.%*> ^^^ ^V • NX WOT /m ^ ^* ^4 q. -o?^^^* iP-r, 0^ ^O ' VVi* A r:.*^ aO •^^^v ttT* .a 1 v^^ -^^^^^ •• v> ^* ^^^^^ -^v.^^ >6^ e :. ^^0^ » ■v.-'-'-V ....V .-4? .'i^V -^ KEMAIiKS on THr r REVIEW OF INCHIQUIN'S LETTERS, rUSlISHLD IN TU£ QUARTERLY REVIEW; ADDRESSES TQ THB BIGHT HONOURABLE GEORGE CANNING, ESQUIRE. BY AN INHABITANT OF NEW-ENGLAND. BOSTON; PUBLISHED BY SAMUEL T. AKMSTROI^G^ No, 50, CoBiraiLi. 1815. E 1 & ; DlSTItlCT OF MASSACHUSETTS— To vwJ.- District Clerk^s Office. Be it riEMEMBEHEr, that on the eleventh day of April, A. D. 1815, and m the thhty-ninth year of the hidependeuce of tlie United States of Arr.ericaj SAMuiiL T. Armstho>'o, of tlie swid District, has ricposited in tliis oflife the title of a hook, the light whereof he claims as Proprietor, in the words follow- ing, to lifit: ♦'Remarks on the Review of Inchiquin's Letters, published in the Quarterly Review; addressed to the Rij^ht Honourable George Canning, Esq. In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United States, intitled, "An act for the encouragement of Learning, by securing the Copies of Maps, Chai'ts, and Books, to the Authors and Proprietors of such Copies, during the times therein mentioned;" and also to an act intitled, "An act supplementary to an act, intitled an act for the Encouragenient of Learning, by securing the Cop- ies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the Authors and Projirietors of such Copies during the times therein mentioned; and extending the benefits thereof to the Arts of DesiguiDg, Engraving, and Etching, Historical and other Prints." WILLIAM S. SHAW, Clerk of the District uf Massachusetts. PREFACE. WHEN the following Remarks were almost finished, I was informed, that Strictures on the Review of Inchiquhi's Letters had been just published in New York. As I have not read the Work, I can say- nothing of its merit: but some of my friends, who had seen it, urged me to finish what I had proposed, and to send it to the press. I have also been told, that some Observations have been published in one of the Boston news-papers on the same Review; but have not seen them. The general subject of these Remarks has become possessed of considerable importance. Great Britain and tlie United States are naturally friends; and their friendship to each other cannot fail, if it should exist, of being mutually and extensively beneficial. It has its foundation laid deep in the common origin, lan- guage, manners, laws, and religion; and scarcely less deep in the common interests. Its consequences can only be good: an interruption of it can only be mis- chievous: the destruction of it will be an evil, which cannot be measured. Nor will the injury to the United States be greater, so far as human foresight is able to divine, than to Great Britain. I have ever considered those, who on either side of the Atlantic have been willing to alienate these nations 17 PREFAeE. from each other, as governed by passion and prejudice, or as acting from ignorance or thoughtlessness. In both countries they have been sufficiently numerous. Here, as writers, they have appeared chiefly in News- papers. In Great Britain they have assumed graver characters. Both the Travellers and the Literary Journalists of that Country have for reasons, which it would be idle to inquire after, and useless to allege, thought it proper to caricature the Americans. Their pens have been dipped in gall; and their representa- tions have been, almost merely, a mixture of malevo- lence and falsehood. As they have been long contin- ued, and very often repeated, it cannot be unkind, or in any sense improper, to examine their character. A great number of these abusive effusions have been published in British Reviews. They began in Sentences, and Paragraphs: they have now become the materials of extended discussion, and indicate with sufficient evidence, a settled hostility against this country. That Britons should feel the common resentment of enemies towards us, during the existence of the present w^ar, is certainly to be expected. But men, whose minds are professedly enlarged with literature and sci- ence, are fairly required to know, that what they write is at least probably founded in truth, and to assert nothing which is not well sustained by evidence. To such men prejudice and passion ought, at least during their sober lucubrations, to be strangers. By such PREFACE. V mea contempt and sneers ought to be admitted into their writings with reluctance. But in the Reviews, which I have mentioned, the Writers, in their Obser- vations concerning this Country, have uttered little be- side the language of contempt and ill nature. The existing Government of these States has labour- ed for a long time to alienate its citizens from Great Britain, and to attach them to France. The attempt has to some extent been blasted, hitherto: but it may be renewed with fresh vigour at no distant period. The only means of rendering it finally successful, of which 1 can conceive, will be the co-operation of Britons with the existing American Government in its favourite design. In such a co-operation these Writers have embarked with an ardour, scarcely to have been expected. Few measures could with equal efficacy bring forward such a catastrophe. Their writings are extensively read in this Country; and, wherever they are read, produce a resentment and in- dignation, not easily forgotten. Very naturally, they are supposed to be the sentiments of the British nation; and the supposition easily exhibits every prospect of future conciliation as hopeless, and even the wish for it as idle and childish: for who can rationally desire any connexion either with an individual, or a nation, capa- ble of such sentiments? The account, given, in the course of this Work, con- cerning the manner, in which the British Reviews are conducted, and concerning the character of the Re- VI PREFACE. viewers, will go far towards persuading the people df this Country, that they are not to receive their effusions as being the sentiments of the British Nation, but as ebullitions from inmates of the Fleet, King's hench^ and Newgate, prisons; or from other base and despicabls hirelings, employed to aid the dirty purposes of ar dirty bookseller. The Nation has not lost its former nobleness; and Reviewers are not the organs of its will. It still contains a multitude of great, and wise, and good men, who, when the present paroxism is over, will, I trust, act towards us, as such men may be fairly expected to act. The Review of Inchiqiiin\s Letters, as I have been ver^^ lately informed, has in this country been attribu- ted to Mr. Southei/. I can hardly admit the supposi- tion, that a man, possessing the reputation of this gen- tleman, can have been the author of so unworth}'^ a production. If it is his; I can only say, I regret it, for the sake of human nature. The attention paid in the course of these Remarks to Mr. Jeffrey, the Conductor of the Edinburgh Re- view, has been abundantly merited by the indecent sneers, and slanders, issued in that Journal concerning the inhabitants of the United States. Scotchmen, and Scotland, have been treated here with every expression of good will; and we deserve from them nothing, but to be "paid in kind." But in a Work, which from the beginning has either openly, or insidiously, been hos- tile to £5ood Government, and Christianity, who, not PREFACE. Vli destitute of Common Sense, can expect any thing, which is just, or honourable. As to Mr. Jeffrey him- self, the civilities, which he received here, turned his head; and have been requited only with insolence. Nothing better could lationally have been expected from a man, who had wickedness enough to go into the field, in order to gain the reputation of a duellist, and baseness enough to aajree beforehand with his mis- erable antagonist to fight with powder only. The Eid'mburgli Review sometimes exhibits superiour tal- ents; but, as a whole, it is a nuisance to the world. It is time that the people of this country should be- gin to estimate the foreigners, who visit it, more justly. Nine, out of ten, so far as their observations are pub- lished, are mere common slanderers; and appear to cross the ocean for little else than to bely us, as soon as they leave our shores. If they dislike our country and its inhabitants, let them stay at home. We shall not molest them. Here they claim, and receive, an attention,, due only to persons of worth; and then repay our civilities with contempt and abuse. It is sufiiciently painful to be ill-treated by men of respectability; but to be subjected to the heels, and tiie braying of such creatures, as Janson, Ashe, and Parkinson; and that, in a sense voluntaril}^, is to be humbled indeed. It is to be hoped, that Americans, before they again open their houses, and their l)earts, for the reception of foreign stragglers, will demand some evidence, that Lhey arc not scoundrels. Every worthy man, from Viii PREFACE. every country, I would welcome; and wish my coun- trymen to welcome, to every good office. But it is time, that we should begin to select from so corrupt a mass, such parts, as are at least not putrid. If we can be connected with Great Britain on terms of mutual good will, and mutual respect; I shall hail the connexion with the most sincere pleasure; but, if the people of that country are only to regard us with malignity and contempt, and to treat us with abuse and slander; the sooner, and the farther, we are sep- arated, the better. Feb. L 18J5. CONTENTS. Mr. Jefferson aad Mr. Madison, • • • - The War, , , ^ . . - Honourable character of the British Nation, Conduct of the War, . . - - - Comparison of British and American Rnlers, Congress compared with the British Parliament, American Elections, . . . - - English Elections, , . ,1 « . New England Elections, , . _ - - English Electioneering, - - - - - Talents in the House of Commons, . ^ . - Matthew Lyon, „ - . . • - Duels, -- _...-. Courts of Justice, ■ . . - . Toleration, - ,.,--- Justices of the Peace, , . . - . Mii'anda, . . • . . - - Pi-ofessional education of Lawyers, - . - of Physicians, , . - English Lawyers, ..... Stealing, ,.-..-- Separation of the church from the State and its consequences, Fanaticism of England, . - - - - Education of young men for the nynistry in America, In England, ....--- Character of the English Clergy, Of the American Clergy, Of American Merchants, Of British Merchants, - . - Morals and Manners of the Americans, Landjobbers, ... American rudeness, ... Taverns, - • - - ■ English Taverns, ... American Women, . - - American Slavery, ... English, - . . - West India, . . . - Redemptioners, ... American intemperance, . - - English intemperance. Page. 14 15 16 17 21 37 29 33 37 SS 40 41 42 44 45 47 ib. ib. 48 ib. 49 50 52 54 55 64 70 ib. 7t 72 ib. 73 74 77 79 SO 81 83 86 87 88 XH CONTENTS. Gouging, -.-..-- -90 Amusements of the English, ..... 91 Morals of Manchester, .......93 of Birmingham, .-.--. 93 of London, .......97 Mediocrity of wealth in America, ..... lol Genius and Learning of Amerieaos^ ...» - 106 Barlow's Columbiad, .-.-•- 107 Mae Fingal, ........ib. Dr. Franklin, 108 Dr. Rittenhouse, .--...- lOf& Madley's Quadrant, ---.*-. m City of Washington, - - - . - - -112 Jf aval Efforts of the Americans, - . - - . US Debates in Congress, - . - - - . .Hi In the British Parliament, --.... ib. Lord Lauderdale, ..--.._ ib. Lord Stanhope, .--.--- 116 Sir Gregory Page Turner, .-.._. ib. Lord Stanhope, - - - - - . - 118 Mr. Drake, jun. ........ 119 Earl of Abingdon, -..-_-_ 12I Morals of Parliament, ..--... 12S Lord Cochrane, ----... 124 Decency, -----_.. 126 John Elwes, -.-...__ ift. Lewdness in Great Britain, ^ - . - - . Igg Edinburgh Review, -.-.-.. 129 Conductor of it, - ...... 130 Language of the United States, ..... 13^ of Great Britain, -.-... i4q Account of British Reviews, --..-. 144 Remarks on this account, - - .... I5g on this abuse of the Americaas, ... - J6^ REMARKS, &c. Sir, YOU are reported, in this country, to have in- stituted, and to controul, a literary journal, published hi London, under the title of The Quarterly Review. Whether the report is just, or not, I am unable to de- termine. If it is just; the following observations are intentionally directed to you. If not; the proper ap- plication of them will be made to some other person, probably unknown to the public as the principal patron. In the twentieth number of this work, Art. 11th, is a review of a production, styled "-Inchiquin the Jesu-. a^s Letters, during a late residence in the United States of America.^' The title you consider, and I presume justly, as fictitious; and attribute the work to a Phil- adelphian^ named IngersoU. There is a man of this name in that city, whom the inhabitants, in one of those fits of delirium, which often seixe upon large cities, sent as their Representative to Congress. Here he rendered himself in a very short time both odious and contemptible; and received such a flagellation from the Hon. Mr. Stockton, of New Jersey, as neither he nor his countrymen will soon forget: a flagellation, you will permit me to add, (since you are so ready to accuse us of manual violence^ administered, not with the hand, but with the tongue. That this silly man may have written the book, of which you speak; and that it may be a very silly book; I am not dis- posed to question. As the only knowledge of it^ which I possess, 15 derived ivQin this review, I am not 3 14 Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Madison. warranted to contradict any assertions concerning it, which are made by the reviewer. Had your strictures been confined to Inchiquin's Letters; you would nev- er have heard from me. In an early part of this paper you inform us, that the book has suggested to you, that "it might not be uninstructive, or unamusing to enquire a little into the character of the people, whom its Government are thus endeavouring to inflame into unextinguishable hatred against us, and whom we are so desirous of conciliating." "In doing this," you tell us, "we do not profess to take Inchiquin for our only guide; but shall avail ourselves of many partial, and scattered, hints to- wards a correct portrait of the people of the United States, which are to be found in the works of their own artists, as well as in those of foreigners, who have preceded this Jesuitical author." This is a task, upon which you have entered pretty extensively heretofore*, and which has been assumed by several other literary journalists of Great Britain. The spirit, with which it has been executed, has been the same: and it may be asserted without the least fear of well founded con- tradiction, that it is the very spirit, which you censure with so much severity; equally causeless; equally ma- lignant; equally dishonourable to him, by whom it is cherished. There are two subjects, on which you have remark- ed extensively, and about which I shall give myself little concern. These are the characters, and the ad- minislrations, of Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Madison. I am a federalist, and a New Englander; a Yankee, as a multitude of your countrymen choose to style us, with the same gentlemanly spirit, with which they call the French frog-eaters^ the Italians, fiddlers; and the The War. 15 Russians, bears; with which they see nothing in the Scotch, but dirt and the itch; in the Irish, nothing but bulls, and lies; and in the Dutch, nothing but smoak- ing, cheating, and stupidity; with which Dr. Clarke, otherwise a worthy man, and plainly possessed of re- spectable talents, declares, that every Russian, whom he met, was a rogue; that both sexes in that country, and those even of high rank, are encrusted with filth, and covered with vermin. There is not, I presume, an Englishman, who re- gards the character, and politics, of Mr. Jefferson, and Mr. Madison, with less approbation than myself. The former I consider as a cunning, the latter as a weak, man; and both, as hollow in their professions, insin- cere in their declarations, disposed without reluctance to sacrifice their country to the acquisition, and reten- tion, of power, and actually sacrificing it, so far as they have been able, for the accomplishment of horrid, and despicable purposes. In the progress of their measures I know not one, which wears even the appearance of patriotism, or principle. The war, existing between Great Britain and this country, of which you complain with the best reason, is in my opinion unnatural, impolitic on our part, causeless, and unjust. I do not mean, that you have given us no grounds for complaint. Your Orders in Council were, to say the least, of a very questionable nature; and the treatment, which our commerce has received from you, both before and since that period, is incapable of any vindication. But we, also, had act- ed in a manner, equally censurable towards you. It is unnecessary, that I should recite the provocations, which we have given you. Suffice it to say, that France, to whom with a spirit of drivelling infatuation we at- 16 The War, tached ourselves, had injured us ten times, where you had done it once; and in a degree, which outran cal" cuiation Mr. Jefferson, a Spaniel where Bonaparte was concerned, and, while he thought himself safe under the imperial and royal protection, growling and bristling in a manner, somewhat formidable, at Great ^nVam, thought, poor man! that Gieai Br if ain would certainly cease to be an independent nation within twelve months from the date of the treaty concluded by Messrs. Munroe and Pinckney. This, he himself declared to Dr. Logan, was the reason why he reject- ed that treaty: a reason, for alleging which a child ten years old, if such a child could have been found, who would have allei>ed it, ought to have been whipped. At this time the British nation was employed, and had for many years been employed, in detending what was left of the liberty, and safety, of the human race; the protestant religion; and the remains of liter- ature, arts, science, civilization, and happiness; from the jaws of the Corsican Cyclop. The expense, which she incurred, the bravery of her fleets and armies, the skill and conduct of her officers, the wisdom and firm- ness of her councils, and the unanimity, patriotism and perseverance, of her inhabitants, outrun all praise; and surpass every preceding example. Blasted be the wish- es of the man, who desires to see your nation in any other than prosperous circumstances; and who will not rejoice to see it free, virtuous and happy. The human race are your debtors: and to you, under God, it is owing in a great measure, that the inhabitants of this country ara in possession of their own liberty and independence. I say this, because it is true: and not one of my own countrymen, although I am well The War. 17 aware that many of them v\ ill deny the position, will be able to refute it. In this situation, that the American Government should wish success to Napoleon was equally a proof of profligacy, and madness. Should he succeed; the only boon, which could be expected for the inhabit- ants of this country, was to be eaten up last; and the period at which they were to be devoured, was at so small a distance, as to render the postponement of the crisis scarcely a privilege. This single fact tinctures the war, deeply, with the character of ingratitude. We were neutrals: but we bad the same interest in its issue, as if we had been a party. You were defending our interest; while we were opposing it. Heaven blessed you with success: and glory be to the Author of all blessing, that he was pleased to give it in so bountiful a manner. Far, very far, however, is this from being a complete account of the merits of your countrymen. I'hey have done more to define, and perpetuate, liberty; to form a wise, upright, and stable government; to im- prove agriculture, arts, and manufactures; to extend learning, and science; and to advance the interests of morality, and religion; than any other nation, ancient or modern. Your judicial system is an exhibition of more wisdom than can be found in the internal police of any spot on the globe. The British and Foreign Bible Society, if there were no other monument of your nation to be left, would transmit your character to future generations with a glory, which will expire only with the ages of time. With the Conduct of the war, on our part, I am but little better pleased than with the original declaration. The plan of conquering Canada was equally iniqui- 18 The Conduct of the War. tous, and absurd. The inhabitants of Upper Cana- da were chiefly emigrants from the United States; and left behind them brothers and sisters, parents and children. Those of Lower Canada were perfectly friendly to us. Neither of them had done us any wrong. Yet these were the people, who were to un- dergo the principal sufferings of the war; and no rea- son could be assigned, at the suggestion of which aa upright man would not blush, why we should be wil- ling, that they should suffer at all. The acquisition of Canada would have been only injurious to us. To govern it has cost you immense sums. The United States it would have cost much more. To you the pos- session of Canada was safe. Were that country ours; we should be exposed to the discontent, turmoil, and insurrections, of the inhabitants: evils, to which no limits can be foreseen; and the expense of blood, and treasure, which would be necessary to quell, not to say exterminate, them, it would be very difficult to esti- mate: to omit what is much more important; the im- measurable guilt of bringing the miseries, inseparable from such a process, upon a people, to whom we owe nothing but good will. Our Government was ill informed, and weak, enough to believe these people their friends: and un- der this persuasion resolutely attempted, at the com- mencement of the war, to detach them from their alle- giance, and their interests. Alternately, they were threatened, and courted: and the same hand held out to them the torch and the olive branch. The Cana- dians wisely disregarded both; and, unterrified by that preeminent specimen of barbarism, the procla- mation of Gen. Hull, (dictated for that officer, as I am told he declares; at Washingion,) adhered to their The Conduct of the War, 19 interest, and their Sovereign. Since that period we have done what was in our power to alienate them still further, and, it must be acknowledged, have been eminently successful. They now hate us as cordially, as we can desire; and, it is to be hoped, that even the unsusceptible mind of Mr. Madison, illustrious as he is for pertinacity, has already, or will soon, become a convert to this opinion. If not, let him send Gen. Pe- ter B. Potier on two or three more Indian excursions into that country; and all the difficulties in the way of his conversion will vanish. Gen. Hull, who was sent at the commencement of the war to subdue Upper Canada, and who had ac- quired an honourable character as a field officer in the American Revolution, particularly in the resistance made to Gen. Burgoyue, was hurried off to Detroit with an expedition, which indicated, that his employ- ers supposed he had nothing to do, after his arrival, but to say " Veni, vidi, vici;^' and the work would be done. He found at Detroit half an army, half vict- ualled, half clothed, miserably furnished with the means of making war, and with little provision for their own safety, health, or comfoit. The disastrous issue of the enterprise was an equal, and signal, proof of the folly of those, by whom it was originated, and of the jus- tice of God. A similar character must be given of the succeed- ing attempts of Gens. Dearborn, Hampton, and fViL- kinson. An examination of them, here, would be un- necessary and tedious. I shall not, therefore, weary myself with writing, nor you with reading it. It will be enough to say, that by our various expeditions in- to Canada we have lost much, and gained nothing. We have, indeed, inflicted many evils upon you. Of 20 The Conduet of the War. this we ought to be ashamed; and for it we have been, and hereafter probably may be still more, severely punished. We have destroyed your people; and you, ours. You have boasted of your victories, and so have we of ours; and both, often without any reason. We have burnt your villages; and you have burnt ours. We blew up the parliament house at Little York; and you blew up the American Capitol, and the Pres- ident's house, at Washington. The destruction was in both cases causeless, and wanton; and both parties exhibited themselves as mere barbarians. Yet I con- fess, we set you the example. Sir George Prevost, however, in a solemn proclamation, published after the destruction of Buff aloe Creek, and its environs, de- clared, that the work of retaliation had been carried sufficiently far. From this time nothing had occurred, which could justify the ravages at Washington. In your attacks upon us you have had little more success than we in ours upon you. The bargain has been a losing one on both sides; and the sooner it is terminated, the better. A little common sense, and a little good nature, would easily bring the controversy to a close- But it is questionable whether your govern- ment, or ours, will very soon possess enough of either to effectuate so desirable a purpose. That ours will, I confess, I have no expectation. Your History of the progress of the American gov- ernment is in some respects just, and in some errone- ous. If you wish to see the subject correctly stated; you will fmd it exhibited in a masterly manner by the Hon. Robert Goodloe Harper^ in an Address to his fel- low citizens, assembled at Annapolis^ to celebrate the victories of the Allies over Napoleon. Permit me to recommend this work to you, although it is an Amer- The American Rulers. 21 ican production, and written in a country, which you think a land of barbarism and blunders. It will afiford you much useful instruction, which you cannot get elsewhere; and will teach you to write with a bet- ter spirit, and in better language. At the same time it will gratify your spleen against one class of the Amer^ leans by shewing you the unworthy character, and disgraceful conduct, of the leaders of that class; and the base manner, in which they collected, and arrang- ed, their political party. The expectation of being gratified in this respect, will, I hope, induce you to read the book. The first theme of your censure is made up of our Rulers, and their Administration. On this subject I presume you will hardly demand of me more liberal concessions than those, which I have already made. Let us now turn oUr eyes to Great Britain; and see whether in this respect our character will suffer by a comparison with yours. Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Madison are, we will suppose, weak Tiien. To the former, indeed, you allow a plausible address, and considerable talents: and it must be acknowledged, that he possesses, in no contemptible degree, the talent, which is styled Cunning. As to talents of any other nature, 1 will leave him to display and his friends to admit them. Place both these Magistrates as low as you please. Were they weaker men than your John, Stephen, Henry III, Henry VI, Edward //, James T, Charles H, and James //? Could not as many, and those equally ridiculous and contemptible, things be written, even now, concerning each of these men, as concerning the two American Chiefs? Were not both their private conduct, and their public policy, at least 4 ^2 Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Madison, as despicable; Englishmen themselves being the Judges. But "the American Rulers are grossly viciou3 men" The private deportment of Mr. Madison is, I believe, altogether decent, so far as what is commonly styled morality, is concerned. It is true, he makes no pretensions to the character of a religious man. But, I believe, he never swears, gets drunk, frequents the gambling table, nor keeps a mistress. How small, Sir, do you think, is the number of your princes, of whom this could be said with truth? Look back, if you please, upon the list which I have set before you; and tell me how many it contains, who were not blots, and brands, upon the character of man. You complain, and justly, of the hypocriiical pol- itics, and false professions, of these Presidents. Mr. Madison^ s hypocrisy is clumsy, and awkward. Mr. Jefferson'^s is adroit, and sits upon him like an accom- plishment; and, visible as it always was to men of sense and integrity, has nevertheless satisfied his party, and kept them in order. That of Charles II, though he was plainly inferiour to Mr. Jefferson in talents, was equally efficacious in controuling the principal men, and the great body, of the English nation. Not only did they unite very generally in his profligate and ruinous measures, but addressed him, and spoke of him publicly and privately, in terms of the most exag- gerated and fulsome adulation; such as on a modern ear produces effects, very similar to those, which are experienced by the palate, when tasting Ipecacuanha. A few of the distinguished Ministers of your church, and a few illustrious Laymen, opposed the abominable measures of this fiend in human shape; but the rest; your Clergy, Nobles, Parliament, and People; united Slave- Trade. 