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on the press. As governor-general, he was as much bound as any other servant of the state to see the laws enforced accordingly, he was bound to act upon those law's as he found them on his arrival in India: but, unwilling that any one should impute to him the institution of arbitrary, or discretionary powers, he caused the regulations, previously established, to be made public, that no man should pretend ignorance of the limits prescribed, and the penalty consequent on their transgression. The insinuation conveyed in this passage of the Chronicle, proves, most unequivocally, the truth of my assertion, in the former part of this article-that the persecutors of lord Wellesley had been indefatigable in propagating their unfounded calumnies against him; and that their progress had, till lately, been very considerable in imposing upon the public credulity. Messrs. Maclean and Samuel set up a newspaper expressly to abuse lord Wellesley's character, and to pourtray him in the light of an oppressor, and an enemy to freedom. These men have been foremost in this most infamous conspiracy, and it is from their reservoir of perverted facts and abuse, that the Morning Chronicle has been able to favour its readers with "a smack" of that licentiousness which the sound wisdom of our oriental politicians has taken care to suppress in India.

Second. The two gross misrepresentations relate to the "conquests of unparalleled magnitude;" and the exaggerated details of the spoil." These expressions are evidently directed against those achievements performed during lord Wellesley's government, which, as I have repeatedly demonstrated, consolidated the British power in the east. But is it not a vile aspersion to say, that these conquests were trumpeted forth and overrated, because the press was so fettered as to be incapable of contradicting the assertion? Has any man of worth, honour, or sense, returned from India without acknowledging, with mingled admiration and gratitude, that the conquests of lord Weuesley were unparalleled, because they placed our eastern empire in a condition of security which it had never before experienced? There is not one. It was not necessary for his lordship to be the trumpeter of his own fame ;-his deeds spoke for themselves, and therefore they met with that applause in Europe which they richly deserved. All his conquests were of unparalleled magnitude; for, at the period of his arrival in India, our power had been undermined, and was tottering on the precipice of ruin; but, at the period of his departure from that country, it had become the most compact, the most valuable, and best administered foreign settlement in the world. The same answer may be given to the other misrepresentation concerning "the exaggerated detail of the spoil," as the Chronicle is pleased to term the protection of industry, and the establishment of a system of permanent revenue, which nothing but mal-administration can diminish. Whatever statement has been made, during lord Wellesley's government, relative to the value of the conquered provinces in India, experience has since fully confirmed; and, in some instances, the details have fallen much below the due estimate of their relative value and prosperity.

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Third. The wilful suppression of the truth appears in the representation of our territorial securities in the East as advantages" addressed to the groveling spirit of lucre," when it is well known, that in most instances, they are merely commutations for the more punctual and complete payment of subsidy. Fourth. The flagrant breach of the rules of justice, which the Chronicle has made, by casting reflections upon the noble lord for acts of policy which are now sub-judice, is too palpable to need any com❤ ment. Upon other occasions, that paper can assume a tenderness toward a person under accusation, and even censure any attempt to inquire into certain transactions. It was not longer ago than the 13th inst. that this same Chronicle, after having stated that ministers had directed a court of inquiry, to investigate, generally, the causes of the failure of our expedition to the river Plate, added, "it is surely fair then, that we should abstain from observations on the conduct of general Whitelocke, or of any other individual that may come within the scope of this inquiry. We see, in more than one paper, the most personal insinuations thrown out, calculated to stir up the prejudices of the public against an officer who is to be put on his trial; this is surely inconsistent with British justice." It is a pity that the practice of the Morning Chronicle is not consistent with these wholesome principles. For the insinuations which it has cast against lord Wellesley, it could have no other motive than the malicious intention of stirring up the prejudices of the public against him; and, therefore, by its own

confession, in the case of general Whitelocke, it has been guilty of a flagrant breach of justice. Fifth. Lastly, that the passage we have been criticizing has "a smack" of party virulence, is sufficiently apparent from what has been adduced in our last paragraph; and it is confirmed from the conduct of the Chronicle. While the Foxites were in power, the administration of lord Wellesley was the subject of inquiry then, but not a single paragraph, directly or indirectly aimed at his lordship, appeared in it during the whole of that period; and, what is no less remarkable, the same scrupulous silence was observed until now. It is not difficult to account for this variation in the political compass of the Chronicle. When "all the talents" were in power, this servile journal was awed by the dread of displeasing that part of the coalition which had avowed themselves hostile to the proceedings against his lordship. But, as that influence has ceased, in a certain degree, to operate, the Chronicle has relapsed into its wonted factious spirit, and given the rein to the basest passions. From this sally, therefore, we may consider that the orators of the whig club are not satisfied with having their licentious tongues bridled, and that they are ready, whenever a favourable opportunity presents itself, to make a common cause with any turbulent and revengeful reptiles, who have no other means of acquiring subsistence or notoriety, than by defaming the most honourable characters in the state.

