The National Register. — London, England, 1808-04-18 00:00:00

APRIL Is. of the corrupt cault4.tbal agitate out miiitar/ state, and an introduction of iuch a plan as by consulting at once the ease, the liberty, the safety, and the morality of the peo ple, may supercede both the necessity and the desire of any further alteration. REVIEW OF POLITICAL DECLAIMERS. Nu. XVI. THE INDEPENDENT WHIG. In the last Number of The Nutiunhl Register we warned our honest and uususpecting countrymen rtgainq a belief of the poi sonous flatteries with which of late they have been so assiduously plied. An opinion has gone abroad, and deserves to'be repro bated, that no mail concerned ita the Government of the enantry tan be honest : this opinion tends to the or ell Lwow of all order and of all society : and therefore against this opinion we are determired most strenuously to combat. Dramatists and Poets have (diva said these things; and ss lien they are said only by Dramatists and Poets, they are attended with very little danger to the country, because they are evidently said to di-pl:►y the ss it rather than the opinion of the writers, and being circulated only among the higher classes of society who think ti►r them selves, do not •tend to weaken principles. ll►tt now a notion of this kind h..s become most truly formidable, because it 13 nu longer the sportive effusion of the Satirical Epicurean, but the determined via! iple of the mischievous republicanist. It is propagated in debating societies, ;old published in Newspapers! the people are r:msed by imaginary injuries, and become the dupes of enthusia , ists or hypocrite: coarse►►ess and foil r are now the paths to profit, aid the Editors of the Newspapers, having poisoned the mind) of the mob, continue to accumulate wealth by fomenting and iatlaming the unnatural heats (key have created. We tire sorry to rake in the dirt for an instance : but amid tilth of ignorance, and the lowest sediment of vulgarity, lies the example that we wish to present to the indiguatinn of the public. That example is the production called i"se' //Wept's/- dr/a IVhig It has nothin w hich can tntitle it esen to out notice, except it; circulation. But when we find that such thing has been imposed upon well-meaning, though inis-infoimed reruns, as a fair statement of the grievances under which f lu people are labouring : w hen we understand that its sale the lower classes of societN, like that of obscene pi rots in les: humble, circles, is gaining ground in proportion to the mischiev ous tendency of the production itself: and when we reflect that the persons n tio take in this lndependtat Whig are most them people whom education has not quwilied to detect all the absur,lit, inaccuracy, and vulgarits, N hich swarm along its columns; we cannot help feeling, it incumbent on ourselves to . ittplain to them the nature of the publication which they trust. ;nod to %tarn them against a guide, who, like' the celebrate,: ct iminal, present, a nosegay to the passenger, w ith a lancet con cedled its flowers. Let us observe the unreasonabl e style in which The ladepey. drat W :assays Whig :aays speaks o f foreign affairs. lle quote a lead -I'4; article that appeared in that Paper on the Sd of April :-- " From ibe fvtocring indecision" (bu the bye how shriuld in tleci iiien be otherwise than wavering ), " and irresolute measures that mark the feeble Councils," (that is ice suppose counsels , " and capricioua conduct of our Copenhagen ( um: it would be ja.rl as gaud sense to say [hal their capricious conduct inarkcd elicit. irresolute as to say that tkeir irresolut, ileasarts mark their capricious conduct) •‘ it plainly appear: " that at the present moment they scarcely know what to dr " with the King of Sweden." \Vital would The Independent Whig have them to do with him march him to Paris i or send hire to over-rim the ut:kiiiiw r di-16(1s or Africa I:tli tor seems to irnai;ine, that aMI to be good fur any thing inust be oundinitent. tide On; pensioned :Old oufortutiate Monarch, who set, " th e Lrink of ruin lu sshick lie bits buttered himself to be bur " lied, seems equall‘ dissatisfied and uncertain %%hat to do liiiti-elf. At mir time, like the braggilig and bulk lug Fti/ he Imo., prowl!y con:Waft his ott Li %;14:4 i.;;;;! l'or but X TIIE NATIONAL RE(ISTER - u ~ " strongly inclined to let honour prick liiin ou ; but ist ah.,ttiely time, like that pusillanimous and Ull V 4 kill knight 11r. rs " suddenly panick-stricken, Icst lit.nowr should prick Lig; " ofL•' This sentence is :t chef d'amore of ignoranee l tnis-stateinea. and injustice—" This pensimied What, is a Pi to I c styled a p-ii , iaticr, becitusc, he receiies a subsidy fe l t.. t eulthy ally 1 Liise the brdgging in; /. a/s/aft Falalatf is certainly ti liwi bcre tloes toe pr o s v .l,: ii i. self a hall " Like entorqr, the King of cden feels prows. " ly confident of hi, can valour' --in is Ito( does P a t,, , 1 . 