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sider, as we have only to argue, whether the repeal of the Corporation and Test Acts tend to annul, alter, or dispense with the coronation oath.-I have already set out the prin cipal part of the coronation oath which concerns this argument. I will now extract such parts of the Corporation and Test Acts as may be said at all to bear upon the queston. The first act is that of the 13 Charles II. stat. 2. c. 1. intitled, An Act for the well-governing and regulating of Corporations. The preamble shews the purposes for which the act was enacted. "Whereas "questions are likely to arise concerning "the validity of elections of magistrates and "other officers, and members in corpora

tions, as well in respect of removing some "as placing others during the late trou❝bles, contrary to the true intent and mean"ing of their charters and liberties: And "to the end that the succession in such cor"porations may be most probably perpe"tuated in the hands of persons well-af"fected to His Majesty and the establi hed

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government, it being too well known, that, notwithstanding all His Majesty's "endeavours and unparalleled indulgence "in pardoning all that is past, nevertheless

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many evil spirits are still working." The fourth section describes the members on whom the statute attaches; and the twelfth provides for the future in the following words: "No person or persons shall for "ever hereafter be placed, elected, or chosen, "in, or to any of the offices or places afore"said, that shall not have, within one year

next before such election, or choice, taken "the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, ac"cording to the rites of the church of En

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land, &c. &c. and, in default thereof, every such placing, &c. is hereby enacted "and declared to be void."-The 25 Char. II. c. 2. is intitled, "An Act for preventing Dangers which may happen from Popish Recusants;" and the preamble declares it to be also for "quieting the minds of His Majesty's good subjects."-The second section I take to be, together with the ninth, the only two which require our attention. It follows nearly in these words: " And be "it further enacted by the authority afore

said, that all and every person or persons that shall be admitted, entered, placed, or "taken into any office or offices, civil or military, or shall receive any pay, salary, "fee, or wages, by reason of any patent or grant of His Majesty, or shall have com"mand or place of trust, from or under His

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Majesty, his heirs or successors, or by his or their authority, or by authority derived * from him or them, within this realm of

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they is, or are so admitted, or placed, take "the s: id oaths aforesaid, (the oaths of al"legiance and supremacy) and all and "every such person and persons so to be "admitted, as atoresaid, shall also receive "the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, ac"cording to the usage of the church of England, within three months after his or "their admittance in, or receiving their "said authority and employment, in some "public church; upon some Lord's day, "commonly called Sunday, immediately "after divine service and sermon."-The ninth section requires " of the persons con"cerned in this act, at the same time when "they take the aforesaid oaths of supre

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macy and allegiance, to make and sub"scribe the declaration following, under "the same penalties and forfeitures as be"fore are appointed. 1, A. B. do declare, "that I do believe there is not any transub"stantiation in the sacrament of the Lord's "Supper, or in the elements of bread and "wine, at, or after the consecration there"of, by any person whatsoever "-As my argument is adapted to the situation of perSons of every persuasion, who can be benefited by the repeal of the Test Acts. I will for brevity sake consider the Catholics as the only people interested.-The King, by his admitting those who hold contrary tenets to the doctrines he is bound to maintain, into his cabinet and into the senate, (and such admission is the extent of the effect expected by the repeal of the acts above cited) does not positively weaken the security of the Protestant church; virtually he may decrease the influence of the Protestants by communicating to others, of a diferent persuasion, the privileges formerly enjoyed by those of the established church only. But though the opening a door to the friends of a different church may decrease the influence of the Protestants in matters of state, it does not necessarily even interfere in their spiri tual concerns, and therefore does not diminish the privileges of the bishops and clergy, or of the churches committed to their charge. -Should, however, such an interference be dreaded, restrictions, as to the number of Catholics to be admitted, either into the senate or the cabinet, may prevent the probability of danger to the established church,, or disturbance to the minds of His Majesty's

