But,

result from the deliberations of these armed bodies. Each has its standing committee, and, upon extraordinary occasions, the whole corps is assembled for the purpose of debating. Let any man calculate, if he can, the danger which may arise from there being in the country six or seven hundred armed Parliaments. From the discussion of one subject, they will proceed to the discussion of another; till, in the end, the Parliament at Westminster will not dare to act without the consent of the Volunteer Parliaments scattered all over the country. A fearful state of things is approaching, unless the Government instantly resolves to disband every corps, which is under the rule of a committee, and the members of which shall ever, on any occasion, assemble for the purpose of debating, on any subject whatever.The army, indeed, is faithful and obedient, and the contempt, which regular troops must necessarily entertain for these undisciplined, unruly levies, will, too, be a further guard against the evil consequences of example. really, it is a species of madness to suffer the existence of corps, who are to-day seen in the Park at exercise, and to-morrow threatening to lay down their arms.—One thing, however, should be attended to instantly, and that is, the mode of admitting men into volunteer corps. The admission into these corps exempts the persons admitted, from the ballot for the Militia, and also from that for the Army of Reserve. It is, therefore, of great importance to prescribe the rules by which this admission is to take place. At present a committee of any volunteer corps can grant such admission, and have therein the absolute power of exempting whomsoever they please, (as far as they have vacancies) from the operation of the Militia and Army of Reserve laws; and, also, in case of invasion, from being liable to march against the enemy, an exemption claimed by several of the volunteer-corps. Now, it never can have been the intention of Parliament to lodge such a power as this in the hands of a committee, and that too, a committee self-created. This committee will always be composed of people of some property; in most cases of men somewhat conceited also, and almost always of a meddling disposition. With such persons, there are a hundred motives for giving the preference; first, to their own relations and friends, and next to those of the same rank in life with themselves. Hence, not only

will there be great and shameful partiality; but, the heavy burthen of the Militia and Army of Reserve will be shifted from those who are able to bear it to those who are not able to bear it. In the case of that corps, for instance, whose refractory conduct has led to these remarks, it is a standing rule with the committee not to admit journeymen. The corps consists, or wishes to consist of a thousand persons; and, what right have any thousand shop-keepers and clerks to meet together and say, that they will exempt themselves from the Militia and Army of Reserve, and throw their share of those burdens upon the journeymen in the parish, in addition to what those journeymen already have to bear? This is so manifestly unreasonable and unjust, that it must be disapproved of by every one who is not the advocate of oppression.In taking leave of this subject, the Circular Letter of the Speaker of the Hours of Commons, to the Lords Lieutenant of counties, seems to call for a remark. In this letter, which accompanied the vote of thanks to the volunteers, the Speaker notifies the " confidence, "with which the House is impressed, that the

same spirit and exemplary zeal will be "exerted throughout the present contest, "until, with the blessings of Providence, "it shall be brought to a GLORIOUS issue.” What animating language! No repetition of the Treaty of Amiens? No mediation of Russia? No ignoble compromise? The object of the war is now ascertained by Parlia ment: it is glory we are to look for; for glory alone are we to contend. Pleased as every one must be at this great sentiment, most persons appear to wish, that it had been conveyed to the public in the form as originally voted by the House of Commons. We all know, that the Speaker is merely the organ of the House; and, it is to be presumed, that he would not, especially upon a subject so momentous as that of the object of the war, have ventured to pass upon the public, as the sense of the House of Commons, his own private opinion. It is, therefore, to be desired that the public may be treated with a sight of the real vole of the House on this point; for nothing could more strongly tend to animate the nation, and to excite the confidence of foreign powers.

The IVth Letter to Mr. SHERIDAN was, as the reader will perceive, excluded by more important matter. It will appear next week.

nailing the flag to the mast, and sinking "the vessel of state, rather than yield one "jot of our maritime rights," but this language never fell from you, till you perceived, that the war with the Northern Powers was popular; never, till you were morally certain, that the expedition would be attended with success, and that that success was at no great distance. That the sentiments you expressed had no very solid foundation appeared pretty evident, when Lord Hawkesbury's convention came, a few months afterwards, to be laid before the parliament; for, though, in that convention was surrendered the most important part of those rights, which we had armed to defend, though it, in many instances, contained the substance and the very words of the compact, on which the armed-neutrality was founded, though, in short, nothing could well be more disgraceful to this country, yet, from your lips one word was never heard on the subject. Your dashing speech had obtained some fifty puffs in the news-papers, which had produced their intended effect amongst the silly shop-keeping politicians; and, as to the maritime rights you now appear to have cared no more for them, than for the injuries sustained by your unfortunate friend, the Nabob of Arcot, whom, after having represented him as the most injured of mortels, you have abandoned to his fate, because England is threatened with invasion!Your true English feeling again broke out on the tenth of March last, during the debates, which followed the King's first message relative to the dispute with France; but, as I noticed that, in a letter which I then addressed to you, I shall now hasten to the last memorable display of this invaluable feeling, which, strange as it may seem, did not take place during the debate on the address to the Throne in answer to the King's communication of the declaration of war. That was the time, one would think, for you to evince your famous feeling against France agd in favour of England. But, 18 pept

bce this detail NHL p. 385.

