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an offence against him, or whose known integrity of character, proves him incapa"ble of such a meanness more than that of "the right honourable gentleman, who was "thus insulted by the defendant, nor any "one that stands higher in the public esti"mation at the present moment *."-Well, then, it is also due to the age and country, in which we live, to state the affair of the blind-man of Queenborough, whose adventare may serve as companion piece to that of the Tinman of Plymouth.--Low, talentless men always endeavour to make up for their other deficiencies by pretensions to superior, if not exclusive, purity.

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"An honest man's the noblest work of God." -This maxim is continually upon their hips; and, they themselves are always bonest men, till they are found out. Nor, when one comes to reflect, is it at all surprising, that this cant succeeds so well in the world. But a very small portion of mankind are possessed of considerable talents: regarding the absence of great talents as the proof of folly, the fools have a majority of at least twenty thousand to one. No wonder, therefore, that they have divided men into two classes, rogues and fools. But, nothing can be more fallacious; for, so far from folly being incompatible with roguery, it almost always happens, that a rogue is a fool in every thing unconnected with his roguery; to support which position, proofs inuumerable might be adduced, without descending to low life, and certainly without going out of the age and country in which we "have the happiness to live."

IRELAND.A change of measures is sidom adopted by the same set of politicians, and that, with respect to this part of the kingdom, some change is necessary, is evident to every one, who reflects for a moment upon the affairs of Ireland. There is, indeed, to be a change; but it is confidently said, that it is to be confined solely to the Commander in Chief of the forces. General Fox has seen a vast deal of service; he commanded a battalion of grenadiers in America, during great part of the war; he was abroad, engaged in actual service, on the Continent and in the Mediterranean, during great part of last war; he has always been considered a very zealous and vigilant officer; and, there is every reason to believe, that, in the present instance, no. part of the blame will be found to attach to hum.. The purse for secret service was no appendage to his situation, and; consequently, the acquiring knowledge of what might

See the whole of this curious proceeding in Vol. II. p. 1021 et seq. 1.p.

be secretly carrying on in the country was not his duty. The country can have no right to accuse him of want of precaution, unless he were duly apprized of the danger by the government; and, it is positively asserted, that the first intelligence conveyed to General Fox, of any dissaffection whatever existing in Ireland, reached him in the afternoon only of the very day on which the insurrection broke out, when he instantly ordered the guards to be doubled, and took every other precaution that time and his means would allow of. This fact being established, as there is every reason to believe it will be, the issuing of an order for the granting of furloughs (see present vol. p. 288) on the morning of the 23d July, no longer implies any neglect of duty on the part of General Fox, but on the part of the government only. Some sacrifice, however, is wanted: someboly must be to blame, and, it appears, General Fox is to be the Jonas. How he will sustain that character, remains to be seen; but the world will certainly be very much surprized, if he should tamely suffer his reputation, either as a loyal subject or as a military man, to be tarnished for the sake of any douceur that the Addingtons and Hawkesburies have to bestow.- As to his successor, LORD CATHCART, his appointment arises from a resolution, on the part of the ministry, obstinately to adhere. to the system, by which Ireland has been brought to the brink of destruction, and curedly, cause a separation of the kingwhich, if not abandoned, will, most asdom, or, at least. a long and bloody civil war. It is certain that Loid Cornwallis came to town with a view of going to Ireland. The precise reasons, why he did not go, have not transpired; but few persons of any political information will find it difficult to guess at them. Lord Cornwallis is not, perhaps, a very proper person. The Orangemen hate him, and it is on the zeal of the Orangemen that the safety of Dublin must, for the present, depend. But, some other person than Lord Cathcart, some nobleman of great weight, something, at any rate, more than a mere cour tier, might have been sent, at this critical period. The truth is, that His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, should be sent to Ireland as the King's Lieutenant. This step alone, even without any change in the laws, relative to the Catholics, would be received with a degree of gratitude, which nothing else could inspire; it would do away all jealousies and heart-burnings; it would give

the Irish nation, what it never yet has had, hope; it would, if any thing could, first dissipate, and afterwards completely ex

tinguish, the embers of rebellion, which are now, and ever will be, till some such great measure is adopted, burning up the bowels and the heart of that unfortunate country.

