"no difficulty to resolve; there is nothing "which can retard for a day the blessings " of peace."This is, I think, as palpable a sneaking as I ever met with in all my life. As awkward a one, too, as it is possible to conceive. Mr. Talleyrand's good genius certainly did not predominate in the hour when these notes were penned. What! all the boasting about "conquering the liberty of the seas" come to this! Why not have told us, at once, that you found, that you had got hold of the wrong horn; that you had been deceived; that you, therefore, gave up the design of forcing us to yield the right of search: why not act thus, and not attempt to sneak out of the difficulty, by a shuffling trick like this? The Emperor of Russia is put forward to bear the brunt: it is his words that bave such and such a meaning: you seem to have completely forgotten all Napoleon's threats and vows upon the same subject: you seem to wish to make the world forget, that he has pledged himself to the continent of Europe to conquer the "liberty of the seas; and, if a peace were now made, at a moment when we, in fact, exercise a complete maritime dominion, what would become of this pledge, unless we were made to renounce that dominion? But, let us see, how the poor Emperor of Russia stands, as to this matter. He (wise and valiant prince!) has declared (see Vol. XII. p. 896), that "he abrogates, for ever, "the convention of 1801; that be pro"claims a-new the principles of the armed "neutrality, that monument of the wisdom " of the Empress Catharine, and binds him"self never to recede from that system." Now, who would not have thought, from this, that this wise man was resolved to have a share of the glory of conquering the li"berty of the seas 2" Not at all, it seems; and that he only meant to say, that, in the next wat after this, he would act upon the principles of the armed neutrality; and, of course, that, if England should set those principles at nought, he would again proclaim them a new as to be acted upon by by him, in the next war after that. Verily this is almost too foolish to be believed of the young and noble-minded, and high“spirited monarch," who, with the other of Prussia," breathed his vows and plighted "his-troth, over the tomb of the great Frederick, at Posglain."

-Bot, it ap-pears now, that there is nothing to renounce." What was it, then, that Napoleon so often talked of "conquering à To conquer a thing is to obtain it by force: to take it from an enemy, or to compel that Enemy to give it up to you. Now, you ac

cuse us of having arrogated to ourselves the exclusive freedpon of the seas; fake it from us you cannot, or, at least, you acknowledge that you have not done it yet; and, if you do not make us give it up, it is clear that you do not conquer it; so that, your declaration, that this question need not be agitated in pegociations for peace, amounts to a complete abandonment of the promise, to fulfil which your word has, a hundred times, been pledged.- You affect to regard the Emperor of Russia's declaration as having no reference to the present war, because he is engaged in the war, and, therefore, cannot be now affected by our maritime dominion; but, you forget, surely, that the neutrals are affected by it, and he through the sides of the neutrals. I might say neutral, for there is but one; but, then, that one is mighty, as long as she is neutral, having more merchant shipping than all the continent of Europe put together, Holland only excepted. only excepted. Now, is it of no importance to espouse the cause of this great neutral state; to apply the principles of the armed neutrality to her; to insist upon her "neutrality being respected," in his senseof the words; and, not to make peace with us, until we do so respect it? Is this of no importance? Are the poor fellows, who live across the Atlantic, and who are passing non importation acts and building log-houses and mud-forts and gun-boats, wherewith to aid you in “conquering the freedom of the seas; are these poor fellows, after all their toasting with you at Petersburgh and Rochefort, following, the example of the imperial toast at Tilsit, to be left in the lurch to " conquer the liberty of the seas single handed? Since, however, this is the real meaning of the Emperor of Russia, we certainly shall very soon come to an accommodation with him: if he means not to act upon the principles of the armed neutrality during war, we shall have no objection at all to his cherishing them," with "all his paternal and princely caré, during peace.

