The National Register.
London, England, 1809-10-15 00:00:00

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1809.

POLITICAL. DISQUISITION.

•
NUMB N IN ETY-TWO.

POLICY OF BRITISH EXPEDITIONS TO
THE CONTINENT.'

The very title of our disquisition implies a kind of revo-
lution in the principles and character of the people of this
country.— Our sanguine, ambition, temper is become
languid and indifferent. No man doubts qt the policy,
provided it may be done with honour and
.effect, of our in-
terfering iu the concerns of Europe, and preventing one
state from acquiring over the rest an undue and dangerous ,
ascendancy. If there he some people, nevertheless, who
adopt the reverse of this position, they are unacquainted
with the character of existing occurrences; their minds are
not made for political combinations, and their opinions
have little weight in the present discussion. The objection
arises from the supposed insufficiency of our physical, as
well as moral resources ; and we renounce the palm of vic-
tory and honour, the splendid trophies of military glory,
the pride of conquest, and the consciousness of superiority,
not from disregard for these distinctions,
:but f‘orss the de—,
spair of attaining them. It is not moderation,:it weak-
; it is mot a sense of justice, but indolence and indeci-
sion, which render us to the measure averse. In a word,'
we love the prize, but hate the sacrifices and labours ne-
cessary to acquire it. This is a mortifying confession for
the countrymen of MARLBOROUGH and WOLFE ; and as it is,
in some measure, ominous of the instability of our present
rank and power, it is fit we should either prepare ourselves
gradually for the subordinate and passive part, which such
slegeneracy, and the renovated character of the enemy, ren-
der unavoidable; or reverse our sentiments and policy. It
is far inure prudent to submit to uncommon dangers and
difficulties, than to oppose them with reltictant minds and
sinews. Submission, by provoking contempt, may disarm
vengeance; whereas ineffectual resistance can only irritate
the enemy, without raising his esteem, and challenge pu-
nishment, without exciting commiseration.
Such is the spirit of the new theory of passive resist-
ance, and such, if pursued, in all probability, will be its
consequences. We may still continue our peaceable pursuits
as manufacturers, shopkeepers, and farmers, and may long
tetain, from the fertility of our soil the established ha-
bits of industry, and the ingenuity of our workmen, a su-
periority, in these respects, over our more warlike and
turbulent neighbour. His cupidity, and the rapacity of his
agents may diminish, it is true, the immense capital now
employed by our merchants, and the vexatious and partial
spirit of a proconsular Government, restrain their enter-
prise, and obstruct their industry. We may, however, live
tranquil, if we are submissive and patient, and enjoy con•
tent and competency, if we.ean restrict our wants, and for-
get our national impressions. But did the statues and mo-
numents at Rome, or the immortal trophies of MAR 'AVON
Tv!.

and PLATEA, which decorated the public places and tem•
pies at Athens, mortify the servile descendants of the he-
roes who had raised them ? Or &At the perusal of Dcmos-
_

TIIENES and CICIROS THEICYDIDES, and Liv'v, render them
more impatient under the yoke of their tyrants ? Half a

cestury of quiet slavery might render the people of this
country equally indifferent, and they would enjoy the plea-
sures of the theatre and the table, without regretting the
turbulence of freedom, or the cares of independence. The
country of Locaa and SYDNEY might also claim the exe-
crable distinction of giving one day birth to men who
shod(' distort argument, good sense, and precedent, to
prove that liberty has no other effect upon a people, than
to create a spirit of • insubordination and discontent ; and

that a despotic government is alone competent to reader
them tranquil and happy.
The question is not whether it he our interact, itit if we
possess the courage and means to oppose an effectual bar-
rier to the ambition of France. Nobody has been 9k) ex-
travagant as to deny the propriety and policy of our inter-
ference, provided it be efficacious; it has been opposed
only upon the plea of its inutility. To the mortifying and
dangerous tendency of this self-abasemeht, we have al-
ready alluded. We-shall now endeavour to prove that the
plea is futile, and this line of policy weak, erroneous, and
'1 detrimental. It is futile, because our interference, ill and

weakly applied as it has been hitherto, opposed very great
impediments to French aggrandisement; and impolitic,
because a great national object should not be renounced,
in consequence of the uncertainty of success, or the'difti-
culty of its execution.. Such tniserable and short-sighted
policy is an exact counterpart to the fable of the despon-
dent waggoner, imploring miraculous interposition. —" Ap-
ply your shoulder and whip," replied the demigod, and the
Wight, by a natural and vigorous'effOrt, got his waggon
out of the slough. If our Government knew to apply the•
collected energy and vast resources. Of this country, they
need not, in order to check the ambition of BUONAPARTE,
implore supernatural interposition, or- calculate upon the.
event of his decease.
Multiplied faults and reverses; the over sanguine tem-
per of Englishmen, which hurries them to rash expecta-
tions, and in case of disappointment, creates a propor
tionate degree of depression, are the causes of our present
indifference to the affairs of the Continent, and to the
alarming progress of the enemy. But it is only an affect-.
ed indifference, assumed for parade, but opposed by our
feelings, and incompatible with our national character.
The preponderance of France ; the triumph of her arms ;
the magnitude of her acquisitions; and the splendour of
her exploits, will never cease to rankle in our bosons;
and no Administration can pretend to, or deserves, popu-
larity, which will actin opposition to this rooted and sa-
lutary aversion. Six centuries of rivalship and seldom in-
terrupted hostility; the jarrn,!..7 and irreconcileable preten-
sions of both; recent injuries, and Mutual recriminations;
the incotnpatibiiity of their present aggrandisement, with
our fetitre security, exclude the possibility of cordial re-