When ARITHMETIC first I begun, And, in spite of all peevish detraction, And can put a new case in subtraction. Should the Stock Holders doubt of the fact. I met with some doleful disgraces; They shall see how I shine in DIVISION. They were never before so REDUCED. That Golder and Grand RULE OF THREE; Lord Auckland, for what reason is best known to himself, became, some time ago, the voluntary defender of Mr. Addington's statement of the 18th of December last. This defence failed completely; and, we are very anxious to see how Lord Auckland will make head against the proofs, which the Finance Minister himself must soon bring forward, of the incorrectness, not to say gross deception, of his own accounts.-The war, 23 a cause of the defalcation, will not do. The defalcation began before the King's Message was sent to Parliament.-But, to take Lord Auckland's Que faire, dans une telle nuit ? hown motto: Attendre le jour !" SUMMARY OF POLITICS. ST. DOMINGO. In reading the several accounts, which have, for a year past, been published, from time to time, under this head, one would think, that there must be two islands named St. Domingo; for the accounts to which we allude, though agreeing in dates, have constantly disagreed in every other particular. Within this fortnight, the public has, for the third time, been informed, through the London news-papers, that the French army of St. Domingo was, at last, reduced to so low and wretched a state by the Flacks, as to be compelled to evacuate the colony. When and how this evacuation took place, and whither the misetable remnant of the army had proceeded, were points that were not, indeed, specified with sufficient detail; but the princi pal facts, the over-running and total ruin of the colony by the Blacks, the destruction by the sword and by pestilence of the French, the driving of these latter from all the strong holds, and the final evacuation of the island by them, these have all been distinctly and positively stated; yet, we now find, from advices of a date so recent as the 15th of April, that, at that time, the French were not only still in the island, but were in possession of every important post and town, and had, of late, met with no annoyance from the Blacks, except at Fort Dauphin, where the Blacks had got into the town by stealth, but had been instantly driven out with considerable loss. There are, in the island, ten principal places, Santo Domingo, Les Cayes, Jaquemel, Cape Nicholas Mole, Port-au-Prince, Port de Paix, Leogane, St. Mark, Cape François, and Fort Dauphin, every one of which are in the hands of the French; and, the far greater part of them never have been disturbed by the Blacks, since the French army was, by the provident wisdom of our ministers, suffered to reach its destination. Whether this army be greatly reduced, or not, is a fact which we have not the means of ascertaining; but, as we have lately been told by the London news-papers, that the Polish Brigade, " which was 66 very strong," went over to the Blacks, and as we now know, that they did not go over to the Blacks, we must conclude, that the French have, at least, one strong brigade, unless the circumstance of its not having deserted should be found to have reduced it to a skeleton. The real state of the case, as far as we are able to ascertain it, is, that the French have from 25 to 30 thousand European troops in St. Domingo, and, perhaps, 10 thousand Blacks and Mulattoes, either bearing arms of performing the laborious part of the military ser vices. Provisions are supplied by the United States of America, and are paid for, partly in colonial produce, and partly in bills upon England. The hard cash that is wanted for the army and navy, comes from the Havannah and from La Vera Cruz. As to the destruction of the colony, considered merely in point of cultivation, there can be no doubt but it has, in some degree, and even in a considerable degree, taken place; but, upon looking into the accounts of imports into the United States of America, during the last year, we find that more colonial produce has been brought thither from St. Domingo, than from any three other islands of the West-Indies put ment to hear the ministers and their partizans building any part of their hopes of successful hostility on the injury, which they shall be able to do to the fleet and army at St. Domingo, when that injury must, in whatever degree it is inflicted, tend, in the same degree, to the producing of an event, which, above all other events, they dreaded, at the close of the last war, and which they must now dread still more; because the Black Empire, if re-established, will, from having overcome the strongest European army that ever was seen in the West-Indies, have acquired a reputation it never before possessed, and will have given to the negroes in all the other islands, the dangerous example of triumphant revolt. together; and we beg leave to ask, whe- not forget that the English betrayed his prethe prizes which our ships have already decessor, must