people, nor, indeed, of any portion of the people. It was my intention, at this time, merely to point out to you some of the consequences, which we have, at this moment, before us, of a want of a Parliamentary Refor:n; but, an advertisement, which I have just seen, for a county-mecting in BERKSHIRE "to consider of an Address, 16 congratulating his Majesty on his enter"ing the 50th year of his reign," induces me to beg leave to trouble you with a few words upon that subject.If there should be a meeting called in this county for a similar purpose, and if the Address, there pressly or by implication, any praise of the ministers and measures of this most unfortu nate and calamitous reign, it will be our duty to demand an altération in such Address. There is not a man of us who will be disposed to dissent from any expression of good wishes or of duty towards his Majesty; but, at the same time, that we" congratu"late him upon his having entered on "the 50th year of his reign;" at the same time that we express our fidelity to him as our sovereign, it will be perfectly proper for us to express our unfeigned regret, that, during the whole of his means of influence. But, to take a recent instabed or two, is it not notorious, that the war for Ferlirand VII, a'war which has already cost us so trany millions in taxes and so many thousands of valuable lives, a wor the events of which make one shudder with horror; is it not notorious, that this war was never approved of by the people of this kingdom, who were willing to make any sacrifices for the purpose of restoring the liberties of Spain, and of defending them against Buonaparté, but who abhorred the idea of aiding in the perpetuating of Spanish bondage? The Edinburgh Reviewers have asserted, that the people have to thank themselves for the Na-proposed, should contain, whether extional Debt, for that they have always urged the government to make war: That every one of the wars of this reign has been a war of the people. "The people!" What a shame for men of talents thus to prostitute those talents! The people? In what way did the people express their approbation of this war for Ferdinand? I need not put the question to those of you, Gentlemen, who happen to live at Winchester, and who saw some two score of sycophantic clergymen and tax-gatherers and barrack-masters and dock-yard contractors trooping to St. John's House at the heels of George Rose, and there, call-reign, he has never had but very few ser ing themselves a county meeting, passing, in the form of an Address to the King, an approbation of the war just then resolved upon, and which Address was brought ready manufactured, in the pocket of the said George Rose, or some one acting under his direction. Now is it not baseness to the last degree for any well-informed man to call this the voice of the people of Hampshire? Our voice, as you well know, was directly against such a war; and, indeed, our interests must be eternally opposed to every project, calculated, as this was, to produce a waste of national resources, without the smallest chance of effecting any good pur-bling a majority, unless they were to hire pose whatsoever. It is not so with the far greater part of those, who assemble upon such occasions. They have an interest not only separate from, but in direct opposition to, our interests. To them every addition to the taxes (no matter from what cause) is a benefit, because the gain of most. of them is in proportion to the amount of the taxes. And, which applies to the whole of them, they, at any rate, have in view some place, pension, or emolument from the ministry of the day, and, therefore, they ought not to be, in such a case, considered as speaking the voice of the vants, in whom the people confided, and trust, that we shall not keep away from this meeting (if one should take place) merely because it may be called by others. It is a time of the year when most men have some leisure. My decided opinion is, that it is impossible for George Rose and all his underlings to pack a meeting in such a way as to obtain any thing resem carts and waggons and actually bring up loads from the Dock-yards and the Bar racks in the Isle of Wight. Indeed, they cannot do it: let the yeomanry act as they did upon the last occasion, and there is not the smallest doubt of their success. This county has long been regarded as being full as much at the ministers' nod as if it were a rotten borough. It was only because it had lent itself to faction. Every man almost was persuaded to attach himself to one faction or the other, and thus became a political slave of his own accord. This is not now the case. We now think, each man of us for himself, and we have proved to the nation, that Hampshire is yet a little more dear to us than Hanover. -I beg leave to add one caution. The factions may, perhaps, agree to call together only the Noblemen, Gentlemen, Clergy, and Freeholders. But, they have no power of exclusion. Every man, who can possibly attend, should attend, and no one dare attempt to set his voice aside. There are thousands of persons, who have copy-hold, or lease-hold, lands, or who have good personal property, though they have nothing of what is called freehold; but, will such persons be weak enough to keep away from a County-meeting upon that account, and thus tacitly sanction the abominable abuse, of which we complain, and which abuse sets a forty-sbilling freeholder, who is not pufrequently a pauper, above the copy or lease holder, or the man in trade, or the farmer, who is, perhaps, worth thousands of pounds, and who pays in taxes every year, or, perhaps three or four times a year, more than the fee-simple of the forty-shilling freeholder's property is worth.No: I trust, that there are, at this day, very few indeed of the yeomanry and tradesmen of this county, who are to be thus deceived, or thus intimidated from doing their duty. Every man in the county has a right to attend a