way of thinking is ancient, exercised upon high interests, and connected with striking passages in history. The Protestant Church does not rest upon the little narrow foundations where the Bishop of Lincoln supposes it to be placed; if it did, it would not be worth saving. It rests upon the general opinion entertained by a free and reflecting people, that the doctrines of the Church are true, her pretentions moderate, and her exhortations useful. It is accepted by a people who have, from good taste, an abhorrence of sacerdotal mummery; and from good sense, a dread of sacerdotal ambition. Those feelings, so generally diffused, and so clearly pronounced on all occasions, are our real bulwarks against the Catholic religion; and the real cause which makes it so safe for the best friends of the church to diminish (by abolishing the Test Laws) so very fertile a source of hatred to the State.

In the 15th page of his Lordship's Charge, there is an argument of a very curious nature.

"Let us suppose" (says the Bishop of Lincoln), "that there had been no Test Laws, no disabling statutes, in the year 1745, when an attempt was made to overthrow the Protestant Government, and to place a Popish Sovereign upon the throne of these kingdoms; and let us suppose, that the leading men in the Houses of Parliament, that the Ministers of State, and the commanders of our Armies, had then been Papists. Will any one contend, that that formidable Rebellion, supported as it was by a foreign enemy, would have been resisted with the same zeal, and suppressed with the same facility as when all the measures were planned and executed by sincere Protestants?"—(P. 15.)

And so his Lordship means to infer that it would be foolish to abolish the laws against the Catholics now, because it would have been foolish to have abolished them at some other period :--that a measure must be bad, because there was formerly a combination of circumstances, when it would have been bad. His Lordship might, with almost equal propriety, debate what ought to be done if Julius Cæsar were about to make a descent upon our coasts; or lament the impropriety of emancipating the Catholics, because the Spanish Armada was putting to sea. The fact is, that Julius Cæsar is dead-the Spanish Armada was defeated in the reign of Queen Elizabeth-for half a century there has been no disputed succession-the situation of the world is changed-and, because it is changed, we can do now what we could not do then. And nothing can be more lamentable than to see this respectable Prelate wasting his resources in putting imaginary and inapplicable cases, and reasoning upon their solution, as if it had anything to do with present affairs. These remarks entirely put an end to the common mode of arguing à Gulielmo. What did King William do?-what would King William say? &c. King William was in a very different situation from that in which we are placed. The whole world was in a very different situation. The great and glorious Authors of the Revolution (as they are commonly denominated) acquired their greatness and their glory, not by a superstitious reverence for inapplicable precedents, but by taking hold of present circumstances to lay a deep foundation for Liberty; and then using old names for new things, they left the Bishop of Lincoln, and other good men, to suppose that they had been thinking all the time about ancestors.

Another species of false reasoning, which pervades the Bishop of Lincoln's Charge is this: He states what the interests of men are, and then takes it for granted that they will eagerly and actively pursue them; laying totally out of the question the probability or improbability of their effecting their object, and the influence which this balance of chances must produce upon their actions. For instance, it is the interest of the Catholics that our Church should be subservient to theirs. Therefore, says his Lordship, the Catholics will enter into a conspiracy against the English Church. But, is it not also the decided interest of his Lordship's butler that he should be Bishop, and

the Bishop his butler? That the crozier and the corkscrew should change hands-and the washer of the bottles which they had emptied become the diocesan of learned divines? What has prevented this change, so beneficial to the upper domestics, but the extreme improbability of success if the attempt were made; an improbability so great, that we will venture to say the very notion of it has scarcely once entered into the understanding of the good man. Why then is the Reverend Prelate, who lives on so safely and contentedly with John, so dreadfully alarmed at the Catholics? And why does he so completely forget, in their instance alone, that men do not merely strive to obtain a thing because it is good, but always mingle with the excellence of the object a consideration of the chance of gaining it.

The Bishop of Lincoln (p. 19) states it as an argument against concession to the Catholics, that we have enjoyed "internal peace and entire freedom from all religious animosities and feuds since the Revolution." The fact, however, is not more certain than conclusive against his view of the question. For, since that period, the worship of the Church of England has been abolished in Scotland-the Corporation and Tests Acts repealed in Ireland—and the whole of this King's reign has been one series of concessions to the Catholics. Relaxation then (and we wish this had been remembered at the Charge) of penal laws, on subjects of religious opinion, is perfectly compatible with internal peace, and exemption from religious animosity. But the Bishop is always fond of lurking in generals, and cautiously avoids coming to any specific instance of the dangers which he fears.