be revived and re-established. taken, and one half of which are laden-One cannot, then, suppress one's astonishwith the produce of St. Domingo, do not afford a striking corroboration of our statement. That the war will greatly, and most injuriously affect this colony, cannot be doubted; for, though the Americans should carry on the trade to and from it, more troops cannot be sent without great risk, and more troops are necessary, to complete the reduction of the Blacks, to keep them in order when reduced, and to defend the sea-ports against our attacks. But, here arises a question which we once before started, and which must receive a solution, before we can proceed to speculate on the consequences which war will produce with respect to St. Domingo. It is a maxim, elaborately laid down by the ministers, and deliberately sanctioned by the last parliament, that the independence of the Blacks in St. Domingo, or to use the phrase of Lord Castlereagh, the "exis"tence of a Black Empire," is more dangerous to our colonies, than any force which France can possibly establish there. Now, according to this maxim, how can ministers, without intentionally injuring their country, and betraying their trust, adopt any measure, or wilfully permit the doing of any act, which must evidently tend to the restoration of this dreaded Black Empire? The French army cannot continue masters of the Blacks, without receiving, from time to time, supplies of arms and ammunition and re-inforcements of men; to cut off, therefore, these supplies and reinforcements, will be to restore the Black Empire, and thereby to produce an event which, according to the maxim of the ministers themselves, must be infinitely more dangerous to us, than the safe arrival of fifty, or even a hundred, thousand French troops in St. Domingo. As to taking the colony from the French, and subduing the Blacks ourselves, that, we should suppose, would not be attempted, unless Mr. Tierney should make the Treasury overflow. Then, indeed, Lord Melville and General Maitland may, probably, be called in to carry on another St. Domingo war, at the expense of ten thousand men and twenty millions of money; but, as this is a case not to be anticipated upon slight grounds, we conclude, that ministers will make no attempt to conquer the island. Either, therefore, the French must be not only left quietly in St. Domingo, but must be permitted, during the war, to receive supplies and re-inforcements; or the fearful black empire, governed by a chief who will AMERICAN STATES.-The permanent interests of America demand, on her part, a participation in the present war against France. If she had adopted this measure last war, she would not have lost thirty millions of dollars by French seizures; she would not have suffered such unheard-of insults from that power, nor would she now have had to purchase the free navigation of the Mississippi, the countries on both sides of which, down to the very mouth, she would have had as her portion of conquest. It must be confessed, however, that it was not her fault, that she did not join in the war. She was ready to do it; both the people and the government were, at one time, anxious for such a junction; but Mr. Pitt's views never extended beyond St. Stephen's and the Bank, if they bad, Buonaparté never would have been Consul of France. The minister really seemed to have adopted the notion of the True Briton, that "America was at too great a distance to be of any weight in the "scale of European politics;" when it is evident to every man who understands the subject, that, with America on our side, France, Spain, and Holland must have yielded to any terms that we chose to dictate.The same narrow policy will, we fear, be pursued, by this country, in the present war; and, such are the materials of which the American executive government is now composed, that the same opportunity of gaining the accession of that power to a war against France, will scarcely ever return, till a total change in the external connexions, as well as in the internal politics of America has taken place.-The Americans will perceive, their government will suffer them to perceive, nothing but their immediate interests, which interests are certainly to be furthered by neutrality; and, the same notice which dictates neutrality in preference to war, will dictate a neutrality upon the French principle in preference to a neutrality upon the principle, on which England has hitherto acted. We do not think it likely, that America would join France in the war; but, we are certain, that she will endeavour to stretch the rights of neutrality so far as greatly to embarrass our maritime operations; and, her flag, while it shelters the floating property of France, will also shelter not less than 25 or 30 thousand British seamen. Will the Hawkesburies and Addington's issue such orders as shall prevent this? They dare not. The manufacturers, merchants, and money-holders of Great-Britain would soon inform them, that any thing must be