LORD MOIRA.-As a commander of the forces, Lord Moira would have been a proper person to send to Ireland; but it seems that his lordship is to be appointed, or is appointed, to one of the divisions in the interior of England, where it is about a thousand to one, that his talents, except in his capacity as mere inspector, will never be wanted. The appointment does, however, answer one useful purpose for ministers; it tends to take from H. R. H. the Pr. of Wales one of the persons hitherto most attached to him. It was observed, in the preceding sheet, p. 370, that "

every

exertion would be made to undermine "the influence of the Prince, to lessen the "number of his adherents, and to injure him "in the opinions of the people." But, his Royal Highness has only to remain steady in the pursuit of his present course, to baffle all the contrivances of the Addingtons and Hawkesburies, who must, for their conduct towards him in particular, first or last, be brought to shame.

THE FUND AT LLOYD'S, called the "Patriotic Fund," increases very slowly, not more than 2,000 pounds having been added to it, in the course of the last fortnight; and, it appears, that 700 pounds of that sum has been subscribed by the clergy, the much abused clergy, who might, one would think, find objects enough in their own order and their own neighbourhoods, on whom to bestow the surplus of their income. It must be from want of reflection alone, that they transfer their means and their influence to a committee of stockdealers in London.

VOLUNTEER CORPS.--By a reference to Mr. Yorke's Letters, p. 401, it will be perceived, that the claims of these unruly bodies have been rejected. Their number is to be six times that of the established Militia; or, at least, no greater number is to be exempted from the operation of the Militia and Army of Reserve Acts.--These letters of the Secretary of State communicate to the nation, and also to the enemy, the fact of our having arms enough for no more than one half of the volunteers, at most, even including the arms already distributed and those furnished by the volunteers themselves. The proportion is, indeed, left blank, but the blank being preceded by the

word one, it cannot be filled up with any thing more than half, while it may be filled up with third, fourth, fifth, or even tenth; and, it is far from being certain, that there are one-fourth part arms enough for the people, who have been called out, and who are ostentatiously called "the defenders of the

country."--It cannot be forgotten, how earnestly the ministry were exhorted by Mr. Windham, Mr. Wilberforce, and others, to lose no time in providing arms.--They may, indeed, have them, and may, upon consideration, think it useless, or unsafe, to trust them all in the hands of those military parliaments, yeleped volunteer-corps: if so, their discretion is to be applauded, and the nation have only to complain, that it came too late. In this case, however, better late than never; for, bodies of men, who are governed by committees, who occasionally form general meetings for deliberation and debate, and who take upon them to correspond and remonstrate with the government, are certainly better without arms than with them.--Arms should, nevertheless, be found, and instantly put into the hands of those who mean to fight and not to talk. Buonaparté is, very probably, preparing for an attack, either on England or Ireland; and, though the London news writers now

contemplate the menace with pleasure, "and anticipate, in the result, a proud and

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happy day for Britain;" yet, it is to be hoped, that the country will depend upon its exertions, and not adopt this empty boasting, this reliance upon one knows not what.-The extraordinary secrecy, with which Buonaparté is conducting his measures, preparatory to an attack, may, and ought, to excite some alarm; but people ought not to be alarmed over much on that account. Ireland will most probably be his mark, and, in spite of the danger of Mr. Archdall's misrepresentations, the country should be told, that, while the present government remain in that country, Ireland is in a most dangerous state.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

AN IRISH CORRESPONDENT will perceive, that we have attended to his suggestions.-F. L. may be assured The Merchants, KINGS of Albion's Isle!" as the "Gentlemen at Lloyd's" are styled by a newspaper poetaster, are pretty well tired of their wheedling advertisements, and of their subscriptions, male and female.--A paper signed MOLYNEUX will be attentively considered.When "A CREDITOR" sends the sequel of his dissertation, the whole will be inserted.“ ANJou" is requested to forward is intended remarks.

