fent moment, very anxiously to inquire. Let us grafp at objects within our reach, and judge of facts that come under our eye; left, by endeavouring to embrace too extenfive a sphere, we lofe ourfelves in the immenfity of space, and become unable to diftinguifh the clouds from the tops of diftant mountains. Ireland may one day. be, in comparison with England, what England is in comparison with the Auftrian Netherlands. But, amidst the viciffitudes of nations that must precede fuch a ftate of affairs, whatever regulations we may now make for preventing it, must be fwallowed up and loft in fome other revolution.

Upon the whole of this unfettled ftate, and the attempts that have been made to bring about a fettlement of affairs between Great Britain and Ireland, we fhall make two obfervations.

Firft, We difcern, both in England and Ireland, the ufual jealousy which actuates nations, on occafion of any new arrangement for uniting, or bringing them clofer together than before. When the union was in agitation between England and Scotland, the English were jealous of the Scots, and the Scots of the English. When the crown of Great Britain devolved to the Elector of Hanover, the Hanoverians were greatly alarmed left the union of the Electoral and British crowns fhould deprive them of their ancient laws and cuftoms, and afflict them with the introduction of English liberty into the dominions of Germany.

Secondly, At the fame time that it must be confeffed that the part which the English miniftry had to act, when it was their object to fettle a lafting connection, and good agreement, between England and Ireland, was full of difficulty; yet it ruft also be owned, that they have not difcovered, in their endeavours to effect that object, any of those masterly ftrokes of policy which have fometimes brought order out of confufion, and faved ftates from impending danger and difafter. Our miniftry have good intentions, but not fuperior talents; fupplenefs rather than dexterity, activity rather than vigour, and good fenfe, but no refources of enlarged capacity. They feem well enough fitted to conduct the affairs of a regular established government, but by no means to divert, to manage, or to fubdue the paffions of popular affemblies, and to extricate the state from perilous fituations.

We fhall give one example of that mafterly genius which is requifite, and which has often been found equal to the task of compofing infurrections, and establishing regular and fixed authority.. In the beginning of the prefent century, the people of Scotland, at that time warlike, and in the poffeffion of arms, were as generally averse to the union, as the Irish are at this day, to the propofed commercial arrangements; and an armed refiftance to that most important measure was, with great reafon, apprehended by both the English and the Scotch miniftry. By the advice of the Duke of Queensbury, Major Cunningham was directed to lead on an infur rection in the western parts of Scotland, and to hold a correfpondence with the Duke of Athol, and other Scotch chiefs, who were moft difaffected to the union. Cunningham, who was fecretly in the pay of the court, proceeded in the business committed to his care,

and

and undertook to have an army of eight thousand men ready, against a certain day, to overawe the parliament-house at Edinburgh, and to enforce the ancient rights and previleges of Scotland Every eye was turned to the rifing in the weft, infurrections were prevented in other places, and the bad humours of the nation were drawn to the rendevouz in Airshire, as to a head and iffue. In the mean time, matters were fo managed with fome leading men, who poffeffed the chief authority with the infurgents, and thofe who had agreed to join them, that all their schemes of refiftance, through procaftination, and various pretexts and evafions, came to nothing: the arts of our present miniftry come far fhort of this ftroke of genius.

The English cabinet, it is faid, were not confulted on the Elector of Hanover's acceffion to the German league, which has brought Great Britain into fresh embarraffments, but which appears to us to have been wife and neceffary. The Emprefs of Ruffia has an eye to Ducal Pruffia, and the Emperor to the recovery of Silefia, and the exchange of Bavaria for the Netherlands, which, ever diffevered from the dominions of Austria, must foon fall a facrifice to the ambition of France. The Empre's may punish Great Britain if she pleases, and at the fame time herfelf, by interrupting or diminishing the Ruffian and English trade, and the Emperor may purfue a fimilar course of conduct. But a regard to the liberites of Germany, of Britain, and of Europe, will justify the Germanic League in the fight of all found politicians, and induce it to watch, with the molt vigilant care, all collufions among the three great continental powers, as well as their military preparations.