-The conclusion of the remarks of the Moniteur glance at what we may be disposed to demand. "If however, you

should raise the strange and novel preten“sion of imposing upon France, and the "other powers of the continent, by an act " of your will alone, the obligation of sub

scribing to your maritime laws, this is as "if you were to require that the legislature and sovereignty of Russia, France, and Spain, should be transported to London

a fine prerogative for your parliament. I would be the same as if you were to "proclaim overlasting war, or as if you

diately not the interests of his Britannic "Majesty, but those of his Imperial Ally:' "for the Imperial Ally of his Britannic

Majesty, has informed you, that peace "is henceforth the principal end of his

wish, the principal object of his in"terest." Yes, but, though we did (very foolishly, I allow,) make the Emperor of Russia's interests an impediment to peace, during the negociation of Lord Lauderdale, it does not follow, I think, that, now that he wishes for peace, as the ally of France, that that circumstance alone ought to induce us to make peace.-No, we do not want to "Sovereignty transported to Lon", don." We have quite sovereigns enough here; but, we have all a great desire, not to see the sovereignty of England transported to France; and, if we make peace now, leaving France the absolute mistress of all the continent, and with full leisure and means to stock the harbours of Denmark, Holland, Portugal, and Spain with ships of

see any

war,

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we can, without being gifted with prophetic powers, clearly perceive, that it could not be long before such a transportation would take place. Therefore it is, that we do see an obstacle to peace, though we wish for that event; an insurmountable obstacle to peace, while Holland in particular remains under the controul of France. do not wish you and your friends and allies to "subscribe to our maritime laws." only want you to evacuate Holland and Denmark and Spain and Portugal; to take away your troops to a certain distance, and to leave the people to do as they please with their own countries respectively. Till this, or something like this be obtained, what is the use of peace to us? It can be only the name of peace; for, we must arm again in a year, or be conquered. We do not want to conquer you. We, the people of this kingdom, care nothing at all about the manner, in which you may surround Fiance with scbaltern principalities rad kingdoms. It is no matter to us whether you make Mr. Tolleviaad or his valet a prince. You may have as many king Eugenes and kune. Jeromes as you please; and we know not that the change is for the worse. But, we ourselves wish to remaia lace by the name of Langlishmen, and to

have no rulers of your setting up, entertaining a confident hope, that all the alteration wanted here we are, without any of your help, quite able to effect.. For this reason it is, that we dread such a peace as would leave all the continent bound in your chains, and all the harbours, dock-yards, and naval arsenals at your command. Either, therefore, you ought to be made to restore a real independence to the countries above-named, or, to stipulate, that no ships of war shall be built in those countries, or sail out of their harbours, during peace. It is useless to tell us, that this is to proclaim eternal "war." Such a phrase is nonsense; because we must all (not excepting Napoleon) die at no very distant day ; but, however long the war may last, though it were to descend to our great grand-children, they would say, as we now say, that war, with all its evils, is preferable to being conquered by France. -The question with you is: "war, or peace ?" But, with us, the question is, war, or slavery to France?" That is to say, if you refuse the conditions above suggested; for, without those conditions, peace and independence we could not enjoy. This vast difference between your situation and ours ought never to be lost sight of. risk nothing by peace, upon terms such as these; but we risk every thing, without those terms. If you are ready to make peace upon such terms, our ministers will shew themselves the tools of low scitish passions, if they do not give us peace; but, if you refuse such terms, they will certainly have our support in carrying on the war,

66

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You

-As to the cause of this change in your tone towards England, it lies not very deeply hidden. You have now subdued the continent; you have pushed your commercial prohibitions to their utmost extent; and you have found, that our means continue as great as ever, and that, so far from being fear-stricken at the peace of Tilsit, we have, since that event, demonstrated less dread than before. The truth is (and you perceive it), that, instead of profiting from the wars of the continent, as you always asserted, and perhaps thought, those wars were a continual drain upon the fruits of our indus try; and, as lately conducted by your ene mies, a continua deadener of our spirits. Their cause we made our own; their defeats we could not avoid considering as the defeats of ourselves; and, by degrees, forgetting the glorious example of our ancestors, and even overlooking the means which God had given us for our protection, we at last came to that state of mind, which led us to conclude, that the fate of England was to be