submitted to, rather than risk a war with America, for which war the present American ministry would rejoice to find such an excuse as should reconcile the measure to the people. Our choice, in this respect, will, therefore, now lie between two very great evils, both of which might have been effectually prevented by continuing the last war to a safe and honorable close; or, by beginning the present war only six weeks sooner than it was begun. This is a circumstance in our affairs, which people seem to think very little about; but, let them remember, that, next October, our commercial treaty with America expires; that Mr. Jefferson may then impose extra duties on British goods, and may do many other injurious things, unless we leave a free course to American navigation. In short, let them recollect, that America is fully capable of carrying on the commerce of France, and that, if she is resolved to do it, we cannot prevent her without war, without cutting off one-fourth part of the export of our manufactures, without causing the confiscation of £40,000,000 of British property in America, without exposing our own West-India Islands to starvation; and, let them recolle&, that this great and imminent danger might have been effectually prevented, if the ministers had listened to the counsel which was repeatedly given them. They despised this counsel, and the people joined in their stupid contempt. Their reward is at no great distance. Such a people must and ought to suffer. They have sanctioned the expunging of the lilies and the bartering of the honours of the flag, and what right have they, then, to hope for respect either on the land or the sea? What right have they, above all other nations, to prevent the ships of an independent power from carrying what goods they please, and whither they please: the ancient law of nations, indeed, gives us this right; but, have we not basely abandoned all the principles of that law? Have we not bound ourselves up by the convention with Russia? And shall not the Americans claim a right to navigate upon the principles of that convention? Most assuredly they will; and, as that convention will certainly be interpreted to allow the produce of the colonies of France to be carried to or from France by neutral vessels, we can see no obstacle, that the commerce of France can, after the first four or five months, experience from our maritime exertions, without immediately producing a quarrel with the neutral powers, and particularly with the American States, which quarrel, especially in the hands of "safe politicians," could not fail to hasten. that catastrophe, which all men now begin to dread. THE CONDUCT OF FRANCE is precisely such as every reasonable man must have expected from her. The arrest of English travellers in France is an act of great injus tice and cruelty; but, who could expect any thing but injustice and cruelty from Buonaparté and his comrades? If you will play with a tyger, you must take care of his claws; and, if you say, that you did not expect such treatment, the answer is,-more fool you. Besides, you were duly forewarned; and, therefore, you stand charged with perverseness as well as folly, you are entitled neither to respect nor compassion.From our military intelligence it appears, that the French have entered His Majesty's German dominions, in spite of that prohibition, on the part of Russia and Prussia. with which the London newspapers amused their readers, some days ago. We threw out, in our last, some hints as to the disposition of Russia, relative to our quarrel with France. We have seen nothing to alter the opinion we then entertained; and, as we believe, that the dispute between Sweden and Russia was a mere pretext for making preparations to revive the armed neutrality, so we believe, that Russia will, with great pleasure, see a war, and a long war, between England and France, without the least desire, that it should terminate in the triumph of the former. If, therefore, any convention has been formed for the purpose of keeping open the Weser and the Elbe, and for preserving the strict neutrality of the Hanseatic towns, Hamburgh, Lubeck, and Bremen; if any such convention has been formed between Russia and Prussia, a fact, however, of which we greatly doubt, that compact is by no means to be regarded as a mark of friendship, on the part of those powers, towards England, but merely as a measure of selfdefence.In the electorate of Hanover the French will find a considerable booty. Hanover, escaped the fraternal hug which Suabia and other parts of the empire experienced it is fresh and fat, and a most delightful conquest, a conquest more valuable, beyond all comparison, than the prizes which we shall make at sea during the whole of the war. The Consul will not only plunder the electorate of its moveables, but will confis cate all the public buildings, lands, and other property, and will finally sell the whole of it by auction; so that, it is by no means unreasonable to suppose, that His Majesty's British