The general alarm which Mr. Pitt's Eaft-India bill has excited, among the British inhabitants of that country, feems at once to prove its amoral juftice and political inexpedienc. The man who, by fair induftry or good fortune, accumulates wealth, cannot have any fair objections to lay before a juft tribunal a true ftate of his affairs; but thofe, who are confcious of rapine and fraud, will unite in a confederacy for obtaining a repeal of the odnoxious law, either by influence, or threats, or perhaps by methods ftill more violent. And, at beft, if refiftance fhould neither be threatened nor practifed, the British Inhabitants of the Eaft-Indies are certainly laid under a strong temptation, and in fome cafes, under a neceffity of returning from India, with their forrtunes, to other countries. It is indeed a hard matter to be deprived of the privilege of British subjects, a trial by jury: but, in this refpect, the fervants of the company are upon the fame footing with the military fervants of the crown; and whoever has a mind to feek riches and honour in the fervice of either, muft fubmit to the difadvantages of the courfe of life which, on the whole, he prefers to every other. Befides, in point of ethics, an abridgment of the privileges of a few, when that abridgment tends to promote the profperity of the whole empire, is clearly juftifiable. The great question is, how far it is fafe to provoke the paffions or politically wife, by alarming the fears of the British in India, to

divert thofe fplendid private fortunes which add fo greatly to the capital of the British nation, to foreign countries? This influx of wealth does indeed tend, and that very strongly, to corrupt the morals of the people, as well as to influence votes in the Houfe of Commons; yet it would be rather refinement to fuppofe that Mr. Pitt had any intention in his East-India Bill, to introduce parliamentary REFORM, or national REFORMATION.

JANUARY.

KING'S SPEECH.

His Majefty's Speech from the throne is cautious, diftant, and referved. It avoids all particulars, and intrenches administration in the wide field of generals. It tells us, that the nation is rich, flou. rifhing, and happy; and that it is well able to bear additional burthens; but fays not a word of foreign treaties, the great business of this, as well as of all foreign nations, at the prefent moment. In fhort, the minifter has made his majesty talk to his people on a fubject of which they are more competent to judge than he is; while he gives not the leaft information concerning fubjects that are very interesting to the nation, and had excited a very general and anxi

ous concern.

FEBRUAR Y.

ACCUSATION

OF MR. HASTINGS.

*

Mr. Burke has at laft broken ground, and begun to carry on his works against the late governor-general of Bengal, Mr. Haftings. And in this attack, he is fupported by his party-fhall we fay or faction-among whom are fome characters that in the late war did not certainly advance the military renown of their country. When the fortunes of Great Britain fell in the new world, they were fuftained and even promoted in the old. In the centre, where these appear to unite, at the junction of the Mediterranean and Atlantic oceans, Nature herself had raised a fublime theatre for the difplay of military virtue and on that theatre this was diíplayed with great glory and fuccefs by the British officers and foldiers, under the direction of GENERAL ELLIOT. In Afia, amidst the fluctuating councils, and varying orders from England, and the ftorms which were excited by the French, the Dutch, the jealoufy and the perfidy of the native princes, and perhaps too by the factitious difpofition of fome of his colleagues in office; amidit thefe ftorms, HASTINGS fteadily held the helm, fteered the fhip into port, and preferved to his country, as if in fpite of herfelf, the richeft and faireft dependency that was ever poffefled by any kingdom. The fuccefs of his measures jufti

The Mediterranean Sea was the great medium of communication between ancient nations, as the Atlantic and Pacific oceans are now between the oppofite hemifpheres.

fied the fagacity and the vigour of the means: the event and confummation of his plans illuftrated whatever had appeared dark or doubtful in his conduct; brought forth the purity of his intentions, and manifefted the largeness of his mind. Yet this man, unfufpected of avarice, and whofe only fault, is the lofty ambition of having dared to incur a hazardous refponfibility in order to fave his country; this man, of all the great officers, whether in military or civil departments during the late war, is the only one whofe conduct is publicly ar-, raigned and called in question.

