The National Register.
London, England, 1820-04-30 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER.

y -• ~ ..ems ... r .T~r .~ -~.{'•

intention of which those who advised concessions to
time and circumstance were always uecusal,it is
surely worth while, for once, to try what a manly
and honourable line of conciliation, and an open
admission of the principle of Parliamentary Reform
at present, with respect to the United Kingdom, may
efket. h was not, we do decidedly give it as our
opinion, the concession of the King of France,
Louis XVI., in culling together the States Generel,
or any other act of concession, that ruined that
King. It was the fault of not having adopted con-
ciliating measures with a gaud grace, and in suffi-
cient time. It was a want of sincerity manifested
in his advisers and adherents; and may we not say,
a want of steadiness to his people in himself, which
most materially contributed to the fall of his throne
and the excesses of the revolution. It was the want
of manly and just concession which lost America,
and they who treat these great subjects as matters
of party struggle in England, and who accuse the
genuine Whigs, who espouse the cause of the people
in a constitutional manner, of nothing but a wish to
get into power, do, we trust, a great injustice to the
Whigs in general, and (certainly) assist flit:illy, by
withholding from them their support towards the
acceleration of a crisis when the struggle is no
longer between parties, but between the governots
and the governed, the rich and the poor; between
power clinging to its seat on one hand, and on the
other the convulsive struggles of a population
writhing and wrenching themselves from the grip::
of power.
It is commonly asked, by witty ministetialists,
whether reform will make bread cheap? We may
sty, Yes! it will--.because a rectiti.,d system of
administration of public affairs would, sooner or
later, bring about that natural state of things when
labour would find a good market and fair wages ;
and whether this would happen as soon as could be
wished, or not, anodic:- event most certainly seems
near, and that is, a serious crisis in the finances of
the country, and agiinst the arrival of such a crisis,
we arc anxious to conciliate that vast body of refor-
mers who have so long foretold and remonstrated
against the consequences of the present system of
conducting public affairs, and not, under such cir-
cumstances, to meet them in a state of mind exas-
perated by insult and injury. And such men, in any
part of the kingionLit is unwise,in any Government
not to conciliate ; but to reckon thc:n enemies, be-
cause they wish to be in politics what, in the pulpit,
men are told every Sunday they ought to be in mo-
rals, " radically reformed from all vicious tenden-
cies." Is it not almost impiety is a common
cant, in answer to a cry tbr reform, that " people
should reform themselves;" but these good people,
with ail tleir pretet:ce of personal goodness, seem to
forget that one of the finest parts of that perfect
prayer, which our Redeemer has taught us, is,
" Lead us not into temptation ;" and to keep men
at all secure from vice and error, it is necessary to
remove temptation as far from them as possible; and
why this necessity should not apply to political ar-
rangements, where our country, as well as to social
arrangements, where individuals are concerned, we
are at a loss to guess.
It is a stale trick invented by knaves in time of
danger to ill-gotten power, or gains, and made cur-
rent thols, to cry out that Government and Re-
ligion are in danger, because some who cry out
retbrut may prove worthless and dangerous men.
Was there never a Tory long? There must be good
and baci of all parties. Our frame of Government
is not so iveak as to be incapable of bearing medi-
eines highly corrective ; and because, among the
espousers of =limn, there a 1.,: sonic who trust reli-
gion with contempt, does this affect the justice of
the general question of refimn ? By no means. We
might with much stronger colour of reason charge
all Tories with hypocrisy, because it is notorious
that the greatest champions and writers of Atheism
and enemies or Christianity !lava I ccn Tories ; and
seriously to affirm, that the cause of eltristian truth
is essentially in danger because of the a.:saults of
impiety, although we would certainly warn and
protect all'our fellow-countrymen from the efibcts
thereof, as far as possible by those aids, which are

141

most likely to be effectual, of encreased zeal and
soun.lremon ,--to affirm, we repeat, that christia-
nity, aluitist which " the gates of bell," we are
assured, " shall never prevail," is in danger, can
be nothing cis:: but impudence and impiety.

We have received the Paris Papers up to Saturday
last. The Censeur Europeen states, that the Cabinet
of St. James's has replied to the official notification
of the changes recently produced in the Government
of Spain, that it secs with pleasure the adoption of a
system which England had long considered useful,
and even necessary, for the welfare of the Spanish
nation. The intelligence from Paris is uninterest-
ing. The Journal de Paris says, "We can inform
certain propagators of disastrous reports, that their
efforts are useless; no one believes either their
affected good intentions or their bad news. What..
ever they may do or think, France enjoys in every
quarter the most perfect tranquillity." We are
unacquainted with the circumstances to which this
mysterious paragraph alludes, except they are the
rumours of discontents and troubles in Braanny.
The accounts limn Corfu in the Paris papers arc
of the 3th instant. The Lord Commissioner, Sir
THOMAS NIAITLAND, has opened the third Session
of the legislature of the lonian isles, in which he
congratulates them on their perfect tranquillity,
which had been momentarily interrupted by the
tumult at Santa Manra, the instigators of which
had been detected and brought to justice. Allud-
ing to the cession of Parga, he observed, that it took
place by virtue of treaties to which England had
ever been faithful. She had indemnified the Per-
guinots and granted them the rights of Citizenship in
the lonian isles. This subject, however, we believe,
will again come under the consideration of the Par-
liament of the United Kingdom.
The Madrid Gazelle has published an order front-
the Minister at War, by command of hi, Majesty; •
calling on all military men, especially those nearest
the King's person, to abstain from disturbing the
public tranquillity ; and to pay a due regard to the
solemn compact entered into between the King and
his People, by his spontaneous adoption of the poll- •
cal Constitution. This order arose from a tu-
mult which took place at the political club
Lorencino, where one of the Kiag's body guard,
inadvertently protested against his sovereign's ad.'
he:don to the charter. It is said that the prime
movers of the Revolution correspond together from
Pampeluna to Castile, but that they are not altoge.
ther in accord with the Central ,Junta.

The lust arrival of l'aris Papers is before us, from
them we learn that on Tuesday the Spanish Am.
bassadur had a private audience of tat. King, to
deliver two letters from Ferdinand : the first wns
letter of condolence on the death of the Duke of
Berri; the second informed the King of the re-
establishment of the Constitutiou of 1812. Fa..
dinand, it is said, desiring to continan to the wishes-
of several provinces of the kingdom, has ruinmoned.
the Cortes for the 9th of June, instead of the 9th
of July, the time previously appointkl. The King
;old Queen often appear in public, and, it is as-
serted, arc always received with loud acclamations.
Count Abisbal, notwithstanding the defence of his
conduct uhich he has published, has been turned
out of the Club Lorencini, as a• person unworthy
the co7ltidence of the Patriots :' and report says, he
dare not appear at Court. The Royal Vales are in.
good credit, and the Consolidated Funds are at 60
per cent. The Royalist Journals assert, that in.
Navarre, Mina, the Captain-General, refuses to re-
cognize the authority of Esendero, the new Civil
Governor of the Province, and that in Catalonia
the people " desire neith,:r a constitutional nor an
unconstitutional King."

11onday sennight a lad named Bigmore, for a
wager, engaged to run 16 utiles in two hours, in
Nlr. Finch's Gard, n, in Norwich, which he accom-
plished within a minute and a half of the time. On
Monday last he undertook to go, at the same place,
24 miles in three successive hours, but the time ex-•
pired when he had perfmued I.i rai!cs.

._::~