1 1. .eel uuy confidence in his utr a valour ? •• Lilie that utiwiet `• the King of S..it-den like Palthilf in unit ieldive,* " lie is suddenly paint ic the K icg Sortie:. ever done any thing that looks like . r uvl ar.a, e 1 11e shoWe. !ike to know is hat course Editor of the Independent WWI!. wwuld have recuunuenJed, if he could lease advised llit Kips cf ! " Our wise and vigorous Ministers is ould wis'd !lira ( (1 7 " tinue a vain and hopticss resi:stance to the fortniilahlc -or " fetleracv tt ith us hick he is surrounded, and %%wild tic Ai vt " to hear that he had entered into a negotiatiow, or made the " amende horsy:4,6:e to France." Amen& hoooral.L inealis a handsome ardog-v. Now, f„; what Sweden k to apologise to Franee, t%e our•el..- • able to conjecture. That our Ministers would be gr;e. : hear of a negotiation, is a malicious slauder fur Lord 1 bury, in discussing his Ntajesty's message on the 4ttedistt stated, that " our Government hind expressly communicat:,'. . " the Kiug of Swede'', that it would let 1 tw flis.aiis[ara u n " hiseuttebtaingre ,cparote peace with the talent', providro A " shouhl be on terms not iojuriows to the just rig!os of " couotry." The /FLA.; goes on : " But they (our Minis;crs) are very ut " w Whig to risk their own repotatioo upon the issue of OA " coolest, or trust hint w itn an Ln g lizli Army " W by should they risk their reputation upon foreign counsel, ? or, while we are engaged in a war of our owl., send out ut.e (urcei to Jolt out the wars of other people No victories la' that part of Europe, even it' we could spare men euough to ar.' ford the Kill , " sieden a CilidiCr of ruueluerinn the powerful' ' . )1 . 12CS :UWllOll'4l against blip, coml.' he of :toy use in restcrin . ,. the balance of power and the tranquillity of the Continent : Alf hat the Ring of Sw cavil and our 31inisters should expect, at tae utmost, is to prevent the enetuies of Sweden fruit doing her .inv material injury, and, by keeping them always in eif e e;;; to show that she may as well be left quie.ly to herself. 'fo,• . war of Sweden is a defensive tzar: wain to effect fir •afeiy, (which our subsidies, well emplo)ol in the of ;ter own troops, may probably procure), and not to fight hattici A ith our forces, in the hope of gainiog useless victories. Another ab-urd and twfumule.l attack upon Ministers appear ed in published last Sunday . : " Wheti.all eyes are anxiously directed towards the proceed " loge of our hells in the Alediterramean, :anti every tongue is " busily employed in circulating sumo new asid trar agunt " story of a brilliant victory or a terrible tlef,:at, our Copenha gen areal totally at a how to at count ['or their `' (lon ignorance upon Ike t•tibject, ur what exi.lauation to gi% 43 of their sltilllAC and alltiligLlOUi conduct. They hare, 'haired, " in cillibegliellte of frequent imporiatoities and anxious italuiries " from the relatir C 3 Of llor gallant odict•ls and s-atancit, coatrivedi •• to 6tillt'eZe out a sin t of intimation; an:! in order " to bittay the restless impatience of the public, :ma t.wie •‘ gloomy apprehensions, tiles tell them, that • nlthougit tlum `• the relative situation the tivels iu the \led:tea:loran, art ‘• engagetneut was highly probahle, yet that tior . ;•rine;.: liatt received no certain advite- on the sti!) 4 .jei I.' 'I is lact• . " eitisfactury er, hich eni a 1.10 r pcaxd fur ,vu ‘• there bbeels," ( this ettiste;e:e io toe negonies p. alic • u,.. wait a noble disrtguril of all acca, ac,y, .rlat(d as having butt . • p ea l e d f ur NbUVC th r ee terck , i, though repo is that rtnisiii public curivsitg ltud un/y lice„ in town Aim:, ...rini,7l,l be remind; us of (it' celebrated reply uf ' Delphic Oracle, to the enquiries of the It tomatt a=kin„; as to tin. probable result lit'an approaehiog battle, r.::4 • answered by the wild priestess in trie-r em,sclatory terms : Oh Itountos! either you rt ill cumin r )uur cut:Lutes,. or your " enemies will conquer you." Here, as in the forc.g. , ln i .: itr.tance comparison bet accts Cid Kik; tac . '.irrtitli:a and ;1:e Alike( ~~.