Читать книгу Essential Writings Volume 3 - William 1763-1835 Cobbett - Страница 5

(Political Register, April, 1809.)

I have long delayed the execution of justice, in a set and formal manner, upon this race of politicians.

I have often called them traders, regular traders, and the like; and have occasionally shown how dearly the people of England have paid for the “loyalty” of the said traders. I have said, many times, that they found Anti-Jacobinism a thriving trade; and that, therefore, they were unwilling to give it up. I have pointed out the many efforts, which, from time to time, they have made, to make the people believe, that there was still a jacobin conspiracy going on. Many, and, indeed, the greater part of the nation, have long been convinced, that there was no such thing as jacobinism existing in the country, and that the cry of jacobinism, set up against every man who complained of abuses or corruptions, was a mere lure, a mere contrivance, to deceive honest and uninformed men. But, it was not till Mr. Wardle came out with his exposures, that the whole nation saw clearly to the bottom of this villanous deception, It was not until his charges, which, in the hope of being able to cry him down, were answered with a charge of jacobin conspiracy, that the whole mass of the people began to see the detestable fraud, which had so long been practised upon them, and of which many men of great understanding had become the dupe.

Now they are completely undeceived. Now they see, that a Jacobin means a man, who endeavours to root out corruptions and to prevent public robbery; and that, as the word imports, an Anti-Jacobin means exactly the contrary. Still, however, it will be useful to expose the traffic of Anti-Jacobinism. Hitherto we have considered it as something of a sectarian, or political, nature; but, we are now to abstract our minds from all such associations of ideas, and to consider Anti-Jacobinism merely as a trade; a trade in the plain and common acceptation of the word; a mere money-making concern; a calling upon which men outer with no other views than those of Lloyd’s and the ’Change, and to which apprentices may be bound in the regular course of law, there being gradations in it from the master tradesman downward, through the foreman and journeyman, to the sweeper and sprinkler of the pavement before the shop.

In this case, as in all others, the best way is to proceed with the stating of facts; for, a few facts answer a better purpose, they produce a deeper and juster impression, than can be produced by any general description, from however able a pen it may proceed.

I have, at different times, noticed, and shall hereafter notice, several persons, who have followed, and still do follow, this once flourishing trade. But, if I were called upon to name the tradesman, who has obtained the greatest celebrity in his way, and who most deserves that celebrity; the man who is, in this trade, what Mr. Packwood is in that of razor-streps, truth would compel me to say it was MR. JOHN BOWLES. There are others, who have had great vogue, and have not been without their profits, such as Mr. Green, Mr. Redhead Yorke, and the co-partnership of the Rev. Messrs. Nares and Beloe (the latter of whom was, sometime since, in the British Museum, whereby hangs a tale yet to be told); there are several clergymen, each of whom has traded very thrivingly upon his own bottom, and there are some others who have carried on the trade, with many journeymen under them; there are Mr. Gentz and that pink of knighthood, Sir Francis D’Ivernois, amongst the foreign traders; but, at the head of the whole most assuredly stands Mr. John Bowles.

This gentleman was, as the phrase is, bred to the bar, but, to use the pun of Admiral Paine, the bar being. I suppose, bad bread to him, he changed his calling in or about the year 1792. He appears to have begun, about that time, his manufactory of Anti-Jacobinism, with a pamphlet against Tom Paine, which being quite to the taste of that minister, who lent, without law, 40,000l. of the public money, without interest, to two of his then majority in parliament, he made our hero a Commissioner of Bankrupts, worth, I believe, about 3 or 400l. a year.

As yet, however, the term Anti-Jacobin was not in use. The trade had begun; but there was not a suitable name for it. The traders called themselves friends to their King and Country, and the like; but, John Bull loves short appellations; he is everlastingly prone to abbreviate; it was, therefore, necessary to find out an appropriate term whereby to designate the persons engaged in this new and thriving trade; and, to the honour of the Church, be it known, the term Anti-Jacobin was, at last, discovered by a clergyman.

About the year 1796, the trade seemed to be somewhat at a stand, and therefore, the government, as in the case of other useful trades, such as that of printing bank notes &c., took it, in some sort, under its immediate protection; or rather, it showed an example to be imitated by others. I here allude to the establishment of the “Weekly Anti-Jacobin” newspaper. This was an era in the history of the trade. Messrs. Canning and Frere (John Hookham) and George Ellis were the principal Directors in this establishment. They were, too, the fabricators of the choice articles that went from this shop; but, in setting the thing on foot, they were unable to proceed without the experience of Mr. John Bowles, who, from what source the reader may easily judge, found the means of setting all the machines in motion. But, whether the three persons, before mentioned, thought that John’s weighty matter would be apt to be too heavy for the wire-drawn work in which they excelled, or whether they were afraid that he would, as senior tradesman, and projector of the establishment, aspire to be the head of the firm, they soon jostled him out of the concern, for which, it is said, John never cordially forgave them. Messrs. Canning & Co. being engaged in other branches of business at the same time, were, however, compelled to have assistance; and, not liking to take an additional partner into the House, they got a respectable journeyman to superintend the business for them, a Mr. William Gifford, who had written some good poetry and better prose; who was a very sensible, acute, and, I verily believe, a very honest man; who never ought to have been exposed to the necessity of becoming the journeyman of Canning and Co.; and who always appeared to me to be cursedly ashamed of the calling.

