36,200,000l. and the charge on account of debt will, this year, in one way or another amount to more than 26,000,000l. So that, the total annual expenditure, according to the Doctor's present statement, will be more than 62,000,000!. And this, observe, makes no provision for offensive war; no provision for subsidies; except as was be fore observed, to our faithful allies Mons. Rosey and De Latouche. It will cost us sixtytwo millions a year to live in a state of siege! Sixty-two millions a year just to keep our heads out of the yoke. And yet, the Doctor has the assurance to tell us, that we can support a contest of this sort of any duration,

without making any addition to the na❝tional debt." The whole annual income of the nation is 38,900,000l. and its annual expenditure 60,000,000l. Shirt the items how he will, this is the fact; a fact which stands recorded in the accounts laid before Parliament, and which, therefore, if those accounts are not false, cannot be denied.Yet, I shall be reminded, that the monied men have no scruple to lend even to the Doc tor, and that loans are made upon as good 66 terins as ever; and I shall be further reminded, that, notwithstandg the state of Ireland, political and œconomica', notwithstanding the issue of three and sixpenny. notes, the loan for Ireland has been made upon "terms extremely advantageous"yes, that is the phrase, "extremely advan

tageous to the public and profitable to "the contractor." Happy chapmen! both gain. Fortunate gamesters! both win. By what miserable means this deception is kept up! Our children, when they grow up, will blush for the stupidity of their fathers. When the bubble has burst, we ourselves, even the most deltish amongst us, shall wonder how we could so long have been deluded by so naked a deceit." Ad

vantageous terms" indeed! What is there in the whole transaction, as far as the government and the jobbers are concerned, but an exchange of paper? Not a single house or a field is sold for the purpose of lending the money to govern. ment. Finally there come real riches, in one shape or another, to be expended by the government, though not to the nominal amount of the loan, nor any thing near it; but, as to the immediate contractors, they deal in paper, and the paper they take is just as good as the paper they give. Mach is done too by a dextrous handing backward and forward of the several sorts of government paper; and, it is by no means impro-; bable, that the " public," who always makes such an "excellent bargain," does not receive of bona fide riches much above half

the amount of what it pays interest for. Those, therefore, who refer to the readiness of the Jews to lend to government, as being a proof of the capability of the nation to con~ tinue paying the annual charge on account of debt, should recollect, that, in the first place, the Jews give paper for paper, one sort of which is just as good as the other, and always must be so, because both rest upon the same foundation. And, secondly, it should be remembered, that the loan Jews, like the razor-making Jew of Peter Pindar, make their loans to sell. It is a mere game at hazard; but the principles of which game are so well understood by them, that, take one chance with another, they are sure to win. But, the serious view of this. subject is on the side of the war with France. That war cannot be carried on for more than five years, if we continue to pay the present annual charge on account of debt. If, therefore, the enemy should not take compassion upon us, he has nothing to do but to keep us, for five years, in our present way of going on; for, at the end of that time, we must, in my opinion, stop paying the interest of the debt, or we must make peace on the enemy's own terms: the former of these is called national bankruptcy, and the latter may be called national slavery, which latter will, too, soon produce the former; so that, even the last degree of submission will not save the funds. Am I asked for my remedy? I know of none. Am I then asked why I do not hold my tongue ? Because it is my duty, and every man's duty, to endeavour to prepare the country for the trial that awaits it. Calamities, when they come unexpected, come with double weight. I hope, and I trust, that we shall survive the threatened storm; that the monarchy will come out of it stronger than ever. There wants nothing but wisdom and courage in the government. But, on the other hand, that want, if it should exist at the time, will most assuredly annihilate us as an independent nation. In order to form an opinion as to the probable issue of the present con test, we should first inquire what probability there is of Buonaparte's remaining at the head of the French government for five years longer; and, if it be likely that he will remain for that time, or that the government will exist so long, the next question is, is it wisest for the Consul, (or his successor,) to produce the destruction of the public funds in this country, by a continuation of the war; or, to make use of our love of the funds in order to impose on us such terms of peace as shall, in a very short space of time, compel us to yield without a struggle? This question has, I dare say, been discussed

ten thousand times, in the consular cabinet, and the determination will greatly depend npon the opinion which is there entertained as to the effect which would be produced in this country by the destruction of the funds. IRISH CURRENCY.--On this subject, which is, indeed, a very important one, I beg leave to refer the reader to a letter in p. 641. The measures taken by the Irish government, and the consequences of those measures, have turned out to be precisely what I apprehended: little notes, so low as 3s. 6d. have been issued. Dollars have also been issued, and, as it was foretold, at a rate much above their sterling value. They were, it seems, issued, at first, at the rate of six shillings English, but, they were afterwards lowered to five and sixpence English; so that each dollar is worth sixpence more in Ireland than it is worth in England; or, to speak more correctly, it will purchase sixpennyworth more of bank paper; which amounts to the same thing as to say, that the Irish bank paper has depreciated ten per centum lower than the English bank paper, the latter having depreciated only ten per centum. The issuing of small notes has produced the effect which was anticipated, a sudden rise in the price of the necessaries of life: meat, in the space of ten days, raised from gd. to 11d, and other things in proportion. The small paper has, it seems, been issued by private persons. It is not, of course, a legal tender; but, without law to help it, it will not long stand; and, the moment the law is applied to it, it becomes assignats, and all the consequences follow. But, I must beg the reader to turn to the letter of my correspondent, to whom I am very much obliged, and who will be astonished to find, that, until his letter was received, the public here were as ignorant of what passed in Dublin, relative to the currency, as they were of what had been passing in the moon.

