The National Register.
London, England, 1808-08-14 00:00:00

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WAFEr

moral sentiments which are- so much -sallied by the multitude.
I have never• been admitted into our modern school of Ethics,
and have no other guide to regulate my judgment and principles,
but that ancient •system of morals, which will appear to a per-
sou of your daring turn of mind, as imposing too many restric-
tions on the natural liberty of man. If my notions appear to
you, in the course of our correspondence, too narrow and illi-
beral, you will impute them to the prejudices.of the school in
which 1 was educated. You, Sir, who Wedge in .a greater
latitude of principle, and are versed in the boldest theories of
the French philosophers, will condemn the contractedness of my
notions. linliferent however to your opinion, as you are to my
animadversions, I will, without further preface, proceed to the
subject of this letter.
The opinions you have constantly insinuated, though you had
not the courage to come forward boldly with them, relative to
the present contest between the Spaniards and their oppressors,
leave no doubt on my mind as to your intentions. I will appeal,
howvvvr, to the public if your vile attack on the Spanish No-
bility be justifiable or not ? Yon must and, ought to have
known, that not a hundredth part of them were assembled at
Bayonne. Besides you were not ignorant that the distinguished
Personages, who arc Deputies from the Spanish Provinces to
our Government are Noblemen, and that the Generals who are
beating the French in every direction, and that the Members
who compose the several Juntas are Noblemen. I will ask you
then how sou could babe the unblushing effrontery- to insert the
following passage in the last number of your 'Political Register :,
" Ills (Joseph Bonaparte's) reception upon the road,. us well
" as at Madrid, clearly shows, I think, that besides the rascally
" Nobility, lie has a very powerful party in the kingdom, and
" which party will, in my opinion, daily increase." This whole
passage betrays so •absolute an ignorance of the events which
have occurred in that country ; so base an aspersion of a nu-
merous and dignified class of that nation, because a few from
cowardice or compulsion have yielded to the bayonets of
Bonaparte; and at the sometime, so dishonourable a perversion
of facts, that I defy any man, actuated by motives different from
yours, to read it without mingled sentiments of horror and indig-
o Lion. This passage, so replete with ignorance, presumption,
and scurrility, will establish your reputation in the judgment of
your cotemporaries. Having diligently perused your Journal
of late, and though disgusted by the self-sufficiency of the
niter, I was imposed on by an appearance of candour and
liberality; and was m Ming to impute the grossness and Been
tioustiess of sour style more to the manners and education of the
roan, than to the perversity of his heart. Feeling likewise a
strong bias fur freedom of discussion, I was willing to exculpate
the extreme licentiou,ness of your pen on account of the sup-
posed honesty of your intentions. " This, -Mr. Cobbet," 1
mould frequently say to persons, who have condemned you as
much for your opinions, as fur the vulgarity of your style, " is
" urobteily sincere in his intentions, notwithstanding the intern-
" perance of his language." 'Though experience and reflection
might have convinced me, tharau individual. whose philippics,
in this agony of universal liberty, are .directed against the only
tiovertiment which is the last prop of iudependence, must be a
very dangerous character, whether his invectives proceed from
mistaken zeal, a corrodedleart, or innate brutality.

lino cannot have forgotten that,
two months are scarce elapsed,
m hen the most sanguine looked forward with anxiety and difz
tidence to the termination Of the contest we are engaged in with
tohaparte•--.A Mali, whose abilities are as extensive as his eon-
dun is flagitious; who joins to the immense resources lie has at
Lis pusal, an unextinguishable hatred to this country, her fa-
stitutiotiA, and even name ; who knows that his reputation of a
deini-goo, or of the greatest villain that ever disgraced humar,
lily, depnds on Its.ruili or proTerit) ; who is tsjovincedthAt
Lis vast empire totwring as long as Englishm -44 retain their
independence and opulence. 1 w ill now ask yout if you have
any feelings of ,00 Ltiglishman left, how you cotild indulge in
that omtrageoni attack on the Spanish nobility, after a great
majority of them have come forward with life and fortune
against the man 1 have now described? Sir, whatever indig-
. crion I may feel in the perusal of your Register, I will not
descend to the bweness of cat ling 'eon a rascal,-but declare your
conduct to be the most unexampled and unprincipled that a pub-
lic writer could have been guilty of. Whilieyou are indulging
yourself at Batley, crier t betrotect ion of a gbvcrnment, which
lecuresyoo in the enjoyment of liptilenmand liberty, you have
thes.ralleled. insoteoce tomicoominate 'efiscali; the • very men
who are shedding their blend to resist the inveterate enemy of
)(our country and their ow u What is General Castanos list a

