The National Register.
London, England, 1808-02-21 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER.

rtn. 2T.

AEI IEN OF POLITJC/J, DLCLAIMERS.

No. VI! I.
AN EXAMINATION OF Alit. CORBETT'S ATTACK
ON Ant. ROSCOL,'S PAMPHLET.
Our Readers may give us ante credit for being perfectly
impartial between these two mown ; for in many essential
respects vie disapprove of both. Our object is not to assail the
sine or to defend the other :ha hold forth truth and error to
our couuto men ; the, one in melt robes as we think best calcu-
lated to attract their notice and affectioa, the other in such a
garb as may strike then a es, mid excite their abhorrence.
Mr. Roscoe, as most sit' our Readers know, has lately publish-
ed a Pamphlet, entitled, "Considsrations en the Causes, Objects
" and Consequences of the 'present War, sad on tic Expediency
"or Danger of Pears .wi(lt Prance." In Cobbat's Pclilical Re-
gister of last week, he has addressed a Letter to Mr. Roscoe, in'
which not only the doctrines of the book are called in question,
but other doctrines of a very extraordinary nature are advanced,
and the moral principles of the author are arraigned in a manner
the most gross and indecent.
This, indeed., Is one of the injuries which this writer has con-
tributed tp inflict upon his country. It is owing to him, and
to some others of a similar cast, that a style of personal invec-
tivre and abuse has become common, which at once disgraces and
corrupts our national taste. " Your representation," says Mr.
Cobbett to Mr. Roscoe, " is nut true, and ?on must, at the
" time when you wrote it, have known it not to be true." On
another point, he thus begins : 66 Not to dwell upon the baseness
" of this, upon the total want of principle which it developes."
&c. lie sass in another place, that " strong presumptive
" proof is afforded by Mr. Roseoe's Pamphlet of his entertain-
" Mg- an unnatural partiality for the enemy." " You have
" omitted," says Mr. Colthett. " whether from want of prin."
ciptc or nut I shall leave the reader to judge, to state that the
" publication as hick gave most olfence to Bonaparte was that
" of Sir Hobert 11 Few Readers," sis s he, " i ant
" in& 11 to believe, will be able to form an idea of any thing
" more completely unprincipled than the attempt to impose
11p11,1 the unwary, and excite discontent among the distressed,"
which he ascribes to Mr. Roscoe's Pamphlet.
e believe that no commentary on our part is requisite, af-
ter this e x ;insure, to excite the indignation of es ery ell-ordered
min I. On the allegation of certain omissions and mistakes, in a
i:•ry ,port discoursi, on a very extewive subject, Mr. Cobbett
scruples not to ascribe to a manlike Mr. Roscoe, such infamous
znzivos, might, if real, to exclude him from the company of
all honest men. What rashness, what remorseless audacity in
depriving a man of his character Is here? Were Mr. Cobbett
on ajury, and were he ready to pass sentence on a man's life on
forced constructions, like those on which he has here passed sen-
tence on his character, he would be chronicled to all ages as a
moister who had disgraced the nature he bore.
In order to counteract the exhortations of Mr. Roscoe in fa-
vour of -peace, Mr. Cobbett favours us with a panegyric upon
war, in which it is difficult to say whether the ignorance or the
blasphehty is most remarkable. We believe that the ignorance
is the fundamental fault, and that it is in fact the parent'of the
blasphemy, which the author did not understand that he was
committing. " War," rays he, " I consider as being, nut only
necessary, as it notoriously is, ia ninny cases, in the present
" state of the v odd, hutitigo as conducive to the elevation of
" human nature, to the goneral happiness of mankind, and of
" row se as being a good." Let us read on till' we hear his
rc.isins ; for surely We'itfril riot hound to take thiSatrocions doc-
trine on the word of Mr: Coblsetk,," War," he sass, " destroys
sury, the intlaenceWf Which prevents these receptacles of
and of infamy, the Fieht of the interior of which is a
" tntllu^ times more horrid-Oa:a any thing which Is the conse-
" 41"';‘:0 ,titi I Mr. Cobbett, waiinuch snore OeCeb•

