The National Register.
London, England, 1817-09-22 00:00:00

Oatitioali Utui

POLITICAL DISQUISITION.

Our tong,

MONDAY, SE:

:MBER 22 1817.

blishments of industry, s•►lely founded on monopoly-
When peace opened Europe to the trade of England,
these establishments fell, because they could not stand
the English competition." Was this beneficial im-
provement in English manufactures, and commerce,
the result of the policy of the people, or of the Govern-
. ment ? or was the destruction of that colossal ty-
ranny which introduced the continental system, the
policy of the people, or of the Government ? But in
this confession of the decline of the German manu-
factures, M. Scheffer, in bitterness of sett], be-
trays the whole secret of his animosity. The British
government, by its vigour, by his policy, which this wri-
ter tells us is opposed to that of the people, accom-
plished all this, and therefore the British Government
is not to be forgiven. But what does the English Edi-
tor of M. Scheffer say to this confession, to this which
' give& the lie to all he himself has written on the sub-
ject of trade, from the signing of the treaty of Paris
to the present hour? How often has he told us, that
our manufactures were not vendible on the continent,
that our excessive taxation had compelled our manu-
facturers to fix prices which precluded all competition
with the foreign markets, and that we were fast sinking
in the scabs of commercial nations ? M. Schafer, how-
ever will not admit this to be the fact, but he tells us
that we are sinking in another way. "England," says
he, " has lost all that liberty of which she was formerly
so proud, and of which the Continent envied her the
possession. She is no longer pointed out as the model
of free countries." Thus between M. Scheffer and his
English Editor, we are lost boat ways ! The English-
man deplores our ruined trade, and the German sighs
over our departed liberty. The latter has, however, some
faint hope that our liberty may be restored. " If," says he,
as is to be hoped, the English Nation shall one
day succeed in re-establishing its liberty, it can
only he by one of the two following means. Either
a wise prince will fortn a true judgment of his situa-
tion, anti see the necessity of calling the Party of Re-
form to the cabinet, or the people' * ! •." Here we may
guess what fbllows, but it was too gross even for the
columns of his English Editor, who. God knows, is
not over squeamish about these matters. But we should
like to know from M Schafer, ►vlto is the " Party of
Ref►nu" that he conceives would grace the Cabinet ?
We suppese the names of Burdett, Cochrane, Cart-
wright, and Hint, have reached him ; are these the
" Party of Retbrin" that arc to restore our liberties ?
Or, rather, at the head of a misguided populace, to
accomplish what the significant asterisks * • • • de-
signate ?

Our confined limits will not permit us to go far-
ther with M. Scheirer, nor indeed should we have trou-
bled ourselves with him at all, had he not been offici-
ously and 'ostentatiously brought forth for public
admiration; but at parting, we will say a word in sin-
cerity to his Editor. Does he think; that by acting as
he has done in the instance of this penicio. us tract, he
is rendering a service to his country, or to his own
character? Are the people to be exalted only by degrad-
ing the government; and that at the expense of
truth and of common decency ? Is he so blinded by
that prejudice which disappointment has confirmed,
and which has become with him a disease, that he
cannot aisign these libels to their true origin ; anti
take " sincere pleasure," not in propagating them by
whatever "writers of eminence" they may be fabricated,
but in rebutting charges which he knows to be fraught
with lies, and the objects of which are to subject our in-
dustrious manufacturers and enterprising merchants to
all the inconvenience which traffic experiences among
a hostile people.

•
Six hundrad men are to t►o immediately added to that
gallant and liighly serviceable corps, the 'loyal Mari►es.

tion anb it a 1330.