-As somewhat appertaining to this subject, I will just observe here, that, in a letter, which I have received upon the subject of dollars, and which letter will be inserted in the next sheet, the writer seems to think that the advance in the current value of the dollar is no proof of the depreciation of bank paper. Perhaps he will, in course of a day or two, favour me with a post-script to his letter, accounting for the still higher advance in the current value of the dollar in Ireland, and tracing that advance to some cause other than that of a depreciation in the bank paper.

INDIA.On the 3d instant votes of

thanks passed, in both Houses of Parliament, to the MARQUIS OF WELLESLEY first; then, to Lord Clive, Mr. Duncan, General Lake, Major Generals St. John and Wellesley; and, also to all the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates, of the armies in India. In the House of Peers, no objection was made to the motion for thanks; but, in the House of Commons Mr. Fox moved the previous question, but the House did not divide upon it. The ground of Mr. Fox's opposition was, that, by this vote, the chief merit of the campaign was ascribed to Lord Wellesley, who had no more to do with it than the Admiralty had to do with the victory gained by Lord Howe.--This objection was certainly quite sufficient, but that which was urged by Mr. Francis was still stronger, to wit; that this vote would commit the House as to the merits or demerits of Lord Wellesley in going to war at all, particularly for the purpose of making conquests, an act which, as Mr. Francis observed, must not only be impolitic, but directly contrary to a positive law. It is now nearly two months, that Mr. Francis made a motion, in order to obtain information as to the origin of the present war in India, and to enable the House to judge of its justice or injustice. That motion the ministers opposed, upon the ground, that they were not in possession of the information required. They still say, they are not in possession of it; but yet they call upon Parliament to vote thanks, though, as far as the Parliament know, censure, instead of thanks, may be merited. There is nobody who says, and, perhaps, nobody who thinks, that Lord Wellesley does deserve censure; but, the law says, that no Governor General of India shall go to war for the purpose of making conquests. Lord Wellesley has gone to war, and has made conquests; and, without any information as to the justice or necessity of the war, the Parliament are called upon to vote thanks to the Governor General, of whose conduct, as to this war, they know nothing, except that it exhibits a manifest departure from the letter of the law. But, this is the way in which Parlia-` ment is committed upon all such matters; and, if it should finally turn out, that the war has been undertaken without just grounds, whoever attempts to obtain a legislative inquiry, will be silenced in a moment by a reference to this vote of thanks.

See Cobbett's Parliamentary Debates, March 14, 1804. p. 865

VOL. V. No. 19.]

705]

CONTINENTAL POWERS.

SIR, The time during which Mr. Pitt was in the administration of this country will be memorable in the history of mankind. Smail as the space is that the civilized part of this quarter of the globe occupies on the surface of the earth, it so far surpassed every other region in arts, arms, ingenuity, science, manners and government, and had so widely extended its influence either by conquest or by commerce, that the history of Europe might be said to include the history of the world. Whatever shades of distinction might be discovered among the different nations into which it was divided, they disappeared when contrasted with the vast inferiority of every other people. When he first came into office every thing seemed to insure stability to a state so fortunate for society. The governments, where not free, were mild and beneficent, sanctified by antiquity, and cemented by the habits and manners of the people; a general political system had been pursued for ages, by which any great changes had been prevented; mutual contests kept alive a martial spirit and military knowledge, that bade defiance to any war or foreign enemy, and the whole commonwealth of Europe was thought so firmly established, that it was the opinion of both the speculative and practical politician, the fabric would endure for ages. Yet in the course of a few years, we have seen the general political system anuihilated, some states swallowed up, and others reduced to dependence; a government supposed to rest on the most solid foundations dissipated without resistance, and threatening to involve every political institution in its fall; a foreign adventurer seated on the throne of the most ancient royal family in Europe, and dictating to the sovereign princes of the continent. The part which England has taken in these great transactions has been considerable; the character of those by whom it has been di

