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SUMMARY OF POLITICS. PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS.- -I. King's Speech. II. Ireland. III. Places in Reversion.- Before we proceed to the giving of any account of what has passed in the parliament, it seems necessary to say a few words relative to the state of the two factions, who are engaged in a continual war against each other, the chief object of which war being the possession of the places in the gift of the crown, and of the great emoluments, arising from that possession.—During the recess, the father of Lord Howick having died, that lord became a peer, and, of course, could no longer remain in the House of Commons, where, after the death of Mr. Fox, he had been, what is called the "leader of the opposition." Another

leader" was, therefore, to be selected, as some thought; but, it would seem, that the post, like that of Earl Marshall of the Kingdom, is now become hereditary; for, as it were of course, Mr. Ponsonby (a name little familiar to our ears), who is a brother-inlaw of Lord Howick, his lordship having no nearer relation in parliament, takes upon him, as the newspapers tell us, to perform the functions, lately performed by his noble relation. It is he who now asks questions of "his Majesty's ministers;" it is he who is now called the honourable gentleman opposite; it is he who now nods yes, or shakes no, while the ministers are speaking; it is he, under whom arrange themselves, giving their votes as he gives his, numbers of men, whom, for reasons too evident to mention, I will not attempt to describe.--This change of leader is not, however, any disadvantage to the ont-faction. It would, indeed, have been hard if they had experienced disadvantage from any change, considering who was their leader before. But, somehow or other, there does appear to be a sort of shame attached to this transfer from the late leader to the present one. There are some of those good pliant souls, commonly called country gentlemen, who shrug up their shoulders at it. In fact, some, to my certain knowledge, do really doubt, whether

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subjection to George Rose be not just s reasonable and as honourable as subjection to Mr. Ponsonby; and, as to the people, they are no longer to be persuaded, that they have any, even the smallest interest in such matters. They care not, which faction is out: they have seen both in, and, as to places and pensions, they have seen no dif ference in their conduct. The outs may, therefore, bawl to the people to come and take part with them; but, no aid will they. ever receive from that quarter. Our answer to them always will be; it was you who made war for Hanover; it was you who told us that Hanover ought to be as dear to us as Hampshire; it was you, who, in your first act, enabled lord Grenville to hold two offices, incompatible with each other; it was you who made the Lord Chief Justice a member of the cabinet; it was you who brought in a bill to augment the number of Hanoverian troops in this kingdom; it was you who proposed to subject our private cellars and brewhouses to the survey of ex cisemen; it was you, who, after ten year's execration of the principle of the income tax, came, and, at a single stroke, almost doubled its amount, while, however, you took care wholly to exempt from the operation of that tax, the property which, under whatever name, the king might have in the funds: yes, it was you, who, more than any other set of politicians, owed your elevation to the good opinion of the people, and who, the moment you were safely seated in power, set that opinion at nought, and seemed to glory in proving, that you had always intended to dupe the people, and that, in point of insincerity, you scorned to yield to any set of courtiers that ever existed.- -The out faction had, during the recess, gained nothing at all in any way, but they had lost br events, giving rise to questions, upon which they would naturally be divided. The in faction had gained in the same proportion; and, it was expected by every body, that there would be many deserters from the firmer; an expectation, which, in a few days, we shall see verided. The deb upon

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aid in that destruction, rather than to forego the advantages of continuing in possession of his fleet and trade.There is, however, a larger view, in which this question presents itself. If there be two great powers and many little powers, in any part of the world; and, if one of the great powers, setting at nought all the rules, by which nations have hitherto suffered their warlike operations to be circumscribed, compels all the little powers within its reach to join it in its endeavours to destroy its rival, the other great power is fully justified in resorting to similar means; for, if this be denied, then, the power which will set the rules at defiance, is sure, in the end, to conquer all; so that, the question, is, shall all be conquered by one of the great powers, or shall this part of the world be divided between them? I am for the latter. In this view of the matter, therefore, it signifies not what was the disposition of Denmark, or what was the extent of her ability to injure us. The only question to be asked is this: has the expedition to Copenhagen put us in a state the better to defend ourselves against that enemy, who is, and long has been, engaged in the work of conquering all Europe? There are persons, who will answer this question in the negative; and who talk about “. rotten hulks" and "perishing stores"; but, rotten as they are, they are as well here as at Copenhagen, whence I think no one will deny, that they would soon have been gotten out under the effect of a French decree. In short, the expedition against Copenhagen is to be tried by no settled rules relating to the practices of nations: the circumstances, under which it was resolved on, were entirely without example: and our justification rests solely upon the seizure of the fleet being necessary to our safety. It is my opinion, that this and similar measures, or, at least, measures in a similar spirit, were and are necessary to our safety; and, therefore, though I lament the necessity, I approve of the measures. Upon the subject of peace, Lord Grenville is reported to have expressed bis regret, that the ministers insisted upon a basis to be laid down by the proposed mediator; and that, he saw no objection to a mediator not being himself independent. His lordship disapproved of petitions for peace; but, could not help feeling anxiety at the number and strength of our foes, expecially when he feared that America would soon be added to them. To the expressing of which anxiety I have only this one objection, namely, that it was perfectly useless; and could answer no

