the famous landing of TATE and his handful of raggamuffins in WALES, † appears to have given confidence in bank paper the finishing blow. All, as appears from the documents, and as we shall by-and-by see, was consternation in Threadneedle-street. The di`minution of the gold became greater and greater every day. In vain did the venal prias cry out against alarm. They had cried wolf," till the people had believed them. They had called upon them to "stand forward in defence of the constitu"tion," 'till they had convinced them it was time for every man to think a little about taking care of himself. In vain did these venal writers now call aloud against alarm; in vain did they say, (24 February) that the Beachy-head report" arose from "a mistake in the signals; that the re"sources of the country were undiminish "ed; that it was degrading to suppose that we had not a sufficient force to annihilate "the enemy; that the panic was shameful, "unmanly, mean, and dastardly;" In vain did they assert (24th February), that "in"vasion was more to be desired than "dreaded;" in vain did they exclaim: Let us, for God's sake, not give way to "our fears so as to injure public credit." In vain did they (25th February) aver, "that the alarm was groundless; that they "were sure no atta k was meditated; and "that they were convinced it never would "be." In vain did they again exclaim; "for God's sake ler not the gloomy despondency of a few men in the city give a fatal blow to public credit.", 86 of the people was a task to which the venal prints had been adequate; but to remove those fears, or to impede,the progress of their effects upon the mind, was too much for any human power to accomplish. The run upon the Bank continued to increase, until the day last-mentioned, Saturday, the 25th of February, 1797, a day which will long be remembered, and which will be amongst the most memorable in the annals of England, as being the last (hitherto at least) on which the Bank of Eng land was compelled, at the will of the bearer, to pay its promissory notes in gold and silver, agreeably to the tenor of those notes; until the evening of that day the run continued, but, on the next, though it was Sunday, an Order was issued from the PRIVY COUNCIL requiring the Directors of the Bank to forbear issuing any cash in payment, until the sense of Parliament could be taken upon the subject, which memorable instrument was in the follow ing words, to which I must beg of you, Gentlemen, to pay particular attention. * Mr. CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER. it of the Exchequer, stating that from the reUpon the representation of the Chancellor sult of the information which he kus rẻceived, and of the enquiries which it has been his duty to make respecting the ef fect of the unusual demands for specie, that have been made upon the metropolis; in consequence of ill-founded or exaggerated alarms in different parts of the country, appears that unless some measure is im mediately taken, there may be reason to apprehend a' want of a sufficient supply of cash to answer the exigencies of the public ser tice. It is the unanimous opinion of the Board, that it is indispensibly necessary for the public service, that the Directors of the Bank of England should forbear issuing any cush in payment until the sense of Parliament can be taken on that subject, and the proper measures adopted thereupon, for maintaining the means of circulation, and supporting the public and commercial credit of the kingdom at this important conjuncture; and it is ordered, that a copy of this minute be transmitted to the Di We shall, by-and-by, see whence it was that" Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer" received his information, and what sort of information it was that he did receive; but, for the present, we will, in order to avoid making this Letter too long, content ourselves with seeing what the Bank Company did in consequence of this Order not to pay their creditors; this requisition not to pay their promissory notes when presented; this Order to forbear issuing cash in payment. The run had been very great on the Saturday, and people would scarcely suspect, that the Sunday, especially by such a godly ministry as PITT's was, would have been spent in labour of any sort. It would, however, naturally give people time to think a little; it would afford them leisure to reflect on the consequences of being without a farthing of cash in case of invasion. According, on the Monday morning, they appear to have been quite prepared for furnishing themselves with real money, if it was to be had at the Bank. Let us, however, as to this fact, take the words of the venal writers themselves. "Yesterday morning," says the TRUE BRITON of Tuesday, the 28th of February, "a great run seemed to have been "meditated upon the Bank, as A CROWD "OF PEOPLE ASSEMBLED THERE "AS SOON AS THE DOORS OPENED. "This design was HAPPILY defeated by "a Resolution of the Privy Council, trans. "mitted to the Bank Directors on Sunday; and, in consequence, they had "Hand-bills ready for delivery, a copy of "which, with the Order of the Privy «Council annexed, our readers will find, " as an Advertisement in the front of our "Paper."