The Statesman.
London, England, 1815-10-31 00:00:00

inEsTA.r.

Sovereign, do derive their obligatory power over
them, and become due unto hint, upon gevcrniog
'them according to the concerted and stiptOated con-
ditions, acid his preserving unto them their reseried
privileges, liberties and rights.

As Great Britain has been the most president and
careful of all countries In resertieg to itself upon
the first institution of, and sutenission to reptl go-.
vernmerst, all such rights, privileges, liberties, as
were necessary to render it either renowned and ho-
nourable abroad, or safe, happy, and prosperous at
home; so it bath, with a courage and megnookeity
peculiar to it, maintained its privilege. and liber-
ties through a long series of ages, and either re.as_
sured and secured them by new awl superadded laws,
when there were endeavours to undermine- end sup-
plant them, or else bath vindicated them with • gene-
roes courage, even to the deposition and abdication
of treacherous, usurping, and tyrannical Prnces,
when more gentle, mild, and eenalorial methods
were found weak and ineffectual to cover and protect
them to themselses, and to convey and transmit them
to'such as were to come after. The people of Britain
have the same title to, and security for theeejoyment
of their liberties and ptoperties that par Kings have
to their Crowns, or for ()crevice of the regal dignity.
For as they cats plead nothing for what they enjoy
nr claim u Kings, but fundamental and positive
law.; so the suhject's interest iu his liberty sud pro-
perty is conveyed unto him, by the same terms and
channels, and fenced about with the same hedges
and pales. HENRY 1. wrote to the Pore, when at-
tacked by him about the matter of investitures, viz.
That he could not diminish the rights either of the
Crown or of the Kingdom, and that if he should be
an abject and mean as to attempt it, the Barons and
People of England represented in Parliament,Nvould
nor allow or permit it. It is upon this account af-
fi•meJ of an English King, That he can do no
wrong, because he can do nothing but.what the law
empowers him. Fur though he bath ell things sub-
jected to his authority, while be acts according to the
law, yet there is nothing left to his arbitrary will.
W 11•11 we consider with what laudable jealousy
-.he British people basil regarded their rights, and
striven to curb the approtrches of arbitrary power—
* hen we consider that the public law of Europe is
very much modified by examples, and that what is
now dniug in France may hereafter be quoted as
affecting the rights of the Throne or of the People
'in Great Britain, we mount but condemn that apathy
in our own countrymen which can look with indif-
ference on the efforts of that combination of power
which has been formed to complete the ruin of human
liberty in France, merely because it is at A lithe diva
trance, and still more that slavish, unmanly, and un-
priecipled exultation in which many indulge at seeing
brutal force triumphing over reason, and all the bar.
riers to tyranny and iejtr.tice everthrown. We can-
not but wonder that Britons should be so eager
to lend tl,eir aid to establish assumed. rights, the jus-
tice of which they deny in their •wn Sovereign: and
we cannot but raise our warning voice against that
blind disposition which would welcome tyranny to
our bosom, and profane those hands which should aid
and assist liberty in every clime, in the erection of a
power which owns no law, and admits of no re-
straint, and whose chief principle and effort is to
make slavery permanent and universal.

THE GALE ON SUNDAY NIGHT LAST.
Tt will be seen by referring to the Port 'Letters in.
serted to-day, that the gale on Sunday night last bill
been most severely felt all along our coast. In the
Downs 12 transports, beside other *mei., hate
drove from and lost their anchors and cables; two of
the transports and the Venue cotter got into Dover,
and the Mariner tranapnrt got into Portsmouth—the
remainder are at sea. From Sheerness we hear of th
loss of three vessels on the Maplin Sand, one of them
with all her crew. Two -vessels have been lest on
the Seroby Sand, nen. Yarmouth, anal another is nit
shore at Winterton. The Ebenezer is on shore at
Pool, but expected to be got off. The brig Salvador,
on shore near Deal, went to pieces during the plea
Sunday night last.

Journals from most of the West India islands have
arrived. We learn from them, that Goadsloupe,
though wholly occupied by the Brills,' forces, is not
entirely reduced to a state of submission and trait.
quillity. A number of soldiers, who had deserted
from the garrison, previously to the surrender of the
island, had taken refuge in the woodo, where they
carried on a bar !tames and savage warfare against the
British authorities. Ahoy of the inhabitants of
Point.a.Petra, who formerly lived by privateering,
are suspected of holding a correspondence with these
insurgents, and even of furnishing them with pro-
visions sod ammunition. The Antigua Regislet, of
the 2d of September, contains the following para.
graph on the subject :
66 A Gentleman from Guadeloupe informs us,
that the brigands in that island still continue to carry
on a state of warfare against the British authorities
there, and occasion much trouble to our troops.—
On the evening of Monday last, they made a des.
Iterate sortie from the woods, and killed IA or 20
grenadiers of the 6th West India regiment. A
number of arrests, however, took place the nest
day at Point-a-Metre, whence, it is said, they had
derived supplies ; and Col. Bitowo, at the saute time
sent in pursuit of them. A subscription has been
opened at Trinidad by the friends and admirers of
the late Sir Tuostas Picros, to defray the eipence,
of erecting a tuouunieut to ►u memory in that
coloay."

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