purpose but that of producing, in a greater degree, the very ect which his lordship apprehended from the petitions. I do not view the question of peace in the same light with his lordship. I do not think, that the increased number and strength of our enemies adds at all to our danger; because it is strength which cannot be brought to operate against us. While we had run-away allies upon the continent, our danger was, in my opinion, much greater than it now is; and, be our danger what it may, to overcome it, or to be conquered, is our only choice. This is the notion, which appears to me to be the most useful to inculcate at this time. To talk about forms of treating; to amuse us with a display of terms from the dictionary of the portfolio, is not only useless but mischievous. It must, I think, be evident, that England has yet to maintain a long and arduous contest, before she can have a chance of obtaining a secure peace; and, if that be the case, our only study ought to be, how we shall maintain that contest. This is the question, about which the enemy should see us disputing; but, if he turn his eves this way, he will see us engaged in nothing but little squabbles about who shall have the most of the money that is annually raised upon the public. There is a great talk. indeed, about "a crisis; " we are told, that we are " in the crisis of our fate; " but, we have been told this any time these fifteen years last past; therefore, it appears to me to be quite useless to talk about a crisis any longerWith respect to Portugal, or, rather, the Brazils, Lord Grenville was very right. He said he could not see any new opening that the emigration would make for our commerce. "As to any commercial or

political advantages to this country, said he, to be derived from the emigration t› "the Brazils, I cannot consent to delude

my countrymen by holding out such an "idea." The Morning Chronicle must have been somewhat disappointed at this, after having so boldly asserted, that the Brazils were "able to supply our West-India "colonies with lumber and provisions." I do not think, that there was much necessity for his lordship's saying what he did say, upon this subject, for, I believe, the public have been, for some time, s tisfied, that no advantage whatever will arise to this kingdom from the emigra tion in question; while, on the contrary, it will produce a heavy and constant drain of men and money.--The whole of the debate was, as was before observed, very un n

teresting, all the points having been so amply discussed beforehand, in the newspapers. There was one interesting circumstance, however, and that was, that Mr. Ponsonby, the new " leader of the opposition," was an swered, and most triumphantly too, by Mr. Milnes, a new orator, and a very young man. At this, if we may believe the reporters, Mr. Whitbread took fire, a fire, however, more ardent than brilliant. Of the article, or paragraph, or whatever else one may call the thing, which has been published under the title of his specch, we may, indeed, say as Lord Thurlow said of the pleading of the sessions lawyers, that it was like a taylor's goose, hot and heavy. An amendment to the address was proposed in the House of Lords, and eight peers, amongst whom was Lord Erskine, entered a protest; but, no division took place in either House; and, it is pretty certain, that, if a division had been called for, the ministers would have had a majority of three, if not of four, to one. The fact is, that the opposition, as it is called, has fallen into general disrepute as a political party. The people have no confidence in it. They feel not at all interested in any of its proceedings. There exists no hope or expectation from the efforts of an opposition now. That party feeling, which used, some years ago, to extend itself through the people, was nearly extinguished in a few months after Mr. Fox came into office, and that part of it which remained during his life, went out, like the snuff of a candle, at his death. The party feeling that now exists is confined to the mere retainers of those who are struggling for place. In short, party, such as it used to be, is no more; the people are no longer its dupes. Speaking of them in general, they see the matter in its true light. Two sets of men opposed to cach other ouly while they are upon the boards of the House, the opposition being absolutely necessary to those great ends, which it would be waste of time for me to attempt to describe.-For these reasons, we shall, I think, have a very uninteresting session of parliament. The Morning Chronicle would fain have pershaded us, that the public looked forward to the meeting with that anxiety, which is always felt by men, who are waiting to know their fate. The public looked forward to it not at all. There was no public anxiety about it. The public well knew, that what the ministry had done, and what they would do the parliament would sanction; and, that, of course, the same measures would be adopted, whether the parliament met or not. Where, then, was cheie any reason for anx⚫ry about the nexting of parliament ? -----11.

Mr. Sheridan, on the 25th instant, gave notice, that, on Monday sen'night, he should make a motion for the appointment of a committee "to inquire into the nature and

