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NOTES OF THE MONTH. 677 



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so glaring was the injustice, ended in the eternal shame and disgrace of 

 their savage persecutors. 



But what makes all this City job the more scandalous, is, that it is 

 enacted under the specious and hypocritical mask of a patriotic desire 

 for peace. Now, if "we had space, we would expose the charletanism of 

 these pretended patriots. Almost all these humble petitioners are more 

 or less, directly or indirectly, connected with the Dutch trade, and are, 

 therefore, fearful of being injured in their commercial relations. Then 

 why not boldly say so ? Why not petition on that score at once ? No, 

 that would not answer the purpose ; their malignant Tory spleen would 

 not be gratified. It would be a course too manly arid straightforward 

 for a faction who delight in nothing so much as juggling the multitude, 

 and are now mystifying the deluded remnant of their own poor, de- 

 spised party, while William of Nassau gives the word for the onslaught, 

 and will witness, without a pang, the immolation of thousands of his 

 brave subjects in a hopeless contest. How like another Nero he looks, 

 glutting himself in his country's blood ! It is horrible to think how- 

 many brave and devoted hearts may be doomed to bleed at the bidding 

 of such a miscreant master ! And this is the " enlightened monarch," 

 the idol of the Tories of this very knot of traitors who have been get- 

 ting up this petition traitors in every sense of the word bandying 

 dispatches with the Dutch renegadoes at Amsterdam, in actual and 

 confidential treaty with the declared enemies of their country. Fortu- 

 nately for these men, bigoted times are past ; the spirit of persecution 

 is over, and therefore they will escape the punishment they merit. 



Of course a few country noodles are taken in a bumpkin squire or 

 two and endeavour to imitate, so far as they can, their London mas- 

 ters. No workman can present a clever specimen of his craft without 

 his tools and here they are ready to hand. The people of Rochdale 

 were "utterly confounded, by learning, through the medium of the news- 

 papers, that a petition, similar to that of London, had been forwarded, 

 purporting to be from them. It appeared that a few ragamuffin Tories 

 had been playing them this trick. It is a pity the pillory is done away 

 with. This is one of the offences just within its scope. At Chelmsford 

 the same game was played. Some few score distinguished themselves, 

 as booby grandees of the first class, out of a population of 6,000 ! At 

 Norwich, too, an effort was made an abortive one. It is needless to 

 remark on that. The prime mover was an alderman ; and, from autho- 

 rities unquestioned, an alderman and an ass are synonymous. After all, 

 it only shews the extremely wretched condition to which the faction is 

 reduced, when such miserable pranks are resorted to when such pain- 

 ful efforts are made to prolong the last glimmer of their expiring light. 



As for the Dutch war, we look on it as a matter of necessity, not of 

 choice. It has been forced on us by the recklessness of Tories on the 

 one hand, and the obstinacy and falsehood of Dutchmen on the other. 

 We heartily wish that nature would resume her right that old Ocean 

 would take his own again, and indemnify himself on the contumacious 

 Dutchman, for years of unlawful aggression. We should not grieve if, 

 of Dutch land or Dutch men, not a single trace remained not even a 

 tile ; then would old Andrew Marvel sing truly. 

 fnoTi i .-_ 



THE FISHMONGERS AT FAULT IAmong the many calamities about 

 to be entailed on our nation by our unhappy schism with the Dutch, is 



