The National Register.
London, England, 1808-03-06 00:00:00

"JARCII 6.

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th tt a national bankruptcy would be the greatest ble,;ing to this
(-mutt-v. Phis is one of his favourite topics. lie is folly con-
vinced too. as we here perceive, that a continuance in the war
must produce a national bankruptcy, that great British hies-
in.:. Ile has at present employed himself, with great real, to
discredit the cause of Peace. May not this be done with a view
to the actual accomplishment of a nr, ional bankruptcy ? May
hr not vi.n the war, which lie as cannot he carried on for
e!. a few years longer, without a national bankruptcy, to con-
tinty- tho,e year.z, that this bankruptcy may be ensured ? May
Lc not deprecate a Peace, lest, by the financial relief which it
Yuld alThrd, a national bankruptcy might he avoided ? If Mr.
rubtictt, however, desires the continuance of Yvar for this pur-
pow, it is for thrice who dissent from Mr. Cubbett in the As ish
for a national bankruptcy, to consider what object //ow can
propose to them-elves, by the continuance in a course which is
represented as leadinsr to such extraordinary couscquences.—
W hoever looks upon a national bankruptcy as one of the most
t-rrible calamities, ought to be cautions how he adopts (be ala-
crity of Mr. Cobbett, in cheering the orators of war.

•
There is an admission of Mr. Cobbetes, made with great 'sill-
rrti, in stone observations on the first intimations respecting
peace, which transpired from the Grenville Nlinistry. In the
.It,lister of August '2d, ISO 6, he says ; " For the state in which
now are, none but the Addington part of the Ministry
are to blame; and I shalt not be in haste to say that owl peace
" titer make is inexpedient ; for I cannot ;err hole our situation
"it to become better by war." This. Mr. Coldyll, is a very
just and sensible observation. Yet, at that time, both Russia
and Prussia were unsubducd, from both of which powers there
were many among us who expected the defeat of Bonaparte.
fiat, if with the assistance of Prussia and Russia, you could not
Mse how our situation was to become better by war, how can N OU
see it now, when those two powers arc ranged along with
Denmark on the the other side?

It is true, you add, " that you cannot see bow, on the other
" hand, our ,ituation is to become better by the name of Peace,
" bein' convinced that no treaty will, under the present circum-
" stance, produce any thing more."

But, Mr. Cobbett, it can be made very clearly appear, from
your writings at that time, that it had never entered into your
;a;nl as a possible case, that we could by any means obtain
trom Bonaparte the terms which he tietuang offered. You were
firmly COO \ inced that be would demand concessions from this
touters of the greatest and most motnentous extent, and that he
it mild refuse to make Peace unless he attained them. IVhat was
the fact ? Bonaparte made concessions, instead of demanding:
fiem. Had you been a consistent man, were your eyes not
blinded to the interests of Your country, by your passions and
your prejudices, you would have exulted to find yourself thus
mistaken ia the character of our enemy. Yon would have
re;arded this e xtra,inikrav fact as a proof that our enemy, in-
stead of &eliding peace, was sincerely desirous to obtain it.
In proof that you expected the whole business of the ne4..ro-
tiat ion to he a mere arrangement 111 the concessioa which England
was to make, we appeal to your ow n words. After the quota-
tion above, you immediately add, " As to anything that we have
" taken, or any thi ug that we possess, out of Great Britain and
Ireland, and the West Indies, I shall feel no sorrow at any
" surrender or cession that may be made." Thus, Melt, Malta.
and the Cape of Gaod Wipe, aud Hanover. anti Pondicherry, and
Sicil v , all these von expected to be demanded, and all these you
would have resigned, without sorrow, in a treaty of Peace.
Nay, it appears, that all %Attu fear was, le:a concessions of still
greater moment should not only be demanded, but made. You
Were alarmed lest, in order to recover ll:mover, the Ministers
:11(404 even sacrifice some of the greateq interests of the state.
in the above quotation on add, " Yet I have my fears, and
" those fears I will express now, before it he too late. I fear
" that II % VER will he the great object. Ido fear that, for
." Olt, Electorate we shall make almost any sacrifices that may
" demanded at our hands." You next go on to explain
what
you feared those sacrifices would be—sacrifices " affecting
2 us in our maritime establishment, and in our internal g.overn-
moat ; ' sacrifices '' hr which our interest and our safety
" at home would be hazarded."