The accufer of Mr. Haftings is univerfally allowed to be a man of genius, learning, and great fenfibility of temper. It is the nature of all paffions to magnify their objects: extreme irritability of nerves, which is fometimes carried even to the length of madness, not only exaggerates facts, but creates phantoms and to these circumstances, united very probably with an early refolution of Mr. Burke to diftinguish himself, in imitation of the ancient orators in the Grecian and Roman republics, by calling to judgment fome plunderer of the provinces, we are probably to afcribe the extraordinary phenomenon of an ingenious and good, purfuing a great and just man, with all the fury of indignation against injuftice and oppreffion.

It is nearly two years fince, in our monthly hiftorical and political fpeculation, we hazarded the conjecture that Mr. Burke, whofe predominant paffion is the love of literary fame, had in his earlier years, on his first profpect of coming into parliament, determined if poffible, in imitation of Cicero, to drag fome delinquent before the tribunal of the public. He fixed his eye on Mr. Haftings; he watched his conduct; he applied himself to the collection of materials for accufation; and the fertility of his imagination, and the warmth of his paffions, made up for the barrennels of his fubject. That ideas of this kind have actually taken poffeffion of his mind appears the more certain, when we reflect that he has of late talked much of Cicero and Verres in the Houfe of Commons. Mr. Burke contended that an accufer for the public was intitled to great indulgence, and all the affiftance poffible in the profecution of his object. He inftanced, from the republics of Greece and Italy, that the feveral states used to give every advantage of information to those who took upon them the honourable, the dangerous, and the disagreeable task of bringing a public delinquent to trial. He went into the hiftory of CICERO'S profecution of VERRES, and pointed out that, notwithstanding that governor had been in the higheft offices, and closely connected with the greatest men in Rome; yet, when Cicero had undertaken to impeach him for extortion and other high crimes, every fource of information that could be thought of was laid open to him :* this certainly gives fome probability to the conjecture which we formerly hazarded. Mr. Burke we doubt not, is actuated in this profecution by virtuous intentions. The famous knight of La Mancha was a man of learning, genius, tafte, and virtue. It was a juft indignation

Morning Chronicle, Feb. 21, 1786.

againft

against injuftice and oppreffion, that determined him to fally forth in queft of adventurers: and, in all his enterprizes, he fhewed great valour as well as benevolence, although he unfortunately miftook their proper objects.

Mr. Haftings views the hoftile preparations of the orator with a tranquillity which, if it is not fincere, is nobly affected; and, with an erect countenance, feems to fay to his accufer, though you emulate the glory of CICERO, you have not found in me a VERRES.

GERMANIC LEAGUE.

It was expected once that the OPPOSITION in parliament would found fome motion against miniftry, on the ground of the acceffion of Hanover to the Germanic league; but the expectations of this feem now to die away. The minifter is not certainly refponfible for the refolutions formed in the councils of Hanover. And, if he were, is it clear that the acceffion of Hanover to the German confederacy, is not for the intereft of Great Britain? It is the grand object of the Emperor to exchange the Auftrian Netherlands for Bavaria. Suppose this exchange to be made, the Netherlands, difunited from the Auftrian dominions, would infallibly fall into the hands of France, if they should not be protected by the arms of Great Britain. For the French monarchs have lain in wait to extend their power over the Netherlands for more than a century. They have reduced a very confiderable portion of them, and they only look forward to a fit opportunity of fubduing the rest. This barrier being removed, the United Provinces would alfo fall into the French monarchy, if they' fhould not be divided, or in fome fhape or other be made the fubjects of fome ambitious bargain between the courts of Versailles and Vienna. The independency of the Netherlands is one of the grand bulwarks against that universal monarchy with which Europe has been threatened for more than a century, by France, and is, indeed, still threatened.

[ To be continued. 1

Communications for THE ENGLISH REVIEW are requested to be fent to Mr. MURRAY, No. 32, Fleet-ftreet, London, where Sub. fcribers for this Monthly Performance are refpectfully defired to give in their Names.

In answer to our correfpondent ARISTIDES, we beg to inform bim that The Hiftory of Greece is not neglected; with regard to his anecdotes of the author, they are no doubt mean, and shew him in a contemptible point of view. But in the prefent cafe, we are masters of enough of even worse particulars ourjelves, were we difpofed to make use of them.

1

Concerning The Indian Guide, we had the favour of a fingle cofy from India, for the use of our Review; and we believe that the performance is not yet reprinted in England.