swer his purpose, if not the purpose of the that it is done, however, it seems to be done publicans: They will, and he well knew completely.The thing most worthy of they would, receive neither redress for the observation, is, that, not only was Mr. Gratpast nor protection for the future; but, hetan a defender of this bill, but was the cause also well knew, that he had done enough to of it; for, it was expressly declared, that the furnish him with the subject of a speech at bill was passed, or, at least brought forthe next election. In his anticipated effects ward, upon the strength of his assertion, that of this he will, however, be disappointed. there was, and is; a French party in Ireland, If, by the act of God or of man, he should of which French party he has never, I beagain have an opportunity of making an ap-lieve, been known to speak before, much peal to the Electors of Westminster, they will know how to meet his appeal; they will know how to answer him, how to send him back to his rotten borough. With respect to this Gentleman, it never should be for gotten, that, the moinent the change of ministry took place, in 1806, he not only obtained a place of £4,000 a year, for himself. and a sinecure place for his son, worth €3,000 a year, but asked for a sinecure place for himself, for life, worth £4,000 a year more, in addition to his Cornwall sine, cure (also paid out of the pockets of the people) of about £1,500 a year, And this is the patriot! This is the man, who, by means of a motion or two, which he evidently intends shall produce no effect, hopes to gain popularity, and that, too, amongst the electors of Westminster! His unmeaning motion about the publicans of Westminster will do them great injury. It will add to the disposition to oppress them; and, they will, even before now, perhaps, have smarted for his selfish attempt. The matter was put off

to the next session. The chances are that he will never-revive it; and, if he does, it will be in a way that he thinks best calculated to answer his own ends and those ends only. To return again to the Irish Insurrection Bill, I should be glad to know how long it is since Mr. Grattan discovered, that there was a French Party existing in Ireland. This is of great importance; because it is not a very long time since he asserted it to be an infamous slander to accuse his countrymen of disloyalty. How it must have gladdened the heart of that departed saint, Pitt, to have heard this confession, this precious confession, from Mr. Grattan! And what glory is it to his zealous disciples, that they have been able to effect a conversion, which their great mastery with all his moving means, so long laboured at in vain! My lord Castlereagh has long been famed for his powers of converting politicali sin news; but, he failed with Mr. Grattan. His time was not come; or,the arguments applied were not sufficiently weighty. It re, mained for this blessed season, and for the irresistible arguments of his Grace the Duke of Portland, to effect so great a work. Now

less to express any degree of apprehension at
its designsIf, however, there be a
French party in Ireland, it is high time to
think of some means of putting it down;
and, as there is no force, however great, that
can restrain the movements of the mind,
something other than force should be ap-
plied Since I have known any thing of
Ireland, I have always been of opinion, an
opinion that I have constantly expressed,
that a mere passing of an act to admit a few
Roman Catholics into place would have no
effect in- curing the great disease of that
country; but, if I had not been of this opi-
njon before, I should after reading the letter
of my correspondent in my last Number,
page 338, where the writer has most ably,
described the internal situation of Ireland.
But, I do not agree with him as to the res
medy which he proposes. He seems to
think, that we are better off than the Irish,
only because we have more people employ-
ed in manufacturing goods; whereas my
opinion is, that the mannfactories are one
source of our pauperism. We all know,
that the manufactures have greatly, in-
creased in quantity, since the beginning of
Pitt's reign, and we also know, that the pau-
pers have increased; so that, here is nothing
to encourage us to increase the manufacto
ries of Ireland with a view-of diminishing
the misery of the country. If my corre
spondent would wish to subdue the spirit of
the people, I know of few better ways than:
that of shutting thousands of them up in a
large house and making them work for one
man, who rings them to their labour and
their meals by a bell. A hundred of these..
houses in Ireland would certainly render the
people, not contented, but perfectly impo
tent, and, if the mere preservation of the
dominion of the country be all that is want-
ed, the scheme, if practicable, might be a
good one. For my part, however, I should...
rather recommend an abolition, first of the
useless offices and emoluments; next a large
deduction from the interest paid upon what
is called the national debt; and next
change with respect to tithes. These would
reduce the burdens of taxation, and that
would, assuredly, diminish the poverty and

