Cobbett's Weekly Political Register

261]

AUGUST 20 TO and to treat your imputations and the unprecedented interrogatories of Mr. Archdalo with silent disdain, leaving to me the task of defending my own principles, sentiments, and conduct.

Your charge, as preferred against me, is, that I have maintained, that "the co"existence of the monarchy and of the "funds is no longer possible," and that "the

violation of all public faith, and the destruc"tion of all public property, is an immediate "and indispensable measure for the pro❝tection of the monarchy and constitution "of the country."-This is your charge, as given in the Morning Post, and a charge more completely destitute of truth was, will venture to say, never preferred by any pettifogger of Hicks's Hall or of Horsemonger Lane.-There are, in this and the preceding volume of the Register, several passages, where I have treated of the funds; where I have, indeed, endeavoured to show the necessity of annihilating the national debt.* But, it is not the speculation, in this simple state, that you wish to charge me with, and to fix on Mr. Windham. You add two very important circumstances to wit; that I insist upon the annihilation being immediate, and that it shall take place in a manner which shall produce a violation of all public faith and a Without destruction of all public property.

these circumstances the charge would have had little weight; for, as to my wishing to see the annihilation of the debt, you must have been well assured, that I only agreed with every man in the kindom, who owns no part of it, and, indeed, with no small number of the stock-holders themselves. Your charge, then, is necessarily reduced to the circumstances of time and of manner. And pray, Sir, when, where, in what part of my work, have I called for an immediate annihilation of the debt, or proposed a violation of public faith and the destruction of public property?

You

having left the charge entirely unsupported by proof, and even by a reference to facts, I should certainly be justified in dismissing it with a very laconic reply; but, this mode of proceeding, though I am persuaded it would satisfy you, would not be quite satisfactory to myself. You have, as the ground of your charge, selected, not the whole of an essay, or set of observations; not the whole of a section, or paragraph; not even the whole of a sentence; but, as

* See Register, Vol. III. 515.-P. 918 to 924P. 948 to 950.➡Vol. IV. p. 88 to 91.-P. 154 to 158,

AUGUST 27, 1803.

you did in the case of Mr. Reeves, only
one member of a sentence, making no allusion
whatever to any part of the context. The
words of this detached member were:
"whereas we regard the destruction of
unless the
"the monarchy as certain,
"funded debt be annihilated." I do not
"that the co-existence
say even here,
"of the debt and the monarchy is no longer
possible; "I do not say, that the anni-
lation must be "immediate ;" and, when
I have quoted the context, it will clearly
appear, that the annihilation, which I have
constantly had in view, is a gradual annihi-
lation. I was, in the observations alluded
to, defending the justice of the direct tax
upon the funds, and contending, that MR.
PITT's objection, which, by the bye, Mr.
Windham supported, was not well founded;
because, I regarded the future additions
to the tax as a good instead of a bad thing.
"With respect to the extending of the pro-
a prominent
"portion, it was," said I,
"idea of our own, where we stated, that
"the 5 per centum now laid upon the
"interest was only a small beginning in the
"good work, which was finally to relieve

us from that mill-stone, which has so "long been sinking us, deeper and deeper, "into every species of disgrace.-Here, "however, we disagree with Mr. Pitt, "who does not seem to regard the tax

upon the funds as necessary to the sa!"vation of the state; whereas, we regard "the destruction of the monarchy as certain, un"less the funded debt be annihilated; and this "cannot, as far as we are able to perceive, "be conveniently and effectually done, "except by a tax, a direct and unequivo"cal tax upon the funds; or, in other "words, a deduction from the interest "due to individuals on the capital stock. "We hear a terrible out-cry, excited by "this opinion; but we despise this sort of "clamour and abuse as much as we did "the howling of the mob, when they "broke our windows, because we refused "to rejoice at the peace. We are fully

persuaded, that our opinion is correct. "It is the result of long thinking upon the "subject; and has now been communi"cated to our readers, not from any factious "or party motive, but from a desire gra"dually to prepare them for an event, "which we regard as at no great distance, "and which if it came upon the country "all at once, and totally unexpected, "might be productive of infinite mischief, "but which if anticipated, and if met with "only common fortitude, cannot fail to "raise this nation to a degree of power and