At the end of 26 Numbers the manufacture stopped, all of a sudden, to the great surprise of every body; but, the fact is, that the raw material was wanting. Messrs. Canning and Co. had expended their stock of epigrams and antitheses, and, in the latter Numbers, were reduced to downright punning. Their pride would not suffer them to resort to the stores of their journeyman; and so the thing went out, like the snuff of a candle.

Short, however, as was its duration, it produced a very powerful example. Mr. Wm. Gifford had first a patent place given to him; to that was added a double commissionership of the Lottery; to that another place in the Household, making, in total amount, about a thousand pounds a year for life. Pretty well, I think, for 26 weeks superintendence on the printing and publishing of the droppings of the brains of Mr. Canning, Mr. George Ellis, and Mr. John Hookham Frere, neither of whom ever knew him previous to that time!

Reader, stop here, a moment, and ask yourself if it be any wonder that the taxes are heavy. Ask yourself if it be any wonder that the landowners are little more than stewards and collectors for the government. Ask yourself if it be any wonder that family hospitality has ceased, and pauperism has reared its head where plenty, or, at least, comfortable independence, formerly presided.

Are we told by the traders, that these places must have been given to somebody, and that, therefore, it makes no difference to us, in point of expense? First, I deny the premises; for, such places should be abolished as fast, at least, as they become vacant. But, if we admit the premises the conclusion does not follow; for, if such places must be given to somebody, are there not enough disabled officers of the navy or army; are there not enough superannuated servants of the public; are there not enough and enough persons, who have done something for the country, and who are either pensioned, or starving; are there not enough of these to give such places to?

But, it is useless for us to swell and foam with indignation. Thus it has been, thus it is, thus it will be, and thus it must be, while seats in Parliament are to be obtained in the manner negotiated for by Mr. Reding and Lord Clancarty.

Now we come back to the great regular trader, Mr. John Bowles, who, though he had been jostled out of the firm of Canning & Co., though he was not allowed to take any, or but very little, share in what they sent forth against every man, be his rank what it would, who disapproved of any of the measures of Pitt, he continued to push on a very valuable concern of his own; and, as the booksellers well remember, to their cost, he absolutely inundated the town with his pamphlets. He used to publish pamphlets upon “The Political and Moral State of Society at the end of such and such a year,” in all which pamphlets, though containing some very good stuff, as a sort of passport to the rest, he failed not to introduce an abundance of sterling Anti-Jacobinism. In 1804, at the time of one of the Middlesex Elections, he made a grand effort to restore the trade to the flourishing state in which it was in 1797 and 1798; and, failing in that attempt did not discourage him from another in 1806, at another Middlesex Election, when he and his new associate, Redhead, did actually bring forward that very Mr. Mellish, who was, the other day, so justly treated by the freeholders of the county, met at Hackney.

“Well,” says the reader, “but, really, this must have been a very honest and zealous man. Say that his loyalty was purchased; still he had but 3 or 400l. a year, and for that he was obliged to perform the drudgery of a Commissioner of Bankrupts. His loyalty must have been unfeigned and have proceeded from principle; for this paltry sum could hardly keep soul and body together.”

Now, reader, we come to the point; now we come to the secrets of the trade, as carried on by this active and enterprising Anti-Jacobin, whose real great occupation was totally unknown to that public, upon whom he so frequently intruded his moral reflections.

In the year 1795, there was a Commission (a commission is a very convenient thing) appointed for the purpose of superintending the management of Dutch Property; that is to say, the cargoes of Dutch ships detained or brought in. These Commissioners were, by an Act of Parliament, authorized to take such ships and cargoes under their care, to manage, sell, and dispose of the same, according to instructions which they were to receive, from time to time, from the King in council. These Commissioners were five in number, and of the five, John Bowles was one. Let us have all their names, in the language of the Commission: “To our trusty and well-beloved James Craufurd, John Brickwood, Allen Chatfield, JOHN BOWLES, and Alexander Baxter.”

