the county of York; and on the last election, he is said to have formed a coalition with Mr. Lascelles, contrary to a promise given; but there are so many tricks at elections, and so many falsities propagated, that we only mention these to give Mr. Wilberforce an opportunity of explaining how such reports could have arisen.

There is a great increase of that sort of religious influence which is separated from the established church; and it is easy to see, that at no very distant day there will be a desperate struggle, to avoid which it is not so easy to see a safe or a certain method.

The Roman catholic question is but a prelude to a discussion with the dissenters, and the liberal opinions of the day, as they are termed, are in favour of both; but we hope it will be remembered, that where equality of religion is established, there will soon be no religion at all.

GENERAL SIR ROBERT WILSON:

ONE of those brave, enterprising, and ingenious British officers, who never lose an opportunity of serving their country, and whose various abilities are always furnishing them with opportunities.

Sir Robert has distinguished himself in an honourable manner upon all occasions during the present war; but it is not only as a military man, for, as a man of letters, he has done great service*.

* The atrocities of the French have been such during this revolutionary war, that posterity will not be inclined to give credit fo the relation of them. It is, therefore, of great importance that they should be collected by men of known veracity, and, above all, that they should be published in such a way as to call for contradiction where they can be contradicted.

There are many Frenchmen in this country who approve of putting to death those who are badly wounded. Those men have neither religion nor morality; they are guided by expediency and conveniency, and consider soldiers as we do horses, which, when disabled, we shoot. Terrible as this way of thinking may be, there are not a few of the children of the revolution who entertain such opinions. Such is the degradation of those reformers of mankind who began by preaching up philanthropy and humanity!

In writing the history of the campaigns in which he has served, he has thrown much light on the ferocious character of the enemy; and the time seems to be approaching when the advantage of those details will be felt and appreciated.

So long as the brilliancy of conquest glossed over the crimes of the French conqueror, the utility of exposing his cruelty was only felt by a few, who considered that, in time, the actions would be seen in their true light: but the great reverse of fortune that Buonaparte has experienced, will accelerate the arrival of the time, when, stripped of the adventitious glare of recent conquest, the atrocities of the man will stand naked and bare, in all their natural deformity.

Sir Robert Wilson's assertions relative to the murder of the wounded French soldiers, and of the prisoners taken from the enemy, have been doubted in this country; but they have not been contradicted in France, which is almost equivalent to positive proof of their authenticity.

It is well known that the press of the continent has long been at the command of Buonaparte. It is no less well known that he is particularly careful to contradict whatever has been asserted in England that is in any way disagreeable to him, or derogates

from his character; the conclusion fairly to be made is, that it could not be contradicted. We enter not at all into further particulars, for proofs are not within our reach; but we must persist in the conclusion, that the accusation being passed over in silence is a proof that there was danger in contradicting it. Buonaparte, and those who write for him, know well that, had they accused Sir Robert Wilson of having stated a falsity, he would not have remained inactive, but would have laboured night and day to defend his character; in which case the matter would have been made worse than it was. Prudence, and consciousness of guilt dictated silence under such circumstances.

As Sir Robert is now, and has been with the Russian army, from the invasion of Russia by the French, we may expect from him accurate and scientific details of the two last and most interesting campaigns; in which he has always been an intelligent observer, and occasionally a most able assistant, having been personally honoured by the applause of both the emperors, who witnessed his merit and bravery.

THE EARL OF YARMOUTH.

THIS nobleman will never be forgiven by the opposition for the ability which he shewed in commencing negotiations with the French government, and, so far as he went, for conducting them with more ability and address than the Earl of Lauderdale.

The circumstance was singularly amusing to a mere looker on, who knew from the beginning that the whole was a farce; but it was singularly mortifying to Mr. Fox's administration (also termed all the talents) to find, that Lord Lauderdale, that great writer on political economy, paper money, and silver tokens, when he went to Paris under singular advantages, displayed less dexterity than a young English nobleman who had been selected from amongst the British prisoners in France, to open a negotiation for peace under singular disadvantages.

There was something so ludicrous in all this, VOL. 2.

HH