* rectors of the Bank of England, and they are hereby required, on the grounds of the exigency of the case, to conform thereto until the sense of Parliament can be taken as aforesaid. W. FAWKENER. * Bank of England, February 27, 1797. In consequence of an order of his Majesty's Privy Council notified to the Bank last night, Copy of which is hereunto annexed, The Governor, Deputy Governor, and Directors of the Bank of England, think it their duty to inform the Proprie tors of Bank Stock, as well as the Public at large, that the general concerns of the Bank are in the most affluent and prosperous situation, and such as to preclude every doubt as to the security of its notes.The Directors mean Such, Gentlemen, was the manner, in which the Stoppage of Gold and Silver pay ments at the Bank of England took place; euch was the manner of that event, which produced the evils, for which the Bullion Committee have proposed a remedy. Upon the Order of Council there is much to observe, before we proceed further; but, having laid before you à plain narrative of the event, it will be best to reserve those observations 'till my next, and, in the meanwhile, I remain, Gentlemen, Your sincere friend, WM. COBBETT, State Prison, Newgate, Monday, 15th October, 1810. " SUMMARY OF POLITICS. "On Friday a Court Martial was held on board the Gladiator, on Antoniò, "alias Antony MILLER, seaman, of the “Latona, for mutinous and seditious con“duct, in endeavouring to make a mu"tinous assembly, and excite the French "in particular, as well as the German troops on board the Latona, to rise and "take possession of the said ship, und carry "her to a port in France, and for conceal"ing such mutinous design. He was "sentenced to receive 500 Jashes. Rear "Admiral Hargood, President."PORTSMOUTH TELEGRAPH: 13th Oct. 1816. FOREIGNERS IN OUR SERVICE. Look at the motto, English reader; look at the motto! And, when you have duly considered it, I beg you to think a little, as you are one of "the most thinking people in "the world," how this might have ended, or what it might have led to, if this mutiny had not luckily been put a stop to in time.- -Antonio is a foreign name, and the word Miller, should, I suppose, be Müller. But, this is of little consequence. It signifies not, whether this particular man was a German; for, it appears, that the people on board were chiefly Foreigners, and that a design existed, to some extent, at any rate, of carrying the ship into a port of France.The charge against this to continue their usual discounts for the accommodation of the Commercial Interest, paying the amount in Bank notes, and the Dividend Warrants will be paid in the same manner. FRANCIS MARTIN, Secretary. The drum immediately beat to arms, "when the Worcester Militia, and part of "the Northampton, directly marched into the Castle; and, with the assistance of the "artillery and dragoons, order was restored without any bloodshed. The "prisoners amounted to above six thou"sand."The reader will make his own observations upon this. They do, indeed, suggest themselves plainly enough. All that I shall say upon the matter is, that we here, if this be true, see recruits raised for our service from amongst those, who have been in the service of our enemy, and who now volunteer for us, they being in a prison.Those, who have caused these men to be enlisted, have, doubtless, satisfactory reasons for concluding, that they will be more faithful to us than they have been to their last employers.The exasperation of the French prisoners is a circumstance well worthy of attention. It is characteristic of the armies of France at this time; and, I hope, that, on the part of our armies, it will, as often as the occasion may offer, be met by a similar spirit.-The men, whom we thus enlist, are, I suppose, to be sent to SICILY.