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66

Remarks on Cobbett's Weekly Register.

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"weakest." Mr. COBBETT after making this quotation abuses Mr. Rosco as follows:-"Now Sir, my firm belief is, that this is a falsehood of your “ own inventing..... that any gentleman of the University should make "those assertions in the pulpit, is what I do not believe, and what I am con"vinced will not be believed by any one of your readers, whose ignorance or whose sectarian prejudices, and bitterness do not disqualify him for "the forming an impartial judgment in the case." Now, if Mr. C. is not utterly lost to all sense of shame, if he is not absolutely incapable of blushing, with what confusion must his face be covered, when he is informed, that we ourselves heard the very sermon Mr. R. has quoted, preached before the University of Cambridge, and the judges at the assizes; and that the sermon was afterwards printed. Let Mr. C. read the following extract, and then "hide his diminished head!"

"We see lying on the surface of the earth immense masses of strength, not inert, or cumbered with their size, but quick and living, not torpid or lethargic, but moving, heaving, restless, never slumbering. The prophet Daniel in his visions, had brought before him beasts of terrible figure, as the emblems of states and empires. And, in truth, it appears, that they are apter emblems, than at first might be thought. What other resemblan ces indeed, can be more apt? These living masses of strength, nations and empires, lie couched on the earth's plane with their eye and aspect ever on each other. They have the horn, with which to push, the wing, with which to fly to their prey, and the iron teeth, with which to break in pieces and devour they have too, the roar of terror. They are active to ́assault and annoy; they are greedy of sustenance; they never have enough; of courage too, to suffer pain, privation, hunger; to be struck, and not to yield, to be wounded, and not to faint. Neither are they sinew or muscle only; from their wounds and gashes can flow streams of blood.

“These however, are not all the points of likeness. There remains one more for our thoughts of a nature sufficient to appal them. The lion and the tiger in their roam for prey, in their chace of the herd, or in their fight, sin not. Neither do nations sin in their battle or in their conquest!

"It is plain, there is no guilt to the beasts of the forest, for they are under no law. Of the animal creation, it has pleased God to subject man alone to law and precept. Man is the only sacred animal. The rest are delivered over, in displeasure, to be hunted, to be torn, to be trampled on, to be slaughtered, and to be devoured by man and by one another. In every instance, excepting one, law and precept are provided to regulate human actions, to controul the exercise and impulse of man's strength. The exception is the case, where the strength is employed in a nation's war; where the actions are the actions of battle.

"As to the subject's strength, there is a law for his fear of the go. vernors' authority, for his submission to all other law, God's and man's, political or religious law, for his reverence to the pure doctrines and insti❤ tutes of religion, as well as to the ordinary, and perhaps, not easier principles of justice; there is a law for his assistance to the governors' strength, for contribution, for payments which are to support and feed it. Nay more, he is held to go heartily to battle with his governors, to burn, to destroy, to waste the enemy's strength, not necessarily to put on armour, but to be ready for the call to battle, to be in battle with them in his spirit, in his temper, in his prayers!

Ixiv

Russia, Sweden, and Denmark.

to certain transactions which have passed between his Swedish Majesty and the Court of Great Britain, and calls upon the former to fulfil his engagements, by joining Russia and Denmark in shutting the Baltic against England until the conclusion of a maritime peace; declaring he cannot allow the relations of Sweden towards Russia to remain longer in a state of uncertainty; nor to consent to such a neutrality.

The Answer of the King of Sweden displays considerable energy. It reminds Russia of her former conduct in her endeavours to check the ambition of France, of the abuse of the latter power vented against the whole population of Russia; of the losses sustained by Sweden on account of Russia being no longer able to afford her that assistance to which she was bound by treaty; of the breach of engagements towards Sweden by the conclusion of the treaty of Tilsit. His Swedish Majesty acknowledges that by his engagements entered into with Great Britain so long since as 1801, and with the knowledge of Russia, the stipulation to shut the Baltic naturally fell to the ground. His Majesty warmly reprobates the conduct of Russia in commencing a rupture without any previous declaration of war, and in treacherously inviting by the proclamations of the Russian General, who is styled "a traior to his native country," the inhabitants of Finland to throw off their allegiance to their lawful Sovereign.