good subjects. His Majesty and the coun try have long enjoyed the loyal services of Catholics in the national fleets and armies; and no danger to the church or state has occurred thereby; but by a strict interpreta tion of the 25 Ch. II. c. 2. such services were contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided. It may be said, that, in future times, a king less anxious for the welfare of his people, less watchful for the preservation of the established church, than our beloved Sovereign, may repeal the restrictions, and with the greater facility, when the Corporation and. Test acis are annulled.-But so it may be said, that hereafter a repeal of the acts in question may take place, and without providing for the security of the Protestant religion, which we have every good reason to suppose, through His Majesty's care, would not be in the least endangered.--But, such arguments relate not to the question; as, the thought of what other kings may do cannot justify His Majesty in the violation of his promise, if the reliefs to the Catholics shall be so construed.-Again: the reason why such oath was imposed on the heirs and successors to the crown of this realm is to be taken into consideration; and, as popery is not so alarming now as when the act containing such path, was enacted, the obligation for strictly watching against Papists is not so strong and the cause of such statute having ceased, so should the effect: Cessante causa cepet et effectus. But, if your patience encourages me, I shall, some other day, trouble you more on this part of my argument, when I come to consider the third objection.-If, however, notwithstanding the strongest arguments which can be offered to His Majesty for the repeal of the Corporation and Test Acts, and no doubt many stronger than any I can presume to propose may be submitted, the King shall still deem such repeal a wound to his conscience, and His Majesty having certainly as much right as any of his subjects to consider the feelings of his heart, the Catholics should with reverence submit, and Protestants must admire the obligation to keep his promise our Sovereign feels himself bound by, as a further proof of His Majesty's religion and virtue, however they regret he cannot persuade himself that such repeal would not be a forfeiture of his pledged word. With your permission I will send you my thoughts on the remaining objec tions next week, as I feel that I should take up too much of your time at present. I remain, Sir, your obedient servant, BRITANNICUS.-Nov. 14th, 1804.

PRICE OF BREAD AND LABOUR.

[The following letter was received a few days after the publication of an article (in the Register, p. 235 et seq) upon the subject of prices, particularly the price of bread.]

SIR,-- You are certainly misinformed. with respect to the prices of labour. They have been reduced according to the prices of corn, and as low as they were previous to the great scarcity. As provisions become dearer, they will rise again without any diffi, culty. They are always kept in proportion to the value of the bushel of corn, and the farmers on one hand, and the men them-" selves on the other, take care to lower and raise them continually. Task work has gone on as usual with able men, but the common labourer has had only bis 9s. a week, and nothing of idleness has arisen from the cheapness of bread, and largeness of wages.I think it is the duty of the minister to provide for the people, at as easy a rate as possible, and I heartily hope that the harvests abroad are such as to allow of great importations, and that such importabons will be made accordingly. Our own harvestwill fall short of the expectations that might fairly have been formed of it six weeks ago, though, I believe, it will not be by any means so generally deficient as it is supposed. The farmers will take care to avail themselves of the prevalent idea of blight and mildew, to raise the prices, more for the gratification of their own pampered ways of life, than according to the real value of the grain, from the stock in hand, and yield of the year. I will allow every man to make a fair profit, and according to his capital, but the prime necessaries of life are not, and ought not to be, articles of speculation; and the increased expenses in a great farmer's manner of living, notwithstanding all the increased rents put upon him, sufficiently prove that his gains are superabundant.I rather hope that the operation of the corn bill will be in fa-, vour of the consumers, as exportation must, now be out of the question, and importation may be encouraged; and, ignorant as the lower classes are, they cannot, therefore, imgine that corn will be carried out of the country, when a larger price can be obtained for it at home. The connexion which they will perversely make between war and scarcity, and peace and plenty, is mischievious, enough; but, you do Mr. Pitt, in my mind, great injustice, in supposing that they will be influenced by any such senseless cry →→I think you overstrain your arguments, in stating that so much mischief will be done to the poor man from general enclosures. I

