Class __iAlZl 
 Book 
 
GENERAL SURVEY 
 
 PRESENT SITUATIOxN OF THE PRINCIPAL POWERS: 
 
 WITH CONJECTURES 
 
 FUTURE PROSPECTS 
 
 A CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 BOSTON : 
 
 rUBHSIIEl) BY OLIVER EVERETT, NO. 6 COURT STREET, 
 AND CUMMIITGS AND HILLIARD, NO. 1 CORNHILL. 
 
 Hilliard & Metcalf, printers, 
 
 1822. 
 
_1) iB 
 
 E^^ 
 
 DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS, TO WIT: 
 
 District Clerk's Office. 
 Be it remembered, that on the eighteenth day of December, in the forty-sixth year 
 of the indtpendence of the United States of America, Oliver Everett, of the said 
 district, has deposited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof he claims 
 as proprietor, in the words following', viz. 
 
 " Europe : or a general survey of the jn-esent situation of the principal powers ; with 
 conjectures on their future prospects. By a Citizen of the United States." 
 
 In conformity t(i the act of the congress of the United States, entitled, " An act for 
 the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books to the 
 authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned ;"' and 
 also to an act, entitled, " An act, sunplementary to an act, entitled, an act for the 
 encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books to the 
 authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned, and extend- 
 ing the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving, and etching historical and 
 odier prints." 
 
 J, W. DAVIS, 
 ' "• . _ Clerkof the District of Massachusetts. 
 
 - - 1 » 
 
4 ^ I 'o 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 Prefatory Letter 3 
 
 Chap. I. — Introductory remarks on the general 
 
 causes of the present political agitations 5 p^i-f- 
 
 Chap. II. — France 35 
 
 Chap. III. — Spain and Portugal . . . . 119 
 
 Chap. IV. — Italy and Greece 138 
 
 Chap. V. — Germany, including Austria and 
 
 Prussia • . 14G 
 
 Chap, VI. — Russia, Sweden, Denmark, and the 
 
 Netherlands 229 
 
 Chap. VII. — Great Britain 244 
 
 Chap. VIII. — The balance of power . . . 331 
 
 Chap. IX.— The British Navy 395 
 
 Chap. X. — Concluding Reflections . . . 420 
 
PREFATORY LETTER. 
 
 I FEEL much pleasure, my dear brother, in com- 
 plying with your request, that I would furnish you 
 with a general sketch of the present political situa- 
 tion of Europe. You are aware of the uncertainty 
 of all speculations of this sort upon contemporary 
 events. At the present moment they are particularly 
 hazardous, on account of the rapidity with which 
 important occurrences of the most opposite character 
 now succeed each other. The history of every fol- 
 lowing week refutes the statements and anticipations 
 of the one that went before ; and the most intrepid 
 prophets have begun to be weary of the profession. 
 M. de Pradt himself has for some time been silent. 
 Under these circumstances you will not be surprised 
 if my opinions and conjectures are completely con- 
 tradicted before they reach you. Should they for- 
 tunately escape this accident, you will still consider 
 them only as an extended newspaper article, which 
 may very probably lose its interest at the next arri- 
 val. 
 
 Sept. 1, 1821. 
 
EUROPE: &r 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Introductory remarks on the general causes of the 
 present political agitations. 
 
 The course of events in Europe since the final 
 fall of Bonaparte has been, I believe, as unexpected, 
 as it is in every point of view remarkable. A variety 
 of circumstances concurred to produce an uncom- 
 mon uniformity of feeling and interest among the 
 several nations, and the different classes of society, 
 at the period immediately preceding the Congress 
 of Vienna. The national jealousies resulting from 
 the ancient balance of power, and the political feuds 
 connected with the earlier periods of the revolution, 
 had all disappeared under the mtolerable tyranny of 
 Napoleon. The continental sovereigns forgot their 
 habitual enmities, and even the distant stateliness 
 of their ordinary habits of intercourse in this hour 
 of common danger, and acted together with the 
 cordiality and intimacy of personal friends. Liberty 
 
G 
 
 had long before withdrawn from the banners of 
 France and enlisted under those of her enemies : so 
 that the people entered every where into the views 
 of their governments with enthusiasm, upon the 
 same principles of independence, which sometimes 
 lead them to opposition. France herself, with the 
 exception perhaps of the army, was disposed to re- 
 gard the allies as deliverers, rather than as enemies. 
 It was an ' era of good feelings,' like that which now 
 exists in the United States ; and which it may be 
 hoped will be of longer duration. The uses of 
 adversity were exhibited in the high minded spirit 
 which directed all the proceedings of the allies 
 among themselves, and in their relations with 
 France at the time of the first invasion. Politicians 
 and sovereigns who had previously submitted with 
 rather an ill grace, if at all, to the common restraints 
 of morals, seemed to have risen all at once to the 
 loftiest heights of chivalry ; and even cool observers 
 began to indulge a hope, that political affairs would 
 wear in future a new aspect. It seemed as if the 
 French revolution, after failing, at least for a time, 
 in its direct attempts to accomplish any considerable 
 good, was destined to reform the world by reaction. 
 "Certainly any person, who at the time of the treaty 
 of Paris had predicted that within six years a gen- 
 eral dissatisfaction would grow up between the 
 
rulers and the people, in almost all the civilized 
 parts of Europe — that there would be four military 
 revolutions, besides innumerable changes of minis- 
 try — and that discord would even throw her apple 
 into the divine assembly of the Holy Alliance — 
 certainly such a person would have been looked 
 upon, to say the least, as a very bold prophet. 
 
 These unexpected events are variously explained 
 by different persons and parties, according as they 
 are led by their position in society, their interests, 
 or their opinions, to approve or disapprove them. 
 It is thought by some, and the system has even been 
 countenanced by the public declarations of the three 
 northern powers, that all these violent convulsive 
 movements result from the wild and desperate 
 coalition of a few individuals, leagued together in 
 secret societies, and that by the detection and ex- 
 emplary punishment of the ringleaders, the public 
 tranquillity may be immediately and permanently 
 restored. It is also stated on official authority, that 
 by certain seizures of persons and papers in the 
 North of Italy a clue has been obtained by which 
 the secrets of the conspiracy will be unravelled : 
 and, if the general idea be correct, it may be pre- 
 sumed that there will soon be no danger of any 
 further revolutions. 
 
But, in reality, it is rather a poor compliment to 
 the stability of thrones and governments to suppose 
 that they can be shaken by the efforts of a few 
 obscure and unprincipled wretches, like Thistle- 
 wood and Louvel. In the moral, as in the physical 
 sciences, we must account for effects by supposing 
 causes adequate to their production : and, in good 
 earnest, is it by such a machinery as this, that sev- 
 eral important kingdoms can be revolutionised, and 
 a general alarm spread through the whole of Eu- 
 rope ? The very powers, which affect to hold this 
 language, give but slender confirmation of it in their 
 practical measures. Had they been serious in these 
 assertions, should we have seen them holding Con- 
 gress after Congress, and putting their troops in 
 motion from Kamschatka to the borders of France ? 
 Their language is in fact as inconsistent with itself, 
 as it is with their j)roceedings. While they employ 
 at times the contemptuous tone to which I have 
 alluded, they shew on other occasions that they have 
 a correct perception of the character of the present 
 agitations of Europe ; and regard them in their true 
 light, as a continuation of the great revolutionary 
 movement, which was checked and compressed for 
 a time by the despotism of Bonaparte, but only 
 waited for his fall to begin its march again with 
 a renewed impulse. This being the real state of the 
 
case, as no reasonable man can doubt for a moment, 
 it is quite idle to look for the root of the evil in 
 obscure associations and treasonable plots — or in 
 the desperate fanaticism which may have led to the 
 assassination of a poet in one country and a prince 
 in another. These occurrences are symptoms, slight 
 in importance, as to their effect upon the interest at 
 stake, but proving by their atrocity the strength of 
 the principles which are at work ; and those persons 
 who are interested in checking the progress of po- 
 litical information, might think themselves very for- 
 tunate, if such obscure and feeble enemies were all 
 they had to contend with. 
 
 The present agitations must therefore be regarded 
 as resulting from the same general causes that pro'^ 
 duced the French revolution. It would be super- 
 fluous to investigate these causes here in detail. 
 However individual opinions may A^ary as to the 
 effect of particular measures, or accidental circum- 
 stances ; — as to the favourable or unfavourable in- 
 fluence of the prominent political characters of the 
 time on the progress of events ; — it is now generally 
 admitted by observing men, that the revolution had 
 been slowly and gradually brouglit about by the 
 changes in the state of society resulting from the 
 progress of industry, wealth and knowledge ; or in 
 one word, of civilization. This change in the state 
 % 
 
10 
 
 of society was the real revolution ; and this had 
 been accomplished a long time before the events 
 occurred, to which the name is commonly affixed. 
 The violent explosion was little else than the break- 
 ing down of antiquated and obsolete forms, from 
 which the spirit had long since departed : and the 
 assumption of their share in the appearances of 
 power by a portion of society which already posses- 
 sed it in reality. 
 
 The same general circumstances, which existed 
 in France, were also to be found, with different 
 modifications, in almost all the continental countries. 
 In all, with unimportant exceptions, the existing 
 forms of administration had been established at a 
 period when the land constituted the only property ; 
 and when the human cultivators of the soil were 
 intellectually nearly on a level with their brutal 
 fellow labourers. That the military proprietors, who 
 styled themselves nobles, should at that time exer- 
 cise the whole political power, was a necessary 
 consequence of the existing state of things. It was 
 not quite so natural, that the descendants of these 
 individuals should continue to monopolize all the 
 power at a period when, in consequence of the rise 
 and progress of industry and wealth, another class 
 of proprietors had grown up in the community, 
 generally more intelligent than the landholders, and 
 
n 
 
 certainly as strongly interested in the proper admin- 
 istration of the public affairs. Had the question in 
 dispute, however, been merely who should adminis- 
 ter the government, and had the class of military 
 proprietors conducted the administration with im- 
 partiality and ability, it may be doubted whether 
 this monopoly of power would have created any 
 considerable discontent. To administer the public 
 affairs, like all other business, is in itself a care and 
 a labour : and could the mercantile and industrious 
 proprietors have felt a complete certainty that this 
 labour, as far as they were interested in its results, 
 would be performed in the best possible manner, 
 there seems no reason to suppose that they would 
 have felt any strong desire to do it themselves. But 
 in reality it is impossible that they could ever feel 
 this assurance. In public, as in private affairs, no 
 individual willingly places his property wholly be- 
 yond his own control and inspection, whatever 
 confidence he may place in the persons whom he 
 employs. Hence the state of things was in itself 
 unnatural : but, independently of this, the mercan- 
 tile and industrious classes had reason to be satisfied, 
 long before they were important enough to be able 
 to make themselves heard in society, that they 
 should be compelled to endure, not only the neces- 
 sary inconveniences of this political situation, but 
 
12 
 
 all the multiplied and aggravated mischiefs that 
 could possiblj be made to flow from it by the most 
 wanton abuse of power. That they were excluded 
 from the administration of government was a slight 
 grievance. It became of more importance when 
 governments, instead of consulting and promoting 
 their interest, attempted to crush and oppress them 
 by every description of imposition and prohibition, 
 that could be imagined. Indifference itself must 
 have given way to indignation at the revolting in- 
 justice displayed by the privileged classes in ex- 
 empting themselves by their own act from the taxes 
 which they imposed upon the industrious proprie- 
 tors. Not content with these arrogant and odious 
 assumptions, they pushed their pretensions still 
 farther : and claimed, under the name of nobility, 
 an inherent and essential superiority of blood and 
 race, over their industrious fellow citizens. To live 
 in idleness was to live nobly ; and it was a disgrace 
 and degradation to exercise any description of man- 
 ual and intellectual labour : and it may be remarked 
 as a proof how strongly the most unjust and absurd 
 opinions fasten themselves upon society by the force 
 of habit, that this prejudice still prevails as strongly 
 as ever in the higher classes of society. 
 
 Such a state of things necessarily established a 
 hostile relation between the industrious classes of 
 
13 
 
 thn community and the landed proprietors ; the re- 
 sult of which was of course determined by the pro- 
 gress of events. Had the impulse which gave a 
 spring to commerce and industry been less powerful 
 and active than it was, they must have sunk under 
 the load of so much oppression and contumely ; and 
 Europe would now have been grovelling in the 
 barbarism of the earliest feudal times, or more 
 probably would have fallen still lower in the scale 
 of degradation ; and instead of being, as it is, the 
 light and glory of the world, would have exhibited 
 the sad spectacle of decay and misery that we see 
 in Turkey, Persia, and Morocco. Happily the spirit 
 of improvement was too powerful to be checked : 
 and supposing it, as it has proved to be, sufficiently 
 active to give the industrious classes a constantly 
 augmenting importance in the community, notwith- 
 standing every thing that was done to oppress and 
 insult them, it is evident that the privileged pro- 
 prietors must have ultimately receded of them- 
 selves from their odious pretensions ; or that a period 
 would arrive sooner or later under any circumstan- 
 ces, when the two interests would come into colli- 
 sion. Wealth and knowledge are the ingredients 
 of essential power. When the intelligence and 
 wealth of the industrious classes had risen to an 
 equality with those of the landed proprietors, or 
 
14 
 
 privileged orders, they would be in substance, equally 
 powerful ; and it is not in human nature that they 
 should then submit to the degradation and oppres- 
 sion which they had been obliged to endure, when 
 they were a small and insignificant portion of the 
 community. Supposing them even from the force 
 of habit to continue to submit to it at this epoch, a 
 period would soon arrive, in the progress of their 
 increasing influence, when their wealth and intelli- 
 gence would be far superior to those of the nobles ; 
 as they now are in fact in the civilized parts of Eu- 
 rope. Their final emancipation and the struggle 
 necessary to effect it must therefore be regarded as 
 necessary and inevitable occurrences in the course 
 of events. 
 
 Hence the collision of interests, of which so many 
 symptoms have appeared in Europe for the last two 
 or three centuries ; which, if it did not actually 
 cause the Reformation, gave it most of its political 
 importance ; which burst out with such a tremen- 
 dous explosion in the French Revolution, and is 
 now agitating and convulsing, in greater or less 
 degrees, every part of Christendom, except Russia 
 and the United States, which from precisely oppo- 
 site causes are entirely exempt from its influence. 
 This collision of interests is not an obscure con- 
 spiracy, or an accidental disorder in the political 
 
15 
 
 world, but a necessary result of the operation of 
 general principles. The popular cause — the cause 
 of constitutional liberty — is essentially just : and the 
 privileged classes who will finally be the only suf- 
 ferers from the conflict, are also ultimately responsi- 
 ble for its occurrence : because it was their duty to 
 foresee it, and to guard against it by accommodating 
 of their own accord the forms of administration to 
 the changes in the state of society. 
 
 The sovereigns now tell us, it is true, that they 
 are responsible to God and not to man for the dis- 
 charge of their duty. This the people know : and 
 this is one reason, among others, why they wish to 
 change the existing political forms, and to be gov- 
 erned by rulers, who shall also be responsible to 
 man. But they also know that if the sovereigns 
 are responsible to God for the discharge of their 
 duty, the people are also responsible to God for the 
 performance of theirs : and that it is a part of thi^ 
 duty to protect their persons and rights from viola- 
 tion, whether by brute force, or under the forms of 
 law. The late attempts of the Northern Alliance 
 to make out a case in their favour by introducing this 
 doctrine of the divine right of kings, in its antiquat- 
 ed and exploded shape, is perhaps one of the 
 strongest proofs they have given of their utter in- 
 competence to the task they impose upon them- 
 
16 
 
 selves of regulating the interests of the civilized 
 world, and of the absolute necessity of the political 
 reformation they are opposing. Improvements in 
 government, they continually urge, should be the 
 work of the rulers themselves. In this way they 
 are effected without convulsion or danger : while, 
 if they are forced upon the rulers from other quar- 
 ters, however useful in themselves, they are always 
 attended with a greater or less degree of immediate 
 positive evil. This doctrine is admirable : and the 
 people ask for nothing better, than that their rulers 
 would attend to it, and introduce of their own ac- 
 cord the necessary changes. But suppose that the 
 sovereigns, while they publicly admit in all their 
 declarations that the duty of introducing the neces- 
 sary improvements belongs to them, forget to per- 
 form it in practice, and sanction the existence of 
 the most intolerable abuses ; must the nation leave 
 the work undone, because the sovereigns might do it 
 better if they would consent to undertake it ? What 
 if the sovereign himself happens to be strongly in- 
 terested in the existing abuse ? Is there no appeal 
 for millions of suffering men against the arbitrary 
 and capricious or interested decision of a single 
 person, his minister or mistress ? These are the 
 doctrines of Eastern despotism : and it is honourable 
 to the two most enlightened governments in Europe 
 
17 
 
 that they have withdrawn their countenance from 
 an association that avows such disgraceful prin- 
 ciples. 
 
 In applying strong expressions to the policy 
 adopted by these monarchs, I would not be under- 
 stood as intending to impute to them or even to 
 their adorers a proportionate degree of personal 
 blame : although it is difficult to consider them as 
 wholly innocent, since we must suppose, that 
 individuals, however much their opinions and feel' 
 ings are of necessity under the operation of cir- 
 cumstances, may still with honest intentions and 
 sufficient inquiry, especially in matters wholly 
 practical like these, make a nearer approach to the 
 truth. Still their views must, generally speaking, 
 be in a great measure the result of their personal 
 position, which, on the other hand, is itself the 
 result of the political situation of the countries 
 they respectively govern. They are the rulers of 
 empires in the lowest state of civilization. Such 
 empires suppose of necessity an arbitrary form of 
 government ; and if the sovereigns, who are called 
 to rule over them, are naturally imbued by their 
 position with arbitrary principles and feelings, the 
 circumstance is not productive of injury, while 
 they confine themselves to the administration of 
 their own dominions. That a despot should hold 
 3 
 
18 
 
 to the doctrine of despotism is certainly natural ; 
 and that slaves must be ruled with a rod of iron, 
 may perhaps be admitted. The misfortune is, that 
 these powerful despots are placed by circumstan- 
 ces in such a situation, that they have the oppor- 
 tunity of introducing their arbitrary notions, salu- 
 tary enough perhaps in their effects upon their own 
 barbarous subjects at home, into the concerns of 
 other countries, in different states of civilization, 
 and which ought to be governed upon other prin- 
 ciples. 
 
 Although it is clearly the interest as well as the 
 duty of the privileged classes in Europe, upon a 
 large and correct view of their position, to accom- 
 modate the existing forms of government by their 
 own voluntary act to the altered state of society, 
 still as immediate interest generally predominates 
 in determining human actions, such sacrifices could 
 not have been anticipated as probable. Hence the 
 period when the wealth and importance of the 
 industrious classes should have risen to such a 
 height as to give them reasonable hopes of success 
 in an open conflict with the privileged orders was 
 naturally to be looked to as the Age of Revolutions : 
 and this is the period in which we live. The ap- 
 proach of it was not sudden and unexpected. It 
 did not burst upon the world in thunder without 
 
19 
 
 affording time for preparation to meet the shock. 
 Those who have suffered, and are still to suffer by 
 it, had sufficient warning ; and if the understand- 
 ing of the governments had been on a level with 
 the intelligence of the age, they had ample leisure 
 and opportunity to take all the necessary precau- 
 tions for preventing the impending danger. Through 
 the whole of the last century, there prevailed 
 among the reflecting men in France, not a vague 
 conjecture, but a settled conviction, which may be 
 now found repeatedly expressed in a thousadid 
 passages of their writings, that the existing insti- 
 tutions could not stand. Rousseau applies the 
 remark to the thrones of Europe in general ; and 
 every day's experience bears witness to his sagaci- 
 ty. But anticipations of this description attract 
 no attention in the quarter where they might be 
 useful, till the crisis arrives. It is thus with Great 
 Britain at the present day. The coolest and most 
 sagacious political philosopher, that perhaps ever 
 appeared in Europe — a Tory in principle — pointed 
 out more than half a century ago an approaching 
 crisis in the financial affairs of that country. This 
 crisis has come on more slowly than he antici- 
 pated, and the period at which he predicted that it 
 would arrive has already passed. Still the prin- 
 ciples on which his calculation are grounded were 
 
20 
 
 not conjectural, but of an exact and mathematical 
 certainty. His views have been assented to and 
 confirmed by almost all subsequent inquirers who 
 have attended to the subject. It has been per- 
 ceived that the delay has not been owing to the 
 incorrectness of the principles on which the predic- 
 tion was founded — that the danger is still as certain 
 as ever, unless something is done to prevent it — and 
 that the crisis will be only the more dreadful when 
 it arrives, from the slowness of its advances. Does 
 the British Government attend to these predic- 
 tions, and employ itself while it is time in taking 
 the proper precautionary measures ? Not at all. 
 They content themselves with sneering at pre- 
 tended prophets, and affirming that as things have 
 gone very well thus far, they must of necessity 
 continue to proceed in the same way forever. The 
 infatuation of the French Government was pre- 
 cisely of the same description, or possibly still more 
 profound ; for the individuals composing it, plunged 
 as they were in the lowest depths of debauchery, 
 were probably quite unconscious that any sinister 
 predictions existed. 
 
 The present age — the age of Revolutions — will 
 doubtless be recorded in history as one of the most 
 remarkable epochs in the progress of society, and 
 it may be hoped will be productive of the most 
 
21 
 
 important and beneficial results. It is an age dis- 
 tinguished for great personal talent and activity — 
 for daring enterprises sometimes defeated but often 
 successful — for a prodigious development of every 
 description of power, intellectual, physical and 
 moral. It is also of necessity an age of confusion 
 and disorder — of violence, and I may add of much 
 positive guilt. The virtues, if they exist at all, 
 must exist as habitual traits of character ; and an 
 age of great commotion is not favourable to the 
 preservation of permanent habits of any kind, in 
 the individuals who are placed by character or 
 circumstances within the sphere of its influence. 
 The Christian world — I may say — the globe itself, 
 (for the movement seems to be extending very rap- 
 idly beyond the bounds of Christendom,) is rocked 
 to its centre by a great convulsion. Empires that 
 bear the name of colonies have shaken or are now 
 shaking off the shackles of dependence. In Amer- 
 ica alone eight or ten powerful nations are bursting 
 at once into new forms of existence. In the old 
 world reformation and transformation are every 
 where the watch words ; and the bayonet the uni- 
 versal instrument for obtaining new advantages or 
 securing the old. There never was a period in 
 history when Europe exhibited any thing like the 
 array of military and naval force, which has beea 
 
22 
 
 habitually on foot for the last thirty years. The 
 wars of the Reformation shrink into skirmishes, by 
 the side of these Titanian campaigns. Even the 
 multitudinous and tumukuous hosts of the Cru- 
 saders are of small account, when we see a single 
 monarch maintaining a peace establishment of more 
 than eight hundred thousand disciplined troops. 
 In such times energy rather than moral virtue is 
 the dominant quality. The wise and good are 
 slow to engage in these violent enterprises, always 
 hoping that the expected advantage may be ob- 
 tained at less cost from the gentler operations of 
 nature. They look with distrust and apprehension 
 upon revolutions, however just the principles and 
 however probable the ultimate benefit. While they 
 are waiting, the ardent and ambitious rush forward 
 and commence the work. If cooler and more 
 thoughtful spirits lend some assistance at first, they 
 are soon thrown out in the race ; and the effort for 
 improvement degenerates into a conflict of perso- 
 nal interests and passions. In this desperate struggle 
 the peaceful pursuits of the people are interrupted, 
 the purest blood flows in torrents, and the happi- 
 ness of one or two generations is almost wholly 
 sacrificed. Such is but too often the general 
 aspect of a revolution. I mention it, because in 
 expressing a favourable opinion of the principles and 
 
23 
 
 probable results of the present effofts for political 
 reform, I would not be understood to approve of 
 revolutions in general, or in particular of all the 
 late movements in various quarters that pass under 
 this name in their details. The best friends of 
 liberty have always looked with distrust on revo- 
 lutions ; though sometimes compelled to resort to 
 them as a refuge from still greater evils. The 
 happiest revolutions, says Rousseau, would he 
 dearly purchased by the blood of a single individ- 
 ual : — an exaggerated expression of a just and 
 humane idea. It is a rare occurrence indeed, and 
 can only happen by a most singular blessing of 
 Providence, when, as in our revolution, the wisesfe 
 and the best men in the nation take the lead from 
 the beginning, and retain it steadily through the 
 whole. The people, who had the good sense and 
 the virtue to submit to such authority in times 
 when established forms and accustomed restraints 
 had lost their influence, proved themselves to be 
 worthy of independence. And it is not the least 
 advantage of the happy institutions, which they 
 have bequeathed to us, that political reforms may 
 be introduced whenever they appear expedient, 
 without even the apprehension of violence. 
 
 Without dwelling any longer on these general 
 principles, which at this day would probably pre- 
 
24 
 
 sent but little novelty, were there even opportunity 
 here for the discussion ; I shall confine myself to 
 a few deductions from them in regard to the pre- 
 sent state of Europe in general, and shall then pro- 
 ceed to offer some more particular remarks upon 
 the situation of the most important members com- 
 posing this great political body. 
 
 Admitting then, what it has not been my object 
 to prove, but merely to state, that the spirit of 
 political improvement now at work throughout the 
 world is the necessary and natural result of the 
 progress of civilization, that is, of industry, wealth 
 and knowledge — it is easy to calculate with suffi- 
 cient probability the respective strength of the 
 interests which it brings into collision, and which 
 we see in various countries engaged, in one form or 
 another, in actual conflict. The points at issue 
 between the parties to these struggles are treated 
 very often as matters of opinion and abstract right. 
 For the present purpose I lay these considerations 
 entirely out of the case, although in the course of 
 my remarks I may perhaps have occasion to touch 
 slightly upon some of the controverted questions. 
 I lay them out of the case, not only because opin- 
 ions of all parties are in general determined by their 
 interests, but because, whether right or wrong, it is 
 not in the character of their opinions that the 
 
25 
 
 strength or weakness of their cause is to be found. 
 We may venture to hope perhaps that at one time 
 or another — in this world or the next — the right 
 side will always be the strongest. At present this 
 is not uniformly the case : and in order to judge of 
 the strength of a party or opinion it is necessary to 
 ascertain, not whether it is right or wrong, but 
 what amount of interest is connected with it, and 
 what opposed to it : how large and important a 
 portion of society finds advantage respectively in 
 promoting or defeating its general objects. 
 
 Now it may be taken for granted as a clear 
 proposition, that the whole body of society is interest- 
 ed in the progress of civilization. The happiness of 
 all classes is alike promoted by the augmentation of 
 industry in its several branches of agriculture, com- 
 merce and manufactures ; by the additional comforts 
 and enjoyments which it distributes through the 
 community in various proportions but in greater or 
 less degrees to all, and by the progress of knowl- 
 edge, which, however at times misapplied, always 
 tends, in its general results, to the public good. 
 Admitting then that political improvement is one 
 of the objects to be effected in the progress of civ- 
 ilization, the interest promoted by it is the interest 
 of the whole society ; and the property and intel- 
 ligence of the society at large, are consequently in 
 4 
 
26 
 
 a general view of the subject enlisted every where 
 in its support. 
 
 Who then is opposed to it ? What interest 
 sustains the opposite party in these difficult and 
 disastrous struggles? The answer is familiar. 
 The interest in question is the interest connected 
 with such existing institutions, as are injurious to 
 the general good and would be destroyed by the 
 progress of political improvement. Those who 
 derive personal advantages from these institutions 
 naturally oppose every thing, however generally 
 beneficial, which tends to overthrow them, on the 
 same principles, which led the worthy silversmiths 
 of Ephesus in ancient times to resist the progress 
 of Christianity. They had not inquired into its 
 evidences or reflected much upon its general influ- 
 ence ; they only knew that it would ruin the craft, 
 by which they had their wealth. If then we regard 
 the whole of Europe as forming one body politic, 
 divided into parties in regard to the great question 
 of political reformation now so violently agitated, 
 there will be found on one side the whole mass of 
 population, not interested in the support of existing 
 institutions injurious to the public welfare ; and on 
 the other the individuals deriving personal benefit 
 from these institutions, with all that part of the 
 population, which is under their influence. 
 
27 
 
 Such are the present circumstances of Europe 
 that the forces enlisted on opposite sides by these 
 contending interests are nearly balanced ; and they 
 are separated pretty exactly by a geographical line. 
 In all the Western part of Europe, civilization and 
 political improvement in its train, have already 
 made such progress that they have in a great meas- 
 ure broken down, in substance, if not in form, all 
 injurious institutions : and here there is really no 
 interest of any consequence engaged in support of 
 such establishments or opposed to the cause of 
 liberal principles and good government. The East- 
 ern part of Europe on the contrary is yet in a great 
 measure uncivilized. Russia, the dominant power 
 in that quarter, as a nation, is wholly so. There, 
 the existing institutions are all the growth of barba- 
 rous times, accommodated to barbarous manners, 
 and wholly at variance with the habits and feelings 
 of civilized nations. Still a certain portion of the 
 society derives a vast individual importance from 
 their existence, and would probably oppose with 
 vigor any attempt to overthrow them. Independ- 
 ently of which, the nations themselves are not yet 
 sufficiently improved to meditate such attempts or 
 to wish for change. But though at present entirely 
 safe from any attack at home, the rulers naturally 
 look with jealousy upon the progress of different 
 
principles in other contiguous countries. When 
 they see a spirit adverse to their importance passing 
 like an electric shock from nation to nation, they 
 begin to apprehend with reason that if not checked 
 in time, it will soon penetrate into their own 
 quarters and attack the foundation of their power 
 and wealth. It is therefore on general principles a 
 natural and necessary though an unfortunate result 
 of their position, that they employ their influence 
 and even their arms to prevent in foreign countries 
 the most salutary and useful innovations. And in 
 these enterprises they carry with them the whole 
 weight of the communities they respectively gov- 
 ern, which, in the present state of civilization, are 
 nothing more than blind instruments in the hands 
 of their rulers. They also find assistance abroad, 
 in all that portion of society in the West of Europe, 
 which is connected with the mouldering remnants 
 of abuses which have been destroyed in substance : 
 in that part which has personally suffered by polit- 
 ical improvements and still retains a lingering hope, 
 that the ancient state of things will be completely 
 restored. Along the geographical line which 
 divides these adverse interests lies the debateable 
 ground, where at present they come to open phys- 
 ical collision. In the whole of Italy and in the 
 western part of Germany, civilization has risen to 
 
29 
 
 as high a point as in any part of Europe : but the 
 Eastern despots avail themselves of their proximity 
 and of the circumstances which now neutralize in 
 a great measure the active power of the Western 
 nations, to maintain the ascendency of antiquated 
 forms and establishments inconsistent with civiliza- 
 tion, by their great influence, and when occasion 
 requires at the point of the bayonet ; as we have 
 seen in the kingdoms of Sardinia and Naples. 
 
 I have observed that these two great European 
 parties were at the present moment in respect of 
 power pretty nearly balanced. In fact their popu- 
 lation numerically computed is not very unequal : 
 and if the Western nations are infinitely more 
 wealthy, the Eastern are in proportion more war- 
 like, and are also more completely at the disposition 
 of their rulers. It may be feared that upon the 
 whole the preponderance of power, in the present 
 ^tate of circumstances, is against the cause of im- 
 provement. The Western and civilized nations are 
 exhausted and impoverished by their late protracted 
 struggle, torn by parties, disunited among them- 
 selves, or acting together like cold and heartless 
 allies, and apparently almost insensible of the com- 
 mon bond of interest that unites them all. On the 
 other hand the Eastern despots have come out of 
 the war with augmented rather than diminished 
 
30 
 
 .strength. Their armies are the best discipHiied 
 and most numerous in Europe, their subjects are 
 tranquil, and their own political union complete and 
 cordial. If they had but the command of more 
 abundant financial resources there is nothing to 
 prevent them from sweeping the continent unre- 
 sisted from Hamburg to Cadiz, as they have swept 
 it already from the Tyrol to Calabria. Want of 
 credit is their weak point, and in the nature of 
 things must remain so, because wealth and credit 
 suppose a higher state of civilization than the na- 
 tions they rule over have attained, or than is com- 
 patible with the institutions on which their power 
 is founded. 
 
 From the remarks which have been made respect- 
 ing the character and respective forces of the parties 
 now contending in Europe, may be deduced a 
 number of general conclusions in regard to the pro- 
 gress and ultimate result of the struggle, which 
 would also admit of an extensive development. 
 I shall be obliged to content myself with a simple 
 statement of some of the most important. 
 
 As the cause of political improvement is 
 identical with that of civilization and general 
 prosperity, every measure that has a tendency to 
 produce these eifects, whatever may be the views 
 with which it is taken, tends also to the promotion 
 
31 
 
 of liberal institutions. Thus if the Emperor of 
 Austria, at the same moment that he is crushing 
 the constitutional party in Naples and Sardinia, is 
 encouraging the cultivation of the vine in Hungary 
 or the commerce of Trieste ; he is promoting indi- 
 rectly by one set of measures the progress of the 
 very principles and institutions which he is endeav- 
 ouring to check in another. The Russian gov- 
 ernment carefully prohibits the entry of French 
 pamphlets and newspapers, but admits very readily 
 the introduction of the works of their standard 
 writers, and the exquisite products of their skill 
 in the arts. And yet a tragedy of Racine or a case 
 of Champagne is a stronger argument in favour of 
 liberal ideas than any to be found in the Minerva 
 or the Co7istitutional. 
 
 Again, and this remark is the converse of the 
 former : no effectual measures can be taken to 
 oppose the progress of liberal ideas, except such as 
 strike at the root of the general prosperity of a 
 country in all its branches. To prohibit or dis- 
 courage agriculture, commerce, and manufactures is 
 the only certain way of checking political improve- 
 ment. Now such measures are not only too odious 
 to be resorted to ; but are directly contrary to the 
 immediate interest of the sovereigns themselves, 
 who derive for a time a great increase of impor- 
 
32 
 
 tance from the growing wealth and prosperity of 
 their subjects. Hence civilization will of necessity 
 continue to follow its natural course, and will bring 
 with it such changes in the form of social institu- 
 tions as it is fitted to produce. 
 
 It may be added that even the violent measures 
 taken by the sovereigns to check the progress of 
 constitutional principles — the late invasion of Italy — 
 indeed the whole series of wars directed against the 
 principles of the French revolution or its abuses — 
 while they temporarily crushed or checked these 
 principles in one form, have added in an other an 
 immense accession to their actual strength. I 
 allude here to the effect which these wars have 
 produced upon the finances of all the great pow- 
 ers, to the vast creation of public debt, which is 
 certainly one of the most remarkable phenomena 
 of modern times. Now this prodigious creation of 
 artificial capital operates to a very great extent, if 
 not to its full nominal amount, as a transfer or 
 cession of property from the landed proprietors to 
 the industrious and mercantile classes. These loans 
 are realized in the form of rents, and are ultimately 
 a charge upon the laud, and its owners ; while in 
 the hands of the capitalists the securities that rep- 
 resent them are equivalent to money. Thus the 
 Emperor of Austria, to defray the expenses of his 
 
late attack upon the principles of liberty in Italy, 
 has borrowed, at high interest, a large sum of our 
 countryman, Mr David Parish, and certain associ- 
 ates. What is the effect of this operation ? It 
 throws the weight of an amount of property equal 
 to the loan into the scale of the general mercantile 
 interest of Europe and the world, which, as I have 
 taken for granted, is essentially and necessarily that 
 of civilization and political improvement ; and it 
 charges the exj)enses of keeping this capital in 
 existence upon the landed proprietors of the Aus- 
 trian Empire. Thus if the injury done to the cause 
 of liberty by this invasion is estimated in money at 
 the amount expended in effecting it, the injury done 
 to the cause of despotism is precisely twice as 
 great, because an equal sum is taken from its ad- 
 herents and given to its adversaries. 
 
 The only offset to these great advantages is, that 
 the sovereigns occasionally take the liberty of 
 declaring themselves bankrupt, by which operation 
 a part of the new capital is annihilated. If the 
 ^vhole amount of property, now existing in Europe 
 in the form of public debt, ^a ere compared with the 
 amount of property of all other kinds, estimated at 
 its actual value in money, it would probably be 
 found that the former is not much inferior to the 
 latter. It may be looked upon as a mass of prop- 
 
34 
 
 erty created at the expense of existing establish- 
 ments in favour of the cause of political improve- 
 ment, and furnishes one of the most singular 
 instances perhaps that could be produced of an 
 effect, " counter-working its cause." 
 
 It may be remarked finally, that the ultimate 
 issue of the present struggle vv^ill depend upon the 
 future progress of civilization. If civilization, 
 instead of advancing any farther, should decline 
 from its present state and go to decay in the 
 countries where it has now attained its greatest 
 height, the advance of liberal political principles 
 w ill stop with it : and instead of spreading into 
 other parts of Europe where they have not yet 
 penetrated, their influence will gradually disappear 
 from the regions, which they now in greater or less 
 degrees enlighten. H, on the contrary, as every 
 thing seems to indicate, commerce, manufactures, 
 and agriculture — though perhaps labouring at this 
 moment under a temporary depression — are likely 
 for a long and indefinite future period to advance 
 by regularly and rapidly increasing steps, in conse- 
 quence of the great increase of population, which 
 must necessarily take place in the European settle- 
 ments all over the globe, and the consequent great 
 augmentation of demand for the products of labour 
 in all its forms — then it may be safely asserted, that 
 
35 
 
 the cause of good government and liberty is also in 
 an advancing state, that it will continue to gain 
 ground in those }Darts of Europe and the world, 
 where its triumph is yet only partial ; and will even 
 gradually penetrate into regions, whose population 
 is now unanimously arrayed against it, or is too 
 barbarous even to form an idea of the existence of 
 such a blessing. 
 
 Having thus exhibited the point of view under 
 which the general affairs of Europe present them- 
 selves to my mind, I shall now consider a little 
 more in detail the situation of the principal powers ; 
 beginning with France, which has long been the 
 central point of European politics. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 France. 
 
 The situation of France is perhaps more satis- 
 factory at present, than that of any other European 
 power, whether we consider the advantages which 
 it actually enjoys, or its favourable prospects for the 
 future. If any thing could afford compensation for 
 the crimes and horrors, of which that nation has 
 been the theatre for the last thirty years, it would 
 be this fortunate and beneficial result. In the 
 
3G 
 
 midst of these excesses the principles ot liberty, 
 which were brought into action at the commence- 
 ment of the revolution, have been gradually and 
 slowly working out their effects ; and these are 
 now manifested in a highly improved state of the 
 public and private economy of this great people. 
 Doubtless there are still some clouds hanging over 
 the future. New convulsions of a certain extent 
 and importance may by possibility occur : but 
 under any circumstances the substantial advantages 
 now enjoyed in France seem to be secure. I shall 
 class the remarks, I have to offer upon this subject, 
 under the heads of the state of private property — 
 the forms of administration — the character of pub- 
 lic opinion — and the policy of the cabinet. 
 
 It may appear singular that the finances should 
 not be reckoned one of the principal objects of 
 consideration, since it is almost the only point of 
 importance with some of the great European 
 powers. But the French finances are at present 
 hi so flourishing and well settled a state, as to leave 
 but little room for observation in a political point 
 of view. The debt is small, compared with the 
 population and resources of the country, and in a 
 rapid course of extinction. Taxes, to the full 
 amount of the annual expenditare, are collected 
 without difficulty, and though high, are apparently 
 
37 
 
 not excessively burdensome ; and the ominous cry 
 of deficit is not heard within the walls of the French 
 parliament : no other in the old world, or, I am 
 sorry to add, the new, can make the same boast. 
 This point alone, if there were no other, would 
 give to France a very decided and important ad- 
 vantage in respect of political situation, over the 
 other European powers. Without dwelling upon 
 this head, I proceed therefore to consider the state 
 of private property, which has undergone great 
 alterations and improvements during the late con- 
 vulsions. 
 
 The laws, which give security to private property 
 and regulate the distribution of it, are perhaps the 
 most important features in the political institutions 
 of every country, although generally looked upon 
 as of less consequence than those, which determine 
 the forms of legislation and administration. Prop- 
 erty is in fact the principal element of political 
 power. Hence the laws, which regulate the dis- 
 tribution of it, regulate at the same time the distri- 
 bution of power ; and consequently determine in 
 substance the character of the government, what- 
 ever may be its outward forms. Property is also 
 the means by which individuals procure the advan- 
 tages which social institutions were intended to 
 secure, as the comforts and enjoyments of life ; — 
 
edacation — virtuous dispositions — and general hap- 
 jDiness. The laws, which regulate the distribution 
 of property, determine, therefore, in a great degree, 
 the manner in which these blessings shall be dis- 
 tributed through the commmiity. It may seem at 
 first view paradoxical to assert, that virtuous dispo- 
 sitions can be obtained through the medium of 
 property ; or, in a shorter phrase, can be bought for 
 money. Pope indeed tells us explicitly, that esteem 
 and love, the natural results and attendants of 
 virtue, were never to be sold : and the remark is 
 true in the sense in which it w as intended to be 
 understood. It is equally true however, that moral 
 depravity is, generally speaking, the necessary 
 attendant of extreme and abject wretchedness ; and 
 that the best method of securing the general preva- 
 lence of virtuous habits through all classes of the 
 community is to place within the reach of the 
 greatest possible number of persons the means of 
 obtaining honestly a share in the comforts of life. 
 This is done by regulating the distribution of 
 property, in the way best fitted to effect that object. 
 Hence the great importance of the laws relating to 
 this subject, which have hitherto been too little 
 regarded by professed politicians, theoretical and 
 practical. 
 
39 
 
 Before the revolution, the land in France, as in 
 most other parts of Europe, was held in large estates, 
 which descended, according to the principles of the 
 feudal law, to the eldest son. The peasantry had 
 no property in the soil. They were the subjects of 
 their superiors, and in every respect in an abject and 
 miserable state. It is well known, that by some of 
 the first measures of the National assembly, the 
 feudal principles of succession were abolished, and 
 provision made for the equal distribution of estates 
 among all the children, male and female ; the owner 
 not havhig the liberty of disposing of his property 
 even by will, except under great restrictions. These 
 new regulations have been ever since and are still 
 in regular operation, with a few exceptions in 
 favour of the Peers of France and some other high 
 dignitaries, who are allowed to establish entails to 
 a certain extent. The operation of these laws 
 upon private property was greatly accelerated by 
 the confiscation and sale of the estates of the 
 emigrants and clergy ; and in the general result, the 
 peasants have been converted almost universally 
 from dependent and wretched labourers into in- 
 dependent proprietors. It appears from authentic 
 and official calculations that more than one half of 
 the heads of families in France already belong to 
 this class. The effect of such a cha'nge upon the 
 
40 
 
 industry, the moral habits, and the happmess of the 
 great mass of population, is sufficiently obvious. 
 This division of property is the great and essential 
 advantage which the French nation has derived 
 from the revolution. By this measure they have 
 realized the substantial possession of independence 
 and freedom ; and it will be very difficult, if not 
 impossible, for any human power to impose upon 
 them permanently hereafter either the reality or the 
 forms of tyranny. 
 
 The immediate result of this division upon the 
 state of property and of society is generally admit- 
 ted to be good. It is allowed by all, that estates 
 were too large before the revolution ; and that great 
 public benefit would result from a division and sub- 
 division of them for one or two generations. With 
 regard to the ultimate effects of the new system, if 
 couthmed in operation for an indefinite length of 
 time, there is a difference of opinion. The party in 
 France, which assumes the name of Royalists, con- 
 siders it as too democratic to be compatible with a 
 monarchical government, and propositions tending to 
 the modification of it have already been made in the 
 House of Peers : although nothing has yet been 
 done or probably will be at present. Some of the 
 most enlightened English politicians, as Mr Malthus, 
 have also expressed an unfavourable opinion of it for 
 
41 
 
 reasons of an opposite character. They regard it 
 as adverse to Hberty : and likewise as inconsistent 
 with the best possible improvement of the soil. The 
 Edinburgh reviewers appear to doubt its advanta- 
 ges very strongly ; and indeed I have found but 
 few intelligent, persons who expressed a decided 
 approbation of it, either in writing or conversation. 
 It is not unnatural, however, even supposing the 
 system to be as valuable as it is thought by those 
 who apj>rove it, that it should be looked upon for a 
 while with great suspicion ; considering how bold 
 and essential an innovation it is upon a state of 
 property still existing in every part of Europe, 
 except France and the contiguous countries, which 
 made a part of the French empire. Without en- 
 tering into a full discussion of the theory of this 
 important subject, I shall add a few suggestions, 
 tending to shew that the objections to the ne\v sys- 
 tem are not perhaps to be regarded as conclusive. 
 In order to form a correct opinion of the merits 
 of this system, the first thing necessary is to ascer- 
 tain with certainty its actual resuhs in fact : and 
 upon this point, which is the essential one, the ideas 
 of those who are opposed to it appear to me to be 
 incorrect. How far will the division of the land 
 proceed by the continued operation of this system ? 
 Its adversaries affect to fear that it will go the full 
 6 
 
42 
 
 length of the infinite divisibility of matter ; that a 
 whole kingdom will be cut up at no remote period 
 into inch pieces, and that all the estates in it will be 
 literally no bigger than the one described by Juvenal, 
 of the size of a lizard, [unius lacertce] which has 
 given commentators so much anxiety. We see noth- 
 ing of this however in those parts of the United 
 States, w here the same law has been long in opera- 
 tion, as, for instance, in the state of Massachusetts. 
 The real extent to which this division would pro- 
 ceed would probably be determined by the state of 
 the population. For this purpose the cultivators 
 may be considered as the whole community. If 
 there were no increase of population, this system 
 would create no division of estates. Each family 
 producing a son and a daughter, the estates which 
 were divided into equal portions between the child- 
 ren would be united again by marriage, and remain 
 precisely as they were before. But the tendency 
 of the system is to increase population as long as a 
 country is capable of supporting it, and with the 
 increase of population estates would be subdivided, 
 until they were reduced to the size just sufficient to 
 support an industrious family. Here the subdivision 
 would generally stop. If a property just sufficient 
 to support a single family descended to several heirs, 
 instead of cutting it up among themselves into inch 
 
43 
 
 pieces, they would sell it, and divide the proceeds. 
 A different course might be pursued occasionally by 
 improvident individuals, who are found in all clas- 
 ses ; and cultivators would sometimes marry, as we 
 see persons in other occupations, without any 
 reasonable prospect of being able to support a family. 
 At this point the check of disease and poverty 
 would present itself, as it does now, and prevent the 
 possibility of any further subdivision. But in general 
 the division would stop at the point I have men- 
 tioned, because this is the one defined by self-inter- 
 est, the general rule of action, and which in all 
 theoretical reasoning must be taken as the universal 
 one. 
 
 Again, the writers I have alluded to appear to 
 think that this principle would produce an universal 
 equality in the size of all estates. No individual 
 would possess more wealth or influence than the rest ; 
 and independently of the unfavourable effect that this 
 state of things might have upon the higher and more 
 liberal pursuits that form the grace and ornament of 
 social life, and which could hardly be cultivated in 
 straitened circumstances, it is thought to be incom- 
 patible with political independence. It would le^d 
 directly, says Malthus, to military despotism. What- 
 ever might in fact be the result of such an equality, 
 the existence of it seems to be wholly chimerical. It 
 
44 
 
 is true that tlie land would then be thrown into the 
 common market, with every other description of 
 property, and placed at the command of skill and 
 industry. But there is no more reason why they 
 should produce an exact equality of property among 
 the cultivators, than that the present state of things 
 in Europe should produce such an equality among 
 the persons engaged in commerce or manufactures, 
 where we know that the inequalities are still greater 
 than in land. It may be shown indeed by mathe- 
 matical demonstration, that when every description 
 of property is entirely unfettered by artilicial insti- 
 tutions, there will exist of necessity the greatest va- 
 riety in the amount of individual estates, that is 
 possible in the nature of things. Suppose, for ex- 
 ample, that a hundred persons are playing at a game 
 of skill for a sum of a hundred thousand dollars, 
 and that their skill is respectively in the ratio of the 
 ascending series of numbers from one to a hundred. 
 Their shares in the sum at stake at the close of the 
 game will be in the same proportion, and will stand 
 in relation to each other, as 1, 2, 3, 4, &c. to 100; 
 and this is the greatest possible variety which can be 
 effected by the division of this sum among a hun- 
 dred i)ersons. This is the image of a society where 
 the whole of the common property is thrown into a 
 general stqck, from which each individual membej: 
 
45 
 
 draws his share, according to his laltnts and indus- 
 try. As the varieties of these are infinite, tlie vari- 
 ety of fortunes will be infinite likewise. But in the 
 case we are supposing, if two or three large sums, 
 say of ten thousand dollars each, are taken from the 
 common stock, and given gratuitously to two or 
 three of the players, the possible variety will be 
 diminished, instead of being augmented. If the 
 persons thus favoured happen to be the best players, 
 their shares at the close may be larger than any 
 that would have existed on the former supposition , 
 but on the whole, the variety of shares must be less 
 considerable, because the causes that produce it 
 operate within a narrower compass. 
 
 Thus it appears that the practical operation of 
 this system is to increase the population, as long as 
 the country is capable of suj)porting it, and to dis- 
 tribute the whole property of the community among 
 its members, on the principle of the greatest possible 
 variety of fortunes ; the smallest landed estates be- 
 ing in general large enough to support an industri- 
 ous family. It can hardly be denied that such a 
 state of property is preferable to the one resulting 
 from feudal principles, nor does it seem to be attend- 
 ed with the inconveniences v/hich have been appre- 
 hended. If we suppose, with Malthus, tliat the 
 subdivision of the whole coimtrv into verv small 
 
46 
 
 estates tends to introdace military despotism, then 
 this system is more adverse to it than any other that 
 can be imagined, because it leads, as we have seen, 
 to the greatest possible variety of fortunes. In 
 France, says the Edinburgh Review, there can be 
 no landed aristocracy, to fill the provincial magistra- 
 cies with respectability and advantage to the coun- 
 try. It is true, that there are not at present, and 
 probably never will be, any landholders with annual 
 incomes of 100,000 and £150,000 sterling, as in 
 England ; and the absence of them is hardly an evil. 
 That there will be a want of magistrates, or of 
 lawyers, is, I am afraid, the last thing to be appre- 
 hended in France, or any other civilized community. 
 Nor does the apprehension appear to be very re- 
 markably justified by a statement in another passage 
 in the same article, that there are 5600 judges in 
 France to do the business, which is done in England 
 by 21. The natural aristocracy of a country, says 
 the Review with justice, cannot be created by laws. 
 How then can it be created by the laws of entails ? 
 The natural aristocracy is that of talents, wealth, 
 and virtue. This will always exist in the most 
 flourishing state, where there is the widest field and 
 the amplest reward for the exercise of talent and 
 virtue ; and it is not favoured by artificial fetters on 
 the circulation of property. If there be in reality 
 
47 
 
 in England a more respectable class of middling pro- 
 prietors than in France, which may be doubted, it 
 is not owing to the law of entails, but to the circum- 
 stance, that England is at the present moment a 
 richer country than France, in proportion to its 
 population ; and as the new system in France will 
 produce a great increase of wealth, it will tend, 
 more than any thing else, to supply this deficiency. 
 Indeed, the difference of situation between England 
 and France in regard to the principle of distributing 
 property does not appear sufficient to produce any 
 great practical difference of circumstances : since it 
 seems from the calculations of Colquhoun, that the 
 amount of property, of which the circulation is not 
 perfectly free, does not much exceed a twentieth part 
 of the whole. 
 
 How far this system is compatible with a mo- 
 narchical form of government is a different question. 
 In this particular the apprehensions of the French 
 royalists may not be wholly groundless. A country 
 without artificial inequalities in the distribution of 
 property and personal privileges is substantially 
 republican. Experience alone can determine wheth- 
 er under such circumstances the form of monarchy 
 can be preserved. In China this combination ap- 
 pears to have existed for upwards of three milleni- 
 ums ; and it is therefore not essentially impossible. 
 
48 
 
 It may be doubted whether it will ever be in the 
 power of the stirring spirits of the European world 
 to produce an example of the same kind at home. 
 And whatever the French royalists may think of 
 it, whose personal interest is at stake, the disap- 
 pearance of the forms of monarchy in a country, 
 from which the substance has long since departed, 
 would be a matter of very little importance to the 
 nation or the world at large. As to the gratuitous 
 remark of Malthus and the Edinburgh reviewers, 
 that a military despotism would follow of course 
 upon the heels of the republic, it is both a mere as- 
 sertion without any attempt at proof, and, as we 
 have seen, proceeds upon false suppositions in regard 
 to the state of property. The same prediction has 
 been liberally extended to our own republic, by 
 most of the European politicians ; but after an ex- 
 perience of nearly half a century, we do not find its 
 accomplishment at all more probable than at the 
 first moment. 
 
 I conclude, then, that the new state of property 
 which has been brought about by the revolution is 
 a great and essential improvement in the situation 
 of France. In this advantage, and in the flourishing 
 state of the public finances, consists principally the 
 superiority of her present position over that of the 
 other European powers. In other respects, such as 
 
49 
 
 the forms of administration, the state of public opin- 
 ion, and the policy of the cabinet, neither the pres- 
 ent aspect of her affairs, nor her immediate future 
 prospects are very flattering. 
 
 1 . The forms of administration are still in a great 
 measure unsettled, although the seventh year of the 
 new reign has elapsed. I speak not so much of the 
 degree of stability, which may be attributed to the 
 reigning dynasty, but rather of the composition of 
 the legislative body, which, in a representative gov- 
 ernment, is a matter of much more importance. To 
 invent new systems of election and to alter them 
 before they have had time to be fairly tried, has 
 been the principal employment of the French gov- 
 ernment since the restoration. It must be added to 
 the credit of the representation of the people, which 
 is often supposed to be the turbulent and revolu- 
 tionary element in political systems, that the dispo- 
 sition to change has not been exhibited in this de- 
 partment, but in that of the executive power ; and 
 that the successive modifications of the right of suf- 
 frage have been, as it were, forced upon the Parlia- 
 ment by the ministry. While in England the Re- 
 formers were trampled under foot by dragoons, and 
 hunted down under the name of Radicals, as some- 
 thing rather worse than wild beasts, while the aris- 
 tocratic party in most parts of the continent were de- 
 7 
 
60 
 
 claiming with bitterness against any thing in the shape 
 of change ; at the same moment, this party were insist- 
 ing in France upon a radical reform in the popular 
 representation, as the only means of saving the 
 country ; and actually carried it through at the point 
 of the bayonet. And the reason of this apparent in- 
 consistency was plain enough. In France the aristo- 
 cratic party expected to gain by reform. In all the 
 rest of Europe they were sure to lose by it. Such 
 was the secret of this, as it is of many other con- 
 scientious differences of opinion. 
 
 The principles of representative government are 
 not yet quite so well settled or so generally under- 
 stood, as they probably will be some centuries hence. 
 The institution is still recent. It has been put in 
 practice till very lately in only two or three coun- 
 tries, and from this small number of instances, and 
 comparatively short trial, it would be unsafe to draw 
 w4th perfect confidence any general conclusions. It 
 is highly probable, however, that property exercises 
 its natural infiuence in this as in other governments ; 
 and that this influence is not much affected by the 
 particular forms under which the representative 
 system presents itself. If the right of suffrage is 
 restricted, it naturally falls into the hands of the 
 proprietors, as the prominent members of the com- 
 munity. If extended, it is still exercised by persons 
 
51 
 
 under their influence and of course in their interest. 
 Hence the true secret, and only effectual way of giv- 
 ing a popular character to a political system, is not 
 to extend the right of suffrage, but to distribute the 
 property as equally as possible through the commu- 
 nity. 
 
 In France as we have seen, this object had 
 already been effected to a great extent. Almost 
 the whole mass of property had been newly divided 
 and distributed : and the proprietors, generally 
 speaking, might be said to hold of the revolution, 
 as they were all said, under the feudal system, to 
 hold of the king. Their interest was of course 
 identified with the order of things produced by the 
 revolution — their opinions were in accordance with 
 its principles — and these opinions would have 
 probably been manifested by almost any system 
 of suffrage that could have been introduced. They 
 pervaded the mass of the people from the highest to 
 the lowest ranks, and the whole nation might be 
 said in this sense to be completely revolutionary. 
 Hence had the king upon his return placed himself 
 frankly and honestly at the head of this new order 
 of interests, opinions, and feelings, there must have 
 been a perfect harmony between the representatives 
 of the nation and the government, which would 
 have existed alike under any system of elections : 
 
52 
 
 so that the laws upon this subject would have been 
 of slight importance and would probably have 
 engaged but little attention. 
 
 Circumstances prevented the government from 
 adopting this course of policy. They appeared, 
 on the contrary, to look with suspicion on every 
 thing connected with the interests and opinions of 
 the revolution ; and evidently gave their confidence 
 to the adherents of the ancient system, although 
 some formal concessions and many fair promises 
 were made to the friends of the new. It was 
 natural to suppose that the popular interest, alarmed 
 at this state of things, would express itself at the 
 elections with redoubled energy ; and hence, as it 
 was found necessary to preserve the form of a repre- 
 sentative government, the difficult problem presented 
 itself, to invent a system of popular representation, 
 in which the people should not be represented. 
 The solution of this problem has occupied almost 
 the whole time and attention of the government 
 since the restoration; and to do them justice, they 
 appear to have succeeded, at least for the moment, 
 better than could have been reasonably expected. 
 
 The opinion seems to have been early adopted, 
 that the great proprietors would be less favourable 
 to the popular cause than the smaller, and accord- 
 ingly the Charter itself, which was published in 
 
53 
 
 1814, at the time of the first restoration, restricted 
 the right of voting in the election of deputies to 
 persons paying three hundred franks annual taxes — 
 leaving most of the other details to be determined 
 bj law. Meanwhile, until this law should be passed, 
 the legislative body, as it existed under Bonaparte, 
 was preserved. No law, however, was passed upon 
 the subject before his return from Elba, when the 
 house of deputies was dissolved and a new one 
 chosen, which was again dissolved at the king's 
 second restoration ; and there being still no new 
 law to regulate the elections, recourse was had to 
 the old imperial system^ for this purpose. Under 
 this system the deputies were in substance nomi- 
 nated by the government ; and the result was the 
 house of 1815 denominated hy the king introuvable 
 (undiscoverable) probably in derision ; as he made 
 great haste to get rid of it by dissolving it the year 
 after. This house held but one session, during 
 which a law was proposed by the ministry on the 
 subject of elections which was regarded by the 
 house as too democratic, and amended by the intro- 
 duction of some aristocratic features. In this state 
 it was sent to the house of peers and there rejected 
 as too aristocratic ; the French government present- 
 ing at that time the rather singular spectacle of a 
 democratic house of peers, an aristocratic house of 
 
54 
 
 eoiiiuions, and a neutral ministry. On the 5th of 
 September 1816, the house was dissolved by a royal 
 ordonnance ; and no law having yet been passed in 
 consequence of the disagreement just mentioned, 
 recurrence was had again to the old imperial 
 system, the ductility of which was then displayed 
 in full perfection ; for although from the growing 
 influence of Mr de Cases, the ministry had 
 assumed a popular character since the last elections, 
 the same forms which then discovered the indiscov- 
 erable chamber, now brought to light another, con- 
 taining a large mcjjority of voices tuned precisely to 
 the ministerial pitch. At this time the government 
 exhibited a stronger appearance, than at any other 
 since the revolution, of an honest intention to em- 
 brace the true national policy. There was a perfect 
 harmony among the three branches of the legis- 
 lative power ; and at the first session of the new 
 house of deputies a law was proposed on the sub- 
 ject of elections, conferring the right of suffrage, 
 agreeably to the charter, upon rather less than a 
 hundred thousand of the richest proprietors in 
 a nation of nearly thirty million inhabitants. This 
 law, aristocratic one would think, if any thing could 
 be so, was violently opposed by a party in parlia- 
 ment as being of democratic tendency, a circum- 
 stance \^hich, with a thousand others, evidently 
 
23 
 
 proved that this party was not properly aristocratic, 
 but anti-national. The law, however, passed by 
 handsome majorities, and went into operation at 
 the re-election of the fifth part of the house of 
 deputies, whose term of service expired at the close 
 of the next year. 
 
 The operation of this law was such as had been 
 anticipated by its friends and its enemies. It was 
 neither aristocratic nor democratic in any obnoxious 
 sense of either term. The deputies returned by it 
 were universally men of distinguished talents and 
 high character, and in most instances of rank and 
 property ; but the great majority of them were 
 acknowledged friends of the popular and national 
 interest, in contradistinction to that of the emigrants. 
 The effect of the law in favouring the popular 
 cause was no doubt assisted, in some degree, by 
 the influence of the ministry, which was then exer- 
 cised in the same direction. But that its tendency 
 was essentially the same as it appeared to be is 
 evident from two circumstances : first, the elections 
 under it were, in several cases, more popular than 
 was agreeable to the ministry ; and candidates were 
 chosen, to whom they were opposed as too demo- 
 cratic. Then the election of Mr Benjamin Con- 
 stant was defeated at Paris by the ministry, who 
 luiited their influence with that of a section of the 
 
liberal party in sujDport of Mr Ternaux, a wealthy 
 manufacturer of the metrop9lis. Constant was, 
 notwithstanding, returned at the same election from 
 one of the country departments. Secondly : at the 
 subsequent trials of the law, and especially at the 
 third, when, in consequence of the intervening 
 change in the policy of the cabinet, the ministry 
 used its influence throughout against the liberal 
 candidates, they were notwithstanding elected still 
 more generally than they had been before. It is 
 evident from these circumstances that the popular 
 returns, produced by the law, were not the effect of 
 ministerial influence, but the natural result of the 
 system. Accordingly when the emigrant party 
 obtained the ascendancy in the cabinet, they could 
 not venture to depend upon their influence at the 
 elections to neutralize the effect of this law, and 
 give them such returns as suited their policy, but 
 thought it absolutely necessary to new model the 
 law itself. If then all other proprietors and inhab- 
 itants being first excluded from the right of suflVage 
 as too democratic, the hundred thousand richest 
 individuals irt the nation exhibited also a decided 
 adherence to the popular cause, it follows of neces- 
 sity that this is the cause of the nation ; and that 
 the whole mass of property is interested in it alike, 
 whether in possessibn of the higher or the lower 
 
57 
 
 ranks of society. The government were therefore 
 informed, or might have been, by the result of this 
 experiment, that if they chose to adopt with frank- 
 ness and pursue with perseverance a liberal policy, 
 they should be supported in it by all the property, 
 as well as all the population of the country, aid 
 that if they entered upon a different one, the same 
 forces would be arrayed against them. Such a 
 piece of information, one would think, ought not 
 to have been lost upon a sagacious and intelligent 
 ministry. 
 
 A reaction, however, had commenced against 
 the new law almost immediately after its adoption ; 
 and in the course of the session of 1818-19 a 
 respectable member of the house of peers, the 
 Marquis de Barthelemi made a proposition for its 
 amendment, which passed in that body. On this 
 occasion the law was defended by the ministry 
 with great zeal, and the proposition was rejected 
 in the house of deputies. It thus appeared that 
 while the character of the lower house had been 
 growing more popular, that of the upper had been 
 taking an opposite direction, although there had 
 been very little change in the persons composing it. 
 To recover their influence in this branch of the 
 legislature, the ministry took the strong measure of 
 creating sixty new peers in one day, and this addi- 
 8 
 
68 
 
 tion to the number of their friends restored their 
 majority. After these decided demonstrations of 
 attachment to the existing system of elections, it 
 was hardly to be expected that the government 
 itself would insist upon its being changed the very 
 next year. But in the interval between this and 
 the succeeding session of 1819-20, the tumults in 
 England and Germany excited great uneasiness 
 in all the governments of Europe ; and the autumnal 
 elections of France were not only wholly in the 
 liberal interest and much more decidedly so than 
 was agreeable to the ministry ; but several nomina- 
 tions were peculiarly obnoxious, and that of the 
 Abbe Gregoire was regarded as absolutely scan- 
 dalous. Notwithstanding this, the ministry exhib- 
 ited at first a disposition to adhere to the system ; 
 but previously to the meeting of parliament a dif- 
 ferent determination was taken, preceded however 
 by the retirement of the most popular members of 
 the cabinet. It was now resolved, that the min- 
 istry itself should propose a change in the system v 
 of elections, and the king announced the intention 
 in his opening speech. It was probably found 
 difficult to arrange the new law, as two or three 
 months passed away, without any proposition on 
 the subject. Mr de Cases, who still retained his 
 place at the head of the council, and has always 
 
59 
 
 been looked ujDon as firmly attached to the liberal 
 interest, appears to have intended as far as possible, to 
 retain the essential principles of the existing system, 
 admitting only some formal changes to satisfy the 
 party opposed to it. Accordingly it does not 
 appear that the law, which was finally prepared 
 under his direction, had it been adopted, would have 
 made any material alteration in the result of the 
 system. The only important amendment intro- 
 duced was the provision that two fifths of the 
 deputies, instead of being chosen in the existing 
 forms, should be named by a body of electors 
 appointed for this purpose ; but as these electors were 
 to be appointed by the voters as they stood before, 
 and as the other three fifths of the deputies were to 
 be chosen directly by the same voters, it is difficult 
 to see how any great change could have been 
 produced in the political character of the returns. 
 
