159]

'As illustrated in the Prosecution and Punishment of

WILLIAM COBBETT.

[160

In order that my countrymen and that the two sureties in the sum of 1,000 pounds each; world may not be deceived, duped, and cheated that the whole of this sentence has been executed upon this subject, I, WILLIAM COBBETT, upon me, that I have been imprisoned the two of Botley, in Hampshire, put upon record years, have paid the thousand pounds TO THE the following facts; to wit: That, on the 24th KING, and have given the bail, Timothy Brown June, 1809, the following article was pub- and Peter Walker, Esqrs. being my sureties; lished in a London news-paper, called the that the Attorney General was Sir Vicary Gibbs, COURIER: "The Mutiny amongst the LO- the Judge who sat at the trial Lord Ellenborough, "CAL MILITIA, which broke out at Ely, was the four Judges who sat at passing sentence Ellen"fortunately suppressed on Wednesday by the borough, Grose, Le Blanc, and Bailey; and that "arrival of four squadrons of the GERMAN the jurors were, Thomas Rhodes of Hampstead "LEGION CAVALRY from Bury, under the Road, John Davis of Southampton Place, James "command of General Auckland. Five of the Ellis of Tottenham Court Road, John Richards ❝ringleaders were tried by a Court-Martial, and of Bayswater, Thomas Marsham of Baker Street, "sentenced to receive 500 lashes each, part of which Robert Heathcote of High Street Marylebone, "punishment they received on Wednesday, and John Maud of York Place Marylebone, George r a part was remitted. A stoppage for their knap- Baxter of Church Terrace Pancras, Thomas "sacks was the ground of the complaint that ex- Taylor of Red Lion Square, David Deane of St. "cited this mutinous spirit, which occasioned John Street, William Palmer of Upper Street "the men to surround their officers, and demand Islington, Henry Favre of Pall Mall; that the "what they deemed their arrears. The first Prime Ministers during the time were Spencer "division of the German Legion halted yesterday Perceval, until he was shot by John Bellingham, "at Newmarket on their return to Bury."- and after that Robert B. Jenkinson, Earl of Li That, on the 1st July, 1809, I published, in the verpool; that the prosecution and sentence took Political Register, an article censuring, in the place in the reign of King George the Third, and strongest terms, these proceedings; that, for so that, he having become insane during my impridoing, the Attorney General prosecuted, as sedi- sonment, the 1,000 pounds was paid to his son, tious libellers, and by Ex-Officio Information, the Prince Regent, in his behalf; that, during my me, and also my printer, my publisher, and one imprisonment, I wrote and published 364 Essays of the principal retailers of the Political Register; and Letters upon political subjects; that, during that I was brought to trial on the 15th June, the same time, I was visited by persons from 197 1810, and was, by a Special Jury, that is to say, cities and towns, many of them as a sort of depuby 12 men out of 48 appointed by the Master of ties from Societies or Clubs; that, at the expirathe Crown Office, found guilty; that, on the tion of my imprisonment, on the 9th of July, 1812, 20th of the same month, I was compelled to give a great dinner was given in London for the purbail for my appearance to receive judgment; pose of receiving me, at which dinner upwards of and that, as I came up from Botley (to which 600 persons were present, and at which Sir place I had returned to my family and my farm Francis Burdett presided; that dinners and other on the evening of the 15th), a Tipstaff went parties were held on the same occasion in many down from London in order to seize me, per- other places in England; that, on my way home, sonally; that, on the 9th of July, 1810, I, toge- I was received at Alton, the first town in Hampther with my printer, publisher, and the news-shire, with the ringing of the Church bells; that man, were brought into the Court of King's Bench to receive judgment; that the three former were sentenced to be imprisoned for some months in the King's Bench prison; that I was sentenced to be imprisoned for two years in Newgate, the great receptacle for malefactors, and the front of which is the scene of numerous hangings in the course of every year; that the part of the prison in which I was sentenced to be confined is sometimes inhabited by felons, that felons were actually in it at the time I entered it; that one man was taken out of it to be transported in about 48 hours after I was put into the same yard with him; and that it is the place of confinement for men guilty of unnatural crimes, of whom there are four in it at this time; that, besides this imprisonment, I was sentenced to pay a thousand pounds TO THE KING, and to give security for my good behaviour for seven years, myself in the sum of 3,000 pounds, and