23 together in a vast mob, and followed with a hue and cry of applause this vile man, who was labouring to destroy at once their liberty and their religion. You complain of the injustice of our Rulers to Great Britain. Admit it. Turn your eyes, if you please, upon your own country. Recollect the mis- eries, which you have brought upon the people of Hindoostan, and upon the wretched inhabitants of Africa. Follow for a moment your Slave factors, prowling through this unhappy region, like a collec- tion of wolves and tygers, and destroying by the wars, which they kindled, an endless multitude of the inhab- itants, for the purpose of selling another endless multi- tude into hopeless, agonizing bondage; of whom one half perished on the way, and the other became vic- tims, at no distant period, to toil, and torture. You will tell me, perhaps, that we are equally, and even more, interested in this charge than yourselves; that we have not only been active in this infamous traffic, but have bought, and kept, and still keep, these miserable people in bondage. Softly, Sir. Our own share in this business was all begun, and carried on, under your patronage, and controul. When we form- ed our National Constitution, the States stipulated, in effect, that after the year 180S the importation of slaves should cease. To this stipulation the slave- holding States were parties: and it was the earliest dereliction of this iniquitous traffic, to which they would consent. Blame them for this part of their conduct as much as you please. I shall feel no in- ducement to refute the charge. Tiie other States either abolished slavery in their Constitutions at the first moment of tlieir political existence; or exterminate 24 Oppression of (he Hindoos. ed it by the earliest emancipation, which was in their power. This was particularly true of New England. You will perhaps reply, that Great Britain has performed the same act of justice in a manner still more efficacious. I rejoice in it. The name of JVil' herforce, Sharp, Clark^on, and their associates, 1 re- gard with all the respect, which can be due to mere men; and hail with inexpressible delight the triumph, atchieved by them at the end of a war, of near 20 years, over Liverpool slave-dealers, over West Indian slave holders, and over all the phalanx of avatice, bar- barity, and opi ression. They have erected to them- selves a monument of glory, c^re perennius. At the same time I remember with no small morti- fication the hostility, the abuse, the base passions, and the despicable sentiments, which through this long period they were obliged to encounter; not only from the West Indian slave-holders, and the Liverpool slave- merchants, who, together with their friends, found their way into your Senate, but in many instan- ces, also, from the independent Gentlemen, and even ■from the Noblemen, of your country. We accom- plished the business with much less difficulty; notwith- standing a great part of our Convention, and after- wards of our Congress, was composed of those, whose property consisted extensively in slaves. In Hindoostan your public conduct was for a long period, and until very lately, so oppressive to the mis- erable inhabitants, that persons of the first distinction in Great Britain branded it with the deepest shame. You have begun a reformation, at which every good man rejoices. Our conduct toward the Aborigines of our country, though scandalous, is far from being equally infamous with yours towards the Hindoos: The British Royal Family. 25 and the name of Harrison will go down to posterity with less infamy, than those of Clivej and Sykes. Rut, in this respect, you have begun to reform: we have not. Very unpleasant tales hang upon the private charac- ter oi Mr. Jefferson; but he never sacrificed his own daughter, as James the \st. did the wife of the Elector Palatine; nor his own friend, as the same miserable prince did Sir Walter Raleigh: and his life, with the ut- most enormities attributed to it, cannot be placed by the side of that brute in human shape, Charles the 2d. Nor did he more directly, more universally, or more wan- tonly, sacrifice the interests of the country, which he governed. It has not yet been proved, that he was a pensioner of France; nor was his servile dependence On Bonaparte so servile as that o^ Charles on Loids lUh. Nor is the war, in which we are now involved, more despicable, or more directly injurious to our in- terests, than the second Dutch war, carried on b}*" Charles in obedience to Louis, was to those of Great Britain. Charles''s whole private life was a mere mass of putrefaction. While we are on this subject, let me turn your atten- tion for a moment to the behaviour of some of the members of the present reigning Family. Recal to your remembrance for a single moment the story of Mrs. Pitzherbert; the present situation of the Princess of Wales; the story of "T/ie Book;" the history of the Marchioness of Yarmoicth; and a few other items, of the same unfortunate nature; particularly the whole history of the Duke of York. It is enough for me to direct the eye of an Englishman to these objects. I shall not insist upon them. 3d Character of British Traveliers. To these, however, I could, as you very easily know, add a terrible list, if I were to go back through the history of your Government. To say nothing of the infernal spirit of Mary the isf, the capricious and brutal violence of her Father, and the enormous avar- ice of her Grandfather; what do you think of the ex- ecution of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the barbarous treatment of several of her own subjects, by your 'good queen Bess^ If the character of rulers is to stamp that of a nation; there are, I fear, very few peri- ods of your history, which will bear an examination. How few of your Edwards and Henrys, of whom you boast so much, although several of them possess- ed great talents, were men of even a decent character. Antecedently to the present reigning Family, three or four princes will, I suspect, be all, whom you would choose to name as persons of unblemished reputation. You cannot but observe, Sir, the tenderness, with which I have treated your country, nor failed to have remarked the contrast, exhibited in it to the brutal Billingsgate, with which you have insulted mine. The facts, which you have alleged, you have drawn almost wholly from British travellers; w'ho, with a few ex- ceptions, have either from ignorance, or dishonesty, or both, so extensively violated truth, as to persuade the inhabitants of this country to doubt the soundness of all books of travels. The proverbial language, here, concerning this subject is, "What reason have we to suppose, that other travellers are more honest than these; or that they are better informed? Both their mistakes, and their falsehoods, are innumerable. Their works, instead of being portraits of this country, are caricatures. If they have drawn other countries in the same manner; we know them from these writ- American Legislaiure. 27 jngs, only as we know the character of a man from the calumnies of his enemies, or the ribaldry of his satirists." There is, however, another source of error, from which both they and you, take occasion to indulge the love, and the malignity of misrepresentation, with some advantage to yourselves, and gross injustice to us. Your travellers lay hold on a news- paper para- graph, an abusive pamphlet, or a scandalous tale, which they heard recited in conversation; and from one or other of these sources derive some fact, or facts, which have really existed. The facts themselves, in which only one, or a few individuals were concerned, you attribute to classes of men; and derive from them con- clusions, which you fasten on the whole American people. With the same equity you seize upon a custom, or characteristic, existing in a greater or less degree in some part of this country, and without qualification attribute it to the inhabitants universally. With equal truth might you ascribe the manners of Kamschaikd to the people of St. Petershurgh, and those of the Cornwall wreckers to the citizens of Westminster. In this manner what is originally true in your details is changed into falsehood; and facts are perverted to the purposes of slander. Your second attack is made on our National Leg- islature. You sift the character of the Electors, and their Representatives; and inform us from Peter Porcu- pine, (Pray, Sir, did you go to the gaol, in which he lay confined by one of your courts of justice, for libelling your Government, to get this tale from him?) that "in America the man of the people is one, who frequents the grog-shops, smokes a cigar, and harangues the pop- 28 John Wilkes, Sykes, and Burdeit. ulace with violent abuse of the hostile faction.'^ You then tell us of a man, "who had married a free black- woman in the IVest Indies, had several children by her, robbed and left her, went to the U. S. married another wife, and, "with all these blushing honours thick upon him," was elected a member of the Senate," We have undoubtedly scandalous members in our Congress. "Pray, Sir, what think you o( John Wilkes, elected into your Parliament by the proud city of London; of which you and your countrymen boast in much the same terms with those, in which iVe6- iichadnezzar boasted of Babylon; of John fVilkes elected a member of Parliament by the city of Lon- don; expellexl by the House of Commons, and by the same city elected a second time; of John Wilkes, who wrote the Essay on Woman, a mass of corrup- tion and impiety, such as probably the world never saw before; of John Wilkes, elected at the very time when this putrid production came to light, and thus sanc- tioned and supported, in this stupendous iniquity, b}' the public voice of that great city? What think you of Sykes, who was elected member of your Parliament, after having starved in India one million of people by purchasin<^ the rice, on which alone they were to live, and refusing to sell it again till he could obtain the price, put upon it by his own avarice? What think you of -Sir Francis Burdeit, the representative of your polite city of Westminster^ For his character I need not refer you to the books, whence 1 have learn- ed it. I refer you to your own knowledge. Now, Sir, permit me to ask. Do you believe, that any scoundrels in the American Congress are greater scoundrels than these; or that any Orator of a stump in the Southern States, or any backwoodsman in American Elections. 29 KenhicJcy, Ohio, or Tennessee, ever deserved to be hanged half as many times? Let me remind you, also, that this custom of haranguing a mob, as means of obtaining an election, is derived from Great Britain; that the names of Fox, and Burke, are enrolled, as well as those of Wilkes and Burdcif, among your field orators; and that although they did not mount a hogshead, or a stump, the difference of the rostrum makes no differ- ence in the practice, to the eye either of morality, or taste; that, although they were probably more elo- quent than the Ciceros of Kentucky, or Tennessee, and somewhat more learned; and thus were able, like Virgil, Ho toss about their dung with an air of maj- esty;" yet the superiority of their character serves only to display the conduct with moie deformity; and that the higher your claims of intelligence and refinement are, the deeper is your disgrace on account of this bar- barism. Permit me further to inform you, that this practice has no existence north of Maryland. You observe that "every free man in America, aye and free woman too, is a voter, and every one is free, who declares himself to be worth fifty pounds;" and, you add, "None thinks of boggling, if required, to swear to this qualification; none more expert at an evasion or equivocation than a citizen of the United States." These declarations, Sir, are, it must be owned, very candid, and very gentlemanly. Some of them I will examine here: others I shall notice in the sequel. You say that every freeman in America is a voter. If you intend, that every man is a voter who is not a slave, the assertion is a falsehood, supremely scanda- lous to you, because it is hardly possible, that you r? ' so American Elections. should not have known it to be false; and because such ignorance would be scarcely less disgraceful to a man of your political character than the untruth. If you intend, what the word is used to denote in this country, that every man who possesses the right of voting is a voter; the assertion is true: and I congratu- late you on the profoundness of the discovery. But you say "every free-woman in this country is a voter." In the Constitution of New Jersey, phrase- ology, admitted, as I understand, by mere inadverten- cy, was supposed by some of its inhabitants to give the right of voting to women: and in a very small number of instances,* and within very limited districts, women have acted as voters. This, Sir, is the only fouadation on which rests your broad assertion, that every free- woman in America is a voter. From a person who sports with truth in this manner, what can be expected, but such a foul mass of falsehood and abuse, as is contained in the Review of the Let- ters of Inchiqiiin? The terms on which men are admitted to the elective franchise in this country, are far from according with my own wishes. In some of the States they are bet- ter, and in others worse, than in Great Britain. In one respect they are immeasurably better. We give the right to men of every description, who possess the personal character, and the pecuniary qualifications^ specified by the law. We do not confine the election to particular trades, nor to particular spots of ground. We have no Old Sarums, where one man sends two members to Parliament; and no BirminghamSy where eiglity thousand do not send one. Every *I kaow but one instaac* British House of Commons^ 31 thirty five thousand freeborn inhabitants are enipovv- ered to send one member to Congress, and every man in this hst, who possesses the personal character, and pecuniary qualifications, required by law, either has, or may at his option have, a right to vote for this member. Now, Sir, we Americans believe, that this is a more equitable method of conferring the right of election than that, which is adopted in Great Britain. That, as described by a writer,* to whose authority you will not object, is the following. "The House of Commons consists of five hundred and forty eight members; of whom two hundred are elected by seven thousand constituents: so that a majority of these seven thousand without any reasonable title to supe- riour weight or influence in the state, may, under cer- tain circumstances, decide a question against the opin- ion of as many millions. Or, to place the same ob- ject in another point of view: if my estate be situated in one county of the kingdom, I possess the ten thous- andth part of a single representative; if in another the thousandth; if in a particular district, 1 may be one in twenty, who choose two representatives; if in a still more favored spot, I may enjoy the right of appointing two, myself. Or thirdly, to describe the state of national representation as it exists in reality, it may be affirmed, I believe, with truth, that about one half of the House of Commons obtain their seats in that assembly by the election of the people; the other half by purchase^ or by the nomination of single pn'oprietors of great estates.''^ This picture, Sir, is de- formed: the original cannot be very beautiful. It may be beyond your power to adopt a better mode. It was within ours; and we adopted it. • Paley's Moi'. Phil. 32 Coventry Election. Yet you say, *'The popular representation in the United States is a great fallacy, and a complete fraud, on the people: and we agree with him, (the Jesuit,) that the Turkish Constitution, which calls a leader to his post by acclamation, may just as well be called a popular representation." And do you really believe, Sir, that our representation is not as fair, as that, in which the one half of the representatives obtain their seats by purchase or by the nomination of single pro- prietors of great estates? I should not have thought that even a Reviewer, accustomed as he is to say cyC' ry thing, which may gratify the passions and preju- dices of himself, and his party, could have said this without recalling, at least for one moment, the blush, so long exiled from his cheeks. If our people are not as fairly represented as those of England, the want of fairness must be derived, not from the principle, but from abuses of it in the practice. That we are guilty of many such abuses, I am not disposed to question. Read, if you please, Sir, the following account of an election in Coventry, in the year 1805; written by a gentleman of more respectability than all your travel- lers in America united. "I had heard much of Eng- lish elections, and thought m}'Self very fortunate in having an opportunity to see the bustle of such an occasion. But I am quite satisfied with one exhibition of the kind; nor do I wish ever to behold another. For never before did I niDitness such a scene - of drunkenness, uproar^ and riot. The genius of Mac Fingal, or of Hudibras, alone could convey to you an adequate idea of a state of things, in which was most forcibly exhibited the majesty of the sovereign people, ej^ercising the right of unbiassed suffrage." Coventry Election, 33f "It seems, that the voters at English elections do not necessarily reside on the spot; many live in remote towns; and, when the period of election arrives, are transported to the place by the candidates, whose cause they espouse, and are maintained by them free of expense during the contest, which frequently lasts two or three weeks. It is stated in extenuation of this practice, that some of the electors, and especially mechanics and labourers, cannot afford to leave their homes, and pursuits, to travel to a distant county, and remain at their own charge during a contested elec- tion; and that, therefore, it is but reasonable, that the candidates should sustain this expense. However plausible this statement may appear, it is certain, that it is only an apology for an indirect species of bribery, not less effectual than the direct giving of money. For under the pretence of maintaining their voters, the can- didates buy them with wine, whiskey, and dinners: for he is always the best patriot, who gives the peo- ple the most good things." ^'The poll was held in a building, which appeared to be the market; and the respective parties were striv- in£^, each to prevent the other from getting up to the poll, to give their votes. For this purpose they did not hesitate to use every degree of violence, short of blows. The contest was principally in pushing. The two contending parties were arranged in opposition like two armies. When they came up to the poll, the two fronts met; and in every instance a violent con- test ensued: hands to hands, face to face, and shoulder to shoulder: and when one party gave way, the other would press tumultu-ously on till all fell in a promiscu- ous heap, l^hen the victorious party rising from ofT their fallen antagonists, would shout, vociferating 34 Coventry Election. huzzas, throwing their hats into the air, and making it ring with Mills! Mills! or Parry! Parry! according as one or the other prevailed. In these contests, which appeared to be in the main rather good natured, individuals occasionally kindled into a rage; and bloody noses and torn coats and shirts were usually the consequence. I saw one man who had lost half his coat, and half his shirt; and his bleeding back and face were marked with the talons of some rival voter." Such, Sir, is the description of one of your elec- tions. Were such an one to exist in New England; it would form an aera in our history; would cover with infamy both the electors and the candidates; and so long as it was remembered, would scandalize their posterity. 1 have lived long in this country; and have never yet known a single shilling given to purchase a vote. That it may have been done in solitary instan- ces, since the sera of Mr. Jefferson's inauguration may be true: but the instances must have been very few. Compare this with the following declaration of the same gentleman. "The parties were very nearly equal in numbers: the contest had already continued several days: and it was thought it would cost Mr. Parry twenty thousand pounds.'' You will remem- ber, that this is not one of those elections, "which," Dr. Paley informs us, "are obtained by purchase." But we are not at the end of our progress The writer goes on: "I know not whether this election is to be regarded as a fair sample of similar things in England; but I heard a gentleman say, at Liverpool, that these contests sometimes end in blood; that he had seen them on some occasions unpave a whole street; when every window, and lamp, would fly to pieces." Coventry Election^ 36 And again: ''The mob were all monarchs: for they were all noisy, and all drunk." "The alternate vic- tors, in the intervals of the contests, sung a kind of chorus, with loud acclamations, frantic gestures, and convulsive expressions of joy in their features. 1'he bottle went round merrily over the heads of the pop- ulace; and it was amusing enough to see the address, used to get it to the mouth. The crowd was so great, and such the eagerness to seize the bottle, that it was constantly held up at arm's length above the head: and thus it was moved on in the air; one man wrest- ing it from another: and sometimes half a dozen had hold of it at once. At length some one, more reso* . lute than his neighbours, or less drunk than they, would grasp the bottle; and, when with, much effort it had acquired a determination towards a particular throat, so great was the jobtiing, and shoving, that the wide-mouthed expectant would sometimes make sev- eral unsuccessful attempts to close his lips upon the nozzle; and in the mean time the liquor would be running in streams into his face and bosom." You should not complain of American rudeness: you live in a glass house. Still we are not at the end of our progress. The same Writer goes on: "Even the softer sex seemed to be inspired with the madness of the occasion. They were to be seen standing on heads of barrels, on the street railings, and wherever else they could find situ* ations a little more elevated, and secure, than the ground: and occasionally they mixed with the crowd, joined in the strife and acclamations, and encouraged their husbands, brothers, and lovers, by reproaches and pralseS; frowns and applauses, according as the 36 Coventry Election. parties whose cause they favoured, were victorious or defeated." It seems, Sir, that although the free women oi Coventry are not voters, they esteem it no impropriety to appear at your elections; are seen standing on heads of bar' rels like the American orators, whom you mention- ed above; that they climb the street railings, and take other positions of the like delicate nature; that occasion- ally they mix with the crowd, join in the strife and ac- clamations, and encourage their husbands, brothers, and lovers, by reproaches and praises, frowns and ap- plauses. Certainly, Sir, you ought to have summoned a little prudence, if not a little truth to your aid before you put this unfortunate declaration upon your paper: 'Every free woman in America is a voter," No free woman in America ^'stands. Sir, on the head of a barrel; climbs a street railing; mixes with a drunken crowd, over the heads of which a bottle jnoves on in the air, until one less drunk than his neighbours grasps it, and gives it a determined direc^ lion towards his own throat; or, being disappointed, turns the stream into his face and bosom." Coventry, Sir, is one of your cities; not a frontier settlement in the wilds of America. It is the see of a Bishop. If these are the manners of it's citizens; if this is a Cov- entry election; if such is the conduct of the free wo- men in Coventry; what are we to suppose concerning those of your villages? The American free women do not seat themselves in their coaches, (for coaches really exist in this barbarous land, and free women sometimes ride in them,) and ride through the streets oi Philadelphia, New Y^ork, or Boston, to beg votes for a candidate, as did the Duch- ess of Devonshire throvgh the streets of Westmhi'- New Eno'land Elections. 37 o ster to solicit thpm for the right honourable Charles J. Fox: nor, when solicitations fail, do they present their lily hands, much less their ruby lips to be kissed by a butcher; as did the same beautiful spouse of one of your prime Nobility. Really, Sir, you should not have meddled with this subject. Let me advise you, the next time you take up the employment of bespatter- ing the people of the United States^ to let their elec- tions, and their free women, alone. Permit me now to inform you in what manner elec- tions are conducted in New England: the part of the United States, with which 1 am best acquainted. On the morning of an election day the electors assemble either in a church, or a town house, in the centre of the township, of which they are inhabitants. The business of the day is sometimes introduced by a sermon, and very often by public prayer. A Mod- erator is chosen: the votes are given in with strict de- cency; without a single debate; without noise, or dis- order, or drink; and with not a little of the sobriety, seen in religious assemblies. The meeting is then dis- solved; the inhabitants retire quietly to their homes and have neither battles, nor disputes Pray, Sir, have you any such elections, as these? We have very many. Probably, all are not such: but we have no Coventry elections. Nor do I believe, that a sino-le woman, bond or free, ever appeared at an election in New England since the colonization of the country. It would be as much, as her character was worth. In- deed, Sir, you should not have meddled with this subject. But, lest you should think I am not warranted to rely on American testimony concerning British tran- sactions, I will present you with a few passages from 38 British Elections. a writer of your own. In the 44th Letter of Espridla, you will find the following observations. ^^Electioneering, as they call it, is a game at which every kind of deceit seems to be lawful. On these occasions men, who at other times regard it as a duty to speak truth, and think their honour implicated in their word, scruple not at asserting the gi'ossest and most impudent falsehoods, if thereby they can obtain a momentary advantage over the hostile party. A striking instance of this has occurred with respect to the election for Nottingham, a considerable town in the middle of England, where the contest has been violent, because party spirit has always been carried to a high degree there. Some years ago the mob ducked those who were most obnoxious to them, and killed some of them in the operation. This was not forgotten. The opposite party had the ascendancy now, and those who were noted as having been active in this outrageous cruelty were severely handled. In such cases of summary justice the innocent are liable to suffer with the guilty; and the rabble, when they had got the power, abused it. Whoever voted for the obnoxious candidate, had the skirts of his coat cut off, and it was well if he escaped without further injury." After reciting the false story, told by an advocate of the unsuccessful party, Espriclla styles it "a pious fraud to answer a party purpose," and observes, " On such occasions no frauds pious or impious are scrupledP Again, ^^Any thing like election in the plain sense of the word, is unknown in England. Some seats are private property; that is, the right of voting belongs to a few householders, sometimes not more than halV British Elcdiom. 39 a dozen; and of course these voters are commanded by the owner of the estate. The fewer they are, the more easily they are managed. Great part of a bor- ough in the west of England was consumed some years ago by fire, and the lord of the manor would not suffer the houses to be rebuilt for this reason. It is not uncommon to see a seat in a certain house ad- vertised for in the public ne'wspapers. In this mart" ner area majority of the members returned^ "In other places, where the number of voters is something greater, so as to be too many for this kind of quiet and absolute controul, the business is more difficult, and sometimes more expensive. The candi- date then, instead of paying a settled sum to the lord of the borough, must deal individually with the con- stituents, who sell themselves to the highest bidder. Remember that an oath against bribery is required! A common mode of evading the letter oj the oat h, is to lay a wager. "I will bet so much," says the agent of the candidate, "that you do not vote for us." <'Done," says the voter freeman, — goes to the hustings, gives his voice, and returns to receive the money; not us the price of his suffrage^ but as the bet which he has won!! It is said, that at Aylesbury a punch bowl full of guineas stood upon the table, in the committee room, and the voters were helped out of it. The price of voters varies according to their numbers. In some places it is as low as forty shillings, in others, at Ilches- ier for instance, it is thirty pounds. A set of such constituents once waited upon the member whom they had chosen, to request that he would vote against the minister. "D — m you!" was his answer. "What! have not I bought you? And do you think that I will not sell you?" 4# British Elections. "A great proportion of the inferiour voters are neces- sarily under the absolute controul of their employersj but there are always many, who are to be influenced by weighty arguments, applied to the palm of the hand; and the struggle for these, when the parties happen to be well balanced, leads to a thousand devices. The moment one party can lay hold on a voter of this description, they endeavour to keep him constantly drunk till the time of the election, and never to lose sight of him." "The qualification for voting differs at different places. At Bristol a freeman's daughter conveys it by marriage. Women enter into the heat of party even more eagerly than men, and when the mob is more than usually mischievous are sure to be at the head of it. In one election for that city, which was violently disputed, it was common for the same wo- man to marry several men. The mode of divorce was, that as soon as the ceremony was over, and the parties came out of church, they went into the church yard, and shaking hands over a grave, cried, Now "death us do part" — away then went the man to vote, with his new qualification, and the woman^ to qualify another husband at another church. "The house of Commons has not, and cannot have, its proportion oj talents. Its members are wholly chosen from among persons of great fortune. It is known both at schools and at universities, that the students of the privileged classes are generally remiss in their studies, and inferior in information, for that reason, to their contemporaries; there is therefore less chance for finding a due proportion of knowledge among them." British Elections. 