The National Register.
London, England, 1809-10-01 00:00:00

Of all the offices of GoN.o onient, :iron;; the party- to
which he stands pledged and Lord Glory is suited to have
expressly declined, because he saw no prospect of that
eatire dismiksion of the late Mioistry, winch would airord
room for the same. sweeping determination. Before v,3
proceed, we. shall merely obsuve, by the bye, that a great
Statesman on ht to study, and be ;,-cll itege.i.iiited with tha
temper of toe people whom he is to direct ; and that los
ought not have a:i interest in being ignoraat of what it is hia
duty to learn. Now, the people of this coontry feel iodi:;uani
at the conduct or Lord GREY, and cortainiar do 110 gifg
him credit for the patriotic grouuds which he assumes.
Can his Lordship be ignorant, that the true criterion of
patriotism is a noble and d;sinterested emulation, to con-
tribute our utmost to the pre3ervatiou and proa:sority of
our country, to support the Government which protee:3
Our lives and liberties, to le-d a cheerful itSiSlallee in the
moment of dtingve, to sage it from injury or destruction,
to sacrifice our dearest connections, our fortunes, or even
our existence, in its defence; to discharge all these essero.
tial duties, without huckstering- for remuneration-or emu-
meut, and to refer to a beneficent so veivign, and a grate.
ful people, the reward of our services.
But %that has been the conduct of his Lordship and
the other Gentlemen of the united parties: They insist up-
on lt,;s MAJESTY excluding from his service, men who not
only possess great public virtues, but the private con&
ence of their Sovereign, and the good opinion of the na,
tion, and this proscription is made chat there may be .room
for bringing into powcr,place,and einolument,men who have
been at issue with their Sovereign, in points of the great-
est importance, men who have forfeited (we will not say
because they abused) his confideace, and what is more,
important at present, men whom the public do not like,
or at least for whose return to office there has not been
expressed the slightest wish or inclination: But it is not
to the men, butt to the system to the plan, and the princi-
ple of that plan we object. When a regular scheme of
operation is carrying on, it is the system not the indivi-
duals who act in it that we object 10.—It is not the machi-
nery of the system, but the principle that we consider
truly dangerous—That a Sovereign may sometimes, in
a varticular instance, be obliged to sacrifico his private io-
dination to the interest of his people we may easily con-
ceive, and that in circumstances that are important enough
to demand such a sacrifice, we are of opinion the prince
may concede without such concession, implying a condition
of servility or disgrace. But when a prince is by cabal, in-..
trigue and the combination of parties driven to such a conces,
sion, prejudicial to the interest of his Crown, and. to the
balance of the Constitution, it becomes the people to sup-t
port those prerog•ntives which arc given, not for the bene-
fit of the individual, but for the good of the people. 11
it he true that the discretionary powers of the monarch
should all he exercised upon public principles, and upon na-
tional grounds, and not on the likings or prejudices, the' in.
trigues or politics of a Court," it is equally true and equal-
1-9/ obvious to common souse, tbat the mOtiarch should be