that their submission to their spiritual ruler should never interfere with their civil obedience. The hypothesis of the Bishop of Lincoln is, that it must very often do so. The fact is, that it has never done so. His Lordship is extremely angry with the Catholics, for refusing to the Crown a veto upon the appointment of their Bishops. He forgets, that in those countries of Europe where the Crown interferes with the appointment of Bishops, the reigning monarch is a Catholic, which makes all the difference. We sincerely wish that the Catholics would concede this point; but we cannot be astonished at their reluctance to admit the interference of a Protestant Prince with their Bishops. What would his Lordship say to the interference of any Catholic power with the appointment of the English sees? Next comes the stale and thousand times refuted charge against the Catholics, that they think the Pope has the power of dethroning heretical Kings; and that it is the duty of every Catholic to use every possible means to root out and destroy heretics, &c. To all of which may be returned this one conclusive answer, that the Catholics are ready to deny these doctrines upon oath. And as the whole controversy is, whether the Catholics shall, by means of oaths, be excluded from certain offices in the State: - those who contend that the continuation of these excluding oaths are essential to the public safety, must admit, that oaths are binding upon Catholics, and a security to the State that what they swear to is true. It is right to keep these things in view-and to omit no opportunity of exposing and counteracting that spirit of intolerant zeal or intolerable time-serving, which has so long disgraced and endangered this country. But the truth is, that we look upon this cause as already gained; and while we warmly congratulate the nation on the mighty step it has recently made towards increased power and entire security, it is impossible to avoid saying a word upon the humiliating and disgusting, but at the same time most edifying spectacle, which has lately been exhibited by the Anticatholic addressers. That so great a number of persons should have been found with such a proclivity to servitude (for honest bigotry had but little to do with the matter), as to rush forward with clamours in favour of intolerance, upon a mere surmise that this would be accounted as acceptable service by the present possessors of patronage and power, affords a more humiliating and discouraging picture of the present spirit of the country, than any thing else that has occurred in our remembrance. The edifying part of the spectacle is the contempt with which their officious devotions have been received by those whose favour they were intended to purchase, and the universal scorn and derision with which they were regarded by independent men of all parties and persuasions. The catastrophe, we think, teaches two lessons; one to the time-servers themselves, not to obtrude their servility on the Government, till they have reasonable ground to think it is wanted; - and the other to the nation at large, not to imagine that a base and interested clamour in favour of what is supposed to be agreeable to Government, however loudly and extensively sounded, affords any indication at all, either of the general sense of the country, or even of what is actually contemplated by those in the administration of its affairs. The real sense of the country has been proved, on this occasion, to be directly against those who presumptuously held themselves out as its organs; and even the Ministers have made a respectable figure, compared with those who assumed the character of their champions. LETTERS WRITTEN IN A MAHRATTA CAMP DURING THE YEAR 1809. (E. REVIEW, 1813.) Letters written in a Mahratta Camp during the Year 1809. THIS is a lively, entertaining, well-written book; and we can conscientiously recommend it to our readers. Mr. Thomas Duer Broughton does not, it is true, carry any great weight of metal; but, placed in a curious and novel scene, he has described what he saw from day to day, and preserved, for the amusement of his readers, the impressions which those scenes made upon him, while they were yet strong and fresh. The journals of military men are given to the public much more frequently than they used to be; and we consider this class of publications as one of great utility and importance. The duties of such men lead them into countries very little known to Europeans, and give to them the means of observing and describing very striking peculiarities in manners, habits, and governments. To lay these before the public is a praiseworthy undertaking; and, if done simply and modestly (as is the case with this publication), deserves great encouragement. Persons unaccustomed to writing, are prevented from attempting this by the fear of not writing sufficiently well; but where there is any thing new and entertaining to tell, the style becomes of comparatively little importance. He who lives in a Mahratta camp, and tells us what he hears and sees, can scarcely tell it amiss. As far as mere style is concerned, it matters very