county meeting, and, for this reason, that no one has a right to put any question to him as to what is the nature of his property. Those who pay no taxes, indeed, if any such could be found, might, with some shew of reason, be objected to. At a meeting, some time ago, at Reading, it was asked whether there were any but freeholders in the Hall; whereupon MR. HALLETT said: "If there be any man "here who does not pay taxes, in one "shape or another, let him withdraw." A laugh ensued, and all stood fast. This is the principle whereon to act in such a case. There is no one who has authority to examine into any person's qualification. No one has authority to bid another go away; and, therefore, I trust, that any trick intended to make the meeting thin, will be defeated. I am, Gentlemen, Your friend, WM. COBBETT. Botley, 22 Nov. 1809. SUMMARY OF POLITICS. STATE OF FRANCE.Many have been the occasions, upon which I have endea voured to guard my readers against a belief of the reports, published in this country, relative to the pretended misery and disaffection of the people in France; which reports have been repeated, perhaps, a thousand times. The mischief of this delusion, is, that it leads people to rely upon what is not true, and disposes them to slacken in their exertions for their country's defence. To be deceived, in any thing, is mischievous; but every deception of this sort is peculiarly so.- -Most of the attempts to deceive the public in this way have been gross enough; but, I do not, at present, recollect any one so very gross as that, which I am about to make a subject of comment; and, what makes it the more necessary to be commented on, is, that it found its way to the public through the pages of the Morning Chronicle, which introduced it in a manner calculated to give it as much credit as possible. The introductory words of the editor are as follows: The Packet of "French Papers which should have been delivered to us on Monday evening, "reached our hands yesterday morning. "It has furnished us with a regular set of "the Courier de l' Europe down to the 4th "inst. and what is of more importance, with a particular detail of the present state "of France, written by a Gentleman who "has had the best means of observation, and 66 upon whose authority we can IMPLI "CITLY RELY.-The following is the "substance of his private letter to us:" --Now, who, from this introduction, would not suppose, that a detail was about to be given, worthy of public reliance? The editor says, that he himself implicitly relies upon it; he calls it important; and he says his correspondent has had the best means of observation. The article is taken from the Morning Chronicle of the 15th instant. I think it necessary to be particular; for, really, it is hard to be lieve, and I could blame no one for doubting in the existence of such a publication. Besides, it contains a statement respecting the conduct of English prisoners of war in France, of which I should be very sorry to be suspected as the author, or even the promulgator; for, if the fact stated be true, it is indeed of importance, but of a most disgraceful nature.- Here, then, is that detail, on which the editor of the Morning Chronicle places implicit reliance.. -The date, as to place, is blank: the time is the 4th of November." Buona "parté passed through Meaux, on the "26th October, at three o'clock; he ap❝peared unusually pale and fatigued; a "handkerchief was tied round his head; "on a faint cry of Vive Napoleon! Vive "l'Empereur! he scarcely nodded his head. "His baggage was on its route for "Bayonne troops marching from all 66 parts of the North for Spain. He goes "after the meeting of the Senate. Joseph Buonaparté is to be King of Italy. Spain "to be treated as a conquered country, "and divided into twelve Governments. it "has not been paid a sous since two years, " and then on Government bonds at more "than 12 per cent. discount.-Sir Thomas "Lavie was thrown into prison and con veyed at four in the morning to St. Me"nehould, a small fortification near Ver"dun; his papers seized, and no one "knew for why-a most wicked breach "of good faith, almost as wicked us our "detention of the Corsican. They treat 66 our prisoners with uncommon cruelty; "thumb-screwed, a chain round their necks and "bodies, conducted from brigade to brigade; nothing but bread, wine, no “ beer, no meat, oftentimes without straw, and put into dungeons full of water! "chained often with galley slaves or "other criminals. This severity has "forced many to enter into their service; "600 already clothed and armed, passed "through Meaux for Bayonne. They swore "to me they would desert; above 30 had. "I am sure, poor fellows, they entered "into the service with no other view than "running away; but, alas! I fear they "will never succeed."-Now, this detail does, I think, come completely up to the instructions given by Sir Toby to his brother knight, when the latter is about to write a challenge to his supposed rival : "Let it be curst and brief; have as many "lies as will lie in thy sheet of paper; "let there be gall enough in thy ink, "though thou write with a goose pen." -Beauharnois is to be King of Po"land; that part lately wrested from the "Austrians to form a part of the king-" dom,- -Not a light more than the ordi"nary lamps were seen at Paris on the an"nouncing of peace, although the Moni"teur boasted of a general joy and illu"mination; no such thing; the Parisians "are as indifferent to any peace on the Con"tinent as the Khann of Tartary. They complain loudly of the Corsican's am"bition; pray for peace with England, "with whom they are not enemies. It is the "Corsican himself, and those who are en"joying military rank and place, that are for war; but they wish for repose. There " is no Commerce; Paris presents perfect "ly splendid misery; a few carriages, and "those by no means convey any great idea of riches. Every trader readily carries "his merchandize 25 or 30 