The National Register.
London, England, 1812-05-03 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER.

276

glorious occasion. .The CiusoELt.o.u_ of the. EXCHEQUER
could not help taking notice, he said, of one circumstance
which had taken place, as well at the taking of Ciudad
Rodrio, as on the late occasion, and that was the small
number of killed and wounded of the enemy, and the
great number of prisoners. He confessed it did appear
to him a distinguished circumstance, that after so bloody
and obstinate a resistance, so small a number of the enemy
should he killed, while upwards of 4000 prisoners were
taken. He zherefore should move the Thanks of the
House to the Non-commissioned Officers and Soldiers of
the Army under Lord NEI.I.iNGTON, for the zeal, bravery,
and HUMANITY displayed by them. This is a Vote that
does as much honour to the Mover, as to the Soldieis
themselves, and the Country that has produced both.
Humanity is the brigh:est gem of a brave and Chriqian
soldier ; and the Motion, as well as the conduct that gave
it birth, are pledges of the supt 9 iority of the faith which
we possess over that of other nations.

MAY

PATRIOTIC DECLAMATIONS.
Vlte wish that an Hon. Baronet, who on Friday night
filled the whole HOUSE of Commoris with disgust at his
declamatory defence of the incendiaries who now destroy
the property of the people, and his violent abuse of the
soldiers called to repress the outrages committed on the
goods and lives of their fellow-citizens, could have pe-
rused the letter fi om Rochdale, which we this day pub-
lish on the subject of the disturbances, before he opened
his lips on the subject. He would then have known that
the words he uttered, like the Dragon's teeth in the fable,
would most probably produce crowds of additional
rioters and incendiaries. In charity, we therefore sup-
poie, he would have checked the expressions of sentiments
productive of .sedition and disorder.—We shall merely
quote, as an antidote to such poison, the fair and manly
rebuke which the CHANCELLOR of the FACHEQUER gave
both the Hon. Baronet and his declamations.

" He believed that it would be almost universally felt, that the steps
which Government, or which the Magistrates thought proper to pursue,
were not for the purpose of crushing the liberties of the country, nor
to make war with the people, and subdue them; but fcr the purpose of
protecting the valuable lives and properties of his MAJESTY's subjects
from rioters and incendiaries.(Lond cries of Hear, hear ! ) These
were the people whem the Honourable Baronet appeared to have now
taken under his protection—(Hear !)—and this mob of rioters and in-
cendiaries were tailed by him the people; and Governmeut was charged
with making war upon the liberties of the people, because they would
not allow a turbulent populace to destroy all the valuable accumulations
of property, or of machinery, that are to he found in the country. To
preserve the peace of the districts so disturbed, Government bad been •
obliged to draw troops from different parts of the kingdom • and this
was what the Honouralle Baronet called making war upon the people,
and subverting their liberties. The Honourable Baronet had,no doubt,
strongly in his recollection the steps which Government had been
obliged to take to repel the tmuultuary aid which had been offered to
him in resisting the laws of the country.-Loud cries of Hear, hear!)
He might now confidently say, resisting the laws of the country; fur
the law had since been recognized and settled in the most formal manner
in all the tribunals to which he chose to appeal, as well as by that
to which he wished most to appeal, trial by Jury.—(Hear, hear!)
At that time numbers of people had been inflamed to seditious distur-
bances very little short of rebellion, in the very heart of the metropolis.
There was nothing which Ministers could do that would go more im-
mediately to destroying the Constitution and the liberties of the
country, than by permitting those tumiultuary proceedings to go un-
checked."