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Sir R. Phillips's Society for Preventing War.

fertile mind not only studied how to ren-
der our weapons of war more destruc-
tive, but he obtained the honourable
addition of SINKSTONE to his name by
the memorable plan of sending ship-
loads of stones to be sunk at the mouths
of all the French barbours, for the pur-
pose of preventing so much as a cock-
boat from entering or leaving them.
I am not very sure that a reference to
these schemes, though blazoned on the
pages of the Old Monthly Magazine,
will be perfectly agreeable to the philan-
thropic knight. They were devised when
their author was aspiring to municipal
honours and courtly distinctions, and
before disappointment and bankruptcy
had made his heart overflow with the
milk of human kindness for every pro-
fessed enemy of besotted Britain and her
tyrannical governinent. His best en-
deavours have consequently been since
exerted to counteract her unjustifiable
efforts to humble the amiable Buona-
parte, and to maintain her usurped ma-
ritime superiority. Undaunted by the
failure of these patriotic efforts, Sir
Richard now comes forward as the foun-
der of a Society for preventing War, and
propagating correct Opinions on the Mo-
rality of Nations. A meeting of the
friends to this principle, as we are told,
has been held at the London Coffee-
house; Sir RICHARD PHILLIPS invited
himself to take the chair; and it was
resolved:-"That a society be formed,
whose object it shall be to circulate
knowledge among all nations on subjects
of public morality; on the folly, inuti
lity, and wickedness of war; and on the
obligations of governments not to appeal
to the sword on light occasions, on ques-
tions of equivocal policy, or for the gra-
tification of pride, revenge, or ambition
That to guard the proposed society
against misrepresentation, it is deemed
proper to declare that its purpose is of a
nature PURELY MORAL-and that some
approved tract, tending to promote the
objects of the society, be published every
three months." An American pamphlet
has the honour of being the first publi-
cation chosen for dissection, and Grotius
on Peace and War for the second. The
last resolution acquaints the friends of
this benevolent scheme, that a relative
of the chairman has most disinterestedly

Whoever is acquainted with the PURE MORAL character of the chairman (for evidence of which see Mrs. CLARKE'S Rival Princes) will not be disposed to question the PURELY MORAL purpose of the society formed under his auspices.

[July 1,

accepted the appointment of bookseller to the society; and that subscriptions will be received by this bookseller, and by the chairman at his residence, Hol loway.

As I shrewdly suspect that this process for preventing war will be found rather tedious, I trust to your known impartiality, Mr. Editor, for the recommendation of a method which, if it were universally adopted, might greatly abridge the labours of the illustrious knight and his worthy coadjutors. The coincidence of a wonderful discovery for preventing war made on one side of the Channel, just at the moment of the establishment of a society for the same purpose on the other, must fill every reflecting mind with the most profound admiration. For the knowledge of this discovery I am indebted to a small 12mo. volume just published in Paris, by Bertrand, Rue Hautefeuille, No. 23; and I am not without serious apprehension that the ingenuity of the anonymous French wri ter will throw that of the English projector completely into the shade.

According to the former, then, the termination of all wars, the prevention of all farther revolutions, will be accomplished by abstinence from fermented substances. Methinks, Mr. Editor, I see you shake your head; but have the goodness to recollect that there is no discovery of genius but has had to strug. gle with incredulity-And thou, great man! at whose feet I throw myself, and who comest with a modesty truly rare to combat against fermented substances, without certificates, without puffs, even without patent; thou shalt at least find in me a zealous disciple, who will endea vour to make thee understood by the profane: for I must confess that thy profound work addressed to the profession is not adapted to every vulgar capacity!

By a fermented substance our author means one in which, sometimes nature, but more frequently art, has by some

An acquaintance of mine on reading this resolution remarked, that it showed evidently enough for whose benefit this plan was promulgated: nay, he had even the malice to observe, that though the chairman had not long resided at Holloway, he had all his life delighted in hollow-aye, and in crooked ways too, which the gulls would before they had done with him. This sally, find to swallow up a good deal of money however, I attribute, Mr. Editor, to sheer envy; as the person in question is himself a great projector, and you know "two of a trade never agree."

