it, and might spend ages in endeavouring to take it to pieces. We feem to confider our commercial profperity, like thofe articles of property, timber, marble, and others of that fort, which, however valuable, may be fafely left unguarde, being too weighty and bulky to be carried away.

"Sir, the firft circumftance that ftrikes one in this statement, is, that cdd inconfiftency, by which a country that makes peace on account of its poverty, is to reft its whole hope of fecurity in that peace, upon its wealth. If our wealth will protect us, it is a great pity that this difcovery was not made long ago; it would have faved us many years of painful struggle; have kept in our hands a great additional portion of thefe very means of protection; and have leffened confiderably the dangers against which fuch protection is wanted."

The fucceeding pages are devoted to the effablishment of this poftion, not more alarming than juft; with its prefent feelings the country never can go to war again, let France do what the will,' and having proved this, Mr. W. adds;-"Sir, are thefe idle dreams, the phantom of my own difordered imagination? or are they real and ferious dangers, the existence of which no man of common fenfe, let his opinions of the peace be what they may, will attempt to deny? The utmost that any man will pretend to fay, is, that he hopes (and fo do I) that the evils apprehended will not happen; and that, great as the risk may be, he thinks it preferable to thofe rifks which would attend a continuation of the war. None but the most weak or inconfderate, if they are not difaffected, or abforbed in the fenfe of fome im mediate perfonal intereft, will feel, when they thall well understand the fubject, that there is any cause of joy or rejoicing."—We believe, indeed, the delirium of joy is pretty well over, though the daily efforts of fome perfons, included in Mr. W.'s exceptions, are directed to produce its revival; and to ftigmatize as audacious, as men actuated by felfifh, dark, malignant paffions*, all who prefume to think with Mr. W. on the fubject of peace, and not implicitly to fubfcribe to the infallibility of themfelves and their employers.We have even been affured that a member of adminiftration propofed to difmifs a gentleman from a public fituation, the duties of which he had confcienti. oufly difcharged, to the univerfal fatisfaction of all who have had an opportunity of obferving his conduct; and, at a critical time, with much personal danger to himself, because he had dared to difapprove the peace, and to fupport his opinions by fair argument.--The propofition, however, is faid to have been rejected with firmness, by the premier, who jufly reprefented fuch a proceeding as highly onpreffive in itself, and as fubverfive, in its effects, of the freedom of the prefs.-His conduct certainly did him honour; though it was no more than a knowledge of his character would have led us to expect ;-for, however we may differ from him in opinion on the fubject of the peace, we shall ever be ready to do juftice to the amiable qualities of his heart and mind.

* Vide the Twin-brothers, the True Briton and Sun paffin.

Το

To return from this digreffion :-Mr. W. obferves that "we are become of a fudden great hopers. We hope the French will have no inclination to hurt us; we hope, now peace is come, and the preffure of war, as it is called, taken off, that the French empire will fall a prey to diffenfions and finally fall to pieces, &c."

Alas, our fears are greater than our hopes; we fear, that on the temple of Peace which we have entered the fame infcription might with propriety be put as Dante put on the gate of a very different place;

Lafciate ogni fperanza voi, ch'entrate.

"But," fays Mr. W. "we have another hope, founded on rather a contrary fuppofition, namely, that Buonaparte, now that he is a king himfelfand a king he is fo far as power can make one,-will no longer be an encourager of thofe abiurd and mifchievous doctrines, which, however they may have helped him to the throne, will be as little pleafing to him, now that he is fairly feated there, as to any the moft legitimate monarch. Sir, I agree, that Buonaparte, like other demagogues and friends of the people, having deluded and gulled the people fufficiently to make them anfwer his purpote, will be ready enough to teach them a different leffon, and to forbid the ufe of that language towards himself, which he had before inftructed them in, as perfectly proper towards others. Never was there any one, to be fure, who used lefs management in that refpect; or who left all the Jadmirers of the French revolution, within and without,-all the admirers of it, I mean, as a fyftem of liberty, in a more whimfical and laughable fituation. Every opinion for which they have been contending, is now contpletely trodden down, and trampled under foot, and held out in France to the greateft poffible contempt and derifion. The honourable gentlemen on the opposition benches have really great reason to complain of having been so completely left in the lurch. There is not even a decent retreat provided for them."