41 "There are two ways in which men of talents, who are not men of fortune, find their way into parlia- ment. The minister sometimes picks out a few prom- ising plants from the university, and forces them in his hotbed. They are chosen so young, that they can- not by any possibility have acquired information to fit them for their situations; they are so flattered by the choice, that they are puffed up with conceit, and so fettered by it, that they must be at the beck of their patron. The other method is byway of the law. But men, who make their way tip hy legal practice, learn in the course of that practice to disregard right and wrong, and to consider themselves entirely as pleaders on the one side. They continue to be pleaders, and partisans, in the legislature; and never become states- men."* After several very coarse, and false assertions con- cerning the lawyers, "who," you say, "principally compose the House of Representatives," you tell us the story of a rencounter between Mr. Griswold and * If JWr. Southey is the author of the Review of InchiquMs Letters, the passages, here quoted from Espriella, must cover his face with crimson. The Review is principally a comparison of British respectability with American base- ness and degradation. Yet here he informs us, that Englishmen regard all kinds of deceit as lawful in electioneering; that they scruple not at asserting the grossest and most impudent falsehoods; that at a JVottingham election the mob ducked some, and killed others; that on such occasions no frauds, pious or impious, are scrupled; that any thing like an election in the plain sense of the word is unknown in England; that a Majority of the Members of the House of Commons are returned by the most corrupt influence; that seats in that House are not uncommonly advertised in newspapers; tliat, although oaths are required of the voters, they are evaded by the grossest means; that votes are publicly bougiitand sold; and that the House of Commons has not, and cannot have, its proportion of talents. If these things are true; where is the country, whose elections in a comparison with those of England will not become white? What sober man must not suppose the author of these assertions to have been delirious, when attempting such a eomparisoH? 4t Matthew Lyon, Matthew Lyon, This rencounter was disgraceful to our coujitry, and to the Congressional House of Rep- resentatives. It was supremely disgraceful to Lyon: but it was not disgiacfful to Mr, Griswold. This I could easily prove to you^ with all your prejudices against the United States. Air. Griswold is since dead. Few men possess superiour talents; and none more noble, honourable, or delicate sentiments, prob- ably in the world; and no man is more respectfully remembered by all, who knew him. The story, told with truth and justice, would be too long to be insert- ed here: it may perhaps be told hereafter. As it is exhibited in Aske''s travels, it is almost merely a col- lection of falsehoods. Lyon was an Irishman. It is not strange that an ill-bred man, who comes to this country, should bring with him his ill breeding. That this man was found m the list of National Representatives was owing to the same party spirit, which put Sir Francis Burdett into your House of Commons, a man in every respect more unfit for the place than Matthew Lyon. In- deed, you do not very often send us men, so respecta- ble, as Matthew Lyon; gross and brutal as was this outrage upon decency. You next attack us on the score oj Duels, One would think this subject ought not to have been men- tioned by a man, who himselj had so lately fought a duel with Lord Castlereagh, and had thus assumed, to the eye of God and of his own conscience, (if his conscience has an eye left,) the character, and the guilt, of a wilful murderer. You ought, Sir, to have remembered, that Mr. Pitt had very lately fought a duel with Mr. Tierney; that Mr. Fox, the other great man of your nation, fought a duel with Mr. Adam; English Duels. 4S and that the DvJce oj York fought another with Col. Ijenox When duels are fought by the most splendid Orators and Statesmen, of Great Britain; nay, at the side of your throne; and when those, who were par- ties in them, arc elevated to the stations of Embassa- dors and prime Ministers; is it strange that the exam- ple should be contagious? Is it not strange, that in the midst of these scenes of assassination, and infamy, a man should be found looking on, and himself a pri- mary Actor, who should yet turn his eye coolly off, to mark the stains of others. Look, Sir, at the rencoun- ter between Col. Montgomery and Capt. Mac Nama- ra: each of whom hazarded, and one of whom lost, his life, to finish a quarrel between two dogs. Look back. Sir, to the duel, fought by Mr. Anderson and Mr. Stephens, because the one insisted, that a window sash should be shoved up, and the other, that it should be pulled down. Look at the duel between Lord Cametford and Mr. Best, which issued in the death of the former, and which was produced by the intrigues of a prostitute, who had lived as the mistress of them both. I acknowledge all the guilt, and all the shame, which can attach to my countrymen from duels. Load them with as many imputations, as you please; and I will subjoin. Amen. At the same time. Sir, forget not those of yourself, your statesmen, and your princes: and let the brand be burnt equally deep on your own forehead, theirs, and ours. Until this is done, I think the pot ought to treat the kettle with rather more civility. In New England, before the year 1812, there were eight duels fought: one by two servants of the Plym- outh Company, within the first year after they landed; one by two West Indian youths, who were at school 44 American Courts of Justice, in Stratford, in Connecticut; one by two officers of the American army in the State of Rhode Island: three by young men of Boston and the vicinity; one by an officer of the navy and a young man of Boston; and one by two citizens of New York, who crossed the line into Connecticut, in order to avoid the sen- tence of law in their own State. Thus in 192 years there have been but five duels fought in New England by its own inhabitants. Since the year 1812, it has been said, (whether truly or not I am ignorant,) that one or more duels were fouglit in the neighbourhood of New London, by some of the officers, or the Midship- men, of the frigates blocked up in the Thames. These, also, were strangers. Will Great Britain furnish you with an opportunity of telling the same story concern- ing any part of her territory? You next attack our Courts of Justice; and assert, that our judges are not independent of the Executive power. The assertion is partially just. In Connec- ticut, Rhode Island, and Vermont, and, I believe, in one or two of the Western States, the judges are de- pendent, not on the Executive, but the Legislature. So far as this defect extends, it is a very serious one; and is lamented by all the wise and good men of this country. In Connecticut, however, the injury, nat- urally derived from this source, has not been felt. The judges have been invariably elected until their death, or resignation, except in one or two cases of supposed, or real, misbehaviour; not, indeed, in their official character, but in some transactions aside from their professional business. In all the other States, the judges are independent; holding their offices during good behaviour, and being secured in their salaries while they continue in olllice^ The salaries, also, are generally ample. American Courts of Justice. 45 The judges of the United States, (those^ to whom you evidently refer,) are appointed by the President and Senate, as you suppose; but their office is holden during good behaviour; and they cannot be removed from it, except by an impeachment, of which the House of Representatives are the authors, and a subse- quent condemnation by the Senate. Their "Salaries" also, "are adequate, and permanent, as contended for by Mr. Hamilton." They are, therefore, not "the creatures of the President and Senate." Your infor- mation concerning this subject has been erroneous, and your eloquence, lost. Generally, our Courts are both learned and upright. Some of them, I have no doubt, are defective in both particulars: and a very few of them, I believe to have been scandalously so. In the great body of them the Community confides without suspicion, as well as without complaint. Permit me to remind you, that your tribunals have not always been unstained. Look if you please at the trial of the seven Bishops; at the tribunal of the Star chamber; at the history of Jeffries. We shall not blush at the comparison. How long, Sir, did your nation struggle before its Judges were made indepen- dent? Porcupine had the same reason to complain of our Courts, as of yours. One of our Courts fined him 5,000 dollars for a libel on Dr. Rush; yours, beside fining, imprisoned him for libelling your Government. That our Courts have at times done injustice, and that our legislatures have at times been oppressive in their laws, is certain. The treatment of the Quakers at Boston, and of tlie Witches at Danvers, cannot be vindicated: but if you will look back to the reigns of Cnarles If, and James 11, you will find more acts of 7 46 The Co}iveniicle Act. injustice done within a little period, than would be done by our Courts and Legislatures in a thousand years, if they were to sustain the same character, which they have sustained hitherto, and were to pur- sue similar conduct. You ejected, imprisoned, reduced to beggary, and banished, within a small part of this little period, more than two thousand nonconformist Ministers; many of them among the first ornaments of your nation; and that, after his Majesty had thus solemnly said, "We do declare a liberty to tender c5on- sciences, and that no man shall be disquieted, or called in question, for differences of opinion, which do not disturb the peace of the kingdom." What think you, Sir, of the conventicle Act? whrch enacted — that every person above sixteen years of age, present at any meeting under pretence of any ex- ercise of religion in other manner than is the practice of the church of England, where there are five persons more than the household, shall for the first offence by a Justice of the peace be recorded, and sent to gaol three months, till he pay five pounds; and, for the second offence six months, till he pay ten pounds; and the third time, being convicted by a jury, shall be ban- ished to some of the American plantations, excepting New England, or Virginia" The very people. Sir, who were banished by this Act, and by the preceding and succeeding furious measures of your Government, came to New England, and planted it at an immense expense of toil, treasure, and blood. At all times they allowed the most absolute toleration to the Episcopa- lians, the authors of all their sufferings; and, after they became independent, placed the Episcopalians, and all other classes of religious on the same foundation of absolute ecclesiastical liberty with themselves. Were Miranda and Copenhagen. 4-7 such a tale, as this, to be found in your history; it would be boasted of by every Briton as the glory of his country; as you now boast of the toleration, actu- ally exercised by your Government. To tolerate, is, perhaps, all that you can do: happily, we can do more. "The justices of the peace," you say, "are not, as with us, respectable country gentlemen. No such character, in fact, is known in America.^^ We have no entailed estates in America; and no eldest sons, re- siding upon them, who inherit by law the whole land- ed property of their fathers: but v\^e have many gen- ilemen residing in our country towns, who are mag- istrates: men, as much superiour to your numerous list of fox hunters, who in your language are country gentlemen, and form a large part of your justices of the peaae, as these country gentlemen are to scaven- gers; superiour in intelligence, in knowledge of law, in morals, and in manners. Your country gentlemen have been so often described; and so many Americans have seen them in England; that we are not ignorant of their character, even on this side of the Atlantic. As to the scheme of obtaining this office, subjoined to the above quoted declaration; it has no existence, but in your own imagination. You mention with severity Mr. Jefferson^ s inter - ference in the business of Miranda. With my consent you may say what you please concerning Mr. Jefferson; and, when you have done, you may, also, set down by the side of Miranda, the expedition to Copenhagen; and ask a discreet Dane, which of them was the most dishonourable to human nature. You observe in the following page, that "for any of these callings, (Law, Physic, Surgery, and Divinity,) no preparatory course of study, no testimonial of com- 48 Medical Insiitutions. petency, no kind of exanniination, no particular qualifi- cations, no diploma of license, are required." You should not have made these assertions, Sir, in this round manner, without better foundation. In most, and, I believe, in all the States, Lawyers are obliged to study, in some two, and in others three years, before they can be admitted to practice. They then undergo an examination. This I know to be strict in some States: and believe it to be so in others. There are two regular law schools in this country; and| the instruction, given in them, is given with a degree of ability, and skill, which would not discredit Eng- land itself. There are at least eight Medical Institutions, and if I mistake not, nine, in the Union; in which almost all the physicians are educated. The lectures, read in them, are given by learned and able men. 1 presume that they are inferiour to the similar Institutions of London and Edinbur g 1 Still they are useful, and honourable, to the country; as honourable, the date of our colonization being considered, as those of Great Britain are to her. No physician, so far as my in- formation extends, is empowered by law, except in two or three of the States, to collect his debts for Med- ical practice, unless he has been educated in one of these Institutions. Concerning the education of persons, destined for the Ministry, I shall make some observations hereafter. Wc will now, Sir, see the estimation, in which some of the lawyers of your own country are held, at least by one of your Nobility. In the house of Lords, June 17, 1794, Lord Abingdon said, "The reform I allude to is that of those locusts in the law, the petti- fogging attornies of this country; who, like the locusts English Lawyers. 4tf in 4frica, fall like a cloud upon the earth, and eat up every thing they meet with.*' Again, "1, as a member of this House, am led to invoke the aid, and to excite the endeavours, of your Lordships in assisting me to stop the progress of this growing evil; the evil of all others, perhaps the very only one in the State, most assuredly the most crying evil in the State, that calls for and requires reform." Again, "The greater, the higher, the richer, you are, the more prone are you to its consequences, and the surer of becoming sooner or later the victims of its all devouring avarice." Once more, '^Hic niger est, my Lords; but black as this qui iam gentleman is, and still blacker could I make him, he is not half so black as those rotten limbs of the law, who have aided and assisted him in this political conspiracy, conducted by pettifogging artifice." Had my Lord Abingdon lived in this country, \ am persuaded he would never have made, nor ever have found any reason to make, such lamentations as these. Lawyers in this country, whatever information you may have received concerning them, are an hon- ourable, and liberal-minded, class of men; and are considered by their countrymen as sustaining a very fair and unimpeachable character. Among them there are undoubtedly rogues; resembling those com- plained of by Lord Abingdon: generally they possess a fair reputation. You tell us a story concerning "a set of fellows, who got into Parkinson's garden, and began to pluck the fruit." This Parkinson, Sir, has told tlie world, pro- fessedly from Mr. Jefferson, that an acre oj wheat in Virginia, yields only two bushels and a half. Did you believe this story? If you did; you supposed that ^ Virginian farmer ploughed an acre of land, and 5d Peity Thefts. then sowed a bushel and a half of wheat, in order to gain another bushel. How long did you imagine, that this profitable agriculture could go on? You knew that this story was a lie; and that the man, who told a lie, in a case so palpable, would lie in every other case, where he found any inducement. Why did you quote from such an authority? That there are people in Baltimore^ and in other places, who would take fruit unlawfully, I have not a doubt. In a ountry, where fruit abounds as it does in this, and where it is often given away in large quan- tities; and, when it is not, is often, in large quantities also, made the food of swine; it is no unnatural thing for persons in humble life, unpossessed of nice moral feelings, or distinct apprehensions of what Morality demands, to suppose, that they may take fruit, to some extent, without any great offence. In England, where fruit is comparatively scarce, and both the law and the landholder hedge it about with great care, it may well be supposed, that such license would be less frequently permitted. At the same time, you hang a man for stealing thirteen pence halfpenny. We value life at a higher price; althoigh your laws have determined, thai; the life of an Englishman is worth only this sum. Still, thefts are far less common here than they are with you. The business of your Magistrates in pre- venting and punishing, what you call poaching, is more extensive than that of the whole criminal police of this country; and, unhappily, is the business of a part of your Clergymen, as well as of Lay magistrates. In speaking concerning the separation of Church and State, you say, "It is almost needless to add, that this divorce has been productive of a pretty numerous \ Fanaticism in England. 51 crop of illegitimate* sects; all equally thriving under the salutary and fostering neglect of the parent State, To recount them would be endless. Presbyterians baptists, methodists, universalists, episcopalians* and congregational ists, quakers and moravians, dunkers and shakers; with a multitude of others, whose names it would be as unprofitable to enumerate, as it would be difficult to assign their characteristic differences of doctrine or disbelief; exhibit all together as satisfac- tory a view as can be desired, of the fanatical extrav- agancies, to which the bulk of mankind would be driven by the raptures of visionaries, or the arts of im- postors, or by the mere necessity, and craving, of the human mind for some intercourse with its Creator — in the absence of a national church and an establish- ed worship." Now, Sir, if you will please to look at the 29th of Esprielld's letters, you will find all these sects, declar- ed by one of your own countrymen to exist at the present time in England, and sixteen more; sixteen, I mean, beside those, which, to make out his list of forty-three specified, and the indefinite number, in- cluded under his ct ceteras, he has blended together with intentional inaccuracy. Yet in Great Britain the Church is not divorced from the State. Pray, Sir, whence came this numerous train of sectarians in your own country? Is it true, that the union of the Church with the State, and the separation of the Church from the State, produce exactly the same effects? This has not usually been the operation of opposite causes. To us, Sir, all these sects came from Great Britain. They are your own offspring. From you came to * Are Bpiscopaiians an illegitimate Sect;. r I 52 Camp-meetings and Methodism, this country Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, Uni- versalists, Episcopalians, and Congregationalists, Qua- kers, and Moravians, Dunkers, and Shakers, "together with a multitude of others, whose names it would be unprofitable to enumerate." The Camp-meetings, of which you make such elo-* quent mention, are derived from Great Britain. I'he very Bishops of Methodism, whom you sent over to this country, the travelling ministers, who came from England, have given birth to these shameful extrava- gancies: and these extravagancies, notwithstanding their public, solemn declarations to the contrary, are, with the highest probability, secretly cherished and supported by the leading Methodists in Great Britain. Here, by the great body of sober men, they are held in contempt and abhorrence. But they have been means of indulging the spirit of propagandism; and have actually contributed to swell the muster-roll of Methodism, by adding to it, annufilly, a considerable number of miserable wretches, easily made victims through their profound ignorance, the dictates of a vivid imagination, and ardent feelings, to the vocife- ration, and anathemas, of their itinerant exhorters. I doubt not, that the sober and virtuous men of this class, (for such, it is fairly presumed, there are,) really disapprove of these excesses; and are reluctantly in- duced to wink at them, from the mere spirit of propa- gandism: a spirit, which, when once imbibed, is tod powerful to be resisted by any ordinary human virtue. The real effect of what you are pleased to call the divorce of Church and State in this country, is to make all men feel, that they possess the same religious ri<^hts; to induce them from this consideration to feel Joanna Southcot. S3 the same interest in the prosperity of the government which equally protects them all; and to live quietly and pleasantly by the side of each other. Please now, Sir, to turn for a moment to the letters o{ Espriella; and cast your eye over the story of John Wright and William Bryan, and their visit to the prophets of Avignon. Thence proceed through the story of Richard Brothers, and of Mr. Halhed, a member of your Parliament, and a man of no despi- cable talents, a convert to the phrenzy of Brothers. Thence proceed to the next chapter; in which you will find the story of Joanna Southcot: and then say whether you believe, that any country, even the United States, ever produced specimens of religious delirium, equal to these. Remember, that among her early believers were three clergymen; one of them a man of fashion, fortune, and noble family: not dis- senting Ministers; not Presbyterian Clergymen: but Clergymen of your own Church. Did you recollect, Sir, when the Review, which is the subject of these strictures, was written, and particularly the paragraphs immediately under consideration, that Joanna South- cot was an English woman, that her rude, vulgar rhapsodies; "//le vilest string of words, in the vilest doggerel verse; which has no other connection than what the vilest rhymes have suggested;^^ were believed by several thousand persons, besides these Clergymen; that She was believed to be commissioned "to destroy the devil," and "was ordered to set down all his blas- phemies, and show to the world what the language of hell is;" that she announced herself to be the female Redeemer of mankind; a bone from Christ, the second Adam; the Bride of the Apocalypse; the promised Seed, who is to bruise the serpent's head; 8 54 Education for the Minisfry. that she disputed with the devil, and wrote down the conversation; and that she seals those, who in the Apocalypse are styled the hundred and forty four thousand servants of God. If you did recollect these facts, could you fail of subscribing the following de- claration of Espriella? "We must acknowledge, that there never was any age, or any country^ so favoura- ble to the success of imposture, or the growth of su- pei'stition, as this very age, and this very En^ landP I promised to take some notice of ihe Educatioiiy in this country^ of persons, intended for the Ministry of the Gospel. You say, that "the office of Judge in the supreme and district courts, is conferred upon per- sons, who have not gone through any previous dis- dipline, or practice, to qualify them for discharging it; and that the same holds good with regard to those, who are destined to be lawyers, physicians, surgeons, and teachers of ihe divine 'word. For all or any of these callings,'''' you say, "no preparatory course of study, no testimonial of competency, no kind of exam- ination, no particular qualifications, no diploma, or license, are required?^ The justice of these declarations I will now exam- ine. All the students in our colleges, unless some of the new ones are excepted, and some, I know not how many, in the Southern States, are taught Theol- ogy in form as a science. In addition to this, every individual, admitted to a license in the Congregational and Presbyterian Churches, and, 1 presume, in the Episcopalian also, studies Theology professionally; either with a Professor of Divinity, or with some Cler- gyman of reputation. At the termination of these studies, the candidate for a license, in the two former Churches, is regularly examined, before he can receive Theological Institutions. dS it, by an Association of Ministers, or a Presbytery, until the examiners are satisfied of his competency, and, let me add, of his piety also. This has been the state of things with respect to this subject from the first colonization of JS'ew England. When he be- comes a candidate fur ordination, he is examined again, in both respects, in the same manner; and usu- ally by another Presbytery, or Association. There is, however, one exception. A body of divines, how numerous I am ignorant, but small in proportion to that, whose conduct has been here described, does not, as I am informed, usually insist on such examinations. These are chiefly found on the eastern shores of New England. But these, and all others, require the study, and ample testimonials of the competency and gene- ral character of the candidate: and a diploma is almost absolutely indispensable. Thus, Sir, this business was established from the be- ginning. In modern times four Theological Semina- ries have been founded in this country: one at Ando- ver in Massachusetts, by Congregationalists; one in New York, by the Associate Scotch Reformed; one at New Brunswick in New Jersey, by the Dutch Church; a nd one at Princeton, in New Jersey also, by the Presbyterian Church. At Andover, students are never admitted, except in extraordinary cases, unless they have been liberally educated; nor without certi- ficates of an irreproachable character; nor without a formal examination. After admission they are placed under the tuition of three Professors; of Theology, of Sacred Litera- ture, and of Sacred Rhetoric. Their term of study is three years. In each of these years they are public- ly, and critically examined. Then, in order to obtain 56 Education for the Ministry in England. a license, and afterwards, to be admitted to ordina- tion, they must in each case pass through the Asso- ciational, or Presbyterial examination, mentioned above. What is true of the Seminary at Andover, is believed to be true, substantially, of all the other Insti- tutions of this nature. I ought to add, that the foundation of a Theologi- cal Seminary is begun in the city of New York, for the professional education of young men destined to the Ministry in the Episcopal Church. Now let me request you to look back to the para- graph, which has occasioned these remarks; and to ask, What am I, and what is the World, to think of the assertions, which you have made; assertions, with- out any foundation in truth, and without any appear- ance of decency. I think you yourself cannot but admit, that they are rash and unhappy. Of the same nature are very many of the other declarations, which are contained in the review of Inchiquin's Letters. We will now, if you please, turn our attention to the manner, in which young men are educated Jor the Evangelical Ministry in Englandy and in your own Church. In the Christian Observer for November 1811, is a Review of "The state of the Established Church, in a Series of Letters to the Right Hon. Spencer Perceval, Chancellor of the Exchequer," &c. As I have not the Letters, I shall take my quotations and references out of the Review, and such parts of the Letters as are transcribed. On the state of your Universities, the author makes the following statements. "I believe, Sir, you cannot be ignorant of the manner, in which those systems are carried into effect, or rather are neglected; that Education for the Ministry in England. Sf the example of too many among the preceptors, and the looseness of conduct suffered among the students, prove how widely our colleges have departed from the intentions of the founders; so that, instead oj re- ligion, they too often confer habits, and opinions, de- structive to the individuals, and baneful to ihose^ whose eternal happiness is hereafter to be entrusted to persons, so little qualified, or accustomed, to appre- ciate their own." p. 1. Again. " There are more vice and profligacy coun- tenanced at our universities, where a direct and obvi- ous check exists, than would be suffered to take place among its members afterwards, when they arrive ai situations in life, which present no positive restraints; and the scenes of riot and debauchery, which pass un- noticed (or at least are ineffectually noticed) by those, who cannot be ignorant of them, would, in this me- tropolis, subject the perpetrators to the correction of the police." p. 20. The Christian Observer proceeds, "Religion the au- thor conceives to be equally neglected." 