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Malta, while it is truly amusing to see her, by our connivance, getting, inch by inch, possession of Mr. Pitt's far-famed "infant republic" of the Seven Islands, the establishment of which republic that gentleman, in his speech of the 3d of November, 1801, represented as "an acquistion of great im "portance for this country, not inferior, "perhaps, to the possession of Malta it"self"Russia cannot, I repeat it, of herself, make any diversion in our favour; and, as to those who expect aid from Sweden, God help them! Well, then, what are we to do? Ask that of the ministers, who began a war with the avowed intention of repressing the ambition and chastising "the insolence" of Buonaparté, and who, in order to execute their plan, locked up all the force of the kingdom in militia and volunteer corps. Ask them how we are to be relieved from this embarrassing and tormenting situation, One thing, however, any body may safely assert, and that is, we cannot be relieved, till our bank-notes are payable in specie; for till then, the enemy will never desist from his attempts to ruin us in this most certain, and to him most easy, of all possible ways.-Nor is this circumstance less important, if considered with respect to continental alliances, it being well known, that British gold is, and must ever be, the soul of such alliances. I am not supposing, that, because we see no guineas in England, the government is therefore unable to send subsidies to the Continent. That is not the ground of my opinion as to the difficulties attending the granting of subsidies. The ground is, that, to grant subsidies of any considerable amount, the minister must greatly add to the taxes, and the Bank must make a proportionate addition to its paper; and, in this way, our allies would be fighting for the enemy more than against him.-The eyes of the Continent are not shut with respect either to the magnitude, the nature, or the cause of our embarrassments; and we may be assured, that, till our prospect clears up, we shall have few, if any efficient aid from other powers. This being our situation, we should be the more firmly resolved to bear with fortitude whatever toils or sacrifices may be necessary to our own defence: and, indeed, we should not be over scrupulous in inquiring what is necessary and what is not every one should bear and sbould perform as much as he is able, let the requisition, provided it be authorized by law, come through whom it may. For, we should always remember, that it is not the minister, but our King and our country that

we have to fight for. A ministerial paper of the 1st inst. has the following curious passage: "We very much regret that the

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ene my has actually returned to Boulogne, "without enforcing his threat by a descent on our shores. It would have afforded us "the means of putting the question of in"vasion to rest, perhaps for ever. We "should have had the satisfaction and the glory of defeating, if not destroying, that enemy who has annoyed, and who now "terrifies the other powers of Europe."This is so much like the Bully Bluff; it is so flagrant a mark of vulgar cowardice, that it would be a shame to quote it without observing, that it has met with the unqua lified contempt of the public, who, like myself, neither express nor feel any regrety that the enemy has not made a descent upon our shores, but, on the contrary, are very glad of it. I, for my part, do not wish him to put to sea; but, if he does, I have no hesitation in praying, that every boat may be destroyed by our fleet, at a very great distance from our shores. This, I am pretty confident, would be the result; and in that confidence I am much happier than in any hopes from the exertions of either Mr. Pitt's corps, or the cars of Sir Brook and his committees of coach-makers.If there should be any persons who wish to know my opinion as to the probability of a serious at tempt at invasion being made, it may not be improper for me to declare, that, for the reasons which I have frequently given, I am persuaded, that the attempt will not be inade for a year, or more. But, I repeat again and again, that our preparations should never be laid aside, till the question is de cided. It is every man's duty to be ready.

CAR-PROJECT.-When, in a former sheet, p. 315, I submitted to the public my reasons for believing, that the project of conveying armies in carriages would, if attempted to be put in execution, prove nugatory, if not mischievous, I thought it necessary to apprize the ministerial editors, that, if they wished to counteract the effect of those reasons, it must be by showing them to be erroneous, and not by imputing factiousness to the person from whom they proceeded. Notwithstanding this caution, however, the persons alluded to, have, instead of opposing my reasons by better reasons, or by any reasons at all, misrepresented me; referred to false facts, appealed to the superior judgment of persons in power! and have, one of them at least, given way to more virulence and abuse than ever; a sort of conduct which I should have treated with the silent contempt it eminently deserves, did it

