for any advantage from any change of ad- vived and confirmed by king Gustavus III. ministrations (cries of no, no, they are all the on the 9th of November, 1778, but that same.) We must look no more to parties, the other States, which, as usual, send Deand be assured that we never can expect puties, may observe the following order: any measures really useful, until the peo-From the Clergy are expected to appear ple of England have their proper share in the Archbishop, every Bishop from his the constitution of their country-(loud ap- Diocese, the first Pastor in Stockholm, toplauses.) As for me, I like this adminis-gether with so many from each Diocese tration just as well as any of the other administrations which have existed in this reign. I do not see that one of them has done more good than the other. I want none of their places either for myself, or for my friends. I would be well content that they would keep their places, if they would only do the country justice. But my mind is fully impressed with the idea, that this justice will never be done until the people of England shall be fairly represented (as by the theory of the Constitution they ought to be) in the Commons House of Parliament." as usual, and of the other States, as many Address of his Royal Highness the Duke of His Royal Highness the Duke of Sudermania deems it right, and conformable to the duties of his high station, publicly to OFFICIAL PAPERS. lay before the Swedish people, the motives REVOLUTION IN SWEDEN. and causes which produced the important Letters Patent and Proclamation of his Royal change, which has lately taken place in Highness the Duke of Sudermania, Regent the Government of this country.- The of the Swedish Kingdom, to all the Estates archives of the state contain a great varieof the Realm, concerning a General Diet ty of documents, which will prove the neto be held on the 1st of May, in the present cessity of that measure, both to the preyear: Given at the King's Palace, at Stock-sent age and posterity.-For this long time holm, March 14th 1809. past the public opinion condemned a sysWe Charles, by the grace of God, as-tem of warfare, which so little suits a counsure you, Estates of the Realm, Counts, try, the commercial concerns of which Barons, Archbishops, Bishops, Nobles, claim that neutrality, which her fortunate Clergy, Burghers of Cities, and Commo-geographical situation, that seems to se nalty, of our particular favour, gracious cure Sweden, demands, and which was intentions, and kind affection, under the sacrificed by the Government. As early protection of Almighty God.-Since we, as 1805, Sweden, joined by other Powers, according to our gracious Proclamation of entered into a war with France, which the 13th instant, have found ourselves from local circumstances, was then, howcalled upon to take the reins of Govern-ever, confined to the loss of her trade ment as Regent, in order to save our beloved native country from unavoidable destruction, we have considered it of the highest importance to deliberate with the States of the Realm, upon the means which may procure and confirm the future happiness of the Swedish nation. We wish, therefore, and command that all the States of the Realm may assemble in the Capital of the Kingdom before the 1st of May next, and that not only the Nobility may regulate their conduct by the laws for the House of Nobles given on the 6th of June, 1626, by the king Gustavus Adolphus, of glorious memory, &c. and re with nearly all the States of Europe; a loss which, although not to be compared with that she has since sustained, was yet of great moment.-Soon after differences with Prussia arose, which, however, were not attended with consequences equally important. In 1807, the share which Sweden took in the coalition against France became momentous, and its influence on the dearest interests of the country more detrimental. Swedish Pome. rania was occupied by foreign troops, and Stralsund bes eged; yet one prospect of more fortunate times yet remained included. (To be continued.) LONDON :-Printed by T. C. HANSARD, Peterborough - Court, Fleet - Street; Published by R. BAGSHAW, Brydges - Street, Covent Garden :-Sold also by J. BUDD, Pall - Mall, VOL. XV. No. 15.] LONDON, SATURDAY, APRIL 15, 1809. [Price 1s. "Your Lordship knows, that had I followed my own opinion, as a military man, I should have retired with the army from Salamanca. The Spanish armies were then beaten; there was no Spanish force to which we could unite; and I was satisfied that no efforts would be made to aid us, or to favour the cause in which they were engaged.I was sensible, however, that the apathy and indifference of the Spaniards would never have been believed; that bad the British been withdrawn, the loss of the.cause would have been imputed to their retreat, and it was necessary to risk this army to convince the people of England, as well as the rest of Europe, that the Spaniards had neither the power nor the inclination to "make any efforts for themselves. It was for this reason that I made the march to Sabagan. As a diver"sion, it succeeded: I brought the whole disposable force of the French against this army, and it has "been allowed to follow me, without a single movement being made to favour my retreat. The people "of the Gallicias, though armed, made no attempt to stop the passage of the French through the noun"tains. They abandoned their dwellings at our approach, drove away their carts, oxen, and every thing "that could be of the smallest aid to the army. The consequence has been, that our sick have been left behind; and when our horses or nules failed, which on such marches, and through such a country, "was the case to a great extent, baggage, ammunition, stores, &c. and even money, were necessarily de"stroyed or abandoned."