K 2

"glory that it never before attained.”—* Was this, Sir, to insist upon an "immediate” annihilation? Mr. Addington's tax, which I was defending, would have annihilated only 5 per centum per annum of the capital stock, or, which is just the same thing, would have cut off only an additional 5 per centum per annum of the interest. This process would have required twenty years, wherein to effect the annihilation: and, let me ask you, Sir, if you really think that the interest on even the present debt will continue to be paid for that length of time? In my letter to Mr. Addington, where this subject was first broached by me, I re. marked, by way of anticipating the objections which might be urged against me, "that, "if I am told of the miseries, "which this measure will bring upon those, "who are so unfortunate as to be stock

"holders, I deny that they will be a hun

dredth part so great as is generally ima"gined; because, as the extinction will not be "effected all at once, people will sell out, in "proportion as their apprehensions in"crease; and, as those, who have nothing "but the funds to depend upon, will be "most timid, they will sell first; so that, "at the close of the "market,' "the loss "will be found to be pretty fairly dis"tributed." * Do I here say, that the funds and the monarchy can no no longer" co exist? Do I here call for an immediate annihilation? And, as I approach the date of your speech, do you find any alteration in my sentiments? "We do not say, we "have never said, that the " present struggle "cannot be terminated without an annihilation of "the national debt; but we do say, that it "cannot be so soon terminated, that it "cannot be terminated so well, and, that, "if the debt continue, it is very probable, "that, at last, we shall conclude another "disgraceful and short-lived peace." This passage was published only five days before your speech was delivered; and I should, Sir, be very glad to hear how you will satisfy the world, that your misrepresentation was not intentional, and that it ought not to be regarded as one of those foul and unlawful blows, by which a sinking and vindictive combatant sometimes endeavours to maim his antagonist.-To endeavour to effect an immediate annihilation of the debt is, however, less offensive against the rules of political justice, than to endeavour to destroy all public faith and all public property, What you mean by "all

• See Vol. IV. p. 90. * Sue Vol. III. p. 924.

"public property" is not, indeed, very clear. If you mean all funded property, then the phrase is redundant, because synonimous with national debt, of my evil designs upon which you had spoken in the former member of the sentence; and, if this be not your meaning, I am really at a loss to know what it is; for as to public property, in the correct sense of the words, as to the royal forests, and the like, you could hardly intend to insinuate that I had any lurking intention to destroy them. Throwing aside, therefore, this unmeaning expletive, let me beg you to lay your finger upon the passage, where I have recommended the "destruction of all public faith." If you had discovered such a recommendation, you ought to have been very careful not to be the first to find fault with it; you, Sir, who have employed much more than half the time since I was born, in endeavouring to blot from men's minds the very name of public faith. You would not have been the proper person to turn accuser on this occasion; but again I ask you to lay your finger upon the page, where I have given way to the profligate politics, of which you have had the temerity to accuse me. You cannot but you may easily point to a passage containing a complete refutation of your charge, and that, too, placed at the head of the very first obser. vations, which I ever made as to the expediency of annihilating the national debt. "Whether the tax upon the funds" [which I regarded as the certain means of doing away the debt "be just or not, is a "question, which depends upon the re"sult of another question, to wit, whether "the tax be necessary to the existence of the You" [Mr. Addington] "to imagine, that the world will regard "this direct tax upon the funds as a direct "and flagrant breach of national faith, which "it most assuredly is, unless the previous "question of absolute necessity can be "clearly made out; because, the agree "ment with the stock-holders is, that they "shall receive such and such dividends, sub"ject to no deduction whatever; and, for the "punctual adherence to this bargain the "faith of the nation is pledged. On that "faith it is, that thousands and hundreds "of thousands of persons have deposited "their all in the hands of government. "But, the first law of every land, the first "duty of those who administer the govern "ment is, to secure the existence of the state. "This law of self-preservation supersedes "every other law; and, therefore, if a "tax upon the funds has this sanction, it

state.