Printed by Cox and Baylis, No. 75, Great Queen Street, and published by R. Bagshaw, Bow Street, Covent Garden, where former Numbers may be had; sold also by E. Harding, Crown and Mitre, Pall-Mall.

VOL. IV. No. 12.] London, Saturday, 24th September, 1803.

[ Price 10D

"To produce this favourite unanimity in delusion, and to prevent all possibility of a return to our "ancient happy state, arguments for our continuance in this course, are drawn from the wretched "situation itself, into which we have been betrayed. It is said, that, whatever our sentiments "may have been before, all the policy we have lett, is to strengthen the hands of government. On "the principle of this argument, the more mischiefs que suffer from any Administration, the more our trust in "it is to be confirmed. Let them but once get us into a war, and then their power is safe, and an act of ob"livion past for all their misconduct."- -BURKE.

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LETTER V.

TO R. B. SHERIDAN, ESQ. M. P.

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"afraid of attending their duty, the House "being remarkably thin on the most important measures respecting the mutineers; at this time, when all was gloom "and despair, MR. SHERIDAN, forgetting "his party attachments, stood forth, almost "alone, in the House of Commons, to prop

κρ and animate the ministers, sinking "under the weight of calamity by which "they were oppressed. Mr. Sheridan bas "ever since been blamed by his party for "this conduct. They say, had be not sup

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SIR,-When you were about to take leave of your "kind friends," at the close of the last season, you exhorted them to union, harmony, and silence, till the House opened again. Let all discussion," said you," be confined within these walls. Let gentlemen leave all their party-feelings "behind them, as they sometimes leave "their hats upon the benches, to keep their places, during those short absences, which "their necessities sometimes occasion."Here your newspaper friends say, "there was a loud cry of, hear! hear! hear!" A mark of approbation, in which I might, probably, have joined, had you not, even at the very moment that you were thus inculcating forbearance, thrown out a chal-« lenge, of which it would have been, in me, a shameful neglect of duty not to accept. This challenge, which was very full and explicit, extended to every point, relative to the constancy and consistency of your public character and conduct, into which, therefore, it is now my intention to examine.

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Bur, Sir, before I proceed further on the subject of this letter, it seems necessary to make an observation or two on an article, which has been published by one of your newspaper friends, by way of comment on my last. This writer states, that " some persons are making an attempt to show, "that Mr. Sheridan has ever" [read always] worshiped success and censured failure; "that he reviled Buonaparté at Acre, but praised him at Marengo." What " persons" besides myself have made“ an attempt to show" this, I know not. I have not only attempted to show it, but I have actually shown it; and, now let us see, Sir, what this your defender has said, to do away my statements. He tells us, that, "when the mutiny was triumphant at Spithead, when "the whole country was appalled, when "the government trembled, and ministers were preparing bastity to resign, when the "members of the late Parliament (to their "shame and disgrace be it spoken) seemed

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ported ministers on that occasion, they "must have resigned their places to the "old Opposition. It is well known Mr. "Pitt and Mr. Dundas had actually take steps towards doing so; but that the consequences of Mr. Sheridan's support made them hesitate, and ultimately remain. "Even Mr. Windham trembled for his safety, and was preparing to relinquish the

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loaves and fishes, much as he loves them, "while Mr. Sheridan zealously stood forth "in the face of danger, and committed him"self against a rebellion, which it was

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thought would triumph over the govern"ment!!!!!!"-Indeed, I cannot tell, Sir; the situation of the country may, for aught I know, have been desperate enough; but, I will venture to say, that it never was a thousandth part so desperate as that of the man, who can think of having recourse to means like these of defending his reputation. But, leaving these modest pretensions to make their way amongst your Volunteers; admitting, for argument's sake, that the ministry trembled, that Messrs. Pitt and Dundas were preparing hastily to resign, that they had actually taken steps for doing so, and that even Mr. Windham trembled for his safety and was about to relinquish those loaves and fishes, of which he is so remarkably fond; admitting that your support prevented the flight of these three miserable chicken-hearted men, whom you covered with your shield, and saved from ruin and ignominy; admitting that all the other members of the Parliament were, to their shame and disgrace, afraid to