"But though fuch is the treatment, which the principles of "the Rights of Man," and of the " Holy Duty of Infurrection," meet with in France, and on the part of him who fhould be their natural protector, it is by no means the fame, with refpect to the encouragement which he may choofe to give them in other countries. Though they ufe none of thefe goods in France for home confumption, they have always a large affortment by them ready for foreign markets. Their Jacobin orators are not to be looked for in the clubs at Paris, but in the clubs of London. There, they may talk of cashiering kings, with other language of that fort: but fhould any orator more flippant than the reft choose to hold forth in that firain, in the city where the Great Conful refides, in the metropolis of liberty, he would foon put him to filence, in the way that we fee adopted in the fign of the Silent Woman. Buonaparte, being invefted, in virtue of the Rights of 'Man, with defpotic power, can afford to fanction the preaching of thofe doctrines in other countries, of which he will not fuffer the leaft whisper in his own. While he is at the head of an abfolute monarchy in France, he may be the promoter and champion of jacobin infurrections every where elfe. The abject as well as wicked nature of jacobiniim in this country, which, while it would rebel against the lawful authority of its own government, is willing to enflave itfelf to France, finds no difficulty of allowing to him thefe two oppofite characters: and I know no reafon why we fhould fuppofe him difinclined to accept them.

"I muft

"I must confefs, therefore, that I fee as little hope for us on this fide, as I do on the other. In fact, if I could believe, in fpite of all probability, that there was any remiffion of that purpofe, which has never yet ceased for an inftant,-the purpose of deftroying this country,-fuch belief, however produced, muft be inftantly done away by a view of the conduct of France, in the fettlement of this very treaty. There is not a line of it, that does not either directly point to the deftruction of this country, or, by a courfe a little circuitous, but not lefs certain, equally tend to the fame object."

Mr. W. proceeds to prove that the cefors which were so peremptorily infifted upon by Buonaparte could not have been demanded from other motive than a defire to ruin this country. He underany rates, however, the extent of that encouragement which the first Conful is defirous to give "to thofe abfurd and mifchievous doctrines" which have the deftruction of royalty for their object. For even in Paris thefe doctrines are tolerated; as will appear from the following paffage extracted from a book published at Paris,, during the negociations between Lord Hawkefbury and Citizen Otto;" telle a toujours été l'extravagance et l'Injustice des SouVERAINS, de voir les peuples confiés à leur governement, comme un bien propre dont ils pouvoient difpofer" " "Such have ever been the extravagance and injuftice of Sovereigns, that they have regarded the people entrusted to their government, as their abfolute property, of which they could difpofe at their pleasure."Such is the language encouraged by the AntiJacobin Buonaparte, who has the effrontery to complain of the freedom of the British prefs, and, if we miftake not, to have inftructed his citizen-minister in this country, to remonftrate againft all reflections on his immaculate perfon, and perfect government!-Englishmen, Heaven knows! are degraded enough, but ftill not fo degraded as to fubmit to the tyrannical mandate of a foreign ufurper, who has no title to power but poffeffion; and no claim to refpect but fuch as the prince of darkness might enforce from his attendant demons!

The orator, in comparing the conduct and defigns of the French in refpect of this country, with thofe of the Romans in respect of Carthage-a comparifon be it remembered first made by the revolutionary hero Barrère-pays a just compliment to thefe turbulent republicans.

"This was at least the conduct of a great people (the Romans); a people not to be put afide from their purpofes by every tranfient blast of fortune. They had vowed the deftruction of Carthage; and they never refted from their defign, till they had feen it finally accomplied. The emulators of

their fortune in the prefent day, are, in no lets a degree, the emulators of their virtues; at least of thofe qualities, whatever they may be, that give to man a command over his fellows. When I look at the conduct of the French Revolutionary rulers, as compared with that of their opponents; when I fee the grandeur of their defigns; the wisdom of their plans; the fteadiness of their execution; their boldne's in acting; their conftancy in enduring; their contempt of fmall obitacles and temporary embarraffiments; their inflexible determination to perform fuch and fuch things; and the

