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Ouri are the plaits of fair deliijhtfol pere, t
Unwtrp'iJ by prty rage, to livelikc Brother!.
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TiitTRSDAT. Apri 23, 1807,
K6. 39i
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EXTRACT
from ; .
Cobbttfs Political Register,
For January, 18Q7.
The Uti Possidetis. These are
two words,, vbich have been re
peated upwards of three hundred
and eightv times in the debates in
Parliament, upon the papers rela
tive to the late negociation. In
America, where they pay their
i ..v. n lav when nre-
memDers su mm. m , 1
sent and upon their duty, .they
would have most bitterly complain
ed of the expense of such debates;
but we, happy, thrice happy we !
have no ground for any such com
plaint : for, except in the mere tri
fling article of candles, perhaps our
members cost us just as much at
one time as anothtr. The u Uti
Possidetis," mean, the learned tell
us, actual possession ; or the state
of actual possession ; and when they
talk about treating upon the basis
of the "Uti Possidetis," they mean
that the parties agree, by way of
preliminary, or first bargain, that
each shall retain all that he pos
sesses at the time the, negotiators
meet. But, if this be the meaning
cf the " Uti Possidetis," why not
give us that meaning in our own
language at once ? , Do those who
make use of such phrases, which
the stupidest wretch upon earth
might learn to use as well as they,
in a few houis ; nay, which a par
rot would learn, or which a high
dutch bird-catcher could teach to
a buU-finch or a torn tit, in the
space of a month ; and do tht.-y
think, in good earnest, tnat tnis
last relic of the mummery of mon
kery, this playing off upon us of a
few gallipot words, will make us
believe that they are learned ?
Learning, truly so called, consists
in the possession of knowledge aud
in the capacity of communicating
fthat knowledge to others ; and as
far as my observation will enable
me to speak, what are called tht
learned languages, operate as a bar
to the acquirement of real leming.
I a ready hear some pedagogue, or
pedant, exclaim, kk 'I hjs isprecise
ly the reasoning of the Fox with
out a Tail." But, to bring this
matter to the test, I hereby invite
the learned mtxx cf the two Uni
versities to a discussion upon the
subject. assert that what they
call the learn id languages ate
improperly so galled ; and that, us
a part of general education, they are
"worse than useless. Two month
will aiford time enough for any of
the gentlemenjust epoken of to dis
pi ove these positions, I will, there
fore, give them until Lady Day
next. I will publish their defence of
their calling; and if I do not fairly
beat them in the controversy, and
that too in the space of 20 columns
of my Register, I will then beg
their pardon, ancl will allow, that to
he able to speak or write in a lan
;guage which the people do not ud
derstand, is a proof of learning. -cvt,
until then! shall notdissi nt
- from the opinion vthat none but
clear streams are shallow, and that
Xhe muddier the water the deeper
- the welU - To return now to th po
litical topic' before us : it, seems.
from the; whole of the published !
aeoates upon it, that,:had there
been no such pretty words to be
brought into play th ere could have
been nothing to talk about which
the public would have been able
to bestow one moment's attention
upon ; for, of what importance was
it, in such a negociation, whether
such wa, the basis or not I Every
one must know, that,; long before a
treaty could have been "concluded,
there must have been cessions or
surrenders on our part, cr that we
could have obtained nothing from
France in behalf of any othtr tate ;
and, if such was the case, of wh.it
consequence was it, of what u
was ito have settled this mere form
of ft basis ? The Ministers, for
what reason I know not, and I can?
not imagine, insist that they did
begin to negociate upon this basis;
and their opponents contend, as a
matter of course, that they did not.
Very little interest has, however,
been excited by the dispute,.every
man of sense clearly perceiving that
the point at issue was not of the
smallest importance, aud, at the
same time, reflecting with sorrow
and with shame, thatgiilewe were
spending our time irf such quib
bles, like Milton's fallen angels, sit
ting upon the burning marle,wrang
lmg about predestination and free
will, our enemy was .carrying his
triumphant arms, over newly con
quered states and kingdoms. The
I " Uti Possidetis" could n:t charm
down ; it was not a spell strong
enough to stifle the reflection ; & on
hearing the gallipot phrase echoed
from side to side, it was impossi
b!e that it should not occur to the
mind of every man, that, between
the two, we had been brought to cur
present situation ; the only question
with us being, not which had
done us mo3t good, but which had
done us the least ?njury ; which
had.had the smallest share in pro
ducingthe ruin and the disgrace of
ourrchintry ; a question which most
men will, I think, decide in favor
of the present Ministers, who must
work1, clay and night for years, be
fore they will be able to accomplish
a hundredth part of the mischiel
accomplished by Pitt and his mi
nions. In the debate attributed to
the House of Commons, there wa
cousiderab einterestexcitedbvMr.