a respectable company met me and gave me a dinner at Winchester; that I was drawn from more than the distance of a mile into Botley by the people; that, upon my arrival in the village, I found all the people assembled to receive me; that I concluded the day by explaining to them the cause of my imprisonment, and by giving them clear notions respecting the flogging of the Local Militia-men at Ely, and respecting the enployment of German Troops; and, finally, which is more than a compensation for my losses and all my sufferings, I am in perfect health and strength, and, though I must, for the sake of six children, feel the diminution that has been made in my property (thinking it right in me to decline the offer of a subscription), I have the consolation to see growing up three sons, upon whose hearts, I trust, all these facts will be engraven.

Botley, July 23, 1812.

WM. COBBETT.

Published by R. BAGSHAW, Brydges-Street, Covent-Garden.
LONDON: Printed by J. M'Creery, Black Horse-Court, Fleet-street.

VOL. XXII. No. 6.] LONDON, SATURDAY, AUGUST 8, 1812.

"I implore your Royal Highness to reflect on the manifold miseries that may arise from this cause, and to be pleased to bear in mind, that, to yield hereafter upon force or menace, will be "disgrace; whereas to yield now would indicate a sentiment of justice."- Letter to the Regent, Vol. XXI. Pol. Reg. p. 789.

This is the state of affairs between the two countries; and the main question now appears to be, whether, when the American Government hears of our repeal of the Orders in Council, they will revoke their declaration of war. This is a question of great interest at this moment; and, I shall, therefore, proceed to lay before your Royal Highness my sentiments with respect to it.

The same sort of infatuation that has prevailed here, with regard to American affairs, for many months past, appears still to prevail. Indeed, Sir, I can call it no other than insolence; an insolent contempt of the Americans, thought by those who hate them, and who would, if they could, kill them to the last man, in revenge for their having established a free government, where there are neither sinecures, jobs, or selling of seats. This insolence has induced people to talk of America as a country incapable of resenting any thing that we might do to her; as being a wretched state, unsupported by any thing like vigour in government; as a sort of horde of half-savages, with whom we might do what we pleased; and, to the very last minute, the great mass of the people here; ninety-nine out of every hundred, firmly believed, that America would never go to war with us. They left provocations quite out of the question. They appeared to have got into their heads a conclusion, that, let us do what we would to America, she would not go to war with us.

clusive of the wars in India. He has been
not only the greatest warrior, but the great-
est conqueror of any European prince that
ever lived. Napoleon is nothing to him as
a conqueror; and yet the Americans have
dared to declare war against him. But,
even now, now that she has actually de-
clared war, and that, too, by an Act of
Congress, by a law passed by real repre-
sentatives of the people; by men elected by
the free voice of the nation; by an un-
bribed, unbought, unsold, unenslaved as-
sembly, not by a set of corrupt knaves
whom the President can at any time twist
about by means of the people's money;
even now, when she has declared war in
this solemn manner, the hireling news-
papers in London would fain make us be-
lieve, that the whole thing is a mere make-
belief, that it is a mere feint, and "will
"end in smoke." At the least, they tell
us, that when the news of the repeal of our
Orders in Council reaches America, there
must be a revocation of the declaration of
war. They seem to forget, that the decla-
ration of war in America is an Act of Con-
gress, and that to do away the effect of that
Act, another Act must pass. They seem
to forget, that it is the people who have de-
clared war; and that the people must be
consulted before that declaration can be an-
nulled, or revoked. But, Sir, the fact is,
that these writers talk miserable nonsense.
We are at war with America; and, before
we can have peace with her again, we must
have a treaty of peace.

But, the main question for rational men to discuss is: "Will the repeal of our Or"ders in Council be sufficient to induce "America to make peace with us, without

This way of thinking has pervaded the whole of the writings upon the subject of the Dispute with America. At every stage in the progress towards war, the corrupt press has asserted, that America knew better" including the redress of her other grievthan to go to war with us. When she went so far as to pass Acts for raising an army and equipping a fleet, and that, too, with the avowed intention of making war against us; still the hirelings told the people, that she dared not go to war, and that she only meant to bully. I could fill a large volume with assertions from the Times news-paper alone, that we should not yield a tittle, and that America would not dare to go to war. But, the fact is too notorious to dwell upon. There is no man, and especially your Royal Highness, who can have failed to observe the constant repetition of these assertions.