FAREEPE

the whole, however, there is so much boldness, so many home truths told in this artis cle, that I am glad it was published and shall, at any time, be ready to thank the writer for making a criticism upon my con duct and character the vehicle of similar truths. But, it must be confessed, I think,” by this writer himself, that neither my sins nor my weaknesses nor my virtues (if he will allow me to have any of the latter), have any thing to do with the question of Eng land's maritime dominion; and, I must say, that it gives me satisfaction to perceive, that a person whose talents I greatly respect, and who has very recently expressed great admi

with my argnments in defence of my coun-
try's rights, found the former the most vul-
nerable of the two For, as to any answer,
which he has in reserve, it is quite incredi~~
ble that he should have allowed another week
to pass without giving it to the public, see-
ing that the time will be, and, indeedy al-

duce any useful effect. Of this he must
have been fully aware, and, therefore, I can-
not regard his concluding notification, re-
specting an answer in reserve, in any light
but that of a tacit acknowledgement, that he
was, for once, in the wrong, which acknow
ledgement he, doubtless, regards as tanta-
mount to having inserted (as I usually do in 7
such cases) the arguments made use of
against him. At any rate, I am convinced
in my own mind, that he will find great dif-
ficulty in executing his promised refutation;
but, if he should advance any thing which I
think of weight in the question, and not too
thickly covered with matter quite extra!
neous, I shall not fail to bestow upon it at
tention proportioned in degree to the impor
tance of the subject.

I had lately (see this Vol. pages 236 and 257) occasion to address you upon the subject of the present dispute between our country and the Ameration of me, upon comparing my character rican States; and, as you will recollect, the address proceeded in the manner of a commentary upon an article, which bad just before appeared in a weekly newspaper, called the Independent Whig. The writer of that paper had expressed in a tone very vehement, his approbation of what I had, in my paper of the preceding week, said re-ready is, gone by, for such answer to prospecting the dispute in question. I had asserted, that our admiral and his captains had dore well in the case referred to, and had expressed my fears, that our ministers were disposed to yield, that they were disposed to give up our right to search ships of foreign nations for deserters from our own ships. This assertion the writer of the newspaper above-mentioned had severely attacked; and, as it was a point of great national importance, I thought it right to endeavour to maintain my assertion, by all the authority and all the arguments, which, at that time, suggested themselves to my mind. This 1 did in the two letters, addressed to you, which I have above referred to; and, as the writer of the Independent Whig had, subse quent to the publication of my first letter upon the subject, announced that he was perfectly prepared to answer me, and had been pressed, by many correspondents, to do it without delay, I naturally expected, that, after having taken a week to examine both my letters, he would, in his paper of last Sunday, have published what he regarded as an answer. What was my surprise, then, when, instead of an elaborate defence of the Americans and of their denial of our right of search, I found a very long and uncommonly desultory article upon the sins of Mr. Windham, Lord Grenville, Pitt, Lord Hawkesbury, Lord Melville, Steele, Trotter, Mr. Fox, Mr. Sheridan, and Mr. Cobbelt. A great deal, in this article, is true, and a great deal of it, though, perhaps, true in the facts, perfectly false (unintentionally, without doubt) in the inferences. Upon Difcommis

In the meanwhile, Gentlemen, our time will not be badly employed in bestowing some further consideration upon the subject itself, first noticing what we find, in the public prints, relative to the conduct of the Americans.- The article, which I am about to insert for your perusal is, it appears, taken from a paper published at Norfolk, in Virginia, on the 13th of July last. This ar ticle is entitled: “ Same Retaliation.” is in these words: "Last evening an express "arrived at head-quarters to the command

Ith

er, General Matthews, from Capt. Shep"herd, of the troop of cavalry stationed "near the Cape. The intelligence the ex

press brought is of great importance: it "announces the first act of retaliation for "the outrages of the British squadron. The "substance of the intelligence, as far as we

ITAL

DIETET

"

manners; and, I have not the least doubt, but they will console themselves, with the reflection, that this defeat and capture of our boat's crew of two boys and three men rubs off their disgrace in the affair of the Chesa peak and the Leopard.