'Christianity forms little or no part in the regular plan of instruc- tion. Contrary to our experience in every other pro- fession, candidates for our Ministry are taught every branch of science, but that in which they are to prac- tice. Chapel is not attended till it is half over. Ma- ny go there intoxicated as to a kind of roll call: and though the assumption of the Lord's supper is per- emptory upon the students, no care is taken to teach them its impoiiance" &c. p. 22. Letter III opens with similar statements in respect to examination for orders. "Our future clergyman, having taken his degree, (to which the principles of religion form at Cambridge no step whatever, and a4 58 Candidates for Orders in the Church. Oxford a very trifling one,) and having, often by Eu^ did alone, attained that object, announces himself a candidate for holy orders." Then "so very lax has become the examination for orders, that there is no man, who has taken a degree at the university, who cannot reckon on ordination as a certainty, whatever his attainments in learning, morals, or religion, &c." — "Speaking generally, I believe the only qualify cations are to construe a chapter in the Greek Testa* ment, and answer a few questions out of Grotius." A specimen of these answers is then given in the answer of a young man to the question, Who was the Medi- ator between God and man? Answer. ^' The Arch- bishop of Canterbury.^' pp. 24 — 26. Speaking of the difficulties, he w^ould, on the contrary, oppose to the attainment of orders, he says, "I shall, perhaps, be an- swered, 'How hard to throw a young man back upon the world! that school learning is not of so much con- sequence, as the moral character of a minister, &c." " To which he replies 1st. by hoping, that, if a change in the mode of examination were once known, candidates would come as well prepared for the lat- ter, as now unprepared for the former; and that, 2dly, it is actually "the want of attention to moral character, which is at present most to be deplored, and which he could wish to see commence even before the time of ordination, &c." I'his cursory wish, with a single page in Letter X, is the whole of the remedy, our writer has to propose for the cure of such nume- rous, inveterate, and complicated disorders. '^The first step to a reform in the church establishment," he tells us, "should be an entire and total revision of the sys- tem of our universities. A knowledge and rigid prac- tice of the duties of religion should be rendered indis- Examination for Holy Orders. 59 pensable. Vice should be not only checked, hut made after a certain limit a positive obstacle to ordination. A preparation^ and examination for orders shoidd be a part of the collegiate system, not lefl to Bishope, or their chaplains; decent attendance on the church ser- vice prescribed; and young men, intended for the church, should declare such intention on their admis- sion to the university." pp. 123 — 126. You will please to remark, Sir, this account is substantially admitted by the Editors of the Christian Observer. For they say "We might have stirred to jealousy our English universities by a close compari- son of the youth, there under tuition for holy oiders, w^ith those in foreign establishments. We might have referred our venerable pastors to that, which is daily asserted without contradiction, the incomparably great- er learning, both literary, and more especially theo- logical, to be found in the youth of our sister ministry in Scotland to that, found amongst our own. Tlicir eyes might have been ditected nearer home to instan- ces of religious education, successfully conducted even in this our own land amongst a class, whom it is alike its own misfortune, and ours, that we must consider as in rivalry with ourselves; and they might have been intreated to consider what ground has been offered for others to assert that even a large majority of regular- ly educated dissenting ministers are better versed in the common places of theology, and tiiat knowledge of their Bible, on which as a science it rests, than even a small minority of our rising ministry. Our address would then have humbly, but practically, suggested it to the conscience of each authorized instructor of youth, or superintendant of the church, how far the wished-for rckirm be not dependent, within its own 60 Examination for Holy Orders. sphere, wholly and solely upon himself. We should have advised no waiting here for general regulations, for legislative innovations, or metropolitan societies for the education of the clergy on Dr. Bell's plan, to be simultaneously adopted throughout the kingdom. The change, we should have hinted, as in our minds the only practicable one, would be the private, and perhaps unperceived change, which each collegiate, or episcopal dignitary should at the very next recurrence of public examination think himself bound in duty to adopt in regard to his own charge. We should press upon them (with all due deference to an authority, whose difficulties can only be understood from its ex- ercise) the shameful instances of abuse in these rC' spectSy which we ai^e constrained to fear, are often Jcnown to slip by those, who observe, and who might prevent, them, but do it not. Upon the heads or tutors of colleges, or professors, might be urged the immense advantage, they respectively possess, for impressing on the minds of their pupils the nature of that holy office, into which many are to pass from their hands. And even on the most venerable order itself might be urged its own absolute and uncontroulable power, for repel- ling any, (if they please without a reason) who shall dare to approach them uninformed, unqualified for the sacred office, with lips untouched by the flame of holy zeal, or censers unhallowed, to bear incense in the house of the Lord. Some living example, to this ef- fect, and some who live but in grateful recollection, might have been cited, whose salutary exertions still rescue episcopal examination from absolute contempt. And finally, we should have pointed to that great day "when the Chief Shepherd shall appear," and asked, if any temporal ease, or temporary applause for crimiiv Examination Jor Holy Orders. 61 al levity, in the discharge of their important duties would be well purchased by a burdened conscience in the recollection of past negligence, or by a single frown from His countenance, before whom "the heavens and the earth will flee away, and there will be found no place for them." Nor, as it would seem, is thi^ deplorable state of ed- ucation for the Ministry in your Church any thing new. '■'By reason whereof," says Hooker, that is, "the rash and careless ordaining of every one, that hath but a friend to bestow some two or three words of ordi- nary commendation in his behalf; the church groweth burdened with silly creatures more than need; whose noted baseness and insufficiency bringeth their very order itself into contempt." "Our Ember weeks," says Bishop Burnet, "are the burden and grief of my life. The much greater part of those, who come to be ordained, are ignorant to a degree, not to be apprehended by tose, who are not obliged to know it. The easiest part of knowl- edge is that, to which they are the greatest strangers; I mean the plainest parts of the Scriptures, which, they say in excuse for their ignorance, that their tutors in the universities never mentioned the reading of to them; so that they can give no account, or at least a very imperfect one, of the contents even of the Gos- pel. Those, who have read some books, yet never seem to have read the Scriptures. Many cannot give a tolerable account even of the Catechism itself, how short and plain soever. They cry, and think it a sad disgrace to be denied orders, though the ignorance of some is such, that in a well regulated state of things they would appear not knowing enough to be admitted to the holy sacrament.'^ 9 @S Candidates for Holy Orders. I hope, Sir, that when you and your brother joui'- nalists shall have read these statements, we shall hear no more of the want of education, or of examinations, or of diplomas, or of testimonials of competency, or of any other qualifications, in the young men, destin- ed to the Ministry in this country. I presume you have not read them hitherto, if you have, your attack upon us is as shameless, as it is unfounded. That you may not suppose me to place an undue reliance on these testimonies, respectable as they are, I will point you to one or two others. In the 46th Letter of Bsprklla^ you may find the following de- clarations. "There is to be found every where a great number of those persons, whom we cannot prove to be human beings, by any rational characteristic which they possess, but who must be admitted to be so by a sort of reductio ad absurdum, because they cannot possibly be any thing else. They pass for men in the world, because it has pleased God for wise purposes, however inscrutable to us, to set them upon two legs, instead of four; to give them smooth skins, and no tail; and to enable them to speak without having their tongues slit. I'hey are like those weeds which will spring up, and thrive in every soil, and every climate; and which no favourable circumstance can improve into utility. It is of little consequence whether they shoot water fow\,aitend horse races, frequent the broth' el, and encourage the 'wine trade, in one place, or anoth- er; but as a few years of this kind of life usually sat- isfy a man for the rest of it, it is convenient that there should be a place appointed, where one of this description can pass through his course of studies out of sight of his relations, and without injur ing his character, and from whence he can come with the advantage of Non- Residence of the English Clergy. 63 having been at the University, and a qualification, which enables him to undertake the cure of souls. The heretical bishops 7iever inquire into the moral conduct of those, upon whomihey lay their unhallo 18 Tea at evening; - - - - 18 Dinner, of two dishes, with a frugal desert, 5 Glass of beer, - - - - - 008 Bottle of Sherry, - - - - 6 Of Port, 5 Of Madeira, - - - - 9 Waiter, 8d a meal, - - - - 9 Chambermaid,each night,for making your bed, 6 Boots, for every pair of shoes, and boots, which he brushes, - - - 2 Ostler, each night, - - - - 6 Porter for carrying baggage, in and out, 6 And these are the lowest rates, which a gentleman can possibly pay; and none of them can be refused. I have stated tiiese rates, also, at the lowest esti- mates, mentioned by this gentleman. This, Sir, makes the ordinary expense of a traveller, with one horse, and without a servant, a guinea a day at a moderate computation; or more than one thousand seven hundred dollars a year. This sum, in America, at least in New England, would purchase a very libe- ral supply of Epicurean enjoyments for a large family. • Lambert, Tol. ii, p. 132. 11 7S English Taverns. Less than half of it does actually purchase them for a single traveller. But there is another fact, which illustrates this sub- ject in a different manner. "The servants at the pub- lic houses in England,^ says the gentleman, mention- ed above, "are paid by the guests, and not by their em- ployers. They not only receive no wages, but many of them pay a premium for their places: that is, the masters of the hotels farm out to their servants the priv- ilege of levying contributions; and the consideration is their service. At our hotel ( The Liverpool Arms) the chief waiter assured us, that he paid one hundred pounds per annum for his place, besides paying two under waiters, and finding all the clothes brushes, and some other et ceteras of the house. He had moreover, if we might credit his story, a wife and five children to support. The head waiters are commonly young* men of a genteel appearance, and often dress as well as gentlemen."* Were the servants in our inns to pay for their places, we might undoubtedly be furnished with an assortment of them for every inn upon very easy terms. But the custom of taxing travellers in this manner is unworthy of the character of a civilized nation; a despicable mode of plundering strangers by a set of harpies. The remaining part of your Review, Sir, is chiefly made up of attacks, founded on the Works of Jshe, Janson, Porcupine, and Priest. I am not in posses- sion of PriesVs Travels; and can, therefore, say noth- ing concerning them. With Porcupine you are suf- ficiently acquainted. The works of the otlxer writers • Sill. Jonrn. TOl. r. American Womtn. 79 are as little entitled to credit as those of Sir John Mandeville, of whom I remember to have seen this character given, when I was a boy, that he was the greatest traveller and the greatest liar, in the world. You accuse us of having civil and military officers for our inn-keepers. I admit the charge, that such persons are in some instances found in this list. Piay, Sir, will you please to inform me what there is in the fact, disgraceful either to them, or to the country. Inn- keepers are, here, generally men of very fair reputa- tion; and why they may not hold these offices, and keep inns, at the same time, cannot be explained; un- less you can prove that your manners, only, are right, and that we are obliged to conform to them.* Your attack on the Women of this country is equally false, and brutal. I have heard an advanta- geous character of the women of Great Britain; and believe it to be just: but I fear not the result of a com- parison between the fair sex in this country and in any other. There is no country on the globe, where women are more unspotted, more delicate, or more amiable. Had you resided here long enough to form an opinion, you would blush, to your dying day, for the foul treatment, which they have received from you. A countryman of yours has characterized them in the following manner. "The females of the New England States are con- spicuous for their domestic virtues. Every thing in their houses has an air of cleanliness, order, and oecon * In a debate in the House of Commons, June 1805, Co!. Cra-wford, in a la boured attack on the Volunteer system, 5\icere.<\ at the Officers of tlie Volunteer eorps because they were frequently taken from liunible life. A Loiidon Pastr>i Cook, he declared, was, within his knowledge, a Colonel of Volunteers. Lord Castlereag/i, who replied to him, did not deny the fact. It would be difficult to assign a reason, why an American Inn-keeper may not command a regiment ol laililia M'ith as much propriety as an English Pastrtj Cook. 80 American fFomen. omy, that display the female character to the greatest advantage. The young women are really handsome. They have almost all fair complexions, often tinged with the rosy bloom of health. They have generally good, and sometimes excellent teeth. Nor did 1 see m< re instanr« s to the contrary among the young wo- men of America than are to be met with in England. Their light hair is tastefully turned up behind in the modern style, and fastened with a comb. Their dress is neat, simple, and genteel; usually consisting of a printed cotton jacket with long sleeves, a petticoat of the same, with a coloured cotton apron, or pin cloth, without sleeves, tied tight, and covering the lower part of the bosom. This seemed to be the prevailing dress in the country places. Their manners are easy, affable, and polite, and free from all uncouth rusticity. Indeed they appear to be as polished and well bred, as the ladies in the cities, although they may not possess their highly finished education."* These observations are unquestionably just, and fall, in various respects, not a little short of the truth. Do- mestic happiness, if the accounts given to mankind of the state of society on the Eastern Continent, by wri- ters of acknowledged respectability, are to be credited, does not exist in any part of the Transatlantic world so generally, or in so high a degree, as in this coun- try. Whatever faults may attach to the male inhab- itants of the United States, the female sex merit the highest estimation for all those attributes, which ren- der women deserving and lovely. Your next remarks are on the slaz-ery of the Blacks in the Southern States: a subject, which you have * Lambertj vol. iii. p, 105. Slavery and the Slave-Trade. 81 touched upon before, and in the mention of which you must be confessed to be unhappy: I do not mean in censuring the African slave trade, or the manner in which the slaves are treated.* To these subjects I make you cordially welcome. They are the proper themes of every moralist: and no severity, with which they are treated, will draw from me a single animad- version. It is the attribution of these iniquities to the Americans, with an intention to make them a charac- teristical disgrace peculiar to iliem, of which I com- plain. Surely when you wrote this passage you forgot how lately you have begun to wash yourselves clean from this smoke of the bottomless pit. Please, Sir, to take a short trip to Liverpool, and survey the hulks, which, probably in great numbers, are even now rott- ing in the docks of that emporium of African com- merce. Then look around upon the numerous splen- did buildings, public and private. Next, exclaim, "These ships were the prisons, in which hundreds of thousands of miserable Africans, after having been kidnapped by avarice and cruelty, or taken captive in war, kindled by the same insatiable spirit, and torn for ever from their parents, husbands, wives, and chil- dren, were transported across the Atlantic, to bon- dage, and misery, interminable but by death. In these floating dungeons, one fourth, one third, or one half, of the unhappy victims to this infernal avarice perished under the pressure of chains, or rotted in the pestilential steams, embosoming, as a vapour bath, the niches, in which they were manacled. This work of • The Southern Planter, who leceives slaves from his parent by inlicrilancej certainly deserves no censure for holding thfjin. He has no agency in procuring them: and the law does not permit him to set llieni free. If lie tseats them v.itli humanity, and faithfully endeavours to Christianize tliew, !i long as his present situation continues. 82 British Slave-Trade. tieath has been carried on, also, a century and a half. What must have been the waste of mankind, which it has accomplished! These houses, these public edi- fices, nay, these temples, devoted to the worship of the eternal God, with all their splendour, were built of human bones, and cemented with human blood. Rise, Sodom and Gomorrah; and whiten by the side ot men, baptized "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Hoi-y Ghost."" Are you at a loss, Sir, concerning the justice of this representation? The records of your own Parliament 1 will furnish you with abundant and terrible evidence. Look to the Report of the Committee of the House of Commons. Look to the account, written by the ex- cellent Ciarhson. Look to the speeches of Mr. Wil- berjorce, the glory of your Parliament, and of your country. Read the speech, which he delivered, April 2d, 1792. You will there read, ^'■Europeans came on the coast of Africa, and hovered like vultures, and like vultures lived on blood. They ensnared at times, and at times by force took away, the natives, and sold them for slaves." Read the examples of villainy, recited by him on this occasion, too long to be quoted by me, and too dreadful to admit of a comment. He there will tell you. that of six hundred and fifty slaves, on board of one ship in the year 1788, one hundred and fifty-five died; of four hundred and five m another, two hundred died; of four hundred and fifty in another, two hundred died; of four hundred and two in another, seventy three died. ^ From all these sources learn, also, the immense ex- tent of this foul business; the amazing numbers of unhappy wretches, who perished in it; the amazing liumbers who lived, onlv to be made miserable; the / Bntish Slave- Trade. 83» portentous iniquity, with w hich it was carried on; and the vast difficulty, with which it was broken up. You probably were present, as a member of your Parlia- ment, during most, if not the whole, of the long strug- gle, made by many of your Nobles, of high rank; by your enlightened Statesmen; and by a numerous train of your Gentlemen; not the fox-hunters, men- tioned above, but men of education, of enlightened and superiour minds, and possessed of an honourable character among their countrymen; against the glori- ous efibrt, made by Mr. Wilberforce and his coadju- tors to terminate this demoniacal traffic. But, Sir, in your zeal to heap scandal upon the Americans, you appear to have forgotten, that you have Colonies of your own; and that in these colo- nies slavery exists in forms, and degrees, incompara- bly more horrid, than in the Southern American States. You have forgotten, that the enormous crimes perpetrated in this system, are committed by native Britons under your own eye, and beneath the con- troiul of your own Parliament. \ shall take the liberty to refresh your memory concerning this subject. "To the disgrace of Great Britain and her colo- nies," says the Christian Observer for July 1811, "-the British slave- code is more severe in its jorovisions than perhaps any other. Compared with if, the code, promulgated by the Spanish government, is freedom itself:' Will you please, Sir, to cast your eye upon the fifth report of the Directors of the African Institution^ read to the subscribers, March 27th, 1811. You will there find, substantiated by evidence, which precludes all doubt concerning the facts, that a Mr. Huggins, a distinguished planter in NaviSf "went January 23d, \ \ 84 Slavery in British Islands. 1810, attended by two of his sons on horseback, with upwards of twenty slaves, men and women, in the custody of drivers, through the streets of C/iarlestown to the market place, and there proceeded to indulge his cruelty to the utmost, during more than two hours in the face of day, and in the sight and hearing, not only of free persons, but of magistrates, who of- fered him no interruption." To one negro man he gave, by the hands of expert drivers, lashes no less than - . _ 365 To a second, - - - - 115 To a third, - - - - 165 To a fourth, - - - - 862 To a fifth, - - - - 212 To a sixth, - - - - 181 To a seventh, - - - - 187 To a woman, - - - - 110 To a second, ' - - - 58 To a third, - - - - - 97 To a fourth, - - - - 212 To a fifth, . - - . 291 To a sixth, - - - - 83 To a seventh, - ♦ - - 89 The number of victims, thus specified, was 14. The seven men received 1477 lashes; or 211 each, at an average. The seven women received 940, or l'34> each. All these were inflicted with a cart-whip. The whole number of lashes was 2417; inflicted by expert drivers; within the compass of somewhat more than two hours; at the command, and under the eye, of this devil in human shape, and of his two sons, whom he brought to be witnesses of their father's character. Even this is not all: "for he administered," says the Huggins and Hodge. 85 Reporfc, "to various other women and men, varioujst other cruel measures of the same punisiiment, at the same time." One of these miserable sufferers died, soon after, of this merciless treatment. Nor is this all. There were at this time seven mag- istrates in Cliarlesiown. Two of them, the Reverend William Green^ and the Reverend Samuel Lions^ each holding two livings in the Island, were within hearing of the lash; and must have known of the cruel and illegal cause; yet did not interpose. The same was true of Dr. Cassin, a surgeon in that Island, who was present at a part of this scene, and after having counted 236 lashes, given to one negro, coolly said he thought it was enough. Another Magistrate, Mr. Ed» ward Huggins jun. looked on, the greatest part of the time. If you will read a little farther, you will find, that Mr. Huggins, the master, was acquitted by a jury, al- though the facts were proved beyond a doubt, so as not to be disputed, and although the slaves had been guilty of no offence, of any importance. In addition to this, the printer of the Gazette in St. Christopher'' s was prosecuted by him for inserting in his paper the minutes concerning this subject, sent to him by order of the Assembly; was found guilty of publishing a li- bel, issued by the House of the Assembly of Nevis^ and was sentenced to a month's imprisonment, and to find bail, to keep the peace for three years In the same Report you will find an account of a man, that is a human body animated by a demon; a planter of Tortola, named Hodge. This infernal agent whipped twelve of his slaves so, that they died. Down the throats of two females he poured a quanti- ty of boiling water. A child he ordered to be dipped 12 80 Hodge and Huggins. in a copper of boiling liquor. Frequently he caused the children on his estate to be taken up by the heels, and dipped into tubs of water with their heads down- wards, and kept there till they were stifled; then to be taken out, and suffered to recover and breathe: when they were again tieated in the same manner: and so repeatedly, until they have been seen to stagger, and fall. On this he has ordered them to be taken up and suspended to a tree by their hands tied together, and in this situation cart-whipped. Among others, a Mulat- to child, reputed his own, named Bella, was repeated- ly whipped by his order: and he was also seen repeat- edly to strike the child with a stick on the head, so as to break her head. I presume, Sir, you are tired of this tale. So am I. I will only add, that, to the unspeakable joy of every honest man, who has heard, or who ever will hear of it, this wretch, after many obstacles had been thrown in- to the way of justice, was at last convicted, and hang- ed. Amen, and Amen. I hope, Sir, w^e shall never more hear any compari- son made between your slave holders and ours. Stig- matize both as severely as you please: but let your journalists, and your travellers, when they are brand- ing ours with infamy, remember Hodge and Hug- gins. Permit me, at the end of this recital, to return my most cordial thanks to the members of the African Institution for their noble effort in behalf of these abused people. The hand of God be with them, and make their way prosperous. Your next topic of scandal is the state of those, whom you call Redemptioners; persons, who, wishing to come to America, and not having sufficient proper- Irish Redetnptionei's. 87 ty to pay their passage, agree with the captain of the ship to become bound, as servants, for such a period of time as that their service wili amount to the sum, which they have engaged to pay. These men are usually, though not always, inhabitants of Irelavd. If you really think their case a hard one. why do you not prohibit it by your laws? Nothing is eciiicr. Make the transaction penal on tlie part oi the cap- tains. The Americans will thank you for sucti a law. Whatever you may think, Sir, we are n( t gratified by the transportation of tliese people mto our country. But, Sir, you totally mistake the facts in you< ap- prehensions concerning the condition of these people in America. They are neither more nor less tiian hired men and women; no more slaves; no more op- pressed; nor in any respect treated with any more un- kindness. In all respects they are as well situated iis hired Americans; and have as little reason to com- plain of their circumstances, as any hired people in the world. Believe me, Sir, your lamentations over them are lost. They would only laugh at you for your pains. Another thing, which' you attribute to us, is ihe iise of strong drink. From Mr. Lambert you take an account, given to him by Mr. Bradley, (of the American Senate,) which he applied exclusively to the Virginians; and with the customary candour of your journalists, and travellers, when speaking of America^ you apply it to the whole people of the United States. Had Mr. Lambert known Mr. Bradley, he would have perceived, that the whole stoi y was no more than a piece of characteristical sport, intended merely to amuse his fellow travellers. $§ Consumption of Ardent Spirits. But I readily acknowledge, that far more spirits, both ferme ted and distilled, are drunk in this coun- try than any man can justify. I hesitate not to pro- nounce the practice, in the degree in which it exists, l)oth shameful and sinful. Yet nothing is more un- just than your assertion, that "the love of ardent spirits prevails pretty generally throughout all classes,*' or, (as you prefer the language,) "^throughout the whole unclassified, and indivisible community.'