66 seem

265]
"stands in need of no other. The tax is,
"in that case, no breach of national faith;
"because, to constitute such breach, the
"nation must want the will to fulfil its en-

gagements, and, it never can be said "to want the will, if it has already gone 66 as far as it can go without producing its own destruction as a state. Many other

arguments suggest themselves in support "of this position; but, if the case of ne"cessity exists, what I have said already, "Sir, sufficiently justifies the tax, and, if "the necessity does not exist, all that can "possibly be urged by the most ingenious "reasoner, will fall far short of producing -That the necessity does "conviction."* —— I state it, inexist, I afterwards state. which have you deed, in the passage, garbled, and even in the very words, which you impute to me; for, if " the "co-existence of the monarchy and the funds "be no longer possible," then there exists an absolute necessity for the annihilation of the funds; and, if that necessity does exist, then is the act of annihilation no breach of public faith, much less is it "the de

The ne

struction of all public faith." cessity, which I contend for, will, I think, hardly be denied by you, who was glad at a peace of which you could not be proud, because the nation was unable any longer to bear the expenses of war;

but,

whether you allow of the necessity, or not,
whether the necessity exist, or not, has
nothing to do with the charge against me,
wherein you assert, that I am seeking, in
the annihilation of the national debt, the
"destruction of all public faith," whereas, I
have not only never proposed such de-
struction, but have taken some pains to
show, that the measure which I propose
would not be a breach of public faith, be-
cause it is called for by absolute necessity.
Whether, therefore, this necessity does or
does not exist, my principle is sound, and
my object honourable. I may have de-
ceived myself as to the resources of the na-
tion, but I have protested against any mode
of relief which should, in the smallest de-
gree, impair that faith, which you charge
me with an intention to destroy root and
branch.-Here I should dismiss this part of
necessary
my subject, did I not think it
say a few words as to the motive, to which
you have chosen to ascribe my speculations
relative to the national debt. That Mr.
Sheridan, whose attacks on the funding sys-
tem were, for many years, as regular as the
return of the seasons; that Mr. Sheridan,

See Vol. III. p. 918.

who, in speaking of this system, has ex-
hausted his copious vocabulary of terms of
reproach and contempt, and who, for four-
teen years opposed, in some way or other,
every tax that was imposed for the support
of this system; that Mr. Sheridan should
now become the partizan of the funds and
the advocate for public faith, is a circum-
stance that world be sufficiently striking,
even though it were unaccompanied with
the no less singular one of his having re-
solved on this new line of conduct for the
purpose of protecting the government a-
gainst me, who have heretofore made no
inconsiderable exertions to stem that tor-
rent of anarchy, on the troubled waters of
which Mr. Sheridan exhibited so conspicuous
a figure. The first moment that I touched
upon the subject of the finances, I was
careful to guard against imputations, such
as I foresaw that the hunters after popu-
larity would have recourse to, and such as
you, in the present instance, have employed.
I, therefore, explicitly stated, that I did not
regard money as the principal source of
national strength, and that, so far from
desponding at the depreciation of public
credit, I was thoroughly convinced, that a
national bankruptcy would not disable us
from maintaining our present dominions,
and recovering all the honours, of which
we had been stripped by a degrading and
ignominious peace. "Coupled, therefore,"
said I," with this declaration, no state-
"ment, no conclusion, of mine, however
"disadvantageous to the financial affairs of
"the country, can possibly be attributed
"to a desire to create despondency in the
"hearts of the people, or to embarrass the
"operations of government. I wish to
"convince the people, that they cannot, if
"they would, and that they ought not, if
"they could, rely, for their safety, on the
On a
"pecuniary credit of the state."*
more recent occasion I observed, that the
true way of convincing the enemy, that his
war upon our finances would be useless, as
to the success of his main design, was to
state explicitly to the world, that we were
not at all afraid of the consequences of what
is called national bankruptcy; " for," said
I," while we attempt to make people be-

