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

THE NATIONAL REGISTER. borrowing remains as great, as when the first instalments of our funded debt was advanced; and will, in all probability, continue so until the last farthing be mortgaged, not only of our present war taxes, but of every tax that can be raised. We enter into the gratification which these circumstances must afford to the Ministers of the present age : but we must be allowed to trem ble for posterity. From this short view of our internal situation, by which our prosperity is chiefly to he estimated, we turn to the considera tion of our external relatiiins. Great Britain is now placed in a condition in which she may distinctly ascertain whether her oat) internal resources are perfectly adequate to her defence, or whether she cannot, without external aid, resist a combina tion of external enemies. The most powerful Prince that has es - er reigned in Europe, a man raised from obscurity by his own tranacendant talents, has succeeded in reducing every sur rounding nation to a complete subserviency, and has converted them all into instruments of vengeance against this hated nation. The plans of vengeance which he has devised, if not wise, are at least vast and magnificent. Comparing our wonderful resources with those of the countries under his own dominion, and impressed with our striking superiority, he has con ceived that our external commerce, the only advantage which we seem exclusively to possess, is the source of all our riches and aggrandisement ; and that, if deprived of this fountain of wealth, we should soon sink into miserable decay, and become humble suppliants for his forbearance and favour. In conformity with these views, he has undertaken to cut off cur intercourse with foreign nations ; and as he has not the power of blockading our island by sea, he has resolved to compel every nation of the Continent to exclude our merchandize from its shores. In this vast enterprize he has already succeeded beyond all previous calculation ; and, with the exception of Sweden, which cannot long resist his influence, there is not a single harbour in the Continent of Europe, into which an Eng lish vessel can obtain a friendly admittance. The folly of these enterprizes, and the very false judgment which Bonaparte has formed of the real sources of British great ness, will speedily be evinced. lie will find that the interrup tion of our continental commerce may distress a few manufactur ers and merchants, but will neither diminish the sum of our na tional industry, nor even the receipts of our Exchequer. In time he would discover that his estimate of our finances is not less absurd than the calculations of some of our own wise poli ticians, who, twelve years ago, affirmed that France could not possibly support the expences of another campaign. It must be truly consolatory to our countrymen, to he assured that no nation in Europe can exclude our commerce, w ithout bringing upon themselves tenfold greater distresses than they can possibly make u. sustain. The commencement of war with Bri tain entirely deprived France of all direct commerce in her own vessels with other nations, and the late severe edicts which Bonaparte has issued, with a view to prevent the importation of our productions by means of neutrals, has cut off from his subjects e..ery source of comfort and opulence which they derives from an intercourse with foreign nations. All the states which he has .t.duced to subjection are equal or greater sufferers. The Dutch, who not only prospered but subsisted by external commerce, and who had hitherto been saved from the deepest distress by the connivance of their rulers at a secret traffic with Britain, are now, by the strict iuforcement of the prohibitory laws, reduced to such a calamitous condition, that they have even ventured to murmur their miseries in the face of their oppressors. Russia loses herexternal commerce,ansl the means of internal cultivation; Prussia is placed in the same unhappy predicament ; Swain finds JAN. 4. left on her hands those raw materials which she has not the ca pital or the industry to manufacture ; and Portugal must desist from the cultivation of her vineyards, the former sources of her wealth, when she can no longer find a market fur their produce. From these considerations, it appears, that Bonaparte cannot prosecute his schemes of vengeance against the external commerce of Britain, without bringing far deeper distress on France, her allies, and dependents : that, in short, the more fiercely he deals his blows, he will the more rapidly shatter the weapon which he aims against the impenetrable helmet of our prosperity. Nor has the discontents which his impotent enmity excites to be overlooked. There is not a maritim2 province w ithin his do minions, or the reach of his influence, w hich dues not smart un der the rigour of his prohibitory edicts, and send forth its mur murs against them : and the Russians already begin to give evi dent indications, that the timidity of their Court will not lung be able to overcome a general sense of national interest. When we turn our eyes fro:n the Continent of Europe, we see vast entrances open to our commerce, which cannot be shut against us, either by the arts or the arms of our enemies, and which can only be lost by our own misconduct. The Americans, indeed, have begun to assume that tone of presumption and in solence, which is natural even to infant Republics, from a con sciousness of their own vigour and energy : but by a mixture of moderation and firmness, the angry demagogues of that country may speedily be silenced. There, as in Europe. Britain would be a loser ; but America would be tenfold a swtrerer. In the pursuit of maritime rights which she has not the power to as sert, she would only incur the cerlain 4 struction of her com merce, and the deprivation of the mos ispensable comforts of life. The establishment of the Portuguese Government in South America, promises to open to our most productive manufactures an extensive market, which must for a long series of years con tinue progressively to increase its demands. We have here an Ally bound to us by the strongest tics, who can have no inter course with any other nation but by our permission, and who can have no reason to desire any commerce but our own. If we can only inspire the Government with a liberal policy, the Bra zils must long prove an invaluable treasure to this country. Our colonial possessions in the East and West Indies, present a less flattering appearance. We, indeed, see no reason to en tertain any apprehension from those imaginary expeditions of the French and Russians, with which some ingenious specula. tors have imagined that Ilindostan would he overwhelmed ; but insults have lately been offered to the most sacred mjudices of the natives; the foundation has thus been laid for infinite dis contents and insurrections ; while a great portion of the com merce of India is thrown into the hands of other nations by the baneful operation of a chartered monopoly. In our West In dia islands, great discontents prevail : our planters, from an imprudent avidity to accumulate rapid fortunes, have culti vated sugar to an extent far beyond what any market in the world can receive ; and the sufferings, to which they are neces sarily sultjected by this imprudence, are aggravated by the per severance of the mother country, in cutting oft' their intercourse with other nations. We refrain from expatiating on our national armaments, as the strength of these must depend on our resources. We have a navy more than sufficient to crud► all the maritime forces of the world ; and an army perfectly adequate, from its numbers, to our internal defence. Rut it is in these armaments that we perceive a total want of that economy and order which are ab solutely two!ssark• to pre v.lit the ruin even of our immense rcieurtys. s 1 a