1816.]

Sir R. Phillips's Society for Preventing War.

means, but particularly by the intervention of heat, produced a more or less advanced degree of decomposition. Thus wheat is a pure substance; bread a fermented substance. The same difference exists between grapes and wine, miik and cheese, &c. Now, reasoning not only from analogy, but also from experience, this author lays it down as a rule, that whatever is decomposed tends to decompose such as eat it. If then you would be healthy, eat wheat, but not bread; regale yourself with milk, but never touch cheese; finally, believe in my author, and drink as much water as you please.

The lovers of what is termed goodliving will no doubt shrug their shoulders at this system. Reduced to the necessity of dining on a cucumber or a bunch of radishes, the situation of such would be truly pitiable. Let them not, however, take my author for one of those Pythagoreans who, imbued with the doctrine of the metempsychosis, abstain from all animal food. Though somewhat of an innovator, he respects the authority of the bible, and has not renounced his part of the inheritance of our first parent, to whom the Almighty gave the right of life and death over the whole brute creation. Though a sheep, like himself, eats no thing fermented, he is far from consider ing the beast as his brother; and if he rejects a ragooed hare with indignation, he has not the least objection to one that is not decomposed.

"What!" exclaims many a person of delicate stomach; "does this man eat raw flesh?"-"I cry you mercy," says Mr. Anti-Ferment, " you do what is a great deal worse. You devour-not merely raw, but almost alive-whole shoals of oysters and other shell-fish, besides many things whose names I have forgotten since I ceased to frequent the convivial board." There, gentlemen, is an argumentum ad hominem for you!

Lastly, Mr. Editor-and this is the most important part of the discovery my author has found out so cheap a method of feeding his fellow-creatures, that I defy the most economical caterer in London, or Paris either, to match him. Would you like to know what are the new dishes which he proposes to set upon our tables? Why-stones and wood. Rather hard of digestion," you may perhaps think; but Mr. Anti-Ferment assures us, that he disdains to answer the sarcasms which may be thrown out on the subject of the dimensions of these new eatables, or on their trituration,

503

He even goes so far as to assert that the salubrity of these aliments is in a direct ratio to their hardness; and I am persuaded that if one of his disciples were to nibble only at green wood, or soft sand-stone, he would say, as the mason did to a comrade who dipped a piece of bread a fortnight old in a pail of water: "By my troth, the fellow's growing dainty!""

You must perceive, Sir, by this time, the sublime consequences of the discovery of the great man whom, from ignorance of his name, I am obliged to call Anti-Ferment, Whence proceed all those quarrels between nations that lead to wars and conquests, and almost all those disputes between individuals which terminate in suits, actions, and mutual ruin? If we go back to the real source of these contentions, shall we not find it in the notion with which each is impressed, that they have not sufficient of the metal which procures whatever is requisite for our existence? If then every man can find ready to his hand, without giving himself any trouble, or even so much as striking a light, the prime necessary of life-food, what should people continue to fight about, or what should they go to law for? Bad indeed must be the disposition of the nations and individuals who could then give way to this mania.

But my author and myself are well aware of a little objection that may be urged against us. It is not merely to live that the perverse inhabitants of this petty globe are accustomed to tear in pieces and slaughter one another. Are not ambition, hatred, jealousy, and other passions, also the seeds of war and quarrels? Most certainly they are; but why? Assuredly because those fermented substances) upon which you chiefly subsist, introduce into your blood a leaven, an acidity, which in their turn stir up in you every baleful passion. Feed a conqueror upon raw cucumbers and milk, and you will see if he manifests any inclination to appropriate to himself the smallest kingdom on the face of the earth: confine an Overreach to the apples that grow in his orchard, taking good care that he eats them without any cooking, and the coolness and serenity which their juices will diffuse through his veins, will make him renounce his chicanery for ever.

