Extension of the French Empire.-Affairs of America. ciii the writers of which judging from the similarity of their style, we should almost suspect had been employed in the manifesto manufactory of the Spanish Insurgents. 1 AFFAIRS OF AMERICA. In the present awful circumstances of the kingdoms and states of Europe, it must afford pleasure to every friend to the virtue, the liberties and the happiness of the human race to glance across the Atlantic, and to observe the steady, and dignified course of the government, and of the people in general, of the United States of America. In a former Review, when reprobating that system of commercial vexation adopted by both Britain and France we remarked—“ Whilst the rulers of both countries are thus running the “race of injustice, it would, perhaps, be for the interest of neutral states, were they to refuse trading with either; although we "cannot expect such a temporary sacrifice of interest for the general good, yet we are persuaded such a measure would have the tendency to bring both parties to their senses, and to put an end to their system of blockade."--That true patriotism, which consists in a sacrifice of individual, temporary interests to the permanent good of the public; that public virtue, which we had our fears was not to be found on this'corrupt earth, has been, and continues to be remarkably displayed in America. The measures adopted by her government, the non-importation system, and the embargo, were those which every country has a right to adopt, and which shewed the determination of America, not to put up tamely with the insults, and injuries of the two hostile European powers; while at the same time they were equally determined not to follow the common practice of those as well as other powers, who the moment they receive an injury, or a fancied injury, rush into a war, imagining that they are perfectly justified if they can but prove any act of aggression on the part of the offending nation. This "dig“nified retirement" on the part of America has already had the effect of producing some lucid intervals in the conduct, and of restoring to their senses in some measure, the rulers of Britain and France. Both have addressed America in language the most respectful. Frauce has declared that her commercial decrees were never intended to be applied to the United States, and has ordered the restoration of American vessels in the French and Spanish ports. Britain has apologized for the principal act of aggression on her part, and offered reparation in language the most explicit; she has at the same time courted the friendship of America, offering to place her with respect to commerce on the footing, of the most favoured nations: the Americans, however, very properly defer the proffered alliance till all differences are terminated between the two countries. One might have indulged the hope that Mr. COBBETT would not, in spite of that noon day evidence which blazes around him, have dared to persevere in heaping his foolish and malignant misrepresentations and falsehoods on the President, the government, and the people of America. They are however renewed in his Registers of the 11th and 18th. in language more vulgar, virulent, and frantic, than that which disgraced his former effusions: but they are too contemptible for notice. We cannot however help remarking, that the arrogance of this writer appears to be equal to his other follies He expresses his, "firm belief that his Majesty's ministers possess "their knowledge of the state and temper of the people of America chiefly from him," and insinuates that his statements have considerably influenced their conduct! It must, however, to the credit of his Majesty's ministers, be acknowledged, that so far from this being the case, they have in the general tenor of their conduct towards America, acted directly contrary to all that Mr. Cobbett has advised! and we firmly believe had their conduct towards France been equally marked with wisdom, peace would have been by this time restored to their country and to Europe, and our starving manufacturers would not have exhibited that discontent and disquiet which have lately marked so many thousands of them. Harlow, June 29. B. F. ** F. P. informs us "that we gave a very incorrect account of the Ser"mon preached before the house of Lords in Westminster Abbey, on Fast day, (Rev. p. 126) --that he was present and heard the sermon; that the text was not that we stated, but Jonah, iii. 4. 5. that the sermon was a mode"rate one; and that he has no hesitation in saying we must havé been im"posed upon.” To which we have to reply -That we took our account from a ministerial print,-(The English Chronicle). It thus appears that in spite of all our caution, we as well as the public in general are too often imposed upon," when we rely on such sources of intelligence. Happy would it be for the nation if they were not "imposed upon," by these incorrect and polluted sources, in matters of much greater importance. We have received a very long letter from Mr. Burdon, dated the 10th. inst. which bears all the marks of haste and carelessness, and which may so far serve him, as an apology for a continuation of personal réflections, the professed design of which is to degrade our character, and that of the Political Review, in the public opinion. Fully persuaded that the perusal of the letter would afford