little whether he writes like Cæsar or Nullus. Though we praise Mr. Broughton for his book, and praise him very sincerely, we must warn him against that dreadful propensity which young men have for writing verses. There is nothing of which Nature has been more bountiful than poets. They swarm like the spawn of cod-fish, with a vicious fecundity, that invites and requires destruction. To publish verses is become a sort of evidence that a man wants sense; which is repelled not by writing good verses, but by writing excellent verses; - by doing what Lord Byron has done; -by displaying talents great enough to overcome the disgust which proceeds. from satiety, and showing that all things may become new under the reviving touch of genius. But it is never too late to repent and do well: we hope Mr. Broughton will enter into proper securities with his intimate friends to write no more verses. The most prominent character in the narrative of Mr. Broughton seems to be that of Scindia, whom he had every opportunity of observing, and whose character he appears perfectly to have understood;-a disgraceful liar, living with buffoons and parasites-unsteady in his friendships—a babbling drunkard—equally despised by his enemies and his pretended friends. Happy the people who have only to contemplate such a prince in description, and at a distance. The people over whom he reigns seem, by the description of Mr. Broughton, to be well worthy of such a monarch. Treacherous, cruel, false-robbing, and robbed-deceiving, and deceived; it seems very difficult to understand by what power such a society is held together, and why every thing in it is not long since resolved into its primitive elements. A very distinguished corps in this motley camp,' says Mr. Broughton, is the Shohdas-literally the scoundrels. They form a regularly organised body, under a chief named Fazil Khan; to whose orders they pay implicit obedience. They are the licensed thieves and robbers of the camp; and, from the fruits of their industry, their principal derives a very considerable revenue. On marching days they are assembled under their leader, and act as porters for the Muha Raj's baggage. At sieges they dig the trenches, erect the batteries, and carry the scaling ladders. But their grand concern is the gambling houses, which are placed under their immediate control and superintendence, and where they practise all the refinements of accomplished villany to decoy and impose upon the unwary, which you perhaps fondly flatter yourself are the distinguished excellencies of these establishments in Europe. Baboo Khan, a Mahratta chief of some rank and consideration, is an avowed patron of this curious society; and is, in fact, though in a higher sphere, as accomplished a Shohda as any of the band. About a year ago, a merchant came to the camp with horses for sale. The Khan chose out some of the most valuable, and paid down the merchant's own price for them on the spot; desiring him, at the same time, to bring more, as he was about to increase the numbers of his own Risalu. Such unheard-of honesty and liberality induced other merchants to bring their horses also for sale. The Mahratta took them all at the prices demanded; but, when the owners came for payment, he scoffed at them for their credulity, and had them actually beaten away from his tent by the rascally crew who always attend upon him. The merchants carried their complaint to the Muha Raj; and after waiting for several months in expectation of justice being done them, were paid at the rate of seven annas in the rupee; besides a deduction for the Buniyas, with whom the unfortunate fellows had been obliged to run in debt for subsistence during their stay in camp. The whole transaction lasted about a twelvemonth; at the end of which time they were obliged to decamp, with less than one third of what was strictly their due. 'Where such acts of injustice and oppression are committed with impunity, it is not wonderful that there should be much misery among the poorer orders of the community. When grain is dear, hundreds of poor families are driven to the most distressing shifts to obtain a bare subsistence. At such times. I have often seen women and children employed in picking out the undigested grains of corn from the dung of the different animals about the camp. Even now, when grain is by no means at a high price (wheat being sold in the market for thirteen seers for the rupee), it is scarcely possible to move out of the limits of our own camp, without witnessing the most shocking proofs of poverty and wretchedness. I was returning from a ride the other morning, when two miserable-looking women followed me for charity; each had a little infant in her arms; and one of them repeatedly offered to sell hers for the trifling sum of two rupees. Many of our Sipahees and servants have children, whom they have either purchased in this manner, or picked up begging among our tents. In adopting these little wretches, however, they have so often been taken in, that they are now more cautious in indulging their charitable propensities. The poor people of the army, finding that a child, |