Cobbett's Political Register

3. That the Whigs must, if they return
to power, carry into full effect the
wishes of the Radicals, and make
all the dreadful changes which they
That one item of these changes is
propose.
the canceling of the public debt.
That to cancel the public debt
(which might be either cause or
effect of the triumph of the Ra-
dicals) must produce indiscriminate
confusion, and mutual slaughter.
That a failure of a speculation in
pepper was the most feasible cause
of the panic of 1825.

It was my intention to address, this week, a second letter to Sir ROBERT PEEL, containing some remarks on his speech at the Mansion-house; but, in an article which I find in your paper 6. of yesterday, you speak out so much more plainly, and so much more ably, that I prefer the addressing of myself to 7. you; and I shall, with great respect for your talents, and with giving you full credit for the goodness of your motives, at once proceed to offer you the observations, which occur to me, as necessary for me to make and to publish on that article; taking care, when I have so done, to insert the article itself.

That such an event would inflict as
great sufferings upon the poor as
upon the rich, or greater; because
industry is protected by the secu-
rity of property; and every poor
man ought to know, that he would
lose even the fruit of his labour,
if the property of the rich and the
great were destroyed.
That though absolute chaos did not
then come, many thousands of fami-
lies would sink into almost a want
of bread and cheese and of food
coarse enough to suit the regimen
prescribed by the MARTINEAU
school of politicians.

The article was, it appears, drawn from your able pen by my having expressed my wonder, that you, who had spoken of the Whigs as a faction down, never to rise again, should have begun to be frightened, and to think their return to power a possible thing; and, further, by my asking, what would be I should observe that the article which worse than that which we have now to called forth my remarks, was published endure could befall us, even if the just after the arrival of Sir ROBERT Whigs were to return to power. The PEEL, and before the issuing of his macontents of your article may be shortly nifesto; for, if I had seen the manifesto expressed in the following propositions, before I wrote the letter to you, I should which when I have stated them, I will not have written that letter at all. Int observe on, one by one. now proceed with the propositions. 1. That twelve days ago you were

1. That, twelve days ago, you were frightened; and that you still feel some, though not so much, alarm, at a possible restoration of the Whigs; but that in both cases the alarm has arisen less from the (Printed by W. Cobbett, Johnson's-court.]

frightened; and that you still feel
some, though not so much, alarm,
at a possible restoration of the
Whigs; but that, in both eases the
alarm has arisen less from the in-

minency of the danger, than from Now, sir, though I hate the name, I its tremendous magnitude.. am what you call a RADICAL; and it Oh no! sir! it is the imminency that will be allowed, I am sure, that I am as frightens you; and here is the cause of formidable to our foes as any one of the it. You had sense enough to see, that whole host. I assert, that, if you mean the people had not changed at all: that by revolution an overthrow of this anthere had been none of that "re-action" cient and excellent (though horribly with which the Tories flattered them-abused) form of government; if you selves. You had sense enough to see, mean by revolution an overthrow of the that the Whigs were down, because the several orders in the state, or any of people had abandoned them; and not those orders; if you mean a subversion because the people had fallen in love of the ancient and fundamental laws of with the Tories. You saw that exe-the country, under which laws, before crations on the Whigs kept hand in they were so greatly perverted, and many hand with suspicions of the Tories. The of them totally subverted, England was address from the town of MANCHESTER, SO really free for so many ages; if you which thanked the King for having mean that I wish for a state of things to turned out the Whigs, on those promi- arise, when property shall not be held nent accusations, the Poor-law Bill, sacred, next after the property in life, and the refusal to repeal the malt-tax, limb, and labour; if these, or any of and which had, by way of rider, an these, be what you mean by “revoluunanimous vole of censure on the Duke tion"; then your accusation against me, of WELLINGTON, for having supported and against all who think with me, is the Poor-law Bill, and the red-coat-most calumniously unjust; and for court-of-justice Bill for Ireland: this proof of the injustice, we have only to address and resolution would have been appeal to our well-known and well-rea sure guide for you. You would have corded acts.

