The National Register. — London, England, 1809-10-29 00:00:00

• ter. allude to the ferinentatiou generafly,pnevailingamong the great . mass of the Spanish population, that we are inclined to . believe that a great poliqat 146% 1 0 in dies executive is near at hand. 'loli'less inauspiciouk, or more settled jthicture,ave shoult rigrei these appearance's; init.,' in the present desperate. state of the Penithitila, some strong convulsion, bordering on revolutionary niovenients, can alone reject the extra neous scum which corrodes its-surface. The voice, the di-, 'tine energy of freedom.can alone produte a degree of reac tion sufficiently - strong to counteract the concentrated sio lance of Be° NA PA RTE. We would rather see the Peninsula a pray to the wildest anarchy. labouriug under . revoluti onary th i roes, thaa behold it manacled at the feet of a loathsome tyrant, The breath of tyranny is pestiferous ; it seizes the noblest parts,. and leaves behind an incurable lethargy pf soul and body. We know not, in the mean time, what our army are performing, where they arc 'ata timed, or whether they are preparing to, return to our shores. Could we attach any credit to a number of ac counts we heard on thiisubject, we should be the first to advise their immediate regal!, or gelid' them out on some spice-island expedition. Lord 'WELLINGTON is an enter prising and experienced officer. The inaction of our troops cannot, therefore, be imputed to him, unless the marshes in the neighbourhood of Badajos have invorated the usual vigour of his mind, or damped the glow of his ambition. We are informed that our army has made a retrograde • movement towards Lisbon, where Lord WELLINGTON bad previously arrived, and where his Lordship was to be installed President of the Regency, with al most all the powers formerly possessed by the Sove reigns of that country. We acknowledge we rejoice at this intelligence. This extraordinary authority could tot have devolved upon a more competent character, It the preservation of Portugal be among practicable things, • we know of nothing which could contribute to it more efficaciously than this nomination. But we forget our selves ; we shall incur an imputation of Quixotism, should we incline td such a train of specUlation. Pretentions to political acumen and foresight, are now allowed only to , those who are too frigid to feel, too languid to know, the influence of a generous sentiment. The hoarse croaking of the crow was considered prophetic ; and our journal ists, in proportion to the harshness of their tones, pre tend to a similar distinction. Be that as it may, we should not entertain a very exalted opinion of our feel-. ings, however flattering it may be to our 'under derstandings, were we to anticipate, as Unavoidable, the 'speedy extiiiction of Spanish freedom. The contagion of opinion is inconceivable. Twelve months ago, when 'VONAPA ATE approached the. Pyrenees, a general conviction . was prevalent , then, that he would execute, within the appointed time, his menace of planting his eagles on the towers of Seville and Lisbon. Re did neither; but 'the tinpression was so strong, that .he would . perform hi s - threat; tivit the experience of his disappointment, the un abated efforts of the Spaniards, have not been able to weaken its effect. Such is the . .folly of human opinion ! such the instability of political reasoning. Arguments are not founded upon fact, but passion and system. l New York Papers, were received during the course of the, week. We have made some extracts, which refer to 3ir. JACKSON'S mission and, reception in that country. P • ••• , A • A . TAE' .T 161.14. 4..4.1P • • 44, 4 **saw , ( 690 OCT. 29. , Sumo of them breathe the greatest violence and indecency :. and if they ca.itain the sentiments of the majority of the AtTeiican people, it must be confessed that the citizens of fhe United States combine with the vices of the old, the- Savawe , manners of the new world. The person of an •Aeiliassador has been, from time • innmlnorial, sacred ; 'end . the slightest insult offered, - by word oe .action, Nvr.s otioidered, by• the unanimous assent of, civilised shit;, Nobelium!: an "outrage, as to justify the severest .retalinf... tion on the part of the nation, whose representative. was .:. insulted. The most. atrocious tyrants, and the rudest . nation;:, have observed the laws of nations in this . re.:.; speet ; it was reserved for those . transatlantic citizens to contemn and violate , these long established forms.. Our ' forbearance has rendered that.people insolent. The equa tiamity of our Government has induced them to assume the language and ts irestures of bullies, Put they would not - dak-e employ a similar tone and menace against Tuet-eau, the French .Ambassador; nor would his' Government. allow them to pass with impunity. They complain, forsooth !. of an infringement of treaties—they, who arc vet capabe, • Of obieriing the' simplest regulations adopted' by Statels pretending to the rudeststate of cis ilization. If Mr.Jacxso N has been insulted in the mariner alluded to in the liallintoi e Whig, and the insult remains unnoticed and unpunished by the Government . of the United States, our Ambassador s iould be instantly recalled ; for it were madness to think of establishing amicable relations with such a people ! This is not a season to sanction the slightest dereliction from the dignity of our national character; and the Americans are not the people who should be permitted to outrage the feel rigs• or the rights of this country. A praise-worthy desire of .conciliating difterenus, and re-establishing the. former commercial relations, is not to be realized by weak ness, or meanness, on our part.; for past experience might convince any dispassionate observer, that the arrogance of America rose in proportion to the moderation of our executive. Conciliation, like every other virtue, has its due boundary, beyond w hichi it becomes a vice. t the citizens of the United States are so regardless of their own interests and 'dignity ; and so forgetful of the re lative- strtrigth of the two countries, as to impute our moderation to pusilauitnity, and to treat it as such.,-Well, they should be convinced of their error; and as they seem to have such an enormous appetite for fighting, they certainty deserve to be indulged with a hearty meal of that description. A surfeit might sicken them and be here. , after the means of curing diem, of their preactit intemper ance. It is the grossest mistake in politics to carry equa nimity too far ; and we strongly reprobat.. the idea of sacri ficing dignity to interest; or conceding to arrogance, the - minutest, the least important of our pretensions. No official confirmation of the treaty concluded. at Vienna, on the 3d inst. has been yet received. I)utch Pa pers to the ISth were'receiyed yesterday ; but they do not contain a corroboration of the previous account. A pri, vate . letter even states, that the Burgomaster at. Amster dam, who-published the intelligence, was imposed upon; and that peace is more-distant than ever. This silence is certainly not easy folio explained ; . but it, by •no means, dissipates our apprehensions. it is, probably, no more than a manoeuvre of the Corsican, who is desirous of identifying with his return to Paris the enthusiasm.which the first publication of so advantageous a treaty may excite. We still reta;n our opinion neon this subject; and whatever how s the sal( uce of the German papers, and the-want of officialsommuliication may have raised, are inifortimiitely destroyed by the intelligence 'transmitted to us by our Deal and Dover correspondents. They state that the dis charges of artillery, and a general illumination, were ob served on the opposite coasts, on Saturday night. If our wishes could invalidate the account, we would certainly speculate in opposition to these demonstrations;' but the;, we are afraid, remove everp.doubt on the subject.