It will seem odd to the public, that this Commission, which began to exist fourteen years ago, should have still an existence; but, when that public comes to see the pretty profits which it was, and still is, bringing in, and how much it was the interest of the Commissioners to protract its duration, it will not be at all surprised at that duration. The document which lets us into an authentic account of this Commission, is the Fourth Report of a Committee of the House of Commons, appointed to control the several branches of the Public Expenditure, which Report, as far as it relates to this matter, will be found inserted in number 16, vol. XV. of the Register.

It will be seen, from this Report, that no bargain was made, as to the compensation, which these gentry were to receive. They had the handling of property to the gross amount of nearly THREE MILLIONS sterling. They were seated at a rich feast, and having nobody to carve for them, they were, it appears, not such fools as to forbear from helping themselves, which, I dare say, was exactly what Pitt intended. They had too much modesty to remind the government, that no terms of compensation had been settled; they never, in the course of fourteen years, made any application upon the subject; but, they set to work very early to feathering their nest, by taking into their own pockets a commission of five per cent upon the gross proceeds of their sales, just as if they had been merchants, who had got into business through talents and labour and capital of their own, instead of being put into business by a stroke of Pitt’s pen. This would have been pretty well of itself; but, as the Report will show, they used the money besides; that, instead of paying the cash into the Bank of England, and letting it remain there, according to the terms of the Act of Parliament, they kept large balances in their hands, which they employed in various ways, each taking a share of it to his private banker’s, and that they, in some cases, discounted private bills with it. In short, their total of profits, according to what they acknowledge to, would be 133,198l., that is 26,639l. to each Anti-Jacobin.

There is a trade for you! A trade that requires no stock, other than that of impudence, and no tools but an inkhorn and a goose-quill.

The Report will show what are the opinions of the Committee of the House of Commons upon the exorbitancy of these charges, and upon the general conduct of the Anti-Jacobins, by whom they have been made. The Committee prove, that even according to the principles upon which the charge is made, it ought not to be half what the Anti-Jacobins have made it.

The reader will perceive by looking at the Report, which I do beseech him to read, that the charges upon the sales; that is to say, the porterage, cartage, warehouse room, &c. amounted to 631,239l. sterling, and this, he will see, is nearly one third of the amount of the net proceeds! Very pretty traders these! And, mind, they charge the country a commission of five per cent upon these charges too as well as upon the net proceeds!

It has been proved before the Committee, that these charges of commission would be unusual and unjust, even if we were to admit the Anti-Jacobins to take the footing of merchants; but, reader, is that for one moment to be admitted? What capital did they possess? What advances were they ever required to make, as all commission merchants are? What labour had they ever had to perform, in order to get into business?

Again: They charge for the expenses of their establishment 17,000l. exclusive of all the charges upon the sales. What do they mean by this? What did it consist of, but of a house of 200l. a year rent, perhaps; coals and candles; a woman to sweep out the place, and a couple of clerks: for, observe, they themselves were five in number? How were these things to cost 1,200l. a year for 14 years, especially as almost all their business was ended in 1799?

I shall here introduce an article, upon this subject, from the Times newspaper of the 18th instant, which paper, the reader will please to observe, was that in which John Bowles used to puff off his loyalty, and the proprietor of which has very laudably thus endeavoured to undeceive his numerous readers:—

“These Commissioners, it appears, entered upon their office without making any express agreement what they were to be paid; and they continued so to act for twelve years, without ever giving the slightest intimation to Government as to what they were taking in the way of remuneration, whilst they were during this time, on their own authority, withdrawing five per cent from all the gross proceeds of public money that went through their hands. This they have declared to be the usual mercantile commission; whereas it appears on examination that half that sum, viz. two and a half per cent, is the usual mercantile commission, which even they themselves paid to others.—And farther, it appears, that by the usual mercantile practices, an interest account is kept between merchants selling on commission and their employers; the former paying to the latter the interest of the average balance retained in their hands: whereas these Dutch commissioners retained an immense balance, some part of which they are discovered to have converted to personal gain, even by negotiating private bills of exchange with it; they admit that they never meant to place the whole of the interest actually received, to the national account; and still less that which might have been received from the more active employment of the money. But their intentions will be plain enough from these circumstances: that of the public money employed at interest they made no minute; no proof of such employment appears in their cash-book; and when required by the committee, to give an account of their fees and other emoluments, they directly stated that they had ‘no salary, fees, or emoluments,’ but that commission, which they denominated the usual one.—And, lastly, it has been seen, that pending these transactions, the country was so distressed, that Mr. Pitt, the Finance Minister, not knowing how to raise money for the public service, did actually apply to these very commissioners for assistance, which they, with an augmenting balance of 190,000l. in their hands, declined to afford him, concealing their possession of such a sum; and refusing the country’s money to supply the wants of the country. In what language are we to address such men?

