SIR,

ΤΟ

MR. CANNING,

ON THE

Present State of Things.

Kensington, 26th July, 1826.

and, before this Register gets to

the press, it is thought that that Council will have put forth something with a view of bettering the lot of the now suffering Nation. The public are full of speculation upon the subject: some expect an abolition of the restriction on the importation of corn;

So, you are posed, as the old others expect an abrogation or women call it: you are in a quan- suspension of the importation of dary! You have had, your news- Manufactured Goods, particularly papers tell us (for they are all silks, and that thus, the famous the tools of you and the Stock- free-trade project will, like surjobbers); you have had, these li- plus puppies or kittens, be knockterary reptiles tell us, no less than ed on the head, before it has three Cabinet Councils within ten hardly begun to move its limbs; days; and, in order to avoid the others think that you have a prorisk of famine, during the long ject for enlivening trade and masiege, you had yesterday, they nufactures by suspending the law tell us, a Cabinet Dinner, at which you have just passed, reCombe Wood, that retreat, at lative to small notes; another set once of the Muses and of the imagine that you have grants of Ministers! Oh! happy Combe public money in view, to relieve Wood! Thou shalt live in death-those distresses, which cannot be less song of CANNING's own in-relieved by charitable subscripditing! Happy Combe Wood, tions; and, finally, there is a part whose lofty trees are seen, nod-of the public who believe, that, ding in adoration of the wisdom after all your promises and vows, that inhabits the Mansion! you will, as a dog returns to his Happy, thrice happy Combe vomit, return to the old dose of Wood: what wise nods of the Bank Restriction. head and cocks of the eye hast thou not beheld! But, Sir, in plain language, the newspapers tell us, that the King is to hold a Council to-morrow (Thursday); meanwhile, let me have a talk

What you will do, I defy any man to guess, until the result of your communications be communicated to the public. In the

with you, Sir, on the subject of me accused of fickleness and INthe blunders, the mischiefs, com- CONSISTENCY, because I mitted by you and your col- praised BURDETT, for instance, leagues, during the last twenty- when he contended for Universal six years. The happiness or mi- Suffrage, and because I censured sery of a Nation, is, ninety-nine him when he joined Big O. in the times out of every hundred, to be project for disfranchising the traced to the wisdom, or the want forty shilling freeholders of Ireof wisdom, of its rulers. That land; you have, I dare say, this is the case, with regard to laughed at many proofs like this, this Nation, is perfectly evident of my "notorious inconsistency.” to me. There is not an evil which But, Sir, there is one point; one the country now suffers; there is little point, as to which, the very not a danger, internal or external, devil himself would not have the to which it is exposed; there is, conscience to accuse me of inconin short, not the smallest particle sistency; namely, that the DEBT, of evil that we now complain of, the ever living and ever active that is not fairly to be ascribed, DEBT, must be wiped off with and clearly traced, to the folly of a sponge; or, that great part of our rulers, amongst which rulers it, at least, must be so wiped off; you have, ever since I can recolor that, a terrible convulsion, if lect, always been one.

not a destruction of the Monarchy, must be the consequence. Upon this point, I have always held the same decided opinions; and, Sir, now, when almost every newspaper begins familiarly to talk about projects for reducing the Interest of the Debt; when every

That you might have known better; that you might have avoided doing the mischief that you have brought upon the country; that the dangers were pointed out to you, long before they became great, as they are now; that you have obstinacy as well as per-man in his senses appears to be verseness, to answer for, every convinced that something of this one must know that has been an attentive observer of events for the last twenty years. I dare say, that you have frequently laughed; that you have chuckled with delight, while you have heard

sort must speedily take place, if may not be amiss for me to show, how different the situation of the country would have been at this time, if my advice had prevailed.

Let me first request you to look

of a

at the mottos. Observe that those the consequences of persevering mottos were written and publish- in a series of measures opposed ed a little more than twenty-three to my advice. This is the propoyears ago! Those mottos, when sition which I maintain. I mainyou consider their date, are well tain that this nation has been worthy of your attention; but, brought to its present state of ruin besides these, you will do well to and misery, in consequence look at Register, VOL. III. p. series of measures, contrary to 515, 918, 948 to 950.-VOL. IV. my advice; and that those meap. 88 to 91.—p. 154 to 158-sures have been pursued for just p. 257 to 267. You may have much less instructive reading than this. In these passages, all the history and mystery of the bubble system are pretty clearly developed. Here the humbug of the Sinking Fund was exposed, long before the feelosofer, Doctor Hamilton, was thought of. There all the great principles, relative to public Debts and to the application of sponges, were discussed. There all the causes of National embarrassment, ruin and misery, arising from a depreciated Papermoney, were pointed out, long and long before BARING or RICARDO or MUCHETT or WESTERN or gical account of the pains that I Peter MACCULLOCH or Doctor have taken to prevent you from TOOKE or Saint HORNER or Doc-effecting that ruin; and it is, tor COPPLESTONE or the Edin- moreover, a regular chronological burgh Reviewers, or any of the tribe of political economical pamphleteers had been either thought of or dreamt of.