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nobleman ? What is .Count TUN, Marquis de Compleny, Ge-
neral-Palafox, Cuesta, the Members of the Juntas, and the Des
puties bow in England, but noblemen ? Sir, 1 have observed
with shame and regret, because I am not your personal enemy,
however I may detest your principles, and reprobate the inde-
cency of your invectives, that the abilities of an Englishman
should be employed to calumniate the ostensible permit's in Spain
and Englan4; who are peculiarly called on by their situation td
oppose the pernicious ambition of Bonaparte: but in speaking
of that man, .you seem to lay aside the savageness ,of your di.-
position, and, with the fawning servility of a Parisian journal-
ist, call him " Napoleon," the " Emperor INapnlenn."there
is some excuse for-Frenchmen, for the slightest deviation from
etiquette would be punished with imprisonment, and the confis-
cation of properly. But where are your English feelings ?
Where is your vaunted detestation of tyrants, when you can bass
the baseness to call that traitor Emperor ? On what occasion
have the gloternment or people of this country stelipoviledged
his usurpatidh? And when did be arrogate this title of limpes
,nor ? After the murder of Pieltegru, and after he attempted to
murder Moreau! Ile sealed it, as he did every othet act of his
life, with murder—with that of the amiable and enlightened
Palm... And this usurper, thl( avoweffenesny of liberty, this
murderer, the humane .Mr. Cubbett, the sturdy ehampiim in
the cause .of freedom, never mentions without the greatest mi.
spect ; whilst he brands the noble patriots of Spain with the infa-
mous epithet "rascals!"--Shave int the feelings of that roan who
will speak of a villain with respect, and call honest men ras-
eals'l I would advise you, as interest seems to have great in-
fluence on the approbation you bestow, to be more circumspect
in your future numbers, for the cause of patriotism in Spain
and England, in spite of your virulence and obloquy, will
triumph over that of the Bonaparte's.
I would likewise wish to know whence you received yout
information that Joseph Bonaparte Was received with such dis-
tinguished marks of affection at Madrid, and on tile way
_thi-
ther; and that he has a very pascerfnl parts/ in the kingdon:,
besides the rascally nobility Y Inform the public how-numerous
this very powerful party iSs--n third part of the population, or
mote ? Condescend to be snore explicit; for you cannot but
know, Sir, that the destinies of .Spain and of Europe depend ou
a circumstance which you treat with so much nonchalance. For
`so positive an assertion you joust have unquestionable authority.
Mal will you have the courage to include so large a proportion
of the Spanish population under your denomination of rascally ?
But to return to your important infarmation must have
been transmitted to you by our accredited agents, or you have
taken it from the Seville Gazette. Or has it been suggested by
your own heart ? Or have you extracted it from the Moniteur ?
For my part, I see no other way of accounting for this strange
opinion, Blau that you either wished it were so, and gave cre-
dit to it ; or that in writing it, you were suddenly deprived of
memory and judgment. flowerer, I will he more carcfa of
your reputation thirst you are of your own, and will rather`
consider you a political blockhead than a political knave.,
your ungovernable disposition has placed you in the unfortu•
date predicament, that you must pass either for one or the other.'
'I will, therefore, notwithstanding any indignation you may ex-
press at my charitable explanation of your conduci, nut impute
it to villainy, but to folly. But Whatever were your motiveep.
the palpable falshood of your declaration must be exposed ; and
uhalever 'reluctance 1 may feel in accusing_ you of a dhbonest
attempt to counteinct the magnanimous exertions of our coun-
trymen in favour of the Spaniards, I f Bandon to allow
you to delude or damp the ignorant b olent affectation.
of infallibility in political matters. Your Lion has been en-
v derived from the French fm shall we bel ice(
,the Moniteur and you, or that age in Spain villich If
a
supported by the experienceages, and the unadulterated'
feelings of mankind ? It IS 110FiiWe. Si that a Bonaparte
could have been nett remits in 'here, about a
month before his arrival, his sanguinary r they-iu-law, the in-
famous Mural, butchered so many thousands of the inhabitants.
Whatever degrading conclusions> ou may Wustilied in draw-
ing of the feelings awn, there are ittleiies which cam rouse
.even the basest and most insensible to resistance and revenge.
These injuries have been done to the unfortunate inhabitants of
that capital. There is not a family which has not the loss of
some relative to lament ; and you bait, nevertheless, the auda-
city to.assert that a Bonaparte, whose name is associated in
t eir minds ..vith perfidy, pillage, and Murder, has beenjoy•
f Illy received at Madrid, where there is not a store that is not
stained wits the blood of the: auf#thitte victims, who bar,

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