[706

rected can hardly be mistaken.-From the decline of Holland and the rise of Prussia, there remained only one way by which a force could be found sufficient to oppose the House of Bourbon; an alliance between the two imperial courts. This, it was to be feared, might rather be wished for than expected. Since the Prussian war, they had regarded each other with distrust and jealousy; at the peace of Kainardgi the court of Vienna had been the principle means of compelling Catharine to restore her conquests, and she had retaliated at the peace of Teschen. Unexpectedly, however, the views that they both had upon the Turkish empire, with the frankness and conciliating manners of the Emperor, brought about a good understanding between them. It is probable that the foundation was laid before the death of the Empress Queen, and that they were upon the point of carrying their designs into execution at the end of the American war, when the peace of 1783 enabled France to attend to other objects than the humiliation of England. The remonstrances of the court of Versailles did in fact prevent the Emperor from taking the field, but the Empress of Russia being not so accessible, was determined not to lose all the fruits of her preparations, and siezed upon the Crimea. In the negotiation which el sued and ended in the convention, by which she retained that province, the support that she received from the Emperor while he was himself acquiring nothing, shewed that the alliance was intimate and confidential; and the assistance that he received from her in return, in her project for the exchange of Bavaria confirmed it. By that alliance the equilibrium of the Continent was once more restored. Had our commercial concerns suffered by promoting it, the political object was so great, that they ought to have been sacrificed; but, by a fortunate coincidence of circumstances, our commercial, no less than political, interests were directed that

way; for Germany is one of the greatest markets for our manufactures; and from Russia we draw many raw materials, as well as the necessary articles for the use of the navy. Important as this alliance was, which formed a new era in the system of Europe, it did not attract the attention of our administration. But the government of France, however weak it may have been in other respects, and at that time it certainly was not able, has always possessed an uncommon quickness of feeling, and given a surprising attention to the foreign affairs of that country. It has been surmised, that even before the definitive treaty of peace was signed, the cabinet of Versailles sounded the short-lived administration of that day, respecting an alliance to oppose the designs of the Imperial Courts, which afterwards produced a sort of joint mediation in the convention between Russia and the Porte. Although our ministry had not had even common political perception, the decided part that France took in favour of the Porte might have put Mr. Pitt upon his guard, for the wounds were still fresh, which proved that the interests of France and England are seldom in unison. But there was nothing in the early part of Mr. Pitt's administration that shewed that he had ever bestowed a thought on the general affairs of Europe, nor did he take any part in them, till forced into action by the purposed exchange of Bavaria. Considering the exchange of Bavaria as distinct from other circumstances, it was favourable to the views of England; it gave Austria a territory connected with the other hereditary dominions for a distant one that was rather burthensome than advantageous. Another question, however, arose respecting it, whether it would be prudent to allow the Netherlands, as the barrier of Holland, to pass into the hands of a power that was not able to defend them; but, as this in a political light is now no more, and as it formed no part of the motives of Mr. Pitt's conduct at that time, it does not enter into the merits of his administration. This project alarmed the King of Prussia, who immediately set on foot the German league, under the specious pretext of preserving the constitution of the empire, but in fact merely to prevent any accession to the house of Austria. The schemes in which the Emperor had been constantly engaged, made several of the princes of the empire join it, and, among the first, it was signed by the regency of Hanover. There is little doubt that that treaty was concluded without consulting, and almost without the knowledge of, the English

ministry had it been strictly consonant with the political relations of Great-Brtain, that was not very flattering to Mr. Pitt, whose. boast it was that he was the minister of the crown; or had Hanover been considered by other nations as a separate state, unconnected with British politics or British alliances, it might have been some extenuation of the neglect and contempt shewn to an English minister, that so humble a satellite of the English throne should have taken the lead in the most important affairs of the continent; but when, on the other hand, it was regarded by them as a clear declaration of the sentiments of the presiding influence of this government, it required no small attachment to office to remain in administration; Mr. Pitt, however, not only submitted to the indignity,but servilely followed the path that had thus been marked out for him. The effects were not long in appearing; the Emperor prohibited, or loaded with heavy duties, the importation of many of ourmanufactures, and the Empress of Russia refused to renew the commercial treaty. These symptoms of resentment were dextrously taken advantage. of by the cabinet of Versailles; some hints thrown out by them were secured by our ministry; the travelling negotiator of that day, who felt himself more agreeably situated at a foreign court than in the house of commons, was dispatched to Paris, where he concluded the commercial treaty, which blinded the trading interest to the discouragement that our commerce experienced in the channels in which it ought to have flowed. It was far from being well received in France, and the treaty itself was soon forgotten; it would have been fortunate if the effects of it had shared the same fate. Only twice since the revolution has England listened to the amicable professions of France; once from the pacific Fleury, when that crafty priest, by taking advantage of a coolness on the part of the court of Vienna, secured the quiet possession of Lorrain; and next at the time of the commercial treaty, which had a considerable share in separating us from powerful allies, whose friendship we ought to have cultivated, and whom France wanted to depress: that treaty was hardly signed, and was not explained, before the appearance of union between materials so heterogeneous had vanished. In Holland, France was connected with the republican party that had for several years been subverting the authority of the Stadtholder. Prussia, from family alliances, and England. both from that cause and political ties, were strongly attached to the family of Orange. The court of Berlin, before the death of Frederick the Great, had