With respect to the merits of the contest between Russia and Sweden, we can only remark in general, that not being acquainted with the nature of the engagements between those powers, of which they give such different accounts, we are unable to determine on the justice of their mutual complaints on this article. It is indeed become a common, and is deemed a very honourable, and kingly practice, to enter into treaties, and form stipulations, which are afterwards fulfilled or neglected as convenience or inclination may dictate. How often has Great Britain experienced such treatment from her allies! How frequently has the treasure of her people been lavished on sovereigns who have fulfilled no other part of their engagements than to receive the supplies, so foolishly voted by venal senates, at the recommendation of the minister of the erown!

It is rather curious to observe, that Sweden should make an article of complaint against Russia, for having caused—“ A rupture " without any previous declaration of war; nay without one single "grievance being stated; commenced with treachery, &c." Was his Swedish Majesty so very ignorant of the too common practice of courts on similar occasions? Had he for a moment reflected on the conduct of his allies, the ministers of Great Britain, in their offensive measures against Spain, in the seizure of her plate-ships and

tion on them to have been, thus proclaimed to the world,

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The Declaration of DENMARK against SWEDEN energeti complains of the conduct of the latter in beholding with compl cy" A perfidious aggression which had suddenly forced Dens "from the path she had followed during a long series of years ❝out the slightest deviation. All Europe", it is added (wit "single exception of the court of Stockholm) has resounded "one cry of indignation at the crime committed by Great B "against a neutral and peaceful state; and from all quarter "the Danish government received, testimonies of the most live "terest in its cause." Several instances are mentioned, in v the conduct of Sweden appeared to give just suspicion of hostil tentions towards Denmark. The latter declares--"That at a "ment when Zealand is threatened anew by the forces of Eng "to which the ports of Sweden serve as a re-union, when t "my of the North has just assured himself of the dependence d "court of Stockholm upon him for, fresh pecuniary assist: "when the public declarations of the English ministry suffic "unfold the nature of the engagements still subsisting or rem "between the two allies, the Danish government deems it rig "prefer a state of open hostility to precarious and equivocal "tions, towards a power whose disposition is become more "more suspicious, and who, during a long period, could be "dered only as a disguised enemy." How far the irritated st Denmark, owing to the treatment which she had received Great Britain, and the suspicious conduct of Sweden, might b ficient to justify a declaration of war, we have our doubts; b answer of the Swedish court tends to remove them, at lea a great ineasure; and gives additional force to the complain Denmark. With insulting cruelty the court of Sweden, ridicul court of Denmark for expecting compliments of condolenc the attack, on Copenhagen, and on the robbery of the Danish But what must excite equal surprise, and indignation over E is, that Sweden should express her satisfaction at the atrocities mitted against her neighbour; declaring it as her opinion:-" "the court of London has FULLY JUSTIFIED this enterprize. this assertion it is only necessary to remark, that should any powers of Europe at some future period, whilst professedly h the language of amity towards Sweden, suddenly demand the sion of her fleet and arsenals, and in case of refusal, set fire

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Ixvi

Russia, Sweden, und Denmark.-America.

city of Stockholm, massacre her citizens with their wives and children, and at length obtain the wished for plunder, they have only to plead the recent declaration of his Swedish Majesty's ministers, as a FULL JUSTIFICATION of their conduct! We were, for the honour of cabinets, in hopes that there were no statesmen to be found out of Great Britain, weak enough, and wicked enough to justify the infernal deed!

