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newspaper, which just before had published a most atrocious libel against him, as the hirer and rewarder of assassins! And this, my Lord, is the effect of that "conciliation with firmness," ," the profession of which was repeated 'till the parliament and the public were weary of the sound!

The Elector of Hanover is to give up his pretensions to the Bishoprick of Hildesheim and the Abbey of Corvey. It is not the intrinsic value of the former, so much as its local situation, which strikes the politician. It is situated in the middle of the territories of the house of Brunswick and Hanover. From Brunswick it is 28 miles, from Hanover only 14. The King of Prussia, who is to be its new sovereign, by placing a garrison in it, will become master of the elector's capital. Hildesheim is, undoubtedly, a part of the principality of Calenberg, of which Hanover, though now the capital, was formerly only the second town, Gottingen being the first. The elector, as prince of Calenberg, is patron of the city of Hildesheim, and maintained there a small detachment of foot. In the year 1519, just at the commencement of the reformation, the Bishop John having begun what was called the Hildesheim war, was not only stripped of the greater part of his territories, but put under the ban of the empire, and all but the cathedral itself with three bailiwicks, solemnly and legally conferred on the House of Brunswick, in whose possession the great bishoprick (as the conquered portion of the diocese was styled) continued for more than a century, when it was given up by a particular convention, not long before the peace of Westphalia; by which convention, the patronage, or guardianship of the city was reserved by the elector: so that, the "pretensions" (as Citizen Talleyrand has the insolence to term the claims of his Majesty) to this bishoprick are just as good as any man's pretensions can be to the lordship of a manor.

Wildhausen ceased to belong to the House of Oldenburgh since the year 1270, between five and six centuries ago. It came then into the hands of the archbishops, afterwards the bishops, from whom it passed to the Dukes of Bremen. The Dukedom of Bremen was created out of the bishoprick to recompense Sweden for the heroic achievements of Gustavus Adolphus and his illustrious successors in the command.

As to what his Majesty receives in Osaburgh, it would not, had he not already

much the better half of its possession, nearly compensate, in point of value alone, for what he loses. But, it is the local situation of Hildesheim in particular, which is of importance in the present examination. The Electorate of Hanover bounded to the north east by the Prussian provinces of Alt Marck, Magdeburgh, and Halberstadt; to the west by the Prussian provinces of Minden, Ravensperg, Pyrmont, and, having Hildesheim, with a Prussian garrison, in its very centre, while Osnaburgh is closely wedged up by the Prussian provinces of Westphalia and the bishoprick of Munster, which has also been seized on by Prussia. In order to complete the investiture of the states of Brunswick and Hanover, the King of Prussia has, towards the south, taken the country of Eisfeld, as his portion of the dismemberment of Mentz. If any doubt remained respecting the ultimate views of Prussia against Hanover, it must be removed in a moment, when we consider, that Osnaburgh, which is in itself of more value than Hildesheim, and is, besides, almost surrounded by the Prussian possessions in Westphalia, suited Prussia much better than Hildesheim, while Hildesheim suited the elector better than Osnaburgh. Had it been the intention of France and Prussia to stop here, the distribution would, therefore, have taken this turn; but, Prussian covetousness saw a prospect of seizing on Hanover itself, and Buonaparté gratified at once his interest and his malice, by holding in his hand the fate of the patrimonial possessions of the Royal Family of England, by the means of one of his humble vassals, with whom the Electorate of Hanover will, at any time, be a sufficient bribe, if fear should fail to produce the desired effect. It is absolutely impossible to contemplate the extent and situation of Hildesheim without anticipating the fall of the electorate. bishoprick is larger than Hertfordshire or Surry, almost as large as Berkshire, and about the same size as Buckinghamshire. The city of Hildesheim is nearly the same distance from Hanover, as Epsom, or I may rather say, as it lies upon the same river,a mile or two farther than Kingston from London, and is situated, I believe, on a considerable hill, Now, my Lord, as you are a military man, suppose France, with a force double to wirat she now has, put in possession of Epsom, or Kingston, not as insulated spots, but connected with other territories lying behind either of those places; what would, in such a case, be the security of this me tropolis? It would, my Lord, be in much

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greater danger than Paris was, when the out commerce into Germany, if by any pas Duke of Brunswick was on his march to-cific arrangements of the new confederacy wards it, or even when your Lordship threatened to undertake a similar enterprize.-Such, nearly, will be the situation of the King of Prussia at Hildesheim with regard to Hanover, except that the disproportion of force will be against the electorate in a still greater degree. Thus then, the states of the House of Brunswick will belong to the King of Prussia, the moment the French stand in need of his aid to accomplish their projects against Austria or England.