decided upon the plains of Moravia and Polaud. The peace of Tilsit, alter having stunned us for a monient, gave a new turn to our thoughts; and, I hope, and believe, that the historian will have it to record, that, taught by this event to look at home, to consider the immense resources, natural as well as acquired, of our country; the strength arising from the industry, the patient enterprise; the valour; the confidence unmixed with suspicion, of her people; the mass of means collected upon so comparatively smali a spot, and means, too, so ma nageable, so easily brought into operation and wielded against every foe: that, thus taught to consider, we looked back with shame to the days, when foolish or wicked inisters had made us believe, that our existence as a ration depended on the caprice of some half-ideot upon the continent, or upon the intrigues of a French or German strumpet, whose friendly protection we had purchased with sweat and with blood; that, from a contemplation of our past follies, we came to wise and manly resolutions for the future; that we explicitly declared our resolution, to maintain the dominion of the sea, in all its rigour, since our enemy had obtained the dominion of the land; and, that from this we did not, in the smallest particle, desist, until we had compelled that enemy, who had repeatedly vowed our destraction, so far to relax in his rights, obtained by conquest, as to enable us to make peace with him, without danger to our independence or injury to our character.The Morning Chronicle, however, appears to see the matter in quite a different light. He has eagerly seized hold of this new tone of France, as being a proof of a 'pacific disposition on her part. Nay, he looks upon the abandonment of the pretension to compel us to surrender our maritime rights; he looks upon this as a "concession," and tella us boldly, that now the obstacle to negociation being removed, our ministers will, at once, set about the work of peace, unless they are resolved upon carrying on war to the utmost extremity. A "concession!" So then, the abandoning of any pretension whatever is a concession? Napoleon has, I believe, in so many words, said that he would destroy this new Carthage, which we, from vulgar tradition, call England; and, now that he condescends to let us know, that he does not mean absolutely to destroy us, we are, of course, to look upon that as a concession. Napoleon has conceded so far as to suffer us to exist." "The "ministers will enter upon negociation, if they be not resolved to carry on the war

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"to extremity." Upon negociation? be sure they will, whenever they see a fair of eaing for it, though it would be unwise to shew any very great eagerness. But, though they may, and ought, to be ready to negociate; and though I agree, that the titles and other assumptions of Napoleon and his family ought to be no obstacle; yet, it does not follow,, that peace must be made, because he has now graciously condescended to say, that he does not mean to force ns to give up our maritime rights. Now, as before, the question whether peace be proper, will depend wholly upon the terms.The Morning Chronicle has an argument in favour of peace, to which, I think, none but a very "desperate politician" would have resorted; namely, the distressed state of the cloth-makers in Yorkshire, who are, as he affirms, all thrown out of employment in consequence of the demand for cloth for exportation having ceased. I have proved, as clearly as the fact would admit of proof (see Vol. XII. p. 875), that the total number of persons, employed in manufacturing goods for the foreign market, and in exporting those goods, did not amount, in England and Scotland, to more than 400,000,, including women and children, from the cradle upwards. Mr. Spence, in a third and enlarged edition of his pamphlet, availing himself, as he acknowledges, of my information and arguments, has, from a more deliberate calculation, concluded, that the number does not exceed 300,000. Now, supposing the whole 300,000 to be thrown out of employment, it is only adding about one fifth to the paupers already in England, Wales, and Scotland. The evil would be very great, I allow. God forbid, that I should speak of it with levity. But, the effect would be to "starve" nobody, the parish paupers being full as well fed and clothed as a great part of those, who are not paupers. The same quantity of food and fuel would remain in the kingdom; and [ think, it will not be contended, even by the Morning Chronicle, that clothing would be dearer. The effect would be this: those who, from being able to earn their living, would descend into the list of paupers, would become somewhat debased, and those who possessed the real property of the country, would be obliged to support them, a considerable part of the burthen falling, as in justice it ought, upon those districts and those persons, who have been enriched by the labour of the manufacturers now thrown out of employment. We are constantly reminded of the immense increase of Birming ham, Liverpool, Manchester, and other