lieve, that such an event cannot possibly "happen, they will certainly think, that we "regard it, if it should happen, as irretriev"able ruin and destruction; and, therefore, as "we can never completely remove their " doubts, the best way is to set the bug-bear

* See Vol. III. p. 514.
K 3

you

"at defiance."-Thus, Sir, in this, as in every other respect, my motives evidently are precisely the contrary of those, which have attributed to me. Ignorance of this you cannot plead, because the passages I have here referred to are not only in the same work, but they make part of the very same letters and essays, to which you have alluded as the foundation of your charge; a charge brought forward from no very laudable motives, totally unfounded in truth, and supported by nothing but barbershop rhetoric, by a sort of loose unprinci pled banter, intended to raise a laugh amongst the ignorant, and to silence the voice of wisdom and of reason, purely by volubility and noise.-I am, Sir, &c. WM. COBBETT.

Duke-street, Westm. Aug. 24, 1803.

An Address to the British People on the Subject of the threatened Invasion: written in the Neigbbourbood of Windsor.

Britons prepare :-prepare to meet the foe,
With bold defiance of the threaten'd blow.
The aim against th' existence of the throne
Involves designs subversive of your own.
Your welfare and the welfare of the state
Depend, for ever, on a common fate.

For the firm spirit, which the state defends,
Protects yourselves, your families, your friends.
'Tis yours, with souls undaunted, to advance
To curb the daring insolence of France.
Shall Gallia's arms dismay her art beguile
The manly guardians of Britannia's isle.

Her hostile menace shall their vengeance rouse,
Victorious wreaths shall deck their valiant brows.

When Rome's ambitious leader, Cæsar, came,
Incited by insatiate thirst of fame,
The doubtful victory his legions gain'd
Was more by stratagem than arms obtain'd;
And stratagem and arms alike had fail'd,

Had concord 'mongst the British chiefs prevail'd.

Britons unite and fearless brave the shock,
Your Empire stands an adamantine rock.
England and Scotland with Hibernia join'd,
May bid defiance to the world combin'd.
One by allegiance, language, social love,
And one in danger will they ever prove.
No sep'rate int'rests now divide their cause,

The same their rights, their motives, and their laws.

And quickly shall the rash invader know,
The foe to one is deem'd a common foe;
Encroaching on their native shores shall learn
Their hearts alike with indignation burn.
The sanguinary crime, the foul disgrace,
Which damns the fame of Ireland's ruder race,
Springs from misguided zeal in ruffian souls,
But not the nation's character controuls.
For genuine worth and honour's nicest sense,
Intrepid courage without vain pretence.
And loyalty with highest grace of mind
Are in Hibernia's polish'd sons combin'd.

+ See Vol. III. p. 949.