suppose, you advert to his right of common, which in nine cases out of ten is of no manner of use to him, and only leads him to expense in keeping a half starved unprofitable cow. And, I think, you would do more fairly to attribute the enormous poor rates to the mismanagement, and overgrown state of the great farmers.With respect to tithes, the Church has a very small part of the tithes of the kingdom, compared with the lay holders of them, and generally speaking very few clergymen in a district can be found who take their tithes in kind. It is, I suppose, only against the latter that any outery can be made by a pompous and stupid Board of Agriculture, for in all cases of composition for tithes, I cannot are how any stop is put to improvement; and as to any increase of scarcity, the clergyman can want no more than he consumes, and must dispose of the remainder.--I would by no means have the clergy placed upon any variable income, nor made dependant either upon government or farmers, upon any principle that is to be settled by either of them. The clergy have a fair and full right to their tithes, and to any increase in the value of land. If government should choose to be at the expense of having a general survey made throughout the kingdom every five years, and enforce the bishops to settle the value of every living in that period, according to the price of corn taken according to an average, on the 24th of December, with the known value of other tithe articles added to it, possibly the clergy might not object to such a plan; and, I do not see that any mischief might arise from it. But, I quite agree with you in reprobating any exchange of security, and dependance upon funds for their support.I am, &c. &c. P.--Rumsey, August 14,

1804.

CONQUERED COLONIES.

SIR,In the discussions, which have lately taken place. On the subject of the slave trade. it appears to me that many opin ons existed Some thought the trade should be inmediately abolished; soine thought it should never be abolished; some thought it should be suspended during the continuance of hostilities; and some that it should not be suspended at all. --But I have never yet heard of any opinion, that the trade should be carried on, if not ex clusively yet preferably, for the benefit of our enemies.--I read in the Star of Saturday, Nov. 3d, account of arrivals of four vessel, viz. the Lady Hobart, Nicholson, Mary, and Price at Demerara, from Africa, Sir, at the time by the day of Amiens, 1666

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this settlement was to have been given up by us to the Dutch, I was informed on what I apprehend was very unquestionabi u thority, that this settlement atone had been improved, while, in our possession, by the expenditure of British capital to the enormous amount of two millions sterling.`Now, Sir, as there is always a probability, and indeed a general expecta on, that, at the conclusion of hostilities, the greater part, if not the whole, of the captured colonies, in the Western hemisphere, will he restored to their former masters, I beg. leave, through your Register, to call the public attention to the most outrageous impolicy of suffering a very large portion of British capital to be employed in a channel, the ultimate outlet of which will be exclusively into the coffers of a foreign, not to say a hostile nation. Sir, I should regard this consideration as of sufficient magnitude and force, but others of still greater are behind. Not only is our capital thus immediately misapplied, but, consequentially, it tends to enable foreigners to undersell our own subjects, and, which is of still greater moment, by augmenting their West-Indian trade (by far the most prolific parent and fostering nurse of a navy) it puts into their hands the means of rivaling us in that force, to superiority in which alone we must look for the protection of every thing worth preserving.Not only our high place in the scale of nations, but our very existence as an independent nation. —Therefore, Sir, without entering into the vexata quæstio of the abolition of the slavetrade, I do hope and trust, that immediately on the meeting of parliament measures will be taken to prohibit the carrying it on to any of those places, the whole of which are the property of foreigners and enemies.I am, &c. &c. X. X.-14th Nov. 1804.

IRISH VOLUNTEERS.

SIR, The panegyrists of our volunteer system have been in the habit of appealing triumphantly to the supposed exploits of the Irish yeomanry, in the rebellion of 1798. They have attributed the suppression of that rebellion principally to the valour and alertness of the armed yeomanry corps, and hence they argue for the efficiency of an army so, constituted in this country. But, Sir, this triumph rests solely upon a "suggestio falsi." It is true that there were yeomanry corps, and that there was a rebellion in Ireland; but it does not follow that the one either suppressed or promoted the other. In fact, those corps were of little or no service in action; they frequently fled before equal numbers of peasants. Those British