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attend their duty, and that the old Opposition sought, in that awful moment, the gratification of their own interests at the expense of their country's tranquillity, and even at the risk of their Sovereign's life; admitting that "the whole country was appalled," that Ministry, Opposition, Parliament, People, and Army, that all, all were knaves, fools, rebels, or cowards, and that there was only YOU, in the whole kingdom, who retained your cool senses, and who was still honest, wise, loyal, and brave; admitting all this, and that is certainly admitting a great deal, yet my accusation against you remains completely unYour answered, and even unobjected to. friend says, that I am "making an attempt "to show," that you have always worshipped success and "censured failure, that you reviled Buonaparté at Acre and praised "bim at Marengo." Very true! And what has your conduct, during the mutiny, in 1797, to do with this? I have before (p. 385 and 386) given an opinion not very favourable to that conduct; but, were I to admit that you then acted from motives perfectly laudable, an admission which I shall never make, how does this operate against my attempt" to show, that you reviled Buonoparté in the days of his adversity, and loaded him with the most fulsome praises in the days of his prosperity? Not only have I attempted to show, but, as I before observed, I have really shown, that your true English feeling" depends entirely upon times and seasons: I have, from your own mouth, produced proof, incontrovertible proof, of your versatility; and not only of versatility, but of versatility arising from some of the worst motives, by which a public man can possibly be actuated.* Unless, therefore, you have something to offer, either against the authenticity of my documents, or against the conclusions which I have drawn from them; unless you are able to demolish my arguments, or, which is much easier, to eat your own words, my accusation will, in the opinion of all men of sense, remain unimpaired. Your praise of Buonaparte, after the battle of Marengo, must not be, as you would have it, ascribed to a momentary delusion: that which I have cited was not a solitary instance, a mere sally of that "true English teeling." which has obtained you so much fanie amongst the shop-keeping politicians: no, his praise was your constant theme: it was introduced upon every occasion, where you could possibly introduce it

See p. 394.

without being certain of a call to order. So far did you carry your efforts to defend his character, that you adverted to things said out of Parliament as well as in Parliament, of the former of which there was a remarkable instance, when, in speaking of the intercepted French letters, published by order of government, you said you had read the preface with horror, and you called in question the authenticity of the letters themselves. Amongst other things," said you, "these letters assert, that MONSIEUR TALIEN lost an eye; though, I believe, gen"tlemen may soon be convinced, that that gentleman has two as fine eyes as any

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man in this country:' "'* upon which passage of your speech the reporter observes, that MR. TALIEN was in the gallery, while you were speaking! But, the fuil heat of your zeal is not felt here, till it is known, that there was no such assertion in the intercepted letters; and, the public should be informed, that the bookseller, fearing your statement might tend to injure the reputa tion of the work, as a collection of authentic documents, wrote you a very respectful letter, informing you of your error, and requesting you to take some opportunity of correcting it in the same public manner in which it had been committed, a request, however, to which you never paid the least possible attention. Of so little consequence were both truth and justice, when put in competition with your desire to discredit those documents, without the help of which the world could never have had but a very imperfect notion of the character and deeds of Buonaparte !-These, Sir, and such as these, are the facts, which you have to do away. It is useless to set on your typographical friends to abuse me; to impute my writings to party-spirit, to call me factious, disloyal, or interested: those who know me will, you may be assured, believe nothing of this; and, those who do not, will look only at my statements and my reasoning, with which my motives have no more to do than your conduct at the time of the mutiny, in 1797, has to do with the eulogium, which you pronounced on Buonaparté in 1800, after he had massacred the people of Alexandria; after he had murdered his prisoners of war; after he had poisoned his sick soldiers; after he had deserted his army, and after he had denied his God.Having, however, been led, and even forced, back to the pretensions, which you set up on account of the tone that you took while the fleet was in a very critical situation, I

Speech, 27th March, 1801.