 But this plan was never brought to the test of 
 experiment. After the public mind had been kept 
 in anxious suspense upon the subject for two or 
 three months, the presentation of it was at last 
 fixed for the 13th of February, 1820, and by a 
 singular coincidence, the very night preceding, 
 occurred the assassination of the Duke of Berry. 
 This event was followed by the retirement of the 
 Count de Cases ; and by the complete ascendency 
 
60 
 
 of the emigrant party in the cabinet. When the 
 new ministry, after subjecting the press to censor- 
 ship and suspending the securities of personal lib- 
 erty, took up the subject of the elections, they 
 withdrew the new proposition of their predecessor 
 and substituted another, which, in substance, re- 
 duced the number of voters from 100,000 to 
 about 20,000. These electors were to choose 
 the deputies from candidates presented to them 
 by the voters as they stood before : — and in 
 each department, the several subdivisions, called 
 arrondissements, were to present a number of 
 candidates equal to the number of deputies to 
 which the department was entitled, and from these 
 the electors, composing what were called the supe- 
 rior colleges, appointed the deputies ; so that if the 
 superior college could gain the votes of any one 
 arrondissements they secured the deputies for the 
 whole department. The law might have been 
 defeated bv a combination among the arrondisse- 
 mens to nominate the same persons, in which case 
 the superior college could only have confirmed the 
 choice. This natural arrangement is adopted ha- 
 bitually by the towns composing electoral districts 
 in our own country, and would doubtless have 
 been resorted to in France to the entire defeat of 
 the objects of the law, had it not been foreseen and 
 
61 
 
 prevented by a provision, that if the same person 
 were presented by two arrondissemens, he should be 
 regarded as the candidate of that in which he had 
 the greatest number of votes ; and the person stand- 
 ing next him, on the hst presented by the other, 
 taken for the candidate there. It would follow 
 from this principle that however unanimous might 
 be the opinion of a department in favour of certain 
 candidates, their election might be defeated by the 
 superior college, if a single scattering vote could 
 be gained for any body else. It is quite evident, 
 therefore, that this system gave the effective right 
 of suffrage exclusively to the superior colleges — 
 that is, to the fifteen or twenty thousand richest 
 individuals in France. In all probability the twenty 
 thousand richest proprietors are as little inclined to 
 favour the policy of the emigrants as the richest 
 hundred thousand. But the ministry calculated, 
 and it would seem from the result with justice, 
 that when the number of voters was reduced so 
 low, they should be able, by patronage and influ- 
 ence, to control a majority. 
 
 Such was the scheme, which was proposed to 
 the deputies at the session of 1820, and which 
 occupied the whole attention of the house — I might 
 almost say of France and indeed of Europe — for 
 nearly three months in succession. l,t was a curi- 
 
62 
 
 ous spectacle to see the same ministers, three of 
 them still retaining their places, who had repulsed 
 with such vigour, precisely a year before, any 
 alteration in the existing system as inexpedient and 
 even unconstitutional, now coming forward, with- 
 out any material change of circumstances, to unsay 
 their own language and refute their own arguments. 
 Mr de Serre, the keeper of the seals, the ablest 
 debater among the ministers, and the one who, the 
 year before, had defended the then existing law 
 with the greatest warmth, was now the most 
 determined advocate of the new one. The oppo- 
 sition had only to recur to the newspapers of the 
 preceding year, and they found themselves supplied 
 in the speeches of the ministers, vv'ith every descrip- 
 tion of argument they wanted. Accordingly, not 
 a day passed during the whole debate, in which 
 they were not placed repeatedly in contradiction 
 with themselves. The question was at last taken 
 upon the first article involving the principle of the 
 law, and carried by a majority of five only, while 
 at the same time the streets of Paris were occupied 
 every night by tumultuous mobs, which it required 
 the whole military force of the garrison to keep in 
 check. In this state of things a slight accident 
 might have produced the most important conse- 
 quences ; and the ministers recoiled from the 
 
63 
 
 danger of continuing the agitation of this question 
 two or three weeks longer, the shortest time in 
 which the debate could have been brought to a 
 close. A compromise was agreed to, which met 
 the views of a large majority of the house, and w^as 
 carried almost without discussion. The choice of 
 a number of deputies, equal to the whole number 
 previously existing, was left to the electors as they 
 stood ; and an additional number, equal to two 
 fifths of the whole, is appointed by a superior 
 college, composed of the richest fourth part of the 
 chartered electors. This law was tried, for the 
 first time, at the elections last autumn ; and the su- 
 perior colleges voted, in general, conformably to 
 the views of the ministry. Having thus gained an 
 accession of adherents equal to two fifths of the 
 whole number of deputies ; and possessing before 
 a strong party in the house, they have been able, 
 during the present session, to carry most of their 
 measures by large majorities, though harassed by 
 continual attacks from the more violent members 
 of both parties. 
 
 Such is the present form of the political institu- 
 tions of the French nation in this very interesting 
 particular ; and the government appear to have 
 succeeded, better perhaps than could reasonably 
 have been expected, in solving the problem of a 
 
64 
 
 popular representation, in which the' people is not 
 represented. The result of this experiment may 
 serve to shew, that, although, generally speaking, 
 forms of elections are comparatively indifferent, 
 since property will have its natural and necessary 
 influence under all, yet that the right of suffrage 
 should be at least sufficiently extended to place a 
 majority of the voters beyond the immediate influ- 
 ence of the ministry. The government for the 
 purposes of influence is itself a great proprietor, 
 infinitely the greatest in the nation, and the same 
 general causes that give the proprietors political 
 weight, also give it to the government, in proportion 
 to the whole amount of the public revenue, which 
 annually passes through its hands. Where the ad- 
 ministration continually emanates from the people 
 and returns to it, as with us, there is no separation 
 of interest between it and the people, and of course 
 no necessity to provide a check against its influence ; 
 although, if such a check were necessary it is fully 
 supplied in our institutions by the general diffusion 
 of the right of suffrage, and the economical charac- 
 ter of all our political establishments. But in Europe, 
 where the formal administration often have, or think 
 they have, a strong interest to oppose the will of the 
 people at large, if the pecuniary influence at the 
 disposition of government is sufficient to corrupt or 
 
66 
 
 neutralize the whole body of voters, it is evident 
 that the forms of representation are a mere farce. 
 This is nearly the state of things in France, and to 
 a great degree in England, although the very irreg- 
 ularity of the forms established in the latter coun- 
 try, which appears at first view unfavourable to 
 liberty, seems in many cases to defeat the influence 
 of the government. 
 
 In both these countries, however, as in all others, 
 the forms under which the institutions of represent- 
 ative government presents itself are immaterial, in 
 comparison with the essential circumstances of a 
 general diffusion of property, and with it of substan- 
 tial power. It is this which secures to the people 
 the enjoyment of much practical liberty, notwith- 
 standing the irregular forms and vast pecuniary in- 
 fluence of the British government, and this will 
 maintain the French nation in possession of the 
 substantial blessing, against the mistaken policy of 
 the cabinet, and the delusive protection of a packed 
 house of deputies. 
 
 2. If the forms of government existing in France 
 are a much less agreeable subject of contemplation, 
 than the state of property, the policy of the cabinet, 
 as I have hinted already, is also far from corres- 
 ponding with the wishes of the best friends of the 
 nation, and of the reigning family, ^nd this is the 
 9 
 
66 
 
 more unfortunate, as it would seem that the true 
 course was indicated so clearly, that it could hardly 
 have been mistaken. The king of France had be- 
 fore him, in the history of England, the example of 
 the two new dynasties, which had adopted precisely 
 opposite systems of policy. The Stuarts, upon their 
 return, attempted to govern in opposition to the 
 opinions and interests of the people. The house of 
 Brunswick placed itself honestly and frankly at the 
 head of the national feeling. The complete success 
 of one system and the complete failure of the other 
 are facts sufficiently notorious. Here then was a 
 volume of instruction, where the doctrine hardly 
 admitted of doubt or disputation. Overlooking these 
 instances, and attempting to govern in the interests 
 of the emigrants, the king, more unhappy even than 
 the Stuarts, found himself compelled, in less than a 
 year, to quit his country, and what was still worse, 
 to enter it again in the rear of a foreign army. By 
 his conduct while Bonaparte was marching towards 
 the capital, and even by his declarations published 
 at Ghent, during the interregnum, the king admitted 
 the errors into which he had fallen ; and left him- 
 self of course no excuse for a repetition of them. 
 Yet since his second return, the course of policy 
 adopted has been, with some occasional vacillation, 
 substantially the same as it was after the first ; and 
 
6^ 
 
 at the present moment is more decidedly anti-national 
 than ever. 
 
 What, it may be inquired, are in point of fact the 
 measures that make up this anti-national system ? 
 In this respect what has not been done is perhaps of 
 more importance than what has been done. At no 
 period since the restoration has the government 
 possessed the confidence of the people. To acquire 
 this was the first and most important object. Pos- 
 sessing the public confidence, they might have ar- 
 ranged the detail of their measures without fear of 
 an opposition ; but, having failed in this, they can 
 obtain no credit for their proceedings, supposing 
 them even the wisest and most salutary that could 
 be imagined. 
 
 It is urged, however, by the ministry and the 
 royalists, that the party expressing dissatisfaction 
 with the policy of the government is not to be con- 
 sidered as expressing the national sentiment. It is 
 represented as consisting of a few ambitious, un- 
 principled demagogues, and a iew honest, but 
 visionary theorists, the dupes and instruments of the 
 former. These two descriptions of persons, by their 
 loquacity in public assemblies, and the zeal with 
 which they promulgate their opinions through the 
 medium of the press, by activity of speech and fer- 
 tility of pen, give themselves the appearance of 
 
68 
 
 representing a large and injposing section of the 
 public ; as two or three individuals in a fort, by 
 frequently shifting their position and keeping up a 
 rapid fire from several points, have been known to 
 give the enemy the idea that the place was defended 
 by a strong garrison. But imprison a few of these 
 disturbers of the public peace, and deprive the rest 
 of their means of operation, by abolishing delibera- 
 tive assemblies and silencing the press, and, accord- 
 ing to their hypothesis, you may put an end at once 
 to party divisions, and establish a general uniformity 
 of opinion through the w^hole society. Without 
 entering here into an examination of the personal 
 composition of the liberal party, upon w^hich I shall 
 touch slightly hereafter, it may be observed in gen- 
 eral, that it is utterly repugnant to the theory here 
 stated, its leaders being among the most intelligent, 
 wealthy, and respectable persons in the nation. 
 Indeed, if there is any correctness in the view I have 
 taken in the preceding chapter of the general com- 
 position of parties in Europe, the very imagination 
 of such a system by the royalists is a sufficient proof 
 how insensible they are to the present state of so- 
 ciety, and consequently how incapable of directing 
 the government. But, independently of any general 
 reasoning or preconceived opinion, the experiment 
 of the election law of 1817, which I have already 
 
I 69 
 
 described, must have satisfied every person, not 
 completely blinded by prejudice, that the great mass 
 of property throughout the country was in the libe- 
 ral interest ; carrying with it of necessity the mass 
 of population and intellect. 
 
 It is urged again, however, that this popular party 
 is unreasonable, that it is essentially hostile to the 
 Bombon dynasty, and to a monarchical form of 
 government, that it aims at the establishment of a 
 republic or a military despotism, and that of course 
 it can never be trusted with power. This argument 
 either proceeds upon the same misconception in 
 regard to the composition and strength of the liberal 
 party with the last, or it proves rather more than 
 perhaps would suit the purpose of those who employ 
 it. If it be true, that the mass of population and 
 property is resolutely hostile to the present form of 
 government and the dynasty of the Bourbons, the 
 proper conclusion perhaps would be, that it is their 
 policy to abdicate at once. For a single family to 
 make head against such a nation as France, I take 
 to be wholly impracticable, and the attempt could 
 only produce greater evils than abdication itself. 
 But before adopting a system which leads necessarily 
 to such a conclusion as this, it might perhaps be 
 expedient to make trial of the liberal party^ to trust 
 them for once, and learn by experiment their real 
 
70 
 
 iiileiitions. This has not yet been done. It seems, 
 on the contrary to have been admitted as an axiom, 
 that if this party obtained an ascendancy in the 
 ministry or a majority m Parliament, inevitable ruin 
 would follow at once. For myself, I see no reason 
 to suppose that there is any such hostility in the 
 liberal party to the present government or the Bour- 
 bon dynasty. There may be individuals among 
 them attached to republican forms ; although the 
 experiment they made of that system had but little 
 tendency to create such an attachment. Consider- 
 ed as a great party, supported by the population and 
 property of the country, their object is not forms or 
 families, but essential liberty. This they have al- 
 ready obtained in substance, by the revolution in 
 the state of property, and in form, by the charter. 
 Their only important object at present is to secure 
 what they have acquired, and to maintain the exist- 
 ing state of things. Nothing of course can be more 
 contrary to the idea of revolution ; and if the Bour- 
 bons ever exhibit a sincere intention to assist in 
 these objects, they must of necessity obtain the 
 inidisguised attachment and support of the Hberal 
 party, because the interest of that party would then 
 be identilied with theirs ; and there is little danger 
 oif mistake in predicting that their attachments and 
 opinions will be determined by their interest. 
 
71 
 
 I observe with some surprise in the same article 
 of the Edinburgh Review, to which I have aheady 
 alhided, a disposition to countenance the imputation 
 upon the liberal party of an ungovernable and sedi- 
 tious spirit. The reviewers seem to forget that this 
 party is essentially the same with the whig party in 
 England, which they habitually support. Are they 
 prepared to admit the correctness of the similar 
 charges, made against their friends by the British 
 ultras, with just as much foundation ? As a proof 
 that the liberal party are anxious for a republic or a 
 despotism, rather than substantial civil liberty, they 
 quote a passage from a speech of one of the most 
 distinguished orators of that party. General Fo}^, in 
 which he remarks that the French, if they cannot 
 have liberty and glory, prefer a brilliant military 
 despotism to a feudal aristocracy. Is it fair to con- 
 sider this as a preference of despotism over liberty ? 
 I confess that if I were compelled to decide between 
 these two evils, I should be disposed to make the 
 same choice. Of all the kinds of government that 
 have ever been practised, the feudal aristocracy of the 
 middle ages seems to have been the most intolerable, 
 uniting, as it did, all the horrors of complete anarchy 
 with all the oppression of the most ruthless despo- 
 tism. Then, they say, that the French can form no 
 idea of any other aristocracv but a feudal one. How 
 
72 
 
 does this appear ? It seems on the contrary to 
 be the reviewers, who can form no idea of any 
 other. It is they who assert that the feudal law of 
 promogeniture is absolutely necessary to form an 
 aristocracy. The French deny this necessity both 
 in theory and practice ; and are quite confident that 
 without feudal regulations, they shall have all the 
 aristocracy they want or that is useful. It is a 
 painful consideration, that while the enemies of 
 liberty throughout Europe act together with the 
 cordiality of a band of brothers, her friends in dif- 
 ferent nations are hardly disposed to acknowledge 
 each other as allies. This is but a poor prognostic 
 of the ultimate success of the cause. And in regard 
 to the supposed seditious spirit of the liberal party, 
 is it so very extraordinary, that they should not feel 
 confidence in a government, which feels no confi- 
 dence in them ? This circumstance alone, independ- 
 ently of particular measures, is enough to justify all 
 the discontent they have ever expressed or felt Let 
 an English politician, who is disposed to deny this, 
 reflect upon the state of public opinion in Great 
 Britain at the close of the reign of Queen Anne, 
 and consider the curses that are still heaped upon 
 the Tory administration, which she was ill-advised 
 enough to employ ; and which was suspected with 
 justice of being adverse to the existing establish- 
 ments of the country, and to the cause of liberty. 
 
 4-'i. 
 
73 
 
 This subject is much better treated by Mr Guizot, 
 one of the ablest and most judicious of the liberal 
 politicians, in his late work on the present situation 
 of the French government. He establishes satis- 
 factorily, that whatever disorderly elements may by 
 accident be connected with the liberal party, and he 
 does not deny that there are some such, they derive 
 the little influence they possess wholly from the errors 
 of the ministry, and that the party itself has no other 
 object but the maintenance of the existing state of 
 things, including the dynasty, whenever the dynasty, 
 which it has not yet done, shall fairly identify its 
 interests with that of the new establishments. 
 
 In reality, though the policy of the French gov- 
 ernment, like other established errors, is supported 
 on general principles, it was not probably adopted 
 as a matter of calculation, but was an almost neces- 
 sary result of the difficulties attending the king's 
 personal position at his return. He appears to have 
 perceived the policy that suited his circumstances, 
 and to have been himself sufficiently inclined to 
 adopt it. It is probable even, that it tallied with his 
 own inclinations, as he was considered at the com- 
 mencement of the revolution an adherent of the 
 popular party. The charter which he proclaimed 
 immediately after his return was sufficiently liberal 
 in its provisions to secure all interests and satisfy 
 10 
 
74 
 
 all opinions ; and had he found it possible to con- 
 duct the administration with firmness and uniformi- 
 ty on the same principles, he would probably have 
 obtained the confidence of the nation. Unfortunate- 
 ly there were two important points, in which his 
 position differed from that of the house of Bruns- 
 wick, and which made it extremely difficult, if not 
 impossible, for him to strike at once with decision 
 into the proper course. One of these was his per- 
 sonal situation in regard to the emigrants, and the 
 other the existing relations between France and the 
 great continental alliance. 
 
 The house of Brunswick were personally as well 
 as politically connected with the national interest, 
 and had no conflict to sustain between the dictates 
 of dutj and the demands of feeling and friendship. 
 The Bourbons returned with a suite of adherents, 
 whose interest w'as adverse to that of all the new 
 establishments, but who had sacrificed every thing 
 in behalf of the royal family. Whether their policy in 
 emigrating was right or wrong, in point of fact they 
 had abandoned the highest rank, and most brilliant 
 fortune, to accompany their fallen sovereign in exile 
 and misery. They had taken up the cross to follow 
 the Bourbons ; and if the French nation had a right 
 to blame their conduct, they might fairly expect 
 indulgence and favour from their royal master. 
 
75 
 
 How was it possible for the king to drive from his 
 person, and condemn to obscurity and want, his 
 devoted followers and friends, who had ministered 
 to him with their substance and service in the 
 worst of times, when they could not reasonably 
 expect any reward for their loyalty on this side the 
 grav^e ? Was the day of restoration and triumph to 
 be only the consummation of ruin to the most af- 
 fectionate partisans of the restored family ? After 
 buffeting the adverse torrent in their sovereign's 
 company for nearly thirty years, were they now to 
 be cast off without recompense or thanks, just as 
 the tide had turned and the port was opening before 
 them ? This was morally impossible. Their fidelity 
 must in some way or other be rewarded. There was 
 scripture authority in their favour. — Thou hast been 
 faithful over a few things ; I will make thee ruler 
 over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy 
 Lord. 
 
 Inexorable duty would have turned a deaf ear to 
 these suggestions of friendship, natural and amiable 
 as it might appear to comply with them, and worth- 
 less as the crown itself might be justly held, if pur- 
 chased by so cruel a sacrifice. It was absolutely 
 necessary, in order to ensure the confidence of the 
 nation, that the government should be entrusted to 
 persons of high character and ackno^vledged liberal 
 
76 
 
 opinions. Had Louis XVIII, instead of an intelli- 
 gent and amiable man, been a Frederic or even a 
 Henri Quatre, he would have had the courage to 
 submit to this hard necessity. Henry IV made no 
 scruple of sacrificing his religion, and with it his 
 personal friends, to the interest of the state, at a time 
 when re ligious opinions were as passionately and as 
 p^rseveringly defended, as political opinions are now ; 
 or rather when politics and the great interests con- 
 nected with it passed under the name of religion. 
 Here was an example worth imitation. Unfortu- 
 nately a different policy prevailed, and the preten- 
 sions of the personal friends of the family were re- 
 cognized to a great extent. The high offices of 
 state, the commissions in the army, the embassies, 
 the prefectures, the peerages, and other civil and 
 military posts of importance were generally given 
 to emigrants, decidedly attached to the old regime. 
 Thus the government, which is little else than a 
 vast proprietary concern, was entrusted to a class 
 of persons, who had not only nothing at stake in 
 the copartnership, but whose personal feelings and 
 interests pointed directly to the destruction of it, and 
 the conversion of the property to their own use. 
 This was to appoint a guardian to the flock, who 
 had the acknowledged disposition, if he wanted the 
 strength of the wolf. The adoption of this system 
 
 / 
 
77 
 
 was no doubt owing in part to the influence of the 
 princes, who made but httle secret of their hostility 
 to the new order of things. It is well known, that the 
 count d'Artois, soon after the first restoration, held a 
 very encouraging language towards the emigrants : 
 ' Jouissez du present ; je vous reponds de Pavenir^ — 
 ' Enjoy the present ; I warrant you the future.' 
 Thus the French government exhibited precisely 
 the same spectacle, as was seen in England during 
 the reign of Charles II, an heir apparent avowedly 
 hostile to the national interest, surrounded by adher- 
 ents of the same description, a vacillating, intriguing 
 cabinet, and a sovereign, who, though intelligent 
 and amiable, had never succeeded in obtaining the 
 public confidence. 
 
 The other circumstance, to which I have alluded 
 as embarrassing the position of the king, was still 
 more important. This was the relation in which 
 he stood to the continental alliance. Here again 
 his positioi) differed wholly from that of the house 
 of Brunsw ick, which was placed upon the throne by 
 the nation itself ; while the king of France, on the 
 contrary, had been restored by hostile armies, in 
 direct opposition to the military part of his future 
 subjects, and without the active cooperation of any 
 of them, excepting the emigrants. It was therefore 
 to foreign powers, that he was immediately indebted 
 
78 
 
 for his throne; anil it was impossible in sucli a 
 situation not to listen with some degree of compla- 
 cency and deference to their suggestions in regard 
 to his political conduct. Unfortunately the advice 
 he was likely to receive from these powers was in 
 direct opposition to the course prescribed by the in- 
 ternal situation of Fxance, and its position in the 
 European commonwealth. To place itself at the 
 head of the constitutional interest in France, to 
 place France at the head of the constitutional inter- 
 est in Europe, these were the leading principles of 
 the true domestic and foreign policy of the new 
 government. But the great continental allies con- 
 stituted themselves the anti-constitutional European 
 interest ; and were precisely the adverse party that 
 Fraiice was called to contend with. It was there- 
 fore their policy and their effort to deter the gov- 
 ernment from assuming its true position, or from 
 giving it to France, as an European power. During 
 the ' era of good feelings,' that accompanied the fall 
 of Bonaparte, when the nations were acting harmo- 
 niously and in unison with this government, and the 
 present divisions had not yet grown up, the sove- 
 reigns having observed upon the spot the strength 
 of the constitutional interest, and not anticipating 
 all the consequences of the measure, recommended 
 and sanctioned the granting of the charter, a step of 
 
79 
 
 which they have since sufficiently repented. But ia 
 accepting the system, they seem to have refused all 
 its natural and necessary consequences ; and to 
 have supposed that a liberal constitution could exist 
 in practice, without the slightest manifestation by 
 deed or word of its essential jDrinciples. This ex- 
 pectation was of course disappointed ; and when the 
 constitutional spirit manifested itself so publicly and 
 powerfully throughout Europe, and the great pow- 
 ers were seized with the terror of revolution at 
 home, they began to look with disquiet upon what 
 was passing in France. At every public proclamation 
 of liberal ideas they felt their thrones tottering under 
 them. Every newspaper printed at Paris seemed 
 to them to carry sedition and disorder through the 
 vast extent of Europe. When the heat and tumult 
 inseparable, to a greater or less extent, from the free 
 discussion of public measures began to exhibit itself, 
 they mistook these ordinary appearances of repre- 
 sentative government for the symptoms of a new 
 revolution ; and began to urge it upon the king to 
 resort to violent measures, and to attempt to govern 
 the nation in opposition to its opinions and feelings, 
 and to the spirit of the institutions, which he had 
 himself sanctioned. In making these remarks on 
 the policy of the allies, it is not my intention to in- 
 clude Great Britain among the number. The alii- 
 
80 
 
 aiice of England with the great continental powers 
 virtually ceased at the close of the war, with the 
 cessation of the common interest that created it. In 
 the new political system, resulting from this change 
 of circumstances. Great Britain takes her place as a 
 leading constitutional power, her interest is identifi- 
 ed with that of France as a constitutional power, 
 and with that of the constitutional party in France, 
 and is opposed to that of the northern allies. Ac- 
 cordingly we have seen her openly disavow the 
 connexion at the first collision of these great inter- 
 ests. Although the British ministers do not yet seem 
 to have entered fully into the spirit of their new 
 part, their advice to the French government has 
 doubtless been in the main consistent with its true 
 interest. 
 
 But the support of the great continental pow- 
 ers was of itself sufficient to give the emigrant 
 party an importance at court and in the cabinet, to 
 which they had no pretensions by their essential 
 strength, and which they might not have obtained 
 even from the personal attachment of the royal 
 family. To the influence of these two circumstan- 
 ces taken together must be attributed the indecision 
 and impolicy, which have marked the proceedings 
 of the government from the time of the first resto- 
 i-ation up to the present day. 
 
81 
 
 The return of Bonaparte from Elba and the 
 second invasion of France by the allies, which 
 succeeded, without making any essential change in 
 the situation of the country, rather aggravated the 
 embarrassments of the king's position, by increasing 
 his obligations to the allies and to his personal 
 adherents, whose fidelity had been tried once more 
 by the touchstone of adversity. It is uncertain how 
 far the dissatisfaction of the people, at the prefer- 
 ence given to the emigrants, may have contributed 
 to favour the rash enterprise of Napoleon. On the 
 one hand, it would scarcely seem that time enough 
 had elapsed since the restoration to give an oppor- 
 tunity for the measures adopted, to produce a deep 
 and general sentiment of dislike. This adventure 
 occurred so near the close of the great action, that 
 it naturally presents itself as a sort of epilogue. At 
 the same time it is notorious that a sullen murmur 
 of dissatisfaction had been heard through the nation, 
 betraying a conviction that the Bourbons were not 
 prepared to identify their cause with that of France. 
 The government itself, in the surprise and terror 
 created by this unexpected and unexampled attack, 
 lost its self-possession, and exhibited an evident 
 consciousness of having acted before upon false 
 principles. When the invader was half way on his 
 journey to Paris, the royal family bethought them- 
 11 
 
82 
 
 selves of satisfying the nation that they were 
 attached to the charter, by holding a solennn 
 session of the parliament and swearing to observe 
 it ; as if these ' vows made in pain,' which ' ease 
 could so readily recant,' would restore in a moment 
 the confidence, that had been forfeited by a mistaken 
 course of policy. The government, however, went 
 even farther than this ; and in their proclamations 
 from Ghent, candidly admitted that they had fallen 
 into errors ; a confession, which, coming from this 
 quarter, may be fairly regarded as equivalent to a 
 disavowal of the system which had been pursued. 
 It was probably with unwillingness and under a 
 sort of moral compulsion, that the king had con- 
 sented to the adoption of this system at first ; and 
 having now discovered by fatal experience the 
 impracticability of it, he seems to have determined 
 that at his second restoration he would attach 
 himself to the new order of things and gain the 
 confidence of the nation. We find, accordingly, 
 that although he had been surrounded at Ghent by 
 the most decided adherents of the emigrant party, 
 Mr de Chateaubriand acting as principle minister, 
 the administration was organized anew immediately 
 upon his arrival at Paris in a manner probably 
 intended to satisfy the people. It seerds at least 
 difficult to account in any other way for the intro- 
 
83 
 
 duction into the cabinet of such characters as Tal- 
 leyrand, Fouche, Baron Louis, and Marshal Gou- 
 vion St Cjr, the most prominent members of this 
 ministry. At the same time the complexion of the 
 house of deputies, nominated under its influence, 
 immediately after the king's return, vvas decidedly 
 of a royalist character. This circumstance might 
 be owing in part to the prostrate condition of the 
 liberal party at this moment. They had unfortu- 
 nately identified their interest in a great measure 
 with that of Napoleon during the hundred days. 
 Their leading characters composed his parliament 
 and filled his armies ; and the disastrous issue of 
 his enterprise made it unsafe for them at present to 
 appear in public. The national party, notwith- 
 standing its essential strength, had, for the moment, 
 neither organization nor leaders ; and the complex- 
 ion of the house was perhaps as much a natural 
 result of the existing state of circumstances, as of 
 the wishes of the cabinet. 
 
 However this may be, and in whatever way 
 the influence of the ministry may have been em- 
 ployed upon the elections, it appears that they took 
 the true national position in regard to foreign pow- 
 ers. They resisted the hard conditions imposed 
 upon France by the new treaty, and firmly refused 
 to sign it. As the allies persisted in their demands 
 
84 
 
 the ministrv was changed, and Fouche, whose 
 policy it had been of late to maintain his credit 
 with all parties at once, which could only be done 
 by betraying them all, was disgraced. Immediately 
 after the change of ministry, the negotiations were 
 brought to a close and the treaty concluded. 
 
 The new ministry was by no means of a decid- 
 edly ultra cast, but rather of a moderate and neu- 
 tral character. Mr de Cases, the successor of 
 Fouche, had not yet acquired his importance. Mr 
 de Barbe Marbois, minister of justice, was a known 
 adherent of liberal principles. The Ministers of 
 Finance and Marine, Dubouchage and Corvetto, 
 were not obnoxious to any party. The Ministers 
 of the Interior and of War, the Duke of Feltre and 
 Mr de Vaublanc, were regarded as decided ultras. 
 At the head of the administration was placed the 
 Duke of Richelieu, Avhose nomination indicates the 
 real princi])le upon which it was organized, the 
 necessity of conforming to the views and dispo- 
 sitions of the allies. The Duke was generally 
 respected as a person of amiable and generous 
 dispositions, but was not recommended by any 
 acknowledged superiority of talent ; and as an 
 emigrant could hardly bo considered as agreeable 
 to the nation. His chief or only recommendation 
 was the personal friendship of the Emperor Alex- 
 
85 
 
 ander, by whom he had been employed during his 
 emigration, as governor of the Crimea ; and con- 
 sidering the relation which must necessarily exist 
 under the new political system between France and 
 Russia, it was not perhaps the strongest that could 
 be imagined. The Duke had the advantage, it is 
 true, of bearing one of those ' historical names,' to 
 the possession of which Madame de Stael attaches 
 so much importance ; but unfortunately, as I am 
 afraid would generally happen in such cases, his 
 name was more likely to remind the nation of the 
 sort of minister that was wanted, than his character 
 was to satisfy their expectations. Had the spirit of 
 the great Cardinal fallen within his title to his 
 icollateral descendant, the consequences of this 
 appointment might have been very different from 
 what they were. He might even have copied with 
 advantage the laconic circular despatch, by which 
 the Cardinal announced his nomination to the 
 French ambassadors abroad. " The king has 
 changed his ministers and the ministry has changed 
 its policy." If we recur to the Cardinal's admin- 
 istration, we find him struggling with obstacles 
 somewhat similar in character, though infinitely 
 superior in magnitude, to those which the Duke 
 must have encountered, had he embraced a decid- 
 edly liberal policy, but victorious by the force of aa 
 
86 
 
 energetic will, and founding the stability and great- 
 ness of the French monarchy in the face of them all. 
 His measures were always decisive, sometimes 
 even brutal ; but upon the whole advantageous to 
 the country. He quelled the religious troubles by 
 force of arms ; and imprisoned and exiled such of 
 the royal family as dared to thwart his projects. 
 Something less than this would have disconcerted 
 the emigrants, and silenced the French princes at 
 the present day ; but such proceedings were entirely 
 opposite to the Duke's character. He had nothing 
 in common with the Cardinal, but his title ; and his 
 principal reputed virtue, a good heart, was one 
 which the Cardinal wanted, and which, had he 
 possessed it, might have rather checked than assisted 
 the accomplishment of his objects. 
 
 From this epoch may be dated the adoption of 
 the pretended neutral system, which has not been 
 wholly abandoned at any subsequent period, although 
 pursued at times with a strong inclination to one 
 or the other party, to the liberal interest under the 
 presidency of Mr de Cases ; and to the opposite 
 one at present. This system would admit of a 
 better defence, if it were what it professes to be, a 
 neutrality between two great hostile parties. If 
 a nation were really divided into two such sections, 
 each supported by an extensive and powerful por- 
 
87 
 
 lion of the population and property, the government 
 would be placed in a delicate position. It would 
 be difficult, in these circumstances, to ensure the 
 public tranquillity by any scheme of policy ; and 
 an attempt to conciliate and amalgamate the two 
 parties might, in certain cases, be advisable. In 
 general, perhaps, it would be a better plan to 
 espouse the right side with frankness and vigour, 
 and weaken the other as much as possible. But it 
 does not appear that the French government were 
 in reality obliged to contend with this difficulty ; 
 and it is the great fault of their system that it is not 
 as it professes to be, neutrality between two 
 domestic parties, but neutrality between the nation 
 and a few individuals, if we regard the internal 
 strength of the emigrants, or if we look at their 
 support from abroad, neutrality between France 
 and the Northern Alliance. The position taken 
 by the ministry is not so much the central point 
 between the two sides of the chamber of deputies, 
 as the half way house on the road from Paris to 
 Vienna or St Petersburg. By such a system they 
 lose the support of the great national intesests 
 which are all on the liberal side, and have nothing 
 to replace them with and to found their strength 
 upon, but the terror of invasion. Hence, as far as 
 they deviate from a true national policy, in order 
 
88 
 
 to observe what they call neutrality, they make 
 themselves, in fact, the lieutenants of foreign and 
 essentially hostile powers, instead of the represen- 
 tatives of their country ; the most odious position 
 in which the government can be placed, and 
 deservedly so, as the policy upon which it is 
 predicated is marked with all the essential char- 
 acters of treason ; and even ignorance and error, 
 when they lead us to espouse the interest of foreign 
 countries, against that of our own, are rarely ad- 
 mitted as sufficient apologies. 
 
 In the year 1816, following the first adoption of 
 the system in question, there arose in the cabinet a 
 strong apparent inclination towards a better and 
 more liberal policy, resulting in a great measure 
 from the increasing influence of the Minister of 
 Police, Count de Cases. The history and char- 
 acter of this statesman have since engaged the 
 public attention to so great an extent, that it would 
 be needless to enter here into much detail upon the 
 subject. It is well known that without the advan- 
 tages of birth and fortune, he succeeded by the 
 amenity of his social habits, united, no doubt, with 
 intellectual powers of a very respectable, though 
 not the highest order, and, I may add, by the sound- 
 ness of his political views, in attracting the king's 
 attention and engaging in a very remarkable de- 
 
89 
 
 gree his personal power. Under the reign of Bona- 
 parte he had occupied an office of no great 
 importance in the judiciary, and was afterwards 
 private secretary to the Imperial family. During 
 the interregnum he remained in France, but dis- 
 tinguished himself by his adherence to the royal 
 cause ; and at the king's return was appointed 
 prefect of police, the second office in that depart- 
 ment then under the direction of Fouche. Upon 
 the removal of this minister in September 1818, 
 Mr de Cases succeeded him, and from this time he 
 appears to have exercised a constantly increasing 
 influence in the cabinet, until he became, at the 
 close of the year 1818, in name as well as in reality, 
 the president of the council of ministers. With the 
 progress of his personal influence may be traced a 
 regularly increasing disposition in the government: 
 to adopt the true national policy. He was himself 
 of popular extraction, and had no sympathies with 
 the old aristocracy or the emigrants. The policy 
 of the emigration probably appeared to him, as it 
 does to every body but those who took part in it, 
 extremely questionable. He was young, and his 
 attachment to the cause of liberty had not been 
 cooled by a contact with the horrors of the revo- 
 lution. He was, in many respects, a person likely 
 to be agreeable to the nation as minister: and 
 12 
 
90 
 
 witli more firmness of purpose, a little larger 
 intlision of the ' unconquerable will,' he might 
 probably have decided for a length of time the 
 politics of France ; and if the views I have taken 
 of the subject be correct, would have given them a 
 much more fortunate turn than they have taken. 
 Perhaps the stern resolution he wanted might not 
 have been compatible with the kind heart and 
 insinuating manners, which procured him his per- 
 sonal influence with the king ; and had he pos- 
 sessed the qualities necessary for doing the greatest 
 possible good, he might not have had the official 
 opportunity. However this may be, his influence 
 gave the policy of the government for a time a 
 much more liberal aspect. The decree of Sept. 5, 
 1816, which dissolved the house of deputies, is 
 universally attributed to him. Other corresponding 
 steps of smaller importance, as the removal of Mr 
 de Chateaubriand from the council of state, were 
 taken about the same time ; and at the elections 
 immediately ensuing, the influence of the ministry, 
 as I have already observed, was exerted uniformly 
 against the ultra candidates, and generally in favour 
 of the liberal ones. 
 
 Meanwhile, the emigrants perceiving their influ- 
 ence in the cabinet to be on the decline, and 
 reminded by the result of the elections how little 
 
91 
 
 hold they had upon the nation, began to turn for 
 support, to the quarter where they placed their 
 habitual and indeed their only dependence, and 
 entered into correspondence with the allied pow- 
 ers. One of their communications, in which they 
 urged the interference of the allies with the king 
 to procure a change of ministry, was intercepted by 
 the government, and published under the title of 
 the Secret Note. Yet, incredible as it meiy seem, 
 such was the personal weight of the emigrants at 
 court, that the ministry, after detecting and publish- 
 ing this document, actually suppressed it them- 
 selves, doubtless at the instance of the princes, as it 
 has never been pretended that it was not genuine. 
 These private communications of the emigrants and 
 the gloomy forebodings, which they were contin- 
 ually pouring out through the public press, had 
 their effect upon the allies, and the more, no doubt, 
 as the interest of the allies themselves was favoured 
 by the policy, which the emigrants recommended. 
 In the autumn of 1818 the sovereigns assembled at 
 Aix-la-Chapelle, to deliberate upon the evacuation 
 of France. This measure was agreed to, as well 
 suited to conciliate the nation ; but it is altogether 
 probable, that at the same time they urged very 
 strongly upon the French government the adoption 
 of a course of policy more agreeable to their views 
 and those of the emigrants, This is probable, not 
 
92 
 
 only from considerations of a more general charac- 
 ter, but from the intestine struggle which occurred 
 in the cabinet soon after the -Duke of Richelieu's 
 return from Aix-la-Chapelle, and which ended in 
 his resignation and in the appointment of Mr de 
 Cases to the Presidency of the Council. In this, 
 as in other political intrigues, the whole affair is 
 not before the public ; but from the circumstances, 
 which arc known, it may be concluded that Mr 
 de Richelieu urged the recomposition of the minis- 
 try, upon a system more agreeable to foreign 
 powers, offering his resignation in the event of a 
 refusal ; and that the king, personally indisposed 
 to such a proceeding and satisfied of its political 
 inexpediency, accepted his resignation, and organ- 
 ized the ministry anew upon a still more liberal 
 footing than before. Thus the efforts of the emi- 
 grants and the allies produced, for the present at 
 least, an effect directly opposite to their expectations 
 and wishes ; and Count de Cases was elevated to 
 the summit of official greatness by the very blow 
 which was intended to level him with the dust. 
 His nomination to the presidency marked the 
 culminating point of the influence of the liberal 
 party in the cabinet. After remaining a short time 
 at about the same height, it has been steadily and 
 gradually retrograding up to the present day. 
 
93 
 
 The acrimony with which party disputes were 
 conducted in France created uneasiness both at 
 home and abroad ; an^ the popular discontents in 
 England and Germany greatly increased the sensi- 
 bility of the governments upon this subject. Imme- 
 diately after the elevation of Mr do Cases to the 
 presidency, occurred the attack upon the election 
 law in the house of peers, to which I have already 
 alluded, and which was then defeated by the min- 
 istry. At each succeeding election the operation 
 of the existing law in favour of the liberal party 
 became more and more evident ; and it was soon 
 very clear, that if it continued to subsist until the 
 house of deputies had been wholly renewed under 
 its operation, the emigrants must at once lose all 
 their influence in parliament and all hope of ever 
 recovering it by the introduction of another system. 
 The present moment was the only one in which 
 they could labour with any expectation of ultimate 
 success ; and accordingly every engine, foreign and 
 domestic, was put in motion to effect their purpose. 
 Two circumstances, in a great measure accidental, 
 probably did more for them, than all their own 
 machinations — I mean the election of the Abbe 
 Gregoire as deputy, and the assassination of the 
 Duke of Berrv. 
 
94 
 
 The former of these events occurred at the 
 elections in the autumn of 1819, and seems to have 
 given the first serious check to the influence of the 
 liberal party in the cabinet. Under the circum- 
 stances, this nomination was doubtless both indec- 
 orous and impolitic. It served no purpose whatever, 
 and it furnished the emigrants with a plausible 
 theme for abuse and scandal. There is, therefore, 
 a high degree of probability in the supposition, 
 which is also maintained on no less authority than 
 that of the prefect of the department where the 
 choice was made, that the emigrants themselves, 
 finding that Grcgoire had unadvisedly been put in 
 nomination, gave him their votes, with a view of 
 turning his election to account against the liberal 
 party. The prefect, Mr d'Arnonville, who was 
 present at the time, and from his official character 
 must have had a good opportunity to be acquainted 
 with all that passed, published a pamphlet upon 
 the subject, in which he asserts this fact, and sub- 
 stantiates it by a detailed account of the proceed- 
 ings. However this may be, there was something 
 truly infernal in the rancour with which this ven- 
 erable and really virtuous old man, who has long 
 since repented of the errors of his earlier years, and 
 atoned for them by a life of exemplary philanthropy 
 and piety, was now assailed, to serve the temporary 
 
95 
 
 purposes of party. They denounced him as a regi- 
 cide, akhough he was confessedly not present in 
 the convention at the trial of Louis XVI, under 
 pretence that he had expressed his approbation of 
 the sentence in his letters from the army, where he 
 was then acting as commissioner. Had he been a 
 regicide, he was still legally eligible ; and after the 
 king had publicly required of the nation to bury 
 in oblivion all previous political errors, it was 
 hardly admissible to question, on this account, the 
 validity of the choice. There was even a gross 
 absurdity in treating the mere quality of regicide, 
 which they persisted with relentless perversity in 
 fastening upon this man, as a sufficient motive for 
 exclusion from the house of deputies, when the 
 king himself had employed, as a cabinet minister, 
 the acknowledged regicide, Fouche. To increase 
 the singularity of the whole transaction, it appeared, 
 upon examining the question, that Gregoire was 
 not eligible in the department where he was 
 named. On this ground the choice was declared 
 to be null ; and as for the same reason he could 
 not be re-elected, the affair never came to a regular 
 decision. Notwithstanding the scandal created by 
 this choice, and the apprehensions excited by some 
 others which, though less publicly obnoxious, were 
 regarded by the government as at least equally 
 
96 
 
 alarming, the ministry were inclined at first to 
 jjersevere in their system. But further reflexion or 
 perhaps the influence of foreign powers produced a 
 different determination, and it was concluded in 
 the cabinet to propose a change in the election law. 
 From this conclusion, however, the three most 
 decidedly liberal members, Gen. Dessoles, Baron 
 Louis, and marshal Gouvion St Cyr, dissented and 
 resigned their places. Count de Cases still held 
 his post at the head of the council, thinking, proba- 
 bly, that by yielding a little for the present, he 
 should ultimately be able to maintain his general 
 scheme of policy. The new election law, then 
 proposed, would, in fact, as I have shewn, have 
 made no material difference in the returns ; and his 
 anticipations would, in all probability, have been 
 realized, but for the disastrous accident of the 
 assassination of the Duke of Berry. 
 
 In other countries, perhaps at other times in 
 France, this event would have been regarded as too 
 grave and tragical, to take its place in the vulgar 
 category of political expedients. The worst foes 
 of the ministry would have felt an honourable 
 pride in clearing them from any share in so horrible 
 a crime, if indeed the very idea of regarding the 
 prime minister as an accomplice of a journeyman 
 saddler in assassinating one of the royal family. 
 
97 
 
 had not been too grossly incongruous to occur to 
 any one, not under the influence of a political 
 fanaticism equivalent to absolute insanity. The 
 emigrants, however, thought it possible to connect 
 this catastrophe with the existing political system; 
 and looking at it in this point of view, they con- 
 sidered the event as a Godsend, which, properly 
 employed, would give the finishing stroke to the 
 credit of the obnoxious favourite. The most 
 furious of their partisans, in the house of deputies, 
 brought in the next day a charge of high treason 
 against Count de Cases, as an accomplice in the 
 assassination. It is but justice to add, that this 
 disgraceful outrage upon decency was but slightly 
 encouraged even by his oAvn party. More effectual 
 measures were adopted in other quarters. Circulars 
 were despatched through the country, demanding 
 of the adherents of the party something in the 
 shape of turbulence and agitation, which might 
 be construed into an expression of national dislike 
 to the minister. At the same time a decisive blow 
 was struck at court ; where it is understood that 
 the members of the royal family, male and female, 
 made a joint onset upon the king's person, adjuring 
 him, as he valued their lives and his own, to remove 
 Count de Cases ; and adding, that if he did not, 
 they should be obliged to consult their own safety. 
 13 
 
98 
 
 by quitting the kingdom. A truly (?!iergetic admin*- 
 istratioii would have taken them at their word, and 
 given them leave of absence, never to return, for so 
 indecent an interference in the public affairs. But 
 neither the temper of the times nor that of the min- 
 ister admitted of this. Assailed in such an unpre- 
 cedented and unprincipled way, he appears to have 
 insisted himself upon retiring ; and left the admin- 
 istration covered with new titles and honours, and 
 with fresh marks of the king's personal favour. 
 No sooner had he resigned, than circulars were 
 again despatched through the country, counter- 
 manding the call for insurrection, which had been 
 issued before. By rather a singular accident, the 
 two circular despatches here alluded to were dis- 
 covered and printed ; and purported by their marks, 
 to form a part of a regular correspondence. This 
 discovery, however, was made somewhat later. 
 Meanwhile, the Duke de Richelieu resumed his post 
 at the head of the council ; and the evil spirit of 
 the emigration, finding the house of state empty 
 swept and garnished, entered in and dwelt there. 
 A new direction was given to the ministerial policy, 
 which, without satisfying the most exaggerated of 
 the party, is still decided enough to alarm and dis- 
 tress the mass of the nation and the best friends 
 of the royal family. 
 
99 
 
 The series of measures, with which the new ad- 
 ministration began their operations, was sufficiently 
 portentous to shew that these alarms were not likely 
 to prove altogether groundless. They were no less 
 than a suspension of the securities of personal liber- 
 ty, a subjection of the press to censorship, and a 
 radical reform in the representation of the people. 
 These measures, to which I have already adverted, 
 have occupied the whole attention of the govern- 
 ment, since the change of the ministry. The only 
 interesting question connected with the foreign rela- 
 tions of the country, the policy of France in refer- 
 ence to the revolution in Italy, will be touched upon 
 in a separate chapter, in connexion with the general 
 subject of the balance of power in Europe. 
 
 If the measures of external and internal policy, 
 taken under the direction of the new ministry, have 
 be'en well calculated to justify and increase the 
 alarm of the nation, the apprehension, generally en- 
 tertained of an impending attack upon the security 
 of landed property, obtained by the purchase of con- 
 fiscated estates, creates a still deeper and more pain- 
 ful anxiety. In this question the interest of at least 
 two thirds of the proprietors in the kingdom is di- 
 rectly involved. The impossibility of restoring their 
 lost property to the emigrants was distinctly felt at 
 the time of the first restoration ; and the validity of 
 
100 
 
 the new titles is formally warranted by the charter. 
 The emigrants, however, have never been, and 
 probably never will be, satisfied with this arrange- 
 ment. Without the recovery of their estates, the 
 restoration is to them a mockery. To this point 
 their views are constantly directed. Their extreme 
 eagerness to obtain the management of public atTairs 
 is easily accounted for, on the supposition that they 
 wish to use their political influence as a means of 
 procuring, in some form or other, the restitution of 
 their property. While, on the other hand, the re- 
 pugnance felt throughout the nation to their preten- 
 sions and opinions results from a secret conviction, 
 that the stability of the present state of property 
 depends upon the final prevalence of a liberal system 
 of policy in the cabinet. Thus the real point in 
 question between the parties is not so much which 
 shall possess the political power, as which shall 
 possess the private property of the country. While 
 the administration is in liberal hands, the very mag- 
 nitude of the pretensions of the emigrants is fitted 
 to remove any anxiety about their success ; but it 
 serves as a measure for the fears of the parties in- 
 terested, when the emigrants themselves have the 
 chief direction of the government. 
 
 Upon the first restoration, the confiscated property 
 remaining unsold in the hands of the government 
 
101 
 
 was restored to the original owners. This measure, 
 in itself sufficiently just, was, notwithstanding, of a 
 nature to create some alarm, as it annulled political 
 acts of thirty years' standing, connected with this 
 very delicate subject. Not long after, a proposition 
 was made in the house of peers, to create a large 
 amount of public debt to be assigned to the emigrant 
 proprietors, as an indemnity for their losses. This 
 plan, though not in formal opposition to the letter 
 of the charter, was as much opposed to its spirit, as 
 a restoration of the land itself. It was making the 
 present proprietors pay, in the form of taxes imposed 
 by the state, what, in case of restoration, they would 
 pay in the form of rents to their lords. This plan 
 was not adopted, but the mere proposition of it had 
 no small share in producing the discontent that pre- 
 ceded the return of Bonaparte. It has not been 
 renewed since the restoration ; and while the liberal 
 party predominated in parliament and in the minis- 
 try, the very idea of such a thing was frowned upon 
 in all quarters. Even the emigrants asserted, that 
 it was a calumny to charge them with any intention 
 of obtaining either restoration or indemnity. No 
 sooner, however, did the political scale turn in their 
 favour, than these odious pretensions began to re- 
 appear. In the course of the present session it has 
 been repeatedly intimated by the emigrants, that if 
 
102 
 
 they have not made any proposition yet, it is because 
 they expect one to be made by the government, and 
 the ministry have countenanced the expectation. 
 One of the more violent went so far as to state 
 publicly in a speech, that they would not now be 
 satisfied with indemnity, but must have restitution. 
 This remark being rather pointedly noticed on the 
 other side, he afterwards explained himself to mean 
 a restitution to the emigrants of the price paid 
 originally by the new purchasers to the government. 
 This construction appears rather forced. Whether or 
 not it was his first intention, the general effect upon 
 the public is precisely the same. They find the pre- 
 tensions of these persons regularly increasing with 
 their power ; and if their power continues to advance, 
 it is pretty easy to foresee where their pretensions will 
 finally arrive. The fanaticism and imprudence of 
 the clergy tend strongly to increase the alarm upon 
 this subject. Many of them declare it an act of 
 impiety to retain this desciiption of property, and 
 sometimes refuse absolution upon their death beds 
 to its owners. Books are frequently published in 
 favour of the pretensions of the emigrants ; and in 
 a late instance, where the writer of one of them 
 was prosecuted for it by the government, the singu- 
 lar and even complimentary indulgence, with which 
 he was treated, and which naturally led to his ac- 
 
103 
 
 quittal, seemed to prove, either that the ministry 
 repented of what they had done, or that their object 
 was to encourage such publications, rather than to 
 check them. 
 
 If no accident should previously occur to effect a 
 change in the policy of the French cabinet, it is 
 altogether probable that the influence of the emi- 
 grants will finally split upon this rock ; and that at 
 no yerj distant j eriod. It is not unlikely that a prop- 
 osition will be made upon this subject at the next 
 session of parliament by the government, and even 
 if it passes into a law, it is not easy to see how the 
 attempt to carry it into execution can end, otherwise 
 than in a change of ministry or a change of dynasty. 
 The government would doubtless recur to the former, 
 in time to avoid the latter. It is impossible in the 
 nature of things, that the great body of proprietors 
 will allow themselves to be despoiled of their estates, 
 either in form or substance. They are the persons, 
 who possess the effective power, and they will surely 
 exercise it, if ever, in defence of their property. An 
 attempt to unsettle the property of the country, if 
 actually made, as seems at present but too probable, 
 will be a reach of madness, beyond any thing in the 
 proceedings of the Stuarts. It could hardly fail to 
 ensure the ruin of its authors, and, I think I may 
 
104 
 
 add without fear of contradiction from any impartial 
 person, would shew that they deserve it.* 
 
 3. In consequence of the course of proceedings 
 I have been describing, the situation of pubhc opin- 
 ion is far from being so tranquil and satisfactory, as 
 it probably would have been under a different one, 
 considering the really advantageous position of 
 France. The emigrants, though destitute of internal 
 
 * Since the above was written, symptoms have appeared in the cabinet 
 of another return to liberal principles. At the commencement of the 
 last session of the chambers, two of tlie principal leaders of the emigrants 
 in the house of the deputies, Messrs de Villelc and de Corbicres, had been 
 appointed cabinet ministers, in order to consolidate the union between 
 the ministry and the emigrants. They were, however, not entrusted 
 with departments ; the former ministers all retaining their places. The 
 emigrants, considering this as a step towards complete ascendancy, were 
 satisfied for a time ; and generally supported the gov^ernment during the 
 session. But, towards tiie close of it, they began to shew symptoms of 
 uneasiness, and of a determination to break with the ministry, unless they 
 obtained tlie complete control of the cabinet. They accordingly opposed 
 several imiiortant measures ; and treated the ministry in debate with 
 gross disrespect. After the session was over, a struggle took place in 
 the cabinet, the details of which are of course not fully known. It is 
 supposed, that MM. de Villele and de Corbieres insisted upon some 
 changes favourable to the emigrants ; and not being able to obtain tiiem, 
 resigned in consequence. Wlialever the immediate motive may have 
 been, they certainly resigned ; and at the same time, M. de Chateaubriand 
 gave up his places, as Minister of State and Minister Plenipotentiary at 
 Berlin. Tiiese changes will probably be followed by otiiers in the course 
 of the next session, if not before, as tic a ance between the ministry 
 and the emigrants is considered as broken by these resigiiations ; and the 
 ministry must resort to new combinations, in order to secure a majority 
 of the deputies. 
 
105 
 
 strength, being countenanced by the court, and rep- 
 resenting the interest of the great foreign powers, 
 exhibit all the outward appearances of an imposing 
 and powerful party. Their opponents, on the other 
 hand, are strong in the support and attachment of 
 the country, and in the essential justice of their 
 cause. It is here in fact, and here only, that the 
 two great European interests are fairly in presence. 
 In every other part of the continent, excepting 
 Spain, the expression of liberal opinions is restrained 
 by that most pointed of arguments — the bayonet. 
 In England, though the government does not always 
 proceed upon the most enlarged political notions, 
 the opinions of all the considerable parties are more 
 or less strongly marked with liberality. There are 
 somp newspapers and other journals, which maintain 
 the ultra system in regard to continental affairs ; but 
 as they cannot venture to apply their principles to 
 the concerns of their own country, they form no 
 domestic party, and are not countenanced by the 
 government in their views of foreign politics. On 
 this subject public opinion in England may be con- 
 sidered as wholly on the liberal side. It is only in 
 France, therefore, at the present momen^t, that the 
 parties are fairly at issue. The agitation and zeal, 
 which must naturally attend the public discussion 
 of such great interests may be easily imagined ; and 
 14 
 
10(3 
 
 I may add, that the ability, with which the contro- 
 versy is conducted on both sides, does honour to the 
 nation which furnishes the combatants. In this, as 
 in other cases, it is by no means the right side, that 
 can uniformly boast of the ablest champions. The 
 press and the parliament are the two great theatres 
 of action. Since the restoration of the preliminary 
 censorship on the journals, the latter affords the 
 most interesting spectacle. Pamphlets are still free ; 
 but as they cannot be commented upon, or even 
 noticed in the newspapers, their circulation is com- 
 paratively limited ; except when they proceed from 
 the pens of a few well known writers, whose names 
 alone are a sufficient advertisement and passport for 
 all they publish. 
 
 For nearly two years during the time when Mr de 
 Cases was in credit, the press was wholly or sub- 
 stantially free. I had an opportunity of seeing most 
 of the periodical publications and newspapers at this 
 period, and am fully satisfied that the same freedom 
 might have been maintained without any real dan- 
 ger to the public tranquillity. The respectable 
 journals were all conducted with the same decency 
 as in England and the United States. Public opin- 
 ion and regard for their own interest evidently ex- 
 ercised the same salutary and sufficient check upon 
 the editors, as it does in those countries. Nor was 
 
107 
 
 there in the less considerable publications any thing 
 like the disgusting excess, which has disgraced the 
 icheap periodical papers in England for some years 
 past. There were boldness and violence on both 
 sides, pushed occasionally to the line where they 
 touch upon extravagance ; but nothing, which a 
 person, habituated to the forms and attached to the 
 spirit of representative government, would have 
 thought of taking offence at, or regarded as danger- 
 ous. The nearest approaches to excess and the 
 most marked violence were on the side of the emi- 
 grants, perhaps because they were then the weakest 
 party. The daily papers were conducted with more 
 ability than the best that appear in England or with 
 us. Besides these, there were two periodical 
 pamphlets, the Conservateur or Preserver, and the 
 Minerva, which served as the leading organs of the 
 two opinions, and held the same place in the political 
 literature of the country, which is occupied by the 
 Edinburgh and Quarterly Reviews in England, but 
 appeared more frequently, and were conducted with 
 :\ more immediate reference to passing events. 
 They were circulated very exV^nsively through every 
 part of the continent. The viscount de Chateau- 
 briand was the principal editor of the Conservateur, 
 and Mr Benjamin Constant of the Minerva. These 
 names alone, which are among the very first in con- 
 
108 
 
 temporary French literature, are sufficient to shew 
 the respectability of the publications in question. 
 Their editors were also assisted by other writers of 
 distinguished talent, and every article was uniformly 
 signed by its author's name. When the journals 
 were again subjected to restraint, these remarkable 
 publications wore discontinued. The writers, with 
 a high spirit not less honourable to them than the 
 vigour and elegance of their productions, disdained 
 to sub.nit the shoots of their genius to the pruning 
 knife of mercenary mediocrity. 
 
 Of the two j)ersons I have mentioned, both pos- 
 sessing merit of a very high order, Constant is the 
 clearest thinker, and Chateaubriand the most pow- 
 erful writer. The latter is essentially a poet, although 
 he has never published any thing in verse, and is 
 pronounced with justice by the Edinburgh Review 
 to be the best poet now living- in France. He em- 
 ploys the stately style, of which the writings of Dr 
 Johnson are a favourable specimen, and Macpher- 
 son's Ossian a caricature. His reach of mind in 
 regard to general subjects seems to be limited ; and 
 he often reasons withtut any apparent feeling for 
 logical consistency and truth. Constant, although 
 he has published some tolerable poetry, and writes 
 in prose with great elegance, is still more remarka- 
 ble, perhaps, for the justice and precision of his 
 
109 
 
 views on general subjects, and is therefore essential- 
 ly a philosopher. His style is lucid and correct, but 
 not always sufficiently pointed and nervous ; and if 
 not animated by the immediate interest of the sub- 
 ject in discussion, is often rather cold. Hence he 
 is, upon the whole, a less popular writer than Cha- 
 teaubriand, as the public is more taken with poetical 
 and pompous language, than with just and perspic- 
 uous reasoning, or even original thought. 
 
 Besides these, there are political writers of merit, 
 who labour in general in a larger sphere of action, 
 and contribute but rarely, if ever, to the journals, 
 and whose activity is of course not affected by the 
 censure. The liberal party has just sustained a 
 severe loss in the most celebrated of its literary 
 champions, Madame de Stael, the first of female 
 writers, always animated by a truly liberal spirit, 
 although her views on particular subjects were often 
 warped by the warmth of her feelings and the live- 
 liness of her imagination from the strict line of truth. 
 Mr de Pradt is still left to supply her place with 
 greater activity, if not with equal talent ; a politician, 
 who, to use his own facetious phrase, has assisted 
 intra muros at all the congresses, which have been 
 held in Europe since that of Rastadt ; in some res- 
 pects the most remarkable writer of pamphlets that 
 has appeared since the time of Burke, but without 
 
110 
 
 any pretensions to his force of language or logic, 
 although engaged in a juster and more generous 
 cause. At a later period, Mr Guizot distinguished 
 himself by a publication, to which I have already 
 alluded, and which created in France more sensation, 
 than any single political work that has appeared 
 since the king's return. On the opposite side, the 
 most distinguished writer, after Chateaubriand, is 
 the viscount de Bonald, pronounced by Madame de 
 Stael to be the philosopher of anti-philosophy. His 
 style has too much of the obscurity, from which hers 
 was not always free, and none of the poetical col- 
 ouring, with which she redeemed that and her other 
 faults. The only quality that gives his writings 
 any flavour is a strong infusion of bitterness. The 
 Abbe de la Mennais is much before him in point of 
 style. He treats political subjects entirely in a theo- 
 logical point of- view, and of course in the most 
 general and abstract form, except where measures 
 relating to the church are under discussion. Two 
 or three foreigners, who write in French and pub- 
 lish at Paris, have acquired some distinction on the 
 same side. Mr de Haller, lately a member of the 
 republican government of Berne, claims the honour- 
 able title of the modern Bacon. He is publishing 
 a voluminous work, entitled the Restoration of 
 Political Science, ^\\\\\q\\^ he assures us elsewhere, is 
 
Ill 
 
 exciting a profound sensation throughout Europe, 
 and appears destined to produce the most important 
 results. This person has lately been converted from 
 the protestant to the catholic faith, and has thereby 
 lost his place in the government of Berne. In the 
 pamphlet, in which he gives an account of this 
 event, he states expressly, that he looks upon himself 
 as specially raised up by Providence to effect a great 
 reformation in Europe ; the consummation of which 
 is to be the return of all wandering protestant sheep to 
 the catholic fold. Lastly, the late count de Maistre, 
 formerly minister plenipotentiary in Russia, and 
 afterwards minister of state in the service of the 
 king of Sardinia, has defended in a variety of publi- 
 cations the doctrines of orthodoxy in religion and 
 politics, which are now generally coupled together 
 by their champions, the former meaning popery. Of 
 what use, he inquires in one of * these works, are 
 general councils to bring back heretics to the faith? 
 Is not the pillory sufficient f This passage may give 
 the measure of his liberality and humanity. His 
 books however are printed in various languages, 
 and circulated gratis by the religious associations on 
 the continent. 
 
 In general, the effort made by the anti-constitu- 
 tional party in Europe to unite their cause with that 
 of religion, aad the point of view' upder which they 
 
112 
 
 present this subject, in order to effect their purposes, 
 are proofs, either of gross hypocrisy, or of ahiiost 
 incredible fanaticism. It is hardly necessary to re- 
 mark, what is felt and acknowledged by every per- 
 son of intelligence, that in the present age the most 
 expedient course for maintaining the influence of 
 religious sentiments over the public mind is to allow 
 the spirit of inquiry to proceed without opposition, 
 in clearing away the erroneous and superstitious 
 appendages, which have been connected with these 
 sentiments at other periods in the progress of society. 
 The only principle, which can be admitted as a 
 qualification of this, is the necessity of exercising 
 caution in the change of established forms and insti- 
 tutions. But this party are so blindly bent upon 
 accomplishing their immediate ends, that they wish 
 to break up existing forms, not in order to substitute 
 new ones, more analogous to the substance, but in 
 order to bring back the still more antiquated and 
 irrational usages of a wholly barbarous age. The 
 restoration of the unity of the christian church is 
 one of the leading objects, upon which they are 
 accustomed to insist. All good men must join them 
 in wishing for its accomplishment ; and all intelli- 
 gent men must perceive, that it is very rapidly ap- 
 proaching in the form of a constantly increasing 
 conviction among ail the sects, that the points which 
 
113 
 
 divide them are immaterial, and that the spirit of 
 Christianity resides in those, which are common to 
 them all. We have seen accordingly within a 
 few years the two principal sects of protestants 
 in Germany publicly uniting ; and the alliance 
 founded avowedly on a religious basis between 
 three sovereigns, each adhering to a separate creed, 
 is at once a strong confirmation of this remark, and 
 a signal proof how thoroughly the spirit of the age 
 has penetrated into every corner of the christian 
 world ; since the very persons, who call themselves 
 its enemies and are constantly decrying it, act almost 
 unconsciously under its influence, whenever it does 
 not contradict their immediate objects. But not 
 content with this gradual and rapid progress towards 
 the desired union, the party in question can imagine 
 no other way of accomplishing it, but by the formal 
 return of all heretics to the catholic faith, and the 
 universal acknowledgment of the infallibility of the 
 pope, unlimited even by the restrictions with which 
 it was qualified by the catholics themselves, at the 
 first dawn of reviving intelligence in Europe. 
 
 As this party are confessedly more rigid catholics 
 than the pope, so it is one of their distinguishing 
 characters, as they appear in France, that they are 
 better royalists than the king, and hence their desig- 
 nation of ultras. They made but little secret of their 
 15 
 
114 
 
 contempt for his person and policy, and publicly as- 
 sumed as their device, ' Vive le Roi quand meme^ — 
 ' God save the king, ncA^ertheless.' This expression, 
 which wears an ambiguous form, was customary 
 among the royalists in la Vendee, when the cause of 
 the Bourbons was at the lowest ebb; and then meant 
 that those who used it were true to the royal family, 
 notwithstanding their disastrous fortune. It was 
 now understood to mean, that they would be true 
 to the king, although he had ceased to be true to 
 himself. 
 
 In parliament the opinions of the contending 
 parties are expressed with a vivacity very charac- 
 teristic of the national character, and with a variety 
 of shades and subdivisions, resulting, in part, from 
 the same cause. The house of deputies is regularly 
 separated into three sections, the right and left 
 sides, and the centre. The two former support, 
 respectively, the constitutional and anti-constitu- 
 tional opinions ; and the last is composed of the 
 adherents of the ministry, as such, and consists, in 
 a great measure, of public functionaries. This 
 arrangement of the house results from the neutral- 
 izing system which has prevailed in the cabinet ; 
 and the ministerial majority is obtained by the 
 concurrence of the one or the other opposition with 
 their immediate partisans. The union of the two 
 
115 
 
 iiostile parties against a measure would, at any 
 time, defeat it. This result has often happened ; 
 and it also happens, very frequently, that the min- 
 istry carry a measure in opposition to the party 
 which they generally favour, by the assistance of 
 the other. The two parties, though bitterly op- 
 posed in points of faith, often agree in their opin- 
 ions in matters of discipline, in consequence of their 
 common interest as parties in opposition. They 
 both unite in claiming the liberty of the press ; 
 and even in the present session when the ministry 
 have exhibited so strong a leaning to the emigrants, 
 the committee, appointed by the usual ministerial 
 majority composed of this party and the centre, to 
 make a report upon a law proposed by the govern- 
 ment for the continuance of the restraints on the 
 journals, have concluded against it. Each party- 
 is so perfectly confident of the justice of its cause 
 and the ability of its champions, that both are quite 
 certain of ultimate success, if they are permitted to 
 carry on the war with freedom. They spurn at 
 the idea that public discussions are attended with 
 any danger to the state, and pretend that it is only 
 tha conscious imbecility of the ministry which 
 makes them fear to encounter the shock of unre- 
 strained criticism. Whatever danger may exist, 
 they are willing to risk, and with the generous 
 
116 
 
 indignation felt bj Ajax in the Iliad at the idea of 
 lighting under a cloud, they are even ready to 
 perish, if, in dying, they can leave a sting in the 
 wound they inflict upon their adversary. 
 
