The National Register. — London, England, 1809-09-03 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER. TO OUR READERS AND CORRESPONDENTS. We have received some Observations in answer to a Letter that appeared in The British Press, on the subject of Galvanism, written by Mr. Byewater. We regret exceedingly, that want of room alone prevents us from inserting it to-day ; but as the mistakes, into which Mr. Bye water appears to have been led, are of some importance, we shall insert the Answer to him in our Paper of Sunday next. The Fifth Number of La BEAU MONDE AND MoNTriLy REGISTER, was published on the 31st August. It is the only Publication that contain. a, Critical Review of all the new Music, the Works of Art, and Literary Publications.—The Embellishments for this Number are as follows: 1. Apparatus for Gas Lights. 2. Two Plates of Music. 3. Portrait& of two Foxes. 4. Fashions—a Lady in a Walking Dress. 5. Large folio Map, coloured, explanatory of the Movements of the French and Austrian Armies. 6. An outline Engraving of the Statue of the Duke of Bedford. THE NATIONAL REGISTER. Lontion, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1809. POLITICAL EVENTS OF •THE WEEK. In our retrospective glance at the events of the last week, we observe nothing consolatory, nothing upon which the eye can rest with satisfaction or complacency, no ark in which to save a remnant of our hopes, no branch of olive on which to relit our disappointments. In our poli tics we have always been goverued by a sincere de sire to strengthen the hands of Government and to support the honour of the country. But we fear that our feeble attempts will be of little service to the one, as to the other. We cannot compromise our judgment so far as not to blame the conduct of our Commanders in the Expedition, there has been delay, indecision, and neglect an our part, whilst alacrity, energy, and promptitude have marked the conduct of enemies. We do not blame because the Expedition is unsuccessful—that conduct would he un feeling and unmanly; but we blame because the pro per means to ensure success have not been employed.,-- We have long and decidedly made up our minds upon this subject; and if our Readers will do us the favour to pc ruse the columns of this Paper for the last three weeks, they will perceive that we felt at the time what was likely to be the effect of not taking possession of Cadsand, and of not promptly pushing on to Antwerp.—The armament was certainly sufficient for the purpose of reducing Flushing, securing Cadsand, and defeating any force that could at that period have been opposed to us at Antwerp. We give Ministers credit for the caution with which the real desti nation of the armament was concealed. The French Mi nister of War acknowittlges that Boulogne was the point to which BUONAPAILTE had conceived it SUIS di rected, and which, of course, they were best prepared to defend. In the dispatches which have been received from Lord CIATHAN, his Lordship has declared his own opi nion, supported by that of other Officers, to be, that we must abandok the attack upon .Antwerp, the destruction of the shipping, the arsenals, and in short all that have been called the ulterior objects of the Expedition.—We feel for the honour, for the importance of the country, com mitted as it is by this parade of endeavour, this pantomime I . • ' '- • ..L... SEPT. t) II . of attack, and by this bubble of expectation. Somet%ing more than the understanding of Lord CnATUAM is implicated. His vigilance, promptitude, and energy are caned iu question. We do not condemn, but we impeach. The voice of the country calls aloud for investigation (we hate the word in quiry, and the one we have used is almost as rid culous), we only echo that voice. Wisdom and prudeece are the resources of a great ration, are a part of its mean;, they should be husbanded for great occasions, not to be con templated only but to be emplopal. The questions that. occur to every Englishmau'are, %vas the Expedition wisely planned ? Were the means of opposing it succt,ssfolly —anti cipated ? Arc the objects of it defeated by obstacles that might have been foreseen and prevented ? Have we done all that might have been done ? Have we by neglect, igno rance, or incapacity contributed to our own dis4race ?—:111 these, and a great many other questions remain to be a' cwer ed. At and rate " let the hoot be put upon the ten." If Ministers, are to blame, let us know it. if manders have been to blame, let us know it. We •, , ni oot attack the one through the side of the other. .13 , !.; we do think, what we have alwais said, that these has been a culpable delay. relieve the public mind in France, which appears , to have been very much agitated by the importance and magnitude of our armament, the Arch Chalice& lor has given an iniusea:ly motiest statement of the precautions that ha s'e been taken to cei;el our invasion of the Dutch Frontiers, au!i he speaas in a style of confidence as to the result which is lv to be jusiined by the event, It vexes and humbles us to obliged to eo this homage to the talent and energy displayed by these minions of a despot, and to contrast their exertions win what has just passed before our eyes, The day, said HOMER; which. makes a man a slave, takes away hal' . his ~, . ):11), ly. , eause he looses every impulse to action but tile I(4w and base one of fear. Mr. LocKE said, and with great j!istice, that a despotic military government is •arse than -onarehy.—but why is all this said by poets and philosophers ? Because they argue that on tillS Kind of government human nature is not only alr:sed and insulted, but is. actna►ly de graded, and abridged of its powers, Besides these authorities, we have those of every rational, and sensible man in Europe, that even death is preferable to a life en. dared under the yoke of despotism. But how stands the proof ? Do the French Or the l)utcb chew any synap. toms of encouragement to our army that is landed in their neighbourhood ? Does not the tyrant. issue his directions, from the Accidanza in Germany to his satellites. in Paris ? And does not a sort of amor park:, accompany their exertions, that we fondly flatter ourselves can only appear in the re gions of liberty and on the soil of freedomi The maxims of liberty which we suck in wit h o!:r milk, lead us to judge of the feelings of the Continental Nations by our own. There must be some mistake in this. The French and the Dutch arc not only politically but personally slaves. The elasticity of the former requires a strong power to com press, and the phlegm of the latter.requires a power equally strong to excite it. The little finger of despotism.. has more weight than the loins of a limited monarchy, and has, therefore, produced an equal effect upon the levity of one nation, and the sumnombulating energies of the other. Of our affairs in Spain, we have less difficulty in speaking than we had a few days since. At the time we received an account of Lord WsuaswroN's victory, we hesitated to.