LEX TALIONIS; OR, THE RETALIATORY PROCLAMATION.

SIR,-The arts and the arms of Buonaparte have been crowned with such extraordinary success, that GREAT BRITAIN now presents a spectacle unprecedented in the annals of history. She not only stands alone, opposed to a host of foes, but, by his outrageous decrees, is interdicted from the common rights of humanity, and from all intercourse with the rest of mankind --To supply her with corn is prohibited on pain of death; and goods, hitherto acknowledged innocent by the universal law of nations, are made liable to confiscation, to whomsoever they may belong, if of her growth or manufacture. Neutral states, intimidated by his menaces, instead of asserting their independence, have bowed to his mandates, and co-operated in his designs. From the period when he declared that no British colonial produce should be admitted into his dominion, America furnished every ship that sailed from her ports with the document that he required, to guard against any infraction of the rule, a certificat d'origine, signed by the French consul, or commercial agent, declaring the produce to be the growth of a French colony, or of the colonies of some power in alliance with France: thus, in obedience to his decree, adopting a distinction, neither acknowledged by the law of nations, nor consistent with the rights of neutrals, to the extreme prejudice of the colonial interests of Great Britain. In the note that accompa nied the treaty, tendered to her acceptance by the late administration, America was warned, that unless the outrageous decrees of Buonaparte were rescinded by himself, or resisted by the neutral powers, on whose rights they infringed, Great Britain would be under the necessity of retaliating in her just defence. Neither, however, has Buonaparte rescinded these decrees, nor have they been resisted by America. Great Britain, therefore, is now fully justified in adopting measures of retaliation; nor can America justly resent the assumption of those rights by one belligerent, to which, when exercised by another, she tamely submitted. Portugal too, under the influence of France, has found it impossible to preserve her neutrality; and, as the Prince Regent expresses himself, has "acceded to the cause of the continent, by uniting herself to France and her allies;" or, in other words, has joined the confederacy against Great Britain. After this fresh proof of the inability of any inferior power to resist the will of Buonaparte, who can suppose that Denmark, so much more immediately within his reach, could long have remained either neutral or independent? The example of Portugal must surely silence all opposition to the welltimed and spirited policy of his majesty's ministers, in taking possession of the Danish navy, and thus snatching the prey from the meditated grasp of the enemy. If the question of right be urged, if it be asked, quâ lege, quo jure? I answer in the words of the Roman orator: 66 eo quod Jupiter ipse sanxit, ut omnia quæ republicæ salutaria essent, legitima et justa haberentur;"* or in the trite, but em

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* See this note in our last number.

* Cic. Philipp.

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phatic maxim, salus populi suprema ler est. The safety of the state, and the urgency of the case, fully sanction the act; and the only real point to be considered is, whether it were or were not justifiable to anticipate Buonaparte? Following up the same prompt and energetic system, I trust that his majesty's ministers will, if the object is still attainable, immediately dispatch an adequate force to take the fleet of Portugal into the same safe custody as now holds that of Denmark, unless they have the most unequivocal assurances, that the Prince Regent will employ it to emigrate himself and subjects to the Brazils, the moment that a French army marches on the frontiers of Portugal. These are not times for temporizing: the system of forbearance has already been pursued too long: we have encouraged hostility by moderation, while France has averted it by rapacity and vengeance. We are now assailed by multitudes, and can only extricate ourselves by exerting energies equal to the weight with which we are oppressed. The impolicy, and the ruinous consequences of halfmeasures, are forcibly illustrated by Livy, in his history of the wars between the Romans and the Samnites, and the moral arising from the narrative may be usefully applied to our present situation.

