The Sun.
London, England, 1805-06-14 00:00:00

NAI2L BLOC/C./IDE.

The following Article CrWhillS se many judicious Observa.
tions ott the Sub,;:e6t to which_ it tcfcrs, that I,.ce think it
right to itisett it, although it will l)o skeo :tam so rh: parts •
it it that it WAS wriltan before the return of the Roche-
' fort Squa4rott.

Er we were to form an opinion of the state of rrar
affairs either from the columns of the Opposition
Journals, .or the conversation'of Opposition Men,
it would .appear that the .Country is predestined to,
ruin. There are certain perms amongst us who
write and speak as if .chief delight consisted in.
the anticipation Of public s evil. Thus, whenever
the Enemy shifts his mode of attack, br obtains the
slightest momentary advantage over the circuin.sPec-
tion of our Government, -.the-se wiseacres become
hoarse with magnifying our dangers, with extolling
the 'superior skill of .the foe, and with denouncing.
the negligence of Ministers. This was their prac-
tice during the whole of the late War, and it has
been revised in the. present, with renewed violence, fi
.although the sphere of military Operations has been
hitherto contraeted within very narrow bounds. •
While we held the Squadrons of the E'nemy cooped
up in their own ports, Ministers were accused e f t.
Want of vigour ; but new that the kn!tuy's Squa-
dron has eluded our Fleets, they are accused of a
want, of vigilance, as if omnipresence were an attri-
bute of Gevernment, and indefinite success its ne-
ver-failing Attendant,

It must be particularly noticed .that, on the •
breaking out of the present War it was' the general
opinion, not only in this Country, sbut all over the
Continent, that an _attempt would be made to h -
vade either Great Britain or Ireland. To repel sue h
a sudden attack we were not in *a state of edequate
preparation. All the Fereign Troops which had
been in our tervice , dutiug the late War, together
with a great proportion of our regular Arsn7i Wei). •
disbanded at the Peace e and as no efficient means
were: employed to recruit the latter, until the rbvi- ,
• viral of the War becarepe inevitable, wb were left in a
very unprote6ted„condieion at home. The means of
defence existed aod were. manifold, but they were
not exerted, because It was the fashion in those day.;
to talk of nothing but economy, andito ridicule every
idea of: Continental infleenee or connexion. All
this
.while the French Government maintained pre-
cisely the same position in which it stood et the con-
clusion of the War ; or rather, it was continually
occupied. in improving that position, and in strength.
ening- its meaus both of defence and offence. So that.
while we were renouncing all concern about the Conti-
nent, and slumbering on the security,downOr France
was extending her foreign influence, and laying her •
plans for the ruin of this Country. Accordingly. the
French Government begun they ar with a disciplined .
Army of 400,000 disposable men, and N 79 opppsed
to this force about 20,000 disposable troops, the
fragment of the of the finest Armies in the world.
Had DONAPARTE made an attempt upon this Court-
- try- at that period (which he might have done),
and had his troops made good their landine, it is
evident that incalculable mischief would` have en-
sued, though there is no doubt the Inyaders would
have been ultimately repelled. •
• • To obviate this danger, and to gain time for
. placing the Nation in a proper state of defence, at
home as well as in her Colonies, the GoYernment
resorted to the System of Blockade ; which, though
. liable to many obje6tionS, yet, as the reasons in fa-
vour of the measure ,yere stronger than those against • .
it, it was adopted and continued with unexampled
constancy. The.. time .thus gained was Usethily
employed. in reviewing our means, collecting nur
strength, training the _people to the use of arme,
and perfeaing the discipline of the Militia. in this,
manner, we certainly bolted our -doors against the
Enemy ; but, in doing so, we also debarred ourselves •
of any favourable opportunity that might present it-
. self for our making a sortie upon him ; in other
wards, we could, parry a blow, butmot strike.
On Mr.. PITT'S return to power, things assumed a
different appearane. The monotonous insipidity of .
a defy/ethic War was condemned, and immediate
steps were taken (consistently with the cramped
state of our population) to enable us to resume our
wonted vigour and fame. But their effe6ts could'
,not be visible: in a day. It has ever been a tai ions
matter to bring the military force of this Cs' suntiy to •
,a6t offensively in the outset. of any war;. and When
we retied on the thousands who were exempted, as;
Volunteers, from eegaging in a .more a6tive service,
and the various regulateone which weeks) .required to
lasso the force we had colle6ted on a respeatthle
footingewe cannot be surprized that the blockade of
the Enemy's ports should have been deemed expe-
dient, and Continued.
Twelve months .have scarcely elapsed since the
• present Minister, called by the voice of the Country,
resumed his 'former situation ; and of that period
several months have passed away during which, no
legislative sanaions could be given to any additional
plans ifor the augmentation of the Army. The Ad-
ditional Force Bill, pressed towards the close Of `the
late Session, was the _only-experiment made to re-
duce those egregiona bounties which had materially
impeded the Recruiting Service. So, that, consider-
ing the obstacles that stood in his-way, from the
previous Alts of the Legislature, which could- not
,be repealed on the spur of the occasion, Mr. PITT
has certainly accomplished much towards realizing
the principle on which he came into Office.. We are
now ambled to send forth our Troops beyond the
limits of our insular frontiers; a considerable force
his been dispatched to reinforce our CdITiSQIA3 in the
'West Indies, and 'another
.Expedition has recently
sailed from our shores. In the mean time, the Bill
fbr the Reduction of the Militia has been crowned
with the success that yeaepromised, and our Regular
Battalions are
,daily completing their numbers, from
the spirited offers of the volunteers from the
independently of the . increase they derive froto the
Recruiting. Service, and the Occasional, enlisting from
Volunteer Corps. : ••
Hiving reviewed the causes of the policy of the
Blockading System,, we shall ncc: t. inquire ntsto its
epit),CrlledovililitilfieOrcliathio;t6eilreriotyuriZtTtric:'
(OC:buritlaadiegliisetltdae:atteshlnitileer:,idl e
ts have been exposed to less in.
eoreureien, and cur Coloniee have been preseeved'
from Chu visitations of War for the spice of to
ytlar3. It was nee ..r aiserted.by the. niust .salvtine:
Advocate of Adatinistration, that the Blockading
System Would bo innftililale, or teat throughout ale
exteua' ive range of COAUt, stretching from the Elbe to