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shall, before I quit the subject entirely, just remind you of the sentiments, you ve y recently expressed, with respect to the conduct of the Army, on that memorable occasion. I allude to your observations on a part of the speech of Colonel Craufurd, during the debate on the famous Vote of Thanks. You had, in moving the Vote, sized on one of those opportunities, which you have seldom missed, of exciting suspicion against the Army. You had requested the House to recollect, that the monarchy of France was overset in consequence of the defection of the regular army; from which it was impossible to draw any other conclusion, than that the British army might, in similar circumstances, act the same cowardly and perfidious part. Colonel Craufurd, in repelling this insinuation, might have denied your premises: he might have reminded the House, that the army of France remained faithful to their king, till after the monarchy was, in fact, overthrown, and till after they had been placed under the command of generals appointed by the National Assembly; he might have observ. ed, that it was amongst the Volunteers where the defection begun; that it was with them, that the base, bloody, insolent, and cowardly Citizen Fayette hunted the Royal Family from place to place, led them prisoners to their capital, and rendered their palace a jail, where be guarded them like malefactors; that it was a member of a lolunteer Corps, who, when the Royal Family were led captive to Paris, carried, by way of trophy, in front of the cavalcade, a head which had just before been severed from the body, and the blood of which was yet dripping upon the bearer, and this head 29, too, that of a regular soldier, who had been murdered in defending the apart ments of the Queen against the attempts of the disloyal and dastardly Volunteers Corps of Paris. The Colonel might further have observed, that on the 10th of Angust, 1792, the day on which the King was formally dethroned, the part of the army that remained near him was still faithful, and that, it was the Citizen-soldiers, the Volunteer-corps, who murdered, in the most cowardly manner, the guards at the Thuilleries, and who would have plunged their bayonets into the hearts of their Sovereign, his Royal Consort, and their children, had not the deed been prevented by an escape to the regicide assembly. Of all this Colonel Craufurd might have reminded the House; and, he might have reminded them, too, that, if there never had been any National Guards, that is to say, Citizen-sol

diers, Volunteer-corps, men governed by committees, mixing debate with military service; he might safely have asserted, that, if there never had been any of these, the Bourbons would never have been dethroned, the Church would not have been pillaged, the titles of nobility would not have been abo lished, and property, of every description, would not have changed hands: he might have warned the House against the danger they were about to create, against the unmanageable monster, whom they were about to arm with teeth and with claws; he might easily have predicted what has already come to pass, and might have anticipated the day, when, like the agitators of Cromwell, these self created military committees might possibly give law to the Parliament itself. From this sort of reply Colonel Craufurd refrained; but, in answer to your insinuation, he did remind the House of the meritorious conduct of the army, during the mutiny in the fleet, when, in spite of all the temptations of the seditious socie ies (not excepting the "friends "of the people,") they, to a man, remained faithful and obedient, and when to their fidelity and bravery, more than to any other immediate cause, his Majesty owed the preservation of his throne and the nation that of its liberty and happiness. One would have thought, that the stating of a circumstance, which was so honourable to the ar my, and the truth of which was universally acknowledged, might have been sufferred to pass uncensured, particularly by you, whose whole public merit is now made to rest upon the part which YOU took against the mutineers! But, no: as if the just commenda. tion of the army encroached upon that exclusive claim, which you made to the act of quelling the mutiny, you attempted, and, perhaps, succeeded, in turning into ridicule the praise, which the Colonel bestowed on the army, asking whether he meant to award them a vote of thanks" for having "done their duty during the troubles in the "fleet," and adding, that if the " regular "Colonel had no better praise to bestow on "his favourite troops, he had better hold "his tongue." At the words " "regular "Colonel," the reporter of your speech says there was a loud laugh;" but, as to the cause of the said laugh, he very wisely leaves that point to be decided by those who are best acquainted with the sense, decency, and dignity of the persons present. Colonel Craufurd never suggested the propriety of passing a vote of thanks to the army, though most assuredly he might have done it with more justice than you could propose

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