 Zeu TTufip. «AA« cu fuFsf.i vtt' ijipoi v'rxi; A^oiiav ' 
 
 Ev Si (pait xui oAffTcrov, sVf/ vv Tot elxoev ehrai;. 
 
 Besides these three principal divisions of the 
 house, there existed, during the period of the 
 administration of Mr do Cases and the prevalence 
 of a more liberal policy in the cabinet, a subdi- 
 vision of the left side, commonly called, by their 
 adversaries, the doctrinaires or pedants, which, at 
 that time, gave the tone to the majority, but which, 
 by the change of circumstances and parties, has 
 since ceased to exist. The individuals composing 
 it were decidedly liberal, and of course removed 
 even then by a considerable shade of difference 
 from the merely ministerial party, and for the 
 same reason obnoxious to the emigrants ; but being 
 not less remarkable for learning and moderation 
 than for liberal principles, they were often at vari- 
 ance with the most determined and violent mem- 
 bers of their own side. Their opponents sometimes 
 found it convenient not to understand what they 
 could not very readily confute, and affected to 
 describe them as obscure and metaphysical reason- 
 
117 
 
 ers ; and in reality some of them occasionally 
 entered more at large into abstract discussions, than 
 is quite suitable to the practical despatch of busi- 
 ness ; although the ability with which they man- 
 aged such inquiries always did them great honour. 
 Of the small number of persons composing this 
 coterie, Mr de Serre, one of the ministry, has since 
 enlisted under the royalist banner ; MM. Ca- 
 rnille Jordan and Royer CoUard, then members of 
 the council of state, were subsequently removed 
 from this post, and the former is since dead. The 
 latter is still the principal representative in the 
 house of the same opinions, but from the change 
 of circumstances has but little influence. His 
 speeches on important subjects are perhaps the 
 most remarkable specimens of scientific political 
 reasoning, that have ever appeared in any country 
 in this form. This style of speaking is rarely 
 attempted, either in the British parliament or in 
 congress. The speeches of Burke and of Sir 
 James Mackintosh give a better idea of it, than any 
 others in the English language. They are, how- 
 ever, less abstract ; and, considered as specimens 
 of eloquence, are for that reason doubtless superior. 
 Mr Guizot, whom I have already mentioned, is the 
 most remarkable writer attached to this party. He 
 was also a member of the council of state, and was 
 
118 
 
 removed at the same time with the others. On 
 account of his youth, he was not eligible to the 
 house of deputies. 
 
 With these remarks on the situation of public 
 opinion and the modes and varieties of its expres- 
 sion, I shall close this imperfect sketch of the state 
 of France. The substance of it may be recapitu- 
 lated in a very few words. The political consti- 
 tution of France is sound and vigorous in its 
 essential parts, beyond that of any other nation in 
 Europe. The outward appearance exhibits morbid 
 symptoms at first view of a serious and alarming 
 character ; but which, examined more nearly, can 
 hardly be regarded as dangerous, and must soon 
 vanish under the restoring influence of an active 
 vital principle within. If we cross the Pyrenees, 
 we arrive in a region placed for the present in a 
 far less agreeable situation, but which holds out, 
 nevertheless, the most encouraging prospects for the 
 future. 
 
119 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Spain and Portugal. 
 
 It may seem paradoxical to regard the revolu- 
 tions in Spain and Portugal in favour of popular 
 principles, as natural results of the progress of 
 industry, wealth, and civilization, considering that 
 in all these respects the peninsula has been, for two 
 or three centuries, apparently on the decline. It 
 is, however, sufficiently obvious, that these revolu- 
 tions are, in reality, connected with the general 
 effort for political improvement, that agitates the 
 whole christian world ; and are not isolated events 
 resulting from independent and separate causes. 
 If, therefore, the apparent anomaly did not admit 
 of a satisfactory explanation, it could only be 
 because the facts connected with the subject were 
 imperfectly known. The following considerations 
 will, perhaps, be thought to furnish a sufficiently 
 plausible account of it. 
 
 As valuable political institutions contribute more 
 than any other cause to the improvement and pros- 
 perity of a country, so they derive, in their turn, 
 their own stability and strength from the reaction 
 of these effects upon themselves. A vicious consti- 
 tution, and its natural attendant, a vicious course of 
 
12U 
 
 administration, while they tend to destroy all the 
 sources of the public welfare, affect in the same or 
 in a still greater degree, the vigour and firmness of 
 the government. When a nation has once entered 
 upon a retrograde course, the natural progress is 
 undoubtedly from bad to worse ; and the natural 
 conclusion is a state of utter desolation and com- 
 plete physical ruin, as we see exemplified in the 
 Mahometan countries. But if any accidental 
 causes, from within or from without, counteract 
 this movement and impress a different direction on 
 the character and condition of the people, an effort 
 for political improvement, will meet with less resis- 
 tance from the government, precisely in proportion 
 to the degree of degradation into which the nation 
 had previously sunk, because the government is 
 necessarily feeble to the same or a greater extent. 
 Hence an amount of moral or physical force en- 
 listed in the cause of civilization will be sufficient 
 to produce a complete revolution in Spain and 
 Portugal, which would not have excited a mo- 
 ment's apprehension in the governments of France 
 or England. A still smaller force would produce 
 the same effects in Morocco, Turkey, or Persia, 
 because these countries have fallen still lower 
 in the scale of civilization, and their govern- 
 ments are proportionately still more feeble. The 
 
121 
 
 only difficulty is to impart to a people in such a 
 situation even the slight healthy movement neces- 
 sary to change their direction and overcome the 
 first obstacles. Every thing in nature occurs by 
 the operation of general causes ; and when these 
 have been depraved, and their operation has become 
 vicious, it would be as unreasonable to expect the 
 natural occurrence of any favourable event, as it 
 would be to look for the appearance of disease in 
 a perfectly healthy body, without any previous 
 unfavourable accident from within or without. 
 Thus we see the Mahometan countries going on 
 from age to age in progressive and gradually in- 
 creasing decay, although the appearance of a single 
 individual of a certain elevation of character in any 
 one of them would be sufficient to regenerate the 
 whole. Another Mahomet would restore with 
 comparative ease the prosperity and' power which 
 the first created ; and though the appearance of 
 such an individual is almost impossible in the regu- 
 lar progress of events, it is really surprising that it 
 should not have been brought about by some 
 favourable accident, considering the intimate rela- 
 tions between the Mahometan countries and those 
 of Europe. 
 
 The situation of Spain was more fortunate for 
 this purpose, and it has been for some tiuie under 
 16 
 
122 
 
 the operation of causes, internal and external, 
 tending to counteract the progress of decay, and 
 to impress a favourable direction on the movement 
 of the body politic. 
 
 1. It is by no means true, as is perhaps gen- 
 erally supposed, that Spain had been constantly 
 declining up to the period of the invasion of Bona- 
 parte. The best statistical and political accounts 
 prove, on the contrary, that the epoch of the great- 
 est weakness and degradation of that country 
 should be fixed more than a century ago, at the 
 close of the war of the succession. A long course of 
 previous misgovernment, and the desolation carried 
 through the country by this ruinous struggle, had 
 reduced the population from twenty or thirty 
 millions, which it is said to have contained at some 
 previous periods in its history, to about six. The 
 restoration of peace, the introduction of a better 
 spirit into the cabinet, and the encouragement given 
 to industry by the great development of commerce 
 that occurred at this time throughout the world, 
 operated together to change the course of events ; 
 and from this time to the present, notwithstanding 
 the obstacles opposed to their progress by vicious 
 institutions of every description, industry and 
 wealth seem to have been regularly and rapidly 
 advancing, and to sucJi an extent, that in the cen- 
 
123 
 
 tury following the war of the succession, the 
 population of Spain was doubled, being now calcu- 
 lated at nearly twelve millions. This is a greater 
 augmentation of numbers and implies a more 
 favourable change in the situation of the country, 
 than occurred during the same period in any other 
 in Europe, excepting Great Britain, which also 
 doubled its population within the same time. The 
 whole additional force thus created, constituting in 
 fact the only effective political power in the coun- 
 try, was necessarily attached to the cause of 
 political reform ; or in other words was desirous 
 of the removal of the w anton and senseless obsta- 
 cles to the public welfare, in opposition to which it 
 had risen into existence, and \vith which it was 
 constantly struggling for life and death. 
 
 2. The operation of this favourable internal 
 cause was greatly increased by the contact, which, 
 notwithstanding its isolated and apparently stagnant 
 position, necessarily existed between Spain and the 
 other nations of Europe. Europe forms, in reality, 
 but one great commonwealth, and its members 
 sympathise with each other like the limbs of an 
 organized body. On the common principles which 
 regulate the sympathy and communication between 
 different divisions of the same system, it was nat- 
 ural, after an active spirit of reform and improve- 
 
124 
 
 nient had become general in Europe, that a consid- 
 erable portion of it should pass into Spain, precisely 
 because that country was among those that afforded 
 the greatest field for hs exercise, and stood most in 
 need of its assistance. The friends of liberty in 
 Spain were enlightened and encouraged and 
 inspired by the enterprise and success of the friends 
 of liberty in England, France, and America. The 
 principle of improvement which had sprung up at 
 home, and which, under other circumstances, 
 might not have proved strong enough to resist the 
 influence of vicious institutions, and might have 
 withered and died away under their continuing 
 pressure, was cherished and strengthened from 
 abroad. With such aid it continued to act with 
 increasing effect, and the country was at length in 
 a situation to take advantage of any favourable 
 circumstance that might present itself for obtahiing 
 an improvement in its political institutions. Hence, 
 when the convulsions of the French revolution 
 extended into Spain ; when Bonaparte had finally, 
 in a moment of something more than his habitual 
 wantonness and wickedness, kidnapped the royal 
 family, and garrisoned all the strong places with 
 his troops, there Avas found a mass of population, 
 intelligence, and character, competent to resist this 
 
125 
 
 aggression, and to give the invader such a reception 
 as he had little calculated upon. 
 
 For, while the nation had been advancing in 
 industry, wealth, and population, the government 
 had taken very little, if any, share in this course 
 of improvement. The gleam of intelligence and 
 humanity, that appeared in the cabinet after the 
 war of the succession, departed with the individ- 
 uals from whom it emanated, without having pro- 
 duced any effect on the form or spirit of the existing 
 institutions. And at no period in the history of 
 Spain had the cabinet exhibited a more disgusting 
 spectacle of imbecility and iniquity, than at the one 
 immediately preceding the French invasion. It must 
 have fallen at the first attack from within or with- 
 out ; and if the shock had not been given by a 
 foreign invader, the spirit of improvement would 
 have displayed itself very shortly in the form of 
 internal convulsions. 
 
 Hence, too, when the king, upon his return, 
 rejected the constitution and dissolved the cortes, 
 the whole effective part of the nation separated 
 itself from him, and entered spontaneously into a 
 virtual, and, very soon after, into an actual secret 
 association against his government. The whole 
 peninsula was divided into regions and districts, all 
 regularly organized for the purpose of correspon- 
 
126 
 
 flcncc and communication. This vast organization 
 appears to have assumed at first, in order to dis- 
 guise its objects the better, the garb of masonry ; 
 and hence arose the fury, with which the inquisi- 
 tion at that time denounced and persecuted all 
 masonic societies. It comprehended almost every 
 person of consideration in the country, (excepting 
 the higher clergy,) a great part of the public func- 
 tionaries, governors of provinces, and nearly all the 
 officers in the army. The postmasters were also 
 generally in the same interest ; and I have been 
 assured by a person, who was himself an active 
 member of this association, that, for a length of 
 time, the whole correspondence of the country 
 regularly passed through the hands of its agents, 
 and was opened and examined by them, the gov- 
 ernment itself not thinking it necessary at that time 
 to exercise any such police. So vast an intrigue 
 could not wholly escape the attention of the min- 
 istry, however infatuated and feeble. It was de- 
 nounced and detected, its papers were seized, vast 
 numbers of its members were arrested and impris- 
 oned, and others compelled to flee the country. 
 Still the association continued in a more secret 
 shape. The several abortive conspiracies that 
 occurred from time to time were only imprudent 
 or precipitate attempts, inspired by the great 
 
127 
 
 general design ; and its existence was sufficientlj 
 manifested by the simultaneous movements that 
 finally occurred at once in aid of the last successful 
 enterprise, at so many ditferent points of the penin- 
 sula. These secret proceedings, anterior to the 
 public revolutionary events, are not yet within the 
 domain of history, and are imperfectly known in 
 their details, but I can vouch, from information 
 derived' immediately from unquestionable author- 
 ities, for the correctness of the general facts here 
 stated, the most important of which are also 
 recorded in the best memoirs of the Spanish revo- 
 lution. 
 
 These circumstances then se'em to account suffi- 
 ciently for the occurrence of a revolution in favour 
 of liberty in Spain, notwithstanding its apparent 
 state of hopeless degradation. It is highly satisfac- 
 tory to be able to consider this important event as 
 the result of general causes, and not merely as the 
 wild enterprise of a few revolted regiments. Had 
 it been a movement of this description, it might have 
 been quelled with the same expedition, with which 
 it was undertaken ; and have left no more traces in 
 the history of the country, than an occasional revolt 
 of the janizaries does in Turkey. If we are at 
 liberty to regard it as founded in the condition and 
 feelings of the nation, there is reason to hope that it 
 
128 
 
 will result in the ultimate establishment of liberal 
 institutions, whatever convulsions may attend its 
 progress. 
 
 The military and political events of this revolution 
 are of too recent occurrence, and of too public a 
 character to require a recapitulation here. Its im- 
 mediate results are so uncertain, and in a course of 
 such rapid accomplishment, that it would be at once 
 rash and useless to pretend to conjecture their char- 
 acter. It can hardly be denied, even by its enemies, 
 that the revolution has thus far been conducted with 
 extraordinary wisdom and moderation ; and that the 
 excesses on the side of the friends of liberty, consid- 
 ering the difiiculties of their position, and the prov- 
 ocations they have received, have been very trifling. 
 If it could be hoped that the enemies of the new 
 system, who are principally the higher clergy, would 
 abstain from their treasonable machinations against 
 it, there might be much reason for indulging the 
 expectation, that this great reform would be carried 
 through, in the same discreet and temperate spirit, 
 in which it was begun. Unfortunately, it appears 
 probable that these counter revolutionary attempts 
 are rather increasing than diminishing ; and it is 
 also morally certain, that the king himself is ill ad- 
 vised enough to give his confidence to secret coun- 
 sellors, instead of his constitutional and responsible 
 
129 
 
 ministers. It is even asserted in late newspapers, 
 that letters have been intercepted, addressed by order 
 of Ferdinand to the curate Merino, the leader of a 
 horde of banditti in open rebellion against the gov- 
 ernment. However this may be, the occurrences 
 attending the change of ministry leave no doubt 
 upon the general fact above stated. At the opening 
 of the cortes, the king, after delivering the speech 
 which had been prepared and adopted in the council 
 of ministers, concluded with a number of additional 
 remarks on the dangers, which he conceived to 
 threaten his own person. This imprudent and un- 
 constitutional proceeding was necessarily followed 
 by the resignation of the ministers ; and in a country 
 where the doctrine of ministerial responsibility was 
 well understood, and habitually acted upon, the 
 king would have met with some difficulty in finding 
 any persons of high character to take their places. 
 The fact proves to a demonstration, that he is under 
 the influence of a private council, composed, beyond 
 a doubt, of priests, who act upon his mind by the 
 engine of fanaticism. The probable consequences 
 of such imprudence and weakness to the tranquillity 
 of the country, and to the safety of the unfortunate 
 monarch himself, are but too evident. 
 
 One of the doubtful points in the present state of 
 affairs iii Spain is the part that may be taken by 
 17 
 
130 
 
 Gen. Morillo. This officer has returned from his 
 long campaign in South America with a high mili- 
 tary reputation ; and ahnost immediately after his 
 arrival was appointed captain general of Madrid. 
 His sentiments in regard to the revolution have not 
 yet been declared with sufficient precision. On the 
 one hand, his persevering struggle against the 
 independence of Venezuela might be supposed to 
 imply an aversion to constitutional principles ; and 
 the confidence which is now placed in him by the 
 king would seem to prove, that he has given satis- 
 factory evidence in private of his dislike to the revo- 
 lution. On the other hand, his language, though 
 mild and temperate, has been hitherto wholly con- 
 stitutional. Should he attach himself decidedly to 
 the king, and should a counter-revolbtion be at- 
 tempted, its movers would then be sure of at least 
 one military officer of distinguished talent ; but it is 
 hardly probable that Morillo would carry with him 
 any considerable portion of the army. It appears 
 not unlikely, that this officer is pre])aring to be the 
 Bonaparte of Spain, should circumstances favour 
 the playing of such a part. But in this, as in other 
 matters relating to the immediate future prospects 
 of this country, conjectures are worse than unprofit- 
 able. It may be sufficient, if we venture to antici- 
 pate from present appearances, as the general result 
 
131 
 
 of the revolution, the establishment of political in- 
 stitutions founded in rational liberty, after an inter- 
 vening period of danger, difficulty, and probably 
 serious convulsion. This prediction, the only one 
 that can be made with a good degree of confidence, 
 is about as precise and edifying, as the prophecies in 
 the almanac of snow in February and warm weather 
 in June. Without dwelling any longer on this part 
 of the subject, I shall add a few general remarks on 
 the Spanish constitution, and on the probable effects 
 of the revolution on the situation of the colonies. 
 These observations will apply equally to Spain and 
 Portugal, which are placed in both these respects in 
 precisely similar circumstances ; their constitutions 
 and colonial system being substantially the same. 
 1. The Spanish constitution was drawn up at a 
 period of great embarrassment ; and there might be 
 some reason for surprise, that it is as good as we find 
 it, were it not that in reality there is very little 
 difficulty in putting together upon paper the ele- 
 mentary principles of government, and tracing a 
 form of practical administration. Of these forms 
 an infinite variety may be imagined, and chalked 
 out ; and the practical effect of all will probably be 
 in substance nearly the same ; because they are all 
 controlled in their operation by causes of a higher 
 and more general nature, founded in the condition 
 
132 
 
 and character of the people upon which they are to 
 operate. The forms of government were the same 
 at Rome under the emperors, as they had been under 
 the consuls ; although, from the alteration in tlie 
 condition and character of the ])eople, the substance 
 had changed from an irregular democracy to a mil- 
 itary despotism. The Spanish constitution, in its 
 present form, will probably never have a fair trial ; 
 and will doubtless undergo many important altera- 
 tions before the government assumes a settled and 
 permanent shape. The intervening troubles, through 
 which the country may pass, will perhaps be ascribed 
 by superficial observers to the defects of the consti- 
 tution, as they were in France ; while, in reality, 
 the cause of them in both cases must be looked for 
 in the difficulties of the crisis. 
 
 The establishment of the cortes in the form of a 
 single assembly is regarded by many of the friends 
 of liberty, as a very unfortunate arrangement. But 
 this objection, founded in a great measure on an 
 erroneous theory of the British constitution, has, in 
 my opinion, very little weight. It supposes that the 
 existence of a nominal aristocracy is a point of great 
 importance. But even admitting the correctness of 
 this idea, which might however be contested on 
 various grounds, it may be asked with pertinence, 
 whether the security of such an aristocracy depends 
 
133 
 
 upon their being shut up in a separate room to de- 
 liberate on the public affairs ; whether, like ciphers 
 in notation, they are personally insignificant, and 
 only acquire importance by their local position ; 
 whether their political weight does not depend, on 
 the contrary, upon their property ; whether, as long 
 as they retain their property, they will not also retain 
 their influence ; and whether to form a part of the 
 same legislative assembly is not the most favourable 
 position, in which they can be placed for exercising 
 the influence their property gives them, while they 
 retain it, over their supposed enemies. 
 
 The king's prerogative is also said to be too much 
 restricted ; but this objection is not better founded 
 than the other. In a constitutional monarchy the 
 appointment of the ministers is the only function, 
 which the king can really exercise ; and this is at- 
 tributed to him in Spain. 
 
 In one or two points of smaller importance, it 
 would perhaps be possible to discover some real 
 defects. There is an evident incongruity in the right 
 granted to the cortes of summoning the king's min- 
 isters to appear before them, and give an account of 
 the progress of public affairs. In a constitutional 
 monarchy the ministers are responsible, as citizens, 
 for their official conduct, and may be brought before 
 the regular tribunals for any part of it ; but, as min- 
 
134 
 
 isters in the exercise of their functions, they are the 
 king's agents, and have no account to render but to 
 him. The information, sometimes given by the 
 British ministry in parliament, is regarded as a mat- 
 ter of courtesy ; and when asked is granted or refus- 
 ed, at discretion. Another objectionable feature of 
 more importance is the provision which makes the 
 members of the existing cortes ineligible for the 
 succeeding one. The inconveniences of this regu- 
 lation are sufficiently obvious, and are felt so strong- 
 ly in Spain at the present moment, that every effort 
 is now making to induce the king to summon an 
 extraordinary session of the cortes, after which the 
 members are again eligible. 
 
 The essential excellence of the Spanish constitu- 
 tion, the quality that makes it dear to the friends of 
 liberty, and odious to the partisans of arbitrary 
 power, is its honesty. It is, w hat it professes to be, 
 a real representative government ; and is not, like 
 some others that bear the name, a mere mockery 
 and pageant, more abhorrent to an independent 
 mind, than tyranny in a plain, unsophisticated shape, 
 because insulting as well as oppressive. 
 
 2. Thd most interesting aspect, undcT which the 
 Spanish and Portuguese revolutions present them- 
 selves to the citizens of the United States, I may 
 say indeed to the world at large, is that, under 
 
1S5 
 
 which they are considered as affecting the condition 
 of the American colonies. No doubt can be enter- 
 tained, that the complete emancipation of these vast 
 regions will be effected at no great distance of time ; 
 and the simultaneous erection of these hitherto in- 
 signilicent settlements into eight or ten independent 
 and powerful nations may well be considered as one 
 of the most extraordinary and interesting events that 
 ever occurred. It can hardly fail, when its conse- 
 quences shall be fully developed, to give an entirely 
 new face to the political and commercial affairs of 
 the world. 
 
 The struggle for independence in the Spanish 
 colonies has been precipitated by the convulsions in 
 the mother country, and is not, like our revolution, 
 a spontaneous effort, resulting from an internal con- 
 sciousness of capacity for self-government. This is 
 the most unfavourable circumstance attending it. It 
 is this cause which draws out the contest into such 
 a weary length, and which, after the formal emanci- 
 pation shall be effected, may very probably entail 
 upon these countries a long period of anarchy and 
 discord. A spontaneous effort for freedom implies a 
 maturity of intellectual and physical resources sufii- 
 cient to secure the object with ease, and to improve 
 it to the best advantage. A coloiiy, thus emanci- 
 pated, is like a ripe fruit, that drops from its parent 
 
136 
 
 tree at the moment of full maturity, and springs up 
 naturally into a new and vigorous plant. The free- 
 dom of South America is a premature birth. It does 
 not proceed from the healthy action of nature, ope- 
 rating within at the proper time, but has been 
 forced upon the colonies by accidents occurring 
 abroad. Considered as a rebellion against the 
 Spanish government, it is just, if any enterprise ever 
 deserved that qualification ; and would have been, 
 at whatever period it might have happened. No 
 society was probably ever subject to a more intoler- 
 able and revolting system of misgovernment ; and 
 it is impossible to deny the right of resistance under 
 such circumstances, without denying completely the 
 inherent and universal right of self-defence against 
 injustice and oppression. But, considered as a 
 measure intended to promote the happiness of the 
 South Americans, the revolution presents itself in a 
 less favourable point of view, and might probably 
 have been delayed with great advantage for tw o or 
 three centuries. The Americans, however, are not 
 to bear the blame for this precipitation. They have 
 been subjected to the action of political forces, over 
 which they had no control. A revolution, however 
 premature, was the necessary result of the circum- 
 stances, in which they were placed ; and, although 
 its aspect may for some time present maiiy features 
 
137 
 
 not very consonant with just notions of liberty, still 
 the friends of humanity must wish for their success, 
 and are bound by all suitable means to promote it. 
 The policy which may be adopted by the Spanish 
 government in regard to their colonies is still uncer- 
 tain ; and in the period of trouble and confusion that 
 may very probably occur at home, the possessions 
 abroad must be left in a great measure to themselves. 
 At present, the plans under consideration contemplate 
 the establishment of constitutional governments, 
 nominally subject to Spain, and administered on the 
 spot by princes of the royal family. If the mother 
 country had the power to enforce this arrangement, 
 it might perhaps be as favourable to the ultimate 
 well being of the colonies, as their immediate eman- 
 cipation. But this is not the case ; and after strug- 
 gling, as they have done, for independence for ten 
 or twelve years, it can hardly be expected that they 
 will abandon the prize of their own accord, at the 
 very moment of success. It is therefore much to be 
 wished for the interest of humanity, of the colonies, 
 and of Spain herself, that she may abstain from any 
 further wanton waste of reso.urces and life, and sub- 
 mit with a good grace to the decree of necessity. 
 She will probably find, as England did, the eman- 
 cipation of her colonies infinitely more profitable to 
 her, than their possession ; and in exchange for the 
 18 
 
138 
 
 vain name of ruling the Indies, will find the wealth 
 of the Indies pouring in to her territory in fertilizing 
 streams, instead of merely rolling through it, as it 
 now does, like a mountain torrent, and leaving no 
 marks of its passage, but barrenness and desolation. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Italy and Greece. 
 
 The late events in Italy are, like those in Spain, 
 too recent and too notorious, to require particular 
 mention in so general a sketch as this. The friends 
 of liberty were disappointed by the feeble resistance 
 which the Neapolitans opposed to the invasion of 
 Austria. No doubt the cause was betrayed by some 
 of the principal pretended patriots ; and this is the 
 best apology that can be offered for the easy discom- 
 fiture of the rest. Even this, however, is but a poor 
 excuse ; and the shameful defection of so many of 
 the chiefs proves that the higher classes of society 
 in Italy are as corrupt and unprincipled, as the mass 
 of the people are uninformed and wretched. In such 
 a soil, it may well be doubted whether rational lib- 
 erty, and the institutions fitted to secure it, will ever 
 be a spontaneous growth. 
 
139 
 
 Que peut-on au milieu de ce peuple abattu ? 
 Benjamin est sans force, et Juda sans vertu. 
 
 Nevertheless, as the sph'it of political improvement 
 gains ground in Europe, it will probably exercise a 
 beneficial influence upon the character of the Italians, 
 as well as upon the policy and disposition of the 
 cabinets which have recently succeeded in foiling 
 their attempts ; and the ability to organise a better 
 system at home may grow up in the gradual progress 
 of events, under the operation of causes, which may- 
 be expected at the same time to remove the hostility 
 of foreign powers to its esta^^lishment. 
 
 The unjust interference of these powers has 
 however after all, on this, as on former occasions, 
 been the real cause, which has checked the efforts 
 of the Italians, and entailed upon them a continuance 
 of all the evils under which they labour. It is true, 
 that a long course of misgovernment and oppression 
 has depraved in a great measure the whole frame of 
 society ; but, as was observed in regard to Spain, the 
 stability and vigour of the established institutions 
 has been sapped to an equal degree. We see this 
 plainly enough in their utter incapacity through the 
 whole extent of Italy to execute the first and most 
 indispensable function that devolves upon govern- 
 ments, that of protecting the property and persons 
 of the citizens from violence. Hence, although the 
 
140 
 
 movement in a better direction might at tirst be fee- 
 ble, the resistance of the governments would be 
 feebler still ; and the slightest force could hardly 
 fail to overcome it ; as happened in fact at Naples. 
 Thus if the country were left to itself, it would find, 
 in the state of degradation and decay to which it had 
 sunk, the antidote as well as the poison ; and the 
 people would have had the opportunity of acquiring 
 information respecting the principles of good gov- 
 ernment in the practical school of experience, the 
 only one in which they can be studied with effect. 
 They might have falleij into errors, or committed 
 excesses at the beginning, but would finally have 
 worked out their own salvation, had they not been 
 stopped short in their progress, and condemned to 
 another period of hopeless oppression, by the inter- 
 ference of the christian allies. 
 
 It is difficult to speak of the conduct of these allies 
 in regard to Italy with the moderation, which usage 
 has appropriated to the discussion of public measures 
 and characters. Precisely similar in their essential 
 features to the aggressions of Bonaparte, and to the 
 partition of Poland by the same powers, they are 
 yet more odious than either, because they are mask- 
 ed by hypocritical pretences of religion and justice. 
 The Austrian government, incapable of alleging even 
 the possibility of actual danger from the revolution 
 
141 
 
 at Naples, was compelled to seek a pretext for in- 
 vasion in the supposed irregularity of the manner, in 
 which it was effected. It was the work of secret 
 societies and a revolted army. What then ? Is it 
 for Austria to regulate the manner in which the 
 people of the Sicilies should reform their institutions? 
 But mark the impudence of these pretences. Secret 
 societies and revolted troops were the great machines 
 employed by the German powers, and Austria among 
 the rest, in shaking off the yoke of Napoleon. Not 
 only so, but this very society of Colliers, which is 
 denounced as seditious and impious, was founded 
 under the patronage and encouragement of the 
 allied powers; and for objects precisely similar to 
 those, for which it has now been employed. Is it 
 admissible for powers, which respect either the pub- 
 lic or themselves, to insult in this way common 
 sense and consistency, by denouncing their own 
 proceedings as criminal, when imitated by others, 
 and condemning, as treasonable, institutions of their 
 own foundation ? If we even wave all these con- 
 siderations, and state the language of the allies in 
 the form most favourable to them, it amounts to 
 this : you are pursuing an object which we think 
 injurious ; you have adopted one political system and 
 we another ; we will force ours upon you at the 
 point of the bayonet. Shame itself ought to have 
 
142 
 
 arrested them in such a project, when they remem- 
 bered that their only pretext for the long wars they 
 had waged against the French revolution was the 
 disposition shewn by France to force her political 
 systems upon other nations, systems at least as 
 plausible as that of the allies, and maintained by 
 those who propagated them w ith at least as much 
 honesty. The conduct of the French convention 
 in this particular is denounced by Martens as mon- 
 strous ; but circumstances alter cases ; and this 
 worthy publicist, in his capacity of member of the 
 German diet, would probably have applied a much 
 milder epithet to the invasion of Naples by the 
 allies under the same pretences. It affords some 
 consolation to the regret, which must be felt by the 
 friends of liberty at the success of such proceed- 
 ings, to find them reprobated in all the civilized 
 parts of the christian world v» ith a more general 
 consent of the public voice, than has been applied 
 to any measure since the partition of Poland. 
 
 Thus all the arguments, which could have been 
 employed by the allies to justify their invasion of 
 Italy, had been completely refuted in advance by 
 the whole tenor of their language and conduct for 
 thirty years past. These powers have since taken 
 pains to refute them in another form by the policy 
 they have adopted in regard to the Greeks, which 
 
143 
 
 may be looked upon as a reduciio ad absurdum of 
 the doctrine of legitimacy. A horde of wandering 
 barbarians carry fire and sword through the fairest 
 region in Christendom, and succeed in subverting its 
 government. They are the common enemies of 
 Europe, and have repeatedly attempted to spread 
 their desolating dominion over the rest of it. 
 Nothing but want of power prevents them ; and 
 instead of acquiring civilization from residing in 
 the neighbourhood of christian countries, they have 
 given, at the very moment when the allies were 
 deliberating upon the subject, more horrid proofs of 
 barbarism and cruelty, than appear in any part 
 of their previous history. The nation that groans 
 under their yoke, and is now making a probably 
 fruitless effort to shake it off, is, on the contrary, in 
 itself, one of the most estimable branches of the 
 European family, and is especially dear and inter- 
 esting to all the rest, as the intellectual parent, to 
 which they are indebted for their present superiority- 
 over the other parts of the world. Here then, since 
 the allies have established the doctrine of inter- 
 ference, was a cause in which it might have been 
 applied with general approbation. I venture to say 
 that there is not a heart in Christendom,, uncon- 
 nected with this holy league, that would not have 
 swelled with extacy at the emancipation of Greece. 
 
144. 
 
 and the return of freedom and civilization, to the 
 country from which they sprang. No doubt there 
 is some illusion in this enthusiasm, but it is an 
 illusion which every generous mind is proud to 
 indulge, and which comes in aid of the incontes- 
 table claims of natural justice. Here then, the 
 allies might at once have proved their honesty and 
 have done something to redeem their popularity. But 
 no ; the Grand Turk is, it seems, legitimate ; and 
 the execution of the patriarchs in cold blood 
 requires no atonement, calls for no interference, 
 when done in the name of legitimacy ; while the 
 introduction of the most important improvements in 
 administration into a country, which is perishing for 
 want of them, is a sacrilegious and treasonable 
 enterprise, that must be crushed by open force, 
 because it bears the name of revolution. Instead 
 of interfering in favour of the Greeks, the allies 
 have, on the contrary, done every thing to dis- 
 courage them, short of an absolute military alliance 
 with the Turks. In reality it is their policy, accord- 
 ing to the short-sighted and mistaken view they 
 are accustomed to take of it, to frown upon this 
 enterprise. The establishment of a powerful gov- 
 ernment, administered on liberal principles in their 
 immediate neighbourhood, is not a pleasant thought 
 to these iron despots ; and a constitutional Greek 
 
145 
 
 empire would be a still less agreeable object of 
 contemjDiatioii than a constitutional kingdom in 
 Italy. Instead of fav^ouring the erection of these 
 fine countries into an independent state, it suits 
 their purpose much better to leave them as they 
 are, till the proper period arrives for taking them 
 into their own hands, a measure for which a suffi- 
 cient pretext will never be long wanting in the 
 conduct of such a government as that of Turkey. 
 All the accounts from the theatre of this struggle 
 are so contradictory and uncertain, that it is impos- 
 sible to form an opinion upon its present state or 
 probable result. It would appear that the Greeks 
 have been successful in the peninsula and on the 
 islands ; and that they have the command of the 
 sea. If they have really gained these advantages, 
 it will be hardly possible for the Turks to recover 
 them, should they even maintain themselves in the 
 provinces along the Danube ; and we may venture 
 to indulge a hope, that at least the proper territory 
 of ancient Greece, the scene of so much greatness 
 and glory in former times, will now resume its 
 political independence. This would at once relieve 
 the niQst numerous and civilized portion of the 
 christian subjects of Turkey from that detestable 
 yoke, and would furnish a rallying point for the 
 future efforts of the rest. The day, it may be 
 19 
 
146 
 
 hoped, is not now very far remote, when the civil- 
 ization of Europe will overflow its present limits, 
 and carry wealth and happiness through the whole 
 of those delightful but desolate regions, that em- 
 bosom the Mediterranean. Could the christian 
 powers but act together for good with as much 
 cordiality as they often do for evil, the regeneration 
 of these countries might be accomplished almost 
 without an effort. The expense, which has lately 
 been so miserably employed in crushing the liberal 
 institutions of Naples, would, under such circum- 
 stances, have been sufficient to establish them in 
 every part of the domains of Islamism. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Germany, including Austria and Prussia. 
 
 It is one of the anomalies in the political consti- 
 tution of the German confederacy, that it compre- 
 hends several powers, which are wholly independent 
 in regard to the government of the greater part of 
 their dominions; and have subjected only a small 
 portion of them to the laws of the union. It would 
 be worse than simplicity not to see, in this arrange- 
 ment, a mere pretext for the interference of Eng- 
 land, Austria, and Prussia in the affairs of Germany 
 
H7 
 
 proper. These states are nominally members of 
 the league, but really masters of it ; and the union, 
 considered in distinction from the independent 
 possessions of the principal members, can hardly 
 be said to enjoy a real political existence. It is 
 fortunate, therefore, for the interests of the smaller 
 states, that its general operation is as feeble as it 
 is unjust, and that it leaves the members, as sep- 
 arate sovereignties, in possession of every thing 
 essential to independenpe, either in form or sub- 
 stance. The interval, that has elapsed since the 
 peace of Paris, has been marked, in these states, 
 by important and interesting events. It has been 
 the epoch of the introduction of representative 
 government. This important revolution has been 
 effected without bloodshed or violence, under the 
 influence of an enlightened public opinion and with 
 the free consent of the sovereigns of these countries, 
 some of whom have distinguished themselves by a 
 truly liberal and magnanimous spirit. Such events 
 are sufficiently curious to merit particular attention ; 
 and as they had not, perhaps, at the time of their 
 occurrence, the immediate notoriety which belongs 
 almost exclusively to military tranactions, some 
 notice of them, in detail, may not be wholly super- 
 fluous. This will form the principal subject of the 
 present section. As the history of the confederacy 
 
148 
 
 is intimately connected with that of the separate 
 governments, it will be necessary to commence by 
 stating some of its principal joints. It is only in 
 this part of the subject that I shall have occasion to 
 touch upon the affairs of Austria, which has not 
 been the theatre of any important domestic occur- 
 rences. Those of Prussia will require particular 
 attention, not only in their connexion with the 
 League, but from the interesting nature of the pro- 
 ceedings in that kingdom in regard to the new 
 constitution, which has been so long in preparation 
 and so frequently promised. 
 
 At the close of the war, the principal powers of 
 Europe and most of the inferior ones, fell, by the 
 mere operation of the change of circumstances, into 
 a settled and easy position. But there remained 
 in the centre of this great body politic a mass of 
 territorial and political interests, which, by the 
 effect of repeated revolutions and counter revolu- 
 tions, had been thrown at last into a state of com- 
 plete chaos. The principal of these interests were 
 those connected in different ways with the German 
 states. To adjust them on the broad principles of 
 natural justice might not have been extremely 
 difficult ; but it was necessary to reconcile and 
 satisfy, as far as possible, individual pretensions of 
 the most various and opposite characters, infinite in 
 
149 
 
 number and boundless in extent. There were the 
 great states demanding indemnity and increase of 
 power ; and the small ones insisting on security 
 and independence. There were the secularized 
 clergy and the mediatized nobles, clamouring for 
 a restoration of their exclusive privileges and con- 
 fiscated property, emperors obstinately refusing the 
 hereditary right to be elected to that high dignity ; 
 and electors bent upon resuming the right of choice, 
 whether there were any body to be chosen or not;* 
 there was a confusion of the greatest and the smallest 
 interests requiring to be settled at the same time, 
 a vast confederacy to be organized and the balance 
 of power in Europe to be secured ; while the anti- 
 chambers of the congress were besieged by the 
 representatives of a thousand private concerns down 
 to those of the very booksellers. Besides all these, 
 and though last, it is to be hoped not considered 
 as absolutely least in importance, was the interest 
 of the people, the public good, which could not be 
 wholly overlooked, though unfortunately it was 
 found impossible to make it the first and principal 
 object of attention. To introduce something like 
 a principle of order into this scene of wild confusion 
 was the most difficult task tliat devolved upon the 
 
 * The elector of Hesse actually retained Ibis title ; and liis successoi' 
 has, in like manner, assumed it at his fathei-'s dealh. 
 
150 
 
 congress ; and the accomplishment of it, even to 
 the imperfect extent to which it has been effected, 
 was assisted very much if not wholly produced by 
 accidental events. 
 
 The holy Roman empire had disappeared, the 
 emperor had abdicated his dignity ; and the confed- 
 eration of the Rhine, which succeeded, had sunk 
 into nothing. The first object, therefore, in regard 
 to Germany was to fix upon some general principle 
 of reorganization. Shall the states, into which it 
 is divided, be left unconnected and independent ? 
 If not, shall the old empire be restored, or shall a 
 new general system be established ? If the latter, 
 what shall be its principles ? and shall it resemble 
 most nearly the constitution of the empire, or that 
 of the Rhenish confederation ? Had these ques- 
 tions been decided on grounds of mere expediency 
 and regard to the public good, it would probably 
 have appeared very clear, either that the idea of a 
 general system should be entirely abandoned, or 
 that the new government should be much more 
 consolidated than either of the former leagues, 
 A federal system, which acts merely upon the 
 sovereign states, that compose it, and has no opera- 
 tion upon individuals, has been ascertained by 
 experience to be worse than useless. In proof of 
 this remark, if its correctness were doubtful, might 
 
151 
 
 be quoted the examples of the republic of the 
 Netheilauds and of the old confederation of the 
 United States of America ; but that of the German 
 empire was still more striking than either, and was 
 quite sufficient for the decision of the question. 
 The only way, therefore, in which the new system 
 could have been made really efficient would have 
 been to establish a consolidated government, acting 
 directly upon individuals, and exercising exclusively 
 the functions of general sovereignty ; while the 
 separate states retained their power merely for 
 municipal purposes, as with us. The foundation 
 of such a system in the centre of Europe, had it 
 been possible, would have done more than any 
 thing for the security of the public tranquillity. 
 A confederacy of this kind, though strong for all 
 useful objects, is, in its nature, pacific and unam- 
 bitious ; and could not of itself have caused any 
 alarm ; while it would have interposed the best 
 barrier between the two great sections of the Euro- 
 pean commonwealth, which, under the present 
 arrangement will probably, sooner or later, come 
 into collision. But the obstacles to the establish- 
 ment of such a system were so great and obvious 
 that it probably was not even suggested. It would 
 have been necessary that all the great German 
 powers should incorporate their whole dominions in 
 
152 
 
 the union. Thirty or forty hereditary rulers must 
 have surrendered the most important functions of 
 sovereignty ; and what touches them much more 
 nearly, its forms and titles. If the establishment 
 of the present constitution in the United States 
 encountered no small opposition from the offended 
 pride of the states, it may easily be imagined what 
 would be the resistance of these emperors, kings, 
 and princes, the least of whom would think the 
 order of the universe in danger, if he lost the 
 bauble he calls his crown. The idea was wholly 
 inadmissible, and in reality was never publicly 
 suggested. 
 
 The next best plan to this would have been to 
 abandon the idea of a general system, at least as 
 far as regarded the participation of Austria and 
 Prussia. A union of the smaller powers might 
 have still been advantageous ; and perhaps in this 
 the plan of consolidation might not have been 
 wholly impracticable ; but a league, into which 
 Austria, Prussia, and Great Britain entered, 
 whether for the whole or a part of their dominions, 
 was, as far as it produced any effect at all, a mere 
 subjugation of the smaller states under another 
 name. Such a system would be vicious as re- 
 garded them, precisely in the same degree in which 
 it was good in itself: because the more efficient it 
 
153 
 
 was, the more efficient an engine was in operation 
 for the destruction of their political existence. This 
 consideration was too obvious to have been over- 
 looked by the great powers, had their views been 
 steadily directed to the promotion of the public 
 good. But there were other objects which touched 
 them more nearly. Each of them naturally aimed, 
 in the first place, to secure and augment, as far as 
 it might be, its own political importance. Other 
 and more general objects could only be treated in 
 subordination to this. It was natural, therefore, 
 that they should desire, without sacrificing their 
 own independence, to secure a sort of political 
 guardianship over the inferior German states. The 
 establishment of such a system as would best 
 promote this object and not the general tranquillity, 
 nor the public good, was the problem to be solved 
 in the settlement of Germany. The whole affair 
 was another representation of the drama of the 
 partition of Poland, in a more specious and plausi- 
 ble shape. The interest of the inhabitants of these 
 states, of the states themselves as sovereignties, and 
 the public good were sacrificed to the ambition of 
 the great powers. In order to effect the object 
 they had in view, the first step was to organize a 
 confederacy. This measure was accordingly re- 
 solved upon previously to the treaty of Paris, and i$ 
 20 
 
154 
 
 stipulated by one of its articles. The next step, on 
 the part of the great powers, was to reserve by their 
 own act the complete independence of the greater 
 proportion of their dominions, while only a smaller 
 section of them was incorporated in the league. 
 Having thus virtually retired from the union for 
 the purpose of obedience, while they entered it 
 for that of authority, their third and last object was 
 to extend that authority as much as possible, by 
 increasing, as far as they could, the efficiency of 
 the union. Of these three objects the first and 
 second were obtained without difficulty, and with- 
 out consultation with the smaller powers. Their 
 success in the third depended upon the form in 
 which the details of the confederacy should be 
 arranged. This business had been referred to the 
 congress of Vienna. The smaller members of the 
 union naturally insisted upon expressing their opin- 
 ions, and at this point the great powers met with 
 serious and effectual opposition. 
 
 The arrangement in detail of the forms of the 
 union, the establishment'of which had been resolved 
 upon at Paris, was undertaken at the congress by 
 the five royal powers, viz. Austria, Prussia, Great 
 Britain in the name of Hanover, which was erected 
 into a kingdom for this purpose, Bavaria, and 
 WUrtemberg. None of the other states, which 
 
155 
 
 were to compose the league, were allowed to con- 
 cur in the deliberations upon the subject. In this 
 way the great powers secured a majority of voices 
 in the council, which would otherwise have been 
 against them ; but the interest of the smaller ones 
 was powerfully supported by Bavaria and Wiirtem- 
 berg, which belonged to this party. Through the 
 whole of the discussions, the language of the three 
 great powers displayed a singular and most edify- 
 ing liberality. The establishment of representative 
 constitutions, and the guarantee of individual rights 
 by the confederation were the topics upon which they 
 principally insisted. The plans of union presented 
 by Prussia contemplated the complete security to 
 every German of his personal rights, including 
 specially the liberty of the press. " Hanover," 
 said count Miinster, " can never admit that princes 
 have despotic rights over their subjects ; or that 
 the states composing the late confederation of the 
 Rhine, obtained by that union rights over their 
 subjects, which they did not possess before." Prince 
 Metternich himself caught the infection of liber- 
 ality and observed, that in modern times nobody 
 pretended to claim despotic power ; although it 
 would perhaps require rather a nice distinction 
 between despotic and unlimited governments, to 
 exclude the Austrian empire from the former cate- 
 
156 
 
 ^orj. With equal zeal tliey urged the adoption ot 
 representative constitutions under the guarantee 
 of the union. These propositions were excellent 
 in themselves ; but as they formed rather an extra- 
 ordinary contrast with the habitual policy of the 
 powers that presented them ; and as these powers, 
 especially Austria, showed no disposition to extend 
 the great benefits, which were to result from their 
 adoption, to their own subjects, the smaller states 
 naturally looked upon them with suspicion. Timea 
 Danaos. In fact it required less sagacity than is 
 generally exercised by states and individuals in 
 securing their immediate interest, to perceive that 
 the guarantee of individual rights and of repre- 
 sentative constitutions by the union, had no other 
 political operation, except to augment the influence 
 of the great powers, who had withdrawn from the 
 union for every purpose but this, over the smaller 
 ones. The latter accordingly opposed these propo- 
 sitions with vigor and perseverance. This opposi- 
 tion cannot be attributed to a want of liberality in 
 the governments of the smaller states ; because 
 they have since, of their own accord, introduced at 
 home representative "constitutions of a highly liberal 
 character; while the great partisans of liberal 
 institutions at the congress have carefully abstained 
 from acting upon their own propositions, even to 
 
151 
 
 the limited extent in which they were finally 
 adopted. The great powers also urged the adop- 
 tion of an efficient judiciary system, to decide 
 between the members of the union, and give it 
 more efficacy and consolidation. This proposition 
 was good in itself, but was objectionable on the 
 same ground as the others, and was in conse- 
 quence resisted. They even went so far as to 
 propose a prohibition on the members of the union 
 to make or conclude treaties ; but this idea was 
 found so unpalatable, that it was not much insisted 
 on. The pretensions of the conflicting parties 
 were urged on both sides with heat and violence. 
 The great powers were probably determined to 
 carry their points at last by main force, if they 
 could not do it in any other way ; and the smaller 
 ones to resist every argument but that of the bay- 
 onet. After two or three months of fruitless 
 attempts at negotiation the subject was abandoned 
 for the time ; and the king of WLirtemberg, the 
 most active member of the party of the small states, 
 quitted Vienna in disgust and returned to his capi- 
 tal. Meanwhile the inferior states, which had 
 been excluded from the royal council, had not 
 been inactive. They had formed an association of 
 their own, including powers no less respectable 
 than the grand Duke of Luxemburg, king of the 
 
158 
 
 Netherlands, and the grand Duke of Baden, with 
 thirty or forty others of various degrees of im- 
 portance. This association was continually impor- 
 tuning the royal council for permission to concur 
 ill the deliberations upon this subject ; and as 
 constantly received the answer, that the period had 
 not yet arrived in which their assistance would be 
 useful. Thus, in addition to other subjects of 
 contention, the affairs of Germany alone had nearly 
 led to a new war, when the occurrence of a fortu- 
 nate accident smothered every difficulty and settled 
 the conflicting claims in a moment. This event 
 was no other than the return of Bonaparte from 
 Elba ; and it is to his khid assistance that the 
 Germans are indebted for their present confed- 
 eracy ; as it was under his patronage that the 
 sovereigns were able to make head against th© 
 French revolution. The arrival of this great 
 •pacificator put a new face at once upon the state 
 of the negotiations. The association of the infe- 
 rior powers were informed immediately, that the 
 period had arrived in which their presence in the 
 royal council would be useful. The propositions 
 most obnoxious to the smaller states were aban- 
 doned entirely. The subjects of individual rights, 
 of representative constitutions, and of the judiciary 
 \\ ere settled substantially in accordance with theii* 
 
159 
 
 views ; and the whole business was closed before 
 the battle of Waterloo. The king of Wiirtemberg 
 alone held out some time longer, but finally came 
 in upon the same terms as the rest. 
 
 Such were the circumstances, under which the 
 German confederacy was organised; and it might 
 be remarked of this constitution with truth, as was 
 said so unjustly of our own by a distinguished states- 
 man, then labouring under the influence of false 
 theories and groundless terrors, that it was born a 
 cripple. In fact, the comparatively short period, 
 during which it has been in operation, has fully 
 proved, both its utter inefficacy for any useful object, 
 and the dictatorial ascendancy which it gives to the 
 great powers over the small ones. From the time 
 when the diet commenced its session, till the meet- 
 ing of ministers at Carlsbad, although a press of the 
 most important business was of course before this 
 assembly at the first settlement of an entirely new 
 government, it had done absolutely nothing. The 
 subject first taken up, which was the military or- 
 ganization of the confederacy, was still upon the 
 tapis, and no considerable progress had been made 
 in it. At this period, it was thought necessary by 
 the greater powers to employ the diet as an engine, 
 for imposing the most odious restrictions upon the 
 personal rights of the smaller ones ; and in domg 
 
160 
 
 this, they did not deem it inipoitant to save to the 
 diet even the appearance of independence. The 
 resolutions, which the assembly was to sanction, 
 were in reality not even submitted to its considera- 
 tion. The subjects were discussed, and the decisions 
 were taken at Carlsbad. In order to give them a 
 binding force, as laws of the union, it was necessary 
 that they should be voted in the diet. They were 
 accordingly proposed by the minister of Austria, the 
 permanent president of this assembly, and agreed to 
 unanimously the same day ; the diet thus conde- 
 scending to act the part of the parliaments of France 
 under the old regime, without even exhibiting the 
 reluctance, which was generally found in that body 
 to register unjust and obnoxious edicts. Thus the 
 German congress, which had slept at its post for 
 about four years at a very critical epoch, and not 
 effected a single object, now prostrated the liberty of 
 the press through the whole confederation, withdrew 
 political offenders from their natural judges, and 
 subjected them to an inquisitorial tribunal at Mentz, 
 and established an inspection over all the universi- 
 ties, besides other regulations of still more permanent 
 importance, though of not so much immediate inter- 
 est, in a single day. After this extraordinary despatch 
 of business, the members probably assisted with a 
 good relish at the banquet given the same evening, 
 
161 
 
 by the minister president in celebration of their 
 achievements. The celerity, with which these affairs 
 were settled, could only be paralleled by the singular 
 vagueness of the authority, under w hich the diet 
 pretended to act ; the provision which was supposed 
 to confer it being the second article of the act of 
 confederation, which corresponds with the preamble 
 of our constitution, and states in general terms, that 
 the object of the union is to promote the public 
 good.* Fatigued with so unusual an effort, the diet 
 immediately relapsed into its former inactivity, and 
 will probably remain in the same quiescent state, 
 until Austria shall present another edict to be regis- 
 tered. 
 
 Now ray weary lips I close ; 
 Leave me, leave me to repose. 
 
 If the general constitution of the German con- 
 federacy is far from being an agreeable subject of 
 observation to the friends of liberty and good gov- 
 ernment, there is something proportionally pleasant, 
 in the contemplation of the new political institutions 
 of the separate members of the union. Representa- 
 tive constitutions are now established in all the 
 states, excepting one or two of the smallest, and the 
 
 * The second article, m ex/enso, is as follows : The object of this con- 
 federacy is to maintain the security of Germany from within and witlityi; 
 and the independence and inviolabiliiy of the several states. 
 
 21 
 
162 
 
 two most important, Austria and Prussia. These 
 constitutions resemble each other for the most part 
 in their details ; and though it might be easy to point 
 out many particulars, in which their forms could be 
 improved, their practical operation has shewn, that 
 they are all animated by the real spirit of represent- 
 ative government. Where this is the case, forms 
 are in a great measure indifferent. The publicity 
 of the operations of government, one of the greatest 
 advantages of the representative over other forms, is 
 completely secured in all, excepting that of Hanover, 
 where the proceedings in the states general are not 
 public. This exception is rather remarkable, con- 
 sidering that the constitution of Hanover was or- 
 ganized by the government, which has long been 
 regarded as the most liberal in Europe. The fact 
 would seem to argue, that there is some discordance 
 between the spirit of the British constitution, and 
 that of the British ministry. I shall add a few 
 remarks upon the most considerable of these new 
 governments, according to the order of time in which 
 they were established. 
 
 In consequence of the resistance of the smaller 
 powers to the guarantee of representative constitu- 
 tions by the confederacy, the article which was finally 
 adopted was couched in the most general terms, and 
 really bound the members to nothing. It may be 
 
163 
 
 translated literally as follows : k constitution of states 
 willjind a place in every part of the utiion, [hi alien 
 Bundes-Staaten wird eine landstilndische Verfassung 
 Statt finden.~\ The simple future form, will find a 
 place, [loird Statt finden,'] had been substituted at the 
 special instance of the Bavarian ministers for the 
 imperative phraseology, shall be established, [soil 
 bestehen,'] which was employed in the first draught ; 
 and this reform in the language of the article pre- 
 cluded of itself all idea of obligation. Besides this, 
 the phrase, constitution of states, is so vague, that it 
 may be made to mean any thing ; and although the 
 states of the country [landstmide'^ is the term em- 
 ployed in Germany to designate the representation 
 of the people under the new constitutions, it was 
 also the name of the feudal assemblies of ancient 
 times. Accordingly the Austrian government have 
 considered the obligation of the article, whatever it 
 might be, as satisfied in regard to such of their do- 
 minions as form a part of the union, by the existence 
 of the feudal estates, which are still continued, and 
 which assemble only one day in the year for the 
 purpose of registering the financial edicts of the 
 ministry. It is evident, therefore, that whatever 
 was done in favour of liberal political institutions 
 was the result of the free will of the sovereigns or 
 of the influence of public opinion, and not a com- 
 
164 
 
 pliance with the requisitions of the act of confedera- 
 cy. This idea is still more fully confirmed by the 
 fact, that the governments, wiiich had opjDosed this 
 article at the congress, were the first to establish 
 representative constitutions, and that those who had 
 urged it most warmly have taken no steps whatever 
 for this purpose. 
 
 1. The king of Bavaria, as early as the year 1808, 
 had reformed the administration of his dominions, 
 and had given a public promise to introduce a rep- 
 resentative assembly. To suj)pose, as some have 
 done, that his opposition in regard to this subject at 
 the congress arose from a disinclination to popular 
 government, would be to place him in contradiction 
 with the whole of his preceding, as well as his sub- 
 sequent conduct. In fact, count Montgelas, the 
 minister, who had enjoyed the king's confidence 
 ever since the commencement of his reign, and, till 
 very lately, was at the head of the administration, 
 was a statesman of acknowledged liberality ; and 
 the great object of his policy had uniformly been to 
 accommodate the institutions of the country to the 
 modern improvements in political science. Among 
 other proofs of this spirit may be mentioned the 
 encouragement given to our illustrious countryman, 
 count Rumford. This minister, however, had been 
 charged with being under French influence during 
 
165 
 
 the reign of Bonaparte, probably on no better ground, 
 than that the political interest of Bavaria coincided 
 at the time with that of France ; as it also did before 
 the revolution, and must always do whenever France 
 possesses her proper weight in the European balance 
 of power. Under this pretext, but really on account 
 of the liberality of his political principles, Mr de 
 Montgelas became obnoxious to the German aris- 
 tocracy after the fall of Napoleon ; and they exerted 
 their influence against him with the king. In con- 
 sequence of this circumstance, he was not employed 
 at the congress of Vienna, although he had been 
 named for that business, but was replaced by Gen. 
 Wrede ; and subsequently to the congress he has 
 wholly retired from the administration of public 
 affairs, but is still said to enjoy the king's personal 
 confidence. The coincidence in time of the retire- 
 ment of this minister, and of the publication of the 
 constitution, induced some persons, who were prob- 
 ably unacquainted with his character, to suppose 
 that he had been averse to this measure, and that 
 his retirement was the signal of the prevalence of 
 constitutional opinions in the cabinet. But this 
 supposition is contradicted by the whole tenor of his 
 policy ; and, although the immediate causes of his 
 retirement are not known, yet, as he is understood 
 to retain his influence with the king, there is every 
 
166 
 
 reason to suppose that it was unconnected with this 
 subject, and that the constitution is in reality his 
 work, or that of his political friends in the cabinet. 
 However this may be, it is certain that the prep- 
 arations for the introduction of a representative 
 government, which had been interrupted by political 
 events, were resumed in 1814; and on the 26th of 
 May 1818 the constitution was published by a royal 
 proclamation. The parliament, according to this 
 constitution, is composed of two houses. The first 
 comprehends the princes of the royal family, the 
 great officers of state, the two archbishops, one 
 bishop named by the king, and the president of the 
 protestant consistory for the time being ; all of whom 
 are members by virtue of their functions and official 
 character. Besides these, the mediatised nobles 
 holding estates in Bavaria are entitled to an heredi- 
 tary seat in this chamber, and the king may give a 
 personal or hereditary right to the same privilege to 
 such other individuals as he may think proper, under 
 s-ome restrictions. The members of the iirst chamber 
 are called ' counsellors of the realm :' \_ReichsnUhe.'\ 
 The second chamber is composed of deputies from 
 the body of the people in the ratio of one to 7000 
 families ; and they are allotted to the different classes 
 of society in the following proportion : one quarter 
 to the privileged or noble proprietors, and the clergy 
 
167 
 
 of the two religions ; one quarter to the cities and 
 market towns ; and the other half to the proprietors 
 in general. The three universities send one member 
 each. The deputies from the cities are named by 
 the municipal authorities ; and those from the coun- 
 try by the judicial and other magistrates, under 
 various restrictions, and with the observation of 
 complicated forms. This system is far from cor- ^ 
 responding in theory with the idea of a real repre- 
 sentative government ; but its practical operation 
 has shewn that the house of deputies, thus chosen, 
 is animated by a truly popular spirit, and this exam- 
 ple tends with others to establish the principle, that 
 forms of election are in a great measure indifferent. 
 The assembly of the chambers was opened on the 
 1st of January 1819. On that day was heard for 
 the first time, at least for several centuries past, 
 within the limits of Germany the sound of public 
 debate upon legislative measures. The house of 
 deputies was true to its mission, and supported the 
 popular cause with great zeal and ability. The 
 deputies from the universities distinguished them- 
 selves particularly by the liberality of their opinions, 
 as well as by superior talents and eloquence : the 
 German universities in general being, as is well 
 known, not less remarkable for their attachment to 
 popular principles, than the British have always 
 
168 
 
 been for determined loyalty. The sounds of econo- 
 my and retrenchment, seldom very pleasing to royal 
 and princely ears, were pronounced with distinct- 
 ness and energy. Reforms in the military depart- 
 ment were more especially insisted on ; and after 
 the discussions upon these subjects had continued 
 for three or four months, the chambers were finally 
 prorogued by the government in no very agreeable 
 temper, and before any considerable portion of the 
 business had been despatched. As the regular as- 
 sembly of the states happens, according to the con- 
 stitution, only once in three years, there has been 
 no meeting since. The aristocratic party is very 
 powerful in Bavaria, as in all the rest of Germany, 
 and was ready to profit by any imprudence or excess 
 of zeal in the popular leaders ; and in these discus- 
 sions it is not improbable that the latter, for want of 
 experience in the management of business, may have 
 fallen into some errors. It would lead me too far 
 too undertake an examination in detail of the points 
 in dispute. It does not appear, however, that the 
 disposition of the government to uphold the constitu- 
 tion has been diminished, by this rather unfavourable 
 result of the first trial of it. It is understood, on the 
 contrary, that in the ministerial conferences at 
 Vienna, the great German powers urged very strong- 
 ly the adoption of certain modifications of the con- 
 
169 
 
 stitutions already established : among which would 
 probably have been a prohibition to publish the de- 
 bates in the house of deputies : but that the Bavarian 
 government, as well as those of Baden and Wiirtem- 
 berg, resisted the proposal with firmness and effect. 
 In consequence of this and some other circumstances, 
 it is highly probable that the next session of the 
 Bavarian states, at the beginning of the year 1822, 
 will pass off with greater harmony and success, than 
 the first. 
 
 2. The grand duke of Baden was the next of the 
 German sovereigns, that granted to his subjects a 
 representative constitution. He appears to have 
 been determined to take this step in part by acci- 
 dental circumstances, although it would be unjust 
 not to recognize in the general tenor of his proceed- 
 ings undoubted proofs of a really liberal spirit. Upon 
 the accession of Bavaria to the great alliance in 1813, 
 the Austrian territories, which had been incorporated 
 into that kingdom, were reclaimed ; but as the as- 
 sistance of Bavaria, the most considerable of the 
 secondary German states, was regarded as of great 
 importance, at a moment when the final result of the 
 struggle was still doubtful, it was stipulated by 
 Austria in a separate treaty, and the stipulation was 
 afterwards guarantied by all the powers, that Bavaria 
 should receive a complete indemnity for the losses 
 
170 
 
 thus sustained, in territory contiguous to her own. 
 The territory was also Sj3ecifical!y designated, 
 and belonged for the most part to the grand duke of 
 Baden ; who had not yet come into the alliance, 
 and who, from his family connexion with Napoleon, 
 had been drawn into intimate relations with him, 
 and was considered as more attached to his policy, 
 than any other German prince. Besides the cession 
 of some other portions of Baden, it was agreed that, 
 upon the extinction of the direct grand ducal line, 
 which was expected to happen shortly, the palatinate 
 should revert immediately to Bavaria. The grand 
 duke of Baden had not been consulted in regard to 
 these arrangements ; and his dominions were thus 
 disposed of without his consent, although he, like 
 the rest of the German princes, acceded shortly 
 after to the alliance. Upon the general settlement 
 of claims, the king of Bavaria, who had been 
 obliged to satisfy at once the demands of his im- 
 perial neighbour, called loudly for his indemni- 
 ties from Baden ; and the grand duke of Baden 
 complained as loudly of the infraction of public 
 law and justice, not to say brotherly kindness, in 
 this disposition of his dominions without his knowl- 
 edge. A public correspondence passed between 
 these distinguished brothers, in which the duke 
 appeals to the equity and affection of the king, and 
 
171 
 
 the king replies in substance, that equity and affec- 
 tion have no concern with matters of state. As 
 this remark, practically speaking, is pretty well 
 founded, it is not likely that either of these topics 
 would have greatly assisted the grand duke's argu- 
 ment ; but fortunately for him, he had a second 
 brother in the north, commanding a peace estab- 
 lishment of 800,000 bayonets, and who was conse- 
 quently in a situation to urge in his favour the only 
 considerations, which, in these matters, are of 
 great and acknowledged importance. Under the 
 influence of the emperor of Russia, the grand duke 
 of Baden's dominions were protected from dismem- 
 berment, and the claim of Bavaria for indemnity 
 was referred to the territorial commission then 
 sitting at Frankfort. This commission afterwards 
 made a proposition to Bavaria, which was rejected 
 as unsatisfactory, and the claim was then annulled. 
 Such was the termination of this affair, which 
 illustrates, very curiously, several important points 
 in the present state of European politics. 
 
 Meanwhile the grand duke of Baden, during the 
 progress of the negotiations, was employing such 
 means as appeared suitable to consolidate his 
 dominions and confirm the tenure, by which he 
 held them. To provide against the eventual failure 
 of the direct ducal line, he published, in 1817, an 
 
172 
 
 edict, by which he called to the succession his 
 uncles, the counts of Hochberg, a collateral and 
 hardlj^ legitimate branch of the reigning family. 
 He had already, in the course of the preceding 
 year, made a public promise to his subjects of a 
 representative government, partly, no doubt, with 
 a vie\v of gaining their affections and interesting 
 them in his cause ; and on the 22d of March 1818, 
 he actually published the present constitution, 
 which formally guarantied the new settlement of 
 the succession. The validity of this settlement 
 would, however, probably have been contested by 
 the great states ; but the powerful support of the 
 emperor of Russia smothered all difficulties ; and 
 the new constitution, including the settlement, was 
 accepted and guarantied by the diet. The grand 
 duke actually died the same year, and the collateral 
 line succeeded without opposition. These were 
 the auspices under which the representative system 
 was introduced in Baden. 
 
