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abolished this inhuman and detestable commerce; and during the war, when we exercised the belligerent right of search, in the most indiscriminate manner, it had in a great measure ceased, and Africa had begun to exhibit the cheering signs of a budding and promising civilization. But the peace was followed by the restitution to France of her colonial possessions in Africa; and Spain and Portugal, no longer subject to control from our cruisers and ships of war, recommenced their ancient practices. The slave trade revived, with augmented vigour and atrocity, and, in the case of Portugal, has been carried on in open defiance of all the powers with whom she is in alliance, and whom she had joined at Vienna, in 1815, in the solemin public declaration in which it was so emphatically and justly denounced. The French possessions of Senegal and Goree have likewise become the scenes of a most active and murderous contraband traffic; and even the American flag has been prostituted to cover and protect the proceedings of slave traders. Impressed with a thorough conviction, that, until the great powers of Europe should acquiesce in some general rule, as a part of international law in relation to those miscreants who traffic in the blood and sinews of their fellow men, as, for example, declaring slave-trading, piracy and punish able with death; and that, as a preventive measure, nothing would be available to check this dreadful enormity but a regulated and qualified exercise of the right of search, Lord Castlereagh is understood to have brought the subject, in the most earnest and urgent manner, under the consideration of Congress. In answer to his irresistible reasonings and powerful remonstrances, however, he received only hollow promises and specious assurances; while the prin

ciples which he laid down as likely to prove effectual towards the attainment of the great object were insidiously opposed, even by Russia, Prussia, and Austria, who had no colonial interests to be compromised or endangered, and who could not by any possibility or ingenuity of construction ever have cause to dread the operation of the right of search, which from the beginning was intended to be equal and reciprocal. The proposed addition to the principles of international law, by declaring slave-traders pirates, "hostes humani generis," and punishing them as such, naturally met with the same fate. This is a truly melancholy consummation; but it is to be hoped that the example of this country, the diffusion of more accurate knowledge respecting the atrocious character of this diabolical commerce, and the crimes to which it inevitably leads, will open the eyes of the people of the Continent, hitherto imperfectly informed, or rather kept in utter ignorance respecting it, to its real nature, to the incurable miseries which it inflicts upon Africa, to the deep dishonour which its continuance entails on the character of a nation, and to the imperative nature of that duty recommended and enforced on every country by the laws of God, and the principles of justice and humanity implanted in the human breast. In the mean time, it is some consolation to reflect, that the contemptible sophistry by which slave-trading used to be defended, even in our own country, is become too palpably odious and fallacious to be any longer available even by the people ofFrance, Spain, or Portugal, and that this great moral pestilence has been at length, even by those who patronise it, ascribed to its true and only cause, that auri sacra fames, which leads men, and men professing to be Chris

tians too, to buy and sell and make merchandise of human flesh!

But if we have reason to regret the failure of our exertions in behalf of the enslaved, oppressed, and tortured Africans, our arms and our councils in the East have been crowned with the most triumphant success. The Pindarrees, so long the scourge of India, have been dispersed and annihilated; the Mahratta Princes, those factious and restless agitators, have been effectually humbled and punished; while their fortresses and fastnesses have been carried, and the tranquillity of India re-established by a series of successes which must render for ever memorable the able and victorious government of the Marquis of Hastings. Every one acquainted with the history of India, and with the miseries inflicted on that unhappy country by the predatory and roving hordes of the Pindarrees, and the ceaseless intrigues and broils of the Mahratta Princes, must be satisfied that this was not a war of aggrandisement; but, on the contrary, purely defensive, and rendered unavoidable by the ravages committed by the former, no less than by the dangerous spirit and designs of the latter. It will also be found to have given great additional security and consolidation to our Indian Empire. The nucleus of discontent has been destroyed; protection insured to the peaceable in habitants of the plains: and the Nepaul frontier erected at once into a formidable barrier of defence and intimidation; for, by bringing us, as it were, in contact with the feeble and overgrown empire of China, we may have roused the jealousy or awakened the fears of the Chinese, neither of which are very dangerous, but we have also taught them to respect us.

Such is a brief and imperfect outline of the state of affairs at the com

mencement of the present session, the first of the new Parliament, which took place on the 21st of January, when the following speech was delivered by commission in the name of the Prince Regent :

"My Lords and Gentlemen,

"We are commanded by his Royal Highness the Prince Regent to express to you the deep regret which he feels in the continuance of his Majesty's lamented indisposition.