per cent. for "ready money. Coffee, sugar, cloth, all -Let us pass over the faint cry of "cotton manufactures, augment amazingly Vive Napoleon, and also the dim illumina"in price. The theatres not half full, ex- tion at Paris, admitting, for the sake of "cept in the pit. Bills are stuck up every avoiding dispute, that the accounts, which "night at St. Cloud, Malmaison, and in the Moniteur gives of the joy and enthusi "the streets, that the police are employed astic loyalty of the people of France, are "taking down. The farmers ruined, can- just about as true as those, given by the "not pay their servants or their labourers, Morning Post and other hireling prints, "but in kind, wheat being so cheap and plenti- in similar cases, on this side of the water. «ful. Where they dare speak, I never was Letswallow, too, the assertion, that the peo"witness to so much discontent, in every de-ple of Paris are quite indifferent about any partment; and this new call of 36,000 "men (which will be treble) has filled up "their cup of sorrow. The flower of the army is cut off. The Imperial Guard, "not one out of ten, that left Paris in April "last, returned without loss of limb or severely "wounded: the privutes and subaltern officers speak freely. His army is composed of "thousands of Prussians, whom he took prisoners, and never suffered to return, in "violation of the treaty of peace. The "conscripts wound and maim themselves "to prevent serving. The new public "works are not paid for: the person who is repairing the Thuilleries, &c. " peace upon the continent, and that they pray for peace with us, whom they love most cordially, and further that they com plain loudly of the Corsican's ambition.... But, stay! We must be cautious how we believe this; because our authentic gentleman has, in other parts of his letter, told us that it is only certain persons who dare speak. Here seems to be a little contradiction; and, indeed, if it be true, that the Farisiaus do loudly complain of the Corsican's ambition, they take greater liberties with their sovereign than we ever do with ours, of whom none of us ever dream of complaining, though we have seen some little slaughter of our countrymen, and though this war as well as the last was begun by our government. If, therefore, the people of France do loudly complain of the conduct of their sovereign, the people of France are not in a state of slavery so very complete. So, amongst the proof of misery, the "theatres are not half full." How are our theatres? "The police are employed taking down." How are our police employed? Oh! what unfortunate strings to touch upon just at this time! But, what are we to think of what this authentic gentleman says about the losses in the army? "The "flower of the army is cut off." Good God! and is that a subject of discontent in France? Are we to believe, that that will cause the people to hate their sovereign; and are we to believe this too, just at this time, when we are still hearing the accounts of the Jubilee through the besotted columns of the hired prints? Do the people of France charge their sovereign with the blood of his armies?" Not one in "ten that left Paris, in April last, without "loss of limb, or severely wounded." Well, and what then? But, really, one can scarcely help thinking, that this correspondent of the Morning Chronicle was writing ironically. Alas! the French army, though very likely their loss and their sufferings have been great, have not fought and bled and suffered in vain : they have returned, though few in number, perhaps, covered with glory and not with disgrace. The Emperor of France may hold up his conquests as the price of his people's sacrifices. He may say to them, that, if he has called upon them for great services, and great pecuniary sacrifices, he has given them in exchange perfect security. His people dread no enemy. They are haunted with no fears of invasion. They are not filled with alarms. They are not in doubt as to what may be their fate in six months from any given day. They are, in short, in a settled state of things, and they have as much of glory as is necessary even for them.Paris, it seems, according to the notions of this writer, is in a state of splendid misery, and, as a proof of it, he tells us, that there are but very few carriages. This writer forgets the passage, wherein GOLDSMITH, who was, I take it, full as sound a political philosopher as this gentleman; he forgets the passage, wherein this poet so justly, so poetically, and so feelingly describes the misery, which never fails to accompany the " rattling chariots' clash, the torches' glare." Perhaps there is no remark that could have been made, better calculated than this, to give a reflecting man a favourable opinion of the change, which the last seventeen years has introduced into France. The fault here is, that it is all carriages, all rattle and glare, in the public parts of the metropolis, while, every where else, real misery prevails; while the poor-rates and the number of paupers are daily augmenting; and while the whole nation is so heavily burdened with taxes, that no man can scarcely call any thing his own.As if, however, the absence of carriages from the streets of Paris; as if the disappearance, or, at least, the diminution of luxury; as if this were not sufficient to convince us of the misery existing in France; as if, to convince us that the people of France are in a miserable state, it were not sufficient to tell us that they are not in danger of being trampled under foot by the horses of loan-jobbers, jews and contractors; as if this were inadequate to the giving of us a just notion of the misery of the French people, this gentleman tells us . . . . what, think you, reader? You have seen, or you never would have guessed at it, if you had kept on guessing to the end of your life. He gives us as a proof of the misery of the people of France, the fact of "wheat BEING "SO CHEAP AND SO PLENTIFUL." There