Who can forbear admiring with me the simplicity of this system, its immense utility, and the boundless resources with which it furnishes us against all the calamities sent upon us from

504

Posthumous Work of Baron d'Uklanski.

time to time by that Nature whose bounty has been so highly celebrated by our poets and philosophers? If frosts destroy the produce of the vineyard, what need we care?-- the river runs for all, and especially for those who detest wine, one of the most highly fermented of substances. If tempests have blasted the hopes of the husbandman, the earth contains within its bosom an abundant supply. If winds have swept away the fruit, the tree is leit, and will furnish you with more than one repast. If, in short, every resource should fail, you are still sure of finding plenty of stones under your feet; and how happy, how independent must be be, who finds at all seasons a table spread for him upon every road!

Should you, Sir, or your readers be not yet entirely converted, I would earnestly advise you to peruse Mr. Anti-Ferment's book with all the attention that it deserves. You will thence learn what robust health he has enjoyed, except that he is become rather thinner in the six years during which he has confined himself to this diet: he admits indeed that his nights are rather disturbed, and that he occasionally has unpleasant dreams. Some sneerers may pretend that his book affords sufficient evidence of this: but these are trifling inconveniences compared with the grand effects that must result from his system, as I trust, has been proved to your entire sati-faction.

Now, Sir, let me intreat you to give a place to this paper in your very next number, and to recommend to the members of Sir RICHARD PHILLIPS's new society the printing of a translation of the work of the French philosopher, in preference to that chosen for their first essay, by which means they will stand a chance of accomplishing their objectat once, and thus keep in their pockets all the money that would otherwise be required for an interminable series of pamphlets. I have not the least doubt that these benevolent gentlemen will vote me a handsome picce of plate for the information; and you, Mr. Editor, will as certainly be honoured with their thanks for kindly affording the chaunel through which it is conveyed.

London, June 1, 1816.

MR. EDITOR,

Σ.

THE following simple and affecting lines are extracted from the Poems and Essays of the Baron d'Uklanski. This gentleman has been already introduced

66

[July 1,

to the literary world as the author of
Letters from Albion and Travels in Italy.
Poland, Austria, &c; and his works,
replete with vivacity and descriptive
sketches," have been received with cos-
siderable applause by the British public.
On the Anniversary of my Coming to
England in 1812.

Thus the first year harmless ceases
Since I came to England good :
On the wings of gentle breezes
Crossing swift the briny flood.
Wonderful predestination!

That, with all-commanding hand,
Torn from Piast's oppress'd nation,
Hurried me into this land;

Where I met with kind reception,
Feeling, generosity--
Tender, undisguis'd affection,

Pity drawn from sympathy;
Where, without proud ostentation,
Clad in Modesty's array,
found inerit grace its station,

I

Far from courts and showy fray;
Where, in beauty's glowing flushes,
Heighten'd by enchanting eyes,
Virgin innocence still blushes-

Modest virtue, heavenly smiles;
Where, with bolder front elated,

In the portly shape of man,
Crushing shackles, animated,
Daring Liberty strides on.
Glut-with crimes, usurper,† tainted,
All my wealth, my ample store;
First with floods of tears lamented,

Now-O heavy loss! no more.
Lofty domes, with views enchanting,
Painted rooms-the artist's pride;
Neither taste nor splendour wanting;
Swept by sad misfortune's tide!
Shining plate, proud equipages,
Fall'n, where war again now rages;
Generous steeds-my dearest boast,

Sunk to dust, for ever lost!
Park, where oft in woodbine bowers

I heard Philomela's tune,
When through fragrance-breathing flowers.
Silver-beaming, shone the moon:
Waving groves, rills gently purling,

Meads diffusing balmy smell,
Gloomy walks, ponds softly curling,

Nature, art, and wealth-farewel!

To elucidate the preceding, it is necessary to add, that "the friends of the Baroness d'Uklanski (left a widow in this country at the age of eighteen) propose, in the hope of enabling her to recover a Review of New Publications in the NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE for January,

1815.