The following paragraphs, from the same American paper, are also worthy of attention We are authorised to state, that "in consequence of infomation received

that the British squadron had departed "from Hampton Roads, and had taken a "station off our Capes, the Executive have

"are informed, and our information may be "telied on, is, that a boat with five men, viz. two midshipmen and three sailors, "was seen to land on Thursday evening, "on the east side of the inlet; the people “ came on shore, and were fired at by a de"tachment of militia under the command "of a lieutenant from Kempsville. They "retreated and took refuge in the woods. "Information having been given to Captain Shepherd of the place to which they had " retired, it was immediately surrounded. "In the morning they were discovered, and surrendered themselves prisoners “without resistance. The boat and arms "on board of ber have been taken possession " of; and the men are now prisoners at Mr. "Lemuel Cornick's waiting the orders of "the general. This account, which bears so exact a resemblance to Gay's journal of the wars against the geese, ducks, and chicken in a farm-yard, you will hardly believe to be serious; but, I, who know the heroes well, also know, that they will boast of this exploit through columns upon co" lumns of their base aud stupid newspapers; nor should I be at all surprized, if we were to find, that the several town-meetings in Virginia had sent addresses of thanks to the Lieutenant, who caused a detachment of militia to fire at two little boys and three

men.

Father and mother and I ***And two or three lusty men 1 do Beat a poor little boy cct Till he cou'd n't go or stand." This bit of an old burlesque ballad, though it has neither rbime nor measure, is most eloquently descriptive of the heroism of the Americas militia, upon all other occasions that have heard of, as well as upon this. Gentlemen, Jet me ask you, whether you would have thought this an act worthy of being boasted of as an act of national retalation? If, under similar circumstances, an American boat, so manned, had come into any of our rivers, would either of you, having the command of a detachment of soldiers, have ordered these soldiers to fire at two boys and three men? Would you have boasted of being able to make them

}

re

treat Would you have thought it necessary to surround them? And, would you have cried victory! victory! when they surrendered "without resistance ? No there is not a single Briton or hiskman, in what ever state of life he may be found, in whose mind sentiments so base could possibly exist. This achievement together with the account of it is well worthy of the Americans; perfectly characteristic of their minds and their

"

"

suspended the march to Hampton of the "500 militia ordered out from Gen. "White's brigade. They have been per"mitted to return to their respective homes, "with orders to hold themselves in readiness " to take the field at a moment's warning. "We understand, that on application, "being made to the Secretary of the Treasury, on the subject of the President's proclamation, he has advised, that its pro"hibitions are not meant to include British merchant vessels," although armed and "bearing letters of marque.It has been " stated in several papers that Mr. Erskine was at Washington when a discussion re"lative to the seamen took place between "Mr. Maddison and that Minister, who had “consented to wave all claim to them. "Mr. Erskine, we are well informed, de"nies that his opinion was ever asked, or

that he ever gave any upon the subject, " and we moreover understand that he has "expressed a wish that the report, should "be contradicted.We notice this mere"ly with a view to present a correct state"ment of facts, for we never look to but "one point in this case, and which is, that “under no circumstance whatever, should a "national ship be visited, or her crew mus, "tered, but by her own officers, The ship, "like our territory, must be sacred, or we "are not independent."The real cause of suspending the march of the 500 militia, I should suspect to be, that the said 500 mis litia were not, and could not be collected, and, if collected, not kept together for five days, much less be made to march to Hampton, or to any other place, ten miles from home, Every man, capable of bearing arms, is a militia man in the American states. I belonged to that respectable body for seyeral years; but never did I join it for one moment in my life; and, what is more, I pever personally happened to know any man that did. I never saw that militia out at parade, or drill, nor any portion of it; and, though I was told, that some few men, unable to pay a half-crown fine, sometiines

