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40287. less than the net proceeds of the sinecures of Lords Arden, Camden, and Buckingham!-All the superannuated admirals, captains, and lieutenants, have but 1012. more amongst them than Earl Camden's sinecure alone! All that is paid to the wounded officers of the British navy, and to the wives and children of those dead or killed in action, does not amount, by 2141. to as much as Lord Arden's sinecure!-The Marquis of Buckingham's sinecure will maintain the whole victualling departments at Chatham, Dover, Gibraltar, the Downs, Heligoland, Malta, Cape of Good Hope, and Rio Janeiro, and leave 5,4667. in the Treasury. Three of these comfortable sinecures would maintain the dock yard establishments at Portsmouth and Plymouth; and the sinecures and offices executed wholly by deputy, would more than maintain the ordinary establishment of all the royal dock yards in the kingdom. Calculating at the rate of allowance made. for Captain Johnson's arm, Lord Arden's sinecures are equalto the value of 1022 captains' arms; or, by poor Lieutenant Chambers' pension, to 488 pair of lieutenants' legs!

"Comment is unnecessary: Such, gentlemen, is the reward for long and faithful services; that, for exertion, I have already shewn you."

If these things be true, and the next parliament should walk in the steps of their predecessors-the die is cast-the ruin of the country is sealed; and it only remains for the good man to retire into his chamber, and wait with awful resignation the dreadful storm that hovers over and is ready to burst upon the nation; and then with prayer to God, and the exercise of every private virtue, to hope that he may escape the general calamity; for unless we have a speedy and radical reform, a revolution or military despotism, with national bankruptcy, appears to us as the inevitable result of the mad career our governors are so eagerly pursuing. But if we cast our eye on the late elections, what hope do they present of better councils? Alas! we see the same members returned in general, and most of them professing to act upon the same principles that have brought the country into its present perilous condition : and Mr. Canning boldly declares, that he will not vote for reform in parliament; yet such is the apathy of the people, and so great is the corrupt influence that prevails, that he is elected by a great majority. Much as we deplore the return of such men, we cannot but rejoice that such half-measured men as Brougham, Sir Samuel Romilly, and Sheridan, have been rejected; it is such men that keep up the delusive hopes of the people, and are if possible more injurious than our present openly corrupt and profligate ministers. Indeed it has long appeared to us desirable, if we are to be ruined, that the men

who have begun it shall carry it on to its completion, that on them may fall all the responsibility and the punishment. One gleam of pleasure offers itself to our notice in the return for Westminster, in which two worthy men are elected without opposition, giving us a noble example, and a proof of the power of virtue, that in a place where government are supposed to possess the greatest influence, in the very vortex of the court, ministers have not dared to start a rival candidate. We also feel pleasure in reflecting on the noble stand made against corruption, in the city of London; and do hope, that where the people have the power, they will shew their hatred of the present measures, and call aloud for peace and reform. But so great is the influence of the borough faction, few places present the opportunity; and the probability is, that the next parliament, composed of the same materials as the last, and having a longer lease to act upon, will pursue those measures which we dread to contemplate, and the effect of which time must be the mighty arbiter.

Both parties, Whigs and Tories, fatten alike upon war, corruption, and the miseries of the people. The late struggle for power between these two parties, and a third, which is rising into consequence, through the false military fame of one of its branches, demonstrate that it is not the good of the nation, or the fitness to govern that is considered, but who has got the greatest parliamentary interest; that is, who possesses the power to violate the constitution in the most eminent degree, by robbing the people of their rights, and sending members to parliament instead of the people. It has proved that our government is changed, and that these vile factions have usurped the power of government from the monarch, whose interest and that of his people must be the same; and that we are alternately governed by these borough factions, who revel in the plunder of the people, get rich by war, and fatten by our keenest distresses.

Under such circumstances what can we expect but every addition to our grievances? and nothing but the prince and the people being roused from their lethargy, and uniting their voices, to demand in language not to be misunderstood or dis regarded, a restoration of their rights, can save this devoted country from impending ruin; for when we look around, what but distress assails our eyes and ears-the poor manufacturer starving for bread, and almost universal bankruptcy resulting from wild speculation and paper currency. We confess that while we deplore the individual suffering, we cannot but res joice at every blow given to this delusive system: and the failure of those great houses that have been considered invulner able, we think must have this tendency in an eminent degree,

as well as make the mercantile interest cry out for peace, who have hitherto bellowed for war, because it contributed to en rich themselves.

The probibition of commerce on the continent, and the recent war with America, seems to promise that peace alone can save this class of society from ruin, and that when their interest is affected by war, they will join against the ministry, and force them to make peace. For we are fully persuaded, that nothing will induce them to seek for peace till the general voice demands it—their interest is too deeply connected with war to make it otherwise desirable. Witness their insolent rejection of the last moderate proposal made by the Emperor of France. Much do we regret their folly, and fear that such favourable terms will never again be offered: but we cannot desert Spain (hypocritical cant !)-we have never been fighting for the Spaniards, but for ourselves, under the name of Ferdi nand the Seventh; and while Buonaparte has freed them from the feudal system, tythes, and the inquisition-we expect the Spaniards should hail us as friends when we wish to retain them all. In fact, this nation has shewn so little disposition to ameliorate the condition of Spain, that it must be clear to every thinking man, the Spanish people would be happier under the government of a Buonaparte than that of Ferdinand and the Cortes; and of course can feel no wish for our success. We may tell them that they ought to fight the enemy; but their answer must be like the ass in the fable" Will he put more than two panniers on my back?" But it is said our pros pect brightens in Spain-so much the worse for the people; for unless you give them liberty your interference is a curse; but what are these successes?-such as have occurred before, and have been followed by defeat.

