The Statesman.
London, England, 1823-03-08 00:00:00

Jed, would he have felt upon the occasion. After Ba-
fiat, came the ftelosopher Mackintosh, who, after a
e soft preliminary; -an "ameliorating" introduction,
Mid that the English nation flew to the aid of the Penin-
sole upon a former occasion. He did not say that we were
aging to fly to its aid now, in any other gay than in
speeches and in paragraphs. These he applauded to the
skies. He very justly called them " toted " declarations.
As far as loudness went he was right enough ; but when
he added, that these declarations came from every part of
the people; and "especially from all the organs of pub-
" lie opinion, with a few insignificant and suspicions
exceptions;" when Sir Jammy said this, however
softly be might say it(if he did say it at all)he uttered that
which was as false as any thing ever uttered by feeloso-
pher, however far North he might come. " Organs of
"public opinion ;" that is to say, parts of the press
much less " insignificant;' and above all things much
less of a auspicious character ; much less of this de-
scription than any thing that Sir Jammy has or ever has
bad to do with, did not join in but ridiculed the bois-
terous bellowing; contended that real war was the true
course; that measures should be taken to enable the
country to embark in that war; that the principles of
1i93, of 1800, and of 1815 ; that these tyrannical princi-
ples should be disavowed by England ; that her govern_
meat should make a recantation upon that bead ; that
the millstone should he rr moved front about the Lion's
neck, sad that he should fly to the aid of Spain, hot with
• timings and bellowing', but with teeth and claws. This
,-. was what was inculcated by that part of the press which
the am berating feelosopher describes as insignificant
• and worthy of being suspected. The fcclosopher found
himself in difficulties. He wanted to condemn the con-
duct of France, without condemning his friend Mr. Cra-
ning and the rest of the English Ministers. Therefore
he had to speak of the "French decrees, threatening the
" independence of other governments, and issuing incite-
" ments to people to revolt against their sovereigns."—
Ile dis•inctly said that our ministers in 1793 did not in-
vade France on account of her institutions, but because she
had held out encouragement to revolt in other states, and
committed a very serious aggression on one state. It
is useless to say perhaps, for Sir Jemmy was not then in
Parliament, that precis, I,v the contrary of this was main-
tained to be the fact by Mr. Fox, by the Duke of Bed-
ford, by the Marquess of Lansdowne, and by all the op-
p nition of that day. Sir Jammy affects to laugh ; affects
to treat as hypocritical, the complaint of M. de Cha-
teaubriand relative to the trade in mules. It is a pretext;
it is a mere pretext ; but, it is a more bare-faced piece of
hypocrisy than was the navigation of the Scheldt ; and
that is the instance of French aggression to which Sir
Jammy alludes, though he appears to have been ashamed
to name it, because he knows that it was for seven
long years charged upon Pitt by that very party to which
be belongrd,as being a piece of hypocrisy perfectly without
a patella. His defence of the Ministers on the other
ground is equally destitu'e of truth. In 1793 the French
disavowed, as clearly and as explicitly as the Spaniards
do now, all intention or desire to incite revolt in nations
against their Sovereigns. But why does Sir Jemmy over-
look the principles of our Ministers in the years 1800
and 1815? Why does be overlook the latter period es-
pecially ? Let him read the Register of this day. Let
him answer that, before he again ventures to assert that
the English Government and the English Parliament did
not act upon the same principle; that very same princi-
ple which he now condemns the Government of Francel
for acting upon. Let him obtain a recantation of the
principles so distinctly set forth by three English
Lords from Vienna ; let him obtain a recantation of the
same principle echo-d and re-echoed in both houses of
Parliament as a justification for the new war; let Lim ob-
tain a recantation of these before he again ventures
to call the conduct of the French Government either on.
just or hypocritical. In short, let Sir James Mackintosh
first answer the Register of this day, and then lit him
talk, if he likes, to the day of eternity, about our clas-
sic ground of liberty, with our Six Acts, our Riot Act,
; aimed by the Whigs ; our Septennial Ac', passed by the
same Whigs, and let him make everalsting ameliorating
orations upon those classic spots of liberty, (latton and
Old Sarum, not forgetting Knaresborough, and not for-
getting also, the inprisonment of Joseph Swann sent by
the Magistrates, from one and the same Quarter Ses.
'ions of the p ace, to remain four years and a half in
jail, after having endured, two months of previous im-
prisonment, for selling some pamphlets, all about liber-
ty, and fur attending, but not speaking at, a meeting for
t that very Parliamentary Reform. for which the ruined
landlords and farmers are now petitioning: let Sir Jam.
any make orations, and let his friend Canning make
odes, if he please, to celebrate this classic soil of
" liberty ;" but, first of all, let them answer the Register
of this day in some other manner than calling it insigni-
ficant and suspicious. They might, if they chose, take
an excursive view over the classic soil : Sidmouth's Cir-
cular, the Power of Imprisonment Bills, the military
attack upon the blanketteers, St. Peter's field at Man.
chester, shutting a wan up for ten weeks in prison for
going round a town, to say that William Cobbett was
arrived in good health. The proceedings against
the Radicals in Scotland, the compelling of printers
to give bail before they begin to print, the shutting of
Irishmen up in their houses from sun-set to run-rise,
on pain of transportation, without trial by Jury ; these
and various other things would come into this excursive
view, over our classic ground of liberty ;" but, at
present, let Sir James Mackintosh answer the Register
of this day, or let him join that Register in condemn-
ing the principles of 1793, of Iboo and of 1815, or :
him say that the principles upon which the French Go.
vervuseat are now acting are just. Sir James gave as a
toast, "the preservation of the peace of Europe."—
Why, so do the French themselves. Poor comfort, this,
for the Spaniards!" Sir James was pleased to say, that
this meeting could put the seal to the national verdict,
This smelt rather of the shop ; for verdicts are sealed
we know. But what sort of verdict is this? A verdict
to remain at peace ? If that be the case, the Spaniards
must look to themselves. The Duke of ,Somerset said, in-
deed, that the English nation was ready to make sacrifices
in order to assist the Spaniards. This was something; but
if we turn unite proceedings in tbe House or Commen:
last night (which we *all notice mote at length on Mon