The National Register.
London, England, 1809-07-09 00:00:00

442

There certainly are periods in which the sober remon-
strances of truth and reason are overpowered by the inis-
guilled impetuosity of party and prejudice. But it for-
tunately happens that intemperance of this nature is short
in proportion to its violence, aad as' this abates, the public.
;Mud is again susceptible of argument and open to con-
Niction.—lndeed it is but very rarely that it continues for
auy lengthened period erroneous in its decisions, or false in
itrjudgments, particularly when founded upon accurate in-.
formation ; but removed as the greater part of that Public
necessarily is from the source of real intelligence, we can-
not wonder at, however we may lament, -the facility with
which the public feelings may be misled by the artful, and
the hypocrital, or deceived by the more practiced. and
bold imposter—lmpelled by operations of this nature,
how often is it hurried into determinations opposite to
. truth and candour, and carried away by delusions which
time only can remove. • But. there is a generosity as well
as justice belonging to the nation at large, which is not al-
ways to he found in individuals. When either by fair and
temperate argument, or by a statement of facts, which were
misconceived or misapprehended, they are pervaded they
have been guilty of an injustice, or that their opinions
have been without foundation, they are prompt to
renounce them, to get rid of their misapprehensions,
and finally, to turn their resentment against those who
Piave been either the means or instruments of their delusion.
We are led into this train of 'reflation by the extraordi-
nary circumstances which have developed the conduct of
the principal parties concerned in the conspiracy against
the DUKE of YORK. Modern times have seldom witnessed
a stranger delusion than that which possessed the public
mind with respect to the conduct of his Royal highness,
who certainly paid a proper and respectful deference to the
misapprehensions of the people, and very properly gave
way to the voice of even popular clamour, and resigned
his situation as Commander in Chief. The instigators and
the instruments of this popular feeling have themselves ap-
peared at the awful bar of the public, not as the friendly
associates in a conspiracy to destroy the reputation of
another, but with a suicidal frenzy which has urged them
to the entire destruction of their own. The conduct of

public men is a sort of public property, into which we
have a real not an imaginary right to inquire. Mr.
WARDLE, almost a new character, without political con-
• nections, appeared in the House of Commons the public
accuser of the Commander in Chief, the beloved son
of a beloved Monarch. His charges were improba-
• Me, but the magnitude of his object and the bold-
ness of his pretensions would have saved him from
contempt, although they might have involved him
in infamy. The high situation, and certainly we may
add the elevated character of the accused, gave a
solemnity to the investigation, which it would not perhaps
have acquired in any other place than the great Council of
the Nation, assembled in its judicial capacity. To support
these charges Mrs. CLARKE, a discarded mistress of the
Duke, is produced as the principal, and indeed almost, (we
say dimwit) the only witness—fur respecting Miss TAYLOR'S
evidence there certainly cannot be two opinions. In the
course of this enquiry, Mr. WARDLE rests all his pretensions
upon the degree of credit due to Mrs. CLARKE, and assumes
most distinctly the high merit of bringing it forward upon
grounds purely patriotic and independent. It is now proved,
distinctly proved, that in order to tring forward the evi-
dence of Mrs. Clarke, Mr. WARDLE descended to the em-
ployment of the most improper and unworthy means, ap-
hearing in the awful character of a public accuser, and, iii
is judicial capacity, sitting in judgment upon his own ac-
cusation, supported by himsejt as an advocate. It now
turns out that he fed and maintained this very witness, upon
whose testimony the whole fabric of his accusation rested.
The circumstance is too recent for us not to remember with
$ t iedia•n•tion he repelled the accusation of an improper