not afford me a favourable opportunity of showing, how totally incapable of defence this mischievous project is, even by those whose business, whose bounden duty, it is to defend it." To the writer," says one of them, who has given a long and edifying dissertation, to prove that men travel much quicker, and arrive at the end of their 66 journey much less fatigued, on foot, than "in carriages, we have nothing to offer. "We have, however, heard of the advan. 66 tages the French gained at the commence“ment, and at many subsequent periods of "the last war, by conveying their troops in "carriages. We also attach some respect "to the present plan, from its being ap

proved by the Commander in Chief, and by many men of knowledge and judg "ment, as well military officers as others,

and we can by no means condemn it, be"cause those who have no pretension to "judgment in the matter, appear disatisfied "with it." This is the answer to a long dissertation, as this writer calls it! It is not long, but it contains enough to show, that the writer of it is not entirely without pretensions to judgment in the matter. The appeal to the superior wisdom of persons in power, particularly the Commander in Chief, is one of those arguments, which, as Swift observes, "like a flail, there is no defence "against;" of those knock-me-down arguments, with which a well-drilled ministerial mercenary always goes about ready armed, and according to which wisdom and virtue exist in an exact proportion to the power that the possessors have of doing him harm, or good.

"'Tis from high life high characters are drawn; "A saint in crape is twice a saint in lawn:

A judge is just, a chanc'lor juster still; "A gownman, learn'd; a bishop what you will; "Wise, if a minister; but, if a king,

More wise, more learn'd, more just, more ev'ry thing."

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His Royal Highness, the Commander in Chief, if, indeed, he has approved of this project, will, I am persuaded, despise the persons who adopt this mode of arguing in its defence, as he must, from sad experience, well know, that there is not a wider difference between Satan and an Angel of light than between a court-sycophant and a loyal subject.The other writer, to whom I have alluded, and in whose production the temper, or rather the intemperance, of one of Mr. Pat's young friends" is but too evident, prefaces his remarks with abuse in quantity so great, so foul in its nature and so rapid and indiscriminate in its course, that it can, in the whole physical world, find no adequate representative, except it be one of hose torrents, which, after a sudden storm,

bears to the Thames, through a filthy gutter, the more filthy contents of some stenched-up alley. The editor of the Morning Chronicle appearing to agree with me, in most respects, as to the car-project, we are, by this writer, taken together. He ascribes our obiections to " daring and wanton ma "lignity;" he talks of the shafts of our "milice," of our sneering impertinence," of our "impudent animadversions," he accuses us of" scoffing" at measures necessary to the defence of the country, of "libelling" every public man who differs from us not excepting the King, of the foulest calum"ny," of the "basest licentiousness," of "scandalous infamy;" we ourselves are called scribblers and harpies ;" and, as to the Opposition in general, he describes them as a "faction dangerous to the true inte"rests of the country," and as a "despe"rate junto." This is the best description he can afford of an Opposition including almost every nobleman in the kingdom of ancient family, and almost every commoner of independent circumstances and character: this is the description he gives of that Opposition, which, as will be seen by the division upon the military project bill, included more than two-thirds of the county-members of England; that Opposition which contains nine-tenths of the property as well as the talents of both Houses of Parliament; that Opposition under which Mr. Pitt and his projects must finally sink, never more to rise. It is right to observe, too, that these accusations are conveyed to the public through a print, in which great regret was expressed that the leaders of the present Opposition were not admitted into the new ministry, and in which the blame of exclusion was ascribed personally to the King; and yet this is the print through which the whole of this Opposition is now styled a desperate junto, and in which the Morning Chronicle is accused of libeiling the King, because it hints that his Majesty lends to his minister too ready and implicit an ear! With this editor, as well as with his relation, the maxim may be, "away with the measures and "principles, and give us the men;" but, I think, they will find it hard to make the public believe, that any such maxim has ever been inculcated, or acted upon, in the pages of this wok, where, if men have been, and still are, censured, it has been, and still is, on account of their principles and measures. Before I dismiss this part of the subject, I cannot help adverting to a sentiment which I find here, and which, if not new with witers of this cast, is somewhat out of the common road just at this time. In alluding to the Opposition writers, this champion of the

