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fest by their conduct, for what selfish interests they are contending. As they forget the interests of their country, their country have no right to sympathize with them in their ardent desires to be in place. C. W. Wynne's bill more effectually to prevent bribery at elec. tions, was not strongly supported by any side. The friends of tronage, on both sides of the house, wish to put no additional checks on their trade, and the friends to liamentary reform doubted the efficacy of the bill radically to cut up the evil. They feared that unless the borough system was completely reformed, attempts at regulation would only throw the monopoly of boroughs into the hands of government; and that if direct purchase by means of money were prevented, the more secret but not less peinicious influence of offering places and pensions, and of these powerful engines, government have the sole posession, would in such a case be more effectually exerted. The bill was thrown out in a thin house.

Among the accounts from Ireland laid before parliament, large sums appeared for publishing proclamations. Government well understand the secret of silencing the periodical press in their manner of selecting the papers, which they favour by giving to them proclamations to insert. The people also should understand the business, and know that they pay dearly

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their taxes for the apathy and venality of the public prints. Thus burdens are increased, and public spirit is destroyed by the operation of favouritism. Contrasted with such disgraceful transactions, how honourable was the honest boast made by Horne Tooke in the house of commons during the short time he was a member of that house, that in bis little property, not

one stake would be found which had been stolen out of the public fence.

We hear of a further suppres sion of the freedom of the pres at Amsterdam. The licentious

ness of one of their presses is complained of; some hints are given of immoral publications having is sued from it, and then comes the real cause of suppression, imflammatory political publications tending to unsettle the public mind against all the governments, to which Holland has been subjected.

This press is termed an excres cence and is silenced by force. The government of France now equal other regular governments in

their reproaches on a free press. It is an unwilling homage, they are forced to pay to the powers of the press, which when virtue is joined to efficacy, deserves all the praise which can be bestowed upon but when corrupted by an unfair alliance with power, proves that the corruption of the best things becomes the most pernicious.*

The cause of Catholic emancipation has during this month received additional accession of liberality both from Protestants and Catholics The resolutions of a Catholic meeting at Newry, placed among the documents, state their grievances, and the errors of favouring an opposite party, in forcible and just teims. It is pleasing to see that they de not hold an exclusive language, or suffer themselves, by the party language and conduct of their oppo nents, to be driven themselves Hit an excluding party, but are willing to unite with Protestants as fellow members of the state, without any reference to religious opinions. The Catholics have been long unjustly excluded from their rights, but hence they do not derive a claim to exclude others. The wrongs com

• For Baron Smith's remarks on the pritis See page 336.

Imitted by one party will not justify an inclination to commit a wrong by the other. We are opposed to all narrow excluding notions on any side. Let us embrace as brethren, and banish religious distinctions, respecting them: let us cordially agree to hold different sentiments with mutual good will.

Protestants and Catholics met with becoming union at Ennis, and jointly petitioned for the removal of all distinctions. Another signal instance of the triumph of liberality over prejudice occurred in the county of Tipperary. The Sheriff refused to sanction a call of a meeting, but some magistrates joined in appointing a meeting, which was held at Thurles. Much liberality was displayed both by Catholics and Protestants, and an energetic address to the Prince Regent, and petition to the house of commons, which will be found at page 337, were unanimously agreed to. After the After the Protestants withdrew, the Catholics honourably concluded the meeting by a vote of thanks to their Protestant brethren. Thus indeed it is a good and pleasant prospect to see brethren dwell together in unity. Bad policy towards Catholics has driven them into seclusion; a conrary conduct might be expected to cause an expansion, and a complete embracement of general principles, The Catholics have especial cause to complain of a system of favouritism, in dispensing the laws towards them. A disposition, fatal to the best interests of Ireland, prevails among that class of men, who as sume the character for exclusive loyalty, to attribute to Orangemen a similar claim. Division, and the favouring of a particular party, always produce weakness in a government. The excluded party be come discontented, while the fa youred are turbulent and audacious

through impunity, and not infrequently in the end turn on their supporters. Hence in those clannish drunken quarrels, which so generally disgrace Ireland, feuds are perpetuated; the triumphant rely on the encouragement and impunity they receive from the magistracy the others despairing of open redress, brood over their grievances in se, cret, and kept down by day, they seek their revenge in the night. Even in this more civilized portion of Ireland, instances of favour extended through party motives, are not infrequent, A few days ago, two men had a trifling quarrel in a market, in the county of Antrim, the Orangeman abused his antagonist, and called him a Papist thresl er, absurdly introducing religious and political distinctions into quarrel connected with with neither. The other, turning away, said to some of the by-standers, I could heat that man now, but if I did, my life would not be safe, as he would collect his brethren in another place, and overpower. me.' In another quarrel, on the same day, an assailant, on being apprehended in an act of outrage, by a peace-officer, exclaimed, "I am an Orangeman, and I call on al! Orangemen to defend me!"