 The constitution resembles, in its general con- 
 struction, that of Bavaria, but in some important 
 points, is more favourable to popular rights, espe- 
 cially in the extension given to the elective fran- 
 chise. Every individual of mature age is entitled 
 to vote in the choice of deputies. The first meet- 
 ing of the chambers was held in 1819. The house 
 
173 
 
 of deputies exhibited the same independent and 
 truly popular character as in Bavaria ; and the 
 government, offended at the zeal with w'hich they 
 laboured to introduce more economy in the admin- 
 istration, closed the session suddenly in the midst 
 of their labours, and before they had even finished 
 the settlement of the finances. In a really consti- 
 tutional government, such a measure would have 
 brought the machine of state to a stand, as the 
 taxes, not having been voted in the chamber, could 
 not be legally collected. But the executive author- 
 ity supplied this defect by an arbitrary extension of 
 its proper functions, and the taxes were contin- 
 ued by an edict on the same footing as before. By 
 a still more extraordinary assumption of authority, 
 an order was issued at the time of the prorogation, 
 prohibiting the deputies from holding any commu- 
 nication with their constituents. Another session 
 has, however, been holden since, in which a better 
 union prevailed among the several branches of the 
 administration ; and the government exhibited, at 
 the ministerial conferences at Vienna, so strong an 
 attachment to the constitution, that it has probably 
 conciliated still further the good Avill of the people. 
 3. It was reserved for Wiirtemberg after long 
 preliminary struggles to give the example of a more 
 cordial union between the people and the govern- 
 
174 
 
 ment, both in the adoption of a constitution and in 
 the first trial of it, than had been shewn before in 
 Germany. .'This country had, as is well known, 
 maintained in a more perfect form than any other 
 in Europe, excepting England, its ancient consti- 
 tutions. However vicious in theory, they were yet 
 preferable to the despotism which had succeeded to 
 them elsewhere, and served as an organ for the 
 expression of sounder political ideas, than those to 
 which they owed their own existence. When the 
 duchy was erected into a kingdom and augmented 
 by the addition of considerable territories, governed 
 in a different way, the ancient constitutions were 
 suppressed, and a simple monarchy substituted for 
 tliem. Arbitrary power w^as then the order of the 
 day. But after the fall of Napoleon, the star of 
 liberal ideas was, for a short time, lord of the as- 
 cendant even in the cabinets. The king of Wiir- 
 temburg yielded to its influence with the rest ; and 
 he also felt with the other smaller German states, 
 the necessity of strengthening his authority at home, 
 and of placing himself and his dominions, as much 
 as possible, under the protection of public opinion 
 for security against the predominance of the great 
 powers. He accordingly assembled the states of 
 the kingdom in 1815, and laid before them a consti- 
 tution, bottomed on the political notions of the day. 
 
175 
 
 This experiment met with small success. As the 
 British parliament, in the time of Charles II, after 
 its convocation had been omitted for a. number of 
 years, only brought to its next meeting a more 
 determined resolution to assert the rights of the 
 people and bridle the royal prerogative ; so the 
 states of Wurtcmberg, disgusted at the late arbi- 
 trary suppression of their privileges, were but little 
 disposed to accept even favours from so obnoxious 
 a quarter. The constitution was treated as a 
 disguised attack U])on their ancient institutions. 
 They did not choose to receive, as a royal grant, the 
 liberties which they conceived themselves to possess 
 by hereditary and prescriptive right. They de- 
 manded, on the contrary, a recognition of these 
 rights by the government, and contended that what- 
 ever reforms might be necessary in the constitution, 
 should be the result of an agreement between the 
 government and the states. On the other hand, 
 the mediatized nobles, whose dominions had been 
 incorporated with Wiirtemberg, had pretensions of 
 a different kind, equally at variance with the prin- 
 ciples of the new constitution and of the old estates. 
 Such were the embarrassments which attended the 
 first proposal of the constitution. After struggling 
 with them for some time, the government aban- 
 
176 
 
 doiied their plan and granted, in twelve articles, an 
 acknowledgment of the ancient rights of the states. 
 At this epoch the late king died, and the present 
 sovereign succeeded under auspices somewhat more 
 favourable for the accomplishment of the work in 
 hand. He was in the first place free from the odi- 
 um, which had attached itself to his father, on 
 account of his arbitrary invasion of the national 
 rights ; and he was even absolutely popular from 
 having in the late struggles espoused the party 
 opposed to the court. It is also but justice to 
 observe of the king of Wiirtemberg, that throughout 
 his whole proceedings he has shewn at once a 
 sincere and honest attachment to the cause of lib- 
 erty and a manly elevation of sentiment, which is 
 far from being universal with hereditary rulers. 
 He immediately entered upon the unfinished enter- 
 prise of the constitution ; but such were the essen- 
 tial difficulties that attended it, and the bitterness 
 which had grown out of the late dissensions, that 
 his efforts w^ere not at first more successful than 
 those of his father. The twelve articles were 
 expanded into another constitution, which was 
 presented to the states ; and as these articles had 
 been considered as the triumph of the opposition 
 party, it was probably supposed, that a constitution 
 founded upon them would be looked upon as a 
 
177 
 
 compromise, or as an instrument agreed upon in 
 common. This result did not happen. The states 
 adhered to their idea, that the reform must be ac- 
 complished by consultation between themselves 
 and the government, and manifested a violent oppo- 
 sition to the new proposal. The king persisted, 
 and after the struggle had been carried on for some 
 time with heat and violence, demanded a categor- 
 ical answer in eight days. The decision then given 
 was in the negative, and the second constitution 
 was rejected by a large majority ; after which the 
 states were dissolved. It may be remarked, that 
 the deputies of the commons acted in these disputes 
 in unison with those of the higher orders, consid- 
 ering themselves as equally interested in the secu- 
 rity of their ancient franchises, although their 
 standing under the proposed constitution was 
 probably much more favourable, than under the 
 old system. Conscious of the purity of his inten- 
 tions and of the sincerity of his attachment to the 
 public liberty, the king determined to appeal from 
 the decision of the states, and to consult the public 
 w ill in a different form of expression. The con- 
 stitution was submitted to the people in primary 
 assemblies; and, strange as it may seem, it was 
 again rejected. It is impossible not to recognise 
 in these occurrences the existence of a degree of 
 23 
 
178 
 
 irritation, which had in a great measure blinded the 
 people to the real nature of the controversy. Every 
 thing they contended for and more was offered 
 them ; but in the heat of party spirit they over- 
 looked the important object in dispute, which was 
 held out to them by the government, and attached 
 themselves exclusively and fanatically to an inci- 
 dental point of form. 
 
 After the failure of this attempt, nothing further 
 was done respecting the constitution for three or 
 four years. The government was probably dis- 
 gusted with this pertinacious and unreasonable 
 resistance ; and at any rate must have deemed it 
 expedient to allow some time for the existing agi- 
 tation to subside. Meanwhile the cabinet of 
 Wiirtemberg was publicly known to be the most 
 liberal of the German governments. At the diet 
 of Frankfort, in all its negotiations wath the other 
 powers, its policy was uniformly of this character, 
 a circumstance which could not fail to conciliate 
 the good will of the people, and to remove the 
 feelings of heat and irritation which attended the 
 late discussions. In the year 1818-19 there 
 appeared in Germany a degree of popular dis- 
 content on political subjects, and a disposition was 
 manifested in consequence by the greater powers to 
 restrict, for the present, the establishment of any 
 
179 
 
 more representative governments. The fear that 
 such a resolution might be adopted probably 
 hastened the period, at which the last successful 
 attempt to form a constitution was made in Wiir- 
 temberg, and doubtless contributed in some degree 
 to smooth the difficulties that had before opposed it. 
 Nothing tends so strongly to conciliate opposing 
 parties, as the apprehension of an attack from a 
 common enemy. A new assembly of the states 
 was summoned early in 1819; and the government, 
 with equal magnanimity and good judgment, 
 avoided at once the principal obstacle by yielding 
 the point in dispute, which was in reality a mere 
 matter of form. It was agreed that commissioners 
 should be appointed by the king on one side, and 
 by the states on the other, to form a constitution. 
 The concession of the government w as received 
 by the states with a corresponding spirit of good 
 temper and conciliation ; and the only difficulty of 
 importance being thus removed, the arrangement 
 of the constitution itself was comparatively an easy 
 task. Both parties were equally anxious to lose 
 no time, as the ministers were then assembled ; 
 and every day might bring a prohibition of any 
 further proceedings, which it would have been 
 inconvenient to neglect. Under these circumstan- 
 ces, the business advanced with a very different 
 
180 
 
 sort of despatch from that which had appeared on 
 the former occasions ; and before the ministerial 
 meeting had been brought to a close, the Consti- 
 tutional Co?itract, [Verfassnngsvertrag,'] between 
 the king and the people of Wlirtemberg had been 
 solemnly agreed upon, signed, and ratified by both 
 parties. I have been informed, whether correctly 
 or not I cannot affirm with certainty, that a reso- 
 lution was adopted at Carlsbad, which enjoined 
 upon the king not to proceed any farther in a 
 business of such dangerous example, and that the 
 king, receiving information that such a step would 
 probably be taken, pressed the conclusion of the 
 contract with still more earnestness, and took the 
 necessary precautions in the meantime to avoid 
 receiving official notice of any such measure, till 
 the affair should be finally settled. 
 
 However this may be, this first constitution, 
 which ever appeared in a monarchical country in 
 the avowed shape of a socicd contract, was received 
 by the friends of liberty in Germany and Europe 
 with general applause. This point of form is the 
 only circumstance, in which it differs very materi- 
 ally from the other German constitutions. The 
 states general are composed of two houses, organ- 
 ized in substance on the same plan as in Bavaria. 
 The first session of this assembly passed off upon 
 
]81 
 
 ihe whole with great harmony, and was lately 
 closed by the king with a most liberal and patri- 
 otic address, in which he expresses the highest 
 satisfaction at the successful issue of their common 
 efforts for the public good. There was, however, 
 one remarkable circumstance attending the first 
 trial of the new constitution in Wurtemberg, which 
 did not occur either in Bavaria or Baden. The 
 first chamber of the states general is composed, in 
 a great measure, of the mediatized nobles, who art^ 
 all angry and uneasy at the loss of their privileges, 
 and in this unpleasant frame of mind naturally look 
 with still more jealousy and dislike, than they 
 otherwise would, upon the new^ constitutions. In 
 Wurtemberg, where they are numerous and power- 
 ful, they have refused to take part in the proceed- 
 ings ; and although they are invested by the con- 
 stitution with the character of members of the first 
 chamber, they have generally declined to accept this 
 quality, and accordingly did not attend the session 
 of the states.. In consequence of their absence, a 
 quorum of the upper house could not be obtained. 
 This case, having been anticipated, was provided 
 for by an article in the constitution, which declares, 
 that if either house docs not attend in sufficient 
 numbers to debate separately, the members present 
 may sit with the other : and that the acts thus 
 
182 
 
 passed shall have the same force, as if adopted in 
 both. Thus the resistance of the nobles has ^iven 
 the constitution of Wiirtemburg a still more demo- 
 cratic character, than it had before, by reducing the 
 states general in practice to a single deliberative 
 assembly. 
 
 Such is the general outline of the proceedings in 
 the three most considerable of the German states, 
 which have adopted constitutions. That of Hano- 
 ver is regarded as a mere pageant, and has excited 
 neither interest nor attention. Liberal constitutions 
 have been adopted in most of the smaller German 
 states ; and the proceedings in almost all these, 
 though comparatively unimportant, are very curi- 
 ous, as well from the inherent interest attached to 
 the subject, as from the great variety of accidental 
 aspects, under which it presents itself in the several 
 cases. The want of room makes it necessary to 
 pass them over without notice. The proceedings 
 in Prussia have naturally attracted more general 
 regard, as well from the superior importance of that 
 kingdom in the European commonwealth, as from 
 the singular inconsistency and vacillation of the 
 policy of the cabinet upon this subject. It may be 
 proper, therefore, to treat this matter somewhat 
 more in detail. 
 
183 
 
 4. There is no part of Europe, in which the con- 
 trast is greater between the form of the government 
 and the state of society, than in Prussia, especially 
 the middle and western provinces, which are the 
 most considerable, wealthy, and populous divisions 
 of the monarchy. The government is a military 
 despotism of the purest and most unlimited kind. 
 Some changes have lately been introduced in this 
 respect, as I shall have occasion to mention ; but 
 speaking of Prussia, as it existed in the time of 
 Frederic the Great, and since, till within the last 
 ten years, there was not a single intermediate insti- 
 tution, municipal, provincial, or political, between 
 the king and his subjects. It does not appear that 
 there was even a council of state. Every act of 
 the government emanated from the mere motion 
 and personal good pleasure of one individual. 
 There was also no established religion in Prussia, 
 an institution, which, in some forms of arbitrary 
 governments, as in Turkey, is supposed, perhaps 
 erroneously, to act as a check upon the monarch 
 and a protector of the people. A general toleration 
 of religions had been introduced by the 'hardy 
 philosophy of Frederic, at a period when this 
 doctrine was not so readily admitted as it is now, 
 but no sect had any connexion whatever with the 
 government. Nevertheless the kingdom of Prussia 
 
184 
 
 was among the most industrious and populous, and, 
 bj a natural consequence, the most wealthy and 
 enlightened countries in Europe. None have 
 rendered more essential service to the cause of 
 truth and learning, than the protestant parts of 
 Germany, of which Prussia forms the most ex- 
 tensive, and has been, in this respect, one of the 
 most active sections. From this quarter proceeded 
 the reformers of Christianity, and the less brilliant, 
 though laborious and useful restorers of ancient 
 literature. At a later period we find these countries 
 taking a high stand in polite learning ; and found- 
 ing a new school of fine writing in poetry and 
 prose, at a time, when the rest of Europe had 
 passed in this department the period of production. 
 Here too arose at the same epoch a new universal 
 philosophy, more remarkable from the strong sensa- 
 tion it excited, and the important effects it occa- 
 sioned, than any that has appeared since the time 
 of x\ristotle ; although the works of its author, 
 like those of the Stagyrite, are deformed by errors, 
 and clouded with obscurity. These countries, in 
 short,' have long been among the foci of European 
 civilization, while the government has preserved 
 the forms, that are commonly regarded as suitable 
 to a people in the lowest state of barbarism. 
 
185 
 
 The acquiescence of the nation in tliis state of 
 things may be accounted for in part by the pow- 
 erful ascendancy of the personal character of the 
 great Frederic, who was himself the living repre- 
 sentative and personification of all the })hilosophy 
 and literature of his time ; and whose long and 
 brilliant reign occurred precisely at the period 
 when this dissonance of form and substance might, 
 under other circumstaces, have begun to be re- 
 marked. Where by a sort of miracle the despot is 
 the wisest and best man in his dominions, despotism 
 solves, better than any other imaginable form, the 
 great problem of government, and few will be 
 found to complain of it. This very fact proves 
 the essential vice of the system, since the good it 
 produces only happens by exception, and thus 
 demonstrates the falsehoood of the general rule. 
 Besides this circumstance, it may be observed of 
 Prussia and of many other continental states, that the 
 forms of administration are not, as in wholly inde- 
 pendent countries, a mere product and indication of 
 the state of society, but are a compound result of 
 this cause, and of the influence of foreign powers, 
 in which civilization Is perhaps at a very different 
 point. In the western or Rhenish provinces, which 
 were mostly annexed to Prussia by the congress of 
 Vienna, the constrast I have pointed out ^vas still 
 24 
 
186 
 
 more remarkable. These provinces were, in other 
 respects, equally civilized and enlightened with 
 the rest, and had besides, for twenty or thirty years 
 before, been either actually or virtually under the 
 government of France ; which, in compensation for 
 other grievances, still more grinding and oppressive 
 for the moment, had relieved them from antiquated 
 abuses, and had introduced new and highly im- 
 proved forms of administration and of justice ; and 
 a code of laws accommodated to the spirit of the 
 age. 
 
 But before this annexation and during the period 
 of depression, which followed the disastrous struggle 
 of 1806, a disposition in favour of political reform 
 began to exhibit itself in the Prussian cabinet. 
 The French revolution having assumed the shape 
 of military despotism, it was natural enough that 
 legitimate sovereigns should look with more com- 
 placency upon liberal ideas. They also found it 
 necessary, in mere self-defence, to increase their 
 resources and strengthen their influence in some 
 way or other. Ancient forms had been found 
 ineffectual, and something else must of course be 
 adopted. In this emergency, the new political ideas 
 presented themselves as a resource. They were 
 recommended by their popularity, and under the 
 circumstances their intrinsic justice was more dis- 
 
187 
 
 tinctly felt. The monarchy had hitherto leaned 
 for support upon the titled classes, and had now 
 found this pillar of the state crumbling into dust. 
 Something else must be had to supply the place, 
 and where could aid be looked for but among the 
 people ? Community of misfortune, the natural 
 source of mutual kindness and sympathy, had 
 created a bond of union among the different classes 
 of the state. The insolence of the aristocracy 
 was humbled into temporary meekness, and the 
 people looked witli pity instead of hatred upon 
 their fallen oppressors. The royal family had 
 always been popular, for the glory of the illustrious 
 Frederic spreads a sort of traditional brightness 
 over the nothingness of his successors ; and to this 
 popularity was now added the interest resulting 
 from the personal qualities of the queen, the most 
 beautiful and interesting woman in her dominions, 
 uniting with all the charms and graces that adorned 
 the queen of France, the domestic virtues which 
 that unhappy princess was accused, perhaps un- 
 justly, of not possessing, and as highminded as a 
 Roman matron ; for she afterwards literally died of 
 grief at the disasters of her country and the insults 
 heaped upon her person and family by Bonaparte. 
 Such a vision, exhibited in the brilliant light of 
 royalty, could not fail to be viewed with deep 
 
188 
 
 interest by so civilized and feeiing a nation. There 
 prevailed, therefore, through the country a general 
 spirit of harmony ; and measures of all kinds, ordi- 
 nary and extraordinary, were resorted to under its 
 iniluence, or were adopted to incourage it. It was 
 tlien that the League of Virtue [Tugeiidbund] was 
 founded, of which the queen was the patroness, 
 and which became so conspicuous in the last 
 struggle with the power of France. Many im- 
 portant improvements in administration were intro- 
 duced, corresponding with her principles and 
 feelings ; and especially after the appointment of 
 baron now prince Hardenberg to the post of prime 
 minister with the title of chancellor. Some late 
 political writers in Germany have regarded these 
 measures as the result of a premeditated scheme in 
 this minister to introduce a representative govern- 
 ment, and have sui)posed that they were intended as 
 an accommodation of the state of society and pro- 
 perty to such a system. But supposing the chan- 
 cellor to have had this idea, it was probably more the 
 result of the circumstances of the times, than of a 
 conviction on general grounds of the necessity of 
 improvement ; and therefore does not argue quite 
 so strongly as these writers seems to imagine in 
 frtvour of the probability of the ultimate establish- 
 ment of a constitution in Prussia, since the circum- 
 
189 
 
 stances which then existed have changed, and have 
 been succeeded by others, whose immediate influ- 
 ence is of a contrary description. 
 
 However this may be, several important inno- 
 vations were effected in the interval between the 
 campaign, which ended with the battle of Jena, and 
 the fall of Bonaparte. The experience of that 
 disastj'ous war sufficiently proved that the nobility, 
 although they monopolized the offices in the army, 
 had not obtained, with their titles, the hereditary 
 possession of military science, and that they were 
 quite unable to cope with the plebeian warriors of 
 France. The first of the improvements in question 
 was probably the result of this experience ; and 
 consisted in breaking down the monopoly of mili- 
 tary offices established by Frederic in favour of the 
 nobles, and throwing open all ranks in the army 
 equally to all classes of the people. This was done 
 in 1807. Not long after, the abolhion of corporal 
 punishment was obtained, though with great diffi- 
 culty ; and in 1813 the new military system was 
 completed by the extension of the dutv of military 
 service to all the subjects. By these different 
 regulations, the barrier, which before separated 
 the army from the people, ^vas removed ; the 
 nation took the form of a political society defended 
 bv citizen soldiers : and the armv was converted 
 
190 
 
 from a fighting machine into a mass of highminded 
 and patriotic men. These were large steps in the 
 march of improvement ; they were accompanied by 
 others still more considerable. 
 
 In 1808 a system of municipal administration 
 was introduced under the direction of Baion Stein. 
 It was founded in popplar principles, and gives to 
 the cities the privilege of regulating independently 
 their separate interests. This was at once a 
 measure of great utility and a good preparation for 
 important political improvements in future. The 
 success of our own revolution, as far at least as 
 it depended on the exertions of New England, has 
 been ascribed, in a considerable degree, by the best 
 informed judges, to the excellent municipal organi- 
 zation, which exists in that part of the United 
 States. The appointment of prince Hardenberg to 
 the post of chancellor in 1809 was followed by 
 still bolder measures. On the 27th of October 
 1810, an edict was signed by the king, abolishing 
 the exemption from taxes hitherto enjoyed by the 
 nobility, and providing for a general survey and 
 valuation of estates. Three daj's after, another 
 edict was signed, which confiscated all ecclesiastical 
 property for the good of the state, and appropriated 
 it to the payment of the public debt. A third edict 
 was signed on the second of November of the same 
 
191 
 
 year, which abolished all monopolies and appren- 
 ticeships in trades, and gave to every citizen the 
 liberty of exercising his industry in the way he 
 may think proper. Thus, says a late German 
 WTiter,* had the Prussian cabinet, in six days, ad- 
 vanced as far in the career of political improvement, 
 as the national assembly of France had done in 
 two years. It may be remarked, that the assembly 
 was not at the time accused of inactivity. The 
 rapidity of this march is therefore, as Benzenberg 
 justly observes, a strong proof how extensive has 
 been the circulation of the ideas on which these 
 measures are founded within the last thirty years, 
 and how thoroughly they have penetrated into the 
 whole frame of society. After six days of such 
 momentous achievement the prince chancellor 
 reposed from his labours till the 14th of September 
 1811, when an edict was signed, still more remark- 
 able, perhaps, than any of the preceding, which 
 gives to the villains or serfs, upon their surren- 
 dering to the lords a third or a half of the land 
 they hold at will, a fee simple in the rest. By this 
 regulation, an entire class of the community, which 
 
 ^ Die VerwaUung des Slaalskanalers. Furslen von Hardenberg — ' An 
 Essay on the administration of the chancellor of state, prince Harden- 
 berg.' The work was published anonymously: but has since been. 
 avo"id Iiy pvofc'^snr Benxcnberg of Daseeldorf. 
 
192 
 
 was, till now, wholly destitute of personal rights, 
 is presented with the opportunity of obtaining not 
 only relief from oppression and nominal freedom, 
 but real independence in the possessien of property. 
 To close at once the account of what has actually 
 been done for the political organization of Prussia, 
 it may be added, that at a later period, to wit, 
 1816, a new division of the kingdom was intro- 
 duced, by which it is distributed into ten provinces, 
 twenty eight government circles, and three hundred 
 forty live provincial circles ; and that in 1817 the 
 council of state was established, consisting of the 
 princes of the blood royal, the ministers, presidents 
 of courts of justice, military governors of provinces, 
 and such other persons as the king may name. 
 Such are the improvements which have actually 
 been effected. Before I proceed to consider what 
 steps have been taken for a farther prosecution of 
 this system, it may not be uninteresting to cast a 
 glance upon the practical operation of the edict of 
 1811 in favour of the peasants, as described by 
 the intelligent German writer, whom I just now 
 quoted. 
 
 In the western or Rhenish provinces of Prussia, 
 personal servitude and the feudal distribution of 
 land had long before been abolished by the govern- 
 ment of France ; and it is only upon the middle 
 
193 
 
 and eastern provinces, to wit, Prussia proper, Sile- 
 sia, Pomerania and the mark of Brandenburg, that 
 the new system has any operation. In all these 
 countries the land was possessed in large estates by 
 the nobility ; and the peasantry had neither property 
 nor personal rights. They held at will such por- 
 tions of the land as the lord chose to assign them, 
 upon which they built their habitations in the form 
 of a little village, and which they cultivated for 
 themselves ; performing, at the same time for their 
 lords, such agricultural and other labours, as were 
 imposed upon them. The lord administered justice 
 and exercised most of the rights of sovereignty upon 
 his estate, this system having grown up at a time 
 when there was but little consistency in the supe- 
 rior territorial governments. In Pomerania there 
 were 763 of these estates, of which 136 were 
 worth from 60 to 40,000 Rix dollars; 74 from 
 40 to 30,000; 123 from 30 to 20,000, and 430 
 under 20,000. Of the 455 square miles, which the 
 province contains, these estates comprehend 260 ; 
 of the rest, 150 were occupied by the cities and 
 royal domains, 40 by royal and other public forests, 
 and 5 only were left for the free farmers. Of the 
 260 square miles occupied by the noble proprietors, 
 it was calculated that 156 were improved for the 
 benelit of the lands, and 104 assigned to the peasant- 
 25 
 
194 
 
 rj. The peasantry then, by surrendering to the 
 lords one half or one third of this latter portion, 
 obtain a freehold in the remainder ; so that, by the 
 operation of this edict, the amount of land, belong- 
 ing to the independent farmers in Pomerania, will 
 be increased from five square miles to sixty or 
 seventy. This aup;mentation will give the peasan- 
 try all the room to extend their industry and popu- 
 lation, which, for the present, they can desire or 
 could employ. As their numbers and wealth 
 increase, they will naturally overstep this limit and 
 will not only recover by purchase the land they 
 surrendered, but will probably extend their acqui- 
 sitions much farther. The land, as this writer 
 justly observes, is most valuable to those, who culti- 
 vate it themselves ; and it is the natural result of a 
 free circulation of property, that every article falls 
 into the hands of those who can improve it best and 
 make it most productive, because they can afford 
 to pay more for it than any body else. 
 
 In the mark of Brandenburg there were 1200 of 
 these lordships belonging to about 700 noble fami- 
 lies ; and to these, and the royal domains together, 
 were attached about 78,600 families of serfs. 
 These, by the operation of the new system, may- 
 all be expected to become freeholders. There 
 were also 44,000 other families on these estates, 
 
195 
 
 who had no connexion whatever with the land, 
 but who may also be expected to acquire property, 
 now that the land has become an article of com- 
 merce. And on this supposition the number of 
 independent cultivators in Brandenburg will in- 
 crease, in the course of ten or twenty years, from 
 3143 families, the number at which it stood before, 
 to 125,000. Such arc the calculations of this 
 author in regard to the operation of the edict of 
 September 1811. They are given with a minute- 
 ness, that supposes accuracy, and apparently with- 
 out enthusiasm. 1 have not had the opportunity, 
 nor if I had, should I have thought it necessary for 
 the preseent purpose, to investigate their correct- 
 ness in detail. Supposing the facts to be more or 
 less incorrectly stated, or the anticipated results to 
 be more or less overcharged, it will still be suffi- 
 ciently evident, that the general operation of the 
 new system is to convert the agricultural population 
 of Prussia from personal slaves into independent 
 freeholders. Its general effect must in consequence 
 be a great increase of industry, wealth, and popu- 
 lation. Such a system does infinite honour to the 
 statesman who planned and introduced it. He has 
 been denounced for it, it seems by the aristocracy, 
 as a Jacobin ; but this is a reproach which every 
 upright politician at the present day must expect 
 
196 
 
 to encounter. The friends of liberty and impartial 
 posterity will respect him as the benefactor of his 
 country. It is but justice to one who has actually 
 done so much for liberal principles, to put a favour- 
 able construction upon such parts of his adminis- 
 tration, as wear a doubtful aspect; and it must be 
 confessed that his proceedings, in regard to the 
 estsblishment of a representative constitution, re- 
 quire to be so interpreted, in order to appear con- 
 sistent in their spirit, with the measures I have been 
 describing. 
 
 The liberal spirit which generally prevailed in 
 Prussia, in consequence of the circumstances which 
 have been mentioned, previously to the last cam- 
 paigns, was greatly heightened and extended by 
 the zeal with which every class of the nation then 
 co-operated in the great work of independence. 
 The Prussians appear to have made themselves 
 more obnoxious to the French than any other 
 })ortion of the allied forces, probably for the very 
 reason, that they were more enthusiastic in the 
 cause, and consequently animated by a more intense 
 hostility against the nation which had oppressed 
 them. An impartial observer, instead of hating 
 them for it, must view on the contrary with delight 
 and sympathy this noble development of the most 
 generous feelings in the best of causes. At the 
 
197 
 
 close of the war the government seems to have felt 
 the propriety of rewarding these patriotic exertions 
 by the establisliment of a representative constitu- 
 tion ; and never, surely, had this magnificent boon 
 been granted, would the loftiest deserts have been 
 more fitly and fully recompensed. On the 22d of 
 May 1815, an edict was published, commanding 
 that a constitution should be drawn up, in which 
 provision should be made for a representation of 
 the people ; and ordering that deputies, from all the 
 provinces, should assemble on the first of Septem- 
 ber of the same year to deliberate with commis- 
 sioners, named by the king, upon the formation of 
 this important instrument. This is the celebrated 
 promise, the breach of which has been the subject 
 of so much commentary and reprehension. The 
 arrangement contemplated, as appears from its terms, 
 was the preparation of a constitution on the most 
 liberal model, to wit, as has since been done in 
 Wiirtemberg, in the form of a social contract to be 
 agreed upon by common consent between the 
 deputies of the government and those of the people. 
 It may be mentioned as a further proof of the hom- 
 age then paid by the cabinet to public opinion, that 
 the celebrated Goethe, the literary idol of the Ger- 
 mans, now venerable for his great age as well as 
 his illustrious name in poetry, was designated as 
 
198 
 
 the person who was to hold the pen upon this great 
 national occasion. At the same moment that the 
 edict was issued, the Prussian cabinet was urging 
 at Vienna the adoption of representative constitu- 
 tions in the German states ; and from the combined 
 effect of these various circumstances, there remained 
 no doubt whatever in the public mind of the 
 sincerity of their intentions or of the immediate 
 performance of the promise. 
 
 But the summer passed away and no commis- 
 sioners were named by the king ; the first of Sep- 
 tember arrived and brought with it no deputation 
 from the provinces. There arose, on the contrary 
 at Berlin, an unprofitable contest of parties and 
 pamphlets. By dint of sophistry and passion, it 
 was found possible to obscure the clearest truths 
 and to corrupt the best feelings. The aristocracy 
 urged the danger of popular excesses, if a liberal 
 constitution should be adopted ; and their sugges- 
 tions were backed by the influence of foreign 
 powers, who were blowing cold upon representative 
 government at Berlin, while they were blowing hot 
 in favour of it at Vienna. And the influence of for- 
 eign powers means a very different thing among the 
 contiguous continental states, from its import with 
 us or even in England. Another party cherished 
 the idea of a military monarchy, as the system 
 
199 
 
 under which Prussia had risen to its present great- 
 ness. They were apprehensive, that, by changing 
 the constitution, they should destroy the instrument 
 of all their past and possible future augmentation of 
 power. A third party, consisting of the fanatical 
 and exclusive partisans of every thing German, 
 while they desired a new constitution, detested the 
 modern political ideas, because they had been de- 
 veloped in France. They were continually dwell- 
 ing upon the glories of the middle ages, when, 
 according to them, the civilization of Europe had 
 attained the point of perfection, from which it has 
 been ever since upon the decline. " Which of us," 
 says one of them, " would not wish to possess the 
 simple energy, the piety, and the sincerity of the 
 noble heroes and heroines of the Nibelungen Lied, 
 (a .collection of ancient poems, the scenes of which 
 are laid in the ninth and tenth centuries;) who 
 would not willingly return to those intellectual 
 flower-gardens, which supplied the garlands of 
 roses, that entwine the window-casements of the 
 Gothic cathedral at Cologne ?" The most active 
 supporters of these opinions had also been among 
 the most ardent and determined enemies of the 
 French ; and the system, notwithstanding its radi- 
 cal absurdity, was, perhaps at the moment, more 
 popular in Germany than any other. The general 
 
200 
 
 result of this conflict of views and interests at Ber - 
 lin, seems to have been a determination in the 
 cabinet that the consitution could not, with safety, 
 be introduced iiAmediately, and that it must be 
 established u])on the basis of the political institu- 
 tions, which had formerly existed in the several 
 provinces under the name of Estates^ but which 
 had, for some time, fallen into disuse. 
 
 The expediency of connecting new political 
 institutions as much as possible with those that 
 already exist is too obvious to escape the attention 
 of any sound politician. But there seems to be a 
 singular inconsistency in attempting to draw out, 
 under this pretext, the mouldering relics of ancient 
 usages from the graves, where they have been de- 
 posited for centuries. This is merely a wanton 
 augmentation of the essential difficulty attending all 
 political reforms. In this particular case the 
 restoration of the feudal institutions was not only 
 inexpedient, but on other accounts impossible. In 
 the Rhenish provinces, the aristocratic families, 
 which, about the middle of the 17th century, had 
 arrogated to themselves the right of holding the 
 assembly of estates, and voting the taxes, W'hile 
 they left to the commons the exclusive privilege of 
 paying them, these families in the course of time 
 and by the various revolutions which have lately 
 
201 
 
 occurred, had lost their property and mostly become 
 extinct. In some provinces, we are told that the 
 feudal assembly of estates, if restored, must hine 
 been held by a single person. In the eastern 
 division of the monarchy, the aristocracy composed 
 exclusively the ancient estates, as they also held at 
 that time all the property ; but the basis of this 
 system had been shaken, as I have shewn before, 
 by the new system of legislation ; and could not be 
 revived, at least without the abolition of the edict 
 of September 1811. The revival of the feudal 
 states being then physically impossible, it would 
 have been necessary, in order to found the consti- 
 tution upon an historical basis, (this was the favour- 
 ite phrase,) to go back to a period anterior to the 
 comparatively recent one at which these states 
 assumed their last modification, a period in which 
 the spirit if not the form of the political usages 
 coincided much more nearly with the notions of 
 the present day, than with those of the 15th and 
 16th centuries. It is important, says Madame de 
 Stael with great justice, to remind those who are 
 continually appealing to antiquity in support of the 
 doctrine of despotism, that the ancient usage was 
 liberty, and that privilege is the modern invention. 
 In fact it was a universal right of all freemen, 
 through the several branches of the great German 
 26 
 
202 
 
 race in ancient times, to assemble in the camps* of 
 March and May to deliberate upon public affairs. 
 At the present day, such assemblies would be too 
 large for despatch of business, and it would be 
 necessary to substitute the principle of deputation 
 for that of personal appearance, and this is pre- 
 cisely the modern system of representative govern- 
 ment. 
 
 The impossibility of founding a new government 
 upon the basis of the feudal institutions, must have 
 been perceived by the commissioners who had been 
 sent out by the Prussian cabinet to examine, upon 
 the spot, the usages of the several provinces ; and 
 the idea has probably been abandoned. Mean- 
 while the delay occasioned by these researches 
 created, of itself, an additional obstacle, as it con- 
 tributed, probably more than any other cause, to 
 excite the sort of popular fermentation that arose in 
 Germany at the close of the year 1817; and at 
 which the governments either were or affected to 
 be very greatly alarmed. This fermentation, no 
 doubt, wore a more serious aspect than it other- 
 
 * Marzlager and Mailager : In the French language the word champ 
 has taken the place of camp in the translation of these terms, apparently 
 by an accidental equivoque; and the great assemblies, at the commence- 
 ment of the revolution and during the hundred days, intended as a re- 
 vival or rather dramatic representation of the ancient usages of the 
 Franks, were called the Fields of March and May, instead of the Camps. 
 
203 
 
 wise would have done, from the simuhaneous exhi- 
 bition of uneasiness in England, France, and Spain. 
 If the transactions in Germany are considered 
 separately, it is difficult to imagine any thing in 
 the shape of popular discontent more perfectly 
 innocent. 
 
 The scene of these pretended rebellious proceed- 
 ings was laid from first to last among the students 
 in the universities, and their instructers ; nor has it 
 been proved or even, that I am aware of, pretended, 
 that any other class of persons took any part in them 
 whatever. An active interference by students in the 
 administration of the government is sufficiently im- 
 proper ; but it is equally clear that it could never be 
 productive of danger to the public tranquillity ; and 
 in this case, as it was the result of a previous state 
 of things, which had been brought about by the act 
 of the government, the parties concerned were en- 
 titled to every indulgence, and the most favourable 
 constructions of their motives. In fact the students 
 at the universities had been invited by their instruc- 
 ters, and by the public authorities, to enter the army 
 as volunteers during the late struggles. They had 
 yielded to the call with all the ardour that belongs 
 to their period of life, had shared without shrinking 
 in the dangers and fatigues of the war, and had given 
 in general the highest satisfaction by their good 
 
204 
 
 conduct and strict observance of discipline, as well 
 as by their courage. At the close of the war they 
 returned again to the shades of tlie academy ; but 
 at a time of life when men act under the influence 
 of habit and feeling, rather than reason, it was not 
 to be expected that they should lose at once all their 
 interest in public affairs, or should refrain entirely 
 from displaying it. On the contrary, it was far from 
 being unnatural, that they should rather push it to a 
 fanatical extent ; and as they had been called upon 
 to risk their lives for the public, should conceive that 
 their advice and opinions might also be worth atten- 
 tion. Such in fact was the effect produced. The 
 students of the universities embraced with ardour 
 the pure Teutonic party, to which I have alluded, 
 and which was supported with eloquence and zeal 
 in various publications by many of the professors. 
 In their detestation of every thing foreign, they even 
 condemned the European dress, as an innovation 
 upon the ancient customs of Germany ; and assumed 
 almost universally a sort of uniform, supposed to 
 resemble more nearly the dress, which was worn by 
 their forefathers some centuries ago. In all this 
 there was a great deal of exaggeration ; but their 
 leading political tenet was sound and excellent. 
 The union of Germany was proclaimed as the object 
 of their exertions ; and in this particular the Nestors 
 
205 
 
 at llie congress might with great profit have; taken 
 counsel from these beardless politicians. In order 
 to contribute within the sphere of their own activity 
 to the accomplishment of this end, they entered into 
 a general league, called the Teutonic Association., 
 which comprehended the great majority of the stu- 
 dents at all the universities. The first public inti- 
 mation given of the existence of this institution seems 
 to have been the meeting of deputies from all the 
 branches at the castle of Wartburg, in Saxony, on 
 the 18th of October 1817, to celebrate the anniver- 
 sary of the battle of Leipsic. The discourses and 
 proceedings at this assembly are said to have been in 
 some degrefe disorderly ; bat the choice of the day, 
 upon which it was held, sufficiently explained the 
 spirit, which was operating, and proved it to be the 
 result of the excitement produced among the students 
 by their participation in the late campaigns. This 
 circumstance alone might have prevented any un- 
 easiness upon the subject in the minds of the sove- 
 reigns. The assembly, moreover, wr.s small. 
 
 It appears, however, on the contrary, that these 
 proceedings attracted very strongly the attention of 
 the governments, and were looked upon as highly 
 important and alarming. At the congress of Aix- 
 la-chapelle, which was hoklen t!ie following Sep- 
 tember, thev were taken into consideration ; and a 
 
206 
 
 memoir was written upon the subject by Mr de 
 Stourdza, a counsellor of state in the Russian service, 
 of Greek extraction. It seems that this pamphlet 
 was not intended for general circulation, and great 
 precautions were taken to prevent it from being 
 made public. Fifty copies only were printed for the 
 use of the congress ; and while the work was going 
 through the press, a picket of soldiers was stationed 
 in the printing office, under the direction of a Rus- 
 sian counsellor of state, to see that no more were 
 struck off. Notwithstanding these precautions, the 
 work appeared at Paris, a few weeks after, in two 
 or three languages ; and more perhaps from the 
 mystery that enveloped its production, than for any 
 thing very remarkable in its contents, it excited a 
 high degree of attention in Germany ; although it 
 does not seem to have been much heard of elsewhere. 
 It was a short essay, in about thirty pages octavo, 
 upon the state of the universities, and was in no way 
 remarkable, either in point of thought or style. 
 But the students and professors felt themselves highly 
 piqued at this interference of a foreigner in their 
 affairs. Innumerable replies were published in the 
 shape of reviews, pamphlets, and newspaper. articles; 
 and, to make the refutation more complete, the au- 
 thor was invited by some of the students to decide the 
 merits of the quarrel in the old Teutonic way — by 
 
207 
 
 duel. The counsellor declined this polite request, 
 on the ground that he had drawn up the pamphlet 
 at the instance of his imperial master, and was not 
 personally responsible for its contents. This ex- 
 planation, which was not wholly free from indis- 
 cretion, gave still more importance and interest to 
 the pamphlet, as it established the fact, which was 
 only suspected before, that the emperor Alexander 
 was the real author. The war of words was renewed 
 with additional fury. The universities were natur- 
 ally amply furnished with literary champions ; and 
 it may well be supposed, that a work written under 
 the dictation of an emperor would also find apolo- 
 gists, whatever might be its merits. One of the 
 principal of these was Kotzebue, who then published 
 a literary journal, and was known to be a political 
 agent of Russia. It was the part he took in this 
 quarrel, which turned upon him a large share of 
 the exasperation created by this attack upon the 
 universities, and which consequently led to his as- 
 sassination. This lamentable catastrophe, resulting 
 from political fanaticism, exalted to insanity in the 
 mind of a young and melancholy enthusiast, rather 
 tended to establish the purity and correctness of the 
 principles of its author, than their falsehood ; for no 
 sentiments, but those of a generous and elevated 
 kind, ever have led or ever can lead to excesses of 
 
208 
 
 this description. The first effect of the dominion 
 of selfish and vicious motives in the mind is to subdue 
 the glow of sentiment, to substitute calculation for 
 illusion, and method for madness. Enthusiasm 
 supposes of necessity sincere and virtuous intentions, 
 although it is compatible, as every day's experience 
 too plainly shows, with the most atrocious actions. 
 The act, however, was well fitted to raise still 
 higher the alarm of the governments, as it did. The 
 conferences at Carlsbad were held soon after, and 
 the public were informed, that a vast and dangerous 
 conspiracy had been discovered against all the Ger- 
 man sovereigns. Persons were arrested and papers 
 were seized ; but although two years have now 
 passed since these events, none of the supposed 
 oifenders have yet been proved to be guilty, nor has 
 any satisfactory evidence been given to the public of 
 the reality of the pretended plot. Some selections 
 were ofiicially published by the Prussian government 
 from the papers, which had been seized, consisting 
 of the correspondence of students at the academies 
 and colleges. There were passages sufiiciently ob- 
 jectionable ; but nothing that either looked like con- 
 spiracy, or, considering the cpjarter from which the 
 whole proceeded, was worth a moment's attention ; 
 and, as the object of the government was to justify 
 the violence of their proceedings, they probably 
 
209 
 
 published the worst they found. There is every 
 reason to suppose, that the pretended conspiracy 
 was nothing more than the general association, I 
 have mentioned, among the students of the several 
 universities. 
 
 The alarm created by these popular discontents 
 was supposed, however, to have had great influence 
 in delaying the introduction of representative gov- 
 ernment in Prussia, and was certainly employed as 
 a pretext to justify the delay. But while these 
 proceedings were in progress, the cabinet had still 
 given some indication of a disposition to persevere 
 in the business. On the 31st of March 1817, the 
 council of state was organized, and at the same time 
 a commission was actually named to prepare a con- 
 stitution ; but no steps were taken for carrying the 
 plan into immediate effect ; so that it is uncertain 
 whether the chancellor had any other design in ap- 
 pointing the commissioners, than merely to satisfy the 
 public, that he was still intent upon this object. If 
 this was his view, it may well be doubted how far 
 the measure was politic. If circumstances rendered 
 it inexpedient to fulfil at present the engagement 
 that had been made, the better way would have 
 been to permit the expectations of the people to die 
 away entirely, until the period when it was found 
 convenient to gratify them. The chancellor seems, 
 27 
 
210 
 
 on the contrary, through the whole of these proceed- 
 ings, to have studiously kept alive the public anxiety 
 by continual intimations that the affair was in pro- 
 gress, and that the government was -sincere ; while, 
 at the same time, the pretexts used to justify the 
 delay were, as has been seen, of a frivolous and 
 insufficient character. Besides the encouragement 
 given by the appointment of the commissioners, the 
 language held by this minister in his conversation 
 with the deputies from the Rhenish provinces, who 
 were sent to compliment him upon a visit, which he 
 made to that country at the beginning of the year 
 1818, was highly constitutional. A printed report 
 of this conversation was published by professor 
 Goerres, who was at the head of this deputation, 
 and has since acquired notoriety by the persecutions 
 he has sufliered from the Prussian government ; and 
 it seems, from this report, that the principles ad- 
 vanced by the chancellor were even much more 
 truly liberal, than those of the deputation ; the latter 
 being infected with the false and fanatical enthusiasm 
 for the institutions of the middle ages, to which I 
 have already adverted ; while the former maintained 
 in their purity the liberal political notions of the 
 present day. About the same time, viz. on the 5th 
 of February 1818, a note was presented to the diet, 
 by the Prussian minister, stating the circumstances 
 
211 
 
 which had hitherto prevented the introduction of 
 the proposed constitution in Prussia, and intimating 
 strongly that it would certainly be done within a 
 year. This succession of contradictory measures, 
 this promising without performance, and delaying 
 without denial, this giving with one hand and 
 taking back with the other, seems to argue, what 
 was probably the fact, and has indeed been estab- 
 lished very fully by subsequent events, that there 
 had been, through the whole of this period, a strug- 
 gle of parties in the cabinet, and that the anti- 
 constitutional interest was strong enough to defeat 
 the immediate accomplishment of the object; that 
 the chancellor himself was really determined upon 
 the measure, and thought it expedient; on this 
 account, to keep up the expectations of the people, 
 while, at the same time, he could not venture to 
 risk his influence in the cabinet, by pressing it too 
 much against a powerful opposition. 
 
 The general result of all that had been said and 
 done relating to the subject, was a prevalent opin- 
 ion about the middle of the year 1819, that the 
 constitution was nearly or quite ready for the royal 
 signature, and that it would be published on the 
 king's birth day, which was the 3d of August, 
 Instead of this, it was precisely at this period that 
 tjje meeting of ministers was held at Carlsbad, and 
 
212 
 
 the pretended conspiracy announced at Berlin. 
 At the close of the same year a change took place 
 in the Prussian cabinet, by the removal of the three 
 minsters, who had been generally supposed to be 
 the most earnest in favour of the constitution. One 
 of these was the distinguished statesman and 
 scholar, Baron William Humboldt, the brother of 
 the celebrated traveller. This ministerial revolu- 
 tion at once confirmed the opinion that had been 
 entertained of an existing struggle in the cabinet, 
 and crushed for the time the hopes of the consti- 
 tutional party. But the chancellor had hardly 
 taken this apparently decisive step, when, faithful 
 to the system of double dealing which has con- 
 stantly been pursued in regard to this subject, he 
 began to hold out fresh encouragement. In the 
 edict for the regulation of the finances, signed on 
 the 17th of January 1820, almost immediately 
 after the removal of the three liberal ministers, the 
 estates of the kingdom are mentioned as an existing 
 institution, and certain functions are assigned to 
 them in the superintendence of the finances. And 
 two months later, a letter, written by the chan- 
 cellor to a private correspondent, was published in 
 the newspapers, in w hich he remarks, " that the 
 public ought to put a better construction upon the 
 deliberate course which the government had pur- 
 
213 
 
 sued, and that the constitution would be established 
 agreeably to the promise which had been given, 
 and especially to the original edict of the 22d of 
 May 1815." This is the last occurrence of a pub- 
 lic nature in relation to this affair. Since the time 
 when it took place, the Prussian government has 
 been wholly employed in concert with other powers 
 in abolishing the liberal institutions at Naples — no 
 very favourable omen of their immediate introduc- 
 tion at home. The final consequences of all these 
 contradictory proceedings will depend perhaps upon 
 chance, and the turn that may be taken by the 
 general politics of Europe. 
 
 Such are the principal facts, that serve to illus- 
 trate the present state and immediate future pros- 
 pects of Germany, in regard to the introduction of 
 representative government. From the remarks 
 which have been made upon this subject, and upon 
 the present form of the confederacy, it will be 
 perceived, that even the complete and general 
 establishment of this system will supply a very 
 inadequate remedy to the defects of the existing 
 institutions, without a more intimate union and 
 consolidation of the several states. Independently 
 of the burdens laid upon the country for the sup- 
 port of a multitude of separate governments, all in 
 a monarchical and of course an expensive form, the 
 
214 
 
 mode, in which these taxes are levied, imposes a 
 most vexatious and ruinous restraint upon industry 
 and commerce. In the most populous part of 
 Germany, the merchant is met at every few leagues, 
 with a fresh line of custom houses. Let him travel 
 by land or water, every second or third day brings 
 him into a new sovereignty, which must be 
 acknowledged by the payment of new tolls and 
 duties. No lawful and honest trade can flourish 
 under such oppression, and the necessary conse- 
 quence of it is, an extensive contraband traffic, the 
 decline of industry at home, and the general im- 
 poverishment of the country. The minor states 
 are now deliberating together by deputation upon 
 this subject ; and are endeavouring to digest a plan 
 for the abolition of all duties upon internal com- 
 merce. The liberal governments, in the south of 
 Germany, are understood to be at the head of the 
 attempt ; and their object is, if possible, to clear 
 the way of these pernicious barriers by land and 
 water, from Switzerland to the ocean. The vast 
 benefit that would result from this, to every indi- 
 vidual and every nation affected by it, is obvious at 
 a glance. But the ignorance and jealousy of some 
 of the cabinets will, in all probability, prevent the 
 accomplishment of this design. As the merchants 
 descend the Rhine, their way is barred by Prussia, 
 
215 
 
 a state sufficiently important to imagine that she 
 has an interest in oppressing her inferiors ; and as 
 they approach the sea, they meet with Great 
 Britain by two or three diflferent names, waging 
 under all a war of extermination with the industry 
 of every country but her own, under the mistaken 
 notion, that an idle and wretched community is a 
 better customer, than an industrious and wealthy 
 one. It can hardly be hoped that this truly liberal 
 and patriotic effort will succeed to any considerable 
 extent. The only mode of effecting the object is, 
 by a closer political consolidation of the several 
 governments. But the reasons of state that oppose 
 this measure are too powerful to be overcome, by 
 the spontaneous action of any internal force. The 
 convulsions of the last thirty years have done much 
 in this respect for Germany, having reduced the 
 numbers of independent sovereignties from three or 
 four hundred to between thirty and forty. The 
 jealousies existing among these remaining powers, 
 and the baneful intermeddling of foreigners, will 
 prevent the reform from going any farther at 
 present ; and the country must wait for its deliv- 
 erance till the arrival of another general concussion 
 of the political fabric of Europe. 
 
 The institutions which determine the situation 
 of private property and personal rights, and which 
 
216 
 
 lonii the most interesting and important feature in 
 the constitutions of all countries, are extremely 
 various in different parts of Germany, especially if 
 we include, under this general head, all the domin- 
 ions of the house of Austria. In the eastern part 
 of this vast region, in Hungary and Bohemia, and 
 most of the Austrian possessions, personal servitude 
 still exists. The territory of Hungary, with a 
 population of 8,000,000, is owned almost exclu- 
 sively by about 60,000 noble families, and inhab- 
 ited principally by boors attached to the soil. 
 These, however, with the few free citizens who 
 are not noble, pay the taxes, the lords being ex- 
 empt from this obligation. In Bohemia this state 
 of things exists in substance ; but industry has made 
 greater progress, and the class of free citizens is 
 more numerous. In Silesia personal servitude was 
 abolished in 1807. It was supposed that the 
 French would take this step, and the Prussian cab- 
 inet made haste to anticipate them, in order to 
 obtain the credit of it ; which, considering the 
 motives of both parties, could not be very great for 
 either. The general state of property, in the several 
 provinces of Prussia, has been mentioned before. 
 In the kingdom of Wiirtemberg, personal servitude 
 is expressly abolished by an article of the new con- 
 stitution : and in most of the southern and western 
 
217 
 
 parts of Germany, it has, in a great measure, disap- 
 peared. In the Rhenish provinces of Prussia and 
 the other countries, where the French code was 
 introduced, the equal distribution of estates among 
 all the children was introduced with it. In the 
 other parts of Germany, the land generally descends 
 to the eldest son on feudal principles. Other 
 property follows the rule of the Roman law, and is 
 divided. 
 
 Every where in this country, there is a great and 
 pernicious inequality of personal rights ; even where 
 the servitude of the peasants, the most revolting 
 feature in the system, has been abolished. The 
 German aristocracy is not, like that of France and 
 England, an institution almost wholly nominal. 
 Its members monopolize, on the contrary, most of 
 the property, and all the political employments and 
 social consideration. The contrary plan of general 
 freedom, equality of legal rights, and the admissi- 
 bility of citizens of all classes to all employments, 
 is gradually gaining favour, and in some of the 
 states, is now established by law ; but even in 
 these, the spirit of it does not yet seem to predom- 
 inate. The monopoly of social distinctions, pre- 
 scriptively possessed in Germany by the titled 
 classes, has given them an insufferable arrogance, 
 which does not belong to the nobles in some other 
 28 
 
218 
 
 parts of Europe, at least in nearly the same degree. 
 A German baron, in the pride of his two and thirty 
 quarters, considers the most virtuous and enlight- 
 ened man in Europe as a being of inferior species. 
 In England and France, on the contrary, the 
 hereditary nobles have learned, by experience, the 
 superiority of elevated personal qualities over the 
 accidents of social position ; and have been com- 
 pelled, in self-defence, to act upon the conviction ; 
 and to court the power which would otherwise 
 crush them. Even the French emigrants, in prin- 
 ciple perhaps the most bigotted portion of the 
 European aristocracy, are obliged to place in their 
 front ranks such superior minds, as they can seduce 
 from the party of the people. This will also be 
 the case in Germany, if the representative system 
 obtains the ascendancy. Wherever it prevails, the 
 first political distinctions and the considerations 
 they confer, must belong to talent and character, 
 for no other powers can wield this mighty machine 
 to the profit of any party. It is one of the advan- 
 tages of this sort of government, that, although it 
 may not be always administered with justice, it 
 must be, in general, with ability. 
 
 The necessary consequence of this discordance 
 between the existing institutions and the state of 
 society in all the civilized parts of Germany, has 
 
219 
 
 been a strong expression of public opinion in favour 
 of reform ; not proceeding, as in England, from the 
 lowest class of the people, headed by factious dem- 
 agogues ; but from the enlightened, the wealthy, 
 and the respectable. This opinion finds an active 
 and zealous representative in the literary profession, 
 which is more numerous and industrious here than 
 any where else, and which is almost wholly in the 
 liberal interest. The universities, as I have had 
 occasion to observe before, are so many centrical 
 points of popular principles and feelings. The 
 governments seem to have had the simplicity to 
 suppose that they could keep down the expression 
 of this spirit, by appointing a sort of diplomatic 
 agent or official inspection to reside at each univer- 
 sity. A better way would have been to take the 
 universities into their own hands and to endow the 
 professorships with large revenues, independent of 
 the merit or exertions of the incumbent. In this 
 way the seditious zeal of these establishments 
 would soon have been allayed ; although it must 
 also be admitted, that their literary preeminence 
 would have probably disappeared with it. As 
 loyalty came in at one door, activity, and with it 
 philosophy and literature, would have gone out at 
 the other; and the professors would have soon 
 become, like those of Oxford and Cambridge, 
 
220 
 
 excellent subjects, but very lazy and indifferent 
 thinkers and writers. As the demand for Claret 
 and Madeira increased at the universities, the sup- 
 ply from that quarter of deep thoughts and fine 
 imaginations would have proportionally fallen off; 
 and this is precisely what the sovereigns want ; if 
 we may be allowed to judge from the emperor of 
 Austria's address to the professors at Lay bach. 
 * To tempt by making rich not making poor,' 
 would have therefore been the course pursued by 
 these potentates, had they possessed the acuteness 
 of a certain distinguished politician ; and until they 
 conclude to adopt it, it is hardly probable that they 
 will succeed in their object. Can it be necessary 
 to repeat, at the present day, that persecution gives 
 importance and publicity to opinions, right or 
 wrong, whether political or religious, instead of 
 suppressing them ? Necessary it is, for there is 
 not a government in Europe which does not 
 act habitually as if the reverse were true ; and yet, 
 as a general rule, the principle is so universally 
 admitted, that it has become trivial. The doctors 
 are all of one mind, and the disciples are all of 
 another ; as Gamaliel of old was teaching toleration 
 in the Sanhedrim, while Saul, who was brought 
 up at his feet, was breathing out threatenings and 
 slaughter against the christians in the city. The 
 
221 
 
 excess to wliich this system of persecution has 
 been carried, in some instances, is truly revolting. 
 Thus De Wette, a most learned and liberal theolog - 
 ical professor at Berlin, has been deprived of his 
 place, that is, of his means of subsistence, at an 
 advanced age, for writing a letter to a private cor- 
 respondent, which was never published, till it was 
 printed by the government to justify the proceed- 
 insf. This was a letter of consolation to the mother 
 of the unhappy Sand ; it was unobjectionable in its 
 tenor, and in reality had nothing whatever to do 
 with politics. It was intended to relieve the agony 
 of her distress by assuring her, that the motives of 
 her son were pure, and that the morality of the act 
 he had done must be judged of upon this ground 
 only. The principle of morals, here supposed, is 
 so far from being doubtful, that it is quite common 
 place ; and if the public application of it to this act 
 were inexpedient, De Wette was not less innocent, 
 for his letter was wholly private. The contents of 
 it were discovered by the iniquitous measure of 
 opening it in the post-office, and it was with great 
 difficulty that a copy of it could be obtained to be 
 used against him. The forms of tiie Spanish inqui- 
 sition may have been more brutal ; but there was 
 nothing in the spirit of it more outrageous than this. 
 This is the system which brought Algernon Sydney 
 
222 
 
 to the scaffold, and James II to exile and beggary ; 
 and if it does not reduce those who now act upon 
 it to the same condition, they will have to thank 
 their foreign allies for their safety. 
 
 Conscious that their institutions are incapable of 
 resisting the force of public opinion fully and freely 
 expressed, the great German powers have estab- 
 lished, throughout their dominions, the most rigid 
 restrictions upon the liberty of the press, and by an 
 arbitrary stretch of influence have compelled the 
 small states to adopt the same system. Throughout 
 these vast regions,' where the human intellect is 
 more active and prolific than in any other part of 
 the world, not a sound can be lisped in opposition 
 to existing establishments, however vicious and 
 unnatural ; not a syllable can pass through the 
 press, without the inspection of censors and the 
 approbation of princes. When we reflect upon 
 this, and when we consider, in addition, the per- 
 fection to which the system of passports has been 
 carried, and that through the whole continent of 
 Europe, no individual can move a step from his 
 domicil, even to the next village, without obtaining 
 the formal permission of the public authorities and 
 giving a fresh account of himself at every stage of 
 his journey; when we think of the arbitrary restric- 
 tions under which the mass of the people are com- 
 
223 
 
 pelled every where to exercise their lawful callings; 
 of the exorbitant exactions that are wrung from 
 them under pretence of paying the necessary 
 expenses of government ; of the continual wars 
 in which their blood is poured out like water to 
 afford their rulers the occupation and excitement of 
 superintending those magnificent and sanguinary 
 gladiatorial games ; when we think of the infernal 
 art with which the yoke is fastened upon the very 
 minds of the whole population, so that the fine and 
 ethereal movement of thought is as much tied up 
 and shackled by degrading superstitions, as the 
 action of the body is fettered by the system of 
 passports and bayonets ; when we think of this 
 state of things, it is almost impossible not to doubt, 
 for a moment, the reality of the supposed advan- 
 tages belonging to the Europeans over the other 
 branches of the human family. The subjects of 
 the milder and more civilized empires of the east, 
 such as China, Japan, and the neighbouring states, 
 certainly possess much more real personal liberty, 
 than is now enjoyed in the continent of Europe ; 
 and the advantages resulting from the superiority, 
 to which the arts and sciences have been here 
 pushed, are not much felt by the mass of the 
 people ; while in the hands of their oppressors, this 
 very superiority is used as a most effective instru- 
 
224 
 
 uient against them. Even in the Mahometan 
 countries, however rude and hrutal may be their 
 outward forms, the essential state of things does 
 not seem to be materially worse. There, as here, 
 an individual, whose existence is wholly inde- 
 pendent of political affairs, may probably vegetate 
 at ease, except at the occurrence of some disastrous 
 crisis, which may happen alike in Europe as in 
 Asia ; and if he has less security for his property, 
 he also pays an infinitely smaller price for it. In 
 both, if he attempts to step out of this circle and 
 interfere in the slightest degree by deed or word 
 with the action of government, his property, lib- 
 erty, and life are instantly forfeited, and the only 
 difference seems to be, whether the sentence is' 
 executed by Janissaries or gens d^armes, the bow- 
 string or the bayonet. 
 
 But the difference in favour of Europe, and the 
 consolation of the friends of liberty and humanity, 
 lie in this — that the oppression, under which most 
 of the christian countries are now labouring, is an 
 accidental and transitory state of things, the ago- 
 nizing effort of despotism to retain its hold upon 
 the power that is slipping through its grasp by the 
 action of the great forces of nature, and which it is 
 about as easy to control in this way, as it would be 
 to throw a halter over the tempest. This state of 
 
225 
 
 things is produced by a reaction of artificial powers 
 against the overwhelming torrent of civilization ; 
 and, like all unnatural and convulsive efforts, it 
 demonstrates weakness and not strength in the 
 quarter where it appears. We find in the history of 
 Europe but few traces of this system, previously to 
 the reign of Bonaparte. It was he who first invented 
 and put in practice this vast machinery, which 
 envelops, like an invisible net, every individual in 
 Europe ; and it is from him that the present most 
 christian sovereigns have received the discovery as 
 a legacy. It is wonderful that this consideration 
 does not strike them with more force ; wonderful 
 that they should make use, without hesitation or 
 scruple, of this mode of government, when they 
 know that the anguish and despair, produced by 
 the operation of it in the hands of its author, was 
 the only effective engine of resistance they were 
 ever able to employ against him. How can they 
 avoid perceiving that the same opinions and feel- 
 ings, which were arrayed against Bonaparte, are 
 now opposed to them ; that the very individuals, 
 who were most active in stimulating the people to 
 resist him, are now languishing in prison or in 
 exile by their order, for professing the same 
 doctrines they held before ? In Germany, as in 
 Spain, the patriots, who, in the worst of times, had 
 29 
 
226 
 
 rendered the mofeit important services to the royal 
 families, are many of them withering in banish- 
 ment or dying in dungeons, because they had -the 
 courage to shew, by their conduct, that they were 
 inspired by a wish to serve their country, and not 
 by blind devotion to the person of a despot ; and 
 the same result that happened in Spain must occur 
 sooner or later in Germany. No power of congresses 
 or gens (Parmes can ultimately succeed in nailing 
 this iron mask upon the fair face of civilized 
 Europe, as a permanent system. The political 
 scene is constantly shifting, its actors are con- 
 stantly changing their relations to each other, and 
 if, as there is reason to fear, the cause of liberal 
 principles in Germany has not sufiicient internal 
 force to make head against the overwhelming mass 
 of foreign influence ^vliicli now crushes it to the 
 earth, it will infallibly derive relief and assistance 
 from the effect of new political combinations that 
 must happen in the course of events. If one 
 accident does not produce them, another will. 
 The affair of Naples threatened dissolution to the 
 holy alliance, and had the cause of liberty been 
 well supported in Italy, would have completed it. 
 The struggle in the Turkish empire now holds out 
 a new prospect of the same desirable occurrence. 
 Should this also fail, something else will finally 
 
succeed, as the suppression of eleven insurrections 
 in the Spanish peninsula only made the triumph 
 of the twelfth more perfect and brilliant. 
 
 Of the different European governments, Germany, 
 the only powerful nation, which is organized in the 
 form of a confederacy, most naturally offers itself as 
 an object of comparison with the United States; and 
 the contrast between the situation of the two coun- 
 tries illustrates very strongly the excellence of our 
 institutions, and the advantages of our position. 
 The blessings we enjoy, and which we never prize 
 sufficiently till we have had the opportunity of as- 
 certaining their value by contrast ; these blessings 
 are secured to us by two principal causes, one geo- 
 graphical and the other political. The first is our 
 distance from other nations of superior power, and 
 the second our internal union. Of these propitious 
 circumstances, which may well be regarded as the 
 peculiar favours of Providence bestowed upon our 
 country, the one gives us complete security from 
 foreign violence, without the ruinous resource of 
 standing armies, hardly less dangerous, when neces- 
 sary, than the evil they are intended to remedj^ ; 
 and the other establishes our domestic politics upon 
 the basis of perpetual peace. We may see in Ger- 
 many, as in a mirror, what would have been our 
 situation, if we had not possessed the first of these 
 
228 
 
 securities ; and what it would be, if we should ever 
 deprive ourselves of the other. Of the bounty of 
 nature, thank God, no human efforts can bereave us ; 
 and we may hope, that the sacred tie of our union 
 will hold us together, as long as the vast Atlantic 
 shall sever us from Europe. If, in an hour of mad- 
 ness, we ever dissolve it, we should then see, as in 
 Germany, our states arrayed against each other in a 
 perpetual succession of internal wars, our militia 
 converted into standing armies, our presidents and 
 governors into hereditary despots, our learned and 
 upright magistrates into an insulting and oppres- 
 sive aristocracy, and our free and happy population 
 into wretched peasants and personal slaves. We 
 should even lose the security we now derive from 
 our remote position in regard to Europe. Foreign 
 powers would obtain a footing among us, by flat- 
 tering our sectional passions and interests, and would 
 play us off against each other. Our welfare, like 
 that of Germany, would be sacrificed to their cu- 
 pidity and ambition ; and we should find ourselves 
 entangled in a web of various oppression, which it 
 would be at once impossible to shake off, and torment 
 and death to wear. 
 