dominions may be invaded by troops, bearing the produce of the sale of Hanover in their pockets. Nothing, certainly, can be more mortifying than this reflection; but, such is the natural consequence of committing one's affairs to "safe politicians," to ignorant, low-bred, low-minded, selfish, crawling ministers. It is, we suppose, very pleasant for a country to have such ministers; but, then, people must not expect to be exempt from the pain which attends this pleasure. He who prefers the spaniel to the mastiff, must submit with patience to the robbery of his house. Whether France has or has not a right to make war upon the Elector of Hanover by way of avenging herself on the King of England, is a question, the discussion of which we willingly leave to the superior talents of that able civilian Lord Hawkesbury, to whom His Majesty is, in great part, indebted for all the innumerable indignities that have fallen, and that are still failing, upon his head -The proclamation, issued, at Osnaburgh, by General Mortier is full of falsehoods; it contains a most infamous charge against His Majesty, whom this marauding general accuses of “ "perjury, and of falsifying his signature, in refusing "to evacuate Malta, according to the so"lemn obligations contracted by the treaty "of Amiens." Now, His Majesty certainly has not denied bis signature, and, as to perjury, it is absolutely impossible, that, in the present case, he should have committed it. But, though this proclamation is nonsensical as well as brutal and false, it will gain belief on the continent of Europe, and even amongst those to whom it is more immediately addressed; for, such is the way, in which the dispute with France has been managed, that, to ninety nine persons out of every hundred, England appears to be the aggressor; and to have begun the war purely for the purpose of avoiding the fulfilment, on her part, of the treaty of Amiens. This is not the fact, but the world will believe it to be the fact; and, it is a very old saying, that, what every body believes, must be true At any rate, it is the same, in the practical effect, as if it were true. And this sort of fatal error it is, that the conduct of our ministers has enabled the French to invent, and to propagate with such mischievous success. In short, we are now entered on a war of absolute necessity, on grounds absolutely false. Good grounds did exist, grounds that would have put all the world on our side; but, the bad grounds, the paltry, the false grounds, have been taken, merely because an open avowal of the true grounds of the war, would have been a decided condemnation of those who made and defended the peace. Thus, it is not sufficient that we submit to the evils of an injurious and dishonorable peace, for the base purpose of indulging the folly and selfishness of these ministers, but, we are also to submit to the probably greater evils of a war generally regarded as unjust, we are to return to the contest stripped of our character for good faith as well as for courage, for the baser purpose of disguising that folly and that selfishness. This is precisely our situation; and yet we affect to contemn the people of France! We, who are the puppets, the mere sport, of the Addingtons and Hawkesburies, do really affect to laugh at those who are now surfeiting the Consul with addresses! We, who can patiently hear Mr. Addington call on us for sacrifices such as we never before dreamed of, while we see him heaping thousands upon thousands a year on himself and his family; we it is who affect to despise the slaves of Buonaparté ! GARBLED PAPERS.-But, that which will, perhaps, do more than any thing else towards blasting our character for good faith, is, the garbling of the correspondence relative to the negotiation with France; and, we are utterly astonished, that, out of nearly a thousand Lords and Commons, not one should be founi to demand an explanation on this head; that not one should have discovered a solicitude to wipe away the stain which this transaction must leave upon the government and the country! The correspondence, such as it was laid before Parlia ment, is now printed in French, for the purpose of being circulated over the Continent, and particularly in the several courts of Europe; but, this correspondence is garbled, say the French, and we have, in our last, given our reasons for believing the French accusation to be just. Why, then, is not this matter cleared up? Can any one suppose, that the silence of the ministers will remove the charge? Are those poor men weak and vain enough to imagine, that the politicians of Europe will regard their si lence as a dignified mode of treating a groundless calumny? We do not know but they may, but we are certain, that they are, and will be, looked upon as guilty of the crime of which they are accused, unless they bring proof to the contrary. We beg leave to refer the reader to p. 821, in our last sheet, 'for a full explanation of this matter, which is well worthy of the public attention; because, unless the accusation of France be met by contradictory proof, no nation, no individual, is bound to admit as truth any official paper published by the British government. . KING.OF SARDINIA.