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Article REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. Page 1 of 6 →
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Review Of New Publications.
REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS .
rlislsrj of Great Britain , from the Revolution to the Session cf Parliament ending 1793 . By W . Belsli-. im , ^ . vols . $ ' o . , ^ l . , u . boards , ltobinson , 1798 . MR . BELSHAM has appeared conspicuous as an historian ; we will not say that impartiality is a very striking feature in his works . His priu . ciples arc those of a staunch Whig , and sometimes take a step into Republicanism .
Mr . Coxe lately accused Mr . Belsham of want of candour , and his endeavours to repel that charge , in the work before us , are by 110 means successful . The fad is , that Mr . Belsham , not contented with discovering his sentiments as a dissenter from our establishment , ai ' tually obtrudes upon his readers a degree of that malignant spleen which cliarafteri' / . es the most disingenuous of our sectarian brethren . As a Calviiiisf , he is a great admirer of KingWilliam ' s character , which he has drawn anion
con -. ' The object of William was most assuredly to prevent a future desolating and destructive war in Europe . But , could it be imagined b y a Prince so celebrated for sagacity , that the Emperor would acquiesce in an arrangement so injurious to his interests , and so contrary to his pretended ri ghts ? Would tlie Court of Madrid ever be prevailed upon to confirm this arbitrary distribution of irs _ territories , equally incompatible with national dignity ' and national prejudice ? Could the sinceritv of France itself he denrnH ^ H n « n ;„
this business ? The court of Versailles had probabl y too much political penetration to expect this project to be peaceabl y executed . They hoped by these means to secure the amity , or at least the neutrality , of England ; and any opposition from the Emperor would disengage them from the obli gation of confining themselves , if successful , within the letter of the treaty . " It does not appear , " says Lord Somers , in his famous letter to the Kino-, ' " in case this negotiation should proceed , what is to be done on your part , in order to make it take lacewhether
p : any more be required than that the English and Dutch should sit still , and France itself to see it executed . If that be so what security ought we ro expect , that , if by our being- neuter the French oe successful , the French will conrine themselves to the terms of the treaty and not attempt to make farther advantages of their success ? " In these circumstances , a severe but obvious and indispensable duty was imposed on the I-ord Chancellor to represent to the King , in the most energetic Iann- ' uao-e the which must
pernicious consequences inevitably result from this strange and impracticable project j and peremptorily to refuse , at the rise tie of incurring the utmost displeasure of the King , to transmit the extraordinary aud unconstitutional commission required of him . F . ven supposing , against all probability , the eventual acquiescence of Spain and the Emperor in this treaty , what arrangement n . cie favourable to the interests of France could "en the caprice of chance devise , than the present , by which so many rich "HI valuable provinces were incorporated with her empire ? ' ' Vol . i . p . zgi .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Review Of New Publications.
REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS .
rlislsrj of Great Britain , from the Revolution to the Session cf Parliament ending 1793 . By W . Belsli-. im , ^ . vols . $ ' o . , ^ l . , u . boards , ltobinson , 1798 . MR . BELSHAM has appeared conspicuous as an historian ; we will not say that impartiality is a very striking feature in his works . His priu . ciples arc those of a staunch Whig , and sometimes take a step into Republicanism .
Mr . Coxe lately accused Mr . Belsham of want of candour , and his endeavours to repel that charge , in the work before us , are by 110 means successful . The fad is , that Mr . Belsham , not contented with discovering his sentiments as a dissenter from our establishment , ai ' tually obtrudes upon his readers a degree of that malignant spleen which cliarafteri' / . es the most disingenuous of our sectarian brethren . As a Calviiiisf , he is a great admirer of KingWilliam ' s character , which he has drawn anion
con -. ' The object of William was most assuredly to prevent a future desolating and destructive war in Europe . But , could it be imagined b y a Prince so celebrated for sagacity , that the Emperor would acquiesce in an arrangement so injurious to his interests , and so contrary to his pretended ri ghts ? Would tlie Court of Madrid ever be prevailed upon to confirm this arbitrary distribution of irs _ territories , equally incompatible with national dignity ' and national prejudice ? Could the sinceritv of France itself he denrnH ^ H n « n ;„
this business ? The court of Versailles had probabl y too much political penetration to expect this project to be peaceabl y executed . They hoped by these means to secure the amity , or at least the neutrality , of England ; and any opposition from the Emperor would disengage them from the obli gation of confining themselves , if successful , within the letter of the treaty . " It does not appear , " says Lord Somers , in his famous letter to the Kino-, ' " in case this negotiation should proceed , what is to be done on your part , in order to make it take lacewhether
p : any more be required than that the English and Dutch should sit still , and France itself to see it executed . If that be so what security ought we ro expect , that , if by our being- neuter the French oe successful , the French will conrine themselves to the terms of the treaty and not attempt to make farther advantages of their success ? " In these circumstances , a severe but obvious and indispensable duty was imposed on the I-ord Chancellor to represent to the King , in the most energetic Iann- ' uao-e the which must
pernicious consequences inevitably result from this strange and impracticable project j and peremptorily to refuse , at the rise tie of incurring the utmost displeasure of the King , to transmit the extraordinary aud unconstitutional commission required of him . F . ven supposing , against all probability , the eventual acquiescence of Spain and the Emperor in this treaty , what arrangement n . cie favourable to the interests of France could "en the caprice of chance devise , than the present , by which so many rich "HI valuable provinces were incorporated with her empire ? ' ' Vol . i . p . zgi .