no satisfaction to our readers, we must decline inserting it. Mr. B. is at all times welcome to controvert our opinions or those of our correspondents, and we must beg leave to inform him, that we will not permit either him or any one else to be calumniated, as in some of his recent letters he has calumniated the motives, and the character of the Editor of the Political Review. The Communication from our Glasgow friend shall appear in our next. THE MONTHLY REGISTER, FOR JANUARY, 1808. SLAVE TRADE-JAMAICA. House of Assembly, Oct. 29. The house, according to order, resolved itself into a committee of the whole house, to inquire into and take into consideration the state of the island. Mr. Speaker left the chair. Mr. Murphy took the chair of the committee. Mr. Speaker resumed the chair. Mr. Murphy, from the committee, reported, that, pursuant to the order of the house, the committee had proceeded, to take into consideration the remaining part of the report on the effects of the act for abolishing the slave trade, and had come to eight resolutions on the subject of the said report, which he read in his place, and delivered it at the table, where being again severally read were agreed unto by the house, nem. con. and are as follows. Resolved that the act of the imperial parliament for abolishing the slave trade is pregnant with evils to this island, militating not only against its general welfare and interest, but threatening its total destruction as a British West-India colony. That depriving this extensive and yet unsettled island of the means of a supply of labourers from Africa, to cultivate the soil, must be eventually ruinous to the proprietors and others interested in it: many industrious and enterprising settlers, who have braved the difficulties and hardships, always attendant on infant establishments in the interior and mountainous situations, will, with their families, be reduced to poverty and wretchedness; and, when these VOL. III. settlements are abandoned by their present inhabitants, they will again become the haunts and fastnesses of disaffected and rebellious negroes. That properties in possession of mortgagees, receivers, guardians, and others, must shortly fall a sacrifice to this parliamentary regulation; because, from their peculiar circumstances, they cannot be supplied with labourers, the result of which will be, to deprive a numerous description of persons from the earliest state of infancy, to the most advanced and helpless ages, of the common means of education and support. The committee forbear, at present, to animadvert further on the injustice and impolicy of that part of the act which relates to the abolition of the slave trade.—The British parliament have so enacted it! But the act contains clauses, foreign to the avowed purposes of the law, which are calculated to establish measures of internal regula-, tion, subversive of the local rights and legislative authority of this Island, * repugnant to its colonial laws long existing, and founded upon wise policy, and most humane considerations. And that the act of this island of the 15 Geo. III. cap. 18, for regulating the manumission of negroes, is directly coun teracting by the operation of the clauses alluded to. * That the act blends two distinct objects, the one having an external operation upon our commerce and trade, which was the object first professed by the partizans of the measure; the other from the various alterations which the act has under gone, and in which the original principles were departed from, having ar internal and unjust operation, by interfering with, and being subversive of, laws which are to regulate the internal government of the colony; the enacting of which has long and uniformly been asserted by this island, and recognized by the parent state. That, as the original settlers of this island were free British subjects, many of whom assisted in the conquest of it from Spain, it is manifest that they brought with them all the rights and privileges of Britons: that the native spirit of freedom, which distinguishes British subjects, is also the characteristic of his Majesty's loyal inhabitants of Jamaica; and that every attempt to abridge, or interfere with, the colonial rights of this island, have been constantly resisted. The arbitrary measures, in the reign of Charles II. to impose the Irish form of legislation upon this country; the many subsequent endeavours to substitute the king's instructions for laws of the island; to raise money without the concurrence of the peoples representatives; have ever been resisted, and, we trust will never be submitted to by this colony. That persons in this island, charged with offences against the abolition act, are not, as in Great Britain, liable to be tried only in courts of record, but these offences are made also cognizable in the court of vice-admiralty, although committed in the interior of the country, which enactment is an absolute disfranchisement of the colonist, by depriving him of his birth-right, the trial by jury. That, in regard to the resources of the island, it appears that, from the last great efforts which have been made by the African merchants and factors in England, the importation of slaves in the current year has been so considerable, as to have produced, on account of the negro duties, a surplus of near 32,0001. after deducting the estimate for the year, and