said, "We must repeal the Poor-law From the years 1816 to 1820, ours "Bill and the malt-tax, and adopt a was a life of persecutions the most sa"mild course of government, or else vage. Imprisonment was the mildest "our fate will be that of the relapsed visitation that we had to endure: the "in the Scripture, whose last end was dungeons groaned with the effect of our 66 worse than his first." It was when sufferings. Exile and pecuniary ruin, you entertained the rational expecta- or death in a dungeon, was my own lot. tion, that the Tories would act thus, The imprisonment, and the ferocious that you were bold and confident; but indignities of that inoffensive, brave, when you found, after the arrival of Sir and public-spirited gentleman, in whose ROBERT PEEL, that the Whig system mansion I now am, are never to be was to be persevered in when you saw thought of without inexpressible indigthat the Radicals would be compelled, if nation. The mockery at the groans of not to make common cause with the OGDEN; the death of RILEY, in his Whigs, yet not to do any thing to dungeon; the massacre of MANCHESweaken their power of combating the TER; the swarms of execrable spies, Tories; when you found that the line employed to entrap unthinking men. of policy of Sir ROBERT PEEL was going to be such as would decide against the Tories all those who were balancing before; then, and not till then, you began to be alarmed; and I saw clearly the ground of your alarm, at the time when I addressed my letter to you.

All these are not to be forgotten; nor are we to forget that PARSON HAY of MANCHESTER, who gave the word of command on that terrible day, received the living of ROCHDALE,worth two thousand pounds a year, immediately after that massacre, he having a great living 2. That the Radicals have talent, energy, before. And what was all this FOR? and singleness of purpose; and are And way were the dungeon-bill, and bold, peremptory, and fanatically power-of-imprisonment bill passed? Bebent on revolution. cause a million and half of us petitioned

.79.

the Parliament for a reform of the Commons House; and because we stated that our objects, in wanting this reform, were, that all pensioners, and other persons living out of the taxes, should cease to live out of them, except in consideration of well-known public services; that the interest of the debt should be so reduced as that we might have to pay only according to the amount of the sums borrowed; that the salaries and 'allowances of all men in public employ should be reduced on the same principle; that the standing army, in time of peace, should be greatly reduced; and, finally, that our burdens should be lightened, particularly by A REPEAL OF

THE TAX UPON MALT.

to power, carry into full effect the wishes of the Radicals, and make all the dreadful changes which they propose.

Leaving out the word "dreadful," I believe this is quite right; for, if the Whigs come in again, they must repeal the Poor-law Bill, and the malt-tax; they must remove altogether the hierarchy in Ireland; they must reform the church here in good truth; and 1, for my part, will never rest, while there shall remain a Bourbon-police, and while there shall remain one single jot of those innovations, in the introducing of which, Sir ROBERT PEEL has had the principal hand; and, above all things, they must come to an equitable adjustWas there any crime in thus petition- ment of that debt, which is the great ing, sir? Yet we were hunted like cause of all the turmoil 11; and which wild beasts; our situation was little cannot much longer eo-exist with those other than that of the wolves, in the orders of the state, to destroy which reign of that king who put an end to 1 have never known, in my whole life, their race. To injure us, to swear a man (that I call my friend) to express falsely against us, formed the straight the desire. But, sir, it is a hackneyed road of success in life; and, as in the affair, to charge people with wishing case of the wolves, to destroy or injure to overturn the Government, the mous, formed an expiation for crimes, and ment they complain of oppression. a white-washing for character. A man, Want the malt-tax to be taken off; you confined on a charge of burglary, was are instantly a revolutionist and a retaken out of jail, the charge being with- bel." Want Lord WALSINGHAM not to drawn, only a fortnight before he was have three church-livings in Hampbrought to give evidence against Sir shire, and to swallow up the revenues CHARLES WOLSELEY; and his evidence of half-a-dozen other livings in Surrey was believed in preference to that of and Hampshire, leaving the miserable two reporters of even ministerial news- incumbents forty or fifty pounds a year papers, who produced in court the re- each, and to have their pittance augports that they had taken on the spot! mented by taxes raised on the working Our situation was precisely that of people; express a wish to see this, and the wolves; and if we had shown, or hundreds of things like this, put to were now to show, a little vindictive fe- rights; and you are instantly guilty of rocity, the wonder would not be so very blasphemy and sedition.” This insogreat. However, we did not show it; lence we have been compelled to suband we never have shown it; and, for mit to during the greater part of my my own part, I defy any man to bring life; and to this insolence we are reforward, from any one of my hundred solved no longer to submit. of volumes, any sentiment hostile to the 4. That one item of these changes is ancient laws and prescriptive rights of the canceling of the public debt. any order in this community. There- Sir, who has ever called for a cancelfore, you have no ground for apprehen. ing of the public debt? Nobody; and sion on this score. We are no inno-this misrepresentation is unworthy of a vators; but, on the contrary, our war man like you; and it is, above all is, and always has been, against inno-things, impolitic; especially if you do really believe that the Radicals have so

vations.

3. That the Whigs must, if they return much power as you say they have. We B 2

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Cobbett's Political Register, Band 87