229 
 
 CHAPTER Vr. 
 
 Russia, Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands. 
 
 In purely despotic or autocratic governments, the 
 body politic is the sovereign. Dttat c^est moi-^^ I 
 am the state' — was an observation of Louis XIV ; 
 and de facto the remark was just. In such countries 
 the only political changes are those, w^hich occur in 
 the person of the ruler, either by the succession of a 
 new incumbent to the throne, or by an alteration in 
 the character and habits of the existing one. For a 
 length of time to come no other changes can occur 
 in Russia, where; the mass of the nation is in too 
 uncivilized a state to aspire after better institutions, 
 or to admit their introduction by rulers, who know 
 their value. Violent alterations in the line of suc- 
 cession have been frequent ; and within a few years 
 there has been a considerable apparent change in 
 the policy and dispositions of the reigning emperor, 
 which has had, and will continue to have, a very 
 important influence in the general politics of Europe. 
 
 The emperor Alexander has been pronounced, 
 till lately, by general acknowledgment, a sincere 
 friend of liberal political principles. They were 
 transmitted to him by hereditary descent from his 
 illustrious grandmother, tiie great Catherine ; and 
 
ISO 
 
 bj her direction he was placed in his youth under 
 the care of a tutor, who was likely to strengthen 
 these impressions. And a review of the emperor's 
 administration, and of his personal language and 
 conduct, will perhaps lead to the conclusion, that he 
 really entertains in theory a partiality for liberal 
 ideas ; and that this partiality is sufficiently strong 
 to induce him to put them in practice, when it is not 
 overpowered by other motives of superior weight. 
 The misfortune is, that where the adoption of public 
 measures depends wholly upon the decision of a 
 single person, there is no security that a correct 
 judgment will be formed of existing circumstances. 
 No honest man would be hardy enough to trust 
 himself with determining a private affair, in which 
 his 'own interest was concerned ; and the case of a 
 despotic sovereign is infinitely more difficult, as he 
 has not the opportunity of enlightening his mind by 
 attending to the conflict of opinion, which is going 
 on abroad, but of which only a suppressed and 
 modified echo arrives at his ears. His political or 
 personal interest warps his reason ; and with honest 
 intentions and liberal ideas he rushes headlong into 
 measures of the grossest and most violent oppression. 
 And the pitiful sophistry, which he employs in de- 
 fending them before the public, proves that if it is 
 sometimes not difficult for a man to impose upon 
 
231 
 
 otlier people, it is beyond comparison an easier task 
 to impose upon himself. 
 
 The late change in the policy of the emperor 
 Alexander in favour of illiberal notions of govern- 
 ment is perhaps only apparent ; and there are strong 
 indications in every part of his reign, that his liber- 
 ality and magnanimity, however real, were never 
 deeply seated enough to resist the force of immedi- 
 ate personal or political interest acting in an oppo- 
 site direction. If, as is generally supposed, he was 
 privy to the act, which preceded his accession to 
 the throne, his liberal and magnanimous feelings did 
 not prevent him from taking part in the most atro- 
 cious crime, that a mortal can commit ; pardonable, 
 I grant, if it were possible to pardon such an act 
 from consideration of political necessity, but wholly 
 and essentially inconsistent with a thoroughly up- 
 right character. Without dwelling upon this cir- 
 cumstance, in which his participation will always 
 remain uncertain, the conquest of Finland was, under 
 the circumstances, a measure of precisely the same 
 character with the partition of Poland. The sort of 
 enthusiasm, with which he attached himself for a 
 time to the person and politics of Bonaparte, even 
 to the extent of approving and co-operating in the 
 attack on Spain, surpassed the measure of excusa- 
 ble compliance with existing circumstances. This 
 
232 
 
 feeling indeed continued, to all appearance, in full 
 force, till Napoleon took pains to remove it by his 
 own folly. Such an engouement for the person of 
 a tyrant was quite inconsistent with a thorough and 
 deep felt liberality. During the struggle with France, 
 the state of Europe favoured and required the fullest 
 development of liberal principles ; and the emperor 
 professed, and probably felt them in all their purity. 
 But they did not prevent him, at the peace, from 
 sanctioning the outrage of the partition of Poland, 
 and disturbing the balance of power in Europe by 
 annexing that country to his dominions, granting it 
 indeed at the same time a constitution, nominally 
 liberal, but which, from the social condition of Po- 
 land is and can be nothing but a name. And we 
 now see that all his liberality and magnanimity have 
 not prevented him from supporting the most wanton 
 and violent aggression on the liberty of Italy, and 
 from frowning severely and portentously on that of 
 Spain, Germany, and probably France ; indeed^, by 
 his public documents and official declarations, from 
 disowning and blaspheming all intelligible and honest 
 notions of freedom in general. 
 
 All these circumstances argue either great insincer- 
 ity, (a supposition, which the known personal charac- 
 ter of the man renders improbable,) or a weak and wa- 
 vering mind, incapable of reasoning and acting with 
 
233 
 
 consistency, or of resisting in practice the seduction 
 of immediate interest. They argue a wonderful apti- 
 tude for self deception ; and in the private life of 
 this monarch we see a combination of exalted senti- 
 ments and dissolute morals, which results from the 
 same general cause. It is usual to allow to sovereigns 
 an exemption from certain restraints, which public 
 opinion imposes upon the rest of mankind ; and I 
 have no disposition to be more rigorous than others 
 in this respect. But I may be allowed to observe, 
 that the union of voluptuousness with mystical de- 
 votion proves a weak head, as well as a warm heart ; 
 and these appear to be the two prominent points in 
 the emperor's character, public and private. When, 
 therefore, Mad. de Stael told him, that his character 
 was a constitution to his empire, and his conscience 
 a sufficient guarantee of it, she was acting, perhaps 
 unconsciously, the part of an elegant flatterer. 
 Prudence, says Rousseau, with singular acuteness 
 and precision, consists in avoiding the occurrence of 
 difficult cases, and virtue in doing your duty when 
 they happen. Without exacting of the emperor the 
 more than human prudence, that would have been 
 required to keep clear of difficulty in the times in 
 which we live, it is evident enough, that he has but 
 small claim to the praise of virtue, when thus un- 
 derstood. A few grains of common honesty and 
 30 
 
234 
 
 aommoii sense would have taught him, that a son 
 was not at liberty, in any circumstances, to dethrone 
 and assassinate his father ; that it was neither just 
 nor generous to ravish from a brother-in-law in 
 distress a third of his dominions ; that an emperor 
 of Russia had employment enough at home, without 
 undertaking to govern Poland, and control the poli- 
 tics of all the independent nations in Europe ; and, 
 finally, that a friend of liberal principles was very 
 inconsistently employed in attempting to put these 
 principles down by force of arms, wherever they 
 make their appearance. 
 
 I reserve for a separate chapter on the balance of 
 power, the consideration of the extent and influence 
 of Russia in the general politics of Europe. 
 
 Of Sweden and Denmark it is unnecessary to 
 speak in much detail in so general a sketch as thisi 
 Denmark has long been wholly passive in its poli- 
 tics, both foreign and domestic; although it has 
 possessed, in the family of Bernstorff, a succession 
 of the ablest and most enlightened ministers, that 
 have ever presided over the destinies of any European 
 kingdom. Its fortunes, during the late war, were 
 similar in this to those of the United States, that it 
 was at times the object of the unjust attacks of both 
 the great belligerent parties ; but Denmark was not, 
 as we were, in a situation to oppose a manly and 
 
235 
 
 effective resistance to their insolent pretensions. 
 Her capital was bombarded, as ours was burned, 
 in defiance of the civilized modes of warfare, and 
 common humanity ; but with us this outrage only 
 roused the indignation of the people, and led to a 
 more vigorous and successful conduct of the war ;* 
 while Denmark was compelled to sign an ignomin- 
 ious peace by the light of her burning palaces, and 
 upon the ruins of her shattered monuments of art. 
 At a later period, she lent her flag to France, as an 
 instrument of aggression upon neutral commerce, 
 and in particular upon that of the United States. 
 
 ■ The author of a Avork lately published in England, entitled ' a Narra- 
 tive of the British campaigns at Washington, &ic. by a British officer,' has 
 undertaken to represent this outrage, as a just retaliation upon the Amer- 
 icans for the murder of Gen. Ross' horse, shot, as he says, from a window 
 in the city of Washingtoji ; observing at the same time, that all the per- 
 sons found in the house were previously put to the sword, as a sacrifice 
 to the manes of this implacable animal. A British officer has other things 
 to study beside the law of nations ; and this writer may not be aware, 
 that if Gen. Ross himself had been shot from a window, instead of his 
 horse, these proceedings would not have been a whit more justifiable, 
 either in right or usage. But any man of common humanity, however 
 ignorant of law, would have revolted at the idea of immolating a house- 
 hold of innocent people, and burning down several magnificent public 
 buildings, to expiate the death of a quadruped. This would be something 
 worse than the madness of the Roman emperor, who appointed his horse 
 consul There is reason to believe, that the motive assigned by the 
 ' British officer' was not the real one ; but as he has undertaken to justify 
 the measure on this ground, he is entitled to an equal degree of credit 
 for good sense and good feelings, whether his account be corrector not. 
 
236 
 
 As a punishment for having been, during the pre- 
 ceding struggles, the weakest and most unfortunate 
 of the European powers, she was despoiled of half 
 her territory by the congress of Vienna, in order that 
 Sweden might obtain an indemnity for the loss of 
 Finland. It would seem that Russia could better 
 have afforded to restore Finland, than Denmark to 
 surrender Norway ; and it is worth remark, that 
 Russia, in order to add to her immeasurable terri- 
 tory this little corner, was thus guilty of a double 
 robbery ; first by plundering Sweden of this province 
 without the slightest pretence of a claim ; and sec- 
 ondly, by plundering Denmark of Norway in an 
 equally unjustifiable way to indemnify Sweden ; 
 for, although the honourable task of starving the 
 Norwegians into consent devolved upon the British 
 fleet, the obstinacy of Russia in retaining Finland, 
 without regard to the great services and just pre- 
 tensions of the king of Sweden, was the real cause 
 of the dismemberment of Denmark. 
 
 This act of injustice has somewhat embarrassed 
 the internal politics of Sweden since the peace, not- 
 withstanding the great talent and truly generous 
 spirit of the present administration. The reluctance 
 of the Norwegians to perform the part which devolves 
 upon them, in satisfying the pretensions of Lenmark 
 under the treaty of cession, made it extremely diffi- 
 
cult for Sweden to execute this treaty, and seemed 
 at one moment to threaten a rupture with Denmark. 
 The emperor Alexander, who had some right to be 
 regarded as impartial, having plundered both king- 
 doms in succession, exhibited a disposition to favour 
 the claim of Denmark ; and treated the king of 
 Sweden with marked incivility, returning, even 
 without opening it, a letter written to him by the 
 king with his own hand. About the same time, 
 prince Gustavus, the son of the dethroned mon- 
 arch, was sent for to Petersburg, and thence des- 
 patched to England for his education, under the 
 protection of his imperial uncle ; and in another 
 quarter a marriage was contracted between the heirs 
 of the crown .of Baden, relations of the emperor, 
 and the sisters of young Gustavus. All this wore 
 rather an ominous aspect, and, taken in connexion 
 with the prevailing fanaticism in favour^f legitima- 
 cy, gave room for apprehension respecting the sta- 
 bility of the Bernadotte dynasty. By the interven- 
 tion of England the affair was adjusted ; but the 
 internal feuds between Sweden and Norway still 
 continue upon this and other subjects. 
 
 It has been the fortune of Sweden, one of the 
 least considerable states in Europe, to take a leading 
 part in the adjustment of the balance of power at the 
 two most critical and important epochs in modern 
 
238 
 
 history. At the period of the thirty years' war, the 
 interference of the Swedish arms under the direction 
 of the great Gustavus Adolphus, and the school of 
 ilhistrious military chiefs, which he had formed, 
 decided the politics of Europe ; and Sweden was 
 in a manner the dominant power at the conclusion 
 of the peace of Westphalia. At the late crisis her 
 influence was far from being equally conspicuous ; 
 but if any one separate event, more than another, 
 gave the turn to this momentous struggle, while it 
 was yet doubtful, it was perhaps the diversion made 
 in the rear of the French armies in the year 1813, 
 by the entry of Bernadotte into Prussia, and his 
 victory over Marshal Ney at Dennewitz. The 
 Swedes, though forming politically a secondary 
 state, are individually one of the noblest branches of 
 the great Teutonic race, which peopled the whole 
 north of Europe, and is now spreading itself over the 
 whole of North America. They possess in an emi- 
 nent degree the qualities which peculiarly belong to 
 this race, such as temperance, industry, hardihood, 
 courage, kindness, and a strong sentiment of moral 
 obligation. They are excellent soldiers ; and, how- 
 ever small their resources, experience has uniformly 
 shown, that their alliance is useful and their enmity 
 dangerous. Their institutions are sufiiciently liberal, 
 and the population in general has a fuller enjoyment 
 
^39 
 
 of projDerty and personal rights, than perhaps any 
 other in Europe ; far more, certainly, than that of 
 England, with all her wealth and power, and not- 
 withstanding the boast of the present lord chancellor, 
 that the meanest subject in Great Britain is better 
 than the first in any other country.* Their savans 
 have placed the seat of the garden of Eden at the 
 foot of the Norwegian mountains, as those of Belgium 
 have discovered it in the swamps of the island of 
 Walcheren. But if these are only innocent delusions, 
 the country has advantages of much more import- 
 ance. It is impossible for a traveller to pass thr'^ugh 
 it without feeling respect and attachment for this 
 excellent people. I have had the pleasure of visiting 
 them myself; and 1 must say of their peasantry, as 
 the governor in Paul and Virginia does of the cotta- 
 ges at the Isle of France, that I found their dwellings 
 furnished with plain wood, but filled with cheerful 
 faces and golden hearts. The Norwegians are an 
 equally respectable and generous nation ; and it is 
 much to be regretted, that so strong an enmity should 
 
 * ' He felt from the bottom of his heart, that the meanest subject of this 
 country [Great Britain] was better than the highest of any other country 
 under heaven.' — Speech of lord chancellor Eldon, reported in the London 
 Times of Nov. 26, 1819. If this article maybe credited, the assassin 
 Thistlevvood was better than the duke of Richelieu or the president of 
 the United States. With all their vanity, I doubt whether the American? 
 have ever gone beyond this in their pretension?; 
 
240 
 
 Rxist between two branches of the same stock, so 
 nearly allied in character, habits, and language, and 
 whose political union, however unjust the act which 
 brought it about, is a great and equal advantage to 
 both. 
 
 An enmity not less strong and unfortunate exists 
 between two other families of the same general 
 race, which were also united by the congress of 
 Vienna into one body politic, and now form the 
 kingdom of the Netherlands. It would perhaps be 
 as difficult to discover any rational foundation in 
 nat?"'e or in politics for the cordial hatred which the 
 Belgians and the Dutch feel for each other, as to 
 give a distinct account of the feuds and jealousies, 
 that often exercise the most serious influence upon 
 the happiness of private and domestic life. Their 
 origin and language are nearly the same ; and 
 although their habits and pursuits arc somewhat 
 different, this is no ground of mutual animosity, 
 since it makes them in reality more necessary and 
 useful to each other. But it seems to be a general 
 law of human nature, that neighbouring nations 
 should hate each other ; and indeed, if our malig- 
 nant feelings are to have any exercise at all, it 
 must be upon oin- neighbours ; since those, with 
 whom we have no relation whatever, are of course 
 indifferent to us. 
 
241 
 
 This mutual enmity embitters the internal politics 
 of the new kingdom, and divides the representation 
 of the people into geographical parties upon every 
 considerable question. Nor does it appear in gen- 
 eral that the direct interest of either section of th& 
 country is promoted by the union. The prosperity 
 of the Dutch depends upon commerce, and they 
 ought perhaps to adopt the most liberal system of 
 trade, in order to make their country, as far as 
 possible, an emporium for the rest of Europe : but 
 their policy, in this particular, is opposed by the 
 necessity of protecting, to a certain extent, the 
 manufactures and agriculture of Belgium. On 
 the other hand, the industry of the Belgians is dis- 
 couraged by the loss of the vast market of France, 
 as well as by the competition of British manu- 
 factures, which the government, from motives 
 foreign to the interest of either part of the country, 
 is not sufficiently anxious to prevent. Hence the 
 Belgians look back with regret, and forward with 
 hope to a union with France ; and the downfall of 
 this ill cemented fabric would probably be the first 
 result of a new convulsion in Europe. The only 
 interest really favoured by the existence of this 
 kingdom is that of British industry, which, from 
 the amicable relations between the two govern- 
 ments, obtains an additional market ; and after all 
 
242 
 
 that has been said of the importance of the kingdom 
 in maintaining the balance of power on its new 
 footing, it is not improbable that the establishment 
 of it was a mere mercantile speculation on the part 
 of the British ministry, who took much more effec- 
 tual care of the commerce and industry of their 
 country at the congress of Vienna, than the oppo- 
 sition in parliament appear to suppose. 
 
 The creation of this kingdom has been consid- 
 ered by some politicians, especially Mr de Pradt, 
 as one of the wisest measures adopted at the con- 
 gress. The investigation of this point belongs to 
 another part of this essay ; but I may observe here, 
 that as far as the measure produced any effect upon 
 the balance of power, it tended to disturb and not 
 to maintain it ; that it proceeded either upon a 
 misconception or a voluntary sacrifice of the true 
 principles of this balance ; and that the interest of 
 Europe required, on the contrary, that Belgium 
 should have continued to form a part of France. 
 
 The constitution of the Netherlands is liberal 
 and popular, the habits of the people are industrious 
 and moral, and their character singularly amiable and 
 upright, especially in the northern provinces where 
 the race is preserved in greater purity. But the 
 country exhibits throughout the melancholy aspect 
 of a decayed and decaying nation. The cities have 
 
243 
 
 generally sunk to a third or a fourtli of their 
 ancient population, and have lost, in still greater 
 proportions, their ancient preeminence in commerce 
 and industry. The looms of Belgium no longer 
 supply the rich and great of every country in Europe 
 and Asia with their finest and most elegant garments. 
 Her industry, after planting colonies in Italy and 
 England, has gone to ruin at home ; and the 
 fabric of lace and cambric, the last relic of ancient 
 excellence, is sinking very fast. The flag of 
 Holland no longer floats triumphantly in both 
 hemispheres ; and the time will never come again, 
 when a Dutch admiral will burn the British fleet 
 at Chatham. Leyden is no longer the western 
 Athens ; and the universities, whose fame at one 
 time attracted students and professors from all 
 foreign parts, are now not always resorted to by 
 the youth of their own country. The last of the 
 lights of classical learning has just been extinguished, 
 by the death of the venerable Wyttenbach : and he 
 seems to have left no successor. Even the glory 
 of those that went before has been struck with 
 premature decay, by the disuse of the Latin 
 language, to which they had entrusted it ; and they 
 have left but obscure traces in literary history. Such 
 is the present state of Holland ; and there is much 
 reason to fear that this gradual decline will con- 
 
244 
 
 tiniie, until the population shall be too scanty to 
 maintain that perpetual contest with the surround- 
 ing elements, upon which the existence of the ter- 
 ritory depends, and the soil itself shall return to the 
 ocean. But whatever may be its present or its 
 future fate, it will always be interesting to elevated 
 and generous minds, as a spot which was once the 
 favourite abode of freedom, industry, learning, and 
 the arts- The seats of liberty and civilization, like 
 the fine monuments of Grecian architecture, are 
 graceful and attractive even in their ruins. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Great Britain. 
 
 The country which first gave the example of a 
 free and well regulated government is naturally an 
 object of curiosity and interest to the friends of 
 liberty ; and to this distinction Great Britain seems 
 to be fairly entitled. We find in the fierce democ- 
 racies of Greece and Rome, and in the modern 
 Italian republics, many traces of high spirit and 
 independent feeling, many exhibitions of the loftiest 
 qualities that belong to our nature ; characters, 
 perhaps, that have never been excelled or equalled 
 in England ; but the political institutions of th^se 
 
245 
 
 states were all irregular and inconsistent, and some 
 of the most celebrated of them, as Athens, were 
 deficient in the necessary resources for embodying 
 the principle of liberty in a powerful and imposing 
 form. The illustrious characters that adorned all 
 these republics, and the charm of poetry and 
 eloquence, that has been thrown about them in 
 description, have given a sort of conventional 
 celebrity to their political institutions, which van- 
 ishes at the slightest touch of critical examination. 
 Holland is perhaps the country which has the best 
 claim to contest the right of England to the glory 
 of giving the world the first example of a liberal 
 and well regulated constitution ; but although the 
 republic of the Seven United Provinces made a 
 nearer approach to the attainment of this object 
 than its predecessors, it was far from reaching it. 
 It was reserved, therefore, for Great Britain to 
 solve this great problem ; and to exhibit, for the 
 first time, the phenomenon of a vigorous and per- 
 manent political system, founded on the basis of 
 liberty and equality. All the new representative 
 governments on the continent of Europe are avow- 
 edly imitations of this; although they have not 
 copied the British constitution in every part, and 
 where they intended to copy, have often failed to 
 do it, from not understanding the model. In the 
 
24G 
 
 United States, we have brought the forms of gov- 
 ernment to still greater perfection, have cleared 
 away many abuses, avoided many errors, and intro- 
 duced great improvements in the details of adminis- 
 tration ; but we are still proud and happy to look, to 
 Great Britain as the source from which we derive 
 the spirit and the love of liberty, and from which we 
 have drawn all our political institutions with the 
 alterations necessary to accommodate them to our 
 situation and habits, and some of the most valuable, 
 as the habeas corpus act and the trial by jury, 
 without any alteration at all. The American con- 
 stitution, as was justly remarked by the illustrious 
 Fox, is that of England improved by the results of 
 the experience of a thousand years. The British 
 islands, therefore, whatever may be the future fate 
 of their inhabitants, will always be reckoned as 
 classical and sacred ground by the friends of liberty ; 
 and their history and constitution will be studied 
 with singular attention, by all who wish to obtain 
 correct notions of political science. 
 
 The greatness and glory to which the British 
 empire has arisen, under the operation of these 
 liberal institutions, furnish one of the strongest 
 proofs of their practicability and intrinsic excellence. 
 To assert that the prosperity of England has been 
 wholly owing to the favourable influence of free 
 
247 
 
 government would perhaps be hazardous. Much 
 of it may justly be attributed to her geogra))hical 
 position, which favoured commercial skill and 
 enterprise, while it afforded security from foreign 
 invasion, and much to the native excellence of the 
 German character, the Saxons and Normans being 
 among the most distinguished branches of this esti- 
 mable race. But to whatever cause this prosperity 
 may be immediately traced, its existence estab- 
 lishes, in the first place beyond the possibility of 
 dispute, an important position, which always has 
 been and still is denied by the partisans of despo- 
 tism, to w it, that a high degree of political power is 
 compatible with liberal institutions ; and as their 
 effect on private happiness is uncontested, this fact 
 alone would decide tiie question in their favour. 
 When, however, we consider the vast influence of 
 political institutions in the formation of character 
 and on the state of social intercourse, of industry, 
 and of property, we shall perhaps iee\ but little 
 hesitation in referring the success of the British 
 nation almost wholly to the operation, direct and 
 indirect, of these institutions. It is in this particular, 
 principally, that their situation has varied, in these 
 latter times, from that of the continental branches 
 of the same race ; and it is precisely since this 
 difference existed, that they have exhibited so 
 
248 
 
 iemai'kable a superiority in many important respects 
 over these nations, some of wiiom are at least their 
 equals in natural advantages and personal qualities. 
 Indeed the prosperity of England has continued to 
 advance exactly in the same proportion as her 
 government has become more and more liberal. 
 Even in the golden days of good queen Bess, 
 England was not sorry to be relieved by an inter- 
 vention of Providence from the attack of the invin- 
 cible armada. Under the arbitrary government of 
 the Stuarts she was an isolated and secondary 
 state. Though protestant, she took no part in the 
 thirty years' war, and left it to Sweden to hold the 
 balance of power at the peace of Westphalia. It 
 was not till the government, after the commotions 
 of the commonwealth, and the revolution of 1688 
 had settled down firmly and permanently upon a 
 liberal basis, that we find the prodigious develop- 
 ment of power and wealth, that has since been 
 exhibited, beginning to make its appearance. 
 Immediately after this change, the king of England, 
 who was just before a miserable pensioner on the 
 bounty of Louis XIV, carries dismay to the very 
 capital and council of that celebrated monarch, and 
 would, perhaps, have hurled him from his throne, 
 if it had not been for a temporary reminiscence of 
 arbitrary times in the cabinet. Even since Great 
 
249 
 
 Britain has been one of the leading powers in 
 Europe, and during the late struggles, succeeded, 
 bj the perseverence with which she maintained her 
 position, and the vast pecuniary resources she was 
 able to employ, in withstanding the coalition of all 
 the rest, in breaking up their union, and employing 
 them one against the other, until she finally planted 
 her standard of victory upon the Tuilleries. and gave 
 the law to the whole west of Europe. It is far 
 from being my intention to commend this perpetual 
 interference in continental politics, which seems to 
 be a wholly mistaken system, when pushed beyond 
 the point where it is absolutely necessary for 
 national defence ; but all abuses of power suppose 
 the possession of it. Meanwhile the commercial 
 greatness of the country has risen to such a height, 
 during the same interval, that all preceding maritime 
 states dwindle into nothing in comparison ; and 
 England has become to the world what Tyre and 
 Carthage, in ancient times, and Venice and Genoa 
 in modern, were to the Mediterranean. Holland 
 alone made some pretensions to the same universal 
 commerce, but on a much more contracted scale and 
 for a short period. The United States are already, 
 in this respect, the rivals and may perhaps be the 
 " successors of England. By this vast and lucrative 
 trade, the elegant and the useful arts of life have 
 32 
 
250 
 
 been proportionately stimulated in all their branches ; 
 and wealth has flowed by a thousand channels from 
 every corner of the globe into this industrious and 
 fortunate little island. Such have been the effects 
 and the reward of liberty ; for if liberty itself be a 
 blessing, the capacity for it is a virtue. 
 
 Notwithstanding this astonishing and unprece- 
 dented prosperity, which still continues undimin- 
 ished for all immediate and practical purposes, it is 
 generally admitted that the present situation of 
 Great Britain is critical and alarming. Those even 
 who form the most favourable judgment of her 
 future prospects are far from regarding them as 
 perfectly satisfactory; while such as indulge more 
 easily in gloomy forebodings, imagine her to be 
 already on the brink of inevitable ruin. This 
 danger, as far as it is real, is itself an additional 
 testimony to the value of liberal institutions, because 
 it is a danger resulting from the abuse of the extra- 
 ordinary power and prosperity, which these insti- 
 tutions had created, and it therefore supposes their 
 utility. The crisis which now threatens the safety 
 of England may perhaps be traced, without much 
 fear of error, to a mistaken system of administration, 
 as its remote and general cause. It is not unnat- 
 ural for individuals or nations, w ho feel the con- 
 sciousness of superior advantages, to waste them in 
 
251 
 
 useless and extravagant enterprises. Great Britain, 
 in the pride of wealth and power, has made it a 
 part of her magnificence to take the lead, at vast 
 expense, in general politics. Had she abstained 
 wholly from this sort of intervention, it can hardly 
 be doubted, that the resources which have enabled 
 her, as it were, to hold the sceptre of Europe, 
 would have been sufficient to give her perfect inde- 
 pendence and security from attack at home. She 
 would, therefore, on this supposition, have still 
 enjoyed, in an equal degree, the only real advan- 
 tage which can be alleged as a rational motive for 
 such interference, however different it may be from 
 the causes which actually produce it in practice. 
 In other respects, how much more favourable would 
 have been her position. She would be free from 
 the enormous debt which has been contracted in 
 waging these useless wars. Her establishment, 
 civil and military, would have continued through- 
 out upon a moderate scale ; and it w^ould not have 
 been found necessary, in order to raise a sufficient 
 revenue, to impose upon labour the enormous bur- 
 dens and various restrictions which embarrass it so 
 seriously, and»form, with the amount of the debt, 
 the essential difficulty of the present crisis. She 
 would then, in a word, have enjoyed all her actual 
 advantages, and avoided all the evils and dangers 
 
252 
 
 which surround and threaten her. If, therefore, 
 the spirit of the British constitution may well be 
 held up as a fit object of admiration and imitation, 
 the spirit of the British administration in some of 
 the most important parts may also be regarded as a 
 salutary warning to other nations, who are or may 
 be tempted, in the consciousness of wealth and 
 power, to run into similar errors. It has sometimes 
 been supposed that this erroneous system might be 
 traced to the remnant of arbitrary forms which still 
 hangs about the British institutions ; and the idea is 
 not without plausibility. The European aristocracy 
 have been, from habit and education, too much 
 accustomed to consider politics as a game of 
 chance and skill, played at the expense of subjects, 
 by the several governments, for shares in the mass 
 of political power existing in Europe, rather than 
 as the science of promoting and securing the public 
 good. Hence the department of foreign relations, 
 which, in a better system of general politics, would 
 be of little importance, means in practice the gov- 
 ernment itself. If this supposition were strictly 
 true, other nations, as the United States, whose 
 institutions are organized in purer 'and simpler 
 forms, would be less exposed to the danger in 
 question. But, after all, human nature is the same 
 in a republic, as in a monarchy ; and a spirit of 
 
253 
 
 vain glory and extravagance might gain possession 
 of a congress, as well as of a parliament. It is, 
 therefore, important to establish firmlj as a general 
 axiom, that all schemes of aggrandizement at the 
 expense of other nations, either in the form of 
 influence, or of direct conquest, are necessarily as 
 ruinous in their effects, as they are unjust in prin- 
 ciple. A practical and universal conviction of this 
 truth might serve, in some degree, as a check upon 
 the disposition to abuse advantages which is natural 
 to all, and from which, unfortunately, the British 
 government has rarely been exempt. 
 
 In remarking upon the present state of England, 
 it will not be necessary to enter much into the details 
 of recent facts, which, from the great publicity at- 
 tending all political affairs in that country, are gen- 
 erally known, both at home and abroad, by all who 
 take an interest in the subject. Jn the United States 
 the situation of Great Britain is as much studied 
 and as well understood, as it is in England itself; 
 and, as the British are too busy at home, or too well 
 satisfied of their imagined superiority, to take much 
 interest in the affairs of the United States, we possess 
 on this account a considerable advantage on points, 
 in which the interests of the two countries come 
 into collision. I shall therefore suppose the knowl- 
 edge of facts; and content myself with a few remarks 
 
254 
 
 in explanation or illustration of such as appear 
 most important. On a subject which is continually 
 brought before the public in every variety of form, 
 by far more powerful pens than mine, I can hardly 
 hope, that I shall be able to offer any thing new 
 or very interesting ; and the whole section might as 
 well be omitted, were it not in a manner unsuitable, 
 in a sketch of the general state of Europe, to leave 
 untouched or to pass over lightly the country with 
 which we are most immediately connected. Without 
 disparagement to the superior, romantic, and chiv- 
 alrous interest attending the queen's trial and the 
 king's coronation, the most important points in the 
 internal politics of England seem to 'be the present 
 state of the constitution, and the general complaint 
 of distress among the industrious classes ; and it 
 is to these that 1 shall principally confine my remarks. 
 At a time when the introduction of representative 
 constitutions on the model of that of England forms 
 the leading object of attention in most of the civiliz- 
 ed nations of Europe, it is certainly a curious subject 
 of inquiry, whether, as some allege, this government, 
 which serves as a pattern for so many others, is itself 
 on the eve of sinking under the weight of its corrup- 
 tions and abuses. Such a fact, if it were established, 
 might well render doubtful the expediency of con- 
 structing the new constitutions upon tiie same model ; 
 
255 
 
 or at least would make it proper to ascertain, for 
 the purpose of avoiding them, what had been the 
 weak points, which occasioned its decline and fall. 
 That the British constitution is actually in a state of 
 decay and corruption is an opinion, which has been 
 held to a greater or less extent, by most of the dis- 
 tinguished statesmen of the last half century. Pitt 
 and Burke, as well as Fox and Burdett, have at times 
 favoured this idea ; and at the present moment the 
 doctrine of reform is supported by the wealthiest of 
 the nobles, not less than by the mob of radicals. It 
 is maintained in the Edinburgh Review and Morning 
 Chronicle, as well as in the Black Dwarf and Cob- 
 bett's Register ; and it is not many years since it 
 was announced by the speaker of the house of com- 
 mons from his chair, that the existence of corruption 
 was as clear as the sun at noon day ; and that the 
 present generation treated with indifference transac- 
 tions, from which their ancestors would have turned, 
 with shame and horror. This general consent among 
 individuals and parties of such various opinions and 
 characters, in favour of the same assertion, necessa- 
 rily supposes the existence of facts, which tend to 
 give it countenance, in some way or other. From 
 all the examination I have been able to give the 
 subject, I am however inclined to conclude that these 
 signs of corruption, which have been so universally 
 
256 
 
 remarked and reprobated, are rather indications of a 
 change in the state of property, resulting from causes 
 independent of politics, than of any material altera- 
 tion, that has happened in the principles or prac- 
 tice of the constitution. The effect on the public 
 welfare of one of these changes may be nearly the 
 same as of the other ; but there is this material dif- 
 ference in the two cases, that in one the evil might 
 be remedied by a reform of the political institutions, 
 while, on the other, such a change would be wholly 
 ineffectual, and the only real cure would be a reform 
 in the state of property. 
 
 It may be remarked in this connexion, as rather a 
 singular fact, that on so important a subject as the 
 British constitution, there should exist no work 
 of high reputation and acknowledged authority. 
 Blackstone's Commentaries contain an elegant dis- 
 section of the body politic and a demonstration of 
 all its details, but no attempt, even to investigate the 
 princi|ile of life. De Lolme, the only writer on the 
 subject, who has obtained a certain degree of celeb- 
 rity, was a foreigner, and published his treatise at 
 the age of twenty-seven. These circumstances ex- 
 cite a strong presumption against its value, which is 
 fully confirmed by perusal. There are no traces in 
 it of a profound or philosophical mind ; and it is, after 
 all, rather a book of jurisprudence, than of politics. 
 
257 
 
 There are several other treatises, which doubtless 
 have their value, but none that has obtained that 
 stamp of authority, which is always affixed by the 
 public voice to works of pre-eminent merit. The 
 chapters devoted to the subject by Montesquieu, in 
 his Spirit of Laws — still the work of a foreigner — 
 however inadequate in extent to the magnitude of 
 the theme, are, notwithstanding, the finest monu- 
 ment, which has yet been erected by philosophy to 
 this remarkable political phenomenon. A treatise 
 on the British constitution would have formed a 
 noble subject for the leisure of Fox or Burke ; and 
 would worthily employ the genius of Mackintosh, 
 if, after publishing his promised history, he should 
 be able to borrow time enough from liis important 
 parliamentary labours for such a purpose. This 
 branch of learning, as sir James himself observes of 
 another, ' requires the skill of a new builder.' I 
 ought to add, that I have not seen the late publica- 
 tion of a distinguished statesman of the school of 
 Fox, lord John Russell, which may perhaps have 
 supplied the deficiency. 
 
 If, however, without being biassed by the opinions 
 of statesmen, or the prejudices of parties, we look 
 in detail into the present state of the principal politi- 
 cal institutions of this country, we shall find them, 
 I think, in a great measure sound and healthy. The 
 
258 
 
 habeas corpus act and the trial by jury, which are 
 the legal securities of personal liberty in its several 
 branches, including the freedom of the press, are 
 still in full vigour, nor is there any danger of their 
 being attacked. It is true, that the habeas corpus 
 act is sometimes suspended, perhaps unnecessarily ; 
 and we hear occasional complaints of packed and 
 special juries, which are probably not wholly without 
 foundation. But from the frequency, with which 
 verdicts are given against the government in political 
 cases, it is evident enough, that the spirit of the 
 institution still exists. The liberty of the press, 
 though nominally restrained somewhat more than it 
 is in the United States, is in practice equally exten- 
 sive, as is clear from the fact, that the abuses of it 
 are infinitely greater than with us. There has never 
 been any appearance in the United States of the 
 blasphemy and sedition, which for several years 
 past have inundated the British islands, in cheap and 
 popular forms. The suppression of such publications 
 is undoubtedly an act of substantial justice ; and, as 
 it is also done according to the forms of law, there is 
 no ground to regard it as oppression. It seems to mc 
 to be more reprehensible on the score of policy ; for 
 the great sensation and scandal created by these 
 prosecutions do more perhaps to give currency to 
 the infamous productions in question, than any in- 
 
259 
 
 trinsic attraction belonging to them, since they can 
 rarely be written with talent. The works of Paine 
 may serve as an example. I learn from the pro- 
 ceedings at the trial of the bookseller Carlisle, that 
 two or three editions of them have been printed in 
 the United States, a fact which I should not else 
 have known, for I never saw a copy of them in 
 a bookseller's shop in America, and very few in 
 private collections. There is no law, however, to 
 prohibit the printing or the selling of them here, nor 
 would any attempt be made to molest a printer, who 
 should undertake it. In point of fact, they are never 
 heard of amongst us, and excite no interest. Their 
 existence would probably have been forgotten, were 
 it not, that from time to time an account arrives in 
 the British papers of the trial of a bookseller for 
 selling the Age of Reason. I see no cause why a 
 similar system should not produce the same effect in 
 Great Britain ; and the operation of the contrary one 
 is far from being equally fortunate. The book, by 
 being continually kept in view, retains its hold on 
 public attention. It is read by the people more be- 
 cause the printer has been prosecuted, than from any 
 other reason. At every fresh trial the most scandalous 
 matter is urged in defence, which must either be 
 repressed by a very unpopular, and indeed unjust 
 exertion of authority, or be tolerated with much 
 
260 
 
 greater damage to the public, than could ever arise 
 from the work itself. Not only this, but the most 
 obnoxious passages of the book form a part of the 
 defence, and are reprinted upon these occasions in 
 all the newspapers, and obtain more publicity by 
 this means in a single day, than they could have in a 
 century in their ordinary form. If, by this process, 
 the work were finally suppressed, more might be 
 said in favour of it ; but the next bookseller of daring 
 character and desperate fortunes reprints it, and must 
 be indicted with further scandal and another publi- 
 cation in the newspapers. Can it be seriously main- 
 tained, that this is the best way of diverting the 
 public attention from a dangerous work ? At the 
 same time I acquit the British government of tyran- 
 nical intention in these proceedings. Such excesses 
 are in fact far more dangerous to liberty than they 
 are to power. The freedom of the press within and 
 even beyond the bounds of decency is unfettered. 
 Journals and books are daily published with- 
 out notice, which in France or Germany would 
 plunge their authors in a dungeon or bring them to 
 the block. The plan of a preliminary inspection of 
 manuscripts would, I am persuaded, be rejected with 
 as much contempt by the government, as it would 
 be by the opposition. I conclude, that personal 
 liberty in its several branches is still protected by all 
 
261 
 
 its ancient legal securities, and that in this essential 
 point the principles and practice of the constitution 
 have suffered no corruption. Indeed, the last per- 
 manent alteration connected with this subject was 
 the one effected at the instance of Mr Fox in the 
 law of libel, and was highly favourable to liberty. 
 If, in the next place, we examine the present state 
 of property, a point still more important than the 
 other, because it is the state of property which reg- 
 ulates the practical value of the legal securities of 
 personal liberty, we shall find, that as far as it de- 
 pends on legal institutions it is unaltered ; or, if 
 altered, that the changes have been all favourable 
 to liberty. The most illiberal feature, and indeed 
 almost the only one in the British jurisprudence 
 respecting property, is the feudal law of primogeni- 
 ture, by which landed estates descend to the eldest 
 son, a rule by the by, which, notwithstanding its 
 illiberality, has been retained in many parts of the 
 United States. This rule, however, is not the growth 
 of modern times. There has been, on the contrary^ 
 a steady effort in parliament to break down the 
 feudal restraints on the free circulation of landed 
 property, especially in favour of just creditors. The 
 prodigious development, which has been given to com- 
 merce and manufactures within the last century, as 
 well as the creation of tlio debt, also tend very much 
 
 VK' \^\^\/>^ ( i*V '^.U-^ 
 
262 
 
 to diminish the practical importance of this principle, 
 since all property vested in the public stocks, and a 
 great part of the capital employed in all the branches 
 of industry, follow in their distribution the more 
 natural and equitable rule of an equal division among 
 the children. It is probable, that in the time of 
 Edward I the circulation of nine-tenths of the prop- 
 erty in the kingdom was obstructed by the feudal 
 restraints on land ; whereas, at the present day, it is 
 doubtful whether they operate in this way upon 
 more than a tenth, or perhaps a twentieth. In gen- 
 eral, therefore, the gradual changes, which have 
 occurred in the state of property, as regulated by 
 political institutions, have been favourable, and not 
 adverse to the cause of liberal principles. 
 
 If now we rise from these principles, which con- 
 stitute the broad and substantial basis of the fabric 
 of British liberty, to the forms of legislation and ad- 
 ministration, we shall be satisfied still more easily, 
 that HO unfavourable change has occurred in this 
 part of the political institutions of the kingdom. 
 The modes of legislation and administration are in 
 form more important, than any other part of the con- 
 stitution, because the persons or bodies entrusted with 
 these functions possess ostensibly the power of reg- 
 ulating and altering all the other institutions, and 
 with them the securities of liberty and personal 
 
263 
 
 lights. Hence the system of legislation and admin- 
 istration is commonly regarded as the constitution 
 itself. In reality, the importance of this part of the 
 constitution is rather ostensible than real, because 
 the spirit of the government in all its branches does 
 not depend so much upon the forms which regulate 
 the making and executing of the laws, as upon the 
 social condition of the people, and especially the 
 state of property. But whatever importance may 
 be attached to this part of the constitution, it is evi- 
 dent enough, that no unfavourable change or corrup- 
 tion has taken place in it of late ; since the complaint 
 is, that the constitution remains in this respect as it 
 was. The general cry for reform supposes of itself, 
 that the constitution is in a great measure unchang- 
 ed, and of course uncorrupted ; whereas, in the 
 opinion of the reformers, it stands in need of altera- 
 tion and amendment. It would seem, therefore, 
 from this general survey of the several parts of the 
 constitution, that the corruption, which is admitted 
 to exist, does not reside in the political institutions 
 of the country, either substantial or formal, all of 
 which remain very nearly in their ancient slate, or, 
 if changed, have been changed in favour of liberty. 
 It is urged by the reformers, in re])ly to this 
 course of argument, that although the political 
 institutions remain uncorrupted, a cliange has 
 
264 
 
 occurred in the state of property, and in the con- 
 dition of the country, which prevents the constitu- 
 tion in its present form from securing the liberty of 
 the subject, as well as it did in ancient times. 
 Boroughs, that were formerly populous, but are 
 now decayed and uninhabited, still send their 
 representatives to parliament ; while thriving and 
 wealthy cities, wdiich have grown up in modern 
 times, have no direct share in legislation. Hence 
 the house of commons, which represented tolerably 
 well the interests which existed, when the consti- 
 tution assumed its present shape, affords no ade- 
 quate expression of those which exist now. The 
 rapid development of industry, in all its branches, 
 has also thrown into the country a great additional 
 mass of circulating capital which may be used for 
 the purpose of affecting the elections ; and mem- 
 bers of parliament, which were anciently the depu- 
 ties of their fellow citizens, may be now only the 
 creatures of a wealthy proprietor. The population 
 of the country is three or four times as great as it 
 was when the number of members of parliament 
 was fixed, and the representation no longer bears 
 the same proportion that it did to the number of 
 the citizens. Besides this, the vast increase in the 
 annual expenses of the nation, resulting from the 
 great extension given to all the civil and military 
 
265 
 
 establishments, and from the augmentation of the 
 debt, has led to a proportionate augmentation of the 
 public revenue, and consequently to a proportionate 
 increase in the influence of the crown. This influ- 
 ence, considering the class of society upon which it 
 operates, and the faculty of distributing honour as 
 well as profit, involved in it, may perhaps be suffi- 
 cient to neutralize the influence of all the private 
 proprietors in the kingdom ; in which case the 
 crown is wholly uncontrolled by any other political 
 power, and the government is substantially despotic. 
 Thus the Roman government, without any change 
 in its forms, was converted from an irregular de- 
 mocracy into a military despotism. 
 
 Admitting, for a moment, the correctness of 
 these suppositions and conclusions, it may still be 
 asked, how is the evil to be remedied by a reform 
 of the constitution ? The evil complained of is the 
 indirect influence of property ; but it is a principle, 
 which has long been generally recognized, that 
 property will exercise its influence alike under all 
 forms of government. The effective political power 
 is attached of necessity to the influence of the mass 
 of property. Where, as in the United States, this 
 mass is distributed in small portions through the 
 body of the people, so that almost every individual 
 is a proprietor to a greater or less extent, almost 
 o4? 
 
266 
 
 every individual has in consequence a proportionate 
 share of political power ; not so much because he 
 possesses the right of sufilrage, which is also with 
 us nearly universal, as because he enjoys by means 
 of his property a moral independence and a weight 
 in society, which give importance and value to his 
 opinion and his vote, while under other circum- 
 stances he might be merely an instrument in the 
 hands of others. If, on the contrary, the state of 
 property be such in England, that a comparatively 
 small portion of the inhabitants possess nearly the 
 whole, and the rest have little or no share in it, it 
 follows of necessity, that the former must possess, 
 under any form of government, the effective political 
 power. The rest of the population is to a greater 
 or less extent personally dependent upon the pro- 
 prietors, and must of course act under their influ- 
 ence. A change in the form of elections would 
 make no essential alteration in this state of things. 
 It would be easy to transfer the right of sending 
 members of parliament from the decayed boroughs 
 to the manufacturing and commercial towns. This 
 right would then be exercised under the direct 
 influence of the wealthy manufacturers and mer- 
 chants ; but as the same influence now operates 
 indirectly to as great an extent at the elections for 
 boroughs, the general result would be the same. 
 
267 
 
 The right of suffrage might be made more general, 
 but it may be doubted whether it would therefore 
 be exercised in a more independent way. A large 
 proprietor would counterbalance, by the votes of his 
 tenants and labourers, the weight of hundreds of 
 smaller ones ; and the general result would be, as 
 it is now, determined by the influence of property. 
 Nor does it appear that a reform in the modes of 
 election would produce any diminution in the influ- 
 ence of the government. The revenue would still 
 remain the same, and the disbursement of it would 
 produce the same general effects as before upon 
 society. It is by this moral operation, and not by 
 direct bribery, that the ministry exercise their influ- 
 ence. The government would still be as great a 
 proprietor as before. In order to diminish its influ- 
 ence, it would be necessary to reduce the debt and 
 contract the establishments, civil and military. 
 But it may be doubted, whether a reformed parlia- 
 ment would be more likely to adopt this system 
 than the present one ; since the parliament, how- 
 ever chosen, would still represent the interest of the 
 proprietors ; and the first effect of such a system, 
 as regards the debt, would be the ruin of all the 
 proprietors in the kingdom. The establishments 
 might be contracted without any injury to private 
 property : but as the annual expenses aie not the 
 
268 
 
 most considerable part of the whole, this measure 
 alone would not materially diminish the revenue ; 
 and it could not be adopted to any great extent 
 without abandoning the colonies, resigning to other 
 hands the sceptre of the ocean, and the balance of 
 Europe, and descending to the condition of an 
 isolated and secondary state. It is not probable 
 that any parliament, reformed or not, in the present 
 situation of British feeling, would encounter these 
 results. Since then the political system of the 
 country, and not the form of elections, places this 
 vast revenue at the disposal of government ; a 
 change in the form of elections would, in this 
 respect, make no difference. In short, if it be ad- 
 mitted as a principle, that a parliament, however 
 chosen, will represent, as it does now, the property 
 of the country ; it follows of necessity, that any 
 attempt to change its character is useless, even if 
 the object were desirable, because it could not pos- 
 sibly succeed. 
 
 In reality, however, it is neither unjust nor inexpe- 
 dient, that in any given state of property, the proprie- 
 tors should possess the political power ; although it 
 is easy to conceive, that one state of property may 
 be infinitely more conducive to the general welfare, 
 than another. Nor does it appear that it is a cor- 
 rect description of the present state of things in 
 
269 
 
 England to say, as I have supposed the reformers 
 to urge above, that the influence of the crown has 
 been greatly augmented, and that the government 
 is assuming the spirit if not the form of despotism. 
 What in fact is, at present, the influence of the 
 crown ? The crown is represented by a council of 
 responsible ministers. These m-inisters must be 
 appointed and must exercise their functions in con- 
 currence with the opinion of two legislative bodies, 
 consisting of about fifteen hundred of the largest 
 proprietors, and ablest men in the kingdom. These 
 proprietors may be considered as a fair representa- 
 tion of the property of the country ; and upon the 
 property of the country is dependent the mass of 
 population, as tenants and labourers. It is not pre- 
 tended that the crown can govern in opposition to 
 parliament, that is, to the proprietors ; and the idea 
 of corrupting the proprietors involves a contradic- 
 tion in terms. It is not therefore the influence of 
 the crown, but the influence of the proprietors, 
 which has been gradually increasing with their 
 property ; and which really prevails in the country ; 
 and the ministers may as fairly be considered a 
 permanent deputation of parliament, as a committee 
 of agents for the crown. In this predominant influ- 
 ence of the proprietors, there is nothing despotic or 
 arbitrary. On the contrary, it is natural, and of 
 
270 
 
 course jusf, that, assuming any given state of 
 property, the proprietors, constituted by it, should 
 in substance govern. The misfortune is in England 
 that the state of property does not seem to be the 
 most favourable to the general good, that might be 
 imagined. The great influx of vi^ealth, and the 
 consequent activity of commerce and industry, 
 have thrown the soil into the hands of a small 
 number of proprietors, and reduced the mass of the 
 population to a state of complete dependence ; 
 which, although they still enjoy all their ancient 
 securities of liberty and property, differs very little 
 in its moral or political effect from actual servitude. 
 The remedy for this is not a reform in the consti- 
 tution, but a revolution in the state of property. 
 
 If these remarks on the present state of the 
 British constitution are just, it may be concluded, 
 that it still exists, both in form and substance, in its 
 ancient purity ; and that if the mass of the people 
 no longer enjoy, in the same degree as they did 
 formerly, the blessing of practical liberty, it is owing 
 to other circumstances, and not to an alteration of 
 the political institutions. The subject may perhaps 
 be further illustrated by a few remarks upon the 
 different parties, which, before and since the peace, 
 have been most active in demanding a reform in 
 the government. 
 
271 
 
 1. The most numerous and clamorous of these 
 parties is the one, which has made its appearance 
 within the last few years, and passes under the 
 name of the Radicals. This party has been created 
 by the reaction in the state of property above men- 
 tioned, which reduced the lower orders of the 
 people to a state of precarious dependence ; and in 
 connexion Avith the effects of the late political 
 events, threw upon the country a vast number of 
 individuals, nearly or quite destitute of employment 
 and the means of subsistence. That such persons 
 should be uneasy at the existing state of things is a 
 matter of course ; and since, in general, they are 
 as ignorant as they are wretched, it is equally nat- 
 ural that they should believe those who tell them 
 that a reform in parliament would afford them 
 relief The small number of prominent charac- 
 ters, who have acted as leaders, are from a class of 
 society, but little above the mass of their followers, 
 are in general under the operation of the same mo- 
 tives, and equally deficient in intelligence. Hence 
 they may be quite honest in supposing, with the rest, 
 that parliamentary reform would cure them of 
 poverty, their real and only disease. One class of 
 these radicals seems, however, to have taken a 
 more distinct view of the state of affairs ; and actu- 
 ally pointed out a revolution in property as the 
 
272 
 
 suitable remedy. They were called Spenceans, 
 from one Spence^ who wrote several pamphlets on 
 the subject, and acted as the head of this sect. 
 The utter wretchedness and abject poverty of the 
 whole mass of these tumultuous reformers, notwith- 
 standing their numerical force, is sufficiently evi- 
 dent from the extreme smallness of their common 
 resources. A pound or two, or a few shillings, 
 make up the product of a general subscription of 
 the party for political purposes ; and the important 
 affair of disbursing and rendering an account of 
 such simis as these, has led repeatedly to public 
 discussions and law suits among their different 
 agents. Another proof of their entire want of 
 resources is the contemptible character of all their 
 leaders ; for in a country like England, which is 
 greatly overstocked with cultivated talent, a party 
 so numerous as this, commanding the least re- 
 sources, would never stand in need of able chiefs, 
 whatever might be its objects. The radicals, on 
 the contrary, have hardly been able to enlist in 
 their cause a solitary individual of talent or charac- 
 ter. Sir Francis Burdett, Mr ilobhouse, and some 
 other members of the house of commons, who 
 separate themselves from the whigs, and approach 
 more nearly in their language to the radicals, are 
 still not to be regarded as belonging to that party, 
 
273 
 
 with which they never act and have nothing in 
 common. Hunt and Cobbett are perhaps the only 
 two, who can be considered as exceptions to the 
 general poverty of talent. The latter, indeed, is 
 really a nervous and powerful writer ; and, in the 
 service of a more formidable party, would have been 
 found by the government no contemptible antag- 
 onist. 
 
 Such are the wretched materials of which the 
 party of radicals is made up ; and yet when we 
 read in the newspapers the detailed and pompous 
 accounts of the meetings of Spa-fields and at 
 Manchester, and of the triumphal entry of Hunt 
 into the metropolis, attended and followed by an 
 escort of hundreds of thousands, with handkerchiefs 
 waving at the windows, and flowers scattered along 
 the streets, we might almost conclude that the 
 people at large were rising en masse to shake oft' 
 the yoke of some unprincipled tyrant, and that this 
 notorious demagogue was no other than the hope 
 and saviour of his country. In reality, two thirds 
 of the crovv'd that assembles upon all these occa- 
 sions are probably attracted by mere curiosity, and 
 it is this portion only, which gives to the meeting 
 its exterior appearance of respectability. Those 
 who really assemble for a political object, are as 
 wretched as I have described them : and it was 
 
274 
 
 found accordingly, even before these public meet- 
 ings had been interrupted by law, but after the 
 novelty of the thing had worn off, and they were 
 no longer an object of curiosity, that they excited 
 no attention even in the heart of London. The 
 last that were held at Smithfield and other parts of 
 the metropolis hardly consisted of a few hundred 
 persons ; and they exhibited the nucleus of the 
 party in its unsophisticated state of rags and wretch- 
 edness. The few contemptible creatures, who had 
 officiated as leaders, were all at daggers drawing 
 with each other ; and this political farce appears to 
 have nearly arrived at its regular catastrophe before 
 the finishing stroke was given to it, by the prohibi- 
 tory acts of parliament. It would of course be idle 
 to apprehend any real danger to the state, from a 
 party composed of such materials and under such 
 guidance ; and the ministry seem to have overrated 
 or purposely exaggerated its importance, in order to 
 carry their measures with greater ease. Indeed, 
 such a gross caricature of liberal principles and 
 proceedings is really injurious to the cause of 
 freedom, and not to that of power, if regarded as 
 distinct from the former ; and if the government 
 were anxious to w^eaken and bring into discredit 
 the real friends of political improvement, the most 
 effectual way, perhaps, would be to tolerate and 
 
275 
 
 encourage these burlesque reformers. Where the 
 Hunts and the Watsons liad gained possession of 
 the front of the stage, tiie Foxes and Burkes of 
 the present day would relinquish their claims on 
 public attention, and retire for a time to the back 
 ground, rather than appear in such company ; nor 
 would the living Russells and Sydneys wish to be 
 suspected of cooperating with such worthies as 
 Thistlewood and his peers. There was accordingly 
 an evident suspension of activity among the moderate 
 reformers, during the time when the radicals were 
 most turbulent and busy. At the same time, when 
 the extreme public inconvenience of these tumultu- 
 ous meetings is taken into view, as well as the 
 danger of their giving occasion to such enterprises 
 as that of Cato street, it is hardly to be wondered 
 at, that the government should have thought it ex- 
 pedient to suppress them. This measure was rather 
 defensible, as a matter of police, intended for the 
 comfort and protection of peaceable citizens, than as 
 a provision for the permanent safety of the state. 
 The doctrines of such a party as this, in points 
 where they differ from the respectable supporters of 
 liberal principles, are entitled to small attention. 
 Their two leading tenets, imiversal suffrage and 
 annual parliaments, could not ]Dossibly be intro- 
 duced, in the present state of property in England, 
 
276 
 
 excepting by a revolution. If, by possibibty, they 
 could be introduced in any other way, so sudden 
 and violent a change of forms, in such a situation 
 of society and property, would probably lead to 
 anarchy and civil war. In the United States, the 
 system of universal suffrage has existed ever since 
 the settlement of the country ; and the elections, 
 that take place under it, are just as tranquil, in- 
 finitely more so indeed from other causes, than 
 those upon a different plan in England. It is found 
 to accommodate itself perfectly well to changes in 
 the state of society. Property retains its natural 
 and salutary influence in this, as it does in all other 
 systems ; and where, in particular points of the ter- 
 ritory, there is a tendency towards accumulation of 
 property, it is not found to be countenanced by this 
 system, some of the wealthiest of our cities having 
 given a uniform support to the political party which 
 was considered at the time as that of the rich ; from 
 which it appears that the influence of the smaller 
 number of great proprietors residing in these cities 
 determined the votes of the much superior number 
 of other individuals. The example of the United 
 States alone is therefore sufficient proof of the 
 abstract practicability of universal suffrage; and 
 even in such a state of things as now exists in 
 Eng.and, it would probably be found perfectly 
 
277 
 
 harmless and salutary, had it formed originally a 
 part of the British constitution, and thus had the 
 opportunity of accommodating itself gradually to 
 the modifications that occurred in the state of soci- 
 ety. It seems to me, therefore, that it is not on 
 general grounds, but merely as a sudden and violent 
 innovation upon existing forms, that this system is 
 objectionable. All such innovations are in the 
 highest degree dangerous, because it is wholly 
 impossible to calculate their effects ; and this alone 
 is a good reason why the doctrine of universal 
 suffrage should be rejected, as it is, by all the 
 rational friends of liberty in Great Britain. The 
 principle of annual parliaments is of less importance. 
 The adoption of it would be attended with some 
 favourable and some unfavourable effects ; and per- 
 haps a triennial parliament would, upon the whole, 
 be preferable either to a septennial or an annual 
 one. If, however, the general notions, advanced 
 above, in regard to the character of the parliament, are 
 correct, a contraction of the time of its existence to 
 three years or even to one would not essentially alter 
 its spirit. It would still be Avhat it is now, a perma- 
 nent deputation and representation of the propri- 
 etors of the kingdom. 
 
 2. The party, which assumes the title of Whigs, 
 and which is sometimes denominated that of the 
 
278 
 
 moderate reformers, stands on very different ground. 
 It consists of a portion of the great proprietors and 
 of the ablest and best informed men of the kingdom, 
 not inferior in respectability, either of accidental or 
 personal qualities, to the other portion, which holds 
 the reins of government. It may be regarded, in 
 fact, for practical purposes, as a check or comptroller 
 of the administration, stationed in parliament to give 
 to every measure, after it has been adojjted in the 
 privy council and the cabinet, a last and thorough 
 examination before it is carried into execution. And 
 this party distributes among its members the control 
 of the several departments of the administration in 
 the same way, that the management of them is dis- 
 tributed among themselves by the ministry. Mr 
 Wynn serves as a check upon the decisions of the 
 speaker, and sir James Mackintosh upon the depart- 
 ment of foreign affairs. Mr Tierney examines the 
 finances, and Mr Brougham superintends the home 
 department. The administration is thus in a manner 
 double, like the diplomacy of Louis XV, a second 
 list of volunteers acting as spies upon the real and 
 effective ministers. If the corrections offered by these 
 gentlemen are not always adopted, it must also be 
 allowed, that they are not alwaj s just ; but the cer- 
 tainty, that the measures of government vv'ill be 
 subjected to a strict scrutiny by persons of distin- 
 
279 
 
 gLiished talents and character, who have made them- 
 selves familiar with the details of the several depart- 
 ments, must have a very salutary influence upon the 
 practical administration of affairs, and must prevent 
 the adoption of any measure, that has not been ma- 
 turely examined. Hence, if there were no political 
 divisions in parliament, it might be advantageous, 
 as a mere matter of expediency, for a number of the 
 ablest members, not in the administration, to form 
 an association among themselves, for the better dis- 
 charge of the necessary parliamentary duty of scruti- 
 nizing thoroughly all the measures of government. 
 In this point of view the opposition is neither vexa- 
 tious nor unnecessary, but extremely useful ; although 
 its duty might often be performed with a less exhibi- 
 tion of personal feeling and excitement, than is actu- 
 ally shewn ; and generally with a less uniform dis- 
 approbation of the views of the ministry. But if the 
 whigs are considered as forming a political party, 
 united in support of different principles and different 
 interests from those of the other proprietors repre- 
 sented by the ministry, it will be more diflicult to 
 give a satisfactory account of their existence, their 
 opinions, or their practice. 
 
 It may be remarked, in the first place, that the 
 claim of this party to the exclusive possession of the 
 title of Whigs is extremely questionable. The ety- 
 
280 
 
 niology of this term, as well as that of the opposite 
 party name of Tory, it is well known, is wholly lost ; 
 but, though there are no traces left of the origin of the 
 name, the history of the real whig party is perfectly- 
 well known in all its stages. It was no other than 
 the party of the people, which resisted the tyranny 
 of Charles 1, and finally brought him to the block, 
 which was temporarily suppressed at the return of 
 the Stuarts, which triumphed again at the revolution 
 of 1688, and was at last securely established in the 
 government by the accession of the house of Bruns- 
 wick, and has held undisturbed possession of it ever 
 since. The tories, on the other hand, through the 
 whole of this period, were the party of the Stuarts 
 and of arbitrary power. At the accession of king 
 William, they lost ostensibly all their weight at court. 
 Under the reign of queen Anne, their influence reviv- 
 ed ; the reins of government were held by a tory 
 administration ; and had this princess lived ten or 
 twenty years longer, this party, with the Stuarts at 
 their head, might again have obtained the ascendan- 
 cy. Her premature death gave a different turn to 
 the course of events, and crushed forever the hopes 
 of the tories, which only blazed out again before 
 their final extinction in the desperate enterprises of 
 1714 and 1745. Whatever, therefore, may be the 
 etymology of these names, and at whatever time 
 
281 
 
 they may have been applied to the parties to which 
 they respectively belonged, it is certain, that the 
 tories were the party of the Stuarts and of arbitrary 
 power, while the whigs were the party of the house 
 of Brunswick and liberty. 
 
 When the tories lost their influence at court in 
 consequence of the revolution of 1688, they became 
 the opposition party, and continued so during the 
 time of king William and the early part of the reign 
 of queen Anne. About four years before her death, 
 they were brought into power ; and during this 
 interval the whigs, in their turn, took their station 
 on the opposition benches. At the accession of 
 George I, the tables were turned again, and the con- 
 fidence of the government was given to the whigs. 
 Some of the leading members of the late tory admin- 
 istration were impeached, imprisoned, and exiled ; 
 and the rest, as a party, assumed the post of opposi- 
 tion. This state of things has continued ever since, 
 not having been interrupted by any subsequent re- 
 turn to power of the tories. The ministerial party 
 of the present day is therefore entitled, if one may 
 so speak, by inheritance, to the name of whigs, being 
 the lineal descendants and legal representatives of 
 the original whig party, which brought in the house 
 of Brunswic ; while the opposition party of the 
 present day, commonly called the whigs, has grown 
 36 
 
282 
 
 up out of the original torj or Stuart party, and may 
 be considered as their successors. That the princi- 
 ples now held by the opposition are still more liberal 
 than those of the ministry is sufficiently notorious ; 
 and it is at least half a century since the Stuarts had 
 any partisans in Great Britain. In giving this ac- 
 count of the origin of the existing parties, it is there- 
 fore, of course, not my intention to ascribe to the 
 whigs of the present time an attachment, either to 
 the Stuart family or their principles, but merely to 
 remark, that this division may be traced in the reg- 
 ular succession of events and of elections to that 
 which took place in the nation at the accession of 
 George I, when the whigs went into power and the 
 tories into opposition. An opposition party must 
 hold a liberal language in order to justify its own 
 existence and proceedings ; and accordingly it has 
 happened in other countries, that when a party, 
 whose general doctrines were less favourable to lib- 
 erty, has become the opposition, it has immediately 
 assumed, not only a more liberal tone than it held 
 before, but a more Hberal one than that of its adver- 
 saries — the professedly liberal party. This is now 
 seen in France, where the most decided ultras are 
 also the most clamorous advocates of the public 
 liberties, and in })articular that of the press. A simi- 
 lar result occurred in the United States, when the 
 
288 
 
 Federal party went into opposition, at the election 
 of Mr Jefferson to the presidency. Their favourite 
 subjects of declamation were now constitutional 
 rights and liberty, instead of quiet submission to the 
 public authorities ; and, what was really remarkable, 
 they became not long after the strenuous supporters 
 of the privileges and power of states against those of 
 the general government, in direct contradiction to 
 the original principle of their existence. The course 
 of things was the same in England. The tories, 
 when they became the opposition, became at once 
 the liberal party ; while the whigs, in self-defence, 
 became as naturally the supporters of power. In 
 the progress of events, all who really disapproved of 
 particular measures of government, as arbitrary or 
 impolitic, enlisted in the opposition ; and the actual 
 Stuart party becoming extinct after the unsuccessful 
 issue of the enterprise of prince Charles Edward, 
 the opposition was at length composed exclusively 
 of these materials. But if the opposition have a 
 right to claim the title of whigs, because they now 
 hold the principles which belonged to that party, 
 the ministerial partisans have a double right to the 
 same appellation ; as the representatives by succes- 
 sion of the original whigs, and because, as they 
 doubtless assert, they also retain in all their purity 
 the attachment to the house of Brunswic and to 
 
284 
 
 liberal principles, which formed the real whig creed. 
 Hence the two parties, instead of whigs and tories, 
 might be called with more propriety the ministerial 
 and the opposition whigs. In fact, the real torj, that 
 is, the Stuart party, has long been extinct in England ; 
 and I apprehend that no intelligent Englishman of 
 the present day will accept the appellation of tory, 
 although it is habitually applied to the ministerial 
 partisans. by their adversaries, as a term of reproach, 
 and although the former are not always apparently 
 very anxious to shake it off. I ought perhaps to 
 except from this remark the ingenious Mr Hogg, 
 commonly called the Ettrick Shepherd, who, though 
 a partisan of the present administration, not only 
 admits that they are tories, but maintains with more 
 consistency, perhaps, than probability, that the royal 
 family itself is and always has been in the interest 
 of the Stuarts. I have never had an opportunity to 
 converse upon the subject with any intelligent ad- 
 herent of the ministry, who did not claim the title of 
 whig, and reject that of tory, as a reproach and a 
 nickname. 
 