The

the poor wretches come to their foreboded end, they belong to the Church of England, which, like the nation, is obliged to own all those who are disowned by every individual and every sect. But, the Quakers have another principle, which the knights of the shuttle do not seem anxious to adopt; that is, that it is their duty to maintain all their own poor, a principle, which, in the country where I have been intimate with them, they act upon in the most kind and liberal manner, an example, which, if it be not beneath the dignity of the knights, I would beg leave to point out for their imitation at this time.Here it is that the shoe 'pinches. This is the cause of the petitions for peace, with which we are now threatened. It is not "starving manufacturers," that we hear crying for food and raiment; but, the ava ricious clamour of those who have been enriched by their labour, perceiving that now they shall be compelled to give up a part of their riches to keep life in those, by whose Jabour they have been enriched; rather than do which they would see their country humbled in the dust. We are told of the "respectability" of the petitioners; that is to say, of their riches. To be sure more property a man has, the more he has to pay towards the parish rates; so that these petitions are, in fact, petitions against the poor-rates, under the guise of feeling for the poor: just as the long parliament made use of the king's name in a war against his authority and life. Pass an act to divide the poor rates of the manufacturing districts amongst all the parishes of England; make all those, who have not shared in the profits of commerce, share in the burdens which it thus, occasionally brings; do something so manifestly iniquitous as this, and, though I will not say, that the knights of the shuttle will not grumble at the suspension of their profits, I will engage that they shall talk no more about petitions for peace.---Thus far I have treated the matter upon a supposition, that all the 300,000 persons employed in manufacturing for exportation are now actually thrown out of employment, and are living, and must continue to live, in a state of pauperism. But, it is notorious, that much more than two-thirds of the export trade still exists, though it will, in all probability, be further diminished. To leave nothing, however, in dispute upon this score, I content myself with taking for granted, that even the "maniac" will not deny, that a part of the export trade will continne; and, then, it follows of course, that a part of the 300,000 persons above described, will not be caused to "starve"

places. "All this," say the partizans of commerce," is the effect of what you wish "to see perish." All this, we say, is an evil, and, amongst other reasons for this opinion, we urge that of its being a hot-bed for luxury and pauperism. But, laying this question aside, for the present, all these buildings, all this suddenly acquired wealth has arisen out of what? The labour of the manufacturers; the labour of those, who, as the Morning Chronicle asserts, are now starving for want..... ... of what, think you? Not of food and raiment, for it is clear that the war takes none of that away; but of work; "actually starving for "want of work!" That is to say, the poor wretches have, by their labour, enrich ed their respective neighbourhoods, and now, that their masters have, for a while, no demand for their labour, they will suffer them to die with hunger and with cold. Oh. no! Not so, at any rate, unless, indeed, which is rather improbable, all the justices of the peace, in the districts alluded to, be master-manufacturers. The food and raiment is all here, just as completely as it would have been, if commerce had received n check; and, I am, in no fear, that the ousied manufacturers will not receive, generally speaking, as much of it now as they did before; the only difference being this; that, while they gave work for their food and raiment, their masters and the land-owners derived great profit from the existence of the manufacturers, whereas they will now de ive no profit from it, but will be obliged to give back part of their profits to support those manufacturers without labour, than the justice of which nothing ca.), I think, be more evident. Not so, Fowever, appear to think the master-manufacturers and lindowners of the districts in question. They fail not, when it suits their purpose, to proclaim the advantages which they derive from commerce; they refer us, and not in the most modest manter, to their opulence 'and greatness, and their spinning-jenny Baronets; but, the oment their profits are cecked, they complain of the miseries of the poor souls, upon the fruit of whose labour they have fattened. They call them "the starving poor," as if they had nothing more to do with them. Having no more profit from their labour, these poor are no longer theirs. They are melted down, all at once, into the mass of the nation. From the operation of a similar principle it is, that we never see a Quaker hanged; because, the moment of the members of that sect are disco ging propensity, and when

