tion of national or parliamentary them some pledge of his disposition reformation. to act as he ought; and if they find that he violates that engagement, to withdraw from him their future support;-for, according to the words of Montesquieu,-"The people, though they may possess sufficient capa" city for calling to account the "conduct of others in public affairs,

That men in the middle ranks of life can devote a portion of their time to public affairs without neglecting their own, has been proved by the number of those who have come forth, and with a manly, independent tone expressed their sentiments on the present state of things, and the means of our preservation. -To feel an interest in the concerns of the public, in the welfare of human nature, in the happiness of mankind, will afford a much more noble and animating sensation,

66

may not be the most proper to "conduct them themselves."--Lib.2. cap. 2.—I remain, &c.

W. BURDON. Hartford near Morpeth, June 27.

ENEMIES OF REFORM,

AND EVERY REAL JACOBIN

IN THE KINGDOM.

than to be always prying into the TO THE FRIENDS Of war, the low concerns, and the petty squabbles of individuals, even of our friends and acquaintance: such pitiful curiosity towards those with whom we have no concern, is a disposition both wicked and contemptible. To those who object that private individuals have nothing to do with the affairs of the public, and that they must be managed by wiser heads, it may be answered, that every man of common sense can tell what affects his own interest; that public affairs are only the ag gregate of the affairs of individuals; and that whether a nation is plundered, oppressed and insulted, or prosperous, free, and contented, depends on the state of the individuals of whom it is composed. Every man is in some measure affected by the management of the public affairs; and so far as that affects him, he has a right to form a judgment, and to give his opinion. Those who wish to make government the monopoly of a few, are either pitiful cowards, or interested plunderers: the people ought to be al lowed to choose their legislators once in three years at least; and to be capable of selecting those most deserving their choice, they ought to be able to judge of the principal duties of a legislator, and put such a test to every new candidate as may give VOL. VI.

The following questions are submitted to your consideration, and an answer required; but be it remembered, that declamation is not reasoning, passion is not fair argument, and bad names and abusive language are no indication of the true patriot, the wise politician, or the well bred man.

You have now persevered in a war of sixteen years: you have led the nation at your will, you have called forth all its energies, you have dissipated its wealth throughout all Europe, you have taken the fruits of its painful industry to hire mercenary troops, or to bribe foreign princes to fight their own battles: with all these resources have you wrought the deliverance of any one king or country? Instead of marching to Paris, have you not enormously enlarged the boundaries of France? Have you not been the principal means of raising Bonaparte to his present pinnacle of power? Gould not the nation have obtained much better terms of peace ten or twelve years ago than at present? Have you not tripled the national debt, doubled the poor rates, and the price of provisions? Have you not

H

much increased the number of places, pensions, and sinecures? After various committees in the house of commons have pointed out numberless abuses, and an increasing waste of the public money,what is the reason that several years have passed away before even the most trifling redress. was made of any of those grievances? I beg leave farther to demand When Col. Wardle exerted himself to detect and remedy some of those abuses, did you not throw every difficulty in his way, and give him all the opposition in your power?-Have you not done every thing you could to prevent the people from expressing their approbation of his conduct?Have you not loaded some of the friends of reform with abuse, threatened others, and endeavoured to intimidate all?

evil passion naturally begets another; or do you think, that you alone possess the exclusive privilege, not only to dictate but to defame. Is it possible you can be ignorant, that such conduct has rendered you contemptible over the greater part of Europe, if not over the greater part of the civilized world? Will any of you have the hardihood to assert, that the parliament is the same at present, as it was settled at the Revolution of 1688! If the parliament had a right to vote themselves permanent for seven years instead of three, on the same principle, have they not a right to vote themselves permanent for fourteen years, or for any indefinite length of time? Are not those the only true patriots who make the constitution their rallying point, and who wish for no other reform, than what may be the means of restoring it to its original purity, and who will not be satisfied with any thing short of such reform? Are not those the real jacobins whose principles and opinions change with the day, and whose only rallying point is the minister for the time being, or the member who labours to procure them a place, or a pension, and who like the apostate Jews of