However, here we are at last. with the consequences before us;

three and twenty years, in direct opposition to advice which I have been giving to you and your colleagues once during every month at least, during the last twentythree years. This, I say, is the proposition which I maintain; and in proof of the truth of it, I refer to the above cited passages of the Register; and, generally to the whole of the Volumes III. and IV. to begin with. In short, the Register is a regular chronological account of the means by which you and your colleagues have brought this country to ruin ; and it is also a regular chronolo

account of all the acts of malignant and cowardly hostility employed against me by the two political factions; by the base Press; and by almost every wretch that has had the conceit to meddle with

politics for the last twenty-three

only been cowardly enough to years. I have been, to a certain" permit your Rulers to bring you degree, and indeed almost com- "into this state of misery, and pletely, in effect, OUT-LAWED" that, too, without any attempt on for these twenty-three years. I have "your part to restrain them; but been unable to inflict vengeance "also, for your having tacitly, at upon any of you, or vengeance "least, encouraged the base and I would long ago have inflicted" nefarious Press to calumniate, upon the whole. It has, however," and to justify the persecution of, pleased God to give me numerous "the only man that pointed out the faithful friends and adherents, and" means of preventing your ruin.". constantly to be giving us that It is curious to observe that, which is, perhaps, the best sort of from the very dawn of my career; vengeance, namely, a constant that is to say, from the outset of fulfilment of our predictions, and my endeavours to prevent that demost severe punishment inflict-struction which has, at last, come ed upon those who had despised upon the country, I became an those predictions. I have that object of attack with the base and species of vengeance, which infamous press. In the year 1803 truth always, at least, gains over the false SHERIDAN` attacked me, falsehood. In the midst of cala- in the House of Commons. And mities, such as no industrious na- it is curious enough that the newstion ever before had to endure; paper-courting creature attacked in the midst of ruin that sweeps over the country like a whirlwind, if I see some who escape, I have the satisfaction to know that they are the few who have followed my advice. Amidst this general desolation, I have a right to say, and the whole nation acknowledges the right, "these evils have come upon you because you re-stroy public credit; because I "jected my advice:" and I might proposed a large reduction of the add, in speaking to the whole na-debt; and because I foretold, that, tion as a body, "You deserve this if such reduction did not take "chastisement, for your having not place, the most dreadful evils

me, in order to compliment the daily press! Oh! it was the meanest creature; the lowest reptile; the falsest, most palavering, blarneying slave that ever was moulded into the human shape! The newspapers and old Sherry, made a simultaneous attack; both accused me of an attempt to de

for the country, as long as this deadly debt and paper-money should be suffered to exist. The King having, on the twelfth of August, 1823, observed in his speech, made upon the proroguing of the Parliament, that his people would be rewarded for their sacrifices during the war, "By an "undisturbed enjoyment of that "freedom and security, which, by "their patriotism and valour, they "will have ensured to themselves "and their posterity"; the King having observed thus, I said, in commenting on the speech: "O

would finally ensue. I insisted in 1803, the whole thing might then, that peace could do nothing have been accomplished with very little difficulty. My advice was rejected; the giver of the advice was calumniated; as the danger increased, and as it became evident that it arose from the rejection of my advice, the venom against me increased: and thus have we gone on from that day to this; the venom always increasing in proportion as it became manifest that my doctrines were right; there always appearing to be uppermost, in the minds of the administrators of the THING, a maxim, a rule of conduct that that which I recommended, was, no matter at what risk or what expense, always to be avoided, in order to prevent me from being able to say, that it was my advice, that had produced certain 'mea

dear, no! There will be neither "freedom nor security; there will "be nothing worthy of the name "of liberty or property' in Eng"land, whenever peace shall come, unless this infernal fund-sures of the Government! Good "ing system and paper-money be God! What a ground of action; " annihilated."

Now, Sir, look back to the year 1803. The debt was then NOT NEARLY THE HALF OF WHAT IT IS NOW, if we include, as we must, the charge for the dead-weight; and it was not two-fifths of what it is now, if we include the poor-rate debt, which is a charge upon the land as much

What a motive, to actuate men who have used all the means in their power to get possessed, and who are possessed, of the sway over millions of people! And, yet, every attentive observer must see that there is good reason to believe, that this motive has been constantly at work for three-andtwenty years!

A calm look at this matter must,

as the funded debt is. If my advice had been followed, therefore, one would think, fill your head,