1831.] England and ihe Continent. 347 



blood; and the national sagacity, with the book of history before its eyes, 

 knows that democracy is havoc, and that the havoc is inevitably followed 

 by chains. England instinctively shrinks from the torch and the dag- 

 ger ; and she will abhor to prepare for the chain of some military 

 usurper, by first weakening herself down to slavery by the loss of her 

 own blood. On this principle, she has at all times abjured the disastrous 

 aid of republicanism on the continent ; and even within our own day, 

 she shook the ablest and most popular of her public men from her coun- 

 cils, for daring, even in a figure of speech, to depict her as the favourer 

 of rebellion abroad. Canning's whole public influence was instantly 

 sacrificed, by a mei'e oratorical flourish on the available alliance of fo- 

 reign insurrection. 



But it is with this insurrection that she now has to deal ; with the 

 gusts of rebellion springing up in every point of the compass, she has 

 to navigate her perilous way, and she has to choose between a struggle 

 for the ancient system, which may task all her strength, and in which 

 she may soon stand alone : and the embrace of an ally, which must, in 

 the passing of a few years, be the master of all who are mad enough to 

 suffer its connection. 



The first difficulty of the British government is Belgium. The whole 

 course of Belgian events has run directly contrary to the policy, the 

 principles, and the wishes of England. The original union of Bel- 

 gium and Holland as a barrier against France, was the pride of British 

 policy, and almost the only prize of that war in which she defended 

 the liberties of Europe. This union was dissolved at a moment. Her 

 next effort was to save Belgium from falling into the hands of France. 

 But what is the state of Belgium now. She is a province of Franf^e in 

 all but name. First, a French army was giddily called in to protect 

 her, and the undoubted object of those hazardous allies, was to hold 

 military possession of the prominent points of the country. They were 

 compelled to withdraw, only by the direct remonstrance of the Euro- 

 pean powers. But now the Belgian army is actually given into the 

 hands of French officers to drill ; as if the science of marching and 

 counter-marching could be communicated by nobody on earth but a 

 French marshal — as if no German could be discovered willing to give 

 his knowledge of the drill for Belgian ducats, or no confidence Avas to 

 be placed in Englishmen. The result is, that the Belgian army is 

 under the command of Frenchmen, and those too still in the pay of 

 France. Even the fortresses, which were deemed essential for the pro- 

 tection of the kingdom of the Netherlands, which had seven millions of 

 men to defend the country, are now deemed useless for the defence of 

 Belgium, which has but four millions, and after costing immense sums 

 of British money they are to be demolished, for no discoverable pur- 

 pose l)ut to make the high-road into Belgium as easy as the high-road 

 from Versailles to Paris. The .irgunient that those fortresses could not 

 be garrisoned by the force of tiic; Belgians is absurd. The volunteers, 

 the levees en masse, are the natural garrisons of such fortresses, while 

 the regular troops take the field. Or if Ave are to be told that the ex- 

 pense of maintaining them Avould exceed the Belgian finances, Ave an- 

 swer — Let them decay, if they will, in the course of time. But Avhy 

 expedite their fall ? Tiie true reason of their overthroAv is to break 

 down the barrier of Belgium. 



I'oland has fallen. It is now useless to deplore a fate which every one 



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