But it has been Said, that Government ought. to
have known of the sailing. of. the French Squadron.
With equal*reason, ought the Government to kilo*
at what precise. moment I'IONATAnTE rise to 4,
toorroyv. Doubtless,- every information is obtained
of the movements o the Enemy, as far as • at-:
tAinnble by human ingenuity; but to censure them
for mit htnAnr, known' what the French Artrnir;.il
himself, te.ost likely, did, not know'. '-twent'vtfot;
houis before- he weighed anchor i- the f
ab2nrclitv, "erne
Kt me dl apply in respect
to the de:4tination of that. Fteet. tiow,-..svere Mt
Ilisters to kirn the point'of attack ?—A telei-rrapl
dispatchreachea the Freneh Admiral at RoAelnli)c'::
‘6th 6i-cit.:Ts for him to. sail if he can. imniedi.iteb,.
he makes - the eittlertmenr,,atla
,by a filvottrabie
15'ind eludes et:if Fleet ; when ht.,. has reaibed eer-
tztin latitude, he opens his order;, and thenleartis
his destination, Yet,-. with ail this secrecii, h
every schod-hoy knows to be the failt, the Oppo,
sition Journals have
,indulged in the mist .acrimo
Lions inve&ivcs against. His Majesty's Ministers.
Let it he remembered, that unless the Frenelt
tive a very superior force indeed, they will haVe to
contest fbr any of our Islands under great dimdtran-,'
tages. The Vulnerable parts of .pUr West Indio Co-
lonies were all fortified at a vast ex.penee last war,,
aul coreequently, are capable, with inferior numbers,
to resist a more numerous Enemy; and perhaps the

LONDON i'rinted by R
at the SyN-O'ni

. • iIANKRUPTS. . • •
James Swan, of Hinkley, Leicestershire, currier, to surrender
lune 20, at one, 21..atl I uly. 23. at eleven, at the George,
Hinkley. Attornies, Mr.. Richard Walter Forbes,
Jfty-
pla.e, Holborn ;or Mr. Edward Thorntay, Hinkley.
John Dutchman the elder, of I'+ingston=upon.flui4 sail.
maker, to surrender July 2,3, anti 23, at eleven, et the Cot.
fee-house, Scarborough, Yorkshire. Attornies, Mr. litt.
Hull; or Messrs. French and Williams,: Castle.
street, Holborn, London.
Christopher Johnson, of G rat Strambridge, Essex, merchant,
TO surrender lune 20, 2,T, and July at ten, at the Angel,
Colchester. Attonties, Mr, Frantas,Colchester; or Messrs.
Naylor, Great Newport-street., London.
Richard Harrison, of Hutton-Lane-Ends Lancashire, inn.
. 'keeper, to surrender lime 17, 24, and July 23, at three, at
the Pack-Horse, Manchester. Attornies, Messrs. )(cars-
ley. and Caldwell, Manchester ; or Mr. Ellis, Cursitor.
street, London.
- DIVIDENDS.
July s. Lewis Levy and lotus levy, of Whitechapel,
. Middlesex, vermacelli-tnanufaelu rers and co-partners.
I Illy 6. %' illlam C ray ton and Robert Shires, of Southwark,
Surrey, hop and seed.rnerciranti and ce-ftartners.
fuly 6, -Martin Walter Percent and Augustus William 80,
tic,,,,cer, of Little St. Helen's, merchants and co-partners.
July 3. John Sharpies and lames Sharpies, of Anderton,
Lancashire, mann tacittrers and ce.partuers.
July 6. john Thomas Webster, of Hipt-street, Sotrthwark;
Surrey, hosier.
July atiti John Pearce, of Basinghall-strect, ten-
don, clothiers and copartners.
July 23. lames Widdows; fr.Mapchastey, calenderer.
jJ illy. John Beetlioni, jurilate of Lancaster, liquor-mer-
chant.
July s. James Roberts,
_Lute nfAshford, Kent, silversmith.
s. F Cantiiksh, of London, merCli4ht.
11.11 y Anthony Gentian and Tan lephson, of Nottinghani,
ang co •partnus..
July 9. John R) le, of Newcastle-Upon.Tyne, linen-draper.

PRICE OF
MITE

Bank Stock, r 8
Navy 5 pet Ccnt. shut
s per Cent. ;797, 98
Irish s per Cent..
4 per 4.,e11t. 75;16
3 per Cent. Red, 58 4
3 per Cent. Cons. shat
13..nk:L. Ann. ;6 13-;6th3i
Data Snort Ann.

HA R n RI:AS, of No, 4,'Mattlett-c9urt, 13ow-street ; and PubUshed by WILLTAM AR to
CE, No. HP; wher,e 41i ertisemerits Orduri tik the Paper, Letters tbr tht