is a proof of misery! There is a proof of national misery, and of the terrible effects of the change that has taken place in France! Have a care, Sir, how you promulgate such proofs of French misery; for they might produce, in England, effects that you do not appear to be aware of, especially if the quartern loaf should happen to rise to half a crown or two shillings. This is, to be sure, a most curious symptom of national misery, and no less curious a source of national discontent. We now know, then, what it is these gentlemen mean when they talk of national misery, national ruin, national destruction, and the like. They mean that state of things, in which there are few coaches and chariots and landaus and curricles, but in which there is plenty of bread. They mean that state of things, in which there are, comparatively speaking, few persons who live upon the taxes; few persons who live upon the fruit of the labour, or of the estates, of others. This is wha they mean by national misery and destruc tion; but, I would advise them, if the -- friend, if he had been of Pitt's council, would have told him, that he went just the way to ruin a nation was to ensure it, if possible, most abundant crops of every thing, and especially of wheat; that is to say, an abundance of bread.—I do not know how the reader may view this matter, but, to me, it appears very disgraceful to this country, that such absurdities as this should be sent forth to the public, through the columns and under the express recom really have discovered this to be the case in France, to " keep their own council;" for that, even with the aid of the fee-loso-wrong way to work; for that, the certain phee of the Edinburgh Reviewers, they will never persuade the people of England, that the sight of the fine carriages of jews and contractors is preferable to plenty of bread. But, it seems, this abundance of wheat has ruined the farmers.--Well, then, what pretty fellows we must be, who have, in our Common Prayer Book Forms of Thanksgiving for Plenteousness? All the maxims of the world are wrong, then?mendation of a print of long standing, and People should pray to be guarded against of established character. It is not many abundant crops? The arts of tilling and weeks since a publication appeared in one manuring, and the anxieties of the bus of our daily prints, which of them I now bandman, are, then, all worse than use- forget, giving quite another account of the less? The farmers are ruined, wheat agricultural state of France. The writer being so cheap and plentiful." If it be in that case, as well as in this, wished to plentiful, it will, of course, be cheap. make us believe that the people of France One is a consequence of the other; were miserable, and, of course discontentbut, that the growers of corn should be ed; but, the former did not, apparently ruined by the abundance of produce is think it likely, that we should be able to an absurdity too gross to be tolerated discover a source of national misery in the for one moment. They cannot, we great abundance of wheat and cheapness are told," pay their servants or their la- of bread. Be his thoughts what they bourers, but in kind." It was well our gen- might, however; his assertions were, that tleman, "who has the best means of infor- agriculture was in a neglected state. mation," put in this saving sentence at the The truth is, I believe, that agriculture end. Sad state, to be sure; the farmers never was, in France, in a state so flourishhave nothing but corn, that is to say, nothing ing as at this time. There are many rea but the means of making food and drink, sons why it should be so. Rich lands, in to give to their servants and labourers; vast quantities, never tilled formerly, and those means they have in such abund- began to be tilled the moment the revolu ance that they do not know what to do tionary fury was over. Nay even during with them?- -Oh! wretched farmers! the reign of the DIRECTORY, all those who miserable labourers! Unfortunate people went to France were surprized to see the of France, such are the effects of that rapid improvements in agriculture.——It change, which has driven from amongst is of great consequence, that we should you the loan-jobbers, farmers of taxes, see this matter in its true light, because, contractors, Jew-brokers, and all those, as to the result of the contest, in which whom in former times, you had the honour we are now engaged against Buonaparté, of seeing drive along the streets in gilt it is proper that we shou'd know, that we chariots, and to hear of their sumptuous bave no ground for hoping for any assistmeals upon turtle!Reader, you must ance whatever from the internal situation recollect, that that wise man William Pitt, of our enemy's country. We should scout commonly called "an illustrious friend now- all idea of hope built upon such a founda"no-more;" you must recollect, that this tion. We should place « implicit reliance” great statesman," at the commencement upon our own exertions; and no reliance of his war against France, conceived the at al upon any aid to be derived from any brilliant idea of starving that country into other source.There is something in submission, and that, with this view, he the close of this article of " undoubted auexpended several millions of English taxes. thority," that I do greatly doubt of, and The scheme, brilliant as it was, failed. that I most sin, erely hope is false from the Pitt promised the parliament that his starv-beginning to the end.The reader wil ing scheme, joined to the breaking up of "public credit" in France, would do the business of the revolutionizers in, very short time. We know this to have turned out a false promise; but our best informed 66 ་་ anticipate that I allude to the story about the prisoners of war, which is, I think, one of the most shameful that could have been invented.--We are told, that our countrymen who are prisoners in France, are |