The National Register. — London, England, 1816-08-04 00:00:00

kt No. 443.—V0i.. IX. POLITICAL DISQUISITION. EXPEDITION TO ALGIERS. THE importance of the Expedition which has lately sailed for Algiers will, we hope, be a sufficient excuse fin. our indulging a few speculations closely connected with that event. The wars of the present nations of Europe are conducted in a manner much more conf o rmed to the dictates of humanity, than those whose records comp ose the annals of Judea, Greece, and Rome. Though there are instances among the Romans of mag nanimity towards their fallen enemies, which perhaps were never equalled—and though they sometimes ap peared to glory in the character " lenis in jacentetn," yet in general we cannot give them the praise of leaving their ferocity in the field ; they looked upon their captive foes rather as guilty than untiwtonate. For the truth of this we need only to appeal to the brutal horrors of their triumphal games, to the deaths of Perses and Jugurtba. These inhumanities were not the crimes of a few ; the civil laws bear witness that they were the acts of the whole nation. The doctrine of their lawyers was, that the lives of the vanquished having been preserved by the victor, he had an undoubt►d right to that ►which he had spared, and that consequently the conquered were at the absolute disposal of the conqueror. This fallacious rea soning condemned the captive to a perpetual and merci less slavery. But, owing to the mild influence of Chris. tiunity, and the gradual extension of a well-directed phi losophy, this doctrine is exploded by all the States of the civilized ►world. Certain writers of the most extended views, Wilding on the foundations of common reason and justice, have erected a system of jurisprudence relating to the rifflits and antics and intercourse of individual States. The intrinsic merits of these works have gained for them the appellation of a The Laws of Nations." By these it is ordaintd, that a proclamation of war should pre cede hostility : that prisoners should be treated ►with kindness, and, at the end of the war, should be restored to their country—if not previously ransomed, &c. Two of the nations professing to observe these laws are as much bound by them, as two individuals of the same country are bound by its municipal constitutions : but for one of these States to observe them, in its relations with another which disclaims them, is as ridiculous, as for an English snerehant to expect his insolvent creditor in France to submit to the bankrupt Laws. This is the relation in which we stand with the Algerines; and, if we act towards theta in this way, our Expedition will be of little use. To attempt to treat with them is absurd : we should distingulFh between a civilized nation and a horde of Pirates. The Algerines, without any of the virtues, arc tainted with all the vices of barbarians. The American Indians, though no savages, arc more unpitying and relentless. Though in war they have no discrimination either of age or sex—yet they arc bound by treaties; nay, they respect them with a punctuality which may shame a people of f►r higher pretensions. But the Algerines are both cruel and treacherous. They appear to consider treaties merely in the light of pit-falls fur those States who are so simple as to think they have any obligation. If, by a breach of the most solemn compacts, they Ire able to take advantage of some unsuspecting nation which observes them, they count the infringement not a viola tion of good faith, criminal in the highest degree ; but a kind of ruse de guerre, not only justifiable but praise worthy. Such is the nation (if it deserve the name) with which we are at war ; or rather, such are the rob bers whom we are to punish. We hope their punish ment will be such as absolutely to incapacitate them, for some time at least, to do further mischia.f. No reason of commercial policy should any longer induce us to permit these daring corsairs to prowl along the shores of the Mediterranean, to destroy or interrupt the intercourse of nations. They should uo longer be permitted to °otitis ationat lirliiOtver• Our ttino, eon6titution an SUNDAY, AUGUST 4, 1816. nue their trade .of rapine and slaughter, or to defy from their citadels both our threats and our attacks. Yet this will still be the case, if things are not differ ently managed from what they have hitherto been. They must be expelled from the sea -coast, or ow Expedition will be of no permanent benefit. To say they must be exterminated,' would be too much like a proposal of their own; but their removal from the spot on which they are now seated, is necessary to the safety of commerce, and to repel from ourselves the charge of acquiescing in their piracies. And while we are mentionin. , this, we are aware that we were fiirmerly not charged with being merely accessories, but principals. Johannes Boterns, in his tract " De Regno Anglin," published in the reign of Elizabeth, speaking of the revenue of the English Mo narchs, says,—" But in our times their Kings have found another mode of filling their coffers; namely, by the fifth part which is paid to the Crown by those who have a li cence of committing piracy on the sea-coasts of Spain, and the new world. They act, says he, like the Viceroy of Algiers, who receives Pirates on condition of having part of their booty." And Philippus Honoring, in his account of England, written about the same time, says, " Here is the Isle of Wight, the country of that Francis Drake (Draeonis), the famous Pirate, the son of a fish erman, who infested, by his many piracies, not only the shores of Spain, but the whole Empire of the Catholic King. He took upon himself the name of Drake (Draco), which is a kind of serpent. Whence the people of Dun kirk built a large ship, which they called the Dog (I)og_ gain), intimating, that by this Dog, they would hunt and perhaps seize the Drake (I)raconem)." Our rea ders will be scarcely more diverted at the writer's ridi culous mistake, than at his insolence in representing the illustrious hero, Sir Francis Drake, merely as a notorious Pirate. MEETING at the CITY ty . LONDON TI VERY. A very numerous meeting Wok phsai no Mont ay tst"trre City of London tavern, to take into consideration the pre sent distressed state of the lower classes, and the most ef fectual means of extending relief to them. About half past one o'clock the Duke of York entered and took the chair, supported on his right by the Duke of Kent, nod on his left by the Duke of Cambridge. He was accompanied on his entrance by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, the Duke of Rutland, Lord Manvers, the Chaucellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Wilberforce, and other distinguished ...... His Royal Highness the Duke of York immediately proceeded to open the business of the meeting by observing, that as the gentlemen then assembled together had done him the honour to place him in the chair, it became his tints to state the object which they were then called upon to consider. He should do this in a very few words ; not merely is mn a conscious ness of his own inability, but from a belief that many were to follow hint on the same subject who were fully competent to the task. The meeting had been called to consider, and 11`; far as possible to alleviate, the present distress and sufferings of the labouring classes of the community. These distresses were, he feared, too well known to all who heard him, to require any de scription ; and all that he hail to add to the bare statement of them was the expression of his confidence, that the liberality which bad been so signally manifested in the cause of foo eign distresses, would not be found to he wanting a hen the dio eetion of it was to be towards the coinfoort and relief of ear counts y men at home. (Loud upplaost. Mr. Carter, the secretary to the association of the year Nu, then read a part of a report drawn up by a committee of that society ; it is stated, that the society, though ouch very - in adequate fluids, had produced very extensive good by commu nicating activity to local benevolence, and by furnishing a mo del upon which military meetings and the subscriptions and efforts of particular districts might be formed, and brought into a state of efficient operatino. The impatience of the room, which was crowded beyond all example, interoolited the reading of the report; and, at the request of the Duke of Cambridge, Mr. Carter desisted. The Duke of Kent said, he regretted much that it had not been in the power of the gentleman who bad just sat down to gain the attention of the meeting, and he attributed it en tirely to the weakness of his lungs; because, if the whole had been heard, he was sure that it would have cmvinced .asery body of the correctness of the views oriainmily entertained by the association of 1412, and of the diligence with which they had been pursued. The society had met with much opposition; it had been objected to them, that their objects were not pa triotic, but political. lie begged to state, that the late Mr. Whitbread had been so perfectly satisfied of the tutility of these objections, that he had in the most public and candid monster acknowledged that his first impressions had been erroneous, and he became active in joining his exertions with those of the institution. Much did he lament, because he knew the value ably assistanee, and Pow freely it would have been afforded, the wont of it on this occasion.. The plain and blood princi ple upon which that soviets , was formed, was, that those who had the mean• should contribute in their due proportion to the relict of those who had no means at all. The con& tion of the country at that period, the actual calamity which pressed apse it, was reel at te produce disooateut,:uid Olga hum- Paiez . 9 i ;d. reetion. At present no such consequences had bitten Ware and yet he would venture to state. that in many parts of the kingdom, the sintering* which it was now their obj,•ct to alle viate had at nu former period been exceeded. With revert to the causes of this dishes+, that presented a question hoe which it was not neves:ny to inquire, with a view to their im mediate purpose. The immediate object was to raise a fund, in the enbaequent accumulation and mauagentent of which. many ulterior arrangements might be projected, and from which charLy might soon emanatee, hi a thousand direr:hi - ass. He doubted not that every comity and every town would her quick to imitate tit , example of the metropolis. The a‘seci. at - t.f Lela hail, at least, the merit of producing this effect„ and had spread through the whole land, that spirit of active benevolence which he was feebly ins ukitig on this ueeasieo. He tru.ted that it was necessary for him to say but little more to ematie the adoption of the resultation which lie should have the honour to propose. He confessed he felt gratified when he saw so great a concourse of his countrymen asqembled to gether for such a purpose, and additional