"In announcing to you the severe calamity with which it has pleased Divine Providence to visit the Prince Regent, the Royal Family, and the nation, by the death of her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom, his Royal Highness has commanded us to direct your attention to the consideration of such measures as this melancholy event has rendered necessary and expedient, with respect to the care of his Majesty's sacred person.

"We are directed to inform you, that the negotiations which have ta ken place at Aix-la-Chapelle have led to the evacuation of the French territory by the allied armies.

"The Prince Regent has given orders, that the convention concluded for this purpose, as well as the other documents connected with this arrangement, shall be laid before you: and he is persuaded, that you will view with peculiar satisfaction the intimate union which so happily subsists amongst the powers who were parties to these transactions, and the unvaried disposition which has been manifested in all their proceedings for the preservation of the peace and tranquillity of Europe.

"The Prince Regent has commanded us further to acquaint you, that a treaty has been concluded between his Royal Highness and the Govern. ment of the United States of America, for the renewal, for a further

term of years, of the commercial convention now subsisting between the two nations, and for the amicable adjustment of several points of mutual importance to the interests of both countries: and, as soon as the ratifications shall have been exchan ged, his Royal Highness will give directions that a copy of this treaty shall be laid before you.

"Gentlemen of the House of Com

mons,

"The Prince Regent has directed that the estimates for the current year shall be laid before you.

"His Royal Highness feels assured, that you will learn with satisfaction the extent of reduction which the present situation of Europe, and the circumstances of the British Empire, have enabled his Royal Highness to effect in the naval and military esta blishments of the country.

"His Royal Highness has also the gratification of announcing to you, a considerable and progressive improvement of the revenue in its most important branches.

"My Lords and Gentlemen,

"The Prince Regent has directed to be laid before you, such papers as are necessary to show the origin and result of the war in the East In dies.

"His Royal Highness commands us to inform you, that the operations undertaken by the Governor-General in Council, against the Pindarrees, were dictated by the strictest principles of self-defence; and that in the extended hostilities which followed upon those operations, the Mahratta Princes were, in every instance, the aggressors. Under the provident and skilful superintendence of the Marquis of Hastings, the campaign was marked, in every point, by brilliant achievements and successes; and his Majesty's forces, and those of the East India Company (Native

as well as European) rivalled each other in sustaining the reputation of the British arms.

"The Prince Regent has the greatest pleasure in being able to inform you, that the trade, commerce, and manufactures of the country are in a most flourishing condition.

"The favourable change which has so rapidly taken place in the internal circumstances of the United Kingdom, affords the strongest proof of the solidity of its resources.

"To cultivate and improve the advantages of our present situation will be the object of your deliberations; and his Royal Highness has commanded us to assure you of his disposition to concur and co-operate in whatever may be best calculated to secure to his Majesty's subjects the full benefits of that state of peace which, by the blessing of Providence, has been so happily re-established throughout Europe.

The address which, as usual, was a mere echo of the speech, was moved in the House of Lords by the Earl of Warwick and Lord Saltoun, and in the House of Commons by Mr Brownlow and Mr W. Peel. The Earl of Warwick, after having expressed his incompetence to the task he had undertaken, and claimed their Lordships' indulgence, alluded to the continued indisposition of his Majesty, and then directed their attention to the demise of the late Queen, whose domestic virtues, exemplary conduct, and affectionate regard to our aged monarch, had made her an object of love and admiration to the country, and which called more especially on the House to condole with his Royal Highness on this melancholy occasion. He next alluded to the other points adverted to in the speech, and observed, that on whichever side their Lordships might turn their attention, whe

ther foreign or domestic, the whole scene presented a most cheer ing prospect. The treaty which had been concluded at Aix-la-Chapelle between the Allied Powers, had ensured peace and tranquillity to all Europe. The allied troops were withdrawn from France, and every circumstance connected with this most important treaty was an argument in favour of a firm and substantial peace. By the decisive conduct of the Governor of the British possessions in India, nothing was now to be feared in that quarter. The British force had turned its arms against the aggressors, and the result was the overthrow of the daring enemy. By the commercial treaty which had been concluded with America, the union with that country had been more than ever closely cemented, and on every side subjects of congratulation presented themselves. While the British commerce was in a most flourishing state, there was every prospect of continued prosperity; and while the revenue had increased, the national expenditure had greatly decreased.