It is declared in one of the 39 Articles, that the King is head of our Church, without being subject to any Foreign Power; and it is expressly said that the Bishop of Rome has no jurisdiction within these realms. On the contrary, Papists assert, that the Pope is supreme Head of the whole Christian Church, and that allegiance is due to him from every individual member in all spiritual matters. This direct opposition to one of the fundamental principles of the ecclesiastical part of our Constitution, is alone sufficient to justify the exclusion of Papists from all situations of authority. They acknowledge indeed that obedience in civil matters is due to the king. But cases must arise in which civil and religious duties will clash; and he knows but little of the influence of the Popish religion over the minds of its votaries who doubts which of these duties would be sacrificed to the other. Moreover, the most subtle casuistry cannot always discriminate between temporal and spiritual things; and in truth the concerns of this life not unfrequently partake of both characters.”—(Pp. 21, 22.)

We deny entirely that any case can occur where the exposition of a doctrine purely speculative, or the arrangement of a mere point of Church discipline, can interfere with civil duties. The Roman Catholics are Irish and English citizens at this moment; but no such case has occurred. There is no instance in which obedience to the civil magistrate has been prevented by an acknowledgment of the spiritual supremacy of the Pope. The Catholics have given (in an oath which we suspect the Bishop never to have read) the most solemn pledge that their submission to their spiritual ruler should never interfere with their civil obedience. The hypothesis of the Bishop of Lincoln is that it must very often do so. The fact is that it has never done so.

His Lordship is extremely angry with the Catholics for refusing to the Crown a veto upon the appointment of their Bishops. He forgets, that in those countries of Europe where the Crown interferes with the appointment of Bishops, the reigning monarch is a Catholic—which makes all the difference. We sincerely wish that the Catholics would concede this point; but we cannot be astonished at their reluctance to admit the interference of a Protestant Prince with their Bishops. What would his Lordship say to the interference of any Catholic power with the appointment of the English sees?

Next comes the stale and thousand times refuted charge against the Catholics, that they think the Pope has the power of dethroning heretical Kings;

and that it is the duty of every Catholic to use every possible means to root out and destroy heretics, &c. To all of which may be returned this one conclusive answer, that the Catholics are ready to deny these doctrines upon oath. And as the whole controversy is, whether the Catholics shall, by means of oaths, be excluded from certain offices in the State-those who contend that the continuation of these excluding oaths are essential to the public safety, must admit that oaths are binding upon Catholics, and a security to the State that what they swear to is true.

It is right to keep these things in view-and to omit no opportunity of exposing and counteracting that spirit of intolerant zeal or intolerable timeserving which has so long disgraced and endangered this country. But the truth is, that we look upon this cause as already gained-and while we warmly congratulate the nation on the mighty step it has recently made towards increased power and entire security, it is impossible to avoid saying a word upon the humiliating and disgusting, but at the same time most edifying spectacle, which has lately been exhibited by the Anticatholic addressers. That so great a number of persons should have been found with such a proclivity to servitude (for honest bigotry had but little to do with the matter) as to rush forward with clamours in favour of intolerance, upon a mere surmise that this would be accounted as acceptable service by the present possessors of patronage and power, affords a more humiliating and discouraging picture of the present spirit of the country than anything else that has occurred in our remembrance. The edifying part of the spectacle is the contempt with which their officious devotions have been received by those whose favour they were intended to purchase-and the universal scorn and derision with which they were regarded by independent men of all parties and persuasions. The catastrophe, we think, teaches two lessonsone to the time-servers themselves, not to obtrude their servility on the Government till they have reasonable ground to think it is wanted-and the other to the nation at large, not to imagine that a base and interested clamour in favour of what is supposed to be agreeable to Government, however loudly and extensively sounded, affords any indication at all, either of the general sense of the country, or even of what is actually contemplated by those in the administration of its affairs. The real sense of the country has been proved, on this occasion, to be directly against those who presumptuously held themselves out as its organs;-and even the Ministers have made a respectable figure, compared with those who assumed the character of their champions.