we should be deprived of other better and more direct channels. In time of war, the Imperial cities were generally, though not always necessarily neutral. The Emperor could, by certain constitutional proceedings, compel them to be parties in the war, and this power was partially exercised, for a short time, in the year 1793. In future, they are to be always and necessarily neu tral, for the purpose of conveying the pro perty belonging to our enemies, or of sup plying their necessities, at least more se I am aware, my Lord, that this prospect curely, if we should ever again be as com will be far from appearing gloomy to those pletely triumphant as late we were upon zealous patriots, who think that the glory the seas. These blows are, then, struck at and liberty of their country consists in the the vital interest of England through the humiliation of their sovereign; and, it must sides of Hanover. The Electorate is to be be confessed, that they will be most ef- robbed and pillaged for the purpose of furfectually relieved from the dread of seeing nishing the means of injury to England, the Hanoverian troops in garrison at the What has the pretence of indemnities to Tower, which is, doubtless, a comforting do with so great and unnecessary an inreflection; but, my Lord, there is no such novation in the constitution of the Empire, thing as perfect happiness in this world: if as detaching from it, in all future wars, we have no longer to fear that the House the College of Cities? Because, out of the of Hanover will enslave England by means eight which compose it, the two principal of soldiers from the continent, we cannot which have sea ports are liable, more or but recollect, that Prussia and France are less, to the influence of England. The absolute masters of all the shores of Europe, hostile mind and intention here, are not from Memel to Venice, and that, in the disguised; and it is a new and original whole distance, there is not a single port, agression, not founded on any thing in the where an English vessel will dare to be ad- treaty of Luneville. The powers who conmitted contrary to the mandates of Buona-fer this independence, will most probably parté. We shall, my Lord, soon see the time, when the suspicious, selfish, and stupid railers against continental connexions, will have cause to repent of their meanness and their folly, and will, when it is too late, perceive that the prosperity and happiness of themselves are inseparable from the interest, the honour, and the consequence of their sovereign; in the mean while, it may not be amiss to point out some of the means by which this most salutary conviction will be produced.

To get Bremen, as your lordship knows, was one great object of the German and English politics of George I., after his accession to the throne; but, my lord, it is much easier for your right worthy colleague to imitate Sir Robert Walpole in the disposal of the clerkship of the pells, than in the policy by which he at once preserved peace, and the dignity of the English name in Europe. Bremen and Hamburgh are important places; because, by our influence, through Hanover, on them, and especially on Bremen, they are the surest, though not the most convenient inlets for

guarantee it on their own terms.

It is clear, then, that no part of this ar rangement is to be ascribed to a desire of injuring the Elector of Hanover, but to injure, affront, and insult Great-Britain, through the sides of that Elector and Electorate, and, probably to furnish the world with an illustration, which was very much wanted, of your lordship's "conciliation with "firmness," which was to produce such happy consequences to the nation. The degree of respect, of weight and impor tance, which Great-Britain has secured by this "conciliation with firmness," is clearly as certained by the indemnity to the Stadthol der, and by the mode of that indemnity. The Abbey of Corvey is given to the House of Nassau, to which house, in our treaty of peace, your lordship and your colleagues told us, that France would not allow the title of ORANGE; but to which in the convention negociated with Prussia, (Register, p. 225) she has restored that title, in the act of plundering our king to indemnify that House. In the debate on the treaty of Amiens, it was urged by the opponents of the

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peace, that, coupling the clause which we had there inserted with Schimmelpenninck's private convention, signed the same hour, at the other end of the same table, the re sult might be, that we should indemnify the late Stadtholder. This was received as a point and turn of debate, and not as a serious interpretation; but it is now, in part, very seriously carried into effect. And will you and your colleagues, my lord, who procured that stipulation at Amiens, dare now to insist upon it, in opposition to the seizure of Corvey or will you, by a pusillanimous silence, sanction such a shameful and iniquitous construction of it? The Stadtholder has, indeed, lost rank and dominion by the base desertion of England, but he is now most amply avenged, in be. holding our disgrace, which, if our means are considered, is far greater than that of either Holland or Spain. The King of Sardinia, kneeling at the feet of the lowbred miscre ant Joubert, did not present to the world a spectacle so shockingly degrading as England does at this moment: the unfortunate feeble-minded monarch, had the love of life as a plea for his conduct, while England has nothing to plead but her love of money, from which base and despicable motive she has voluntarily sacrificed both her allies and herself. For, my lord, be you well assured, that neither her past nor her future acts of baseness will purchase security to her pelf: a respite may be obtained, but the same hand, which has already reached the press, will finally dive into

the Bank.

I am, my Lord,

Your Lordship's most humble,
And most obedient servant,
WM. COBBETT.

September 2, 1802.

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

M. LE COMTE,

Minsk, June 24.

