The National Register. — London, England, 1819-11-28 00:00:00

bit gai No. 231.—V0L. XII.] political itttrosinct. THAT no Parliament, ever convened in this country, has been called to consult upon more mu uamtous subjects, on topics more intimately con. meted with inherent serenity and with our future welfare, is a fact which no man of whatever party can hesitate to allow. We arc now in the fifth year of peace. When the evil and imbecile policy of our Rulers was urged some years ago, when the misera ble and distressed state o 1 the Coinary was then pointed out, and prevsed upon the attention of the riblic, the universal answer both of Ministers and their supporteas was " These things arc, and must Om inevitable consequences of a long protracted war ; the same has been the situation at the close of others, and why should you not allow it to be so nand!', Nay it was stated as an undeniable defence ()lour public Councils, that distress preaailed not only iu Great Britain, but in at least en equal degree, over the whole Continent of Europe, and that such was, and must be, the natutal etlia.ts ul a tran sition from War to .Peace. .Patience and humble acquiescence in trodidas which would soon have an cud, were the remedies forcibly inculcated us be toraiug good subjects and reasonable men. We hope the most infatuated and preju !iced wind can not now hesitate to admit that the trial of this argument has been fairly made. In fact, for a laason, truth seemed to be clearly on its side. The native energies of British industry and entcrprize, unshackled by the trammels of those chains which wear always imposes, burst forth at once into uscfal action. Capital found for itself new channels, and the vessel of the State seemed to outward ap pearance to be sailing with all her canvass full set, before the most fivourable breeze that her pilots could hope or wish fw. The public funds, which tl.e Chancellor of the Exchequer himself insisted -urn as the surest criterion of public prosperity, rose to 61 in the 3 per cent Consols, and a very consitlerahle impulse was given in every part of the liegdow to our trade and manufactures The song of triumph was shouted by the advocates of the l'itt e,ystem, and the " war-party," as it was culled in Athens, maintained thet their policy had first saved the Cettntry,-and now wised it to the highest pitch of wealth and glory. Those, however, whose re. flectiuns went somewhat deeper, whose views were not confined to one fleeting hour, for which they knew that a lamp almost burnieg down to the very inOit yet be coaxed to flare and blaze before it ultimately expired, ntiil continued to judge more soberly, and as it untbrtunately turns out, much more wiser. They knew that natural causes must be at last fiAlcaved by natural etlixts; that it was quite impossible that a lavish and wide wasting national expenditure should not be followed by a corn:spieling degree of national cmharrayeanent and distress. The great and leading principles of public policy are more plain and simple than many would persuade us. Nations are only to be governed by the same rules that prevail in private families.—Profligacy can never lead to prosperity liar extravagance to wealth and afflaenee in either. We would wish to put it to the honest and unpre judiced decision of any man, whether the state of the nation is now what it ought to he, what our pre sent rulers pledged and proni:sed that it would be, and whether any causes except their own abominable code of political maxims can be possibly assignd for it. The temporary prosperity above suiludcd to has L: tie nal A taitittr+ Our Ring, ConOtitution anTi U abut• SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1819. been found hollow and delusory.; it was the energy of British industry and the exertion of British capi tal making the last effort, but which have now sunk under the accumulated weight of their burdens. The funded property has sunk in value nearly e 2.1 pe r rent. in the two last years, el:minishing the actual wealth of the country, if money lent to Government can be so considered, by Two Hundred Millions. Agriculture is depressed, as must always be the case in any situation of public suffering, and as evils cause evils, and sorrows come not single, the deflikations of the revenue are meet alarming. In the mean time public discontent never ran so high. The country is absolutely divided into two parties equally dissatisfied, though disposed to take different ways of applying the remedy required. One is for upholding the authority of the Crown, as it is called, and trusting to force and to authority to correct evils which those very engines themselves have caused, whilst the other would anxiously remoite discontent by removing the prdps upon which it rests, and the food upon which it feeds. They would relieve tax ation, because taxation is the very rootef our misery and misfortunes ; they would intro:lnch a sober and well-digested plan of Reform into our *stem of Re presentation, because its present ia j ispOty is glaring as the Sun at noon-day, and adraittOd by every honest man throughout the kingdom ; hey would remove civil disqualifications on the mire solely of religious opinion, because time the dictates of consci ence man ought, and can, be only accountable to his God. One system has been tried, and its fruits are fairly manifest. Private and public prosperity has neither of them certainly been promoted. True religion has still less reason to boast ()flier isrogress. Our liberties are most alarmingly threatened, and yet this is a time, says a certain " to raly round