Is it not clearly evident from such conduct that you highly approve of allt those corruptions which every good man condemns, and every real patriot considers as uterly incompatable with the good of our country? You complain that Bonaparte uses abusive language; but have you not first set him the example, and then repaid him with interest; and are you not continuing every day to do So? There is scarcely a King, Prince, old or Potentate in Europe, on whom you have not heaped your abuse! To day one Potentate is the great, the brave, the magnanimous; to morrow you rob him of his honours, and load him with every opprobrious epithet; you appear to have ran sacked and exhausted the whole vocabulary of Billingsgate to find names and language suited to your purpose. If any person (however elevated) were to call you a fool, a stupid, ignorant fellow, who could not see his own interest, and who did not know how to manage his own concerns, or regulate his own family, would you be pleased with his address? (Give a direct answer to this question.) Yet such is the language you constantly. use. Are you yet to learn that one

while their crimes were bring'ing the divine judgments on their country, they continued to cry out, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord! Do not the enemies of reform, many of whom are apostates, hold the same language? They cry out-The British constitution! Our glorious constitution! while 'with impious hands, they are defacing the goodly fabric.

I have many more questions which I might ask the enemies of reform, alias jacobins in disguise, but shall conclude by observing that the present danger of our country, and invaluable constitution, loudly calls on every real friend to exert himself for the preservation of both.

VERITAS.

Banks of the Tweed, July 7.

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

FROM THE LONDON GAZETTES.

nor, and Captain Crawford of his Majesty's ship Venus. I have the honour to be &c.

GEO. M'KINLEY.

Lively, Vigo, June 12.

SIR, L concluded my letter of the 7th. instant, which I did myself the honour of writing to acquaint you, for the information of my lords commissioners of the admiralty, that the enemy had begun an attack at half-past nine that morning on the Spanish troops under the command of Brig.-Gen. Carrera, on the south side of the bridge of St. Payo. I have to request you will be pleased to make known to their lordships, that the enemy, having taken post on the north side of the bridge, a pistolshot across, in houses, and in a wood, a little below it, kept up his attack, supported with field artillery, and three 12-pounders, with great vivacity during the whole of that day (the 7th.), which was sustained by the Gallician army with great coolness and bravery,

During the night of the 7th. the enemy erected a battery. Commodore Don Juan Carransas sent up three gun-boats, one of which Capt. Wynter manned, under the charge of Lieut. Jefferson, his first lieutenant. At day-light, in the morning of the 8th. the enemy opened his fire, both on the Gallician troops and the boats; the latter of which, from the tide. being up, got near, and destroyed the enemy's batteries. At the fall of the tide the enemy made two desperate attempts to cross below the bridge with his cavalry and infantry, but the great courage and spirit displayed by our friends, repulsed them with great slaughter. A body of them went higher up the river, to the bridge of Sottomayor, and that active and brave officer Don Pablo Murillo, was detached with a division to oppose them, and the enemy after persevering for an bour and a half, were obliged to give

way to the superior gallantry of the
Spaniards, and retreat to San Payo,
where another attack, during a thick
fog, was again made by the enemy,
who, as in the former ones, was dri-
ven back, and Marshal Ney, who
commanded the French troops, con-
sisting of 8,000 men, 2,500 caval-
ry, with field artillery and two 12-
pounders, experienced a defeat from
a new raised army, consisting of
6,000 armed men, and 3,000 with-
out arms, and some small field ar-
tillery, with two 18-pounders, and
in the night they retreated, leaving
some of his wounded.
The enemy
burnt many of their dead, and in
one pit has been discovered 30 buried;
his loss must have been great. The
loss on the side of the Spaniards has
been trifling, only 110 killed and
wounded. Captain Wynter, who was
some time at the camp, and who
had a narrow escape, a grape-shot
having grazed his hat, described to
me that such was the animation of
the Spanish troops, that it was with
difficulty they were restrained by
their officers from pushing across.

Thus, Sir, the spirit and good conduct of this division of the Spanish Gallician army, who, though without almost every part of clothing, and exposed to heavy rains without shelter, had shewn to their own nation and to all Europe, that they are inspired with ardour for the delivery of their country from a cruel usurper, which alone a brave and loyal people can feel; and the merit of their commanders bears so conspicuous a part, as their lordships must appreciate much better than I could take the liberty of expressing of officers superior in rank to myself.

And it is but just to say, that the officers employed in the gun-boats executed well the instructions they received from Don Juan Carransas, whose unwearied attention to give every aid and assistance to the army, with the most active promptitude, excited admiration.