Perfidious treason will they view with scorn
They, now united, feel as Britons born:
And dire as is the horrid scourge of war,
Which spreads its devastation wide and far,
In self-defence shall Britons fear to die?
Or will they sink to abject slavery?
Or shall this happy isle again be curst,
Of all pernicious evils with the worst ?
Shall anarchy resume her mad career,
Again usurp her dicad dominion here?
Where ev'ry heart a patriot glow should feel,
And ev'ry hand protect the public weal.
Shall Briton's sons clate in Gallia's praise,
Dare here the standard of revolt to raise ?
Dare here enroll a rude rebellious band,
To welcome Britain's foes on British land!
To welcome foes, whose rough infuriate mind
Abhors the social order of mankind;
Whose wild aggression o'er the world extends,
Whose proffer'd aid in devastation ends:
Whose friendly zeal, whose brotherly embrace,
O'er empires by ensanguin'd steps we trace:
With such allies can British hearts unite,
With fierce invaders of all public right?
Whose highest joy from wasteful ruin springs,
Subverting altars and dethroning kings:
Who prowl abroad with more than savage rage,
The scourge and scorn of an enlighten'd age;
To blow the character of polish'd times,
With new, with hideous, and atrocious crimes :
Like fiends impell'd by murderous desire,
To conquer with exterminating ire;
Who smile at mercy, with contemptuous hate,
Though captive thousands kneeling supplicate:
The refuge seek, where wounded numbers lie,
Whose anguish claims the kindest sympathy,
(Their fellow soldiers, countrymen, and friends,
Devoted to their own delusive ends ;)
There, with dissembled grace and art refin'd,
Raise the faint prospect of the sinking mind,
And then, too horrid for the human soul!!
Contrive, by poison, to destroy the whole.*
Athiests avow'd no qualmish horrors rise
To daunt them from profanest enterprize ;
Alike devout, as suits their impious plan,
With Christian, Pagan, Jew, or Mussulman.
Debas'd are nations, who have kiss'd the rod,
Nor turn'd to vindicate themselves or God.

Go ask what honour, what important gain
Has France, in friendship, fore'd on humbled
Spain?

Is now Helvetia's valiant race more free

In trammels yoked of Gallic liberty?

Go ask in Rome of that redoubted shade

Of pow'r, which once the trembling world obey'd,
How Papal dignity and sway advance
Beneath the pious auspices of France?
The frugal Belgium ask, whose golden hoard
He consecrates to Gall's imperious lord.
Does gainful commerce now unshackled thrive?
His own courageous spirit still survive?
That spirit, which, with indignation fir'd,
With dignity and fortitude inspir'd,
Brav'd the proud pow'r of bigotry and Spain,
And burst a vengeful tyrant's galling chain,
Now sinks appall'd and crouching courts the

hand,

Whose rueful aid enslaves its native land.

Sir Robert Wilson's History of the British Expedition to Egypt, p. 74, 75, 76, 77.

Shall Britons thus their boasted triumphs prize,
Resign their fame, their honour compromise?
Supinely shrink, when foes their coasts besiege,
And yield as vassals to a foreign liege?

The freedom purchas'd with their fathers' blood
Full oft a direful conflict has withstood,
And Gall's insulting menace shall appear,
An object more of folly than of fear.

Lo! yonder stately pile, august domain *,
Whose tow'ting turrets crown the fertile plain,
Its hallow'd scire from Edward's birth rever'd
Itselt by Edward in his greatness rear'd;
Greatness, which only lofty minds can own,
Whose virtues, prov'd in conquest, grace the

throne.

Such our third Edward prov'd, and such his Son,
And fame immortal by their conquests won ;
For Britons then with martial ardour fir'd,
To mightiest deeds of enterprize aspir'd.
By valour urg'd they boldly dar'd advance
Pursuing conquest in the heart of France.

Nor threats alarm'd, nor numbers rous'd their fears,

To valour yielded Crecy and Poictiers ;
At Agincourt, when Henry led the field,
'Twas valour made e'en ten-fold numbers yield;
And later times may Britain proudly boast,
'Till to the mem'ry Marlb'rough's name be lost;
'Till we forget the glory of the brave,
And cease to sigh o'er Abercromby's grave.

Is then our native prowess sunk so low
That Briton's fear invasion from their foe?
Shall all their laurels, in an instant, fade,
Touch'd by the flimsy breath of gasconade?
Assail'd in fam'd Eliza's splendid reign,
How impotent the vaunted fleets of Spain?
How impotent was Fiance, whose thund'ring
boast,

Great Hawke aveng'd on Gall's securest coast?
How impotent was France, when Nelson bore
Eternal trophies from th' Egyptian shore?
And still shall Britain's navies rule the main,
And still unsullied glory shall attain.