It is the interest of Buonaparte to keep our army there, and if he can amuse us till he has subdued Alexander, what can prevent his overrunning Spain, at any moment that he pleases? But, says our corrupt press, he is got into a trap: Alexander in the front, and Bernadotte in his rear; he will never return to France. Vain hopes! the latter is his friend, and playing the deepest part in this dreadful tragedy; and the former, who dare not head his own army, has neither wisdom or courage to oppose his more wise and powerful opponent. Blind indeed must that man be, who cannot see more than mortal hands engaged in late events. Buonaparte, like Cyrus, appears to us raised up by the Almighty, to chastise the nations, and punish their oppressors: and let it not be objected, that he is (what we are ready to admit) a tyrant; such an one only could be fit for the dirty work: and scripture informs us it is such men the Deity frequently makes use of; and rewards them for their

trouble, though he afterwards punishes them, as in the instance of Nebuchadnezzar, Ezekiel xxix. 18, 19. "Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled; yet had he no wages, nor his army, for Tyrus, for the service that he had served against it. Therefore thus saith the Lord God: behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army.

Like him, we fear Buonaparte is performing a great service, and will have similar wages. Every thing falls before him, and his armies seem directed by a power that cannot be controuled, and all human circumstances seem equally to favour his undertakings. In Russia, what have the people to fight for?-they are held in no more estimation than cattle. What change of masters can make their condition worse, while in every change they may indulge the hope of being bettered? but it seems to matter nothing to this country what we fight for, so the war can be continued. Slavery, superstition, the Mahometan, the Grecian, or the Romish church, are all objects of our wide extended charity; and while we are the cause of all the calamity, we are astonished that Buonaparte can patiently behold the destruction of Moscow; and this bypocritical cant is imposed upon us by men who sanctioned the bloody business at Copenhagen; and who can glory in the murders of the tomahawk and scalping knife! surely, unless we amend our ways, this country must drink of the cup that is poured out without mixture. Feeling as we do for the safety and happiness of our country, we would fain rouse them from their lethargy, and call upon all who profess the Christian name to join in petitioning for peace, and reform in parliament. When the rights of the dissenters were attacked, they could speak with a voice that made the minister tremble; and is it possible they can be insensible to the sufferings of their country, and the whole of Europe? Where are those men that could load the table of the House of Lords with petitions in favour of toleration? If they are deserving the name of Christians, or the enjoyment of liberty themselves, they will come forward with the same force, and no doubt with the same effect, to obtain peace for bleeding Europe, and a radical reform in the Commons House of Parliament. By so doing they may be the means of averting the heavy judgments that hang over our devoted country; and bringing upon themselves the blessing of those, that are ready to perish. Amidst all these gloomy reflec, tions, one thing supports our drooping spirits-that God is the governor of the universe-that no event happens but by

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his direction, and that the end of that must be general and universal good. He has promised to raise up a kingdom which shall not be destroyed; " and when (Daniel vii. 27) the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High." But as this has not been accomplished, and as in most countries the vilest and weakest have had the upper hand, this change cannot take place without great convulsion and bloodshed. Believing as we do, that the work is begun, and that he who has the direction will complete his de sign--we can look forward to a period with delight, in which men shall learn war no more; but every man shall sit down under his own vine, and his own fig tree, and none shall make him afraid and however contrary appearances are at present, we feel confident that it will take place, for God himself has Spoke it,

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UPERSTITION, whatever may be the reason of it, prevails among all nations, whether rude or civilized. It proceeds undoubtedly from the fear of evil, and from the ignorance of its causes, or of its remedy. At least this alone is sufficient to imprint it in the minds of all men. The calamities of nature, plagues, sickness, unforeseen accidents, destructive phenomena, all the latent causes of pain and death, are so universal on earth, that it would be very surprising if man had not been deeply affected with them in every age. But this natural fear must always have increased, or have been magnified, in proportion to ignorance and sensi bility. It must have given rise to the worship of the elements that are most destructive to the earth, such as manifest themselves in inundations, conflagrations, and plagues; and to the worship of animals, whether venomous or voracious, but always noxious. Heuce too must have arisen the worship of men who have done the greatest injuries to mankind, of conquerors, of fortunate impostors, of the workers of prodigies, apparently good or bad; and the worship of invisible and imaginary beings, supposed to lie concealed in every instrument of destruction. Reflec tion, and the study of nature, must have insensibly lessened the number of these invisible agents, and the human mind must have arisen from idolatry to theism, but this last simple and sublime idea will always have remained imperfect and confused in the minds of the vulgar, and mixed with a multitude of errors and fancies. Revelation had confirmed and perfected the idea of the doctrine of the unity of God; and, perhaps, a more pure religion would then have been established, had not the northern barbarians, who poured in upon the several provinces of the Roman em pire, brought along with them their own sacred prejudices, which could not be dispelled but by other fables. Unfortunately, Christianity was preached to men incapable of understanding it thoroughly. They would not embrace it, unless it were attended with that external pomp and show in which ignorance delights, Interested motives burthened it, and de

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