system he must regard with mingled sensations of indignation and.. contempt. A complete change of administration must, in the preseut situation of affairs have been attended with numberless difficulties. Ministers, clinging to their places, have by their dilatory measures in settling the regency, most unnecessarily and mischievously deprived the nation of a constitutional executive authority for the space of three months. Much technical business demands imme-. diate dispatch, and it is understood, fully occupies the time and attention of the Regent. It is impossible that a new administration could have been settled in their places in less than a month: many changes, removals, re-elections in the house of Commons must necessarily have taken place; to say nothing of the jarring principles, which, notwithstanding the boast of union in the opposition prints, it is pretty well understood subsists between the leaders of the OUTS, to reconcile which must have been attended with peculiar difficulty. How then was it possible for the Regent to attend at the same time to the mass of national business before him, and to the formation of an entire new administration?

His royal highness must likewise in common candour obtain full credit for the grand motive he has assigned, "duty and affection "to his royal parent." What has been the state of the latter for this month past? Although several of the bulletins signed by his Majesty's physicians are intelligible to no one but themselves; although a common mind cannot comprehend how "his Majesty "proceeds very favourably in his recovery," when at the same time "there is little variation in his disorder from day to day," (Bulletin Feb. 20.) yet the general language of these diurnal billets, give the public reason to expect that the period of the recovery of his Majesty is at no great distance. Indeed the ministerial prints detail various circumstances which tend to inspire the country with extraordinary hopes on this important occasion! They positively assure us, that favourable symptoms have occurred which afford reasonable expectations that the afflictive malady, more to be deplored, if possible, in the sovereign of a great empire, than in any description of his subjects-that of blindness, may at length be removed. To encourage these hopes they farther assure us, that his Majesty's eyes which have, unhappily for himself and the nation been so long closed, absolutely begin to open, and they state this cheering proof,-"That, after a short view of, and conversation with "the Lord Chancellor and Mr. Perceval, his Majesty declared "that he KNEW them!"----Whether this circumstance throws any light on that ejaculation lately offered up by the editor of the principal opposition print, the Morning Chronicle-" Oh! that his Ma'jesty might speedily be restored, as his royal mind would in that case be truly sensible of the wretched state to which the nation

"had been reduced by the measures of his ministers !"-How far the occurrences stated tend to illustrate this pious political prayer, we leave our readers to determine. It is however a fact, that the bulletins of the physicians in general give flattering expectations of his Majesty's recovery; the Prince Regent therefore very naturally supposes that should his royal father, when restored to his usual state of health of body and mind, find his cabinet in an unsettled state, or his throne surrounded by those servants he dismissed a few years since, it might tend to bring on a relapse, or at least those "hurries," which (to use the fashionable medical phrase,) might occasion "an " erroneous view of things," and thereby put ministers to a nonplus; as it is scarcely to be imagined any one of them will, after what has passed, and what is threatened, have the hardihood to follow the precedent set them by one of their colleagues during a former illness, when his Majesty was induced to perform some of the most important functions of royalty, at the very time he was under the care of his physicians, and subject to those " hurries," the effects of mental disorder. The Prince therefore in the difficult circumstances in which he is placed, has probably, acted for the best, in retaining for a short time those servants who though not possessing his confidence or esteem, it is almost impossible to get rid of at the present moment.

Another thing is eqaully plain:-That his royal Highness is anxious-"That the fortunate event of his Majesty's recovery may 86 rescue him from a situation of unexampled embarrassment, and 'put an end to a state of affairs ill calculated, he fears," (and very justly,)" to sustain the interests of the united kingdom, in this "awful and perilous crisis, and most difficult to be reconciled to "the genuine principles of the British constitution." This seems to be the burden of the song in the Regent's letter to Mr. Perceval, iu the speech read in his name by the Lord Chancellor to the two houses of parliament, and in his answer to the address of the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council of London; and indeed when the state of the nation, and the awkward circumstances in which the Regent`is placed, are duly considered, his royal highness is entitled to full credit when he declares, that "it will be the happiest moment of his life, when he shall be called upon to resign "the powers now delegated to him into the hands of his beloved “father and sovereign.”

THE REGENT'S SPEECH AS DRAWN UP BY MINISTERS. Amidst the difficulties which surround the Regent, those are not the least which relate to his public language and conduct, lest his consistency should suffer by his seeming to approve the general

measures of ministers, and he should be supposed to identify himself with their plans. The speech lately read by the Lord Chancellor, in the name of the Regent, is much in the usual strain of those speeches which the nation has been doomed to read for these fifty years past, and more especially since its most tremendous curse lighted upon it, the administration of WILLIAM PITT. From the language of the speech recently delivered; and from the observations of ministers on the usual motion for an address, it is evident, that the general system which has hitherto been so long and so fatally pursued, is to be persevered in, and that all ideas of peace and reform have vanished from the two houses. It is currently reported that the Regent did not entirely approve of the speech made for him, and we sincerely hope the report is true.