ministry says, "they attack the members of "every department in that government un-1 "der which they live and by which they are "protected." Now, if this sentence has any meaning at all, it is, that we live by mere -sufferance under the present government, or ministry, and that we ought to be grateful for the protection it affords us ! But, is there any man in the country willing to admit a principle like this? Is there any man who will thus acknowledge, that the means and the powers of the state, that the revenues, the courts of justice, the army and the navy, are the property of the ministry, and that the protection those means and powers afford can, at the pleasure of that ministry, be granted, or denied? In a word, is there an Englishman breathing, is there any one, bearing that name, so base as to look upon protection as a favour, and not as a right? So detestably base as to be content to enjoy his property and his life by the permission of Mr. Pitt and Lord Melville, Mr. Canning and George Rosc, Messrs. Huskisson and Sturges? If there be, the wretch may sleep in quiet: the armies of Napoleon have no terrors for him: he has nothing to apprehend from the conquest of his country: he has neither political nor civil liberty to lose, and he is a slave far too submissive to be chained. Trusting to the indulgence of the reader for having suffered myself to be provoked into so long a digression from my subject, I now come to what this writer has said respecting the military-car project. Speaking of the editor of the Morning Chronicle," he has," says he, "been at particu"lar pains to turn into ridicule the meet

ings for the speedy conveyance of troops "that have been held at different places in "this metropolis. Does the sage writer of

these criticisms recollect what prodigious "advantages were obtained by the French "when their northern territory was invaded

in 1794? When the quick manner of "transporting the troops procured them vic"tory in every quarter, and gained them "the applause while it excited the admira"tion of all Europe? Or does the machi

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"tance. This was fully experienced in "1794, when, from the lines of Weissem"burg to West Flanders, an extent of six "hundred miles, there was a connexion "kept up between the French armies; and "the troops appeared and disappeared, like "magic, just as they were or were not want "ed. The invading army cannot have the same advantage, because they are farther separated. If there are numbers of at"tacks made at once, and if they are only at one place, there is no occasion for it at "all. The French had not the means that we have; but they had energy and will, "and it was not an uncommon thing to see "six or eight grenadiers mounted on a "plough, carried along at a brisk trot from

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one army to the other.-If they did not "arrive with great expedition, they at least "arrived fresh, which is the best half of the "business, and were therefore ready to act

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as soon as they alighted. Mr. Pope says, "when he was a young man, alluding to his "conceit of himself. And every thing was "wrong I did not know!': The two men "to whom we allude, a notorious opposition "scribbler and his brother labourer, in ano"ther similar publication, might nrake a "parody on this line by saying And every "thing was wrong I did not do.' Sup"pose the enemy arrive at Brighton and "Deal at the same tinie, neither is very dis. "tant from the metropolis, and if we can

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not oppose him at both places with supe"rior force there might be much danger; "but by means of speedy conveyance, our troops can arrive faster than theirs can "disembark, and thus we may stop their progress on their very landing, which is certainly what we ought to expect our"selves to accomplish; so that the differ86 ence between having 20,000 or 40,000 men to attack the enemy on its debarka"tion, depends entirely on the celerity of conveyance. Besides the advantage of promptitude in assembling an army of "powerful and superior numbers, it is of great importance to attack an enemy when "sea-sick, which, at the end of so short a

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66 nery by which the troops are to be con"veyed meet with this great man's sarcastic "observation? Though he may choose to "yoke himself to the same vehicle with ano"ther opposition scribbler, does he wish the "defenders of England to be drawn by such "ill-assorted cattle? Whatever the motives "of the man may be, the fact is, that as the 66 country invaded does not choose the spot " where it is to meet its enemy, it is neces

sary to be prepared in a variety of places. "Celerity of conveyance for the troops is *4* then a matter of the very greatest impor