powers

powers which they have difplayed, in acting up to that determination; when I contraft these with the narrow views, the paltry interefts, the occa fional expedients, the defultory and wavering conduct, the want of all right feeling and juft conception, that characterize fo generally the governments and nations oppofed to them, I confefs I fink down in defpondency, and am fain to admit, that if they fhall have conquered the world, it will be by qualities by which they deferve to conquer it. Never were there perfons, who could fhew a fairer title to the inheritance which they claim. The great divifion of mankind made by a celebrated philofopher of old, into thofe who were formed to govern, and those who were born only to obey, was never more strongly exemplified than by the French nation, and thote who have funk, or are finking, under their yoke. Let us not fuppofe, therefore, that while thele qualities combined with thefe purposes fhall continue to exift, they will ever cease, by night or by day, in peace or in war, to work their natural effect,-to gravitate towards their proper centre; or that the bold, the proud, the dignified, the determined, those who will great things, and will stake their exiftence upon the accomplishment of what they have willed, fhall not finally prevail over thofe, who act upon the very oppofite feelings; who will never push their resistance beyond their con venience;" who ask for nothing but eafe and fafety; who look only to flave off the evil for the prefent day, and will take no heed of what may befal them on the morrow. We are therefore, in effect, at war at this moment: and the only question is, whether the war, that will from henceforward proceed under the name of peace, is likely to prove lefs operative and fatal, than that which has hitherto appeared in its natural and ordinary shape. That fuch is our state, is confeffed by the authors themfelves of the prefent treaty, in the measures which they feel it neceffary to recommend to the houfe. When did we ever hear before of a large military eftablishment neceffary to be kept up in time of peace? The fact is, that we know that we are not at peace; not fuch as is fit to be fo called, nor that in which we might hope to fit down, for fome time at leaft, in confidence and fecurity, in the free and undisturbed enjoyment of the bleffings which we poffels. We are in that state, in which the majority, I believe, of thofe who hear me, are in their hearts more defirous that we fhould be, than, in our prefent proftrate and defenceless fituation, they may think it prudent to avow; -in a ftate of armed truce; and then the only questions will be, at what price we purchase this truce; what our condition will be while it lafts; and in what ftate it is likely to leave us, fhould it terminate otherwife than as we are willing to fuppo.e."

Mr. Windham then confiders the relative ftate of fuch a peace and of continued warfare, and clearly proves that, even in point of pecuniary intereft, the latter would have been preferable to the former. His obfervations on this part of the fubject are particularly ftriking, and merit the clofeft attention.

We would fain follow this eminent ftatefiman through his admirable remarks on the danger to which the morals of the country will be expofed from an unreftrained intercourfe with France; but we have already far exceeded the limits ufually, allotted to fuch an article; we can therefore only extract a few more lines.

"What are we to think of a country, that having ftruck out of mens

minds,

minds, as far as it has the power to do fo, all fenfe of religion, and all belief of a future life, has ftruck out of its fyftem of civil polity, the inftitution of marriage? That has formally, profefledly, and by law, established the connection of the fexes, upon the footing of an unreftrained concubinage? That has turned the whole country into one univerfal brothel? That leaves to every man to take, and to get rid of, a wife, (the fact, I believe, continues to be so,) and a wife, in like manner to get rid of her husband, upon lefs notice than you can, in this country, of a ready-furnished lodg ing?

"What are we to think of uniting with a country, in which fuch things have happened, and where for generations the effects must continue, whatever formal and fuperficial changes prudence and policy may find it expedient to introduce in the things themselves."

We now take our leave of one of the most important fpeeches ever delivered in parliament; requesting our readers to obferve, that the intention audaciously imputed to Mr. W. of wishing to wage an eternal war with France, and of urging the minifter never to conclude peace with her until monarchy fhould be restored, is here proved to be an impudent falfehood, propagated for the worst purposes of party.

Defence of Public Education, addressed to the Moft* Reverend the Lord Bishop of Meath. By William Vincent, D. D. In answer to a Charge annexed to his Lordship's Difcourfe, preached at St. Paul's, on the Anniversary Meeting of the Charity Children, and publifhed by the Society for Promoting Chriftian Knowledge. 8vo, PP. 46. IS. Cadell and Davies. 180I.

A Defence of public education, from the pen of fo celebrated a

preceptor as Dr. Vincent, who has paffed nearly half a century in fuperintending the inftruction of youth, could not fail to be read with avidity, and examined with attention. But, as the first queftion which will naturally fuggeft itself to the mind of the intelligent reader, is What rendered fuch a defence necessary ?and as the subject itself is one of the utmost importance to fociety, we shall briefly advert to thofe circumstances which preceded, and some of which occafioned, the publication before us.

In June 1799, Dr, Rennell, Mafter of the Temple, a gentleman diftinguished, both as a scholar and a divine, preached an Anniverfary Sermon, at the General Meeting of the Charity Children in the metropolis, which was afterwards publifhed at the request of the Society for Promoting Chriftian Knowledge, and the trustees of the

*The appellation of Most Reverend, as applied to the Bishop of Meath, has been conceived to be erroneous;-but the conception itself is erroneous; for the diocese of Meath was formerly an archbishopric, and now has precedence of all the bishopricks in Ireland. The appellation, therefore, is properly retained, and the Doctor is correct in applying it. Rev.

NO. XLIII. VOL XI.

D

feveral