True to themselves shall Britons strike the blow
Of sure destruction on their threat'ning foe:
For his is not the cool delib'rate threat,
The sage design of men in council met:
'Tis not the firm defiance of the great,
But petulance arising from defeat:
A restless tyrant's mad and braggart dare,
From disappointment, perfidy, despair.
Howe'er his tribe affect their fate to brave,
For Britain's ruin 'though they wildly rave,
Her ever circling seas and wooden walls,
Shall still defy the tyrant till he falls.

Yon regal dome † rever'd from Edward's name,
Still boasts a Monarch of exalted fame;
Mild and benevolent his kingly sway,
His upright mind unconscious of dismay;
His life the model of what life should be,
His rule the stately rule of majesty.

A Monarch urg'd by no ambitious views,
Who zealously a nation's good pursues,
'Though firm in its defence the sword to draw,
Yet never violates establish'd law,

On peaceful arts, with calm delight, intent,
Who ne'er by rapine seeks aggrandisement;

Windsor Castle. Windsor Castle,

Whom science owns as patron and as friend,
Whose grandest schemes to gen'ral weltare tend;
Beneath whose shield unequall'd commerce thrives
And pure religion c'en at court survives;
To him is ever due his regal state,

And subject minds his sceptre consecrate;
To him his people boundless ofl'rings bring
A willing tribute to a patriot King.
Aw'd by the retrospect of former times,

When e'en the Crown has sanction'd basest crimes,

Would British hearts, in homage to the throne,
A grateful sense of its protection own;
And equally to threat'ning tyrants prove,
The Throne protected by the people's love.

The dastard slave, who would their minds suborn,
Shall feel their hatred and receive their scorn. ;
Their King, their country, wives and children
claim,

And those attach'd by Friendship's sacred name;
And all the interests of social life,

A firm forbearance from domestic strife;
But, it a hostile band approach their coast,
Let it be then the manly Britons' boast,
We spurn the threat of merciless defeat,
We seek no shelter, fice to no retreat,
But bravely here defend the gen'ral good,
'Till the last drop shall fall of British blood.
Regis et Patria Amater.

Oxford, August 2d, 1803.

PUBLIC PAPERS.

Order of His Britannic Majesty, in Council, for granting reprisals against the Ligurian and Italian Republics. Dated, August 17, 1803.

At the Court at St. James's, the 17th of August, 1803, present the King's Most Excellent Majesty in Council.-Whereas in the countries styling themselves the Ligurian and Italian Republics, measures of hostility have been adopted against his Majesty's subjects; and whereas the said countries cannot but be considered as absolutely dependent on, and under the controul of the government of France; his Majesty is pleased, by and with the advice of his Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, that general reprisals be granted against the ships, goods, and subjects of the said countries styling themselves the Ligurian and Italian Republics, so that as well his Majesty's flects and ships, as also all other ships and vessels that shall be commissioned, by letters of marque, or general reprisals, or otherwise, by his Majesty's Commissioners for executing the Office of Lord High Admiral of GreatBritain, shall and may lawfully scize all ships, vessels, and goods belonging to the persons inhabiting the countries styling themselves the Ligurian and Italian Republics, and bring the same to judgment in any of the Courts of Admiralty within his Majesty's dominions; and, to that end, his Majesty's Advocate General, and the Advocate of the Admi raity, are forthwith to prepare the draft of a commission, and present the same to his Majesty at this Board, authorising the Commissioners for executing the Office of Lord High Admiral, or any person or persous by them empowered and appointed, to issue forth and grant letters of marque and reprisals to any of his Majesty's subjects, or others whom the said commissioners shall deem fitly qualified in that behalf, for the apprehending, seizing, and taking the ships, vessels, and goods belonging to the persons inhabiting the countries styling themselves the Ligurian and Italian Republics; and that

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Cobbett's Weekly Political Register, Volum 4