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officers, who then served in Ireland, will attest this fact. The rebellion was put down, partly by the British Fencible regi ments stationed there, partly by the conciliating conduct of Lord Cornwallis, and partly by the disunion and mismanagement of the rebels themselves.-The nature and extent of the services of the yeomanry corps, in that perilous crisis, may be sufficiently ascertained by a perusal of an interesting "History of the Rebellion in the County "of Wexford, in 1798." published by Mr. HAY, an eye witness, and a gentleman of very ancient family in that county, who writes with a justness of thought and feeling that stamps respect upon his narrative. I shol instance the evacuation of Wxford, on the 30th of May, 1798."The military force on that day in Wex

ford," says Mr. Hay, p 99, consisted of 500 of the North Cork militia, com"maded by Coronel Foote; 200 of the "Donegal militia, under Colonel Maxwell; "ive Loops of yeoman cavalry, viz. those

of Wexford, commanded by Capt. Boyd; the leathield, by Captain Grogan; the "Laniscorthy, by Captain Richards; the

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"Cofonel Watson, eager to reconnoitre, "proceeded up the hill, farther than pru→ "dence would permit, and was shot from "one of the out posts of the insurgents. "The Donegal militia then retreated to "Wexford, along with the yeomen cavalry, "who pressed upon them very much along the "road! Immediately after this, a hasty "council of war was held, at which it was "determined to evacuate the town!!! A "general consternation now prevailed, &c. "&c."-Thus the death of one man, an English half-pay officer, caused 1200 men to abandon Wexford. Mr HAY's remark is this: The town of Wexford was not "only most shamefully abandoned, but 66 even surrendered, to all intents and purposes, when it might have been easily de"fended, although no one will now ac"knowledge to have been concerned in so "scandalous a transaction; and the very

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persons who ought to have been its most "strenuous protectors, from their situation and circumstances, were not only the first "to yield it, and to fly so clandestinely, as

to put it utterly out of the power of all "others besides themselves to retreat, but

86 Tag'mon, by Captain Cox, and the Shil"maler by Colonel Le Hunte The yeo66 men inntry were those of Wexford,

ualler Doctor Jacob, M. D.; the Ennis"corthy ander Captain Pounden; the Sca"rawalsh, under Caprain Cornock; and "the Shil malier, under the Right Honoura

ble Gorge Ogle, with their supplemen26 tary men, altogether as many as their ori-. "ginal namber, and two hundred of the ❝ownsmen, amounting in the whole to "twelve bundred men under arms;" who,

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as the town wall was in good condition (in 'eed Mr. Hay tells us, p. 97, that it was in full preservation), might defy as many thousand assaitaats, not supported by a great superiority of ordnance. Thus stood Wexford and its garrison. Now for the valour and the tactics of the latter. They shut themselves closely within the walls, faring to face au irregular mob, of a few thousand peasants, whose weapons were pikes, rusty fire-arms and bayonets, and who did not possess, or know how to use, a single piece of ordnance-Finding, however, that the rebels did not approach them, they at last salled out; and Mr. Hay tells us, that "Co

lonel Maxwell, with 200 of the Donegal "militia, and Colonel Watson, with the Shilmalier, Wexford, Eaniscorthy, Taghmon, and Heathfield yeomen cavalry," amounting to abour 300 men, "resolved to sally out in quest of the enemy. They had advanced as far as Belmont, when

left even their own wives and families to "the mercy of an irritated and ungovernable "multitude."-HadWexford been defended, and it was certain of relief in 24 hours, from Arklow, Ross, Duncannon fort, and Waterford, all within twenty miles, and garrisoned with upwards of 2000 troops (I) do not mean yeomen corps), and had the defence, or rather quiet occupation, of the town been persevered in for three days, it; must have been relieved amply from Dublin, only 60 miles distant, where good troops. were daily arriving from the north and from England. Annexed to Mr. Hay's History. is a map, which assigns to Wexford a strong military position, partly on a hill, partly. flanked by a broad navigable river, very near the sea, and thereby commanding a constant supply of provisions. It formerly withstood. obstinate sieges against disciplined armies, and never was deemed untenable, save against the armed peasants, by a volunteer force!-Similar instances are recorded by: Mr. HAY, p. 118, 260, 261, and almost passim; and his opinion of the yeomanry corps is much confirmed by the Rev. Mr. Gordon, the Protestant historian of the same county, and rector of a parish.-Now, Sir, if it appears incontestably, that the Irish yeomen corps (sharpened against the peasantry, as they certainly were, by political and religious hatred, and of vehement tempers), manifested no superiority, when op. posed to a semi-barbarous and semi-armed