115

arily and certainly operates in destroying the bread of the poor
than the luxuries of the great. It is the bread of the poor that
it diminishes first ; the luxuries of the great it reaches hest of
all ; and then it generally happens that peace is procured.—
But how comes it, Mr. Cobbett, that you ascribe such horrid
effects to luxury, you who have been recommendtog to us 1‘ ith
such zeal the doctrines of Mr. Spence. among which, in a mo-t
conspicuous place, stands the proposition, " that luxury is
" conducive, nay- absolutely necessary to the well being of
" society ?" Truly, if you have no reason for representing war
as a good, hut that it destroys the evils of society by destroying
luxury, you venture a bold duetrine upon a feeble founclatiou.
What ! are the luxuries of this country diminished by
continuance and expenditure of the war in which ice are ea-
gaged ? 1)o we pay smaller Faluries to our singers and players ?
Are our play-houses and opera-house; less numerously attended ?
Is the number of our routs and revels, of our livery servants,
our coaches, and our horses, diminished ? No! But who tells
us that the number of quarters loaves which the labouring man
can buy in a week is diminished ? Cobbett ! Who tells us
that the number of paupers has ti ip/ed .1 Mr. Cobbett l Precious
panegyrist of war !

Mr. Cobbetes next reason is thus stated, " That war makes
" a part of the great scheme of the Creator is abundantly ob-
" vious from the universal propensity of his creatures." This
is pitiable! This is an oloervation 'rich ha 4 been brought for-
ward by some of the lowest of the infidels, as evincing a con-
trariety between the analogy of nature, and the great principle
of the gospel. But it is a new strain of imoranee to find a man,
who ostentatiowly boasts himself a Chris far, iap ble of main-
taining an absurdity which contradicts the first principle_ of
christiaaity. " Whence," says St. Paul, " come wars among
" you ? come they not hence ; even of our lusts, which war
•' against God ?" But the observation itself is a wretched mis-
interpretation of the book of nature, as has been many times
clearly demonstrated ; and if one may judge by similarity,
;veins to be borrowed in the present instance from that tissue of
vulgar error, Paine's Age of Reason.

Mr. Cobbett next says, that war is necessary to the eleva-
tion of mankind. His reason is, that if there were no war,
there would be no longer any courage, fortitude, emulation,
magnanimity. Indeed ! Mr. Cobbett; is this 't,ll you know
about courage, fOrtitede, emulation, magnanimity ? Has no
body any of those qualities, but those who have been in the
wars ? Have those qualities no field of action but the field of
blood ? Do, pray, Mr. Cobbett, look a little into the authors
who have treated of those virtues, and you will see how com-
paratively small a portion of their sphere of operation is the
field of 'war. not despise to study; for truly. you have a
great deal to learn. Let us appeal to a case where every itt.•r;
of war is removed. Do we
.not suppose elevation, nngnaai-
mity, fortitude, and every ennobl!ng virtue, to adorn the angels
in heaven ? Will these virtues he entirely eradicated from the
spirits of just men iu that future state, to which Christianity
teaches us to. believe they are removed ? To analyse these vir-
tues to you, Mr. Cobbett, and by that means attempt to shew
you the absurdity oi' yOur argument, AI ould he entirely to waste
our time.
The above arguments of Mr. Cebbett are borrowed. The
following are truly original : " 1. By giving to ditfereut nations
" different languages, the Creator intended they should remain
" for ever separate ; hut war is necesstrry to uphold that separa-
" tion. 2. There would be no use either of wisdom or science if
" war were banished from the earth because the object of the
" learned s d i acti on ; bec3ate the source of distinction is pa
lie utility : because ptiblfe utility rests at the point of putt-
" lic safety ; and were it not• for the occasional, existence of
wars, and -for the continual pof.sibillty of their recurreaLe,
46 public safety would be a mere sound without sense."
We know not that we have ever met with soy tk;ng in print
to !natal this !

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