“That pity they to England show’d,

That pity show to them.”

“Oh, John Bowles! John Bowles! little did we think when we were unwittingly inserting thy paragraphs against Jacobins and Levellers, how much thy loyalty was warmed by considerations like these: and even when thou saidst that thou wast no admirer of Lord St. Vincent, it hardly occurred to us that he who had driven away the miscreants that gnawed the vitals of the State in one department, might reasonably create terrors in those who were sucking the blood of another.

Oh, John Bowles! John Bowles!”

Now, reader, leaving this pious man to write his moral and political State of Society at the beginning of the year 1809; leaving him to his labours in the Society for the Suppression of Vice, of which he is one of the most zealous members; leaving him to put down bull-baits, village fairs, and twopenny hops, of which he is a mortal enemy, as the people of Peckham, Camberwell, and Dulwich can testify; leaving him to his actings as a Surrey and a Kentish and a Middlesex justice of the peace; leaving his godliness to dictate false assertions about the naked woman at Nottingham, and about the late Duke of Bedford’s breaking the Sabbath; leaving him to these occupations, let us proceed to notice one little point in the Report and documents, which, otherwise, may escape public attention. In a paper, laid before the committee, it is said, that the Commissioners trust, that the Committee “will not forget, that two of their number, have been under the necessity of relinquishing their professions, in order to attend to their duty as commissioners.” Now, I take it for granted, that John is one of these two; and, then, let the reader bear in mind, that John had actually become a Commissioner of Bankrupts, before he was a Dutch Commissioner! Would he have done this, if he had had much practice at the bar? I will bet him my right hand against his net proceeds, that he never had the pleading of a cause in his life, though he must have been thirty-five years old, at least, before he became a Dutch Commissioner. Besides, he has, during the time, if not the whole time, that he has been a Dutch Commissioner, been also a Commissioner of Bankrupts, and, if I am not much in mistake, he is actually a Commissioner of Bankrupts at this moment! Well, John, if we do not give full credit to thy professions now, the devil is in us.—The Committee do, indeed, say, that they cannot admit of this plea of compensation for loss of profession; but, why did they not ask, whether the said gentry held no other places under the government? I am persuaded they all do at this moment.

But, what a scandalous thing it is, that, when any creature, who calls itself a lawyer, is taken into government employ, he is not only to receive the pay of the post, but is to receive compensation for the loss, the imaginary loss, of his profession. Just as if he was pressed into the service; just as if he was taken and forced to come to the aid of the country. Thus it is, that the bar is enslaved; thus it is that no minister is afraid of legal talents; thus it is that the bar is the tool of the government. Men are bred to the law, not for the purpose of being lawyers, but for the purpose of qualifying for a post and a pension under the government. No wonder, that we see, amongst lawyers, what we have recently seen. In short, this is another of the many ways, in which we have been reduced to our present degraded state; from which state we must raise ourselves, or we deserve to perish as a people, and the means of doing which is only to be found in legal, and constitutional, and loyal applications for a reform in that assembly, where the laws originate; all other remedies having been tried, over and over again, and having been found unavailing.

John Bowles was amongst the loudest of those, who clamoured against Sir Francis Burdett for his phrase about the “accursed Red Book,” the leaves of which he wished to tear out. But, John took care not to tell the public, that his own name was in that book, in two places, at least. No; it suited John better to say, that Sir Francis wanted to tear out the name of “our good and pious old king;” and, thereupon, to call him a bloody-minded Jacobin. But, now let the reader say, who has done the most injury to the throne; who has brought most discredit upon the government, Sir Francis Burdett or the abusers of Sir Francis Burdett. The Jacobin Baronet, or the Anti-Jacobin friends and associates of the Duke of York and John Bowles?

John has had a longer race than most men like him; his hour is certainly come. During the late busy season, John had quite slipped out of my mind; and this morning, just as I was thinking about beginning an exposure of the affair of the correct Colonel’s improvements, at Chelsea, in dropped, from the mail-coach, the Case of John and his five per cent partners, every one of whom is not only a stanch Anti-Jacobin, but belongs also, I am told, to the Society for the Suppression of Vice; Anti-Jacobins, Anti-bull baiters, Anti-boxers, Anti-revellers, and Anti-dancers; Anti-every thing that is calculated to draw the people together, and to afford them a chance of communicating their ideas; Anti-every thing which does not tend to abject subjection.

Thus, reader, have you the grand Anti-Jacobin before you. He comes out at a fortunate time, and serves as an excellent elucidation of the doctrine of those, who set up the cry of Jacobinism against Mr. Wardle; thanks to whom, thanks to whom be for ever given, for having opened the eyes of this blinded nation to the character and conduct of these the very worst of its foes.