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The public prints have for months past been replete with contradictory statements respecting our dispute with America. One week we are confidently assured that matters wear an hostile appearance, and that there is little hope of our differences being settled; another week we are with equal confidence assured, that affairs wear a peaceful aspect, and that there is little doubt of the negociations carrying on between the two countries, terminating amicably. Amidst these contradictory statements, all we can do is to attend to a few facts, and wait for further advices respecting so interesting a subject.

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We hope there is no party of men in this country who are base enough to exert themselves to produce a rupture between the two empires; but there is one unprincipled incendiary, to whom such an event, it appears by his writings, would afford the most exalted pleasure of which his nature is capable: we need not inform those who are in the habit of reading his weekly lucubrations, that this man is WILLIAM COBBETT. When he attempts to write respecting the Americans, he soon looses his reason, and vents scarcely any thing but the ravings of a bedlamite. He a few months since assured us, that such was the want of spirit, such the cowar"dice of the Americans, that after all their blustering language, they would as soon as they heard of the success of our expedition against "Copenhagen, immediately yield to this country, and be ready to hang themselves for their past conduct!" When, however, he found the Americans were not, even after they had heard of the successful "expedition which afforded this writer so much satisfaction, quite in that yielding humour he had predicted; he then in wrathful

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inood," urged our ministers immediately to send out expeditions to bombard their town's and "knock the houses of the inhabitants "about their ears; and to shew how thoroughly he entered into the spirit of his own advice, he further declared that he should with pleasure engage in such an attack if he were sure of being buried under the ruins!" The American States, however, after all the calumnies cast on them, and all the falsehoods predicted of them by Mr. COBBETT, are proceeding in the dignified course they begun, and our ininisters notwithstanding they have been so goaded on to mischief by this writer, are not so frantic as to yield to his

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America. Parliamentary Proceedings.

Ixvii

suggestions. Mr. ROSE, it is now understood, was sent to America to endeavour to settle matters amicably; and as a preliminary, to of fer reparation for the insult offered to the American flag by the othcer on the coast, by a formal disavowal of the act: but the Americans it appears insist on all their other differences being discussed and terminated before they will take off the embargo. They perse vere in that measure, which as soon as we were acquainted with the abominable decrees of our ministers, following the abominable decrees of France, we expressed our wish might be adopted by neu trals in general; who, if they were to follow the independent conduct of America, would soon bring both Britain and France to their senses, and compel them to abrogate their systems of commercial injustice and tyranny.

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Our ministers, however, to do them in any case, the justice they deserve, appear to act with greater caution and prudence towards America than their habitual conduct afforded us reason to expect; they are relaxing their decrees, and taking off some of their restric tions; and notwithstanding the aspersions cast on Mr. JEFFERSON and the American government, we have still that confidence in their wisdom as to hope, that as they have hitherto, ever since the establishment of the independence of their country, avoided the wickedness and the horrors of war, they by the same dignified and prudential line of conduct will steer safely through the dangers with which they have recently been threatened.

PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS,

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Mr. SHARPE's motion of censure on the authors of the Danish expedition being disposed of, we imagined that nothing further respecting that disgraceful business would have been discussed for the present. But it seems that some of our senators who have voted their approbation of the conduct of ministers, have a little squeamishness of conscience still troubling them; and accordingly a motion has been brought forward in the house of Commons for "An address "to his Majesty that he would be pleased to give directions that "the Danish fleet should be kept in such a state of repair as to "render it possible that it might be restored as soon as it can be, "consistently with the security of his dominions, and to declare "his intention of so doing." Lord FOLKESTONE, Mr. BRAND, and Mr. WILBERFORCE, approved of the motion, whilst Mr. WILBERPORCE'S evangelical friend, Mr. SAMUEL THORNTON, opposed it; and we think he acted the most consistently on this occasion. Both Mr. WILBERFORCE and Mr. THORNTON thought that necessity justified the attack on Denmark, the bombardment of Copenhagen, and the seizure of the fleet; and the latter thought the same

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