Whitbrt-ad's differing from Minis
ters, and even projSbsingan amend
ment to the address. " The Op
position, as the Morning Lhroni-
ne caMs them, deslt in more cavil
ling ; bur, in the objection of Mr.
Whitbread, there was something
of reason and solidity. 44 The Op
poitin" said the Ministers had
been 4 duped one of them said,
they had been "bamboozled ;" they
all said, that no negociation shou d
have been entered into ; that no bc--icf
should haVc been given to such
nun as Bonaparte and Talleyrand
that it was fortunate the negocia
tion had failed ; and that we ought
to resolve o be exterminated .to
the last man, rather than treat with
Bonaparte until he relinquished his
determination not to suffer us to
have any connection with the conti
nent. But. Mr. Whitbread was
of opinion, that there was not suffi
cient crotiods apparent for break
ing off the negociation ; that from
ths moment Mr. Fox became po
litically dead, an anti-pacific spirit
began to appear on our part ; and
that, as matters now stood, the pos
sibility of a peace with France ap
peared to be cut off. He therefore
proposed to insert wods to the fol
lowing effect in the latter part of
the ad dress to the Kinor: w io as-
sure his Majesty of the firm deter
mination of that house, to co-operate
with his Majesty in calling
forth the resources of the United
Kingdom, for the vigorous prose
cution of the war in which thiscoun
try is unhappily still engaged ;
and to express to hi3 Majesty an
earnest request, that his Majesty
1 will, in his paternal solicitude for
his people, as fur as may be con
sisten.with the honor of his crown
-md the interests of his kingdoms.
afford every facility to the restora
tion of the. blessings cf peace "
This amendmcntoughtn my opi
nion, to have been adopted ; and,
my Lord Ho wick must excuse me.
if I think his closing argument, to
wit, that, one man's blaming minis
ters for too "much readiness to make
peace, antl ?other'3 blaming them
for too much readiness to break off
;he negociation, "-as a proof that
the ministers had acted wisely, had
ho force at ail in it, & was nothing
more than. one of those old Pitt-
quirks, by which, with the aid of
a p'ace and pension majority, his
been so many times answered.
What were the opinions of Mr.
Percival to Mr. Whi thread ? Sup
pose I knock my neghbour down
without sufiicierit provocation, and
a man still more violent than my
self, blames me for not splitting his
scull, while another man blames
me. for having struck him at all,
am I to plead the contradictory o
pinions of these men as a proof that
I have acted wisely
and justly ?
As to the matter itself,- -what, I
should like to know, cah jpossihly
be gained by reviving the big talk
of Pitt ? He hectored about car
rying on war for even rather than
suffer Bonaparte to exclude us from
a.l connection with the continent ;
but, he could quietly slip out of
place, under false pretences, while
peace was made bv others, giving
up all the objects for which he had
pledgedjhimself to contend For
my nart, I am thoroughU convin
ced, that the Emperor will, as long
as our system of taxing continues,
agree to no terms of peace which
shall not be, in his convictioT, cal
culated to work for our destruction
as rapidly, and even more rapidly
than war. Never, in mv opinion.