-SIR JOHN MOORE'S Letter to Lord Castlereagh, dated Corunna, 13 Jan. 1809. 545) HAMPSHIRE MEETING. John Black Charles Godfrey On Saturday, the 8th instant, the fol- Edward Toomer lowing Requisition was carried to Ms. BLACKBURN, the High Sheriff, by MR. COBBETT of Botley, and MR. HOUGHTON of Durley. On Wednesday the 12th, the Sheriff' transmitted to them his Notice for the Meeting, as it will be seen at the bottom of the signatures. To the High Sheriff of the County of SIR, Peter Jewell......... James Hayter Thomas Sutton... William Biles Edward Houghton Giles Barnes.......................... William Twynam Francis Hoad Henry Parrott .... -[546 Rumsey. Southampton. Kimbridge. Timsbury. Bursledon. Rumsey. Rumsey. Braishtield. Brockenhurst. Eling. Soberton. Soberton. William Powlett Powlett..... John Cotman cent Inquiry before the House of Com-William Agate..... William Cobbett C. H. Longeroft H. Mulcock Soberton. · Kilmiston. Timsbury. Botley. John Hopkinson Eling. Thomas Comley Rumsey. Stephen Leach..................... Rumsey. Thomas King Eling. John Comley Rumsey. Hamble. Benjamin Goodeve Gosport. James Sharp Christopher Keele Samuel Phené.. Joan Colson. Joseph Jackson.. Matthew Aldridge Christchurch. Lymmington. Wick. Portsmouth. Portsmouth. Alexander Carter James Traver Ringwood. Rumsey. Alton. In compliance with the above Request, I hereby appoint a Meeting of the Inhabitants of the said County to be holden at the Castle of Winchester, on Tuesday, the 25th day of April instant, at tweve o'clock (Signed) at noon. JOHN BLACKBURN, Sheriff. Preston Candover, 11th April, 1809. possibly be more degrading than this? I have heard, and you, I am sure, will hear it with pleasure, that some of the Noblemen. and other persons of great property in the county, who have not signed the Requisi tion, do nevertheless highly approve of it, and do intend to be at the Meeting; and, perhaps, they may have thought, that, upon such an occasion, it was best to avoid every thing which should give to the origin of the proceeding a party complexion. If such was their motive, it is one of which we cannot find fault, provided they now show us, that they are disposed to lend their hand in putting down for ever that system of Corruption, which TO THE PEOPLE OF HAMPSHIRE. has been proved to have long existed, and The above Requisition is, as you will see, by the means of which we have been so signed by none of those Noblemen or Baro- mercilessly plundered. For my own part, nets, who have been in the habit of put- nothing would give me so much pleasure ting their names to papers of that sort; as to see the leaders of both parties come and this circumstance, so far from being to the Meeting, and divide between them unpleasing, is, to me, and, I trust, it will the honour of proposing to us such Resebe to you, a very pleasing one. Not that lutions as the occasion demands; never any of us can wish to see those persons forgetting, however, that Mr. WM. Powhang back upon an occasion in which all LETT POWLETT, who, unsolicited, came the best public feelings urged every soul and put his name amongst ours, has, upon to step forward; but, because the Requi- us, not only now, but upon all future ocsition, as it now stands, will convince casions, a clear and indisputable claim to them, and also the king's ministers, who the precedence.--But, let who will be have so long dictated to this county, that the proposer, we must take care that wirat there is yet remaining in Hampshire a we approve of be good and sound; we must spirit of independence not so very easily take care, that our real sentiments be fully to be subdued. It will show to our coun- expressed, and not frittered away, until it trymen in general, that, though the mi- be hard to distinguish our censure from our nistry of the day do cause to be elected praise. Our feelings, upon this occasion, are whatever County Members they please, strong; our opinions clear and fixed; and there is still a spirit in the people to feel we shall act a very inconsistent part, indeed, indignant at the wrongs and the insults they unless our language corresponds with those endure. It will show to those parties, who opinions and those feelings.It must be have, for so many years, divided the county manifest to every man in his senses, that, between them, and who have, by turns, unless a stop be speedily put to the workprofited from its credulity, that the county ings of corruption, one of two things is no longer to be held in leading strings; will happen: the complete slavery of us that we have sense to think, and courage all, or the overthrow of the government; to act for ourselves.What, let me ask, and, it must be equally manifest, that could be more degrading to us, than to this alternative is to be avoided by no see existing a practice of calling county- other means than the legal and constimeetings by ten or twelve persons, of each tutional interference of the people themof the parties