* The inhab- itants of New England, for example, are, I strongly suspect^ much more temperate than those of Old Eng- land; at leabt than those who come thence to America. I have seen many representations on this subject, made by your own countrymen; and have heard many, made by mine. These could not be made with truth concerning the inhabitants of Next) England. But we need n^ >t have recourse to these, in order to settle this point to our mutual satisfaction. I will barely turn your attention to the "Stranger's Guide through Lon- don." Here you will find, consumed annually in that Metropolis, of Spirituous Liquors, Gallons 11,146,782; Wine, - . - - Tons, 3^,000, or Gallons, 8,064,000; Ale and Porter, - - Bis. 1,113,500, or Gallons, 35,632,000 The number of inhabitants in London, may, in round numbers, be estimated at 1,000,000. Every one of these, if we average the quantity consumed, drinks more than eleven gallons of Spirits, more than eight of Wine,and more than thirty five of Ale and Porter. More than half of this number is, however, com- posed of children, and of such women as drink none. Accordingly, the estimate to each individual of the re- Consumption of Ardent Spirils. 89 maining 500,000, is twenty two gallons of Spirits, sixteen of Wine, and seventy of Ale and Porter; or one hundred and eight gallons of strong drink to eve- ry individual. The whole quantity of ardent Spirits, supposed by the highest estimate to be imported into this country,, or manufactured by its inhabitants, was, in the year 1810, 33,000,000 of gallons. The number of inhab- itants was, according to the census of the same year, 7,88^,903. Dropping the fraction, and stating the number of inhabitants at seven millions, the number of gallons, consumed by each individual, will, at an average be rather more than four and a half; or, (as half drink no ardent spirits,) rather more than nine to each individual in the remaining half. The quantity of Wine, consumed in this country, is not so much as a fourth of the quanti- ty of ardent Spirits; and that of Ale and Porter is tri- fling in its amount. Two gallons to an individual, oi both, will be an ample allowance. We have, then^ rather more than eleven gallons of strong drink to each individual in the United States; and 108 gallons to each Londoner: viz. nine gallons of ardent Spirits to the American, and twenty two to the Londoner: one gallon and a half of Wine to the American^ and sixteen to the Londoner; half of a gallon of Ale and Porter to the American, and seventy to the Londoner. At the same time it is to be remembered, that one third of the inhabitants of this country have no other drink beside ardent spirits, and water; and, therefore, are justified to some extent in drinking spirits. The people of the Northern States drink cider, as their common beverage; but you need not be informed, that cider is a weak liquor, compared with Ale or Porter. 90 Gourrms;. & I presume, Sir, we shall hereafter hear no more con*, cerning the intemperance of the Americans from an Englishman. Yet I acknowledge, that there is much intemperance in this country; and that it deserves se- vere reprobation, and demands the vigorous resistance, as well as discountenance, of all good men. But nothing is more untrue than your assertion, that "the Jove of ardent spirits prevails pretty generally through all classes." Tlie farmers and mechanics of this country, and the gentlemen, (for such, permit me to say, there are in great numbers; as were you to re- side here a little time, you would be obliged to con- fess;) are as sober and temperate a body of people, as can be found in the world, unless perhaps in France, and possibly in some of the countries lying under a hot climate. You will remember, that I am here speaking of the Northern States. Of the temperance, cr intemperance, of th« others I have very little knowledge, except what is derived from the estimate above. After your eloquent account of our intemperance, you summon up again the story of Gouging. Goug- ing is as infamous and abominable a practice, as even you can paint it; and you have my consent to attack it as often, and as severely, as you please. So far as 1 know, it has never crossed the Poio'wmac. As JV/a- rijland is a slave State I will, for the present, throw it out of the computation. From Maryland northward, where, it is presumed, not an instance of gouging has happened since the first colonization of this country, tlie free population amounts to3,T58,851. South of this line the same population amounts to 2,258,430. Let those, who are included in the latter sum, cleanse their hands from the guilt and disgrace of this prac- Bull-Baiiing. 9 1 tice,as well as they can. Among those, included in the former sum, it is unknown: and therefore, the au- thority of tVeld and Gen. Bradley notwithstanding, ^^gouging, lacking, and biting, are!'' not ^'allowed in all our Jig hi s.''^ Of the number of our Jighls I will leave you to judge, when 1 have informed you, that I am advanc-, ed far in life, and that I have travelled through a con- siderable part of the Northern States, in both the old and new settlements, in all directions, and that very extensively; that I began this course at an early peri- od of life, and that 1 have mixed freely, from the be- ginning, with men of most descriptions; and yet never saw but one quarrel between two adult individuals, which came to blows, during the whole progress of my life. Compare with this fact, Sir, your rencoun- ters between Orib and Molyneaux, Mendoza and Hum- phrey, and a long train of other champions of the fist; with your Gentlemen, Nobles, and Princes, assembled to look on. Compare it with your bull-baiting; and remember, if you please, the debate on this subject in your Parliament; and the speech of Mr. IVindham on this occasion. Remember also the decision of that august Body, sanctioning a practice, at which both nature and decency revolt. Let me infoim you. Sir, that there never was a bull-baiting in this country;* and that the inhabitants regard the practice itself, the cold-blooded eloquence of Mr. TFijidham, and the barbarous decision of your Parliament with indignation and horror. * Since these Remarks were finished, I have been informed, that a considera- ble number of years since, there w« a buU-bjiiting; in J\'ew Tsrk, and another romewhere in Peimsy'.vania . 92 British Manufacturers. I could pursue this subject, Sir, and several otberi, connected with it, much farther; but it is unnecessa- ry. I will, therefore, now proceed to take another view of the general one of Morals and Manners; and in doing this, will exhibit your Morals and Man- ners, as you yourselves have presented them to the; world. The gentleman, whose Journal I have several times quoted, speaking of Manchester, says, "'The wages of the labouring manufacturers are high at present; but so few of them lead sober and frugal lives, that they are generally mere dependents on daily labour. Most of the men are said to be drunkards^ and the women dis- solute''^* Espriella, speaking of Manchester, says, *'Tliese children, then, said I, have no time to receive instruc- tion. I'hat, Sir, he replied, is the evil, which we have found Girls are employed here from the age you see them, till they marry; and then they know noth- ing about domestic work, not even how to mend a stocking, or boil a potatoe. But we are remedying this now; and send the children to school for an hour after they are done work. 1 asked if so much con- finement did not injure their health. "No," he repli- ed; "they are as healthy, as any children in the world could be." To be sure, many of them, as they grew up, went off in consumptions; but consumption was the disease of the English. I ventured to inquire af- terwards concerning the morals of the people, who were tramed up in this monstrous manner; and found what was to be expected, that in consequence of herd- ing together such numbers of both sexes, who were f Sill. Jpuraal, vol. i. British Manufacturers! . 93 utterly iininstructed in the commonest principles of religion and morality, thei/ were as debauched and profligate, as human beings, tinder the influence of sitch circumstances, must inevitably be; the men drunken, the women dissolute; that, however high the wages they earned, they were too improvident ever to lay by for a time of need; and that, though the parish was not at the expense of maintaining them when children, it had to provide for them in diseases, induced by their mode of life, and in premature de- bility and old age. The poor rates were oppressively high, and the hospitals and work houses always full and overflowing. I inquired how many persons were employed in the manufactory; and was told, children and all, about two hundred. What was the firm of the house? — There were two partners. So, thought I — a hundred to one."* The same writer, speaking of Birmingham, says, "Our earth was designed to be a seminary for young angels: but the devil hus certainly flxtd upon this spot jor his own nursery garden and hot house." "When we look at gt>id, we do not think of the poor slaves, who dug it from the caveriis of the earth; but I shall never think of the wealth of England, without remembering that 1 have been in the mines. Not that the labourers repine at their lot; i* is not the least evil of the system, that they are perfectly w ell satisfied to be poisoned, soul and body. Foresight is not a human instinct: the more unwholesome the em- ployment, the higher of course are the wages, paid to the workmen; and, incredible as it may seem, a trir fling addition to their weekly pay makes these shor^T * Esp. Lettei- S$. 13 ^1 British Manufacturers, sighted wretches contend for work, which they cer- tainly know will, in a very few years, produce disease and death, or cripple them for the remainder of their existence." "I cannot pretend to say, what is the consumption, here, of the two legged beasts of labour; commerce sends in no returns of its killed and wounded. Nei- ther can I say, that the people look sickly, having seen no other complexion in the place, than what is composed of oil and dust, smoke dried. Every man, whom I met, stinks of train oil and emery. Some \ have seen with red eyes and green hair; the eyes af- fected by the fires to which they are exposed, and the hair turned green by the brass-works. You would not, however, discover any other resemblance to a triton in them, for water is an element, with the use of which, except to supply steam engines, they seem to be unacquainted." "The noise of Birmingham is beyond description. The hammers seem never to be at rest. The filth is sickening. Filthy as some of our own old towns may be, their dirt is inoffensive: it lies in heaps, which an- noy none, but those who walk within the little reach of their effluvia. But here it is active, and moving; a living principle of mischief which fills the whole at- mosphere, and penetrates every where; spotting and staining every thing, and getting into the pores and nostrils. I feel as if my throat wanted sweeping, like an English chimney." Again. "A regular branch of trade here, is the manufacture of guns for the African market. They are made for about a dollar and a half: ike barrel is filed with water; and, if the wafer does not come through, it is thought proof sufficient: of course they Bnttsh Manufacturers. 95 hurst, ^hen fired, and mangle the wretched negro^ who has purchased them upon the credit of English faith, and received them, most probably, as the price of human flesh! No secret is made of this abom- inable trade; yet the government never interferes; and the persons concerned in it are not marked, and shun- ned as infamous." "In some parts of Italy the criminal, who can prove himself the best workman at any business, is favour- ed, infavorem artis, unless his crime has been coin- ing: a useful sort of benefit of clergy. If ingenuity were admitted as an excuse for guilt in this country, the Birmingham rogues might defy the gallows. Even as it is, they set justice at defiance, and carry on the most illegal practices almost with impunity. Some spoons, which had been stolen here, were traced im- mediately to the receiver's house: "I know what you are come for," said he to the persons, who entered the room in search of them; "you are come for the spoons:" and he tossed over the crucible into the fire, because they were not entirely melted. The officers of justice had received intelligence of a gang of coin- ers; the building, to which they were directed, stood within a court-yard; and, when they reached it, they found, that the only door was on the upper story, and could not be reached without a ladder. A ladder was procured: it was then sometime before the door could be forced; and they heard the people within mocking them all this while. When at last they ctTected their entrance, the coiners pointed to a furnace, in which all the dies, and whatever else could criminate them, had been consumed during this delay. The coins of any country, with which England carries on any in- tercourse, xvhether in Europe, AsiUy or America, are ^6 British Manufacturers. counterfeited here, and exported. An inexhaustible supply of half pence was made for home consump- tion, till the new coinage put a stop to this manufac- tory: it was the common practice of the dealers in this article to fry a pan full every night after supper for the next day's delivery, thus darkening, to make them look as if they had been in circulation." ^'■Assignats were forged here during the late war; but this is less to be imputed to the Birmingham spec- ulators than to those wise politicians, who devised so many wise means of ruining France. The forgery of their own bank notes is carried on with systematic precautions, which will surprise you. Information of a set of forgers had been obtained, and the officers en- tered the house: they found no person on any of the lower floors; but when they reached the garret, one man was at Work upon the plates in the farthest room, who could see them as soon as they had as- cended the stairs. Immediately he opened a trap- door, and descended to the floor below; before they could reach the spot to follow him, he had opened the second, and the descent was impracticable for them, on account of its depth: there they stood, and beheld him drop from floor to floor, till he reached the cel- lar, and effected his escape by a subterraneous pas- sage." "You may well iinagine what such people as these would be in times of popular commotion. It was ex- emplified in 1791. Their fury, by good luck, was in favour of the Government; they set fire to all the houses of all the opulent Dissenters, whom they sus- pected of disaffection, and searched every where for the heresiarch Priestley, carrying a spit about, on which they intended to roast him alive. Happily for Colquhoun^s Police of London. 97 himself, and for the national character, he had taken an alarm, and withdrawn in time/'* These observations, Sir, are said to have been made by a gentleman, reported, generally, to be one of the writers in the Quarterly Review: their truth, therefore, will hardly be disputed by you. I might pursue the same course of illustration through many other writers, and extend my quota- tions to the size of a volume; but the tale would be too tedious to be read, as well as too burdensome to be written. I will, therefore, hasten it to a conclu- sion. In Colquhoun^s Police of London, a summary is given to the world of the sorts of villainy, regularly carried on in the Capital of the British Empire; the boast, as well as the pride, of every Englishman. This summary, as I, although an American, have providentially had the means of knowing, was the re- sult of the best information, which the nature of the case will admit; better, probably, than ever was pos- sessed by any other man; and is therefore to be re- garded as authentic. Let me invite you to look at the following table, copied from this very intelligent Work. It contains the sorts of villains, which, like spirits from the nether world, haunt that great city, making it a second Fandcemonium; and annexes to each sort the number of wretches which it contains. 1. Professed thieves, burglars, highway rob- bers, pickpockets, and river-pirates, 2,000 2> Professed receivers of stolen goods, 60 8. Coiners, &c. of base money, 3,000 Carried forward, 5,000 * Ksp. Lett")' 5G §8 Villains in the British Metropolis. Brought forward, 5,060 4. Thieves, living partly by depredation, and partly by their own labour, 8,000 5. River pilferers, 2,500 6. Itinerant Jews, employed in tempting oth- ers to steal, 2,000 7. Receivers of stolen goods from petty pil- ferers, 4,000 S. Suspicious characters, who live partly by pilfering and passing base money, 1,000 d. Menials, who defraud their employers in a little way, so as generally to elude detec- tion, estimated at 3,500 10. Swindlers, cheats, and low gamblers, liv- ing chiefly by fraudulent transactions in the lottery, 7,440 11. Other classes of cheats, not included in the above, 1,000 12. Dissolute publicans, who make their houses rendezvous for thieves, swindlers, and dealers in base money, 1,000 13. Inferior officers in the Customs and Ex- cise, including supernumeraries and glut- men, sharing the pillage, and frauds, com- mitted on the revenue, estimated at 1,000 14. Persons keeping chandlers' shops for the sale of provisions to the poor, and cheating their customers by false weights, 3,500 15. Suspicious servants out of place, princi- pally from ill- behaviour and loss of charac- ' ter, about 10,000 Carried forward, 50,009 Villains in the British Metropolis, 0§ Brought forward, 50,000 16. Black-legs, or proselytes to gaming, as a trade, 2,00© 17. Spendthrifts, and other profligate men, seducing others to intemperance, lewdness, debauchery, gambling, and excess, esti- mated at 3,00P 18. Foreigners, who live chiefly by gambling, 5,000 19. Bawds, who keep houses of ill-fame, &c. 2,00Q 20. Females, who support themselves chiefly, or wholly, by prostitution,* 50,000 gl. Dishonest strangers, out of employment, 1,000 22. Strolling minstrels, ballad-singers, show- men, trumpeters, and gypsies, 1,500 23. Grubbers, and a long train of other low pilferers, 2,000 24. Common begsrars, 3,000 Total, 119,500 "This shocking catalogue," says the intelligent mag- istrate, "does not include every fraud and dishonesty which is practised." Yet here, Sir, is a list, which holds out more than one ninth of the population of your great city, as living by fraud, villainy, and pollu- tion. What must be your feelings, Sir, when walk- ing through the streets of London, to know that one person, out of every nine whom you meet, is of this character? In the year, from September 1790, to September 1791, including 445 prisoners delivered over by the Sheriffs of the preceding year, 1,533 were tried at the * Tliis i« worse, Sir, tksra TOtin». iOO Villains in the British Metropolis. Old Bailey. Of these, 711 were acquitted, and 822 condemned. ^ Of these there were lU for Murders, 4 Arson, 10 Forgeries, 9 Dealing in, and uttering, base money, 1 Sodomy, 2 Piracies, 4 Rapes, 642 Grand Larcenies, 32 Stealing privately from persons, 13 Shop lifting, under five shillings, 16 Ripping and stealing Lead, 12 Stealing Pewter Pots, !E2 Stealing from furnished Lodgings, 1 Stealing Letters, 1 Stealing a Child, 22 Receiving stolen goods, 7 Bigamy, 6 Perjuries, 6 Conspiracies, 3 Fraudulent Bankrupts, 15 Frauds, 9 Misdemeanonrs, 1 Assaulting, and cutting Clothes, 1 Smuggling, 7 Obstructing Revenue Officers, 1 Wounding a Horse maliciously, 38 Assaults. 895 Total. Of these, thirty-two were executed: more, 1 sus- pect, than have been executed for the same crimes in Public Crimes. 101 New England since the first Colonists landed at Ply' mouth. Yet Mr. Colqiihoun says, that this melan- choly catalogue does not contain above one tenth part of the offences, which were actually committed; so that the real number of high crimes, actually perpe- trated, was at least 10,880. Yet London contains but a million of people; and New England, a million and a half. A capital conviction is, here, a solitary thing; existing but once in a considerable series of years. You may possibly think, that the execution of our laws is lax. You say this concerning the United States at large: but it is not true concerning New England. The disadvantage lies wholly on your side. A centu- ry to come will hardly furnish such a list of criminals in New England^ as that which is here disclosed. A single fact will show you the character of its inhab- itants, as to their honesty. It is believed, that more than one half of the families ordinarily go to bed with- out bolting, or locking, their doors. Of what other country can this be said? I have observed, that executions are here solitary events. Let me add, that a great proportion of the miserable objects, who suffer capitally, are foreigners. You ridicule Inchiquin for saying, that "theje is no populace in the United States, no Patrician, no Ple- beian, no third or middle class.'' I need not inform you, although you seem to be willingly ignorant of it, that in every civilized country there must of necessity be persons, and families, distinguished for superiority of character, wealth, intelligence, refinement, station, and influence. I presume, that Inchiquin intended noth- ing more, than that we had no Nobles and no Peas- antry. With his meaning, however, I have no con- cern; but, understood in this sense, the declaration is 14 102 Condition of the People in New England. substantially true. In our larger towns we have r number of people, who are styled day-labourers; and a very small number of these are thinly dispersed throughout the country; but the whole amount is inconsiderable. The public paupers in our country towns do not, I am persuaded, exceed one in three hundred of the inhabitants. In a number of these towns there has never been an individual of this class. Every man, with the exception of this inconsiderable number, and a very few others, holds his lands in fee- simple. Tenants are almost unknown. The people are, as a body, what you call yeomanry; possessing estates, on which they live in the enjoyment of com- petence, and independence. These circumstances are announced in the Scriptures as the safest, and happiest, for man: and with their testimony that of the ancient Philosophers and poets, and that of the wise men in your own Island, perfectly coincide. New England furnishes no reason to distrust its truth. Lands are here obtained with comparative ease; and subsistence, both agreeable and abundant, is within the reach of every person possessing health and hon- esty, and even a moderate share of industry and econ- omy. Very few therefore are poor; and even those, who are styled such, are rich, in comparison with the poor of Europe. Rarely are they without tea or cof- fee for their breakfast, or without animal food, once, twice, or thrice every day. At the same time, all these people can read, and write, and keep accompts There is scarcely a beg- gar, or a black, who cannot. In this important par- ticular, even yon will acknowledge our superiority. Recollect what efforts you have made to establish Sunday schools in your Island; the associations, form- Education of the Poor. iOo cd for their establishment; the difficuUies, which they had to overcome; and the exultation, which has echoed throughout England upon the success, with which they have been attended. I give your coun- trymen full credit for this Institution; and for the good sense, liberality, pei severance, and patriotism, with which it has been originated, and supported. The authors, and friends, of it I hold in the highest honour; and cordially wish them the richest blessings of Heaven. But I need not inform you, that the ex- istence of these schools; the discussions concerning their nature, and use; the difficulties, which u^re to be overcome; the numerous, and noble, efforts, to which they have given birth; and the triumph of wis- dom and benevolence, which they have furnished; while they reflect immortal honour upon the name of Hannaii More, one of the brightest ornaments of the human race, and upon all her illustrious coadjutors, declare, also, in the strongest manner, the extreme ne- cessity of extending this education to the English poor, because they were before without education. If you will cast your eye on Dr. Curriers Life of Burns, you will see, that he has mentioned New England as one of the few privileged countries, in which the education of 'parochial schools is commu- nicated to the inhabitants universally. The King, and the Nobles, Gentry and Clergy of Scotland, occupied a century in establishing this Institution in that country. The ancestors of New England commenced, and fin- ished, it in a day; and their descendants have main, tained, and extended, it to the present hour. I believe the Nobility of Great Britain are indis- pensable to the continuance of its government, safety. and peace. But you cannot be ignorant of //jje disso- 104 English Nobility, liifene^s of manners, which so extensively prevails among those, who form this distinguished order; and is so often complained of by your writers, of high re- spectability, and so often evidenced in your courts of justice, in other causes, beside those of Crim. Con. which are numerous, and deeply humiliating to your national character. It cannot be necessary for me to remind you of the private character of Mr. Fox; him- self, indeed, not a nobleman, yet of noble birth; or of the imputations on Lord Melville. The history of your Nobility, although there are many honourable exceptions, is certainly not such, as to flatter the feel- ings of a virtuous Englishman. Look at the Letters of Junius. Look at the train of kept mistresses, at this moment, and at every other in your history, which they, and your Gentry, in great numbers, hold up to the eye of the public, without a blush, or even an apology: and then permit me to inform you, that I do not know two persons, of this character, in New England. The Mediocrity of our circumstances has often been an object of ridicule, as well as of contempt, with Englishmen. Here, however, it is believed to be a source of no small happiness to the inhabitants. There is, it must be acknowledged, much less splen- dour; much less to admire; much less to boast of. There are fewer palaces; fewer stupendous public buildings; fewer magnificent public works. But, Sir, one rich man is always surrounded by many who are poor; and one great man, by many who are little. Wretchedness always follows in the train of pomp, and rags and beggary haunt the mansions, as well as the walks of pride and grandeur. If we have not many opulent inhabitants; we have few, that are indi- Condition of the People in New England. 105 gent. If we have not palaces; we have few cottages. One would think, that a benevolent man would feel some satisfaction in looking around him, and seeing competence and enjoyment diffused universally; in be- lieving, that, exclusively of the unavoidable calamities of this world, the multifude, and not merely a few persons possessed of princely fortunes, were fed, and clad, and lodged in a pleav;ant and desirable manner. To me, no prospect, confined to this world, has been so delightful, as that, which I am always sure to find, when travelling in this country; the great body of the inhabitants enjoying all the pleasure, furnished by these very circumstances. Surely, Sir, even you must be willing, that there should be one country of which these things may be said with truth. You may not unnaturally think this account an exaggeration. Perhaps the following observations of one of your own countrymen may convince you, that it is not. "Throughout the States of Connecticut, Massachu- setts, and New York, a remarkably neat, and indeed elegant style of Architecture and decoration seems to pervade all the buildings in the towns and villages; and, I understand, is more or less prevalent in the rest of the Northern and Middle States. The houses in the small towns and villages are mostly built of wood; generally one or two stories above the ground floor: The sides are neatly clap-boarded and painted white. The sloping roofs are covered with shingles and paint- ed of a state colour; and, with sash windows, green Venetian shades outside, neat white railings, and steps, have a pretty effect. Sometimes the entrance is orna- mented with a portico. The churches, or as they are oftener termed meetings, (meeting houses,) are con- 106 Condition of the People in New England. structed of similar materials, painted white, and fre- quently decorated, like the houses, with sash windows and green Venetian shades outside. The building is also surmounted by a handsome spire or steeple, with one or two bells. A small town composed of these neat and ornamental edifices, and situated in the neighbourhood of well cultivated farms, large fields, orchards, and gardens, produces a most agreeable effect, and gives the traveller a high opinion of the prosperity of the country, and of the wealth of its in- habitants. Indeed, those parts of the Northern and Middle States, through which 1 travelled, have the appearance of old, well settled countries, The towns and villages are populous; provisions cheap and abun* dant; the farms appear in excellent order: and the in- habitants sober, industrious, religious, and happy."