Vol. 35, No. 1.---Price Two Pence. COBBETT's WEEKLY POLITICAL REGISTER. COBBETT'S ENGLISH GRAMMAR you look back into history, you Price 2s. 6d. Intended for the Use of Schools and of Young and Plough Boys. Upwards of 13,000 Copies of this Grammar The THIRD EDITION is Just Published Ireland. TO MESSRS, JOHNSON, BAGUELY, AND DRUMMOND. On their imprisonment, and on the 30th June, 1819. will find, that tyrants have, for heads. They sent me, or, rather, caused before I had been in prison eight | tyrants, money being the all-in-all months, died raving mad! At that time delusion was at its height. The war was profitable to many persons. The base papermoney served its end: that is, to give a florid appearance to trade and agriculture. The nation was mad with what it deemed prosperity. The commerce of all nations was laid under contribution by the Boroughmongers. There never was so gloomy a period for the friends of law and justice. But, I did not despair. On the contrary, I never had hopes more lively or thoughts more gay. The time, which the tyrants had given; the "abstraction from Society," as the old, hard-hearted ruffian in the den called it, or, rather the abstraction from rural affairs, in which the barbarous villains had placed me, enabled me to reflect on, and to examine into, the real state of their affairs. That reflection and that examination led to the series of papers, entitled "Paper against Gold," which has contributed more than any other effort towards the danger, which the tyrants now experience. We must be patient. We must "cast our bread on the waters." The efforts which destroy tyrannies are, generally, those which have not an immediate effect, visible to all eyes. Sap and mine are better than assault, where the fortress is strong, I was convinced that the nation's best hope was the insolvency of the Borough with a system of corruption. I had long been of opinion, that the Bank-Notes could never be paid in specie; and, in Paper against Gold, I proved that this was the case. That is to say, they never could be paid in specie, without a total breaking up of the whole system of corruption and tyranny. If Corruption attempted to pay, she could not raise the taxes, necessary to pay the interest of her Debt. She could not attempt to pay without putting a stop to all the labours which sustained her and gave her the means of tyrannizing and of making war against freedom. Yet, if she could never pay, without blowing herself up at once, it was clear, that, sooner or later, she must be overwhelmed by her own base paper. Therefore, I, within my prison walls, bent all my force to prove, that she never could pay without blowing herself up by the act of paying. This was a heavy blow for her; for, though the nation took little notice, at the time, of what I said, events went on, as I knew they would, to confirm all my doctrines and predictions. About the time that I was sent to what Corruption thought to be death, or total ruin, the Westminster Wiseacres had before them what they called a Report from a Committee, which, in their gib. berish, was called the Bullion Committee. This had been produced by a motion of the out-faction, who pretended to want to the country; they flog us if we be guilty of a breach of military discipline; they take from us more than the half of our earnings they deny us any right to choose those who make the laws ; and, if we complain, they shut us up in dungeons and keep us there as long as they please in despite of all the laws of the land. This is the manner in which you are treated. Being again at liberty, you publicly threatened vengeance. This was your crime, and now, by decision of a Special Jury, you }31, be Cas the make the Bank pay in specie at the end of two years, from 1811. This faction proposed the passing of a law to compel the Bank to pay at the end of two years. The in-faction resisted this, and said, that, though the Bank had ample means, it would be unwise to suffer it to pay, as long as "the tyrant of Europe had the power to disturb all the relationships of Commerce." When peace came, they said, all would put itself to rights again. Then the gold would return as a matter of course. I exposed the folly of this ex-are to endure two years more of pectation. I proved that it was imprisonment. And this, even impossible that the expectation this, you are to forgive! Blistershould be realized. I was treated ed be, the tongue that counsels by many as a dreamer. I was, you to such a course! You are however, convinced that time young men, and, if you be pruwould confirm all that I had said; dent, vengeance you will have; and, in that conviction, I enjoyed and, as to what will be prudence myself exceedingly. I never en- on your part I now take the li joyed better health, better spirits, berty to offer you my opinion. or greater, pleasure, than in that Coolness, patience, sobriety, prison, in which the Borough ty- above all things sobriety. These rants expected me to go mad, pine are necessary even to your health. myself to death, die of contagion, No man living is more impatient or cut my throat. I had the plea- than I, under the suffering of sure to reflect, that I was striking wrong, intentionally done me. my bloody, ferocious tyrants in The wrong which I felt, when their tender part. Call this re-sent to Newgate, was great, very vengeful if they choose. A pretty great in itself; but, besides this, doctrine, indeed, is this doctrine it was accompanied with so many of forgiveness. It is cooked up provoking, circumstances, that, for out use; for the tyrants never perhaps, no wrong was ever caluse it. Their forgiveness is only culated to produce eo deep and a mitigated vengeance. They lasting impression. I did not rob us, and, if we so much as swear vengeance; I made no roas murmer, they scourge us. They To be revenged on the barbarous, compel us to come forth and bear base, cowardly, hypocritical, rufarms in defence of what they call fians, became instantly an object with me that swallowed up all others. And, was hot this right? What would there be to check powerful tyrants, if their victims were to suffer contentedly? Was it hot the just vengeance of the oppressed that drove the tyrannical nobles and bloody clergy from France? What but just Vengeance was it that drove James the 2nd from England? And, observe, too, that, in this case, the sins of the father were visited upon the children from generation to generation. Why, then, are we not to think of revenge? We enjoy all we inflict on them. But, though to seek vengeance became the main object of my life, I did not fly out into vain threats But, as I said before, I keep and clamorous curses. I kept my-myself in good humour. I keep self cool; I calculated patiently steadily on. If events move slower upon a ten or twenty years war than I could wish, I labour more against the ruffians. That me- sedulously to accelerate their pace. Tancholy, mean fellow, Docron This is what I advise you to do. JOHNSON, observes, that when Sobriety is the first 'thing; for, a man plants a tree, he begins without that there can be ho to think the dying. If this were healthy body and no sound mind. the fact, is that to prevent In the midst of a society, where wine and spirits are considered as of little more value than water, I have lived two years without either, and with no other drink but water, except when I have found it convenient to obtain milk. Not an hour's illness; not a head-ache for an hour; hot the smallest ailment; not a restless night; not a drowsy morning have Iknown, during these two famous years of my life. The sun never rises before me. I have always to wait for him to come and give the light to write by, while my mind |