At last, however, America has dared to go to war, even against that great warrior George the Third, nearly three-fifths of whose reign has been occupied inwars, ex

" ances?" This is the question that we have to discuss; it is a question in which hundreds of thousands are immediately interested; and it is a question which I think may be answered in the negative; that is to say, Sir, I give it as my opinion, that the repeal of our Orders in Council will not be sufficient to restore us to a state of peace with America, and, I now proceed respectfully to submit to your Royal Highness the reasons, upon which this opinion is founded.

I

In my last Letter (at p. 787, Vol. XXI.) had the honour to state to your Royal Highness, that there was another great point with America: namely, the Impressment of American seamen, which must be adjusted before harmony could be restored between the two countries; and, as you must have perceived, this subject of com

66

66

The grievance here complained of is certainly very great, and cannot be expected to be borne by any nation capable of resistance. If England were at peace and Ame rica at war, and if the latter were to assume the right of stopping our merchant vessels

men whom her officers might choose to consider as Americans, what should we say to the assumption? And, would not your Royal Highness be ashamed to exercise the royal authority without the power instantly to punish such an affront to the dignity of the Crown and the honour of the Country? But, degrading as this impress ment is to the national character of the Americans, it cuts them still deeper by the real sufferings that it inflicts; by the ruin which it occasions to thousands of families; and by the deaths which it produces in the course of every year. I have before stated that the number of impressed American seamen is very great, or, at least, has so been stated in America, amounting to many thousands, constantly in a state of the most terrible bondage to them; and, as some are daily dropping off, while others are impressed, the extent to which the evil has been felt in America must have been very great indeed, during so long a war.

plaint stands at the head of Mr. Madison's no proof might be wanting of their constatement of the grounds of war; it stands. "ciliatory dispositions, and no pretext left at the head of his manifesto against our "for continuance of the practice, the BriGovernment. His own words will best" tish Government was formally assured of speak his meaning: "Without going" the readiness of the United States to enter beyond the renewal, in 1803, of the war "into arrangements, such as could not be " in which Great Britain is engaged, and "rejected, if the recovery of the British sub"omitting unrepaired wrongs of inferior "jects were the real and the sole object. "magnitude, the conduct of her Govern- "The communication passed without ef"fect." ❝ment presents a series of acts hostile to "the United States as an independent and "neutral nation.-British cruizers have "been in the continued practice of violat "ing the American flag on the great high66 way of nations, and of seizing and car❝rying off persons sailing under it, not in "the exercise of a belligerent right, found-at sea, and taking out of them by force any ❝ed on the law of nations against an ene: my, but of a municipal prerogative over "British subjects. British jurisdiction is "thus extended to neutral vessels in a si"tuation where no laws can operate but "the law of nations and the laws of the country to which the vessels belong; and "a self-redress is assumed, which, if Bri"tish subjects were wrongfully detained ❝ and alone concerned, is that substitution "of force for a resort to the responsible Sovereign, which falls within the defini❝tion of war. Could the seizure of Bri❝tish subjects, in such cases, be regarded as "within the exercise of a belligerent right, "the acknowledged laws of war, which "forbid an article of captured property to "be adjudged without a regular investiga❝tion before a competent tribunal, would imperiously demand the fairest trial, "where the sacred rights of persons were 66 at issue. In place of such trial, these "rights are subjected to the will of every petty commander. The practice, hence, Our corrupt news papers, with the Times "is so far from affecting British subjects at their head, are endeavouring to misrepre❝alone, that under the pretext of searching sent the nature of the complaint of America, "for these, thousands of American citizens, and thereby to provide the Ministers be"under the safeguard of public laws, and forehand with a justification for war rather "of their national flag, have been torn than afford her redress. Upon the part of ❝from their country, and from every thing the President's manifesto above quoted, the Times makes these observations :"dear to them,-have been dragged on "board ships of war of a foreign nation," first complains of our impressing British "and exposed, under the severities of their" seamen, when found on board American "vessels: but this is a right which we "discipline, to be exiled to the most dis❝tant and deadly climes, to risk their lives" now exercise under peculiar modifica" in the battles of their oppressors, and to "be the melancholy instruments of taking away those of their own brethren." 65 Against this crying enormity, which "Great Britain would be so prompt to " avenge if committed against herself, the "United States have in vain exhausted re"monstrances and expostulations: and that

66

:

She

tions and restrictions. We do not attempt to search ships of war, however inferior their force to ours: and as to "searching merchantmen, we do not even "do this, vaguely or indiscriminately; but upon positive and accurate information. And practically, we apprehend, that the criminal concealment on the part of AmeF 2.