they a

by the war. Another part of them we may reasonably suppose, will, rather than "starve" accept of the forty guineas, which Lord Castlereagh's wise military plan has caused to be the bounty for serving in the militia, especially as, to the said forty guineas, are added very good food, clothing, and lodging, during the time of service, without the least possible danger to life or limb, I will mention no more particulars, but refer the reader to the Register, Vol XII. pages 637 and 875, and to Mr. Spence, 3d edition, page 60 and onwards, where, as I Hatter myself, he will see it clearly proved, that, the total loss of foreign commerce, and, of course, the throwing out of employment of all the manufacturers, employed in making goods for exportation, could De produce any injury to the nation, nor any hardships of long duration to the labotiring manufacturers, though it would certainly considerably lessen the profits of their masters, would transfer a part of their profits to other classes of tradesmen, and would, there is every reason to hope, prevent any future counting-house minister from creating spinning-jenny Baronets.

But, after all, what has the situation of the manufacturers, or of any other class of the people, or of the whole of the people, rich as well as poor, in the kingdom; what has it to do with the question of peace, or war, taken in the abstract; unless you come, at once, to the conclusion, that it is better to be conquered than to undergo hardships? If you come to this conclusion, there the matter ends; for, as the enemy's people have told you, that they must now suffer great hardships, having so well proved to you that they can suffer them for almost any length of time; and, as by submitting to suffering themselves, they are able (upon this supposition) to cause you to suffer too; the result necessarily is, that you must be conquered. A petition to the king, therefore, to surrender these islands to Napoleon, because the suffering of the people would thereby be put an end to, would have some sense in it; but, to petition him to restore the blessings of peace, without pointing out the terms, is more senseless talk, and cannot be fairly ascribed to any but selfish or factious motives. It matters not who is at the helm, or how the war began. These are circumstances which have nothing at all to do with the question. My fear is, that these ministers will, like the Addingtons, make a peace, whenever they find it likely to secure their places longer than they could hold them without peace, though I shall be glad to find, that my fears are groundless.

If the country was in the hands of the best men that it can boast, the question of peace would still remain the same; for, however justly they might detest, the conduct of their predecessors for a long series of years; howeyer anxious they might be to punish pub lic-robbers, and to prevent their future pillage, of what use would any of, or all, their efforts be, unless they preserved the independence of the country. To be sure, when one reflects upon the shameful waste of the public resources; upon the scandalous abuses that are suffered to exist, and that are openly countenanced and fostered; upon the prodigality that daily insults us with its boasts: when one thus reflects, the devil is apt to tempt one with a wish, which it were useless to describe. But, we must resist this temptation, and, resolve, first of ali to. keep out the foreign for, and next to crush, as soon as possible, our foes within.-In taking my leave of this subject, I do not like to let slip the opportunity of saying a word or two upon the effect which war has upon the prices of provisions, and, of course, upon those of labour, The last scarcity happened during war; and, I remember it was said by Mr. Fox: "the country may be

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conquered by a peace, but the people "must eat;" a saying which was frequently quoted, about the time, but which certainly discovered not much profundity of reflection in the great orator, from whose lips it proceeded. In Vol. VI. of the Register, page 239, I showed, that, during the last half century, bread had been, upou an average, rather cheaper in war than in peace; and now, after four years of war, wheat sells for sixteen pounds a load. The average price of the quarrn loaf was 10d. during the last peace, and 10d. was its price on the 25th of last month, as will be seen by the table at the close of the preceding volume. Indeed, one would seek in vain for the reason, whereon the saving of Mr. Fox was founded; for, war has no effect upon the seasons; it does not add to the number of mouths to be fed; if it takes some hauds from the plough to wield the mucket, it, in this country, brings others to the plough from the shutde; and, if it neither takes from the quantity of food produced nor adds to the demand for food, where shall we look for a solid reason for the opinion, that war is the cause of dearth of provisions, an opinion woich may in some casç., lead to great national calamities?

AMERICAN STATES.In this number, or in the next, will be inserted the American" non-importation act," the passing of which is intended so materially to aid in thit