About the same time we find some VPI'V severe and pertinent oh-
servations in the Political Regivter °lithe Morning Post, and gone
other vf the Papers in the cause of the" Pitt croc," as Mr. Coll-
ilt at that time denominated the present NI itiktr, then k oppo-
Sit inn. 'l' hese papers attempted to provide themselres hefot ettand
with a plea cur railiug thc expected Nage, by holding

TITE NAtION_%I. Ti ROISTER.

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147

nut exorbitant terno., as what should he insisted on by this
country. "To hear the •te %s titers," says Mr. Cobbett, " one
" would imagine that we were negotiating at the end of another
" Queen Anne's war. But the fact is, they expect no such
" terms. Shallow and uninformed as they may be, they we' [
" know, that, after the proposing of such terms, Lord Lauder-
" dale would not remain long enough at Paris to. pack up his
" papers. They know this, and they are mean enough to hold
" a high-sounding language[ in order to provide themselves be-
" forehand with a sort of consistent ground for censuring such
" a Peace as' they know must be made, if any Peace at all he
" made under our present circumstances. In order. however,
" to give a colour of reason for these feigned expectations as to
" terms, these vs riters, and particularly my foolish friend of
" the Morning Post, deal largely in flattering descriptions of
" the advantageous position in which this country is now placed,
" and as if he was resolved to set ridicule and contempt at open
" defiance. he do ells with peculiar delight upon thejootrishing
" state q' our finances!" After several remarks to prove the
absurdity of these representations, Mr. Cobhett adds, " Enough
has been said to expose the ignorance of this stickler for high
" terms of peace, upon the ground of our pecuniary ability to
" carry on the war.--They fact is, that, if the war he carried
" on, new (axe's Inns, he impnked ; or, in other words, an addition
" must be made to the Income Tax ; or still, more properly
" speaking, 3 greater deduct ion must he made from the dividends.
" People may cry out against this as long as they please; hut,
" let them, then, not expect high terms of Pence ; let them not
" vapour about sef:arito; let them submit to the deduction to a

•' greater, and a greater, and a greater deduction at the Bank
" or let them he F i lent about the terms of a disgraceful Peace;
66 for one or the other they must submit tp. !Slimy of the
" measure, of the Alinistry I greatly dislike, parriettlarly those
" ►which have had a tendency to screen public robbers t but I
" shall not for this, or for and• other cause, join in the cry of
" those, who one minute reproach them with having hastened
" to pot an end to the War, and the nest censure theta for having
" adopted the nil means, by w hick it is po•ssikie, under tie•
66 prevent system of expenditure, that the War can be supportvd
" for any length of time."

Such was the strength of Mr. Cobbetes impressions respcetirg
the unfavourable terms of Peace, which would alone be odered
hy Bonaparte. How ditrerent was the fact ! Scarcely Mai
there an obiert we propn,rd, with which he did not comply.
An the grounds of )Ir. Cobbett's fears were removed. I anovrr.
was yielded up n itbout n stipulation ; /aid to this were joined
Malta, the (''ape of Goon Hope, Pondicherry. and Toba?o.
Rut, as i, well observed by the author of " Conitnerce 1)e-
-" fended." (p. " It is not so much the favourable terms
" here offered to us as the tone of the negociation, which is the
" wonderful circum.tanee. On our side appear the utmost'
" haughtiness and impatience. At every untoward incident
" were we for putting an end to the negociation instantly;
" demanded our pa,sports; and ;rented to think it condescension
" to sav to the Preach negociator that we would meet him again
" upon the business. The French even submitted to court us,
" not to break oft' the negotiation ; and offered -ach terms. as .
" we should aut beforehand have easily believed we could üb-
" titan.,'