* Permit me to add another short paragraph from the same traveller. ^'Through the whole of this journey of 240 miles, from New York to Boston, I had passed over a most beautiful tract of country, which, from the manners of its inhabitants, the excellent order of its towns, villa- ges, and buildings, its farms, and orchards, gardens, pasture and meadow lands, together with the face of the country, undulated with mountains, hills, plains, and vallies, watered by a number of rivers, small lakes, and streams, afforded a variety of the most beautiful landscapes, and strongly reminded me of English scenery."! Your next attack is upon a subject, which, I be- lieve, no British Journalist, who has meddled at all with America, and scarcely a single British t aveller, * Lambeit, vol. iii, p. S9, 90. t I- though I do not think very highly of the manner, in which the debates of our Representatives are carried on, yet the adventure of Matthew Lyon did not exist during the time, when the House was in Session; and therefore does not affect the manner of conducting their debates. It is, I believe, bare justice to our House of Re(y»'esentatives to say, that, while in session, they are at least as decorous, as your House of Com- mons; and that the Houses of Representatives in Con- nedicut and Massachusetts are incomparably more s o Please, Sir, to read the following transcript froni your Parliamentary Chronicle, reciting some transac- tions in your House of Lords. June 17th, 1794. "The Lord Chancellor then pro- ceeded to read Lord Grenville's original Motion of Thanks; when he was interrupted by Lord Lauderdale; who insisted that he had a right first to propose a Motion of Thanks to Colonel Vill- eite for his meritorious services at Corsica: Colonel Villette being equally entitled to them as Lord Hood. The interposition of the Noble Earl being contrary to all the established Rules of Parliament, he was call- ed to Order by the whole House. The Noble Earl, however, persisted in what he called his right. Lord Lauderdale, i 15 The Lord Chancellor stood up, and said, he spoke to Order from the Woolsack. Lord Lauderdale^ notwithstanding this, attempted to proceed, though the voices of "The Chair, The Chair," echoed from all sides. Lord Hawkesbury declared, he had sat thirty-five years in Parliament, and never witnessed such unru- ly and disorderly behaviour in any Member. He call- ed upon their Lordships to support the Chair; or all that was decent^ and m^derly, in the Senate, would be annihilated. Lord Lauderdale never sat down the whole time; and, as soon as Lord Hawkesbury finished, again at- tempted to interrupt the Chancellor, who was also on his legs. The House at length prevailed; and the united voice of their Lordships in a peremptory manner compelled the Noble Lord to desist. Is it then true, Sir, that your Peers of the Realm, assembled in the House of Lords, and proceeding in the solemn business of Legislation, behave in this manner? Is it true, that one of them, of high name, and great consequence, trespassed so grossly on the established rules of order, that another of similar dis- tinction, felt himself obliged to call upon the House to support the Lord Chancellor; and to declare, that, if they did not, all^ that was decent and orderly in the Senate, would be annihilated^ and was this No- bleman so disorderly that he could not be reduced to order, until the whole House of Peers, uniting their voices in a peremptory manner, compelled him to de- sist? Had you been a member of the American Sen- ate from its commencement to the present hour; you yourself would say, that all the indecorums, which 116 Earl Stanhope. have taken place in it, would not amount to one such scene, as this. As to silly speeches, I think you have your share of them. Permit me to make a few extracts. Earl Stanhope — < — "The learned Lord has said, that the aristocrat tradesmen [In this land oi blunders we should have said aristocratic tradesmen ] approved their conduct: the only persons, who disapproved thereof, were the Sans- Culottes. I am a Sans-Culotte citizen; a Sans-Culotte individual; one of that swinish multitude, who think their proceedings unjust and illegal." Permit me to ask, whether the noble Earl at this time appeared in the House of Peers without his small clothes? April 15, 179i. Again. Sir Gregory Page Turner — whom I take to be one of the country Gentlemen, who are unlike any thing, found througliout the whole range of the United States. "He said, he had not opened his mouth before this session, though he had constantly supported the war in the strongest manner with a silent vote. He was both Vt'illing, and ready to submit to any taxation, the Minister should be pleased to impose; and for that purpose, would, in concert with the other Gentlemen of that House, deliver in an exact and regular detail of his property. He did not mean to compliment Mr. Pitt, but he certainly had a high opinion of his integrity, and accordingly pronounced a long and irreg- ular eulogium thereon. What was equalization? The French had talked of equalization: but in truth he supposed they wanted to make an equal partition of property. Every body knew he had not much Sir Gregory Page Turner. 117 landed property, but what he had he should not like to share with these fellows. He was an insignificant Member, as the House supposed him to be; and could not say much to the purpose; but he had two or three good coats which he supposed the French also would like to take, and leave him only one. He supposed too, that men, who had no money, would scramble for all they could get; and those who had but ten pounds, might want a hundred, or perhaps two hun- dred: he could not tell. (During the whole of this diverting Peroration, the House was convulsed with laughter; and the Speaker was obliged to force an air of gravity, to command order. ^ The Honourable Baronet wondered why the Gentlemen enjoyed his speech so much, since he did not pretend to humour. These were his real sentiments, which are — which are— which are — (another fit of laughter.) The War — Much had been €aid of the War. It is the War of Europe. It is — a War!!! We had engaged in this War, not for attack, but defence; to secure our property, our lives and honours " March 6, 1 '94. 1 am so pleased with the speeches of this Gen- tleman, that I must be permitted to copy another specimen of his Oratorical powers, exhibited May 26^ 1796. "Sir Gregory Page Turner,^^ says the Parliamen- tary Chronicle, "craved the indulgence of the House for a few observations which he had to make. Wlien he stood up in the morning, or when he lay down at night, he always felt for the Constitution. (A laugh.) On this question he never had but one opinion. When he came first into Parliamer.t, he remembered, that the Chancellor of the Exchequer proposed a Re- form; but he saw it was wrong, and he opposed it. 16 118 Earl Stanhope. Would it not be madness to change what had existed sound from the days of his father? (Loud laughter.) Were Gentlemen to make changes in their Constitu- tion, as they altered the cut of a coat, for the fashion, or as a lady fancied a new head dress? (Burst of laughter.) When questions of such a dangerous na- ture, as the present, was brought forward, he could not sleep quietly on his peaceful pillow. Gentlemen spoke of places and pensions. He had neither place nor pension; and therefore he was at issue with them on the score of independence. Did Birmingham and MancJiester bring forward propositions for a Reform? No. They were brought forward by Gentlemen, high in talents, and high in Opposition. Did Gentlemen expect to stop bribery, and corruption, in our Govern- ment? He never had such an idea It was all one, whether the House consisted of 5000, or 500. They had not to consider who the Electors were, but who the elected are.^ Now for Lord Stanhope again. *'I am a friend to liberty, to French liberty, so far as it respects the rights of individuals; and I will go so far as to add, that, if the fortune of war so ordain it, I shall glory to be hanged in such a cause: for it is the cause of Mankind, and of Philosophy." Now, Sir, if his Lordship had really a strong wish to be hanged, I must be permitted to say, that any attempts on the part of the House of Peers, to prevent his Lordship from going to the gallows, must have been an unseemly, and perhaps an untimely, interfer- ence. For the cause of Mankind, peradventure some one might even dofre to die; but for the cause of Phi- losophy scarcely would any man die. Since, then, a martyr has been actually found, ready to venture his Mr, Drake, jwu 119 neck in this cause, the man must be very little of a phi- losopher, who would step between his Lordship and the gallows; but should his Lordship actually be hanged in this cause, I should humbly advise him not to appear on the gallows in his favourite character of a Sans Culotte. Mr. DroA:e,jun. "I applaud the Honourable Gentle- man, that has just sat down, who defended, with sub- lime, astonishing, and angelic eloquence, the measure approved by his Majesty. Immortal thanks to him for the honesty, and manliness of his declarations. I shall always be proud to have the honour of uniting with a man, so characterized, and so immortalized! I shall be proud to join him, to overturn the enemies of our glorious Constitution. I shall fight for this won- derful fabric to the last drop of my blood! He that entertains, and propagates, contrary opinions, is the greatest enemy to mortal man! For my part, 1 had rather die a Loyaiist, than live a Republican. OhJ then, Sir, let us draw ourselves out in battle an^ray for the peace of the country. Oh! Sir, I will not declare — Yes, Sir, I will declare, what delight it gave me to hear the Noble Lord over the way, (Lord Titchfield,) express himself as he did. I love that Noble Marquis; I love him in my heart, for the speech, he delivered this night. Oh! Sir, this country loves the Bentincks and the Cavendishes. Come now, ye valiant defend- ers of the glorious Revolution, assist me in my hon- ourable endeavours to immortalize that v/onderfu! event." Really, Sir, this is very fine; and is no unhappy specimen of that "sublime, astonishing, and angelic eloquence," which Mr. Druke applauded so fervently in Mr. Amiruther, Why, Sir, this outdoes M,r. 120 Mr. Drake, jtin. Wright himself; and approaches near to thimder- and lightning 'Williams. B t we are net yet come to the acme of Mr. Drake^s eloquence: and far be it from me to do injustice, even in thought, to such a rival of Cicero, by failing on this occasion to quote his most pre eminent effusions. Here they are. "Mr. Drake then — in the most emphatic terms con* jured his Honourable, ever Honourable, and right Honourable, friends to unite heart and hand in sup- pressing, and extirpating, the very semen of a Revolii- tion, which was but too evident in ike volcanic, sub- terranean, infernal, diabolical, eloquence of his inimi- cal friends; who — (Here an immoderate peal of laughter.) The Honourable Member went on, "I have been interrupted in one of the most essential privileges of a British Senator: to wit, the freedom of speech; which, I hope, the Speaker has not omitted to demand of his Majesty in the present session of Par- liament, If it has been obtained, I, in common with other Members, have a right to avail myself of it. In order to conciliate the attention of the House, I lament that it is necessary for Members to detail their politi- cal creeds. Whatever that of others may be, mine is loyalty to my King, fidelity to my Country, and love to the Constitution." (Great animation.) Mr. Drake — "if by theatrical geslicidafion I have betrayed an excess of animation, it was but the ebul- litions oj my heart, which oblige me to exclaim with Hamlet, that "I have that within, which passeth shew; These but the trappings, that the seat, of woe." Pray, Sir, is Mr, Drake now alive? If he is, could you not persuade him to take a short trip across the The Earl of Jbingdon. 121 AtTanfic, and teach by his example our Senators and Representatives a little eloquence? I do not mean, Sir, *'the volcanic, subterranean, infernal, diabolical elo- quence of his inimical friends;" I mean his own elo- quence, and somewhat of that 'theatrical gesticula- tion," and that "excess of animation," one or both of which "is but the ebullitions of the heart." Who knows, Sir, but such a measure, as this, would improve the Honourable Mr. Clopton, the Honourable Mr. Widgery, and even the Honourable Willis Alston, Indeed, Sir, it is difficult to conceive how much good it might do. Turn we now again to the House of Lords, Novem- ber 13, 1796. The Farl of ^6m^rfon— "The Noble Secretary of State has on a former night said a good deal about Lord Clarendon. Since that debate, I have met with a book, which gives a full account of Lord Clarendon. 1 will read some passages from that book, to show your Lordships what kind of a man that celebrated character was. In the first place, I have to observe, that Lord Clarendon was a very superstitious fellow, and believed in ghosts. But I will read a very curious dialogue out of this book about him." (Here some of their Lordships asked the name of the book.) Lord Abingdon. ^'•It is a hook of good authority. It is an hundred years old: and I bought it at a stall. Before I proceed to read this passage, I wish to observe, that I think the old doctrine of Passive Obedience and Non Resistance is revived I was in hopes it had been quite buried, since James the Second's reign. I wish to ask the Reverend Prelate (Bishop of Rochester*) whether Vox Populi is not Vox Dei. I will prove it 'Bishop Horsley. 122 The Earl of Abingdon. is; and thai God Almighty always inspires the Peo- pie on such occasions, and will do so still. I will prove this by authors as old as Methusalem-* though I am not prepared now: but when I am, I mean to come down with a very severe Phillippic upon the subject." Bishop of Rochester. *'Never having had the good fortune of meeting with any author, as old as Methu- salem, 1 cannot meet the Noble Lord upon the sub- ject." Earl of Abingdon. "As I am not prepared now, I will prove it clearly some other time. I however in- form the Bench of Bishops, and your Lordships, that every one of you, who believe in the doctrine of Pas- sive Obedience and Non- Resistance, will be damned ivithoid redemption; because it is against the Revolu- tion principles.''^ Again. "I have written against Mr. Burke. I bave published against him: and yet he never would answer me. I have begged him to cut me up, to Hea me alive; (an American would have said flay;) so as he would but answer me: but not a line could I get from him." The debate at the third reading of the bill for the preservation of his Majesty^s Person and Government. I do not believe, Sir, that Mr. Wright himself, when he was a Senator of the United States, and de- livered a secret Message (made secret at his own re- quest,) before a crowded gallery in the House of Rep- resentatives, could have excelled this display of Lord Abingdon'^s oratorical powers. But his Lordship, as we learn from the same source, appears as a Divine^ as well as an Orator, ' O-'" BiWfa read J\TiitJni^'Jnh The Earl of Abingdon. 12S On January 6, 1796, in a debate on the Resolution that Great Britain "ought not and would not, inter- fere in the internal affairs of Prance,''^ the Earl of Ab- ingdon observed, "Does not the Noble Lord (Earl Stanhope) know, that retaliation, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a toothy is the law of the Gospel? — And how is this to be accounted for, but that the Noble Lord does not believe in the law of retaliation; al- though founded upon that Christian-like principle of returning good for evil? He does not therefore believe in the Gospel?^ Now, Sir, I verily believe, that there is not a Cler- gyman in the United States, who, however studious, or however advanced in years, knew, before his Lord- ship discovered it, that "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, was the law of the Gospel;" or "that the law of retaliation is founded on that Christian-like princi- ple of returning good for evil." In this land of bar- barism it has been supposed, that the principle of re- turning good for evil was, in reality, a Christian prin- ciple; and of very serious importance in the system of the Gospel; and not merely "Christian-like." But what, better than tliis, could be expected in these Transatlantic regions? It is time that these extracts should be terminated. Let me ask, Sir, what are we to think of the morals, what of the honour, cherished by the Members of your House of Commons, when we read, in the Parliamen- tary Chronicle for 1796, the debate on the franking of letters; and find it publicly averred by the Minister as a reason for curtailing this privilege of the Members, that they were in the habit of farming it out at the highest price, and thus shamelessly defrauded the Revenue; when we find a law passed, that no Member 124 Lord Cochrane. shall frank more than ten letters, or receive more than ffteen, in one day, and that all above this number shall be charged to him? What are we to suppose, when in another section of the same law, we find Members forbidden to frank letters at any Post Office, tvhich is more than twenty five miles distant from the places, where they severally were on the day of franking; and when in another, we see them for- bidden to delegate their right of franking to m&re than one individual at a time? Look at the case of Sir Thomas Cochrane, com- monly called Lord Cochrane., a member of your House of Commons. While your abuse of our Con- gress was yet issuing from the press, this man was im- peached for a swindling conspiracy; that is, he was charged with conspiring with his cousin the Honoura- ble Cochrane Johnston, and others, to fabricate and circulate a false report with a view to profit by a sud- den rise in the funds; and, after fabricating and circu- lating such a report, with having in connexion with his associates, sold out stocks, which had been purchas- ed for that very purpose, to the amount of nearly a million sterling; thereby putting in their own pockets twenty or thirty thousand pounds, which they had thus filched from the pockets of unsuspecting pur- chasers. Of this Clime he was impeached by a large committee, who were appointed to examine into the circumstances of the case, and who published to the world their names, and the reasons on which their opinion was founded. He then published, under the solemnity of an oath, a full, positive, and unequivocal assertion of his innocence. Still he was indicted by a grand jury, brought before your Court of King's -Bench as a culprit, found guilty by a petit jury, and • Lord Cochrane. 125 sentenced by the Court to be fined, imprisoned, and stand one hour i)i the pill or i/, in one of the most pub- lic streets of London. At the opening of Parliament, and before the House had time to expel him, he grossly abused the persons who had impeached him, the jury who had found him guilty, and the judge who had Sentenced him. He was, however, soon expelled; but the tale does not end here: you would rejoice if it did As his place was vacant, writs were issued for a new election. Lord Cochrane had the hardihood to offer himself as a candidate; he addressed the electors; he bawled as loudly as ever, I presume, against corrup- tion; he assumed that he was one of the genuine friends of the People; and, can it be believed! was re- turned as a Member of the House of Commons, by a majority of electors in a populous part of your proud metropolis. He of course takes his seat, and both votes and debates, if he pleases, on all questions relat- ing to the public maintenance of religion, to good morals, and good government. Either Lord Coch- rane is guilty of one of the vilest frauds, of a gross perjury in order to conceal it, and of gross slander of those, who impeached, condemned, and expelled him, or your honourable merchants, your boasted courts and juries, and your national Legislature, have most iniquitously proscribed and punished an innocent man, of high standing in society. I mention this alternative, not because I have doubts respecting his guilt; but merely to show, that there is no possible way of evad- ing the disgrace attached to this transaction. Such things could not take place in this country, while our present standard of morals remains. It has been remarked by judicious men. here, that no person could retain a particle of influence, even among tVie 17 126 Decency of the British Parliament lowest and worst classes of the community, after he had been legally convicted of an infamous crime. Our villains, particularly those in high life, are obliged to abscond when detected, even before conviction. Your Wilkeses and your Cochranes, though known to be infamously vile by every intelligent man; though tried as malefactors, condemned, punished, and ex- pelled the House of Commons; are yet taken up by the people, made the idols of a party, again returned to Parliament, where with unparalleled effrontery they aiot only look honourable men in the face, but take an active part in legislating for a great nation. Once more, Sir, let me ask. What are we to think of the decency, with which the debates of your Parliament are conducted^ when in the House of Commons, we hear Mr. Burke (April 1794,) comparing the River Scheldt to the filthiest of all idensils, and that by name; or when, in the House of Lords, we hear the Earl of Mansfield translate the words Sans Cidotte, used a» an adjective, by the grossest phraseology, which he coidd have derived from a dog-kennel. These men were the lights of your country; and made Europe, and even these Transatlantic regions, resound with ihcir fame. If such things were done by your leaders; what must, we suppose to have been done by their followers? To finish my remarks concerning your Parliament, \ observe, that the most disgraceful Member of our. Congress, (and we have had several, who were suffi- ciently disgraceful,) fell immeasurably behind the famous John Elwes, three times returned as a Mem- ber to your Parliament. Look at this man, Sir, then, 11.1 the possession of near 800,000 pounds sterling,, after having expended eighteen pence for his election. John Elwes. IS? Lielting out from his seat on horseback, with two hard- boiled eggs in his pocicet; shunning carefully eveiy turnpike road lest he should be obliged to pay the lare; stopping under a hedge; feeding his horse upon the grass in the road, and himself upon the egg; wearing a wig, cast off by a beggar, and picked up by himself out oi" a kennel; and following from morning to night the carpenters, who were repairing his houses. View him again at his own seat, mending his win^dows with a .piece of broken glass, or a bit of brown paper; glean- ing corn out of his tenants' fields; picking up stray chips, and bones, to carry to the fire in his pocket; pulling down a crow's nest, io add to his slock of fuel; and then complaining of the extravagance, and waste, with which these creatures built tlteir nesis. See him agam, stealing into ihe sfahle, and taking away the hay, which his servant had given to the horse* of a friend who visited him; eating corrupt ed meat, and the animals which had been bred in it; and devouring the small fry, taken by his net, in stead of replacing them in the river until they should he grown, because he should never see them again Behold him hiding his money, wrapped up, a few guineas in a paper, and deposited in corners, and other secret places; and rising by night, as well as watching by day, to see whetlier it had been stolen. Finally, mark this man, then worth a million sterling, and on ihe verge of death, crijing out in his steep, ''/ will keep my property: no man shall rob meof viy proper I yJ^- When you have done this, mustci", for a i-eview, all that has been contemptible in the Congress of th-c United States; and say whether you believe, that an- other such human being was ever born out of Great JBritain 128 Conjugal Infidelity. There is another subject intimately connected with your Government, much more intimately than I could wish, which demands a few additional remarks. "Your Lordships will remember," said the Bishop of Rochester, on the 11th of March, 1706, "that you have had cases before you, where Ladies of high rank have been gidliy tmth their menial servants: if they are to be entitled to settlements upon Divorce, what is it, but to hold forth rewards to Postillions^ &c. to debauch their Ladies? There have been, also stated, cases, where the usage of the husband has been plead- ed in extenuation. In such cases the proper reme- dy will be, to refuse him his bill of Divorce; where, for instance, an old and debilitated man courted a young girl to his arms, he ought to abide the event, for he takes her, with his eyes open to the conse- quences. In the particular case before us, I see noth- ing that can be urged in mitigation; — an old niDoman, forty years of age, having ten children^ took to her bed a Scoundrel of a French Emigrant.^' This, Sir, is a most melancholy story; as the sub- ject of it is a most disgraceful theme of legislative de- liberation: disgraceful, I mean, not to the Legislature, but to the country, which has made the debate ne- cessary. Happily for New England, this story can- not, so far as my knowledge extends, be told of its inhabitants. ISo similar occurrence, within the limits of my information, has been found here. In two of the JS'ew England States,* there are laws permitting Divorces by their Supreme Judicial Courts: laws, im- measurably dishonourable to those States, and fitted only to diffuse pollution. Yet such is the character * Connecttcui and VermoKt. Conjugal Li fidelity. 12D of the New England people, that even these laws have hitherto drawn no such cases, as those mention cd by the good Bishop, in their train. Should tiicy continue in force, there can be no reasonable doubt :hat their consequences will be baleful to the purity ot individuals, the peace of families, and the welfare o- the public. Hitherto, their effects, although only per- nicious, have been very limited. With yovl^ Sir, this most malignant species of cor- ruption is of long standing; and appears to have per- vaded your country throughout its early, as well as its later history. A great part of your Comedies, and of your Novels, a multitude of your Songs, and other Poems, and many other still graver Publications, have been scandalously obscene and polluted.* A God' i£)'m, defending gravely his licentious concubinage with a Wolstoncrajt, would, here, have been hissed in the streets by the inhabitants of eveiy village, through which he passed. This evil spreads throughout a great part of the higher classes in your country. It enters the palac«': often it has ascended the throne. Look over one of your Court Registers; and see whether you c-annot find proofs of it in the very names of your Dukes, Look at your present Royal Family; at the history of Mrs, Clarke. But I will stop: for, although you havt. driven me to these remarks, I have no pleasure in less ening the reputation of your Royal Family. Perhaps, Sir, a plea may be made for this licen- tiousness by some others of your countr3'men, which has already been made by the Edhibiirgii Re- viewers. * I have never known an obscene book published in the American Slates. 130 The Edinburgh Review. "The passion of Monarchs for their Mistresses,''' says a writer in the forty-fourth number of that re- doubtable Work, "is not always fatal to their own honour, or to the happiness of their people. La Belle Gabrielle, Madame cle la Valliere, and otiier in- stances, might be quoted in favour of this opinion. But the monarchy, and their mistresses, were of that age, when a mutual passion gave to each a para- mount interest in the glory and happiness of the oth- er. The moment, when a nation most dreads and abhors the dominion of a mistress, is when they see in it the result of luxurious habits, rather than of pas- sion— the feverish want of a decayed constitution, rather than the honest demands of nature and imag- ination." Pray, Sir, is not the Conductor of the Edinburgh Review a descendant of those cattle, who, according to Lord Monboddo, were the first ancestors of the hu- man race; who tvore fails, and lived in the near neighs bourhood of our Cousin Ourang Outangs? I presume his Lordship must have formed this part of his Philo- sophical System under impressions made upon his mind by the appearance, and character, of those around him. He must have seen, I think, mental characteristics, which, he supposed, ought to belong to those only, who had once worn tails; and their appearance was probably such, as induced him to believe, that they had not long been freed from this ornamental appendage. This Conductor was, 1 suppose, born in the vicinity of his Lordship: and, if the proper investigation were to be made, it would, I presume, be found, that the tail had tately fallen off from the man, or that the man had fall- en off from his tail: for it is doubtful which was tli'^ The Edinhurs^h Review. . 