rabble; if they appear also to have been driven out of Enniscorthy, another strong hold, with great precipitation, when fairly attacked in the open day; if also the defeats of Captain Adams. Colonel Foote, General Walpole, &c, and the surrender or slaughter of their detachments, inspired them with terror and dismay; if it appears most probable that the armed yeomanry, if unsupported, would have been speedily crushed by the peasantry; if these be facts, surely the example of the Irish yeomanry cannot, with any justice, be cited in support of a similarly constituted force in this country; nor can thinking men rely, with any degree of prudence, upon such a force for protection against the disciplined and regular brigades of Napoleon.FLAMI NIUS... November 1st, 1804.

PUBLIC PAPER. FRENCH CIRCULAR NOTE.

Circular

Note from M. Talleyrand, French Minister
of Foreign Affairs to all the Agents of his
Majesty the Emperor of the French.-Dated
Aix-la-Chapelle, Sep. 5, 1804.

You must, Sir, have observed and known, according to my instructions at the time of the communication of the note of Lord Hawkesbury to the Foreign Ministers residing in London, the impression which this publication of the strongest maxims of political and social morality could not fail to produce on the mind of the government with which you reside. I think I ought to return to the subject. I therefore send you, officially, a copy of this note, and expressly charge you, by order of his Majesty, to make it the object of a special conference with the ministry. -The project which the English government has conceived for the last half century, gradually to abolish the tutelary system of public law which unites and engages all civilized nations, developes itself with a fearful progression. Will other governments refrain from making opposition to such an enterprise till there no longer exist any moral bond which may preserve their rights, guarantee their engagements, and protect their interests?-The powers of the Continent have seen with what audacity the faith of oaths has been sported with by this government, and solemn treaties violated, even before they were carried into execu tion. The maritime nations every day experience its tyranny. There no longer exists any theoretical principle of navigation, any written Convention, which have not been scandalously violated on every shore, and in

every sea.

Neutral states know, that even in using the rights which still remain to tlfem with the most timid circumspection, they expose themselves to insult, to pillage, and to extermination. Those states, in fine," which have the unhappiness to be at war, no more rely on any reciprocal principle of moderation and justice. All the bonds existing between them and the neutral powers are broken. Approach to the coasts and entrance into the ports and islands, though situate at the distance of 200 leagues from the station of their squadrons, have been prohibited by simple proclamation.--Thus the English government has hitherto opposed to every power, according to its particular position, a maxim injurious to its honour, and subversive to all its rights. It now attacks them altogether, and the more completely to attain its end, directs its blow against morality itself, and if I may so speak, against the religion of public law.

(To be continued.)

SUMMARY OF POLITICS.

SIR GEORGE RUMBOLD. (Continued from p. 782) This gentleman has, since the last Register was published, arrived in London. On his arrival at Paris, he was conveyed to the Temple, where he was treated with civility, and where he remain-ed two days and two nights. On the third day he was removed from the Temple, and conveyed towards the coast of the channel, having first signed a parole, that he would not return to Hamburgh, nor, after his departure from France, go within fifty miles of any part of the French territories. Before he left the Temple, he made an application for his papers, which were in the hands of the minister of the police; but, this demand was peremptorily refused. Thus stripped of his diplomatic character as well as his documents, he was put into a carriage with his servant, and conveyed first to Boulogne, where he remained a day or two. Thence he was taken to Cher bourg, where he was put on board of a flag of truce, on Thursday, the 15th instant. This vessel fell in with his Majesty's frigate the Niobe, where Sir George was taken on board. He landed at Portsmouth on Satur-" day, the 17th instant, and came to London' on Sunday.--The release of Sir George Rumbold has, by the ministerial papers,. been ascribed, in great part, if not entirely, to the remonstrances, not to say threats, of the King of Prussia, who, we are told, upon hearing of the act of violence committed

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