+ Buonaparte.

1816.] Mr. Böttiger on the Extermination of the Barbary Corsairs. 505

provision from her late husband's estates in Polish Prussia, from which his decided loyalty to his sovereign forced him to fly during the late tyranny. and usurpation of the French, to raise a subscription for her, by publishing two small manuscript volumes of travels, left by him ready for the press, with the addition of various original compositions and specimens of his extraordinary abilities, which enabled him, after three years acquaintance with the English language, to write in it with the freedom, and, except in a very few instances, with the correctness of a native."-Subscriptions (one guinea) received at No. 17, Nottingham-street, Nottingham-place, New

road.

Relying on those feelings of benevolence which so peculiarly characterize the British public, it is presumed that the afflicting circumstances which have introduced the work in question to their notice, will prove a sufficient appeal.

With regard to the peculiar merit of the work itself, it is undoubtedly no small recommendation that the foregoing proposition has proceeded from the pen of the accomplished authoress of Gertrude, Rosanne, &c.; a lady who has swept the lyre of feeling with a master's hand, while its magic tones have vibrated to the heart of every reader of taste and sentiment.

A CONSTANT Reader.

MR. EDITOR, AT a time when the abolition of the slave-trade is become a general concern of all Europe, it is rather incomprehensible that the Barbary corsairs on the coast of the Mediterranean should be permitted to continue to carry off Christian slaves into captivity, and torment them as they please with impunity. Nothing but the irresistible trident of Britain can in this case be of any avail; and accordingly the nations of the Continent have anxiously fixed their eyes on England. In this state of things, an instructive work, submitted at the commencement of the year 1815 to the Congress of Vienna, deserves to be known in your country, and to be duly considered by all, whether they belong to the African Association or not, at a moment when a Wilberforce is bringing forward the subject anew for discussion in the British senate. Its title is: On the Pirates of the Mediterranean and their Extermination; by FREDERIC HERR MANN, Professor at the Gymnasium of Lübeck (8vo. pp. 438). It is to be

hoped that it may be translated into English, with emendations and additions, when this motto might aptly be prefixed: Exoriare aliquis er ossibus ultor.

The first section treats of the history of Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli; the second of their relations with the European states; the third of their resources; the fourth of their piracies, and of the means of preventing them; and the fifth contains a list of 133 works on the subject, compiled with great indus try. From the second section, partly derived from MARTENS' Recueil des Traités and partly from manuscript materials, I extract the following particulars respecting Germany.

During the reign of Rudolph II., Austria sent an embassy to Morocco, received one from that country under Joseph II. in 1782, and in April 1783 concluded a treaty, by which it was stipulated that the duty upon Austrian goods introduced into the dominions of Morocco should not exceed 5 per cent. In 1781, d'Audibert Kaille, the French consul, sent a letter of peace for the Hans Towns; and the intelligent emperor, Sidi Mahommed, announced to all the European consuls, under date of Feb. 8, 1782, that he was at peace with Hamburg. No permanent security was, however, to be reckoned upon: in 1798 two vessels from Hamburg and Bremen, taken off the coast of Portugal, were liberated on the application of the court of Lisbon; but the Hans Towns found the charges of a consul and annual presents, and even the purchase of passports for single ships, too expensive; as notwithstanding these they still continued exposed to the depredations of the other African states. It was not till 1806 that Hamburg concluded a separate peace, which cost her upwards of 20,000 piastres, and a yearly present of 5,000 more. Soon afterwards a negociation was commenced on the part of Bremen and Lübeck, but without success, as the French system of blockade intervened; and the Hans Towns now hope to receive from the allied powers the same protection from the African corsairs as they did from that destructive system.

