr. Windham, Lord Grenville, and their respective friends, to co-operate against the Minister; there will, in that case, be three modes of proceeding, out of which Mr. Pitt must-make his election: 1. To join the opposition; 2. To join the Minister; 3. To secede from Par

liament; for, as to the little game of motions of adjournment and of previous question, I think, and, for his name and fame's sake, I do sincerely hope, that he never will try that again, seeing that I never have, from the date of Mr. Patten's motion to the present hour, met with any man, of any politics or any party, who did not condemn the part, which Mr. Pitt, by the advice of Lord Melville, then condescended to act.Each of the three courses, above described, must present considerable difficulties to Mr. Pitt; yet, I hope, there can be little doubt as to which he will prefer; for, as in the case of Achilles, by his choice will his character be known. In the mean-time, the camp in Downing Street and Whitehall is all upon the alert; the fears of a foreign, have given place to the fears of a domestic invasion; and, it is confidently stated, that the more nervous of the set have already begun to reconnoitre the ground for a re

treat.

Mr. Sheridan, in his more fortunate days, once compared Lord Castlereagh to a boy who had been let down the chimney, for the purpose of opening the door and letting in the gang; and, without a wish to speak irreverently, when I look at the ministers, in their present state, they really force upon my recollection pictures that I have seen in the windows, describing the anxiety aud agitation of a nest of sharpers, when they hear the constables knocking at the door. God send their alarm may not be in vain! Their press, though it begins to flag, is yet most bitter and boisterous.

The

cry of coalition" has, indeed, been fairly coughed down; but, that of " prerogative" and "constitution" still braves the scorn of common sense; and, as they may, possibly, be heard till the meeting of Parliament, it may not be altogether unnecessary to bestow a few remarks on the way, in which they have been, and yet are, employed. It has frequently been observed, that the modesty of the Addingtons and their colleagues very far surpasses the assurance of the common run of mankind, of which, if there wanted any proof, the doctrines they are now preaching up, as to the duty of supporting Ministers, would most amply afford it. The constitution," say they, "gives "the King the prerogative of choosing his "Ministers; he has chosen the present

Ministers, and they ought to be supported, because they are the King's choice!" To argue a against this would be to give a sanction to ssurance; but, as to the latter position, I shall deny the fact. I say the present Ministers are not the King's choice. They were chosen by Mr. Fitt, who, to

the credit of Lord Hawkesbury be it spoken, had considerable difficulty in persuading that nobleman to make part of the cabinet. Not so with the Doctor, who jumped at it, as, before Mr. Pitt discovered his rare qualities, he would have done at a half-guinea fee. But, to the mortification of "the family," it ought to be known, that the place of prime minister was first offered by Mr. Pilt to Mr. Dudley Rider, now Lord Harrowby, who had the modesty to refuse it. Then, and not till then, was Mr. Henry Addington thought of, even by Mr. Pitt. And yet, these people now affect to regard themselves as having been selected by the throne, not only as ministers, but as the only men that his Majesty could, or can, think of trusting with ministerial power!. Towards the close of the Treasury pamphlet, the Cursory Remarks, they have very elaborately laid down their doctrine of official immortality: "I protest," says the author, "that, in this fearful crisis of our country, "I hope, that we have no other cause, no "other interest, but hers! that we contend "not for patrons but for duties, not for par"ties but for the state; and we all rally "around OUR SOVEREIGN and his minis"ters, bis lieutenants, and bis generals, "around all who have his confidence and "commission. I am sure this is the faith "of the constitution, and that by this aloue we can be saved." By this "WE" the Addingtons and the Hawkesburies mean themselves; for, as to the people, they are to be saved, if saved at all, by causing, as far as their right and power go, the present ministers to be hurled from their places. Yes, and where is the man, who does not rally round bis sovereign? but, where is the man who would not be ashamed to be thought to rally round the ministers? Observe how they have nestled themselves into the folds of the royal robe! how anxious they are to identify themselves with the king, and thus, at once, to preserve their power and to get rid of all responsibility. Our sovereign "and his ministers, bis lieutenants, and his

generals;" just as if the word his had a talismanic virtue in it; just as if it could, or ought, to shelter ministers from impeachment any more than it shelters generals from courts-martial!Having thus laid down a creed for us, they proceed to state, that, besides that the circumstance of their being the king's ministers gives them a right to unanimous support, there are no other persons to make ministers of. "What," say they, "would be the situation of the country (at "this crisis of foreign danger, internal diffi"culty, and Irish rebellion) under a minis