"rica, is a much greater nuisance to us, than a wanton search on our part is to "her. Let her, however, propose "such "arrangements" on this head, as are calon this head, as are cal"culated to effect the recovery of British "subjects, and she will find Great Britain "far from averse to listen to her."

was released from our service by the Lords of the Admiralty, in consequence of an application from the American Consul, while I was in prison for writing about the flogging of the Local Militia in the town of Ely, ard about the employment of German troops pon that occasion.

And yet, Sir, in the face of all these facts, has the hired writer the audacity, the the cool impudence, to assert, that we never "but search American vessels for seamen,

This, Sir, is a tissue of falsehoods and misrepresentations. The President does not complain that we impress British seainen: he complains, that, under pretence of taking British seamen, we take American" upon positive and accurate information." seamen. This is what he complains of, With this instance of falsehood; of wilful, which is precisely the contrary of what is shameless falsehood, before them, one here stated. As to our not taking men out would imagine, that the public would of American ships of war, our Government never after be in danger of being deceived knows well, that America has no ships of by the same writer; but, alas! Sir, the war worth speaking of, and that she has cunning slave who sells his pen for this thousands of merchant ships. It is said purpose knows well, that the public, or, at here, that we do not search American mer- least, that that part of the public whom he chantmen "vaguely and indiscriminately; wishes to deceive will never, till it be too but, upon positive and accurate informa- late, be able to detect him; he knows that tion." One would suppose it impossi- his falsehood goes where the exposure selble for any man, capable of writing a pa- dom comes, and, if it come at all, he knows ragraph, to sit down coolly and state so that its arrival will be too late to prevent perfect a falsehood as this. But herein we the effect, to produce which is his object. have an instance of the length to which the He next calls upon America to propose hirelings of the English press will go in her arrangement, upon this subject; though supporting any thing which they are called in the very manifesto, upon which he is on to support. It is a fact, and this writer commenting, the President declares that knew it to be a fact, that any commander of an offer had been made to our Government any ship in our navy, when he meets an to enter into an arrangement, but that "the American merchantman at sea, does, or "communication passed without effect." may, go or send on board of her, and that It is going very far on the part of America he does, or may, take out of her any per- to offer to enter into any arrangement upon sons, who, IN HIS OPINION, are Bri- the subject; for, why should not she say, tish subjects. That this is a fact no one as we certainly should "Take care of can deny; where, then, is the positive" your own seamen; keep them from us in and accurate information?" It is also a any way that you please; but, you shall, fact, that the Americans have frequently" on the seas, take nobody out of our vesasserted, that our officers have thus taken sels." Nevertheless, she has offered to out of their ships at sea many thousands of enter into arrangements, “such," she says, American Citizens, under the pretence of " as could not be rejected, if the "recovery their being British subjects. It is also à" of British Seamen was the sole object ;' fact, which is proved by the books at our and yet this writer accuses her of the crimiown Admiralty, that the American Go-nal concealment of our seamen! We have vernment, through its Consul in London, rejected this offer of an arrangement for has obtained the release from our fleet of the prevention of British seamen from great number of American Citizens thus taking shelter in American ships; and, impressed, seized, and carried off upon the yet this writer accuses America of a desire high seas. It is also a fact, proved by the to injure us by making her ships an asylum same authority, that many of the Ameri- for British deserters! cans thus taken have lost their limbs in the compulsory service of England, a service which they abhorred. It is a fact that I take upon me to youch for, that, amongst the American Citizens, thus captured and carried off, and forced into our service of late years, were two grand nephews of Ge

ut Washington, and that one of the two

say:

Our Government say, that, if we do not exercise our power of searching American ships, and taking out our own seamen, our sea service will be ruined by the desertions to those American ships. For instance, à British ship of war is lying at Plymouth, and there are three or four American vessels in the same port. Numbers of the