"I have learned, with extreme surprize, by your letter from Wibourg, the very extraordinary manner in which you have been treated in the dominions of his Swedish Majesty. I cannot imagine that that prince, can have any motive for personal dissatisfaction with respect to you, and it would be still more difficult to think that he has taken umbrage at any proceeding in the course of your mission, in which you have been only the organ of my will, and are responsible to me alone. However, be the motives of his Swedish Majesty what they may for such conduct, I have less displeasure at the proceeding itself, which cannot injure you, than at the state of embarrassment which it must necessarily place your family in. I remain, with assurances of my good will and esteem, &c. (Signed) "Alexander."

Berne Aug. 22.-The following representation has been addressed by the Lesser Cantons to the First Consul, on the subject of the evacuation of Helvetia.

"Citizen First Consul,

"The three Cantons of Uri, Schwitz, and Underwald, have been apprised, by public report, of your resolution to withdraw the French troops from Switzerland. They see in such a measure the most convincing proofs of that good will which you have manifested towards the Landamman, Alays Peding, and for the undersigned, &c. The Cantons re-assembled at Schwitz, and by their de puties, have determined, in pursuance of the wishes of the people, to renew their former connexions, and to establish in their Cantons a government conformable to their position and to_their_circumstances; such as you, Citizen First Consul, have approved of, and is exemplified in the 9th and 10th articles of the note of the 20th December, which the Landamman Reding has had the honour of presenting to you,

"We should add, Citizen First Consul, Hamburgb, Aug. 20.-On the arrival of that this resolution has been incited by the M. le Comte de Panin, on the frontiers of arbitrary measures of the Cantonal authoriSweden, he received a positive order not ties, and principally carried into execution to enter the kingdom; against which, how-by the commissary Keller, in the Canton of ever, be formally protested, as an indignity Underwald, proceedings which, by depriv offered to a minister of his Imperial Majesty ing the people of the power which they had of Russia, and at the same time declared, formally reserved, of constituting their own that he would represent the circumstance to government, have induced the greatest averhis court. In consequence of which he re- sion against the central government, and to ceived the following letter from the Em-such a degree, that no way remains to mainperor. tain the public tranquillity in those coun

worthy of attention.

The comments, which we signified our intention to make on citizen Talleyrand's report, have assumed the form of a letter (vide p. 271.) addressed to Lord Hawkes bury, to whom, as he claimed the honour of making the peace, the nation will certainly impute a share, at least, of its consequences.

tries, but by immediately restoring the peo- | where they will find some observations well ple to the exercise of that legitimate right. "We have the honour, Citizen First Consul, to communicate to you by these presents, the public declarations of the abovementioned Cantons, in the conviction, that you are determined those brave people shall continue to experience your benevolent support, which they so highly estimate; and which none, Citizen First Consul, feel a juster sense of, &c. than the under signed."

DOMESTIC OCCURRENCES.

His Majesty in Council, on the 16th of August, was pleased to order the Right Hon. the Lord High Chancellor, to issue writs for proroguing the Parliament, which was appointed to meet on Tuesday, the thirty-first day of this instant, August, to Tuesday the fifth day of October next; and also for proroguing the convocations of Canterbury and York, which were appointed to meet on Wednesday the the first day of September next, to Wednesday the sixth day of October next.

Orders for the Court's going into mourning on Sunday the 29th ult. for his late Royal Highness, Prince Henry of Prussia, viz.-The Ladies to wear black silk, fringed or plain linen, white gloves, necklaces and ear-rings, black or white shoes, fans and tippets.-Undress, white or grey lutestrings, tabbies, or damasks. The Gentlemen to wear black full-trimmed, fringed or plain linen, black swords and buckles.-Undress, grey frocks.

Some articles in the foreign journals seem to indicate the intention of the Emperor of Germany to resist the execution of the convention between France and Russia; but this intelligence is not well authenticated, and, indeed, resistance appears to be impos sible.

The Swiss Cantons are still in a state of disorder and confusion, to put an end to which, a French army is on its march.-The new constitution of Genoa has received the sanction of Buonaparté.-The Italian republic is raising and embodying an army of sixty thousand men, which, of course, will be at the command of a president of that happy nation.

The attitude of all Europe is extremely hostile towards this country, yet not so hostile as contemptuous. The very smallest powers, nay states, which we never used to reckon as powers, seem to seek for opportunities of expressing their pleasure at our fallen estate. The Englishman who can now travel on the continent without shame must have a soul very little more lofty than that of a Jew. Mr. Fox, however, that "firm friend " of freedom," that idol of the whig club, is now at Paris, and, if the news-papers are to be believed, is living in great intimacy with The Court to change the mourning on Talleyrand. This visit may, perhaps, be Sunday, the 5th of September inst. viz. productive of good; the contemplating of The ladies to wear black silk or velvet, co- that 66 stupendous monument of human loured ribbons, fans, and tippets; or plain "wisdom and human happiness," the gowhite, or white and gold, or white and sil-vernment of France, may, at last, sober the ver stuffs, with black ribbons.--The Gen tlemen to wear black coats, and black or plain white, or white and gold, or white and silver stuff waistcoats, full-trimmed coloured swords and buckles.