When the Roman army, by the imprudence of their commander, was inclosed in the defiles of Caudia, and completely at the mercy of the Samnites the latter, doubtful how to act, agreed, in a council of war, to consult Herennius Pontius, the father of their general. This veteran, who had long retired from public service, but who, though infirm in body, possessed full vigour of mind, returned this advice by the messenger: "Permit all the Romans to depart unhurt, and unconditionally." The council, unwilling to forego the advantage at which they held the enemy, sent again to Herennius, desiring him to reconsider his opinion. He then advised, that they should put all the Romans to the sword. Surprised at sentiments so discordant, it was unanimously resolved to bring Herennius to the camp in a litter. The old man being called into the council, there supported both the opinions he had given, and explained the principles on which they were founded. He told them, that by following his first advice, which he still considered as the most eligible, they would exercise such an extraordinary act of generosity, as must secure them the perpetual friendship and gratitude of a very powerful people. That, when this idea was rejected, he had advised the other alternative, as by the destruction of so large an army, the Romans would be too much weakened to become formidable again for many years; and that no middle course ought to be pursued. After much debate, the advice of Herennius was overruled; and the council decided that the lives of the Romans should be spared; but those degrading conditions be imposed upon them, to which the usages of war, in those ages, subjected the vanquished. This, exclaimed Herennius, is that pernicious system which neither makes friends nor destroys enemics. Remember that you will irreconcileably exasperate the nation whom you thus disgrace; and that their sense of the indignity to which necessity compels them to submit now, can only be appeased by the direst vengeance hereafter. His prophetic admonitions were disregarded. The whole Roman army was obliged to capitulate, but their lives were spared, on the ignominious condition of their passing under the yoke, and a most disgraceful treaty was extorted from their commanders, the consuls binding the Romans to preserve perpetual peace and friendship with the Samnites.

This mortifying intelligence was received at Rome with stronger sensations of regret than had been excited even by the tidings of the danger to which the army was exposed; and when the senate was convened, Spurius Posthumus, one of the unfortunate commanders, arose, and proposed that he and all his principal officers, who had pledged themselves to the Samnites, as security for the performance of the stipulations of this treaty, should be delivered up. Thus, said he, shall all the wrath of the enemy fall upon our heads, the public faith be redeemed, and Rome be at liberty to wipe off the disgrace we have brought upon her arms.-This counsel was adopted; but when they presented themselves to the Samnites, Pontius justly upbraided the senate with their breach of faith, and calling upon them to send back their legions also, into the defiles from whence they had been released. He refused to accept the hostages in discharge of the treaty, and ordered them all to be liberated. Then the Samnites recollected, with regret, the advice of Herennius; and found, as he foretold, that by adopting half measures, they had exchanged a certain con

quest for an uncertain peace; that they had lost the opportunity of doing either good or harm; and that they were obliged again to fight against those whom they night once, by a proper use of their advantages, either have destroyed as enemies, or have attached for ever as friends. The Samrites, invoking the Gods and good faith to their assistance, in vain, were totally defeated. Their army, in their turn, was obliged, by the Romans, to pass under the yoke, who thus wiped off the disgrace that had tarnished their arms; but, nevertheless, continued the war with implacable hostility, till the Samnites were completely subdued, and their country was reduced into a Roman province.

But we need not go so far back for an example, to shew that a mixed system of clemency and coercion never succeeds in making friends of enemies. Could the Danes have shewn more inveterate animosity against us, than we now experience, had we laid their capital in ashes, destroyed their fortifications and arsenals, and taken those 200 sail of shipping left at Copenhagen, most of which are probably now cruizing to intercept our commerce, and may hereafter be used as transports to invade our shores?-Certainly not ;-though, as the public faith was pledged by the terms of the capitulation, I mean only to point out the general effects of a temporizing system, not to blame the exercise of it in this particular instance; but let this return for our moderation, be engraven on our minds, and regulate our future conduct. No rigid adherence to those ties on which our enemy tramples, should restrain us from measures essential to self-preservation.-No punctilious feelings towards those whom we yet wish to consider as friends, though we find them ranked among our ́enemies, should "check our thunder in mid volley." War knows no medium; nor can draw any other distinction, than that of friend or foe.

Hitherto we have so carried on the war, as to suffer the enemy to enjoy almost all the advantages of peace. While, by an open violation of the law of nations on his part, innocent merchandize has been treated as contraband of war, while exclusion or confiscation has been the fate of British manufactures and colonial produce; wher ever his influence has extended on shore, Great Britain, mistress of the seas, has respected those rights which he has outraged; has permitted him to receive every article of necessity or convenience, and to find a market for all his staple commodities, through neutral channels.-In so unequal a contest, it were absurd to expect success. His majesty's present ministers have lately infused a spirit of vigour and decision into our councils, which has already been attended with the most beneficial effects, and been stamped with the applause of the nation. A steady perseveranc in the same career can also ensure a successful issue to the present contest. The strict and severe system of retaliation upon the enemy, announced by the late orders in council, will oblige him to undergo the mortification of receiving from Great Britain every commodity of which he stands in need: the interests of individuals will elude the vigilance of his officers, and the wants of his subjects will give new life to that commerce which he vainly hopes to destroy. When he finds the impotence of his efforts, for our annoyance, and feels the weight of our retaliatory measures; when he becomes sensible of the privations to which all the nations, under his controul, will be subjected; when the discontents rising from those privations reach his ear, in tones so loud as to alarm him for the stability of his power, and the safety of his person, then, and not till then, will he accede to such terms of peace, as are consistent with the honour and safety of Great Britain.