131 tj principal part of the composition. To this conclusion I am irresistibly led by the paragraph, which has just been quoted. ^^ The passion of Monarchs for their mistresses is not always fatal to their own honour^ or to the happiness of their peoplel" Very honourable, indeed, must be the character of that Monarch, who is an adulterer; and great the happiness of his people, especially of those, who are intelligent and virtuous^ when they find this to be his character. " The moment, when a nation most dreads, and abhors, the dominion of a mistress, is when they see in it the result of luxu- rious habits, rather than of passion; the feverish want of a decayed constitution, rather than the honest demands of nature ami imagination,^'' Lewdness then, it seems, thtit putrefaction of the human mind; that sin of Sodom; that sili, to pour upon which the vengeance of an angry God, an angel summoned from heaven a storm of fire and brimstone, and emptied its terrible magazines of destruction upon that abandon- ed city; lewdness, raised to the infamous excess of adultery; lewdness, changed into an incurable habit of adultery; faced with bronze; and, in an open, shameless concubinage, proclaiming to the world it« indelible, and hopeifess infamy;" is, What? "The hon- est demands of nature and imagination." Such is the decision of this Reviewer of Sodom. What is the sentence of his Creator? Of the stransce woman he says, "None, that go in unto her, turn again; neither take they hold of the paths of life." Surely, Sir, these declarations of Mr. Jeffrey could have come from the mouth oi no man, except a de- scendant from this ancient and honourable family. The brute must have predominated, in the writer, over the man; and held the pen, as well as controuled 182 Ji^ff^'^y ^"c/ Lord Byron. the heart, when this effusion of animalism was pour- ed out upon the world. I have some knowledge of this man, Sir. He fdr- nierly wrote a criticism on Lord Byron^s "Hours of Idleness," in which are found the following observa- tions. "The poesy of this young Lord belongs to the class, which neither Gods nor men are said to permit. In- deed, we do not recollect to have seen a quantity of verse, with so few deviations from that exact stand- ard. His effusions are spread over a dead jiat^ and can no more gel above or below the level, than if they were so much stagnant tcaterJ' Again. "With this view ice must beg leave seri- ously to assui^e him, thai the mere rhyming of the final syllable, even when accompanied by the presence of a certain number of feet; nay, although (which does not ahVays happen) those feet should scan 7'egu- larly, and have been all accurately counted on the fin- gers — is not the whole art of poetry. We should en- treat him to believe, that a certain portion of liveli- ness, somewhat of fancy, is necessary to constitute a poem; and that a poem in the present day, to be read, must contain at least one thought, either in a little de- gree different from the ideas of former writers, or differently expressed" And again. "But whatever judgment may be pass- ed on the poems of this noble minor, it seems we must take them as we find them: for they are the last we shall ever have from him." [Poor Jeffrey! Happy, thrice happy wouldest thou have been, had thy pre- diction been fulfilled.] "Therefore we must take what we get, and be thankful. What right have we, poor devib, to be nice? We are well off to have got Lord Byron and Jeffrey. IS-J flo much from a man of this Lord's station, who does not live in a garret, but "has the sway" of Newstead Abbey. Again, we say, Let us be thankful; and with honest Sancho, bid God bless the giver, nor look the gift-horse in the mouth." But alas! Lord Byron would not let the prophecy be fulfilled. In an ill-omened hour, when, I presume, the Raven was heard to flap his wing; and the Screech-Owl, lodged in the hollow of some oracular oak, uttered her shrill and melancholy cries; the No- ble bard, moved by Jeffrey's evil genius, wrote the following cauterizing verses. •'Health to immortal Jeffrey t once, in name, England could boast a judge almost the same, In soul so like, so merciful, yet just, Some think that Satan had resigned his trustj And given the spirit to the world again. To sentence letters, as he sentenced men. With hand less mighty, but with heart as blacky With voice, as willing to decree the rack; Bred in the court betimes, though all, that law As yet hath taught him, is to find a flaw. Since well instructed in the patriot school To rail at party, though a party tool, Who knows? if chance his patrons should restore Back to the sway, they forfeited before, His scribbling toils some recompense may meet: And raise this Daniel to the judgment seat. Let Jeffries' shade indulge the pious hope, And greeting thus, present him with a rope: "Heir to my virtues! man of equal mind! Skiird to condemn, as to traduce Mankind, This cord receive! for thee rescrv'd with care, To wield in judgment, and at length to wear." "Health to ^reaX Jeffrey! Heaven preserve his lite,. To flourish on the fertile shores of Fife^ 18 134 Lord Byron and Jeffrey. And guard it sacred in his future wars, • Since authors sometimes seek the field of Marsf Can none remember that eventful day, That ever glorious, almost fatal fray, When Little's leadless pistol met his eye, And Bow-street myrmidons stood laughing by? OhI day disastrous! on her firm-set rock, Dunedin's castle felt a secret shock; Dark rolled the sympathetic waves of Forth, Low groan'd the startled whirlwinds of the North, Tweed ruffled half his waves to form a tear, The other half pursued its calm career; Arthur''^ steep summit nodded to its base, And surly Tolbooth scarcely kept her place; The Tolbooth felt, for marble sometimes can. On such occasions feel as much as man— The Tolbooth felt defrauded of her charms, 1^ Jeffrey died, ejfcept within her arms; Nay, last not least, on that portentous morn The sixteenth story, where himself was born, His patrimonial garret fell to ground, And pale Edina shuddered at the sound. Strew'd were the streets around with milk-white reamsi Flowed all the Canon-gate with inky streams; This of big candour seemed the sable dew; That of his valour show'd the bloodless hue; And all with justice deem'd the two combin'd The mingled emblems of his mighty mind. But Caledonia's goddess hovered o'er The field, and saved him from the wrath of Mooref From either pistol snatched the vengeful lead, And straight restored it to her favourite's head.' The head, wiih greater than magnetic power, Caught it as Danae caught the golden shower. And, though the thickening dross will scarce refine, Augments it's ore, and is itself a mine. *'My son," she cried, "ne'er thirst for gore again, Resign the pistol, and resume the pen; O'er politics and poesy preside; '^oast of thy country, and Brittannia's gujdsl Lord Byron and Jeffrey, 135 For long as Albion's heedless sons submit, Or Scottish taste decides on English wit, So long shall last thine unmolested reign, Nor any dare to take thy name in vain." " What was the consequence of this stinging applica- tion to the sensibilities of the redoubtable Reviewer? Learn it from his own words, in a subsequent Review on "Broughton's Letters from a Mahratta Camp:" October, 1813. "To publish verses is become a sort of evidence, that a man wants sense: which is repelled not by writing good verses, but by writing excellent verses; — by doing what Lord Byron has done; — 6y displaying talents, great enough to overcome the disgust, which proceeds from satiety, and showing that all things may become new under the reviving touch of genius?^ Pray, Sir, what do you think, was the reason of this wonderful change? Whence was it, that a Poet, whose effusions were spread over a dead flat, and could no more get above or below the level than if they had been so much stagnant wafer" all at once *^possessed talents, great enough to overcome the dis' gust, which proceeds from satiety, and showed that all things may become new under the reviving touch of Genius?" The answer to these queries is at hand. The Noble Poet had brandished his cat-o'-nine tails with such force and dexterity, that this descendant of the ancient family feels the tingling to the present hour. Rely upon it, Sir, there was never one of this breed, who could be operated upon, to any valuable purpose, in any other manner. Insolent, and abusive, to all other men; barking at every stranger, whom they see; they will instantly drop their ears, and 136 Jeffrey a man of Consideration. smooth their shag, at the sight, and peculiarly under the administration, of a switch. When this man, (I would fain call him a gentle- man if I could do it with a clear conscience,) was in the United States, a little while since, having with Mr. Madison the reputation of being a thorough-going Jacobin, he was permitted to charter a ship, and re- turn with it to Europe: a privilege, repeatedly refused by our liberal minded Government to native Ameri' cans^ of unimpeachable character. On board this ship Col. Barclay proposed to send back to their na- tive country a number of Briiish prisoners. His right to do this was not disputed by our Champion; but he insisted, that he himself would select the per- sons. The Consul coolly told him, that this could not be permitted; but that they must be received accord- ing to their equitable claims* Our Reviewer replied by way of answer to Col. Barclaifs declaration; *'Sir, I am a man of Consideration in my own country. In my own country, Sir, I am a man of Considera- tion." I did not for some time conjecture what was the meaning of this interesting declaration. I knew that our Champion was a lawyer by profession, and thought, that, perhaps he might be a lawyer of some eminence. But Lord Byron has said, and it is pre- sumed, that no man, within the reach of his cat-o'-nine- tails, will dare to deny it; certainly not our Reviewer— ."All, thai law As yet hath taught him, is to find a flaw." In this quandary I alighted upon the story of our Eeviewer*s duel with Anacreon Moore, alluded to in Jeffrey a man of Consideratmi, 137 the quotation above; which dispelled my perplexity at once. These two Champions of the quill, it seems, after a most chivalrous rencontre with their proi^er weapons, and making most formidable discharges of ink at each other, resolved to try their luck with weapons, in the use of which they were not such vete- rans. Accordingly, they appeared one morning at Chalk Farm; each with a brace of pistols. The Bow' street officers, havi4ig smelt the rat, were on the ground almost as soon, as the champions; and stayed, rudely I presume, all further proceedings. These interlopers had the curiosity to examine the pistols, and found them absolutely bulletless. "Now, Sir, it was "con- sideration" only; (I protest against every suspicion, that it was want of courage;) I say it was ''considera- tion" only, that induced Mr. Jeffrey and Mr. Moore to fight a duel without bullets. Thus, Sir, our Reviewer was "a man of Considera- tion in his own country:" and, had he fought a duel here; he would undoubtedly have been "a man of Con- sideration," also, in the United States. I will close my business with Mr. Jeffrey, for the, present, by subjoining one more quotation from Lord Byron. It is from the Postscript to his "English Barde^ and Scotch Reviewers." As Mr. Jeffrey has long since determined, that the Americans are destitute of genius, he certainly cannot find fault with us lor mak- ing the best use we can of British genius, in our owrx defence. "My northern friends," says his Lordship^ "have accused me, with justice, of personality towards their great literary Anthropophagus. Jeffrey; but what else was to be done with him, and hisdirt^y pack, who feed by "lying and slandering," and s'ake their thirst by "evil speaking?" 1 have stated facts already wel^ ioS Language of the United Stated. known, and of Jeffreifs mind, I have stated my free opinion: nor has he thence sustained any injury, IVhat scavenger was evei"" soiled by being pelted with mud?'' Your next attack, after quoting a paragragh in the New England Palladium, advertising a stolen book;* and making a few observations upon the im- propriety of garbling edition^ of your books, and alter- ing some of your plays, so as to suit the American taste; is upon the Language of the United States. By the way, do none of your countrymen ever steal books? If they do not; and we are to believe ^^Col- quhowi's Police of London''^ and his '-Police of the Thames;^' books are the only things, which some or other of them do not steal. Here you accuse us of forming projects to get rid of the English language; *'not," you say, '-merely by barbarizing it, but by abol- ishing it altogether, and substituting a new language of our own." As specimens, you inform us, that "one per- son had recommended the adoption of the Hebrew; and another, a Scotchman, of the name of Thornton, had projected to murder the English orthography by turn- ing the e topsy-turvy, dotting the i underneath, and adding a few pothooks and ladles, &c." Pray, Sir, do you think this story was worth telling? Do you believe the application of it to the people of the United States just? if not; can you vindicate yourself from the charge of dishonesty in insinuating, that they were concerned in such a project? From you have I first learned the existence of either of those projects: and I presume, that ninety-nine, out of a hundred, and * Were I to glean the English character from the Lo7idon newspapers, by plckin.s; out the scandalous articleSj ;t would shame evcu blander herself to repeat U. Language of the United States. 139 more probably nine hundred and ninety-nine, 6ut of a thousand, Americans, never heard of either. Are there no foolish projects in Great Briiainf Did not good Bishop Wilkins project a scheme to fly? And are there not other Scotchmen, beside Thornton, who have acted like fools? Why, because this stupid Scotchman crossed the Atlantic, and had no more sense than to publish these effusions of weakness here, are his silly dreams to be imputed to the people of the United States. We are as little disposed to change our language as you can be. But you charge us with making some woj'ds, and using others in a peculiar sense; and recite a short list, belonging to both these classes. Among others the word, guess, which has been mentioned by almost every Englishman, who has undertaken to criticise on our speech. To the first mention of it, or even the second, or third, I had no objection. The hundredth became wearisome. We use the word, guess, exactly as you do; with this single exception; that a moderate number of our vulgar people employ it as a cant word; and with full as much propriety, as vulgar English- men, and not a small number, who would disdain to be reckoned, among the vulgar, use damned and devilish. But "the President of Yale College talks of a confla- graiivc brand, and President Jefferson, of beliUling the froductions of nature.'''' Be it so. The members of your Parliament, on the floor of debate, use the dig- jiified words, diddled and gullibility. We retain some words, which you have dropped , and you retain some, which we have dropped. We itave piade a small number oj new ones. You have made 140 JLanguage ofihe City of London. ten times more. Have not we the same rights in this respect, as you? If we: have not; where is the proof? On this suhject you have been ihe wa«,and we, ihe Lion, in the fable. The painting, which is intend- ed to prove your superiority, and our degradation, has hitherto been done by you. It is time, that the pencil had changed hands; and that justice should, at least in a single instance, be done to us. The natives of the city oi London may be supposed to use English as well, at least, as your people at large. Take the following specimens of their English from Pegge^s Anecdotes of the English Language* They say Wulgularity for Necessuated Curosity Unpossible Leastwise Shay Po-shay Aggravate A conquest (of people) Commandement Attackted Gownd Partender Bachelder Obstropolous Argufy Scrupulosity Common- Garden Pee-aches Kingsington Kiver Vulgarity, Necessitated^ Curiosity, Impossible, At least, Chaise, Post chaise, Irritate, A concourse. Commandment Attacked, Gown, Partner, Bachelor, ObstreperouSj Signify, Scruple, Covent-gai'deK; Piazzas, Kensington, Cover- Language of the City of London. Daater for Daughter, Saace Sauce, Saacer Saucer, Saacy Saucy, Chimly Chimney, Perdigipus Prodigious, Progidy Prodigy, Contagious Contiguous, For fraid of, instead of For fear of, Duberous Dubious, Musicianer Musician^ Squits Quit, Pillord Pilloried, Scrowdge Crowd, (the verb. Squeedge Squeeze, To Anger (a verb) To make angry, Whole-tote The whole, Vernon Venom, Vemonous Venomous, Sermont Sermon, Verment Vermin, Palaretic Paralytic, Postes and posteses Posts, Sitti-ation Situation, Portingal Portugal, Somewheres Somewhere, Oftens Often, Nowheres Nowhere, Mislest Molest, Scholard Scholar, Regiment Regimen, Contrary Contrary, Howsomdever However, W.hatsomdever Whatever, 19 141 14& Language of the City of London, SticcessfoHy for Successively, Mayoraltry Mayoralty, Admiraltry Admiralty, Commonality Commonalty, Properietor, owner Proprietor, Non-plush'd Non-plus'd, Unbethought Recollected, Discommode Incommode, Colloguing Colleaguing, Docity Docility, Drownded Drowned, Despisable Despicable, An-otomy A Skeleton, Paragraft Paragraph, Stagnated Stagger'd, Disgruntled Offended^ Kuinated Ruin'd, Solentary Solitary, Ingeniously Ingenuously, Eminent danger Imminent danger. Intosticated Intoxicated, Perwent Prevent, Skri midge Skirmish, Refuge Refuse, Nisi prisi Nisi prius, Taters Potatoes, Vocation Vacation, Luxurious Luxuriant, Loveyer Lover, Humourous Humoursome,. Potteoary Apothecary, Nyst and Nyster Nice, and Nicer, Clost and Closter Close, and Closer, Sinst Since, Language of the City of London. 143 Wonst for Industerous Sot Frags, i. c. Character Moral Jocotious or Jecotious Hisn, Hern Ourn, Yourn The t'other Every wheres, Any-wheres, Any-hows, Some-hows, No-hows, Nolus bolus for Once, Industrious, Sat, Fragments, Character, Model, Jocose, His. and Her's, Ours, and Your^ The other. Nolens volens. Add to these weal for veal, wincgar, wictuals, &c; and vicked, vig, vind, veather, &c; neighbour\voo(t, widowwood, knightwood; and a great multitude of others. Such, Sir, is the language, daily uttered in the Me- tropolis of Great Britain. "But then," says Mr. Pegge^ "every body understands the meaning of the Londoners, and their language is not like the unintel- ligible gabble of nine tenths of the provincial inhabit- ants of the remoter parts of England, which none but the natives can understand. Bring together two clowns from Kent and Yorkshire, and I will wager a ducat, that they will not be able to convei'sc, for want of a dialect, common to them both." Such is the account, which a man perfectly versed in this^eubjcct, gives in a letter to a brother Antiquari- 144 Reviews published in Great Britain. an. Its correctness you will not dispute. How great a part of the English nation must speak miserable English: For Yorkshire and Kent are not the only counties, which furnish specimens of unintelligible gabble. Your West-country dialect is still worse than those of these two counties. In the United States there is not, I presume, a de- scendant of English ancestors, whose conversation is not easily, and perfectly intelligible to every other: and nothing like a dialect can be found in this country, un- less you call by this name the German, Dutch, and other foreign languages, still spoken by the Colonists, derived from those nations. Are you not ashamed, then, with these facts before you, with this barbarous jargon sounding in your ears, whenever you walk through the streets of London, and with a full knowledge of the unintelligible gabble of nine tenths of your provincial inhabitants, in the parts of England remote from London, to talk with so much parade about our blunders? Were you to spend your life in this country, you would be unable to make such a collection, as that which is here given by Mr. Pegge: and nothing, remotely resembling the language ascribed by this author to your provincial inhabitants, can be found in this country. I will now, Sir, proceed to the consideration of one subject more, and will then finish my remarks; and that is the Reviexi's published in Great Britain. "It would, however, be an act of injustice to our readers," says a judicious writer in the Picture of London, published in 1807, "were we to omit to no- tice in this place the gross abuse of public Confidence, and the imposition on credulity, systematically prac- tised by the Revlexcs, and other anonymous periodical Bet lews published in Great Britain. lib works, which pretend to give critical opinions on the merit, or dement, of new Publications. "While these professed Oracles of literature spoke ilie language of good manners, and confined their observations to honest i^emarks on the contents of the books, which they affected to notice, they deserved a qualified portion of public confidence; but the race of Scur%nlity, in which they have lately begun to emu- late each other, and the Insults, which they add ressio the persons, and private characters, of Authors, have rendered them at once a disgrace to the moral character of the country; a gross Abuse of the libera ties of the press; a scourge of genius; and a Nuis ance to litei^ature,^^ "On ordinary occasions it would be sufficient, to refute calumny, to state, that tlie author of it lurked in concealment; but the public have been so long impos- ed upon by anonymous critics, and anonymous criti- cism has so long been received without suspicion by the unthinking, that it will be necessary to pursue these Critical Assassins to their Retreats, and to ex- hibit clear and correct views of the description of per- sons, among whom they are to be found." "We shall, in the first instance, mention as a point of fact, which no person can honestly controvert, that every oni of the Reviews published, with perhaps not more than a single exception, is the Property, or in the pay, of some Bookseller; and is carried on for the sole purpose of praising all his own Publications, and of damning, and 'vilifying all those which he con siders as interfering with his interests. "The pretended criticisms, which appear in these anonymous publications, thus improperly and corrupt ly influenced, are fabricated in soine of the followint^ 146 lieviews puhlished in Great Britain. ways, or under the influence of some of the following abuses. "1st. By rival authors. — Persons, who have them- selves written on the subject, treated in a new book, which is to be noticed, being supposed by the conduc- tors of Reviews to understand the point better than mere general scholars, are frequently employed to re- view works in such circumstances. This is the hesty and perhajjs the most impartial, judgment which an author ever obtains; and a Critique by a writer on the same subject always commands in the arrangement of a Review a place of distinction. It need scarcely be stated, that an author seldom undertakes to write an anonymous critique on a rival publication, who at the same time is not unprincipled enough to vent all his envy and malice against the book, and the person, of his rival; mean enough, also, to quote his own work, with applause; and impudently contrast it with the new one. One, at least, of such articles appears in every Review, that is published; but it generally car- ries with it characteristic marks of jealousy and alarm, which render it easy to be singled out by readers of ordinary discernment. "2. By literary Adventurers, lately arrived in London from the Provinces; or by youths from some Scotch University. — Young men, who persuade them- selves, that their great talents can only have adequate display in the Metropolis, often arrive in London, without any honest means of obtaining a livelihood; and, as a first resource, tender their service to some Baokseller, who publishes a Review. Here their stock of Latin and Greek is generally placed in requi- sition; and, till a more honourable mode of existence presents itself, these striplings hire themselves, at two Reviews published in Great Britain. 147 or three guineas per printed sheet of 16 pages, to write opinions on all manner of subjects; and under the mask of the important, and oracular, "WE" make the credulous part of the public believe them qualified to insult every man of genius and learning in the cotmtry. "3. By bankrupt Authors; the Inmates of Netc- gate, the Fleet, and the King^s bench. Half of the anonymous Criticisms, which appear, are written in the Prisons of the Metropolis. Some Reviews havr been solely written, and conducted, by knots of impris- oned critics. No method of supporting existence in confinement is more easy, and more common, than the business of reviewing. It lately happened, that, during several months, the editors of two rival Re- views chummed together in one room in the Fleet prison; and by their respective eftbrts produced two critical journals of great authority among the opposite partizans of Aristocracy and Democracy: The late Dr. Bisset, who in the last years of his life had the misfortune to pass several months in the King's bench prison, boasted to the writer of this article, and to some other friends, that he could produce two sheets, or earn six guineas in a single day by reviewing; and that, as he had interest to obtain the insertion of dif- ferent articles, relative to the same book, in various reviews, he could rely on an income from these la- bours of full six guineas per week during his confine ment. One of his friends, who was not before in the secret of this trade, exclaimed, "But how can you read the books. Doctor; so as to write two sheets of criti- cism on them in a day?" "JKead the books, man?'' said the Doctor; "rearf them? JVhy do you think a r? 148 Reviews published in Great Britain. viewer reads the hooks? That shews you know noth- ing about the matter.""* "4. By personal Friends, or Enemies, of the differ- ent Authors. — Tlie system of anonymous reviewing renders every review a masked battery, which is play- ed according to the party of those, who occupy it, either on an Author by his enemies, or on the public by his Friends. Any Author, who stoops to so wretched a degradation, may influence in his own fa- vour every criticism, that appears respecting his work, by Concessions, by Bribery, or by employing some known reviewer to tender his services for the occasion among the various reviews.f * If any corroboration of this point was requisite, in additioa to the statement, which will be found in the note, in page 153, an appeal, at proper opportunities, might be made to those, who have, professionally, a peep in some small degree behind the curtain. A Review is a constant laughing stock in the office, where it is printed. Let any journey-man printer, who has been some months employed on one, tell how many of the books, noticed in it, have passed through his hands, in which, actually, none of the leaves had been cut open, except the very passa- ges to be copied, the table of contents, and tlie index: or rather, what will be infinitely less troublesome to him, and may be comprised in a very tew recollec- tions, let him tell how many were not in that condition. Hence the eternal tJomplaints in Reviews, whenever a volume is published without an index, or a table of contents. The Reviewers are well acquamted with the remark made by I'jpe, "That index learning turns no student pale. But holds the eel of science by the tail." ■\ A few months ago the loriteroj these remarks, who has himself played a prin- cipal pai't in this Farce of anonymous criticism, was applied to, on the following occasion, by an old friend, a physician in the west of England, who had some time previously published a medical work, of considerable merit and originality. Dr. ^1. had for several years practised in a large market town; and had secured the confidence of an extensive connexion. A young physician from Edinburgh, had lately settled in the same place; who, having previously passed a winter in iowf/on, had there continued his acquaintance with some young fellow students, ■who from necessity had engaged themselves, at three guineas per sheet, to write in certain reviews. Dr. A. at the time of finding a competitor in this stripling, was engaged on the last chapter of a work, upon which he had been occupied, at intervals, for many years, and which was published in the following winter. The youth, who on account of the established reputation of Dr. A. had obtained little practite, rejoiced at the announcement of this work, as offering an opportunity, by Reviews published in Great Britain. 