voyage, and coming in such craft, is cer"tain to be the case to a violent degree. "Not only are the men and officers sick, but "they have what is termed the Sea Brain; "that is, a wild confusion in the head, "which prevents them from drawing up in "order. This continues for several hours. "We must therefore applaud, in the high"est terms, those very measures which these "two harpies condeinn." When the reader has taken time to admire the style and phraseology of this passage, I shall beg his attention to a remark or two upon it. The ad

vantages which the French are said to have derived from conveying troops in carriages is, I rather think, purely imaginary. That there was a connexion kept up between the lines of Weisemburg and the army in West Flanders, and that carriages were of sonie use therein nobody will deny; but that ten thousand men, or even one thousand men, were ever conveyed from army to army, on one road, at one time, in this manner, has never been stated upon any authority worth notice, and never will be believed. But, the story of six or eight grenadiers being carried along at a brisk trot upon a plough, and arriving fresh at the end of their journey, renders the whole too romantic to deserve a serious refutation. Yes, it was indeed said that the allied armies were beaten in consequence of the "French troops appearing and

disappearing like magic ;" and, I dare say the reader will recollect, that Captain Bobadil was "planet-struck," though threshed in exactly the same way, and with nearly the „same sort of instrument, that one threshes a sheaf of wheat. It did not require a supposition of a double disembarkation to convince me, that there would be great danger unless we could oppose the enemy with snperior force at his first landing; and, I would beg to know, when I said, or insinuated, that, in case of a landing, it would not be desirable to convey troops to the spot as speedily as possible? When I said, that our success would not, in a great measure, depend upon our being able to meet the enemy with superior force at his landing? These are points upon which there neither is, nor can be, any difference of opinion. As to a "sea-brain," however, I remember that the army of Abercrombie experienced no inconvenience from it upon their landing, in face of the enemy, at Aboukir; and, if I were permitted to hazard a conjecture upon so deficate a subject, I should express my fear, that this writer had been describing the state of his own brain instead of that of an invading French army, a fear which swells into perfect terror, when we consider that, from the recent projects, there is but too much -reason to suspect, that this disorder, this

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wild confusion in the head," has descended very far before it reached the unhappy person in whom it has now become so conspicuous.To return to the speedy conveyance of troops. I deny : one of the positions of this writer as to the advantage of such conveyance; I only deny, that the troops, in any number above four or five hundred, upon any one road, from any one point, can be conveyed in cars so soon as they can march upon their legs. This is my position: in support of it I have given some

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reasons: I am convinced that they cannot be refuted; and many others are of the same opinion. This position, therefore, it was his business to overset; and not to occupy his columns with idle stories about grena. diers trotting upon a plough," and about the allies being beaten by troops that “ appeared and disappeared like magic." Who ever denied, that the enemy will choose the place of his landing, and that it is necessary to be prepared in a variety of places?" Have I denied this? No: but I have denied, and I still deny, that, let him land where he will, you can convey a thousand, only one thousand, men in cars, upon one road, from one spot, so soon as you can march them on foot. I have supposed the case of a landing; I have stated particulars as to numbers, distance, and time; I have specified the difficulties and dangers of an attempt to execute the project; and I have shown, that, even if it were practicable, it would be useless. In answer, what am I honoured with? A reference to the superior judgment of the ministry, a blinking of the question, and a torrent of abuse! If this is the best that "Mr. Pitt's young friends" can do, it would certainly be prudent in them to let politics alone.

NAVIGATION LAWS.-The reader will not have failed to observe, that a contest of great importance, in many points of view, bas recently sprung up, relative to the degree of rigour, with which the navigation laws should be enforced with respect to the West India islands, particularly as it affects the intercourse between those islands and the United States of America. The planters contend, that the execution of the laws ought to be relaxed: the British ship-owners, that they ought not to be relaxed. A Mr. Jordan, agent for Barbadoes, has published a very able paniphlet in support of the claims of the planters, and to that pamphlet I must, for the present, content myself with referring the reader. The ship-owners have made some publications in the diurnal prints, in addition to the pamphlet published on their side of the question by Lord Sheffield. One of these publications I insert in the present sheet; and I shall here give the substance of a statement, which was therewith transmitted to me by one of the ship-own