to send its ships whithersoever it pleases up, on the seas. But, leaving the Americans to reconcile themselves to it as they may, we shall, I trust, insist upon the rights, which ancient usage, and our undisputed power, give us of searching all ships whatever for British seamen, when we have reason to suspect that they are to be found on board; and, if the ministers should be so base as to recall Admiral Berkeley for ordering the Chesapeak to be searched, he will easily be able to prove, not only that England has al

did attend, with sticks and staves for arms, I cannot say, that I believed the fact. When a paltry, insurrection took place in Pennsylvapia, the men, called out, positively refused to march, and, at last, men of property, and those principally, from other States, consented to march only upon condition that Washington would go with them himself. The men, who had the honour to attack and defeat our two boys and three sailors, were, depend upon it, a numerous rabble, armed with their fowling pieces, quite sufficiently to be dreaded (for they are excellently ex-ways claimed this right of search, but that pert at a dead mark), but still to be dreaded less than those thumbs and teeth of theirs, with which, in the Southern States, they gouge out men's eyes and bite their flesh.

The mildest possible construction is, it seems, put upon the President's Proclamation. He will touch merchant vessels in no shape, whether equipped for war, or not. The object is, perhaps, to inveigle our mer chants to his side, who, in truth, as we have seen, do not want much inveigling. His proclamation is a mere huff It is wind It is an empty shew to please the numerous enemies of England; and so it will clearly appear to be; before four months have passed over our heads. They cannot go to war with us, without bringing certain ruin upon their own heads.

all her naval commanders, from the admiral of the fleet down to the captain of the smallest ship, is, even to this day, not only permitted to enforce this right, but absolutely ordered to enforce it, in cases where the enforcement.may be required, and where he has the means of enforcement. The only error committed by Admiral Berkeley, was, his ordering the Captain of the Leopard to permit the American to search the Leopard, if he chose. That he had no anthority to do; but, to search the American he had full and and complete authority, and, if attempted to be punished, he has it in his power to cover the ministers with shame.

What nonsense, then, Gentlemen, was it that the Morning Chronicle" preached upon this subject. What a scandalous thing was it, to set up a cry against our naval commanders for having done, not what was proper merely, but what they were commanded to do. But, as I'had before the honour to observe to you, the faction of which that pa

That Mr. Erskine, whose appointment to the station of English minister, in America, I remarked upon at the time (see Register, Vol X 20 Dec. 1806) may, for aught I know to the contrary, have consented to waive his claim" to the sailors who had de-per has always been the slave, seem to have serted, but, it does not follow, that Admiral Berkeley, had consented to waive his claim, or rather, the claim of his country. I know very well how Mr. Erskine would feel upon such an occasion; indeed I knew beforehand how he would feel; and, I am not at all surprised, that he should have expressed a wish, that the report of his having given an opinion upon the subject should be contradicted. I am not at all surprised at this; for, I have before seen English consuls and ministers in America. But, Mr. Erskine's opinion was not wanted by Admiral Berkeley, who had quite sufficient authority for what he did.

a feeling, in all cases) against their country, and especially when the American States is a2 party in the dispute. Against peculators, against plunderers of every description, it is not very bitter. Like the Edinburgh Reviewers (as a correspondent has pointed out in another page of this sheet) it can find an apology for corruption, for flagrant corruption, even for the buying and selling of seats in parliament. It can, like them, coolly calculate the cost of corruptions, and drily tell us, that, if we could put a stop to all of them, in which the Reviewers evidently and almost avowedly hope to share, we should not save above a million of money annually, pretending not to perceive, that the mere amount of the bribe is a trifle compared to the effects of that bribe. In these matters, and in all cases wherein the general "interests of the factions are concerned, the Morning" Chronicle, like the Edinburgh Reviewers, can be very lenient. The reason, is, that neither has any feeling at all, either for the people, or for the honour of the country;