BROUGHTON'S LETTERS FROM A MAHRATTA CAMP.

(E. REVIEW, October, 1813.)

Letters written in a Mahratta Camp during the Year 1809. By THOMAS DUER Broughton. 1813. Murray: Albemarle Street.

THIS is a lively, entertaining, well-written book; and we can conscientiously recommend it to our readers. Mr. Thomas Duer Broughton does not, it is true, carry any great weight of metal; but, placed in a curious and novel scene, he has described what he saw from day to day, and preserved, for the amusement of his readers, the impressions which those scenes made upon him, while they were yet strong and fresh. The journals of military men are given to the public much more frequently than they used to be; and we consider this class of publications as one of great utility and importance. The duties of such men lead them into countries very little known to Europeans, and give

BROUGHTON'S LETTERS FROM A MAHRATTA CAMP. 233

to them the means of observing and describing very striking peculiarities in manners, habits, and governments. To lay these before the public is a praiseworthy undertaking; and, if done simply and modestly (as is the case with this publication), deserves great encouragement. Persons unaccustomed to writing, are prevented from attempting this by the fear of not writing sufficiently well; but where there is anything new and entertaining to tell, the style becomes of comparatively little importance. He who lives in a Mahratta camp, and tells us what he hears and sees, can scarcely tell it amiss. As far as mere style is concerned, it matters very little whether he writes like Cæsar or Nullus. Though we praise Mr. Broughton for his book, and praise him very sincerely, we must warn him against that dreadful propensity which young men have for writing verses. There is nothing of which Nature has been more bountiful than poets. They swarm like the spawn of cod-fish, with a vicious fecundity, that invites and requires destruction. To publish verses is become a sort of evidence that a man wants sense; which is repelled not by writing good verses, but by writing excellent verses ;-by doing what Lord Byron has done;-by displaying talents great enough to overcome the disgust which proceeds from satiety, and showing that all things may become new under the reviving touch of genius. But it is never too late to repent and do well: we hope Mr. Broughton will enter into proper securities with his intimate friends to write no more verses.

The most prominent character in the narrative of Mr. Broughton seems to be that of Scindia, whom he had every opportunity of observing, and whose character he appears perfectly to have understood;—a disgraceful liar, living with buffoons and parasites—unsteady in his friendships—a babbling drunkard -equally despised by his enemies and his pretended friends. Happy the people who have only to contemplate such a prince in description, and at a distance. The people over whom he reigns seem, by the description of Mr. Broughton, to be well worthy of such a monarch. Treacherous, cruel, falserobbing, and robbed-deceiving, and deceived; it seems very difficult to understand by what power such a society is held together, and why everything in it is not long since resolved into its primitive elements.

"A very distinguished corps in this motley camp," says Mr. Broughton, "is the Shohdasliterally the scoundrels. They form a regularly organised body, under a chief named Fazil Khan; to whose orders they pay implicit obedience. They are the licensed thieves and robbers of the camp; and from the fruits of their industry, their principal derives a very considerable revenue. On marching days they are assembled under their leader, and act as porters for the Muha Raj's baggage. At sieges they dig the trenches, erect the batteries, and carry the scaling ladders. But their grand concern is the gambling houses, which are placed under their immediate control and superintendence, and where they practise all the refinements of accomplished villany to decoy and impose upon the unwary, which you perhaps fondly flatter yourself are the distinguished excellencies of these establishments in Europe. Baboo Khan, a Mahratta chief of some rank and consideration, is an avowed patron of this curious society; and is, in fact, though in a higher sphere, as accomplished a Shohda as any of the band. About a year ago, a merchant came to the camp with horses for sale. The Khan chose out some of the most valuable, and paid down the merchant's own price for them on the spot; desiring him at the same time to bring more, as he was about to increase the numbers of his own Risalu. Such unheard-of honesty and liberality induced other merchants to bring their horses also for sale. The Mahratta took them all at the prices demanded; but when the owners came for payment, he scoffed at them for their credulity, and had them actually beaten away from his tent by the rascally crew who always attend upon him. The merchants carried their complaint to the Muha Raj; and after waiting for several months in expectation of justice being done them, were paid at the rate of seven annas in the rupee, besides a deduction for the Buniyas, with whom the unfortunate fellows had been obliged to run in debt for subsistence during their stay in camp. The whole transaction lasted about a twelvemonth, at the end of which time they were obliged to decamp with less than one third of what was strictly their due.

