BELLINGHAM,

THE

HE unfortunate gentleman who had adopted the rash and extraordinary resolution of assassinating some of the leading members of the government, appears, by his petition presented to the House of Commons, in February last, to have suffered, in the loss of his property, by the carelessness with which his representations were treated by the British Ambassador, at the Court of St. Petersburgh. Exasperated at the indifference his petition, and individual application to ministers, and, perhaps, acting under the influence of a temporary derangement of mind, which, in men of warm feelings, might be the consequence of being reduced from rank and opulence For JUNE, 1812, VOL. V.

to contempt and beggary, the demon of revenge blindly impelled him to attribute his wrongs and misfortunes to those whom his fancy painted as enemies, because they could not, or would not relieve him. The firmness and equanimity of mind he preserved subsequent to the fatal act, and the collected appearance of his conduct on his trial, betrayed no symptom of insanity. If he acted under the influence of madness, it appears to have terminated with the life of the victim, as if the horrid act had been a remedy for the disease under which the unfor tunate gentleman was languishing.

In England, the event produced different sensations. The Members of both Houses expressed all the mechanical sorrow and regre that accom2 H

panies

panies the higher ranks of life on similar losses. Mr. Perceval was panegyrized by every Lord and Commoner who could speak; they went into mourning, adjourned their sittings, provided for his children, sent their carriages and horses to perform the empty solemnity of a funeral, while they distributed themselves into numberless detachments to intrigue with his successor.

Out of the political climate of St. Stephan's, or James's, the death of the minister caused not one sensation, from which could be understood any expression of regret for the departed. On the contrary, the people of London appeared more affected by the suffer ings of Mr. Bellingham, than at the loss of Mr. Perceval.

In the country, particularly in Nottingham, the news was received with shouts of joy. The bells were rung, bonfires made, and every other manifestation of festivity, usual upon the most important national events, were expressed in every direction. The populace, who are starving in that populous county, by the want of employ ment and provisions, must have had some oral accounts, that the war, and the orders in council, which may be attributed to ministers, are really to be ascribed to their obstinacy and arrogance. Oral authority it must be, that could so justly inform our masters on the real state of affairs, and the source of their unexampled wretchedness, for, however eminently they may be gifted with the knowledge of stocking-making, they know very little of the necromancy of reading. The wise Editors of the Government Journals, in Ireland, attribute the indécent joy of the hosiers to a French Party. This is a general explanation for all popular uneasinesses and excesses, a sweeping clause that embraces every subject, and stands as an answer for every inquiry For, the world ought to understand, the English Journeymen and Preachers stand too high in moral

and intellectual refinement, to be diverted from their allegiance by ordinary circumstances, only familiar to baser minds. It is allowed, on all hands, that they are starving, granted, but they are not to be led into tur. bulence and disaffection by such a paltry circumstance as famine. It is a French faction, such a French faction as Mr. Grattan discovered in Ireland, that disturbs the generous and polished Britons,

In Ireland the fate of the minister passed unheeded the methodistical fanatical enemy to Catholic Emancipation was too contemptible in the eyes of six millions of people to allow them to descend to notice his transmigration. A nation cannot hang its fortune on any one enemy; he may die under the assassins knife, or dictate in the Senate, with equal indifference to us. Our destiny is inseparable from that of Europe and the civilized world; and from the jarring elements, that disgrace and torment the earth, some spark must be elicited that may light us to better prospects, but no event can occur that can place us lower. In this manner of treating the minor transactions, the Irish nation will continue, neither to be seduced into premature excesses, nor roused by aggravation to retaliation; she will listen, in silence and dignity, to paltry things, and whether Cæsar perishes in the Senate, or Louis on the Scaffold, both are equally indifferent to her, Her object is to be free, and peace and patience will conduct her to the desired station,