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as long as that system lasts, will
England know an hour of real
peace. But, of what use are high
sounding words, without deeds
therewith corresponding ? And,
hs it may become advantageous to
obtain even a short cessation ol
arms, why should not the way to
negociation be kept open Thet e
is nothing, whether as to its effect
it home or abroad, woise than be
ing compelled to recede, either in
one's conduct or one's Words, and,
I anv:greatly deceived, if Lord
Howick expects to beahL to keep
the ground upon which he ao
t.inds or affects to stand, with res
pect to France. I am lbr .no dis
graceful terms of peace ;but to talk
of recovering the continent is now
madness ; and I would be willing
to make peace immediate iv, leav
ing Napoleon to take what he can
in Germany, in Poland, and in I
taly, Sicily included. 1 know ol
no treaty of alliance ihnt we have
with Sicily. I knowof no reason
whether of justice or of policv,
for our carr) ing on war for a day
for Sicily any more than for Hano-
vcr. I would give-up nothing that
should tend, in anywise, to weak
en ourselves ; but I would make
not the smallest sacrifice for Rus
sia or any other connection. There
was a state of things, in which such
con "irctions were amongst our best
means of defence, as well as of of
fence gairistourformidab!eenemy;
that state of things, thanks to the
Phts, is completely overturned,
There is no longer a trace of it re
maining : and yet, these Pitts now
call upon us to carry on war, until
the last man in England shall be
exterminated, rather than give up
connections with the continent
if we will give up bur maritime
rights, or only a part of them, Na
poleon will give us a coniection
with the continent : he will give us
Hanover even now, and suffer us
to have ceruin other connections
and, though this would be to sacri
fice us to those connections, and to
the private feelings and interests
belonging to them, I suspect, that
there are persons in this country
who, upon such term?, would wil
iingly see a peace concluded to
morrow That is what, in our ne-)
gPciauons(witn r ranee, .e have to
guard against ; and, we may be as
sured'that all the big talk about
our honor has in.it, at bottom, no
thing rSore than the wish, if hot
the settled 'intention, of Sacrificing
England to selfish connections '; &
that, as to the honor of this coun
try, it never enters into either the
heads or the hearts of those (I mean
thenews-wrtei,of course) whoart
everlastingly repeating the Word
It was said in oneof those speeches
that the people are unanimous in
be continued. Yes, for the defence
and future safety of England, Ire
land and Stotland ; but to tell jhem
that we are at war for connections
with the continent, is. not the way
to make them approve of its conti
nuance ;Tfor while they are perfect
ly unabimous as to a war for the
safety' and honor of their own
country, they are not much less
unanimous in scouting the idea of
continuing the war for. the sake of
the continent, every part of which
they plainly see at the feet of the
conqueror.
There came out, however, in the
course of the debates, some obser
vations, which, as published in the
news-papers, are well worthy our
attention. The first that I shall
notice, relates to Hanover, ancl I
shall give them here, as I find them
in the jspeech published under the
aame of Lord Grenville, as fol
lows : fc Now, as to Hanover, tVa
was a nice and difficult point, and
no misrepresentation should be al
lowed to go abroad respecting it.
Never was the issue of the nego
ciation connected with its fate
Never did any interested feeling a
rise from it. But should it be 'alie
nated for our sake ? What if he
thought that we owed such al debt
as that we acknowledge to Russia,
to Sweden, to Naples, how much
higher the debt we owe toourown
So ereign I And surely we would
avoid the disgrace of sUch a sacri
fice, which would confound us with
those who made such shameful sa
crifices to their own fears, or their
own interests. Hanover was at
tacked, not as a German territory,
not as connected with the Germa
nic corps, but solely because France
was at war with Englind; & while
we were invulnerable nere, the en
emy was determined to wound m
through Hanover, But to adopt
the saying and maxims of a great
statesman, it seems to be, that, un
der such circumstances. Hanover
hould be as dear to us as Hamp
shire; and whenever it was attack
ed, for British interests, it should
bedefendt dby British magnanimi
t . tBut the same feelings respect
ing Hanover s prevailed at Paris as.
hre ; and from the first moment of
the negotiation, it was resolvelr it
should be restored to its lawful so
vereign. Indeed it was needless to
do otherwise ; for thev well knew
that British honor would never have
consented to surrender it." Now
I do not say that Lord Grenville
uttered these words : 1 com
ment upon them because I fi.u!