 This account of the division in question being 
 admitted, and it seems too direct a conclusion from 
 notorious historical facts to be controverted, it follows 
 of necessity, that, considering the opposition as a 
 party more liberal than that of the ministry, the 
 
285 
 
 division has no sufficient foundation in the condition 
 of the country, or in any corresponding opposition of 
 opinions or interests. In fact, the present institutions 
 are founded on the triumph of liberal principles; and 
 while these institutions continue, it is impossible for 
 any ministry to pursue any other system ; their reg- 
 ular duty being merely to carry into effect and to 
 uphold institutions, which are essentially liberal. 
 The party in power is of course the party of existing 
 institutions ; and if the existing institutions are lib- 
 eral, the party in power is of necessity liberal also. 
 It is doubtless within the compass of possibility that 
 in a country like England an individual or a cabal 
 should form the project of breaking down the present 
 institutions, and founding a despotic government 
 upon their ruins ; but it is not in human nature, 
 that this should be the standing policy of a succession 
 of ministers, holding the government for a long series 
 of years, under a dynasty established on the basis of 
 liberal principles. Since, therefore, the ministerial 
 policy in Great Britain is essentially and necessarily 
 liberal ; and since, of consequence, there is no foun- 
 dation in the condition of the country for a perma- 
 nent opposition party on liberal principles, it follows, 
 that this party must have owed its existence origin- 
 ally to accident. This accident, as I have remarked, 
 was the existence of the tory opposition. A perma- 
 
nent opposition party being once created, it assumed 
 of necessity the character of a liberal party ; but the 
 same circumstances in the condition of the country, 
 which would have prevented it from growing up 
 naturally, also limit very much the field of its opera- 
 tion, which lies, as regards matters of domestic poli- 
 cy, within the narrow compass of the variety of 
 constructions, more or less liberal, that may be given 
 to the same general principles ; and the application 
 of these principles to particular circumstances. The 
 abstract opinions of the two parties upon government 
 are substantially the same ; and the only questions, 
 upon which they differ, are, whether particular 
 measures are consistent with these principles, or 
 are on other accounts politic. Their proprietary 
 interests are precisely the same ; and they are com- 
 posed of the same social materials. They are equally 
 attached to the letter and spirit of the constitution, 
 and equally loyal to the royal family. It is obvious, 
 that the line of division between two such parties 
 must be extremely loose and variable ; and that the 
 whole business is rather a matter of gentlemanly 
 pastime, than a serious political or personal conten- 
 tion. There are two opposing lines ; but their tem- 
 per and operations are more like those of the two 
 sides of a country dance, than of two hostile armies 
 drawn out in battle array. A tone of good humour 
 
287 
 
 and raillery generally predominates in the discus- 
 sions, and there is the same frequent shifting; of sides 
 and of partners, that appears in a ball-room. Nor 
 are the parties so unequally matched, as might be 
 supposed from the circumstance, that the opposition 
 have no real foundation in the condition of the coun- 
 try. This party is strong in the respectability and 
 wealth of many of its members ; and it is strong 
 moreover in the faults of the ministry. Whenever 
 the ministry are in the wrong, the opposition triumph ; 
 and from the uncertainty of all human judgments, 
 the cases of this kind are far from being rare. Indeed, 
 this party, since it came into being, has principally 
 signalized itself by its determined resistance to two 
 very important systems of policy, the American war 
 and the wars of the French revolution. Both these 
 classes of measures afforded a very strong ground of 
 attack to a liberal opposition, because they might be 
 represented with plausibility as not only impolitic, 
 but contrary to liberty ; while it is easy to conceive, 
 on the other hand, that they might be adopted as 
 matters of policy by a government substantially 
 liberal. The first of these measures failed completely. 
 The opinions entertained of it by the opposition ap- 
 peared of course to be justified by the result, and 
 have been confirmed by the judgment of subsequent 
 times. The second met with success not less re- 
 
288 
 
 markable and decisive ; and the views of the oppo- 
 sition seemed at first to be refuted by the event. But 
 even the short interval that has since elapsed has 
 ah'eady exhibited this course of measures under a 
 new point of view ; and their policy must begin to 
 appear very doubtful, even to those who most 
 strongly favoured them at ihe time. 
 
 Such appears to be, in general, the character of 
 the parties m England and of their relations to 
 each other. It might seem at first thought, that in 
 a government founded essentially on liberal princi- 
 ples, the party professing these principles in the 
 most decided form would naturally command the 
 greatest share of public confidence, possess the pre- 
 ponderating influence in parliament, and conse- 
 quently obtain the administration. A little reflec- 
 tion, however, shews, on the contrary, that the 
 exact reverse of this must regularly happen. 
 However truly liberal may be the views and prin- 
 ciples of an administration, it is stifl possible, on 
 every question, to push these ideas to a greater 
 extent ; and as no other ground of opposition can 
 be popular in a liberal government, it follows of 
 necessity, that all, who, from their personal position 
 or other accidental circumstances, are induced to 
 oppose the measures of government, assume at 
 once a more liberal footing. However popular may 
 
289 
 
 be the spirit of the government, that of the oppo- 
 sition will be always more so ; and if the opposition 
 itself were to become the government, there would 
 arise the next day another party apparently still 
 more liberal to oppose them in their turn. Thus, 
 when the whigs or liberal party came into power 
 at the accession of George I, there sprung up a 
 new opposition, which, though founded on the 
 basis of the tory or Stuart party, became imme- 
 diately a still more popular party than the whigs. 
 This, like other natural occurrences, has its good 
 and its evil consequences. A liberal opposition is 
 a useful check on the ministry and a watchful 
 guardian of the public liberties. On the other hand, 
 the ministry are apt to acquire a certain distaste for 
 liberal feelings and principles, from finding them 
 always employed as an engine of opposition ; and 
 from knowing that they always will be. On 
 doubtful political questions, they are apt to take 
 the unpopular side, which, though defensible and 
 plausible, as both sides of all questions are in the 
 hands of able men, is not the true ground of the 
 administration in a liberal government. This effect 
 is perhaps discernible in some degree in the spirit 
 of the British administration for the last half 
 century ; as a single proof of which, among others, 
 may be mentioned the character, already noticed, of 
 37 
 
290 
 
 the new constitution of Hanover. By what fatality 
 has it happened that among the German constitu- 
 tions, the one founded under the auspices of the 
 most liberal government in Europe is precisely the 
 most illiberal of all ? It is, however, the greatest 
 error, into which the administration can possibly 
 fall in a liberal government, to allow this distaste to 
 predominate in their councils and give a colour to 
 their general system. By placing themselves on 
 unpopular ground, they not only vitiate the practical 
 operation of the constitution, but they voluntarily 
 put themselves in the wrong, and give their adver- 
 saries the strong and popular side of the argument. 
 It should be, on the contrary, their standing policy 
 to shew themselves, as they are, the representatives 
 and not the enemies of the friends of liberty ; to 
 hold a decidedly liberal language and to take a 
 decidedly liberal ground, in all doubtful points of 
 domestic administration, on all questions of foreign 
 policy, and on all general subjects. Such a system 
 would not probably wholly prevent the existence of 
 a liberal opposition ; but it would reduce its weight 
 and numbers, disarm it of its strength, and place 
 it regularly in the wrong, by compelling it always 
 to exhibit itself in a false and exaggerated char- 
 acter. 
 
291 
 
 The complaint of corruption in parliament is of 
 old standing. Sir Robert Walpole, one of the 
 earliest and most remarkable ministers under the first 
 kings of the Brunswic dynasty, was charged by the 
 opposition of his time with employing direct bribery 
 as his principal means of influence ; and the gossip- 
 ping memoirs lately published of the events of that 
 period, affect to give the details of this system of 
 bribery, and to name the sums, that were paid to 
 this or that individual. There is no appearance of 
 authenticity in these particulars ; and when we look 
 at the history of Sir Robert Walpole's administra- 
 tion from a more elevated point of view, than that 
 from which it was regarded by the opposition of 
 that day, and the scandal-mongers of the piesent, 
 we see that such a system was as unnecessary as it 
 would be impracticable. This statesman was at the 
 head of a whig ministry, and the whig interest was 
 completely predominant in the nation. It was with 
 infinite difficulty, and by the use of the most extra- 
 ordinary means, that the tories under queen Anne 
 had been able to maintain, for three or four years, 
 their ascendancy in parliament ; and the reaction 
 after the queen's death was so strong against them, 
 that they were pursued with a sort of fury, and 
 found it difficult to escape with their heads. Was 
 this a time when it was necessary to secure the 
 
292 
 
 predominance of the wliigs by direct bribery r 
 The immense patronage at the disposal of a British 
 minister will, in the nature of things, be always 
 employed as a political instrument ; and this is 
 probably the extent to which the charge made upon 
 the government of direct corruption is really true. 
 Walpole does not seem to have been a man of 
 scrupulous conscience or delicate feelings, though 
 a practical statesman of great ability ; and he, per- 
 haps, at times, made use of his patronage without 
 much regard to appearances. Burke has drawn the 
 character of this minister, with his usual discrim- 
 ination and felicity ; and has rescued it from much 
 of the obloquy, that had been thrown upon it by his 
 opponents, and had become attached to it in public 
 opinion. 
 
 But though the charge of corruption is of ancient 
 date, the demand for parliamentary reform, as a 
 remedy, is not coeval with it, but began to be heard 
 at a much more recent period. Burke was among 
 the first statesmen who urged the expediency of 
 reform ; but the reform which he demanded was 
 economical, and not parliamentary. He insisted on 
 reductions, in the expenses of administration, and 
 even descended into some not very dignified details 
 of the domestic economy of the royal family. We 
 hear much in one of his speeches of the king^s 
 
♦ 293 
 
 turnspit, a personage who does not appear quite at 
 home upon the floor of parliament. Soon after the 
 American war, however, the subject of parlia- 
 mentary reform began to engage the attention of 
 the principal statesmen ; but it does not seem to 
 have excited much interest, until the enthusiasm for 
 liberty, which marked the beginning of the French 
 revolution, had extended itself from France to 
 England. It was then that the cry for reform in 
 parliament first became loud and general, that con- 
 stitutional societies were formed for the promotion 
 of this object, and that it was looked upon, as it con- 
 tinued to be, for a long time, as the leading question 
 in domestic policy. The demand for parliamentary 
 reform was therefore not wholly of indigenous origin. 
 If the stock was native, the shoot, which was en- 
 grafted upon it, came from the other side of the chan- 
 nel ; and it has generally flourished or decayed in cor- 
 respondence with the condition of the parent tree. 
 While the zeal for political improvements continued 
 to glow with all its first warmth at Paris, the cause 
 of reform was espoused with equal enthusiasm at 
 London ; but when the fair prospects of the open- 
 ing of the revolution had disappeared, the friends of 
 reform in England v, ere also disheartened ; the 
 dispute between the parties began to turn upon 
 matters of foreign policy ; and, although there have 
 
294 
 
 since been periods when the interest felt in this 
 subject has revived in a greater or less degree, it 
 has ceased upon the whole to engage the attention 
 of the rational friends of liberty, whether in the 
 ministry or the opposition ; and since the business 
 has been taken up by the radicals, it has almost 
 \^'holly lost its adherents in the respectable part of 
 the public. The whigs occasionally bring forward 
 in parliament propositions of reform in detail, which 
 are moderate and practicable, which might even be 
 adopted with advantage, but which, if adopted, 
 would make no material alteration in the state of 
 the constitution. The member for Westminster 
 continues to make his annual speech, denouncing 
 the whole political system as a mass of corruption ; 
 but the substance of the speech has now been re- 
 peated so often, that it requires all the eloquence 
 and high personal respectability of Sir Francis 
 Burdett to prevent it from being tiresome, if not 
 ridiculous. Upon the whole, the nation seems to 
 have settled down into a quiet satisfaction with the 
 present state of the constitution, and the opinion is 
 becoming general, that the dangers, which principally 
 threaten the country, .are to be found in a different 
 quarter. 
 
 If the views of the opposition in parliament, in 
 regard to some very important subjects, have re- 
 
295 
 
 ceived an apparent confirmation from the final 
 result of the measures that were pursued, the party 
 can also boast the honour of reckoning upon its list 
 of members some of the most distinguished states- 
 men that ever appeared in England or the world. 
 Not to mention those now living, who would do 
 credit to any party or any nation, it may be suffi- 
 cient to cite the illustrious names of Fox and 
 Burke, names that are hardly to be paralleled in 
 the records of eloquence, philosophy, and patriot- 
 ism ; and which will only be more closely associ- 
 ated in the respect and veneration of future ages on 
 account of the personal schism which grew up 
 between them, and which forms one of the most 
 interesting parts of their history. Their difierence 
 was rather in regard to policy than to principle, 
 both being warm and strenuous friends of liberty ; 
 and where they differed, they were both partl}^ 
 right and partly wrong. That Burke was judicious 
 and wise, in discountenancing the too violent spirit 
 of reform which was then spreading through the 
 nation and threatening ruin to its institutions ; and 
 that Fox, in encouraging it, was rather influenced 
 by a generous and unreflecting zeal for freedom, 
 than by motives of sound policy, will now hardly be 
 denied ; and the time, perhaps, is not very distant, 
 if it has not already arrived, Avhen it will be admit- 
 
ted with equal unanimity, that the policy of mak- 
 ing war upon France, whether for the purpose of 
 crushing the principles of liberty, or, at a subsequent 
 period, of checking the development of her power, 
 was throughout, not only unjust, but imprudent, 
 and eminently unfortunate for the ultimate interest 
 of England ; that Burke, by supporting this policy 
 with his fervid and powerful eloquence, was uncon- 
 sciously doing a serious injury to his country ; and 
 that the system of Fox and his friends and succes- 
 sors in this point was as politic and prudent, as it 
 was generous and humane. After thirty years of 
 unheard of exertion and unexampled success, the 
 war seems to have ended by leaving an open field 
 to the ambition of another state, infinitely more 
 formidable and dangerous than France. It may be 
 remarked, however, that this result does not appear 
 to have been foreseen by the opposition any more 
 than by the ministry. It has generally been the 
 fault of the British statesmen of all parties to regard 
 France merely as a rival state, instead of extending 
 their views to the whole European system, of which 
 France and England are ofily members, with inter- 
 ests almost wholly in unison. 
 
 Fox and Burke, if I may be allowed to dwell a 
 little longer on so pleasing a theme as the characters 
 of these illustrious statesmen, were not less distin- 
 
297 
 
 guislied for amiable personal qualities and intellectual 
 accomplishments, than for commanding eloquence 
 and skill in political science. The friends of Fox 
 dwell, with enthusiasm and fond regret, upon the 
 cordiality of his manners and the unalloyed sweetness 
 of his disposition. It is unfortunate, that the pure 
 lustre of these charming virtues was not graced by 
 a sufficient regard to the dictates of private morali- 
 ty. Burke, on the contrary, with an equally kind 
 and social spirit, was a model of perfection in all the 
 relations of domestic life ; his character being at once 
 unsullied by the least stain of excess, and exempt 
 from any shade of rigorism or defect of humour. 
 While his private virtues made the happiness of his 
 family and friends, his conversation was the charm 
 and wonder of the loftiest minds and the most en- 
 lightened circles of society. He was the only man 
 whom Dr Johnson, a great master of conversation, 
 admitted to be capable of tasking his powers. The 
 only deduction from the uniform excellence of Burke 
 is said to have been the small attraction of his man- 
 ner in public speaking, a point in which Fox was 
 also not particularly successful, but was reckoned 
 his superior. It would be too rash for an ordinary 
 observer to undertake to give to either of these two 
 mighty minds the palm of original superiority. It 
 can hardly be denied, that that of Burke was better 
 38 
 
298 
 
 disciplined and more accomplished ; and his intel- 
 lectual reputation, being better supported than that 
 of Fox by written memorials, will projjably stand 
 higher with posterity. Had Fox been permitted to 
 finish the historical work, which he had begun, he 
 might perhaps have bequeathed to future ages a 
 literary monument, superior in dignity and lasting- 
 value to any thing that remains from the pen of 
 Burke. Both possessed a fine and cultivated taste 
 for the beauties of art and nature ; that of Fox seems 
 to have been even more poetical than his illustrious 
 rival's ; but he has left no written proofs of it equal 
 to the fine philosophical essay on the sublime and 
 beautiful. It is but poor praise of this elegant per- 
 formance to say, that it is infinitely superior to the 
 essay of Longinus on the sublime, from which the 
 hint seems to have been taken, and which nothing 
 but a blind and ignorant admiration of antiquity 
 could have ever exalted into a work of great merit. 
 A sagacious critic has advanced the opinion, that 
 the merit of Burke was almost wholly literary ; but 
 I confess I see but little ground for this assertion, if 
 literary excellence is here understood in any other 
 sense, than as an immediate result of the highest 
 intellectual and moral endowments. Such compo- 
 sitions, as the writings of Burke, suppose, no doubt, 
 the fine taste, the command of language, and the 
 
299 
 
 finished education, which are all supposed by every 
 description of literary success. But in the present 
 state of society these qualities are far from being 
 uncommon ; and are possessed by thousands, who 
 make no pretension to the eminence of Burke, in 
 the same degree in which they were by him. Such 
 a writer as Cumberland, for example, who stands 
 infinitely below Burke on the scale of intellect, may 
 yet be regarded as his equal or superior in purely 
 literary accomplishments, taken in this exclusive 
 sense. The style of Burke is undoubtedly one of 
 the most splendid forms, in which the English lan- 
 guage has ever been exhibited. It displays the happy 
 and difficult union of all the richness and magnifi- 
 cence, that good taste admits, with a perfectly easy 
 construction. In Burke, we see the manly move- 
 ment of a well bred gentleman ; in Johnson, an 
 equally profound and vigorous thinker, the measured 
 march of a grenadier. We forgive the great moralist 
 his stiff and cumbrous phrases, in return for the rich 
 stores of thought and poetry, which they conceal ; 
 but we admire in Burke, as in a fine antique statue, 
 the grace, with which the large flowing robe adapts 
 itself to the majestic dignity of the person. But, 
 with all his literary excellence, the peculiar merits 
 of this great man were, perhaps, the faculty of pro- 
 found and philosophical thought, and the moral 
 
300 
 
 courage, which led him to disregard personal incon- 
 venience in the expression of his sentiments. Deep 
 thought is the informing soul, that every where 
 sustains and inspires the imposing grandeur of his 
 eloquence. Even in the essay on the sublime and 
 beautiful, the only work of pure literature, which he 
 attempted, that is, the only one, which was not an 
 immediate expression of his views on important 
 public affairs, there is still the same richness of 
 thought, the same basis of ' divine philosophy,' ta 
 support the harmonious superstructure of the lan- 
 guage. And the moral courage, which formed so 
 remarkable a feature in his character, contributed not 
 less essentially to his literary success. It seems to 
 be a law of nature, that the highest degree of elo- 
 quence demands the union of the noblest qualities of 
 character, as well as intellect. To think is the 
 highest exercise of the mind ; to say what you think, 
 the boldest effort of moral courage ; and both these 
 things are required for a really powerful writer. 
 Eloquence, without thoughts, is a mere parade of 
 words ; and no man can express with spirit and 
 vigour any thoughts but his own. This was the 
 secret of the eloquence of Rousseau, which is not 
 without a certain analogy in its forms to that of 
 Burke. The principal of the Jesuits' college one 
 day inquired of him by what art he had been able 
 
301 
 
 to write so well ; ' / said what I thought,'' replied 
 the unceremonious Genevan ; conveying in these 
 few words the bitterest satire on the system of the 
 Jesuits, and the best explanation of his own. 
 
 If, by the criticism above alluded to, it be meant 
 that Burke, though an eloquent writer and pro- 
 found thinker, was not an able practical statesman, 
 the position may be more tenable, at least for the 
 partisans of the school of Fox, but not perhaps 
 ultimately more secure. To form correct conclu- 
 sions in points of practice, in opposition to the habit- 
 ual current of one's opinions and prejudices, must be 
 considered the highest proof of practical ability ; 
 and this was done by Burke in regard to the French 
 revolution. As a member of the opposition and a 
 uniform friend and supporter of liberal principles, 
 he was led by all his habits of thinking, and by all 
 his personal associations, to approve it ; and to feel 
 the same excessive desire to introduce its principles 
 in England, which prevailed among his political 
 friends. But he had sagacity enough to see the 
 true interest of his country, through the cloud of 
 illusions and associations ; and independence enough 
 to proclaim his opinions, with the sacrifice of all his 
 intimate connexions. This was at once the height 
 of practical ability and disinterested patriotism. If 
 he pushed his ideas to exaggeration in regard to 
 
302 
 
 foreign affairs, it was still the exaggeration of a 
 system essentially correct in its domestic operation. 
 He was rather a British than a European states- 
 man ; but the moment was so critical at home that 
 he may perhaps be excused for not seeing quite 
 clearly what was right abroad ; and it was also not 
 unnatural that he should carry to excess the system, 
 to which he had sacrificed his prejudices and his 
 friendships. That his system was not correct in all 
 its parts may be easily admitted ; but I think that 
 in supporting it under the circumstances, he proved 
 great practical ability ; and wdiat system was ever 
 adopted, in which it was not possible, thirty years 
 after, to point out faults ? 
 
 By the side of these celebrated patriots arose 
 another not less distinguished, though his name is 
 hardly surrounded in public opinion with so many 
 amiable and lofty associations ; I mean the son of 
 Chatham — ' the pilot that weathered the storm.' 
 Prejudice itself can scarcely refuse to this statesman 
 the praise of transcendent endowments, both intel- 
 lectual and moral. He had the natural gift of a 
 brilliant and easy elocution, great aptitude for des- 
 patch of business, and a singular facility in seeing 
 through at a glance and developing with perfect 
 clearness the most intricate combinations of politics 
 and finance. He possessed, moreover, a firmness of 
 
303 
 
 j)uipose and a determined confidence in his own 
 system, which finally insured it success, and which 
 afford, perhaps, the strongest proofs he has given of 
 the elevation of his character. It was no secondary 
 statesman who could trust undauntedly to himself, 
 when left as it w ere alone in Europe, like the tragi- 
 cal Medea, abandoned by all the world ; and in the 
 confidence of his own resources, could renew his 
 efforts with redoubled vigor. His admirers will 
 hardly venture to ascribe to him the enlarged phi- 
 losophy or the warmth of heart, that belonged to 
 his illustrious colleagues and rivals. The conduct 
 of public affairs was the business of his life ; and 
 he neither knew nor cared any thing about other 
 matters. He was born and bred to this ; and if he 
 was equal to it, he was also not above it. Philos- 
 ophy and friendship were to him, in the language 
 of the law, surplusage ; as Calvinism was to the 
 great Cujas — Nihil hoc ad edictum Praetor is. And 
 although political affairs are of a higher order, and of 
 more extensive interest than any others, yet, when 
 the conduct of them is pursued mechanically, like a 
 mere professional employment, it becomes, like 
 other professions, a matter of routine and drudgery. 
 Thus, while Burke and Fox appear like beings of 
 a different class, descending from superior regions 
 to interest themselves in the welfare of mortals. 
 
304 
 
 Pitt presents himself to the mind as the first of 
 mere politicians, but still as a mere politician like 
 the rest. His eloquence is marked with the stamp 
 of his character. It pursues a clear and rapid 
 course, neither falling below nor rising above the 
 elevation of his habitual themes. No attempt to 
 sound the depths of thought, or soar on the wings 
 of fancy, still less to touch the fine chords of feel- 
 ing, but all a + 6, an elegant solution of political 
 problems very nearly in the manner of algebra. 
 This profuse and interminable flow of words is not 
 in itself either a rare or remarkable endowment. 
 It is wholly a thing of habit, and is exercised by 
 every village lawyer, w ith various degrees of power 
 and grace. Lord Londonderry, though he wants 
 the elegant correctness of language, as well as the 
 lofty talents of his great predecessor, commands an 
 equally ready and copious elocution. In the esti- 
 mate of Mr Pitt's powers, I have not taken into 
 account the errors of his foreign policy, because an 
 erroneous judgment is not always a proof of infe- 
 rior talents, but often only argues a false position. 
 The misfortune of having countenanced and joined 
 in the crusade against the French, and the merit of 
 having resisted the spirit of revolution at home, 
 belong alike to Pitt and to Burke. The praise of 
 a clearer and more generous view of foreign politics 
 
305 
 
 is due to Fox ; though his plan was not always 
 boltomed on the most enlarged system of European 
 relations, and although his glory is somewhat 
 clouded by his too precij)itate zeal for political 
 novelties at home. But J have been led too far 
 from my immediate subject in pursuit of these 
 illustrious shades, whose names, unless we see them 
 through a medium of great illusion, will stand 
 much higher on the rolls of fame, than those of their 
 present successors. 1 must now touch slightly on 
 a less seducing theme, the distresses of the country. 
 If, as I have supposed, the present state of the 
 constitution is sufficiently satisfactory, and if the 
 country still maintains an imposing political atti- 
 tude, its internal situation, as is generally admitted, 
 is far from being prosperous or agreeable. The 
 complaint of distress has long been loud and gen- 
 eral. The decay of industry, in its several branches 
 of agricuUu.ve, commerce and manufactures, has 
 been repeatedly signalized in parliament and from 
 the throne ; and- has led to anxious but hitherto 
 confessedly ineffectual efforts to find a remedy or 
 even to discover the precise cause of the evil. The 
 number of the poor has increased to an alarming 
 extent ; and the tax for their support now amounts 
 to at least as large a sum, as the whole annual 
 expense of the government of the United States. 
 39 
 
306 
 
 This burden alone presses so heavily upon the 
 landholders, that we hear of estates of which the 
 entire rent is insufficient to pay the poor rates, and 
 which are consequently abandoned by their owners. 
 Beside this, the amount of the other impositions is 
 enormous ; and the restrictions on industry are 
 numerous and oppressive. How far these burdens 
 contribute to occasion the existing distress is a mat- 
 ter of dispute. By some they are thought to be the 
 principal cause of it ; while others imagine that the 
 mischief arises from a sudden change in the polit- 
 ical situation of the country. All appear to unite in 
 admitting the extent of the danger and the difficulty 
 of finding a remedy. 
 
 The general and remote cause of this embarrass- 
 ment is, perhaps, the change in the state of property, 
 which I have had occasion to allude to before. 
 The vast augmentation of wealth, obtained by the 
 class of proprietors within the last half century, has 
 reduced the labourers to a lower point in the social 
 scale ; it has augmented very much the price of all 
 the necessaries of life, without augmenting the 
 wages of labom- in proportion ; because the in- 
 creased supply, by the augmentation of population, 
 has at least kept pace with the increased demand. 
 Hence the labourers have no longer the same com- 
 mand that they had before of the comforts and 
 
307 
 
 necessaries of life. They are wholly dependent on 
 the proprietors, and are subject to be thro\N n out of 
 employment and reduced to wretchedness, by every 
 change in the state of commerce. England, from 
 being itself a separate nation, has, in fact, become 
 the metropolitan island of a great universal empire ; 
 and for the same reason, that the lower class of the 
 population in a large city is more dependent and 
 wretched, than it is in the country, the mass of the 
 people in England is now more dependent and 
 wretched, than it was before. Their misery is a 
 reaction of the great general prosperity of the 
 kingdom ; as the number of slaves, that is, the 
 amount of wretchedness, on the estate of a Jamaica 
 planter, is an exact measure of the opulence of the 
 master. The commencement of this state of things 
 w^as noticed more than half a century ago ; and is 
 described by Goldsmith in the most touching and 
 elegant manner in his Deserted Village. This 
 picture passed at the time for a mere fancy piece ; 
 but experience, as has justly been observed by the 
 most delightful poet of the present day, is far from 
 having proved that the evils he pointed out were 
 either exaggerated or imaginary. The degradation 
 and abject wretchedness of all the lower orders of 
 the people have of late become but too evident ; 
 while the overgrown and enormous resources of the 
 
308 
 
 great proprietors present an unnatural and hideous 
 contrast with the misery that surrounds them. 
 Industrious families arc said to subsist, notwith- 
 standing the high price of the necessaries of life, 
 upon a few shillings a week ; while other families 
 monopolize incomes of from 150 to 300,000 ])ounfls ; 
 and fortunes descend from father to son, if some 
 late accounts may be believed, of more than thirty 
 millions sterling. Thus the actual amount of 
 wretchedness is, in some measure, holden from 
 public view by the princely splendor that encircles 
 the summits of society ; as the poisonous and im- 
 passable swamps of Florida are concealed by the 
 colossal magnolia tree, which towers above them to 
 immeasurable heights, and charms the distant spec- 
 tator with the magnificent richness of its foliage 
 and the matchless size and beauty of its flowers,' 
 perfuming the air, for miles around, with their de- 
 lightful odour. 
 
 This being the nature of the evil, it is easy to 
 imagine how difficult it is to find a remedy. A 
 change in the state of property would seem to be 
 the most natural one ; but as the proprietors are 
 and must be of necessity the lawgivers, it can 
 hardly be supposed that they will give away by law 
 their own estates ; nor is there any power in the 
 nation capable of taking them away by force, sup- 
 
309 
 
 posing even that such a measure was expedient. 
 Repeal the com laws, and at least allow the people, 
 in their present abject misery, to buy their food as 
 cheap as it can be had — this is impossible ; as the 
 consequent revolution in the price of produce would 
 ruin the landholders, who are themselves the law- 
 givers, and will never sign their own death warrant. 
 Reduce the taxes. This can only be done by 
 diminishing the annual expenses or cutting down 
 the debt. The expenses are already nearly or quite 
 as low as they can be brought ; and a national 
 bankruptcy would still be the ruin of all the propri- 
 etors. At least, then, remove the existing restraints 
 on industry ^nd commerce, and increase the demand 
 for labour by extending, as nmch as possible, the 
 market for its products. This indeed appears to be 
 the most plausible suggestion that can be made 
 upon the subject ; and has, accordingly, been urged 
 with great earnestness, by the most intelligent 
 statesmen. But even this measure is liable to the 
 objections which may be offered against all im- 
 portant and sudden innovations, that their operation 
 is uncertain and their results wholly incalculable. 
 In attempting, in this way, to remedy an existing 
 evil, you may not only fail of success, but may 
 introduce others that are still more alarming. At 
 die same time the danger of doing nothing or of 
 
510 
 
 doing too little, niay be as great or greater than 
 that of doing too much. The moment seems to be 
 critical. Delay may produce a fatal explosion ; 
 and a radical war of extermination may break out 
 and desolate the kingdom. Or, if this this should 
 not happen, the body politic, unless something is 
 done to relieve it, may perish by the slower but 
 surer process of decay ; and as England has risen, 
 by similar means, to loftier heights of power and 
 wealth than Holland, it may be only to sink with 
 louder ruin to the gulfs below. At the next war 
 in Europe, we may find her an indifferent spectator 
 or a passive ally, instead of a dictatorial umpire ; 
 and there are even already symptoms of such a 
 change to be seen, in the character of her present 
 policy with regard to the affairs of Italy and Greece. 
 In so doubtful and delicate a crisis, when it seems to 
 be almost equally dangerous to act and to abstain 
 from acting, it must be a \evy wild and unreflecting 
 ambition which could envy the post of a British 
 minister. 
 
 Among the various schemes, which have been 
 suggested for the relief of the present distresses, those 
 of Mr Owen strike most directly at the root of the 
 evil. The only difficulty is, that it is quite impossi- 
 ble to introduce in practice so important an innova- 
 tion in the state of property. The merit of this 
 
311 
 
 gentleman's plan is contested, on grounds indepen- 
 dent of its practicability ; and especially by a writer 
 in the Edinburgh Review, No. 64, who politely 
 intimates, that the projector of such a scheme is a 
 suitable candidate for the insane hospital. Much 
 ridicule, is thrown upon the quadrangular form of 
 Mr Owen's intended villages ; but this, though per- 
 haps very ingenious pleasantry, has not much to do 
 with the question. The reviewer seems to me not 
 to have seized the precise object, which this gentle- 
 man's plan is designed to effect. From the superfi- 
 cial and imperfect view I have been able to take of 
 it, I have supposed it to be his object to place the 
 whole territory of Great Britain at the disposition 
 of the whole population, for the purpose of obtaining 
 from it the necessaries and comforts of life. There 
 are in England vast portions of territory, either 
 wholly unoccupied, or employed for mere parade 
 and luxury ; and there are, on the other hand, vast 
 numbers of people, who are without the means of 
 subsistence, because they are without employment. 
 Let the unemployed hands be placed upon the vacant 
 territory ; and, whether the soil be good or bad, they 
 will find no difficulty in getting out of it the means 
 of subsistence. The home market will be extended 
 in proportion to the additional consumption thus 
 created ; and the additional quantity of labour will 
 
312 
 
 be the fund, that pays for the increased quantity of 
 produce. It is in vain to object to this, that the 
 taxes and the restrictions on industry will remain 
 the same as before ; and that corn cannot be raised 
 as cheap in England, as in some other countries. 
 The foreign corn trade is, of course, wholly out of 
 the question, in consequence of this last circumstance 
 and of the corn laws ; but if the consumption of 
 corn can be increased at home, an additional quan- 
 tity may be brought to market without diminishing 
 the price, and the same proportional sums may be 
 paid to the landlord for rent, and to the government 
 for taxes, as before, while the additional quantity 
 raised shall still remain for the consumption of the 
 additional number of labourers. That the consump- 
 tion of produce would be increased at home by put- 
 ting the unemployed persons, who have now little 
 or nothing to consume, upon the unoccupied or un- 
 improved land, and allowing them to consume the 
 fruits of their labour, I take to be as clear as any 
 proposition in arithmetic. And, if the persons, thus 
 employed, can obtain by their labour something 
 more than the worth of the bare means of subsis- 
 tence, an additional home market will be created for 
 manufactured articles, as well as for produce. The 
 error of the reviewer lies in supposing, that no land 
 is left unimproved, except such as is of so poor a 
 
313 
 
 quality, that it would cost more to raise corn upon 
 it, than the corn itself would be worth when raised. 
 The land is unimproved, partly because in the pres- 
 ent state of the home market for produce, the quan- 
 tity profitably raised cannot be extended, and partly 
 becausfe the proprietors consult their own pleasure, 
 in laying out their grounds, more than the public 
 convenience. There is no soil so poor, that it will 
 not afford an industrious laboul'er, who plants it with 
 corn or potatoes, an abundant subsistence ; and if 
 there is now in England suflicient unimproved land 
 to support in this way all the unemployed part of 
 the population, the plans of Mr Owen, could they 
 be introduced, would be a complete remedy for the 
 distress. The essence of the scheme, if I understand 
 it, does not lie in the division of the country into 
 square villages, as this facetious gentleman supposes, 
 but in the assignment of the vacant territory to the 
 unemployed part of the population. 
 
 But whatever may be the extent of the distress in 
 England, or the difficulty of finding any remedies 
 for it, which shall be at once practicable and suffi- 
 cient, it is certain, that the symptoms of decline have 
 not yet displayed themselves on the surface ; and no 
 country in Europe at the present day, probably none 
 that ever flourished at any preceding period of an- 
 cient or of modern times, ever exhibited so strongly 
 40 
 
314 
 
 the outward marks of general industry, wealth, and 
 prosperity. The misery that exists, whatever it 
 may be, retires from public view ; and the traveller 
 sees no traces of it, except in the beggars, which are 
 not more numerous, than they are on the continent, 
 in the courts of justice, and in the newspapers. On 
 the contrary, the impressions he receives from the 
 objects, that meet bis view, are almost uniformly 
 agreeable. He is pleased with the great attention 
 paid to his personal accommodation, as a traveller, 
 with the excellent roads, and the convenience of the 
 public carriages and inns. The country every where 
 exhibits the appearance of high cultivation, or else 
 of wild and picturesque beauty ; and even the un- 
 improved lands are disposed with taste and skill, so 
 as to embellish the landscape very highly, if they 
 do not contribute, as they might, to the substantial 
 comfort of the people. From every eminence, ex- 
 tensive parks and grounds, spreading far and wide 
 over hill and vale, interspersed with dark woods 
 and variegated with bright waters, unroll themselves 
 before the eye, like enchanted gardens. And while 
 the elegant constructions of the modern proprietors 
 fill the mind with images of ease and luxury, the 
 mouldering ruins, that remain from former ages, of 
 the castles and churches of their feudal ancestors, 
 increase the interest of the picture by contrast, and 
 
315 
 
 associate with it ])oetical and affecting recollections 
 of other times and manners. Every village seems 
 to be the chosen residence of industry, and her 
 handmaids, neatness and c^|^; and in the various 
 parts of the island, her oi^ME j^esent themselves 
 under the most amusii^fid Igreeable variety of 
 forms. Sometimes her v'eHiil^s^'e mounting to the 
 skies in manufactories o^- innumerable stories in 
 height, and sometimes diving in mines into the 
 bowels of the earth, or dragging up drowned treas- 
 ures from the bottom of the sea. At one time, the 
 ornamented grounds of a wealthy proprietor seem 
 to realize the fabled Elysium ; and again, as you 
 pass in the evening through some village engaged 
 in the iron manufacture, where a thousand forges 
 are feeding at once their dark red fires, and clouding 
 the air with their volumes of smoke, you might 
 think yourself for a moment a little too near some 
 drearier residence. The aspect of the cities is as 
 various, as that of the country. Oxford, in the silent, 
 solemn grandeur of its numerous collegiate palaces, 
 with their massy stone walls and vast interior quad- 
 rangles, seems like the deserted capital of some 
 departed race of giants. This is the splendid sep^ 
 ulchre, where science, like the Roman Tarpeia, lies 
 buried under the weight of gold, that rewarded her 
 ancient services, and where copious libations of tha 
 
richest port and madeira are daily poured out to 
 her memory. At Liverpool, on the contrary, all is 
 bustle, brick, and business. Every thing breathes 
 of modern times, evemj^dy is occupied with the 
 concerns of the prestsii-ffimoment, excepting one 
 elegant scholar, wnp uiytes a singular resemblance 
 to the Roman face ana dignified person of our 
 Washington, with the maguiticent spirit and intel- 
 lectual accomplishments of his own Italian hero. 
 At every change in the landscape, you fall upon 
 monuments of some new race of men among the 
 number, that have in their turn inhabited these islands. 
 The mysterious monument of Stonehenge, standing 
 remote and alone upon a bare and boundless heath, 
 as much unconnected with the events of past ages, 
 as it is with the uses of the present, carries you back 
 beyond all historical records into the obscurity of a 
 wholly unknown period. Perhaps the Druids raised 
 it ; but by what machinery could these half barba- 
 rians have wrought and moved such immense masses 
 of rock ? By what fatality is it, that in every part 
 of the globe the most durable impressions, that have 
 been made upon its surface, were the work of races 
 now entirely extinct ? Who were the builders of 
 the pyramids and the massy monuments of Egypt 
 and India ? Who constructed the Cyclopean walls 
 of Italy and Greece, or elevated the innumerable 
 
317 
 
 and inexplicable mounds, which are seen in every 
 part of Europe, Asia, and America ; or the ancient 
 forts upon the Ohio, on whose ruins the third 
 growth of trees is now more than four hundred 
 years old ? All these conductions have existed, 
 through the whole period within the memory of 
 man, and will continue when all the architecture of 
 the present generation, with its high civilization and 
 improved machinery, shall have crumbled into dust. 
 Stonehenge will remain unchanged, when the banks 
 of the Thames shall be as bare, as Salisbury heath. 
 But the Romans had something of the spirit of these 
 primitive builders, and they left every where distinct 
 traces of their passage. Half the castles in Great 
 Britain were founded, according to tradition, by 
 Julius Csesar ; and abundant vestiges remain 
 throughout the island of their walls and forts and 
 military roads. Most of their castles have however 
 been built upon and augmented at a later period, 
 and belong with more propriety to the brilliant 
 epoch of the Gothic architecture. Thus the keep of 
 Warwick dates from the time of Csesar, while the 
 castle itself, with its lofty battlements, extensive 
 walls, and large enclosures, bears witness to the age, 
 when every Norman chief Avas a military despot 
 v.ithin his own barony. To this period appertain 
 the principal part of the magnificent Gothic moim- 
 
318 
 
 nients, castles, cathedrals, abbeys, priories, and 
 ciiurches, in various stages of preservation and of 
 ruin ; some, like Warwick and Alnwick castles, like 
 Salisbury cathedral and Westminster abbey, in all 
 their original perfection ; others, like Kenilworth 
 and Canterbur} , little more than a rude mass of 
 earth and rubbish ; and others, again, in the inter- 
 mediate stages of decay, borrowing a sort of charm 
 from their very ruin, and putting on their dark green 
 robes of ivy to conceal the ravages of time, as if the 
 luxuriant bounty of nature were purposely throwing 
 a veil over the frailty and feebleness of art. What 
 a beautiful and brilliant vision was this Gothic 
 architecture, shining out, as it did, from the deepest 
 darkness of feudal barbarism ! And here, again, by 
 what fatality has it happened, that the moderns, wdth 
 all their civilization and improved taste, have been 
 as utterly unsuccessful in rivalling the divine sim- 
 plicity of the Greeks, as the rude grandeur of the 
 Cyclopeans and ancient Egyptians ? Since the 
 revival of art in Europe, the builders have confined 
 themselves wholly to a graceless and unsuccessful 
 imitation of ancient models. Strange, that the only 
 new architectural conception of any value, subse- 
 quent to the time of Phidias, should have been 
 struck out at the worst period of society, that has 
 since occurred. Sometimes, the moderns, in their 
 
319 
 
 laborious poverty of invention, heap up small mate- 
 rials in large masses, and think that St Peter's or 
 St Paul's will be as much more sublime than the 
 Parthenon, as they are larger ; at others, they con- 
 descend to a servile imitation of the wild and native 
 graces of the Gothic ; as the Chinese, in their stupid 
 ignorance of perspective, can still copy line by line, 
 and point by point, a European picture. But the 
 Norman castles and churches, with all their richness 
 and sublimity, fell with the power of their owners 
 at the rise of the commonwealth. The independents 
 were levellers of substance, as well as form ; and the 
 material traces they left of their existence are the 
 ruins of what their predecessors had built. They 
 too had an architecture, but it was not in wood nor 
 stone. It was enough for them to lay the founda- 
 tion of the nobler fabric of civil liberty. The effects 
 of the only change in society, that has since occur- 
 red, are seen in the cultivated fields, the populous 
 and thriving cities, the busy ports, and the general 
 prosperous appearance of the country. All the 
 various aspects, that I have mentioned, present 
 themselves in turns ; and, having gradually succeed- 
 ed to each other, their contrasts are never too rude, 
 and they harmonize together, so as to make up a 
 most agreeable picture. Sometimes, as at Edinburgh, 
 the creations of ancient and of modern days, the 
 
320 
 
 old and new towns, have placed themselves very 
 amicably side by side ; like Fitzjames and Roderic 
 Dhu, reposing on the same plaid ; while at London, 
 the general emporium and central point of the whole 
 system, every variety of origin and social existence 
 is effaced, and all are churned together, and coagu- 
 lated into one uniform, though heterogeneous mass. 
 There is perhaps no jDart of England, less agreeable 
 and less English, than tlie metropolis. 
 
 The poetical associations, connected with all 
 these different objects, are equally, perhaps more 
 interesting to a man of taste and education, than 
 the historical ones. This is a charm peculiar to 
 countries which have been long settled and inhabited 
 by a cultivated race, and will be felt in the United 
 States some centuries hence. An extreme sensi- 
 bility to it is, perhaps, a proof of an artificial and 
 exaggerated state of feeling ; but so is extreme 
 sensibility to natural sublimity and beauty. A 
 common peasant or citizen cares as little for one 
 as for the other. Two thirds of the population, 
 within twenty miles of the falls of Niagara or the 
 Giant's causeway, have probably never seen them. 
 St Pierre, in his Studies of Nature, relates an 
 anecdote that illustrates, very pleasantly, this indif- 
 ference of the common people to every thing but 
 their immediate pursuits and wants. He was 
 
321 
 
 travelling on foot through one of the provinces of 
 France, on a fine spring morning, and overtook a 
 female peasant, carrying under her arm two large 
 loaves of bread. His own mind was in a sort of rap- 
 turous glow at the beauty of every thing about him, 
 and he could not help expressing it to his fellow trav- 
 eller. He said to her, ' w hat a pleasant day this is, 
 my good woman, and what a soft, refreshing breeze 
 is blowing. How charmingly the nightingales sing 
 in those woods.' ' Much I care,' replied the woman, 
 pointing significantly to the freight she was carry- 
 ing, ' much I care for such little yaupers. Bread is 
 the thing we want.' One of the first places, where 
 I set foot upon European ground, was Elsineur in 
 Denmark ; and I remember that I visited the 
 gardens of Hamlet, with as strong a feeling of 
 adoration for the invisible divinity of genius presid- 
 ing there, as ever a Mahometan pilgrim felt in 
 sweeping out the temple at Mecca ; and at a sub- 
 sequent period I explored the village of Stratford 
 upon Avon, and wrote my name upon the white- 
 washed wall of the little hovel, that is called 
 Shakspeare's house, in a sort of intellectual intoxi- 
 cation. Oxford, with all its present inactivity, is 
 one of the most interesting spots on the globe to a 
 cultivated mind ; and if we cannot view it with 
 respect, as the abode of living genius and learning. 
 41 
 
i322 
 
 we approach it with deeper veneration, as the mon- 
 ument of the departed great. There are many fine 
 and affecting associations hanging about the monu- 
 ments in Westminster Abbey ; although their effect 
 is as much diminished, as it could conveniently be, 
 by the mode of their position, and I may add exe- 
 cution. After the museum of French monuments 
 at Paris, it would be diflicult to imagine any thing 
 more unfortunate. In general, what is called the 
 monument of a great man is one of the most un- 
 worthy and inadequate memorials, that remain of 
 his existence. The practice of erecting them seems 
 to be a relic of the infancy of civilization, when 
 there ^vas little, if any, communication between 
 different tribes, when literature was in its rudest 
 state, and there was hardly any other means of 
 handing down a name to the next generation, except 
 that of writing it upon a rock. But at the present 
 day, what addition is it to the glory of a great man, 
 which resounds from one quarter of the globe to 
 another, to put together a little tasteless heap of 
 stone and marble, and call it a monument ? * The 
 world itself,' says Thucydides, ' is the monument 
 of illustrious men.' Of the multitudes that repeat 
 the name of David Hume with admiration and 
 respect, how few know any thing of the little 
 structure at Edinburgh, which bears this simple and 
 
323 
 
 sublime inscription : — His monument is in his works. 
 And with all the reproaches which we have heaped 
 upon ourselves for not erecting a suitable monu- 
 ment to Washington, what nobler one does he 
 need or could he have, than the liberty and happi- 
 ness of his countrymen ? Or, if the glory of such 
 a man could be enhanced by applying his name 
 to any material construction, what object is more 
 suitable to this purpose, than the capital city of the 
 union ? Indeed there is a strange and unpleasant 
 contrast between the diminutive size of what are 
 commonly called monuments, and the greatness of 
 the objects to which they are commemorated. 
 There is nothing in nature so truly venerable, as 
 the memory of a great and good man ; but while 
 we devote the most magnificent and expensive 
 structures to the ordinary purposes of life, we 
 satisfy our respect for the dead with a miserable 
 mound a few feet square. If we must erect such 
 edifices, let them be as grand and as durable as the 
 pyramids, as splendid as the mausoleum or the 
 tomb of Porsenna ; and after all, the simple record 
 of a good action or a fine thought will say more to 
 kindred spirits, than the nhole put together. A 
 statue or a picture is a memorial cf a different 
 description, and very worthy of its object, it is 
 oharming to see the material forms which were 
 
324 
 
 oiice inhabited by genius and virtue ; and a well 
 executed work of this kind is also the best com- 
 mentary upon the life of the subject. Houdon's 
 inimitable statue of Voltaire throws more light 
 upon his character, than all the biographies of him 
 that have ever been written. But I iiave been led 
 from one thing to another, till I have nearly lost 
 sight of my point of departure, which was, the 
 present flourishing situation, to all outward appear- 
 ance, of the British empire. 
 
 There is, however, no essential impropriety in 
 reviewing the poetical and historical recollections 
 associated with the natural scenery of England, in 
 connexion with the subject of its present flourishing 
 appearance, since it is a striking and honourable 
 feature in this prosperity, that it has been adorned 
 and ennobled by a great simultaneous development 
 of intellectual talent. It is true that the period of 
 the highest literary and scientific glory of Great 
 Britain has not precisely coincided with that of her 
 greatest power, wealth, and freedom. The golden 
 age of creative invention in poetry and prose, the 
 age of Shakspeare, Spenser, Taylor, and Bacon, 
 preceded the birth of liberty. Probably the same 
 secret and inscrutable causes, which were then 
 stimulating the people to undertake the political 
 reforms that soon after occupied their whole atten- 
 
325 
 
 tlon, gave an extraordinary spring to such minds as, 
 hy natural genius and education, were predisposed 
 to literary efforts. When the revolution com- 
 menced, its paramount interest effaced e^ ery other 
 of less immediate importance. Even Milton became 
 a politician ; and had the commonwealth continued, 
 would have been only Latin secretary of state to 
 the last. It was the temporary triumph of arbi- 
 trary power, which gave the world the Paradise 
 Lost and its author his crown of glory. The second 
 age of literary excellence, the age of high finish and 
 perfection, that of Dryden, Pope, Swift, Addison, 
 and Bolingbroke, coincided with the establishment 
 of liberal institutions. It may be remarked, how- 
 ever, as rather a singular fact, that the prepon- 
 derance of genius seems to have been, at this time, 
 on the side of arbitrary power. Of the great men 
 just mentioned, though all took a strong interest in 
 political affairs, one only was a friend of liberty. 
 The nation had thus passed through the two most 
 remarkable epochs of literary progress before its 
 political importance was fully unfolded ; and it 
 seems to be a law of nature, that after the period 
 of invention and that of high polish have arrived 
 and passed away, neither of them ever return again 
 to the same people. Hence the subsequent epoch 
 of the highest political prosperity of England has 
 
326 
 
 not been marked, as a literary age, by either of these 
 characteristics. There has been little poetical 
 invention, and still less finished execution. Within 
 a few years, indeed, there seems to be an effort to 
 revive the first epoch of original creation, in all its 
 wild and prolific vigour. Much talent has been 
 displayed, and a great temporary effect produced ; 
 but the attempt is injudicious, and must finally prove 
 unsuccessful. The careless rudeness of the lite- 
 rary age that precedes fine taste is graceful, because 
 it is natural ; at any succeeding epoch this quality 
 is repulsive, because it is unnatural and fantastic. 
 After the sweets of high literary finish have been 
 tasted by a nation, the proudest genius that follows 
 must bend his neck to the toil required for attain- 
 ing it, if he means to take his place with the clas- 
 sical authors of his country. But though the 
 English have not, as may well be supposed, inverted 
 the order of nature in their literary progress, their 
 activity, in this department, has kept pace with 
 their increasing power and wealth. The language 
 has been maintained in its purity by a succession of 
 elegant and powerful writers. The field of history 
 has been explored with singular success, and the 
 works of Hume, Robertson, and Gibbon stand but 
 little, if at all, belov/ the great models, which have 
 been handed down to us from antiquity, Johnson, 
 
327 
 
 Franklin, Hume, Smith, and Stewart have exhibited, 
 like the Platos and Ciceros of old, the delightful 
 union of fine taste with philosophical acuteness and 
 reach of mind ; and the written eloquence of Burke 
 is a phenomenon quite unrivalled in modern times. 
 Whether, at the present moment, the English 
 have a just right to claim the decided superiority in 
 literature and science over the other European 
 nations, which they sometimes attribute to them- 
 selves, is, perhaps, rather doubtful. On this head, 
 I certainly speak without any adverse interest, for I 
 consider the Americans and English, in a literary 
 view, as forming but one community. But if we 
 except the present exhibition of poetical talent, 
 which, as I observed just^now, presents itself under 
 a questionable form, there seems to be no clear 
 proof of this decided preeminence. On the con- 
 trary, the activity of the English writers has, of 
 late, taken an unfortunate direction, and pours 
 itself out habitually in critical journals and other 
 periodical works, which now appear in useless 
 profusion ; and instead of being a title of honour to 
 the literature of the country, as some of their con- 
 tributors seem to suppose, are really both 'discred- 
 itable and injurious to it. The poets, moreover, 
 are too eager for money, or too ambitious of 
 \'^ild and fantastic novelty, to present any speci- 
 
528 
 
 mens of a finished and classical style. The moral 
 sciences have ceased to be cultivated, excejjt in the 
 single department of political economy, which has 
 received a valuable contribution in the first work of 
 Malthus. Philosophy, properly so called, meta- 
 physical and moral philosophy, the philosophy of 
 man, the noblest and most interesting field of scien- 
 tific research, has been formally interdicted by the 
 self-created censors of the age ; and the injunction 
 has been attended to. The questions which have 
 always been the favourite subjects of meditation 
 with the greatest minds, and will continue to be to 
 the end of time, are now answered in England with 
 a technical jargon of positive school divinity, or a 
 cynical cui bono f as if the value of truth could be 
 estimated by the rules of arithmetic. Even Mr 
 Stewart has marked out for hhiiself a very limited 
 space in this field of thought ; and the grace and 
 skill with which he treads it, only make one 
 lament the more, that he has not given his excur- 
 sions a wider range. Tlie standard of opinion on 
 these subjects is, accordingly, far below what it is 
 on the continent, and is really unworthy of so 
 highly cultivated a nation as the English. In 
 general politics there is no work of acknowledged 
 value, since the opening of the French revolution ; 
 and this is so true, that a late writer in the Edin- 
 
329 
 
 burgh Review, who has attempted to institute a 
 most favourable comparison between the achieve- 
 ments of his countrymen and the French, during 
 this period, in every branch of science and literature, 
 being unable to adduce any great political writer, 
 has been compelled to bring into account the 
 British constitution itself, thus falling into a double 
 error ; for in the first place, the British constitution 
 has not been organized since the year 1789 ; and if 
 it had, it can hardly be called a literary production. 
 In natural science, there has been more zeal and 
 success ; and though the glory of Newton has 
 neither been eclipsed nor rivalled of late, it is better 
 sustained than that of Bacon and Locke. The 
 standard, in this branch of learning, is, however, 
 not higher than it is on the continent, nor is the 
 number of eminent men proportionally greater. 
 In descriptions of foreign countries, the press of 
 England has been singularly prolific, in consequence 
 of the prodigious extent of her colonial system and 
 commerce ; but the contributions from this quarter, 
 of positive scientific and philosophical information, 
 have not been so great as might have been expected. 
 It is accordingly remarked, and not without justice, 
 by an eminent German writer (A. W. Schlegel) 
 that the French did more, in a single campaign, for 
 the antiquities of Egypt, than the British have done 
 42 
 
330 
 
 for those of India in the half century, during which 
 they have now held it. The labours of Humboldt, 
 in a different field, are more valuable, perhaps, than 
 those of all the English travellers put together. 
 It is, indeed, a most surprising and unaccountable 
 fact, considering the great interest of the subject, 
 that the English, during their long abode in Hin- 
 dostan, should not have entered into a thorough 
 and philosophical investigation of the antiquities 
 of that country ; and that it should have been 
 reserved for the Germans, who never set foot there, 
 to discover the community between the Sanscrit 
 and Teutonic languages. The premature death of 
 the two greatest scholars that ever went out to 
 India, Sir William Jones and Dr Leyden, is some 
 apology for this deficiency, though no adequate 
 justification of it. As to the general comparison of 
 the state of literature and science in England and 
 on the continent, it may, perhaps, be said with 
 safety, that France stands at least as high in both 
 these departments, and Germany higher. But after 
 making all proper abatement from the exaggerated 
 pretensions of some English writers, who are gen- 
 erally not those best able to support such claims by 
 their own productions, there will still remain to 
 England the incontestable praise of great literary 
 and scientific activity and eminence. The country 
 
331 
 
 is certainly one of the centrical points from wliich 
 the light of knowledge is now distributed through 
 the various regions of the civilized and christian 
 world. 
 
 I reserve, for a separate chapter, a few remarks 
 on the maritime power and pretensions of England. 
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 The balance of power. 
 
 The several states, of which I have now taken a 
 very imperfect survey, though really independent of 
 each other for the purpose of their internal adminis- 
 tration, and nominally for all purposes, have still, 
 from their first establishment, formed, in substance, 
 one vast and irregular body politic. The community 
 of their origin, languages, and political and religious 
 institutions, but especially their contiguous geo- 
 graphical situation, necessarily created among them 
 very intimate relations of various descriptions. To 
 superintend and control, to a certain extent, the 
 relations between individuals is the object of gov- 
 ernment ; and where all the parties are confessedly 
 subject to the same common institutions, it is ac- 
 
332 
 
 complished with ease and success. It has been the 
 gi'eat misfortune of Europe, that, although the 
 several states have always formed, for many impor- 
 tant purposes one political community, they have 
 never acknowledged, for these or any other objects, 
 any common authority. Hence, there has always 
 existed a large class of interests, beyond the reach 
 of the existing establishments intended to adjust 
 conflicting claims, and preserve the public peace. A 
 party, which conceives itself to be injured in an 
 affair, belonging to this category, has no common 
 tribunal to appeal to for redress ; and must either 
 submit in silence to the supposed wrong, or do itself 
 justice by force. In every conflict of interests, each 
 party, being judge in its own case, naturally con- 
 ceives itself to be in the right ; and nothing would 
 prevent a recurrence to force in every such instance, 
 but considerations of policy. Hence, whenever 
 there is the least probability, that a party, either by 
 its own resources, or by such assistance as it can 
 procure, will be able to obtain any advantage in an 
 open struggle, an appeal to arms is resorted to at 
 once. Perpetual war is, therefore, of necessity, the 
 basis of the international system of a cluster of 
 sovereign states, thus situated in regard to each other. 
 We And, accordingly, that perpetual war has been, 
 in practice, the basis of their actual relations from 
 
333 
 
 the earliest period up to the present day ; and it is 
 now universally received, as the leading axiom in 
 what is called public law, that nations are natural 
 enemies, exactly in proportion to the extent of their 
 natural and habitual relations. Through the whole 
 quarter of the globe, subject to this system, the 
 nations, that border on each other, are regarded as 
 natural enemies, because the relations between them 
 are more close and intimate, than between any 
 others. Thus the science of practical politics in 
 Europe, instead of being founded, as is sometimes 
 said, on the same basis with that of morals, proceeds 
 upon a directly opposite principle. Morality, or the 
 law of nature, has established a community of inter- 
 est and feeling among individuals. It tells them, 
 that they are made to live together ; and that their 
 sympathy will increase in proportion to the increas- 
 ing intimacy of their relations. But the public law 
 of Europe has consecrated the contrary maxims, 
 that nations naturally hate each other, and that the 
 extent of their relations is the precise measure of 
 their mutual hostility. And such is the vice of the 
 European system, that the principle, however odious 
 in theory, is true in fact, and must be admitted and 
 acted upon by every practical politician. 
 
 Here, then, we see demonstrated by contrast in 
 the general European system, still more forcibly. 
 
334 
 
 because upon a larger scale, than in the German 
 confederacy, the superiority of the political institu- 
 tions of the United States, where politics and morals 
 coincide in their foundations, and where between 
 communities, as between individuals, the extent of 
 intercourse is the measure of sympathy, and not of 
 hatred. The United States form, like Europe, a 
 vast body politic, composed of independent commu- 
 nities, nearly equal in number to the European, and, 
 though now inferior in population, destined, proba- 
 bly, at no very distant period, to equal or surpass 
 them in this respect, as well as in the other. But 
 by the wise and happy institution of a common 
 government, the conflicting interests between indi- 
 viduals of different states are adjusted in the same 
 easy and quiet way as the rest ; and the separate 
 states, having no relations with each other or with 
 foreign powers in their sovereign capacity, they exist 
 only for the purpose of internal administration. By 
 this simple and excellent provision an entirely new 
 character is given to the international concerns of 
 these communities. Perpetual peace forms the 
 basis of their relations, instead of perpetual war ; 
 and the system, which has so long passed for the 
 idle dream of a few benevolent enthusiasts, is actu- 
 ally realized, and exists in full practice through a 
 whole quarter of the globe. It is in the effects of 
 
335 
 
 the union still more, than in those of our pure and 
 simple forms of administration, that we immediately 
 feel the great advantages of our political situation. 
 On the other hand, it is principally to the purity and 
 simplicity of these forms, that the union owes its 
 establishment and stability ; as it is chiefly the arti- 
 ficial and unnatural form of the European institu- 
 tions, which stands in the way of a general govern- 
 ment here, and fastens upon this continent, as it did 
 upon the communities of ancient Greece, the curse 
 of interminable civil wars ; a plague, which consum- 
 ed the vital strength of those glorious states, and, 
 unless it can be checked, will in like manner ruin 
 Europe. 
 
 There was a period in the history of Europe, 
 when the several states exhibited a tendency towards 
 consolidation upon a plan conformable to the degree 
 of civilization and intelligence, which then existed ; 
 and had this disposition been sufficiently favoured 
 by the operation of general causes or of accidental 
 events, affairs might have taken a much more for- 
 tunate turn, than they did ; certainly a very different 
 one. I allude to the epoch of the greatest authority 
 of the catholic church and the popes. At that time 
 Europe was approaching very nearly and very fast 
 to the form of one ecclesiastical commonwealth or 
 theocracy. The jurisdiction of the common govern- 
 
luent was acknowledged for spiritual purposes by 
 all the states ; and it was encroaching rapidly upon 
 the temporal power of the military chiefs or kings. 
 Some of these even acknowledged themselves the 
 vassals of the church, and permanently held their 
 kingdoms of the pope, as Na])les. England, under 
 king John, carried its submission to the same extent. 
 The people, being then throughout Europe in a state 
 of unresisting bondage, took of course no part in 
 the matter, excepting in the form of vassals and 
 mercenary troops ; and the question was, which of 
 the two castes, ecclesiastical and military, that 
 shared the power between them, should obtain the 
 ultimate ascendancy. Had the clergy prevailed, 
 Europe would have taken the form of a great eccle- 
 siastical state, like the empire of the Mahometan 
 caliphs, and that of Japan during a long period of 
 its history. The precise position, which the military 
 chiefs would have held in such an empire, it is now 
 unnecessary to conjecture. These chiefs, having 
 fmally triumphed, and defeated the power of the 
 clergy, the general body politic assumed the form of 
 a cluster of independent states, under military gov- 
 ernments. We now consider this success as neces- 
 sary or natural, as well as rightful and just; and 
 regard the pretensions of the clergy, as an arrogant 
 attempt at usurpation. In reality, if we look more 
 
337 
 
 nearly at the elements of power at that time in the 
 possession of the two parties, we may perhaps rather 
 wonder, that the scale turned as it did ; and it may 
 be very reasonably doubted, whether the success of 
 the clergy would not have been, upon the whole, a 
 much more favourable event. The clergy possessed, 
 in the first place, the immense advantage of forming 
 one community, and acting under one common 
 head, while the military chiefs were all tenacious of 
 their independence, and constantly divided among 
 themselves. Hence the clergy were able to employ 
 them against each other, and thus at once to carry 
 particular points, and to weaken the force of all. 
 The clergy monopolized all the education and intel- 
 ligence of the age, the military being in general 
 wholly uninformed. They were, of course, com- 
 pelled to resort to the clergy for every purpose re- 
 quiring intellectual accomplishments, and especially 
 for all ministerial and judicial employments ; so that, 
 in reality, they retained no part of the government, 
 except the mere command of the armies. Property, 
 the great element of political power, weighed at least 
 as strongly in favour of the clergy, as of the military. 
 They were among the greatest landholders in every 
 part of Europe ; and in their judicial capacity they 
 controlled, to a considerable extent, even the property, 
 which they did not own. Why these subtle church- 
 48 
 
338 
 
 men, with all their superiority of intelligence and 
 education, with all the advantages of union and 
 concert, with so large a share of wealth, and the 
 complete control of the civil administration, with 
 the terrible engine of spiritual power at their dispo- 
 sal, failed to obtain the ascendancy over a caste of 
 superstitious barbarians, whom they could, at any 
 time, turn against each other, or send off to the 
 world's end upon a fool's errand, is, I think, an his- 
 torical problem of rather difficult solution. It is one, 
 however, which it would carry me too far to enter 
 upon here. They certainly made the attempt ; and for 
 every purpose, but that of mere form, they succeed- 
 ed in obtaining and holding the general government 
 of Europe for two or three centuries. The crusades 
 were unquestionably a device intended to favour this 
 object ; for the popes were never bigots, and in des- 
 patching all the military chiefs on these distant ex- 
 peditions, for two or three hundred years in succes- 
 sion, they had something else in view besides the 
 conquest of a sepulchre. They accomplished, in 
 fact, in this way, the double object of relieving 
 themselves from the only check upon their authority 
 at home, while the expedition lasted, and of wasting 
 the resources, and diminishing the effective perma- 
 nent power of the chiefs. It is a common thing with 
 protestant, and even philosophical writers, to treat 
 
339 
 
 the attempts of the clergy to obtain the ascendancy 
 in Europe, as unjustifiable encroachments upon the 
 temporal authorities ; as if the power of these mili- 
 tary tyrants had been founded in right, or had tended 
 to promote the public good. Neither party had any 
 such claims as these, nor could either allege the 
 right of possession, which they held in common. 
 The capacity or fitness to govern, the only preten- 
 sion, which could be urged as a substitute, was 
 wholly on the side of the clergy ; and I have very 
 little doubt, that their ultimate prevalence would 
 have been a great blessing to Europe. Under a 
 general clerical authority, the military habits, which 
 have been the scourge of these nations, would have 
 fallen into disuse. They would have taken the 
 form of one consolidated community, under a gov- 
 ernment essentially mild and pacific. With the 
 progress of civilization and philosophy, this govern- 
 ment would have gradually laid aside its theocratic 
 pretensions, and assumed the aspect of a merely civil 
 institution. Europe would have thus acquired a 
 political organization, which her enlightened states- 
 men now anxiously long for, with scarcely a hope 
 of ever obtaining it ; and which, should it ever be 
 realized hereafter, will have been preceded by 
 centuries of civil war and barbarism, that might 
 have been prevented by a different turn of affairs. 
 