"Where such acts of injustice and oppression are committed with impunity, it is not wonderful that there should be much misery among the poo er orders of the community. When

grain is dear hundreds of poor families are driven to the most distressing shifts to obtain a bare subsistence. At such times I have often seen women and children employed in picking out the undigested grains of corn from the dung of the different animals about the camp. Even now, when grain is by no means at a high price (wheat being sold in the market for thirteen seers for the rupee), it is scarcely possible to move out of the limits of our own camp without witnessing the most shocking proofs of poverty and wretchedness. I was returning from a ride the other morning, when two miserable-looking women followed me for charity; each had a little infant in her arms; and one of them repeatedly offered to sell hers for the trifling sum of two rupees. Many of our Sipahees and servants have children whom they have either purchased in this manner or picked up begging among our tents. In adopting these little wretches, however, they have so often been taken in that they are now more cautious in indulging their charitable propensities. The poor people of the army, finding that a child who told a piteous tale and appeared to be starving was sure to find a protector in our camp, used, in hard times, to send their children out to beg; and when better able to support them themselves, would pretend to discover their lost infants, and reclaim them,' (Pp. 32-34.)

The passage of a Mahratta army over an hostile country, seems to be the greatest curse which can happen to any people where French armies are unknown. We are always glad to bring the scenery of war before the eyes of those men who sit at home with full stomachs and safe bodies, and are always ready with vote and clamour to drive their country into a state of warfare with every nation in the world.

"We observed several fine villages on the Kota side of the river, situated upon level spots among the ravines which intersect the country for a mile from the bank, By the route we went our march was protracted to nearly twenty-two miles; the road lay over a continued plain covered with fields of young corn, affording fine forage for the Mahrattas, who were to be seen in every direction, men, women, and children, tearing it up by the roots; while their cattle were turned loose to graze at liberty, and make the most of such an abundant harvest. We also fell in with large ricks of Kurbee, the dried stalks of Bajiru and Jooar, two inferior kinds of grain, an excellent fodder for the camels. To each of these three or four horsemen immediately attached themselves, and appropriated it to their own use; so that when our cattle went out for forage after the march there was as much difficulty in procuring it as if we had halted near the spot for a month. The villages around the camp are all in ruins ; and in some of them I have seen a few wretched villagers, sheltered under the mud walls or broken roofs, and watching over a herd of miserable half-starved cattle. They assured me that the greatest part of the peasantry of the province had been driven to Kota or Boondee, to seek shelter from the repeated ravages of different Mahratta armies; and that, of those who remained, most had perished by want and variety of misery. Their tale was truly piteous, and was accompanied with hearty curses invoked upon the whole Mahratta race, whom they justly regard as the authors of all their misery. You, my dear brother, will, I daresay, ere this be inclined to join these poor people in detestation of a tribe whose acts I have endeavoured to make you acquainted with throughout one whole year. Unless we should go to Ajmeer, of which, by-the-by, there is now some prospect, I shall with that year close my regular communications. To continue them would only be to go over again the same unvaried ground; to retrace the same acts of oppression and fraud; detail the same chicanery, folly, and intrigues; and to describe the same festivals and ceremonies. If I may judge of your feelings by my own, you are already heartily sick of them all; and will hail the letter that brings you the conclusion of their history, as I shall the day when I can turn my back on a people proud and jealous as the Chinese, vain and unpolished as the Americans, and as tyrannical and perfidious as the French."-(Pp. 53, 336, 337.)

The justice of these Hindoo highwaymen seems to be as barbarous as their injustice. The prime minister himself perambulates the bazaar or market; and when a tradesman is detected selling by false weight or measure, this great officer breaks the culprit's head with a large wooden mallet kept especially for that purpose. Their mode of recovering debts is not less extraordinary. When the creditor cannot recover his money, and begins to feel a little desperate, he sits dhurna upon his debtor; that is, he squats down at the door of the tent, and becomes in a certain degree the master of it. Nobody goes in or comes out without his approbation; he neither eats himself, nor suffers his debtor to eat; and this hungry contest is carried on till the debt is paid, or till the creditor begins to think that the want of food is a greater evil than the want of money.