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While the manner of executing the laws, favours such a system of private outrage, and while all are not secure of the most strict impartiality in the administration of justice, things are not as they ought to be, and Ireland cannot be tranquil. Innumerable evils proceed from the system of Orangeism, and notions of exclusive loyalty. In nine instances out of ten, (in ninety-nine instances out of an hundred some would say,) if the motives of the outrageously loyal, were closely nalyzed, it would be found, that they originate in some selfish regard,

in some wish to obtain or retain posts for themselves, their sons, refations, and connexions. They boast of pre-eminent exclusive loyalty, but they possess only a supposititious quality, in which the public good is a fraction of the lowest Value, and a regard to selfish interest the almost entire component. Fictitious loyalty is loud and assuming, always obtrusive on public observation, and fails of its end, and becomes languid, if it do not pretty speedily acquire the notice of the dispensers of the favours of government. By its fruits the tree is easily known. The brawlers for loyalty, by overacting their parts, frequently discover themselves.

Although the following statement has already appeared in most of the public papers, we give to it a record in our retrospect, as handing down to future times a well authenticated account of the grievons sufferings brought on by the present

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"Other places are in proportion; so that the idle looms, in West of Scotland, are taken below the truth, when stated at fifteen thousand. It is well known, that every loom laid idle, turus another person out of the employment of winding, serving, ornamenting, &c.; which, when taken into account, swells the list of idle persons to thirty thousand.”

The friends of parliamentary re form have been greatly exbilirated by a declaration said to have been made by the Prince Regent, on the minister's recommendation of Ge neral Craufurd, to the office of Governor of the military college at Marlow. A coalition is spoken of between the leading advocates for immediate and effectual, and those for gradual and moderate reform, and a canvass of town and county meetings is proposed for the co-ope ration of the people, we presume, by petitions to parliament.

And so, and so, you are once more to measure the same weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable round, and with the same likelihood of eventual success. "To collect the sense of the people!" why, the people have told you again, and again, and again, that they wish most anxiously for a reform, as if indeed there was any need of informing us, that it must be the natural wish of every proprietor in the kingdom, to have a proportionate share of politi-, cal power, and to be a real, not a virtual constituent in the constitu tion. You mock the people with asking such a question. Of the people, rightly so called, the impartial people, not one in ten thousand who do not desire their political rights. Of the eleemosynary people, who depend, for themselves, and for all their connexions, upon post, place, pension, and expectancy, not one in ten-thousand (and since. the war they are to be reckoned by tens and hundreds of thousands) but

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The reason of the people is as nuch satisfied upon the subject as c it can be. In this country, thirty in counties petitioned for reform, thirty years ago, and were then told es by Lord Charlemont, an amateur of liberty and the fine arts, to persers vere, and that they would be sure of accomplishing their purpose. Thus we are satisfied of any gospel truth, and so we depart, calmly convinced of the doctrine promulgated 6, by the preacher, but the practical reform is from year to year procrastinated, until at length some striking calamity, or severe malady, touses to a sense of duty, and brings on a panic of repentance. Is it not a truth, that deliverance from a bad habit, either in the individual, or the nation, must be effected by what may be called a sudden wrench of mind, which both in personal and public character is most likely to be the consequence, of misfortune, and often from the dread of impending dissolution?

Most painful and embittered are often our sensations, when we cannot sympathize as we think we ought; when we are not first in hailing, with hand and heart, the successes of our gallant soldiery, and our unrivalled marine, damped as we are with the consciousness of these successes adding strength and perma Bence to the multiplied errors and crimes of a most base and corrupt political system, which is, in truth, the perennial fountain of so much private as well as public immorality. In the alarming crisis, that we cannot help thinking approaches, with respect to the utter depreciation of our paper currency, we extract a consolatory hope, that a calamity of this kind, disastrous as it will, no doubt, prove to many, may yet

BELFAST MAG. NO. Xxx.

operate in occasioning this aforesaid wrench of disposition, in the most perverse parties.