340 
 
 This effort at consolidation having failed, the 
 several states remained, in form, completely inde- 
 pendent of each other, and Europe continued to 
 present the spectacle of a great human slaughter- 
 house. To make war upon each other was the 
 habitual and only occupation of rulers. These 
 barbarous and unmeaning struggles among peity 
 military sovereigns were conducted, of course, with- 
 out any reference to a general political system ; but 
 it was natural, that, when a weaker chief was 
 threatened or attacked by a stronger, he should 
 attempt to engage his neighbours to assist him in 
 repelling the aggressor. This course is every where 
 pursued by individuals and nations in all stages of 
 civilization ; and is rather a result of mere instinct, 
 than of policy or reflection. We find it resorted to 
 sometimes on a larger and sometimes on a smaller 
 scale by the European governments, through the 
 whole period of their history ; and however unsatis- 
 factory and inadequate, as the basis of a great 
 political system, it is the only substitute, which has 
 yet been found in Europe, to supply the defect of a 
 general government, and is now habitually employed 
 for this purpose, under the name of the balance of 
 power. 
 
 The period, however, is not very remote, when 
 this rude contrivance was first applied on a large 
 
341 
 
 scale to the general politics of Europe ; and the 
 consent of all the powers to this application of it 
 may be regarded as an approach to the great object 
 of consolidation. In the earlier periods of history, 
 the governments were too barbarous to proceed upon 
 large and general views. When Charlemagne was 
 realizing a continental empire, more extensive and 
 powerful, than any, which has since been under the 
 sway of an individual, we do not find, that the 
 powers, which were out of his reach, made any 
 efforts to check his progress by a coalition. The 
 great and good Alfred, then king of England, was 
 on terms of friendship with his ambitious neighbour, 
 although the attack by Charlemagne upon the 
 kindred race of continental Saxons would have 
 furnished him a sufficient pretext for making war. 
 The Saracens in Spain, the Greek empire, the great 
 caliph, Aaron the just, so celebrated for his policy 
 and power, the Russians, the northern kingdoms, 
 all were equally passive ; and Charlemage was left 
 in quiet possession of France, Germany, Italy, and 
 the Netherlands. At a later period, when Charles V 
 had obtained an empire still more extensive, though 
 less compact, uniting under one sceptre Germany, 
 Spain, the Low Countries, and the greater part of 
 Italy, with the vast regions of the newly discovered 
 world, even then, notwithstanding the restless am- 
 
342 
 
 bitioii of this prince, there was no systematic at- 
 tempt, hy any coahtion of the others, to check his 
 power. England, indeed, on the short sighted 
 principle of rivalry with France, which has always 
 formed the basis of her foreign policy, was more 
 frequently the ally of Charles in his long wars with 
 Francis, than his enemy. The northern kingdoms, 
 the Russians and the Poles, were indifferent as 
 before ; and the Turks, who had just conquered the 
 Greek empire, had no other political system, but 
 that of blind hostility to infidels. x\lthough the 
 peace of Westphalia is generally said to have regu- 
 lated the balance of power in Europe, the long and 
 bloody struggle, which preceded it, was not directed 
 against the preponderating influence of any single 
 state. They were all indeed, at that time, too much 
 distracted by intestine religious wars, to meditate 
 schemes of foreign conquest. On this celebrated 
 occasion, however, the respective pretensions of the 
 principal European powers were, for the first time, 
 adjusted by common consent ; and the principle of 
 a balance of power, as now understood and acted 
 upon, may be said to have formed the basis of the 
 treaties then concluded, although the maintenance 
 of such a balance was not the object of the preced- 
 ing thirty years' war. It is therefore from this 
 period, that we may date the adoption of the balance 
 
343 
 
 of power, as a European system ; and, as I have 
 already observed, the event may be regarded, as an 
 approach towards consohdation. The acknowledg- 
 ment of any tribunal, however irregular, for the 
 settlement of the international concerns of the sev- 
 eral states, had a tendency to prepare the public 
 mind for the organization of political arrangements 
 fitted on rational principles to effect the same object. 
 The only occasions, upon which the new Euro- 
 pean system was put in practice for the purpose of 
 checking the ambition of a single state, previously 
 to the late coalitions against the power of Bona- 
 parte, were the wars of the allies against Louis 
 XIV. Without any settled schemes of extensive 
 conquest, which he had neither the reach of mind 
 to form nor the military talents to execute, this 
 prince had contracted the troublesome habit of 
 making a campaign every summer against his 
 weaker neighbours, more, as it would appear, for 
 the purpose of exhibiting himself to the ladies of 
 his court in the ' pride, pomp, and circumstance of 
 glorious war,' than for any more serious object. 
 This was good sport to the king and his mistresses ; 
 but the Dutch, who were at the expense of it, were 
 less agreeably entertained, and stirred up coalitions 
 against the director of such dangerous amusements. 
 The consequences to the king and his people were 
 
344 
 
 extremely serious. The power of France was 
 crippled for a century ; and by the universal dis- 
 order, then introduced into every branch of the 
 administration, the progress of the approaching 
 revolution was greatly hastened. Louis, but for a 
 mere accident, would have had the opportunity, 
 which has since occurred to his successor, of enter- 
 taining his brother sovereigns at the Tuilleries ; and 
 had the custom prevailed at that time of con- 
 demning crowned heads at the close of a war to 
 imprisonment and exile, he might, perhaps, have 
 passed the rest of his days at St Helena. At 
 Utrecht, the general international tribunal was 
 again appealed to for the settlement of conflicting 
 claims, and constituted in the same irregular form 
 as before. The wars, which intervened between 
 this period and the opening of the French revolu- 
 tion, were not directed against the ambition of 
 single states. That of the Austrian succession 
 was, on the contrary, the result of a joint attempt 
 by several others to put in practice, upon a consid- 
 erable power, then supposed to be in a feeble situ- 
 ation, the policy which has since been exemplified 
 in the partition of Poland. The king of Prussia 
 came off with great success ; and retained secure 
 possession of Silesia, the part which he had assigned 
 himself in the Austrian spoils. By the alliance of 
 
345 
 
 England with Austria, the attempts of France and 
 her German allies were defeated. The war of 
 1756 and the American war were almost whollj 
 for colonial objects ; and no power on either 
 occasion made pretensions to excessive aggrandize- 
 ment. At the close of all these successive struggles 
 the international tribunal of a general congress of 
 ambassadors was regularly resorted to for the final 
 settlement of claims ; and adjusted the respective 
 pretensions of the several powers in the treaties of 
 Aix-la-Chapelle and of Paris, in 1763 and 1783. 
 Had the principal states continued for a length of 
 time to preserve the same relative position, which 
 they held during this period, it does not seem that 
 it would have been a very violent step to change 
 this irregular and occasional tribunal into a stand- 
 ing congress ; and to bring conflicting claims to an 
 adjustment without the cost and bloodshed of a 
 preliminary war. The council of Amphictj^ons in 
 Greece gradually grew up in this way ; and may 
 be regarded as the next step, in the approach 
 towards a regular general government, to the 
 modern balance of power. Indeed, the difference 
 between this latter system and that of the Amphic- 
 tyons, or a still more consolidated union, is, in 
 practice, rather formal than material, with the 
 exception of the irrational, and were it not for its 
 44 
 
346 
 
 bloody barbarity, one might well say, ridiculous 
 prelude of an appeal to arms, which preceded the 
 opening of every session of the congress as it existed. 
 But while these events passed, others were occur- 
 ring and maturing, which not only prevented, for 
 the time, any stricter alliance among the European 
 powers, but entirely changed their relative positions 
 and importance. 
 
 It was during the wars of the allies with Louis 
 XIV, that the genius of a single man conceived 
 and carried into effect the revolution, which brought 
 into the European, system the gigantic empire of 
 Russia. Before this period, the Russians, now so 
 formidable to the neighbouring states, had found it 
 difficult to maintain their own political existence. 
 They had been subjugated in turn by the Tartars and 
 the Poles ; and the Swedes had pushed their con- 
 quests far to the southward of the gulf of Finland. 
 The empire had been, indeed, for the greater part 
 of the time, a cluster of independent states, forming 
 of themselves a political system apart from that of 
 Europe, convulsed, like the latter, by the ceaseless 
 wars of barbarous military chiefs, and wholly 
 untinctured with civilization. The first preparation 
 for the future greatness of Russia, was the appear- 
 ance of one or two of these chiefs, equally barba- 
 rous with the rest, but more energetic, who 
 
347 
 
 succeeded in combining the several members under 
 one head, and thus infusing into the body a princi- 
 ple of union and vigour. Still the mass remained, 
 as before, uninformed by any spark of policy or 
 civilization ; and, in the natural course of events, 
 the union, which had thus been effected, would 
 have been dissolved again at the next change in the 
 person of the ruler. But, at that critical period, 
 there appeared, in this barbarous empire, and in the 
 regular line of succession, one of those master 
 spirits, which are destined, by character, to change 
 the face of the world. This event, so extraordinary 
 that it seems very little short of a miracle, decided 
 the future fate of Russia and of Europe. By the 
 influence of his genius and example, Peter the 
 Great succeeded, in a single generation, in placing 
 the superior class of his subjects upon a level in 
 intellectual improvement with the most civilized 
 western nations ; and by suppressing the Strelitz 
 and the Patriarch, he removed from the empire all 
 existing internal causes of disunion and weakness. 
 A sagacious observer might even then have per- 
 ceived, that a new military power had made its 
 appearance, which was capable of counterbalancing 
 the combined force of all the rest of Europe ; and 
 which, by the internal development of its resources, 
 was constantly adding to its strength and impor- 
 
348 
 
 tance. Russia, in fact, from its Aast extent and 
 population, and its peculiar political and social 
 institutions, is able to keep on foot constantly, 
 without an effort, a military force, fully equal in 
 numerical amount, to the union of the greatest 
 armies, which all the other powers together can 
 raise by the most painful and ruinous exertions. 
 This enormous force can be augmented at pleasure, 
 as occasion requires, to an indefinite extent. It is 
 under the direction of a corps of the most accom- 
 plished and intelligent officers in Europe ; and it 
 acts as a blind machine, at the disposition of a single 
 superior will. There is evidently nothing in 
 Europe capable of making head against such a 
 power as this. Not all Europe, combined in oppo- 
 sition, will be able to resist its progress, whenever 
 this vast machinery is seriously brought to bear 
 upon the independence of other nations by an able 
 and ambitious emperor. The civilization of the 
 Russian nobility created a new Macedon, in the 
 north of the modern Grecian commonwealths, and 
 it only wants a Philip to be as fatal to the liberty 
 of its neighbours, as the other. 
 
 The full importance of this political creation was 
 probably not perceived at first ; but from the 
 moment that the Czar had put his new machinery 
 in motion, its effect was found to be irresistible ; 
 
349 
 
 and from that day to this, it has not met with a 
 single check of any importance ; for the supposed 
 danger, from the power of Bonaparte, appears, by 
 the resuh, to have been, in a great measure, imag- 
 inary. Peter, while he was executing at home the 
 most gigantic plans of external improvement, also 
 took measures to make his importance felt at every 
 extremity of the vast political world, of which he 
 was the centre. The Swedes, the Poles, the Turks, 
 the Persians, and the Tartars soon found they had 
 a new neighbour to deal with ; and were too happy 
 to abandon the acquisitions they had made in other 
 times, and retire quietly within their own limits. 
 Having completed their internal organization and 
 secured their territory in all its points, the Russian 
 monarchs began to turn their eyes towards the 
 west ; and there is hardly a subsequent political 
 crisis of any importance, in which their influence 
 has not been perceptible, and it has gradually and 
 steadily increased with every succeeding year. In 
 the war of fifty six, the Russian troops were repeat- 
 edly masters of Berlin ; and the fate of Frederic 
 depended principally throughout, upon the turn of 
 politics at Petersburg. Shortly after, the empress 
 Catherine was seen disposing at pleasure of the 
 crown, and subsequently of the territory of Poland, 
 the ancient conqueror of her empire ; and the great 
 
330 
 
 western powers, however alarmed at this portentous 
 usurpation, coLild not venture to resist it, but were 
 obliged to content themselves with an empty pro- 
 test. During the American war, the empress 
 placed herself at the head of the famous coalition 
 of all the continental powers of Europe against the 
 maritime ascendency of England, denominated the 
 Armed Neutrality. Thus the new power was 
 already looked to by all the rest as their avowed 
 leader, in a most important political interest. 
 Finally, the same power, at two different periods 
 during the late wars, decided the course of general 
 politics. Suvarof paralized, for a moment, the arm 
 of the French revolution, and, if he had not been 
 recalled, would, in all probability, have advanced to 
 Paris ; and Russia was notoriously the soul of the 
 late coalition which efifected the ruin of Bonaparte. 
 Meanwhile, during the whole of this period, she 
 has been pushing her conquests in the direction of 
 Turkey and Persia ; generally advancing, some- 
 times stationary, but never on the retreat. The 
 emperor may now be said to hold both these pow- 
 ers, in the hollow of his hand ; and will occupy 
 their territory whenever he pleases. When Con- 
 stantinople shall be a Russian port, and Persia a 
 Russian province, what will become of the British 
 empire in India and on the ocean ? 
 
351 
 
 Tliis course of events, independently of the recent 
 occurrences, to wliich I shall jiresently advert, es- 
 tablishes, with sufficient evidence, the fact of the 
 irresistible preponderance of Russia in the European 
 balance of power. The same point has also been 
 satisfactorily proved by actual experiment during 
 the late wars. The attack made upon this nation 
 by the whole military force of the continent of 
 Europe under the direction of the most accomplished 
 general that has appeared in modern times, made 
 too under many highly favourable circumstances, 
 was repulsed with perfect success, and ended in 
 the ruin and disgrace of its authors, while Russia 
 came out of the struggle without a wound or a scar. 
 It is next to impossible, that any coalition of all the 
 powers of Europe against Russia could ever bring 
 such an imposing mass of military force, under such 
 superior discipline and command, to bear upon her 
 at once. This campaign may therefore be said to 
 have proved, that the greatest array of strength, 
 which the continental nations can muster, under the 
 greatest advantages, is incapable of making the least 
 impression upon this colossus. And, when the means 
 at the disposal of such a power for breaking up a 
 coalition, and turning its members one against the 
 other, are taken into view, there is hardly a possi- 
 bility, that it can ever be the object of a formidable 
 
352 
 
 attack. The creation of this empire must therefore 
 be considered, as having completely unsettled the 
 balance of power in Europe, and made it impossible 
 ever to establish one in future upon the same prin- 
 ciples. This consequence is, in itself, a matter of no 
 great regret to the friends of humanity. The system 
 of a balance of power is essentially rude and barba- 
 rous ; and the appeal to arms, which it supposes as 
 the regular method of deciding adverse claims, is 
 better suited to the character of the savages of North 
 America, than to that of the christian nations of 
 Europe. It is true, that this system appeared, as I 
 have said, to be gradually tending towards something 
 better ; and that an acknowledged general govern- 
 ment might have grown out of it in time. If the 
 influence of Russia were likely to impede or prevent 
 tliis result, it ought certainly to be regarded as an 
 evil. But it may well be doubted, whether its 
 ultimate tendency will not be rather to favour and 
 accelerate, than to oppose it. Omitting, however, 
 for the present, any inquiry into this point, and 
 supposing, with all the European politicians, who 
 naturally reason, each in the interest of the inde- 
 pendence of his own particular state, that the 
 preservation of the balance of power is the great 
 object of European politics, the question presents 
 itself, what were the best method to counteract this 
 
353 
 
 great evil of the Russian preponderance, and restore, 
 i[ possible, the desired balance ? 
 
 The general answer is obvious. Some great 
 development of new power in the west of Europe 
 was necessary to counterbalance this tremendous 
 augmentation in the east, and to throw a fresh 
 weight into the scale of the other nations. But how^ 
 could this be effected ? The west of Europe has 
 long been all settled and civilized. There were no 
 apparent means of obtaining in this quarter any 
 additional elements of political influence, unless the 
 Atlantic island of Plato could be raised by machinery 
 from the bottom of tlie ocean, and made to fill again 
 the space, which it formerly occupied between 
 Europe and America. This achievement has not 
 been performed ; but the French revolution effected, 
 to an extent which no politician could previously 
 have thought possible, or have ventured to antici- 
 pate, the object in question. By that political 
 regeneration, a kingdom, which had become, by 
 misgovernment, one of the least efficient of the great 
 powers, was restored almost instantaneously to all its 
 former energy, and even elevated, in the course of 
 events, to a much loftier height of greatness, than it 
 had ever before attained. The augmentation of the 
 power of France, produced by the revolution, was, 
 therefore, an event extremely favourable to the 
 45 
 
354 
 
 preservation of the general balance ; and was indeed 
 precisely tlie one, which ought to have been desired 
 and promoted by every politician, who attached any 
 importance to this object. The most favourable 
 position, in which the western nations could be 
 placed for counteracting the influence of Russia, 
 would be obtained by making France, the central 
 power and rallying point of the rest, as strong as 
 possible. And could the greatest augmentation, 
 which the French empire under Bonaparte ever 
 received, have been eflected quietly, and without 
 violating the rights of other countries, it probably 
 would, and certainly ought to have been looked 
 upon by them, as a great general benefit. Even 
 then the balance of power would have been by no 
 means perfect ; because, as I have observed, the 
 whole west of Europe does not possess the materials 
 for counterbalancing Russia ; and if it were consoli- 
 dated into one great empire, it would still be inferior 
 in effective military strength to its great eastern 
 rival. But this augmentation of the power of France 
 would have greatly improved the existing state of 
 things. With such a centre, as the empire of 
 Bonaparte in its greatest extension from Hamburg 
 to Rome, with such a vanguard as Prussia and 
 Austria, supposing them to feel, as they ought, but 
 do not yet appear to do, their community of interest 
 
355 
 
 with the other western powers ; with Sweden and 
 Denmark on one wing, and vSpain, Italj,and Turkey 
 on the other ; with the fleets and finances of Eng- 
 land to inspire and cement the coalition, there might 
 be some hopes of opposing an effective resistance to 
 the common enemy ; akhough, from the vice, inci- 
 dent to all coalitions, even this mass of force would 
 still be unequal to that of Russia. But since the 
 only thing, that could be done, was to organize the 
 existing materials in the best possible form ; and 
 since the key-stone of the coalition would necessari- 
 ly be an energetic central continental power, it was 
 certainly the policy of all the western nations to 
 promote, rather than to check the aggrandizement 
 of France. It was more especially the policy of 
 Great Britain, who had nothing to apprehend from 
 that quarter in regard to her own territory. 
 
 The subject did not however present itself under 
 this point of view to the other governments, and 
 they thought, or pretended to think it an essential 
 object of European policy to check the increasing 
 influence of France. In reality, the conduct of the 
 allies towards France, through the whole period of 
 the revolution, was probably never regulated with 
 any view to the preservation of the balance of power; 
 and their error rather lay in disregarding this object, 
 than in mistaking the proper method of effecting it. 
 
356 
 
 The first coalitions against the French were intended 
 to promote the personal interest of the sovereigns, 
 more than any general political purpose. They 
 were directed against the spirit of liberty, rather 
 than the aggrandizement of France. At a subse- 
 quent period, when the power of Bonaparte had 
 obtained its full development, it was doubtless the 
 object of the coalition to check the influence of 
 France, as exercised by him ; but even then, the 
 immediate object of the war was rather to put an 
 end to the abuse of power by a single unprincipled 
 individual, than to diminish the essential greatness 
 of the nation, in which he commanded. But the 
 expediency of favouring and maintaining this aug- 
 mented greatness, after the abuse of it had been 
 stopped by the deposition of Bonaparte, was either 
 not perceived or disregarded. The opportunity 
 afforded by the French revolution of strengthening 
 the general balance of power remained, in conse- 
 quence, wholly unimproved. One great cause of 
 this was doubtless the vulgar and senseless ambition 
 of Bonaparte, who could find no other employment 
 for the unexercised power of France, but that of 
 oppressing and subjugating his weaker neighbours ; 
 and thus converted into a great immediate evil, what 
 was, in itself, of a nature to produce a lasting general 
 benefit. But the allies can hardly be excused for 
 
357 
 
 allowing themselves to be so much distracted by 
 this pressing temporary inconvenience, as to lose 
 sight of the real character of their standing and 
 permanent policy. England, as I have said, was 
 less excusable for neglecting this policy, because she 
 had less immediate inconvenience to apprehend from 
 the greatness of France. It is much to be feared, 
 that she acted throughout upon her habitual short- 
 sighted principle of rivalry with that power ; and 
 that, under the various pretences of checking the 
 spirit of disorganization, and of overthrowing a 
 dangerous military despotism, she was labouring in 
 reality to depress an ancient and accustomed national 
 antagonist. If, as is highly probable, her persever- 
 ing hostility contributed very much to inflame the 
 ambition of Bonaparte, and to urge him on to new 
 attempts, as well as to effect his final overthrow, 
 Europe has very little reason to thank her for her 
 exertions, or to admire her political sagacity. 
 
 This view of the policy of Great Britain and the 
 other allies, in regard to the French revolution, is, 
 I suspect, at present, pretty general among impartial 
 and reflecting men. But supposing it to be incor- 
 rect, as far as it is unfavourable, and that this revo- 
 lution was throughout so strange and anomalous a 
 phenomenon in all its aspects, as to form an excep- 
 tion to the standing rules of European policy, and 
 
358 
 
 to require, that for the time they should be totally 
 disregarded ; supposing this, which is ail that the 
 most inveterate anti-revolutionary or anti-Bonapart- 
 ean politician can dcmaud, it must still be admitted, 
 that, after the fall of Napoleon, the necessity of 
 observing these general principles returned in all its 
 former force, greatly augmented, indeed, because 
 the effective power of Russia had been much 
 increased by her successful military efforts during 
 these long wars. Russia was still more dangerous 
 now^, than she had ever been before ; and her 
 prodigious force had been so plainly exhibited, as 
 to leave no excuse for overlooking it. It might 
 therefore have been reasonably supposed, that the 
 reorganization of the European system, after the 
 close of the war, w-ould have been undertaken with 
 a full view of this danger, and a determination to 
 guard against it by every possible means. A brief 
 review of the political arrangements made at the 
 congress of Vienna, and of the subsequent events 
 connected with the subject, will show how far any 
 such object was contemplated, and how^ far it was 
 effected. 
 
 The congress of Vienna w-as the most remarka- 
 ble session that has ever been held of the irregular 
 international tribunal of Europe, whether we regard 
 the vast variety and extent of the conflicting inter- 
 
359 
 
 ests to be arlj listed, or the number of illustrious and 
 elevated ])ersonages that were present. But per- 
 haps this tribunal was never assembled under cir- 
 cumstances more unfavourable to a successful 
 execution of its functions ; and accordingly it has 
 rarely met without producing better results. Two 
 principal causes concurred to prevent this mag- 
 nificent assembly from accomplishing any object of 
 lasting importance to Europe. The first was the 
 predominant feeling of hostility to France, under 
 which it was held ; and the second was the 
 presence and irresistible influence of Russia. When 
 we recollect what were the predominant points in 
 the true European system of policy, it is evident 
 enough that it was quite impossible for the con- 
 gress, placed in such a position, to succeed in 
 establishing this system. The great objects to be 
 effected were, in general, the three following : 
 
 1. To weaken, if possible, the power of Russia; 
 certainly not tO strengthen it. 
 
 2. To strengthen, if possible, the power of 
 France ; certainly not to weaken it. 
 
 3. In other arrangements, not immediately affect- 
 ing these two powers, to keep in view, as much as 
 possible, the general object of diminishing the 
 hifluence of Russia. 
 
360 
 
 It is clear, at a glance, that in all these ])oints 
 the policy of Europe was opposed by the feelings 
 and composition of the congress ; and it accord- 
 ingly happened, that those objects were all either 
 overlooked or attempted without success, and that 
 a course directly opposite to the true one was 
 pursued upon every point. 
 
 1. In restraining the power of Russia, the first 
 and most important object, the congress completely 
 failed ; and were compelled, however unwillingly, 
 to sanction a very important augmentation of it. 
 For the demand of such an augmentation there was 
 really no pretext on the part of the Russian gov- 
 ernment ; and the tenacity, with which it insisted 
 upon the annexation of Poland to the empire, 
 must have excited very painful anticipations in the 
 minds of the other powers, in regard to the future 
 policy of this terrible neighbour. The interest of 
 Europe, far from requiring this annexation, rather 
 required that Russia should abandon the ill-gotten 
 acquisition of Swedish Finland, which had been 
 obtained against every principle of justice and com- 
 mon humanity. But the determined tone, which 
 marked the demands of Russia in the congress, 
 proved, that the supposed future danger of her 
 preponderance had already become present. There 
 was not only no question of the abandonment of 
 
361 
 
 Finland, although the necessity of indemnifying 
 Sweden for the loss was admitted ; but the de- 
 mand for Poland was finally acceded to ; and this 
 great kingdom, in the midst of the western powers, 
 was incorporated with Russia. That the measure 
 was in the highest degree impolitic, that it was 
 ruinous to the balance of power, was universally 
 admitted at the congress. It was opposed, as long 
 as there was any prospect that opposition would be 
 effectual, and longer. But what could be done ? 
 The power, that insisted upon it, was one with 
 which all the rest united could not venture to 
 enter the lists. It was therefore agreed to for the 
 same reason, that the occupation of Constantinople 
 to-morrow, and of Persia or Prussia in the next 
 campaign, would be witnessed by the other powers 
 in silence, the very sufficient reason of irresistible 
 compulsion. Upon this first and most important 
 point, therefore, the proceedings of the congress, 
 instead of promoting the general good of Europe, 
 only proved the reality and extent of the danger 
 that threatened it. It was evident enough that 
 Philip had already taken his station in the Am- 
 phyctionic council. On the other points, their 
 measures were nearly or quite as much in oppo- 
 sition to the public interest, without having, pre- 
 46 
 
362 
 
 cisely to the same extent, the excuse of unavoid- 
 able necessity. 
 
 2. The error of augmenting the power of Rus- 
 sia, into which the congress had been led against 
 its will, rendered still more imperious the duty of 
 providing, by every possible means, against the 
 danger of her preponderance. The first and most 
 important of these means was to strengthen France ; 
 a measure, which was also favoured by existing 
 circumstances, and which the congress might have 
 effected without difficulty, had they seen the im- 
 portance of it. By sanctioning the union, which 
 already existed between France and the Belgic 
 provinces, they would have extended very consid- 
 erably the territorial resources of that kingdom, 
 without doing injustice to any body ; as the house 
 of Orange had no claim or pretension whatever to 
 Belgium, and Austria had no desire to resume it, 
 but preferred an indemnity in Italy. Had the 
 union of Holland with France been also sanc- 
 tioned, the effect would have been still more 
 favourable for the balance of power ; and now that 
 a mild constitutional government has been estab- 
 lished in France, a connexion with that country 
 would have probably been agreeable, certainly 
 advantageous, to tlie Dutch. The house of Orange 
 w^ould have been ([uite satisfied with a pecuniary 
 
363 
 
 indemnity, or if not, the pretensions of a single 
 family can hardly be put in competition with the 
 happiness of a nation and the interest of Europe. 
 But the congress, instead of perceiving the neces- 
 sity of augmenting the power of France, fell into 
 the enormous and unpardonable error of supposing 
 that the principal danger to the general tranquillity 
 was to be found in this quarter, that France was 
 the enemy and not the protector of the west of 
 Europe, and that it was essential to take all possi- 
 ble precautions against her ambition, the first of 
 which was to strip her of all her late acquisitions. 
 Such is the strength of habitual associations and 
 impressions. The allies, having been for twenty 
 years engaged *in coalitions against the French, 
 continued, mechanically, to pursue the same line of 
 policy as before ; and did not remark, that the 
 state of circumstances had wholly changed, that 
 the danger from France had been the result of 
 extraordinary events, which could not possibly 
 occur again, and that while they were wasting 
 their strength in building bulwarks along the empty 
 channel of a river which had shifted its course, the 
 whole east of Europe was left unprotected, at the 
 mercy of an overwhelming inundation. This was 
 a fatal error in the congress, and was certainly 
 quite inexcusable; for an assembly of cool and 
 
364 
 
 experienced statesmen ought to have been superior 
 to so vulgar an ilhision as that of mere habit. By 
 adopting, as the basis of many important measures, 
 the principle of taking precautions against the pre- 
 ponderance of France, they vitiated, to the same 
 extent, the whole European system. The real evil 
 was overlooked, and in providing against an imag- 
 inary one, which no longer existed, they employed 
 their resources to no purpose, and by thus misap- 
 plying them, deprived themselves of means, which 
 might have been highly useful in a different 
 quarter. France was not only stripped of her 
 acquisitions, but subjected to heavy pecuniary 
 contributions. A part of these was intended to 
 defray the expenses of the campaign ; but a 
 large part was destined to be laid out in erecting 
 an expensive line of fortresses along the French 
 frontier. Hundreds of millions have been wasted, 
 and are now wasting, in heaping up these mounds 
 of defence against the memory of Bonaparte and 
 the revolution. The duke of Wellington makes an 
 annual visit to the continent, and applauds the 
 activity with which the works are pushed, and the 
 skill with which they are constructed. Mean- 
 while the troops of Russia and the allies, that now 
 blindly serve her purposes, are pouring at large 
 over the south and west of Europe, under the most 
 
365 
 
 frivolous pretences, and without meeting a fort or a 
 soldier to oppose them ; and the dangerous mon- 
 arch of France, against whom all these precautions 
 are necessary, is trembling in his palace, with the 
 terror of a Russian invasion. 
 
 Besides despoiling France of all her late acqui- 
 sitions, subjecting her to a heavy contribution, and 
 erecting a double line of military works to bridle 
 her ambition, it was thought expedient to add to all 
 these measures the establishment of a new king- 
 dom on her northern frontier, intended expressly, 
 as we are told, for a check upon this unruly and 
 grasping power. Political writers, of some note, 
 have pronounced the kingdom of the Netherlands 
 to be one of the happiest creatures of the congress. 
 This is, perhaps, not very high praise ; but such as 
 it is, it can only be given under the influence of the 
 same false feeling, which dictated the measure. If, 
 as I have supposed, the greatest possible strength 
 of France, consistent with the rights of other states, 
 instead of being dangerous to the balance of power, 
 is its principal and most important element, then 
 the formation of this kingdom, purposely to weaken 
 and embarrass France, was a measure essentially 
 and radically vicious in principle. Had the plan, 
 however, been as judicious as it was ill-advised, 
 the employment of such means to effect it would 
 
366 
 
 have argued but a small share of political skill, To 
 suppose that a dangerous and encroaching state 
 can be bridled by surrounding it with feeble neigh- 
 bours, is a conception, which could only be formed 
 by a very feeble statesman. Power must be checked 
 by power, and not by weakness. It is just as reason- 
 able, in principle, to suppose that the preponderance 
 of Russia will be neutralized by the republic of 
 Cracow, as that France can be held in guardian- 
 ship by the kingdom of the Netherlands. If it had 
 been really necessary to take precautions against 
 the French power, it should have been done by 
 bringing up some other state of equal or superior 
 resources into contact with her frontier. Prussia, 
 for example, should have been augmented by the 
 kingdom of Hanover and the whole territory of the 
 Netherlands, as well as the duchy of the Rhine, so 
 as to form an imposing mass of force upon the 
 northern border of France, capable of bearing the 
 brunt of an attack, and holding her in check until 
 a diversion could be made in a different quarter. 
 The creation of the kingdom of the Netherlands 
 was a measure as impotent and ineffectual for its 
 professed objects, as the objects themselves were 
 mistaken and injudicious. 
 
 In reality, however, it may well be doubted, as 
 I have intimated in a preceding chapter, how far 
 
367 
 
 the creation of this kingdom was really intended to 
 serve any general political purpose. Supposing 
 the statesmen at Vienna to have mistaken the 
 principles of Eurojjean policy, it would be doing 
 them injustice, as men of acknowledged ability, to 
 attribute to them the intention of neutralizing 
 France, by placing in contact with her a state of the 
 second or third rank. The probability is, that the 
 measure was adopted under the iniiueoce of Great 
 Britain, and with a view of opening new channels 
 for the products of her industry. From the inti- 
 mate political and family relations between the 
 two governments, the market of the Netherlands is 
 thrown open, almost without reserve, to British 
 manufactures ; and this additional demand, from a 
 \Yealthy population of more than five millions, is 
 itself no slight advantage. From the peculiar posi- 
 tion of the Netherlands, their existence, as a sep- 
 -arate state under the patronage of Great Britain, 
 also serves materially to facilitate the passage of 
 British manufactures into the interior of the con- 
 tinent. The accomplishment of these objects I 
 take to have been the real purpose, for which the 
 kingdom was created. It is also generally sup- 
 posed to have been entirely a British conception, 
 and to have been arranged at London before it was 
 suggested at Vienna. 
 
368 
 
 3. Having thus failed, in regard to the two great 
 points of general policy, and having assumed, as a 
 leading pruiciple, the necessity of weakening and 
 embarrassing France, it was, of course, impossible 
 for the congress to keep in view the directly oppo- 
 site principle, which 1 have stated above as the 
 third in importance. Accordingly, no trace can be 
 found, in any of the arrangements, of a general 
 intention to weaken the influence of Russia. It is 
 one of the great advantages of this power for ex- 
 tending its influence, that it comes in contact with 
 the west of Europe on a long line of frontiers, 
 broken up into a variety of separate states, which 
 may be attacked in succession and turned, by influ- 
 ence, against each other. Thus Prussia may, at 
 any time, be overrun in a single campaign, as it has 
 been repeatedly by France and Russia. In the rear 
 of this power is a cluster of small states inde- 
 pendent only in name, as regards their foreign 
 relations ; and whose governments ask nothing- 
 better than the opportunity of obtaining a little 
 paltry aggrandizement, by selling themselves to the 
 highest bidder. Hence, whenever it may suit the 
 purposes of Russia to extend her power in this 
 direction, she can obtain allies without difhculty in 
 the heart of the enemy's country, to co-operate with 
 her and assist her progress. Already, indeed, the 
 
369 
 
 preliminary arrangements, for this purpose, have 
 been made by family connexions with some of the 
 considerable secondary powers, as Wiirtemberg and 
 Baden. To foresee and prevent this danger would 
 have been a thing not unworthy the high vocation 
 of the congress. To do it effectually, the whole of 
 Germany, including Prussia and Austria, should 
 have been consolidated into one vast empire, a 
 measure the more desirable, inasmuch as it would 
 not only have contributed materially to the polit- 
 ical security of the western nations, but was called 
 for loudly and imperiously by the interest of the 
 German people, which has been completely sacrificed 
 to the hereditary pretensions of a few families. To 
 these pretensions it was again sacrificed upon this 
 occasion, and with it the best arrangement that 
 could have been made in this quarter, for the secu- 
 rity of Europe. 
 
 In like manner the security of Europe and the 
 welfare of the people of Italy, required that that 
 delightful but unfortunate region should be deliv- 
 ered from the shameful misgovernment, which has 
 been so long consuming its strength, that the pre- 
 scriptive pretensions of a few families should have 
 been overlooked or satisfied by pecuniary indem- 
 nities, and the whole country consolidated into one 
 vigorous and powerful state. Such a measure 
 47 
 
370 
 
 would have been the salvation of Italy, which is 
 now sinking rapidly into hopeless and helpless 
 decrepitude ; and it would have introduced a new 
 element of great utility and importance into the 
 general balance of power. These were the 
 measures which were looked for at the hands of 
 the congress, instead of the union of Poland with 
 Russia, the erection of the kingdom of the Nether- 
 lands, or the building of a line of fortresses along the 
 French frontiers. No doubt such measures might 
 have justly been called vigorous, perhaps violent; but 
 for what purpose are all the powers of Europe as- 
 sembled in general congress, if not to take vigorous 
 and violent measures for the public good ? It is the 
 high prerogative and peculiar duty of this great 
 tribunal to overlook petty pretensions and slight 
 objects, to do substantial justice every where with- 
 out regard to form and without respect for persons, 
 and to keep their view fixed steadily upon the only 
 two objects really entitled to the attention of a great 
 European statesman, the welfare of the people and 
 the security of Europe. By overlooking these 
 great interests, by doing justice to every petty 
 prescriptive claim that could be made out, however 
 fatal to the general object of the public good, by 
 mistaking the leading principle of European policy, 
 and, in consequence of this mistake, vitiating the 
 
371 
 
 balance of power in all its important points, the 
 members of the congress proved either that their in- 
 tellectual and moral qualities were below their social 
 position ; or, w^iich is probably the more correct 
 supposition, that an irregular tribunal of this descrip- 
 tion is essentially incapable of adjusting the interests 
 that are confided to it. 
 
 Still, though the congress had failed in making 
 the best arrangements against the preponderance of 
 Russia, its errors did not annihilate the materials of 
 power existing in the west of, Europe. France, 
 though weakened and embarrassed, was still there, 
 a great and vigorous power, to form the centre of 
 an anti-Russian coalition. Germany, though disu- 
 nited and misgoverned, still presented two imposing 
 masses of force on the Russian lines to serve as an 
 advance ; and the fleets and finances of England 
 still remained, though impaired, to inspire and 
 cement the alliance. It was only necessary, in order 
 to turn these means to account, that the several 
 powers should have felt their true position, and 
 understood their policy. And, if the influence of 
 Russia in the congress had prevented them at that 
 time from taking the proper measures, it could be 
 no obstacle to their afterwards adopting in concert, 
 as independent states, whatever schemes of policy 
 they might prefer. The basis of the new European 
 
372 
 
 system, under these circumstances, would naturally 
 have been a strict alliance between the three great 
 continental powers, Austria, France, and Prussia, 
 for the purpose of resisting in concert any encroach- 
 ment from the north. England and the smaller 
 states in the north and south of Europe should also 
 have been parties to this coalition, and co-operated 
 in case of need. And had these powers felt them- 
 selves at liberty to overthrow the Turkish empire, 
 and establish in the room of it a powerful christian 
 state, a new element of great importance would have 
 been introduced into the system ; and it would have 
 obtained all the firmness and consistency, of which 
 it was susceptible, under the circumstances, though 
 still physically and morally inadequate to sustain a 
 decisive struggle, with the overwhelming greatness 
 of the common enemy. 
 
 By comparing this outline with the course, which 
 the several powers have pursued since the congress 
 of Vienna, it is sufficiently obvious, that the true 
 policy of Europe has been again completely over- 
 looked, that at the present moment there is no ap- 
 pearance of a balance of power, that Russia is the 
 absolute dictator of the continent, two of the great; 
 western states having consented to act as her lieu- 
 tenants and allies, and that France and England, 
 the two other great western states, are reduced, in 
 
373 
 
 consequence, as European powers, to the condition 
 of mere nullity. Without entering into much detail 
 in regard to events, which are so recent, and of so 
 notorious a character, I shall add a few remarks 
 upon them, w hich will tend, I think, to establish 
 these positions. 
 
 The session of the congress had hardly come to 
 a close, when an occurrence took place, which, 
 though not in itself of material importance, afforded 
 a strong proof, that the policy of Europe was not 
 likely to take a very fortunate direction. I allude 
 to the conclusion in the summer of 1815 of the 
 treaty between the emperors of Russia and Austria 
 and the king of Prussia in person, denominated the 
 Holy Alliance. The ostensible object of this treaty 
 was to establish a solemn mutual engagement 
 between these sovereigns to administer the public 
 affairs, which they had in charge, in conformity to 
 the christian religion. As it is well known, that the 
 emperor of Russia is, or has been, at times, under 
 the influence of exalted devotional sentiments, there 
 is great reason to suppose, that the ostensible object 
 was also the real one, and that the alliance was not 
 formed with any sinister intention. The measure 
 savoured, it is true, rather more of fanaticism, than 
 of sound good sense. The christian religion is not 
 a code, either of politics or jurisprudence ; and the 
 
574 
 
 sovereigns could therefore only mean by this en- 
 gagement, that they would conform to the spirit of 
 Christianity, and do what they believed to be their 
 duty from religious motives. The expediency of 
 so doing was so perfectly evident befoj'e, that it did 
 not apparently require to be enforced or sanctioned 
 by special engagements. A solemn promise on the 
 part of three great monarchs to behave well in future 
 Iiad, in fact, rather the air of a satire upon their own 
 past conduct ; and might perhaps have been looked 
 upon as a sort of amende honorable, for former 
 neglect of Anty by themselves and their predecessors. 
 But, supposing the treaty not to have concealed any 
 sinister intention, it was still rather good, than 
 otherwise ; or at least was perfectly harmless. It 
 seems to have been so considered by the other 
 powers, who were invited to accede to it, and gen- 
 erally consented. The sovereigns, or their ministers, 
 probably smiled in secret at the whim of their 
 imperial brother, and, thinking themselves fortunate, 
 that the caprice of so great a personage had taken 
 so innocent a direction, very readily gave it their 
 countenance. The British government took advan- 
 tage of a real constitutional difficulty, and refused 
 the king's signature. 
 
 The only truly important thing about this treaty 
 was its original shape of a confidential and strict 
 
375 
 
 alliance between Russia, Austria, and Prussia. 
 That Russia should wish to form such a union was 
 perfectly natural ; but that Austria and Prussia 
 should consent to it proved, either that they consid- 
 ered the measure of no consequence whatever, or 
 that they wholly misconceived their position in 
 Europe. The basis of their future policy was, as I 
 have already observed, a close alliance with France 
 against the preponderance of Russia ; and by this 
 act they abandoned France and the other western 
 powers, and united themselves in a mystical league 
 with the very sovereign, from whom they had every 
 thing to apprehend, and against whom it was their 
 chief object to guard. The only apology, which 
 the proceeding admitted, was the one, already inti- 
 mated, that the treaty was really of no political 
 consequence, being merely an edifying parade of 
 pious language. But had Austria and Prussia 
 perceived, as clearly as they ought to have done, 
 their true position, it may be doubted, whether they 
 would have taken part in such a measure, however 
 apparently unmeaning. The alliance of the giant 
 and the dwarf carries with it so little, either of 
 honour or profit, to the weaker party, that there 
 could be no very strong motive for enacting it, even 
 in sport. The union, however, not being founded 
 originally upon a community of political interest. 
 
376 
 
 was wholly destitute of any principle of stability ; 
 and might, under other circumstances, have been 
 shaken to pieces by the first political concussion. 
 By a singular sort of fatality there commenced, al- 
 most immediately after the formation of this alliance, 
 a course of important events, which established a 
 community of interest between these three sovereigns, 
 in opposition to that of the other western powers. 
 I allude to the rapid development of liberal political 
 principles in all the west of Europe since the close 
 of the war. By these events, the governments of 
 Austria and Prussia were placed in a vicious and 
 unfortunate position, both for their own interest and 
 that of Europe. While, as independent nations, 
 they have every thing to apprehend from the pre- 
 dominance of Russia, and every reason to unite with 
 France and the other western powers in a common 
 understanding to check it ; as Governments, and 
 according to their peculiar political notions, they 
 have equal reason to be alarmed at the spirit, which 
 predominates in all the principal western states, and 
 is fast giving a character to their outward forms and 
 national policy. In this respect they have a common 
 interest with Russia ; and this danger being appa- 
 rently more immediate and pressing, than the other, 
 they have made no scruple of allying themselves 
 with their great national enemy, and even availing 
 
377 
 
 themselves of his military resources to repel the 
 inroads of freedom. It was thus, that, in the declin- 
 ing period of the Roman empire, the various factions 
 supported their pretensions by the aid of barbarian 
 mercenaries ; and gave an easy introduction into 
 the heart of their country to its future conquerors. 
 In this way the holy alliance was converted from 
 an unmeaning parade into a real union, directed 
 against the progress of liberal principles ; or, in the 
 language of its members, against revolution and 
 illegitimacy. Austria and Prussia were detached 
 from the western states, and firmly united with 
 Russia by an important community of interest ; and 
 the only remaining chance of a balance of power 
 was destroyed probably for ever. The alliance 
 having thus acquired a substantial meaning, its form 
 was no longer unimportant. The sovereigns had 
 bound themselves by this treaty to conform to the 
 christian religion ; that is, to do what they believed 
 to be their duty from religious motives. Whatever 
 particular measures might appear to them expedient 
 were now to be adopted in a religious spirit ; and 
 this spirit not being that of rational and practical 
 religion, but rather an exalted and mystical sort of 
 fanaticism, the necessary consequence was, that, as 
 soon as the league had obtained a political object, 
 the parties to it, or at least the emperor of Russia, 
 43 
 
378 
 
 pursued this object with all the false zeal and blhid 
 obstinacy, that fanaticism naturally inspires. The 
 erroneous policy of these powers assumed the most 
 dangerous shape, in which intellectual weakness or 
 error can ever exhibit itself; and an alliance, origin- 
 ally anti-European, and which had now become 
 illiberal, acquired at the same time a new and un- 
 natural principle of force and activity. I say the 
 alliance, because the emperor of Russia being the 
 main spring and moving soul of it, the feelings and 
 principles, upon which he acts, may be said to 
 determine the conduct of all. It is doubtful, whether 
 the sovereigns of Austria and Prussia, or their 
 principal ministers, who are persons of much more 
 political importance, share in the fanaticism of the 
 emperor Alexander. They probably act under the 
 influence of strong political prejudices ; and in their 
 anxiety to provide for the security of the existing 
 forms of administration, they overlook the ultimate 
 danger to their own national independence, as well 
 as to that of the other western powers, from the 
 course they are pursuing. We see them accordingly 
 promulgate declarations and adopt measures in the 
 name of religion and legitimacy^ (a word, which, 
 taken in a good sense, can only mean /Msiz'ce,) that 
 not only outrage every principle of justice and 
 humanity, and wholly vitiate the political system of 
 
379 
 
 Europe, but strike a fatal blow at their own inde- 
 pendence and that of all the western powers. 
 
 Thus, at a moment when the preponderance of 
 Russia is, more than ever, dangerous to the other 
 states, and when the strictest union of all the rest 
 would hardly furnish a sufficient mass of force to 
 resist it with effect, this concurrence of circum- 
 stances has detached two of the principal western 
 states from the common cause, and united them 
 closely by a bond of immediate interest with the 
 common enemy ; has furnished Russia with a pretext 
 for interfering in the politics of the west of Europe ; 
 and by presenting this system of interference to the 
 enthusiastic mind of the emperor, under tlie form of 
 an act of religious duty, has impressed upon his 
 character, perhaps naturally unambitious, a most 
 violent princi|)le of activity and usurpation. Finally, 
 the same circumstances have created in all the 
 countries, that are threatened by" Russia, excepting 
 England, an internal party, more or less considera- 
 ble, attached by strong motives of immediate interest 
 to the Russian cause, and opposed to the interest 
 and policy of their own governments. Such is the 
 present state of the balance of power in Europe. 
 
 From the moment, when this development of 
 liberal principles began to exhibit itself, the great 
 extension of influence, which Russia would derive 
 
380 
 
 from it under the present circumstances, was also 
 made apparent. A course of friendly counsel to 
 other powers was immediately entered upon, by her 
 representatives at all the courts in Europe. The 
 emperor employed his leisure in digesting materials 
 for a pamphlet of friendly advice to the Germans, 
 upon the state of the universities. Prussia was 
 advised in a friendly way not to fulfil her promise 
 of a constitution. The deputies of the Spanish 
 nation, which had taken the liberty to reform its 
 government without consulting Russia, were advised 
 in a friendly manner to disavow all their proceedings, 
 to admit that they had proved themselves to be 
 knaves and fools, and that nobody but the emperor 
 Alexander knew any thing about politics. The king 
 of France was advised in a friendly manner not to 
 govern in the spirit of the institutions, which he had 
 himself established, with the approbation of his 
 imperial majesty, but to give his confidence to a 
 faction, whose views were adverse to the public 
 good, although very friendly to the interest of 
 Russia. Such, indeed, is the force of habit, that the 
 emperor extended his system of friendly advice 
 across the Atlantic ; and this most pacific sovereign, 
 at the head of a peace establishment of only 800,000 
 bayonets, thought it necessary to caution the rapa- 
 cious and warlike cabinet of Washington, which had 
 
then an army of no less than 8,000 men on foot, not 
 to plunge inconsiderately into hostilities with Spain. 
 Such were the j&rst symptoms of this pretension to 
 universal supremacy, which has since been put in 
 force in regard to Naples and Sardinia ; and, w hat 
 is still more extraordinary, has been publicly and 
 ostentatiously avowed at the congresses of Troppau 
 and Laybach. 
 
 When the invasion of Naples by the Austrians 
 was under consideration in the British parliament, 
 the ministry, who were obliged to defend, in the 
 most plausible way they could, the passive policy 
 imposed upon them by necessity, pretended to 
 maintain that the proceedings of Austria might be 
 justifiable on the ground of the danger to her do- 
 minions in Italy, from the establishment of a liberal 
 government at Naples. The futility and absurdity of 
 this system of defence are so obvious, and have been 
 so fully exposed in every form, that it is needless 
 to refute them here. But it is necessary to remark, 
 in order to have a correct view^ of the policy and 
 pretensions of the allies, that this was not the argu- 
 ment employed by them to justify their proceedings. 
 In their public declarations from Troppau and 
 Laybach, they assert, on the contrary, in unqualified 
 terms, the right, on general principles, of putting 
 down revolution, whenever it displays itself in other 
 
382 
 
 independent nations, and they constitute themselves 
 the judges of the existence of the case. This is 
 neither more nor less than an assertion by these 
 allies of the right of sovereignty over the whole of 
 Europe ; and when we consider that Prussia has 
 been a passive and probably reluctant party to the 
 alliance, and that Austria could not have ventured 
 to stir a step in these proceedings without the 
 assurance of support from Russia ; while Russia, 
 on the contrary, acts with perfect independence, and 
 is the real soul of the league ; when we consider 
 these circumstances, it is impossible not to perceive, 
 that the assertion amounts to a claim by Russia of 
 universal supremacy. The only qualification to the 
 claim, admitted by the language of these declara- 
 tions, is the right of governments, as they are now 
 constituted, to introduce, of their own accord, politi- 
 cal improvements ; in w hich case, it seems, the 
 emperor would condescend not to interfere. But 
 even this slender restriction is withdrawn by the 
 practical commentary upon the language of the 
 allies, afforded by their actual proceedings in regard 
 to Naples. Here the king displayed every appear- 
 ance of cordially approving the revolution, and 
 could not be brought, even at Laybach, to express 
 a different opinion. Under these circumstances, the 
 pretensions of the allies took the following form : 
 
383 
 
 'If, in a case of revolution, the king disapproves the, 
 proceedings, we claim the right of interfering in his 
 defence. If the king approves them, however com- 
 pletely he may be out of danger, he must be consid- 
 ered as acting under compulsion, and the right of 
 interference remains.' So that the only case of 
 reform, in which they do not claim the right of 
 interference, is that, in which they happen to 
 approve themselves the character of the innovations. 
 In other words, they say to foreign powers : ' You 
 are at perfect liberty to do what we like ; but you 
 shall not do what we do not like.' This I take to 
 be a declaration of sovereignty. It must have been, 
 as it was, peculiarly offensive to the British gov- 
 ernment and people ; for the ' glorious' revolution 
 of 1688, by which the constitution assumed its 
 present shape, was very similar in spirit and form 
 to that of Naples. 
 
 It may be said, that this claim of sovereignty 
 extends only to a single point ; and that in every 
 other matter, but that of reform, the nations retain 
 their independence. But the right of giving the 
 law to foreign powers in regard to one important 
 subject can only be deduced from that of general 
 sovereignty ; and the nation, which permits another 
 to prescribe its conduct in one particular, has for- 
 feited its honour and its independence, as much as if 
 
384 
 
 it had formally passed under the yoke. Besides this, 
 the subject of political reform, in the present state 
 of public opinion in Europe, involves in itself the 
 whole government ; as that of the religious reforma- 
 tion did at a former period. In every country the 
 political w orld is divided into two parties in regard, 
 to this subject ; and, according as one or the other 
 of these parties prevails, the whole system of ad- 
 ministration assumes a different aspect. The pre- 
 tension of Russia and her allies to give the law to 
 foreign nations in regard to political reform, amounts 
 to the claim of a right to determine which of these 
 two parties shall have the ascendancy ; and, conse- 
 quently, which of the two adverse modes of feeling 
 and thinking on political subjects shall pervade the 
 whole administration. It amounts, in other words, 
 to the pretension to regulate at pleasure the whole 
 domestic and foreign policy of other nominally in- 
 dependent states. 
 
 A claim, so odious as this, would not have been 
 publicly avowed, unless the parties that made 
 it were conscious of the ability to put it in force ; 
 and it is accordingly obvious, upon a view of the 
 prevailing policy, foreign and domestic, of the several 
 principal cabinets in the west of Europe, that the 
 terror of the Russian arms exercises a powerful 
 action upon the minds of their members. The 
 
385 
 
 co-operation of Prussia in the league is probably 
 itself an effect of this terror ; and there is no reason- 
 able way of accounting for the breach of faith and 
 strange vacillation of this government, in regard to 
 the constitution, unless we attribute it to the efforts 
 of an aristocratic party, not sufficiently powerful in 
 itself to resist the public opinion of this intelligent 
 and high-minded nation, but deriving force enough 
 from the support of Austria and Russia to defeat 
 the hopes of the people, and probably the sincere 
 intentions and wishes of the government. The 
 ascendancy of the emigrant party in France, although 
 it has been favoured by the personal position of the 
 royal family, is, in substance, as I have observed 
 before, the result of foreign influence ; that is, of the 
 influence of Russia. All parties in France know 
 perfectly well, that the occurrence of any movement, 
 which could plausibly be treated as a revolution, 
 would be followed at once by another general inroad 
 from the north ; and they also remember the friendly 
 assurance, given by the powers at their last invasion, 
 that at the next visit they should proceed a la mode 
 de Pologne, and divide the territory. While, there- 
 fore, the necessity of conciliating these terrible 
 neighbours has been the great motive with the 
 government, in giving an anti-national and illiberal 
 colouring to their whole policy, the apprehension 
 49 
 
386' 
 
 of another invasion, followed by results still more 
 fatal than those of the former ones, is probably the 
 principal reason, why the nation has submitted so 
 quietly to this system ; and it is hardly an exagger- 
 ation to say, that at this moment the Cossacs are 
 the ruling power in France. The insular position 
 and maritime strength of England exempt her, for 
 the present, from this domestic interference ; al- 
 though it has been hinted, that during the queen's 
 trial the influence of Russia was employed for the 
 purpose of keeping the ministry in place. Whether 
 this be true or not, England in her internal affairs 
 is still substantially independent. 
 
 In regard to her foreign policy, however, the 
 case is quite different ; and the most remarkable 
 symptom, which has appeared of the ascendancy of 
 Russia in the west of Europe, was the passive 
 unconcern with which France and England looked 
 on during the late events in Italy. These powers 
 had every possible reason for opposing, with deci- 
 sion, the proceedings of Austria and Russia. The 
 revolutions in Italy, and the consolidation of the 
 Italian states into one powerful body politic, which 
 would have been their result, had they been left to 
 pursue their natural course, besides essentially pro- 
 moting the interest of the Italian people, were 
 events highly favourable to the balance of power in 
 
387 
 
 Europe, and well calculated to check tlie influence 
 of Russia. The British ministry evidently viewed 
 the conduct of the allies in its true light ; and it 
 would be doing them injustice, as men of ability, 
 to suppose that they were really deceived them- 
 selves by the slight appearance of plausibility, 
 which they were able to give to their policy in 
 parliament, on principles too, which the allies them- 
 selves did not pretend to assert. The real justifi- 
 cation, as well as the real cause of this neutrality, 
 both in France and England, was the impossibility 
 of opposing any effectual resistance to the determi- 
 nations of the allies. It was the wholesome terror 
 of the Cossacs, which at once backed the progress 
 of the Austrian army in Italy, and neutralized the 
 resistance of the cabinets of London and Paris. 
 France had even a still stronger interest than 
 England in supporting the Italians on account of 
 her continental position, which makes the preserva- 
 tion of a balance of power much more important to 
 her safety. Accordingly, the reaction of public 
 opinion in France, against the neutrality of the 
 cabinet, was so strong, that it was on the eve, at 
 one moment, of producing a new revolution there ; 
 or at least a complete change in the policy of the 
 cabinet. Had the cause of liberty been better 
 supported in Naples, this result would unquestion- 
 
388 
 
 ably have happened, and not improbably a similar 
 one in Belgium, Prussia, and some other parts of 
 Germany. In this case a general struggle for life 
 and death between the governments of the east and 
 the nations of the west of Europe wonld have 
 followed ; and the battle of independence, which 
 Inust come sooner or later, would have been fought 
 at once ; and perhaps under circumstances more 
 favourable to the success of the western powers, 
 than may soon occur again. The cowardice and 
 treachery of the Neapolitans, and the terror of 
 Russia, which paralyzed the cabinets of France and 
 England, gave a different turn to these events, and 
 left the great final struggle to future years, perhaps 
 to future generations. 
 
 It only remains, in order to complete this view 
 of the balance of power, as it exists, or rather as it 
 does not exist at present, to inquire what proba- 
 bility there is of a change in this state of things, 
 which I have been describing, what means are still 
 at the disposition of the western powers for resist- 
 ing the preponderance of Russia, and what are the 
 chances that they will be employed in the best 
 possible way. Although Russia already rules in 
 the west by terror, she does not yet rule by actual 
 force. If the influence of the Cossacs is felt in 
 France, their tents are not permanently pitched m 
 
389 
 
 the Elysian fields. The war of western indepen- 
 dence is still, as I have said, to be fought ; and 
 until it has been actually fought and decided in 
 favour of Russia, there will be room for hope and a 
 chance of success for the other powers ; because, if 
 we even suppose these materials of resistence to be 
 in themselves wholly inadequate, they have still in 
 their favour the possibility of some fortunate occur- 
 rence of an accidental character. Accidents, how- 
 ever, being, as such, beyond the reach of anticipation, 
 it is only upon an estimate of the existing mate- 
 rials of resistance, as they will probably be em- 
 ployed, that any calculation can be formed upon the 
 subject ; and the chance of success for the western 
 powers, founded upon any such calculations, appears 
 at present to be extremely small. What these 
 materials are has already been stated in a general 
 way. The basis of the true European system has 
 been shown to be a strict alliance between the three 
 great continental powers and the cooperation of 
 Great Britain and the states of a secondary order. 
 This system is, as I have also observed, completely 
 vitiated at present by the unnatural and anti-Euro- 
 pean union of Austria and Prussia with Russia. 
 For, if Russia alone is more than a match for all 
 the rest of Europe together, it is evident enough, 
 that when she is aided by Prussia, as a passive ally, 
 
590 
 
 and Austria as an active one, the latter carrying 
 with her the effective command of the whole of 
 Germany and Italy, the possibility of resistance by 
 the remaining western powers is entirely out of the 
 question. If, therefore, there is any chance of a 
 restoration of the balance of power, it can only be 
 in consequence of the detachment of Austria and 
 Prussia from the triple alliance. But this event 
 is highly improbable ; for the same cause which 
 created or rather consolidated this alliance will 
 continue to operate, for a long time, with increasing 
 force, and as long as it operates, will of necessity 
 prevent the dissolution of the treaty. 
 
 Notwithstanding the persecution to which the 
 liberal political opinions are now exposed on the 
 continent of Europe, there is very little doubt that 
 they will continue to gain ground among the 
 people. This very persecution is, in fact, one of 
 the principal causes which will promote their 
 progress ; and as it is pushed to a greater excess in 
 Germany than it is any where else, so it is in 
 Germany that the progress of liberal opinions will 
 be most rapid. This circumstance might at first 
 view appear very favourable to the independence of 
 the western powers, since, if all the German states, 
 including Austria, assumed a decidedly liberal 
 political aspect, it may be supposed that tiiey 
 
391 
 
 would fall off from the Russian alliance and attach 
 themselves to the constitutional states in the west. 
 This, in reality, would be the case if the prin- 
 ciples of liberty could be brought into operation 
 instantaneously in every part of Germany ; and 
 the governments of the several states be changed 
 in tlie twinkling of an eye, without there being any 
 possibility of the interference of Russia in the 
 events connected with such a change. But this 
 being impossible, and it being certain, on the con- 
 trary, that such a result, though rapidly approach- 
 ing, must still be preceded by an intervening period 
 of disunion, and of bitter and obstinate strusfples 
 
 Co 
 
 between conflicting factions for ascendancy in the 
 several states, it is evident that the development of 
 liberal principles in Germany will tend to strengthen 
 the influence of Russia in the west of Kurope, and 
 to draw more close instead of loosening the bauds 
 of the triple alliance. This influence already op- 
 erates so strongly in Germany, as to prevent the 
 quiet and natural ascendancy of liberal principles, 
 and to leave them no other form in which to display 
 their force, except that of violent explosions or revo- 
 lutions. Such events, therefore, are quite probable; 
 but their results would be ruinous instead of favoura- 
 ble to the independence of the nations, where they 
 occurred. Suppose, for example, an explosion to oc- 
 
392 
 
 cur in Prussia ; suppose that the late attempt to effect 
 a military revolution there on the model of that of 
 Spain had succeeded ; what would have been the 
 consequence ? Not that Prussia would fall off from 
 the triple alliance and strengthen the influence of 
 the west ; but that a Russian army would immedi- 
 ately march into Berlin, and that the Emperor 
 would then rule there by actual force, as he now 
 rules by terror. If, by possibility and in the progress 
 of time and events, a similar explosion could be 
 expected in Austria, the result would be precisely 
 the same. In Austria, however, there is at present 
 no enthusiasm for liberty, and there is no probability 
 of any attempt at revolution there for a long time 
 to come. The whole north and west of Germany 
 will have been distracted by these internal agitations 
 and have been thrown by them under the direc- 
 tion of Russia, long before the epoch of freedom 
 arrives in Austria. 
 
 Thus there appears to be very little probability 
 that Austria and Prussia will be detached from the 
 triple alliance, and consequently that the balance 
 of power will ever be restored. Then by a singular 
 fatahty the progress of the principles of liberty, so 
 hostile in their character to those of the Russian 
 government, is itself one of the circumstances most 
 favourable to the influence of this government over 
 
393 
 
 the western powers. It furnishes at once a pre" 
 text for hiterference in the affairs of these powers, 
 and an infallible means of sowing among them and 
 in their borders the seeds of destruction and dis- 
 union — the only thing necessary to insure the 
 victory of any single great power over any coalition, 
 hov^ever extensive and formidable. Intlamed by 
 persecution, the friends of liberty in the several 
 countries will linally lose their patience and their 
 prudence, and be hurried into attempts at revolu- 
 tion. Under pretence of checking these attempts, 
 the Russian garrisons will advance from capital to 
 capital, as their terror has already spread itself 
 from cabinet to cabinet ; and should the discordant 
 materials, now fermenting in England, burst out 
 into open insurrection, we may see at last the two- 
 headed eagle extend his wings triumphantly over 
 the tower of London itself. 
 
 Had the western powers understood their policy 
 better, and were they united among themselves in 
 such a way as to enable them to derive the greatest 
 possible advantage from accidental circumstances, 
 the present commotions in Turkey would have 
 afforded them an excellent opportunity to strengthen 
 the western and constitutional interest, and to obtain 
 an important check upon the Russian power by 
 erecting a new Greek empire at Constantinople. 
 50 
 
394 
 
 The late diabolical outrages of the Turks, upon the 
 christian inhabitants of their territory, not only 
 furnish a good pretext for other powers to interfere, 
 but make it the bounden duty of the neighbouring 
 nations, as men and christians, to rescue their fellow 
 men and fellow christians from this horrible tyranny. 
 I consider it as much incumbent upon the Euro- 
 pean powers to unite at last and expel this horde 
 of ruthless and bloody barbarians from Greece, as 
 it would be upon any regular government to dis- 
 lodge and break up an association of professed 
 highwaymen. Having taken this preliminary step, 
 the western powers, by restoring the Greek empire, 
 would have obtained a new and very powerful 
 ally, precisely in the point where a new ally would 
 be most useful, and would serve but as a check 
 upon Russia. But would Russia, having concurred 
 w ith her troops in expelling the Turks, consent to 
 put this bridle upon her own ambition ? And if 
 the other powers, in the event of her refusal, 
 attempted to obtain her consent by force, would 
 the battle be fought in Greece, or in Germany, and 
 with what success ? These questions might have 
 been of great importance, had a better union existed 
 among the western states. As the case now stands, 
 the fate of Turkey will be decided by Russia ; and 
 the present troubles will probably be the means of 
 
395 
 
 extending instead of diminishing her influence ; 
 akhough it may be hoped that they will be not 
 wholly without advantage, to the unfortunate 
 countrymen of Miltiades and Epaminondas. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The British Navy. 
 
