The National Register.
London, England, 1816-05-12 00:00:00

'DtP

No. 4.35.—V0t. IX.

POLITICAL DISQUISITION.

CONSIDERATTON9 OX THE ALIEN BILL.

A N interesting subject has lately been started in Par-
liament, and has wee ioned considerable discussion: it is
the proposal of an :lien Bill in time of peace. This
measure, unknown for a long sucemsion of ages in En-
glish policy, has been censured and defended with equal
vehemence ; and has, already, been carried through some
ef its stages, by majorities so triumphant, that little doubt
can be entertained of its ultimate adoption. It is, how-
ever, one which opens a wide field for controversy ; and
the ends of which may be too powerfully felt, nut to re-
quire that it should nut be passul without the deepest
consideration.

The opponents of the peace Alien Bill stand on strong
and elevated grounds. They readl those days, when,
conscious of strength and security, or too magnanimous
to fear, England threw open her shores to men of all na-
tions, of all creeds, of all politics ; and flourished in the
midst ofa fettered world,—the Eden of earthly freedom.
Then, let the slave approach, no hand wits put forth to
repel him. He lighted on her strand, and he was free.
Item, the fugitive fimnd an asylum, which neither the
wrath.aor the might of fiireip kings could violate. I ,et
revolutions rend the Continent; let the flame of religious
persecution blase abroad, she was the universal reiage of
the persecuted. Like the good. Samaritan, she but saw
the wounds of the wretched, and she healed them. She
did not inquire whether they lia:1 offended and opposed
such a monarch ; whether they regretted deposed gran-
deur, and prayed for its revival. She opened her arms,
and all that rushed into them were safe. Then was her
name blessed upon the earth. Then was her greatness
secure, though unarmed ; because it was fenced round
'with the gratitude and the intLrests of men. For who
would have attempted to pull down the holy sanctuary,
opened to him at the hour of persecution and misfortune?
All wishes, all hopes, all benedictions, rose towards her.
She was the ideal hind of promise to every man, when the
days of woe should come ; and, secure of being received
-us children in her bosom, they felt for her the love and
veneration of sons.

This state of true and unparalleled grandeur, my the
.opponents of the Bill, England now willingly abdicates.
By perpetuating a temporary measure, hireed upon her
by the lash of terror and of necessity, she sinks back into
it common people. 11'ith sacrilegious hand, she destroys
the sacredness of her own soil. She dissolves all thos..!
spells which nude her dear to the hearts of strangev, and
rendered her prosperity, and her power, objects ofuniversal
interest and importance. She breaks down the ancient
palladium of her safety, to erect in its stead weak and
noxious defences. True, she is great among nations
True, her navy commands the seas, and her military arm
strikes her enemies to the earth. But these are glories
which she shares in common with ancient and modern
States. The ocean has obeyed many lords ; and, even in
our days, victories have been gained by other- swords
•than ours, that have decided the fate of Empires.
—But England, hitherto, claimed exclusive and higher
honours than those of war and of conquest, more precious
even than those which the arts and literature confer—
Englaad possesscd a gem of inestimable valee, which anti-
quity never knew, and which no other modern country
ever held. It blazed in her crown and enlightened the
world. It was the star of fre,:dom. It marked her
abode and her rcr;lge on earth. For Englund was not
only the soil of constitutional liberty, but she extended
the protection of her constitution and the enjoyment of
her liberty to all who sought her shores. This was a
pre-eminence, indeed, in which she bad no rivals. It
made her an island in fame, as nature bad made her an
island in position. This exclusive pre-eminence, my
the antag,inists of the measure, is now abandoned; and
.I.•Oand resigns that glory which no other nation ever
• without even the plea of necessity.