grounds of the existing grievances in Ire"land." What it may be Mr. Sheridan's intention to effect by this motion, I know not; but, I am satisfied, that something ought to be done for Ireland. Yet, it is to deceive ourselves mest grossly to suppose, that Ireland, that a country of miserable people, is to be quieted and made haj py by an act of parliament, enabling about thirty or forty of the rich Roman Catholics to Gold offices under the crown. Besides, with what face can the out faction bring forward is proposition now, when it is well known, that, in the hope of keeping her place, they withdrew it, during the short pal ment? If it was proper to be adopted, why withdraw it then? And, if not proper to e adopted, why propose it Low? Why, if not purely for the purpose of embarrassing the ministers? I do not say, observe, that it ought not to be proposed, and adopted, though I have very little faith in its enicacy; but, I do insist, that for the out faction to bring it, or any thing like it, forward now, when we know, that, at the mere suggestion of the king, they suppressed it, even after it came before parliament, when they themselves were in power, would be a proceeding as scandalously factious as any that ever was heard of. If they had remained in office; if the king had not turned them out; these measures about Ireland would no more have been thought of by them, except as to the means of preventing them from being brought forward; they had been completely hushed by the royal command; but now they are working up and fomenting and inflaming, in every direction. The language of their principal publication, the Edinburgh Review, as it is stil! called, is that of a downright incendiary; it is addressed to the pas sions of the most blind and violent of the Irish; and, this is the conduct of men, who while in office, were ready, at the nod of the king, to postpone, for an indefinite term, even the first little thing that they had proposed in favour of Ireland!-III. On the 25th instant, Mr. Bankes moved for leave to bring in a bill to prevent, in future, the grant of Places in Reversion, or survivorship. This bill, it will be recollected, passed the House of Commons last year, and was thrown out by the Lords. The motion was opposed by Mr. William Dundas, who denied, that reversions were, in general, granted to unworthy persons, and who was answered by Mr. Whi bread, in a short speech,

worth the perusal of every man in the country. He said, "it was but grateful in "that right hon. gentleman, as he had been considerably indebted to reversions himself, and if he (Mr. W.) was not mista"ken, was now in expectancy of one; the "zeal of the right hon. gentleman against "this mode of reform, might, therefore, be easily accounted for. The right hon. gentleman, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, had been an infant when he got the grant of a place in reversion, now held by "his noble relative, lord Arden, who had "obtained it in the same way; there were "many other instances in that house, and surely this called for legislative interfe 26 rence

The post granted in reversion to "the Chancellor of the Exchequer was a most lucrative one, but yet required no other talent to fill it, than that of knowing how to count the money it produced "so gratuitously.It is good to hear them talk thus of one another. The facts are pretty notorious; but, still, their repeating of them is useful.--Sir John Newport stated, that a reform in the customhouse department of Ireland had long been wanted; but, that it had not yet been effected, and could not, because a reversionary grant or a place stood in the way.- -There was a Mr. Horner, who followed Sir John Newport, and who, after some preliminary matter, said that "he thought this measure "the more valuable, because it was a measure of reform, and that, perhaps, was the very reason of the honourable gentleman's opposition to it." I was much pleased to hear this from a good plain man, who evidently was not born to delude the world by bis eloquence, and who, doubtless, recommended himself to his constituents by the known independence of his situation and character. It well became such a maa to stand forward, upon an occasion like this, and gravely espouse those principles of "reform," which, in the way of justifying their patrons of the late ministry, that knot of little shoe-less Scotch hirelings, the Edinburgh Reviewers, have held up to contempt and ridicule. How must it shock a man of such apparent single-heartedness, as Mr. Horner to find,

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upon his arrival in London, that there are men, who absolutely sell the use of their pens and their fingers and their brains, and receive, as the price, such or such a sum of the public money, in such or such a shape, and who have, all the while, the unconscionabie impudence to call themselves patriots. How must it offend his plain good sense to hear, that the late ministry, whose partizans ex

tolled them for the possession of great ta lents, and some of whom did possess great talents; to hear, that many of the members of that ministry had, as to practicni parposes, no more power than their chambermaids, the real movers being a set of interested adventurers, well skilled in the art of disputation, industrious from necessity, and by nature flatterers of the great. How it must have disgusted such a good, hearty, frauk man as Mr. Horner appears to be, to see a doughy, sodden facel, soft-headed great man" surrounded with a swarm of these political parisites, leagued together to fiatter him out of their food, and to laugh at him behind his back. But, what must have most provoked such a man as Mr. Homer, was, to find, that these literary locusts had actually begun to eat up the fruits of the people's labour; that they had, through the means. of their silly patrons, begun to creep into offices and sinecures, and that, in some cases, it appeared impos sible to get them out, without totally destroying the places into which they had crept, and, with those places, to destroy no inconsiderable part of the building, which all men would wish to see remain untouched. Such a good, honest hearted, simple-minded man as Mr. Horner appears to be must have been so shocked at all this as to make him almost repent of having, though only for a few months, quitted those paternal estates, which he, doubtless, possesses in some part of the country, where his absence must be severely felt.-With respect to the bill itself, I greatly approve of the principles of it, though I cannot see any great good that it would produce, unless accompanied with a restriction as to the granting of new places and pensions for life; for, we may be assured, that, if the reversion source be cut off, larger draughts will be made upon that of pensions. Besides, I am not quite satisfied, as to the, motive of the late ministers, in proposing this measure; and, to say the truth, I am of opinion, that, as far as they are concerned, the main objects, to prevent the present king from granting away what ought to fall into the hands of his successor; to which successor they now look as their only, though distant hope. This circumstance should be borne in mind, whon we are estimating the " public spirit," attributed to the proposing of the measure in question. I dislike the measure, too, because it will deceive some people, by leading them to believe that reforms in the expenditure are hereby begun; for, it must be evident to every one, at all acquainted with the mat