The National Register. — London, England, 1819-11-29 00:00:00

a ~1 v P• /1-7 IE.,J o ~'ra .- tit lit), No. 23L.—VoL. XII.] political itrtrosptct. THAT no Parliament, ever convened in this eonntry, has been called to consult upon more mo mentous subjects, on topics more intimately con. nected 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. %Viten the evil and imbecile policy of our Rulers was urged some years ago, when the misera ble and distressed state o' -the Country was then pointed out, and pressed upon the attention of the public, the universal answer both of Ministers and their supporters was " These things are, and must be, the 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 he so now !', Nay it was stated as un undeniable defence of our public Councils, that distress prevailed not only in Great Britain, but in at least en equal degree,over the whole Continent of Europe, and that such was, and must be, the natural effects of a•t-ran sition from War to Peace. •Patience and humble acquiescence in troubles which would soon have an end, were the remedies forcibly inculcated as be coming good subjects and reasonable men. We hope the most infatuated and prejudiced mind can not now hesitate to admit that the trial of this argument has been fairly made. In fact, for u season, truth seemed to be clearly on its side. The native energies of British industry and enterprize, unshackled by the trammels of those chains which war always imlo•es, burst forth at once into useful 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 favourable breeze that her pilots could hope or wish for. The public funds, which the Chancellor of the Exchequer himself insisted• -upon as the surest • criterion of public prosperity, rose to 84 in the 3 per cent Consuls, and a very considerable impulse was given in every part of the kingdom to our trade and manufactures The song of triumph was shouted by the advocates of the Pitt sy►tem, and the " war-party," as it was called in Athens, maintained that their policy had first s•ived the Country, and now mimed it to the highest pitch of wealth and glory. Those, however, whose re. {!actions watt :somewhat deeper, whose views were not confined to one fleeting hour, for which they knew that a lamp almost burning down to the very dregs, might yet be coaxed to flare and blaze before it ultimately expired, still continued to judge more soberly, and as it unfortunately turns out, much more wisely. They knew that natural causes must be at last followed by natural effects; that it was quite impossible that a lavish and wide-wasting •national expenditure should not be followed by a corresponding kgree of national embarrassment 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 nor extravagance to wealth and affluence in either. We would wish to put it to the honest and unpre judiced decision of any men, whether the state of the nation is now what it ought to be, what our pre sent rulers pledged and promised that it would be, and whether any causes except their own abominable code of political maxims can be possibly assigna for it. The temporary vrouperity above alluded to has atio Our fling, eoi I Utaitittr. anb Lat 06. [Paicz 944 but to injure and oppress his fellow creatures wit neither a right belonging unto Caesar 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 construction which might hereafter be put upon it, for he ininantly proceeded '• and unto God the things that are Gods'." As long as rulers are "the ministers of good," they arc entitled to the veneration, the respect, and the allegiance of a christian, but christiaaity is a code for promoting the happiness, nut for the sanctioning the misery and ruin of mankind. St. Paul, boldly apptaled from his judges at Jerusalem, and demanded by what authority they presumed to " strike a Ro- ." Let not Dr. Milner then hope that he can ever, insthe judgment of any sobee mind, make the Scriptures themselves speak or sir:- 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 faith, whick upon such a Construction would be unfitted for the social state. We would recommend Dr. M to read Bishop Fluad ley's sound and unanswerable cemnienta 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 are far removed from entertaining as a body, any opinions us purely Jacobitical as those we are now noticing; en the contrary, the Duke of Norfolk and Lord Stourton, for whose admirable speech at the late meeting fur an address to Lora 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 rpon earth, and avowed their firm determinr:tion to stand by that, rod that only, in the eventful crisis through which we arc now poising. Nor should either Protestants or Catholics forget that they were Catholics—yes, and