The National Register. — London, England, 1808-01-04 00:00:00

• I 0 a- - 7 7.,17 1 7 't• ~ • - , ♦ 4 .... ..t: ~ • "W W. • ' .. 4 1" • fi , . . 1 .. • . , . . • 4 • . ' 1 1 , . . THE . . 1 Our liino, eronOtitution, anb Lato%. 0: 4 . MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 1808. PRICE Bd, .:~ This exhilirating prospect, however, is not without its darker shades. The tythe-laws still serve to turn the hearts of . the people against morality and religion, by embroiling them in odious quarrels with their teachers; the poor laws still lay their iron hands on the industrious, and give encouragement to idleness and vice : the want,of cheap and general means for edu cation still leaves a large portion of the people of England in lamentable ignorance, with all its attendant miseries and crimes : the remains of the feudal institutions are allowed to encroach on the equal rights of the nation, and the proprietors of land still retain the privilege of cheating their just creditors with im- punity. Yet are'not these blots on our national prosperity to be con sidered as any signs of degeneracy, as evils which we have in curred by recent misconduct t their baneful influence has long hung upon our political constitution, and we are now making greater efforts than ever to shake off the distemper. Plans for commuting the tythes have been suggeste4; devices have been presented to the Legislature for the gradual abolition of the poor laws; methods for the education of the lower classes have there also been discussed, and warmly approved; while a bill for the partial abolition of the ignominious privilege of the landed proprietor has been introduced into Parliament by one of the greatest lawyers of our age. Though ignorance and prejadlee may, for a while, maintain their sway, these facts prove, that the sun of inowledge and improvement iii rapidly rising on our country. There is one, and perhaps only. etuccattse of fearful presage, which•seems to blacken as we advance, and threatens, ultimate ly, to overcast the national glory with its baleful shade. It cannot be dissembled, that our public burthens have, in the cease of a few years, increased to an amazing degree, unprece dented in the history of any other nation ; that our taxes have been necessarily augmented in the same distressing proportion ; that, after laying on nearly every article, as great impositioni as they could bear, without diminishing the consumption, astir government has, at length, been obliged to have recourse to direct and galling taxes, which send the tax-gatherer iuto our houses, and compel every man to a disclosure of his private affairs :—these evils cannot be dissembled, and no adequate remedy has yet been devised. We do not overlook the merits of the Sinking Fund, but we distrust its efficacy, especially under its present modifications, when we compare the amount of the annual loans with the amount of the annual redemption. We derive no consolation from those recent palliatives, which only put off the evil to a future day; and we see no prospect of those decisive economical retrenchments, without which, we fear, the utmost catastrophe cannot be averted. Temporary facilities ought to be taken into the account, as well as permanent advantages. Our finances present a most flourishing appearance, and even execed, in productiveness, the calculations of our Ministers. The intricate laws, relative to the income tax, have become better understood ; our tax-ga therers have become more expert by practice: our wealth and population are greatly on the increase; and, in spite of adverse circumstances, even our custom-house duties are unusually pi o ductive.. Our national credit stands as high : and ocr facility Jf No. 1. POLITICAL DISQUISITION. NeMBER ON. STATE OF OF THE NATION. It is a practice which would prove no less beneficial to a nation than to a private trader, to make up a distinct account of its actual situation at the close of every year;, to observe the proportion of the loss and gain which had befallen it during the preceding twelve months ; and to consider how the one might be diminished and the other increased, in a succeeding period. It is from ignorance of what has happened even to themselves, from inattention to those lessons which experience ,is constantly en deavouring to impress on their minds, that nationg, like indivi duals, are perpetually recommitting the blunders fur which they Lace already smarted, or deploring the want of advantages which are already in their power. The past, when unobsersed, fails to instruct ; and the future, when seen through the dusky maze of mere uninformed conjecture, presents nothing but a chaos in which ;di is visionary hope, or groundless apprehen sion. Were our limits as extensive as our wishes. we should endea vour to make up the national accounts, to deduce the balance of its profits and losses from a comparison with a former period, to ascertain the causes which led to prosperods or pernicious results, and, aided by the powerful voice of experience, to In culcate upon our countrymen, the course which their own wel fare requires them to pursue. But our labours for the use of the public are as yet only in their commencement ; we have not had an opportunity to dere lope to our countrymen the real nature of preceding transac tions; and the political events, even of the last twelvemonth, arc sufficiently numerous, important, and intricate, to require a volume for their detail, discussion, and due appreciation. But is hat lies within our power we shall endeavour to effect : we shall attempt to draw up an inventory of the national affairs, from the commencement of the present year, and to inform the public, as briefly as possible, of the situation in which the in terests of our country are placed both at home and abroad. Every succeeding week will afford us an opportunity of point ing out the progressive changes in this state of things: and the commencement of another year will be the period for striking a balance. • Our internal condition still, displays an undiminished vigour and a progressive advancement. Our *Friculture, the funda mental source of national wealth, daily*ceives fresh improve ments: societies, established for the „Purpose, encourage and promulgate the discoveries of cultivators ; the great and thy• rich proprietors employ themselves in those extensive experi ments which are beyond the means of the farmer; and large and unproductive wastes are continually reclaimed to useful vegeta tion. Our manufactures increase in number and refinement with the increase of our population and wealth : our internal com merce, the great instrument for diffusing comfort and riches through every part of the nation, and our coasting trade, the main prop of our maritime greatners ; display an equally extcn stie augmentation. • 1 . 14. T .