The Statesman.
London, England, 1810-06-16 00:00:00

THE St

of those bad intentions which have Wed impute)
to me. There k indeed a eireumetanee respect*,
my paper, which shows that it could not hate
been my intention to produce any mutiny. My
paper cannot get among she soldiers but by Mere
accident. Its circulation is principally among
those classes who are beet informed; and most ca.:
pablc of understanding its real meaning anti objects.
If one wanted to du mischief in the army, it is not
by such papers anodise' but by platanis and hand.
bills that soldiers would easiest be worked upon.. I
do conceive, however, that there are cases in which
much real mischief might be done by pdblicatiods in
newspapers. For example, if a limo were on the
h. point of sailing on a particular destination, and any
body was to publish that the transports were alto.
gether dehdient fur the accommodation of the
troops, and that there %soli tie manner of attention
to their comforts or their health, such publication
might do eonsiderable mischief, and therefore be
deserving of punisment. In point of fact, such
a publication had taken place in a morning pa.
• per ; and it appeared to the last Attorney. Gene.
cal (Sir A. Pigut) as so very dangerouii that he filed
an information ex officio upon it, and yet the pre-
sent Attorttey.General did nut conceive it in that
light, cud attendant! it (M.r.,Cobinttt then read
an extract nom the. Morning Foot,. which coo.
twined the article to which he alluded). 1 think
that the Attorney.deneral actod.rightly is awn-
detting,this prosecution ; but I think that' epee
the same prieciple be should also have given up
the present prosecution.' In the last trill for a 41.
bel Upon an tefortnations the Attorney-General
laid doern very liberal doctrines. He said; 't that it
*Ulla his practieo to prosecute men fur expressing
• Hoek' sentiment/I even with Some degree of;wannth
,and indiscretion in the diseuision of public stairs t
ind that when such warmth was only dispiayedin•
arraigning the conduct' Of Moisten, or: iu der-,
-cussing what belonged .to the important interests.
• of this country, or the happiness of meukiedose
notice of thiS sort was ever taken of its Iw.ie.i
thing perfectly well kdown, that in ease* of this
sort weeds should bejudged of by the intention,
rather thou by the literal construction. Lord
Erskine expressed this in a striking manner) when
be was ;deeding as an advocate fur a Defendant in
II Case. of .this nature in this very Court, (at that
time the trial of Hastings had been plug un.tor a
sconsiderible length of time, and the Court erected
for the trial; obstructed the *venues to the Court of
King's Bench), ",What I (said Mr. Erskine) if,
when I am making toy way thru' dismal passages to
this • hole in the vraili :1 should mutter to myself)
and Witt ill humour wish that the roof of the
building would fall upon King, Lords, and Com.
mons) upon prosecutors and defendants, such a
wish might shew illaeniper; if expressed it.
aloud it .wotild be indecorous; but, if any one
wished to take it up seriously, and complained of
ite to the House of Commons) how would the House
-*keit up, or how would the person who trought so
fritoletss a complaint be treated ?" Ile not, how.,
ever, pretend to say, that I was in suety' paision
at the time of my writing this Article .as not to.
knurl what I Was about;, bet still Ilays. , •
it was an article *written id anti hurry, awl
.oitlinet
much time -fur reflection. 'Klee ditele Is the
Courier. was dated the tith of June, and the com-
ment ou it appeared in my paper on • theist of
July. As it was necessary to send to and from
Rotley, iu the interval, no great time was left for
deliberation. If every expression was to •he
strained, as the Attorney.Geueral has attempted
to strain the expressions in this article) no person
Could be safe. Half the language of mankind is
figurative, and nothing Can be more ettfair than
construing according to the letter, which is meant
as irony. Men) in common conversation, often
use expressions that are hyperbolical, and those
expressions are never understood literally. If
a different constrection were to be put on
every thing which appears in print, the Press
must either be wholly shout) or confine itself
to the praises of administration. Z perhaps
should have said nothing about. the German
troops, if it were not fur the high eulegitsai
that the Attorney General has-been pleased to be.
stow upon them. I stn free to confess, that I
was always adverse to the employment of German
troops in this country; and it did particularly
move my indignation, that German troops should
he brought to witness the punishment of the Local
Militiamen of this country, who, as I said before,
*ere most of them young fellows, just taken
front the plough, and unacquainted with the .
forms of military discipline. The introduction
Of foreign troops into this country was els
ways warmly objected to .by our ancestors;
and itt their objection and dislike of chard I pefectly
agree'. This objection, then, does not proceed from
say jaeobinical aversion to his Majesty,: bnt it is
an objeCtion 'Which has been justly entertained at
all tithes by those who had the best British feelings.
So early-as the year 16'213, the Haase of Commons
presented & petition to Charles in -which they
complained of bringing German horse into this
' country. The briugisig in of strangers has been
injurious to every coentryt but to England it has
often. been fatal. They held it to be fel beneath the
Sharatter, and the bold hearts of Englishmee, to
it uetossary to bring over foreignere for
their . protection. There le another , authentic
lestance of the dislike or oar ancestors to the in!.
rtroduetion of foreign troops. In the year 1692,
:Very shortly after the &Volution, there was a de.
bate its the House of Commons upon theintrodue.
don of foreign troops and to their commanding
Englishmen. Sir Peter Collins, in the course of his
4pecch said, " that Englishmen bore a love to
•
their own country which it is impossible that
strangers Could ttel. Foreigners could not have
the same affection for this Country as the men who
bad been bons its It." He concluded his speech byl
muting that none but natives should iemmaild
' Enelishtned. TMs motion, although very much
'against the inclination 9f King William the
Third, who way naturally. much attached to
his foreign troops, was agreed to, and became
a livr. Notwithstanding this, there nro, non
no Northam Tour or Or,' German Cenerals either
emainanding distr:le.tai 'or on the Staff: Sinop the
year Iho6, this WA his hicreased from torpor
leer so thirty-able '11119110(144 Masa