staunch ones too, that extorted from the Monarch at Runny mede that great 11mi:dation and bulwark of British freedom, Magna Charta, and that amongst those who were present and assisted at its execution, were Catholic Ecclesiastics of the highest authority and order, next to the Pope himself, which that Church acknowledges. _ _ We cannot conclude this article,long as it already is, without congratulating our readers that, even independent of Parliament, the Second Act of the Manchester tragi-cumedy is fast proccialing. Ihe Court of King's Bench has granted, without hesi tation fierce rules to skew cause, one against the Coroner of the Oldham Inquest for adjourning . it. one against a Magistrate at IVarrington, for refu sing to receive depositions against the Manchester yeomanry fir rutting and maiming, and the other against the Chief Constable at Coventry, fi.r violently dispersing with clubs, headed with lead, a meeting convened to take into consideration the trainactions at Manchester. ------- • Report says,%hat there arc five Bills in prepar,atioN 4 - 4 .' ; 4 .1) as cautionary measures in the present disturbed sto of the public mini A Bill to confine nu:etings, • I . the consitteration of grievances, for petitions, 4c "s.‘• • ••• . • to the actual inhabitants of the distrit t. 2. A • to tax tft political printed papers, of ma de,erro 6 %.• Coo, whether iii the form of pertmlicai or oec:tsiont a 3 A ...:- ropers, placards, hil-bil;s, or otherwise, . h :L it • to expAite the trial of cases of misdemeanor. 4. Bill to prevent drilling and training ; and 5,..' new •n- • - • • " Bill with respect to seditious and bittylimatius pub. liestiuns. It !9, 1819. MONDAY, NO' 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 10..5 pe r cent. in the two last years, diminishing the actual wealth of the country, if money lent to Government can be so considered, by Two Hundred Millions. i Agriculture is depressed, 0 m st always be the case in any situation of public stt jun 'ng, and as evils cause evils, and sorrows ante 'not single, the defalcations of the revenue are most 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 remove discontent by removing the props upon which it rests, and the food upon which it feeds. They would relieve tax ation, because taxation is the verrroot of our misery and misfortunes ; they would introduce a sober and well-digested plan of Reform into our system of Re presentation, because its present Iniquity is glaring as the Sun at noon-day, and arimitterl by every honest man throughout the kingdpm ; they would remove civil disqualifications on the score solely of religious opinion, because for the slictates of consci ence-man ought, and can, be-only accountable to his God. One-system - has 'been triad, and its fruits are fairly manifest. Private and vublic prosperity has neither of them certainly been promoted. True religion has still less reason to boastiof her progress. Our liberties are most alarmingly threatened, and yet this is a time, says a certain class of politicans, " tcrraly round the Throne." If ''e could take these men at their word, we shou ld readily sub scribe to their creed, but by rallying round the throne these wise sages, we fear, imean rallying round its worst and must cruel nnemies. They mistake the servants for the master, the accidents for the substance, and worship the priests with " their teething pots and flesh-hooks" whilst their devotions should rather be directed h), the Deity at whose altars these men officiate but alone hirelings of a day. Of this unhappy character is a . pastoral letter too important to be left unnoticed, addressed by Dr. Milner to his flock, as Catholic Bishop of the Mid land District ;it inculcates the most abject sub mission to rulers, whether virtuo or wicked, whether the instruments of good orLe vil, whether answering or not the purpose for svhish the offices they bear were ordained, and in :boil, reviving in their full force and abrreity the iery same doc trines which have aka* Caused one revolution h, England, and if ever they should be acted , on, and enforced again, we sincerely hope wip be followed by another. But whilst we thus er*ose their po litical danger, as well as moral 4bsunlity, we cannot forget how heavy a charge they bring even upon religion itself. Christianity inculcates no such doctrines, and speaks no such language as Dr. Milner would put into her mouth. Her pure and holy precepts, abhor all oppression mud injustice and wrong, in those who rule, and equally forbid 1 those'who arc subjects to minister to such misdoings, or even to acqtvierice in silent and tame submission. Our saviour did indeed charge his 'scorers "to render unto Caw the things that azt Ciesar's;-