-We shall see, all in good time, what will be the effect of it. Antonio was, we see, not only mutinous and seditious conduct, in endeavouring to make a mutinous assembly and excite the foreign troops to carry the ship into France; but, also, for concealing such mutinous design. This would be downright" nonsense, upon the supposition, that the design existed in no breast but his own; and, therefore, it is reasonable to suppose, that some others, at least, were concerned in it. But, be this as it may, the crime is as new in our navy, as the crime, the other day attempted by two of the ROYAL GERMAN LEGION, of going over to the enemy, is new in our army. These crimes are quite new in our service. Desertion and Mutiny are not new: they, unhappily, have been, and are, but too frequent; but, attempting to go over to the enemy, and designing to carry an English ship into a port of France; these are new; these we now hear of for the first time; and, it will, I think, be allowed, that we ought to guard against the consequences. As I observed with regard to the attempt of the two German Legion miscreants, the great danger lies in the putting of such thoughts into the heads of our own soldiers; but, the danger is much greater in the navy than in the army; and, there is nothing that I should be so much afraid of as the effect of an example like that contemplated on board of the Latona. Once more, I must repeat, that this is the first time we have heard of such a thing. We have heard of it, observe, in a ship, which appears to have been nearly filled with foreign troops. Whether the like would, by the aid of Antonio, have taken place on board of a ship filled with native troops; or, whether Antonio would have attempted to put in execution such a design with native troops on board; these are questions that I leave to the reader; but, I again beg him to consider, that, out of our hundreds and even thousands of ships, we have never before heard, even in the height of the grand mutiny, of such a design as this. VICTORY OF BUSACO.From what has all along been said in the Register (humbly stating what was asserted by the great givers of intelligence), the public will, deubtless, have anticipated nothing short of the victory, recorded in another part of this Number, in the form of an Official Dispatch of Lord Viscount Talavera, which is dated from Coimbra, 30th September, and upon the receipt of which, on Sunday last, the Guns of the Park and the Tower were, it seems,fired in token of rational joy and exultation. Before we proceed to make any remarks upon this Dispatch, let us sec how the 'event was announced at first to the public. The Gentleman who brought it, landed it seems in Cornwall. The intelligence started, therefore, from TRURO, thus:-" Truro, GERMAN RECRUITS. -The Morning Post of this day has the following article. "Saturday a riot took place in the "Prison at Porchester Castle, near Ports"mouth about 120 prisoners, consisting" "of GERMANS AND SWISS, volunteered into "the Sicilian Regiment, and when they "were sent into the prison to get their "clothes, the Frenchmen refused to let them out again, and threatened to kill them. Saturday, Oct. 13.-A GLORIOUS VIC"TORY!-His Majesty's ship Gleaner, "Lieut. Green, put into Portreath last evening from Lisbon, and landed Capt. Burgh, Aid-de-Camp of Lord Welling "ton, to whom Lord de Dunstanville immediately sent his chariot and four, in "which Capt. Burgh reached Truro about "eleven o'clock, and proceeded immedi"ately in a post-chaise and four for Lon ཝ after strong fortress, which the enemy "don. The substance of the dispatches glorious as this news is, what is it more than we had a right to expect? Nay, ought we not to wonder, after all that we have been told, (truly, without doubt;) ought we not to wonder, that the French were able to get so far as Busaco; that they were able to drag their famished, their wasted, their skeleton carcases so far, Busaco being not an inch less than a hundred and twenty miles, by the roads, from Almeida to the spot, where we gained the Victory Have we not been told, a hundred times over, that the French army was daily wasting away from famine, sickness and desertion? Have not the Morning Post and its coadjutors told us again and again and again, that Massena was unable to penetrate into Portugal? Have we not been told, that, from want of provisions and from other causes, he had been compelled to fall back into Spain? Have we not been told, that he had to bring his starving army over a country, whence all the people had fled, and in which every species of subsistence had been destroyed? Have we not been told, that the season of the year was come, when to enter Portugal would be certain destruction to the French? Have we not been told, that we had all the military means of the country completely in our power; that all the people were hearty in our cause; that they all hated the French mortally and cut their throats whenever they could lay hold of them ; that we had strong fortress " " should meet; because, according to those ING POST and the COURIER, who, as I fest prejudice of the character of our have before stated, did in a very detailed army.