respectively, always nearly selves, and especially the people who the same persons, just as if it was an office are in the middling walks of life, who they held for that purpose, and just as if have property to preserve and who have all the other Landholders, all the Farmers, judgment to direct their actions. It is a all the Tradesmen, and, indeed, the whole common excuse, that, "one man can do of the population of the county, were so "nothing." Not much of himself, perhaps; many mere puppets, or tools, in their but, without one man there would be #o hands, to be called together for the pur-men in the world. Millions are made up pose of voting just what those settled and of ones; and, if every man were to say, established leaders chose to write down" what can I do," there would, of course, upon a piece of paper, and read to them? be nothing done. There are few of us, What, let ne again put it to you, could I who do not put ourselves to some inconve nience for the sake of our private advan- | ticularly asked to place their names at the top of the list, which they declined, and in which they discovered minds superior to that false pride, which never yet was characteristic of a real gentleman. I do, I must confess, feel some pride at seeing my name at the head of such a list; but, not a single name was placed in that list at my request; I did not even ask any man to sign it; and the pride I feel arises, not from the vain and empty notion that I possess an influence over any man, but that my prin so many intelligent, public-spirited, and respectable Tradesmen and Yeomen, to be regarded as one of whom, is the utmost bounds of my ambition. I have no silly and stupid pursuit of popularity. I have seen too much of the vexations and the miseries of all such pursuits. I would not shake a knave by the hand if his vote would make me not only a member for, but the owner of, the county; nor would I, if I could, even without ask tage; or, rather, the labours and fatigues we undergo for that purpose, we think nothing of. And, shall we, then, not endure a little labour and fatigue for the public advantage, especially as it is impossible for the public to be benefited without each of us having his due share of that benefit? Besides, there is, in the presnt case, a motive far superior to all selfish considerations. We are now called upon to thank the man, who has risked every thing for us; we are called upon to do anciples and views correspond with those of act of justice, and if we do not answer the call, we have nothing of Englishmen left in us but the name. We should always bear in mind, that the king's ministers declared, that, if a Vote of THANKS to MR. WARDLE was moved, in the House of Commons, they would oppose it, and there is no doubt but they would have had a majority on their side. Well, if the House of Commons refuse him thanks for the inestimable good, which he has done for the people, there is so much the stronger calling for, be a member of parliament, or fill upon the people to thank him; and, for them to grudge any labour or pains to do it with effect would argue, in them, a want of common sense as well as of gratitude; for, we may be assured, that, unless MR. WARDLE be supported by the unequivocal voice of the people, no man will be much inclined to imitate him; and, it is hardly necessary to say, that, unless more and much more be done, that which has been done will be worth nothing at all, in the of a few months.For these reasons all persons who are able to attend the Meeting ought to attend it, be the inconvenience what it may, nothing being a good excuse short of actual bodily infirmity.- -I shall add a few words as to the part which I have acted in this proceeding. There are not wanting persons to hint, that I am actuated by ambitious motives, and to draw conclusions of this sort from my name standing at the head of the Requisition. Now, the facts are these. I, in the first place, inquired, whether the Lords and the Baronets intended to send a Requisition, and I found they did not. It was then proposed to me, by several persons, to join in a Requisition. When it was drawn up, I did not sign it, till many others had been asked to sign first; and, even. then, space was left above my name, in order that the names of any noblemen or gentlemen or yeomen might be placed before mine upon the list. Several gentlemen, amongst whom were Mr. Powlett Powlett and Mr. May, I believe, were par space any post or employment whatever under, or in, the government. I have, though not yet very old, had quite enough both of censure and applause. Constant observation has convinced me, that happiness is seldom the companion of a pursuit after power; and my taste as well as my reason lead me to avoid all such pursuits. Indeed, I could be well content never to go out of the valley, in which I live; but, the duty of a father and an Englishman, calls imperiously upon me not to stand with my arms folded and see my children and my country robbed, disgraced, and enslaved. Our forefathers wrote and strove and fought and bled for us; and, if we can tamely see those rights, which their talents, their courage, and their perseverance entailed on us, taken away, little by little, until there is nothing left as a protection for those to whom we have given life, we are not only amongst the most base, but we are the very basest of all mankind.