the Throne." Ike these men at their word, we st tb scribe to their creed, but by the throne these wise sages, we fete ing round its worst and most crut . tey mistake the servants for the tn; fur the substance, anti worshi ateitlents ith " their tecthing pots and flesh-hook: devotions should rather be direct whose Owls these men officiate 1)1 a day. Of this unhappy eharact, ton important to be lat unnoticed, Milner to his flock, as Catholic " land District ; it inculcates the mission to rulers, whether eirt whether the instruments of good answering or not the purpwe for they bear were ordained, and in their full force and absurdity trines which have already caused England, and if ever they shoul enforced again, we sincerely hope by anoth,:r. But whilst we thy litical danger, as well us nn cannot forget how heavy a charge upon religion itself. Christian suds doctrines, and speal:s no Dr. Nlilner would pat into her their nt ter ,llr. il- ices . . and holy precepts, aLhor all oppression ailiiinjustice and wrong, in those who rule, and eqtttlly forbid those who are subjects to minister to sucli . ..:isdoings, or even to acquiesce in silent and tame i Annission. Our saviour did indeed charge his hAters "to render uato Ctesar the things that are , se3ar's ;•• • i elms og., politican It' we could tali dmLim r t udily sul rallying:round tl Pear, m . ' - i rallyir lel cite .es. Thecaster, naster, t ateillen tip the ests wit hooks'' 'lit the ted to t; .(t Deity , ILLI but as tl irelings ter is a (mil lett, :ed, add • by 'D i Bishop - thc NH. tc must jert slat irtuous - wicke xl or ovii, witc(lll () su *ot. whi • 'ihe °Mei n short, ' 'viving i the ye me en, ed one t . to i 31(1 bo on, au ape will followc hus cx their p( total ab ity, st rge the? iring evc anity inatileates r 3 such lasguage r mouth. t fier put [PRICE Sid• but to injure and oppress his fellow creatures was neither a right belonging unto Cesar nor to any tyrant upon earth : Nor did our divine teacher leave even tbis receipt without another to correct it being added, as if aware of the wretched and un. worthy conetruction which might hereafter be put upon it, for he instantly pi-weeded "and unto Goa the things that arc Gols'." As long as rulers are " the ministers of good," they arc entitled to the veneration, the respect, and the allegiance of a christian, but christianity is a coie for pronmating the happiness, nut for the sanctioning the misery and ruin of mankind. St. Paul, boldly appealed from his judges at Jerusalem, and demanded by what authority they presumed to " strike a Ro man uncondemned." Let net Dr. Milner then hope that he can ever, in the judgment of any sober mind, make tile Scriptures themselves speak or slip. port his nonsense, and let him beware how, by attempting such grossly erroneous and absurd inter. pretations he gives a handle to the evil disposed, or induces the ignorant to reject that filial, which upon such a Construction would be unfitted fur the social state. We would recommend Dr. M to read Bishop Headley's sound and unanswerable comment. on the paSsages which the Catholic Prelate has urged for his authority, :n the mean time, however, it is some consolation to know that the English Catholics arc far removed from entertaining as a body, any opinions as purely Jaeobiticel as those we arc now noticing; on the contrary, the Duke of Norfolk and Lord Stourten, fur whose admirable speech at the late meeting for an address to Lord Fitzwilliam, we sincerely, as Englishmen, thank him, and Lord Arundel, have all borne the testi mony of enlightened and patriotic minds to the majesty of the laws and constitution as paramount to every authority upon earth, and avowed their firm determinetion to stead by that, and that only, in the eventful crisis through which we arc now pessing. Nor should either Protestants or Catholics target that they were Catholics—yes, and staunch ones too, that extorted from the Monarch at Benny medo that great limedation and bulwark of British freedom, Magna Charm, and that amongst those who were present and assisted at its execution, were Catholic Ecclesiastics of the highest authority and order, next to the Pepc himself, which that Church acknowledges. We cannot conclude this articheleng as it already is, without congratulating our readers that, even independent of Parliament, the Second Act of the Manchester tragi-comedy is fist proceeding. The Court or King's Bench has granted, without hesi tation three rules to shoe canse, one against the Coroner of the Oldham Inquest fear adjourning it. one against a Magistrate at IVarrington, for tete sing to receive depositions against tile Nlanchester yeomanry liar enttine and maiming, the other against the ( hie: Constable at Coaentry, for violently dispersing with clubs, headed with lead, a meeting convened to take into consideration !.be transactions at Manchester. Report says, that there are sve Bills in preparation, as cautionary iin , astires in the present disturbed state of the public mind. A Bill to confine taie...tinl,rs for the consideration of grievances, for petitions, &e. to the lietual inhabitants of the ilistr;c•.. 1 A Bill to tax 11l printed p ipers, of eta de.,erip ti,ol, whether in the fctin of perto:licat or o,..casi 0i a 1 papers, pl.wards hand-bil;s, ca. Gaetamise. S. A 1 - 3.11 to exp,dite the trial a of tnisdetneainr. 4. A 13111 to prevent drilling :and training; :Ind.:). A new Bill with respect to sedittucs.atal blasphemous put. ~. • ". , ' A . ' •••r, . . I •... • ( '''" .% .. : . ;11 • ' tow . V , • I\ imi' (~ #:, , --1 4 '. A r e t: \ k —• ...._...... .1