The National Register.
London, England, 1817-09-01 00:00:00

7f)t 491

No. 499.—V0r.. X.

POLITICAL DISQUISITION.

SOUTH ANIERICAN PIRATES.

The daily Papers have been unceasingly oecupied
during the week, in discussing the propriety of un appli-
cation which the Underwriters at Lloyd's have made
to government, on the subject of the piracies. coat-
mitted under the insurgent Spanish flag. The Times
gives it as its decided opinion that this government has
no right to interfere, and that if underwriters tvill in-
sure fbreign property, they must abide by the tease-
quence.. The Chronicle, although everlastingly com-
plaining of taxes and wasteful expenditure, would
have us instantly pillage into a war with Spain, for the
sake of the trade with her colonies, and the New Times
would have us interfere in repressing the piratical
cruizers, without at all meddling with the quarrel be-
tween New Spain and the Parent State. The French
Papers, at the same time,. are. daily calling upon us,
first, to preserve a strict neutrality ;—next, to move
with our whole power, and overwhelm those "Jaco-
bins" of the New World, as. we have already those of
the Old. In spite of all that certain Patriots have
tell us &eau our being a sunken and degraded nation
—a r of intirior rank in Europe—it does appear
taat our nei4hbours look up to us on all occasions as
the arbiters of the world. If the flags of the North
are insulted by the piratical marauders of the Mediter-
ranean, we are straightway applied to for protection ;
we are called upon to chastise and subdue them. If
the Itinited States of Anavica permit her subjects to tit
.out vessels in her ports, and cruize under the insurgent
flag, we are invoked, on all hands, to come fitrward
and give security to commerce. This is a painful pre-
eminence, and requires no common skill to carry us
through the mititlie course, in which alone is safety.—
However mildly we may ba dispoaed towards the cause
of the insurgent Spaniards, we cannot give in to that
doctrine which is maintained by the Chronicle, that the
.llether Country has no claim upon them fur allegiance.
'Plat paper argues as if, not merely the country, but
tae colonists, had been conque_red by Spain, forgetting
teat the settlements were made by draughts of men
:ila.ta the Mother Cvantry, that they are the children
of the parent state, and that she has a claim to their
allegiance as strong as we have to that of the inhabi-
tants of Jamaica, or any other af our foreign possessions.
The case of North America has been cited in justilitat-
lien of the conduet of the South Americans, but eer-
tt.inly without just grounds. The North Americans
were /nest unjustly called upon to contribute to
the 'support of the state, by taxes, over the expeudi-
tura of which they were to have no rontroul. South
America, on tLe contrary, had no other complaint to
eflir, but that the pauctu state denied to foreign let-
eons the right of trading with her colonies—a right
aktays recognised and tasted upon by every nation pets-
seeing an :milt of colonial territory. This was the
,grownd of quarrel, and though slight, we are disposed
to think it has laid these seeds of animosity which will
eitimately produce a final separation. However inju-
imis this event will be to Old Spain, .(we for our parts
think it will rail he injurious,) common prudence dic-
tates a strict neutrality on our parts, we mean a neu-
trality as for as the colonists are concerned, far we can-
net cencent that it should extend to those lawless free-
looters, whose audacity has brought them even into
tl.c European seat.
It cannot be tolerated that vessels, under a commis-
on, realm fictitious, ohtainul from Generalsinopenre-
reiliun agaiust their Sovereign, shall obtain the right of
search for, and seizure of, all goods which the com-
manders may pronounce to be Spanish. Were the yes-
tr!s and crews bean
.I:de South American, it would
eteste a shade ofdiiference—they would then be acting