149 "On the contrary, any virulent enemy of an Author may wreak his malice by communicating gratuitous criticisms to the Reviewers; some of whom do not scruple to receive, and insert, such articles from per* which he might avail himself of his reviewing connexion, so as to write down, and depreciate, the skill and science of Dr. A. He accordingly obtained from one of his friends a promise, that such articles, as he might send up, should be inserted in several of the Reviews. Dr. -i. who had for many yeai's unsuspect- ingly read the Reviews, as authorities not to be questioned, inspected tljcni with particular anxiety after the appearance of liis book. At length a number, which contained one of the articles written by his rival, fell in his way: and the worthy physician was overwhelmed with mortification to iiiul himself treated ai an Empiric, a Blockhead, and an HypothesiS'mouger; as one, whose patients, if he had any, were objects of pity; and who was himself to be pitied for the injury, he hail done himself and his family by such an exposure of his ignorance. It will be easier to conceive than to describe the mingled emotions of this worthy man, on finding himself so basely misrepresented; but let the reader imagine the anguish of his feelings, when one of his friends brought in a hand-bill, which had the sams morning been circulated through the neighbourhood, containing an extract from this very criticism, and referring to tiie review, published in London, as the au- thority. He found, that the Apothecary, in connexion willi tiie new Ph)sician, had been very industrious in this business; but he was too little acquainted with the arcana of anonymous criticism, to suspect who might be the author. Like an ingenuous man of btters, he printed a reply: but this only made his case the worse; for the dark insinuations, and the broad and coarse assertions, of his oon- oealed opponent were too strong, and too operative on the minds of tliose who read them, to be repelled by cool argument, and by the oixiinary language of a well educated gentleman. In the mean time a literary friend of the Doctor's, who knew something of the profligacy of criticism, convinced him, that the article respecting his book was the production of some enemy; and that it would proba- bly meet with similar treatment in some of the other Reviews, if he did aot exert himself to prevent it. It was therefore determined as the securest plan to avoid the mischief, that the Doctor should visit the Metropolis, and thi-ough the means of his friends there, obtain an introduction to the propiietors, and publishers, of the Reviews. The first place, he drove to, was the house of the narrator of these facts; and they spent two days in searching for, treating', and bribing, the hirelings, -who -vrite for, or superintend, those journals. The result was, that the Doctor obtained permission to send such accounts of his booh, as might be ivritteri by himself, or his immediate friends. The Doctor was now satisfied that the former article l»ad been the production of some enemy; and, though his soul revolted at the task, he had undertaken, yet his endeavour to defeat the malice of such a wretch stimulated him to proceed. In the course of the inquiry it appear- ed, that one of the new Reviews was already in possession nf an article, relative to the Doctor's book; and that the writer had treated it with great severity. Thi« information afibriled a clue for tlie discovery of the party; but the waiy editor could not be prevailed upon to shew the manuscript; nor to promise, that it should not be printed. The Doctor invited him to dinner at his hotel; treated him sumptuously; and, after the bottle had been freely circulated, the article wa« sent for: when, after what has been staled, the reader wDl not be siyprised at 20 IbO Reviews published in Great Britain. sons wholly unknown to them; and instances have occurred, in which with unblushing profligacy the re- ceipt of such anonymous criticisms has been thankfully acknowledged through the public Newspapers. "5. By the Authors becoming their own Reviewers. It may be affirmed without the hazard of denial, that in every number of (a) Review, that is published^ there is at least one article, written by an Author on his own work. As such criticisms never cost any thing; their insertion may frequently be obtained by a suitable application of the Author, or his friends. The proprietor himself, will, under certain circumstances, receive these full and able notices; but more commonly their admission is secured by the person, to whom the examination of the book has been assigned. The article itself values, in account with the proprietor, at a cer- tain number of pounds, shillings, and pence; and is thought by a hungry reviewer to be a good hit; espec- ially if accompanied by a bank note, or an invitation to dinner. "6. By traders in Criticism. — In London there are persons, who probably gain as much by composing separate critiques for all the Reviews on the same book, as the author who wrote it. A man of this descrip- tion is generally a smatterer in some particular art, or science; and, when a new book appears on his subject, if he be not applied to by the different conductors of Reviews, he generally tenders his services, which are learning, that the hand ■writing was that of the young physician, -who had for some time been the Doctor's insidious rival in the country. The manuscript was confided to the Doctor, on his promising to furnish another article of equal Icngtfi gratis; and undertaking to pay for fifty of the — — Review, for three months t» come, which he was to circulate, and recommend, in his county. On his return home, the Doctor's solicitor immediately commenced a course ol legal proceed- ings against the young Scotchman, who, finding that he was in the Doctor's power, agreed to leave that county, on their being discontinued. Reviews published in Great Br itain. \&i always accepted with thanks. Thus one and ike same person assumes a dozen Identities; and by varying his language and opinions, so as to meet the character, the views, and the party, of each of his employers, he praises, and censures, and blows hot and cold, in the same instant. Or perhaps a book of high price, or of considerable bulk, and erudition, makes its appearance; of which, at the common price of three or four guineas per sheet, a critic, who would live by his trade, could not repay himself for the cost, and for the labour of perusal, by a single criticism: he therefore accommo- dates various accounts of it to the passions, and parties, of the several Reviews; and thus the labours of the whole life of some learned and ingenious authors are wholly at the mercy of this wholesale dealer in criti* cism; perhaps an unprincipled and malicious charac- ter; who, if known to the world, would be the last man living, whose opinion would be received as an authority on this, or any other subject whatever. "7. By Contracting Critics, Master Critics, or those who r&oiew by the lump. — Several of the reviews, to save trouble to the proprietors and publishers, are un- dertaken, or contracted for, by one person, at so much per sheet; and this man stands engaged either to write the entire Review himself, or to get it written by others. Delegations, two or three deep, are verycoin- mon in this species of criticism. The contracting critic receives, himself, perhaps after the rate of seven guineas per sheet; but in paying his journeymen for occasional aid he gives but three or four guineas. The journeyman too employs a species of labourer ^ whose province it is to skim the book, prepare the general heads of the analysis, mark the extracts, &c. &c.: a business which is paid for by the job, or ae^ cording to tlie size of the book. 153 Reviews published in Great Britain. *^8. By the profligate Calculations of the conduct- ors. — It is a maxim, which is constantly acted upoa in the management of a Review, that it will not please all palates, unless it be well seasoned; or, in the tech- nical language of the reviewing craft, "T/ie Review will not sell, unless a suffcient number of authorSf and their books, be regularly cut up" It becomes, therefore, part of the ordinary business of every con- ductor to take care, that there is no deficiency of Sauce; and to engage a few Miscreants, well versed in the language of Billingsgate. Accordingly, then, to the degree of honour and feeling, possessed by the conductor, or as the Review is falling or rising, in sale, it will be arranged, whether the proportion of half, a third, or a quarter, of the books, noticed in every num- ber, are to be vilifed. This direct ratio between the fall in sale, and scurrility of language; and between the rise in sale, and decency of language; furnishes data, by which any person may, by counting the arti- cles of each Character, calculate at any time the Healthiness, or the Decrepitude of any Review. "9. By the superficial view, which the hired, and anonymous, critic takes of the books, oj which he gives an opinion. — It is a fact, which will startle some readers of these observations, but which a little attention will confirm, that the persons who write the Monthly Catalogue in most of the Reviews, do not see half the books, which they characterize; but write their fiippant notices, solely from the advertisements in the newspapers. The present or former conduct- ors of certain reviews, may blush to see this "secret of their prison house" go forth to the world; but the wri- ter pledges himself to give names, and other particu- lars, ij t'ne fact, to the extent he has stated, should be contradicted. Let any person turn over the Monthlj: Reviews published in Great Britain, 153 Catalogue of various Reviews for a few months, and he will not fail to be struck with the imposition, which has been practised on him; by observinj^. that much above half of the silly Paragraphs, whieh are append- ed to the titles of Pamphlets, and of the other works in this part, would apply with as much propriety to most other articles in the list, as to those to which they are assigned. I'his is so palpable, that no more need be urged to prove the existence of this flagrant abuse of the name of Criticism. It may, however, be worth while to explain, that, as reviewers are paid by the sheet, at the rate of three, four, five, or six guineas per sixteen pages, according to their professional capacity, and experience; and, as the articles in the Monthly Catalogue seldom exceed a few lines each, these would not produce, on an average, more than eighteen pence, or two shillings, a piece; and sometimes not half of the smallest of these sums. It is absurd, therefore, to suppose, that, if Reviewers mean to gain a livelihood, they take the trouble to read, or even to seek, such unproductive trash.* • A picture from the Vife -will illustrate this abuse better than a multitude of ob- servations. A principal Reviewer, possessed of more learning than prudence, had been surrendered by his bail to the custody of the Marshal of the Fleet. From one of the Attics of that Dormitory of disappointed enterprise, he address- ed himself to hispid Friend, the bookseller in Paternoster-rOw; who, knowing his talents, and fearing his resentment if neglected, sent a packet of eight or ten new publications for the next month's Review. The Critic, who always compos- ed through the medium of an Amanuensis, caused au inquiry for one to be made in the prison; and presently a young man Mas enlisted in his service, mIio was not devoid of intelligence, but hitherto a total stranger to the Mysteries, in which he was speedily to be initiated- He seated Himself with his pen in his hand; when the Reviewer untii;d the parcel of books; and, taking up a handsome Quarto, read the title page; and, giving the volume to tlic Amanuensis, desired him to copy the title. While this was performing, he took several turns in the room; and, having two or three times asked impatiently whether the title was finished, he or- dered the Amanuensis to write. He then dictated an opening paragraph of con- siderable length; in which he abused without mercy the self-conceit of the Author in supposing himself qualified for such an undertaking; enumerittcd the attempts, that had been made by various other Persons in the same species of wrKlng; as- ^ibed this W^ork i^ Qvervveening Vanity, &c. &c. The Amanuensis was struck 154 Reviews pitblished in Great Britain, "Accordingly, the fact is, that this department of the review is committed to persons, kept on the establish- menty as the manufacturing expression is; who are paid a small monthly allowance, (four or five guin- eas,) for executing it; which is divided among them, if more than one are employed; and is issued regular- ly, in weekly portions, by the bookseller, every Mon- day morning; being then frequently sent to some gaol, ■with surprise: for he perceived that not a leaf of the book had been opened; and was sensible, that the Dictator had not, till that moment, seen the work. He was however staggered in this supposition, when he again heard himself commande«[ to write as follows: — "The ensuing passages alone will satisfy our readers of the justice of these conclusions; but if we choee to multiply examples of presumption and absurdity, we could fill our number with the dull conceits of this blockhead!" The Reviewer now took up the volume, to seek for the passages, which were to answer this prejudication, turned over its preface rapidl)', and muttered: "T/i?s Jellow's determined to give one all the trouble, he can — JVo contents I see! — Index perhaps? JVor that neither! — Dies hard; but must be damned for all that." — He then angrily turned over the leaves from beginning to end; read the iieads of some of the chapters; and at length exclaimed, "Yes, I have it. Write, Sir. Begin page 273, "At the same instant, that," to 278, at "hitherto proceed- ed."** Now with the rapidity of lightning opening the volume further on, •♦Write," he resumed, "This opinionated gentleman, not satisfied with differing from every writer, who has preceded him, from Aristotle to liousseav, has chosen to refute all his own doctrine by the following whimsical positions. Peace to his spirit! We hope never to wade tlirough such aaother Augean stable; but tong-suftering is the lot of our fraternity. — Begui page 417, "with this view," to page 420, at "broad basis." And again, page 432, "It is well known," to page 435, at "indispensably necessary." We should have pitied the unfortunate pub- lisher who ignorantly embarked his money in this wretched performance, if the fellow had not the impudence to fix the price of three half guineas on a volume, ■which, ajter a patient examination, we can pledge ourselves, is not ivorth three farthings." Thus ended the Review of this work, which has since passed through several Editions; and the time, spent in this fatiguing and patient inves- tigation, -was exactly/ tiventy-Jive mirmtes. The Reviev.'er now took up tlve next book; which he praised as extravagantly, as he had abused the otlier; and thus proceeded through the parcel, cutting open not more than twenty pages of the whole, and praising, and damning, as his Caprice, or some secret Feeling, suggested; or just as it seemed to suit the hu- mour of the moment. The time, spent in thus characterixing, in dogmatical and vehement language, ttvo Quartos, five Octavos, two Duodecimos, and t~,vo Pamfiiilets, -was about two hoiirs and h.''f' The Amanuensis, on turning af- terwards to the highly reputed Review, in which these elaborate criticisms •were displayed, found, that thet/ oceupied one third of the JVumber! He declined any fui'ther participation in so disgraceful an employment, and has since communicated the above Facts to various persons, and among others to the writer of these re- marks,- JReviews published in Great Britain. 153 like the creditors' sixpences, which become due on that day; or given to some of the upper assistants in the booksellers' shops, who are sometimes employed at this business in their spare hours. Such being a cor- rect description of the persons, and the practices, of those who write anonymous criticisms, is it to be wondered at, that these people uniformly deny their craft; and that a greater insult cannot be offered to one of these pioneers of Grubstreet, than to insinuate, that he writes for any review? Not only is the prac- tice disavowed by the whole fraternity, but if you knew a man to be a scribbler in reviews, and were to ask if he wrote an article, in itself meritorious, he would deem even this an insult, never to be forgiven! It is true that some reviewers are well known: but these are generally either young in the trade, and not yet acquainted with the infamy, attached to it; or coxcombs, whose vanity supersedes every other feel- ing. Boys at school, and half informed people in the country, consult these oracles with so much unsus- pecting credulity, that a Stripling from a Scotch Uni- versity, who is admitted to perform the lowest offices in these Temples of Imposition, considers himself as having become part of the Godhead, and gives him- self Airs accordingly.* "There is, however, one class of men, who give occa- sional countenance to Reviewers without intending the mischief, Vv hich they thus assist in perpetrating. These are certain vain Pedants at our Vuixersities; who, knowing little of the world, consider Reviews as ex- actly what they appear to be; and having no readier means of displaying their knowledge of particular sub= * A certain JKorthern lieview is now Mi-itten chiefly in London by young men, ■who have but just finished their attendance on their University Lccliues; and the olttest of tliera is said not to exceed five and t^venty years of ag'c. 156 Reviews published in Great Britain. jects are often flattered by having some abstruse Work committed to them by the conductor of the Review. Tickled by this kind of compliment, they cannot con- ceal it from certain intimates, who circulate the fact in the university, that Dr. writes for the - — Re- view; and thus half the world are led to suppose, that Reviews are written, con amore, by men of real honour and learning. Professors in universities ought to be- ware of thus becoming the dupes of their vanity, by enlisting themselves among a race of impostors, as base and unprincipled as ever disgraced society. Their names, and their talents, ought to be reserved for worthier purposes, than that of giving countenance to hired, and anonymous defamation. "Conclusion. The obvious inference from all, that has been stated, is this; that the great Vice of Review- ing exists in the concealment of the Writers; and that, while anonymous Criticism is tolerated, it is impossible even for a conductor, who is a man of integrity, to guard against its corruptions, and its abuse. "^ learned and gentlemanly Critic would be able, though he signed his name to his criticism, to perform ample justice to an author, and the public. He could not adopt the impertinent, arrogant, and boasting style of the present contemptible race of Anonymous Re- viewers; but his Inferences and Opinions, would be received with Respect; the Public would be enlight- ened; and Error and Imposition would be corrected and exposed. Authors could assure themselves, that their books were seen, and read, before they were de- cided upon, and the public would appreciate justly the value of a decision, thus made, and thus guaranteed. *'Those, who contend that Critics, under such a sys- tem, dare not do their duty, either do not understand what is meant by the word Criticism; or do not con- Reviews published in Great Britain. 137 bider what was the object of Reviews. Our essayists, from Addison to Cumberland and Knox, afford speci- mens of criticism, such as no Man could have cause to disown, and such as would always be received with avidity by the public. True literary Criticism in the hands of real Scholars is the opposite of every thing, that characterizes our modern Reviews; it never searches for personal anecdotes of Authors, or con- founds in its Disquisitions his Foibles, or Weaknesses, with the merits of his performance; it never magnifies blemishes, shuts its eye to beauties, becomes the tool of a party, either political or literary, misquotes, delights in abusive and violent epithets, or arrogates its own in- fallibility! It is, in a word, a liberal science, which no honest Man need be ashamed to exercise and avow; but in the hand of a concealed assassin if may be, (and unfortunately is,) converted to the most destructive and diabolical purposes. True Criticism, like Char- ity, "suffereth long and is kind; envieth not; vaunt- eth not itself; is not puffed up; d*oth not behave itself unseemly; seeketh not her own; (is not selfish;) is not easily provoked; thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in in- iquity, but rejoiceth in the tiuth." "Yet as the vice exists chiefly in the anonymous character of the system, the moral views of the Con- ductor of every Review are not intended to be called in question. One or two of those gentlemen are known to be men of character; who would not wil- fully participate in the grosser Abuses of the reviewing trade: but those Abuses are too inherent in the system to be successfully guarded against; and as these gentle- men must be perfectly sensible of this Truth, it is a Duty which they owe to the world, to affix the numes of those, who write in their critical journals, to their respective articles, in order that the public may pos- 158 Reviews published in Great Britain. sess the only Guarantee, which can be given of tliC candour and integrity of such Writers; and also that their journals may secure a continuance of that Confi- dence and Support, which has hitherto been unthink- ingly y and ignoraniiy, reposed in them."* *'The author of the preceding statement of fact* thinks it proper to add, that in drawing it up he has been solely actuated by a love of truth, a hatred of Imposture, and a sense of duty to the literary world, and the public. No honourable or conscientious Re- viewer (though the writer believes that few men of that character ca^ long continue the employment of writing anonymous opinions on others,) will be offended at this just exposition of the misconduct of those, who abuse their office. He hopes to live to see a reformation in the system; and that, if a respectable and independent body of literary characters cannot be persuaded to * "Next in importance to the newspapers are the works of periodical criticisto, ■which are here called Revie-ws- Of late years it has becoVne impossible to place any reliance upon the opinions, given by these journals; hecause their party spirit now extends to every thing. Whatever be the object of a hook, though as remote as possible from all topics of pohtJcal dissention, it is judged of according to the poU itics of the author: for instance, one of these journals has pronounced it to be Jaco- binical to read Hebrew without points. There are other reasons, why there is so little fair criticism. Many, perhaps the majority, of these literary censors, are authors themselves; and as such in no very high estimation with the public. Baboons are said to have an antipathy to men and these, -who are the baboons of lit' erature, have the same sort of hatred to those, ivhose superiority they at once feel and duny. You are not, however, to suppose, that the general character of these journals is that of undeserved severity: they have as many to praise as to blame; and their commendations are dealt upon the same principle, or want of principle, as their censures. England is but a little country; and the communication between all its parts is so rapid, the men of letters are so few, and the circulation of soci- ety brings them all so often to London, as the heart of the system, that they are all directly, or indirectly, known to each other. A writer is praised because he is a friend, or a friend's friend; or he must be condemned for a similar reason. For the most part the praise of these critics is 7nilk and ivater, and their censure sour tmall beer. Sometimes, indeed, they deal in stronger materials; but then the oil, T>hich flattery lays on, it train oil, audit stinks: and the dirt -which Malevolence throws, is ordure; a7id it sticks to her oivn fingers ." Espriella. Letter 56. If Mr. Suuthey wrote the Review of Inchiquitij I request Itim to read this pas- •-^sge ia E^pricUa with attention. Reviews published in Great Britain. 159 sanction a Review by their names, the public contempt ^f anonymous and systematic scurrility will render it harmless and unprofitable." How greatly are mankind indebted to this frank, honest-hearted writer for these disclosures; for open- ing to the day-light this den of Cacus; and exhibiting the deformed beings which it contains; the robberies, which they perpetrate upon the reputation, the peace, and the principles of their fellow men; the foul spirit, hy which they are governed; and the fire and smoke poured out upon the world by these collections of banditti. What a story are W€ told, when we are in- formed by this Writer, that we are indebted to bank- rupts, and inmates of Newgate, the Fleet, and King's Bench prisons for half the anonymous criticisms, that is, for half of all, which is contained in the Reviews, published in Great Britian; and that some whole IVorks, under this name, have been solely written and conducted by knots of imprisoned critics: a set of scoundrels, whom the Justice of your country has driven from among mankind, and confined by bolts and grates. From such wretches what could a sober man expect but just such Reviews, as those, with which <^reat Britain deluges the world? I do not deny, that among these efforts there are now and then specimens of talents, and in a few instances of superiour talents; but those of candour, common honesty, and common decency are lamentably rare. Amid all the base re- flections, cast upon the people of the United States, for their destitution of understanding, {ind worth, in these dirty-minded effusions of spite and ribaldry, there is not one, half so humiliating, as the (sict,that the Edin* burgh and Quarterly Reviews arc republished in this country. 160 Reviews published in Great Britain. Among the remarkable things, for which the world is indebted to this Writer, the information that these dictators in the empire of learnmg and taste do not even read the books which they professedly review. "JRead the books, manT^ said Dr Bisset to his friend; ^^read them? Why do you think that a Reviewer reads the books? That shews, that you know nothing about the matter." I hope my own countrymen will re- member, that the accounts, so magisterially given in these receptacles of folly and falsehood concerning the various works, which they hash with so little de- cency, are given without reading the works them- selves; sentences, pronounced before the cause is ar- gued, the witnesses heard, or the prisoner even known, by a Jury, packed, bought, and perjured. How dif- ferent from all this are the fair, upright, and gentle- manly, Reviews, published in the Christian Observer, In the mean time, a great part of these efforts are, it seems, the panegyrics of the personal friends, or the invectives of the personal enemies, of the different authors reviewed. "Any author, who will stoop to so wretched a degradation, may influence in his own fa- vour every criticism, that appears respecting his work, by concessions, and by bribery." These volumes of iniquity are, therefore, partly made up of the despi- cable flattery of Toad-eaters, and partly of the snaky virulence of anonymous hatred, pouring out its vindic- tive malice from the burrow, in which it has hidden itself from the public eye. But this in not all. The author himself becomes his own Rtviewer. "It may be affirmed," says this respectable Writer, "without the hazard of denial, that m every number of a Review, that is published, there is at least one article, written by an ' author on his gwn Work.^^ Proh pudor! A pretty employment, in- « Be views published in Great Britain. 161 deed. Tor a decent man to peruse a series of panegyr- ical observations upon a book, and to learn in the end, that they are the miserable, dishonest self-adulation of the author! Nor is this all. These literary journals are conduct- ed, to a considerable extent, by traders in Criticism; *who compose separate Critiques on the same book, for different Revieivs; praise and blame alternately ; blow hot and cold with the same mouth, and at the same instant; and, if known to the world, would be the last men living, whose opinion would be received as an authority on any subject whatever. Even all this is not enough. At all events, "the Re- view is to be well seasoned, and will not sell^ unless a sufficient number of authors, and their works, are cut up." Every conductor, it seems, as a part of his ordinary business ^'takes care, that there is no deficien- cy of sauce; and engages a ftw miscreants, who are well versed in the language of Billingsgate." You, Sir, have the honour of being supposed to be the Pat- ron of a Review. Permit me to ask how many of these miscreants you have engaged; or, if ?/oi« have not engaged them, and this part of the business is done by a conductor under your patronage (as from your character, and station, I own I am induced to believe,) does it not seem to you, that it is time, that these mis- creants were dismissed from their employment; at least that they should fight no longer behind your shield? A considerable portion of the criticism, published in these Journals, is usually made up in a batch, styl- ed the Monthly Catalogue. In the books named in this list, we are informed, ^'the Reviewers do not eveti see one half." This, indeed, is only of a piece witli the rest, and after what has been said demands nope- puliar censure. 462 Reviews published in Great Britain. What a picture is here given of the literary Jour- nals of Great Britain? for the Edinburgh Review is plainly included in the author's list, by the note, which he has added concerning it; and has too many inter- nal proofs of belonging to this foul mass, to suffer a rational doubt of the justice of the inclusion, ^he whole story wears every mark of truth. The particu- larity, with which the iniquitous system is detailed, and the accordance of the several parts with each other, bear strong testimony to the truth of the representation. Besides, the Writer has openly defied a contradiction to his statement, and has promised, in answer to it, to give names, and other particulars. But no individu- al of this motley tribe has thought it proper to venture upon such dangerous ground. Until this shall be done, the account is to be admitted as true; and those, who are stigmatized by it, whether in prison, or oid of it, are to be regarded as a despicable clan of ma- rauders on the principles, the peace, and the happi- ness, of their fellow men. Now, Sir, permit me to ask to which of these class- es the Reviewer of Inchiquin's Letters belongs. Is he "^ ^<^ V *• .♦^^r^. V -'...*\0^'^ '^ '0,1* A ^- - -s^i , ^ *Jm^^^ • ... .aN * <^m'^' •5'. "-^0^ ;* <&' '^o^ \* * •?? .^ig^ Al \n DO AUG 88 N. MANCHESTER, INDIANA 46962