The National Register. — London, England, 1809-05-07 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER. ~~0 . tion of a few individuals, and not by the body of the people. It appears, for example, by the same return to which we have above alluded, that 52 membersare actually returned by . the singlp nomination of the individuals, who possess the . 26 Boroughs which return them. It is certainly not con sistent with the spirit of our Constitution, nor with reason itself, that a tenth part of the Representative Body of a Great Kingdom should be returned by 26 men out of 13 millions. It is a fact of equal importance, that 51 Boroughs, the average of whose voters does not exceed fifty in number, return 100 members; and that 23 Boroughs, whose voters do not exceed 200, return 56 members. in this manner, 257 members, being the precise nrajority of the .House of Commons, are returned by a portion of the people not exceeding 11,000. All these are certaialy very strong facts, and as lon as they cannot be denied, they necessar.ly compel every man of candid understanding to the mv . .izasing conclusion, that the British House of Commons r, present the people iu name only, and that it is in vain tc4' "- , k for a good administra tion, and an unco.rrupt Par) . Itlittt, till the state of repre sentation he fundainental!v coirteteil. Who in fact will venture to assert that tly,t House of Commons is a due re presentr..tive of the people in which 309 members out of five hundred are nominated by 15.1 individuals ? FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE. DECL.4R.I7'ION op Virtv A, A PIM% N.—Before his Imperial *7‘lajeily left this capital, he was pleas e d to issue the following PRO(' LAMA PION. a' Francis T. by the grace of God, Emperor of Austria, Sze. P gnIP LEor A usTot TA !---I leave lay capital to join the brave defenders of the country, assembled on the frontiers for the protection of the State. " For these three years past I. have made the utmost exertions to procure you, my beloved subjects, the blessings of a perma- nent peace. No sacrifice, any ways consistent with your wel fare and with the independence of the State, however painful, have I spared to secure your tranquillity and welfare by a friendly understanding with the Emperor of the French. " But all my endeavours proved fruitless. The Austrian mo narchy was also to submit to the boundless ambition of the Em peror Napoleon; and in the same manner he strives to subdue Spain, insults the sacred Wad of the Church, appropri;ites to himself the provinces of Italy, and parcels out the Gertu;:n do nrininn3. Austria was to do homage to the great cmpfre, the formation of which he has loudly announced. " I have adopted all necessary measures to assert the inde pendence of the State. Not only have ye answered my call, but your love for your native country has prompted you to antici pate it. Accept my cordial thanks ; they will be repeated by rdy posterity and yours. Self-defence, not invasion, was onr aim. But the conqueror will not allow the Sovereigu of his people, strong in their mutual cenfidence, to possess sufficient means tf.) oppose his ambitious views. Ile declared himself hostile to Austria, unless she should relinquish her measures of defence, and prostrate herself disarmed at his feet. The dis gr.:ireful proposal was rejected, and now his hosts are advancing again,s us, at rayed for battle. " I confide in God—in the valour of my armies, in the heroic conduct of my brother, who leads them on to glory, in you, my beloved people, our exertions for this war are great ; but such they must be in order to attain more securely the important end of self-preservation. " What %nu have hitherto done is the most unquestionable pledge of the powerful assistance which I am to receive from you. They who hear no arms will also share iu the protection of their country. Luanimity. order, obedience, activity, and eonlid.:nce constitute the real atrength of a natiou. You leave MAY 7. evinced them, and to this alone is it owing, that we start with a fairer prospect of success than we ever did. Fortunate events will not unierve your energy, nor disastrous occurrences, should any happen, shake your firm resolve. Pers.:wt.:int valour over.. comes all dangers, enhances every advantage, and supplies all losses. Our cause is just; Providence does not forsake those who do not forsake themselves. " I depend on your love, your tried fidelity to your Prince and Country. Depend ye on the paternal solicitude of your Monarch, who finds all his happiness in yours. " Vienna, April $, 1809." " FttAsets." The Archduke Charles has issued the following Address to the German Nation. " His Majesty the Emperor of Austria is forced to take up arms, because the French Emperor will not tolerate the ex istence of a State which does not acknowledge his supremacy of power, nor stoop to become subservient to his views of conquest ; because he requires that Austria shall renounce her independence, nnbend her ener4ies, and surrender at the Conqueror's discretion.; because the armies of the Emperor of France, and of his de pendentallies, advance against Austria with hostile views. " The forces of Austria have risen for self-defence and self preservation at the nod of their Monarch; I am leading them on against the enemy, to prevent the certain attack he prepared against us. " We pass the frontiers not as conquerors; not as enemies of Germany; not to destroy German institutions, laws, customs, and manners, and impose foreign ones; not to appropriate to our selves the property of Germany, or to sacrifice her children in distant wars, carried on to destroy and subjugate foreign nations. So ; we fight to assert the independence of the Austrian Monar chy, and to restore to Germany the iudependeuce and national honours which are due to her. " The same pretensions which now threaten' us have already proved fatal to Germany - . Our assistance is her last effort to he aved. Our cause is that of Germany. United with Austria, Germany was independent and happy ; it is only through the as sistance of A ustria that Germany can receive happiness and inde pendence. " German)! Consider your destruction.—Accept the aid A e offer, and co-operate with us for your salvation. We demand from you no exertions, hut such as the war for our common cause ii . requires. lot property and your domestic peace are secured by C the discipline • our troops. The Austrian armies will not op press, nor rob you ; they respect you as brethren, chosen to fight jointly treat us, for your cause, and for ours. Be worthy of our respect; such Germans only as forget themselves are our enemies. " Depend on toy st on', which I have more than once pledged, and redeemed, to save you! Depend on the word of my Em peror and brother, which has never been violated. `• CAIARLES, Generalissimo." IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. 1101;SE OF LORDS. Mondag, May I. The Local Militia Additional Bill was read a third time and pat,sed. Tuesday, May 2. A DU LT CR Y. Lord Auckland stated, that the object he had In view was, if possible, to protect social order, by preventing, as far as legislative interference could go, the violation of the mar riage contract ; to prevent, as much as he could, the increase of that most criminal otrence, adultery, which of late years had ;Jo kvn to such an enormous extent. 1 t w ay reall) a most lament able circumstance that the vices of the age were such, that uo rank, no degree appeared to he exempt from it ; that it had made such stride* in the higher walks of life, unless legislative interfereat c were exerted to check the evil, it would be quite i;apossible to foresee the fatal consequences that must ensue; because to them the rest of the public looked up for example; to them the great mass of the people were naturally attracted for the models of rectitude and right. Ile had loog contem plated a rented) , for the evil he co mapiaiued of, and he thought none so applicable as that vs hich vk ()aid prevent the offending pule* from intermarr4o.; w ith each other. lie oh4erved , that late years it wits become quite a cuunnua thini; fur the ahlterer ii