them published iife&aewspaper ;
and because I am convinced thai
they express doctrines which, if
adhered to, must accompiisn thr
extinushment of the remains of
.'w-.wy. ' A.O
statesman 7 alluded to is. Pknow
,
Hampshire will thmk itself as little
not; but be he Who he m.gy, wide- tended by Lord Grehville and the
ly do I djfTer from him in feeling j whole of the njinistry, that Hano
and in opinion ; ated; whatever m: y j ver, though his Majesty, bur gra
be the feeiings of the adihof of this 1 ciou King, was the Sovereign of it,
publication, I can assure him, that I was, and ought to be, reffarded aa
indebted to him as to Lord l ra- havif:gno . dnnection whatever with
pie. Hanover as dear to Us as Uh king !om of Great- Britain; and
Hampshire 1 Tow, to this;acU 1 1 remember well, that when soma
thor it may be,but; for my part, 1 persons, amongst whom was Mr
trust I should be ready to shed my Sheridan, regretted that the paci.
blood to the last drop rather thn '( fic example of the Elector of Hano
see the latter a department of a vas- i ver was not followed! bv the Kihtf
sal kingdom of, France, while of Great-Britain, they were calfed
have no scruple to say, I care just Jacobins and Levellers 1 Butnow
as much about the former as I do j .j behold, When Hanover is conquer
about the Dutehy of Brunswick or i1 ed ; when France has gotten com
the Principality of Hesse. Hano-!' phte possession of it; or when she
ver a dear to us asHarripshire 5 Tj has given it to another power ; now
know not what the people in the : We are to fight apd pay for it noMf
North rnav think rf tVtts . s ' ra u nA ,
really and lijerally cdmes home to
my fire-side ; arid a great conso-a-
.,. ....... , uut it
Upn it must be to one to hear, that '
one is considered, by this author.
U..4.t . . M
.-j -r - - 7 -"v. H (j.vvuujuia"
wears it, they made the provision
recited in our rna.
kers of this taw foresaw the conse
quences that would unavoidably
result from leaving it in the power
of the crown to make War for; fo
reign possessions, belonging solely
to the King ; and the Jair construc
tion of the law is, that war should
not be waged b this Country, with
out previous co nsentof Parliament,
for the sake of any foreign posses
sion, oihe private property of any
prince sittting. upon, this tnrone
whether he were then born abroad
or whether he should thereaffet be .
born in EnglandV" The words "not
being a native of thU kingdom,
applied immediately to the success
sor of Queen Anne ; but they also
applied to hisdesceUdants. They
applied to him as the head of the
house ; for the provision made part
of the compact with His successors
as e.ljas with himself. The d ubt
fui exprc &ion of i n the crowh
should hereafter come, he. &c.'
was used because it was not, when
the act was passed, certain that
Queen Anne would die without
children ; and the whole terror bt
the act clearly shows, that the obi
ject of the provision was, to pre
vent this nation from being involv
ed in wars for , the., sake of tlomi-nions-
the V&$$ of the prince,
and totally separate in interest front
the kingdom of England. Yet we
have been at war for Hanover, and
that the previous consent of Parlia
ment was not obtained we all well
know. Nay, if the French had
stood out, we are plainly told by
this author, that we should have
been at war for, Hanover now. and
! solely for Hanoycr ; for, that, under?
sucn circumstances, Hanover it as
dear to us as Hampshire And
what are these circumstances? Is
there any thing peculiar in them ?
Were we in aliiahce with Hano
ver Had that gallant and gene
rous nation lent us any aid,
either in men or in money, pre
vious tons being conquered ? No s
this is not pretendjL The rc is nd
pretext of obligation, either ex
press or tacit, set up. The cin urn
stance (for there is but one) ls,
nanover was conauered 'hrcaux
fsr i - . . .
Wance was at ar xiitih England."
Weil, and will not Hanover always
be conquered under similar "cir
cumstances ? And must we make
war (or continue war which in ef
fect is the same thing): against her
every time she conquers Hanover ?
And, must we never nike peace
without oltaining the restitution o
Hxnovcr, cost wnat it mav ? Du
ring ihe List war Jlanover as well
as England ' was encaeed apaimfi
. France ; but Hano veff bought pro-
i'u m,KCjcace wituout consuit-
It o ur uur interests. Ihen it
Uwas loud v and vk
ii j - iiviii.uLir j 1 1
refrhrrlirl o
I: a stat totally separate from onrl
t. uui w uive it UD : nnttf
We are tO look UDOn it. itl ehnrf
of the counties-of England ! "Vfe
i V " .
K That ii. u .. .
j utoi ami aear to us as one
J Lordship's olid arguments had J
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