though the debate was very long, though it did, indeed, last two days, not a word, no not one single word did you say, to encourage the people to rally round their Sovereign, or to assure that Sovereign of your cordial support in maintaining the contest. That manly, that truly loyal and patriotic part was left to be acted by Mr. Pitt, Mr. Windham, and by all those noblemen and gentlemen of the new opposition, in both Houses, whom you have since had the modesty to represent as endeavouring to create despondency, and to embarrass the operations of government. You did not even give a silent vote in support of the address, and yet you had not the courage to remain and vote with Messrs. Fox and Grey, whose conduct I regard as fair and honourable, though their principles and their arguments were such as I could not approve of. From this time to the close of the session you took no part in the debates. All the great questions relative to taxes, and to the defence of the country, were suffered to pass over without the sound of your voice being heard in the House. Once or twice, indeed, you called somebody to order; and, in answer to what Mr. Calcraft said respecting a ballot for general service, you made a saving remark on that inexhaustible and most convenient topic, the British Constitution. You also said a few words in favour of a council of war, and voted with Mr. Fox in the division; but, the first time you found Mr. Fox absent, you contradicted what you had before asserted, and what you had voted for. With these few trifling exceptions, you were as mute as a fish, from the day war was declared to the 4th of August, that is to say, during seven of the most momentous weeks ever known to the British Parliament. But, when all the tax-bills had been got over; when all the measures of defence had been discussed and agreed on; when men and mo ney had been provided; when the nation had been awakened to a due sense of its danger, and when its spirit had been ronz by the eloquence and the indefatigable exertions of Mr. Pitt and Mr. Windham, then, behold, you came swaggering, like Falstaff with Hotspur upon his back; then you came with your reproaches against those, who talked of danger, and with your vote of thanks to those brave heroes, the members of volunteer corps, who, you had the sagacity to perceive, would soon compose a large majority of all the busy, officious, and noisy men in the country. For this memorable occasion it was, that you reserved the grand exhibition of your true English feeling; this was the bonne bouche of the

d

piece; the session was just closing, the curtain was just going to drop, and your scheme was to send off the audience deeply impressed with your merits. But, till after the prorogation of Parliament, the full ex tent of your views, in bringing forward the vote of thanks, was not perceived. Your osten atious visit to the St. James's and other Volunteer Corps; your being brought forward in the front of those corps, while under arms; the industrious circulation of the speech of Rolla, in all manner of forms, with your name at the head and foot of it; all this appeared so disgusting that one could hardly conceive how you could give into it, till it was, last week announced, that Drury Lane Theatre was to open with Pizarro, at the performance of which the members of all the Volunteer Corps were expected to attend! It was stated, in a circular puff, that this most patriotic play was 'from the hand of Mr. Sheridan, that to 'Mr. Sheridan it was whom the Volunteer Corps were indebted for the thanks voted them by the House of Commons, and that, therefore, it was hoped, that the play'house would be crowded with Voluntters !!!" " If," as Mr. Windham observed, "the ministers were susceptible of "shame, shame would have killed them "long ago;" on them, therefore, I shall not call to blush; but, what must be the reflection of every member of the House of Commons, upon reading this puff? If Mr. Whitbread had moved for the Vote of Thanks, and if, by way of return, the Volunteers had been publicly solicited to drink no beer but that of his brewing, what would have been, nay, what must have been the conclusion? And yet, it would be very diftcult to find any difference in the two cases. What, therefore, again I ask, what must be the reflection of every honourable member of the House of Commons, upon reading this bare faced, this most impudeut puff? What must be his reflection upon inding, that the vote which Lord Hawkesbury wished to see recorded as the pride and the example of posterity, is made use ot for the purpose of filling the deserted benches of a theatre; played off upon the public as a compensation for the want of new scenery and of theatrical talent! Say not, Sir, that this is prying into your pri vate concerns. Your eulogists have rendered your theatre, in relation to this subject, a public concern. They have connected your play-house performances with your parliamentary proceedings, and have made the latter a ground for giving encourage

Frenzy driven, fight for Power, for "Plunder, and extended Rule-w, for "our Country, our Altars, and our "Homes.-THEY follow an ADVEN "TURER, whom they fear-and obey 66 a Power which they bate-WB serve a Monarch whom we love-a Gon "whom we adore. Whene'er they move "in Anger, Desolation tracks their Pro"gress!--Where'er they pause in Amity,

Affliction mourns their Friendship!—They "boast, they come but to improve our "State, enlarge our Thoughts, and free us "from the Yoke of Error!-Yes-they will "give enlightened Freedom to our Minds, "who are themselves the Slaves of Passion,

Avarice, and Pride.-They offer us their "Protection-Yes, such Protection as Vul"tures give to Lambs - covering and devouring them!They call on us to bar"ter all of Good we have inherited and "proved, for the desperate Chance of

Something better which they promise.-"Be our plain Answer this: The Throne we honour is the People's Choice - the "Laws we reverence are our brave Fathers' Legacy-the Faith we follow teaches us "to live in Bonds of Charity with all Man"kind, and die with Hope of Bliss beyond "the Grave Tell your Invaders this; and "tell them too, we seek no Change; and, "least of all, such Change as they would "bring us."