In 1727 Austria concluded a treaty with Algiers under the mediation of the Porte, and another in the like manner in 1748. The Porte also in 1782 effected the liberation of some Austrian ships which had been taken, and paid herselt, as it is believed, the value of the cargoes that had been sold. In the first Austrian treaty mention was made of German

506 Mr. Böttiger on the Extermination of the Barbary Corsairs. [July 1,

ships in general, but without success; the ships of Hamburg and Lübeck indeed obtained permission in 1747 to frequent the Turkish ports under the Austrian flag; but they could not avail themselves of it, as they were not included in the treaty of 1748 with Algiers. The treaty which Hamburg concluded in 1751 with Algiers she was obliged to relinquish, as the Spanish court signified its discontent on the subject by a prohibition of commercial intercourse..

Austria had since 1725 a treaty of peace with Tunis, which in 1748 was converted into a commercial treaty, and renewed in 1784. She concluded a treaty with Tripoli in 1726, and again in 1749; but when in 1800 Austria did not acknowledge the Dey, and sent no ambassador, her consul was obliged to strike his flag, and an Austrian ship was taken. From these facts it appears that the policy of Austria in regard to the piratical states, consists in negociating not directly with them, but through the mediation of her faithful and upright neighbour, Turkey; by which means at least the considerable annual tribute that other states are obliged to pay is partly transferred to the Turkish exchequer. This policy is still pursued; and we learn from the public prints that the Porte lately dispatched the Kapidgi Bachi to Algiers and Tunis, to enforce respect for the Austrian flag, and to demand the liberation of all Austrian subjects, with which requisitions he obtained their ready compliance.

Prussia has adopted a different course, and skreens herself under the Swedish flag from the depredations of these pirates. The situation of the Hans Towns, on the contrary, is truly deplorable. It appears that they have ceased to endeavour to compromise matters with the predatory states in the Mediterranean, or, what is equivalent, to navigate that sea. But things have not stopped even here: in 1793 Portugal began to demand a tribute for guarding the Straits, that their vessels might be safe from those pirates on the Portuguese coast, when they had previously arranged with the court of Morocco.

The population of Morocco, differently estimated at from two to six millions, is taken at five; though Jackson, in his work on that empire, computes the inhabitants of Morocco at 10,300,000, and of Tafilet at 900,000. That writer also gives a circumstantial account of the progress of the caravans to Tombuctoo, and this seems to be the point to which

particular attention ought to be paid in treating of North Africa. If this char nel of commerce be not gained by the Europeans in Africa, they have gained nothing, even though they had subdued the coasts: and to secure any channel of commercial intercourse is not so easy a matter, as the Mohanimedans adhere to one another in a very different manner from what the Europeans do. The first consequence that will inevitably result from the attempt to found an Erropean monarchy in Africa, will be to unite the Mohammedans more closely than ever, and to induce them to break off all intercourse with Europeans: the latter would then indeed have no inconvenience to apprehend from the trade with Africa, for that trade itself would be annihilated. On the other hand, it may be urged that this trade is more important from the hope of future advantage than from its present profit; and that the Europeans, like genuine disci ples of Archimedes, would soon find the way to Tombuctoo if they had but a permanent point to set out from. Such a point would certainly be furnished by the foundation of an European monarchy in Africa; but the plan for such a measure requires an army of not fewer than 150,000 men, or, what amounts to the same thing, an expenditure of five mil lions sterling; for which the powers would not receive such indemnification in Africa as they have found in France, and to which the tribute paid by them to the piratical states bears no kind of proportion. It reminds us of the mes sage sent by the Dey of Algiers to Louis XIV., when the latter threatened to destroy his city with fire and sword: "Let the King," said he, "only send me the money which the bombardment will cost him, and I'll take good care to have the city properly set on fire."

The author when he wrote this work could not have been acquainted with the steps taken by Sir Sidney Smith with the Congress of Vienna, and with all those who hold in abhorrence the piratical system of Africa, for its suppression. His proposals were not entertained by the Congress; but, on the other hand, an association was formed on the 29th December 1814, at Vienna, under the auspices of Sir Sidney, for the abolition of the black and white slave-trade in North Africa. According to an announcement in the Moniteur, this association seems to have transferred its seat to France, where the King, as grandmaster of the order of St. Louis, has

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