In seconding the address, Lord Saltoun went over, and dwelt upon the same topics with the noble mover, taking a rapid survey of the state of affairs both in Europe, America, and India. In fact, no debateable positions had been introduced into the speech delivered in the name of the Regent, which contained, as our readers will perceive, nothing but a bare recital of facts relative to our foreign and domestic relations, all of them of the most animating description, and so perfectly inexpugnable, that no amendment was moved in either House of Parliament.

Accordingly the Marquis of Lansdown did not feel himself called upon to offer any opposition to the address. In giving a general concurrence, he,

however, regarded himself as bound at the same time to state a few considerations which the communication from the throne presented to his mind, not as objections to the motion now made, but as having reference to topics which had been omitted. He was ready to admit, that our relations with at least one great member of the alliance appeared at present to be such as were favourable to tranquillity; but what he chiefly relied upon for the continuance of that blessing was the state of France. He therefore most sincerely concurred in all that was stated in the address relative to the evacuation of the French territory. He rejoiced to see France restored to her proper rank in the system of Europe, and was happy to find that the principle of rendering her a member of the great European confederacy was adopted. It was also with much pleasure that he perceived what had been done by treaty, well seconded in France by the adoption of a system of internal policy best calculated to give popularity to the Government, which wisely sought its preservation and security by the establishment of those free institutions on which the happiness and prosperity of the country must ultimately depend. For these reasons he relied, for the continuance of peace, far more on the state of France itself than on the relations subsisting between this and other countries. Having said thus much with respect to the treaty concluded at Aix-la-Chapelle, he could not dismiss the subject without adverting to another point of great importance connected with these negociations, viz. the Slave Trade. This subject was one which must have occupied the consideration of the Ministers assembled at the Congress: it was one which his Majesty's Ministers would not fail to urge on the attention of that as

sembly; but the silence of the speech too plainly indicated that the result had not been successful. The state of the revenue formed another topic of the message; and what was said on that subject afforded him satisfaction. He was happy to find that the state of things which he anticipated last year was realized, and that there had been a revival of commerce and industry, which was necessarily accompanied by an improvement of the revenue. Whether the effects of the revival of trade had as yet reached those to whom it was of the greatest importance it should extend, namely, the labouring and agricultural classes, was still doubtful. In the mean time, while admitting the advantage which the prospect of an improving revenue afforded, he must remind their Lordships, that the prospect was by no means such as to relieve them from anxiety respecting the state of the finances, or to induce them to relax in their endeavours to reduce the expenditure of the country to a more economical scale. The improvement of the consolidated fund, as compared with former years, had been stated at L. 3,000,000; but the actual surplus was only between L. 200,000 and L. 300,000, and that was more than absorbed by preceding deficiencies. Even calculating the improvement of the revenue to its fullest extent, it would not exceed 53 or at most L.54,000,000, while the expenditure amounted to L.68,000,000. Thus, notwithstanding the improvement which now formed a subject for their Lordships' congratulation, there would remain a deficiency of L. 14,000,000. As to what might be done in the way of reduction, he could at present form no certain opinion; but he did not anticipate that ministers would carry it beyond L. 4,000,000.

It

Having now noticed what appeared to him to be the principal topics introduced into the speech, he had to regret that it communicated nothing on a subject of far greater importance than the improvement of the revenue; he meant the state of the currency. He said this was a subject of far more importance than any increase of revenue, inasmuch as the basis of a system was of more importance than the actual state of the superstructure raised upon it. The state of the currency, their Lordships would recollect, was not a financial question of an ordinary kind. went to the foundation of all property: it embraced the consideration of the safety of all classes; and it was for the interest of the Bank Directors themselves, as well as of any other individuals in the country, that a prompt decision should be adopted. It was full time to come to a determination on this subject. Was it or was it not the intention of Ministers to propose to go on with the system? It was also to be recol. lected, that whenever their Lordships directed their attention to this system, they would have also to take a view of that severe and dreadful penal code, by which the system of paper currency, if it longer existed. must be upheld. Upon the question of expediency of continuing the present currency, would depend that of maintaining in force laws which humanity and the opinion of the country had condemned. He knew it might be said, that there would be time enough for the consideration of these subjects, and that the Bank Restriction Act would not expire for some months. If it was the intention of Ministers to allow the act to expire, the sooner that intention was known the better. The same observation applied to the op

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