"R. B. SHERIDAN."

the airs of typographical harlotry, makes a conspicuous figure in the "complete assort

ments" of those wholesale dealers in loyalty and patriotism, who, like yourself, were, a very little while ago, wholesale dealers in the praises of Buonaparté. It is, by all your familiars, the great and little devils of the daily presses, trumpetted to the world as an irrefragable proof of your loyalty. It has been, and yet is, stuck up on every dead wall, rotten post, and dirty corner in the metropolis, where it is become the formidable rival of the patriotic and philanthropic addresses of Messrs. Leake, Spilsbury, and Perkins ---Of the theology of this speech, I shall only observe, that, as far as it goes, it prefers deism before christianity. The loyalty of it is very little better; for, if "the THRONE we honour be the people's

choice," the choice of that same people who rejoiced at the peace of Amiens, and who drew Lauriston, in triumph, through the gates of the Palace, they may choose to have another throne, or to have no throne at all. In fact, this is the doctrine of cashiering Kings, and choosing others in their stead, a doctrine which the vile rabble delight in, but which every man of sense and of loyalty turns from with horror, as from the source of disobedience and rebellion. That this dangerous sentiment is not to be ascribed to the German original, and that you took some little pains to introduce it, will appear from shortly extracting the several speeches, out of which you have manufactured your loyalty.—

ROLLA. For God! and for our King! away and renew the battle.

ALONZO. God and our King!

ATALIBA [the King]. I know the hearts of my people. Shou'd my shield be pierced and rendered useless, there is not one of my subjects that would hesitate to present his breast as a buckler for his King.

*** Do the Spaniards still remain inactive? ROLLA. They tight for sordid gold-we for our native land.

ALONZO. They are led to battle by an adventurer-we by a monarch whom we love.

ATALIBA. And by a God, whom we adore.f

-The latter Speeches are preserved, by you, almost entire, and are incorporated in Rolla's address. That, and the universal shout, which you attribute to the army, and which is composed of words taken from the hymn in the original, are the only instances of the king or the "monarch" being mentioned in this effusion of loyalty. In

* Of this literary empiricism I shall give a full account, when I come to treat more minutely of your connexion with the press.

Dutton's literal translation.

that part which alone is your property, not the king but the "throne" is named, and named but once, though accompanied with the very heavy drawback of depending on the "people's choice."- -In the original there are several scenes, in which a blind veteran and his boy are introduced, during the beat of the battle, awaiting the event at a small distance, and expressing their feelings at every turn of fortune. All the language of the veteran is full of the warmest loyalty. But these scenes have been all much shortened and compressed by you, who have thought the space better filled up with bustle and incident, swords and shields, battle-axes, spears, guns, drums, and trumpets. But, the most curious alteration certainly is that where the word king is left out, and that of throne inserted in its stead. Let it be remembered, Sir, that a Peruvian was the speaker; and, that there was no people upon earth, to whom any sentiment of democracy could be attributed with less propriety or regard to truth. The maxims of the country were, that the sovereigns succeeded by divine right, and were a pecu liar race, descended, in no very remote degree, from the Sun himself. And, such was the personal devotion, with which the reigning Inea was regarded by his subjects, that the Spaniards could hardly force their way to the litter of Ataliba, from the mere fatigue of slaughtering the numbers, who pressed forward, unarmed, to offer themselves to voluntary destruction in his defence. No one who has read of the Spanish conquests is ignorant of these facts. Yet, into the mouth of your Peruvian orator, you have put no one word expressive of attachment to the person of his sovereign; but, you have, with great care, taken out of his mouth the expressions of this sort, and, instead of their king," you have made him call upon the soldiers to fight for their “ country," of which the copper-coloured general and his "brave associates," had no other notion than that it had been a desert inhabited by savages, till Mango Capac, two or three hundred years before, was sent by his father, the Sun, to civilize it! This is pretty well, but what shall we say, when your truly English" play-vamping loyalty has enlightened Rolla, so long before the poor fellow's time, with the most brilliant illumination of the republican societies here, affiliated and unaffiliated, of which you yourself were a member? You use the very phrases of their favourite maxim, that the throne, which, by the by, they laughed at as a metaphor, is the "choice of the people." This, every

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