MANLIUS.

STATE PAPERS.

Letter from a Merchant in Buenos Ayres, (continued from p. 384.) "There could not have been a more favourable situation for attacking them; but as, for this purpose, it would have been necessary to diminish our force, by at least one-third, and as our troops would have arrived in a disabled condition, from the length and fatigue of the march, and the enemy thereby have had an opportunity of re-embarking, in defiance of all our plans, it was determined to send out parties of cavalry, to carry off into the interior all the cattle, and every thing that could be of any use, and to harass the enemy in their march. The cavalry executed this laborious task, in the face of every danger, and amidst the toil of passing over brooks and marshes of

the most difficult access; and, under these circumstances, the enemy, on the 1st of July, reached the town of Kilmes. The detachment which occupied it, with the artillery belonging to the battery there, had previously received orders to fall back to the east-end of the bridge of Barracas.

"Advice being received of this event, our army began its march from the city, and on reaching the same place, drew up in order of battle, with the right thrown back a little in an oblique direction, to adapt itself to the nature of the ground. The right wing was commanded by colonel Don Cæsar Balbiani, with a red flag; the left by colonel Don Bernardo de Velasco, governor of Paraguay, with a white flag; and the centre by colonel Don Aavier Elio, with a blue flag. The light artillery, consisting of 44 pieces, was distributed at different parts of the line, and the heavy artillery, formed into two divisions, of from six to eight cannons, and two howitzers, composed a second line of reserve on the left. Seignior Liniers was, at the moment of attack, to place himself at the head of the right division; the naval captain, Don Juan de la Concha, was to charge the enemy at the head of the left division. In this situation, they passed the whole of this day in expectation of the approach of the enemy. The night was dreadfully cold and stormy, with heavy falls of rain, which our troops endured with the greatest constancy; the officers who went the rounds hearing on all sides nothing but expressions of confidence and alacrity during the night. The enemy passed the night in the village of Santo Domingo.

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"At day-break, on the 2d, the enemy were in the same position. As the morning advanced, the light cavalry, who watched their motions, gave notice that the adverse army had resumed their march. The general conviction was, that they intended to attack us. Our general, therefore, rode along the line, and animating his soldiers with the watch-word Saint Jago and victory,' assured them, that they were that instant marching to certain triumph. They replied with acclamations, which left not a 'moment's doubt of their being victorious. But general Whitelocke, for the first time, eluding our expectations, filed off by his left, in the direction of the little pass of Burcos. Our army followed him in column, and, a second time, offered him battle, advancing at a right angle, and having left the corps of reserve to guard the bridge; but, for the second time, the enemy frustrated our measures, and directed their march with the seeming intention of passing the Biachuelo more to the westward, which they accordingly accomplished without any opposition. They prosecuted their march with such celerity, that in a very short space of time, their advanced column, consisting of 1000 men, passed over four leagues of ground, and reaching the enclosures of Miserere, opened their fire on a detachment of the battalion of Vizcainos and Arribenos, which, under the command of seignior Liniers, bad pushed forward in order to cut off their line of march. The latter sustained the attack with considerable bravery; but, from the inequality of their force, and the darkness of the night, were finally compelled to retire with the loss of three pieces of cannon, and several men killed and wounded. In this petty affair, it has since been ascertained, that the eneıny lost upwards of 300 men. The enemy succeeded in concentrating his force in the above-mentioned inclosures, whilst our troops, fatigued by marching along the circuitous and marshy roads, underwent a total dis persion; so that the generals having lost their way, and the men proceeding without any regular formation, every one was left to shift for himself, and all was disorder and confusion.

In this sad and lamentable situation, the city of Buenos Ayres, on the night of the 2nd, found itself exposed to total ruin, had the enemy, better informed, or less timid, proceeded to the attack. But, on the contrary, the latter made a pause, whilst the citizens took measures to collect the scattered troops, with their artillery, in the Grand Square, who, far from being dejected by the fatigue of their march, offered to sacrifice their lives in defending the place, with unparalleled ardour and enthusiasm. In fact, the Cabildo being, in the absence of the general, impressed with the necessity of taking an active share in the defence of the city, exerted themselves, during the whole of that night, in conveying provisions into it. They also caused heavy artillery to be planted at the entrances of the different streets into the square, which they entrenched as well as they were able. They distributed troops on the tops of the highest houses, and in the balconies, in every part of the town; sent