 Next to the Russian army, the British navy is 
 the most remarkable engine of war now existing in 
 Europe. It is not, however, like the former, of 
 recent origin. England was alwa3^s a considerable 
 maritime power ; and, since the decline of Holland, 
 has reigned without a rival upon the ocean. For a 
 short period, during the American war, the union of 
 all the maritime states of Europe with her own 
 colonies endangered her sovereignty. But in the 
 late long struggles, she not only recovered all her 
 former advantages, but carried her naval greatness 
 to a point, which it had never reached before, and 
 very probably will never reach again. At present, 
 however, it is not threatened with any immediate 
 danger. The United States exhibited, in the several 
 actions of the late war, at least an equality of naval 
 
396 
 
 science in all its branches ; but the nature of our 
 political institutions does not permit us to aim at 
 conquest by land or by sea. We have as little 
 ambition to wield the sceptre of the ocean, as wil- 
 liugoess to submit to the enormous burdens which 
 it brings upon its possessor. Our permanent naval 
 establishment will never be pushed beyond a very 
 moderate point ; and in the future struggles, which 
 may be forced upon us by the aggressions of other 
 powers upon our commerce, as in the last, we shall 
 always depend mainly for the actual annoyance of 
 the enemy upon our private armed vessels ; while 
 the gallantry and skill, displayed by our public 
 officers in single actions, will serve, as they did then, 
 to sustain and exalt the national character. It is 
 only in the peaceful pursuits of commerce, that we 
 shall ever contest the superiority of England ; and 
 as there is no European power, from which it ap- 
 pears to be in danger, she will probably remain in 
 undisturbed possession of her watery empire, as long 
 as the foundations of her power remain in other 
 respects unshaken. 
 
 ' The trident of Neptune,' says a French poet of 
 the last century, ' is the sceptre of the world.' The 
 power conveyed by it is, however, of a very peculiar 
 kind. A great navy is not, like a great army, im- 
 mediately dangerous to the liberties of the nation 
 
397 
 
 to which it belongs. The only inconvenience they 
 can suffer from it arises from the immense expense, 
 required for its maintenance, and for the conduct of 
 the distant expeditions, which it tempts the govern- 
 ment that wields it to undertake. It is, in like 
 manner, not directly dangerous to the liberty and 
 independence of other nations ; unless, indeed, as 
 has never yet happened, it should exist in connexion 
 with a great development of military power. In 
 general, it makes no attempt upon the territorial 
 security of foreigners, but, like other sea monsters, 
 waits for its victims upon its own element. Hence 
 a great naval power is, upon the whole, much less 
 formidable to other nations, than a great military 
 one, which is sure, in the end, to destroy the inde- 
 pendence of every thing weaker within its reach. 
 Still, within the limits which the laws of nature 
 assign to its exercise, the former is equally liable to 
 abuse, and has, indeed, within these limits, been 
 abused in all ages to a still greater extent. The 
 abuse of military power has at all times and places, 
 where there existed any pretension to civilization, 
 been confined to invade the national rights and 
 public property of foreigners ; while the property 
 and person of the peaceful private citizen have been 
 left unmolested. The abuse of naval power, on the 
 eontrary, has always partaken, in a greater or less 
 
398 
 
 degree, of a piratical spirit ; and has uniformly been 
 exercised upon private property employed in lawful 
 commerce. Tlie remnant of professed piracy has 
 in these latter times been dignified with the title of 
 a rule of law ; and while it is reckoned uncivilized} 
 inhuman, and against the law of nations, for an army 
 to plunder private property on land, it is thought 
 perfectly consistent with the same law, as well as 
 w ith the dictates of humanity and the usages of 
 civilized society, for a ship of war to plunder private 
 property at sea. Thus, what is a crime upon one 
 element, becomes lawful and just upon another. In 
 the wars of barbarous nations, there is no distinction 
 between public and private property. Every thing, 
 even to the persons of the conquered, becomes the 
 prey of the conqueror. But it is one of the strongest 
 inconsistencies among the many which disfigure the 
 public law of Europe, that the milder spirit of 
 civilization, which has introduced this distinction in 
 military warfare, shoidd have left in full force at sea 
 the iron maxims of former times. 
 
 The determination of the laws and usages of war 
 by land and sea depends, in a great measure, on the 
 disposition and character of the dominant powers 
 upon these respective elements, and the superior 
 inhumanity of the maritime code is, consequently, 
 not very honourable to England. Ever since the 
 
399 
 
 spirit of civilization began to mitigate the ancient 
 horrors of war, England has enjoyed an almost un- 
 disputed ascendancy at sea. Her influence and 
 practice have, of course, regulated the laws of naval 
 warfare : and to her must be mainly attributed the 
 cruelty, by which it is still disgraced. England has 
 not only continued with unrelenting rigour, up to 
 the present day, the practice of plundering the private 
 property of enemies at sea, but has pushed her 
 pretensions to a most unwarrantable and vexatious 
 extent, in regard to the private property of individ- 
 uals of other nations, wholly unconnected with the 
 quarrel. According to the maritime, w^hich, as I 
 have said, is in substance the British code of public 
 law, two governments, by going to war, acquire a 
 sort of superintending power over the lawful com- 
 merce of every other nation on the globe. The right 
 of plundering the private property of enemies is, 
 according to this system, so sacred and favourable, 
 that it may be exercised upon such property, even 
 in the hands of third persons ; and although these 
 persons, confessedly w holly innocent of the quarrel, 
 may suffer very much by the operation. Hence 
 arises the pretended belligerent rij^ht of searching 
 the ships of every peaceful nation on the globe, to 
 ascertain whether there is any private property -of 
 the enemy on board of them. These barbarous 
 
400 
 
 usages, instead of yielding to the progress of civi- 
 lization, were pushed, during the last war, still 
 farther than they had ever been before. Under 
 pretence of prohibiting commerce with an enemy in 
 munitions of war, which had previously been done, 
 England undertook to interdict the trade in provi- 
 sions and even medicines ; and the nation, which 
 sometimes claims the praise of being more civilized 
 than any other, was guilty of the crime of attempt- 
 ing to starve the whole innocent population of 
 another country, and give it over to disease, because 
 the two governments were at war. Considered as 
 a deduction from previously existing usages, the 
 claim was perfectly absurd ; and I regret, that it 
 should have been sanctioned in a formal treaty by 
 the government of the United States. Clothing and 
 €very other article of private and domestic use might 
 as justly have been declared contraband, and all 
 neutral commerce with an enemy interdicted at 
 once. Indeed, the pretensions of Great Britain did 
 iinally arrive at this point; and, under pretence of 
 declaring their coasts in a state of blockade, she 
 actually prohibited for a length of time all neutral 
 commerce with her enemies. The power of doing 
 this, according to her civilians, conferred the right of 
 doing it. It was fortunate, that they did not push 
 the argument any farther, as it would have justihed 
 
401 
 
 them just as fully in cutting the throats of neutrals, 
 as in seizing their property. Finally, Great Britain 
 claimed the right of examining the crews of all 
 neutral vessels found at sea, and compelling the 
 citizens of every nation in the world to keep them- 
 selves constantly prepared to prove that they were 
 not British subjects, under penalty of impressment. 
 Such was the code of maritime law introduced by 
 the freest and most enlightened nation in Europe, 
 in this most enlightened age, which the world has 
 yet seen ; and it was for resisting these pretensions, 
 that the government of the United States was 
 denounced by that of England as partial to France. 
 For the last and most odious among these claims, 
 such as the right of interdicting all commerce with 
 an enemy, under pretence of a general blockade of 
 his coasts, the right of impressment on board neutral 
 vessels, and the extension of the character of contra- 
 band to provisions, little or no pretence of authority 
 was ever adduced ; and they were generally sup- 
 ported by the summary argument, alluded to above, 
 that power confers right. For some of the other 
 claims, as the right of plundering the private prop- 
 erty of enemies when found at sea, even in the 
 hands of third persons, and the consequent right of 
 general search, the right prohibiting all trade with 
 the enemy in munitions of war, and finally the most 
 .51 
 
402 
 
 extraordinary pretension of prohibiting to neutrals 
 in time of war all trade with the enemy, which they 
 were not allowed to carry on in time of peace ; for 
 these pretensions, authorities, more or less satisfac- 
 tory, were adduced from the laws and usages of the 
 worst periods of European history. Whether the 
 case of England was made out, even on grounds 
 like these, is a question which has not been settled, 
 and is hardly worth examining. That barbarous 
 practices should have prevailed in barbarous times 
 among barbarous nations, is neither improbable nor 
 unnatural ; the wonder is, that a civilized nation 
 should consider the existence of them, under such 
 circumstances, as a justification of their continuance 
 in an age of civilization and humanity. By going a 
 little farther back, it would be easy to find authori- 
 ties of still more venerable antiquity in favour of still 
 more savage usages ; such as killing and enslaving 
 prisoners. If we reject with contempt the ideas of 
 the dark ages on every other point of philosophy, by 
 what fatality is it, that we feel ourselves obliged to 
 conform to them, however absurd and cruel, in the 
 law of nations, the largest and most important 
 division of practical morality ? 
 
 All the reasonings of the British civilians on 
 these subjects are tainted with the enormous error 
 of considering the cause of war as favourable, and 
 
403 
 
 that of peace as unfavourable ; of supposing that the 
 pretensions of belligerants must be liberally con- 
 strued, and followed out into all their consequences, 
 while those of nations at peace must be restricted 
 and narrowed down to the bare letter. A large 
 construction in favour of life is the humane maxim 
 at Westminster hall ; but at Doctors' commons the 
 large construction is in favour of death. Some of 
 our own politicians even, in the frenzy of party 
 spirit, were found to echo the principle, that the 
 rights of belligerants are paramount to those of 
 neutrals; as if industry and commerce were the 
 curse and scourge of society, and war the prin- 
 cipal instrument of civilization. Hence was de- 
 rived the justification of what w^as called the rule 
 of 1756, by which neutrals were prohibited from 
 carrying on any trade in time of war, which they 
 were not allowed in time of peace. This pre- 
 tended justification supposed, that the right of 
 neutrals to trade with one belligerant power was 
 an unjust encroachment on the right of the other to 
 annoy his enemy as much as possible ; and that 
 although authorized by usage, it may and ought to 
 be narrowed down to the strictest limits ; but that 
 the right of annoying the enemy is, on the contrary, 
 a favourable one, which may be pushed to the 
 fullest extent, and through all its consequence^ 
 
404 
 
 without regard to the interest even of innocent 
 third persons. Bj constantly looking at the 
 subject in this point of view, the British civilians 
 became at last so completely blind to its real 
 character, that they seriously argued the cause of 
 war, as if it were the cause of humanity. One 
 of the most remarkable pamphlets in defence of 
 these pretensions bore the title of War in Disguise, 
 or the Frauds of the neutral flags. The natural 
 effect of commerce and industry, to escape by 
 indirect means from some of the shackles imposed 
 upon them in the most arbitrary and violent man- 
 ner, is here described, as appears even from the 
 title, not only as illegal, but as hostile and cruel. 
 The benevolent writer melts into tears at the idea 
 of a blood-thirsty and hard-hearted merchant under- 
 taking to evade the kind regulations established by 
 a belligerant in the common interest of humanity, 
 for the sanguinary purpose of furnishing the com- 
 forts and necessaries of life to those who want 
 them. I am far from approving irregularity, as 
 such, in any case, especially when, as in this, it is 
 necessarily accompanied with perjury. But, after 
 all, the cause of neutrals, supposing even their 
 proceedings to be in contravention of the arbitrary 
 laws of war, is the cause of humanity and civil- 
 ization. If trade sometimes puts on a mask, the 
 
405 
 
 disguise may be wrong, but it is peace that wears 
 it, and not war. Should industry and commerce 
 obtain, in difficult times, some slight advanta- 
 ges even by irregular means, the case, I grant, is 
 hard for the British cruisers who are thus cheated 
 of their prey ; but is tliere any thing in it, at which 
 a professed friend of humanity, like Mr Stephen, 
 the president of so many bible and missionary 
 societies, the member of so many institutions for 
 suppressing vice in all its shapes and promoting the 
 public good, need to take so much offence ? The 
 war, which neutrals carried on in disguise in these 
 days of trouble was the war of civilization with 
 brutal force; and if stratagems are justifiable in all 
 other cases, I see but little reason why this most 
 sacred and necessary of all should be exempt from 
 the indulgence. War in disguise was indeed a 
 mode of presenting the subject more absurd, if 
 possible, than false. But power, it is somewhere 
 observed, is never ridiculous, and the truth of this 
 maxim has perhaps on no occasion been more fully 
 proved, than by the fact, that such pretensions and 
 ideas as these were received in any other way than 
 by a general chorus of contempt. 
 
 The inconveniences and vexations, necessarily 
 produced by the pretended belligerant right of 
 search, even when the exercise of it is kej)t within 
 
406 
 
 decent bounds, have always been sensibly felt by 
 neutrals ; and they produced, in the time of the 
 American war, the celebrated coalition of the 
 Armed Neutrality, which was revived again for a 
 short time during the late contest. The leading 
 principle maintained by this coalition was the 
 exemption of the priv ate property of enemies from 
 pillage in the hands of third persons, a very imper- 
 fect and inadequate assertion of the rights of 
 humanity, but one to which, unfortunately, the 
 most humane and civilized nation in the world 
 could never be brought to consent. As she was 
 also at that time and has been ever since the prin- 
 cipal maritime power, the opposite and barbarous 
 construction of public law is still maintained. It 
 would have been, as is justly observed by a German 
 writer,* a fit object for the attention of the congress 
 of Vienna to determine the rights of neutrals at 
 sea, and to establish a code of maritime law on the 
 basis of common humanity. But in this particular, 
 the presence and preponderance of Great Britain 
 in the congress exercised as fatal an influence on 
 the interest of all the other states, and the general 
 good, as those of Russia did upon the balance of 
 power and the security of the west of Europe. 
 
 * Manuscript from South Germany; an anonymous work. 
 
407 
 
 If, at a future period, a serious attempt should be 
 made by a coalition or in any other way to remedy 
 this evil, it would be highly expedient to strike at 
 the root of it and not to stop at the very unsatis- 
 factory point, at which the coalition of the armed 
 neutrality fixed their pretensions. Supposing even 
 that the private property of enemies were exempted 
 from pillage in the hands of third persons, the pre- 
 tended right of search would still involve many 
 great and serious inconveniences ; and it is not less 
 the dictate of consistency and good sense, than of 
 civilization and common humanity, to remove the 
 source of these mischiefs and at the same time 
 introduce a most important improvement in the 
 law of nations, by abolishing wholly the practice of 
 plundering the private property of enemies at sea. 
 The acknowledged basis of the law of nations is 
 the great and universal law of nature ; and is it to 
 be endured, that this sacred oracle shall be made to 
 say one thing here and another two or three miles 
 off, so it be upon a different element ? What says 
 the illustrious Roman orator of this very law of 
 nature in the well knownfragmentof the Republic? 
 Nee erit alia lex Romcs, alia Athenis, alia 7iunc, 
 alia posthac ; sed et oimies gentes et omni tempore 
 una lex et sempitema et immortalis continebit. Such 
 were the lights upon this subject nearly two 
 
408 
 
 thousand years ago of one whom we dignify with 
 the titles of pagan and heathen ; and with all our 
 Christianity and civilization, we have since brought 
 the law of nations to such a point of perfection and 
 consistency, that it shall pronounce the same act in 
 the same place to be highway robbery at low tide, 
 and fair war at full sea. One would think the 
 civilians nmst be lunatic themselves to make an 
 action change its character from right to wrong 
 four times in every twenty four hours, without any 
 other change of circumstances than the ebb and flow 
 of the tide in the place where it was committed ; 
 yet such, according to the present law of nations, 
 is literally the fact. The plunder of private prop- 
 erty belonging to enemies by an armed force on a 
 beach would be against the law of nations, and 
 generally punishable with death ; while the same 
 act, performed by a ship of war at the same place 
 when covered with water at high tide, would be 
 agreeable to usage and public law. While we are 
 going back to antiquity in search of authorities on 
 the law of nature and nations, would it not be as 
 well for the honour of common sense, if not of 
 humanity, to pass over the age of the crusades, 
 when tlie nameless, I had almost said shameless 
 compilations, so often appealed to in maritime 
 
409 
 
 courts, were collected, and ascend to the time of 
 Cicero ? 
 
 All these questions still remain open l)etween 
 Great Britain and the United States ; and as the 
 attempts, subsequent to the war, to obtain from the 
 former a renunciation of even the most odious of 
 her pretensions have failed, there is every reason to 
 suppose, that they will be renewed at the next 
 opportunity ; and that the United States will be 
 driven to the necessity of taking part in every 
 future war with the enemies of Great Britain, who- 
 ever they may be. The claims of the United 
 States as a neutral power have hitherto been 
 extremely moderate. They acquiesced in the 
 principle, that enemy's property on board of neutral 
 ships is good prize, and in the pretended rule of 
 1756. Their uniform effort on these points was 
 not to oppose the British construction of natural 
 law, but rather to ascertain, if possible, what it was, 
 that they might conform to it. Even in this they 
 were never able to succeed ; and it happened 
 repeatedly, that after the admiralty courts had 
 settled a principle, and our merchants, in conformity 
 with it, had covered the sea with their property, an 
 order of council proclaimed a directly opposite one, 
 and the wealth thus confided to the faith of Eng- 
 land was swept from the ocean. It was only the 
 
410 
 
 wholly unauthorized practice of impressment- on 
 board of neutral ships ; and the last unwarrantable 
 pretension to a right of interdicting ail commerce 
 with an enemy under pretence of blockading his 
 coasts, that the United States firmly resisted in 
 principle. In the moderate and limited extent given 
 to their propositions, this government has, however, 
 consulted the spirit of the British cabinet, and not 
 its own wishes and policy. Its uniform desire, on 
 the contrary, has always been to give the greatest 
 possible latitude to neutral rights, and to mitigate, 
 by every imaginable means the horrors of war ; 
 and this government even had the glory, by one of 
 its early acts of sovereignty, of setting the world 
 the example of an abolition by treaty of the practice 
 of plundering private property in time of war, 
 whether by land or sea. I cannot refuse myself 
 the satisfaction of quoting the article containing 
 this provision, from the treaty concluded between 
 the United States and Prussia in the year 1785, as 
 well for the purpose of doing honour to the nations 
 that authorized and the illustrious statesmen who 
 negotiated it, as of giving the sanction of two 
 powerful governments and of some of the greatest 
 names which the last and present century can 
 boast, to the sentiments I have ventured to express 
 on the subject. The treaty is signed on the 
 
411 
 
 American side by Benjamin Franklin, Thomas 
 Jefferson, and John Adams ; and, as far as I am 
 informed, is the only one ever concluded, which 
 contains a provision similar to that below^ in italics. 
 The twenty third article is conceived in the follow- 
 ing terms : 
 
 ' If war should arise between the two contracting 
 parties, the merchants of either country, then resid- 
 ing in the other, shall be allowed to remain nine 
 months to collect their debts and settle their affairs ; 
 and may depart freely, carrying off all their effects 
 without molestation or hindrance ; and all women 
 and children, scholars of every faculty, cultivators 
 of the earth, artisans, manufacturers and fishermen, 
 unarmed and inhabiting unfortified towns, villages, 
 and places, and in general, all others, whose occu- 
 pations are for the common subsistence and benefit 
 of mankind, shall be allowed to continue their 
 respective employments, and shall not be molested 
 in their persons ; nor shall their houses or goods be 
 burned or otherwise destroyed, nor their fields 
 wasted by the armed force of the enemy, into whose 
 power, by the events of war, they may happen to 
 fall ; but if any thing is necessary to be taken for 
 the use of such armed force, the same shall be paid 
 for at a reasonable price. And all merchant and 
 trading vessels employed in exchanging the products 
 
412 
 
 of different places, and thereby rendering the neces- 
 saries, conveniences, and comforts of life more easy 
 to he obtained and more general, shall be allowed to 
 pass free and unmolested ; and neither of the con- 
 tracting powers shall grant any commission to any 
 private armed vessels, empowering them to take or 
 destroy such trading vessels, or interrupt their 
 commerce.^ 
 
 What is the glory of an Alexander or a Napoleon, 
 compared with that of having signed such a treaty ? 
 
 It would be worthy of the governments of two 
 such nations as the United States and Great Britain, 
 to establish a similar provision, by treaty, between 
 themselves, and thus strike at the root of all their 
 present diiOferences, and fix their relations for ever 
 upon the basis of peace. In so doing, they would 
 conform to the humane notions of the present age ; 
 and the example of the two greatest maritime 
 powers would serve to settle the principle, as a rule 
 of national law. And I take the liberty of asking, 
 who would lose by it ? If our commerce suffers 
 more in time of war, than that of Great Britain, 
 from national ships, our privateers are, in turn, more 
 active and successful than hers ; and the rates of 
 insurance prove, that the loss of the two parties is 
 not very unequal. The practice is, therefore, in 
 .substance, a war by the two governments upon the 
 
413 
 
 commerce of their own citizens and subjects. Is a 
 practice of this sort consistent with the spirit of the 
 times, or of the governments of America and Eng- 
 land ? And if a proposition were made to the 
 British government, in the name of common hu- 
 manity and the general good, to abolish the usage, 
 could they refuse to listen to it and to give it their 
 assent ? 
 
 Such considerations, I am aware, have not been 
 heretofore much employed in international negotia- 
 tions, and to the shame of their rulers be it spoken. 
 But the British government itself has of late given 
 a remarkable example of a different sort ; and has 
 urged for a length of time, and with great earnest- 
 ness, upon other governments the adoption of an 
 important political measure — the abolition of the 
 slave trade — solely on grounds of common humanity, 
 and without the prospect of any immediate advan- 
 tage to either party. This subject has been, in 
 particular, repeatedly and pointedly pressed upon the 
 government of the United States. If now the 
 American government should, in its turn, press upon 
 that of England the propriety of abolishing the 
 practice of plundering private property at sea in 
 time of war, on the ground of humanity and consis- 
 tency, I confess I am unable to see how the British 
 government could object to the use of such argu- 
 
414 
 
 ments, or could reply to them in any other way, 
 than by refuting them ; that is, by proving that the 
 practice in question is not injurious to the merchants, 
 and inconsistent with the contrary one, of respecting 
 private property on land — a course of argument, 
 which could not be attempted. Should they take 
 so false a view of their own interest, as to suppose 
 that the practice was immediately profitable to Great 
 Britain, it would be easy to reply, that the slave 
 trade was also very lucrative to Spain and Portugal, 
 and the other nations, upon which they have urged 
 the abolition of it. But, in reality, it is obvious, as 
 I have observed before, that the practice of respect- 
 ing private property at sea would be not only con- 
 sistent and humane, but highly advantageous to the 
 whole industrious part of both nations, whose inter- 
 est must be supposed to be the same with -that of 
 the government ; and it is on this ground, as well 
 as on the other, that it might be pressed with great 
 force and advantage. 
 
 The British government would have the less 
 pretext for refusing to listen to arguments, founded 
 in common humanity and the general good, in- 
 asmuch as they have pushed the use of them in this 
 matter of the slave trade beyond the point of discre- 
 tion, in particular, as regards the United States. It 
 is well known, that the United States took the lead 
 
415 
 
 of Great Britain in abolishing this traffic ; and have 
 shewn ever since, even up to the present day, a still 
 more determined hostility to it, in their enactments 
 upon the subject. Their last law, which subjects 
 the crews of vessels engaged in it to the penalties of 
 piracy, goes farther than any, that has yet been 
 passed by the British parliament. As we have thus 
 uniformly outstripped the British in devising means 
 to check this odious commerce, it would have been 
 natural, that they should at least do as much at 
 home as we had done, before they began to stimu- 
 late us to do more. But without waiting for this, 
 they are constantly and anxiously pressing upon us, 
 simply on grounds of common humanity, to make 
 fresh efforts, notwithstanding that we have already 
 done so much more than they. The mode in which 
 they do this is not less contrary to common interna- 
 tional usage, than the thing itself. Looking behind 
 our public acts, and perceiving, or thinking they 
 perceive, that they are occasionally evaded, (as, in 
 the nature of things, they must be,) they make it 
 their principal object to urge upon us to put in 
 execution our own laws. Such extraordinary in- 
 discretion would admit of no excuse, were it not for 
 the intrinsic excellence of the cause, which covers 
 and justifies every thing. In order to realize the 
 better the true character of such interference, let 
 
416 
 
 us suppose that tuiother nation, as, for example, the 
 United States, should venture upon it with the 
 British government, should point out to them British 
 laws that are not enforced, and should press upon 
 them for years the necessity of enforcing them, 
 offering at the same time the armed force of the 
 United States to assist in this object. Would such 
 applications be received by the British cabinet in a 
 friendly spirit ? The practice of impressment, as is 
 well known, is in direct opposition to the whole 
 spirit of British jurisprudence, and to various special 
 statutes. Magna Cliarta declares, that no British 
 subject shall be deprived of his liberty, except by a 
 verdict of his peers and the law of the laud, which 
 cannot mean an arbitrary order of the government, 
 because the provision was expressly intended to 
 prevent such orders. In like manner, the Habeas 
 Corpus act provides, that every man, in any way 
 deprived of his liberty, shall be brought before a 
 magistrate within twenty four hours, and released, 
 if there are no charges against him. As it is no 
 crime to be a seaman, the enforcement of this regu- 
 lation would defeat the practice of impressment in 
 every instance. Or, reasoning from analogy, if a 
 general warrant to search houses has been declared 
 illegal, how much more so must be a general warrant 
 to seize and imprison persons. Of the illegality of 
 
417 
 
 the practice, there can be no doubt.* To maintain the 
 contrary would indeed be to deny, that Englishmen 
 possess that perfect security of personal liberty, 
 which has long been, and justly, their peculiar boast. 
 Suppose, then, that the government of the United 
 States should urge upon that of Great Britain for a 
 series of years, in the name of common humanity, 
 the propriety of putting in force these just and 
 merciful statutes, and abolishing a practice equally 
 barbarous and illegal, and should offer to station a 
 regiment of American soldiers on Tower Hill to 
 assist in releasing seamen apprehended by a press 
 gang. Indiscretion, I suspect, would be the mildest 
 term applied to such a proposition. Yet such is the 
 precise character of the interference of Great Britain 
 with the American government, in regard to the 
 abolition of the slave trade. Indeed, the American 
 government would really shew much less indiscre- 
 
 ^ It was highly honourable to the colonial courts in Massachusetts, 
 that they uniformly refused to sanction the practice of impressment 
 within their jurisdiction. A solemn decision to this effect, by the highest 
 authorities, took place not long before the revolution, of which an account 
 may be found in president Adams' ' Inadmissible Principles of the king 
 of England's proclamation.'' There was an earlier case of the same, or a 
 similar kind, I think in the time of queen Anne, which is mentioned in 
 Hutchinson. Considering the supposed difficulty of the subject, these 
 decisions were perhaps still more noble proofs of an independent spirit, 
 than the refusal by the same courts to sanction the relation of slavery, 
 previously to the decisions in England to the same effect 
 
 53 
 
418 
 
 tion, in making sucli proposals, because the cessation 
 of the practice of impressment would remove one of 
 the great points of difference between the two na- 
 tions. 
 
 It is not however for the purpose of disapproving 
 them, that I have pointed out the true character of 
 these proceedings on the part of England. In so 
 good a cause, indiscretion itself becomes a virtue ; 
 and if, as I love to believe, the British government 
 is moved exclusively by feelings of humanity and 
 compassion for the unhappy Africans, I would exhort 
 them myself to persevere in their efforts with other 
 nations ; reminding them, however, that it would 
 be more consistent to do in the first place at least 
 as much at home, as the nation has done, which 
 they undertake to stimulate ; and reserving to the 
 other nations the right of rejecting propositions, 
 however well meant, which violate the first princi- 
 ples of national independence, such as that of em- 
 ploying the British navy to enforce the laws of the 
 United States. My object in making these remarks 
 was to shew to what an extraordinary extent Great 
 Britain had carried the practice of urging on other 
 nations the adoption of political measures on grounds 
 of mere humanity ; and thus to strengthen the 
 remark, that she could not, without manifest self- 
 contradiction, refuse to listen to such arguments. 
 
419 
 
 when employed in favour of the principle of re- 
 specting private property in time of war, by sea as 
 well as by land. Let us hope that this provision, 
 which seems to be imperiously demanded by a regard 
 for consistency, if by no higher motive, will become 
 in time a part of the code of nations. 
 
 While the contrary practice continues, the aboli- 
 tion of privateering, which has been occasionally 
 suggested by well-meaning persons in the United 
 States, would be highly injudicious, and directly 
 unfavourable to the cause of humanity. Privateers 
 are the natural defence of a weaker maritime power 
 against a stronger ; and furnish the only possible 
 resource for a commercial nation, which does not 
 choose to load itself with the monstrous burden of a 
 large standing navy. If the general practice of 
 plundering private property at sea were abolished, 
 privateering would of course disappear with it. 
 
420 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Concluding Reflections. 
 
 In the first chapter of these remarks, I have 
 expressed the opinion, that civilization, inchiding, as 
 one of its branches, political improvement, is in a 
 progressive state in every part of the christian 
 world ; and in a subsequent chapter, I have stated, 
 that the moral influence of the Russian power is 
 already extending itself very fast through the 
 neighbouring countries ; and that at no distant 
 period it may very probably obtain an actual mili- 
 tary dominion over the rest of Europe. As Russia 
 is at present in a very low state of civilization, these 
 opinions may appear at first view contradictory. 
 The military occupation of the west of Europe by 
 an uncivilized power would tend, it may be thought, 
 to check, and perhaps entirely stop the further 
 progress of improvement. Hence, if this event is 
 probable, it might appear that civilization is not 
 likely at present to proceed much further. In this 
 concluding chapter, it will be my object to inquire 
 into the probable results of the combined operation of 
 these two different tendencies upon the political and 
 moral situation of the christian world. 
 
421 
 
 It may be remarked, in the first place, that these 
 tendencies are not opposite or contradictory in such 
 a sense, as, that if the existence of either be suppos- 
 ed, that of the other must of necessity be denied. 
 A community in a thriving and progressive state 
 may be threatened from without by a barbarous or 
 less civilized neighbour ; but an attack from this 
 quarter, if it happens and destroys the principle of 
 its prosperity, will not thereby shew that it did not 
 exist. In reality, however, the prevalence of the 
 Russian power, should it happen to the full extent 
 I have supposed, does not seem to be attended with 
 any material danger to the progress of civilization, 
 or with any other ill consequences of much impor- 
 tance. It appears, on the contrary, that it will 
 exercise, in concurrence with the progress of civil- 
 ization, a favourable operation upon the political 
 forms of the European commonwealth ; and that, 
 as it is the regular tendency of this progress to sub- 
 stitute a consolidated general government, establish- 
 ed on rational principles, for the present irregular 
 system of international relations, so the extension of 
 the Russian power, without materially counteracting 
 the progress of the effects of civiHzation in any other 
 respect, will tend materially, by its operation on the 
 existing political forms of the several nations, to 
 expedite this general result. 
 
422 
 
 The present progressive state of civilization in 
 the christian world will probably be admitted by 
 correct observers as an unquestionable truth. There 
 is, I know, a party in Europe, which maintains 
 precisely the contrary assertion, which continually 
 affirms that society is on the eve of dissolution, and 
 Europe about to plunge again into a bottomless 
 gulf of general barbarism and anarchy. But this 
 difference of opinion, like most others, will be found, 
 upon examination, to be wholly verbal. 'The party 
 that hold these ideas mean, by society, the antiquated 
 forms and establishments, which have come down 
 from former ages, have already been greatly modi- 
 fied in most parts of Europe, and are disappearing 
 very fast in all. That society, taking the word in 
 this sense, is on the brink of dissolution, is so far 
 from being inconsistent with the supposition of the 
 progress of civilization, that, in the opinion of those 
 who believe in tjiis progress, it is one of the proofs 
 and necessary consequences of its reality. And 
 while the party in question express their apprehen- 
 sions of the approach of barbarism and anarchy, 
 they only intimate, in different language, the prob- 
 ability of the same events, which are denominated 
 by others the removal of political abuses and the 
 introduction of improved forms of government. 
 There is, therefore, in reality, no contrariety of 
 
423 
 
 opinion in regard to facts ; but only an opposition 
 of feeling respecting the character of the same sup- 
 posed facts, according as their operation upon the 
 interest of ditferent persons or parties is favourable 
 or unfavourable. 
 
 In fact, the present progressive state of civilization 
 is so far from being doubtful, that the most superfi- 
 cial view of the actual condition of the christian 
 world must satisfy an observer, that it is now in the 
 midst of a most remarkable crisis of social devel- 
 opment, somewhat analogous to that, which occurs 
 in the human body at the period of life, when it 
 passes from infancy to manhood. The commence- 
 ment of this crisis may be dated from the revival of 
 intellectual activity in Europe three or four centuries 
 ago, and the discovery of the passage by sea to the 
 East Indies and of our western world, which were 
 among the first consequences of this revival, and 
 which, in their turn, tended materially to assist and 
 promote it. Since that time there have been a continual 
 and constantly increasing action and reaction of these 
 two powerful causes. The increasing movement of 
 intellect in every direction, that held out a prospect 
 of advantage, led to the immediate exploration and 
 settlement of the new found countries ; and this 
 system of colonization, as it acquired consistency 
 and extension, afibrded in its turn a strong en- 
 
424 
 
 couragement to the progress of industry at home. 
 New settlements are necessarily agricultural, and 
 their first and most lucrative commerce is to exchange 
 their superfluous produce for the manufactures of 
 older countries. It is in a great measure to the 
 effect of this action and reaction, that we must attrib- 
 ute the remarkable progress of industry, wealth, and 
 knowledge in every part of Europe, during the 
 period in question ; and we find accordingly, that 
 the countries, which have shewn the greatest activity 
 in the system of colonization, are also those, which 
 had shared most largely in this prosperity, as Hol- 
 land, France, and especially England. Spain and 
 Portugal, it is true, did not derive the same advan- 
 tages from their vast colonial empire, in consequence 
 of excessive misgovern ment at home. The demand 
 from the Spanish colonies for European articles 
 stimulated the industry of every country in Europe, 
 Spain only excepted, which served as a channel to 
 convey the products of the rest of Europe to America, 
 and the treasures of Peru and Mexico to the rest of 
 Europe. 
 
 If, however, in general, the advance of civiliza- 
 tion in Europe has been owing in a great measure 
 to the effects of the system of colonization, we may 
 conclude with assurance, that as long as coloniza- 
 tion continues to extend itself, the civilization of 
 
425 
 
 Europe and the christian world will also continue 
 in a proportionally progressive state. 
 
 Now it is obvious enough, that colonization, 
 instead of being stationary or in the decline, has 
 been extending itself within the last fifty years more 
 rapidly than at any preceding period, and is at this 
 present moment far more active than it ever was 
 before. Since the first discovery of the passage to 
 India and the new world, and the consequences that 
 immediately followed, no incident had occurred in 
 the progress of colonization, so important as the 
 emancipation of the United States of America ; and 
 the reaction of this glorious event upon the pros- 
 perity of Europe has been favourable, in proportion 
 to its importance. England, the country that resisted 
 it so obstinately, and consented to it at last with 
 such reluctance, has realized, in the emancipation of 
 Jier colonies, the mines of wealth, for which the 
 first settlers explored them in vain. At the present 
 moment, another attempt, parallel in character, but 
 of still more imposing magnitude, is rapidly ap- 
 proaching to a successful termination ; and the vast 
 regions of Spanish and Portuguese America must 
 inevitably, in the course of a short period, present 
 the spectacle of eight or ten new-born nations, ready 
 to enter upon a rapid march of prosperity, under 
 the auspices of independence. The reaction of this 
 54 
 
426 
 
 prodigious consummation, upon the prosperity and 
 civilization of Europe and America, will be still 
 greater than that of our emancipation, in consequence 
 of the superior amount of population and extent of 
 territory affected by it. In the mean time, coloniza- 
 tion, though not advancing by such convulsive 
 bounds, as in America, is far from being inactive in 
 x\sia and Africa. The British empire in India is 
 extending itself every day, by fair means and foul, 
 over countries before unknown to Europe, even by 
 name ; and has lately pushed its advanced posts 
 up to China on one side, and to Persia on the 
 other. The ambition, which leads to this extension, 
 and the cruelty, which is too often employed to 
 effect it, however fit subjects in themselves for 
 reprobation and abhorrence, are instruments in the 
 liands of Providence for imparting to these countries 
 a hio-her degree of civilization and a better condition 
 of society, than they now enjoy. The European 
 settlements at the Cape of Good Hope, and on the 
 western coast of Africa, are continually advancing 
 into the interior of that continent. Meanwhile, 
 another train of operations, different in its character 
 and immediate objects, but leading essentially to 
 the same results, has also assumed of late an extra- 
 ordinary activity and development, I mean the effort 
 U) propagate the christian religion by means of 
 
 \ 
 
427 
 
 missionary and bible societies through the different 
 parts of the heathen world. The new activity of 
 this spirit, in an age which is not, in other respects, 
 very remarkable for religious fervour, is quite a 
 singular event, and one which will contribute very 
 considerably to the general progress of civilization. 
 It is true, that the bible is not a book which can be 
 read with profit by unlettered savages ; and the 
 missionaries, who go out to explain it to them, are 
 not much better acquainted than their pupils, with 
 its true character and spirit. Still their efforts, 
 though marked with every species of error and 
 delusion, are far from being useless. These 
 burlesque apostles are the pioneers of civilization. 
 They push forward, where wiser men have no 
 motive to advance, and where their wisdom would 
 be of little service, if they had ; for nature, like 
 a skilful general, knows how to turn to account the 
 spade and pick-axe, as well as the sword and pen. 
 These adventurers spread, where they go, some rude 
 accounts of the countries from which they come ; 
 and when they return, they bring back, in like 
 manner, some imperfect notions of the places they 
 have visited. A communication is thus opened, of 
 which commerce and industry avail themselves for 
 interested purposes. Emigration gradually follows ; 
 and by mutual intercourse the social condition of 
 
428 
 
 (lifterent countries, however dissimilar, is brought 
 up ill time to the point of uniformity. These mis- 
 sionaries are now labouring with exemplary zeal in 
 various quarters of the globe. In British India they 
 are extremely active ; and of late they are penetrat- 
 ing into the farther peninsula. They are sowing 
 the seeds of civilization in all the South Sea islands ; 
 and if the hrst crop should be poisonous, instead of 
 nutritive to the inhabitants, the final result will be 
 a great improvement of their social condition. But 
 though the probable effects of this system, in con- 
 tributing to the extension of civilization, are not to 
 be denied or overlooked, the main spring of this 
 prodigious movement is still, as I have observed, 
 the spirit of enterprize and industry, which first 
 prompts the European adventurer to discover and 
 explore remote, countries ; and tlien sets in motion 
 the machinery of the European workshops to supply 
 his wants, and opens the coffers of Europe to receive 
 Iiis wealth in return. 
 
 Europe, therefore, is the central point of this 
 great universal system of colonization. Europe is 
 the heart, through which the wealth employed in it 
 is continually passing and repassing, as it proceeds 
 from one extremity to another. And it does not pass 
 and repass without leaving any advantageous traces 
 of its progress; but it is received in one form, and. 
 
429 
 
 elaborated into a new one, before it is transmitted ; 
 so that industry is stimidated, and wealth and 
 population increased, by the circulation. The wealth 
 and population, thus augmented, tend in their turn 
 to overflow into other countries, which are less 
 thickly settled, and where the means of subsistence 
 are more abundant. From the peculiar circumstan- 
 ces, under which the colonizing system has grown 
 up, it has happened that this overflow of population 
 spread itself in the first place over very distant parts 
 of the globe, although the regions in the immediate 
 vicinity were also much less thickly peopled and 
 highly civilized, than Europe. But as the superiority 
 of Europe over the neighbouring countries and the 
 activity of the principle of emigration are constantly 
 increasing, a portion of this overflow must, in the 
 nature of things, very shortly take a nearer 
 direction. This result will be hastened by the fall 
 of the Turkish empire, which must apparently 
 happen very soon, if it is not, as now appears 
 probable, effected by the present concussion. When 
 this barbarous political structure shall have crumbled 
 into atoms, the fine regions spreading from the 
 Euphrates to the Atlantic, which have now for ages 
 been withering under its deadly shadow, will be 
 very soon overrun by the busy sons of Europe ; and 
 will return to the high state of prosperity and popu- 
 
430 
 
 lation, at which they stood from the earliest histori- 
 cal period up to the invasions of the northern 
 barbarians and the Saracens. The light of civiliza- 
 tion will then shine again over the west of Asia and 
 north of Africa ; and as the European settlements 
 advance from this quarter into the interior of the 
 latter continent, they will in time communicate with 
 those, which are also forming on its southern and, 
 western coasts ; and the mysterious paths, which 
 lead to its centre, will be laid open to commerce 
 and philosophy. It were better, perhaps, to wait 
 wdth patience for the arrival of this period, than to 
 despatch any more accomplished travellers on a 
 service, which, in the present state of Africa, is no 
 better than a forlorn hope. 
 
 The Persian empire must fall at no distant period, 
 like Turkey ; and that delightful country, which 
 misgovernment has rendered uninhabitable, will 
 become again, as it was in former times, the garden 
 of the world. When Persia and Turkey shall be 
 occupied by the Europeans, their settlements will 
 then communicate over land with the British empire 
 in India, and an extensive and lucrative commerce 
 will establish itself in this direction by land and sea, 
 and produce the most beneficial effect upon the 
 industry and welfare of Europe. Meanwhile, as 
 the population of the vast regions of Asiatic Russia 
 
431 
 
 shall begin to thicken, and in time to overflow its limits 
 in search of better climates, it will, in like manner, 
 spread over Tartary, and communicate on the north 
 with British India, and on the west with China. 
 When the tide of European emigration shall begin 
 to pour in full flood upon this antiquated structure, 
 it may well be doubted, whether it will be able to 
 stand the shock ; and it may perhaps be found, that 
 in this quarter also, the first approach of improvement 
 will bring with it the horrors, that naturally belong 
 to the last epoch of barbarism. Let us ho])e, how- 
 ever, that the Celestial Empire may not be destined 
 to share the fate of Peru and Mexico ; and that if 
 the Chinese do not prove themselves more courage- 
 ous and politic than the unfortunate Americans, 
 the Europeans, that first approach them, may be 
 more humane than the bloody myrmidons of Cortes 
 and Pizarro. The events, here contemplated, will be 
 far from requiring for their accomplishment so long 
 a lapse of time, as may perhaps at first view appear 
 necessary. Consider what has been done within 
 the last fifty years ; — North America emancipated 
 and erected into independent states ; South America 
 and Mexico brought to the eve of the same con- 
 summation ; the whole south of Asia subjected to 
 European dominion ; besides innumerable settle- 
 ments in Africa, in New Holland^ and the islands. 
 
482 
 
 These are events, which required a very diliereiit 
 degree of preparation and effort from the conquest 
 of the barbarous countries in the immediate neigh- 
 boiu'hood of Europe ; and if these have been 
 accomplished in so short a time, because the natural 
 period in the progress of colonization, at which they 
 might be expected to happen, had arrived ; the 
 other, supposing always, what appears at present 
 extremely probable, that the period for it is also at 
 hand, will be effected, as it were, at once. When- 
 ever this period does arrive, be it sooner or later, 
 the whole Mahometan empire in its various branches, 
 from the Indus to the Senegal, will be brought 
 under the dominion of Europe, with a much less 
 effort than that which attended the emancipation of 
 the United States. 
 
 Such, then, is the character of the present epoch 
 in the progress of society. The civilization of 
 Christendom, instead of being stationary or on the 
 decline, is pressing forward v/ith a violent effort 
 towards the conquest of the world. The reaction 
 of this progress upon Europe is, as I have repeatedly 
 observed, extremely favourable. Colonization has 
 been the great instrument in bringing Europe to the 
 point, which it has already reached ; and will 
 probably elevate it in time to a much higher condi- 
 tion, than is now by many thought possible. A late 
 
433 
 
 intelligent German writer,* in a treatise expressly 
 intended to examine the probable effect of the system 
 of colonization upon the prosperity of Europe, seems 
 to have adopted a different idea, but his reasoning is 
 far from being satisfactory. He supposes that the 
 emancipation of South America, and the establish- 
 ment of manufactures in that country and in the 
 United States, which he considers a necessary event, 
 will deprive Europe at once of the demand for the 
 products of her industry and of the consequent 
 supply of specie to pay for them. Industry will thus 
 decline in all its branches. Money will become more 
 scarce and valuable ; and the public burdens, which 
 are already very oppressive, will thereby be rendered 
 intolerable ; and national bankruptcies, with their 
 consequences, the destruction of existing political 
 forms, and a long period of confusion and general 
 disorder will probably follow. 
 
 Such are the anticipations of this writer in regard 
 to the reaction of the system of colonization upon 
 the state of Europe. But he seems to have overlook- 
 ed the fact, that the industry of a new people natu- 
 
 * Europe and America ; or the future relations of the civilised world. 
 By Dr Schmidt Phiseldeck, counsellor of state in Denmark, also one of 
 the ministers at the congress of Vienna in 1814. I observe with pleasure 
 that a translation of this eloquent and philosophical work has beea 
 published in the United States. 
 
 5.5 
 
434 
 
 rally turns itself almost wholly towards agriculture ; 
 and, consequently, that population and the demand 
 for manufactures in such a society increase much 
 faster than the supply of articles of domestic fabric. 
 Now as the emancipation of a colony has been 
 found, by the example of the United States, to 
 encourage very much the progress of agriculture 
 and population, such an event increases in the 
 same proportion, instead of diminishing the previous 
 demand upon Europe for manufactures, and the 
 supply of specie and other articles in return. I see 
 no reason to anticipate that the emancipation of the 
 whole of America will have a less favourable effect 
 upon Europe in general, than that which was pro- 
 duced upon the prosperity of England, by the 
 independence of the United States. This event, 
 instead of depressing the industry of the parent 
 continent, will therefore tend to stimulate it, and, 
 instead of aggravating its present financial embar- 
 rassments, will afford, if the thing is possible, the 
 means of recovering from them ; and should the 
 governments be prudent enough to keep clear of 
 their causes in future, they will be able to establish 
 the prosperity of their countries upon solid and 
 durable foundations. The time will doubtless come, 
 when manufactures will be established in all parts 
 of America, amply sufficient to supply the wants of 
 
435 
 
 the inhabitants ; and when they will cease to come 
 to Europe for any thing but the products, that are 
 peculiar to the soil and climate. But this period is 
 still remote, and will not arrive till the present 
 financial difficulties of some of the principal Euro- 
 pean powers shall have run their regular course, and 
 produced all their effects upon political forms, or 
 the general condition of society. It will not arrive, 
 till the social state of Europe has obtained all the 
 perfection, of which it is capable ; and a stimulus 
 on civilization from abroad has consequently ceased 
 to be of any material advantage. Finally, it will 
 not arrive, until the overflow of the civilization of 
 Europe into the neighbouring countries, which I 
 have mentioned as a necessary event, shall have 
 long since occurred, and a European population 
 shall have spread itself continuously in various 
 degrees of density from Ireland to Japan, and from 
 the North Cape to that of Good Hope. At that 
 time Europe will be to the three ancient continents 
 what New England now is to the United States, 
 the most civilized and populous, the wealthiest and 
 the happiest portion of a civilized and populous, a 
 wealthy and a happy world of kindred origin. If 
 at any period, subsequent to this, any other region 
 shall be more populous and prosperous than Europe, 
 thp circumstance can only arise from the superior 
 
436 
 
 advantages of soil and climate afforded by it. The 
 writer, to whom I have alluded, also appears to 
 anticipate with confidence the overflow of European 
 civilization into Asia and Africa, and even to regard 
 it as a near event. He likewise allows, that it must 
 for a long time produce a favourable reaction upon 
 the state of Europe ; but he does not seem to have 
 observed, that this supposition destroys in a great 
 measure the basis of his unfavourable anticipations 
 of the effect of the emancipation of America, ad- 
 mitting them even to be well founded in other 
 respects ; and he has not given it a sufficiently 
 distinct and important place in his delineation of the 
 probable future. 
 
 We may conclude, that the industry of Europe 
 will, for a long time to come, be under the influence 
 of a powerful stimulus from abroad, that its activity 
 will in consequence regularly increase, and that this 
 cause will produce a progressive increase of wealth 
 and population, and a regular tendency towards 
 improvement in the social and political condition of 
 the inhabitants. What then will be the effect of 
 this progress upon the existing political forms of the 
 several countries, and upon the general European 
 government, which now wears the rude form of a 
 balance of power, and may be considered rather 
 as a future constitution in embryo, than as one in 
 actual existence ? 
 
437 
 
 The effect upon the political institutions of the 
 several countries has been already sufficiently 
 examined, having formed one of the principal topics 
 of the preceding pages. It is, in general, to reform 
 abuses, to correct errors, and to substitute institu- 
 tions intended to promote the public good, and 
 judiciously adapted to this object, for others that 
 were originally framed for an entirely different 
 purpose, and are now absolutely injurious, wholly 
 superfluous, and singularly imperfect methods of 
 obtaining desirable results. It is unnecessary to 
 s|)eculate upon tlie precise form, which the govern- 
 ments will wear, when the spirit of improvement 
 shall have had its full operation. It may be observed, 
 however, in general, that its tendency is to introduce 
 institutions essentially republican ; or in other words, 
 established on the basis of equal rights. Whether 
 the form of aristocracy and monarchy, which, in 
 such a state of things, are the mere shadows of a 
 departed substance, will be retained by the force of 
 habit, or whether hereditary magistracies and dis- 
 tinctions "will wholly disappear, is perhaps uncertain. 
 I am rather inclined to think, possibly from the 
 partiality which a republican naturally feels for 
 republican forms, that their simple and manly beauty 
 will be perceived in time by the cultivated classes in 
 Europe, and will obtain a preference over the 
 
438 
 
 cumbrous magnificence and childish pageantry of 
 courts. The great economy attending these forms 
 and their real superiority for despatch of business 
 are sufficiently evident ; and the example of the 
 United States is annually refuting the vain charge, 
 which European writers have made against them, of 
 tending to create confusion and turbulence. After 
 all that has been said of the stability of monarchies, 
 and the agitations of republics, it appears at last, 
 that the pure democracy of the United States is the 
 firmest and most tranquil government now existing 
 in Christendom. 
 
 Assuming, then, that one of the effects of the 
 progress of civilization will be to improve very 
 materially the existing political institutions of the 
 several countries, the further questions remain 
 respecting its influence upon the system of interna- 
 tional relations, which is now used as a substitute 
 for a general government. If the same causes may 
 be expected to produce uniformly the same effects, 
 then in this, as in the other parts of the existing 
 institutions, the tendency of improvement will be 
 to substitute rational methods for arbitrary usages, 
 and to change the present irregular mode of suiting 
 the common interests of the several powers for a 
 regular constitution, founded on the basis of the 
 consolidation of Europe. It would be easy to 
 
439 
 
 substantiate in detail the great probability, that such 
 an event will occur at some future period, as well 
 by general reasoning, as by the analogy of what has 
 happened in each of the several great states. A 
 thousand years ago, the British islands contained 
 within their limits as many independent sovereignties, 
 as are now to be found in the whole of Europe, as 
 various in their origin and habits, and speaking as 
 many different languages. Had any body at that 
 time pretended to anticipate the period, when they 
 would all be combined under one consolidated 
 government, patriotism would have taken the alarm 
 in every separate tribe, and a general chorus of 
 contemptuous denial would have burst from the 
 whole. The progress of civilization and the in- 
 creasing intercourse created by it among these 
 different tribes have gradually broken down the 
 arbitrary geographical and political divisions, that 
 separated them ; and the union of Ireland, at the 
 commencement of the present century, finally com- 
 pleted the consolidation. The same process has 
 gone on with the same result in France, Spain, 
 Germany, and Russia. Where from accidental 
 circumstances it has not occurred, as in Italy, the 
 loss of national existence has been the consequence. 
 It was necessary that this consolidation should first 
 take place in each separate cluster of neighbouring 
 
440 
 
 tribes, before it could begin to exhibit itself on a 
 larger scale among the several great states, which 
 had been the product of its former operations. But 
 we see very clearly, in the history of the two or 
 three last centuries, the commencement of the same 
 process between the parts of the general system ; 
 and the usage of holding from time to time a 
 general congress of ambassadors, to regulate the 
 poliiical affairs of Europe, is a pregnant indication 
 that something better is gradually maturing. 
 
 But the establishment of a general European 
 constitution, whenever it happens, will not be a 
 violent innovation on existing forms, effected by the 
 spontaneous act of the several governments ; for 
 these are all jealous of their independence to a 
 morbid excess. The progress of society will 
 gradually prepare the way for such a change ; and 
 make the passage at one time or another very short 
 and easy from nominal independence to consolida- 
 tion. The reformation of the existing. institutions of 
 the several states will simplify their forms, and 
 remove many of the objections to such a measure, 
 which would present themselves at the present day, 
 on grounds of mere personal vanity. Meanwhile, 
 the continual intercourse between the different 
 nations is rapidly effecting a consolidation in sub- 
 stance. The educated classes through the whole 
 
441 
 
 of Europe are already fellow citizens. They speak 
 common languages, read the same books, think the 
 same thoughts, have the same social habits, take an 
 interest in the same subjects, and thus form, for all 
 the real objects of life, but one great community. 
 The political parties, that exist, are no longer sub- 
 divisions of single nations, but differences of opinion 
 and interest that pervade them all. The privileged 
 classes form a caste^ not in this or that kingdom, 
 but throughout Europe ; and they stand towards 
 each other in the relation of fellow labourers in the 
 same political cause — a connexion much more inti- 
 mate than that of mere fellow citizens. The same 
 sympathy exists between the educated but untitled 
 part of the community, which acts as the representa- 
 tion of the people. Thus the very evil of party 
 divisions, though at present it greatly distracts and 
 embitters society, tends powerfully to promote the 
 final result of a general union. The extent, to 
 which the actual amalgamation of the different 
 nations has been caused, and the intercourse, which 
 is kept up among them by means of correspondence 
 and travelling, are not less remarkable, than their 
 moral sympathies. The thrones and universities of 
 all the north of Europe are peopled with German 
 princes and professors. A quarter of the population 
 of St Petersburg, including almost all the artisans. 
 56 
 
442 
 
 is from the same excellent nation. French officers 
 and Swiss troops enter, in a considerable degree, 
 into the composition of all the armies ; and the 
 western parts of the continent are covered with small 
 English proprietors, who settle there to avoid the 
 heavy burdens to which they are subject at home. 
 The effect of this positive amalgamation, though 
 considerable, is however far surpassed by that of 
 the close connexion between the different nations, 
 created by travelling and correspondence. The 
 Europe of commerce, of general politics, of letters, 
 and of pleasure has no knowledge of natural divi- 
 sions. The couriers pass from Constantinople to 
 London, and from Archangel to Cadiz, without 
 heeding any of these imaginary lines of separation. 
 The great commercial houses have generally 
 branches or connexions in three or four different 
 capitals ; and a bankruptcy at Hamburg or at Mos- 
 cow is felt upon the exchanges of Naples and 
 Amsterdam, as sensibly as at the point where it 
 occurred. The principal political concerns are, as 
 I have observed, in common, and the political 
 parties pervade the whole mass from one extremity 
 to another. The French newspapers are read with 
 the same interest at Petersburg, Vienna, Madrid, 
 and Naples, as at Paris. The care of all these 
 common interests produces a constant personal 
 
443 
 
 intercourse by travelling and letters; and all the 
 prominent and considerable part of a contemporary 
 generation is on terms of personal acquaintance. 
 Frequent intermarriages are the natural consequence; 
 and as the several reigning houses are really branches 
 of one or two common stocks, so the higher classes 
 of these subjects may be said to form, in fact, but 
 one great family. Unless, therefore, the principle, 
 that the form gradually accommodates itself to the 
 substance, shall prove in this instance to be false, it 
 must be considered as certain, that these powers are 
 tending rapidly cowards a consolidation. 
 
 This consummation, like others that are brought 
 about by the force of circumstances, will be accel- 
 erated or retarded, according as the tenor of political 
 events, as far as it depends on accident, shall be 
 favourable or unfavourable. The prominent feature 
 in the immediate future prospects of Europe, if the 
 anticipations, in which I have indulged in a preced- 
 ing chapter, are correct, is the probable prevalence 
 of the influence and arms of Russia over the western 
 nations. It remains, therefore, to inquire what will 
 be the effect of this event, should it happen, upon 
 the state of civilization and the establishment of a 
 general government. 
 
 If the Russian influence in the west of Europe were 
 decidedly unfavourable to the progress of civiliza- 
 
444 
 
 tion, it would check in the same degree the tenden- 
 cy towards political union resulting from this 
 progress. And as the mass of the Russian people 
 is now in a very uncivilized state, it may appear, at 
 first view, as if this would in fact be the conse- 
 quence. But farther reflection may perhaps lead to 
 a different opinion. The prevalence of the Russian 
 power is not the prevalence of the rude barbarians, 
 that constitute the bulk of the nation, but of the 
 dominant class of proprietors, which is equally 
 civilized with the same class in any other part of 
 Europe. Their political influence, as far as it affects 
 the body of society, would be exerted in the same 
 direction, and produce the same consequences, as 
 that of the authorities now existing. It will doubtless 
 be, for a considerable period of time to come, the 
 immediate interest of this class in Russia, to check 
 the development of civilization, in one of its partic- 
 ular forms, viz. that of liberal political institutions. 
 Their whole exertions are now employed for this 
 purpose ; and it is under this pretext, as I have 
 observed, that they will gradually extend their 
 political and military power over other countries. 
 But this effort, in reality, counteracts itself; and the 
 persecution of liberal ideas only increases the ardor, 
 with which they are embraced and propagated. 
 This temporary pressure will therefore serve to 
 
445 
 
 prepare the way, at some future period, for violent 
 explosions in favour of liberty. Meanwhile, the 
 Russian influence counteracts, in another way, its 
 own efforts in favour of arbitrary principles, by the 
 strong encouragement which is given to the devel- 
 opment of civilization, in every other branch, except 
 the modification of political forms. The Russian 
 nobles, who are doubtless the wealthiest proprietors 
 in Euro])e, are also among the most active and 
 munificent patrons of industry. In their private and 
 social habits, as individuals, they unite the gorgeous 
 magnificence of Asia with the fine taste of the 
 western world, and encourage, by consumption of 
 their products, the luxurious and elegant arts, more 
 than perhaps any other class of persons whatever. 
 There is something like enchantment in the 
 height of perfection, to which this new nation has 
 carried, as it were in a moment, all the graces and 
 accomplishments of social life ; and the aristocracy 
 of Europe no where exhibits itself under so favoura- 
 ble a point of view, as in Russia, because it there 
 adds to the refinement, which distinguishes the same 
 class in other countries, a lofty niagnanimity of 
 character, resulting from the secure possession of 
 unbounded wealth and unlimited power ; advantages 
 which the aristocracy elsewhere have either wholly 
 lost, or live in the daily expectation of losing. The 
 
446 
 
 Russian nobles speak with finished elegance the most 
 cultivated tongues of the west of Europe, and are 
 familiar with the polite literature of France, Italy, 
 and Germany. The splendour of their princely pala- 
 ces, surrounded with parks and lawns, in the finest 
 state of gardening, and furnished with the costliest 
 products of the taste and skill of the west of Eurojie, 
 their collections of pictures and statuary from the 
 workshops of the most celebrated masters, their 
 large and valuable repositories of books and manu- 
 scripts in all the languages of the world, their stores 
 of wealth in the various departments of natural 
 science, their astonishing exhibition of civilization 
 springing up in the full luxuriant bloom of its highest 
 perfection from a soil still completely barbarous, 
 their union of fine taste and various accomplishments 
 with the adventitious lustre of social distinctions and 
 boundless fortune ; all this strikes very powerfully 
 upon the imagination, and rather seems to realize 
 the brilliant fables of eastern romance, than to re- 
 semble the actual condition of any other society that 
 ever existed. The scientific taste of these great 
 proprietors is far from being a matter of parade and 
 charlatanry. The botanical garden of prince 
 Razumofsky, near Moscow, is probably superior to 
 any other private collection in the world ; and we 
 have seen the illustrious chancellor, count Roman- 
 
447 
 
 zoff, fitting out at his own expense a voyage of 
 discovery round the globe ; and giving at the same 
 time a singular proof of toleration, by erecting upon 
 one of his principal estates three churches on the 
 same square, appropriated respectively to the Greek, 
 Catholic, and Jewish communions, for the use of 
 his tenants and subjects. The attention of these 
 nobles, as a body ])olitic, or, in other words, that of 
 the government, has also been steadily directed 
 towards the promotion of literature and science ; 
 and with the magnanimity naturally resulting from 
 their social position, they exhibited a singular liber- 
 ality in their political ideas, until occurrences abroad 
 had shewn, that this system was too contrary to 
 their immediate interest. 
 
 The influence of such a society over the west of 
 Europe is not, therefore, the inroad of a horde of 
 barbarians under an Attila or an Omar, which sweeps 
 away in its progress every trace of improvement. It 
 is merely a change of power from the hands of one 
 cultivated and civilized government to those of 
 another, and will produce no unfavourable effect on 
 the general state of society. On the contrary, as its 
 immediate operation would be to increase the inter- 
 course between the other parts of Europe and 
 Russia, it would at once accelerate the progress of 
 improvement in this vast region, and, by so doing, 
 
448 
 
 give an additional stimulus from abroad to the same 
 principle in the west. 
 
 The effect of the increasing influence of Russia 
 upon the political forms of the western nations must 
 be considered as decidedly favourable, precisely 
 because it tends to subvert these forms, and to sap 
 the independence of the several states. The exist- 
 ence of established institutions, founded on the basis 
 of independence, and consecrated by ancient and 
 immemorial usage, w ould always be a great obstacle 
 m the way of consolidation. Hence the occurrence 
 of a course of events, which tends directly to break 
 down this obstacle, even though it be in other 
 respects adverse to the general good, would prove, 
 in the end, an important benefit ; and this is the 
 operation of the prevalence of a great military power 
 over the rest of Europe. Even where the inde- 
 pendence of other nations is nominally preserved, 
 the attachment to the name must be much dimin- 
 ished, when it has been proved by repeated experi- 
 ments, that the reality is wanting. Austria is now 
 as independent a power, as before the French revo- 
 lution ; but the value belonging to this nominal 
 attribute in the opinion of the nation is doubtless 
 greatly lessened by the recollection, that it has not 
 secured their country from two or three successive 
 occupations by the French armies ; and will aiford 
 
449 
 
 them no safeguard from a similar occupation by 
 those of Russia at any future day. France is also 
 independent in name ; but after seeing the tents of 
 the Cossacs pitched in the Elysian fields twice in 
 two successive years, after seeing hosts of foreigners 
 repeatedly enter and evacuate the country without 
 consulting the inhabitants, every intelligent French- 
 man must feel, that their pretended independence is 
 a mere form without any corresponding substance. 
 Thus the ascendancy of a great military power, 
 even to the extent to which we have repeatedly 
 seen it carried of late, tends very sensibly to impair 
 the attachment to the forms of independence, and 
 to smooth the way towards a general government. 
 If Russia, m the progress of events, should carry 
 her ascendancy so much farther than the preceding 
 dominant powers, as to abolish the forms of inde- 
 pendence, as well as to demonstrate their emptiness, 
 and unite the whole under her own sceptre, this 
 result would be itself the desired consolidation. Its 
 form would be, in the first instance, objectionable ; 
 and it would be a far more agreeable way of arriv- 
 ing at the same point to substitute, by common 
 consent, a regular general government for the exist- 
 ing system. But this being in the nature of things 
 a very improbable event, the consolidation, whenever 
 it happens, will probably be assisted by some such 
 57 
 
450 
 
 accident ; and the temporary ascendancy of a mili- 
 tary government may perhaps be looked upon as a 
 necessary step in this process. The division of the 
 several nations, and their nominal independence 
 being thus abolished, the advance of civilization 
 would immediately begin to exercise the same 
 influence upon the new general government, that it 
 now does upon each of the separate ones ; and the 
 final result in this case, as in the other, would be the 
 organization of an universal European commonwealth 
 on rational and liberal principles. Thus the ambition 
 or fanaticism of the Russian government, like most 
 other moral and physical evils, while it produces 
 great immediate mischief and suffering, may tend 
 materially towards the promotion of a very important 
 object connected Avith the general good. 
 
 But it would be both presumptuous and unprofita- 
 ble to indulge in any farther conjectures respecting 
 future occurrences, which, however probable, are 
 doubtless contingent and uncertain. While we hope 
 that the final political union of all parts of Europe 
 under a liberal government may be effected in the 
 happiest possible way, and while we are obliged 
 to regret, that this event still appears distant and 
 doubtful, we may console ourselves, as citizens of 
 the United States, with the reflection, that this great 
 blessing is the birth right of our favoured country, 
 
451 
 
 and that imagination cannot anticipate, or any 
 accident, however happy, procure for our brethren 
 in Europe any other or greater political advantages, 
 than those of which we are aheady in actual 
 possession. 
 
 NOTE BY THE PUBLISHERS. 
 
 The manuscript of diis work, as received from the author 
 in Europe, being somewhat illegible, it is due to him to 
 ask the indulgence of the readers for those errors, which 
 have arisen from the impossibility of submitting the proof 
 sheets to his correction. 
 
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