Thus may be accomplished a bloodless revolution, by demonstrating the absolute necessity of creat ing, not a bank confidence, not a money confidence, but a moral con"fidence in the integrity and impar tiality of a provident and paternal government, actuated by the will, and inspired with a real regard to the welfare of the whole people.

In short, we believe that a par liamentary reform will never take place, but under the compulsion of extraordinary circumstances; and if the annihilation of paper credit. should occasion this exigence, we shall, in any event, be comforted, that ministry has been driven to its last and best resource,-the bullion of the British heart, a bullion which will, however, be obstinately hoarded, until the proper means be taken of calling it forth-viz. by a just and adequate representation of the people in parlia

ment.

We may remark, by the way, on this subject of the excess of worthless paper money, that were the waste lands and commons of the kingdom, to be appropriated as a landed security for the gradual extinction of the excess of paper, it might, under the guarantee of parliament, regain a full value in circulation, as the representative of real and exchange

able property. Paper would then have an equivalent. Sinking credit a substantial support. Population would be sustained by paper, and the capacity of the soil might be able to preserve some proportion to the fecundity of the species. There would be a paper's worth, as well as a money's worth, in the country, which in the course of some years, might accumulate in production, and the quantity of crop

XX

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raised from the waste and neglected surface, would be a worthy substi tute for the incessant abstraction of coin. These notes might be signed by Malthus, and Co. as some provision against the evils of his indefinite multiplication.

While other countries are falling back upon their resources, and endeavouring by every means to become less dependent on each other; while America is making use of her non-importation act as a bounty for the encouragement of her own manufactures; while France is training all Europe in the same economical policy, and setting herself the example of allocating 80,000 acres of her territory for the cultivation of beet root-sugar and the woad in digo, and the same number of acres for the cultivation of cotton and tobacco, while this underselling, and non-consumption policy of state, is silently, and surely, systematising throughout the world, England keeps her wastes in excellent preservation, and depends on importations from abroad, for her daily bread. Let her coin her wastes. Let her give fresh currency to her depreciated constitution. Let her instead of adding to the value of dollars, raise the value of two mil. lions of acres, and of five millions of

men.

Let her Prince set himself at the head of the people, and do it, in time enough to save his country. He will otherwise find himself in the inextricable folds of a serpeutine faction, he will grow inured to all the bad habits, and contaminated by the evil practices to which, at present, he is an involuntary accessary. The times require not merely an amiable and indolent deference of filial duty, but a heroic accomplishment of that prime and paramount duty, which the governor owes to the governed, and the power of performing which is placed

by Providence, thus early, in his hands, that he may avert the im pending danger, and approve hin self our second great deliverer. There is no medium, our Geor must either kill the Dragon of Cors ruption, or he bimself, and ail whom he protects, will be destroyed by its baleful breath.

Our fugitive leaves aspire scarcely to diurnal reputation, much less ta posthumous fame. Sufficient for the day, is the good thereof. Wel do not even speculate upon the literary distinction of appearing great-in a little book-case. There is a certain aristocracy in authorship, which we think militates much against the real utility of the press. There is an egotism, a selfishness which looks less to the public advantage, and to the general spread of knowledge, than to individual gratification. The primary, and not the secondary object is, to be contemplated by what is called the learned few, or, a still higher de light, to contemplate itself, throned upon the shelf of a library; in a darling duodecimo, of the very neatest typography. Perhaps after the painful probation of ten revol ving years, to satisfy supreme am bition, and to gloat, with miserly fondness, on the imposing magnitude of a masay quarto, with its dedication, and decoration, and first and second prefaces, and posterior proofs, and illustrations, of little adduion, and plentiful iteration. The authorship that will not condescend to commit itself to the " vulgarity" of periodical publication, is much more regardful of its dear little seif, than either of enlightening man. kind, or performing a good service to the genuine interests of literature. The wealth of mind, like the wealth of a nation, is often heaped up for the use of a craft, rather than diffused for the benefit of the kind, and never circulates through the

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