- -I have had too much opportunity of studying men and things to be led astray by any wild theories about liberty. I know, that there must be government, and that there must be law, without which there can be no such thing as property, nor any safety even for our persons. I want to see no innovation in England. All I wish and all I strive for, is The Constitution of England, undefiled by corruption. I am very willing to make even great allowances for the neglects and faults of men in power; because I see, that, even in our own private concerns, we are, the very best of us, frequently guilty of both. But, when I see a system of public corruption, of barefaced public robbery, brought to light, and hear those, who have had the virtue to make the exposure, termed enemies of the country; when I see my country thus pillaged and thus insulted, I should hate the very sound of my name, if I were not ready to affix it to a protest against such proceedings. WILLIAM COBBETT. Botley, Thursday, 13th April, 1809. peo thought it, to see half my men killed, and the other half, when overpowered by numbers beyond the hope of extricating themselves, led captive into France, than to see the whole of that army flee from an enemy, whom it had scarcely a glimpse of till the very last, and indeed, whom, if the transports had been ready, it never would have seen in numbers one fifth equal to its own.- -But, while I acknowledge the justice of the charge against the people of England, what am I to say of those, by whom the people of England were deceived? What am I to say of the Turtle Patriots, SUMMARY OF POLITICS. and of that minister of the king, who, in SPAIN.In my last, I offered to the the most solemn manner, and in his maspublic some observations relative to the ter's name, told us of the resistance to be measures of our government in regard to expected by the French from "the uniSpain; and, reasoning upon former dis- "versal Spanish nation?" True, the patches, from Sir John Moore, shewed, as ple of England ought not to have believed I thought, and still think, that the loss and these persons; but, still what are we to disgrace arising from the embarrassed si- say. of the conduct of these persons? tuation, and from the final flight of our To that sentence, wherein the unfortuarmy, were to be solely ascribed, as to their nate General speaks of the groundless immediate cause, to the fear of Sir John belief of the people of England, he might Moore of coming back without doing some- have added, and he ought to have addthing, which fear arose from the false no- ed, a censure upon those, by whom the tions, so industriously propagated in Eng-people of England had been deceived. land, respecting the force and the spirit of For endeavouring, in the months the people of Spain. Indeed, before I of June and July last, to prevent this had seen any of the latter dispatches of that spreading deception; for telling the peounfortunate General, and just at the time ple of England not to believe that the Spawhen we first heard of his death, I stated niards would make exertions for Ferdi. to my readers that this had been the real nand; for warning them not to give into cause of all the misfortunes of him and his expectations which must be disappointed; army. But now, we have the proof in his for using all my efforts to destroy those own last words, that this was the cause; false notions, the existence of which it is that it was necessary to risk the army, now proved was the cause of Sir John "to convince the people of England, that the Moore's risking the army: for doing this, Spaniards had neither the power nor the I was, by the writers on the side of the "inclination to make any efforts for them- ministry, denominated a Jacobin, and was "selves;" that is to say, that the almost accused of endeavouring, under the imcertain destruction; that all the miseries mediate instigation of the devil, to subof the army; that the loss of so many va- vert the throne, the church, and all the luable lives; that death, in its most horrid establishments of England. This is the form, suffered by so many Englishmen; standing charge. It is a charge preferthat all this was necessary to open the eyes red against every man, who complains of of Englishmen at home to the truth reany public grievance, or who endeavours specting Spain; that all this was necessary to open the eyes of the people to any fault on account of the false notions entertained or any folly of any man in power. To make by the people of England.Now, this war for what was called a "legitimate is a very heavy charge against the people" sovereign," to spend the money and of England; and, I must confess, that the spill the blood of Englishmen for the supcharge is but too well founded; though, port of monarchy in Spain, was a favourite had I been in the place of Sir John Moore, scheme; the people were dragged together I would not, from any such motive, have in town and county meetings to thank the risked the army; and, if I had risked it at king (that is to say, his ministers) for havall, it should have been in meeting, and noting embarked the nation in this hopeful in fleeing from, the enemy; for, much more honourable, and ultimately more beBeficial to my country, should I have cause; and, to point out to the people that they were deceived, and that the Cause was a rotten one; this was, of course, |