that it is probable, that the duties which will arise from the negroes recently imported, and those which are expected to arrive before the day limited for the termination of the trade, will amount to a further sum of 20,0001. making about 50,000l. appropriable to the expence of the establishment of the island, or towards redeeming the island papers which are outstanding, and which amount to 260,000l. a considerable part bearing interest at eight per cent. but, immediately after the first day of March next, that resource will be intirely cut off. That another productive branch of the island revenue, the land-tax, introduced to meet the heavy debt occasioned by the Maroon war, and other martial laws, cannot be relied upon to come in aid of our exigencies to the usual extent, since the uncultivated lands are now rendered of no value to the proprietors; the stamp duties will also, necessarily, be diminished; and the operation of the deficiency law will be unavailing, with respect to the objects either of policy or revenue, since the temptation which induced settlers to come to, or to continue in, the island, will no longer exist, the natural consequence of which will be, that the white militia must inevitably be considerably diminished. That, in pursuing the inquiry into the causes which have occasioned the reduction of the value of the staple commodities of this island in the British markets, the committee find that much light has been thrown on the subject by recent publications, which have been widely circulated, and by the report of a committee of the imperial parliament, made the last session, after very full inquiry. As these publications, and that report, are accompanied by, and grounded on, official documents, and the most respectable evidence, the committee consider it unnecessary to enter on an investigation of facts, now not controverted, and think they are justified in reporting that the following appear the principal causes which have produced the extreme depreciation of our principle staple, sugar: 1st, The departure from what has been usually called the rule of the war of 1756, but which, in fact, was established long before that period, and decided, "That a neutral had no right to deliver a belligerent from the pressure of his enemies' hostilities, by trading with his colonies in time of war, in any manner which was prohibited in time of peace." 2d. The peculiar relaxations of this rule, by the orders issued to the prize-courts, in the years 1794 and 1798, respectively, which, with very trifling modifications, continue to regulate the decrees of those important tribunals. 3d. The geographical position of the ports of the United States of North America, the neutral power chiefly engaged in carrying the produce of the enemies' West India colonies, which renders the few restrictions yet retained by the last mentioned orders, to be hardly an inconvenience, as they are got over by systematic fraud and perjury. 4th. The easy expence, and security with which, by means of this fraudulent system of neutrality, the sugars of the enemies' colonies are transported to the European markets, it having been proved that, for freight and insurance alone, the British planter pays for every hundred weight of sugar, conveyed through the parent state to the ports of Holland, or the North of Europe, 85. 1d. sterling, and to the Mediteranean, 12s. 6d. more than attaches on the goods of the French or Spanish cultivator, carried in neutral bottoms to the same markets. 5th. The restrictions on importation into the conti nental ports, from the power and influence of the French domination, whilst the temptation to resist or evade it, is taken away by the abundant supply brought under the neutral flag. 6th. A rigid enforcement of the navigation system against the British colonists, at the time when it was thought expedient to grant relaxations in favour of neutrals and enemies. The agriculture of the colonies of the latter had been encouraged by a monopoly of the demand from the United States of America, and by having their produce transported under the safe and cheap protection of the neutral flag, to every market where it was in request. The British planter, without funds or credit in the mother country, where his staple was of no value, has been restrained from bartering any part of his sugar, in exchange for the lumber and fish which could not be dispensed with, which his rum was unequal to satisfy, and for which, often, it would not be received, whilst it has been shewn that no other resources were left. He has been called upon to send to the American market such produce as he wished to sell or barter there in British bottoms, but no convoys have been appointed, no facilities given to an intercourse which would have required the most decided and regular protection. He is required to sacrifice his all to the preservation of what is called the navigation system. Of that system he admits the wisdom and general utility; but he humbly submits, that it should be supported at the common expence of the empire; and must be permitted to doubt the justice of relaxing it for temporary purposes, in favour of other classes, and rigidly enforcing it against him alone, when not merely occasioning expence and inconvenience, but overwhelming him with ruin. 7th, The inade quacy of the demand for the use of Great Britain and Ireland, compared |