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And on Thursday the 9th of September, the Court to go out of mourning.

mind of this enthusiastic patriot. The forbearance, too, which he will be compelled. to practise, the habit of silence, the science de se taire, which he will not fail to acquire at Paris, may, probably, tend to preserve us from a repetition of his disgusting and insolent harangues. It is almost impossible to conceive a situation more degrading than that, in which this man has placed himself. He must detest and abhor the consul and government of France, or he must be the The dispute between the ministers and greatest hypocrite that ever dishonoured the the assembly of Jamaica, on which we in-human shape; yet he voluntarily crawls to tended to make some further remarks, has been taken up by an abler pen: we, there fore, beg leave to refer our readers to p. 266,

SUMMARY OF POLITICS.

the feet of that consul, bows his grey head to the earth before him, and gathers up the crumbs that fall from his table. This is

(6 WHICH NO BLAME ATTACHES, AND IT IS "NOT EVEN PRETENDED THAT THEY HAD 66 ANY COUNTENANCE IN THEIR DESIGNS SINCE THE PEACE. In consequence of "M. Otto's representation, however, government sent orders to Jersey to make "the strictest inquiry after the persons "named, and four of them bave been arrest"ed, and have been brought to Southampton "to be delivered up. The other five are sup

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the man, who, surrounded by his ignorant | " sey during the war, A CIRCUMSTANCE TO and drunken admirers at the whig club, boasts of bis right of cashiering kings. Let him take care how he talks of cashiering consuls, or Buonaparté, who is extremely quick-sighted, may yet chance to find out a way of rewarding him for his audacious at tacks on his native sovereign. This caution is, however, totally unnecessary; he will take care; he will smile and fawn, not only on Buonaparté, but on his underlings. He will be altogether as supple and submissive in France as he is stiff and turbulent in England. It is in the nature of men of his description to be either excessively insolent, or excessively mean; to be the tyrants of the humble and the weak, and the slaves of the haughty, the resolute, and the strong.

The circulation of the English news-papers is stopped at Paris after they are become perfectly harmless. The threat to prosecute Mr Peltier (which is, for the present, suspended) has humbled the tone of the heroes of the quill. Their attacks have, as we foretold they would, dwindled into puns and fables, of the wit of which Buonaparte will certainly not be afraid. The French journalists, seeing them down, have fallen upon them without mercy, and, which is truly curious, they, who very probably are regicides, accuse the English jourBalists of having slandered the French moparchy!

We have before declared it as our decided opinion, that the destruction of what is tald the liberty of the press would be a good act, by whomsoever it might be performed. If any man of sound sense and sound principles be (which we can hardly believe) inclined to dissent from this opiios, let him read the following article, which, with little or no alteration, has appeared in all the London news papers, on and cee the 28th ultimo.

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posed to have gone to the coast of France, and "there is not a doubt that they will not be per"mitted to return to Jersey. In addition to "those specified under the treaty of Amiens, "seventeen persons, Chouans or emigrants, "have been brought from Jersey to Southamp

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ton, in order to be sent out of the kingdom as "aliens. Nineteen still remain, it is said, "who are likewise to be brought to England. "It is to be observed, that none but the nine persons named as guilty of specific crimes, were demanded, and that the steps taken against the others have been voluntary.

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"Such being the case, it is clear that the "official invectives of the Moniteur were

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suspect, or even to blame - Ministers "having taken upon themselves the discre"tion of sending foreigners out of the coun"try, must be in a very aukward situation "when the French government applies to

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get any obnoxious man, not specifically "accused of crimes under the treaty of "Amiens, removed. Ministers are obliged "to act on the merits of each case, and to

"The complaint of the French official argue with caprice or ill humour in reject"journal on the subject of the countenance "ing their demands, should they occur, as given to criminals in the island of Jersey "they probably will, when they might have "bas attracted much attention. We are "stated that the laws of England gave com"informed that even previous to the sple"mon protection to all foreigners against "netic article in the Moniteur, M. Otto "whom specific crimes were not alleged. "had addressed communications to this go- "Their protection of persons whom the vernment on the subject. M. Otto spe- "French government chooses to suspect, cified nine individuals as charged with "and whom it cannot accuse, may thus be "assassinations and other crimes in France, "a source of ill humour. We point out nay, with actually having offered money "this disagreeable consequence of the alien "to induce men to undertake something "act in general; and this is a different "against the life of the First Consul. It is " is said that these persons or some of them, "had formerly been employed as agents by the "prince de Bouillon, our commander at Jer

"thing from the limited and specified con"ditions of surrender of criminals stipu"lated by treaty.

"At the same time it seems fair to admit

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