gratification at seeing by whom they were suppoi teal. On his left, in the chair. he feunti an illustrious relative of his, who seas alas ass forward in works of beneficence, and nos a- forgetful of the interests of the lower orders. Near him sat an illustrious Duke, whe.se character was eqnsilly high in the couutry. On his right he beheld the chief diguitary of the church, to whose high and excellent qualities it was impossible for him to do adequate justice; and around hint were many, whose station in society, whose ranks as members of the legislature, and whose public character and talents, were well calculated to advance and en sure success to their common object. He could net but re mark likewise, that the presence of a "'Nth:Haan high in his Majesty's councils (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) was a satisfactory pledge that the purpose they contemplated had the countenance and sanction of covernment. He was stare, th. ri, that he should not plead in vain to the national liberality; but that a remedy would be promptly offered to an evil, which he trusted would be teund but temporary. If they should Ise imail so happy as hut to succeed in discovering new sources of einployancia, to supply tha places of those ch a r ' utis a th ie t s had boot suil.l( My shut up, he should indeed despond if we did not stun restore the country to that same flourishing condi tion which had long made her the envy of the world. It would be improper for him to trespass longer; he had dis charged his share of duty, and had only to read the first reso lution which it was proposed to submit to their consideration. The resolution was then read, and was hi substance, " That the sudden transition from a state of extensive warfare, to a system of peace, has been productive of a stagnation of em ployment, and a revulsion of trade, deeply infecting malty 'rids address was received with enthusiastic Mr. Harman seconded the resolution, and expressed his cordial concurrence with all the observations of the illus trious tnovcr. A Person then addressed the meeting from the lower end of the hall, sod begged to expruas 11114 opinion, that the gloom and despondency which at present seemed to hang over the country were unworthy of the character of Englishmen, or of the glory they had acquired by the arduous strucele which they had so successfully surmounted. When a celebrated an. eient republic was closely besieged and vigorously attacked by superior forces, the ground upon which the eni my's ell44llllp_ ment was fixed was sold at public auction, and fetched as hick a price as if it had then been in the quiet occupation of its owner. Why, then, ought we to fear under the present cir cumstances? Hannibal was not at our gates. Exertions coat. par•atisely small would be sufficient to extricate us from all our difficulties. If he were allowed to refer at all to the cause of these difficulties, he should not hesitate to aset ibe them all to a sudden and unlooked-for reduction of the circulating in, ditto]. It might not be easy to find a sufficient remedy; but he was convinced that this was the single root of all the evil which now cast a transient cloud user the laud. All that they It , t 1 to do at present, and all that it was permitted them to do, w..s o confine their efforts to the mitigation of individual distre • and, instead of indulging a spirit of unnecessary tlespondene, however grateful it always was to an Englishman to be told that he was ruined, look forward to the natural resources, means, and energy of the country, as the certain and speedy sources of a deliverance from its present burdens. Thta speech was heard with a mixture of applause snit dissatis faction. Lord Cochrane then offered himself to the attention of the meeting and was received with a loud clamo u rs in which it was impossible to distinguish whether those who hiss ed or those who shouted approbation constituted the majority. Having succeeded in gaining a hearing, be stated, that he should not have trespassed en their attention, but for a par ticular purpose which had occurred to his mind. Afltr the summons which he had received, he should have deemed it a de reliction of his duty to have abstained from attending, and Its rose now hecanse lie saw no other individual prepared to de liver his opinions. What he desired to impress. upon the minds of those whom he had the honour to address was, that the pre. liminary resolution which had been read by an illustrious Duke was altogether founded in fallacy. The existing ilistresst s could not be truly ascribed to any su.l.b•n transition from war to peace. Could it he pretended that it vas peace which had occasioned the fall in the value of all agricultural pristine('? or could any man venture to assert that the difficulties and sill% filings of the manufacturing classes Mid ans other cause than a prodigious and muumuus burden of taxation? (Loud epplaus,'.) tie was much gratified at seeing the Ro)al Mikes so e in promoting a generous and laudable undertaking ; and ht. Is Teti tie should not he understood as treating them with di,. espect, when lie repeated 11141 the resolution was faintled iu ao entire fall.u•y. lint not to content with a inure asst film of Ins own belief, he 11.11 ntutitfat Official documents to prove the correctness of his gateinelitS; and if he should be wrung, he SAW the C .ssiceilor attic Exchequer near him, who would have lie opportautty of cot rycliag hiawYreproscutativa. (4 laugh.) • • i 1 • • . '4l • ..