The Statesman.
London, England, 1820-02-12 00:00:00

lirctilcol, it woulsEarfear :lout further restrictive
art I‘llr.ll ogainA ns arein contemplation. the mature ot
erli;c4 lie tint% Not mention: hut the ultirct of these
noi.t tloui.gleas be to follow ur the', rinciple of regalia-
, lion on %kith th.ri country nnifortoly on 4 consistently

[ _
Our Vr•t imi.3 eyeros, to which Government rigidly
tollorre% nitro have Iret'll Aliollla.ll SI tb .1 Wien to force our

colonies to draw their otopei!tes front Lastada, Nova Sco-
tia, or Great Britain ; and partly. orrhas s. also to pre-
veto the America. Government .fro it bemusing toy in-
timately aciptaioted with oar ssekk points of attack
in that wiener; where, sooner or later, there will
in all rob:ldo). be a straggle will. tarot for retaining
one dominion. fu whatever light, however, the police
s considerea, it seems altogether indefensible. Dar
niggardly restrietioits, instead of retarding, will, in all
probability, by increasing the cupidity of the iteptibli•
cans, hasten the c • • against which Vre are atiaisies to
provide; anti, In the mean time, fatal experiente is
daily convincing ns, that the selfish policy we pursue is
its own punishment; and that, whilst we think to level
a blow at the pi osperity of our neighbours, we are only
wounding onerelves. What can hr suture preposterous
than an ordireanee. whicb, without putting a penny into
the public imagery, increeees to our coloeists in a Nur-
fold ratio, the chief necessaries of life, and thus, by nn-
aroldable conseqoence, not only diminishes their profits,
but enbences the price of their productions to every
subject of the e vvvvv ire ?
The American policy is in many respects the reverse
of ours, founded as it is on the principle of freedom of
rade; and this naturally leads to the question, how far
such policy secceerls in actual pros-tire. As the ships
of the ('sited States have the commerce of the world
open to thent, the enterprise of their seamen is un-
bounded. Wherever private interest, a !till] is acute
and intelligent, can flatter itself with the prospect of
being gratified, there the Federalkt .. Is may be
found, tempting rvery danger, and overc • g every
obstacle. Then- is hot a mart in the world where they
have not given proofs of their boldness in navigation,
of the logennity and vigour in their commercial under-
takings, and Wf the spirit, the skill, and the perseve-
rence with which they prosecute their schemes of gain.
At this moment they are carrying on a considerable
trek is the Pacific (keen, from which our India charter
secludes our merchantmen. Vessels, of MI or 160
tons burden, sail from New York, Baltimore, and other
Atlantic ports. round Cape Horn, prepared equally fur
entering the ports of the Spanish Hoyalists. or of their
opponents in arms, the Patriots. Nothing restrains these
adventurers where profitable MSc is to be made. They
have, at the same time, established a settlement on Co-
lombo river, on the uorth-west coast of their own Ame-
rica, where they tarry on a profitable trade with the
tuitions for tars, whirl. they convey across the Pacific to
China. From the Chinese again thee receive in return
rich cargoes of the previous plant of that country, the
ii-e of which is too universal to admit of any hesitatiOn
in seeking for a market.
The inhabitant. of Britain naturally asks why he II
precluded by acts of his own Government from similar
advantages. I n sagacity in talent, and in enterprise, he
is not naturally inferior to his brothers on the other side
of the Atlantic ; in capital. in hooonrahle principle, and
in atainired accomplishments, he is much their superior.
Leave him to his own unfettered exertions, and he will
outer at ours in.() as equal eoutpetition with his commer-
cial rivals, if he does not, as is most probable, excel
ahem in those very qmilities, in which the ruinous poli-
o), of Eigland 14. ti %pieta them to boast of their supe-
riority. mercantile genius of our native country
lies hitherto sustained as, in spite of the atemril and un-
generous policy of our forefathers, whieh imposed on
commerce a yoke, that their more enli:diteriell children
have not yet hail strength and resolitt"iin to cast from
their shoulders. lint, as.uredly, it is now high time to
assume a more nianlv attitude. We are required to do
so, not only by the illumination and liberality of the
age in which we lire. but by a principle of self-preserra-
lion. The Americans hate orgun 3 rare in which they
threaten to prevail. They run with all the advantage
on their side of vigorous youth and hour:int hupr, mon.
cumbered and free. They are roll of life and ardour.
Dar after day they gain strength. experience, and
skill. They are urged forward by a riralship, in
which envy and hostility unite with more generous mo-
tives. It f sot now with us as in former times, when
we had to contend only with the leaden despotism of
Spain, which shed its paralyzing influence over the finest
regions of the earth :—or the absurd vanity of rrance,
which, despising us as a nation of shopkeepers, left to
us the unenvied sovereignty of the seas; or the phleg-
matic temperament of Maio& which sought for gain,
with all the wreeiliness, indeed, but also with all the dull
and cantiona routine of a miserly retailer ;—or the po-
verty and ignorance of the Baltic nations, which con-
demned them, amongst their commercial neighbours, to
hopeless insignificance. Independent America is the
most formidable rival wi!h whirl llreat Britain ever yet
had to cont And; and unless we feel the dangers of our
situation, and with wisdom and prudence seconnoodate
nor policy to the exigency of the times, we are ottilone.
Hut our resoitrees are immense, and nor counsellors wise.
It would be worse tlia^. folly to despair of the fortunes
of a :ration: which, in arts and anus, in intelligence and
in vigour, in philanthropy. and'isigh Christian feeling,
stands, in the old world, unrivalled and alone, and still
assumes a proud pre-eminence riser the new. We have
but to throw oldie trammels and fetters with which we
hare voluntarily bound ourselves: to give free play to
our native energies ;• and to use with real and discretion,
the powers of unbroken manhood with which we are en-
`towed. -Wia.have. long outstripped all our compeers, but
we have not yet ricelted the goal Circionstances ate
changed and changingt we must change with theme—
A new and powerful rival demands renewed efforts, and
an altered course. Pee ert et ab bowie datrri.---Our
*nuns oust lead the way, and we will Dot be slack to