-Our readers will certainly remember, the repeated boasts of the ministers and their adherents of having obtained so much for our allies. It was hard, indeed, to discover any thing but loss and humiliation, which they had obtained for them; but, there was some subterfuge found out respecting every one except the King of Sardinia, for whom they said it was impossible to obtain any terms, without giving up all hopes of peace. MR. PITT, during his defence of the preliminary treaty, said, "he "was ready to grant, that we ought to have "claimed Piedmont for its sovereign, but could "we have obtained it ?"(1) The answer to to this was ready, that, if we could not obtain it by the peace, we should not have made that peace. MR. WINDHAM strongly disapproved of the abandonment of the King of Sardinia, and denied that we had made any exertions to save him. "We have," said he, left Sardinia, without an attempt to re"lieve her, without even a helping hand "stretched out to support or to cheer her, "under that ruin which she has brought upon herself, with no fault on her part, while adhering faithfully to her treaty "with us."(2) This charge against the makers of the peace is now preferred by the French, and communicated to every court and every politician in Europe, through the official channel of the Moniteur, which print, under the date of the 31st of May, in commenting upon that part of the speech of the Duke of Clarence, in which his Royal Highness lamented the hard fate of the King of Sardinia, observes: that, "If En"gland had, at the forming of the treaty of "Amiens, been willing to make any sacri"fice in favour of the King of Sardinia; if she would have consented to restore Tri"nidada to Spain, or Ceylon to the Batavian Republic, there is no doubt, that France "would have made any stipulations in favour "of the King of Sardinia that England "would have desired. But, the cabinet of "London, rejected every arrangement, and (1) See Debates on the Preliminaries, Register, Vol. I. p. 1141. (2) See Debates, Register, Vol. II. p. 1180. "founded its refusal upon the principle (often expressed during the negotiation of Amiens), that the Continent is no concern of "Great Britain, that she esteems no one of "its nations, and that she relies on herself "only."(3)-Now, if this charge be wellfounded, what will the world think of us? What a selfish and perfidious nation must we pass for? And, if it be not well-founded, it should meet with instant and explicit contradiction. The ministers must not say, that they are not called upon to refute allegations that appear in the French news-papers. This excuse might have had the appearance of reason some months ago, but now that they have acknowledged the official character of the Moniteur, nay, now that they have pleaded that official character as giving to the Report of Sebastiani that importance which rendered it the subject of a negotiation, and finally the immediate cause of a war; now, we think, that they will not affect to regard the Moniteur as an unofficial paper, and its charges as beneath their notice. This, then, is the state of the case: they are accused of having abandoned our ally, the King of Sardinia, for the sake of bolding for ourselves Ceylon or Trinidada; and further, of having, during the negotiation of Amiens, repeatedly declared, that the Continent was no concern of Great Britam, that she esteemed no one of its nations, and that she relied on berself only the paper, in which they are thus charged, in the face of all Europe, is full as authentic and official as the Report of Sebastiani Sebastiani's Report has served them as the pretext for refusing to fulfil the treaty of Amiens: therefore, unless they notice the more recent publication, which we have quoted above, and which contains a charge most injurious to the character of themselves and their country, we must conclude, and all the world must conclude, that that charge is true. THE CONTINENTAL POWERS will, we are fully persuaded, feel no inclination to meddle in the present contest. The princi ples on which we made the peace of Amiens, the selfish and base motives by which this country has evidently been actuated since the present ministers came into power, and (3) Si l'Angleterre avait volu, lors du traité d'A• ́ "miens, faire quelque sacrifice en faveur de son allie "le Roi de Sardaigne; si elle avait consenti à laisser ou la Trinité à l'Espagne, ou Ceylon à la Repub"lique Batave, il n'y a pas de doute que la France "n'eût stipulé pour le Roi de Sardaigne ce que l'An"gleterre aurait desiré. Mais le cabinet de Londres a repoussé tout arrangement, et fondé son refas sur "ce principe, souvent exprimé dans la négociation "d'Amiens, que le Continent ne concerne pas la Grande "Bretagne, qu'elle n'en estime aucune nation, et "qu'elle ne se fie qu'a elle même,” |