In the debate on the address being brought up, Sir T. TURTON expressed his concern that nothing was said in the speech on the subject of peace, which, as he most justly observed,---" Is the only "legitimate end of all war." Mr. WHITBREAD expressed his wish that "when the efforts for the support of the war were touched "upon, something had been put into the mouth of the Regent, "expressive of his ardent desire that these exertions might ter"minate in a safe and honourable peace. On that point the "speech had been entirely silent, and so of course had been the "address; and thus we are left to the prospect of interminable, "and for this country in the end annihilating warfare; the seconder " of the address (the hon. Mr. Wellesley), sanguine in youth, had "told us, that no peace could be concluded till we had reduced "the power of Bonaparte, and forced him to abate in his preten❝sions! What a prospect does the hon. gentleman hold out? "A prospect of interminable war-of such a war as we cannot " endure upon our present extensive scale ..... An experience of "four years must have convinced the right hon. gentlemen that "with a view to an endless war, upon the present system of expen"diture, instead of being all powerful, we are all feebleness. "Great as our resources may be, with the lavish profusion that "has so long prevailed, we cannot go on, beyond a certain extent." To these sober and forcible reasonings, Mr. PERCEVAL replied by asking the house-" If it would be proper that any notice should "be taken of the expectation of peace in the address? With what "propriety could it be stated that peace at the present moment "was possible to be obtained? No men," he added, “would be more ready than ministers if any opportunity should occur when peace could with safety be made, to avail themselves of that op"portunity; but they would merely mislead the country, were they "to hold out to them that any thing like such an opportunity had "yet occurred" The pretensions of the ruler of France,

"were nothing less than the ruin of this country, and till he abate " from these pretensions how can peace be obtained?"

In direct opposition to these hardy assertions of the premier, we beg leave to affirm, that the Emperor of France never set up the "pretensions" he is here charged with: he never avowed his determination to overthrow the established form of government of these kingdoms, nor does it appear that he ever intrigued for the accomplishment of so base a purpose: he has never vilified the executive authority of our government, nor, exploring for any of the family which our ancestors expelled from the kingdom, termed our sovereign an usurper, a tyrant, a monster, &c. &c. &c." His only attack against what we term "our right," is on that which almost every power of Europe, has at different times deemed an usurpation; and the very phraseology. we use to describe it, the sOVEREIGNTY OF THE SEAS, affords some colour at least for their conduct.* Although he set up this pretension, during a state of warfare, yet, as soon as the British ministers afforded any proof of their sincerity in their negociations for peace, he withdrew even that pretension.. Whatever may be the crimes of the French Emperor, the renewal of the war with Britain is not amongst the number. He did not violate his faith with this country, nor did he break the treaty of Amiens. It was not his fault that we had not, in the year 1806, the blessing of peace restored to us on safe and honourable terms. This was acknowledged by some of those who were employed as negocia→→ tors, and the force of truth compelled even Lord GREY himself to confess, although by the confession he condemned his own conduct, "that had it not been for the death of his right hon. friend Mr. "Fox, he was firmly of opinion the negociation would have termi"nated favourably." It is not the fault of the French Emperor that negociations for peace have not been renewed. Whether the various overtures made by France and her allies, or by neutral powers, since the above mentioned period, were sincere or otherwise, we pretend not to determine: indeed, it is almost impossible to judge of the sincerity of such overtures, except by the disposition and conduct of the parties after those overtures have been accepted, and by the progress and termination of the negociation. What right, therefore, have our ministers to charge the Emperor of France with "determining on our ruin, and with setting up preten"sions which unless he withdraws it is impossible for us even to of"fer terms of peace?" It is true he is endeavouring to ruin our

*One of our ministerial daily prints, has the following motto, as insulting to the world, as it is impious to its maker.

"The WINDS and SEAS are BRITAIN'S wide domain,
"And not a ship without permission sails!"

A

commerce, and for this plain and natural reason; our ministers have rejected his overtures for negociation, and neglected to offer any in return; he is therefore determined, if possible, to bring down our pride and obstinacy, and attack us in the most vulnerable part, onr commerce. We have uniformly endeavoured to deprive him of his dominion on the continent, and to overthrow his government; our statesmen, with the most ridiculous affectation, refuse to address him by his lawful titles, and at the same time are outrageous against him for attacking us in the only way which promises him success. But what if the Emperor of France should retort the language of ministers on themselves, and should say " You have for these eighteen years past, almost uniformly aimed at the overthrow of the French government; you have more than once during that period invaded her dominions; one of your colleagues (Lord Liverpool) proposed marching an army to her capital; you sanctioned a measure, THE FORGERY OF HER NATIONAL PAPER, which, when a similar one was proposed to the French government in its worst state, under the dominion of ROBESPIERRE, was rejected with abhorrence; you formed and paid coalition after coalition to accomplish your designs; after these coalitions were blasted, and you found it in vain to continue the contest, and were compelled to give up every object for which you had so repeatedly declared the war just and necessary, by signing the treaty of Amiens;-you renewed the war under a false pretence (the increased naval preparations in the ports of Holland), a pretence which your own supporters in parliament afterwards ridiculed;-you ordered the British ambassador to leave France, because the French government would not consent to the violation of that treaty to which you had in the preceding year solemnly agreed:-you have since rejected terms of peace, which, by the acknowledgement of several of your own senators, and of those who were employed in the negociation, were sincerely offered on the part of France, and were safe and honourable to Britain; you have with haughtiness and arrogance unparalleled, refused even to attend to various overtures from France, and from other powers, and refused to negociate unless you dictated the very place as well as the conditions of such negociation.*-Until, therefore, you abate your pretensions, and cease to attempt the ruin of my government, I will never consent to make peace."-Should the French Emperor therefore, unfortunately follow the example of weakness and depravity combined in the persons of our ministers, WAR, ETERNAL WAR, or war of RUIN and

Mr. Canning, when secretary for foreign affairs, stated, in reply to an overture then made, that his Majesty's ministers would not consent to open any negociation at Paris!