The National Register. — London, England, 1808-02-28 00:00:00

~~{ ,-.__ FJB. 28. REVIEW OF POLITICAL DECLAIME THE NATIO No. IX. EXAMINATION OF MR. COORETrS ATTACK ON MR. ROSCOE's PAMPHLET. (Continued.) In our last Number we have seen that Mr. Cobbett, in his strange attempt to prove that War is a good, affirmed, 66 that 4 ' War makes a part of the great scheme of the Creator." In this rash assertion so much impiety is involved, it conveys such an imputation against the divine Government, that it urgently demands a few more reflections. c beg, however, it may be eioinctly understood, that we do not necii , e Mr. Cobbett of it tentional impiety. We do not believe he is of the nimther of thwf infidels who are at pains to represent the diving Govern ment as imperfect, for the sake of ridiculing the doctrine of a snperintending Providence. We believe it was entirely his i:norance of the tenthly , v of hi, argument, which led him into this irreverent and irreligious language. Titer? is, however, a. rashness in tkus meddling with divine things beyond the reach of a man's understanding and knowledge, which is severely to be reprehended. And there is a levity and audacity in the manner of Mr. ('obbett's meddling, which seem, little accord ant either with right sentitnenis or right feelings in regard to religion. blr. Cobbett says, that War forms a part of the scheme of the Creator, because War, and a propensity to War, are found to exist. To this we answer, that vice, by the same argument, must form part of the scheme of the Creator, be cause vice, and a propensity to vice, are found to exist; there fore the Creator, for the same reason, is the author of sin. Did we not with justice then say, that the argument by which Mr. Cobbett would prove War to be a good, is fall of blas phemy ? Shall we follow out Mr. Cobbett's argument ? It is absurd, he says, to rail against War in general, since it forms part of the scheme of the Creator. For the very same reason, we say, it must be absurd to rail against vice, for the one forms part of the scheme of the Creator just as mach as the other. It will be Mr. Cohbett's next task to chastise, therefore, our divines awl moralists, who, in their sermons and di-courses, arraign vice in general, as well as In all its particular shapes and com plexions. Disease forms part of the general scheme of the Creator; therefore, according to the wisdom of Mr. Cobbett, the physi cians are a parcel of rogues and blockheads, who set the:nseives in opposition to a good. Disease too gives occasien to the ex ercise of many virtues as well as War. It is one of the most signal trials of patience iu the sufferer, and of humanity in those who surround him. When Mr. Cobbett, therefore, says that without War we should have no courage and mazuanimity, we may say, with equal evidence, that • without disease we should have no patience and humanity. Dr. a/caner, therefore, must be a worse offender than Mr. Roscoe. What a precious stock of elevation, fortitude, and magnanimity, (if these are the off spring of war alone) must Bonaparte have, and Bonaparte's people? The Algerines are perpetually at war with an the world. What a noble and magnanimous race they are ! Till within the last fifty year;, Italy bad been for centuries a per petual scene of war and bloodshed ; yet the Italians are the most pusillanimous and ignoble people in Europe. It is only about fifty years since the Russians became connected with the politics of Europe, or were ever involved in wars; yet the steadiness and obstinacy of their courage may be compared with that of any people on earth. Mr. Cobbett instances England and France, the most noble minded nations, he says, in Europe, as the nations which have been most engaged in wars. Jlere in he is grossly deceived. The population of those countries ate: . .~,~_ . T, REGISTER. 131 have seen less of war than the population of almost any other country in Europe. From their strength or their position all their war has lwen for centuries carried ON abroad and they have been able to repel its horrors from their own soil. AU they have known of war has been from its rumours, or from the con -eriptions, ballots, and taxes required for carrying it on. There will surely not be regarded among the ennobling cireu,ostaoces. If experience be accurately cowailted it w ill be low.d, that wherever nations have been habitually engaged in nano for such a length of time as to create a national character, and nit n ith a pittance of the population, selected as an aro , y, but tr ith he w hole is a people, they will be found the most base, treachr rims, cruel race on the face of the earth, devoid of generosit , devoid of map linianity, devoid of honesty, and devoid of tr.ith. We know not. ene exception to this rule in the whole experience of histors except the Romans, and even this is appare..t only t fur tho Romans owed their virtues to causes very different from their wars. As to the Greeks, it is only the ignorance of Mr. Cob. !sett, which could ate let him to quote them. The% attained ill their virtues in a period of reeve, mid when they became in volved in perpetual mid bloody War:, they lost them Is ith rapidity of which there is hardly any example. War, demon stratively, is as injurious to the virtue as to the lipoiliess of mankind : and they, w hose ignorance, st hose passion-, or whose !ntere.its induce them to make etrol,, to lesson the natural hot roc with which all good men naturally regard it, are so far most pernicious members of society, and cannot be too zealously op. posed. Mr. Cobbett, ton, has an excellent hand at construleg the F.nglish language. An admirable opportunity is adopted him by the :Fsertion of Ministers in the King's declaration, " that the " Negotiation of ISOS was broken of!' upon pints. immediately " affecting, not his Majesty's own interests, but C:ose of bis 46 Imperial Ally." By means of the word immediately, Mr. Cobbett makes this sentence signify just what he pleases,.... " The word immediately," he says, " so qualifies what follows. " as to give to the declaration a meaning, which plainly is, " that, though, as to the interests of England, there were great 64 differences, yet, it happened, that it was upon points more " immediately connected with the interests o! Russia, that the " negotiation was broken off." Well done, Mr. Cobbett Lord Peter himself was hardly better at making out a meaning to his own purpose than this ! There is something inverted, and rhetorical, in the arrangement of the sentence in the deelaras tion, which seems to have confounded Mr. Cobbett. Let us put it in the natural order, and then we shall more clearly see what is its ncreslary construction. " The negotiation of PM was " broken off upon points immediately affecting the interes.s of " his Majesty's Imperial Ally, not his Majesty's own interests." In the first clause it is distinctly asserted that the negotiation waj broken off upon points immediately affecting the interests of the Emperor of Russia; the meaning of w hie:a unquestionably ie., other wise the observation would have been nugatory and absurd, that but fur those points affecting the Emperor of Rusla, the negotiation needed toot have been broken off. Mr. Cobbett his put in the word mo, e, to.auswer his nen ends, as if the ward i,, . mediately, standing in opposition, as it deer here, wereever tops posed to the word less. It is opposed to the word mediate% and the meaning is, that the Negotiation was broken Off unix! points which concerned immediately the Interests of Russia, and only mediately„ or secondarily, the interests of Britain. What were those points? These will best teach tts the meaning of the eepresshm. Why, Dalmatia chiefly, which added, or rather leas supgosed to add, immensely to the power and consequence of Russia; but added to our power grad consequence °ply, by keeping power and consequence out of the hands of our enemy. When Ministers tell the Emperor of Russia that tap Negotiation was broken off upon points immediately affect* His interests, not those of their R . . 8 al Vaster., they mei: air •