- -Lord Talavera has never, that I statement carry them so high as 89,755 know of, said, that his numbers were superior regulars, besides about 60 thousand mi- to those of the French; and, therefore, he litia. But let us suppose these gen. ought not to be looked upon as having tlemen to be at liberty to make free superior numbers; but, if the French with facts; suppose them to be privileged were to assert, that he had superior numto say and unsay as often as they please; bers, who could blame them, seeing, that still that will not alter the fact, that we our own public prints, and those prints are paying for so many men in Portugal; too who speak constantly in his praise, have and, I shall not, for my part, ever consi- made so many statements to cause it to be der the number in the field less than the believed, that he has a superiority of number that we pay for.In this view numbers ? -The Dispatch of Lord Ta of the matter, then, who can be surprized lavera is, as to numbers, as silent as usual; at the victory now gained over " Massena's so that we cannot tell over what force ragged, starved, discontented, and debili- it was that he gained this victory. Yet "tated ruffians," as the Morning Post this is very essential; because, the glory called them just before we heard of the consists not in gaining a victory, unless the fall of Almeida ?What I ask again is victory be gained over a superior force, there to surprize us in the intelligence, ex- or under disadvantageous circumstances. cept the fact, that Massena had been able I never can approve of this keeping to get the carcasses of his men so far as of numbers out of sight. I have com Busaco, and some of them up a hill too,plained of it before; and I complain of it where one would have supposed, the wind would blow them awayThus it is, reader, that these venal writers, these miserable tools, whose sole object is to flatter the wishes of those on whom they depend, and who never see beyond the day, nay, the moment, in which they put their silly. lucubrations upon paper; thus it is, that they do mischief to any cause, or to any character, in favour of which they move their pens. They have proclaimed to the world facts, which, if true, put it completely out of the power of our general in Por tugal to gain any victory over Massena that shall be worthy of the epithet glorious; and which would render defeat infamy. They have, if the nation and the world believe them, precluded the possibility of Lord Talavera's gaining any honour in the campaign, and have amply furnished him with the chances of disgrace such as few men can possibly meet with. The enemy, has nothing to do but to recur to their previous statements to prove, that the affair at Busaco was highly honourable to him, and deeply disgraceful to our general and our army. Such is the tendency of the friendship of venal writers, who, to speak without any exaggeration, are an evil little less than any restraint that plain undis guised despotism can impose.But, though I, by no means, feel myself called upon to view the matter in any other light than that, in which it would remain by holding these writers to their words, must confess, that I should experience some pain at leaving it there, to the mani now, as being calculated to render the account of the victory less complete.→→→ There are, I must confess, certain other points, upon which I could have wished his lordship to be more explicit; and especially as to the killed and wounded. He tells us, that the enemy left two thou sand men dead upon the field of battle; but, he does not tell us how he got the knowledge of this fact. The Morning Post, indeed, says, that our people buried the 2,000 killed; and, I should not have been at all surprised, if he had said, that they eat them. Seriously I should not. There is nothing, yea, nothing, at which that print will stick. But, my Lord Talavera says nothing about the interment; no thing about the funeral part of the busi ness. He only kills them. The under taker's job is left to the Morning Post. -I should like to have been told, how ever, how my Lord Talavera got the know» ledge of the killing of the 2,000 men, unless they were buried by our people.→→→ However, as he says positively, that he killed 2,000 men, we shall take it for granted that he did. But, then, as to the wounded, he does not name the number. He says that he understands that it was immense, after which there is room to admire the moderation of the Morning Post, which contents itself with fixing the num ber of wounded at 8,000 men of all ranks, thus making Massena's total loss, upon this occasion, 10,000 men. There is no thing like round numbers. Ten thousand men, killed and wounded, makes a |