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3, That, since 1783, there has been an average advance on. ship-provisions of £89, Ss. 8d. per centum, on materials and stores £84, 16s. 9d., on seamens' wages £44, 4s. 11d., and that there has been an increase of the duties on the importation of naval stores, including the duties imposed during the two last sessions of parliament, of £98, 10s. 6d. per centum; while, the average advance of freights, during the same period, has not been more than £24, 5s. Od. per centum:-4, That, to ascertain, whether capital embarked in shipping is beneficially employed, a reference to the custom-house books is not sufficient, because those books, which are, at best, an uncertain standard, are particularly so with regard to the quantity of British shipping, seeing that the register-act, which was passed in 1786, does not compel the owners to return the registers of such of their ships as are lost, broken-up, or taken :-5, That, in the accounts laid before parliament, there has not been any allowance made for the tonnage of such ships, while all the new and other ships entitled to British registry, since 1786, have been regularly added to the list of ships which were admitted to registry in that year, whence has arisen a fallacious representation of the state of the tonnage belonging to the country, which, year after year, the parliament are taught to believe to be much greater in amount than it really is :-6, That another inaccuracy, in these parliamentary accounts, arises from the number of voyages each ship makes in every year not being particularized or distinguished, the amount being made out and entitled the quantity of tonnage including the repeated voyages, &c. so that, in fact, instead of producing the account of the actual tonnage belonging to the country, it produces an account of the quan4ity of tonnage employed including the repeated voyages :-7, That the true way of ascertaining the quantity of British tonnage employed, and whether there has been any increase or decrease in the employment of foreign ships in the trade of G. Britain, is, to refer to the accounts of exports and imports, distinguishing those in foreign and those in British vessels, and, that, from such an account, it would appear, agreeably to a statement in the Register, vol. I. p. 559, that the increase of foreign vessels in the -trade of this country was, for the three years ending with 1801, one-fifth, while British vessels had only increased cne-fifteenth.Such is the substance of the statement with which I have been favoured; and, I am fully persuaded, that the depressed state of the shipping interest is therein by no means exaggerated. Yet, I know not how to say

to the West Indian planters, that, for this, or for any other reason, they ought to be content to starve, or to derive no profit from their capital. The intolerable duties upon their produce have rendered it absolutely impossible for them to live, without a relaxation of the navigation laws in favour of their intercourse with other countries, particularly that country, whence alone they can be furnished with those things, provisions and lumber, without which their cultivation cannot proceed. A relaxation bas taken place; but a further relaxation is necessary; and a further and a further will be necessary with every addition that is made to the duties upon their produce, That such additions will be made, if the present system be persevered in, is certain: so that, the consequence will be, that, as far as relates to the West Indies, the custom-house, or, more properly speaking, the funding system, will swallow up the navigation; and this is one of the many ways in which that system is undermining the strength, and hastening the subjugation, of the kingdom.

PAPER-ARISTOCRACY.Amongst the great and numerous dangers to which this country, and particularly the monarchy, is exposed in consequence of the enormous public debt, the influence, the powerful and widely-extended influence, of the monied interest is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it necessarily aims at measures which directly tend to the subversion of the present order of things. In speaking of this monied interest, I do not mean to apply the phrase, as it was applied formerly, that is to say, to distinguish the possessors of personal property, more especially property in the tunds, from persons possessing lands: the division of the proprietors into a monied interest, and a landed interest, is not applicable to the present times, all the people, who have any thing, having now become, in a greater or less degree, stock-holders. From this latter circumstance it is artfully insinuated, that they are all deeply and equally interested in supporting the system; and, such is the blindness of avarice, or rather of self-interest, that men in general really act as if they preferred a hundred pounds' worth of stock to an estate in land of fifty times the value. But, it is not of this mass of stock-holders; it is not of that description of persons who leave their childrens' fortunes to accumulate in those funds, where, even according to the ratio of depreciation already experienced, a pound of to day will not be worth much above a shilling twenty years hence; it is not of these simpletons of whom I speak, when I talk of the monied interest of the present day: I mean an interest hostile alike

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